A brief silence fell in the narrow space.
The air seemed to freeze, leaving only Eugene’s breathing, heavy with suppressed tension, and Luo Hai’s tightly clenched jaw.
The second hand of the clock ticked slowly. Maybe only a few seconds passed, or maybe it felt like an eternity. Finally, Luo Hai looked at Eugene and slowly spoke.
“Even if I wanted to, I’ve already lost the chance.”
After saying that, he shoved Eugene aside and walked straight out the door.
Eugene didn’t stop him. Luo Hai kept walking, leaving the prosecution building. Behind him, it was eerily quiet—no one followed.
The city had fallen into night. The thick clouds obscured the moon, but the streets were brightly lit, and the faces of people were filled with smiles.
Luo Hai walked quickly. He didn’t know where he was going. Everything around him felt blinding, and he just wanted to get away as fast as possible.
Snowflakes drifted gently from the sky.
At first, they were just small, almost invisible snowflakes, melting into droplets when they landed on his hands and sleeves. Then, the snowflakes slowly grew larger and clearer, taking on the shape of snowflakes.
Tiny snowflakes fell from the depths of the clouds, drifting beautifully through the air. Many people stopped in awe, taking out their phones to capture this rare moment.
It rarely snowed in warm Nantes, and such a large snowfall was even rarer. The snowflakes danced with the colorful lights of the city, creating countless beautiful night scenes, which were quickly posted on various social media platforms.
Only Luo Hai, who grew up in the northern part of the city, didn’t stop. He walked through the crowds of people stopping to take pictures.
A gust of cold northern wind blew by, and he pulled up the collar of his coat, suddenly feeling a little cold.
Maybe, a long time ago, on that Sunday, he should have listened to Eugene and bought a scarf.
He walked against the wind, snowflakes landing on his shoulders, eyelashes, and hair. He didn’t know how long he had walked, but suddenly, he stopped and realized that the buildings around him had become unfamiliar.
There were several bars and small shops along the street, with colorful ribbons and banners hanging outside. Balloons with painted smiling faces swayed in the wind, and the banners were written in large letters: Celebrating the success of Alpha rights, all drinks 30% off!
Inside and outside the shops, it was bustling. Many Alphas raised their glasses enthusiastically, laughing loudly from time to time, while loud music played from the speakers, and some people were dancing on stage.
“Hey, handsome!”
Luo Hai turned around.
At the door of a shop, an Alpha with a small mustache, holding a cigarette, enthusiastically greeted him. “Come celebrate our victory! All drinks are 30% off today! Want to come in for a drink? Good days should be celebrated!”
Luo Hai stood there, unmoving, silent. The man with the mustache thought he wasn’t interested and quickly moved on to the next target. But just as he was about to look for his next customer, the tall and well-dressed man in the suit silently entered the shop.
“Welcome!” The mustached man quickly took a few steps back to greet the suddenly changed guest. “There’s still space inside. Here’s the menu. What would you like to drink?”
Luo Hai didn’t even glance at the menu. He calmly said, “Gin, no ice.”
The mustached man was stunned for a moment and repeated, “Gin, no ice?”
“Is there a problem?” Luo Hai looked at him.
“No, no.” The mustached man quickly withdrew his gaze and nudged the bartender’s arm.
Before long, a glass of undiluted liquor was placed in front of Luo Hai.
The scent of juniper gin mixed with citrus and a faint floral aroma lingered in the air, while the laughter and cheers of the Alphas continued to pound against his ears. Luo Hai picked up the glass, his Adam’s apple moving slowly as he let the burning liquid slide down his throat, exploding deep in his stomach.
It had been a long time since he had drunk alcohol after becoming a prosecutor.
But that didn’t mean he couldn’t handle it.
Even someone with a weak tolerance would develop one after years of frequent drinking work engagements.
After all, in that kind of environment, getting drunk was almost equivalent to death. And as long as survival was at stake, the human body could unleash unbelievable potential.
Like now—no matter how much he wanted to get drunk, no matter how much strong alcohol he poured into his stomach, no matter how the liquor seared his throat, his body refused to relax, clinging stubbornly to consciousness and forcing him to stay awake.
The scent of Alphas was everywhere, amplified by alcohol, filling every corner of the room—enough to make any normal Omega’s legs go weak and send them into a feverish heat.
But Luo Hai was used to it.
From the moment he was taken from the orphanage until now—fifteen years in total—he had grown accustomed to the pungent smells, to the pain in the back of his neck, to numbing his nerves with extra doses of inhibitors, to facing his tormentors with an indifferent gaze.
A long enough time could teach even the most stubborn child that resisting the strong would never end well.
The year Luo Hai differentiated into an Omega, Aunt Ai and Uncle Mi had protected him well.
He had burned with fever all night, his entire body aching. Eugene thought he had the flu and had insisted on going in to see him, only to be firmly stopped by Aunt Ai and Uncle Mi, leaving him squatting pitifully outside the door.
The next day, Luo Hai heard them arguing intensely in the yard. In his memory, they had always been a loving couple, never quarreling like this.
He couldn’t fully understand their argument, only catching fragmented words.
“Are you crazy? Every case like this… must be reported! Otherwise—”
“You’re the crazy one! Do you not know what happens if we report it? …His life will be ruined, his entire future gone!”
Luo Hai was too exhausted to continue eavesdropping. As he drifted off, he vaguely caught the scent of Eugene lingering outside the door—it smelled pleasant.
Children’s understanding of gender differences was always vague, especially in the isolated, information-poor Northern City.
They vaguely knew that Luo Hai had become a somewhat fragile gender, but beyond that, they were clueless.
So they gathered in a circle, with Eugene leading, discussing how to take good care of Luo Hai once he recovered and making sure he wouldn’t overexert himself. As soon as Luo Hai stepped out of the house, he was immediately lifted into the air by a group of children acting as a “human sedan chair,” which made him so furious that he punched every single one of them—Eugene got hit twice.
From then on, even the assumption of his “frailty” was dismissed, and the children gave up trying to understand. They simply continued treating Luo Hai as they always had.
What they didn’t realize was that once an Omega differentiated, they had to be reported to the local gender control agency, which would purchase them and distribute them to various Omega sales centers.
From the moment of differentiation, Omegas ceased to be people and became commodities—assigned a value and turned into Alpha property.
The orphans of Oddis Orphanage, ignorant of this reality, had no idea how much disaster their ignorance would bring upon them.
When Luo Hai was fourteen, Doyle was not yet the Chief Prosecutor, merely an ordinary prosecutor in a risky position—one that could lead to either promotion or demotion at any moment.
Doyle’s arrogant and ruthless manner made him unpopular among colleagues, so despite his exceptional abilities, he was often ostracized. Being sent to Fuba Port to investigate a hidden Omega was just another form of exclusion.
He hadn’t planned to take it seriously—this assignment was more about humiliating him than about actual law enforcement.
But then, at the street corner, he encountered Luo Hai—an unregistered Omega.
That single encounter completely changed the trajectory of his career.
The young Omega was like a frail little beast, seemingly in a hurry, his head down as he rushed forward—only to crash directly into Doyle’s chest.
“Be careful.” He held the boy’s shoulders and gave him a kind smile. “What’s your name?”
The boy looked at him warily. “Luo Hai.”
“A very nice name.” The man took out a piece of candy from his pocket and handed it to him. “Are you alone? Where are your parents?”
“I don’t have parents.” The boy remained cautious and did not take the candy. “I grew up in an orphanage.”
“I see.” Doyle smiled. “One last question, Luo Hai, you’re an Omega, aren’t you?”
At this question, the boy showed a trace of confusion. “What’s an Omega?”
His black, cat-like eyes revealed innocent curiosity, just like the faintly sweet scent emanating from him—pure and untouched by the world.
In that instant, Doyle was certain: this boy would be the perfect tool.
Doyle crouched down in front of Luo Hai. “An Omega is a parasite of society, the lowest and most despicable gender, no different from an animal in heat. They must serve Alphas for their entire lives, dedicating their spirit, body, and existence. Otherwise, they will never be able to atone for their sins.”
He reached out, ruffled Luo Hai’s hair, and smiled warmly. “Come with me, or your family might get hurt.”
On the first day, Luo Hai ran away in fear.
He sprinted back to the orphanage as fast as he could, too scared to tell anyone what had happened. But on the second day, Doyle appeared at that same street corner again, smiling at him as usual.
“Come with me, Luo Hai.” He said calmly. “You can’t escape.”
Luo Hai picked up a stone and threw it at him with all his strength. The man neither dodged nor flinched, standing there with the same expression.
On the third and fourth days, Luo Hai deliberately avoided that street corner and didn’t see the man again.
He breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the man’s appearance had only been a nightmare—one that would eventually pass. Life would return to normal. Everything would go back to how it was.
But on the fifth day, the Oddis Orphanage caught fire.
The fire broke out precisely when Luo Hai had left the orphanage to buy groceries in town. Before he left, Aunt Ai had smiled as she handed him money and a basket, reminding him to be careful. She even told him he could use the leftover money to buy something he liked.
He kept the money safe, bought all the groceries, and after some hesitation, spent the remaining money on three pieces of milk candy, carefully wrapping them in a handkerchief. He had planned it out perfectly—one piece for Aunt Ai, one for Uncle Mi, and one to secretly give to Eugene without the other kids noticing. Because two days ago, Eugene had secretly saved half of a sandwich for him, and he still remembered.
But when he returned, everything was gone.
Everything he cherished had been swallowed by the raging flames—nothing remained except the crackling of burning wood and the acrid stench of charred flesh.
Standing in front of the fire was Colette Doyle, still dressed in his pristine suit and polished leather shoes, a smile lingering on his lips as if this was nothing more than a trivial matter.
“You see? I told you this would happen,” he said. “It’s all your fault for refusing to come with me. That’s why they had to suffer.”
