“You guys.”
Was it a coincidence? Qiu Danqiu’s head was forced down, and her mind was thrown into utter chaos by the Omega’s words. Yet, she found herself completely unable to decipher the true meaning behind the statement.
Watching Lin Wanshuang render the other woman speechless with just a few short sentences, Ming Jiao felt her heart begin to race as if injected with a stimulant.
She had to admit that at this very moment, the absolute confidence and aura of control radiating from Lin Wanshuang was enough to make anyone’s blood pump.
The more deeply she interacted with Lin Wanshuang, the more profoundly Ming Jiao realized one thing. Lin Wanshuang was a thoroughly charismatic person.
Her charm had nothing to do with gender, it stemmed purely from who she was.
Ming Jiao suddenly felt she didn’t need a quiet, late-night hour to ponder the anomalies in her own behavior and emotions anymore.
The answer was simple: she had fallen for Lin Wanshuang.
It was just like the saying goes, falling for Lin Wanshuang was only natural, as simple as breathing.
While Ming Jiao was experiencing the poetic stirrings of a young girl’s heart, Lin Wanshuang was not done with Qiu Danqiu yet.
However, the felon seemed to understand the wisdom of “the more you say, the more errors you make.” Reversing her previous casual, rogue like attitude, she darkened her face and remained tight-lipped. She only glared at Lin Wanshuang sinisterly whenever she was subjected to her rough handling.
Lin Wanshuang didn’t tolerate it at all. The second time the woman glared at her, she said bluntly, “If you don’t know how to use your eyes, I can remove them for you and donate them to someone in need.”
As she spoke, she picked up a scalpel from the adjacent tray.
Qiu Danqiu sheepishly withdrew her gaze and became completely compliant.
Seeing this, Lin Wanshuang let out a soft laugh. “This scalpel is a common No. 3 handle with a No. 10 blade. The most prevalent method for corneal transplants nowadays is femtosecond laser, this isn’t used at all.”
“Stupid, cowardly, and loose-lipped, what exactly makes you so worthwhile that your employer went to such great lengths to deliver you to me? Are you relying solely on those pheromones of yours that double as a biological weapon?”
“The people of the Sang family really have no brains.”
As her words fell, out of the sight of the other two, Qiu Danqiu’s expression completely froze, and her pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks.
She really did figure it out!
Qiu Danqiu’s locked hands instinctively clenched into fists. Then, she heard Lin Wanshuang’s calm voice from behind her again.
“Look at you, you’ve added another flaw. Being so easily rattled, aren’t you afraid the Sang family will abandon you?”
Qiu Danqiu was somewhat famous in her line of work and had encountered many cunning targets, but she had never met anyone like Lin Wanshuang, who excelled so thoroughly at tormenting and dismantling a person psychologically.
She knew she couldn’t let herself be led by the nose by this Omega. Unclenched her fists slowly, she forced her voice to sound calm.
“Little sweet O, they say Omegas are prone to delusions. I didn’t believe it before, but looking at it now, it’s absolutely true. You’ve said so much, yet I don’t understand a single word,” Qiu Danqiu sneered.
Lin Wanshuang didn’t care in the slightest. Instead, she released her grip on the woman’s head, walked to the tray, and took out a syringe and medication.
“If acting stubborn is the best coping mechanism you could come up with after thinking for so long, then I suggest you save your breath. I really can’t be bothered to provide remedial education.”
Just then, Yu Xiu and Dr. Hu arrived, pushing a piece of medical equipment. Catching sight of the felon’s expression of suppressed fury, Dr. Hu was quite surprised. “Director Lin, have you talked to her? She looks completely different from yesterday…”
Lin Wanshuang harbored no ill will toward Dr. Hu and replied casually, “We chatted a bit, but she didn’t seem to enjoy talking to me very much.”
Dr. Hu was instantly filled with awe, his expression shifting. “Director Lin is indeed remarkable.”
Ming Jiao had stepped into a corner earlier to avoid disrupting their work. Hearing Lin Wanshuang’s modest remark, she couldn’t hold back and let out a soft laugh.
Her laugh was very quiet, but Qiu Danqiu was a B-rank Alpha after all. Though her pheromones were suppressed, an Alpha’s heightened five senses were innate.
And not only did Qiu Danqiu hear it, but Lin Wanshuang did too. Knowing Ming Jiao’s laughter held no malice, she still instinctively cast a mockingly furious glare at her.
Ming Jiao quickly pleaded for mercy silently, clasping her hands together to bow to her before mimicking a zipper motion across her lips.
Their brief, seconds long interaction did not escape Qiu Danqiu’s eyes. However, as the muscle relaxant Lin Wanshuang injected took effect in her body, her thoughts were gradually overwhelmed by drowsiness.
In the final second before her eyes closed, she saw Lin Wanshuang holding an empty syringe, standing calmly before her, nodding with satisfaction.
“Yes, I really do prefer test subjects who can’t speak.”
Standing beside her, Yu Xiu hesitated for a few seconds before asking, “Director Lin, aren’t you going to question her about the AO differentiation?”
Previously, they hadn’t dared to forcibly inject her with muscle relaxants for sampling because they feared she would guard the secret to the grave upon waking up. That was why they had waited to report to Lin Wanshuang before taking action.
Yet now, it seemed Lin Wanshuang had no intention of asking at all.
Lin Wanshuang shook her head. “Don’t worry, she knows nothing.” After all, if she were the employer, she wouldn’t share secrets with such a brainless accessory to a biological weapon.
Claiming to have a secret was likely just a tactic to lure Lin Wanshuang into meeting her.
Yu Xiu possessed a near absolute obedience toward this young but highly capable leader. Since the Director had made a decision, there was no need for her to speak further.
Thus, the sampling of the felon began. A needle biopsy of the gland tissue and a pheromone sampling were standard procedures for every AO. Ming Jiao was all too familiar with them, and the process even looked easier than when Ming Jiao had been tested.
In reality, it wasn’t. The hardest part of sampling Qiu Danqiu had not yet arrived.
If Lin Wanshuang had a choice, she would rather sample a hundred Ming Jiao’s than a single Qiu Danqiu.
“Get ready,” Lin Wanshuang’s voice carried through the protective mask into everyone’s ears.
Yu Xiu and Dr. Hu looked as if they were facing a formidable enemy. Looking at each other, they nodded slightly to Lin Wanshuang.
The titan arum pheromone sampling commenced.
The moment the pheromones leaked out, the expressions of all four people turned extremely unsightly. The protective masks could not completely block the titan arum scent of Qiu Danqiu’s pheromones.
The putrid, rancid smell of rotting fish and shrimp fermenting in an airtight room during the hottest days of summer nearly drowned them entirely.
Dr. Hu was the first to lose his composure. Hurriedly putting down what he was holding, he fled the area as if running for his life.
Next, Yu Xiu’s hand holding the instrument began to tremble. Lin Wanshuang bit her lip and coldly spat out two words: “Get out.”
Yu Xiu immediately left as if granted a divine amnesty.
In an instant, only Ming Jiao, who was frowning in the corner, and Lin Wanshuang, who was struggling alone, were left in the room.
Lin Wanshuang was not one to make things unnecessarily hard on herself. Seeing that Ming Jiao could still endure it and was currently idle, she spoke up directly to ask for assistance. “Come over and help.”
During practical drills back at school, Ming Jiao had encountered rotting corpses, but never one with a scent this pungent.
Ming Jiao walked over to help Lin Wanshuang hold the equipment, even finding the humor to joke, “Director Lin just lectured her subordinate about not letting outsiders touch confidential work, yet here you are asking for my help.”
Sweat had already formed on Lin Wanshuang’s face beneath the mask. Hearing Ming Jiao’s words, she didn’t even look at her and said directly, “What kind of outsider are you?”
Ming Jiao’s heart leaped with joy, wondering what kind of “insider” status Lin Wanshuang was about to grant her.
Instead, she heard the other woman’s cold voice say, “Aren’t you both just test subjects?”
Ming Jiao: “…” She really shouldn’t have asked.
The ventilation system on the ceiling worked tirelessly, but to little effect. The scent of the titan arum possessed high adhesiveness and would not dissipate easily.
Gradually, Ming Jiao found the smell unbearable too. She instinctively wanted to use her own pheromones to mask the scent, but the slight warmth on the skin of her nape suddenly reminded her.
She was currently an E-rank Alpha; trying to urge her gland to release pheromones was nothing short of a pipe dream.
Clearing her throat awkwardly, Ming Jiao randomly picked a topic to divert her attention, asking, “With a pheromone scent like hers, what is she going to do if she looks for a partner in the future? Won’t an Omega be stunk to death by her?”
Without pausing her movements, Lin Wanshuang replied, “You’re actually worrying about her.”
Ming Jiao blew away a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes. “Well, as fellow test subjects, I’m just showing some concern for a colleague.”
Hearing this, Lin Wanshuang couldn’t help but turn her head to glance at her. Hmph, is she really that vindictive?
Nonetheless, she still explained, “AO differentiation is generally influenced by two aspects: innate genetics and the living environment.”
“For instance, if an undifferentiated child’s parents are both high-level AOs, they will definitely differentiate into a high-level AO. That is an inevitable outcome when both genetics and the environment are top-tier.”
“But if one of those components collapses, the differentiation will be affected.”
“This person’s innate genetics might have been excellent, but her living environment must have been terrible for her gland to develop a pheromone scent that completely deters reproduction. To put it bluntly, her gland felt her environment wasn’t suitable for breeding and prioritized survival, resulting in these biological weapon like pheromones.”
“However, this isn’t absolute. Many other circumstances can influence differentiation, which is exactly why I chose to research this field. The AO gland is a truly miraculous organ.”
Ming Jiao raised an eyebrow, accurately catching the core of Lin Wanshuang’s words. “So, she’s also an impotent Alpha?”
Lin Wanshuang was rendered speechless. “You could say that.”
“Tsk, no wonder she turned to crime. She must be psychologically twisted.”
Lin Wanshuang let out a soft laugh. “Then why didn’t you turn twisted?”
Ming Jiao smiled mysteriously. “How do you know I’m not twisted, Eldest Miss? What if I’m just hiding it deeply?”
Lin Wanshuang put down what she was holding and looked at her. Though she didn’t say a word, the word “disdain” was written clearly in her eyes.
Trying her best to suppress her laughter, Ming Jiao put on a profound expression. “Aren’t you afraid, Eldest Miss, living under the same roof with a psycho?”
Lin Wanshuang smiled faintly, her counterattack packing a full punch. “Afraid your toothpaste-scented pheromones will stink me to death too?”
Consciousness gradually returned to her brain. Qiu Danqiu slowly opened her eyes. The first things to enter her sight were the bright incandescent lights and the grayish-white ceiling, with a spider weaving a web in the corner.
“You’re awake?” a slightly hoarse female voice called out from the side.
Qiu Danqiu was clearly much more familiar with this voice and wasn’t surprised to hear it at all. Ripping the IV needle from the back of her hand, she threw off the blanket and sat up, instinctively reaching for her burning nape.
“That Director Lin mentioned that heat and swelling in the gland are normal. Just endure it,” the person said casually.
Qiu Danqiu turned her head to look at the speaker, her expression grim. “Lin Wanshuang found out.”
Hearing this, the other person’s expression changed instantly, and she stood up abruptly. “What do you mean?!”
“She knows I was sent by the Sang family. She probably also knows someone in the prison is cooperating with me.”
“Did she discover me too?” Cao Jiaping looked on in disbelief.
If Lin Wanshuang were present, she would recognize this person as the very prison guard who had brought them into the facility today, the one who was well-acquainted with Yu Xiu.
“I don’t know,” Qiu Danqiu replied with some impatience.
Frowning, Cao Jiaping grew anxious. “Then we must act immediately. We absolutely cannot let them return to Jincheng.”
Recalling what she had seen before losing consciousness, Qiu Danqiu shook her head, rejecting Cao Jiaping’s proposal. “No, postpone the time of action.”
She had recognized who the Alpha beside Lin Wanshuang was. Someone would come to help her deal with it. It was just that notifying them would take time, and waiting for them to arrive would take time too.
Qiu Danqiu looked at Cao Jiaping, a smirk playing on her lips. “I need you to help me contact someone.”