Chapter 48: You Look a Little Normal
Sea Street was connected to countless small alleys. These alleys all looked the same. The houses in each alley were very close to each other. The houses in the alleys would be five or six stories high, but except for the first floor, the second to the sixth floors were all illegally built. The lighting inside was very poor, and you could hardly see the sun. The air was not very circulating, and there was a smelly, damp smell everywhere.
The environment here was not good, and the rent was even lower, so there were quite a lot of residents. Most of the residents were elderly people with mobility problems, people with facial or physical disabilities, addicts who were twitching in the corners, alcoholics who smelled of alcohol, and some young Omegas with heavy makeup and flamboyant gestures.
Wen En carried Romeo on his back and followed Xiaoli through these people.
The elderly and disabled would tactfully avoid them when they saw them. The addicts were so engrossed in their hallucinations that they didn’t even notice them. Occasionally, a few tactless drunks who were high on something would harass them. Under Wen En’s “polite guidance,” they understood the importance of being a polite person and threw away their wine bottles to go home and start a new life.
Only those Omegas, their eyes were as murky as mud. They leaned against the wall, a cigarette dangling from their mouths, and stared at Xiaoli with interest.
“Heat?” a few Omegas glanced at the unconscious Alpha, sneered, and blew out a puff of smoke. The unpleasant smoke drifted to Wen En’s face, making him frown unconsciously.
Wen En couldn’t be bothered to reprimand these Omegas. He just waved away the secondhand smoke and said to Xiaoli, “Let’s go.”
Xiaoli was already used to this kind of scene. Being stared at by a group of Omegas was better than being stared at by Alphas. “This way, we’ll be there soon.”
Wen En nodded. Fortunately, these Omegas just stared at them. Unlike the drunks, although they would look at them with uncomfortable eyes, they didn’t do anything practical.
Until they passed through another alley and walked out of this dark and damp place, they came to Sea Street again.
The sea breeze blew, and the sun shone on their faces again, dispelling the damp cold from the small alley.
“We’re here,” Xiaoli pointed to a house on the right and said.
The house had two floors and faced the sea. The walls were painted a sky-blue color. There was a sunshade in front of the door, and on the wooden door were some animal doodles drawn by children with crayons. Next to the door was an iron staircase leading to the second floor.
The door was pushed open, and an AO couple came out with a child. They had cameras on their chests. They looked like tourists, because locals would not put such valuable things in a conspicuous place. They first looked at Xiaoli’s side in surprise, then covered their noses and pulled the child away from here quickly.
Xiaoli smiled helplessly at Wen En. “This first floor is a second-hand bookstore. My home is on the second floor,” he pointed to the iron staircase. “Follow me.”
Wen En nodded and followed.
Xiaoli’s home looked quite good in this area. At least there was sunlight, and it wasn’t damp. Wen En couldn’t help but think of the first time he had seen Xiaoli. It seemed that Xiaoli’s job was considered well-paid in the lower district.
But that entertainment venue was Peter’s subordinate’s asset, and now that things had come to this, Xiaoli probably couldn’t work there anymore. But if he had no income, how would he live? Wen En remembered that Xiaoli had said he had a sister.
The images of the Omegas in the small alley suddenly appeared in Wen En’s mind. They were so young, but their bodies were filled with the scents of various Alpha pheromones. They had long forgotten which Alpha they had given their first mark to, and it didn’t matter to them.
Wen En didn’t dare to think any further. Besides, thinking about these things wouldn’t help his current situation at all. His top priority was to help Romeo and Xiaoli get through their heat safely. If he couldn’t even get through this, what was the point of talking so much about the future?
The three of them came to the second floor, and Xiaoli knocked on the door of the second floor.
Soon, a young female voice came from inside the room, “Who is it?” The voice sounded very alert.
“It’s me,” Xiaoli said his name.
The tightly closed glass window on the left side of the second-floor door, which let in no light, was pulled open a crack. An eye peeked out from it, and soon the eye disappeared, and the curtain was closed again.
The door opened, and a Beta girl with curly hair like instant noodles, freckles on her nose, and wearing a T-shirt and loose denim shorts stood in front of the door. “Come in,” the girl said.
After everyone had entered the house, the girl skillfully and quickly locked the three locks on the door, then turned to Xiaoli and asked, “Brother, what’s going on?”
She covered her nose, apparently feeling uncomfortable with the smell of heat pheromones. Wen En guessed that this girl was Xiaoli’s sister, although she didn’t look like Xiaoli at all. Xiaoli looked very thin, but this girl looked much rounder and healthier.
The girl said her name was Bella. She was a Beta, and pheromones would not have any mental effect on her. But Wen En could see that she was only sixteen or seventeen, and probably had just presented not long ago, so she didn’t know how to deal with such a situation.
So, Wen En spoke first, “Is there a spare room here? I need to separate your brother from the Alpha.”
Bella looked at her with a troubled expression. “But this is a studio apartment. The only separate room is the bathroom.”
Following the girl’s direction, Wen En saw the bathroom. It was only two square meters in size, with only a toilet and a showerhead. The soap and Xiaoli’s cosmetics were piled messily on the toilet.
Only then did Wen En consciously survey the room. As Xiaoli had said before, it was very cramped. There was only one wardrobe, a bunk bed, and a desk in the room. The desk was covered with various high school textbooks and some plates and cutlery for eating.
Xiaoli felt hot all over, and his head was starting to feel dizzy. If he stayed in such a confined space with an Alpha any longer, he would go crazy. So he said, “I’ll stay in the bathroom.”
“Wait,” Wen En stopped him. “I’ll stay in the bathroom with Romeo.”
“But…”
Wen En waved his hand, signaling him to move aside. He carried Romeo into the bathroom, put him on the floor, and then closed the bathroom door.
He tidied up the things on the toilet lid, put them aside, and then positioned the unconscious Romeo so that he would be more comfortable leaning against the toilet.
Then, he also sat on the floor and rested for a moment. He was finally in a completely safe environment. Wen En finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now he just had to wait for the heat to pass.
For a moment, sleepiness was like a hurricane, destroying the wooden house of consciousness that Wen En had built on the plain. Wen En leaned against the wall and fell into a deep sleep, until a scorching touch on the back of his hand woke him up.
Damn it, my head hurts so much. It was probably because he had been hit too many times recently and had injured some part. Wen En rubbed his head and did not forget to check on Romeo’s condition.
Wen En looked down and saw Romeo’s hand, unconsciously resting on the back of his hand. But soon Wen En realized that something was wrong. Wait, why is Romeo’s hand so hot?
Someone knocked on the door a few times, and Bella’s voice came through the door, “Sir, are you okay in there?”
Wen En opened the door. Bella stood in front of the door, her eyes filled with worry and helplessness. “My brother just threw up a puddle of sour water and fainted. Can you tell me what happened to my brother and…” she glanced at Romeo, “and that gentleman? What should I do to make my brother feel better?”
“I can only make it short,” Wen En briefly explained what had happened, then walked to Xiaoli’s side and briefly checked his condition. He had a rough idea. “Your brother needs professional medical emergency treatment.” Wen En pointed to the unconscious Romeo in the toilet and said, “Of course, he needs it too.”
Bella was so scared that her face turned pale. “How could this be? But, but we don’t have…”
Bella collapsed onto the bed. “My brother saved up a sum of money for me. He said it was my university fund, and no one could touch it. But, but…”
Bella couldn’t go on. She didn’t mind using the money to send her brother to the hospital, but the problem was that the medical resources in the lower district were so scarce that residents had to go to the more developed upper city when they were sick. The money was not enough to pay for the emergency room fees in the upper city.
At this moment, Bella seemed to have returned to ten years ago. She was still a child of a few years old. She held her brother’s hand and watched helplessly as her parents died in pain at home because they couldn’t afford the medical expenses.
Bella couldn’t go on, just covered her eyes and cried. But Wen En had already guessed what she was trying to say.
Wen En couldn’t change the medical system, but he quickly thought of an emergency method. Wen En said, “Do you know where there’s a pharmacy nearby?”
“A pharmacy?” Bella was confused.
“I need adrenaline, antibiotics, and protein nutrient solution,” Wen En said. “These are only available at pharmacies.” At least that was the case in the upper city.
“There’s a pharmacy five hundred meters down the road to the left,” Bella said with a troubled expression. “But sir, I advise you not to go there.”
Bella said, “The pharmaceutical industry in the lower district is monopolized by a leaf-selling organization called the Lone Dragon. That pharmacy is a product of the Lone Dragon. You can’t imagine how dangerous it is there. There was a gunfight there just last week.”
“It’s fine,” Wen En said. “I’m used to danger.”
Wen En took a rusty, long fruit knife from under the plate on the table and tucked it into his waist. “I’ll be back soon.”
Wen En left this place. He walked along the street and soon found the pharmacy that Bella had mentioned. The pharmacy was very conspicuous because it was the newest and best-decorated building in the area.
At the same time, Wen En also understood why Bella had advised him not to go there.
Wen En was still a few dozen meters away from the pharmacy when he was suddenly blocked by a man in black.
The man in black had a scar on his face. Wen En saw a bloody, murderous aura in his eyes. The man in black said, “Yo, bro, going shopping?”
“What’s up?” Wen En was not to be outdone.
“Lend me some money,” the scar-faced man in black’s lips twitched.
“I was about to ask you for money,” if the scar-faced man hadn’t reminded him, Wen En wouldn’t have remembered that he didn’t have a single cent of cash on him.
Damn it, it’s the interstellar era, and the lower district still uses cash for transactions.
The scar-faced man smiled. He just thought Wen En was making excuses. He lifted his jacket, revealing the pistol at his waist, and pointed to a small alley on the side. “Then why don’t you come with me to get some money?”
Wen En followed his finger and saw several other burly men dressed similarly to the scar-faced man standing in the alley. It seemed these were all the scar-faced man’s accomplices.
Wen En sneered, “Alright.”
The scar-faced man was a little surprised that Wen En had agreed so quickly. But the scar-faced man thought he was an Alpha, and his bros were also a group of strong, tall Alphas. It would be too easy to deal with this Beta.
“This way, please,” the scar-faced man showed an extremely confident smile.
Wen En’s figure once again merged into the dark alley, followed by a series of impacts, mixed with screams and pleas for mercy. Soon, these sounds quieted down. The passersby turned a blind eye. After all, the security here was so bad that fights were not uncommon.
Wen En walked out.
He patted his bulging pocket, raised his fingertips to wipe a drop of blood from between his eyebrows, and calmly walked over and pushed open the door of the pharmacy.
There were quite a lot of people in this pharmacy, but many of the customers looked dazed and mentally scattered. Some had sores on their faces, some had faces as wrinkled as a pug’s, and some looked like a skeleton covered in a layer of skin.
In comparison, Wen En, who had a bruise on his face, looked too normal, too sober.
A young Beta with glasses stood in front of the counter. He looked mentally normal, his skin soft and rosy. The young Beta saw Wen En and showed a professional, friendly smile:
“What can I get for you?”
