Luo Qingcheng had always believed that this world had cause and effect, and that retribution always followed.
Everyone was either walking the path of cause and effect or well on their way to retribution.
Mu Xiao had been jumping around just a few days prior, happily playing with a helicopter, only to completely play himself into an early grave. A concerned individual named Qiao Buyi suspected foul play and began investigating privately. Once finished, he unexpectedly bumped into Luo Qingcheng, who had been missing for some time, at the hospital.
Now, for the sake of their own survival, everyone attending the funeral unanimously chose to take the boat.
Having pulled an all-nighter, Luo Qingcheng felt weak all over as he hurriedly caught up to the departing grand vessel. He handed over his invitation, and after studying it for quite a while, the staff member said, “Number 44, a Beta.”
It turned out he had boarded the wrong ship; the ship behind them was the one he, a Beta, was supposed to be on.
This ship carried mostly Alphas and a very small number of Omegas. Dressed in high-end, fashionable attire, they looked like they were heading to a party. Luo Qingcheng, however, stood out completely in a black button-down shirt and suit trousers from head to toe. With his hair blown out naturally and hanging softly over his forehead, he looked like a pure, delicate, and exhausted college student who had just lost a loved one.
Logically speaking, he was merely a low-level employee in the internal security department of Qingtian Corporation, tasked with watching over security gear. From the perspective of the ABO worldview, the very fact that his Beta status and lowly position managed to secure an invitation was in itself a juicy piece of gossip.
It was too late to get off the boat. To avoid strange glances, Luo Qingcheng made his way down to the lower deck. Before he could even lie down, the sound of hurried footsteps and bustling noise right above his head made sleep completely impossible.
He had never gotten seasick on boats before, but now, tormented by the dual torture of intense drowsiness and seasickness, he figured that the number 44 really was unlucky. He just wanted to hurry up and reach Rose Island to claim his inheritance, and transfer this damn pregnancy symptom burden straight onto the tadpole’s father.
“Bang!” A young Alpha barged in, roughly dragging him up to the bow and throwing him right into the middle of a crowd.
Daylight made a watermelon knife gleam sharply, its blade pointed straight at seven or eight battered Alphas at the bow of the ship. The person holding the knife, however, was an Omega of average height—around one meter seven—yet dressed in opulent clothing.
Luo Qingcheng, who had almost stumbled, felt utterly bewildered. In the original book, navigating between several Alphas simultaneously was no problem for Luo Qingcheng, but for an ordinary college student like him, this was extremely difficult.
The Omega glanced down at the plainly dressed Beta and demanded sternly, “If you don’t find Tuanzi, all of you can jump into the sea and swim to Rose Island! What on earth made you drag a sleeping Beta over here?”
The Alpha who had dragged him over didn’t even blink or blush. “Young Master Wang, it was him who hid your Tuanzi.”
Unanimous, piercing gazes converged on the Beta. With his exhausted expression, dark circles under his eyes, and extremely poor spirits, this fearless, weary, and fragile-looking Beta somehow captivated everyone present.
Wait a minute, what on earth is a Tuanzi?
Young Master Wang glanced sideways, noticing the glowing, mesmerized looks the Alphas were casting at the Beta. Envy surged in the depths of his eyes as he suddenly pressed the tip of the knife against the Beta’s snow-white cheek. “This face makes people forget the law.”
Seeing Young Master Wang’s knife-wielding hand turn into a destroyer of flowers, the Alphas harbored intense anger in their eyes yet dared not speak a word.
It was common for Betas to become sacrificial pawns when A’s and O’s caused trouble. Seeing that the Omega’s hand holding the knife was still unstable, Luo Qingcheng instantly snapped to alertness, his brain working at lightning speed.
“Wait, Young Master Wang, right? I didn’t hide the so-called Tuanzi you’re talking about, but I can help you find it.”
“You must be scared out of your wits.” Young Master Wang’s facial features were well-proportioned—neither stunning nor ugly, but quite distinct among frail and petite Omegas. Standing straight-backed, he spoke with the self-righteousness of someone who had been thoroughly spoiled. “These guys are the strongest Alphas on the ship. You want to slap them in the face? Heh, fine, I’ll give you one chance. But the consequence of lying to me will be very miserable.”
“Swim to Rose Island.” Luo Qingcheng used his index finger to slowly push away the sharp watermelon knife, looking straight into the other person’s arrogant gaze. “Trust me. Give me one minute.”
The opposing Alphas watched in astonishment as the Omega slowly lowered the knife and smiled involuntarily. “I’ll give you three minutes.”
The defeated Alphas opened their eyes wide.
Luo Qingcheng turned his head to stare at the Alphas opposite him. “There’s no need for that. Just hand the person who framed me over to me to deal with.”
Young Master Wang glanced at the surrounding Alphas and nodded slightly.
Luo Qingcheng learned from Young Master Wang that Tuanzi was his favorite young cat, which had disappeared shortly after boarding the ship.
Only then did Luo Qingcheng walk into the cabin and say to the system, Let’s test the gear-shifting effect right now.
【System】: Are you sure?
Luo Qingcheng: Do I have any other choice?
【System】: Before every gear shift, you must extract future information. To find Tuanzi, you need to lock onto this ship. Based on the ship’s maximum length, you need to pay 300 milliliters of pheromones, plus 100 milliliters for one minute of gear shifting—a total of 400 milliliters.
Luo Qingcheng: Didn’t we collect 44,525 milliliters? Shift, shift, shift!
【System】: Take a deep breath and exhale it.
Luo Qingcheng: Is this the payment method?
【System】: It’s also called Child Mode.
Exhaling a breath, Luo Qingcheng realized the meaning of Child Mode. He blew a transparent, colorful bubble, just like the bubbles blown in childhood by mixing water with detergent. At the same time, inside the bubble, he saw a milk-white kitten the size of a fist curled up in a messy utility room.
The bubble floated in the void, and soon popped and disappeared. Luo Qingcheng walked through the cabins and quickly found Tuanzi.
The Omega was holding Tuanzi with overflowing affection, completely contrasting with his earlier aggressive behavior. Right now, he looked just as in need of protection as Tuanzi.
At this moment, Luo Qingcheng felt a tightness in his chest and dizziness. Having no heart to punish the Alphas who had framed him, he intended to return to his cabin to sleep. But the moment he lay down, Young Master Wang stood right in front of him, causing him to instantly spring back up.
Young Master Wang pressed his lips together. “Tuanzi ran away again.”
Speechless, Luo Qingcheng had no choice but to help him find it one more time. Once found, he advised Young Master Wang to tie Tuanzi up with a rope, guessing that the cat was probably seasick too.
Tuanzi was too small, and Young Master Wang couldn’t bear to do it, promising that he would take good care of it.
Finally lying down in peace, Luo Qingcheng felt a sourness rise in his stomach and wanted to vomit. He had to get up to find some water to drink. Stepping forward, he bumped into Young Master Wang. Seeing that his hands were completely empty, Luo Qingcheng instantly understood that Tuanzi was lost again.
How could such a tiny cat be so troublesome!
Luo Qingcheng helped him find Tuanzi yet again. After a brief conversation, Luo Qingcheng concluded why Tuanzi was acting so abnormally: it was afraid of Alphas.
Young Master Wang didn’t believe it. Resigned, Luo Qingcheng tried testing it out for him, and the result left Young Master Wang full of admiration.
Luo Qingcheng had no use for this kind of admiration. He loosened his tie, covered his mouth, and grabbed the ship’s railing.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
Luo Qingcheng vomited so violently that the world spun around him. Physiological tears spilled into the ocean as he fed his half-digested wontons to the fish in the sea.
Luo Qingcheng swore that he must win the inheritance and transfer these pregnancy symptoms away; otherwise, living like this was simply impossible.
Suddenly, a male voice speaking English came from behind him.
“Hello, idiot. You didn’t even know to take seasickness pills beforehand.”
Before him stood a smiling, mixed-race Alpha handing over a few white pills. Behind him stood a whole row of Alphas who, unable to find Tuanzi earlier, should have been jumping into the sea and swimming to Rose Island right now.
It was mighty generous of Luo Qingcheng to let them off the hook earlier and magnanimously open his eyes to look at them. Seeing the pills, he suddenly remembered the folic acid his doctor had prescribed him, pulled it out of his suit pocket, poured a few tablets into his palm, and right in front of the Alphaspopped them into his mouth, swallowing them down his throat like a real man.
Assuming Luo Qingcheng couldn’t understand English, the Alphas started discussing him openly right to his face.
“I heard he’s a male prostitute. I bet what he took wasn’t a seasickness pill. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys know what I mean.”
They burst into lewd, lustful laughter.
“He’s not bad-looking, what a pity he’s a Beta.”
“Definitely not as satisfying as an Omega, though.”
A group of young men leered right at him, laughing and egging each other on as their words grew increasingly vulgar.
Luo Qingcheng vomited until his stomach cramped; even taking a breath hurt his abdomen. Leaning his body against the railing, he offered a desolate, half-dead, light laugh, wiped his mouth clean, and said in raspy English, “Want to know why the Beta is smiling? Because… he sees a group of pigs trying to cozy up to humans.”
The atmosphere instantly froze. A moment later, the crowd reacted.
The tallest and most handsome Alpha among them twitched the corner of his mouth. “Beta, you’ve got some nerve. The fish in the sea are definitely going to love you. What do you guys think?”
The Alphas surrounded Luo Qingcheng, and another one chimed in with a suggestion: “This kind of looks is rare to see. How about we play with him, feed him to the fish, and then fish them back up so people can eat them?”
The mental image was too crazy and gruesome to dwell upon.
Watching the Alphas—who looked like towering mountains—rush forward to block out the sky, Luo Qingcheng felt the crushing urgency of impending death, his heart sinking in tandem with his aching stomach.
Pain and fear yielded to reason. “Pigs will always be pigs. Does anyone know why a Beta was invited to attend Mu Xiao’s funeral in the first place?”
That single question made them freeze in their tracks instantly. Exchanging glances, the Alpha in the floral shirt said, “That’s simple. Either you hooked up with Mu Xiao, or you hooked up with his personal assistant, or his lawyer, or his uncle. In short, hooking up with any one of them would allow you to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle beyond the imagination of an ordinary Beta.”
Luo Qingcheng smiled even lighter, a mocking laugh akin to the sea breeze whipping up the ocean waves. “So, if you really wanted to make a move on me, going back to shore would be the optimal timing. Besides, smart people at a time like this should be focusing on Mu Xiao’s inheritance, rather than the life or death of some ordinary Beta.”
The air froze for a second. The sea and the bottom of the ship met and mingled, their crisp sounds echoing across the vast sky.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
The group of Alphas stepped back like actors walking out of character upon hearing the word “cut.” Young Master Wang and several other Omegas also appeared from behind, all smiling and applauding him.
“What’s your name?” the mixed-race Alpha asked, flashing a sunny smile.
“Is my name important?”
“Well, it wasn’t important before, but it is now.”
“Why?”
“If you had begged us for mercy just now, you’d probably be thrown into the sea right about now.”
“Oh?”
Despite feeling utterly miserable physically, Luo Qingcheng’s mind raced. “So, the whole thing about Tuanzi going missing was an act too?”
Young Master Wang tilted his head. “Yeah, not bad acting, right?”
Luo Qingcheng gripped the railing tightly, sweeping his gaze across the people who had played him. “Why?”
The prominent and handsome Alpha spread his hands. “You’re a Beta, so getting put through a test to see if you’re qualified to step onto our ship is your honor.”
He had been played! He had wasted 1200 milliliters of pheromones for nothing!
If not for his physical condition, Luo Qingcheng really would have liked to collect all of their pheromones as compensation.
Still, sooner or later, he would pay them back. Number 44 truly was unlucky.
Anyone could tell the Beta was unhappy. The mixed-race Alpha tried to comfort him. “I’ll take you somewhere where you definitely won’t get seasick. Are you really here to fight for Mu Xiao’s inheritance?”
Luo Qingcheng prudently chose not to answer.
Despite such a serious topic, Luo Qingcheng noticed everyone laughing—smiling with even deeper, more disdainful contempt.
Insisting on walking by himself, Luo Qingcheng arrived at the place they mentioned, and what he saw before him was hard to believe.
It was a luxurious singles’ party, with psychedelic lights intersecting and flashing, and heart-pounding music blasting from the speakers.
Rational Alphas and Omegas quickly succumbed to the frantic dancing. Luo Qingcheng caught sight of a full-length mirror in the corner, reflecting a version of himself he hardly recognized, surrounded by a crowd acting like unchained monsters and demons.
Some of these monsters and demons offered Luo Qingcheng diluted salt water, some invited him to drink, and others asked him to join in the wild dancing. As the youths rioted in a frenzy, Luo Qingcheng feeling dizzy, groggy, and terrified that he too would get sucked into the distortion of the mirror turned around and walked out.
The people here were born with silver spoons in their mouths, backed by powerful forces. Even if they didn’t fight for Mu Xiao’s inheritance, they had endless wealth. Yet, they too had reasons compelling them to fight for it.
The race for the inheritance involved not only transmigrators trying to complete missions, but also ordinary people eager for wealth.
The mission had just become much more arduous. To survive, he had to defeat every single competitor.
Whether the collected pheromones would be enough for today’s battle had now become the biggest problem of all.