Paranoid Alpha Chapter 16: Locked Room

Chapter 16: Locked Room

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: CaiCai

Lu Xingye’s breath hitched. Just as he was about to explain, he heard footsteps, originally quite distant, suddenly drawing nearer. He quickly raised his hand to cover the mouth of the person in his embrace, whispering softly by his ear, “Shh…”

The footsteps gradually approached. Lyss’s eyes turned cold. He allowed Lu Xingye to cover his mouth and lifted his hand to press against the nearby door, his arm tensing slightly—a precursor to making a move.

As the footsteps slowed, stopping just a few meters away from them, Lyss furrowed his brow slightly. He reached up and grasped the hand covering his face. Just as he was about to push the person away and act, a familiar yet hesitant voice came from outside, “President Feng Man?”

“Oh, I’m here.” Feng Man’s voice came from a spot just a few steps away from them, then gradually faded. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long; I roamed around first, fearing something might go wrong.”

“What could possibly go wrong?” Another person said nonchalantly. “They say the Triss people are sharp and capable, but it seems they aren’t that impressive. Only their Chief can be considered clever, barely. What a pity.”

When it came to Lyss, that person suddenly stopped and let out a disdainful laugh. Hearing this, Lu Xingye couldn’t help but frown, but Lyss himself didn’t react much.

Feng Man said meaningfully, “It’s a pity he’s an omega, and an unmarked one at that.”

“Mr. President, what about Cage?” The first person asked. “He’s been sobering up for a while now, hasn’t he?”

“No need to bother about him.” Feng Man’s tone was somewhat cold. “He rushed in and caused trouble right away, driving that ignorant alpha of Lyss’s crazy. I’ve asked him to rest in the room; no need to come again.”

“That’s fine too. Cage drank so much; let him rest properly.” Another person hesitated. “But I’m concerned about something else… Dr. Dong from Starfall Sea said this medicine only works for unmarked omegas, but there’s clearly an alpha around Lyss…”

“Impossible.” Feng Man asserted firmly. “If he was marked, there would be a trace of alpha pheromones on him. Even if he took suppressants, they could only mask his own pheromones, not the marker’s.”

“That’s right.” The person agreed. “I didn’t see any suppressant patches on him. An omega of his status should be regularly taking suppressants. Besides, the Triss Council isn’t naive; they wouldn’t let such an unknown alpha mark him.”

As the conversation fell silent outside for a few seconds, followed by faint movements, Lyss guessed the remaining people had arrived. He immediately pulled down the hand covering Lu Xingye’s mouth. “Did you bring the recording device?”

“I did, but it’s too dark here; I’m afraid nothing will be recorded,” Lu Xingye whispered. 

“Audio recording will suffice,” Lyss urged with minimal movement, nudging him. “Take it out.”

“It’s too crowded, Chief.” Lu Xingye lamented by his ear. “It’s in my inner pocket. Could I trouble you to get it?”

With urgency outside and the fourth voice speaking, “President Feng Man, I didn’t expect you to come in person.”

This voice was extremely unfamiliar, not part of the Sheng Dan delegation. Lyss furrowed his brow at the words, pulling open Lu Xingye’s coat and reaching inside.

“I don’t feel comfortable entrusting it to others,” Feng Man replied.

The owner of the fourth voice wasted no time with pleasantries. “Have you completed the task, Your Excellency?”

“Almost, really close!” the third person interrupted. “Just when we were about to succeed, Lyss suddenly spoke up, and then the first half of the meeting ended… But it’s okay; the Minister of Communication has already relented. The second half will surely work.”

While those outside sounded confident, those inside were uneasy.

Lyss applied considerable force; he searched Lu Xingye’s clothes thoroughly in the darkness, not sparing even an inch of Lu Xingye’s person.

Being frisked by an omega in the darkness, even if his ribs felt like they were about to break, Lu Xingye pressed his lips together, his eyes growing darker. When Lyss finally found the recording device, Lu Xingye’s eyes had nearly turned black, resembling a dark, starry sea.

“You’re wrong. That omega might have sensed your intentions,” a strange voice suddenly spoke up. “You’ve already failed.”

With this statement, the room fell silent.

“What—what?” the second person exclaimed. “That’s impossible, how could he—”

“Time is running out; you only have the second half left. You can’t succeed just on your own,” the unfamiliar voice said. “There’s only one way to find the Original, to truly empower Sheng Dan to rival those federations and empires.”

Find the Original? The two individuals who had just started recording were both stunned. The Original system had been destroyed and deleted. What did it mean to find the Original?

“Triss’s Chief is indeed extraordinary. I also feel he’s discovered our true purpose, but…” Feng Man asked the question in their minds. “The consensus is that the Original was destroyed. Even though we retained a portion, can we really find its backup code?”

“A portion? Huh,” the unfamiliar voice scoffed. “Let alone a portion, finding the entire thing is not an issue. Your “mother” should have been more aware than me at that time, but she didn’t tell you anything? Ridiculous. Ada is still as weak and scared as she was back then!”

Ada Cairet, the creator of Sheng Dan, the supreme goddess in the hearts of the people of Sheng Dan. Faced with someone who was vilifying their goddess in this manner, including Feng Man, surprisingly, no one dared to speak up.

But Lyss’s focus wasn’t there. From the tone of this stranger, Ada hadn’t actually died?

“The Original is the closest to perfection among all systems. It’s worlds apart from those inferior systems used for mating. A string of Original code is enough to cause the destruction of a planet. Do you think those people would really listen to public opinion and destroy it?” the unfamiliar voice sneered. “Beyond foolish.”

“…You’re right to educate us,” Feng Man nodded obediently. “What’s the method you’re suggesting…?”

“You only need to render that omega incapable of movement, and the Triss upper echelon will naturally fall into disarray,” the unfamiliar voice said. “The rest won’t concern you. Once the chaotic meeting ends, the Original’s data will be delivered intact into your hands.”

Having spoken, a familiar scent wafted in from outside, even stronger than the one Lyss had noticed in the room earlier.

Suddenly, Lyss felt dizzy. His mind felt like it was being pierced by needles. He instinctively grabbed Lu Xingye’s clothes, furrowed his brow, bit down on his tongue, and tasted blood, which helped alleviate some of the dizziness.

“The medicine I gave you earlier was too slow and non-specific,” the unfamiliar voice continued. “According to reports, Triss’s Chief is an extremely unique omega. So, as a precaution, dispose of the previous medicine. Here are three pills with ten times the effectiveness. No need to ingest; open the package and wear it on your body for twenty minutes. Remember, soak it in water before joining the assembly. After twenty minutes of contact with water, no one can detect anything. Don’t let them find any clues.

This is a special drug tailored by Dr. Dong for that Chief’s characteristics. Only he can smell this scent. Unless there’s an alpha at the scene powerful enough to directly suppress the drug’s effects, he’ll immediately enter estrus. The Triss upper echelon and the meeting will immediately plunge into chaos. By then, the data will be in your hands.”

“A drug for his traits?” Lu Xingye furrowed his brow slightly. How did this doctor have information about Lyss?

“Can you smell the scent?” Lyss asked.

“No,” Lu Xingye replied.

“Exactly,” Lyss breathed shortly. “There’s more than just military personnel out there.”

This meeting had been off from the very beginning.

From the military to the people around him, to the inspection upon joining, to… the Ministry of Information, all of them had issues.

Without information from the military, Sheng Dan couldn’t pretend to postpone the meeting. If there wasn’t an issue with the people around him, that doctor wouldn’t have made a specialized drug targeting him. If there wasn’t a problem with the entry inspection, the Sheng Dan personnel wouldn’t have been able to bring in a transmitter. As for the Ministry of Information…

They’d been hiding something from the entire Triss.

Lyss suddenly opened his eyes; the fish had finally taken the bait.

Outside, after a moment of silence, Feng Man smiled knowingly. “Then, many thanks to Dr. Dong.”

There was a slight friction outside, and the scent seemed to grow stronger. Lyss abruptly opened his eyes, ready to push the door, but Lu Xingye grabbed him and pressed him against the metal panel behind him.

Lyss was incredibly strong. Lu Xingye struggled to hold him down, but the person in his embrace continued to struggle. In desperation, Lu Xingye grasped the tip of the tail. The person in his embrace trembled, and Lu Xingye immediately lowered his head, comforting softly against the other’s forehead, “Chief, calm down. There are four people outside. Even though we might win, we can’t guarantee taking down all four at once. They have the main device for the transmitter; beware of them resorting to extreme measures.”

The main transmitter could directly destroy the entire space. Lyss’s struggling weakened a bit upon hearing this. He furrowed his brow, closed his eyes, and his chest rose and fell slightly urgently. For a moment, he couldn’t even control his tail, still in someone else’s hand.

The next moment, the scent exploded around him, strong enough to turn bitter, as if it could wipe away the mark on his neck.

Outside, people were still talking, mixed with smug smiles. Deep within Lyss, a murderous intent rose. The coldness in his golden eyes almost turned tangible.

The effect of the drug wasn’t as significant as they claimed. Perhaps it was due to Lyss’s constitution or because Lu Xingye’s pheromones were too dominant.

But Lyss still didn’t feel well. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His fingertips were trembling. In this state, he would surely yield to those people outside. Even though Lu Xingye couldn’t smell the drug’s scent, he wasn’t in a much better state. In such a confined space, once Lyss entered estrus, both of them would probably be in trouble.

Lu Xingye looked at the person in his arms, his eyes deep and solemn. In the darkness, Lyss’s skin seemed as pale as if bathed in moonlight. Amidst the rapid breaths, Lu Xingye almost felt like he was embracing a deity.

Lu Xingye wasn’t willing to take advantage of Lyss’s vulnerable state, but at this moment, there was no other choice. “Chief, I’m afraid I’ll have to offend.”

Lyss clearly understood his meaning. After hearing Lu Xingye’s words, he took a deep breath with closed eyes. Then, he slightly tilted his head, revealing the recently bitten area on his neck—a silent consent.

In the cramped space, Lu Xingye leaned in towards Lyss’s neck. The warm breath sprayed onto the still healing wound, causing the person in his embrace to tremble slightly with restrained impatience. “…Hurry.”

“The people outside haven’t left, and the recording is still ongoing,” Lu Xingye’s voice was somewhat deep, sounding particularly dangerous and ambiguous in the confined space. “Remember not to make a sound, Chief.”