This was the second time in Song Jin’s life that his foot had been stepped on.

He knew Li Xiao’s intention, but using such a childish method to interrupt and retaliate made him very unhappy.

Sensing a death glare, Li Xiao nonchalantly moved his foot away and explained to Qin Le and the Dean, Zhao Qiqi: “That day after class, I asked Meng Tao out to eat, but Meng Tao, having been bullied by who knows who or where, suddenly lost control of his emotions and attacked me. Little Song was afraid I’d get bullied, which is why he stepped in.”

This explanation was practically perfect.

Zhao Qiqi and Qin Le held back their laughter, pretending to look very solemn.

A conflict between Song Jin and Meng Tao would involve international issues, but a conflict between Li Xiao and Meng Tao was an internal contradiction. Even if Song Jin helped in the fight, now that Li Xiao had voluntarily stepped up to take the blame, a major incident could be minimized.

Qi Ge pointed angrily at Song Jin and asked Li Xiao: “Exactly who bullied who?! Meng Tao had clearly already been beaten to the ground by you, and he still attacked, everyone saw it!”

“Which is why I said it was excessive self-defense,” Song Jin said slowly. “Also, please put your hand down. I don’t like being pointed at.”

“What kind of excessive self-defense is this!?” Qi Ge reluctantly lowered his hand. “This is obviously intentional assault!”

“Intentional?” Song Jin’s tone carried a hint of a smile. “If he hadn’t insulted people first, you think I’d have the free time to pay attention to him?”

Before Qi Ge could retort, Li Xiao said indifferently: “This incident started because of me. Little Song only injured Meng Tao out of a sense of justice. In terms of both emotion and reason, I can’t just watch him be blamed. If you have any complaints, direct them at me.”

Hearing this, Song Jin slightly raised an eyebrow and cast a glance at Li Xiao.

What was going on with this guy? His vibe was a bit off.

Just a few days ago, he had been dead cold, but today he was acting like they shared some revolutionary friendship.

Seeing Li Xiao arrive, Zheng Lin silently retreated to the side and stopped talking. Anyway, Qi Ge was charging at the front. Whoever wanted this thankless role could have it.

The exchange students who had come along looked at each other in dismay, feeling that this matter would probably end up unresolved.

No matter how illegitimate Li Xiao’s status was, he was still a prince after all.

Besides, Meng Tao had insulted Li Xiao first. If this really got reported up the chain, it was hard to say who would actually end up being punished.

Half an hour later, Qi Ge and his group left, bottling up a stomach full of anger.

Song Jin followed Li Xiao out of the office and teased, “Your popularity was already terrible, and now you’re taking an outsider’s side. You’re going to have no friends left.”

“I just have an intermittent people-pleasing personality, I’m not a simp. Even if I did nothing, they still wouldn’t treat me as a friend. Besides—” Li Xiao deliberately paused, and seeing Song Jin look over, he said slowly, “Don’t I still have you?”

Song Jin looked him up and down in confusion: “Did you eat something bad again and mess up your stomach?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao: “I just helped you, Classmate Little Song.”

Song Jin: “…”
What kind of bullshit nickname was that?

Song Jin: “Didn’t you say you weren’t interested in me?”

Li Xiao: “I’m the type who takes a while to warm up.”

The two walked across the atrium, chatting idly.

Li Xiao: “By the way, you really hate it when people say two alphas getting together is disgusting?”

Song Jin: “Yeah. It’s basically dancing on my landmines.”

Li Xiao: “Why? Does someone in your family have an Alpha-Alpha relationship?”

Song Jin: “Are you running a background check?”

Li Xiao: “Aren’t we friends?”

Song Jin: “I only talk about family matters with my future partner.”

Li Xiao: “…”
His vigilance was seriously high.

---

The next day, Saturday, Li Xiao woke up very early. While Da Bei was still asleep, he took Jiang Hao to wander around several commercial districts frequented by students.

In the afternoon, the two entered a holographic arcade.

The gaming room was equipped with top-tier holographic gaming gear. Li Xiao turned on both devices, left Jiang Hao alone to play, and shook off the two groups tracking them, heading to another street with heavier foot traffic.

He dialed Jiang Chi’s communication number using a spare terminal. It took a long time to connect.

“Did you go missing, kid? Taking so many days to reply to my messages!” On the other end of the line, Jiang Chi complained a bit.

Wearing a hat and mask, Li Xiao kept an eye on his surroundings and asked in a low voice: “How is the investigation going?”

Jiang Chi: “My people were scavenging for junk in District 3 and found a terminal. The messages inside indicate that the Bique Tribe Shaman’s blood was sent over from N2533.”

Li Xiao opened the received message logs.

Limping Zhang: [How much do you need?]
Me: [Just grab two vials. It’s all the same regardless of the amount anyway.]
Limping Zhang: [The goods will be transferred from N2533. Two days before the ceremony, handover at the usual place.]
Me: [Received.]

Judging from the conversation, it seemed N2533 had a lot of this kind of blood.

Li Xiao: “Try to locate the exact position where the messages were sent.”

“Already have people on it,” Jiang Chi added. “These past few days, I noticed a few people sneaking around following us. The terminal we picked up also had traces of being hacked. Someone else might be investigating. Keep an eye out yourself.”

Scrolling through the chat logs, Li Xiao casually praised him: “You’re pretty capable, managing to spot all that.”

Jiang Chi: “Are you mocking me?”

Li Xiao: “I’m seriously complimenting you.”

Whenever someone else investigating was mentioned, the first person Li Xiao thought of was the Little Golden Lion, Song Jin.

If the Bique Tribe’s blood was that important to him, he definitely wouldn’t give up on the Youlong clue.

However, Song Jin’s people were highly likely from the regular army. For Jiang Chi to notice their trail was indeed not simple.

Jiang Chi chuckled: “If I couldn’t even notice that, how could the Snow Leopards have made it to today?”

Time was tight; the longer they talked, the easier it was to be tracked. Li Xiao cut straight to the chase: “How is the intelligence gathering on the Ravens going?”

Jiang Chi: “The Ravens have basically been active in the South Ming Constellation these past few years. Heard from the underlings they’re a bunch of freaks. Probably eat mutant meat every day, so they mutated too.”

Li Xiao was puzzled: “Freaks?”

Jiang Chi: “They say their gazes are sharp, they’re as strong as oxen, and they can shatter boulders with their bare hands!”

Li Xiao: “…”

Sensing the long silence on the other end, Jiang Chi knew what he said sounded unreliable, so he tried to salvage it: “I’ve noted down all the places the Ravens have attacked over the years. I’ll send it to you now.”

The terminal vibrated. Li Xiao gave it a cursory glance and saved it to a secure folder.

“Did the guy surnamed Zhong say anything?”

Speaking of this, Jiang Chi had a massive headache. “I’m supplying him with good food and drink, but he absolutely refuses to spill a single word. He just trades insults with me every day.”

Li Xiao: “You collaborated with me once, and now you’ve positioned yourself as a good guy?”

Jiang Chi: “Huh?”

Li Xiao: “The person is in your hands. I just want results.”

After hanging up, Jiang Chi slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing it.
This kid is truly ruthless! It’s a pity he isn’t in a gang. Is it really okay for Hao Hao to follow him?

---

Li Xiao used his spare terminal to send a message to his friend at the research institute. He squeezed through the crowd for two streets before receiving a reply.

Qiu Bin: [This is the most ordinary of ordinary human blood. Drinking it won’t prolong your lifespan, nor will it enhance your pheromones. It might even lead to a viral infection. I don’t recommend drinking it indiscriminately.]

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao opened the blood test report.

It showed that the blood sample came from an alpha around a hundred years old. Judging by various indicators, this alpha’s physical fitness was comparable to a young man in his forties or fifties.

Even if alphas were born with superior physical conditions, to still hit these metrics at one hundred years old was somewhat absurd.

Could this be why Youlong said this blood could prolong lifespans?

If it was pure nonsense, why would Song Jin try to snatch this blood? Could it be related to the abilities of the Bique Tribe?

Saving all the files, disconnecting from the net, and turning off the device, Li Xiao headed back.

Just as he stepped out of the pedestrian street, Li Xiao suddenly heard an extremely faint noise. A thick pane of glass was plummeting down from the high-rise above.

Li Xiao quickly backed away. With a massive crash, the glass smashed squarely into the exact spot where he had just been standing.

“Ah—!” The surrounding pedestrians were frightened and let out piercing screams.

His face dark, Li Xiao turned and entered the alley next to the high-rise to take a shortcut back.

As he reached the corner, a sharp short dagger thrust toward him.

Li Xiao stopped abruptly; the blade sliced past, leaving a tear in his collar.

Missing its mark, the dagger swung back around and stabbed at Li Xiao again.

Li Xiao quickly retreated two steps. He saw that the knife-wielder was dressed entirely in black, bundled up even more tightly than he was.

The assailant used a masking agent to cover their pheromones, but for Li Xiao, he could still clearly distinguish the scent of an alpha.

The two engaged in close combat in the cramped corner of the alley.

Li Xiao blocked the incoming knife, grabbed the assailant’s wrist backhandedly, and gave it a hard twist.

The man in black cried out in pain and dropped the dagger. He hurriedly tried to catch it with his left hand, but Li Xiao beat him to it.

Turning the tables, Li Xiao nimbly flipped the dagger between his fingers, the icy blade striking straight for the opponent’s carotid artery.

The man in black hastily dodged backward, looking very battered. Seeing the situation had turned against him, he turned and ran.

Li Xiao chased for a few steps, but realizing the assailant had rushed into the crowd, he decisively gave up.

This was St. Ya; causing a commotion would do him no good.

The spot just now happened to be a blind spot for surveillance cameras. The knife wasn’t a professional military combat knife, but a fruit knife that could be bought anywhere. The man in black wore gloves, obviously not leaving any fingerprints behind either.

Li Xiao wiped off his own fingerprints and casually tossed it into a trash can.

There were quite a few people who wanted to deal with him. Meng Jian, who had just suffered a huge loss; his older brother, who wished he would just disappear; the Little Golden Lion harboring a bunch of mysteries—all of them were possible suspects.

Thinking of his older brother, Li Xiao felt a bit irritated.

In his past life, his brother had also hired assassins to kill him several times, forcing him to distance himself from the royal family.

Even if he was born from a lowly servant who couldn’t be presented in public, was there a need to kill him? Was he really that intolerable to him?

Just why?

---

To play the part fully, Li Xiao returned to the arcade and played games until past eight o’clock at night before heading back to school.

Seeing that Li Xiao wasn’t in high spirits, Jiang Hao asked in confusion: “Big Boss, were the games not fun?”

Li Xiao snapped out of his jumbled thoughts and casually asked, “What do you think is a good way to get close to an alpha?”

Jiang Hao: “Who are you trying to mess with now?”

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao: “I just purely want to close the distance between us.”

Jiang Hao said seriously, “First, chug three bottles of baijiu. I guarantee you’ll be calling each other brothers in no time.”

Li Xiao: “…” Never mind.

The wind was strong at night. Li Xiao took Jiang Hao back via a small path.

Suddenly smelling a pungent odor, Li Xiao’s brows twitched.

It smelled like rotting, fermented tomatoes—faint and barely there.

“Did you smell anything?” Li Xiao asked.

Jiang Hao sniffed around: “No.”

It seemed he was the only one who could smell it.

Li Xiao scanned his surroundings to pinpoint the source of the scent, then said to Jiang Hao: “You go back to the dorm first. If you run into Da Bei, just say I made plans to go train with someone.”

Jiang Hao: “Okay.”

Li Xiao followed the corridor to the base of the student council office building and saw that only a few individual offices still had their lights on.

Why would there be the smell of pheromones here this late at night?

Could it be some students having a secret rendezvous here?

Li Xiao felt like he was being a busybody, but this scent was too unusual; he wouldn’t be satisfied if he didn’t take a look.

He walked all the way outside the student council office, unexpectedly finding the door wide open. Song Jin, Qian Can, and Qin Le were all there, and their expressions didn’t look right.

“Li Xiao?” Qin Le knitted his brows and asked in confusion, “Why are you here?”

Li Xiao: “I saw the lights were on and wanted to come over and ask about the follow-up investigation on the assault incident. If it’s inconvenient, I’ll take my leave first.”

Just as he turned around, Song Jin stopped him.

“Since you’re already here, why not sit for a bit before you leave?” Song Jin, arms crossed and leaning against a desk, lifted his chin at him.

Qian Can and Qin Le exchanged a glance, then looked at Li Xiao: “Why are you wandering around nearby this late?”

“Just got back from off-campus, passing by.” Li Xiao looked at the somewhat pale-faced alpha student sitting on the sofa. “What happened to him?”

“He was attacked by someone unknown while on duty and fainted at the corner of the corridor. When he woke up, the office door was open. We currently suspect the place was broken into.”

As he spoke, Song Jin looked at Li Xiao, asking pointedly, “Did you notice any suspicious personnel on your way here?”

Now suspicion has fallen on my head, Li Xiao grumbled internally. Sure enough, having too much curiosity is never a good thing.

Li Xiao: “There are security cameras everywhere here, wouldn’t you know if you just checked?”

“We can’t,” Qin Le interjected. “The footage only shows Zhang Ming going in and out.”

Li Xiao: “Then on what basis do you suspect a break-in?”

Song Jin: “There are two minutes and thirty-eight seconds missing from the footage.”

Li Xiao was puzzled: “Can just anyone tamper with a military academy’s surveillance system?”

“Of course not,” Qin Le explained. “Only a few specific student council members have the authority to pull the footage. Illegal intrusions would be locked down by the AI.”

Then there were only two possibilities.

It was an inside job by a student council member, or it was some master programmer formidable enough to go up against the military academy’s AI.

The group had no clues.

Song Jin signaled Qin Le to pull all the surveillance footage for the entire building and rewatch it a few times.

Rubbing his throbbing head, Zhang Ming leaned weakly against the sofa: “I suddenly smelled a weird odor at the time, so I went out to check. I ended up losing consciousness halfway there.”

Li Xiao walked over, resting a hand on the back of the sofa, and leaned in close to Zhang Ming’s neck.

Aside from the smell of rotting tomatoes, there was also a very faint scent of rice wine. It was indeed highly unusual.

Everyone’s pheromones differed in strength and scent. The state of one’s pheromones could reflect the owner’s physical condition.

A healthy person’s pheromones weren’t like this.

Zhang Ming was so frightened he didn’t dare move. “Wh-what are you doing?”

Li Xiao straightened up. Before he could speak, he saw that Song Jin had walked over at some point and was standing right beside him, watching him.

Song Jin: “Did you find something?”

Li Xiao: “Want to know?”

Li Xiao’s gaze swept over Qin Le and Qian Can on the other side, and he turned to walk out.

Song Jin narrowed his eyes slightly and followed right behind him.

Turning into an empty office at the end of the corridor, Li Xiao faced Song Jin: “How about we play a game?”

Song Jin: “What kind of game?”

Li Xiao: “We ask each other one question, and we must tell the truth.”

Their gazes clashed in the air. Song Jin chuckled lightly: “Sure. Guests go first.”

Li Xiao asked straightforwardly, “What is your relationship with Song Yu?”