Chapter 204
Chapter 204
Looking at Gu Lin’s shocked expression, Li Shu realized something. It seemed Gu Lin didn’t know. Then what was he about to say earlier?
He walked back into the room and sat by the bed. “What were you about to say?”
Li Shu’s posture was casual, as if the person in the room with him wasn’t a strong, vigorous Alpha, but rather someone harmless. For a moment, Gu Lin wasn’t sure if he should laugh at Li Shu for not being wary of him, or cry that Li Shu didn’t regard him as an Alpha.
Little did Gu Lin know that Li Shu didn’t care about his Omega identity. If it weren’t for this unexpected heat, he would have forgotten about his troublesome identity entirely.
“You’re an Omega?” Although it was already a fact, Gu Lin still couldn’t help but ask. He found it hard to imagine that someone as strong as Lu Xi, who was considered an Alpha by almost everyone, was actually an Omega.
“Otherwise?” Li Shu replied.
Gu Lin couldn’t respond. The faint scent of pheromones lingered in the air, so Gu Lin retreated slightly, finding a spot further away to sit. “You didn’t bring any inhibitors?”
“…” This was Li Shu’s oversight. Inhibitors weren’t necessary outside of the heat period, and he hadn’t anticipated his heat would come at this time so he hadn’t prepared.
Now, he couldn’t even go out to buy them. Li Shu already felt his pheromones getting harder to control. If he went out now, and something went wrong, his Omega identity might be exposed. Li Shu wasn’t afraid of his identity being revealed, but it couldn’t be now, and definitely not here.
Where was this place? This was the hideout of space pirates, a place outside the reach of imperial law. If his Omega identity were exposed here, especially while in heat, the consequences were predictable.
Li Shu wasn’t afraid of the people here, but he was concerned about his current physical condition. Omega bodies were indeed weaker than average people. It was usually fine, but in a special situation like this, there was a risk of things going wrong.
Li Shu wasn’t one to take unnecessary risks. For example, he knew he needed inhibitors and he also knew he couldn’t go out, so he directly tossed the problem to the person who happened to be here—Gu Lin.
“Marshal Gu, could you do me a favor?”
“You mean the inhibitors?” Before Li Shu could finish, Gu Lin already understood his request.
When an Omega unexpectedly goes into heat, the ones affected weren’t just the Omega but also any nearby Alphas.
Marking and possessing were instincts deeply ingrained in an Alpha’s bones. Unless a strong enough Alpha claimed the Omega, other Alphas would fight to the death to assert dominance.
This wasn’t something controlled by an Alpha’s will. Otherwise, every Alpha entering the military wouldn’t need special training to prevent the enemy from sending Omegas to extract information.
It had happened in the past, and it always resulted in heavy losses for the Empire. Since then, all Alphas entering the military, especially those involved in highly classified operations, underwent more intense training.
Gu Lin had gone through this too. There was even a joke that Gu Lin didn’t get close to Omegas for years because his training was too strict. Since Gu Lin had never been seen with an Omega, many believed the marshal would stay single for life.
Even Gu Lin himself once thought so. Before meeting Li Shu, he had believed he would never be with an Omega—or anyone, for that matter. The blood that flowed in him was tainted, and it shouldn’t be passed down.
It wasn’t that no one had hinted to him before. Someone once suggested that even if he didn’t have anyone he liked, he should still leave an heir. That person was the former grand marshal. He admired Gu Lin and thought it a waste for such a strong talent not to have descendants. After all, not everyone could reach 3S in both physical and mental strength. That was beyond ordinary strength.
Of course, Gu Lin had ignored that suggestion. Others might not know, but Gu Lin was fully aware of where his abilities came from. Out of so many people, only he survived the inhumane experiments, so what was so special about his current qualifications?
If not for being the last survivor, he never would have made it. Over the years, he had worked hard to escape his past, but every time he thought he succeeded, something would pull him back into the quagmire.
The bloody truth reminded him that his very existence was a sin, and no matter what he did, or how many people he saved, it wouldn’t change that.
Gu Lin agreed to help Li Shu buy inhibitors. He had no other choice. Li Shu was clearly in the first stage of heat, and sending him out now would be too risky.
Having entrusted the task to Gu Lin, Li Shu felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Given that there were Alphas everywhere outside, Li Shu didn’t leave his room for the next few days. Food and water were delivered by people Gu Lin had specially assigned.
Gu Lin didn’t return in those few days. When Li Shu asked the adjutant delivering things, the adjutant stammered without giving a clear answer. Seeing the adjutant’s troubled expression, Li Shu graciously let him off the hook.
The adjutant’s feelings were indeed complicated. He couldn’t understand it. They had come here to find someone, but after the first day, the marshal hadn’t mentioned it again.
In the quiet room, a large transparent screen floated in midair. Standing before it was a tall, handsome man with a frown on his face, as if he had encountered an unsolvable mystery.
After learning that “Lu Xi” was an Omega, an old suspicion began to resurface: If Lu Xi was an Omega, could Lu Xi actually be Li Shu?
Accepting that Lu Xi’s true gender was Omega made it easier to entertain the possibility that Lu Xi was Li Shu. Lu Xi had appeared suddenly before the big competition. Before that, there was no information about him. After the competition, countless nobles tried to discover where he lived and his true identity but failed.
And now, Li Shu went to Moz Star, and Lu Xi had also appeared there. Li Shu disappeared on Fanna Star, and the space pirates insisted they hadn’t captured an Omega. Before knowing Lu Xi was an Omega, Gu Lin had assumed they were lying. But what if they hadn’t lied from the start?
What if they had never captured Li Shu because Li Shu had come to Fanna Star on his own? That would explain a lot. There was also another piece of information Gu Lin had just received: Li Shu’s biological mother was from the Yue family. He recalled that Lu Xi had once asked about the truth behind the Yue family’s destruction years ago.
If Lu Xi was indeed Li Shu, everything made sense.
With the answer clear in his mind, Gu Lin didn’t go to confirm it. He could guess that Li Shu wanted to avenge his maternal family. He probably learned his biological mother’s true identity from somewhere and was seeking the truth of what happened that year to clear his mother’s name.
Rubbing his temples, Gu Lin thought of the information he had uncovered about the Li family recently and felt a little worried. Did Li Shu know the true nature of the Li family? Should he tell him?
Gu Lin had never experienced parental love growing up, but he knew that all children longed for it. Judging from the clues, the Li family’s sudden rise and the Yue family’s downfall were undoubtedly linked. Could Li Shu handle such a truth?
Gu Lin didn’t share the news about Li Shu being an Omega with anyone. On this day, the person he sent to buy inhibitors returned with bad news—the inhibitors were out of stock.
On Fanna Star, inhibitors weren’t a necessity, so the supply was limited. The person reported that just before he arrived, the last few doses had been bought by the space pirates.
Li Shu, who thought he could hold on until the inhibitor was brought, got such news. He held the glass of water and didn’t speak for a while.
There were only two ways an Omega could deal with the heat period: either suppress it with inhibitors or have an Alpha mark them. Trying to endure it alone was almost impossible.
The situation had reached a stalemate. Gu Lin coughed and said, “I’ve already sent someone to Moz Star to purchase them, but I’m not sure…” Whether there was still time.
There was no other option except waiting. Fortunately, the place where they were staying was equipped with the latest air converter. As long as Li Shu didn’t leave the room and no one entered, his Omega identity wouldn’t be discovered.
Heat came in stages, each one building upon the last. There were generally three stages, with the entire process taking as little as seven days or as long as half a month. Li Shu was still in the first stage, and aside from his pheromones being a bit out of control, everything else was manageable.
“We should be able to wait it out.”
But that very night, Li Shu experienced the first wave of the outbreak, signaling the official start of his heat period. If it dragged into the third stage, even with inhibitors, it would be useless.
He woke up in the middle of the night, drenched as if he’d just been pulled out of water. His entire body was sticky and the hair on his forehead was wet and plastered to his face. His eyes were watery and the corners were tinged with red, giving him an indescribable appearance.
The air converter worked tirelessly, but the scent in the room grew stronger and stronger. He pushed his bangs back in annoyance, a trace of hostility flickering in his eyes.
Right now, he felt as if there was a fire inside him that couldn’t be extinguished, burning everything in its path. Because of this fire, he couldn’t calm down.
[Host, are you alright?]
Seeing Li Shu’s worsening expression, 1314 asked anxiously.
Li Shu tugged at his collar and clicked his tongue. [Is there any way to ease this?]
1314 lowered its head guiltily. [I’m sorry, Host.]
Li Shu threw off the blanket and got out of bed, intending to take a cold shower. But his body was too weak, and he nearly slipped.
“Knock, knock—” Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by a message notification from his light brain.
Li Shu opened it. It was a message from Gu Lin:
—I’m outside the door. Are you alright?
Fumbling to turn on the lights, Li Shu opened the door and immediately grabbed the collar of the man standing outside.
The unprepared Gu Lin was pulled inside by Li Shu.
With a “bang”, the door slammed shut.