There were roughly three months left before the plot of His Majesty the Emperor’s Little Beta began.
The story opened with Nie Jinghe being admitted to Lexis Kingdom’s top Starhill University. To celebrate, he planned a dinner with friends.
But a jealous friend drugged him, intending to hand him over to an alpha thug smitten with Nie Jinghe for amusement. During this, the friend stepped away briefly, and Nie Jinghe was mistaken by a waiter for a “young master” working there, inadvertently sent to the bed of Aignatz, the young emperor of Lexis.
The two protagonists met, and the story unfolded, while the great villain Xiao Muyi began his ruthless, blade-wielding rampage from there.
The novel revealed that Nie Jinghe initially didn’t know Xiao Muyi—they’d never even met—yet Xiao Muyi’s hatred inexplicably focused entirely on him.
Thus, anything related to Nie Jinghe, Xiao Muyi had to interfere with.
But Nie Jinghe, the protagonist bottom, had an unstoppable protagonist aura, with countless admirers. Top Two, Top Three, and others were just the prominent ones; many nameless suitors lurked in every corner.
In the novel, Xiao Muyi had numerous chances to kill Nie Jinghe but didn’t, choosing instead to torment him relentlessly, prolonging the conflict until he faced a doomed end, nearly at war with the world.
Indeed, most villains died from their own recklessness.
To prevent this, Yin Sangyu, aside from praying for a miracle to max out Xiao Muyi’s redemption value automatically, had only one option: divert Xiao Muyi’s attention from Nie Jinghe, keeping him too busy for misdeeds.
But Xiao Muyi’s personality was deplorable. He rejected even an omega decisively, guarded against everything, nearly impregnable. Diverting his attention was no easy feat.
Unable to devise a suitable approach, Yin Sangyu’s darker impulses stirred. He asked the system, “What if I frame Xiao Muyi for a crime, exile him abroad to prison? I’ll personally guard him, ensuring he can’t do bad things.”
The system analyzed calmly: [You’d need to achieve at least three things.]
[First: Never let him know you imprisoned him.
Second: Erase his hatred for the protagonist bottom.
Third: Ensure you can redeem him while he’s confined.]
Yin Sangyu’s first reaction was, impossible, absolutely impossible.
Setting aside the first two, the last one—putting himself in Xiao Muyi’s shoes—if a powerful person treated him well while keeping him caged like a criminal, they were either toying with him or deranged.
This path was a dead end. He needed another way. Deep in thought, a sudden headache struck, familiar enough to make him hiss and frown, “What’s going on?”
System: [Host, the villain has done something bad again.]
Since his susceptibility period ended, Yin Sangyu hadn’t had headaches, thinking this flawed function was off. Apparently not. He said, “I’ve been cooperating to redeem the villain. Turn it off.”
The system replied: [Sorry, Host, this program is to prevent slacking. Until you reach 50% task progress, barring special circumstances, it can’t be fully disabled, only lowered.]
With the villain’s redemption value at 20 points, 50% was 500—ages away.
Ding—
The moment he spoke, after a ‘ding’, the headache eased considerably, though mild discomfort lingered.
System: [Set to lowest level. Pain reduced from level 10 to 2, duration from 24 hours to 1 hour.]
Feeling slightly better, Yin Sangyu asked irritably, “What did Xiao Muyi do now?”
System: [Sorry, Host, beyond a certain distance, the system can’t track the villain’s actions.]
“Then how did you know last time when Xiao Muyi targeted Shen Ruifeng?” Yin Sangyu asked, puzzled.
[Because Shen Ruifeng is a key novel character. His life value is within the system’s monitoring range, and any unexpected changes trigger alerts.]
Yin Sangyu’s expression turned thoughtful.
…
Knowing he was watched by an unknown alpha, Xiao Muyi minimized outings to avoid slip-ups. But with his appointment with “Doctor” approaching for omega suppressants, he had no choice but to head to the underground black market on time.
The underground black market had many entrances, scattered across the capital, hidden in unremarkable corners.
Xiao Muyi memorized every location. When entering, he’d pretend to shop, then randomly pick one.
This time, he chose an entrance in an ordinary tavern. After exchanging code words with the owner, a waiter led him to the back courtyard.
There, the waiter lifted a nondescript patch of turf, revealing a pitch-black staircase leading to the underground black market.
Xiao Muyi wore a large-hooded coat, its shadow covering most of his face, but for extra caution, he pulled out a pure black mask from his clothes and put it on before entering the passage.
Descending the slippery steps for over ten minutes, a light grew larger, and voices became clearer. Stepping off the final stair, the view opened, and he was in the underground black market.
His exit drew a few glances, but they quickly lost interest.
The underground black market had no natural light. Even with lamps, it was perpetually dim. Xiao Muyi liked this ambiance, so he didn’t rush to his destination, strolling leisurely as if shopping.
Passing an alley, he heard pained groans and gleeful roars. Usually, he’d pass without a glance, but this time, he spared a look.
The dark environment obscured details, showing only vague white shapes wriggling.
A voice echoed in his mind: “Hold onto kindness and hope, and good things will happen someday.”
Those were the naive omega’s words, but…
How could things like maggots bred from rotting flesh have a future?
Xiao Muyi looked away, dismissing the thought, leaving the alley behind.
In the underground world, countless shady figures hid—desperate outlaws and vicious fugitives, ruthless and reckless, yet all followed one unspoken rule. Get faster updates on g.com.
At the westernmost point of the underground black market lived a kindly-faced old man, his name and origins unknown, called “Doctor” by all.
Doctor was the one person in the underground black market none dared provoke. Everyone kept their distance, and no one lived near his home.
But at some point, a young man began visiting monthly without fail, staying long in Doctor’s house.
That young man was Xiao Muyi.
Standing before Doctor’s door, Xiao Muyi knocked three times and waited. About three minutes later, the door opened from within.
A creature half a man’s height, skinless, with sharp teeth and glossy black body, released the lock and stepped aside. Its throat, as if holding something, made hissing sounds, but closer listening revealed it said “please.”
Xiao Muyi ignored it, walking straight in, turning two familiar corners, and pushing open a left-side door to a laboratory. An old man in a white coat was adjusting precise instruments.
Hearing movement, he turned, smiling kindly at Xiao Muyi, “You’re here.”
“Mm.”
Xiao Muyi replied curtly, saying little, then sat in an experiment chair, habitually placing his hands on the armrests.
The black creature followed, gently securing Xiao Muyi’s body with the chair’s straps, then offering a soft gag to prevent him from biting his tongue in pain.
Xiao Muyi glanced at the creature. Its face was hollow, muscles exposed, eyes bulging terrifyingly, yet its gaze held boundless tenderness and care.
As he was about to bite the gag, Doctor said, “No experiments today. The method you suggested last time worked well. I’d like you to keep teaching them.”
“Are they misbehaving lately?” Xiao Muyi looked up.
Doctor seemed troubled, “Lately, they’ve been noisy day and night, keeping me awake.”
“Alright, I understand.”
The straps were undone. Clearly not his first time doing this for Doctor, Xiao Muyi rose without delay and walked out.
The black creature glanced at Doctor, then at Xiao Muyi’s departing figure, hesitatingly circling twice before following him.
It trailed closely, bulging eyes fixed on Xiao Muyi’s dangling hand, reaching out several times but retracting.
Soon, they reached the deepest part, where a heavy iron door stood tightly sealed. Despite top-notch soundproofing, roars and wails leaked through.
The black creature pushed the door, causing a piercing screech. The noises inside quieted slightly.
When the door fully opened and Xiao Muyi appeared, the clamor stopped, silence falling.
Stepping in, Xiao Muyi’s face was somber and bored, but his tone was gentle, saying softly, “I don’t like noise. Be quiet, alright?”
In the vast underground space, countless cages held various alien creatures, like biochemical monsters from movies.
Yet, hearing Xiao Muyi’s words, these monsters nodded, visibly fearful.