“What nonsense is he spouting…” the scarred Alpha gritted his AK, signaling two bodyguards to handle it.
The fierce cat Alpha and lynx Alpha carefully approached the bulletproof doors with their guns, ears pressed to the surface, holding their breath to locate the enemy.
The rich brandy pheromone seeped through the cracks, the oppressive pressure reaching the glands at the backs of the M2-level Alphas’ necks. Both felt as if an invisible hand gripped their throats, freezing them in place.
The patterns on the bulletproof door warped in the center, a raised area forming, thinning and glowing. Bang! A long, skeletal left hand suddenly burst through the door, grabbing the lynx Alpha’s neck in full view of everyone.
“No—”
Before the lynx Alpha could finish, a muffled groan escaped; his neck twisted at an unnatural angle, snapping instantly, killing him.
The hand, which had easily pierced the door, discarded the corpse and searched the door for the lock. A few twists later, the bulletproof door swung open.
Bai Chunan stood outside, casually rubbing his wrist, exuding a sharp brandy-scented pheromone. The oppressive dominance pheromone filled the room. In an instant, aside from the four remaining M2 Alphas who could barely stay standing, all lower-level Alphas clutched their glands in agony, staggering or collapsing to the floor.
Bai Chunan strolled in like he owned the place, shutting the bulletproof door behind him. He glanced at the hole he had punched and effortlessly pressed the steel shards back into place—steel that felt like clay in his hands.
The White Lion’s J1 gland differentiation: bone hardening. Gland cells proliferate massively, making his bones harder than any metal or alloy.
The merman in the display tank leaned against dead coral, exhausted. The increased concentration of Alpha pheromone in the room drained him further; his tail barely stirred the water.
Pheromones travel far slower in water than air, so it took a while for the merman to notice the distinctive brandy scent. Lifting his head weakly, his unfocused eyes sought the source.
Bai Chunan ignored the remaining M2 Alphas, casually stepping over the sprawled, groaning crowd, and lazily approached the water tank. His Desert Eagle was aimed at the glass.
The tank shattered. Water surged out, carrying the merman with it, crashing him onto the dry tank floor.
Bai Chunan watched coldly, like admiring an enemy being executed, eyes fixed on the half-dead fish before him.
The merman struggled, curling upright, dripping golden hair clinging to his cheeks. Wet lashes lifted as he weakly raised his head to look at Bai Chunan.
His vocal cords differed from humans; he could only produce long, ethereal tones from throat compression, sounding pained and mournful.
“A…”
For the first time in days, the merman actively communicated with a human.
Bai Chunan glared down at that infuriating face, wanting to push him away, but his Adam’s apple moved with difficulty. Finally, he stepped back two paces.
The merman fully trusted him, extending a long-finned hand to be held.
Bai Chunan’s feigned indifference finally cracked. Frowning, he instinctively crouched and extended a hand, freezing awkwardly mid-air.
Sensing Bai Chunan’s hesitation, the merman retracted his right hand, examining it for a few seconds before suddenly biting and tearing open the translucent webbing between his fingers, intertwining his hand with Bai Chunan’s.
Bai Chunan’s fingertips trembled. Hesitating, he pulled away, only grabbing the merman’s wrist, lifting him with one arm.
Surprised by the refusal, the merman wrapped his long tail around Bai Chunan’s waist.
His skin was still cool as before. Bai Chunan thought chaotically: a deep-sea fish, delicate and heat-sensitive, vastly different from human body temperature. In the past, a single kiss would make him scream from the heat; a few more would bring tears. By the next morning, a small, irregularly shaped pearl could be plucked from his lashes.
The iron chain around the mermaid’s neck clinked harshly, the exposed gland on the back of his neck rubbed raw against the steel ring, swollen and bruised, a numbered experimental suppressor embedded deep in the gland’s center to prevent the gland’s energy from surging and causing the subject to lash out.
Bai Chunian’s gaze lingered on the injured gland for a long moment, easily snapping the steel clasp on the mermaid’s neck without noticing the ache in his own molars from clenching his teeth, his eyes sweeping sharply over everyone present.
He handed a Desert Eagle to the mermaid, sneering, “Who did this? Bring them out.”
The scar-faced alpha, hiding behind a chair, realized the situation was hopeless and tried to flee while he still had strength. But the mermaid’s eyes narrowed, pre-aiming the gun at the doorway, and the moment the scar-faced alpha stumbled out of the bulletproof door, his skull exploded.
Immediately, the mermaid cocked the gun and swept the barrel across, bullets whistling past Bai Chunian’s ears, taking out the mercenaries attempting to ambush him up close.
By the time they exited the abandoned aquarium, dozens lay strewn behind them, each corpse marked by a single bullet, at least two-thirds shot in the head, the force of the Desert Eagle blasting half of some heads apart.
The mermaid’s wet blond hair clung to his ears as he sat expressionless in Bai Chunian’s arms, loading each round with meticulous care.
Bai Chunian, holding the omega with one arm, tore a sticky bomb from his belt and tossed it behind him. It adhered to the old entrance gate of the aquarium; after a few seconds of the electronic countdown, it detonated, triggering the explosives scattered throughout the ruins.
He lowered his head, gently biting the fragile back of the mermaid’s neck, removing the suppressor embedded in his gland while releasing calming pheromones. He spat the device into his palm and dropped it into his pocket.
Once the suppressor left the gland, the mermaid’s eyes regained a metallic blue sheen, arcs of electricity flickering across the pupils. His long tail flicked, storm clouds rapidly gathering above the ruins, wind tearing through, flames devouring everything caught in the wreckage. Lightning lashed unpredictably, striking buildings within the blast-storm’s radius.
The mermaid’s electric stingray gland, J1 differentiation ability, downstrike torrent: a destruction-focused differentiation unique to special ops experimental subjects, often used for underwater cover, sniper support, and sabotage of enemy equipment behind lines.
Blazing fire mixed with deafening thunder illuminated half the sky. Bai Chunian used the explosion’s shockwave to leap from the high platform, mounting a motorcycle through the warped heat, speeding away with the omega in tow.