“Have you heard? That Omega who used connections might be done for!”

“Done for? What do you mean? Is it what I think it is?”

“Well, not entirely done yet. I heard he’s brain-dead, and they’re trying to save him at the White Tower right now.”

“Brain-dead? That’s… not much different from being done for.”

“Right? Sigh, he brought it on himself. Heard he insisted on doing that holographic simulation and begged an Alpha to help unlock the permissions for him. Because of that, the Alpha got punished too.”

“No surprise there, considering he used connections to get in. He sure knows how to take shortcuts. But honestly, I can’t blame the Alpha for losing his head. If such a pretty little Omega begged me, I’d probably give in too.”

“Hah, who wouldn’t?”

Behind a wall, inside a room.

A brown-haired guy pressed against the wall, nervously biting his fingernails, his face filled with worry.

It hadn’t been long since the redhead was taken away, and now rumors of the punishment were spreading like wildfire. The brown-haired guy was a bully who picked on the weak but feared the strong. He hadn’t directly gotten involved in that incident, but he had definitely bullied the Omega before. Plus, the Omega’s current state wasn’t unrelated to his behind-the-scenes scheming.

What if the redhead ratted him out? Would he get punished too?

The mere thought of punishment made his scalp tingle with fear.

The S District had a strict set of rules, and with that came equally severe punishments. Being disciplined was one of the most severe forms of punishment in S District. Though the brown-haired guy had never experienced it, just hearing about it was enough to terrify him.

Alphas had strong physical constitutions, their wounds healed quickly, and they lived lives where they constantly licked blood off the knife’s edge, making them extremely tolerant of pain. S District used that fact to punish them.

To be more accurate, they tortured them.

A whip soaked in salt water would lash repeatedly at their flesh. Just as the wounds started to scab, they’d tear open again, leaving the Alpha’s body in a horrific state. Many Alphas couldn’t endure the endless torment and would pass out from the pain, collapsing on the ground, barely clinging to life.

But passing out didn’t spare them from punishment.

The executioners would stare coldly at the blood-covered Alpha, their eyes as indifferent as if they were looking at a lifeless piece of meat. They would swing the whip hard, letting the blood soak into the leather’s grain, their gazes showing no emotion. Only when the machines monitoring the Alpha’s vital signs beeped with alarms would they finally stop, lift their boots, and walk away, leaving the blood-soaked floor behind.

And that was the lightest punishment in S District.

There were worse ones, but most who went through them never came back. The few who did return were immediately sent back to the human base by the starship, never to step foot in S District again.

Just thinking about it made the brown-haired guy break out in cold sweat. His fingernails were already chewed down to nothing, and he stared anxiously towards the interrogation room, his face contorted with fear.

–

“Have you pulled up the access logs?” Bian Lu frowned, his face serious as he looked at the Omega lying on the hospital bed.

Li Po’s face was pale as paper, incredibly fragile. His eyes were tightly shut as he lay on the stark white bed, showing no reaction to the world around him.

The moment Bian Lu finished speaking, the light screen in front of him flickered to life. A video appeared at the center — it was a recording of Li Po’s entire participation in the holographic simulation drill.

The video played automatically.

At first, Bian Lu’s expression was calm, but when he saw Li Po choose that B-rank psychic handgun, he nearly lost control of his expression. Hadn’t he warned Li Po not to mess with those thermal weapons?!

However, seeing this, he roughly understood why Li Po ended up like this. As the doctor responsible for testing Li Po’s psychic power, Bian Lu knew that E-rank was likely not his real level. But in an unstable mental state, regardless of rank, using thermal weapons recklessly could harm the body, especially when the user was an Omega.

Bian Lu glared at the Omega with disappointment, then shifted his gaze back to the video.

The progress quickly reached the part with the iron lock. When he saw Li Po fire two shots at it without hesitation, Bian Lu nearly lost his breath. Afraid that watching further might make him explode with anger, he simply turned off the light screen.

This Omega was playing with his life!

“Five minutes later, another round!”

–

Li Po was having a deep, deep dream. In the dream, he was thrown into the depths of the ocean. The seawater flooded into his ears, blocking out all external sounds; he couldn’t hear anything.

His entire body felt like it had been crushed, and in his daze, Li Po felt like he was a shattered glass doll, broken into pieces, scattered everywhere. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Suddenly, a sharp pain tore through the depths of his mind.

The sound of mechanical cutting, the scrape of blades, the splatter of liquid, the boiling friction—they all erupted in his ears at the same moment, buzzing like they wanted to rip him apart. It was so loud, so unbearable.

But Li Po didn’t want to die.

He hadn’t had enough fun yet. How could he die?

On the snow-white hospital bed, the unconscious Omega was drenched in cold sweat. His already pale face looked even more transparent under the sweat, his lightly colored lips tightly pressed together, and the bed sheets beneath him were completely soaked.

Bian Lu was frantically busy, adjusting the device’s frequency with one hand and prying open Li Po’s eyelids to check with the other. Just one glance made him raise his voice to his assistant, “Machine 2, increase by one level!”

A violent pain shot through Li Po’s brain, his pupils contracted instantly, and his chest heaved a few times.

“Machine 3, increase by two levels!”

As soon as Bian Lu spoke, the person on the bed suddenly reacted. Li Po’s body started to tremble violently, his back arched sharply. If it weren’t for the restraints holding his limbs in place, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Seeing this, Bian Lu finally let out a heavy sigh of relief. He exhaled and ordered, “Machine 2, increase by half a level!”

Almost simultaneously, a startled gasp escaped from Li Po’s throat. He suddenly struggled violently a few times, and without warning, his eyes snapped open.

Bian Lu had been watching Li Po closely. When he saw the Omega open his eyes, he immediately spoke, “All devices, return to normal frequency!”

Once the frequency was adjusted, Li Po finally stopped struggling. He lay on the hospital bed like a fish washed up on the beach, motionless. His light brown eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling, completely devoid of life.

“Awake?” Bian Lu grabbed a towel from the side and wiped the sweat off his forehead. This had really worn him out.

The Omega on the bed gave no response.

Bian Lu felt a headache coming on. He pulled up the equipment and performed a full-body scan on Li Po. Fortunately, all indicators had returned to normal this time. The treatment device was shut down, and the assistant cleaned up before leaving.

Just then, Bian Lu’s communicator rang. Exhausted, he only glanced at it and hastily replied, [Come find me in the second-floor operating room.]

The person on the other end was even more curt, not even replying.

After sending the message, Bian Lu looked up at Li Po. He still seemed out of it, as if he had just been dragged out of water, weak and fragile.

Although Bian Lu disliked patients who didn’t follow his instructions, seeing the fragile state of this delicate Omega, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry.

Li Po was still in the post-surgery recovery phase, and complications could arise at any time. As a responsible doctor, Bian Lu had to stay here and monitor him until he fully regained consciousness.

The next moment, the operating room door opened.

Jiang Yu had just stepped through the door when he caught the faint scent of roses. He paused mid-step and looked up.

Bian Lu waved him over, “You’re in the right place.”

As Jiang Yu approached, Bian Lu finally lifted his arm and handed him a box. “There are ten injections inside. That’s enough for ten uses.”

Jiang Yu responded with a slight nod, taking the case and turning to leave.

But just then, Bian Lu’s communicator rang again.

“What? Another injured patient brought in? Alright, I’ll head over now. You guys handle the bleeding for now.” Bian Lu hung up, immediately switching back to work mode. He glanced at Li Po, still a bit worried.

“Wait, Jiang Yu, don’t go just yet.”

“?”

Bian Lu’s eyes darted around, then he asked, “What time’s your mission?”

“Three hours from now.”

“Then can you watch over Li Po for me? He just had surgery and is still weak, so he needs someone by his side. I’ll be gone for about an hour. Until I get back, keep an eye on him, and if anything seems off, just press the white button by the bed. Thanks a lot!”

Bian Lu quickly said all of this and rushed out the door, not giving Jiang Yu a chance to refuse. He knew that if he didn’t, Jiang Yu would definitely reject him. After all, Jiang Yu hated being burdened by others.

“…”

Jiang Yu furrowed his brows and finally looked at the Omega lying on the bed.

In the next moment, he subtly averted his gaze.

Because of the surgery, Li Po’s wrists and ankles were bound tightly to the four corners of the bed by restraints, leaving him lying spread-eagle on the bed, his clothes disheveled. He hadn’t fully regained consciousness, and at that moment, his eyes were unfocused as they stared blankly at the ceiling, dazed.

He was still wearing Jiang Yu’s shirt, and most of the buttons had come undone during the earlier struggle, revealing his neck, damp with sweat. The rose-scented pheromones leaked from his glands, mixed with the faint smell of sweat, all rushing toward Jiang Yu’s nose, filling his every breath with the Omega’s scent.

Jiang Yu had originally intended to leave right away, but after glimpsing the Omega’s fragile state, he remained silent. And besides, he knew this Omega, remembered his name was Li Po.

Thinking of this, he gave up on the idea of leaving and casually found a spot to sit. He opened his star-brain and began browsing interstellar news.

…

Li Po drifted in and out of awareness for a long time. The sharp pain in his mind had faded significantly, but whenever he tried to think, the pain followed. His back felt sticky, as if his shirt had been soaked through, clinging uncomfortably to his skin.

As time passed, his vision gradually cleared. Li Po blinked a few times and suddenly realized his ankles hurt.

He tried moving them but couldn’t.

Then he tried moving his wrists, but still couldn’t.

Li Po was puzzled. He struggled to turn his head and saw a tall figure standing not far away. He stared for a long time before finally recognizing who it was.

“…Sir?”