Chapter 51

Ji Xuan walked through the long corridors of the club, led by Zakun’s subordinate to the room at the furthest end.

The path was clear the whole way. There were no other guests in the neon-lit hall; those sitting in the booths looked like bodyguards, and those passing by were all ordinary attendants. It was unclear if the place had been cleared specifically to host him.

He had already gone through one security check when entering the winery. The butterfly knife in his pocket had been taken away, but the wrist blade had not been discovered. In fact, the necklace hanging around his neck was also made of a highly ductile metal. It would be no trouble to use it to strangle a few people if necessary.

The lights glided over the jewelry on his left ear; the ruby appeared exceptionally dazzling under the light. Before entering that specific room, someone stepped forward to perform another security check. Ji Xuan curled his lip in annoyance and looked at Zakun not far away: “You didn’t tell me, sir, that your way of treating guests would be like this.”

Zakun gave an apologetic smile and explained, “There have been too many incidents before. Please bear with it, Young Master Lin.”

Ji Xuan allowed the metal detector to sweep over him, his tone displeased: “If your collection doesn’t satisfy me… I’ll be sure to settle this score with you later.”

“Naturally.”

The security check ended, and Zakun’s subordinate let him pass. Ji Xuan adjusted his clothes with an air of disgust and strode after Zakun into the room.

The space inside the room was enormous, standing three stories high. Spiral staircases wound up the walls, and a central steel tree occupied most of the space, growing with lush branches and leaves. Various collection items were hanging from its branches.

Ji Xuan’s mood eased slightly, and he began circling the display cases with great interest. Zakun followed behind him, introducing the items tirelessly; from his tone, he seemed very proud of his collection.

Zakun had originally assumed that this Young Master Lin’s fondness for snakes was mere pretension, but he didn’t expect that just as he finished introducing one of them, Ji Xuan reached out to stroke the head of a slender pink snake. The snake’s body coiled up along his fingertips, moving toward his upper arm. He showed not a hint of fear or loathing and even displayed a playful expression.

The decadent red lighting of the exhibition hall fell upon his face, giving his pale skin a touch of glamour. He allowed the snake to play and coil on his arm before finally placing it back and signaling Zakun to continue leading the way.

“I wonder if the small gift I sent Young Master Lin a few days ago was to your liking,” Zakun asked.

Ji Xuan fabricated a casual answer: “It was alright, but not as good as the ones I bought on Planet Kaila. However, it’s quite rare that you could obtain even that much, so I suppose it’ll do for a makeshift use.”

The greatest flaw of an arrogant man like Zakun was the competitive streak in his bones. Hearing Ji Xuan say this, he was instantly ignited: “Perhaps you are unaware, Young Master Lin, but the goods you obtained on Planet Kaila actually flowed out from my hands.”

Ji Xuan tilted his head and swept his gaze up and down the man’s body, looking entirely unconvinced.

Zakun felt a sting from that unconscious look of contempt, and the smile on his face became hard to maintain. He was used to reigning supreme in the gray areas where everyone flattered him. The last thing he could tolerate was being looked down upon, especially by an Omega like this.

He ground his molars and asked, “You don’t believe me?”

Ji Xuan replied, “You can’t prove it, so how can I believe you?”

The more he acted superior, the more Zakun’s competitive nature was provoked. Consequently, he stopped leading Ji Xuan around the ground-floor display cases and instead ascended via the lift to the top level, near the branches at the peak of the steel tree.

“This entire floor consists of Zerg specimens,” Zakun introduced. “The Song of the Nightingale is actually processed from Zerg extract. Aside from my collection here, no one else has such a massive array of Zerg specimens.”

Ji Xuan’s gaze swept over the strange carapaces in the glass cases; he had seen most of them in the full-domain simulation.

“Zerg?” Ji Xuan let out a contemptuous laugh. “Don’t joke around with artificial things. Zergs were expelled from the five major galaxies decades ago. How could they still be seen within Alliance territory? Unless you possess some godlike power?”

“I didn’t come here to look at these childish toys. I thought you would be someone clever, sir, but it turns out you’re just as boring.” Ji Xuan made a move to leave, but Zakun stepped in his way first. He didn’t explain further to Ji Xuan but said instead, “In that case, why don’t you directly test whether the Song of the Nightingale I have here is good or not?”

Ji Xuan raised an eyebrow and said, “I only like using that stuff on Alphas. You’ve kept my man outside; how exactly do you want me to test it?”

“Do you plan to find one of your people, or do you plan to do it yourself?”

The Omega was tall and slender, yet he couldn’t match Zakun’s biological advantage, standing nearly half a head shorter. But even so, Zakun had the illusion that he was being scrutinized from above. Certain memories from the past surfaced, and combined with the face before him that bore an uncanny resemblance to his memories, an uncontrollable excitement appeared in Zakun’s eyes.

“Since Young Master Lin wants to see it, I shall accept it with pleasure.”

He agreed very readily.

His subordinates quickly brought the item inside, and the two returned to the sofa beneath the steel tree on the ground floor. Zakun pried open the stopper of the Song of the Nightingale reagent bottle while gazing at Ji Xuan, who was leaning back in a single-seater sofa not far away.

“I wonder if Young Master Lin has ever played a certain game before.”

Ji Xuan looked at him expressionlessly, signaling for him to continue.

“A holographic game produced by a small company; it was completely scrapped before it even had a chance to hit the market.” Zakun slowly drank the Song of the Nightingale. “At the time, they only opened fifty testing slots across the entire Alliance, but the number of people participating in the lottery was ten thousand times that. As it happens, my luck was exceptionally good.”

“And then? Is the purpose of this thing for you to reminisce about the past?”

A dazed look appeared on Zakun’s face, seemingly as the effects of the extract began to manifest. He leaned closer to Ji Xuan, his voice never stopping: “The game had a villain. Once his character model was released, it sparked quite a discussion on the StarNet. Eight or nine out of ten people in the lottery were there for him. It’s just a pity it was banned later. I never get the chance to see him again.”

“They… I, skipped a huge chunk of the stupid main storyline to jump straight into his plot. Being held at sword point, being kicked out of the palace, or being choked during an interrogation… He had a terrible temper, but a beautiful person’s anger is indeed very interesting. Anyway, you wouldn’t actually die in the game.”

He finally sat down beside Ji Xuan and raised his hand as if wanting to touch his face. “You are the one I’ve met in all these years who resembles him the most.”

Ji Xuan avoided his hand with an expression of disgust.

“Is that so? I didn’t realize your tastes were so peculiar.”

“Yes… that’s the look…” Zakun said excitedly. “He always looked at us like that too. It’s as if everything before his eyes were just filthy stray dogs.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his Alpha pheromones began to leak out uncontrollably. Zakun’s gaze locked onto him firmly, like someone watching prey in a cage.

Ji Xuan wrinkled his nose and turned up the setting on his neck collar.

“The moment you appeared; I knew those collectibles were nothing more than poor imitations…”

The extract had clouded his mind; what remained were the most primitive instinctive reactions. Although the exhibition hall was large, the pheromones released by an S-grade Alpha were not to be underestimated, let alone given that Zakun already had ulterior motives.

Ji Xuan’s reaction was remarkably calm. He reached for his wrist blade with one hand, seizing the timing to ask, “So what you said was true? Do things from the Zerg actually have this kind of effect? But the wormhole safeguards are still in place. How did you get these things? It can’t be that there were Zerg remnants lingering in some place the Alliance doesn’t know about?”

Zakun’s state became increasingly hyper-excited, like a drunken man. Hearing Ji Xuan’s words, he blurted out, “I naturally have my own special methods.”

“That doesn’t sound very reliable. You sound like the type that would run off with the money,” Ji Xuan said. “Besides, you still haven’t told me where the Zerg came from. As I thought, you’re just bluffing me.”

He made a move to stand up again, raising his hand to push Zakun away, and said coldly, “It seems this trip was for nothing. You can’t even explain the source of the goods; you really don’t live up to your reputation.”

The extract amplified one’s emotions. Caught off guard by such a provocation, Zakun exploded like a powder keg being lit: “Stop right there! You still think I’m lying to you?”

“Aren’t you?”

Ji Xuan’s cold attitude stimulated Zakun’s sensitive nerves. He stood up abruptly, his tall frame swaying slightly due to the drug’s effects. His pheromones blanketed the area like a violent storm as he strode toward Ji Xuan: “Tomorrow night, at the east port pier, I’ll take you to see. On the condition that you stay…”

“Tomorrow night? “What’s the specific time?” Ji Xuan unfastened the clasp of his wrist blade, his hand hidden beneath his sleeve. The high-concentration Alpha pheromones bypassed the collar’s protection, making his head spin.

However, Zakun still seemed to possess a final shred of reason and was unwilling to tell him the specific time.

“I’ll take you there when the time comes… F*ck!”

Before he could finish, Ji Xuan struck like lightning. The wrist blade sliced a cold arc through the red light, grazing Zakun’s neck. The latter, already slowed by the extract, didn’t even have time to resist. With a clang, he was slammed to the floor by Ji Xuan.

“Sir, I’ve really had enough playing this game with you.”

Ji Xuan pressed his knee firmly into the center of Zakun’s spine, ruthlessly suppressing his attempts to struggle. Simultaneously, he twisted Zakun’s arms back, and with a lift, the joints immediately let out a tooth-aching creak.

“Ugh—ah!” Zakun let out a cry of pain. The excitement brought by the drug faded under the intense pain, replaced by shock, fury, and disbelief. “You… who are you?”

Ji Xuan leaned down, one hand still gripping his arms tightly while the other grabbed the hair at the back of his head: “Tell me the specific transaction time.”

Zakun panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot with humiliation and rage. He tried to turn his head, only to be pressed back down even harder by Ji Xuan, his cheek scraping against the smooth floor tiles.

“Im… possible…” He squeezed broken syllables through his teeth.

Ji Xuan’s eyes darkened, and the strength in his hands increased once more. He could feel Zakun still releasing pheromones to try and suppress him, so he decided to go all the way and pressed the wrist blade directly against Zakun’s neck.

“My patience is limited.” The tip of the blade pierced the skin, leaving a winding trail of blood. “You can say it now and suffer less. Or, you can wait until I disable a few of your parts before I ask again slowly. I imagine the soundproofing in this room is quite good, and your subordinates won’t rush in blindly. With a whole day, I have plenty of ways to make you talk.”

The veins on Zakun’s temples bulged, sweat mixing with blood as it flowed down. The blade piercing his skin was merciless. He knew Ji Xuan wasn’t bluffing. Whether it was the sharp physical pain or the effect of the extract, for a fleeting moment, he seemed to find a familiar sense of impending death.

In that game years ago, the pain sensation had been made very realistically. When he had a sword held to his neck, cutting into his flesh, it felt just like this.

“…Night… ten o’clock at night!” He practically roared it out, his voice cracking. “When the tide is at its lowest, at the East Port Container Terminal, Area A.”

Ji Xuan retracted the wrist blade, touched his left ear stud, and said, “Did you hear that?”

The person on the other side seemed to say something, and Ji Xuan gave a soft chuckle. Zakun turned his head to look at him in surprise; the concentration of pheromones in the room was already staggeringly high, yet he could still maintain such rationality.

In the next second, Ji Xuan pulled out Zakun’s belt, bound his hands together, and removed his knee from the other party’s back, but replaced it once again with that same wrist blade.

“Now, I’ll have to trouble you to find a way to dismiss your subordinates and come back with me.”