Much to his surprise, Marius showed a hesitant look. "I’m not really sure about it..."

He Juan asked in confusion, "Why?"

Sighing, Marius tapped his finger on the table as he recounted his discovery, "During those few years, cases of Alphas going feral during their manifestation period had been at an all-time high. It’s not something that could be buried easily, not when they showed extreme aggressive behavior. That’s why I could track down their activity... but that’s all. This group has always been secretive and careful not to leave anything behind. Trying to find them is no different than searching for a needle in the haystack."

He Juan nodded. Fair enough. This was a grand conspiracy that had begun forty years ago with the government as a backer. The fact that Marius could find out something without the span of five short days was nothing but miraculous. But...

He carefully observed Marius’ expression and raised an intrigued brow, "But it seems like you have found another clue?"

"Bingo." Marius showed a wide, elated grin as he once again reached toward the folder and took out the last stack of documents. "Take a guess, XIU. Why do you think the interval between the time AX–03’s fatal side effect was discovered and the time when it was finally banned stretched out for so many years?"

He Juan lowered his gaze in contemplation, only realizing the crux of the problem once Marius pointed it out.

That’s right... if the fatal side effect of AX–03 was already exposed forty years ago, then why would the drug be banned only ten years ago? For thirty years, a group of researchers had been performing a secret experiment on Omegas. They had full support from the government and thus could bypass the security check that might be detrimental to their development.

Then why did AX–03 end up being banned in the end? Wouldn’t it be similar to cutting off one of their limbs?

Unless...

"Did something happen?" He wondered out loud. "An accident big enough that... the government was not able to cover for them anymore?"

Still grinning, Marius finally showed the documents he had been holding. "Ta-da! Look at this!"

He Juan’s eyes widened in shock when he saw what the documents were all about. "T–This..." he was so speechless that he stumbled on his words, making Marius look even more smug and gleeful. He Juan finally snapped back to his senses and hissed under his breath, his voice pitched low as if fearing that someone else would hear him. "What are you doing, M?! I thought we had already agreed not to mess with those people!"

On top of the table was a confidential report with the official stamp from the Interpol. It was the original report from ten years ago that could only be found in the organization’s archive room.

To think that Marius would pull out something like this so casually—!

Marius laughed even harder when he saw He Juan’s speechless and flustered look. His broad shoulders were shaking as he clutched his stomach. "Oh God, the day finally comes when I can see a dumb look on your face..." he wheezed out through the throes of mirthful snickers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"M!" He Juan was exasperated. "Now is not the time to tease me!"

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry..." he wiped the tears on the corner of his eyes. Traces of mirth still lingered in his ocean blue eyes as he tried to reassure He Juan, "I understand your concerns, XIU. But don’t worry, I can assure you that everything is completely fine. Nothing will happen to me at all just because of this one report." The confident and casual tone showed that he was not lying. He really was not afraid that one day, the Interpol would come knocking on his door.

Marius could really obtain this confidential report from the Interpol within five days? He Juan secretly gulped. It seemed like he had to re-evaluate the extent of Marius’ far-reaching network.

"Don’t tell anyone about this," he winked conspiratorially as if he had not almost given He Juan a heart attack at such a young age. "This case happened in Canada, that’s why."

Understanding finally dawned on He Juan when Marius put it like that. The Morningstar’s main clan was located in Canada, and it was also Marius’ home country, making it easier for him to control the scenes from behind. Of course, he would be the most powerful and authoritative in his own territory...

He Juan heaved out a long sigh, trying to bleed all of the tension on his body along the way. Under Marius’ encouraging gaze, he reached for the report and flipped through it.

It was as thick as a finger, easily fifty pages long. It had recorded what happened the day of the accident down to the last details; the casualties, the witnesses, and the testimony from the local police officers on duty...

He Juan took the time to peruse them all.

Ten years ago, in a small peaceful town in Canada, a tragedy struck when a ten years old child suddenly manifested in the middle of a busy street. The torrent of pheromones surged out uncontrollably from the small body, immediately killing the lives of seven people who were closest to him. And according to the report, those seven people—

"Their skull and brain were crushed, and they died within the span of a breath." He Juan traced his finger along the words as he murmured, his brows furrowed. "In the end, the SWAT team was dispatched to evacuate the entire town and deal with the emergency. The child was then sent to the military hospital for further examination."

Marius couldn’t contain the grin on his face. "Does it ring a bell, XIU?"

He Juan raised his head, horrified. "The cause of death.... it’s exactly the same as the corpses I saw before!"

"Read on," Marius urged him.

The child held extraordinary power yet he seemed no different than any other children, if not more timid and terrified. He was having a mental breakdown when treated in the military hospital, especially when he saw patrolling soldiers with a gun. When asked about it, he kept repeating while crying:

— "They are trying to kill me. You are all trying to kill me! Please... let me go. I won’t kill anyone anymore. Please don’t kill me...!"

In regard to his overwhelming pheromones, the military doctor took his blood to be tested and the results ended up shocking everyone.

They found a bizarrely high concentration of AX–03 in his blood, way exceeded the dose that was safe to be consumed by Alphas! In the end, this matter could no longer be swept under the rug and the Interpol ended up being alerted.

He Juan let out a heavy sigh. So this was the case. This was the reason why AX–03 started to be banned in multiple countries...

But now that he had read the report, another horrifying question suddenly crossed his mind. "Say..." he let out a disbelieving laugh that sounded foreign even to his own ears. "The culprit who has killed those men in the Queen of Spades... they can’t be a minor who had just undergone manifestation too, right?"