As the lid of the box was lifted, the rustling sound grew clearer, like scratching against his eardrums, making Li Po’s scalp tingle. Gripping the dagger tighter, Li Po suppressed his discomfort and leaned in to take a glance.

With just one look, his face changed dramatically.

The inner walls of the box were covered in countless dense webs, adorned with pale yellow gelatinous substances. Male and female spiders were frantically mating on them. Egg sacs laid by the female spiders were nestled on silk-made bedding. Many young spiders had already shed their skins and were struggling to crawl out of the sacs. Once they emerged, they eagerly climbed up the walls of the box, all rushing out.

Previously, the lid had kept them trapped inside the wooden box, but now, after Li Po pried it open with his dagger, they swarmed out like crazy. Li Po’s vision went dark, and he quickly withdrew his dagger, letting the lid fall back in place with a loud “bang!”

—These spiders weren’t contaminated, but how did they lay so many eggs in the box?

The scene didn’t seem like natural reproduction—it looked more like… artificial breeding.

Realizing this, Li Po felt a shock deep inside. This place was in the outskirts, with no other buildings around besides the factory. Who would go to such lengths to breed spiders here?

Even scarier, a few of the spiders had already been contaminated.

As Li Po frowned and pondered, he suddenly caught sight of Kingsley approaching from behind, his footsteps deliberately light. His greedy gaze slowly traced up from the omega’s slender waist to his neck, eventually settling on his gland.

His canine teeth itched badly, and he licked them with his tongue to ease the discomfort. His restless left hand slightly lifted, about to casually rest on the omega’s waist when the omega suddenly turned and looked straight at him:

“Mr. Kingsley, having itchy hands is not a good habit.”

The omega raised his eyebrow slightly, staring at him playfully, with unreadable emotions in his eyes. His black hair fell over his forehead, with a few strands partially covering his eyes, adding a touch of mystery and allure.

At that moment, Kingsley was completely captivated. He momentarily forgot to react, his outstretched hand frozen in mid-air, until the omega shot him a light glance, snapping him back to reality. He quickly retracted his hand, apologizing with an awkward smile.

“I’m used to hanging out with those alphas from S District, but this is my first time on a mission with an omega, so I’m a bit unused to it.” After pulling back his hand, Kingsley looked at the omega with an apologetic expression.

Li Po inwardly scoffed. If Kingsley didn’t have dark circles under his eyes and look so drained, he might have almost believed him.

“No problem,” Li Po responded dismissively, turning his gaze away.

Just as Kingsley opened his mouth, trying to continue chatting with the omega, a faint sound of footsteps suddenly came from outside the factory.

At the same time, the expressions of all four of them instantly grew tense.

Hou Ming was startled. “Someone’s coming?”

Kuang Feng seemed confused. “Seems like it.” He listened more carefully and added, “About three or four people.”

Kingsley’s face darkened immediately upon hearing this, and he walked a few steps toward the factory door. “How could that be? This place is so remote. Who else could possibly come here besides us?”

But the next moment, as he saw the scene outside, Kingsley fell silent.

Three men, dressed in the distinctive tactical gear of mercenaries, were walking toward them, armed to the teeth. The leader was holding a communicator, swearing about something, but it was too far for him to hear clearly.

But why were they here?

Mercenaries were an independent force, separate from the operatives of S District. They were either highly capable Betas or alphas who had been kicked out of S District. Either way, their combat skills were formidable.

Typically, mercenaries worked in the black market, casinos, or arenas, doing shady jobs for the rich in the upper districts. But why would they appear here, in this remote area, tens of thousands of kilometers from the human base?

Kingsley was utterly baffled, but without knowing their intentions, confronting them recklessly would be unwise. Moreover, the mercenaries were carrying heavy weapons, while the four of them had nothing—except for a pretty omega. If a fight broke out, they’d be at a serious disadvantage without any weapons.

Thinking of this, Kingsley whispered urgently, “Find a place to hide!”

The factory was divided into several workshops, each filled with experimental equipment and chemical machinery. As soon as Kingsley gave the order, the four of them quickly moved, finding hiding spots in different workshops.

Li Po, the least experienced, was left with a spot further from the factory entrance, using a large machine as cover. After hiding, Li Po glanced around. Kingsley and Hou Ming were closest to each other, in the best positions. Kuang Feng was closer to him, but if the mercenaries came over, Li Po would undoubtedly be the first one found.

In the blink of an eye, the three mercenaries entered the factory.

“I just want to blow that idiot’s brains out. He can’t even handle such a simple task, and now we have to clean up his mess.”

“Yeah, we should have finished this half a month ago…”

“Wait!”

Suddenly, the leading mercenary stopped in his tracks.

He slowly squatted down, and as his gaze landed on the corpse of a contaminated creature on the ground, his expression turned icy. “Someone’s been here.”

As soon as he spoke, the other two immediately became alert. They raised their rifles, scanning the surroundings while asking, “What’s going on?”

“No matter what, search the place, then blow up the factory.”

“Yes!”

At the same time, Hou Ming and Kingsley’s faces turned pale. They were the closest and heard everything clearly, quickly strategizing.

Blow up the factory? That wasn’t easy. To do so required a significant amount of explosives. If these mercenaries truly had the means to destroy the factory, who exactly were they?

Both Hou Ming and Kingsley shuddered at the thought.

This was supposed to be a low-level mission, so they hadn’t brought many weapons—just a handgun and a few weak grenades, far from enough to take on these well-armed mercenaries.

And based on what they overheard, it was clear these mercenaries wouldn’t let any intruders go. Even if they tried to explain, they’d be shot the moment they stood up.

Since a direct confrontation was out of the question, there was only one option left—run!

Hou Ming and Kingsley exchanged glances, and they could both see the same signal in each other’s eyes. Taking advantage of the fact that the mercenaries had their backs turned, Kingsley quickly tossed a grenade in the opposite direction and bolted toward the factory entrance!

Seconds later, the grenade exploded with a roar, sending a blast wave through the air. Thick white smoke rose from the fragments, obscuring the mercenaries’ vision.

They instinctively looked toward the source of the explosion—no one was there. Realizing they’d been tricked, they quickly glanced toward the factory entrance and spotted two figures darting out of sight.

“Someone’s running!”

The lead mercenary shouted, “Chase them! Capture them alive!”

“Yes, sir!”

Meanwhile, inside the factory, only Li Po and Kuang Feng were left.

As Hou Ming and Kingsley ran, Kuang Feng’s face stiffened in shock.

—Why didn’t they call him?!

But the best chance to escape had already passed. If he tried to run now, he’d undoubtedly become a moving target. Frustrated, Kuang Feng remained hidden, his leg muscles tensing, ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

The remaining mercenary, however, didn’t lower his guard just because two had escaped. He held his rifle steadily, scanning the remaining workshops like a vigilant hunter, not missing a single detail.

Soon, both Li Po and Kuang Feng could hear the sound of footsteps getting closer.

Li Po quickly considered his options. The current situation was extremely unfavorable for him—his position was more exposed than Kuang Feng’s, and his chances of escaping were lower. But even if the path ahead led to death, he couldn’t just sit and wait.

With that thought, he discreetly opened a poison pouch and slid the dagger back into his boot, then drew his handgun from his waist.

The poison in the pouch was a white powder that, once in contact with skin, would immediately penetrate and paralyze the body. It worked on both humans and contaminated creatures.

As the footsteps grew closer, Li Po’s expression turned cold. He gripped the poison pouch tightly, showing no trace of panic.

Just as Li Po thought the mercenary would walk toward him, the man suddenly changed direction and headed toward Kuang Feng’s hiding spot.

His instincts told him that was the best hiding place. If anyone was there, they’d be hiding in that spot.

Li Po had no idea what weapon Kuang Feng had, but whatever it was, he doubted Kuang Feng stood much of a chance. The mercenary was completely on edge. Even the slightest movement from Kuang Feng would trigger an immediate gunshot, without a second’s hesitation.

But at the same time, this was Li Po’s best chance to act.

Kuang Feng and Li Po shared the same thought, but as a trained operative, his survival instinct overpowered his fear. Gripping his gun tightly, he prepared for a final stand.

Of course, Kuang Feng didn’t expect the omega to help him. In fact, he thought, it would be good enough if the omega didn’t drag him down. The next second, he narrowed his eyes and watched the mercenary approach cautiously.

The mercenary took slow, heavy steps, his boots hitting the ground with a steady rhythm. As he got closer, he suddenly noticed a piece of black fabric sticking out from under a machine.

In that moment, a gleam of excitement flashed in his eyes. The mercenary smirked, pulling out a gleeful smile:

“Gotcha…”

Just as he was about to pull the trigger, fully focused on his target, a sharp, pungent smell hit his nose.

Alarm bells instantly rang in his head. His eyes widened, and he reflexively pressed the trigger, but his body suddenly froze—

His fingers had already lost feeling and couldn’t move.

At the same time, a gunstock slammed into the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious as he crumpled to the floor.

“Bang!”

The heavy body hit the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Kuang Feng, who had been hiding behind the machine, finally stood up shakily, staring in disbelief at what had just happened, frozen in place like a stunned puppet.

But the omega in front of him didn’t even spare him a glance. He simply lowered his gaze and muttered in slight annoyance:

“What do I do now? I’m supposed to be a model citizen, not someone who kills people.”