LABMY CH76

After the mission to patrol the C-rank planet was assigned, Lu Qianyun thought they would depart immediately.

Unexpectedly, Jian Yuanbai told him to pack his things and rest at home for a day before setting off tomorrow.

And then—

He didn’t see Jian Yuanbai for the entire day.

On the call, Lu Qianyun asked, “Where did you go? You didn’t come back last night.”

After returning home yesterday, Jian Yuanbai had taken a call and left, disappearing for the entire night.

On the other end of the call, Jian Yuanbai’s voice was intermittent, as if the signal was being disrupted.

“Nothing serious,” Jian Yuanbai said. “Just out catching a rat.”

“…I’ll talk to you later. If you’re free, think about how you want to teach me that class.”

“…”

Lu Qianyun fell silent.

Could he stop being this eager to study?!

At that moment, Jian Yuanbai was standing in front of what looked like an old, round sewer entrance with rusted iron bars blocking the opening.

With a wooden stick, he tapped twice on the iron grate.

“You coming out on your own? Or should I set this place on fire and smoke you out?”

Behind him, a row of black-clad bodyguards stood in perfect formation, blocking off the entire alleyway.

As soon as Jian Yuanbai finished speaking, a group of men quickly piled flammable materials at the entrance and prepared to ignite them.

A panicked voice echoed from inside, filled with fear and flattery,

“Brother, spare me! You’ve been chasing me all night! I really don’t know anything!”

Jian Yuanbai remained indifferent and began counting down:

“Three… two… burn it.”

The bodyguards lit the pile without hesitation.

“Sht, sht, sh*t!”

With a loud clang, the iron grate burst open.

A man scrambled out, frantically slapping out the embers on his clothes.

“You didn’t even count to one!”

The man was a Beta, around thirty years old, with plain and forgettable features. He was the type who could blend into a crowd and disappear in an instant.

But sometimes, being forgettable is a survival skill.

With his low presence and sharp instincts, this man had become a well-known information broker in the Empire’s underworld.

The broker wore a miserable expression, pleading,

“Hao-ge… He’s being hunted by the Lu family right now. He’s hiding like a rat. I really can’t find him!”

Jian Yuanbai’s gaze was cold. “If I’m here, it means I know you can find him.”

“You don’t need to worry about retaliation. By the time I’m done with him, he won’t live long enough to come after you.”

Finally, Jian Yuanbai smiled faintly and said,

“I’ve already made myself clear. If you don’t lead me to him… then I guess you’ll have to take his place.”

The broker glanced at the army of bodyguards behind Jian Yuanbai and swallowed hard.

“…The problem is, if you bring this many people, he’ll spot us a mile away and disappear.”

“He’s one of the top rats in the Z District. He can sense danger from miles away. I can take you to him… but you’ll have to come alone.”

The broker thought he’d cornered Jian Yuanbai.

If this “young master” was too cowardly to go alone, that wasn’t his problem.

And if Jian Yuanbai really dared to go and got killed there… Hao-ge wouldn’t come after him either.

The broker was already prepared to watch Jian Yuanbai hesitate or back down.

But—

Jian Yuanbai didn’t even blink.

“Lead the way.”

Z District — The Empire’s Darkest Underbelly.

Under the brilliance of the Empire’s capital, this was the shadow where the lowest classes thrived and countless illegal trades took place.

Why hadn’t the Empire wiped out such a place despite its elite soldiers and countless mech warriors?

No one dared to ask.

Or perhaps… those in power already knew the answer and simply chose to look the other way.

Following the broker, Jian Yuanbai entered a run-down clothing store.

Without a word, the broker dragged him into a fitting room.

Jian Yuanbai stood silently as the broker performed a series of quick and practiced moves, opening a hidden passage in the fitting room wall.

Winding through the narrow alleys and descending into the underground, the space suddenly opened up.

Colorful spotlights illuminated the dim, smoky air.

Though it was still daytime, the place was filled with people drinking, gambling, and laughing.

The deafening music rattled the walls, while men and women in revealing clothes danced provocatively on the central stage.

The broker subtly pointed with his chin toward the third floor.

“See that staircase? Up there, third floor. The entire floor belongs to Hao-ge.”

“I’m not going up there. You’re on your own.”

Jian Yuanbai tossed a thick envelope filled with cash into the broker’s hands.

“Thanks.”

“But if you lied to me… this money becomes your death fee.”

The broker grinned as he pocketed the cash.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t dare.”

Jian Yuanbai said nothing more and strode toward the stairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, he immediately spotted two guards standing at the entrance to the third floor, with two more patrolling the hallway.

Four men in total, well-trained and alert.

Jian Yuanbai approached casually, as if strolling through a garden.

As expected, the guards stepped forward to block him.

“Who the hell are you?”

Jian Yuanbai’s lips curled into a lazy smile.

“I’m here to catch a rat.”

“Get lost. We don’t have any rats here.”

The guard impatiently reached out to shove him.

Before the man’s hand could touch him, Jian Yuanbai caught his wrist.

Crack.

A sickening sound of bones snapping echoed through the hallway.

The guard screamed in pain, immediately reaching for the gun at his waist.

The other guards also drew their weapons and charged forward.

Jian Yuanbai didn’t move.

In the instant before the trigger was pulled, a suffocating wave of Alpha pheromones flooded the corridor.

The intense, crushing pressure invaded their mental seas, freezing them in place.

The guard’s hand trembled violently, unable to pull the trigger.

Despite their desperate struggle, their fingers could only shake helplessly.

In just a few seconds, these seasoned bodyguards were drenched in cold sweat.

Their lips trembled. Their teeth chattered uncontrollably.

Jian Yuanbai stepped forward, eyes cold and ruthless.

His aura alone made them feel like they were being suffocated by an ancient predator.

Every nerve in their bodies screamed at them to flee.

The four bodyguards could no longer hold on. Their bodies collapsed to the ground, utterly drained, while Jian Yuanbai casually took the gun from the man whose bones he had just crushed.

“You…”

The lead bodyguard wanted to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth, cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Under the terrifying suppression of Jian Yuanbai’s pheromones, they felt as if they were trapped beneath an enormous, invisible hand, unable to move or even breathe properly.

What kind of Alpha… could possess such overwhelming pheromone dominance?

Even the top-tier SSS Alpha they had ambushed and pinned down before — the one whose gland they dug out — could only make them feel slightly sluggish with his pheromones.

On the battlefield, that slight sluggishness was enough to cost a life.

The reason they were able to pin down that SSS Alpha and dig out his gland was simply because…

They had more people.

But this man in front of them…

Before the lead bodyguard could finish his thought, Jian Yuanbai smiled faintly and answered the unspoken question:

“You’re wondering what rank I am?”

“Probably… beyond SSS.”

The icy gun barrel pressed against the bodyguard’s forehead.

The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was Jian Yuanbai’s calm voice:

“After all… there’s no higher classification for Alphas beyond SSS.”

Inside the Room.

Jian Yuanbai stepped over the bodies and pushed open the door.

The deeper he went, the clearer the sound of crying became.

The entire third floor had been converted into a large suite.

When Jian Yuanbai opened the innermost door, he saw the man with a dragon tattoo on his back pressing down on a crying Omega.

Holding the gun, Jian Yuanbai politely knocked on the door with the barrel.

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

The man on the bed turned his head, just in time to see the pitch-black muzzle pointed at him.

“Doing this in broad daylight… isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”

Jian Yuanbai raised a brow and glanced at the Omega’s tear-streaked face.

“Besides… it doesn’t look like they’re exactly willing.”

The infamous “Hao-ge” froze.

“Who the hell are you?”

Jian Yuanbai’s voice remained calm:

“Get off the bed. Hands on your head. Kneel.”

Hao-ge slowly raised his hands and climbed off the bed.

“We can talk about this, alright?”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

Hao-ge screamed as the bullet shattered the fingers he used to support himself on the ground.

“F*ck you!”

Hao-ge clutched his bleeding hand, trembling in rage and pain.

But under Jian Yuanbai’s cold, unflinching gaze, he swallowed his anger and forced himself to speak calmly:

“Who sent you? Name your price. I’ll pay double.”

Jian Yuanbai smirked.

“Sure. But you might want to stop trying to reach for the alarm button first.”

He kicked the scattered clothes on the ground toward the Omega and said,

“Put these on. Stay quiet. Understand?”

The trembling Omega nodded frantically, covering himself with the clothes.

Hao-ge, drenched in sweat and in excruciating pain, no longer dared to make any sudden moves.

Jian Yuanbai’s voice turned colder:

“You dug out Lu Qianyun’s gland, didn’t you?”

“Which hand did you use?”

Hao-ge’s heart nearly stopped.

He stammered, “Y-You’re from the Lu family?”

Jian Yuanbai ignored him. He drew a knife from his belt.

“If you don’t tell me… I’ll just take both hands.”

“Wait, wait, wait!”

Hao-ge was so terrified that he instantly retreated.

“I-I can give you money. As much as you want!”

Money?

Jian Yuanbai almost laughed.

He squatted down in front of Hao-ge and said softly,

“It only took me one day to find you. The Lu family… that massive, powerful family… has been ‘hunting’ you for so long, yet somehow, you’ve been living your best life out here.”

“Why do you think that is?”

Hao-ge’s pupils contracted in fear.

“I hid really well…”

Bang!

Jian Yuanbai kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.

As Hao-ge struggled to get up, Jian Yuanbai stepped on his back, pinning him down like a helpless insect.

“I’ll ask again.”

“Which hand?”

“Take your time. I’m patient.”

Jian Yuanbai lowered the knife and slowly pierced the eye of the dragon tattoo on Hao-ge’s back.

Hao-ge let out a bloodcurdling scream, but no matter how much he struggled, Jian Yuanbai’s foot kept him firmly pinned to the ground.

“You like this tattoo?” Jian Yuanbai asked with eerie calmness.

“I don’t like the color. Let me help you… change it.”

With each stroke of the knife, Jian Yuanbai slowly carved through the intricate dragon scales.

Hao-ge’s screams echoed through the room, but the soundproofing on the third floor was excellent.

No one outside noticed a thing.

“I… I swear… The Lu family never really searched for me!”

“Lu Qianyun… He’s just a worthless, glandless side branch. Not worth their effort.”

Jian Yuanbai chuckled coldly.

“And why did you dig out Lu Qianyun’s gland?”

Hao-ge blurted out, “He… He stole my woman. We fought, and… I lost control…”

Jian Yuanbai pressed the blade deeper into his flesh.

“I want the truth.”

Hao-ge: “That is the truth!”

Blood soaked the floor.

Jian Yuanbai’s eyes turned colder.

Without hesitation, he flipped the knife and stabbed directly into the back of Hao-ge’s neck—

Straight through his gland.

Hao-ge let out an inhuman scream before passing out from the pain.

Jian Yuanbai coldly extracted the blood-soaked gland.

As he turned to leave, the Omega from earlier suddenly lunged forward, clutching Jian Yuanbai’s sleeve.

“Please… Take me with you.”

“If you leave me here, they’ll kill me…”

A faint, intoxicating sweetness filled the air.

Jian Yuanbai frowned.

“…You’re about to go into heat?”

The Omega, wrapped in an oversized coat with faint red marks on their neck and pale legs exposed, nodded pitifully.

Their pheromones flooded the air, desperately luring the powerful Alpha before them.

Jian Yuanbai, completely unfazed, began rummaging through the drawers.

Finding a suppressant injection, he pressed it against the Omega’s arm and injected the dose without hesitation.

—

On the way back, in the hover car…

The Omega stared at Jian Yuanbai with admiring eyes.

“Thank you for saving me,” he said sweetly.

“I’m Ye Qing. What’s your name, gege?”

Jian Yuanbai didn’t respond but instead asked, “Where do you live? I’ll take you back.”

Ye Qing’s already reddened eyes filled with tears once again. “I… I have nowhere to go.”

Crying, Ye Qing raised his head, looking at Jian Yuanbai with a pitiful yet hopeful expression. “You saved me. Can I stay by your side?”

“I can do anything, really.” As he spoke, Ye Qing’s face flushed, and he subtly loosened his collar.

Jian Yuanbai furrowed his brows in confusion, but due to his good upbringing, he refrained from arguing with the emotionally unstable Omega who had just been crying. Instead, he said:

“Since you can’t provide an address, I have no choice but to contact the Omega Protection Organization.”

After speaking, he stepped out of the car, standing by the door to get some fresh air while calling the Omega Protection Organization.

The strong, sweet scent of fermented wine inside the car made him feel nauseous.

Unexpectedly, Ye Qing tried to follow him out. However, as soon as he stepped out, his legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed onto Jian Yuanbai. Jian Yuanbai swiftly grabbed his shoulder and firmly pressed him back into the car seat.

“If you can’t even stand properly, just sit inside.”

“Besides, your scent hasn’t fully dissipated yet. It’s better for you to stay put.”

Earlier in the room, Jian Yuanbai had administered a short-acting suppressant, which worked quickly but had a limited duration.

Ye Qing stared in shock at the car door that had just been shut in his face. He even reached out to touch the burning back of his neck. He was indeed in heat.

What’s wrong with this man?

No matter how much Ye Qing pleaded, Jian Yuanbai remained unmoved. With one hand in his pocket and his long legs crossed casually, he leaned against the car and waited.

It wasn’t until the Omega Protection Organization reluctantly took Ye Qing away that Jian Yuanbai finally got back into the hover car, set the destination, and prepared to head home.

At that moment, the long-silent system in his mind suddenly spoke: “You were pretty ruthless with that guy Hao.”

Jian Yuanbai raised an eyebrow and replied indifferently, “He removed Lu Qianyun’s gland. Why would I show him mercy?”

“Although I’ve only recently joined the military, I know that mercy toward the enemy is cruelty to oneself.”

The system fell silent for a moment. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

The system had always perceived Jian Yuanbai’s personality as simple and straightforward — clear in his likes and dislikes. He had acted decisively in the past, but when he slowly and deliberately cut into Hao’s back earlier, the system felt an unfamiliar chill.

Perhaps, Jian Yuanbai was never the harmless, enthusiastic puppy he appeared to be. It was just that no one had ever crossed his bottom line before.

The system continued, “You seem quite concerned about Lu Qianyun. Why did you avenge him so quickly?”

Jian Yuanbai answered without hesitation, “I just felt like helping. Does there need to be a reason?”

The system, ever curious, asked, “That Omega just now was quite attractive. Didn’t you consider getting to know him and maybe making him your partner?”

In the first world, Jian Yuanbai had said he helped Wei Zhengge because he was good-looking. By the system’s standards, this Omega was equally attractive. Yet, when the Omega expressed his desire to stay by Jian Yuanbai’s side, he was mercilessly rejected.

Moreover, Jian Yuanbai had lost his memory and no longer remembered the events of previous worlds. So why did he reject such a beautiful Omega while repeatedly compromising for Lu Qianyun?

The system was utterly baffled.

Jian Yuanbai replied impatiently, “I don’t like him.”

Annoyed by the system’s nagging, he responded lazily, unwilling to elaborate further.

The system pressed on, “Then what type do you like?”

Jian Yuanbai thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with a clear answer. “I don’t know.”

The system tried again, “You must have some standards, right? Cute, beautiful, capable, intellectual, clingy, kind, filial… something?”

Jian Yuanbai replied, “But love and affection are feelings, not something you can define. It’s hard to put into words.”

“There are billions of people across the empire, spanning dozens of planets. If I were to follow a checklist to choose, wouldn’t I end up liking too many people?”

Struggling to express his thoughts, Jian Yuanbai eventually concluded, “I think the person I like would be someone I fall for at first sight.”

After a pause, he added, “Besides, that Omega was trying to deceive me.”

The hover car was fast and smooth. Before the system could ask what the Omega was trying to deceive him about, Jian Yuanbai had already opened the door and stepped out.

Lu Qianyun, who had been waiting at home all day, heard the sound and emerged from the kitchen. “You’re back.”

As he approached, his expression changed slightly. “You smell like an Omega.”

Lu Qianyun absentmindedly tore at the vegetables he had brought from the kitchen, trying to maintain a calm and composed tone. “Did you catch an Omega while chasing down the target?”

Unlike his impatience with the system, Jian Yuanbai became quite talkative in front of Lu Qianyun. He casually recounted the entire incident, omitting the fact that the person he captured was the one who removed Lu Qianyun’s gland. He only mentioned rescuing an Omega along the way.

When he got to the part where the Omega wanted to stay with him, Jian Yuanbai slapped his thigh in righteous indignation. “I saved him, and he tried to cling to me!”

“Finding a job is already difficult. Just because I saved him, does that mean I have to provide him with work too?”

Jian Yuanbai was baffled. “Does he really think I’m that easy to fool?”

“He doesn’t look like he’s capable of doing anything at all. And yet, he says he can do anything?”

Lu Qianyun blinked and softly asked, “What do you think he meant by ‘doing anything’?”

Jian Yuanbai answered without hesitation, “Mining, of course. I’m the owner of a mining planet. If he stays, I can only assign him to mine.”

“But at first glance, he looked like someone who couldn’t carry things on his shoulders or lift them with his hands. Operating the machinery on the mining star would be a real problem for him.”

Lu Qianyun accidentally tore off a large handful of vegetable leaves and said, “Have you ever considered that he might be an Omega?”

Jian Yuanbai, after understanding his words slightly, answered very seriously, “I don’t discriminate based on gender when hiring people. The inhibitors are very effective now, and there are plenty of Omegas on the mining star. So, it’s not that I’m discriminating against his gender, it’s just that his physique really doesn’t cut it.”

His understanding and response were completely off track, but Lu Qianyun wasn’t even surprised.

At this moment, the sour and nervous feeling Lu Qianyun had when smelling the Omega scent on Jian Yuanbai was completely gone. All that remained was a heavy sigh: “As expected of Jian Yuanbai.”

He reached out and patted Jian Yuanbai on the shoulder with a complicated tone, “You’re a good boss.”

Just… a bit dense.

Lu Qianyun saw no need to explain things on behalf of his potential love rival, so he dropped the topic.

The system, which had silently listened to the entire conversation, began quietly checking its own programming.

It must have been a malfunction in its core program that made it feel Jian Yuanbai was cold and unfamiliar just now. What a terrifying system.

Jian Yuanbai, completely unaware of the emotional turmoil happening between the human and the system, felt a bit happy yet puzzled after being praised. He said, “It’s nothing.”

“But just because I don’t discriminate against gender doesn’t mean he can think I’m easy to fool.”

“With that kind of physique, he can barely stand. And he dared to lie to me, saying he could handle everything.”

Lu Qianyun: ……

You’re not easy to fool, you’re just… a bit slow.