The effect of the suppressant instantly dropped to zero.
When Shen Hui carried Yang Jiu and rushed into the hospital, Yang Jiu’s glands were already beginning to differentiate.
Professor Zhao took just one look and reached a verdict: “Omega.”
“No.” Shen Hui refused with absolute firmness: “Yang Jiu must never differentiate into an Omega.”
“There are laws stating that we cannot interfere with differentiation.”
Shen Hui looked at him coldly: “Do you think he is naturally differentiating into an Omega?”
Professor Zhao was at a loss for words. As early as when Yang Jiu was born, he had run genetic testing, and the probability of him being an Alpha was as high as ninety-five percent.
“Even so.” Professor Zhao wanted to struggle, but Shen Hui cut him off directly.
“If he differentiates into an Omega, I will kill him before he does.”
His tone was icy and devoid of any warmth, sounding entirely genuine.
All of Professor Zhao’s counterarguments were blocked right back down his throat. After a dead-silent standoff, he chose to yield.
“It is said that Catalyst Number 01, sealed away in the research institute, can forcefully alter the direction of differentiation, but the side effects are enormous.”
“Will it kill him?”
Professor Zhao was choked up: “That won’t happen, but there will be very obvious sequelae.”
Shen Hui cut him off straight away: “Whose hands is the drug in?”
“Aside from Young Master Chen, the backup clearance is with Lao Li.”
That was also the first time Professor Li had crossed paths with Shen Hui.
Bringing people along, Shen Hui charged straight into the laboratory and nabbed Professor Li right as he was attempting to pressure an intern into an unwritten rule. Dragged away by Shen Hui while completely bare-bottomed, Professor Li found the Tang-style broadsword that hadn’t been unsheathed in three years resting right against his neck.
“Hand over the drug, or I will kill you.”
In the end, Chen Shenzhi, who rushed over upon hearing the news, could only watch helplessly as the dose was pushed into Yang Jiu’s body.
It was the first time he flew into a rage against Shen Hui in front of everyone: “Do you have any idea what you are doing?”
“I am well aware.” Shen Hui’s blade shifted, the tip pointing straight at Chen Shenzhi’s throat.
“If you touch Yang Jiu one more time, I will kill you.”
That was entirely the look Shen Hui used to have when he was a blade, icy and sharp. The hilt was held entirely in his own hands, and now, that blade was aimed right at its master.
The thought that Shen Hui no longer belonged to him bit into his heart like a venomous snake, filling him with both fury and agony.
He once thought that blade would land in Yang Jiu’s hands, but in the end, no one got him. The blade fell into the filth beneath the abyss.
Just like this.
Chen Shenzhi sized up Shen Hui through the screen. He had originally thought the blade would rot and snap, but never expected it to be forged even more resilient and beautiful.
Like silk wrapping around a finger.
Chen Shenzhi rolled his Adam’s apple without a trace.
Desire is at its most delicious only after it has fermented through suppression and unrequited yearning. He meticulously savored the taste of the unattainable before speaking calmly.
“Shouldn’t you have thought of this when you injected him with Number 01?” Chen Shenzhi allowed himself to indulge in Shen Hui’s features through the screen: “No one understands the medicinal properties of Number 1 better than I do.”
Shen Hui cautiously scanned his surroundings: “I do not believe you.”
Chen Shenzhi nodded in agreement: “Because this soothing agent was originally prepared for you. When the surgery failed back then, I considered using Number 1 on you. Believe it or not, I have never thought of giving up on you.”
The way he spoke was identical to when he had pulled him away from the orphanage at age six.
The wealthy little young master back then had turned into an unprincipled evil ghost.
Watching his deeply affectionate expression, Shen Hui felt not a single ripple in his heart: “So what exactly do you want to achieve by bringing me here?” He immediately cut Chen Shenzhi off before the latter could speak: “Spare me the reminiscing. You never do anything without meaning.”
Chen Shenzhi was speechless for a moment before letting out a hearty, contented smile: “Ah-hui shares such a telepathic connection with me, making it even harder for me to let go.”
Shen Hui skipped over the sentence entirely: “It is Yang Jiu. You want to kill him.”
Chen Shenzhi made no attempt to hide it: “Over the past three years, he has pursued me relentlessly to cut off all my paths. I naturally have to send back some return gifts.”
No sooner had those words left his mouth than a tremendous crash echoed from the entrance, and the massive door cast from solid steel was battered inward, forming a giant indentation.
Raising his voice slightly, Chen Shenzhi issued an order to the young man by the door: “Stop him, or none of you need to return.”
In an instant, the young man entered a state of full battle readiness, staring fixedly at the iron door; at most, it would take another couple of blows for it to be forced open.
Even though he had undergone years of training and his various stats far exceeded ordinary people, he was still awed by this inhuman display of power.
Frowning, Shen Hui looked at the young man and the teetering iron door: “He will die.”
“This is the punishment for trying to kill you.” Chen Shenzhi didn’t care in the least; instead, he kindly reminded Shen Hui: “Instead of worrying about others, you’d better worry about yourself first. Yang Jiu’s mania is already on the verge of spinning out of control. Care to guess how long he can last under your pheromones?”
Right as those words finished, the iron door shattered with a deafening crash, and one of the fragments accurately smashed through Chen Shenzhi’s face on the phone screen.
The phone was destroyed amidst electric sparks and currents. Shen Hui raised his head in astonishment to look at Yang Jiu standing in the doorway.
A scorching, wildfire-like aura instantly flooded the entire space, firmly locking him down as if to declare ownership.
After three years apart, the moment their eyes met, the fierce hostility in Yang Jiu’s eyes vanished in a split second, turning blank and dazed before finally being swallowed up by the overwhelming joy of recovering something lost.
Disregarding everything else, he charged straight toward Shen Hui. However, the young man seized the opening of his distraction, dropped low, and swept his leg to trip him onto the ground. Moving with lightning speed, the youth wielded a short dagger, aiming straight for Yang Jiu’s back.
Reacting instantly, Yang Jiu rolled across the floor to dodge the youth’s attack.
The two exchanged blows for several rounds. Although the youth possessed rich combat techniques, he was completely unmatched by Yang Jiu in sheer strength. Within a few exchanges, Yang Jiu grabbed his ankle, swept him in a half-circle through the air, and smashed him against the wall. Stars danced in the youth’s vision, and just as he tried to counterattack, Yang Jiu pinned him against the wall by the throat.
Catching the scent of Shen Hui’s blood on him, Yang Jiu snarled: “You deserve to die.”
The blind rage of seeing his beloved injured instantly stimulated Yang Jiu’s hanging-by-a-thread sanity. The grip on the youth’s throat gradually tightened; the Omega used both hands to pry at his wrist to no avail, hearing the crunch of his cervical vertebrae compressing amidst the suffocation.
“Yang Jiu!” Seeing that Yang Jiu genuinely harbored intent to kill, Shen Hui immediately called out to stop him.
Hearing Shen Hui’s voice, Yang Jiu slowly reined his sanity back in. Suppressing the murder in his heart, he tossed the youth aside like a broken sack of grain, turned around, and strode rapidly toward Shen Hui.
He was so urgent he practically ran up to Shen Hui, needing to confirm that he was truly real rather than just another phantom that would vanish with every midnight dream.
Ever since Shen Hui left, every night he dreamed of the operating room swallowed by raging flames, with Shen Hui standing bloody in the center of the fire, demanding to know why he had marked him, why he hadn’t saved him.
Why he had harmed him.
And now, a living, breathing Shen Hui of flesh and blood stood right before him, so real it felt like a dream, making him almost afraid to reach out and touch him.
Shen Hui tilted his head back to look at the stunned Yang Jiu standing right in front of him. Knowing this confrontation was unavoidable this time, he let out a slight sigh: “Untie my ropes first, and we can discuss the rest once we get back.”
Yet Yang Jiu just stood there motionless in front of him. Puzzled, Shen Hui looked up at him.
Only to see Yang Jiu’s hands trembling as he gently stroked Shen Hui’s cheek as if sleepwalking: “He’s warm.”
Shen Hui snapped irritably: “Living people are naturally warm, hurry up and get up.”
The next second, he saw Yang Jiu lose all his strength, dropping directly onto both knees before Shen Hui. Wrapping his arms tightly around Shen Hui’s waist, Yang Jiu buried his face into Shen Hui’s chest and abdomen.
Like a child who had finally found home, with an overwhelming sea of grievances nowhere to vent, he could only confirm his sanctuary by holding onto this embrace.
“It really is you.” Yang Jiu softly inhaled the scent that belonged exclusively to Shen Hui, feeling like a glacier frozen for eternity, cold and empty, yet full of a silent, steadfast mountain.
Shen Hui was also startled by this behavior. In his memories, Yang Jiu was a fearless little wolf pup who even loved chasing thrills; when he first took over guardianship, the first time he was called to school was because the little brat had ganged up with others in a massive brawl.
Faced with Shen Hui’s questioning gaze back then, the boy’s eyes had been full of a craving for excitement: “They dared to snatch my things, every time they try I’ll beat them once.”
Even over the following six years, though he taught him patience and forbearance, whenever the little wolf pup wanted something, his eyes were always filled with absolute determination.
“I like you, can I kiss you?” Back then, Yang Jiu’s gaze had been burning and direct, full of possessiveness as he looked at him. Yet upon receiving a negative reply, he hadn’t been annoyed at all, saying with absolute certainty that one day he would surely kiss him.
Shen Hui had laughed and scolded him as a little brat, never taking it to heart because he knew that youthful love is the most passionate and sincere, yet also as fleeting as a passing epiphyte.
And from the time Yang Jiu confessed up until now, six years had already passed.
What does it feel like to be remembered by someone for so long? Shen Hui felt an indescribable ache in his heart, mixed with a touch of moving emotion.
Yet he had never been good at handling such direct affection. Swallowing down his complex mixture of feelings, he softened his tone slightly: “Why are you still acting like a child? Get up.”
Perhaps the soothing effect of Shen Hui’s pheromones had clicked into place; the terrifying, ferocious hostility brought on by Yang Jiu’s mania gradually dissipated, and his emotions steadily stabilized, yet he stubbornly buried his whole body in Shen Hui’s chest, refusing to come out.
“No, I’m afraid if I get up, you’ll vanish again.”
Outside the abandoned building, the faint sound of sirens drifted in, and someone downstairs seemed to be shouting his name.
Vaguely, it sounded like Liu Fenghua.
Subconsciously glancing toward the corner where the youth had passed out, Shen Hui found that the person had vanished at some point.
His gaze sharpening, he immediately called out to Yang Jiu: “Where is that kid from just now?”
Yang Jiu didn’t care much about what happened to that little Omega. Even though that little Omega was quite tough, anyone knocked out by his chokehold wouldn’t wake up without some resuscitation methods. However, Shen Hui’s words had to be obeyed.
So, reluctantly, he first raised his head to look at Shen Hui, about to tell him it didn’t matter. But right then, a loud bang rang out, followed by the sound of a bullet piercing through flesh and blood.
The bloody gauze from Shen Hui’s neck brushed against Yang Jiu’s face before drifting slowly downward.
Warm, fresh blood splattered all across his face.
At that moment, the entire world froze. All he saw was the look of shock and astonishment in Shen Hui’s eyes as the light slowly faded from them, his head drooping down step by step.
Yang Jiu couldn’t even hear his own voice: “Shen Hui?”
There was no response. Apart from the blinding blood on his neck, there was nothing left.
“I don’t believe it. This is a dream, right?” Slowly standing up, Yang Jiu followed the sound and spotted the desperate youth holding a gun.
The pitch-black muzzle of the gun reminded him that this was no dream.
In an instant, a wildfire-like aura swept through the entire building, the heatwave forcing the youth to back up several steps.
The effect of the suppressant instantly dropped to zero. With bloodshot eyes, Yang Jiu glared at the youth.
“I am going to kill you.”