Beast

Another omega was thrown out, and the door quickly shut behind them. Behind that tightly closed door was a beast in the midst of its susceptible period.

The doctor beside them frowned. "It looked like this batch of omegas would fail again. Not a single one could resonate with the Marshal's pheromones. Si Jinyan instinctively rejected them."

Pheromones at a terrifying concentration seeped through the slightly opened crack in the door. Just a trace was enough to leave an omega unable to move, their entire body weak—as if the weakest creature in the jungle had encountered a hungry king of the wild. One glance alone was enough for terror to pierce the heart.

The omega seemed to have been frightened to tears, their voice trembling. "No more, I'm not doing this anymore..."

The man in the white coat, holding a small light screen, appeared to hold the highest position here. He frowned. "Take them out. Next."

The people nearby were long accustomed to this. They escorted the dazed omega away, while the man turned to Chi Li. This was the last omega today. If this still failed, they could only inject the Marshal with an ultra-potent suppressant.

Chi Li glanced at the omega, his shoulders shrinking almost imperceptibly. A timid expression appeared on his face. Yet anyone who looked closely would notice that there was not the slightest fear in the little omega's eyes. He was even calmly surveying the people and surroundings from the corner of his eye.

It was hard to imagine that the Empire had built a private clinic specifically for Si Jinyan. When Chi Li had been brought in, he had secretly observed the place. It resembled a hidden research facility more than a clinic: pristine white interiors, medical staff in uniform white coats with unsmiling faces, all meticulously carrying out their duties at their respective posts.

Chi Li had been blindfolded on the way here and could not determine the exact coordinates of this place. But there had to be a reason it was so well concealed. He committed that fact to memory. On the way back, if he got the chance, he had to note down at least an approximate location.

While Chi Li was thinking, someone grabbed his shoulder. He reflexively wanted to attack, but immediately came back to himself. He looked up timidly at the man and asked in a soft voice, "W-what is it?"

The man in the white coat holding the small light screen, who appeared to be the highest-ranking person here, glanced at him. "Number 06. Cream-scented pheromones."

Chi Li nodded.

To the man, the youth before him was no different from the previous omegas. The only thing somewhat special about him was that he was prettier and more delicate than the others.

The man took another look at Chi Li's identity information. An omega from the West City slums, voluntarily enrolled in a medical clinical trial program. He was not surprised. Every year, many omegas volunteered, but most were of poor quality, with compatibility rates that did not even reach ten percent. Chi Li was one of the rare omegas whose compatibility had reached eighty percent.

"Go in."

Chi Li looked at the door, then nervously looked at the man again. Seeing that the man had nothing more to say, he gathered his courage and walked toward it. Before he reached the door, a staff member had already opened it a crack for him.

As Chi Li approached the doorway, he caught the scent of extremely potent pheromones. Perhaps because his body had undergone "omega modification," merely smelling a little of it made his legs start to weaken. At the same time, another discomfort rose within him, like the clash of two alpha pheromones.

The physical reaction caused by the pheromones made Chi Li's heart feel heavy and unsettled. Being forced into a susceptible period did not feel good.

But he was given no chance to hesitate. Someone shoved him hard into the room, and the door shut immediately behind him.

The room was pitch-black. Before his eyes could adjust to the sudden darkness, Chi Li noticed a vague shadow in the gloom. Si Jinyan was like a dangerous beast lying in wait.

"Get out!" The man's voice, heavy and suppressed, crashed into Chi Li's ears.

Chi Li failed to get back up. His calves went weak, and his entire body felt limp. He realized that his breathing had begun to grow unstable as well.

Damn it. Chi Li calmed himself. An omega's body really was more delicate.

Chi Li said timidly, "Sir, sir..."

The closer he got to the figure in the darkness, the harder it became for Chi Li to breathe. A fatal attraction even began to draw him in. Though he knew it was dangerous, he could not stop himself from approaching.

"I said get out!" Accompanied by a beastlike roar, the enormous black shadow in the darkness lunged at Chi Li, and his throat was abruptly clamped in a hand.

In the darkness, Chi Li gradually made out Si Jinyan's face. It was a flawlessly handsome face, identical to the portrait of his target—and even more handsome than the man in the photograph.

The hand around his throat tightened and tightened. Chi Li had not expected Si Jinyan to suddenly pull something like this. There was not the slightest movement outside the door. As he pried at that hand, he considered whether, if this continued, he should protect himself first and throw off this mad beast.

The force on his throat suddenly loosened. A flicker of surprise flashed through Si Jinyan's eyes. He released Chi Li, but braced his arms on either side of Chi Li's body, leaning toward his face like a primitive beast and taking a sniff.

Si Jinyan seemed to have suddenly calmed down. He asked a baffling question. "Are you an omega?"

Chi Li nodded cautiously.

Si Jinyan had never approved of this plan. After encountering the omegas brought in by numerous research institutes, he found the plan even more illusory, impossible to achieve. His illness was unprecedented in the Empire's medical history. Its symptoms did not match any known case of pheromone disorder.

He had long anticipated the consequences. As his susceptible periods grew increasingly severe and frequent, he would gradually lose his sanity and become a true beast with no reason left, knowing only how to attack. Or he would become an idiot under high-intensity suppressants, his bodily functions excessively suppressed until they necrotized.

Si Jinyan was the Empire's once-in-a-century "God of War." No one would allow him to fall, much less allow him to fall because of a minor ailment like a pheromone defect.

Si Jinyan suddenly pulled Chi Li into a tight embrace.

"Let me hold you for a while." Si Jinyan's voice was hoarse, like a traveler long lost in the desert finding his first mouthful of sweet rain.

The more he touched him, the more comfortable he felt. The faint pheromones drifting from this omega soothed the rage and agitation in his heart, making him unable to resist wanting more.

Chi Li also noticed Si Jinyan's sudden change.

Long before his identity as this "spy" had been confirmed, Chi Li had undergone a comprehensive pheromone examination. He was one of the few people in the royal family with cream-scented pheromones, and he had received military training since childhood, giving him a certain foundation in physical responsiveness, reconnaissance skills, and more.

Chi Li's pheromones were highly compatible with Si Jinyan's. Even the researchers, who had only meant to give it a try, were astonished by the result. Two alphas had actually achieved a compatibility rate of over eighty percent.

But Chi Li's status as an alpha was indeed troublesome. After several rounds of selection, they ultimately chose him. With current methods, disguising oneself as an omega was not unrealistic.

What followed was a long process of "omega modification"—rejection reactions, various clinical trials, counter-surveillance training, and so on.

Yet infiltrating the enemy Empire carried risks at every step. Chi Li understood that well.

When he keenly detected the change in Si Jinyan's attitude, Chi Li let out a slight breath of relief.

As an alpha, accepting another alpha like an omega would do was a psychological barrier few alphas could overcome. But Chi Li had long prepared himself. This was an extremely crucial step. He could not retreat, much less expose himself.

Chi Li slowly closed his eyes. His trembling arms did not seem out of place at this moment. He released his pheromones and responded to Si Jinyan.