The moment the hovercar touched down, nearby security guards swarmed the area. The alpha on the ground hadn’t even managed to stand up before being surrounded by patrol cars and armed guards.

“Get down! Hands behind your head!” a guard shouted.

The alpha, still desperate, tried to release his pheromones to create an opening for escape. Li Xiao yanked him up, knocked him unconscious with a single punch, and threw him into the backseat. He turned to the captain of the guard team. “This individual is extremely dangerous. I will personally deliver him to the detention center.”

The surrounding guards remained on high alert. Carjacking a patrol vehicle was far beyond a standard criminal offense. The captain, naturally, was hesitant, especially since Li Xiao was speaking in the Danse language. “You’re coming with us!”

The passenger door of the hovercar opened, and the alpha guard stumbled out. His face was pale as he reported to the captain, “Report, Captain! This kid saved me! If he hadn’t blocked the car door, I would have been forced to jump.”

The captain was taken aback. He glanced at Li Xiao standing by the vehicle and then at his subordinates. One of them jogged over to the captain and whispered, “He really did block the door. I saw it.”

After confirming the situation with the secret service, the captain’s tone softened considerably. “In that case, I’ll leave it to you. We will follow behind to ensure no more accidents occur.”

All the troublesome exchange students were brought to the quarantine medical center. This facility specialized in treating infectious diseases and patients with glandular abnormalities that prevented pheromone control.

It was late, and the center was nearly empty. Li Xiao drove the car into the garage, and intelligent stretcher robots immediately swarmed to assist. The wards in this zone were more like prison cells; each featured heavy metal doors and redundant air purification systems. As Li Xiao walked down the corridor, the cold, sterile air made him recall unpleasant memories.

Turning a corner, he saw Song Jin leaning against the wall, arms crossed, gazing down the hallway as if waiting for him. Qin Le and Jiang Hao were nearby, and several injured guards were having their wounds bandaged.

“Is everyone else sent over?” Li Xiao asked.

“Just this last one,” Song Jin said, gesturing for his subordinates to move the alpha into the isolation cell. He looked Li Xiao up and down. “Are you hurt?”

“Concerned about me?” Li Xiao teased.

Song Jin snorted. “Your body is my property. Isn’t it normal to care about my own assets?”

Li Xiao: “…” Nonsense.

Qin Le was busy coordinating the aftermath. District 320C was under total lockdown, and the guard team was performing a systematic sweep to ensure nothing was missed. Qin Le looked at Song Jin. “Boss, how should we announce the reason for the lockdown? And how long should it last?”

Song Jin’s mind was still occupied with Li Xiao’s “scumbag” deception. He signaled Qin Le and Li Xiao to enter a nearby office. Seeing Jiang Hao follow, he glanced sideways at Li Xiao.

Li Xiao walked over, receiving Song Jin’s questioning look. “He’s one of us.”

Song Jin: “…” Who is ‘us’ with you?

Chestnut walked in last and locked the door behind him. “All 24 exchange students who broke into the 320 training hall have been captured. One dead on the spot, three shot, four slightly injured, twelve unconscious. We have no serious casualties on our side.”

“What about those outside the hall?” Song Jin asked.

“No abnormal activity yet. We’ve jammed their terminal signals; they don’t even know what happened.” Aside from the 24 in the hall, they were monitoring 297 other suspects, though only 32 were currently confirmed as threats.

“A student being killed—that can’t be hidden,” Qin Le said with a heavy expression. “Covering this up will definitely arouse suspicion from Danse. When people suddenly go missing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be hard to appease.”

If this were just a skirmish between military cadets, it wouldn’t be such a headache. But no matter how they reacted, an exchange student had died on academy grounds; Danse would surely seize this as a pretext. Song Jin wasn’t afraid of a falling out with Danse, but if things escalated, it could trigger the hidden modifieds to go berserk. Once those monsters hid in the crowd, the danger was immeasurable. The situation was murky, their cards were too few, and they had to wait.

“Looking at their previous activity, they are usually solitary and cautious. Tonight, however, they acted recklessly, which is very puzzling.” Chestnut glanced at Li Xiao, who was sitting at the desk. “Does student Li Xiao know anything?”

Qin Le and Song Jin both looked over. The twenty-something people tonight were clearly targeting Li Xiao. Why would they risk exposure just to kill him? Was he more valuable than the military secrets they were supposed to be stealing?

Li Xiao said calmly, “I’m not familiar with them.”

He was surprised by tonight’s events. It wasn’t news that people back home wanted him dead, but he hadn’t expected them to be bold enough to stir up trouble on Shengya soil. Or perhaps, because it was Shengya, it was the perfect place to stir things up? Li Xiao recalled what Lin Zhou had said—that the diplomatic ties were all Shengya’s wishful thinking. Could it be that those people didn’t just want to stir the pot domestically, but also pull Shengya into the water?

Chestnut wasn’t satisfied with the answer, but he saw Song Jin’s signal to stop and went silent.

“My suggestion is to keep the entire 320 hall under lockdown. Tell the public it was an unexplained pheromone leak leading to a brawl, and that the injured personnel are being quarantined due to uncontrollable pheromone levels,” Li Xiao looked at Song Jin. “For the next few days, both of you should stay here.”

Song Jin: “If we use that excuse, I’ll push all the blame onto the exchange students.”

Li Xiao: “I have no objection.”

Song Jin said languidly, “The exchange students’ reputations are already in the gutter.”

Li Xiao responded with a straight face, “The people of Danse are very reasonable and value integrity. If it is our fault, we will admit it, and we will not shirk responsibility for compensation.”

It was a clear stance. Qin Le couldn’t help but look at Li Xiao in confusion. Li Xiao was Danse-born, yet he didn’t help the Danse side at all. Was personal vengeance more important than national dignity?

Song Jin scoffed, “Integrity?”

Li Xiao: “Is there a problem?”

Song Jin didn’t reply and told Qin Le, “Do as he says.”

Leaving the office, Li Xiao looked at Jiang Hao. “You go back first. If Da Bei asks—”

“Just say you got caught in the crossfire but are fine?” Jiang Hao finished.

Li Xiao: “Yes.”

In the plaza area, music blared loudly. Thousands were square dancing together, with several old professors caught in the middle, looking conspicuous.

“Grandpa Li, you’re amazing! Baby Song, you’ve really got it!” The watching students laughed boisterously. That night, the military academy forum was dominated by square dance posts—one wave discussing Li Xiao’s combat skills, another debating who had the best moves.

The next morning, Sunday, students woke up to a new Student Council announcement. “Accidental pheromone leak, over a hundred students and staff injured…”

“Holy crap! Brother, something huge happened!” Da Bei jumped out of bed, ran out of his room, and found Li Xiao’s door open—completely empty. When he went to sleep last night, Li Xiao hadn’t returned. Had he left, or hadn’t he been back at all?

By lunchtime, the square dance hype had been replaced by the “320 brawl incident.” Many students went specifically to the 320 training hall, only to find it blocked off by guards. The entire DF district was under heightened security.

“I was at the square dance last night. What exactly happened here?”

“I asked in several groups; nobody knows.”

“Everything was fine when we left.”

“I heard several exchange students didn’t return to the dorms!”

Meng Tao, after asking around, found that at least twenty exchange students were missing. His unease grew. His terminal vibrated—a message in the exchange students’ group.

Zheng Lin: “It seems Li Xiao hasn’t returned either.”

Meng Tao’s eyes widened. Did they have an operation last night? Did they succeed?! The thought that Li Xiao might be dead made his fingertips tremble with excitement. How big was the commotion last night? How could hundreds be injured? Did the secret leak out?

He couldn’t sit still for another second and led a group of exchange students to the student council to demand answers. Halfway there, the council released another notice.

[The 320 incident is still under investigation. It is suspected that an omega went into heat, triggering an alpha brawl. The injured are currently stable. We will notify everyone of further developments. Please remain calm.]

“An omega in heat…” Meng Tao and Zheng Lin exchanged looks. If the academy was investigating along those lines, they likely hadn’t discovered the secret yet.

In the isolation medical center, Li Xiao sipped coffee and opened the office at the end of the hall. Hundreds of virtual screens hovered in the air. Song Jin was sitting by the desk, reviewing reports.

“Take a break,” Li Xiao said, handing over a cup of coffee.

Song Jin, having not slept all night, rubbed his temples and glanced at the drink. “Nothing poisonous in it?”

Li Xiao took a sip right in front of him. “Your body is my property. What good would it do me to poison you?”

Song Jin: “…” That sounds familiar.

Li Xiao had meant to give him the other cup, but Song Jin grabbed the one Li Xiao had already sipped from. He took a large gulp, his face scrunching up. “So bitter! Are you trying to kill me?”

“Anything that isn’t bitter is just sugar water,” Li Xiao leaned against the desk, looking at the screens. “Danse will make a move by Monday morning at the latest. How are the preparations?”

Song Jin smirked. “Why are you acting like you’re from Shengya?”

Li Xiao: “Everyone says I’m Song Jin’s bride.”

Song Jin: “Your face is thicker than the skin on your feet.”

Li Xiao said softly, “I drank from that cup. Careful, you might get athlete’s foot in your mouth.”

Song Jin suddenly felt something strange in his mouth. “…Can you shut up?”

Li Xiao watched him with a smile. “Does it taste good?”

Song Jin: “…………” Deserves a beating.

Song Jin finished the coffee and crumpled the cup into the recycling bot. Li Xiao poked at him a bit more, ready to stop, but Song Jin suddenly blocked his path. Song Jin placed his hands on either side of Li Xiao, looking at him coldly. “I haven’t settled my accounts with you yet, and you’re already provoking me.”

Li Xiao put down the paper cup. “There are too many debts. Which one are you talking about?”

Song Jin frowned. “Figure it out yourself.”

Li Xiao thought seriously. “The one you killed last night was an aristocrat. That might be troublesome.”

“Don’t change the subject.” Song Jin stepped on Li Xiao’s foot. “The first time we met, why did you say, ‘It’s you again’?”

“…” Looking at that expression and that action, Li Xiao immediately understood. The kid finally recognized me. The bit of trust he had accumulated was gone.

Song Jin leaned in. “What is your relationship with Snow Leopard? How did you infiltrate the First Military Academy of Danse?”

Li Xiao: “…I’m not a hooligan.”

“Don’t argue.” Song Jin scanned his features. “No wonder you’re so scummy and reckless.”

Li Xiao was amused. “Do you have a bias against hooligans?”

Song Jin grabbed a pen from the desk and pressed it against Li Xiao’s throat. “If you don’t answer properly, our cooperative relationship ends here.”

When they met in N2781, they had fought over blood. That meant Li Xiao had been investigating the blood before coming to Shengya, which meant it was no surprise he knew about N2533. He had Bique blood, pheromones that could dissolve mental control, ties to Snow Leopard, and a group of exchange students desperate to kill him. Every sign pointed to Li Xiao being the key.

Who is he, and what does he want?

Li Xiao looked at Song Jin’s face, his amber eyes narrowing. There was an oppressive presence, but also an indescribable attraction. In two lifetimes, this was the only person who made him feel this way.

“I said, I am not your enemy.” Li Xiao gripped Song Jin’s wrist and moved the pen away.

Song Jin: “What about the blood from that day?”

Li Xiao: “I had it checked. Nothing unusual.”

Song Jin flung his hand away. “Guess if I believe you?”

“There are two types of blood: circulating blood and true blood,” Li Xiao looked at him. “There was no serial number on the reagent tube that day. I suspect it was just circulating blood.”

Song Jin stood up straight, recalling the blood in the N2533 warehouse. There was indeed a difference.

“How do you know?” Song Jin pursued.

Li Xiao picked up his coffee again. “I had Snow Leopard lock up that old man You Long. I questioned him for a long time to get that much.”

Song Jin snatched the coffee and slammed it down. “What about your own blood? Why can it dissolve mental control?”

“I don’t know either.” Li Xiao reclaimed the coffee. “When I was attacked by Qi Ge, I sobered up very quickly. I just wanted to test it last night; I didn’t expect it to actually work.”

Song Jin snatched it again and put it back. “Are you a modified too?”

Li Xiao glanced at the coffee he could never seem to drink and opened his arms. “I’m right here. If you want to know something, do it yourself.”

They were close. For a second, Song Jin had the illusion that Li Xiao was about to hug him. He was bracing himself to just push through it, but Li Xiao stopped!

“You think I’ll be polite with you?” Song Jin dragged Li Xiao to the testing room and ordered the staff to draw his blood.

Li Xiao sat down, letting the beta school doctor draw three tubes of blood. Li Xiao himself was curious—did it have a direct connection to his Bique bloodline? What role did Hu Jiang and the others play in this?

Song Jin saw Li Xiao was so obedient, turned to the medicine cabinet, rummaged around, found a bottle, and returned.

“Hand.”

Li Xiao was confused but held out his hand. Two round, sugar-coated pills fell into his palm.

“…”

Seeing Li Xiao looking at him, Song Jin said impatiently, “Why are you looking at me? You have to eat sugar pills after every blood draw. You’ve never had them?”

Li Xiao: “…Those are for children. Who eats sugar pills after growing up?”

Song Jin asked the beta doctor for validation. “Does blood draw come with sugar pills? Tell him.”

The doctor laughed as he packed the tubes. “It is meant for children under eight, but adults can eat them too.”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao looked at him with a smile, almost sticking the words “Little Kid” on Song Jin’s forehead.

“If you won’t eat, give it back.” Song Jin reached to grab them, but Li Xiao popped them into his mouth. Song Jin’s temper flared; he grabbed Li Xiao’s head, trying to retrieve the pills.

Li Xiao was startled and leaned back. “Calm down!”

Song Jin: “Spit it out!”

Li Xiao: “…Would you eat what I spit out?”

“Are you spitting it out or not?” Song Jin reached in to dig them out.

Li Xiao quickly crunched the pills and swallowed them. “Gone.”

The doctor looked on, realizing the two were about to fight over sugar, and hurriedly shook the bottle, saying habitually, “There’s more, more! Every little kid gets some!”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao: “…”

The doctor realized what he’d said: “…” Just a habit.

After the doctor destroyed the tools, Song Jin, still holding a pill in his mouth, dragged Li Xiao away with the three tubes of blood. Qin Le had been looking for them and hurried over. “Boss, the test results are out.”

Song Jin: “Go.”

After a few steps, he realized Li Xiao wasn’t following. “Not coming?”

Li Xiao: “I’m going to check the wards.”

The twenty-four detained exchange students—including the dead one—had blood and pheromone samples drawn overnight. But that wasn’t enough. If they couldn’t detect this in advance, they couldn’t prepare. They only had a few exchange students infiltrate the academy, and even with advance surveillance, they had made mistakes. How many people like this are inside Danse? He couldn’t bear to imagine.

Song Jin personally handed Li Xiao’s blood to Chestnut. “In two days, you take these to Snow Star yourself and give them to my father.”

Chestnut took them solemnly. “Yes!”

After the order, Song Jin looked at the floating virtual screen. Last night, he had recorded the distance and pheromone concentrations for mental control. After merging data from Qin Le and Jiang Hao, he had a set of measurements.

Within five meters, pheromone concentration of about 70% results in impaired consciousness. Within three meters, concentrations reaching 85% or more result in complete loss of consciousness.

A knock sounded, and a secret service officer reported: “Room 302 is clamoring for their terminal.” After the students were admitted, all terminals were confiscated.

Song Jin: “Send the doctor on duty.”

“Yes.”

Room 302.

Wei Ming had a splitting headache and couldn’t even sit up. He had lost consciousness after meeting Song Jin; when he woke up, he was in this ward, covered in chips, his terminal gone.

“I need to contact my family! Give me back my terminal!” Wei Ming struggled to get off the bed but fell before he could take a step.

He screamed until his throat was hoarse. Finally, a white-coated beta doctor entered, wearing a specialized isolation hood. “You have a head injury; you can’t get out of bed.”

Wei Ming stared at him, eyes alert. “Why are you wearing an isolation mask?”

The doctor checked the instrument data and re-attached the chips. “This is an isolation zone for infectious diseases or pheromone instability. Masks are a work requirement.”

Wei Ming’s face changed. “Why was I sent here?!”

“Don’t you remember?” The doctor looked down at him. “You went into heat unexpectedly in the 320 hall last night. Your leaked pheromones affected multiple alphas, and they fought each other to the death. If it hadn’t been discovered in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”

“Unexpected heat?” Wei Ming felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head. He grabbed the doctor’s hand. “Where is my terminal?!”

Doctor: “Terminals aren’t allowed during exams. It’s been kept safe; you’ll get it back when you recover. Don’t worry.”

Wei Ming grabbed him excitedly. “I need it now! If I don’t contact home, my father will be worried!”

Doctor: “I’ll help you contact them. Your emotions can’t be too unstable right now; it’s bad for recovery.”

As the doctor left, Wei Ming struggled to the ward door, but it wouldn’t open. Through the glass, he saw another thick metal door. How is this different from a prison cell?!

He had been controlled! The mission failed, and he was likely exposed. With his terminal gone, Li Xiao’s intelligence couldn’t be sent back. He could do nothing!

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs…” Wei Ming muttered to himself. “The Ministry will definitely come to save me!”

Something flashed in his peripheral vision. Wei Ming looked up and saw Li Xiao standing outside the metal door, looking at him through layers of glass. Seeing Li Xiao’s calm face, Wei Ming recalled the fear of being dominated by those pheromones and trembled uncontrollably.

“Li Xiao! Why are you okay?!” Wei Ming pounded the door, screaming in a breakdown. “Open the door! Open it! Li Xiao—!”

The door was soundproof, but Li Xiao could guess exactly what he was saying. He raised his hand and wrote a Danse character on the glass.

The Wei Ming on the other side froze for a second, then displayed an expression of sheer terror, pounding the door even more frantically. After confirming this, Li Xiao stopped looking at him and walked away.

These people clearly knew their secret was exposed and knew he was immune to mental control. They couldn’t just be let go. Jail them in Shengya? Kill them? Send them back to Danse?

As Li Xiao pondered, a flash of white light appeared at the end of the corridor. He looked instinctively, and a ball collided with his arms. It was roughly the size of a basketball, gleaming with a deep blue metallic luster, with suspicious red flushes on both sides.

What the hell?

Seeing the metal ball rubbing against him happily, Li Xiao held it up. “System error?”

A pair of giant eyes appeared on the sphere, but after seeing Li Xiao, they instantly turned into small dots, and the red flushes vanished.

[Face scan in progress—similarity 0%, match failed!]

[Pheromone ID in progress—similarity 100%, match successful!]

[Wuwu, wrong person!]

Li Xiao and the metal ball stared at each other. “…” Is it stupid?

The ball floated in the air, a line of text appearing above its head: [I detected Song Jin’s pheromones on you. Do you know him?]

Li Xiao sniffed himself. Maybe because they’d been too close earlier, he’d picked up a bit of scent. “I do.” Li Xiao looked at the ball. “Are you looking for him?”

The sphere’s eyes returned to normal, and text appeared again: [I have come from the Imperial Capital to seek Song Jin. Please take me to him.]

Li Xiao: “…” ‘Seek’? He was using some strange language database.

Finding the ball weird, Li Xiao brought it to the previous office. The ball circled the room and flew back to Li Xiao. [He is not here.]

Li Xiao: “I’ll call him over. What kind of robot are you?”

Ball: [I will say nothing until he arrives.]

Li Xiao: “…”

Li Xiao sent a video link to Song Jin, which Song Jin answered after a moment. Looking elsewhere, Song Jin said, “What?”

Li Xiao: “Your package came looking for you on its own.”

Song Jin looked at the screen. “? Speak properly.”

Li Xiao pointed at the ball hovering on his head: “This thing.”

Upon seeing what it was, Song Jin’s expression changed slightly. He dropped his work and began walking out. “Stay there, give me one minute!”

Li Xiao hung up and nudged the ball. Song Jin was rarely this excited; could it be that thing he was thinking of? The office door was slammed open. Song Jin looked at the floating metal ball, unable to believe it.

[Face scan in progress—similarity 100%, match successful!]

[Pheromone scan in progress—similarity 100%, match successful!]

The sphere flushed red again. [Initiating initialization program—]

The next second, the sphere began to deform rapidly. Seeing this, Li Xiao rose. Amidst the metallic clanking of ka-ka-ka, the sphere transformed into a life-sized battle suit in the blink of an eye.

A line of text floated in the air: [I am the super-intelligent battle suit KL007, already compatible with the first-generation pheromone detection program. I have been entrusted by Dad to come and join you. If you accept, please say the word ‘Accept’.]

Song Jin: “…”

Is that wording a bit strange?

Li Xiao asked casually, “If we don’t want it, do we say ‘Refuse’?”

He was immediately glared at by Song Jin. A hoarse, youthful voice emanated from the battle suit.

“Refusal is not an option.”