Enigma

After Si Jinyan left, cold sweat had already seeped down Yao Di's back.

He stared in the direction Si Jinyan had gone, the panic in his eyes gradually replaced by gloom.

Just moments ago.

Si Jinyan's eyes had overlapped with the pair of strange, terrifying beast eyes in Yao Di's memory. As Si Jinyan pressed closer step by step, when he was only a foot away, the thought that Si Jinyan might want to kill him had even flashed through Yao Di's mind.

Lu Jiu immediately realized Si Jinyan had lost control. He ran over, pressed down on Si Jinyan's shoulder, and shouted his name, "Si Jinyan!?"

"Si Jinyan!!"

Si Jinyan's raised hand froze in midair. Yao Di had no idea what Si Jinyan intended to do, and his body instinctively retreated slightly.

Under Lu Jiu's sharp rebuke, the faint gold and black in Si Jinyan's eyes briefly alternated before his eyes finally returned to their calm black.

Si Jinyan lowered his gaze.

Anxious, Lu Jiu spread his fingers and reached out before Si Jinyan's eyes, trying to make him notice him. "Si Jinyan? Can you hear me?"

Si Jinyan raised his eyes and calmly said, "I heard you."

He pushed Lu Jiu's hand aside again and said blandly, "I'm fine."

Lu Jiu was clearly unconvinced. As Si Jinyan's attending physician, he knew better than anyone what Si Jinyan looked like when he lost control. "Then what was that just now?"

Si Jinyan did not answer. His hand, which had paused in midair, landed on Yao Di's shoulder, and the muscles beneath his palm reflexively tightened.

Seeing that Si Jinyan's eyes had returned to normal, Yao Di remained somewhat wary. But he also realized how utterly embarrassing he had looked just now, so he straightened his back slightly, trying to assume the dignity an emperor ought to have. "Si Jinyan, what do you want?"

Si Jinyan frowned faintly, as though suppressing something, and said in a low voice, "I never cared what you did before. I'm not you, and I have no interest in the things you care about."

Si Jinyan did not care about power or status, nor did he want to play childish political games with Yao Di anymore.

Si Jinyan said slowly, "But don't interfere in my affairs. Don't touch what's mine. There won't be a next time."

As he spoke, an invisible pheromone pressure spread outward from Si Jinyan. He had no intention of restraining it and was even deliberately releasing it, making the atmosphere increasingly oppressive.

When an alpha released pheromone pressure, it signified provocation and suppression, stirring up the combative instincts between alphas.

Yet Yao Di, along with Lu Jiu beside him, remained unmoved as alphas. More precisely, they could barely move.

Lu Jiu knew Si Jinyan was truly angry this time.

Back when they had studied Si Jinyan's body, they had discovered something unusual: Si Jinyan did not belong to any of the three secondary genders—alpha, beta, or omega. He existed outside them.

He did not fear alpha pheromones, was not affected by them, could not be provoked by alphas, and had no reaction whatsoever to the pheromones of omegas in heat. Like a beta, he could ignore all pheromones, yet his functions were normal—perhaps even superior to those of a top-tier alpha.

He could also release an extraordinarily unique pheromone pressure. At the time, every researcher had been affected by it and had felt fear toward that pheromone. Unless they deliberately resisted, anyone approaching Si Jinyan would find their limbs weak while their body stiffened until they could barely move.

While consulting rare cases and ancient texts, the researchers discovered that there had been similar cases abroad. Such people shared similar characteristics: they were unaffected by alphas, betas, and omegas, yet often stood above all three.

This type of person had been classified under a new research category, collectively known as enigma.

After leaving those words behind, Si Jinyan walked away. Worried about his condition, Lu Jiu followed and took his leave as well.

Yao Di stared in the direction Si Jinyan had left, gritting his teeth as his clenched fist smashed hard into the wooden desk with a loud bang.

Chi Li had also vaguely caught some of what Si Jinyan said afterward.

During the period of silence, Chi Li, standing outside the door, had no idea what had happened. He only saw Lu Jiu following closely behind Si Jinyan.

Lu Jiu insisted on giving Si Jinyan an examination, but Si Jinyan refused. Knowing he could not force him, Lu Jiu could only compromise. "Then I'll come find you later."

Si Jinyan left the banquet directly with Chi Li, leaving the crowd behind them whispering among themselves.

After returning, Si Jinyan did not mention a single word about that night. Chi Li had nothing to ask either and obediently followed Si Jinyan.

A few days later, the public discourse online was drowned out by the rising popularity of other news. After some more time, almost no one mentioned that incident anymore.

Life at the estate returned to peace. Unlike before, Chi Li was now free to go out. He tentatively told Si Jinyan that he wanted to leave the estate, and Si Jinyan simply told him to stay safe before approving it.

This made it easier for Chi Li to receive omega suppressant injections and report information. During this period, Chi Li went to the old district for another omega suppressant injection. Yet only a few days afterward, he entered the same severe heat as before.

Like last time, Chi Li's heat came fiercely and lasted for nearly half a month. After this episode, Chi Li concluded that Si Jinyan's influence might have caused the once-stable medication to develop certain side effects.

Fortunately, those side effects could be dealt with by stuffing him with candy. Si Jinyan had Lu Jiu examine Chi Li again, and the results were no different from last time.

One day several months later, Chi Li had just finished reporting some information and left the old district when he keenly sensed that someone was following him. He had gone out alone, without any bodyguards.

Chi Li instinctively felt that they were not Si Jinyan's people.

Soon, Chi Li realized there was more than one person following him. On the way back to Si Jinyan's estate, those people seemed to have prepared an ambush in advance, tailing him from neither too far nor too close.

Their purpose was still unclear. Chi Li pretended not to notice them as he contacted Si Jinyan, while also having the driver take another route in an attempt to shake them off.

The road leading to Si Jinyan's estate was sparsely populated to begin with, and at dusk it was even more deserted. At that moment, three cars openly closed in on the car Chi Li was in.

Through the window, Chi Li saw that the nearest car already had a gun trained on him. Yet he had nothing on him for self-defense.

The driver also noticed something was wrong. "Kid, do you think those cars are..."

Before the driver could finish, a bullet pierced the window and shot into the back seat.

The driver swore in terror and slammed on the brakes. Chi Li immediately said, "Don't stop!"

Chi Li had anticipated this bullet and successfully dodged it. It struck the seat cushion beside him, and the air filled with the smell of gunpowder and burning.

Another bullet came flying over. These people were no ordinary fighters. Dodging the first bullet could have been luck, but dodging the second could not be explained by luck alone.

Chi Li narrowly avoided it, and another scorched bullet hole appeared in the seat cushion.

Perhaps those people had noticed something. When they aimed at Chi Li again, they were slower than before.

Chi Li gritted his teeth and weighed his options for a moment. Falling into these people's hands meant greater uncertainty and risk.

After two seconds of thought, Chi Li grabbed the driver by the collar and said quickly, "Get down under the seat. Call the police. I'll shake them off."

The driver was only an ordinary person who drove for a living. He had never seen anything like this. Before he could recover from the fright, Chi Li had already tossed him to one side, trembling.

When Chi Li drove the car into a sharp turn, the driver slammed hard into the door. Only then did he seem to come back to his senses. Looking at Chi Li, who was driving with composure, he asked in a trembling, panicked voice, "W-what's going on? What do we do...?"

Chi Li watched the cars as they closed in. Clenching his back teeth, he could not help cursing internally. "Call the police!"

One car suddenly charged recklessly toward Chi Li in the driver's seat. As it drew near, its window rolled down, and a barrage of bullets swept straight at Chi Li.

Chi Li quickly ducked down to avoid them. Of the two bullets, one grazed Chi Li's face and the other grazed his shoulder. A bloody gash immediately appeared on his face, blood running down his cheek.

Chi Li had not been certain about the earlier bullets, but now his pupils trembled as he realized these people were after his life.

A figure flashed through Chi Li's mind.