Chapter Summaries

After being stranded in the wilderness, Chi Li was secretly escorted out and smuggled back to Loran, where he reunited with Qi Yan. He returned home exhausted and found that his injuries had healed, except for the redness and swelling on the back of his neck.

• Two days after returning to the cave, Chi Li used his communicator and heard a message telling him to wait at the entrance after sunset.
• A nearby villager led Chi Li out of the forest, explaining that a tall, masked man had paid him to guide Chi Li to safety.
• Two men escorted Chi Li through a smuggling route by spaceship and brought him safely back to Loran.
• Chi Li contacted his superior, Qi Yan, who came to collect him and urged him to get medical treatment.
• Chi Li refused an examination, went home after a year and a half away, and saw that only the redness and swelling on the back of his neck remained.

Chi Li resumed military work and missions but continued tracking Si Jinyan, while Qi Yan warned that Si Jinyan might come after him again. That night, Chi Li dreamed of Si Jinyan in a vivid nightmare that continued further than before, leaving him frightened when he woke.

• Chi Li returned to training recruits and accepting missions while deliberately following news about Si Jinyan.
• Qi Yan warned Chi Li that Si Jinyan was dangerous and might come looking for him again, and urged him to be careful.
• Chi Li told Qi Yan he accepted missions because he was bored, while Qi Yan encouraged him to talk if he was under pressure.
• Chi Li dreamed that Si Jinyan held him and spoke of how to keep him completely, while Chi Li struggled to escape.
• Chi Li woke from the dream drenched in cold sweat.

Chi Li connected Si Jinyan’s strange behavior to his absence from an Imperial election conference and arranged to meet Qi Yan. Meanwhile, Xu Zhong suspected Si Jinyan was tied to a long-buried humanoid weapon project, leaving Emperor Luo Yu shaken by the possibility that he was the presumed-dead son of Luo Jing.

• Chi Li woke from a recurring dream, read news about Si Jinyan’s absence from an election conference, and grew uneasy as he recalled what had happened between them.
• Chi Li arranged another meeting with Qi Yan.
• Xu Zhong told Qi Yan that he suspected the events surrounding the humanoid weapon project had not truly ended, then went with him to report to the Emperor.
• Xu Zhong reported that Si Jinyan might be Luo Jing’s only child, but Luo Yu insisted the child had been found dead.
• After Xu Zhong left, Luo Yu wondered whether he had failed to protect Luo Jing’s child as well.

Chi Li recalled his bond with Emperor Luo Yu before helping train elite soldiers, but his recurring fatigue and poor appetite culminated in a sharp stomach pain during practice. He dismissed the incident as stomach trouble and remained at the training ground.

• Chi Li visited Luo Yu, who asked him to recount his undercover mission, and Chi Li remembered how Luo Yu had become like family to him.
• Chi Li helped train five elite recruits in hand-to-hand combat, though he repeatedly lost focus.
• Ruan Ying became distracted while sparring with Chi Li and was quickly knocked down, then improved under Chi Li's instruction.
• When Ruan Ying's punch struck Chi Li's abdomen, Chi Li doubled over with a sharp, twisting pain.
• Chi Li reassured the frightened soldier and told an officer he was fine, calling it stomach trouble.

Chi Li agreed to impersonate a wealthy young man at an adulthood banquet so the mercenary corps could protect him from a threatened assassination. The next morning, he discovered his medical report said he was in the early stages of pregnancy, just as the mission was about to begin.

• Qi Yan took Chi Li to the hospital for examinations, but Chi Li left before the results were ready after Lang Bo called with a mission.
• Lang Bo explained that Chi Li would pose as an employer's younger son at an adulthood banquet while mercenaries guarded him against a possible assassin.
• Chi Li agreed to use a wheelchair and stay in a screened booth, then spent the evening drinking with the mercenary corps at their base.
• The next morning, Chi Li read his report, which indicated he might be in the early stages of pregnancy.
• Du Wei came to Chi Li's room and called him to breakfast before the team set out.

Chi Li guarded Shi Jiahua’s banquet while worrying over a test report and the possibility that Si Jinyan might appear. After returning to the bedroom to wait for an attack, Chi Li was seized by Si Jinyan, whose pheromones and scales revealed his identity.

• Bo Lang told Chi Li he had found encrypted files among Sheng Rui’s belongings and promised to give them to Chi Li after the mission.
• Chi Li recalled the troubling test report and decided to get retested after the mission.
• Chi Li and the mercenary corps guarded Shi Jiahua’s banquet while Chi Li searched the guests for a familiar figure.
• Du Wei escorted Chi Li back to the master bedroom, where Chi Li pretended to sleep as his teammates monitored the room.
• A faint sound came from the balcony, and Si Jinyan seized Chi Li before he could react.

Si Jinyan overpowered Chi Li in the dark while losing control, and threatened Chi Li’s companions to stop him from calling them in. Chi Li asked what Si Jinyan wanted as Du Wei continued checking on him from outside the door.

• Chi Li recognized Si Jinyan by his sandalwood pheromones as Si Jinyan restrained him on the bed.
• Chi Li tried to shoot Si Jinyan, but Si Jinyan seized his wrist and threw the gun away.
• Chi Li fought back and made enough noise to alert Du Wei and the others outside.
• When Du Wei knocked, Si Jinyan threatened to kill Chi Li’s companions if they entered.
• Chi Li held back their agreed signal and asked Si Jinyan what he wanted as Du Wei called to him again.

Si Jinyan held Chi Li captive and demanded that he return with him, while Chi Li realized Si Jinyan’s pheromones no longer caused rejection and suspected he had been marked. The chapter ended with Si Jinyan threatening to keep Chi Li from ever seeing Du Wei and the others again as his dangerous instincts stirred.

• Chi Li sent Du Wei away without using their prearranged code word, and Si Jinyan held him while suppressing his dangerous instincts.
• Chi Li realized he no longer felt pain from Si Jinyan’s pheromones, shoved him away, and punched him while demanding to know what he had done.
• Si Jinyan avoided answering and told Chi Li to come back with him if he wanted the truth, but Chi Li refused.
• Chi Li warned that Du Wei and the others would search for him, and Si Jinyan questioned how much Chi Li cared about them.
• Si Jinyan restrained Chi Li and vowed that Du Wei and the others would never find him and that Chi Li would not see them again.

Si Jinyan forced Chi Li into heat by releasing pheromones and revealed that he had already marked him. Chi Li struggled against Si Jinyan’s advances but felt his body and pheromones drawn into Si Jinyan’s.

• Si Jinyan loosened his hold on Chi Li and asked him to return, promising not to hurt anyone.
• Chi Li refused and tried to seize a nearby gun, but Si Jinyan caught his wrist and turned the muzzle toward Chi Li’s chest.
• Si Jinyan released heat pheromones, and Chi Li realized that his body was being forced into heat through a mark.
• Si Jinyan admitted that he had marked Chi Li and cornered him against the wall.
• Si Jinyan undid Chi Li’s clothes and intensified his desire with pheromones as Chi Li struggled and told him to stop.
• Si Jinyan seized Chi Li’s jaw and kissed him, while their pheromones became entangled.

Chi Li woke in Si Jinyan’s hidden room, chained to the bed and unable to escape. As Si Jinyan watched him and returned to the room, Geng Ji warned that keeping Chi Li close could worsen Si Jinyan’s unstable condition and lead to disastrous consequences.

• Chi Li woke in an unfamiliar room and discovered that Si Jinyan had chained his wrist and ankle to the wall, restricting him to the area around the bed.
• Si Jinyan watched Chi Li struggle against his chains through a hidden camera at a secret base.
• Geng Ji confronted Si Jinyan about locking Chi Li up and warned that his unstable condition could worsen through blood loss and dependence on Chi Li’s pheromones.
• Geng Ji recalled Lu Jiu’s warning that no omega could replace Chi Li as an inhibitor and that the two could become trapped in an increasingly dangerous cycle.
• Si Jinyan left the office, and after Chi Li failed to find a way to escape, Si Jinyan entered his room.

Chi Li remained captive under Si Jinyan’s control, refusing his attention until he ate in hopes of saving his strength to escape. When Si Jinyan restrained him again that night and crossed another boundary, Chi Li struck him, while Si Jinyan’s possessiveness and loss of control became clear.

• Si Jinyan brought Chi Li food and ointment, but Chi Li rejected his care and demanded to be untied.
• Si Jinyan released Chi Li’s wrist restraints, and Chi Li ate while planning to conserve his strength for another escape attempt.
• During the night, Chi Li found himself chained again and asked Si Jinyan to untie him so he could use the bathroom.
• Si Jinyan refused and told Chi Li to relieve himself where he was, prompting Chi Li to seize him by the throat.
• Si Jinyan pulled Chi Li close with the chain and wrapped him in his arms, revealing his fish tail and golden vertical pupils.
• Chi Li punched Si Jinyan and told him to stop, while Si Jinyan’s growing possessiveness and loss of control came to light.

Si Jinyan apologized to Chi Li for his behavior but refused to release him, admitting that he was losing control. He kept Chi Li captive through the night, his possessiveness growing as he watched him.

• Si Jinyan released Chi Li and kissed his injured hand in a gesture of submission, then apologized but insisted that he would not let Chi Li go.
• Si Jinyan briefly changed his eyes back to human black before they reverted to gold, and he admitted that he could no longer control himself.
• Si Jinyan undid Chi Li’s wrist restraints and carried him to the bathroom, then watched him despite Chi Li’s protests.
• Si Jinyan told Chi Li that he needed him and would let him go when the time came, while Chi Li resolved to rely on himself.
• Si Jinyan stayed in his fish-tailed form all night and wrapped his tail around Chi Li’s waist as his thoughts insisted that Chi Li was his.

Chi Li realized Si Jinyan’s physical condition was deteriorating and feared that an examination might expose his secret, while Si Jinyan became possessive and volatile. After Chi Li asked about Yuan Ru, Si Jinyan revealed that Yuan Ru had helped him escape and asked why Chi Li cared more about Yuan Ru than him; Lu Jiu’s plan to use Chi Li to stabilize Si Jinyan’s condition remained unresolved.

• Chi Li noticed the secluded villa and wondered why Geng Ji and Lu Jiu had come to see Si Jinyan.
• Lu Jiu agreed to examine Chi Li later, making Chi Li anxious that the test report might be real and discovered.
• Si Jinyan threatened to keep marking Chi Li, restrained him, and reacted with unstable pheromones.
• Chi Li asked what had happened to Yuan Ru, and Si Jinyan said Yuan Ru had helped Chi Li escape and had paid for it.
• Si Jinyan demanded to know why Chi Li worried about Yuan Ru rather than him, while scales and golden vertical pupils appeared.
• Lu Jiu had advised Si Jinyan to use Chi Li to stabilize his worsening condition, though the proposed sacrifices to Chi Li remained unspecified.

Si Jinyan confessed that he wanted Chi Li himself, not the soothing effect of his pheromones. Chi Li rejected his advances and condemned the mark and confinement, and Si Jinyan left him alone in the hall.

• Si Jinyan held Chi Li and told him his desire was not just because of pheromones.
• Chi Li remained wary, recalling Si Jinyan's dependence on his pheromones.
• Chi Li told Si Jinyan he was an alpha and could not accept being marked and locked up.
• Si Jinyan released Chi Li, said he understood, and left the hall.

Chi Li remained trapped in Si Jinyan’s villa while Si Jinyan avoided him, and he searched for a way to escape. A strange knocking led Chi Li to a locked storeroom, where he opened the door without noticing a pair of glowing eyes watching him from outside.

• After Si Jinyan left, Chi Li stayed in the villa and noticed Si Jinyan avoiding him.
• Over the next two days, Chi Li searched for a way out while an unfamiliar butler brought him meals and clothes.
• During a rainy night, Chi Li woke to urgent knocking and realized it seemed intended to draw his attention.
• Chi Li followed the sound to a tightly shut storeroom door at the easternmost corner of the villa.
• Chi Li opened the storeroom door as lightning flashed, unaware that sinister pale-yellow eyes were watching him from the mud outside.

Chi Li escaped through a broken window and was attacked by a monstrous Aberrant Form, but Si Jinyan arrived and killed it. After Lu Jiu treated Chi Li, he tried to test his blood for infection, and Chi Li resisted because he feared the results would reveal something he was hiding.

• Chi Li crawled through the broken window and encountered a malformed creature resembling Si Jinyan's Mermaid form.
• The creature chased Chi Li toward the forest and attacked him with a corrosive tongue, until Si Jinyan arrived and crushed its heart with his tail.
• Si Jinyan carried Chi Li back to bed and used an ancient language to cloud his consciousness; Chi Li later awoke and saw Si Jinyan still partly transformed.
• Lu Jiu treated Chi Li's corroded wounds and said the Aberrant Form may have developed self-awareness and wanted to devour him.
• Lu Jiu prepared to draw Chi Li's blood for an emergency test, but Chi Li refused, and Si Jinyan held his arm and urged him to cooperate.

After Si Jinyan rescued Chi Li from a Mutant Form, he tried to persuade him to undergo tests for infection. Chi Li eventually allowed Lu Jiu to collect samples, leaving Si Jinyan alone with him while the results were tested.

• Si Jinyan regretted leaving Chi Li alone after a Mutant Form attacked and corroded his skin.
• Si Jinyan explained that Lu Jiu needed to check Chi Li for infection, but Chi Li refused to be examined.
• Chi Li worried that the test results might reveal something he wanted to resolve on his own, and pretended to ignore Si Jinyan.
• Chi Li finally held out his arm, and Lu Jiu collected skin tissue and blood for testing.
• Lu Jiu left to run the tests, leaving Chi Li and Si Jinyan alone in the room.

Si Jinyan explained that the Aberrant Forms had been modified with his genes and suspected Yao Di was behind their creation, while he and Chi Li grew closer. After Lu Jiu confirmed Chi Li had no infection, he ran another test at the base and was baffled by the result.

• Si Jinyan told Chi Li that the Aberrant Forms were humans injected with a modified agent containing his genes, and that the attackers were failed specimens.
• Si Jinyan said they suspected Yao Di had orchestrated the experiments, then revealed that he was investigating his own identity and believed others had hidden things from him.
• Lu Jiu interrupted them with test results showing Chi Li had no infection, and Si Jinyan left to discuss the Mutant Forms at the base.
• Lu Jiu repeated the test using Chi Li's remaining blood, got the same result, and wondered aloud how an alpha could possibly produce it.

Lu Jiu told Si Jinyan that repeated tests indicated Chi Li was carrying Si Jinyan’s child, likely conceived during the month Si Jinyan lost control and completely marked him. Si Jinyan decided not to tell Chi Li yet and waited for Lu Jiu to investigate the risks to him.

• Lu Jiu showed Si Jinyan test results indicating Chi Li had been pregnant for about two months.
• Si Jinyan struggled to accept the result because Chi Li was an alpha, and Lu Jiu explained that Si Jinyan’s status as an Enigma might make it possible.
• Si Jinyan connected the likely conception to the month he disappeared and completely marked Chi Li.
• Si Jinyan told Lu Jiu not to tell Chi Li yet and asked whether carrying the child would endanger him.
• Lu Jiu said there was almost no data on the risks and promised to study the matter further.

Chi Li tried to understand Si Jinyan’s condition and the Empire’s experiments while adapting to their uneasy life together. Si Jinyan gradually gave Chi Li more freedom, but continued testing his boundaries as Chi Li grew reliant on his pheromones.

• Si Jinyan returned and told Chi Li he would respect his wishes, then shared his suspicions that the Emperor used the Humanoid Weapon Project to conceal the truth about Aberrant Forms.
• Si Jinyan’s pheromones helped Chi Li sleep, but Chi Li’s anxiety about the test report and his mark made him withdraw from Si Jinyan.
• At the base, Lu Jiu warned Si Jinyan that Chi Li was originally an alpha and might not accept the situation, while Si Jinyan remained silent.
• Si Jinyan gave Chi Li a Neural Computer that could not send messages outside, and Chi Li began releasing pheromones to soothe him.
• Si Jinyan kissed Chi Li until he struggled to breathe, then apologized; Chi Li warned him not to push his luck.