Chapter 21: Green Eyes (21)

Jace was the first to crack. He was anxiously picking at his fingernails, standing rooted to the spot, not daring to move a step. Red-eyed, he fixed his gaze on Shen Qiuxun. “Shen Qiuxun, what are you waiting for? Alphas only know how to spout pretty lies… You’ve been fooled by him! He’ll abandon you! Abandon you! He’ll even kill you!”

Xu Zhiyuan completely ignored him. He maintained his posture, his fingers secretly hooking onto Shen Qiuxun’s. The pad of his finger slowly explored the bend of his knuckle. The Gene Modification Serum was less than two centimeters above those fingers.

‘I strongly suspect Xu Zhiyuan knows everything.’

【Could he be fishing for evidence?!】

‘Hmm, or maybe he’s testing me?’

Shen Qiuxun swatted his hand away. Then he reached out, flattened his palm, and revealed the tube of black liquid. He jutted his chin towards Jace. “He wants to harm you.”

He’s the one who wants to harm you. I was never thinking that way.

Xu Zhiyuan seemed even more delighted. He reached over and took the glass tube, his other hand intertwining its fingers tightly with Shen Qiuxun’s. He turned a thoughtful gaze toward Jace, who was glaring with eyes about to split open. “So this was your trump card?”

He examined the liquid from side to side, his voice low and cold, like a blade on an executioner’s block. “Ah, I thought you were capable of something big.”

It was extremely mocking.

Very infuriating. Shen Qiuxun felt a bit tired and wanted to quit this charade. These two men were utterly baffling. With all this time, he might as well have tried to escape earlier.

Bored, he stared at the Gene Modification Serum. Unexpectedly, he spotted a fleeting red glow. He heard Jace’s hysterical scream, which abruptly shattered the calm air: “Go die—”

The quiet tube of black liquid suddenly began to boil violently in the man’s hand. It started bubbling—gurgle, gurgle. The glass began to shatter at an eerie speed…

The minute changes seemed to slide past his eyes like a slow-motion movie.

Shen Qiuxun instinctively reached to grab the glass tube, but he was still a step too slow. In an instant, the glass shattered, and the black liquid exploded outward. But for a split second, the air itself seemed to warp. The black liquid, like a scene out of a sci-fi film, appeared to be compressed into a tiny sphere by an invisible giant hand. Then it combusted violently. Accompanied by a faint sizzling sound, it finally evaporated in midair, falling to the ground as a tiny smear of black dust.

His outstretched hand was effortlessly grasped by the man and drawn into his warm palm. The heat spread over his skin. Shen Qiuxun breathed a sigh of relief.

This so-called mental power really is amazing. I really want it.

Just then, the faint sound of propellers came from outside the concrete house. The back door suddenly swung open. The doorway and windows were surrounded by figures in olive-green combat uniforms. They raised guns—the kind Shen Qiuxun had only seen in videos and games—standing by in strict formation. A tall, black-haired man stepped forward and reported respectfully, “Head of the Family, all accomplices have been apprehended.”

Jace was pinned motionless to the ground by someone who had appeared out of nowhere. The man holding him down had a black pistol strapped to his waist. He was tall, muscular, and utterly cold-faced.

The sound of propellers drew closer, and remarkably, six helicopters appeared, hovering steadily outside the window. The noise wasn’t overly loud. They were pitch-black metal, with sleek dark-blue patterns running through them like the bones of a giant beast. If it weren’t for the terrible timing, Shen Qiuxun would almost have exclaimed: So freaking cool!

But why here, of all places?!

Hmm… Shen Qiuxun looked left and right. The people surrounding them kept their gazes fixed straight ahead, clearly well-trained.

‘Who is “Head of the Family” calling for?’

【…】

‘Who IS the Head of the Family?’

【…】

‘Is the Head of the Family talking about me?’

【It seems not…】

‘Taking ten thousand steps back, is it really impossible for me to be this Head of the Family?’

【Host… pull yourself together.】

Shen Qiuxun looked up, stunned, and saw Xu Zhiyuan tilting his head, looking at him with concern. The man flicked a finger, and the black-haired man nodded. The people at the door parted, and another man was escorted in by two guards, forced to kneel beside Jace.

Shen Qiuxun recognized him. It was the old man who had been smoking the cigar that night. Now his face was covered in bruises, his hair dirty and disheveled, his clothes tattered. He was utterly wretched. Compared to the arrogant, ill-tempered mob boss from last time, he was practically unrecognizable.

The rag in the old man’s mouth was yanked out. He coughed violently for a moment, then looked at Jace beside him with a face full of hatred. His curses were hoarse and hideous: “Fool! Fool! You actually planned to abandon me and run off with this Beta? Bitch! Hahahahaha, bitch!”

Ever since that day Jace had plotted against Xu Zhiyuan, his power had been devoured entirely. With no other options left, he’d been introduced to someone to beg for help. Who would have thought the person behind the screen, making him grovel, was none other than Xu Zhiyuan!

At that moment, he understood everything. His power had been taken by Xu Zhiyuan. That day had been a tailor-made trap for him, Xu Changlu, to walk right into! They had gagged him, rolled him across a nail board, and thrown him, bruised and bleeding, into Stillwater Prison. He’d been locked up for half a month.

“I was originally planning to let you live a few more days… Why did you have to go and make things difficult for my Little Xun?” Xu Zhiyuan looked down from on high, pronouncing his death sentence?

Stillwater Prison was dark, silent, and the piranhas gnawed at his flesh day after day. He couldn’t live, he couldn’t die… Xu Zhiyuan was a devil from the start!

The rag was shoved back into his mouth. His eyes turned bloodshot. He merely glared hatefully at Jace, wishing he could flay him alive with his stare. If it weren’t… if it weren’t for him, he never should have acknowledged this nephew!

Jace was abnormally silent. The moment he’d been pinned to the ground by the intruders, it was as if his soul had already left his body. He didn’t even react to his uncle’s cursing.

“Shen Qiuxun, Little Xun.” Xu Zhiyuan reached out and tucked the stray hair on his forehead behind his ear, smiling. “From now on, I won’t let anyone bully you ever again.”

“…” Shen Qiuxun’s vision went dark. He was somewhat speechless. His mouth opened and closed, and finally he just asked: “Who bullied me?”

Xu Zhiyuan wrapped an arm around his waist. “That old man. The last time you had to save me… you had to deal with him, and he even threatened you.”

“Oh. That’s very bad of him.”

【…】

Shen Qiuxun lifted a hand to his forehead. When he lowered his head, his gaze accidentally met Jace’s.

That kind of sorrow was highly infectious. It was exactly the same as his own current mood, making it very easy to empathize with.

This eye contact was extremely grating to another person watching. A romantic rival who tried to run off with his lover… truly deserved to have his bones ground to dust.

Xu Zhiyuan had arrived at just the right time—right in time to hear Shen Qiuxun’s complaints from outside the door.

“Temperamental,” “difficult to control,” “arrogant,” “defective gland”—each word felt like a stab to his heart. But even he himself understood that these were facts. He was that kind of terrible person.

Honestly speaking, if there were another Beta male, one not inferior to him in looks or build, with a gentle personality and a gentle attitude, that would surely be much more in line with Shen Qiuxun’s expectations for a partner.

How long could Shen Qiuxun’s initial affection last once he fully understood the real him?

He had… zero confidence.

The smile on Xu Zhiyuan’s face faded slightly. He cupped Shen Qiuxun’s face with both hands, forcing him to look up and meet his eyes. His Adam’s apple bobbed. He lowered his head and gently brushed against those lips, then the small mole beneath them.

A silent pressure spread throughout the dilapidated little house. Restless, liquor-like pheromones spilled over. Everyone around them was frozen in terror. Low-ranking, untrained Alphas like Xu Changlu were forced to gag under the terrifying, crushing pressure. His eyeballs bulged, his whole body trembling. A sense of fear, as if his very bones were being ground to dust, coiled in his heart, enough to drive a man insane.

Jace, a frail Beta with no power to fight back, even directly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Pinned to the ground and unable to move, his internal organs felt like they were being twisted into shreds. Yet he gritted his teeth fiercely and didn’t make a sound.

Thoroughly annoyed and fed up, Shen Qiuxun slapped a hand over the face before him and pushed the man away. Then, reacting swiftly and accurately, he landed a slap across the man’s face.

The crisp sound echoed through the concrete house. Everyone present was shocked.

Shen Qiuxun racked his brain for a long moment and finally came up with an excuse for his outburst: “Get the hell away from me. Don’t think I didn’t hear what you said to Jace this afternoon in the Manager’s Office.”

What he said with Jace this afternoon in the Manager’s Office?

Xu Zhiyuan paused briefly, his brow twitching. He looked at Shen Qiuxun and saw him frowning, clearly very angry. Yet a hint of sweetness bloomed in his heart: Shen Qiuxun did care about him.

If he didn’t care, why would he be hurt by those false words?

He took Shen Qiuxun’s hand and explained urgently, “No, that was a misunderstanding. I said those things against my will to lower Jace’s and his uncle’s guard. As long as I acted like I didn’t care about you, they wouldn’t make things difficult for you. Those were all lies. How could I? How could I not care about you?”

“I love you. It has absolutely nothing to do with you being a Beta.”

“…” Shen Qiuxun, having a public love confession thrown at him, nearly fainted from anger. He pushed the man away with force. “You damn liar, don’t touch me.”

The shoving motion pulled at the wound on his shoulder, and he couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

Xu Zhiyuan quickly steadied him, his expression tense as he examined his condition. “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt? Should I get a doctor?”

Someone—who had an excellent sense of timing—brought over a chair padded with a soft cushion.

Shen Qiuxun let Xu Zhiyuan help him onto the chair. He caught his breath, then forced a smile. Finally remembering the main issue, he asked: “They… were calling for you?”

Xu Zhiyuan crouched before the chair, looking up at him, holding his hand.

“Mm. What about it?”

He didn’t seem to find anything wrong.

Oh, screw this, let’s just go down together, shall we?

Shen Qiuxun took a deep breath, his voice already trembling a bit. “This family… which family?”

“?” Xu Zhiyuan caught on to his train of thought. The corner of his lips curled up. “You know. The Seville Group. It’s practically mine already.”

Seville? Which Seville.

The ever-helpful System pulled up the Seville Biotech Group’s file, and a flat, mechanical electronic voice began playing in Shen Qiuxun’s mind:

【Seville Biotech Group is a century-old interstellar industry leader. Its reach spans the galaxy, controlling nearly half the wealth of the Interstellar Federation…】

‘Lord System, when can I go and die? Can I apply for a painless death?’

【…】

Shen Qiuxun’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

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