Chapter 121: Secondhand Smoke Is Unhealthy!

The space gradually became saturated with the sweet aroma of Baileys liqueur, its scent drifting through the air and dispelling the harsh, acrid stench of tobacco.

This pheromone, upon release, carried an intense aggression—rushing forth like strong liquor, brimming with battle intent.

Yet, it vanished in an instant, leaving only a calm suppression over the tobacco pheromone, as if it had never existed at all.

Garna’s focus was entirely on this new pheromone, so much so that he failed to notice Lance had already straightened his back.

His dark eyes were slightly damp, tinged with a faint, serene smile.

The light shimmering in those once-cold, ruthless eyes was almost unbearably beautiful.

Humiliating an Alpha no longer mattered. What mattered was finding the Alpha who had released that pheromone.

And that, of course, was far too obvious.

Laurie’s face was flushed, his expression dazed, the telltale signs of intoxication written all over him.

Perhaps because this pheromone carried little aggression, his body didn’t resist much—in fact, it absorbed quite a lot of it.

Externally, this manifested in Laurie looking completely and utterly drunk.

After nearly succumbing to carbon monoxide poisoning, he hiccuped woozily, his vision blurring as he swore he saw his great-grandmother fondly patting his head with a smile.

This useless thing isn’t worth any expectations.

So this Alpha…

Ji Laili pulled a tissue from somewhere and pressed it against his nose. His clear eyes were filled with reproach, his eyelids slightly red from the irritation of the smoke.

Faced with Garna’s sharp and brooding gaze, he remained composed, complaining,

“Lord Garna, your pheromone is seriously bad for health.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, but I have rhinitis.”

He removed the tissue to reveal his reddened nose, allowing Garna to take a clear look before immediately pressing it back against his face.

The scent of Baileys suppressed the tobacco, but the source of that disgusting smoke seemed completely unaware. Ji Laili had no choice but to keep covering his nose and mouth.

He really wanted to pass a tissue to Shen Yu as well—this was unbearable.

How had Garna not been kicked out of places for releasing his pheromone like this?

Enduring another’s pheromone was already physical suffering.

Enduring Garna’s pheromone? That was both mental and physical torture!

Help! This is secondhand smoke!

The little pup wore a mask of pain. “Brother, could you please rein it in?”

Garna hadn’t expected any Alpha to be able to suppress his pheromone. His gaze sharpened as he scanned Ji Laili up and down, a mix of intrigue and malice in his eyes.

“This is all it takes for you to break?”

Instead of retracting his pheromone, he intensified the tobacco scent, forcing it to clash against the Baileys aroma.

The air was now thick with secondhand smoke.

Ji Laili swore—he had never hated an Alpha so much in his life!

Beneath his curls, his brow furrowed, bringing out a chilling severity.

Then, just as Garna had sensed only for a moment before, that fiery, liquor-like pheromone surged forth again.

Fierce, overwhelming, aggressively dominant.

The warm, radiant smile of its owner stood in stark contrast to the sheer force of his pheromone.

As Garna was caught in the storm of this attack, a realization dawned on him.

The dissatisfaction within the pheromone was almost tangible—an invisible weight pressing down on his spine, demanding submission.

For a fleeting moment, Garna recalled how not long ago, he had forced Lance into this very position.

How quickly things had changed.

He had gone from the oppressor to the oppressed.

Alcohol was meant to heighten enjoyment—but in the realm of pheromones, its effect was anything but pleasant for one’s enemies.

Instead, it disrupted an Alpha’s nervous system, distorting judgment and dulling the body’s reactions.

For the first time, Garna felt an unprecedented surge of adrenaline.

He refused to back down. If the other wanted to force him to bow, then he would fight for every inch!

The scent of tobacco and Baileys crashed against each other.

Any passing Alpha would either be crushed to the ground, unable to move, or stimulated into action—

Though more often than not, it was the former.

Amidst the clash, Laurie sobered up.

Who else could understand the horror of experiencing both carbon monoxide poisoning and alcohol-induced nerve paralysis—simultaneously?

Two overwhelming sensations at once.

But in the end, his body was still his own. He managed to resist both the poisoning and the nerve suppression, leaving behind only the deep-seated fear of a worker clinging to survival.

A moment later, Laurie made a decision.

He had to save himself.

Curling into a tiny shrimp-like ball, he painstakingly inched toward the door. Let the security team handle this mess.

If this went on any longer, he had no idea which of these Alphas would end up killing him first.

In his desperate escape, he nearly crashed into a pair of long, straight legs.

Before he could react, the owner of those legs took a step back, widening the distance between them in obvious disdain.

Laurie looked up, sweat glistening on his face, utterly shocked.

“…Lance?”

His voice trembled. “You—you’re fine?!”

Why was he the only one suffering?!

Even if Lance was stronger and of a higher rank than him, this was just—wrong!

Laurie felt like something was off.

Ji Laili also heard the commotion. He never expected Laurie, who had passed out long ago, to suddenly wake up—

And blurt out those words.

Would Garna suspect the butterfly effect?

For a split second, Ji Laili’s thoughts wavered.

And in that instant, an overwhelming force crashed toward him.

Pheromones could be a form of invisible psychological assault.

A sharp pain shot through Ji Laili’s wrist, as if someone had grabbed it and sawed into it twice. His tissue slipped from his grasp.

He reached out to catch it, but failed.

The pristine tissue fluttered to the ground—

Only to be crushed beneath a merciless boot.

Garna’s temple was damp with sweat, his face shadowed with dark, sinister amusement.

His uniform, now stained with sweat, clung to his body in a disheveled mess—yet his eyes shone with a crazed delight.

He seemed thoroughly pleased with what he had achieved, taking in Ji Laili’s reddened nose and the intensified scent of tobacco with satisfaction.

“It seems that useless thing, Laurie, does have some value after all.”

Ji Laili had no way of knowing whether Garna was pleased because Laurie’s interruption had given him the upper hand—

Or if he had truly started suspecting Shen Yu.

Either way, he couldn’t let Garna dwell on it.

The thought of surrendering vanished entirely.

If that was the case, then he would draw all the hostility onto himself.

Ji Laili calmed his mind, his gaze unwavering and sharp.

The scent of Baileys surged.

Any trace of sweetness was obliterated.

Shen Yu felt the chill in the pheromone before it lunged at Garna, pressing down with an unstoppable force.

A raw, genetic suppression tore through the battlefield—

Crushing the Alpha’s spine until he was forced onto one knee, utterly disgraced.

Garna lifted his gaze, seething with murderous intent.

Ji Laili brushed back his damp curls, the corner of his lips curling into a fearless smile.

Under Laurie’s stunned stare—

He laughed.

“My lord, shall I help you up?”

“I told you—secondhand smoke is bad for your health. Just look how quickly you went down.”