Bai Muxing sat on the sofa for a while, then slowly exhaled a breath.
He got up and inspected all the equipment in this small apartment, not even sparing the ventilation ducts in the corners. At one point, the ceiling was left with pockmarks from his dismantling, which would likely give the landlord a twitch in the corner of their eye.
After confirming there were no safety blind spots, Bai Muxing returned everything to its original state.
Having run a fever earlier in the morning before going to the hospital, and after all the commotion, when he finally settled down, a sense of sore exhaustion seeped out from every crevice of his bones, swiftly engulfing his entire body.
Bai Muxing’s limbs felt weak, and his head was a bit dizzy. After pondering for a while, he remembered that he hadn’t eaten anything today.
He didn’t have the mood to cook for himself.
Memories of the close encounter with an alpha while getting a delivery in his previous life suddenly resurfaced in his mind, so the option of ordering takeout was also ruled out.
Bai Muxing rummaged through an emergency pack and found a nutrient supplement, which he reluctantly shoved into his mouth, considering it a meal.
The stuff didn’t taste like much, but it excelled in balanced nutrition that perfectly suited human needs. It was simple, convenient, and very effective at staving off hunger.
After finishing the nutrient supplement, Bai Muxing also took some medicine he had brought back from the hospital.
Although it probably wouldn’t do much, he had already opened the package, and he had spent money on it too.
Stingily, Bai Muxing thought that if he had it, he might as well use it.
Discipline was strict in the military, and even the lowest-grade nutrient supplements were strictly forbidden to be wasted.
Bai Muxing’s time of service wasn’t particularly long; he had only spent five years in the military before the war ended.
But it was enough time for him to develop a good habit of not wasting things.
After eating and taking the medicine, the discomfort in his body didn’t lessen in the slightest, and his head felt rusty, as if it couldn’t function properly.
It was probably a side effect of the overwhelming surge of emotions he had experienced.
In this state, he couldn’t do anything well. Bai Muxing didn’t force himself, and in the end, he returned to the sofa, becoming like a lethargic salted fish lying there.
He pondered for a moment, then activated the holographic brain projection and brought up a popular heartwarming family drama from StarNet. Half-lying down, he watched it absentmindedly.
His light-colored eyes stared at the projection screen, but the pupils lacked focus. It was evident that the owner of those eyes was daydreaming.
Setting aside the logic, these brainless series were indeed relaxing. You could watch them without engaging your brain too much; they were just light-hearted entertainment.
Accompanied by the cheerful sounds of the drama, Bai Muxing gradually relaxed and ended up dozing off on the sofa.
When he woke up, the sky had already turned completely dark.
Bai Muxing got up from the sofa. The material of the sofa was too soft, and he hadn’t slept very comfortably. His bones felt a bit weak as he stood up, and he stumbled a couple of steps.
However, that sense of mental exhaustion had faded quite a bit.
Bai Muxing went to the bathroom and took a shower. Finally, he felt alive again, transitioning from the dream-like floatiness to reality, step by step.
He gazed at the night scene outside the window. Even in the dead of night, the bustling capital star was incredibly lively, its lights adorning the planet like daylight.
The place Bai Muxing lived in could be considered the outskirts, but the streets were still brightly lit, and occasionally a few hovering ships passed through the half-empty air lanes.
The overly bright lights obscured the distant stars, and the night sky was a silent blackish-gray. Artificial light sources created by technology were much brighter than the natural starry sky.
So, in the capital star, you wouldn’t get to see the twinkling stars.
Bai Muxing quietly observed the city for a while before withdrawing his gaze.
Although he really wanted to leave the capital star immediately, he couldn’t do it right away.
Apart from his discharge process taking about another half month to complete, just the process of purchasing a suitable agricultural and ranching planet required him to stay on the capital star to handle the paperwork.
This was an era where AI intelligence had reached an extremely high level. Many things could be perfectly achieved through remote networks, but many important economic and political activities were still subject to regional restrictions and required personal presence on the capital star for application.
This wasn’t some outdated regulation that hadn’t been eliminated in time; it was a means for the capital star to reinforce its dominance over other star systems.
The empire’s territory was too vast, which was a drawback resulting from excessive expansion.
Without finding a way to strengthen bonds, many people living in remote star systems would never feel a sense of belonging to the empire.
Once his discharge process was complete, his allowances would be deposited, along with the transfer of planet ownership rights.
Overall, he would have to stay in the capital star for a while, at least.
During this period, he could also handle another matter.
The gland that was just beginning to develop would transform him into a Grade S Omega within a few months.
He couldn’t let it stay.
Bai Muxing thought calmly, almost cruelly, that this matter needed to be dealt with as soon as possible—
Yes, when he realized he had a second chance, he decided to destroy his gland.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Existing medical technology couldn’t suppress the development of an S-grade gland.
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Even if others saw it as precious, he wouldn’t have an ounce of regret about removing it.
“…Omega?” Bai Muxing murmured.
He lifted his arm, his left hand touching the back of his neck and his fingertips pressing at the spot near the shoulder where the gland was located.
That was where the gland was situated.
If he were an omega, that spot would swell slightly during the heat cycle, releasing large amounts of pheromones through the tiny blood vessels on the surface to attract alphas.
It was sensitive even in normal circumstances, reacting strongly to the slightest touch.
Touching an Omega’s gland without being their partner could even result in harassment charges.
But as a beta, at least for now, a beta, Bai Muxing had never experienced anything special about this place in his first 27 years.
Although betas also possessed the gland at the back of their necks, the beta’s gland had always been recognized as an evolutionarily incomplete, regressed information gland.
This organ, which had a distinct presence in omegas, seemed like useless tissue when it came to betas.
He pressed down on the gland’s location with force, and after several seconds, he finally felt a faint discomfort.
A needle-like prickling sensation, as if something delicate and just beginning to grow had been disturbed, and tender buds were emitting delicate protests.
Bai Muxing was not unfamiliar with this kind of pain. In his previous life, when his gland had developed enough to emit pheromones, he had spent several months accompanied by a pain similar but much more intense and distinct. It was much harsher than the vague sensation he felt now.
Unconsciously, the force of his fingertip increased, even piercing the skin slightly, and droplets of blood seeped out.
Catching a faint whiff of the slightly metallic scent of blood in the air, Bai Muxing snapped back to his senses and relaxed the force in his hand.
He retrieved a wound spray from the medical kit. The cool gel was sprayed onto the damaged skin, and in just a few minutes, the injured area was as good as new.
He couldn’t resort to such a rough method. He gazed at the hovering ships occasionally streaking across the window, his eyes devoid of emotion.
A normal beta had no reason to suddenly destroy their own gland; it simply made no sense.
Unless he was insane, but an insane person wouldn’t be able to obtain a planet purchase permit.
His gland was currently in the most elementary stage of development, and at this stage, its shape hadn’t changed, and his body hadn’t been deeply affected.
It was like when he went to the hospital for a check-up, and none of the instruments detected the root cause.
But if his abnormal behavior caught the attention of certain people, the outcome would be uncertain.
The most sophisticated instruments might still be able to uncover some clues.
Destroying a developing S-class gland, even if he could claim ignorance, he couldn’t explain why he, as a beta, would suddenly self-inflict. He might get into serious trouble for this.
Bai Muxing didn’t want to stir up trouble. He needed to create a reasonable explanation to make it all appear like an accident.
So that he could go to the agricultural and ranching planet without any worries.
***
“Hello, here’s your access pass. Please keep it safe.”
The gatekeeper of Graveyard A09 handed Bai Muxing a chip-sized access card. With this card, he would be allowed to stay in the graveyard.
“Thank you,” Bai Muxing replied, taking the access pass and entering the cemetery.
Uniform gravestones were arranged somewhat crowdedly, giving off a wordless sense of desolation.
Perhaps places like this always had a particularly somber atmosphere.
The people buried in this area were victims of a star pirate terrorist attack that happened ten years ago.
Bai Muxing’s parents were among them. They were both artists and unfortunate passengers on that ill-fated starship during an outing.
Including the captain, hundreds of people didn’t survive the clutches of the star pirates.
At that time, Bai Muxing was just a student, unable to afford a burial plot. So his parents were laid to rest in the government-provided cemetery, which was part of the compensation after the accident.
Bai Muxing stopped at the 23rd spot in the third row.
He placed the flowers he had bought on the way in front of the gravestone, a bouquet of silverstar grass.
The flowers of this plant were also silver-gray, and the small clusters appeared somewhat dull in the daytime. As a choice for worship, they were a bit unconventional.
But Bai Muxing’s parents loved silverstar grass the most.
Their home used to have a small courtyard filled with silverstar grass. During the day, they were inconspicuous, but as night fell and the light dimmed, those clusters of gray grass would shine brightly in the darkness. They oddly resembled the starry sky that one could never see in the capital star.
So, every time he came here, he would bring a bouquet of silverstar grass.
Bai Muxing looked at the names of his parents engraved on the gravestone, reminiscing about the past.
When his parents’ tragedy occurred, it was his first year at Capital Comprehensive University. He had excellent grades and has been recognized as a top student since childhood. He was enrolled in the most popular medical school.
For a beta, this was the most promising profession, which was universally acknowledged.
As individuals less sensitive to pheromones compared to alphas and omegas, betas were better suited to handle medical scenes.
Bai Muxing had a visibly bright future ahead of him at that time.
However, after his parents’ accident, he took care of their affairs, and the first thing he did was drop out of the Capital Comprehensive University.
Following everyone’s astonishment and dissuasion, he reapplied to the military academy.
—He still applied for the Combat Department.
During the war, military forces were in high demand. Students from the combat department of the Capital Military Academy who graduated during those years were silently sent as fresh recruits to the frontlines for service.
Every year, countless young and tender lives were lost on the distant borderlines.
Like young flowers that didn’t have a chance to bloom before wilting away.
His former classmates strongly advised him, “I understand your sorrow, but betas really aren’t suited for the military academy. The frontlines are too dangerous; many alphas have died! If you really want to go, you could choose a logistics or manufacturing major. Why insist on the combat department?”
Bai Muxing just shook his head, calmly saying, “I’ve already decided.”
That’s how he has always been. Once he made up his mind, he would unhesitatingly follow through.
***
Bai Muxing submitted an application to the cemetery’s administrator; he wanted to relocate his parents’ graves.
The administrator couldn’t hide their surprise: “Are you sure? It’s not easy to get a burial spot in the capital star’s cemeteries these days.”
This cemetery belonged to the exceptionally remote and antiquated category. It was evident from their use of outdated access cards rather than personal intelligent holographic systems.
However, in the capital star, where land was precious, even for a piece of land like this, buying it required several hundred thousand interstellar credits, which was still quite a sum.
Bai Muxing didn’t explain much, only saying, “I’m planning to live on another planet.”
Administrator: “Oh… It’s nice to move somewhere else. Life on the capital star is quite stressful, and property prices are high. It’s good to venture out and explore elsewhere.”
The administrator was getting older; wrinkles covered their face, and their eyes were slightly cloudy. They seemed to be over a hundred and twenty years old.
It appeared that very few people came to this place. The administrator might have been feeling lonely or something, as they chatted with Bai Muxing for a while.
“I’m about to retire. After retirement, I’ll go back to my hometown to enjoy my old age.”
Bai Muxing listened quietly.
He probably wasn’t a good listener. Lacking curiosity, he wouldn’t interject with questions when the other person paused.
But being able to listen quietly was sufficient for an elderly person who was eager to share their thoughts.
The administrator chattered away as he processed Bai Muxing’s paperwork.
He was old and moved at a slow pace, but Bai Muxing didn’t rush him; he patiently waited.
After fumbling for a while, the administrator said, “The application has been submitted. You can come back to collect the items in about half a month.”
Glancing at the sky, he softly cautioned, “Things haven’t been peaceful lately, and this place is remote. Young man, you better take a hovercraft back home quickly.”
Recently, with the end of border conflicts, people from various walks of life frequently traveled to the capital star, leading to frequent changes and chaos.
Moreover, with post-war collective stress trauma, the accident rate in the capital star was unprecedentedly high.
While the central area, equipped with micro-cameras and highly efficient law enforcement, remained trouble-free, the outskirts, like this area, were suffering.
Even just fights and brawls happened ten or more times this week.
Even the most splendid places had their dark corners. This area was well-known in the capital star as an outskirts district, heavily plundered for resources. Many facilities were old, malfunctioning, or even missing. Despite multiple applications, new equipment hadn’t been approved.
The police department was more concerned about the performance in the central district. As long as no fatalities occurred here, most reported incidents had no follow-up.
Bai Muxing handed back the access pass, saying, “Hmm, thank you.”
Leaving the graveyard, Bai Muxing had spent too much time inside; now the sky had darkened, and it had started raining.
Patter, patter.
At first, it was a drizzle as fine as cow hair, gently falling down.
But not long after, the weather changed its temperament. It became a torrential downpour, fiercely pounding the ground and producing a patter of sounds.
Bai Muxing had checked the weather forecast before leaving, so he opened the umbrella he had brought. However, the corners of his clothes were still splashed with rainwater.
Nobody enjoyed wandering in the rain.
This cemetery area was already remote, and when the rain fell, there were even fewer people around.
On the slanting path, only his lone figure under a black umbrella could be seen. At first glance, he seemed like a wandering, solitary spirit or a wild ghost.
Bai Muxing turned into a small alley. The towering trees around it obstructed the view, making this place a blind spot for surveillance.
A gust of wind blew by. Bai Muxing released his grip, and the umbrella fell from his hand to the ground.
The uncollapsed umbrella was struck by raindrops, tilting and swaying like a small boat in turbulent waves, on the verge of collapsing at any moment. It soon rolled haphazardly into a pile of sand and stones in a corner, getting wedged between a few rocks.
Within a few seconds of the pouring rain, his thin clothes were soaked. Excess moisture filled every inch of fabric, then seeped out through the pants’ cuffs, mixing with the rainwater on the ground.
Bai Muxing quickly became drenched, his black hair sticking tightly to his forehead, his eyelashes damp, and his gaze obscured by the rain curtain.
His wet clothes outlined his slender and graceful figure. Coupled with his pale, expressionless face, he appeared more like a sprite of the rain.
A chill seeped into his throat, and he coughed softly twice. The weather was cold, and due to hormonal imbalance, his physical condition had already deteriorated. Standing in the heavy rain like this, he was nearly numbed by the cold.
However, as if he couldn’t feel it, he slowly retrieved a folding knife from his jacket pocket.
His fingers were long, and his wrist bones were elegantly slender. His fingertips rested on the knife handle, as if he were holding some work of art.
But in reality, it was nothing more than a standard kitchen utility knife.
There was a soft “click” sound.
A nearly inconspicuous sound in the pouring rain.
Bai Muxing unfolded the knife from its folded state.
The back of the knife flashed a cold, dull glint as he moved it. In this remote, dark, and unobserved alley, it became the sole source of light.
In the reflection on the back of the knife, Bai Muxing saw his own eyes.
Those were a pair of truly beautiful eyes. Unlike the perpetually expressionless face of their owner, the pupils were warm-toned and light amber, clean, and translucent.
When he focused on something, it gave the illusion that even time would slow its pace so as not to disturb him—a benevolent slowing of footsteps.
His long eyelashes were dampened by the rain, sticking together in strands that hung slightly down. They reflected the translucent light of his pale eyes, which appeared even more clear in the pouring rain, as if they had been washed by water.
His facial features leaned toward a cold temperament. Now drenched by the rain, he looked like a frigid, icy beauty.
Bai Muxing was rather good-looking. His parents were the kind of people with outstanding features, and he had inherited all their strengths. He had attracted the hearts of many children, with his lips rosy and his teeth white, since kindergarten.
Due to his appearance, even better than many Omegas, almost everyone assumed he would eventually develop into an Omega. He had received countless love letters from older Alpha students.
Even though he later disappointingly failed to develop into an Omega and remained an ordinary beta, he still had no shortage of admirers chasing after him.
If one were to judge based solely on his appearance, the vast majority would assume he was like a beautiful, delicate flower in need of protection. After all, the more beautiful something was, the more fragile it seemed. This was a misconception that many people often fell into.
However, only those who had worked with him knew that behind that beautiful face was a heart so cold, aloof, and impenetrable that it never opened up to anyone.
During his time in the military, the squad he led was always the most obedient.
Those alpha recruits who initially showed contempt or lustful looks because of his appearance and gender wouldn’t take long before they were subdued by him, their confidence shattered at the mere sight of him.
Behind his back, many would grumble about how harsh he was, and then their words would shift to “the more beautiful someone is, the more ruthless they are.”
Bai Muxing didn’t care about gossip, but he had heard these rumors to some extent. Yet he didn’t think much of it. To survive in the military, being ruthless was a necessary trait.
Those who weren’t ruthless enough were already dead on the battlefield.
…
A moment later, Bai Muxing applied a slight pressure with his hand, and the gleam of the knife moved away.
He tilted his head slightly and, at the same time, twisted his wrist. The tip of the knife pointed toward the back of his neck. His gaze remained unwavering as he brought the knife down on himself.
The blade met his flesh, piercing through the rain-soaked skin. The warmth of fresh blood surged out from within him, but before it could even retain its temperature, the cold rainwater washed over it, rendering it void of warmth.
The scarlet liquid flowed intermittently from his body, falling onto the ground in a distorted manner and mixing with the rainwater. It twisted into sinuous forms before being quickly carried away and diluted by the rain until it completely vanished.
Cases that occurred in this kind of weather were the most headache-inducing for investigators because, before the police arrived, the precious evidence would be washed away by the ubiquitous rain.
The untimely moisture would wash away many traces—fingerprints, scents—
as well as those faintly sweet pheromones still immaturely developing within the blood.
Everything was washed away completely on this rainy night.
The author has something to say:
Because this is a short story, only a little over ten thousand words, the progress is quite fast; I’m cutting to the chase and wrapping things up quickly! There’s not a lot of face-slapping or scum-abuse kind of plot; the main focus is on romance. Blame my wicked romantic brain.
Thank you for the chapter!! 🙂 I was so tense reading him finally remove the glands, I’m excited to see what the doctors and investigators will thinkkk
That is, if they are even going to find out what he just did 😂
omgg if he could just leave without anyone noticing, so OP 😎
Smart boi, now he can just pin the blame on some star pirates attacking him in the alley 😌 and romance is good even without the scum abuse 🤭
Thanks for the work… really is ruthless to himself.. I approve need to protect oneself
reads author’s note goes to check chapter count 🤨
Well, this is a quick transmigration novel, with each world having different protagonist.
Ohhh I see! Okay now I understand, this book is basically an anthology series!
So far I only saw the the QT tag on stories where the MC is the one world hopping but I didn’t think it can be used for antho series as well. Thanks for the heads up and translating!! 💕💕
Can’t wait for the next chapter!!
thank you for the chapter!
i want to give this gege a hug! qaq… but i do wonder how this will evolve!
Didn’t realise that I held my breath while reading all those descriptions in trepidation that someone will come and hinder MC..
Omg my rich imagination and this is just- so depressing 😭 paint a picture in your mind, (from side view btw) a delicate young man with short rain-soaked black hair and soulless black eyes wearing black clothing standing under a pine tree (idk pine tree trust fits) with torrential rain pouring down on him while holding a utility knife against his neck as scarlet liquid could be seen running down his back- my poor baby!!! 😭🤧😭🤧