Chapter 53 Find Me an Omega

Chapter 53: Help Me Find an Omega

"You're telling the truth?" Nie Hang asked urgently, stepping forward first.

Most people in the Resistance Zone came from impoverished families, with poor nutrition during their differentiation, resulting in C-grade or D-grade alphas, and it was common for them to develop early gland failure from using inferior suppressants.

Even though the Resistance Army distributed better suppressants, countless alphas still suffered from early gland failure because they had used too many low-quality ones in their early years.

If such a medicine truly existed, it would be the best news imaginable.

"Of course it's true!" Xiao Jin said proudly. "With the resources of the Jiang family, if they hadn't disregarded the lives of those pariahs, this medicine would have been developed long ago. I heard from Old Jiang that the first batch of trials had already been successful, but they're keeping the clinical data under wraps. I can tell you where their lab is. I don't know the encryption keys, but the Jiang family is a commercial company after all—you can easily have a few spies infiltrate."

Though Xiao Jin was foolish, this statement carried considerable credibility.

Such medical resources might be worthless to the Empire's aristocracy, but for many in the Resistance Army, they could be life-saving.

As for the Jiang family, they could use this to hedge their bets between the Empire and the Resistance Army, reaping benefits from both sides. No matter who ultimately won, they would secure their place as the elite in the new empire.

"What's your condition?" Zhu Shinian asked calmly.

"Very simple, nothing that'll make things hard for you." Seeing that Zhu Shinian was moved, Xiao Jin said cheerfully, "I know you're all doing important work, so I won't make it difficult. It's just a personal need of mine, easy to satisfy."

"You've kept me locked up for so long, and my rut is coming up soon. Could you find me an omega? Doesn't have to be too pretty—just a compatibility rate over fifty percent with me, and disease-free..."

"No need to go out of your way to find one. You must have military prostitutes in your army, right? Just give me one, and—mmph!"

*Bang!*

A dull thud rang out as the rifle butt smashed into his face. Xiao Jin and his chair rocked violently, blood spraying instantly from his nose and mouth.

"The Resistance Army has no military prostitutes, and omegas are not objects you can just demand. If you're unwilling to cooperate, I'll resort to torture."

Zhu Shinian withdrew the rifle butt and looked down at him with contempt.

"Major General, please calm down. The Governor said we can't use torture on him..." Nie Hang frowned and quickly intervened.

Although the two were longtime friends privately, Nie Hang still addressed Zhu Shinian by his military rank in formal settings.

"Your Highness, we cannot procure a military prostitute for you. Please cooperate with our procedures and maintain discipline. Make a different request. As long as it doesn't violate our rules, we're willing to accommodate."

"The Governor promised not to use torture—but I didn't." Zhu Shinian said flatly. "The Governor said we can't torture him, but as long as we leave no marks and the Governor doesn't find out, I have plenty of methods. All taught to me by the Empire."

"What a coincidence," Zhu Shinian smiled faintly, his expression initially warm but increasingly sinister upon closer inspection, like a legendary jade-faced Asura. "Your Highness felt the surveillance cameras violated your privacy, so the Governor agreed to have them removed on your first day."

"Zhu Shinian, I'll f* your mother! I just asked for some random military prostitute, not like I'm trying to f* you!" Xiao Jin suddenly erupted into a torrent of curses, his voice shrill and aggressive. "What right do you have to refuse?"

"Let alone military prostitutes—" Xiao Jin raised his voice, his gaze brazenly scanning Zhu Shinian's face like a disgusting snake, sliding from his brows to his jaw, settling on his pale, slender neck.

"If I were still in the Empire, I'd even take an alpha like you, no question."

Another dull, heavy thud.

Nie Hang, who had just been stopping Zhu Shinian from using torture on the prisoner, kicked Xiao Jin hard in the chest, sending him and his chair crashing to the ground.

Xiao Jin lay on his side, face pressed against the cold floor, one side of his head ringing.

He tried to struggle free, but with his hands cuffed and his body in agony, he could only flail uselessly like an overturned dung beetle on his back.

After a moment, as he tried to speak, a bloody object slowly came out of his mouth.

A front tooth, covered in blood.

It must have been loosened when Zhu Shinian hit him with the rifle butt.

Damn it, no one had ever dared to hit him before. How dare they? How dare the two of them?

If he were still in the Empire, he would make sure that they suffered a fate worse than death.

His chest heaved violently, his breathing ragged, as a military boot pressed down on him.

Zhu Shinian looked down at him from above, devoid of any former respect or deference.

Two former junior officers from the military department—how dare they?

He was a royal, the crown prince, the future heir to the Empire!

Pariahs, dogs—how dare they? He would make them pay for this.

"Pariah..." Xiao Jin struggled to turn his head, trying to fix Zhu Shinian with the same lecherous stare as before. "Damned pariahs, I'll make sure the both of you die a horrible death."

"...Is that so?"

The boot on his chest lifted; Zhu Shinian slowly crouched beside him.

"Your Highness, how exactly do you plan to make me die a horrible death?"

He reached out, his fingers threading through Xiao Jin's sweat-damp hair, then suddenly tightened, yanking his pig-like head off the ground.

Xiao Jin was forced to look up, meeting a pair of eyes that were calm to the point of cruelty.

"Forget for a moment the fact that you can't even stand right now..." Zhu Shinian said in a low voice, his tone so calm it almost seemed gentle, yet it sent chills down the spine.

He leaned closer, his handsome features magnified before Xiao Jin's eyes, every detail starkly visible.

"Even back in the Empire... you never had that right, did you?"

Xiao Jin's pupils contracted, sharply.

He stared at the face so close to his, saw his own wretched reflection in those eyes—so disheveled he barely recognized himself.

His rage was replaced by a cold, fearful dread. He began to dread what was about to happen.

Zhu Shinian released his grip, letting Xiao Jin's head fall back to the ground, landing with a heavy thud.

He stood up; Nie Hang handed him a clean handkerchief to wipe the grime from his hands.

Zhu Shinian methodically wiped the blood and dust off his fingers, then nodded politely to Nie Hang.

"Thanks. I'll wash this and return it to you."

"Forget about it," Nie Hang waved his hand, casting a disgusted glance at Xiao Jin on the ground. "Wash it and throw it away. I'm not a garbage can. Even people who aren't germophobes would find this thing filthy. How do you want to handle this situation? I don't know those dirty tricks—you handle it."

Zhu Shinian nodded, reached down, and pulled Xiao Jin—chair and all—back upright.

Nie Hang, despite his complaints, still offered a hand to help.

Like a lump of mud, Xiao Jin was dragged back into place, his head hanging. If not for his eyes still barely open, Zhu Shinian would have thought he'd passed out.

"Probe, electrostimulator..." Zhu Shinian casually listed a few items to Nie Hang. "Grab a few of them. If we don't have them, borrow them from the military hospital. Say I asked for them."

Nie Hang nodded, turned around and went to prepare, his footsteps receding, growing fainter and lighter.

Zhu Shinian stood still, his calm gaze lowering to rest on Xiao Jin, who sat in the chair before him.

A pair of beautiful chestnut eyes, with lashes casting fine, dense shadows under the overhead light.

That pair of eyes cast a look that was hard to describe—not fierce, not angry, not even carrying any clear emotion.

Just... looking.

But not really like looking at a person, more like looking at an object, a specimen, a classified document that hasn't been decrypted yet.

Xiao Jin's breath caught for a moment.

He didn't know what this man was going to do next.

This unknown was more unsettling than any torture.

Minutes later, Xiao Jin could almost completely not understand why, just minutes before, he had insisted on cursing out and provoking Zhu Shinian.

It was just that he hadn't found him an omega—he could ask for a cup, a bigger cell, a better-looking jailer, anything at all, and he'd be living better than this.

...Why did he have to anger this person of all people?

He wasn't getting anything good out of it anyway.

When it felt like a century had passed, or maybe just a few seconds, Nie Hang returned, carrying a box, his footsteps approaching from afar, and soon he was in front of Xiao Jin.

Then Zhu Shinian heard that sound.

Soft, faint, a rustling sound, like a mouse.

But His Highness the Crown Prince was so picky; if there were mice in this cell, he would have already thrown a fit.

Zhu Shinian tilted his head and looked at Xiao Jin's jaw.

It turned out Xiao Jin's teeth were chattering.

A scoff came from behind. Zhu Shinian exchanged a glance with Nie Hang, as if chiding him for laughing at such a serious moment.

Nie Hang shrugged and glanced at Xiao Jin, as if to explain why he couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you afraid now, Your Highness?" Zhu Shinian asked slowly and deliberately.

He took the box from Nie Hang and slowly opened it.

The box contained all kinds of torture implements, some Xiao Jin recognized and some he didn't. He wanted to clench his jaw to stop his teeth from chattering, but his body did not obey him at all.

He regretted it. He really regretted it.

Zhu Shinian was a madman.

"Your Highness, your precious self. Since you're scared, maybe we can just skip the beating."

Author's note: