The Overworked Beta and the Paranoid Alpha 55

Chapter 55: I’m Very Professional

“No,” Romeo said. “I just want to be with you.”

Romeo stepped forward and, under the shocked gazes of Xiaoli and Bella, he reached out, held the back of Wen En’s neck, and bit his lips.

Xiaoli gasped and covered his sister’s eyes, afraid that these two’s twisted and explosive intimacy would affect his sister’s view on relationships.

“What are you doing again?!” Wen En pushed Romeo away and looked at him in disbelief. The heat was over, but Romeo was still acting like he was out of his mind.

“Yes, because I’m tired of your damn protective instincts,” Romeo gripped Wen En’s wrist tightly and said, “I’m not a child, nor am I your damn little brother or sister or whatever. Also, don’t treat me like a pet dog!”

“I never thought of it that way,” Wen En waved his hands repeatedly.

Seeing that Romeo was about to pounce on him again, Wen En quickly said, “Alright, that’s enough. I get it.”

Romeo did stop.

Wen En sighed and said to Xiaoli, “You guys go hide in the bathroom. Remember, no matter what you hear outside, don’t come out.”

Xiaoli nodded and took his sister to hide in the bathroom. Soon, Wen En heard the sound of the bathroom door being locked from the inside.

Then, he heard Romeo say, “I’ll cover you.”

Wen En nodded. He held the knife and took a step back. Romeo, on the other hand, stepped forward, pressed his ear to the door to listen to the movements outside, then looked out through the peephole.

He saw a tall, thin man in all black clothes and pants outside the door. The tall man was wearing a black baseball cap. From the peephole, the tall man’s face was completely blocked by the hat, leaving no trace.

Romeo couldn’t rashly look out the window next to the door. That would be too obvious. And if this stranger with the baseball cap had a gun, there was a high probability that he would shoot and injure him.

“There’s only one person outside. He looks like a professional killer,” Romeo said.

“Knock, knock, knock, knock.” The man in the baseball cap knocked on the door again. This time, the knocking was faster, more urgent, and louder.

What should we do? Wen En’s hand gripped the knife even tighter.

He thought for a few seconds and finally made a decision: he signaled Romeo to open the door, ready to fight this stranger to the death.

Romeo’s hand was on the doorknob. He slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open. The gap in the door gradually widened, but not a single sound came from outside.

This meant that the person outside was also observing their every move.

As expected of a professional, Wen En thought.

As Romeo had said, this person was definitely not the kind of gang member who only knew how to fight and kill, or a drunkard or addict. This person was more likely a professional killer.

Suddenly, a force pushed against the door.

Now!

Wen En held his breath, gripped the fruit knife tightly, and slashed at the gap in the door. However, the strange professional successfully dodged Wen En’s attack.

“Bang—”

Romeo kicked the door open. Just as Wen En was about to bring the knife down, his eyes widened.

The knife landed on the side of the person’s neck outside the door. If he had cut down with force, the person’s artery would have gushed blood like a fountain. Wen En did not cut down. At the same time, the person held a gun, the muzzle pointed at Wen En’s forehead. Similarly, her finger was on the trigger, but she did not press it.

“This is a nice welcome gift, Wen En,” she said.

Wen En smiled and withdrew the fruit knife. “You’re finally here, Della.”

Della also put away her gun. Suddenly, another familiar voice came from downstairs, “Hey, are they still alive?” Wen En looked down and saw Claire standing below. When Claire saw him, she even waved and greeted him:

“Hey, is Romeo dead yet?” Claire said loudly.

“He’s still alive,” Romeo came out with a sneer and shouted at Claire.

“What a shame,” Claire said with regret.

Wen En shrugged and said, “Come on in.”

“I’ll go in. Claire will keep watch outside,” Della said.

Wen En briefly explained the situation of the past few days to Della while leading her to the bathroom door and unlocking it.

“Ah—” a sudden scream.

“What are you doing?” followed by Romeo’s curse.

“I’m sorry, I thought a bad guy had broken in,” Xiaoli said apologetically. Bella said nothing, just looked at Della with fear and curiosity.

“They’re coming back with us too,” Wen En said. “Put them in the witness protection program.”

“Alright,” Della said.

“What do you mean?” Xiaoli shrank his neck and said in a panic, “Am I going to jail?”

The laws of the Interstellar Federation Empire stipulated that a citizen’s household registration determined which district’s prison they would go to.

However, the prison in the lower district was a mixed prison. After an Omega prisoner went in, they would not live for more than three years on average.

Xiaoli was not afraid of going to jail, but he was afraid of death.

Cold sweat broke out on Xiaoli’s forehead. He recalled the scene at the port, when he was on the verge of life and death. The fear of death came back, making him tremble all over.

“Calm down, calm down,” Della explained to him what the witness protection program was.

It was a means for the imperial government to protect victims or witnesses involved in confidential missions. Of course, this program was not for these witnesses to eat for free. People included in the protection program had to accept lifelong surveillance from the Interstellar Federation Police Department, so many people would rather have a dangerous freedom than a gentle captivity.

“I’m willing, of course I’m willing,” Xiaoli said quickly.

Joining this program meant that his and his sister’s household registration could be transferred from the lower district to the main city, and they could enjoy the various benefits that the residents of the main city had, such as medical care and education. The security in the main city was also very good. They no longer had to worry about being harassed by strange Alpha drunks, or having their money stolen by addicts and thieves. The most important thing was education. His sister’s studies had always been one of the most important things in Xiaoli’s life.

Bella’s grades were very good. She could go to a university that matched her level, which was what Xiaoli had always hoped for.

But Bella did not show a happy expression like Xiaoli.

Because all of this had come too suddenly, like God had slapped her and her brother a dozen times, and then suddenly gave them a sweet date.

Bella, who had grown up in the slums, did not believe in the saying that bitterness comes before sweetness. She had seen too many tragedies, both her own and others’. She always felt that the normal state of life was a constant repetition of tragedies, especially for an insignificant ant like her in the sand. She was born in tragedy and would die in tragedy. And a sweet and delicious date would not make her life better. It was just a trap, a trap to make her fall completely.

But seeing her brother’s joyful expression, she hesitated. She thought, What if it’s not a trap, but another opportunity?

Her hands hung by her sides. Her originally clenched fists gradually loosened.

“Can we go now?” Romeo leaned against the wall, his hands on his hips, looking unhappy. “How much longer do we have to stay in this broken place?”

Della rarely agreed with Romeo’s opinion. “If there’s nothing important to pick up, then let’s go. The car is parked downstairs.”

“We don’t have anything to pick up,” Xiaoli said quickly. He wished he could be teleported to the main city right now.

“Alright, then let’s go,” Wen En said.

Late at night in the main city.

Joseph Hall Biotechnology Building.

The decorative neon lights outside the building were colorful, flashing in the night sky, completely disregarding the price of commercial electricity in the main city.

Qiuyue, dressed in a neat work suit, dragged a black, half-person-tall suitcase and walked into the company building. The receptionist saw him, knew he was the new chairman’s assistant, and respectfully nodded to him.

Qiuyue politely nodded back. He walked to an elevator in the building, took out his work card, and gently swiped it on the display panel next to the elevator door. Quickly, a “ding—” sound was heard, the elevator doors opened, and Qiuyue walked in.

The elevator doors closed. The display panel inside showed the number “1,” but the Joseph Hall Biotechnology building was equipped with the most advanced commercial elevator system. Ten seconds later, the “1” became “52.”

The elevator doors opened, and Qiuyue dragged his suitcase into the 52nd floor. This entire floor was the living area of one of the shareholders of Joseph Hall Biotechnology, Philip Donaldson, and now it was also Peter’s living area.

Peter had replaced Donaldson and was living in the main city with Donaldson’s image. In order not to be exposed, even though Peter’s aesthetic for interior design was completely different from Donaldson’s, Peter had not made any major changes to the 52nd floor.

But as just mentioned, Peter and Donaldson were completely different people. Donaldson loved the Bauhaus style of modernist design, while Peter was a classicist, so Peter’s shadow appeared in the details.

Qiuyue turned his head and looked at the strangely shaped chair made of curved steel pipes and red plastic panels. It was covered with a blanket with a complex pattern and lace trim. This combination looked extremely out of place.

But Qiuyue didn’t care much. Anyway, he wasn’t an artist or a designer. It had nothing to do with him. He recalled the instructions Peter had given him in the communicator just now, and walked straight in. He pushed open a door and came to the bathroom on the 52nd floor.

This bathroom was very large, with off-white matte tiles all over. A dark red clothes rack, a sink, and a faucet were embedded in the dark blue wall tiles. In the center of the space was a round, beige bathtub. Qiuyue saw that Peter was sitting in the bathtub with a person.

This scene was extremely strange.

Qiuyue saw that the bathtub was filled with water, but the water was not a transparent color, but a bright red.

The air was filled with a greasy, metallic smell.

Qiuyue’s gaze was fixed on the person sitting in the bathtub, opposite Peter. It was Philip Donaldson’s former secretary, the Omega who was always arrogant in front of Qiuyue and flirted with Peter.

The Omega’s face was bloodless, and even his lips were a pale gray. His eyes were as cloudy as a dead fish’s, and they were bulging out.

The fish-like eyes stared at the ceiling, as if he hadn’t noticed Qiuyue come in at all.

Qiuyue’s face was expressionless, but in fact, the fine sweat on his back had already soaked his clothes, because he saw a clearly visible cut on the side of the Omega’s neck. Blood was flowing from this cut into the water in the bathtub.

That’s why the water in the bathtub was so bright red.