Little Pink Starfish

The next day, Su Liang was brought to the center of “Eden” by a combat bionic.

The fragile youth nestled in the arms of the towering war-grade bionic clearly hadn’t slept at all the night before. A faint bluish shadow under his eyes and his deathly pale face made his exhaustion all the more evident.

And yet, even in such a weakened state, Su Liang was still breathtakingly beautiful. He curled up in the bionic’s embrace in a surprisingly comfortable posture. When he saw that Lu Zhizhao wasn’t standing outside the massive, cold gates of the central area, Su Liang’s eyes widened, glancing around in disbelief.

Finally realized it was time to call for an Alpha to save him? Even if that Alpha was a full-blown lunatic…

When Ning Tangsheng arrived, the first thing he saw was this scene.

He paused in his steps and gave a small, amused smile.

“No need to look anymore. Lu Zhizhao’s not coming.”

He walked step by step toward Su Liang, deliberately lowering his voice as he leaned near his ear.

Just last night, to avoid any unforeseen disruptions, Ning Jiayi had arranged to lure Lu Zhizhao away.

Because in truth, a gland extraction surgery wasn’t nearly as “simple” as Ning Tangsheng had promised. An Omega had to be alive and conscious for the procedure—it was an agonizing process.

And although it had been Lu Zhizhao’s idea in the first place to extract Su Liang’s gland, after witnessing the Alpha’s twisted obsession, Ning Tangsheng absolutely did not want him around to potentially go berserk during the critical operation.

Besides…

If all had gone as planned, Lu Zhizhao was probably already dead.

Many traps left by the Canaanites still remained around Eden, and Ning had just so happened to “accidentally” let slip to Lu Zhizhao that there was still leftover brainwashing serum at a certain coordinate. The already delusional Alpha had snuck out of Eden under the cover of night.

“…Not coming? What do you mean?”

Su Liang asked in a dazed voice.

“Exactly what you think it means.”

Ning Tangsheng replied. But what annoyed him was that Su Liang’s face showed neither panic nor despair. He merely pressed his lips together, his expression unreadable.

Had he fallen into hopelessness last night?

Or was he still clinging to the delusion of rescue?

Either way, Ning Tangsheng was displeased.

What he wanted was terror, panic, a complete mental breakdown—not this empty, quiet beauty dazedly curling up in the bionic’s arms.

Originally intending to take Su Liang straight to surgery, Ning Tangsheng suddenly changed his mind.

“Come on, Serpent Lord’s Consort. Time for the procedure.”

He said, but instead of heading straight for the operating room, he led them through a detour—into the so-called “Material Zone.”

At first glance, the area resembled an old aquarium, like those still lingering in remote star regions of the Earth Federation.

Massive tanks stretched skyward, filled with pale blue liquid. The air was damp and cold, the lighting dim.

But this was no tourist exhibit—because as you got closer, you would see what floated inside.

Layer upon layer of pale, suspended bodies.

From the tops of the tanks hung steel frameworks, each one supporting distorted, swollen Omegas. Their figures obscured by tubes and medical interfaces, some male, some female—some as young as children, none older than early adulthood.

They were all still alive.

But they looked more like corpses than the dead themselves.

Sure enough, Ning Tangsheng noticed Su Liang’s complexion worsening with every step. His body began to tremble slightly as he stared at the countless Omegas floating in nutrient fluid.

“These… these people…”

Su Liang murmured.

And Ning Tangsheng didn’t hesitate to add a dash of “fear” to the cocktail.

“They’re the Farm’s raw materials.”

He stated bluntly.

“As the Serpent Lord’s partner, you should know what these materials are. But don’t bother sympathizing.”

He turned to Su Liang, winking.

“You’ll go through the same process. But don’t worry—you’re a high-grade Sigma, not like these mediocre materials. I’ll make good use of your gland.”

Now that he no longer had to worry about Lu Zhizhao, Ning dropped the act entirely.

“With your unique classification, I’d rather not extract your gland. If I could use your original body, the resulting product would be even better—”

“Just like how you forced other low-level Omegas to continuously breed at your other ‘farms,’ right?”

Su Liang interrupted.

Ning paused—and saw the pain behind the boy’s eyes.

Tears shimmered in Su Liang’s gaze, and his lips bore deep bite marks.

“These experiments… these transactions… don’t you think they’re cruel? The Ning family already has so much wealth and power. Even without this, you could live lives most people could only dream of. Why do you still do this?”

Ning Tangsheng blinked, then laughed with genuine delight.

“Ahh, you’re still so pure.”

He mocked.

“Making me look like the villain.”

Eventually, they reached the end of the “Raw Materials Zone.” Ning had enjoyed watching Su Liang suffer, but now he was ready.

He brought Su Liang to the operating room.

Though the room had been meticulously sanitized after every surgery, a faint metallic tang of blood still lingered.

The operating table and staff were already in place.

Under the cold surgical lights, Su Liang looked almost translucent.

“I don’t understand… why someone like you exists in this world.”

He said hoarsely.

Ning Tangsheng looked at him coldly and, finally, added the words he hadn’t finished earlier.

“If Lu Taipan can gain supreme power through mass slaughter… why can’t I?”

He adjusted his glasses.

“After all, it’s basically the same. And the materials I sell make plenty of families very happy. Just think of me as a man with ambition. As for the rest—oh, right!”

He grinned widely at Su Liang.

“I especially love seeing high-and-mighty Omegas like you break down when I put them on the operating table. You know, many of them wet themselves in terror—just like animals.”

By the time he finished, Ning Tangsheng’s smile had faded.

They were nothing but lucky trash. The heavens gave them high-level glands—so what? In the end, they were still just commodities in his hands.

Then he frowned.

Something felt… off.

Su Liang’s face was pale, yes—but there wasn’t a trace of fear in his eyes.

Not even a flicker.

What—

Then Su Liang spoke:

“Evidence collection complete. You may begin.”

“You?!”

Ning Tangsheng’s eyes widened in shock, pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

In Su Liang’s clear gaze, he saw the twisted, blood-drained reflection of his own face.

And in Su Liang’s eyes—soft, flickering red light.

A rhythmically pulsing glow.

It was a bio-screen embedded directly on his retina, streaming data in real time.

“Your eyes—!”

BOOM—

BANG—

As the explosions thundered around them, Su Liang… smiled.

Time seemed to slow and stretch.

In that instant, Ning Tangsheng understood everything.

It had all been a trap.

From the moment Su Liang was brought into Eden—no, from the moment Lu Zhizhao had captured him—it had all been part of the plan.

“Kill him!!”

Without hesitation, Ning ordered the combat bionic behind Su Liang to execute him.

The bionic raised its weapon instantly—but…

It didn’t follow his command.

Quite the opposite—the bionic turned its weapon on Ning Tangsheng.

CRACK—

A laser shot burst forth. Though Ning’s personal shield absorbed it, the impact threw him across the room, the shield shattering in a flash of red light.

And in his bloody, blurred vision, Ning watched in horror as the bionic’s outer shell began to peel away—

The towering combat bionic’s illusion matrix dissolved, revealing its true form: a massive, pitch-black machine. Even in its compressed state, its size was staggering.

Mahoraga was unfolding.

The mech extended fully with the sound of shifting armor plates and groaning hydraulics. At this moment, the entire surgery center—no, the entire Eden—shook and trembled.

Explosions, alarms, human screams, system warnings… all merged into a storm of chaos.

Amid the shower of debris, the mech stretched out its arms and carefully shielded the boy curled in its palm, not letting in a single speck of dust.

Then, the cockpit opened.

Su Liang had only enough time to let out a soft gasp before he was pulled into the warm, solid embrace of a man.