If the condition for their meeting wasn’t limited to face-to-face, then Helen and Winona had already seen each other three days ago.
They met via a communicator delivered to Winona’s pillow by a small robot through the ventilation ducts.
Through a thin screen of light, after three and a half years, they saw each other again.
Compared to their teenage selves, they had undoubtedly grown up, their faces having matured.
Winona had always been thin, but she had a light layer of muscle all over, making her look healthy and beautiful. But after three years of hardship, her radiant, pale gold hair seemed to have dulled, and her once-clear eyes now held many complex emotions. She had heavy dark circles, a forced smile hung on her lips, and her eyes were fixed on the person opposite her without blinking.
Helen had put on some weight from being cared for these past few days, her face becoming rounder. Her figure was still petite; she hadn’t grown the five centimeters she once predicted she would after turning eighteen. Winona thought, she must not have been eating well.
Her large eyes were filled with tears, yet she forced an exaggerated smile, looking utterly comical.
Winona said, “Don’t speak. Listen to me. The surveillance in your room has been disabled, but your door isn’t soundproof, so don’t talk for now.”
“Just nod, or mouth the words.”
“Are you okay? Is the pregnancy not too uncomfortable?”
Helen nodded, then shook her head, pointing to her stomach and giving a thumbs-up.
“Do you want to leave? I can get you out of here.”
Helen didn’t move, then slowly mouthed: “Will-you-be-in-danger?”
“No, a very kind person is willing to help us.”
Helen made the sign for an alpha and gave a questioning look.
“It’s an omega lady, and her alpha partner is helping us too.”
Hearing this, Helen’s tightly clenched fists at her sides instantly relaxed. An omega with a partner. That was good. She had been worried that Winona, like herself, had sold her body to gain the power to save her.
“When-will-you-come?”
Winona looked at her softly, her emerald eyes like pools of water. “For your safety, we need to wait a little longer, but not for long. I’ll be able to get you out of here very soon.”
As the long-separated lovers converged once more onto the same path from different branches of the river of fate, the suffering and time that lay between them seemed to vanish like a stone dropped into water. In that very first glance, Winona realized how absurd her previous worries and considerations had been. They both equally longed to see each other. Their love hadn’t faded in hardship; instead, it had been polished to a brighter sheen.
The obstacle of gender, the uncertainty of the future, the child that couldn’t be ignored, and that shadowy alpha were no longer barriers. Since their love had never stemmed from any of these things, it wouldn’t be changed by them either.
Helen burrowed under the covers, and the light screen in front of Winona went dark. A smile appeared on her lips; she thought she could guess what Helen was doing.
Winona turned the volume on her comm device to maximum. Sure enough, a soft, breathy voice whispered in her ear, “My love, I miss you so much.”
The water in her emerald eyes trembled on the verge of spilling. Winona tilted her head back, trying her best to hold back the tears, but her voice still quivered. “Me too.”
“I wish I could kiss you right now.”
Fast forward to the present. For the past three days, Winona had moved to a location near Helen’s, monitoring every move in the villa with a security team hired by Tang Jianxi for the long term.
Half an hour ago, Tang Jianxi sent them a message: 【Move the people. If you encounter resistance, deal with it and immediately fly the ship back to the Imperial Capital Star.】
Five minutes later, in the villa that housed no living beings other than three omegas, all intelligent devices ceased to function. Logically, Johansen should have at least received an alert on his comm device, but unfortunately, he was currently at the auction house with Yun Chuji, and his device was forced into sleep mode.
At that moment, Yun Chuji bought the third omega.
At that moment, Qi Sheng was mocking Tang Jianxi’s saintly heart, while the timed explosive he had arranged began its countdown.
Three minutes later, Yun Chuji raised her paddle again. Johansen mentally speculated that the famous omega must have some hidden ailment to make Yun Chuji so ravenous. He didn’t notice the inhibitor patch on the back of Yun Chuji’s neck was growing slightly warm. After all, they were in the front row, and although Yun Chuji had uncharacteristically tied her hair up today, Johansen was no omega-obsessed creep. He had always kept a respectful distance from an alpha’s glands, especially an S-rank alpha’s.
At that moment, Tang Jianxi said to Qi Sheng, “You’re truly pathetic.” Qi Sheng turned and left, showing no anger at the insult, silently mouthing, “Three, two, one.”
The villa exploded.
Three beta bodyguards and five AI bodyguards were escorting three and a half omegas onto a construction company’s truck without a backward glance.
One of the omegas was covered in wounds, the injuries on her wrists and ankles so gruesome they could be called savage. She was in a semi-conscious state.
Jisan watched all this in terror, clutching her belly tightly, her lips trembling nonstop. Helen turned back to her and said, “We’re free.”
Jisan didn’t answer. She looked out the window of the speeding vehicle at the blazing house, her limbs weak.
Winona hugged Helen tightly, a wave of fear washing over her.
At that moment, Yun Chuji bought the fourth omega at the auction house.
Then she began to bid for the fifth.
The fifth omega was plain-looking, merely delicate at best. Her timid eyes were like those of a hamster seeing daylight for the first time, not particularly endearing. Aside from her extremely youthful appearance, which might appeal to certain enthusiasts with special tastes, there was nothing remarkable about her.
Oh, and her pheromones had a rare poppy scent, which was indeed intriguing, but her rank was too low, only a D-rank. Pheromone compatibility dictated that even a concentrated poppy scent wouldn’t be very attractive to an S-rank like Yun Chuji.
Thinking of this, Johansen couldn’t help but recall—
The fourth omega was a small male omega, C-rank, with a very pale face and large eyes.
The third omega was a female omega with baby fat, C-rank, whom Yun Chuji bought before she could be stripped and displayed.
The second omega was a handsome male omega, D-rank, for whom Yun Chuji spent two million star coins.
The first omega was a B-rank male omega, unremarkable in every way except for his rank.
After organizing this information, Johansen realized that Yun Chuji seemed to have no preference for omegas at all. This couldn’t be explained away by Tang Jianxi’s inability to satisfy her. If Yun Chuji were the type of tragic figure who repulsed every omega she met, then her inexplicable fervor might be understandable, but she was far from it.
Johansen immediately began to scrutinize this alpha, the one the Third Princess had described as a pawn she had planted in the Tang family long ago.
“Miss Yun, omegas aren’t exactly local specialties. You won’t be able to use so many,” Johansen said with a teasing expression, still playing the part of the friendly older brother. “If Miss Tang finds out, there’ll be big trouble.”
Yun Chuji’s hand, holding the paddle, seemed to hesitate for a moment before becoming firm again, adding another two hundred thousand star coins. She turned her head and curled her lip, her usually gentle and amiable face revealing a hint of wicked indulgence. “They’re consumables, after all. Playing with omegas is always different.”
At these words, Johansen’s eyes lit up. So that was it. That made sense—it had been too long without release, so she couldn’t control herself. He gave her a knowing, conspiratorial look. “I didn’t realize Miss Yun had such… tastes.”
Yun Chuji shrugged and smiled without speaking.
Then she bought the fifth and sixth omegas.
After that, she finally stopped. Yun Chuji knew she couldn’t buy any more. It would be too obvious. Even buying the sixth one was already pushing it. She shouldn’t have been so eager; she should have feigned a more selective attitude.
But Yun Chuji was, after all, a novice. She couldn’t control her impulses. Faced with such tangible tragedy, she found it difficult to remain indifferent.
Fortunately, after six attempts, she was finally able to barely manage indifference.
So she straightened her posture, adjusted her seating position from time to time, and, mimicking the way her elder brother used to look at serving maids, endured the remaining forty-four omegas.
Johansen was probably spurred on by her words. Remembering the omega in his villa who had been tormented to a state worse than a real toy, he felt an itch in his heart and ruthlessly bought two more female omegas. But as far as Yun Chuji knew, his company’s cash flow wasn’t great due to his efforts to connect with the Third Princess. To be buying omegas at such a critical time—he was truly a beast through and through.
After the auction ended, the lights came on, revealing rows of impeccably dressed people, both upstairs and down. AI attendants came to clear away all traces of the auction. Drinks and exquisite food were placed around the hall. The area once used to display omegas was now occupied by an AI orchestra. The melodious sounds of a cello and piano echoed through the room as alphas chatted and laughed merrily, discussing economics, politics, and energy.
In the back of the hall, the fifty omegas were sorted, tagged with their buyers’ addresses, and taken from the building via a secluded elevator, sent off in hover cars to the locations designated by their buyers.
And for the buyers, the banquet had just begun.
It was a formal banquet. Over the next half hour, more people continued to arrive—alphas, omegas, and betas. They listened to the pleasant melodies played by the orchestra, smiling and remarking on how extraordinary AI had become in the field of art.
They were completely unaware that not long ago, on the very floor beneath their feet, the tears of more than one omega had fallen.
But this was understandable. The Autumn Vine wine from Planet Cang was fragrant and intoxicating, and the ventilation systems in the corners of the hall were running nonstop. The scent of hormones released by the alphas’ heavy breathing had long been deeply concealed, as difficult to detect as a rotten plant buried in the earth.
During the banquet, Johansen, riding on the Third Princess’s coattails, won a great deal of flattery. Several omegas even cast admiring glances his way. Johansen did his utmost to maintain his role as a devoted husband, which only made their gazes more fervent.
He drank eight extra glasses of Autumn Vine wine because of it.
After leaving the banquet, his head was a bit fuzzy from the alcohol. Just as he was about to call Yun Chuji to share a car, he remembered that the alpha, who was even better at pretending than he was, had hastily left after Tang Jianxi called to check up on her.
Johansen let out a contemptuous snort, thinking that Yun Chuji was still too inexperienced. Next time, he’d have to teach her a few tricks. There were plenty of ways to use love and affection to coax an omega into being obedient and sensible.
The short alpha, leaning on an AI for support, climbed into his car. He slumped onto the back seat of the hover car like a pile of mud and forcefully ripped off the bow tie on his white shirt. Then, he slowly opened his comm device.
He saw a few words in red: 【Your No. 03 security system has been violently destroyed.】
The flush on Johansen’s face faded.
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