Little Pink Starfish

Inside the living base—

In the survivors’ medical room, Su Liang, with the help of the medical officer, removed the probe of the instrument used to measure mental power from the back of an Omega’s neck.

“Value 78… basically stable…”

Su Liang looked down at the screen showing the mental stability value of the Omega in front of him, his expression relaxing into a smile.

“Not bad at all,” he concluded.

Although the survivors’ mental states were still only in the “basically stable” range, with lots of room for improvement, compared to how they were when they were first rescued, this group of Omegas had already made significant progress.

“This value is really not bad. I used to think staying around 60 was already great,”

The medical officer leaned over to glance at the result from the device, relief spreading across his face.

“I told you! I’ve been feeling much better lately!”

“Yeah, and you were so worried before, medical officer. Why be so hard on yourself?”

“Ah Su is amazing too. Every time he helps with our mental grooming and such, it feels so comforting…”

Hearing the medical officer’s sigh, the Omega survivors gathered around with cheerful chatter.

This medical officer had previously worked with Su Liang on the spaceship, and during that time, the Omegas had built an especially strong trust in Su Liang. Now that they were reunited in the living base, the atmosphere could only be described as harmonious and warm.

“I have to say, Su Liang, you’re really impressive. I heard you only recently differentiated into an Omega,” the medical officer said more casually now that the checkup results were good. “But I’ve observed for a while — your mental grooming skills for others are top-tier. Almost as good as a veteran mental therapist. You’re seriously talented in this area.”

The medical officer couldn’t help but marvel.

“No wonder you’re Lord Snake’s personal mental therapist…”

“The Snake Den’s instruments are very advanced. They help a lot. Plus, your guidance was super detailed — I just followed the instructions.”

Su Liang was blushing a little now from the compliments and explained shyly.

He really didn’t have the heart to explain that when he was with Lu Taipan, his mind was a complete mess and he hadn’t been able to do any actual training of his mental power.

While speaking, Su Liang raised his hand to remove the probe attached to his own neck. But just as he moved, a sudden wave of soreness deep inside his body caused his action to freeze.

“Mm—”

The ache from a newly developed organ was too intense, and Su Liang couldn’t help but let out a soft muffled groan.

“Ah Su? Are you okay?!”

An Omega who had just finished treatment immediately noticed Su Liang’s strange reaction and rushed over to support him.

“Did you sprain something from being too tired?”

At the same time, the medical officer also looked over at Su Liang, worriedly asking, and before Su Liang could refuse, he’d already reached out to remove the remaining device from Su Liang. As the collar was pulled back, the area from Su Liang’s neck to his shoulder revealed dense marks — unmistakable signs of a possessive Alpha’s bite.

Su Liang’s smile froze.

“Oops…”

He heard an Omega nearby suck in a sharp breath.

“Sorry.”

Su Liang snapped out of it with a shiver, ignoring the weird sensation in his body as he hastily straightened and readjusted his collar. He was very concerned that the Alpha’s marks on his body might trigger the Omegas around him.

But just a moment later, a nearby female Omega spoke in a surprisingly skilled and approving tone.

“…Your Alpha’s bite pattern is really good — deep, neat, and long-lasting without causing injury. Just looking at those teeth marks, I can tell — that’s a good Alpha.”

Su Liang: “Huh?”

The completely unexpected reaction left Su Liang stunned.

The Omega who had spoken covered her mouth and giggled at his expression.

“What? I mean, sure I ended up in that hellish place, but before that, I’d slept with plenty of Alphas…”

The more mature Omega flirtatiously winked at Su Liang.

And to his surprise, the rest of the Omegas in the room joined in on the teasing with lively interest.

“Your Alpha, is that the one they call Snake… Snake Captain or something?”

“Not Snake Captain — it’s Snake Lord, Lord Lu Taipan! He’s the one who saved us all! I remember how awesome he was. Back on the ship, he was insane — smashed all those bastards’ mechas in one hit!”

“Oh come on, what are you even asking for. You didn’t notice? I saw the vids online. That Snake Lord is seriously handsome. And you know what they say — strong waist, good stamina.”

By the time that last line dropped, the Omegas close to Su Liang were laughing uproariously.

But jokes aside, after the laughter faded, someone tugged on Su Liang’s sleeve and whispered in his ear,

“Your partner looks way too powerful — he’s a big shot… you better be careful. That Alpha screams strong genes. You’re still young, don’t get caught off guard and end up… well, you know.”

…

If Su Liang had never lived his past life and had only ever stayed in the First Star District, he probably would’ve thought these survivor Omegas were way too bold — openly discussing such personal topics. In the First District, even close Omega friends rarely talked this directly or intimately.

But now, Su Liang understood. These survivors had been through too much. They didn’t understand things like “boundaries” or “privacy.”

Every teasing comment and concern they expressed came from a place of sincere care.

…Even if that care was a little too intense sometimes.

As a few Omegas began chatting freely about their Alphas’ ahem stamina, Su Liang was ready to dig a hole and hide in it. His face was burning red, and he didn’t dare say a word. But at the same time, a part of him relaxed — to be able to gather like this and openly talk about Alphas meant that the Omegas’ mental states had stabilized. Their bodies might still react to Alpha pheromones, but mentally, they weren’t in panic or chaos anymore.

And that, to Su Liang, was the best news.

After some cheerful chatting, Su Liang’s communicator lit up.

It was a message from Xue Yinheng.

【Xiao Liang, come get your man! Save us single dogs — not all of us can handle this level of PDA—】

But before Su Liang could finish reading it, the message was automatically retracted and disappeared from his device.

Puzzled, Su Liang sent a question mark.

This time, however, Xue Yinheng didn’t reply as quickly as usual. Instead, a notification popped up:

【This contact is currently on a mission. Daily communication has been temporarily blocked — From the System】

When Xue Yinheng was on lower-level missions before, he still chatted often. This sudden blackout made Su Liang even more confused.

Before he could dwell on it, a new message popped up — from Lu Taipan.

Su Liang’s fingers froze. Glancing around, he saw the Omegas were still joking about future baby names, paying no attention to him. He bit his lip and opened the message.

It was a research report from the equipment department to the Snake Lord. It detailed the upgraded restraints of Lu Taipan’s custom-made bite inhibitor. The device was now highly secure and nearly impossible to remove under normal circumstances. Additionally, it now supported features like “control transfer” and “trigger unlock by specific phrases.”

Lu Taipan had underlined that last feature.

【From now on, you’re in charge of me.】

Just a few simple words, yet Su Liang could almost see the man’s deep gaze and husky voice whispering them to him.

Flashes of certain memories stormed Su Liang’s mind.

His face flushed red, and he quickly shut off the communicator.

But even then, his racing heart wouldn’t calm down.

Damn it…

Why did it feel like Mr. Si was acting completely different lately?

And… why did he feel different, too?

Su Liang pouted and thought angrily.

His heart — totally out of control.

—

The mental therapy and check-ups went smoothly. Once everyone’s condition was confirmed to be stable, Su Liang, accompanied by the medical officer, prepared to leave the base.

It should’ve been an ordinary ending to an ordinary day.

But as they walked through a long, narrow hallway, Su Liang suddenly stopped.

“Did you hear that?”

He asked.

The medical officer looked at him, confused. “Hear what?”

“Someone… screaming.”

“Screaming?”

The medical officer raised an eyebrow, then looked down the hall.

“Oh, that’s ‘No Name.’”

He pointed toward a room at the end of the hallway.

“‘No Name’? Oh… her?”

Su Liang realized who it was.

Among the survivors rescued from District 48, the girl codenamed “No Name” was the most special. She was supposed to be a high-level Omega, but her glands had been removed. She was almost destroyed, but because her glands were linked to someone powerful, she was secretly kept alive by a small-time manager from the “Farm” and hidden in a life-support pod. She’d eventually been rescued during the “Spring Outing” operation by Snake Den.

“But ‘No Name’ was forcibly sedated for too long, and she experienced truly horrific trauma. Her mental sea is completely shattered. If we leave her in a coma, she may never wake up. So, we regularly stimulate her brain to force brief awakenings. But every time she wakes, she has no awareness and breaks down in pain and madness.”

The medical officer said this bitterly.

“Today is one of her ‘treatment’ days. What you heard must’ve been her screams.”

Though the medical officer couldn’t hear them, he knew Su Liang’s sensitive mental power could pick them up through the thick soundproofing.

“I see…”

Su Liang’s expression darkened.

For a moment, he felt ashamed.

Legends said Sigmas could heal any broken mind. And he, a suspected Sigma, could barely help regular Omegas feel a little better. When faced with someone like “No Name” — who’d suffered real horrors — he was utterly powerless.

He sighed deeply.

Then suddenly, alarms blared.

The door to “No Name’s” room burst open, and someone stumbled out.

“Quick, quick! Get more people! Where are the medics? The assistants? Anyone will do! Something’s wrong!”

The man was also in a medical uniform, his face pale, one hand pressed to his earpiece while the other was soaked in blood — a chunk of flesh bitten off.

His coat was drenched in blood.

And through the open door came the unfiltered screams — high-pitched, wild, full of fear and despair, enough to make anyone tremble.

On a heavy hospital bed, several people tried desperately to restrain the girl.

Without the life-support pod, “No Name” looked even more frail — just skin and bones. Despite that, she showed terrifying strength, the soft restraints long since broken, and it was only thanks to the nurses’ physical restraint that she remained on the bed.

Even so, it wasn’t enough. Many had bloodied hands, bitten in her frenzy.

“Calm down! You’re safe now! Child, you’re safe—”

“It’s over now, come back to us!”

“It’s okay…”

But to someone whose mind had shattered, those words meant nothing.

It was a scene straight out of hell.

Without hesitation, Su Liang and the medical officer rushed in.

The room reeked of blood. The girl’s eyes and mouth were oozing it.

“Where’s the sedative?!”

“We used it! It’s useless! It doesn’t work on her anymore—”

“Damn it!”

The medical officer cursed and rolled up his sleeves to help restrain her.

But in that instant, the girl, slippery with blood, broke free.

Time seemed to slow. Su Liang and the girl locked eyes.

Her eyes held no light — only fear and pain. She didn’t know who she was or where she was. To her, being awake was the hell.

She turned and ran straight for the metal wall.

“NO—”

Everything happened fast.

Su Liang couldn’t remember exactly what happened next.

He just knew that in that moment, as she charged the wall, he instinctively reached out with his mental power.

Just like he did with the other Omegas.

If the situation had been normal, this would’ve been considered a waste of energy — soothing someone with a broken mind served no purpose.

But the moment his mental power touched hers — the girl froze.

In the invisible spiritual world, a gentle, quiet “spiritual snake” opened its eyes.

The girl stood still before the wall.

Everyone held their breath.

Su Liang’s pupils were fully dilated, dark and empty of reflection.

The silver snake coiled around the shattered mental fragments, wrapping them gently, preventing them from further hurting the girl’s soul.

“Master Su Liang…”

“What happened…”

Voices called his name. Panic. Footsteps. More help arriving…

But all that felt like it was happening far away.

In that moment, in the spiritual world, it was just Su Liang and the suffering girl.

She slowly turned toward him.

Tears streamed down her gaunt face as her lips moved.

【Help me.】

【I’m… so scared…】

A second later, her body collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, a flood of chaotic memories rushed into Su Liang’s mind like a meteor storm.

He let out a groan and, like the girl, fell unconscious.

…

Fragments.

Sharp, spinning fragments of consciousness surrounded him.

Su Liang tried to escape, but something invisible dragged him into a void.

He was completely wrapped in those fragments.

[gurgle…]

“Su Liang” opened his eyes to find himself submerged in cold, viscous nutrient fluid.

Like a fish in a tank.

He was inside a giant cylindrical glass container.

Surrounding him were many, many similar containers — so many, they seemed endless.

He heard machines whirring, and bubbles from his every breath.

He felt weak. And pain.

His body was small and thin.

His limbs and spine were locked in place by restraints. Breathing, eating, even waste — all handled through tubes pierced into him. It was horrible. He felt like a specimen.

What had happened?

Where was this?

Who was he?

No—this wasn’t real.

Su Liang realized—

He was inside that girl’s memories.

He didn’t know how long he spent in them. One day, he heard voices outside the tank.

“Su Liang” lifted his head with great effort, barely able to see through the thick fluid. He could only make out part of the figures — a tall, strong man and… a child?

He couldn’t see their faces, but as they approached, he began to hear clearly.

The man and child stopped before him.

“…Young Master, did you choose this one?”

Then the man raised his voice, full of flattery.

“As expected of you, Young Master, your eye is excellent. This one is our most promising subject. She might even differentiate into an A-class Omega!”

But the child’s reply was cold despite his tender voice.

“A-class? Just A-class? That’s boring… I don’t want some average A-class. Can’t you make her S-class?”

“Apologies, Young Master. We have developed a new drug that stimulates mental power and gland development. But the side effects are severe. If we use it, she might die before differentiating…”

The child asked, confused,

“If she dies, just get another to grow my glands. Why are you worried about this?”

Then he stepped up to the tank and looked inside — like observing a toy.

When “Su Liang” saw the child’s face—

His eyes widened in shock.