Even though Li Po’s movements were subtle, Hong Mao, who was already extremely tense, still sensed something. He furrowed his brows and was just about to speak when, suddenly, his body stiffened.

That thing… it seemed like it was about to crawl out.

It had gorged itself on his blood, satisfied as it retracted its sharp mouthparts, with its belly swollen round. Sticky liquid gushed from its abdomen, mixing with the blood still fresh in the wound, forming more white granules. The granules squirmed slowly toward the depth of the wound, clustering together like a mass of insect eggs.

Hong Mao’s forehead had become their nest. The once smooth surface of his forehead was now uneven, bulging and sinking irregularly. One moment, a massive black tumor swelled up, and the next, it deflated quickly, like a horror movie scene where a creature drains all the blood and flesh from its victim. It was utterly grotesque.

The black, unidentified creature extended its scythe-like forelimb, hooking into another piece of Hong Mao’s skin, before struggling to pull its bloated body out, leaving the blood in the wound to its newly born “children.”

All the alphas who witnessed this took a sharp breath.

Their scalps tingled, eyes wide with shock, filled with disbelief and horror.

This alpha… had clearly been parasitized by a contaminant!

But in the history of S District, there had never been a case of a human being parasitized by a contaminant, let alone in a place hailed as the “Shield of the Galaxy.”

Even the battle-hardened, mentally strong alphas now felt a deep sense of danger rising within them. They stared at Hong Mao like facing a deadly enemy, their eyes filled with judgment as they looked at their former comrade who had now become their foe.

But Hong Mao no longer cared about anyone else’s gaze. His forehead itched unbearably, and he could feel something wriggling inside his flesh, slowly moving. Even though the creature was injecting anesthetic into his bloodstream, he could still sense its presence.

Sticky and terrifying.

In that instant, a deep fear wrapped around his heart, as if thousands of insects were gnawing at him. Goosebumps covered his entire body, and he no longer cared about the omega’s small movements. He just pressed the dagger harder against him, his voice harsh: “Move! Stop dawdling!”

But the trembling in his voice betrayed his current state of mind. Li Po lowered his gaze, hiding the faint ridicule in his eyes, and continued to walk slowly forward.

The surrounding alphas all avoided him as if he were a plague, trying their best to keep their distance.

Just as they were about to walk out of the alpha encirclement, Hong Mao suddenly spoke: “Stop.”

Li Po’s heart skipped a beat.

“Turn around, face them,” Hong Mao ordered without leaving any room for refusal.

“Using me as a shield?” Li Po chuckled lightly, asking with casual indifference.

Hong Mao’s forehead itched terribly, and his temples throbbed. He glanced at the alphas, and when he saw two figures at the center of the group, his legs trembled: “Shut up, if you don’t want to die, do as I say.”

Li Po narrowed his eyes slightly, but appeared obedient and followed his instructions.

Fifty meters, forty meters, thirty meters…

Hong Mao continued to back up toward the training ground’s gate, with the omega in tow. The closer they got to the gate, the brighter the light in Hong Mao’s eyes became.

Almost there. He was going to make it!

Suddenly, the omega in front of him stopped without warning.

Hong Mao panicked but tried to maintain a calm facade: “Why aren’t you moving? Do you want to die?”

Li Po turned slightly, but the cold dagger quickly pressed against his back again: “Didn’t I warn you not to try anything?”

“Move!” Hong Mao shouted in frustration.

But his threats were met with unexpected results. The omega took two slow steps forward, then stopped again.

“Do you think I won’t kill you?” Hong Mao was desperate, seeing the gate so close. He gasped heavily, his voice frantic.

“I don’t dare,” the omega suddenly said softly.

Hong Mao was confused: “Don’t dare what?”

Although he couldn’t see Li Po’s face, the fear in his voice didn’t seem fake. Hong Mao’s mind raced, and he quickly pieced things together: “Aren’t you the one with connections? Scared of offending them now? Where’s all that courage you had when you stabbed me?”

When the omega in front of him remained silent, Hong Mao grew even more anxious. He wanted to grab the omega by the neck and drag him along, but he didn’t dare.

S District had strict rules forbidding combat soldiers from physically engaging with omegas, fearing the exaggerated effects of omega pheromones. Even a simple touch could trigger an omega’s heat, causing any alpha nearby to lose control and instinctively mark the omega.

Hong Mao had never been around omegas, so he fully believed the brainwashing he had received in S District. Normally, he might have relished the idea, but not now. In his current state, it was already hard enough to stay rational. He couldn’t risk losing his life due to lust.

This was why he chose to threaten the omega with a dagger instead of directly kidnapping him.

Thinking of this, Hong Mao grew even more agitated. He stared at the gland covered by a blocker on the omega’s neck and coldly threatened: “Move! Or I’ll bite through your gland and have my way with you right in front of them, and we’ll go down together!”

As soon as he said this, he was pleased to see the omega’s shoulders tremble.

“It’s not that I don’t want to move,” Li Po said with difficulty. “It’s just… there’s someone outside…”

Hong Mao’s expression instantly froze.

His face went pale as he asked stiffly, “What do you mean?!”

“You can’t leave. They have weapons… You’ll die,” Li Po’s voice trembled as he spoke, but his expression remained unnervingly calm for the situation.

His head lowered, hiding his face from view. The alphas thought he was too terrified to move.

“Don’t lie to me! You know the consequences!” Hong Mao was genuinely scared now. He had thought S District wouldn’t go to such extremes with a combat soldier, but after hearing what Li Po said, he suddenly hesitated.

S District’s policy on contaminants had always been kill on sight, with no mercy given. Better to kill thousands than let one go. In the past, this had always applied to animals, but this time, it was a human.

Would they allow a human infected by a contaminant to live? The answer was obvious, No.

Realizing that even leaving meant certain death, Hong Mao was on the verge of breaking down.

At that moment, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his forehead. It felt like his brain was being scooped out and crushed, leaving Hong Mao seeing stars. He almost couldn’t stay upright.

After barely enduring the pain, Hong Mao suddenly realized something had changed in his body.

His limbs were gradually becoming numb and stiff. His abdomen was unexpectedly heating up, forming a small, inconspicuous bulge. The numbness in his forehead started to fade, and the sticky, nauseating discomfort vanished.

Realizing this, Hong Mao’s pupils shrank, his eyes widening in terror. He swallowed hard but suddenly stopped in his tracks—

His saliva had become thick and sticky, sliding down his throat uncomfortably, almost choking him.

He was frozen in disbelief.

S District combat soldiers had the instinct to eliminate contaminants deeply ingrained in them, and that instinct was rooted in fear.

Because they feared, they killed.

At this moment, Hong Mao had lost the ability to fight it, leaving only one thought in his mind: Escape!

Escape first, run to White Tower, use the omega to threaten them—White Tower’s people would surely save him!

“Move, or I’ll kill you right now!”

Li Po’s brow twitched, and he made a quick decision. He glanced briefly at the group of alphas, then slowly stepped back.

Finally, Hong Mao reached the training ground’s gate.

He touched the screen in ecstasy, pressing the “open” button several times until the gate began to crack open. Only then did he exhale in relief.

As the gate opened, he didn’t forget what the omega had said, so he quickly grabbed Li Po by the collar, pulling him in front of him—

Creak—

Sunlight streamed in from outside, and Hong Mao squinted involuntarily. But when he opened his eyes again, there were no armed soldiers waiting outside, just an empty open field.

His mind went blank, and before he could react, Hong Mao let go of Li Po and started to run.

Bang!

The bullet sliced through the air with a sharp hiss, reaching Hong Mao’s ears in an instant.

He froze, looking down in disbelief at the large bloodstain spreading across his chest, as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened.

His legs never even managed to take a step before they gave out beneath him, sending him crashing to the ground with a thud.

His eyes remained wide open, bulging with bloodshot veins, but his breathing had stopped…

But it wasn’t over.

Suddenly, the skin on his forehead began to bulge as countless wriggling white granules started devouring the still-warm, uncooled flesh.

The black creature was furious, extending its sharp mouthparts and driving a long spike straight into Hong Mao’s eyeball!

Li Po, who had accidentally witnessed the scene, instantly went pale and felt a strong urge to vomit.

Suddenly, the black creature retracted its jaws, its forelimbs releasing Hong Mao’s flesh as it crawled off his body completely.

Then, it headed straight toward Li Po!

Li Po’s hair stood on end.

Help!!!

The next moment, a scorching bullet shot from the distance, landing right at Li Po’s feet.

In just a moment, the contaminant in front of him was reduced to ash.

“…”

In his daze, Li Po realized that this scene seemed oddly familiar.

He turned his head to see the barrel of a dark gold handgun, and his mind suddenly calmed.

No, this time, it was different.

–

Jiang Yu holstered his gun and walked over to Li Po. He glanced at Hong Mao’s body, his face expressionless.

“Nice shot, Officer,” Li Po sincerely praised.

Jiang Yu glanced at him, his tone flat: “Aren’t you afraid?”

Li Po blinked, and almost immediately replied, “Of course.”

“But…” He frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then lifted his gaze. “I’m more afraid of dying myself.”

“Isn’t the officer afraid?”

Jiang Yu didn’t answer the question, simply saying, “You’ll need to come with me.”

Li Po’s eyes curved into a smile. “Alright, Officer.”