Chapter 47: Forget it, too much of an eyesore

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Three: Nucheng’s Past Events

“The Central Bank, established 374 years ago, has been robbed 12 times in its history. The most famous heist occurred…”

The quiet, empty lobby had excellent acoustics, acting like a built-in amplifier. The polished marble floor resembled a carefully prepared stage, and the evening sunlight streaming through the windows was like a stage spotlight.

The jester-masked figure, brimming with the desire to express himself, stood in the center of the lobby, delivering a flamboyant speech, while the ox-mask and horse-mask held up phones, recording video for him. 

“But since the 1960s, no one has dared to target the Central Bank again. What a pity. A new era needs pioneers like me to turn a new page in history.”

The jester mask was removed from his face. His wrist traced two circles in the air before he lightly touched his chest and bowed—a standard gentleman’s salute.

The person beneath the mask was none other than Zhan Yuan, the world’s only S-Class alpha, who, having just regained his freedom, couldn’t wait to make an appearance.

His warning letter to the government said he would give Nucheng a big ‘gift.’ Robbing the Central Bank seemed to indeed match the scale of such a ‘gift.’ 

The audience held their hands high above their heads, trembling as they huddled together, forced to endure the suffocating pheromonal suppression. Many people’s inhibitors were in the form of bracelets, and they tried turning up the index level, only to find it was already at the maximum. Among them, the betas had the weakest resistance, and almost all had fainted.

Pig-mask was responsible for guarding the hostages. Including the tellers, everyone was gathered behind the semi-circular service counter, squatting right next to the deceased lobby manager.

The blood pool had stopped spreading, but the corpse’s wide, lifeless eyes were enough to cast a shadow over everyone.

He Yixun and Xu Pei were mixed in with the hostages. Taking advantage of Zhan Yuan’s voice covering all other noises, though neither understood why he needed to so ostentatiously film his speech video, He Yixun obediently raised his hands, lowered his head, and asked Xu Pei in a hushed voice, “Why do you all look so uncomfortable?” 

If it were due to the corpse’s influence, not everyone would react the same way.

“Pheromones can release hostility,” Xu Pei, being a high-grade omega after all, still had the strength to speak. “If pheromone levels are comparable, it can trigger confrontation. But if one side’s pheromone level is higher, it creates oppression.

“No one here has a higher pheromone level than Zhan Yuan.”

At this point, Xu Pei suddenly realized that Zhan Yuan’s pheromonal suppression had no effect on He Yixun because He Yixun was the only person here without glands. 

—Even betas have glands. It’s just that their pheromone concentration is below normal levels, classified as a disability. People who have had their glands removed due to illness or injury also install artificial glands to ensure daily functioning. Otherwise, their bodily functions would quickly develop problems.

Just like Xu Pei’s sense of smell was a bug-like existence in that world, He Yixun’s immunity to pheromones in this world was also a bug-like existence.

“Don’t be impulsive,” Xu Pei endured his discomfort and warned. “You’re not a police officer of Nucheng, you have no obligation to catch the bad guys. Safety is the most important thing.”

Even if Zhan Yuan weren’t here, there were still five alpha robbers present, which wasn’t something He Yixun could handle alone either. 

He Yixun gave an “hmm” and asked, “Was Zhan Yuan born with a gland disability?”

“No, he was originally an alpha. It seems a car accident caused his gland damage,” Xu Pei replied, breathing in small gasps, his voice weak. “Didn’t I tell you that an omega can conceive two babies at once? Actually, the chance of both babies surviving simultaneously is extremely low because the embryos compete for resources in the reproductive chamber. If both embryos ultimately survive, it means both are very strong. We call such babies ‘chosen alphas.’ Zhan Gao and Zhan Yuan were like that; both were God’s favored ones since childhood.”

So one could imagine the immense blow gland damage would bring.

Finally, Zhan Yuan finished his “historical figure campaign speech,” casually tossed aside the jester mask, and said, “The manager, step forward yourself.” 

Everyone buried their heads even lower, including Xu Pei and He Yixun. If Zhan Yuan recognized them, it might complicate things unnecessarily.

A middle-aged male alpha in a gray suit trembled as he stood up, remaining in a half-crouch, and pointed towards his office. “The… the vault key is in my office drawer.”

Zhan Yuan scoffed mockingly. “So conscientious.”

Opening the vault required no effort. Except for Pig-mask, who stayed in the lobby to guard the hostages, the others all entered the vault carrying bottomless black satchels. 

Pig-mask shouted, “Fill my bag up!” then, with nothing else to do, said to the hostages, “Be good, all of you. We’ll be gone soon, it won’t delay your closing time.”

Actually, it was already past closing time, which was precisely why the robbers had stopped the revolving door after entering. No one outside found it strange, and no one came over to look inside. As for the two previous rounds of gunfire, since this area was usually very bustling, even if unusual sounds were heard, people living peacefully wouldn’t think of gunshots.

As Zhan Yuan moved away, the pheromonal suppression was replaced by Pig-mask’s. He was at most an A-grade alpha. Those among the hostages with naturally higher pheromone levels or those possessing high-end inhibitor devices began to recover. Although still weak in the limbs, it wasn’t as suffocating as before.

Perhaps feeling overshadowed, Pig-mask seemed displeased that the hostages dared to relax. He pressed his gun muzzle closer to the crowd, pretending to shoot. People dodged the muzzle, leaning this way and that like roly-poly toys, terrified the muzzle would point at their heads. 

A group of elites was scared into rats scurrying in all directions.

The absolute advantage in force gave Pig-mask a thrill. He sneered, “You’re all fucking cowards.”

However, just as Pig-mask let his guard down due to his enjoyment, in the blink of an eye, a figure at the edge of the crowd sprang up and charged at Pig-mask like a predatory leopard, delivering a punch to his jaw—the switch controlling consciousness.

His head shook violently, the impact shocking his brain like an electric current. Consciousness fled instantly, and Pig-mask collapsed stiffly to the ground. 

He Yixun swiftly caught Pig-mask’s falling body, took the assault rifle from his hand, dragged him to the wall, and had two employees use their ties to bind his hands and feet. Everyone else cooperated; no one cried out or whispered amongst themselves, only occasionally glancing towards the vault, afraid the other robbers would return.

“We need to get out quickly,” Xu Pei said in a low voice, not forgetting to take out his phone and call the police. The call connected quickly. He concisely stated, “Someone is robbing the Central Bank.”

He expected the operator to double-check, as this wasn’t a common occurrence, but surprisingly, the operator wasn’t rushed at all, saying, “The command center has already received the alarm. The police will arrive soon.”

…Already received the alarm? 

Xu Pei couldn’t help but be astonished.

According to Rooster-mask, hadn’t the Central Bank’s alarm lines all been cut? Moreover, after the robbers entered, everyone had their hands raised. The only one who tried anything, the lobby manager, was riddled with bullets. Who had the ability to alert the police right under the robbers’ noses?

He Yixun looked towards the revolving door and said, “They’ve jammed it with a door stopper. Are there other exits?”

If the revolving door could be stopped, it could naturally be started again. The robbers had placed door stoppers under both door leaves, making it impossible for anyone to push or pull the revolving door. Furthermore, the Central Bank’s revolving door was also made of bulletproof glass, so even the police would need some time to breach it.

“There’s an employee passage over there,” someone said.

“But they smashed the card reader for the access control,” another person said.

“The elevator can go upstairs,” yet another said. 

“How can so many of us take the elevator? Do you think they’re blind?”

Seeing the crowd starting to discuss, He Yixun went “shh” in a low voice and said, “I’ll go remove the door stoppers.”

As long as they could be successfully removed and the revolving door started, the hostages in the lobby could escape.

Of course, the premise was that the robbers in the vault were greedy enough, busy stuffing money, and didn’t notice the commotion in the lobby. 

He Yixun slung the assault rifle over his back and half-crouching ran to the nearest stone pillar. Then, to the next pillar, he gradually approached the revolving door.

The robbers in the vault were chatting about where to go have fun after getting rich. Someone seemed uneasy and confirm with Zhan Yuan. “Boss, you’ve already planned the escape route, right?”

Zhan Yuan’s demeanor was completely unlike someone robbing a bank. He said lazily, “Someone will come pick us up.”

The door stopper’s structure wasn’t complicated. It was shaped like a squared-off “U,” with one leg inserted into the door gap. The other leg had threads; rotating the nut made this leg press tightly against the ground, increasing friction. The robbers had used tools earlier, tightening the nut very securely, so it took He Yixun a long time to barely loosen it by hand. 

Successfully removing one door stopper meant just five more seconds, and He Yixun could press the revolving door’s switch, opening the door to the outside world.

However, Lady Luck is quite capricious. She can give hope in desperate situations, yet also shatter that hope in an instant.

Footsteps and the scraping sound of dragging bags came from the vault direction—the robbers had finished loading the money.

Now, opening the revolving door was meaningless; the robbers could just close it again as soon as they came out. He Yixun’s heart sank. He could only quickly run to one side and, before the robbers saw him, slide into a hiding spot behind a stone pillar. 

He peeked out slightly with half his face to look towards the service counter and saw Xu Pei watching him with concern.

Xu Pei’s concern was not unfounded.

Now they could only readjust their strategy.

The previous idea was to take advantage of a lapse in the robbers’ defense, call the police quickly, and help the hostages escape because these robbers clearly didn’t care about killing people. Keeping the hostages alive was just a precaution, to be used as leverage with the police. 

If they didn’t escape in time, two scenarios could occur: first, the robbers finish their business before the police arrive, and the hostages become utterly helpless, like lambs for the slaughter. Second, the police arrive in time and surround the robbers, in which case the hostages become bargaining chips, making escape even harder.

Therefore, timely escape was the best option.

Unfortunately, luck wasn’t on their side. A difference of just a few seconds caused the situation to take a sharp turn for the worse.

But conversely, as long as the robbers still needed to negotiate with the police, the hostages still had value. 

So now, what they needed to do was stall for time, wait for the police to arrive, and perhaps another opportunity would arise.

On the other side.

Xu Pei couldn’t communicate his thoughts with He Yixun, but he also realized they had to stall for time.

Just as he anticipated, the moment Zhan Yuan stepped out of the vault, he noticed that Pig-mask, who should have been guarding the service counter, was gone. He dropped the bag of money he was carrying and walked step by step towards the service counter. The horrifying sense of oppression reappeared. 

Soon, he saw Pig-mask lying on the side. Surprise mixed with a hint of interest showed on his face. “Who did this?”

An even sharper oppressive pressure swept over the crowd one by one. Some let out painful groans; others couldn’t withstand it and fainted.

Under the probing gaze, Xu Pei couldn’t hide even if he wanted to. He wiped the reflex tears from the corners of his eyes and looked up at Zhan Yuan.

“Sister-in-law?” Zhan Yuan raised an eyebrow in surprise, then smiled. “What a coincidence?” 

He lifted the pheromonal suppression and crouched down in front of Xu Pei. “Are you here on business?”

The other hostages looked on strangely. Xu Pei also didn’t know what Zhan Yuan was trying to do and hesitantly replied, “Hmm.”

“Finished?” Zhan Yuan asked.

“Not yet,” said Xu Pei. 

“Then I’ll find someone to handle it for you.”

After saying this, Zhan Yuan casually grabbed a bank employee, scaring the person pale. Xu Pei quickly stopped him. “No need! You… you should finish robbing the bank and leave quickly.”

What a strange conversation.

Xu Pei and Zhan Yuan weren’t familiar at all, they’d never even spoken before. Why did it seem like he could somehow manage this “brother-in-law”? 

“You’re still so kind-hearted,” Zhan Yuan said with a smile. “Do you know? When I was in the life pod, listening to your voice, how much I wanted to meet you.”

…What?

Xu Pei was stunned.

All experimental subjects were in a comatose state. Even though Zhan Yuan had once woken up autonomously, it was followed by larger doses of anesthesia. How could he have heard Xu Pei’s voice?

Was he pretending to be asleep?

But the brainwaves of being comatose and conscious are different. How could no one have noticed?

Zhan Yuan pulled Xu Pei up from the ground, tilted his head close to the side of Xu Pei’s face, and pointed his gun at Pig-mask on the floor. “Sister-in-law, tell me, who did this bad thing?” 

Xu Pei’s jawline was tense. He swallowed but didn’t make a sound.

“Is there a top-tier alpha here?” Zhan Yuan moved behind Xu Pei, pressed close against his back, and encircled his shoulders. “That shouldn’t be. Who could resist my pheromonal suppression? Unless…”

He didn’t continue, instead looking at the others and demanding, “Where is that person?”

Again, no one made a sound. 

Zhan Yuan chuckled lightly, raised his gun, and fired several shots, immediately causing screams. A few people hastily pointed towards the stone pillar where He Yixun was hiding. “Over there! He’s over there!”

Xu Pei felt disbelief. “No! You…”

He Yixun was trying to save them! How could they do this?

“Still not coming out? Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill your Professor Xu?” Zhan Yuan pushed Xu Pei towards that stone pillar. Xu Pei dug his heels into the ground, desperately pushing back, but it was largely ineffective. 

“Don’t come out! He won’t kill me!” Xu Pei didn’t know where this confidence came from.

Zhan Yuan let out a “Heh,” his tone light as he said, “You’re right, I really can’t bear to hurt you. But I can force you into heat right now, make you lose all face, so you won’t dare go out anymore, just locked up at home by me. How about that?”

Xu Pei was stunned. Is this guy crazy?!

The next second, He Yixun’s figure appeared from behind the stone pillar, his face dark as he looked at Zhan Yuan. “Let him go.” 

“So it really is you. Like a lingering ghost.” Despite saying he couldn’t bear to hurt Xu Pei, Zhan Yuan suddenly pressed the gun muzzle against Xu Pei’s jaw and ordered He Yixun, “Throw down the gun.”

“Don’t! Don’t listen to him!!!”

Hostages really had little say. He Yixun knew well that having a gun in hand at least gave him a chance to fight; throwing it away would only make him completely at someone else’s mercy. But after a second of silence, he still threw the gun to the ground.

Zhan Yuan leisurely withdrew the gun muzzle and began releasing pheromonal suppression again. Disregarding Xu Pei’s discomfort, he unleashed the highest concentration without reservation. 

Seeing that He Yixun still showed no reaction, Zhan Yuan couldn’t help but find it strange. “What gender are you, really?”

He looked at Xu Pei and asked, “Is this a new species you researched?”

By now, Xu Pei was too uncomfortable to stand steadily, relying entirely on Zhan Yuan’s arm around his shoulders to keep from sliding to the ground.

“Forget it, too much of an eyesore,” Zhan Yuan said listlessly. “Just disappear.” 

Having said that, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger aimed at He Yixun.

“NO!!!”

A heart-wrenching roar from Xu Pei echoed through the lobby.