Early the next morning, Li Po walked out of White Tower.

He really didn’t like the sharp smell of disinfectant inside White Tower. Every time he lay on one of its hospital beds, he felt as if he were lying inside a coffin, which was not a pleasant experience.

Since he had just recovered, Bian Lu had warned him not to do any intense activities or go to the training grounds, leaving Li Po with nothing to do but return to his dorm.

On his way back, he inevitably ran into a few Alpha.

Normally, whenever those Alpha saw him, they’d make crude remarks without bothering to hide it. Li Po had already prepared to ignore them as usual, but to his surprise, today they merely stared at him, their lips moving slightly as if they were saying something, but intentionally keeping it low enough so Li Po couldn’t hear.

Li Po didn’t care in the slightest. He didn’t even give them a glance, walking straight back to his dorm without breaking stride.

Behind him, two Alpha were whispering in hushed voices:

“Brain death, and they still managed to bring him back? This Omega is no joke.”

“Are you blind? Are you stupid? You believe that small trick?”

“What do you mean?”

“You forget? This Omega has connections. He’s backed by high-ranking officials from the human base. Do you really think they’d let something happen to him? This whole ‘brain death’ thing was just a staged act, a way to scare us Alphas, warning us not to provoke him.”

“Damn it, no wonder that Alpha got punished while this Omega came out scot-free. Turns out they were just playing us like fools.”

“Next time, use your brain. Someone could sell you off, and you’d still thank them!”

…

Back in his dorm, Li Po finally breathed in some fresh air.

He smiled, feeling in a good mood, and rummaged through his nightstand, pulling out a few packets of nutrient fluid.

Actually, there was a cafeteria in S District that served regular, decent-tasting food. The problem was it only opened at certain times. If Li Po wanted to eat there, he’d have to deal with a bunch of sweaty Alphas fresh out of training. He wasn’t particularly keen on becoming the subject of their ridicule.

He neatly arranged the packets on the table, his fingers lightly brushing over the cool bags. His movements gradually stiffened as he noticed the flavors: durian, dried tangerine peel, goji berry, fish mint…

Li Po clenched his fists. Right now, he just wanted to punch the person who came up with these bizarre flavor choices.

After struggling with it for a while, he gave up on picking a flavor and decided to head to the cafeteria in S District. There were more people there, which meant more information. Even though he hated that group of Alphas, it was still better than staying in the information void of his dorm.

Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the S District cafeteria.

To his surprise, it was much more orderly than he expected. Li Po thought he’d be walking into a chaotic scene with his nose overwhelmed by the stench of pheromones and sweat. But it was actually quite peaceful. While there were some scents in the air, most of them were just the aroma of food.

The cafeteria in S District was pretty high-tech, too. You didn’t need to serve yourself. All you had to do was scan at the serving window, and the system would automatically detect your taste preferences and dietary needs, preparing a meal based on your weight and gender.

Li Po had never seen anything like this before, and his eyes couldn’t help but show a hint of amazement. Since there weren’t many people, he quickly stepped up to the window and lined up his gaze with the small light screen.

Three seconds later, a mechanical voice chimed:

“Please take your tray. Be careful of the temperature to avoid burns.”

Li Po lowered his gaze expectantly, only to freeze in place the next moment.

In the huge tray lay a few pathetic strands of shredded potato, a few wilted pieces of cauliflower, some synthetic meat, and a massive heap of rice. The rice took up half the tray, and it seemed like it was about to spill over into the other half.

Li Po instantly wilted, just like the cauliflower.

He looked up at the screen, then, pressing his lips together, walked over to a table.

The cafeteria wasn’t exactly empty, but Li Po tried to find a corner seat. Even then, there were still two Alpha sitting diagonally across from him. Fortunately, they were too focused on their food to notice him.

With a grim face, Li Po picked up a strand of shredded potato and reluctantly stuffed it into his mouth. The next second, his brows furrowed. How could shredded potato taste this bad?

He lost his appetite and was about to throw the meal away. But just as he was about to stand up, the two Alpha across from him started talking.

The Alpha on the left suddenly slammed his chopsticks down on the table, shaking the entire room, including Li Po’s table. “What the hell is this food?! Who can get full on this crap? At least we used to get some meat. Now there’s nothing but a few leaves. Who do they think they’re fooling?!”

…Li Po paused in mid-motion.

The Alpha on the right, worried things might get out of hand, quickly tried to calm him down. “Relax, don’t get mad. You know how it is. Recently, the number of pollutants has almost doubled, and a lot of the human base’s grain stores were destroyed. If it weren’t for the stockpiles we had, you’d be living on nutrient fluids by now.”

“I’m just venting. We’ve got another mission in a couple of days. How am I supposed to do my job without any strength?” The Alpha scraped the bottom of his empty plate with his chopsticks, his voice filled with bitterness.

“Don’t even mention it. I’m stressed too. I have no idea how that guy pulls it off. He’s been on so many S-level missions, yet he comes back looking totally fine, even more energetic than us.”

“Why are you even comparing yourself to him? That guy’s got SS-level mental strength. It’s a whole different world for people like him.”

Li Po, who had been mechanically shoveling rice into his mouth, froze mid-bite.

Wait, what did he just hear? SS-level mental strength??

Who???

He perked up, trying to listen more carefully. But in the next second, the two Alpha stood up with their trays and left.

As they walked away, Li Po saw the reflection of two shiny empty plates through the glass wall.

“……”

In the end, Li Po ended up overstuffed. He had quite a big appetite, but the system had given him way too much food, most of it dense rice. Not wanting to waste any, he forced himself to finish it all, his cheeks bulging like a hamster’s.

…

As he was returning his tray, he suddenly bumped into a familiar face.

That person was tall, with striking bronze skin. Li Po didn’t have to try hard to recognize him.

Jin Mu saw Li Po first. The moment he registered that beautiful face, his whole body froze, and his eyes were locked onto him, unable to look away.

“What’s wrong?” Jin Mu’s companion, noticing something off, nudged him with his elbow.

“You go on ahead. Don’t worry about me,” Jin Mu quickly put down his tray and strode over to Li Po.

His companion, belatedly aware, glanced in the direction Jin Mu was headed. When he saw Li Po, he clicked his tongue meaningfully.

Li Po hadn’t planned to interact with Jin Mu. He only recognized him, but they weren’t close, and he didn’t want to waste time on small talk. But Jin Mu was blocking his way like an immovable wall, leaving Li Po no choice.

“What is it?” Li Po raised an eyebrow and asked.

Jin Mu stared at Li Po, unable to tear his gaze away. The last time they met had been in the holographic training arena, and somehow, a whole week had already passed since then.

“Do you know how I’ve spent this past week?” Jin Mu took a step closer, his voice low.

Li Po frowned, thinking, How you spent your week has nothing to do with me. But, remembering his persona, he swallowed the retort and simply stared at Jin Mu in silence.

Jin Mu’s heart melted under Li Po’s fox-like gaze. All the anxiety, regret, and guilt he’d felt over the past week transformed into an indescribable emotion, surging into his chest.

Ever since they dealt with Hong Mao and left the holographic training arena, Jin Mu had been consumed with fear. He knew Omegas were fragile, but he had secretly hoped that maybe Li Po was bold enough not to be scared by those pollutants. Even if he was, surely White Tower’s advanced medical technology could fix him.

But that slim hope turned to ashes when he heard the news of Li Po’s brain death.

From then on, Jin Mu had been overwhelmed with guilt. If he hadn’t been selfish, if he had stopped Li Po from the start, would things have turned out differently? If he had pulled Li Po out of the training arena earlier, would the consequences have been less severe?

But it was too late.

Jin Mu could only ask around, checking on Li Po’s condition in White Tower. Every time he asked someone, they’d look at him with a puzzled expression, as if wondering, Why are you so concerned about that Omega? But Jin Mu didn’t care. He’d just stiffen his face and repeat his carefully rehearsed lines, begging them to inform him if anything happened.

His extreme emotions only subsided after hearing that Li Po was fine. After that, Jin Mu had blocked out all news about Li Po, almost as if he was deliberately avoiding it. If it weren’t for today’s chance encounter, there was no way he would’ve impulsively approached him like this.

Looking at the Omega in front of him, even thinner than before, Jin Mu swallowed the words he had prepared. His lips moved several times, but all he could manage was a hoarse, “I’m sorry.”

Li Po looked puzzled. “Sorry for what?”

“I shouldn’t have let you do that simulation exercise. I should have stopped you earlier.” Jin Mu’s face paled as he spoke, but with his bronze skin, Li Po couldn’t tell.

“Oh,” Li Po replied flatly, “This had nothing to do with you. Don’t worry about it.”

Jin Mu’s heart clenched at Li Po’s cold response. In his memory, this Omega was usually calm and gentle, but now, his attitude bordered on indifference.

“How can I not worry? If I had stopped you, you wouldn’t have—”

Li Po cut him off. “That was my own choice.”

“But—”

“But what?” Li Po was getting annoyed and decided to drop the act.

He raised his head, his eyes suddenly sharp, “Do you really think you had the right to interfere with my decisions?”