Spartacus. In a distant era, he was the first recorded and celebrated rebel in the history of human civilization.
He rebelled against his slave master.
In this era, however, Spartacus was given a more complex but fundamentally similar meaning: it was the name of the Empire’s underground omega rights organization.
Often, a name alone is enough to reveal many problems.
For instance, the Empire’s pro-alpha bias could be seen in the recent official statements from the Imperial media.
When referring to an alpha, they never used a prefix, instead directly calling them “our great, respected, noble XXX.” When it came to omegas, it became “our respected omega XXX,” “the noble omega XXX,” “the great omega XXX,” and so on, leaving the impression that alpha excellence was a collective trait, while omega excellence was an individual exception.
Another example was the name Spartacus-
Adopting the name of a slave for an organization more or less symbolized the dissatisfaction of the omegas within it regarding their living conditions. Adopting the name of a rebellious slave, however, signified that the omegas in this organization intended to make some praiseworthy efforts to address that dissatisfaction.
As a former reserve alpha, now a disabled omega, who grew up on the fringes of the Empire, Winona naturally had no knowledge of an organization like Spartacus, which was filled with omega elites.
Moreover, she had no desire to know.
Winona had no ambition to fight for the entire omega population; she just wanted to save Helen.
As long as she could get Helen back, she could even forgive all the pain she had endured-as long as she could get Helen back.
Tang Jianxi was not surprised by Winona’s somewhat cold reaction. In fact, her goal wasn’t to promote her organization.
“I just want to tell you that, as a member of Spartacus, you can trust me completely. I will help you.”
Privately selling omegas, engaging in human trafficking and trade-this was even more horrifying than the David’s Potion affair.
According to Winona, this trade had been going on for years in the outermost ring. Who could possess such power to cover it all up?
The Imperial Capital Star had thirteen rings in each district. If the outermost ring of every district was dominated by such trade, it meant that one-thirteenth of the omega population on the Imperial Capital Star was being threatened by heinous crimes.
If it was like this on the Imperial Capital Star, it was needless to say how it was on the Empire’s other planets.
Tang Jianxi felt a chill run through her. While she had been wholeheartedly trying to develop an inhibitor to solve omega heats, someone was brazenly snatching omegas like rabbits and throwing them onto the beds of upper-class alphas.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm down and not let anger consume her mind.
Tang Jianxi promised, “Winona, I will do whatever it takes to help you find Helen. But I have only one request for you: tell the others in Spartacus what you’ve just told me.”
After a pause, Tang Jianxi continued with difficulty, “I must tell you, the injustice you have suffered is far beyond my imagination. I am deeply sorry for this. We should have discovered it sooner, should have ended this damn crime sooner.”
The beautiful and noble omega was apologizing to her with reddened eyes. Winona just watched coldly. She felt nothing-no comfort, no satisfaction, and certainly not warmth. That was an emotion too luxurious for her.
Her long hair covered her cheeks. She lowered her head and repeated, “I’ll do anything you ask, as long as you can find Helen.”
The air was heavy. Tang Jianxi had always known she was very empathetic. This empathy had led her to join Spartacus, and now, it made her feel like she couldn’t stay any longer. She worried she might burst into tears at any moment.
Taking the DNA sample and photograph of Helen that Winona had given her, Tang Jianxi hastily said her goodbyes.
But before leaving, she felt it was simply too cowardly. I’ve only heard a story, but Winona lived through it all!
So, she turned around, went back, and said to the woman sitting dazedly on the sofa, “Besides saving Helen, is there anything else you want?”
“Do you want to study?”
“Or open a repair shop in the inner rings, something like that.”
Winona’s lips trembled. She shook her head, her voice hoarse. “Thank you for your kindness, but I can’t think about anything else right now.”
Tang Jianxi left in a fluster.
Afterward, she put aside her own work and used all her connections and resources to search for any trace of Helen.
But there was nothing.
It was as if Helen had simply vanished. Not even her light-brain had left any trace on the StarNet.
It had only been half a year. How could a living person disappear without a single clue?
Even if… even if she was dead.
There should have been some trace left behind.
Tang Jianxi pressed on, expanding the search area. Perhaps S-District was just a transit point; Helen might have been sent elsewhere.
As she kept busy, a week passed since the last marking.
Yun Chuji hadn’t returned yet.
This was within her expectations. For an alpha who had started halfway, completing the S-rank alpha training was no simple task. She had already prepared inhibitors, so delaying for a while shouldn’t be a problem.
But after taking the inhibitor, her desire did indeed subside, but at the same time, all her other emotions sank into a slump.
Tang Jianxi knew this was a normal reaction after taking an inhibitor. An omega would feel depressed and be in desperate need of an alpha’s comfort.
Usually, at times like this, Tang Jianxi would put down her work, rest for half a day, and feel better after a nap.
But at this particular moment, looking at the constant stream of messages on her screen, from both the organization and the people she had dispatched-
Tang Jianxi closed her eyes in frustration and pinched the bridge of her nose.
So what if it’s an alpha’s comfort? she thought.
Just the pheromones should be enough, right?
Unfortunately, that Yun Chuji had packed her luggage so neatly that not a single piece of her clothing was left at her place.
Tang Jianxi painfully realized that if she wanted to continue working, she would probably have to do something rather sordid.
For example, using the entry access someone gave her out of trust to sneak into their bedroom while they weren’t home, and then wrap herself up in their blankets and clothes.
The whole process was that of a total creep.
Tang Jianxi’s dignity as a lady wouldn’t allow her to do such a thing.
But the messages on her light-brain kept coming.
And she did miss Yun Chuji a little.
And so, when Yun Chuji, after working tirelessly through sleepless nights, finally completed her training in a record three days, and was planning to go home to change before finding Tang Jianxi, she instead walked into her bedroom to find one Miss Tang Jianxi sitting on her bed, wearing her clothes, wrapped in her quilt, and working diligently.
“Tang? Miss Tang?”
The sound of her voice startled Tang Jianxi. Not yet fully aware of the situation, she responded with a normal expression, “Hm? You’re back.”
Yun Chuji hesitated, opened her mouth, then closed it again. Remembering her own state during her rut, she asked tentatively, “Miss Tang, do you need a marking right now?”
“No, I don’t, I…”
Before she could finish, Tang Jianxi’s head brushed against Yun Chuji’s quilt as she turned.
Instantly, she scrambled out of the quilt in alarm.
She pulled off Yun Chuji’s jacket.
Pulled off Yun Chuji’s sweater.
Finally, there was a small tank top that belonged to her, and she couldn’t pull off any more.
Tang Jianxi’s face was beet red. She felt that the mature, sisterly image she had cultivated for so long was now not just in jeopardy.
It was starting to backfire.
What kind of sister does something like this?!
This is clearly a pervert!
Tang Jianxi stammered out an explanation, “I’m not… I didn’t… a pervert. It’s been seven days, I took an inhibitor, but I’m very busy with work right now, so I need your pheromones to calm my state.”
“I’m not a pervert,” she emphasized again.
Yun Chuji watched this scene with great novelty. In fact, she found Miss Tang quite adorable.
So she gave a gentle smile. “It’s alright, I’ve used Miss Tang’s clothes before too. I know this kind of thing can happen.”
“And I don’t mind.”
Tang Jianxi breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s good that you don’t misunderstand.”
“But, Miss Tang…” Yun Chuji averted her eyes. The moment her gaze left Tang Jianxi’s adorable face and drifted downwards, everything changed. Now, the tantalizing body under the tank top, even unseen, seemed to burn in her vision. It was too beautiful, like beauty itself. The skin as white as fine snow, the two delicate collarbones, and that revealing corner of warm, soft jade-it all inexplicably made Yun Chuji’s mouth go dry. She didn’t understand why, only that it was alluring, and she didn’t know why she found it alluring.
“You should probably put some clothes on,” Yun Chuji added in a low voice.
Hearing this, Tang Jianxi looked down and hastily pulled the quilt back around herself, annoyed. Could this pheromone imbalance be damaging my brain?!
Closing her eyes for a moment, Tang Jianxi still couldn’t figure out how to handle the situation. In her twenty-five years of a glittering life, she had never encountered such an embarrassing moment.
In her panic, Tang Jianxi naturally didn’t notice Yun Chuji’s simultaneous panic and flushed face. The alpha’s face was almost as red as hers. She had changed into a set of clothes from the training center, still white, which made her red face even more prominent. Yun Chuji took a few gentle breaths.
That scene was still replaying in slow motion in her mind. She could guess these were improper thoughts, which only intensified her panic until she was nearly at a loss.
How could this be happening?
They weren’t even in the middle of a marking.
“Miss Tang, I’m going to take a shower first.”
“You-you can use my clothes as you please.”
After managing to say those two sentences, Yun Chuji quickly dashed to the bathroom in her parents’ room.
Tang Jianxi, left alone in the bedroom: “…”
My image is ruined after all, Tang Jianxi thought, tugging at the corner of her mouth. Giving up, she threw caution to the wind and continued to work.
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