I Want to Sell Pheromones

"They're here. Who the hell is it? Damn it, rushing me like—"

The bald man had been cursing until he opened the door and saw who was standing outside. He instantly fell silent.

The bald man still had a crutch tucked beneath his arm, and the leg that had been broken last time was still wrapped in a thick cast. He looked rather miserable.

He squeezed out a fawning smile from his fleshy face and bowed as he said, "Hey, bro, why did you come up here?"

The bald man looked to be nearly forty at the very least. Calling him "bro" was purely a respectful title born from getting beaten into submission.

Li Mao crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes as he haughtily sized the man up.

"Who, who are you calling bro? Quit trying to get friendly. What, one leg being crippled makes being five foot three to five foot seven too bumpy, so you, you want both legs broken and to rest in bed for a while? Huh? Talk!!"

Li Mao's shout made the bald man shudder.

He hurriedly bent even lower and negotiated in a gentle tone. "Don't get angry, bro. We're neighbors, after all. Like they say, distant relatives aren't as good as close neighbors, right? Last time was my fault. I didn't take the kid's college entrance exams into consideration. But they're over now, aren't they? We need to live our normal lives too, right? Besides, it's not even noon yet. This doesn't count as disturbing the neighbors, does it?"

Li Mao gave two cold chuckles.

He was fairly satisfied with the bald man's humble attitude this time, but the man's mistake was having bad luck—he had caught Brother Mao in a foul mood.

"Whether it disturbs the neighbors depends on the neighbors, doesn't it? Little brother?"

Being called "little brother" by a blond punk so much younger than himself made the bald man's expression nearly crumble.

But there was nothing he could do. In this neighborhood, whoever had the harder fists had the final say...

Last time, he had seen that the young man who came to his door was pretty and well-built. Though he looked a little rough around the edges, he hardly seemed vicious. The bald man had assumed he was some male escort from a nearby bar.

He had not expected the guy to break one of his legs right off the bat.

Afterward, he had truly refused to accept it and wanted revenge. Only after asking around did he learn that this man was a well-known enforcer in the area.

More importantly, Li Mao was not only good at fighting, he had no morals or principles. His methods were exceptionally dirty and vicious, and as long as he was paid, he would do any job.

There was a saying in the circles of South Willow City: offending Li Mao from the Golden Rose Bar was like getting a piece of gum stuck to the sole of your shoe that could never be scraped off.

Whether you later retired from the underworld or turned over a new leaf, he would appear right when you were at your proudest. He would drag out your past in the most humiliating way possible, ruin everything you had worked for, and leave you doomed to rot with him in these unfinished buildings where hope would never be found.

Put simply, Li Mao was the sort of person who would play recordings and photographs of all the undying vows you had made with your ex at your wedding.

Maybe you would not even know when or where he had gotten some of those photos, but he had that kind of ability.

Of course, this nonviolent method only applied to people Li Mao could not afford to provoke.

He could fight. If someone rubbed him the wrong way, he would beat them until they could no longer care for themselves.

But two fists could not beat four hands. When facing people who came looking for trouble in groups, he usually used this method first.

Li Mao's claim to fame had been the time when a self-made rising star in the business world had dated the mayor of Willow City's daughter for years before they finally got married.

But on the day of their wedding, the giant screen at the venue repeatedly played evidence of both sides cheating, turning it into the biggest joke in the entire city.

The reason was that, back when the groom had still been a street punk, he had clashed with Li Mao. Later, the mayor's daughter, who was still dating the groom at the time, found someone to settle it.

Unable to vent his anger, Li Mao had learned by chance years later that the two were engaged. He infiltrated their wedding planning company and worked as a temporary stagehand for three months, then successfully displayed all the dirt he had gathered before every powerful figure in Willow City.

What youthful recklessness?

If you had acted tough in front of Li Mao, you had to pay the price.

That was why almost everyone who heard that the person who beat them up was that pretty, golden-haired little stutterer kept far away.

A few longtime residents who were on decent terms with the bald man had even kindly explained why Li Mao was such a troublesome bad apple.

Naturally, the bald man did not want to form any permanent grudge with someone like Li Mao. He restrained himself and said, "Bro, just this once. The guests are already here, and we're discussing business. It wouldn't be right to chase them out. At noon, I'll take them out to eat."

Li Mao went, "Oh?" His eyes shifted as he asked, "What business are you discussing? Shouldn't you let your big brother in on anything that makes money?"

Without waiting for an answer, he swaggered forward, shoved aside the one-legged bald man blocking the doorway, and sauntered into the room.

The moment he entered, Li Mao smelled a chaotic mass of Alpha scents rushing straight up his nose.

He nearly dry-heaved again.

With so many Alphas gathered in the house, were they waiting to be slaughtered for New Year's?

And with this many Alphas together, surely a few would end up dead or crippled before long. If their drain clogged tonight, it would definitely be because of body parts from upstairs.

He Che was a Beta. Though he could only smell the tobacco, alcohol, and sweat stench in the room, he suffered no less than Li Mao.

Li Mao noticed He Che's disgust toward the air inside. He waved a hand and said to him, "You, you go back first. I'll talk to my little brother for a while."

"I'll stay with you?" He Che was still somewhat worried.

Li Mao impatiently made a few annoyed sounds and urged, "If something, something happens to me, can't you hear it, hear it clearly from downstairs? Hurry up! Adults are talking business. Kids, get lost!"

He Che thought about it, but in the end, he left while looking back every few steps.

Li Mao never let him hear anything involving making money. He said there was a huge difference between not knowing and covering for someone.

Seeing that the mild-tempered one had left, the bald man feared Li Mao would go crazy and ruin the business he had just secured. He quickly explained in a low voice, "Easy, easy, bro. If I may ask, are you an Alpha?"

The bald man was also a Beta. He could not smell who was an Alpha and who was an Omega, so he could only confirm it with the person himself.

Li Mao was somewhat confused. "Y-yeah? What about it?"

The moment the bald man heard that Li Mao was an Alpha, he perked up. He hurriedly explained, "A private hospital specializing in Omega care recently opened in Willow City. They're short on Alpha pheromones, so they're buying them at a high price. Three thousand per vial. Bro, do you want to make some money?"

"Three thousand?" Li Mao looked slightly surprised.

How was that a thousand more than sneaking into someone's room and drugging them?

Then what had he been busy with last night?

If he sold pheromones every day, buying a house would be just around the corner, wouldn't it?

The bald man seemed to see what Li Mao was thinking and explained with a smile, "An Alpha can only have a little over one extra vial drawn out, and after having pheromones extracted, everyone experiences varying degrees of side effects. You have to sign a liability waiver for all of it. You could say it's making money with your life on the line."

Most hospital pheromones were extracted from prisoners or donated by patients' families. A hospital specifically for Omegas had a much greater demand for Alpha pheromones, so it could only pay a high price and find people who valued money more than their lives to donate voluntarily.

Li Mao nodded with a grave expression.

The next second, he held out his hand and said, "Give me the contact information. I want to sell."

If it was limited to one vial, buying a house by selling pheromones would be difficult...

But selling one vial to earn enough for removing his mark was still pretty good.