Chapter 7: Progress
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Late at night, everything was quiet.
Wen Mo slowly opened his eyes and glanced to his side. A sturdy arm was securely wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly.
He closed his eyes again and exhaled softly. Then, he carefully moved the arm that was encircling his waist. The man, somewhat alert, immediately woke up, his voice husky with a touch of irritation. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”
Wen Mo whispered, “I need to use the bathroom.”
The man made a deep nasal sound, grabbing his buttocks firmly. He then lazily rolled over and released him. Wen Mo gingerly got up, not even turning on the light. He tiptoed barefoot on the cold floor, moving silently like a cat as he entered the bathroom.
Before closing the door, he took a quick glance outside and saw that the Alpha on the bed had once again entered deep sleep, his thick chest rising and falling rhythmically. Wen Mo lowered his gaze, gently latching the door shut.
As he turned, he quickly reached for a contraceptive pill from the cabinet, nervously tossing it into his mouth. As the small white pill slid down his throat, a familiar wave of nausea surged, almost like a long-lost sense of security. Wen Mo let out a deep breath of relief. He felt somewhat dazed, a touch of exhaustion creeping over him as he placed his hands on the sink.
In the moonlight, Wen Mo gazed at the blurry, ghost-like reflection in the mirror. He extended his hand, fingertips reaching toward the chaotic mess. Eventually, the icy surface of the mirror stopped him. His eyes flickered, and he lowered his hand, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in the darkness.
*
There have been new developments in the case of the serial murders of the 21 Alphas.
The breakthrough came from the last case, where forensic experts found a significant amount of native Omega pheromones on the deceased Alpha, Mr. Zhao, which closely matched his profile.
Using this lead, forensic experts re-examined the bodies of the other 20 Alpha victims in the case. As expected, all 20 victims had extremely low concentrations of native Omega pheromones in their bodies. Without specific testing methods following the clues from Mr. Zhao’s case, these pheromones would have been nearly impossible to detect in regular autopsies. These pheromones, without exception, closely matched the profiles of the deceased Alphas, just like in Mr. Zhao’s case.
Soon after, the identities of the Omegas possessing these 20 sets of native pheromones were rapidly determined. The results remained consistent without exception: these Omegas, just like the one in Mr. Zhao’s case, were all prostitutes from the “Soft Village” in the red-light district.
That night, the military deployed over five hundred personnel to secure “Soft Village,” conducting thorough investigations of everyone present.
Led by Zhang Qian, the special investigative team brought in these 20 involved Omegas, detaining them separately in different interrogation rooms for interrogation.
Omega 1: “Why are you arresting me? I have a prostitution license; I’m working legally!… Who is this person? I don’t know them. I haven’t seen this person before, or maybe I’ve forgotten. I have five or six clients every day, how can I remember everyone? You should try to remember my clients for me—don’t be so harsh, it’s the truth…”
Omega 2: “I don’t know… I really don’t know anything… Commander, I haven’t done anything wrong… When can I get out? Ah… this person… I really haven’t met him… There must be some misunderstanding about why my pheromones were on him… I truly don’t know him…”
Omega 3: “It was sister Lily who took us there, you know? We have so many clients in a day, and each one requires an injection. Look at my arms, there’s no space left to inject. This synthetic Omega pheromone thing doesn’t affect the other parties; it only affects us, Omegas… Pheromone disorder is really unbearable. Luckily, sister Lily introduced us to a therapy place. My constant headaches have gotten much better…”
Omega 2: “Ah, sister Lily, she’s a good person. She’s the one who took me there. I have regular check-ups at that clinic every quarter. We have professional ethics, you know… sister Lily was such a good person. It’s a shame good people don’t live long. By the way, Commander, have you found out which darn guy killed her?”
Omega 5: “I don’t know this Alpha… Really, I don’t know him… Oh, sister Lily, we used to go for therapy together… Yes, it’s that clinic…”
Omega 1: “This clinic is quite famous in our Soft Village; almost everyone goes there. It’s owned by a guy named Moly…”
……
Sister Lily, or rather Moly, was the Omega involved in the 21st case with Mr. Zhao. She was also the “Madame” of the Soft Town. Additionally, the high concentration of Omega pheromones found on Mr. Zhao undoubtedly belonged to her. It was clear that this serial killing spree involving Alphas was somehow connected to her.
However, she too had been killed, her body remained sealed in the military morgue to this day.
The special investigative team immediately started focusing on Moly’s social connections and visited the clinic mentioned by the Omegas on the same day. However, when the investigators arrived at the clinic named “Euphoria’s Blessing” they found that it had already closed, all the staff inside had disappeared.
Upon further investigation, it was discovered that this clinic had been established for less than a year, coinciding with the time frame of the 21 cases. However, when the team dug deeper, they found that the registered medical personnel inside had all used fake identities, making it impossible to confirm their real identities. They had to rely on verbal descriptions provided by the Omegas who had visited the clinic to create simulated profiles.
However, their progress was frustratingly slow.
Just as the lead had started to develop, it immediately hit a roadblock and became stagnant.
Three days later, the progress report on the case was delivered to the military base.
Huo Yan exhaled a puff of smoke, squinting his eyes slightly as he quickly skimmed through the materials.
“Moly?” The name sounded familiar to him, it suddenly clicked in his memory. This was the Omega prostitute highly compatible with the deceased Mr. Zhao in the last case of the Alpha homicides.
Huo Yan stubbed out his cigarette, tossing the materials onto the table, and instructed, “I will grant special authorization, you don’t need to worry about manpower. But for one thing—make sure to find out the truth as quickly as possible.”
“Yes!” Several deputy officers from the investigative team responded in unison.
“Zhang Qian?” After not receiving a response for a while, Huo Yan furrowed his brow and spoke in a deep voice, “Zhang Qian!”
Zhang Qian’s gaze sharpened immediately as he straightened his posture. Huo Yan’s expression soured slightly, and he scrutinized Zhang Qian from head to toe. “Why have you been so absent-minded lately?”
Zhang Qian’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his hands clenched tightly at his sides as he lowered his head. “I’m sorry, Colonel.”
Huo Yan’s expression remained stern as he stared at him for a moment. “Do you understand the instructions I just gave?”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Huo Yan felt irritated, but he didn’t intend to embarrass his competent subordinate in front of the other deputy officers. He signaled with his eyes to the others, and several of them immediately stood up and left the room.
Huo Yan then stood up and walked over.
As he watched the imposing figure approach, Zhang Qian’s back seemed to grow heavier.
Huo Yan finally came to a stop in front of him, staring at him for a long moment. “I promoted you with my own hands, remember that! Don’t let this happen again!”
“Yes!”
Huo Yan softened his tone slightly. “Tomorrow is the old man’s birthday. You’ll come with me, I’ll introduce you to a few people.”
Zhang Qian lowered his eyes. “Thank you, Commander.”
“Alright, you can go now.”
Huo Yan gave his shoulder a firm pat and returned to his seat.
The office was suddenly empty, and Huo Yan loosened his collar slightly, feeling a bit parched. He pointed at the table and the security guard by his side hesitated for a moment before realizing that he wanted water. The guard quickly fetched a cup and respectfully handed it to him.
Huo Yan felt somewhat dissatisfied. After all the replacements, he still didn’t have a guard as competent as the Omega in his room.
He furrowed his brow, took the water cup, and planned to have the logistics department assign him a new guard later.
*
Zhang Qian pushed the door open and walked out of the office. He rubbed his temples in frustration and looked up, only to find someone standing in the bright corridor.
Their gazes unexpectedly met without warning.
A window separated them, sunlight poured in through the glass, with a few specks of dust dancing in the beam, like invisible hands keeping them apart.
Wen Mo looked at him, a faint smile slowly graced his lips.
Though he knew it was an illusion, Zhang Qian still felt as if he could truly smell the delicate scent of white tea, damp, dim, and sensuous, infiltrating his nostrils.
His throat moved, he coldly averted his gaze, walking away without looking back, passing by Wen Mo.
Wen Mo turned his face slightly, watching the figure gradually disappearing at the end of the corridor with a pensive expression. After a moment, he withdrew his gaze and walked back into the room.
In his hands, he carried a bowl of sweet soup to offer to Commander Huo.
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