Bai Chunian closed the lounge door behind him and walked out of the headquarters lobby, holding Lan Bo in his arms.
It was already late at night. The technical department was working overtime to cover their tracks and monitor online sentiment, and the chairman was in the ward with Lu Yan. He could report the situation tomorrow; there shouldn’t be anything urgent to do for now. He could take his beloved wife home for a good night’s sleep and come back in the morning.
“Wait a moment.”
Bai Chunian turned around and saw Han Xingqian, who had already changed into the white uniform of the IOA Medical Association; he must have just returned from there.
Han Xingqian: “Xiao Bai, may I ask Lan Bo a few questions?”
Lan Bo crawled out of Bai Chunian’s arms. Han Xingqian gently put his arm around him and asked a question in a low voice. Lan Bo nodded.
Bai Chunian leaned in suspiciously: “Is there anything the esteemed Chief of Investigations isn’t allowed to hear?”
He wrapped his arms around Lan Bo from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. “Go ahead.”
Han Xingqian had no choice but to smile. “I was wondering, Lan Bo, can you metabolize any drug quickly?”
Lan Bo nodded.
“Including dangerous drugs like infectious agents that would kill a test subject?”
Lan Bo: “Yeah. No matter what—anything, everything—no human potion can harm me.”
Han Xingqian: “Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain it won’t harm you in any way?”
Lan Bo impatiently flicked his hair: “Are you questioning me?”
Bai Chunian sensed something was off and frowned in protest: “ “Bro Han, what are you doing? Don’t use him as a guinea pig, okay?”
Han Xingqian: “Here’s the thing. Lu Yan brought back seven samples of important potions from the Lingti Clan’s laboratory. After our analysis, we’ve fully confirmed the functions of six of them. There’s only one potion left—we’ve identified its ingredients but aren’t sure of its function yet. We want Lan Bo to test it.”
Beyond their friendship, Bai Chunian harbored deep respect and gratitude for Han Xingqian, and usually treated him with the utmost kindness. But at this moment, his expression turned a bit cold. Bai Chunian wasn’t the type to wear his displeasure on his sleeve, but when it came to matters of principle, he simply couldn’t tolerate it.
“I’ll do whatever task IOA gives me, but this is out of the question.” Bai Chunian picked up Lan Bo. “Brother Han, don’t put me in this position.”
Han Xingqian realized that the idea was indeed offensive. Using test subjects to experiment with drugs was no different from what the 109 Research Institute did—no wonder Bai Chunian was giving him the cold shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” Han Xingqian said, lowering his head. “I jumped to conclusions and didn’t consider that aspect.”
Apart from his appearance being vastly different from humans, Lan Bo possessed an ethereal, otherworldly aura. From his mannerisms and demeanor to his gaze and certain special abilities, Lan Bo gave off the impression of possessing a divine quality—as if he were immortal. That was why Han Xingqian had thought of him first.
“Since you’re asking, it must be very important.” ” Lan Bo looked at him impassively, lifting the tip of his tail slightly and holding it out to Han Xingqian.
Han Xingqian paused for a moment, then turned to Bai Chunian: “What does he mean by that?”
Bai Chunian sighed softly: “Kiss the tip of his tail. It means to submit to him, to become his follower. He’ll grant your wish, but you must never be disloyal to him.”
Han Xingqian chuckled: “What counts as disloyalty?”
Bai Chunian: “Throwing trash into the water, or leaving the tap running while brushing your teeth. Also, eating raw seafood—like live sea urchins or squid. If you see a beached fish on the shore, you must return it to the sea. Even if a whale is stranded, you must go and give it a sincere push. you must help Lan Bo when he’s in trouble. All of these are called ‘fulfilling vows.’ The more you give, the greater the vow you fulfill—it’s like a store loyalty card. If you accumulate enough, you’ll receive a blessing, but you never know when or what it will be. If you don’t follow these rules, you’re as good as dead—you’ll get struck by lightning while walking down the street.”
Han Xingqian wrote each point down in his notebook.
Bai Chunian tapped his notebook. “Faith requires sincerity. What’s the point of writing it down on paper? You need to memorize it.”
Lan Bo smiled as he looked at his young missionary. Few people were willing to treat him with such devout devotion—loving what he loved and hating what he hated. It was probably fate; Xiao Bai existed as his “messenger.”
Kissing the tip of the tail was a blessing. Lan Bo was deeply grateful for Han Xingqian’s constant care and protection of Little Bai.
Lan Bo left with Han Xingqian.
Bai Chunian crouched on a stool, shaking his head wildly.
“How does he manage to charm Alphas so well? It’s so annoying. If anyone wants to believe in him, they can just come over and kiss him… I’m going to revise a few tenets: this faith is passed down to Omegas, not Alphas. The ritual will be changed to kissing the ground where the tail tip has touched.”
The elevator chimed; other colleagues were finishing their overtime and heading home.
A red fox Omega with a fiery red tail stepped out of the elevator, her high heels clicking sharply against the floor.
“Hey, Brother Chu.” The red fox greeted Bai Chunian while touching up her lipstick.
“Heading home, Fengyue?” Bai Chunian hadn’t shaken off his gloom yet; he waved listlessly. “It’s getting dark—be careful on your way home.”
“Why do you look like you just got dumped?” The red fox smirked, wiping the lipstick from the corner of her lips. “I’m off on a date.”
“A date? With who?”
“I’d like to go on a date with you. Are you in?”
“Oh, cut the crap. Just tell me.”
There were plenty of Omegas in the IOA Alliance, but Alphas were extremely rare. The handsome Alphas had long been snapped up by the Omegas. However, a charming beauty like Fengyue wouldn’t even give the Alliance’s Alphas a second glance. Though she looked soft and delicate, her combat prowess actually ranked among the top in the M2 tier; ordinary Alphas certainly didn’t meet her standards.
Feng Yue made a shushing gesture and smiled sweetly: “Soldier.”
“Pfft, PBB, whatever. Fine, I’ll wish you luck becoming a military wife.”
“I’m off.” Feng Yue waved her hand and walked out of the headquarters lobby in her hot, form-fitting miniskirt.
Bai Chunian waited a little longer, but he couldn’t sit still anymore, so he decided to follow her to the Medical Association.
Passing by the ward, he noticed Lu Yan’s hospital room door was ajar. Bai Chunian peeked inside and saw that not only was the president there, but Uncle Jin was inside as well.
This is a disaster.
Lu Yan was lying in bed wearing a hospital gown, an IV needle in his hand. Yan Yi sat by the bed, peeling an apple.
Lu Shangjin still had his suit on; it seemed he’d rushed back from the office as soon as he heard the news. Standing by the bed, he bent down to gently hug Lu Yan and kissed him on the cheek: “Come here, let Daddy hold you, you poor thing. If I’d known this would happen…”
“Oh, I’m not a little kid anymore.” Lu Yan perked up his rabbit ears. “What would’ve happened if you’d known? Wouldn’t you have stopped me from going to the Aphid Island training camp?”
Lu Shangjin shook his head, sat back down by the bed, and looked at him with a hint of resignation. “I really wish I could’ve arranged everything for you, but you just wouldn’t listen.”
Yan Yi cut the apple into small pieces, skewered one with a toothpick, and held it to Lu Yan’s lips: “Does it still hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.” Lu Yan chewed on the apple. “Actually, Brother Chu told me to pull out back then, but I refused to leave and even made Lan Xing take the risk for me.”
Yan Yi frowned. “You have to follow your superiors’ orders on a mission. If everyone acted as recklessly as you do, everything would fall apart. It’s fine that you came back safely this time, but if something had happened to you, a lot of people would have had to pay the price for your stubbornness.”
“I know, I know,” Lu Yan said quietly. “I’ll listen to him from now on. This was just a one-time thing.”
“Dad, the Free Bird Medal is so beautiful. I want one too. I just want to prove that even without you guys, I can do anything.”
Yan Yi paused for a moment, then gently stroked Lu Yan’s cheek. “Did someone say you’ve been relying on us all this time?”
“Yeah. That’s what they all say—my classmates at Anfia Military Academy. But no one on Aphid Island says that. There, whoever’s the strongest calls the shots. I’m the strongest, so I’m the one in charge.”
“I’m sorry. All these years, I should have asked you more about what was going on in your life.”
Lu Shangjin placed his hand on Yan Yi’s shoulder. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”
Yan Yi leaned into Lu Shangjin’s shoulder with a sense of guilt and sighed helplessly.
“Oh, I’m fine, I really am. What are you guys doing?” Lu Yan, eager to prove he was okay, scrambled to his feet and tried to break into a street dance routine, only to be pushed back down by Lu Shangjin.
“Behave yourself. “Leave the Lingti Family’s aftermath to me. And the Research Institute—this is the first time they’ve openly defied us. Are they trying to make a statement?” Lu Shangjin dialed a number. As he waited for the call to connect, his eyes, now gleaming coldly, gazed out the window. An omega answered the phone.
“Compile a list of all companies that have conducted transactions with the Research Institute over the past three years and send it to me immediately.”
“Yes, Mr. Lu.”
Yan Yi glanced at him. “If you act now, your losses will be massive. You can hold off a bit longer—losing such a large batch of monolenine will bring them down sooner or later.”
“I don’t care. That’s just pocket change. Consider it a price to keep my little bunny happy. You’re going to the meeting in Westminster next week; I’ll build up some momentum for you first.”
——
Feng Yue’s date was at a Western-style restaurant in the downtown business district of Aphid City. When she arrived, her date was already there.
Feng Yue clutched her diamond-encrusted clutch, her slender arm resting lightly on the back of the chair, and tapped the Alpha’s shoulder from behind.
Before her fingertips even touched him, the Alpha whipped around abruptly, grabbing her wrist. His blue wolf-like eyes glinted darkly. Fengyue leaned in with the momentum, and a tactical dagger fell from the open clasp of her handbag, pressing against the Alpha’s neck.
As soon as He Suowei saw it was her, his gaze softened and he released her wrist. “Don’t ever tap me from behind again, or I might hurt you.”
Feng Yue smiled, tucked the dagger back into her handbag, and sat down across from He Suowei, her eyes crinkling. “Just kidding. I won’t do it next time.”
A bouquet of roses sat on the table. He Suowei wasn’t one for romance; he’d bought them thinking an Omega might like them. He merely gave a slight nod, saying nothing, though his heart was racing.
Feng Yue was quite pleased with this Alpha. He estimated him to be about 185 cm tall, with a flawless physique. Just now, she’d caught a glimpse of his pecs through the opening of his shirt collar. Hmm, no wonder he came from the PBB Storm Unit—his muscles were stunning. He also had a ruggedly handsome look about him. Although she also liked the type of flirty, pretty boys like Bai Chunian, Captain He clearly had a much more masculine vibe.
Just as she was about to pick up the menu, two heads suddenly popped up beside the table.
He Suowei’s expression froze: “How did you two find your way here?”
He Wenxiao: “Daddy.” (Low EQ)
He Wenyi: “Can I take the surname He?” (High EQ)
He Suowei: “????”
Feng Yue didn’t look too pleased, but she still asked politely, “Captain He, are these two your…”
He Suowei muttered under his breath at the two of them, “Are you guys crazy? Can’t you see I’m on a date? Don’t mess this up. Get lost.”
The two little wolves turned their gaze toward Feng Yue in unison.
He Wenxiao: “Hey, beautiful.” (Low EQ)
He Wenyi: “Mommy.” (High EQ)
……
“Fuck.” Feng Yue grabbed her bag and walked out.