The silvery metal block disintegrated in mid-air, its sharp light scattering to form a shimmering barrier before the second wave of beams could erupt, isolating the source of the light.
A massive impact thundered against the shield, but as a golden mist permeated the metal, the silver sphere didn't even quiver, steadily absorbing every attack.
Lei Ting glanced at the people nearby who had been nearly bisected or torn apart, then at the innocent bystanders injured in the distance. A golden glint flashed in the depths of his eyes.
The golden mist began to spread. Faint sounds of bone cracking and muffled screams echoed from within the silver sphere. Simultaneously, the bleeding of those nearby with minor injuries began to slow, their wounds closing in short order. For those with critical injuries, metallic calcium flew toward them, coating their wounds to forcibly stall the onset of death.
The moment the attack occurred, most people fled. However, some uninjured individuals shouted for everyone to remain calm. Before long, a squad of escort drones descended from the ceiling ducts of the port terminal, while a team of armed security personnel and medical staff rushed out from the sidelines to begin rescuing the wounded and isolating the source of danger.
The scene quieted down quickly. Holographic cordons pulsed with a red glow. After checking the wounded, the medical staff turned to look at the two men hovering in the air, immediately locking onto Lei Ting. "Hello, esteemed citizen. Thank you for your heroic assistance. You may deactivate your ability now. Thank you."
Lei Ting asked no questions, simply withdrawing his metallic calcium. The silvery luster separated perfectly from blood and debris, returning to his side and reshaping into several small cubes.
Once finished, the security personnel on the other side also thanked him and requested he lift the blockade. He lowered the floating chromium sphere to the ground before reclaiming it, letting the liquid metal flow back into his sleeve.
In the space previously occupied by the silver sphere, a group of escort drones had erected a barrier. Inside sat a beautiful young man, his face twisted in pain and covered in tears.
He was the source of the out-of-control beams. To prevent him from causing further harm, Lei Ting had directly extracted most of the calcium from his limbs. This had caused his lower legs to fracture under the mere weight of his own body, and his joints had been pierced by filament-like silver needles.
As the chromium sphere was withdrawn, the slight shift in posture caused him to cry out in pain. He struggled to support his weight, gritting his teeth to keep from collapsing, weeping silently with a face full of guilt.
Throughout this brief process, Valen remained silent. He kept his arm braced against Lei Ting’s shoulder to keep himself from toppling over, watching the events unfold with a slight frown.
After a moment, he suddenly leaned down and whispered into Lei Ting’s ear, "I heard just now. That man is an Omega named Cen Yan. He was supposed to go to the Silver Core for a critical academic symposium, but his family sent people to force him back for an arranged marriage."
As Valen spoke, pressed almost flush against him, a subtle, minty sweetness wafted over. Even in his distracted state, Lei Ting’s Alpha instincts took note of the scent. He realized with a start that his hand was still wrapped around Valen’s waist.
Instinct told him he should pay attention to the source of that fragrance. However, he felt Valen’s words were more deserving of focus, so he used them as a topic to maintain his composure while setting the man down. "Family? Forced marriage? In this day and age, the patriarchal clan system is still persisting?"
To be honest, he wanted to call it "garbage," but firstly, that might be inflammatory, and secondly... swearing was beneath him. He never used foul language, rarely even thinking it.
"The clan system? As long as there is a continuation of family and bloodlines, it will always have a foundation to exist upon..."
Valen’s expression was calm as he said softly, "I actually know of him. His name is Cen Yan, a supernova in the medical world in his twenties. He’s on the news often. I just didn't expect him to be an esper, and one with such destructive power. He must have been pushed to a breaking point; under extreme emotional volatility, he lost all control."
A medical supernova, a frequent face on the news, high-level enough to attend academic conferences on the Silver Core Ringworld—yet because he was an Omega, he was being forced into marriage by his family at a customs checkpoint...
Lei Ting frowned and spoke sincerely: "What utter rubbish."
Both of them knew he wasn't talking about Cen Yan. The disdain in his voice for the act of destroying someone's future for a forced marriage was palpable.
Truthfully, such a blunt expression of negative emotion was rare for Lei Ting.
Valen laughed upon hearing this, then looked at the pale, beautiful youth and sighed. "With this, there’s no way he’s leaving."
Lei Ting sighed as well. There was nothing he could do to help; after all, Cen Yan had nearly killed people and had caused varying degrees of physical injury to many others.
He could only wait for the medical staff to turn to him, at which point he remotely dissolved the extracted calcium, allowing it to flow back into Cen Yan’s bones while accelerating the healing of the fractures.
During these changes, Cen Yan stopped crying. He sat there blankly, his eyes hollow as he allowed himself to be handled, as if his body felt no pain—as if he had already died right there at the checkpoint.
Shortly after, a security officer came to ask for their personal information. The two cooperated, granting the officer access to their surface-level identity profiles and genetic registration codes, the interstellar equivalent of an ID card.
Half an hour later, those who needed to be taken away were gone, and the repairs were underway. The central hall returned to normal, and Lei Ting and Valen stepped outside.
The current rotation cycle of the Third Planet was nearly over. It was close to evening.
As they exited, Lei Ting’s light-brain flashed. A compensation payment from the Supreme Court was deposited—three hundred thousand Star Coins. Simultaneously, a gift of money from Upton Onge arrived. The two combined totaled one million Star Coins.
Good. He could feel the power of money.
Lei Ting knew the other party was throwing money at him, which made him feel surprised and uncomfortable. The first three hundred thousand was fine; he had earned that. But what was with the other seven hundred thousand?
Even though the logistics chief had mentioned a transfer beforehand, he never expected it to be this much!
"What’s wrong?" Valen asked suddenly.
Lei Ting thought about it and decided it wasn't a secret, so he told him.
"I see... You think it’s too much? That they’re using money to insult your integrity?" Valen laughed.
"...No, not that." Lei Ting’s lip twitched. "The second half of that sentence is wrong."
"Actually, the first half is wrong too," Valen said softly. "Before you estimate your own worth, you must first realize how 'precious' you are. I daresay the high-level officials of the entire Federation are watching you right now. That attention alone is worth tens of millions. The reason it’s focused on you is because your value far exceeds that sum."
The mature manager reached out and patted the youth’s shoulder.
"You are a priceless treasure. They are simply making an early investment. They’ve done this for every person of value who has appeared in the past," he said. "For someone with talent, brains, and character, those smart people won't block his path like they do in novels.
"Bestowing favors is the best method. They know how to make people remember their kindness. Because they understand that once this person flourishes, everything they’ve given will return tenfold, a hundredfold, a thousandfold—or it will become the sword that kills that person."
These words were ruthlessly pragmatic. Lei Ting pursed his lips and looked out at the broad street before them.
The lower level was a pedestrian street, while the upper level was a lane for hovering vehicles. The golden-red sunset was falling at the end of the street, slowly sinking below the horizon.
Whether it be people or stars, all had their own paths to follow, and those people had already laid out flowers and traps on the road he had to take.
"Actually, thinking about it this way is quite nice. My annual salary is only four hundred thousand; you just made what takes me two and a half years to earn in one go." Valen shrugged. "Earning money is hard for us ordinary people, even in a corporation. Without backing, someone will always find your gains eyesores, and the rewards you worked for might no longer belong to you.
"That’s why I like playing games. In a game, effort yields rewards. That is the ultimate unreality."
Lei Ting was momentarily dazed. He thought back to what had just happened in the hall behind them. Even though no trace of it remained now, he still remembered the hollow, sorrowful eyes of the young doctor—or scientist—named Cen Yan.
Sex was related to power, but those who linked the two were eventually either hanged or buried. Humanity had developed to this point, yet why did so many people still not understand this?
"Don't think too much about it," Valen asked kindly. "Shall we get something to eat first?"
"...No, thank you." Lei Ting shook his head. "I need to report for duty first."
"True, you have your official business to attend to." Valen nodded understandingly and remarked, "You seem... as law-abiding as ever."
"There’s nothing wrong with following the rules."
As Lei Ting spoke, he walked toward a stationary automated transport pod by the roadside. They looked like transparent white spheres, with gradient opaque coatings from the bottom up to prevent certain issues during flight.
The spheres came in various sizes for single or multiple passengers. According to the light-brain’s instructions, he only needed to enter and give a command; it would automatically take him to his destination via the shortest route and deduct the fare in Star Coins.
"No, I mean... you 'seem' that way. Only 'seem'." Valen also walked toward the row of transport pods, smiling as he stood beside Lei Ting. "I’ve seen almost none of the aggression, combativeness, or predatory desire an Alpha should have in you. Why is that? I’m curious."
"Because it was never there. Perhaps I should have been a Beta," Lei Ting replied mildly. "To be honest, I really thought I would be a Beta at first..."
"I thought I’d be an Alpha before I manifested at sixteen." Valen shrugged. "The world is unpredictable."
As they spoke, they placed their belongings into two adjacent single-passenger pods. A ring of orange light lit up around the center of the pods, indicating they were occupied and prompting others to choose different ones.
But before stepping inside to start them, Valen suddenly spoke again. "Lei Ting, you really don't know yourself very well."
"...Hm?" Lei Ting grunted a question, one hand holding the circular door of the pod where the repulsion field had been temporarily deactivated.
"I mean, if you were truly as... devoid of desire as you say," Valen smiled, leaning in to whisper into the ear of the handsome youth who hadn't even looked up, "then why won't you look at me?"
