"Are you going to pursue this matter, XIU?" Marius asked.

He Juan shrugged, his lips curving into a bitter arc. "Do I have any choice here? I have been searching for Blue Lotus for months, and now it seems like a mutated Alpha is out for his life as well. I have to get to Blue Lotus before they kill him, or even better... I have to find this mutated Alpha. There are so many things I have to ask."

For example, the location where the experiment was done, the full list of people involved in the secret project, what kind of life they were living in that cursed place, and how many mutated Alphas were produced by this inhumane project. He had to delve deep into the root of this foulness and dragged it out to the light of the day.

He had a hunch that only by doing this would he be able to put an end to the terror that had befallen Omegas for centuries.

Marius stared at him for one long moment and lowered his gaze toward the cup clasped in his hands, contemplating. Then as if making up his mind, he raised his head and stated, "I will help you."

"M?" He Juan was caught by surprise. Marius had said it himself, this matter was more than what they could chew. He could just live on with his peaceful life here, reading books, enjoying his daily tea and sorting out some unruly people, but now he wanted to dive into the muddy water and risk being drowned by its wild current?

"Don’t look so surprised, XIU." Marius let out a soft chuckle, yet this time the smile did not quite reach his eyes. "I’ve told you, you are not the only one who is furious. If my assistance can help you put an end to this damnation, then I will gladly do it."

"You..." He Juan blinked, at an utter loss of words. He had not expected this kind of development at all. However, he could not deny that Marius’ help would be nothing but beneficial to him – very much. He knew that Marius’ circle of network was extensive and after all the revelation today, he suspected that he might have underestimated how extensive it was. If He Juan could obtain the help of someone like him... then the progress of the investigation would surely increase by leaps and bounds!

But...

"Are you sure?" He Juan couldn’t help but ask again to confirm.

As much as he wanted to have Marius in his team, he was unwilling to place his friend in danger, especially because of him. Marius had not seen the atrocity He Juan saw, had not smelled their pheromones like He Juan did and thus, he still had no clear idea what kind of bizarre enemies they were facing.

But He Juan knew, he had taken a glimpse of the darkness they were going to face. They were exploring deep into uncharted territory here and what awaited them in the end might be nothing but ruin and destruction. They might even lose their life in the process.

Sure, He Juan was the one who had come to him for information, but it was never his intention to drag Marius into any of this mess.

In response to his tentative question, Marius merely shook his head in amusement and clasped his hands together in a prayer. "Amitabha, why are you such a worrywart? Think about yourself first, you fool."

"You..." Speechless, He Juan could only bark out a laugh and accept his defeat. "Okay, fine! Don’t say that I didn’t warn you beforehand!" 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

All of a sudden, a piece of distant memory floated to the forefront of He Juan’s mind. At that time, Marius had just killed the previous drug lord and resumed his position after studying the route of Myanmar’s drug distribution for half a year.

Seeing him working so hard, He Juan couldn’t help but ask, "Why are you doing this?"

Marius did not lack wealth or status back in his home country. Why would he come to Myanmar and seek unnecessary danger when he could thrive in his own clan? And as far as He Juan knew, he was not the kind of person who would pursue riches and glory in life...

The answer Marius gave him was completely unexpected, yet somehow just like him – "XIU, try to drag a random person on the street and you will find that six out of ten people are addicts, some are fourteen years old minors or even younger than that. You don’t even have to step out of the house to purchase drugs. That’s how twisted this country is. Don’t you think it’s ironic how this is the same country that has over two thousand temples with 90% of its population practicing Buddhism? They sink into depravity with each inhale they take, yet they also turn around and seek salvation. The government has failed to address the drug crisis. But if it’s me... I am confident that I can do something to salvage the situation."

And true to Marius’ words, when he ascended into position, the first thing he did was to implement the law that prohibited selling drugs toward minors. He would kill the people who rebelled, and toward those minors, he gave them a legal job while paying for their rehabilitation. He regulated the drug distribution strictly and created a semblance of order to the tangled mess.

In less than a year, the country’s welfare improved considerably, and it was all thanks to Marius’ effort alone.

He Juan let out a helpless laugh, utterly defeated this time. He had forgotten that this was just how Marius was – he was the kind of person who would not hesitate to achieve something once he set his mind to it, regardless of the cost and risk that might involve. That’s another point of similarity between them. No wonder they got along so wonderfully.

As his right arm was still on splint, he could only stretch out his left hand, a grin stretching across his face. "Then should I say... ’welcome onboard’?"

Marius returned him with another toothy grin and similarly reached out his left hand for an awkward handshake. "Thank you, I will try my best. You won’t regret having me with you."

On that day, behind a certain temple in Myanmar that was hidden from everyone’s sight, two top-tier superior Alphas came to a cooperation.

It marked the birth of a butterfly – whose flap of wings would soon take the entire world by storm.