Although Luo Hai had little strength left, Eugene was caught off guard and turned his head from the impact.
Eugene widened his eyes, covering the side of his face that had been struck, looking both aggrieved and incredulous. “Why?”
This bastard—he still dared to ask why?
“Get lost!” Luo Hai raised his voice, wiping his lips with one hand while pulling up his collar to cover the marks on his neck. “Get out of Nantes! Go back to Fuba Port! Go hide in some unknown corner of the southern hemisphere! The farther away from me, the better!”
“I’m not leaving.” Eugene took a step closer, grabbing his wrist. “I told you, I still have things to do.”
Luo Hai angrily yanked his hand back, his voice rising. “You already got what you wanted. Don’t be so greedy!”
Eugene stared at him intently, his gaze burning with sincerity—so intense that it nearly scorched Luo Hai.
“This isn’t greed,” he said calmly. “My purpose has never changed from the very beginning. I won’t leave until I pull you out of this abyss.”
“Eugene Oddis!” Luo Hai spat out his name, emphasizing each syllable. “I am not—nor will I ever be—on the same side as you!”
Eugene slowly straightened up, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. His lips still bore the faint traces of Luo Hai’s kiss, and his scent lingered in the air. But his gaze had settled, leaving only a hint of smoldering intensity.
“Whether you like it or not, one day, you will be mine,” Eugene said slowly but firmly. “The strong can’t keep the weak underfoot forever. History will turn, rules will change. One day, I’ll reshape this world into a place where you don’t have to force yourself to endure—where you can finally smile.”
Luo Hai’s expression remained unchanged, showing no emotion. Perhaps only those who knew him best could catch the fleeting flicker in his dark eyes.
“Utter nonsense,” he said. “You’re living in a fantasy.”
Eugene didn’t mind at all. Instead, he smiled. “Time will tell if it’s a fantasy.”
Then, he leaned in slightly, his gaze turning mischievous. Lowering his voice, he murmured, “Besides, if you really hate me that much, stop using my blanket to—”
Luo Hai’s pupils dilated. His face turned red, then darkened in rage. Humiliation and fury clashed in his chest. “You—!”
How did he know?
This shameless, filthy, depraved, insufferable bastard!
Luo Hai grabbed his coat from the barstool and stormed out of the café without looking back.
Eugene didn’t stop him. He simply stood there, smiling, watching Luo Hai leave. Even after Luo Hai climbed into the driver’s seat, he could still feel Eugene’s gaze on his back, as if it were physically weighing on him.
Luo Hai slammed the car door shut. The moment he hit the gas, the speedometer shot up. Within seconds, the small, shabby café vanished from his sight.
That was it.
There would be no next time.
From now on, he would have nothing to do with Eugene.
Whether he sent notes, played the violin, or even hired people to belly dance at his doorstep—Luo Hai would never acknowledge him again.
Besides, with Eugene’s current level of notoriety, if he had any sense of self-preservation, he would never dare show his face in the city center.
They were two parallel lines that never should have crossed. After that one mistaken intersection, they could only drift farther and farther apart—never to meet again.
At least, that was how it should have been.
…….
When Luo Hai returned to his apartment, he found a tiny listening device in Eugene’s old room.
It might have been left there back when Eugene was still wearing his ankle monitor—to ensure his own safety. Or perhaps he planted it just before escaping, so he could eavesdrop on Luo Hai.
Either way, it was over now.
Luo Hai stared at the small device. In the end, he said nothing. He simply threw it on the floor and crushed it underfoot.
The shattered remains of the miniature machine lay silently on the ground, a symbol of an unanswered invitation and an unfinished wish.
Luo Hai carried on with his usual routine—washing up, getting into bed, then sitting up to switch off the overhead light.
The room was instantly swallowed in darkness. It took a long while before a sliver of moonlight peeked through the window blinds.
That night, Luo Hai slept terribly.
His moments of deep sleep were short-lived, and his moments of wakefulness were brief as well.
Most of the time, he was trapped in one nightmare after another, unable to fully wake up, lost in an endless cycle of tormenting illusions.
When his alarm finally dragged him out of it, he actually felt relieved. He stared at the ceiling, watching a single ray of sunlight stretch across it, taking a long moment to regain control of his body. Then, propping himself up on one elbow, he slowly sat up.
A new day—beginning with cold sweat soaking his entire body. How wonderful.
Luo Hai got out of bed, deliberately ignoring every lingering image of Eugene from his nightmares, and continued his unchanging morning routine: shower, get dressed, wash up… and, finally, his medication injection.
He held the syringe in his right hand, staring at the dense row of needle marks on his left arm.
After a moment’s hesitation, he switched the syringe to his left hand and rolled up his right sleeve instead.
But his right arm wasn’t much better. The veins near his muscles were already stiff, some areas even slightly swollen.
He pressed the needle against his forearm, tracing along the fractured veins bit by bit. The cold metal tip left tiny beads of blood on his pale skin before finally, barely, finding a place to pierce through and disappear beneath the surface.
Clear liquid slowly seeped into his bloodstream, making his already rigid skin feel even colder.
Once the injection was complete, Luo Hai barely had the strength to pull the needle out. He slumped against the headboard, panting heavily, enduring the pain that surged through his body as the medication clashed with his pheromones.
A few drops of dark red blood seeped back into the syringe, slithering through the transparent plastic like tiny serpents.
When the worst of the pain finally passed, Luo Hai got up, yanked the syringe out, and tossed it—along with the blood inside—into the trash.
To be honest, he didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up.
One day, the medication would take his life, leaving him to die in unbearable agony and solitude. Or perhaps, before that day even arrived, someone would discover his secret and expose the biggest scandal in the prosecutor’s office. He’d be dragged before a firing squad under countless disgusted and scornful gazes.
But there was no other way.
He had no desire, nor any opportunity, to live like a normal Omega.
He was like a wandering soul trapped in the cracks of existence—neither fully alive nor dead—sustained only by a stubborn obsession whose original purpose he had long since forgotten.
Whether Eugene was around or not, that fact would never change.
…..
The weather was clear that day. Though the temperature was low, the golden sunlight bathed the earth.
Even as the cold wind passed through, it was a day that could still make people feel a little lighter inside.
Nantes was situated at a relatively low latitude. Compared to Fuba Port in the North Sea, winter here was almost mild and gentle. Even in the coldest years, nighttime temperatures barely dropped below freezing, and snowfall was even rarer—sometimes going three or four years without a single flake.
If this were Fuba Port, the entire place would already be buried under heavy snow by this time of year. A bottle of water poured on the ground would freeze solid in less than three seconds. Back at the orphanage, when they were kids, any child who wanted to go outside and play in the snow had to be wrapped up like a dumpling by Auntie Ai before they were allowed out.
The only exception was Eugene. While Auntie Ai was busy bundling up the other kids, he would sneak out, rolling around in the snow with just a thin layer of clothing. He wouldn’t stop until he sneezed several times in a row, at which point Auntie Ai would shriek in fury and start cursing him out.
Eugene would bolt, and Auntie Ai would chase after him. The orphanage’s snow-covered yard would instantly turn into a game of eagle and chicks. The other kids, bundled up like dumplings, would crowd around the doorway, cheering for either side. Soon, their footprints covered the entire yard, and Uncle Mi, returning from outside with a bundle of cabbages, thought the orphanage had been raided by bandits.
Luo Hai forcibly cut off the memory, irritated, and glanced up at the sun. He crumpled the empty sandwich wrapper in his hand and tossed it into a nearby trash bin.
Colin was as diligent as ever, arriving at the office five minutes early to organize the previous day’s case files and reports for Luo Hai.
“There were eight Alpha violence incidents yesterday,” Colin reported. “Three involved public assaults on marked Omegas. Four were cases of public disturbances, including property damage. The last one involved a drunk Alpha screaming ‘Screw Lightwing’ while ramming into three innocent Beta pedestrians, killing them all.”
Luo Hai frowned as he took the case files from Colin. “Eight incidents in total yesterday?”
“No, these are just the ones assigned to you,” Colin replied. “Other prosecutors have cases too.”
Luo Hai’s frown deepened.
If he alone had eight cases to handle, then his colleagues like Flock likely had at least three each.
Adding up all these numbers, the recent surge in Alpha-related crimes was becoming impossible to ignore.
Not only that, but crimes committed by Alphas were often treated leniently—many cases were settled through mediation rather than being taken to court. The cases that actually made it to the prosecutor’s office were only a small fraction of the total crimes being committed.
He hadn’t expected the exposure of the stolen inhibitors to have such a widespread impact on society. The upper ranks of the prosecutor’s office were probably scrambling for solutions, but judging by the current situation, they hadn’t found one yet.
“I understand. You can go,” Luo Hai said, placing the case files on his desk. Just as he pulled out his chair and was about to start working, a commotion erupted outside the office.
Luo Hai usually had no interest in matters unrelated to work, but the noise was so distracting that he looked up at Colin and asked, “What’s going on outside?”
Colin glanced toward the source of the noise and immediately understood. “Ah, it’s probably the new assistant. Since case numbers have been rising, Director Kliman hired an assistant to help organize the case files. Apparently, he’s quite good-looking, has a great personality, and was very enthusiastic from the moment he arrived. Everyone seems to like him. Right now, it sounds like he’s performing magic tricks for Flock and the others.”
Luo Hai furrowed his brows and glanced outside.
Flock’s office door was open, and Barney, Diana, and the others were gathered in a circle. The new assistant was half-visible, just enough for Luo Hai to see his profile.
The assistant was quite tall, with short black hair and striking ocean-blue eyes. His nose was high-bridged, and his cheekbones were sharp, but when he smiled, it was warm and sunny. His slender fingers flipped a playing card skillfully, making it disappear, drawing gasps of amazement and praise.
Luo Hai’s brows furrowed even more.
For some reason, despite never having seen this person before, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from him.
