The atmosphere instantly solidified.

The air around them seemed to freeze, making Jin Mu’s pupils tremble. His heart, which had been pounding wildly, was doused with a bucket of ice water, extinguishing the tiny sparks that had been secretly ignited.

He looked at Li Po in disbelief, as if he couldn’t believe such sharp and forceful words had come from the mouth of a delicate and beautiful Omega.

“…What did you just say?”

Li Po frowned, his face expressionless as he glanced at Jin Mu. There wasn’t a hint of emotion in his light tea-colored eyes.

Jin Mu stared at him in a daze, his expression gradually becoming hazy. The Omega in front of him had a pure and beautiful appearance, easily evoking images of a rose carefully nurtured in a greenhouse. But Jin Mu hadn’t expected that this delicate rose would have thorns.

Gentle yet sharp, obedient yet flamboyant—these two seemingly contradictory traits coexisted harmoniously in this Omega. It was as if…he was born to be this way.

Jin Mu’s gaze was glued to Li Po, and that smoldering heat reignited, crashing wildly in his chest. Alphas always had a strong desire for conquest, especially when faced with someone who made their heart race.

“Li Po, say that again.” This time, the Alpha’s voice was tinged with heat.

“?”

Li Po frowned even deeper. He looked at the Alpha with an expression that said he was looking at an idiot.

“Don’t be mad at me. I’ll protect you from now on, okay? Just forgive me this time, alright?” Seeing Li Po’s cold stare, Jin Mu felt as though his heart had been soaked in vinegar—sour and bitter. Driven by some impulsive urge, he blurted out whatever came to his mind, his brain unable to control his mouth.

Li Po thought the Alpha was insane.

Not just insane—he seemed to have a masochistic tendency.

Li Po glanced at Jin Mu with a look of helplessness, then said nothing and simply walked around him, leaving.

The familiar scene played out once again, only this time the roles were reversed. The one left standing awkwardly in the wind was the Alpha.

It wasn’t until Li Po had already left that Jin Mu snapped back to reality. Recalling what he’d just said, the Alpha’s face instantly turned red all the way to his neck. In his twenty-something years of life, he’d never experienced such a moment of impulsive embarrassment, so his first instinct was to chase after him to explain.

However, just as he was about to take a step forward, he was blocked by a companion who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Jin Mu furrowed his thick brows. “Don’t block me. I need to find…” A name hovered on the tip of his tongue, but he suddenly choked. Those two words felt like they were burning his lips, refusing to come out, and finally disappeared into the Alpha’s stammering.

His companion folded his arms, glaring at him coldly. “Just a pretty face and you’re already so smitten? Jin Mu, when did you become so lust-driven?”

Jin Mu instinctively retorted, “It’s not…” It’s not just a pretty face, and it’s definitely not just about lust or being driven by desire.

“Not what?” His companion’s tone was icy. “Didn’t you look down on him at first? It’s only been a few days, and now you’re following him around like a dog, licking his boots. You think we haven’t noticed? We just haven’t bothered to say anything.”

“Those were misunderstandings…”

“Misunderstandings? My ass.” His companion let out two abrupt laughs. “Are you bewitched by him or something? Sure, we might have acted like we looked down on him, but in reality, don’t you know your place? In S District, you’re here to risk your life, while he’s here to enjoy luxury!”

With that, his companion gave him one last scathing look and walked away, leaving Jin Mu standing there, his face dark with frustration.

After a long while, he let out a deep breath, and the clarity returned to his eyes.

•

After leaving the cafeteria, Li Po wasn’t sure where to go. He thought for a moment and finally decided to head toward the training grounds.

He had already visited Training Grounds No. 1 and No. 2, but he had yet to see Training Ground No. 3. Even though he couldn’t train himself, it didn’t stop him from watching the excitement.

S District was huge, and Training Ground No. 3 was located near the outer edge. It took Li Po a long time to get there. Surprisingly, it was much quieter than he had imagined.

The vast facility was divided into countless independent spaces, some with green lights over the doors, while others had red lights. Li Po chose a room with a green light and was about to push the door open when someone tugged at the hem of his clothing from behind.

“?”

Li Po glanced back and was immediately surprised by what he saw.

In front of him stood a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Alpha, smiling warmly at him.

Most notably, Li Po recognized this Alpha—it was the same one he had seen watching from the sidelines at Training Ground No. 2 last time.

“Do you remember me?” The blonde, blue-eyed Alpha pulled Li Po aside a little and asked enthusiastically.

Of course, Li Po remembered. Just thinking about that strand of hair that had been yanked off made the back of his head throb.

Recalling this, Li Po nodded calmly at the Alpha. “I remember.”

The Alpha wasn’t satisfied. “Then what’s my name?”

Li Po: “…”

Crap, he forgot.

“I knew it…” The Alpha’s eyes showed a hint of hurt. “My name is Landon. Don’t forget next time.”

…The way he said it, it was like Li Po was some sort of heartless player who forgot people easily.

Li Po’s lips twitched slightly, and he gave a perfunctory nod.

Only then was Landon satisfied. He glanced at the room and asked curiously, “By the way, why were you going into that room?”

Li Po was puzzled. “What’s wrong? Am I not supposed to go in?”

“…” Landon fell silent, staring straight at Li Po with his piercing blue eyes. After a moment, he asked very seriously, “Do you really want to be marked?”

Li Po was taken aback. How did this conversation even lead to that?

Seeing Li Po’s surprised expression, Landon smiled slightly. “Come with me.”

In the center of Training Ground No. 3 was a giant screen, split into countless smaller screens, each showing different scenes. At first glance, it looked like a central control room.

Landon typed a number into the search bar on the screen. In the next moment, a small screen popped up in front of them.

In the room Li Po had nearly entered, there was an Alpha tied to a chair.

The Alpha’s hands and feet were bound to the chair, and the chair was firmly anchored to the ground. Without removing the restraints, the Alpha had no way of standing up.

What was even stranger was that next to the Alpha’s hand was a test tube-like object containing half a tube of light red liquid.

“What’s that?” Li Po pointed to the test tube and asked.

But Landon kept him in suspense. “It’s a secret. You’ll find out in a moment.”

“…”

Half a minute later, the door of the room closed tightly.

At almost the same moment, the armrests of the chair moved slightly. In the next instant, they transformed into mechanical arms, grabbing the test tube from the Alpha’s side.

The liquid inside the test tube was injected into the cone-shaped end of the mechanical arm. Then, from the tip of the cone, a long, thin needle suddenly extended. The needle was so long that it immediately pierced the Alpha’s arm.

“Ugh…”

Li Po winced instinctively. His habit of feeling pain for others flared up again.

It wasn’t his fault for reacting like this—the needle was much thicker than the ones usually seen in hospitals, and it was jabbed in without even knowing if it had hit a vein.

Sure enough, the moment the needle went in, Li Po caught a glimpse of blood welling up from the Alpha’s arm. But the Alpha acted as if nothing had happened and remained silent.

As if reading Li Po’s thoughts, Landon explained, “It doesn’t hurt. They’re used to it.”

Li Po lowered his gaze, saying nothing.

In the next instant, the Alpha restrained in the chair suddenly twitched in his abdomen. Soon after, a noticeable flush spread across his cheeks.

Li Po: …?

How ridiculous.

Just as Li Po was wondering if this Alpha had a masochistic tendency, the Alpha suddenly started struggling. This time, his struggle was much more intense than before. The leather restraints on his arms tightened, reddening his muscles, and the skin at his wrists turned blue.

A red flush spread across the Alpha’s skin, not just on his face but on every inch of skin exposed. The Alpha was clearly in agony, and as he struggled, his pupils dilated suddenly. In the next second, blood vessels appeared in his eyes, like red spider webs embedded in his eyeballs, making him look terrifying.

Time passed slowly, but the Alpha’s struggles didn’t stop. The skin on his wrists had been rubbed raw by the edges of the restraints, exposing the flesh underneath. Blood trickled down like a stream, flowing along his arm and soaking into the black fabric of his shirt.

It wasn’t until the blood was no longer visible that Li Po finally looked away. Glancing down inadvertently, his pupils trembled when he noticed something.

Crap, does this guy really not have a masochistic streak?!

How…how could he…?

Landon had been watching Li Po’s expression the entire time, and when he saw the Omega’s shocked look, he couldn’t help but smirk.

“Stop smirking, I can see it,” Li Po said with a wooden expression.

Landon stopped trying to hide it and casually ran his fingers through his long blond hair, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement. “You’re so scared. Was it really that shocking?”

Li Po was baffled. “He’s bleeding. How could he still…”

“How could he still get hard?” Landon helpfully completed the sentence for him.

Li Po pressed his lips together tightly and nodded.

“Because he’s in heat.” Landon smiled lightly, his tone casual.

Wait, heat?

Li Po’s light tea-colored eyes widened instantly.

He glanced at the Alpha in disbelief. The more he looked, the more absurd it seemed. There wasn’t even an Omega nearby—how could he possibly go into heat on his own? Was it because of that light red liquid?

Landon cleared things up for him. “The test tube contains artificial Omega pheromones.”

“…”

Ridiculous.

On the screen, the Alpha’s wrists were already bloody and mangled. His ankles were hidden by his black pants, but just imagining it gave a pretty clear picture of their condition.

The muscles in the Alpha’s legs were tightly constrained by the fabric, veins bulging on his forehead. His jaw was clenched so hard that the sharp contours of his lower face were fully visible.

Landon noticed that Li Po was staring at the screen without blinking and suddenly felt an odd sense of discomfort. He coughed lightly and said, “Actually, there’s a button on the armrest that releases the restraints.”

Li Po was startled and shifted his gaze back to Landon.

Landon hid the slight curve of his lips and spoke with a teasing tone. “Real Omega pheromones are much stronger than the artificial kind.”

“…”

“So, if I hadn’t stopped you, you might have already been devoured by now.”