Chapter 26: Let the Body See Who Its Master Is

【…You’re supposed to save him, not capture him.】

Seeing Ji Laili so serious and thorough, as if he was about to arrest and lock Shen Yu up the next second, the system had to remind him of his mission.

“It’s a metaphor,” Ji Laili said. “Capturing isn’t quite right. Right now, I’m capturing his trust.”

Ji Laili had been holding back earlier, partly because he had no clue how to save Shen Yu.

The man was strong—beasts always walk alone because they have the confidence to do so. Ji Laili felt that Shen Yu’s biggest troubles weren’t something he could solve just yet.

Another reason was something that was well known across the entire Federation Military Academy—

Shen Yu hated Alphas!

As an Alpha himself, Ji Laili had let his gender hold him back.

But this unexpected situation gave Ji Laili hope.

Shen Yu had shown him a bit of trust. That meant if he got a little closer, the chances of Shen Yu hating him would decrease, right?

Ji Laili, full of confidence, set out, only to realize a major problem—

“Wait… I don’t actually know which building Shen Yu lives in???”

—

Shen Yu was injecting the suppressant he had extorted from Aige.

To teach those brats a lesson and make them realize that relying on external aids was useless, Instructor Aige had ordered a batch of suppressants in advance. Since there were so many, they hadn’t been used up yet.

Shen Yu took them all without hesitation.

Instructor Aige was displeased. “I sold these to those kids for 250 star coins each. How much are you paying me?”

Now he was even extorting him! Shen Yu’s voice remained calm as he pulled out his communicator. “Hold on, let me check with Principal Lais about why a 100-star-coin suppressant suddenly jumped in price.”

“Shit.” Aige’s face darkened as he reached to snatch Shen Yu’s communicator, but Shen Yu’s expression didn’t change. He dodged swiftly, not even letting Aige touch him.

“Fine! Just take them,” Aige grumbled.

He sneered, “If you said a few nice words, maybe I’d even give them to you for free.”

Shen Yu left without a word, taking the suppressants with him.

“What a rotten-tempered Alpha!”

Instructor Aige was thoroughly pissed.

“I’m the instructor here, or is he the instructor? How dare he give me attitude?”

The patrol squad members all kept their eyes down, focusing on nothing, staying silent.

Hoping to avoid their instructor’s wrath.

But some things are inevitable.

Not getting a response, Aige sneered, “I said, I’m the instructor. Did you all hear me?”

At first, the patrol squad thought Aige was just venting.

Until he dragged them into it.

“I SAID, I’M THE INSTRUCTOR. DID YOU HEAR ME?”

The patrol squad members: ?

They fell silent for a moment, then hurriedly responded, “We heard you, Instructor!”

Aige got even angrier. “Then why didn’t Shen Yu hear it?!”

Look at that—what kind of attitude was that toward an instructor?!

Uh… maybe you should chase after him and ask?

Of course, that wasn’t going to happen. Aige had his pride. So, in the end, he chose to take his anger out on the new recruits instead.

And Ji Laili was probably the biggest victim.

—

Shen Yu didn’t care about Aige’s frustration. His heat was hitting him like a storm—one suppressant wasn’t enough. That was the only reason he had gone to Aige.

He had no idea he had indirectly gotten Ji Laili into trouble.

Shen Yu pulled out a suppressant. A long silver needle pierced his pale, nearly transparent skin as he injected it with practiced ease.

The pale red liquid slowly pushed into his body.

The irritability, the violent urges, the constant state of near-loss-of-control that made him want to kill every Alpha in sight—gradually, it all subsided.

The remaining traces of red in his dark eyes faded under the effects of the drug.

The next second, his pupils shrank, his gaze unfocused. As if he had just been struck by sudden, overwhelming pain.

In an instant, his eyes welled up with a thin mist of tears.

The mist grew heavier, spilling over the edges of his eyes, soaking into the depths of his dark irises.

A tear slipped from the corner of his eye.

Shen Yu froze, touching the wetness on his face, his expression momentarily blank.

What… is this?

Am I… crying?

He couldn’t process it. His emotions stirred, and before he knew it, more tears spilled out, uncontrollable.

It hurt.

His entire body ached.

His body screamed in protest, roaring at him—

“Go to your mate! Let them release pheromones! Do you want to die from this pain?!”

No. He didn’t need anyone.

Shen Yu’s face remained blank as the tears kept falling.

Alpha or Omega—he needed neither.

The pain inside him flared up, as if his body sensed his defiance and was punishing him for it.

Pheromones, pheromones, pheromones.

Shen Yu grabbed a second suppressant, injecting it even as he continued to cry.

This time, he finished the shot while sobbing.

Halfway through, the pain became unbearable. He bit down on his wrist, silent tears rolling down onto his skin.

His slim but strong wrist bore deep red bite marks, with a sheen of moisture left behind by his tears.

Pain was nothing.

Shen Yu bit down harder, mercilessly, as if the wrist wasn’t his own. He refused to make a sound—as if admitting pain would be giving in to his body.

He was determined to show his body who was in charge.

But pain made him bite harder, and biting harder made the pain worse, trapping him in a vicious cycle.

Knock, knock, knock—knock, knock, knock—

Soft, rhythmic knocking echoed through the room—not too loud, but persistent. Every time it stopped, it would start again after a moment.

Shen Yu, in pain and tears, just wanted to kill someone.

Why was he the only one suffering? Why not make that damned Alpha outside suffer too?

Overwhelmed by agony, Shen Yu lost control of his violent urges. His gaze turned frigid, filled with killing intent as if he could see straight through the door.

He had endured long enough.

His pale face still stained with tear tracks, he moved toward the door, silent and ominous.

His wrist, covered in deep, beast-like bite marks, pressed against the cold metal surface.

Click.

The door unlocked.

The beast was about to break free.

To tear apart the wretched Alpha outside in the most brutal way possible.

His pitch-black eyes shimmered with an eerie glow, cold and inhuman.

And then—

He saw a boy squatting at his door, playing idly with a plastic bag.

The boy’s messy curls twitched slightly at the sound of the door. Hidden beneath them, a pair of ears flicked, and in a flash, he looked up—

Revealing a wide, dazzling smile.

“Senior Shen, are you feeling any better?”

The beast froze.

The cruel, twisted expression on Shen Yu’s face vanished.

He took a step back. His long lashes trembled, catching the faint mist still lingering in his eyes. A single, small tear slipped down.

In that moment—

The beast turned into a butterfly, drenched in dew.