Yuyang Hospital Center.

Inside the Pheromones Department’s isolation room, Wu Yuan sprawled motionlessly on the bed, his vacant eyes staring up at the ceiling.

It had been more than forty hours since he first showed signs of manifestation and his gland was fully developed by now. He could feel a tender lump forming on the back of his neck where his gland was supposed to be, still throbbing and too raw to be touched. The thick and smoky pheromones belonging to an Alpha occupied every corner of the room. And everything would have been fine if his body did not feel utterly drained of strength right now.

Doctor Tang had dropped by earlier to examine his unusual state. Going by the usual routine, a newly manifested person should not have been sapped of strength or attacked by episodes of vertigo and nausea like Wu Yuan. Instead, they would be filled with energy and their inner perception would open up, their senses sharpened like a dull knife tempered under high pressure.

Wu Yuan had heard it from a few classmates before. Quoting them, it would feel like they were ’born anew’.

But Wu Yuan did not feel anything like that, not even a fraction of similarity. And all of this could be attributed to one cruel fact – the traces of AX-03 and other drugs in his body.

Confined in this room where he was left alone to deal with the suffocating thoughts that seemed to tear him apart from within, Wu Yuan had had a lot of time to think. He had endured past the period of depression and self-misery, and now he had been numb. Utterly, completely numb.

He could not even feel sad anymore at the possibility of what might happen to him from hereon. Perhaps he might be sent to a rehabilitation center, perhaps he might be tried and sent to jail for the crime of killing his father... but none of them mattered to him anymore. Either way, his future was already ruined, so why should he continue to care?

He only felt guilty for dragging Teacher He into his own mess...

Whenever he thought of the warm and gentle teacher, the back of his eyes stung and he had a strong urge to cry. Teacher He had been nothing but kind and supportive to him, but in the end, he had to let him down. He had betrayed Teacher He’s hope and expectation on him.

Wu Yuan ah, Wu Yuan, what a disappointment you are...

He rolled on his side and buried his face into the pillow, muffling the whimper that escaped through his throat. Just like a wild abandoned cub, he could only grit his teeth, endure the pain and lick his wounds silently. He cherished this short moment of silence and desolation. Because from now on, he could only rely on himself. From now on... he had to stand up on his own feet and face the cruel world all by himself.

Alas... he was feeling so, so tired. Rage and grief clawed on him and threatened to break him apart. And sometimes, the thought of giving up slipped into his mind and took root there, growing into a tall crooked tree. It was so tempting. The mere notion of giving up and leaving all of this burden behind was so tempting.

But was he really such a coward? Would he really be willing to give up without putting up a fight?

He closed his eyes and intended to use the ever growing exhaustion to rest his body and mind. However, before he could fall asleep, he suddenly sensed the bed lamp on the nightstand going off with a crisp snap.

He opened his eyes amidst the pitch-black darkness, his pupils dilating rapidly to adjust with the lack of light. He propped himself up on the elbow and perked up his ears. His senses, which had grown sharper due to the manifestation, picked up a faint commotion outside.

Someone yelled out, their voice fuzzy and unclear. "...Power failure?!"

"Go and check it out!" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Wu Yuan knew that they were two police officers who were tasked with guarding his room. He had caught a glimpse of them when the doctor and nurses came in to take his vitals and restocked the supply in the room. A bitter smile curled on his lips. He was really treated as a criminal, wasn’t he? But in this weakened state, where could he go?

It was not like the world had a place for him anymore...

Thud!

Wu Yuan snapped to attention and raised his head sharply. W–What was that just now...? Why did it seem like the sound of... heavy things falling to the ground? Wu Yuan recognized this dull thud. It was very similar to the sound when he accidentally dropped a sack of rice to the ground. But this was the isolation ward in the hospital. There shouldn’t be any sack of rice, right? So... what could have made that kind of sound?

Before he could even take a guess, his sharp hearing picked up another indistinct sound. He belatedly realized that he could no longer hear the two officers outside. Instead, there was... how to describe it? Right, it was the soft rattle of wheels gliding smoothly across the ground. And it was swiftly approaching where he was.

Flabbergasted, Wu Yuan pushed himself to sit up on the bed and stared fixedly at the door. His heart was drumming loudly in his chest. What – no, who was it outside?!

Wu Yuan’s body tensed when the door to his isolation room slid open. He was stunned to discover that he had to lower his line of sight to make up the silhouette of a person, and it took him one full second to realize that that person was sitting on a wheelchair. Undoubtedly, those wheels were the source of sounds he had picked up earlier.

"W–Who are you?" Wu Yuan heard himself ask in a choked voice. Since his arduous manifestation, he started to perceive things that he could not do prior to this. For example, one of the police officers outside was an Alpha. He had this sharp and heavy aura to him that was not present in the Beta officer beside him.

And another example, the person in front of him.

Even though he was sitting in a wheelchair, as soon as Wu Yuan’s gaze landed on him, the hair on his entire body stood on its end and he almost jumped up from the bed like a spooked little animal. It was only due to the sheer terror and pressure weighing down on him that he remained still. Danger! His instinct warned him. Run! Get away from here as soon as possible! However, it was as if there was an invisible force locking his limbs in place, rendering him frozen and immobile.

Wu Yuan’s eyes soon adjusted to the dark and he could finally discern that person’s appearance. What he perceived first was beautiful and delicate features, framed by a curtain of silky long hair. Those honey brown eyes seemed to glow amidst the dark, glittering in a faint hint of smile and striking confidence. Even though that person’s stature was thin and slender, Wu Yuan could not have mistaken him for a woman for the sharpness of his jaws and the breadth of his shoulders.

An Omega, a voice within him whispered.

But how... how could an Omega be so powerful and imposing?

"Hello, Wu Yuan," he said, causing Wu Yuan to flinch in surprise. H–How did this person know his name? The man in the wheelchair smiled, "We finally met. I’ve been hearing so much about you."