Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The little one had originally had a safety leash attached to Dou Dou, but now that his uncle had lifted him up, he hastily hugged Dou Dou tightly. He'd clearly been fed well and gotten a bit chubby, and he squirmed, his little body soft and chubby.

Xiaobai Nuo was still puffing out his cheeks.

"It was Uncle who said it. Uncle told Nuo earlier that if Uncle couldn't do it, then Nuo won't ask for a seven."

After all, Nuo would be happy with any little cake he got, but if it was a little strawberry, he'd be even happier.

The little one argued with righteous indignation, insisting that if Uncle couldn't even roll a seven, then he shouldn't say anything is possible. Nuo's an honest kid—he'll take you at your word.

Bai Jin's eyes widened, and he let out a "Ha!"

What do you mean "Uncle can't do it"?! When it comes to fun, nobody in the Bai family is better than your uncle!

The two of them—the big one and the little one—were making a ruckus, and the people around couldn't help but laugh. Some students had already gathered around, grinning and egging them on: "It's okay, little one. Your uncle can't do it, but there are plenty of... um... uncles and aunts here. We all have a chance. We'll definitely get you that little strawberry."

These guys had originally wanted Xiaobai Nuo to call them big brothers and big sisters, but that would have made them a generation younger than Bai Jin, so they quickly changed what they were about to say.

Not many people were heading back at this hour, so only a few were gathered here, and most of them knew Bai Jin—the guy who had never left the honor roll since enrolling.

Bai Jin grumbled as he spun the little one around half a turn, laughing and swearing: "Scram, all of you! Don't make things worse!"

Xiaobai Nuo let out another "Waaah!" and cried out: "Hey, Dou Dou! Uncle can't keep his word and is spinning Nuo around!"

"I'm listening."

The little camera on Dou Dou focused on Bai Jin, and hearing the little one, Dou Dou quickly responded.

"Understood. Do you require further assistance? The child emergency hotline is xxxx-xxx-xxxx."

Bai Jin's face got even darker.

Not far away, Bai Sheng watched Bai Jin hopping madly and figured his own little one hadn't suffered any loss, so he didn't intervene. He planned to let the little one finish fussing, win his little cake, then go back to buy the bear, have dinner, and rest.

As for Bai Jingyun, there was no way he'd get involved.

The eldest uncle, who was focused on climbing the rankings, was hoping that when he woke up, everyone else's "pissing off the kid" index would be a hundred times higher, while he stayed the same.

The old man had caught on, and even rolled over from Dou Dou's side. Bai Jin had sensed it, but his personality made him Bai Jingyun's only hope.

The little one, still held up in the air by his uncle, was wriggling his little body. Then he noticed an adult in fluorescent clothes moving silently closer from the side.

The person was wearing a hat, slightly bowed, with a white, matte water bottle on his back, holding a spraying tool.

Although the person's clothing was obvious, this area was in the city center of Ang City, and Sheng'ang University was the top university in all of Z Country. The greenery here was well-maintained, and the students were used to seeing municipal workers in such clothes tending the campus entrance.

Besides, they were already outside the gate, not on campus. Everyone was laughing and watching the excitement, and no one paid attention to the person edging closer along the green belt.

Xiaobai Nuo had never seen him before, so he couldn't help glancing over. Then he saw the person look up and raise a hand, and in that instant aimed the spraying tool straight at Bai Jin.

His aim was direct and precise, with no wasted motion. When Xiaobai Nuo looked at him, the man made eye contact with the little one.

That look—

The little one had seen it in the apocalypse.

A look full of malice, seemingly calm, but ready to explode in the next instant.

In a split second.

Xiaobai Nuo hadn't fully processed it, but survival instincts kicked in, and he reached for his hat.

Meanwhile, Bai Jin, who hadn't paid much attention to the person behind him, immediately sensed something wrong the moment the man thrust the spraying tool forward.

The next second, a nauseating mix of pheromones—aggressive and heat-inducing—came at him in a thick wave.

Bai Jin was still holding Xiaobai Nuo up. He instinctively dodged forward, pulling his arms back and hugging the little one tightly against his chest.

His hair felt slightly wet. Under the assault of those pheromones, Bai Jin's citrus-wine scent burst out instantly. His newly matured gland treated the odor as a provocation, but the interference from other pheromones muddled his reaction. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond. The gland at the back of his neck grew hot. What had been a clean, clear scent turned into something like high-proof liquor—sharp and irritating.

Bai Jin's mind grew foggy, his vision blurring. He heard shouts around him, the sound of running footsteps, and then, in the next moment, the oppressive presence behind him seemed to ease, no longer so intense.

Then came the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground.

"Little Uncle! Little Uncle!"

A childish voice rang out right next to him.

Urgent and anxious.

The tiny little one seemed to have wrapped his arms around his neck—no, not his neck.

Bai Jin, on the edge of losing control, thought: ...this kid picked up something and is shielding the back of my head.

So much so that the overwhelming scent and irritation that had nearly consumed him just moments ago had eased.

The little one's voice rang in his ears again.

"It's okay, Little Uncle, it's okay. Daddy's super strong—he knocked him down—Wuwu! Big Uncle! Big Uncle! What's wrong with Little Uncle?"

"Bai Jin!"

Bai Jingyun's cold voice came from right beside him. Bai Jin's wrist was yanked hard, pain shooting from the grip. He was using a lot of force. Bai Jin instinctively struggled, then heard Bai Jingyun say.

"Let go! You're holding him too tight!"

I'm holding... too tight?

Bai Jin was in a delicate, hypersensitive state. His thoughts were sluggish. Instinctively, he felt the little one in his arms needed protection and rejected any alpha coming near. At the same time, the discomfort in his gland intensified.

Bai Jin let out a soft sound and loosened his hold slightly.

The weight in his arms lifted instantly.

Something light landed behind him, barely stirring the air. The noise made Bai Jin's already foggy head ache worse. He wanted to do something—instinctively reach for the gland at the back of his neck.

But in the next moment, Bai Jingyun, who was clearly also uncomfortable with Bai Jin's pheromones, kicked him to the ground. Holding the little one with one hand, Bai Jingyun swiftly pressed Bai Jin's back down and pinned both his arms.

"Nuo Nuo is here. Don't move!"

It all happened so fast—from the attack to now, probably less than a minute.

Bai Jingyun looked down at the little one in his arms. The kid had been held tightly by his uncle, and red finger marks were forming on his little arms under his short sleeves. His curly hair was messy, and he looked at Bai Jin, then at Bai Sheng's side.

The little one had been squeezed so hard it hurt, yet he was still instinctively soothing Bai Jin.

Around them, a few newly differentiated alphas had also been affected, but they were farther away and their pheromone levels weren't high, so they weren't reacting as violently as Bai Jin, who was at the center of it. A patrol cart inside the campus was speeding toward them with its alarm blaring. Some people helped control those affected, while others called for an ambulance, which is always on standby for events like this.

Bai Jingyun's face was terrifyingly cold. The screams and curses from the other side were endless, and the lingering acrid smell of the drug made even the settled alphas uncomfortable.

The shouting continued from over there.

"Just 'cause they were born richer, they can look down on us? I saw him laughing and chatting with those judges—it must be rigged, they're just here to make fun of us, he took away the spots that belonged to us!!! You Ang City people look down on us, and those officials are all in cahoots with each other. You're all just using your privileges, it's unfair, it's unfair—ahhh!—What right do you have!!"

The man was writhing and twisting. He had been knocked down by Bai Sheng in an instant, his hat falling to the side, revealing his grim and distorted face.

The tools used for the 'attack' were scattered all over. Bai Sheng stepped on the man's back, twisting his wrist with one hand, producing several cringeworthy cracks, each followed by a scream.

Bai Sheng let go, and the man's arm lost its support, dropping limp to the ground like boneless.

Bai Sheng pressed down firmly on the man's back, bent over, and grabbed his hair, yanking him up.

He saw the federal personnel behind him, grew impatient with the man's ranting, and swiftly dislocated his jaw with a clean *click*. Then, with a look of disgust, he furrowed his brow. The force from his foot and hand clashed, and the man's scalp began to bleed.

Privilege?

Bai Sheng almost laughed in anger.

As the patrol car arrived and medical staff rushed over, Bai Sheng let go, and the man's head smacked the ground.

Bai Sheng stood over him, pulled his foot back, and pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands.

If the Bai family truly used their privilege,

"Based on the fantasies you made up, you should have disappeared silently from this city a long time ago."

And you still had the nerve to run out and shout about unfairness?

Bai Sheng sneered, full of anger. "I can show you what real unfairness looks like."

Bai Sheng's movements were too swift and decisive. The personnel arranged by the Bai family nearby could only stand by and watch. The man, now unable to say a word, went limp like a lump of mud, his face twisted as he was handcuffed.

The nearby tools were immediately cordoned off. A police officer was calling for backup on the radio while glancing over.

"Are you alright? Are those people also your family? Is there some conflict between them?"

Bai Sheng had his assistant handle the situation. He balled up the tissue he had used to wipe his hands and tossed it in the nearby trash can, then quickly walked over.

Bai Jingyun was holding the little cub.

Everything had happened so fast, and in a way that Little Bai Nuo couldn't quite understand. The little guy didn't yet have much knowledge of ABO pheromones or glands.

So compared to previous accidents, although he was startled by his uncle, he wasn't as frightened as before.

"Dad! Dad!"

The little one leaned out from Bai Jingyun's arms, reaching out to Bai Sheng. Bai Sheng scooped the soft little boy into his arms with one arm, and only then did he feel his heart pounding violently.

The cub's hat had gotten wet and fallen to the ground, blown away by the wind. Someone was pinching their nose and using a plastic bag to pick it up.

Dou Dou had also fallen to one side, but from that angle, the little doofus, amid the chaotic background noise, was frantically chirping because he couldn't find the cub. Bai Sheng bent down to switch the tiny monitor's mode, then handed Dou Dou to the guy behind him, telling them to pull up the footage.

Only then did he hear the little guy ask, "Dad, is Uncle Jin okay?"

Bai Sheng turned his head to glance at Bai Jin.

Bai Jin was sitting slumped against something, breathing heavily, with little reaction to the sounds around him. His clothes had been taken off and put into a disposal bag. He had just been given an injection of alpha pheromone stabilizer, and a doctor was pouring water over his head to try to wash away the irritant odor.

The few others affected were going through a similar process.

Those nearby hadn't been exposed too much. Even Bai Jin, who had the strongest reaction, seemed like it wouldn't be a big problem.

The little cub in his arms had washed his hands, and his clothes were a bit damp. On his fair little arm, the red marks were getting darker, making Bai Sheng frown.

Bai Sheng approached with the cub in his arms.

Amid the chaos, Bai Jingyun also looked over and shook his head slightly.

"It's fine. The doctor checked his pupils and glands. It seems the dose he came into contact with was small, and it was through his clothes and the blocker patch. It didn't get on the gland, and he hardly inhaled any. It might affect him for a few days, but it's not serious."

Bai Jingyun spoke, then glanced over and hit the nail on the head.

"Was this the same kind of thing Bai Jin experienced at the night market a couple of days ago?"

Bai Sheng nodded silently.

"Then it's probably not a random attack."

Bai Jingyun took out his phone and texted Bai Liang, who knew more about the situation.

Little Bai Nuo didn't get what the adults were saying. He was just thinking—Dad said Uncle Jin is fine, so Uncle will be okay, right?

But seeing Bai Jin's current state worried him a little.

It was a bit like how Uncle looked in Little Nuo's dreams.

"Uncle Jin, Uncle Jin—"

The little one, lying in his father's arms, stretched out his little head and called to Bai Jin.

"Uncle Jin, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

Bai Jin's brows were furrowed tightly, his muscles tensed. He curled his strong upper body slightly, pressing one hand to his temple, with veins bulging on his forehead. His ears were buzzing, and he could barely hear people around him, only barely hearing the little cub's tiny voice.

He thought blurrily: What a sorry mess—I hope I didn't terrify the little guy.

Then he heard the little cub say, "Uncle, you remember you promised to give me the bear, right? And the little strawberries. Uncle, you have to remember—I haven't gotten them yet. Uncle, don't let anything happen."

Bai Jin: ...

Ha, so you're worried about your uncle just for the bear and strawberries, you little punk!

The alpha stabilizer was gradually taking effect.

Bai Jin forced his head up. His vision was still blurry, his eyes bloodshot, harboring an instinctive alpha predator's rage.

Top-level alphas stand at the top of the social pheromone chain. In the distant past, when humans were still hunting, top alphas had a strong survival-of-the-fittest instinct.

At that moment, driven nearly mad by the pheromone stimulation, the guy who set him off no longer looked human to him—just prey.

Then they gave Bai Jin another shot.

The doctor couldn't help but exclaim nearby, "Is his pheromone level too high? One shot isn't holding him?"

"It's fine. I've got him."

Bai Jingyun said.

He still had a firm hold on Bai Jin.

Xiaobai Nuo didn't get a response, and blinked in his father's arms.

Then his father carried him to the side to check the marks from Bai Jin's forceful hug.

When his father pressed and called out, the tiny cub softly hid in his father's arms.

Bai Sheng pressed gently on the spot and asked in a low voice, "Does this hurt?"

The little one blinked, then reached out with his small hands to hug his father's neck: "It's okay, Dad, it doesn't hurt much. Don't worry, it'll be fine once we put some medicine on it."

This was probably a cub who could get himself all bruised and battered, yet still lift his head to soothe you, telling you that Nuo Nuo was fine.

Seeing the marks on his own cub, Bai Sheng's anger flared up again, but facing Xiaobai Nuo, he slightly turned his body to block the wreck behind him while trying hard to contain his emotions.

He recalled how the little one had done it earlier.

Bai Sheng lowered his head, doing something he had never done before—gently blowing on the little one's arm.

He said, "Blow on the hurt, make the pain fly away."

The little one looked at his father, his big eyes blinking rapidly, then buried his head in his father's arms and said in a muffled voice, "Dad knows magic, Nuo Nuo doesn't hurt anymore."

Dad remembered—it was really, really effective.

The little cub, his eyes a bit teary, nodded vigorously in his parent's arms.

Bai Sheng held the cub, picked up the ointment, and then heard the little one continue in a muffled voice. Bai Sheng felt a bit uneasy, unsure if his uncle was really okay.

"Uncle didn't even get up and argue with Nuo Nuo."

Bai Sheng lowered his head, now able to gently wipe the little one's face and apply medicine to his hands. Applying this bruise-healing ointment was no trouble. He glanced at Bai Jin as he did so.

"He won't be up for a while. It's fine; in a couple of days, he'll be bouncing around."

The doctor finished with Bai Jin and came over, crouched down to take a look.

"Come here, sweetheart. Tell me, does anywhere else hurt?"

The little one lifted his head and shook his head at the doctor.

The doctor listened to the little one's heartbeat with a stethoscope and felt his pulse, then spoke to Bai Sheng.

"I just got information from the lab about the possible drug agents. Though rare and expensive, they mainly affect AOs in the process of differentiation. Kids are basically fine. If you're worried, you can take him to the hospital for a check-up."

Then the doctor looked at the little cub and smiled: "Let your uncle stay in the hospital for a day and get a few shots, and he'll be fine in two days."

After saying that, the doctor glanced at the police officer, frowning and speaking angrily on the phone, seemingly arguing with another department that's handling the case. Then he looked at the hat inside the plastic bag.

"Your uncle is lucky to have you."

The doctor smiled.

"If it had directly contacted his gland, it would have been more troublesome. You reacted so fast, sweetheart. When your uncle wakes up, make sure he thanks you properly."

"Because uncle also shielded Nuo Nuo, so Nuo Nuo could protect uncle," the little one said in his father's arms.

He even gestured with his hands.

When they didn't know what that thing was, Bai Jin instinctively hugged Xiaobai Nuo tightly, turning his back to the other person. That's why Nuo Nuo, holding the hat and reaching out, was able to block for his uncle.

The doctor, who only wanted to praise the cute cub and reassure him, was left speechless.

The soft little cub almost made the doctor melt right there.

The doctor dazedly stood up and, while going to check the next person, kept muttering—

"Is this cub real? Are pediatricians this tight-lipped? Are there more cubs like this? I don't believe it... I don't believe it..."

"Bai Liang will be here soon."

Bai Jingyun helped Bai Jin stand up while keeping him under control. The car had already arrived. They didn't plan to go to a public hospital but directly to the Bai family's hospital.

"I'll take him to the hospital first. You inform the family."

After Bai Jingyun finished, he looked at Xiaobai Nuo again: "When Uncle comes back, I'll bring you a little bear, okay?"

Xiaobai Nuo blinked and nodded: "Mm."

Then Xiaobai Nuo looked at his uncle again.

He watched Bai Jingyun lead Bai Jin into the car. Bai Jin was still pressing his throbbing forehead, now a bit more awake, and opened his mouth to swear.

"That guy, who is he?"

Bai Jin sat in the car, completely shrouded in shadow. He lifted his head, his voice hoarse, as if ground out through gritted teeth. His bloodshot eyes made him look like a wild beast.

His whole presence was dangerous.

"Tone down your pheromones."

Bai Jingyun pressed Bai Jin's shoulder and warned in a low voice.

Bai Jin was still half-dazed. He didn't want to bother with Bai Jingyun, and the pheromones from this most rebellious top Alpha of the Bai family had a hint of provocation.

Being seen in such a disgraceful state made him furious.

But the next moment, his pheromones were suppressed by a lemon scent.

"Bai Wu, don't be so childish."

Bai Jin was 'beaten' head-on by his eldest brother's pheromones, clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, and relented for once.

Mainly because he seemed to recall something. His sluggish brain finally caught up.

"...Where's Nuo Nuo?"

That stuff didn't affect the little guy, did it?

Bai Jin instinctively thought.

He instinctively began to search for the little cub.

"Uncle, Uncle!"

Then Bai Jin heard the little guy's voice.

Bai Jin looked up and saw Bai Sheng holding the little guy, standing nearby.

The car door wasn't closed yet, and the blood vessels in his head throbbed with pain.

The little guy was a bit messy, but his big eyes sparkled, as if he had found a point to refute Uncle, ready to 'argue' with his uncle like before.

"Nono's hat was really helpful, right? Doctor Uncle said it was Nono's hat that blocked everything, and Uncle will get better in a couple of days. So, Uncle, you have to remember Nono's bear, and also the little strawberries you owe Nono."

Nono, held by his dad, couldn't wait to tell his uncle this.

Bai Jin could see an unfriendly look from his third brother, but that wasn't his focus. He could apologize and make things right later. He just stared dazedly at the little guy, thinking—so it was Nono's hat that had fallen behind him? When had Nono put his hat behind him?

And the tiny little guy, seeing his uncle clearly coming around, snuggled safely in his dad's arms.

Actually, the bear and little strawberries weren't that important, it was just—

"Uncle, get better soon, and stay a big bad guy."