In the future, holographic technology had become highly advanced and was used in every aspect of daily life.
The hotel industry was naturally one of the fields where it saw the most frequent use. Many budget hotels relied almost entirely on holographic projections for their room decor in order to save costs. Once the projections were turned off, all that remained were a bed, a bathroom, and the other basic facilities. Everything else was fake.
The Imperial Hotel, however, was different. Aside from the holographic projector used to let guests choose their preferred ambiance, all the furnishings and facilities in its rooms were genuine, extravagantly expensive pieces.
The experience was first-rate, both physically and visually.
At least, even Pei Liang—who had enjoyed the height of luxury in every world she had visited—found the experience extraordinary.
During the first two days after arriving in this world, she had been busy understanding the situation and tinkering with mechas, so she had paid little attention to these mundane matters.
After returning to school, the military academy dormitories were nowhere near as lavish. Everything there was designed with minimalism in mind. Strictly speaking, Pei Liang had yet to truly relax and enjoy the average standard of living in the interstellar era—a standard far beyond that of any previous world.
Of course, a large part of this was thanks to Hill. Without him, Pei Liang probably would not have had the time to notice any of it.
Afterward, Pei Liang got up and put on the uniform of the Imperial Military Academy.
Hill was buried in the white, cloud-soft bedding. His face was flushed and dewy with heat as he struggled to turn over and sit up.
The silk clothes he had been wearing before might have felt smooth and slippery against the skin, but in an Alpha’s hands, they were as fragile as paper. They had long since been torn into a crumpled mess and tossed somewhere out of sight.
He had no choice but to wrap himself in the pristine bedsheet. Then he went up behind Pei Liang, who was standing by the window and gazing toward the main arena, and hugged her.
“Are you leaving already?” Hill asked. His voice was hoarse, as though he had gotten a taste of something addictive.
Pei Liang reached one hand behind her and rubbed the back of her little stray’s neck. “So you’ve been watching over me here all these days?”
Hill nodded. “I could see you the moment I opened my eyes.”
The answer clearly pleased the benefactor. She turned around and kissed him deeply once more.
From beginning to end, the benefactor had never released a trace of pheromones. Hill had even prepared himself to become her pheromone slave, but unexpectedly, the benefactor had not “marked” him either.
That did not make his first experience any less pleasurable. It had felt like floating among the clouds.
No one could climb higher without paying a price, especially someone like him, who had nothing. Since the other party was still willing to offer such a generous sum, Hill had naturally been prepared for anything.
No matter how he was treated or how humiliating the torment might be, he had already been ready to endure it.
He simply had not expected things to turn out this way.
The benefactor was gentle. At least, he had felt almost no discomfort throughout the entire process. Though her technique was practiced and her presence overwhelming, she had not been rough.
And how were two Alphas even supposed to do it? Hill had always assumed it could not possibly be a pleasant experience.
But now, everything he had believed had been overturned. For the first time, he understood that even without the interference of pheromones, it could still be such an—experience.
It had been perfect. Even without any other benefits, it could hardly be considered a loss. And with the “payment” the benefactor had given him, Hill had even felt, for a moment, as though he were the one taking advantage of her.
And not just a little.
He did not know whether he felt embarrassed about all this or was simply still unsatisfied.
“Do you have anything to do today?” he asked his benefactor. “If not…”
His voice lowered slightly. “I paid for two more nights. We could stay here until the day after tomorrow.”
Pei Liang was delighted. Wasn’t this one of the advantages of this world? Alphas were creatures that followed their own desires and feelings.
Seeing how honest her little stray was, Pei Liang really did feel tempted to spend the next few days of her break indulging in pleasure here.
Unfortunately, there were still matters she had to deal with.
She patted her little stray’s cheek. “No. I have some things to take care of lately. Once the league is over, I’ll come find you and have a few days of uninhibited fun.”
Pei Liang meant that they would relax and enjoy themselves thoroughly, but to Hill, who had just experienced what he had, her words carried an entirely different implication.
His face immediately flushed even deeper. Pei Liang inwardly cried out in dismay. Were these men all naturally gifted in certain areas?
She comforted him for a while before continuing, “I’ll make a call later and have an assistant arranged for you.”
“With your current funds, acquiring a racing team and becoming one of the major players in combat racing won’t be difficult.”
“But in the end, these things are all external. Money and outside support aren’t what matter most. They can disappear at any time. The only things you truly possess are the opportunities to learn while moving upward, the broader perspective and abilities you gain by seizing opportunities, and the methods and skills you develop along the way.”
“The person I’m arranging for you is very capable. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask him. Learning more will do you no harm.”
The assistant Pei Liang had arranged came from Pei’s mother’s side. Although her adoptive parents rarely concerned themselves with the original owner, it was obvious that Pei’s mother was far more generous when it came to mobilizing their resources.
She almost never asked too many questions, nor did she call for no reason just to scold someone. Clearly, it would be much more convenient to work through her connections.
Hill’s eyes sharpened at her words, and he nodded solemnly.
He was filled with ambition and wanted to climb higher, but in reality, that was no easy task.
What Hill wanted was unrivaled strength. He did not want to exist forever as someone’s pet.
Now that he had suddenly obtained everything he had dreamed of, he felt somewhat anxious and lost. He did not know what he should do next.
Yet the benefactor had still pointed out a path for him. His mind opened at once, and the confusion surrounding him immediately gave way to a straight, clear road.
Hill looked at Pei Liang, his expression somewhat dazed.
His benefactor really was helping him fulfill his wish without holding anything back.
She did not trample on his dignity or toy with his ideals simply because of his lowly background. She genuinely regarded the ambition that upper-class people might find laughable as something worthwhile—something deserving of praise.
It was only after the benefactor had been gone for a long time that the ringing of his communicator pulled Hill back to reality.
He opened his terminal and saw several missed calls from Xingyu. He hurriedly answered.
“Hill, where are you right now?”
Without thinking, Hill replied, “I’m still at the hotel. What’s wrong?”
There was a moment of silence on Chu Xingyu’s end.
“So Pei Liang went into the Imperial Hotel just now to see you?”
Hill had not expected Xingyu to notice that. Though he felt somewhat awkward, this was not something he could keep hidden from his companion forever.
Sooner or later, he would have to use Pei Liang’s influence to climb higher. This was never going to remain a secret.
So he simply admitted it. “Yeah. She came to see me.”
Chu Xingyu’s side let out an unmistakable sharp intake of breath.
He knew Hill had been harboring that intention, but in his understanding, something like this could not happen overnight.
Besides, even if Hill was willing, Pei Liang’s attitude was still unknown. From her behavior at school, it was obvious that she liked flirting with everyone she met.
Her previous teasing of Hill might not have been a signal at all. Perhaps it was merely a habit.
He had never expected that in such a short span of time, the two of them would actually—
Chu Xingyu’s voice was a little heavy. “Your throat sounds hoarse. Are you feeling unwell?”
The moment Hill heard that, his whole face flushed red. He was so embarrassed that he didn’t know how to respond.
But to Chu Xingyu, it sounded as though Hill had been worked so hard that even his voice had gone hoarse from crying out.
Even if they had never experienced such things themselves, no one in the slums could be unfamiliar with them. After all, the people from the upper districts dumped all their trash into the slums.
That naturally included erotic products. Even when the products were the same, advertisements in the slums were filled with vulgar, sexually suggestive elements—an expression of the contempt and arrogance the upper classes held for those beneath them.
Chu Xingyu felt sorry for what Hill had gone through. He was also saddened by the fact that people like them had to be trampled into the dirt before they could earn even the slightest chance to climb upward.
He had cut out his glands and abandoned his gender in order to make something of himself. What even more tragic price would Hill have to pay next?
Suppressing the bitterness in his voice, Chu Xingyu said to Hill, “Wait for me at the hotel. I’ll be there soon.”
Hill hurriedly tried to tell him not to come, but before he could speak, the call was already disconnected.
He glanced around the room at the suggestive atmosphere. There was no way he could let his friend see this scene, so he hurriedly began tidying up.
Chu Xingyu had already been nearby, so he arrived quickly.
Hill had barely finished cleaning the room when the doorbell rang.
When he opened the door, he saw Chu Xingyu standing there, his face unable to conceal how worried he was.
Chu Xingyu looked Hill up and down. His face was a little red, and his expression was awkward and embarrassed, but he seemed to be in decent health. His lips were rosy, and he stood with a lively air.
Chu Xingyu let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that Pei Liang was still a decent person and hadn’t done too much to Hill.
Still, Alpha and Alpha… Hill couldn’t possibly have come out of it completely unscathed.
So Chu Xingyu handed over the things he had just bought. “Here. Go clean yourself up first.”
Hill emptied the bag onto the bed. He had no idea where Xingyu had managed to get all this stuff in such a short time.
There were all sorts of ointments, restorative medicines, and a change of clothes.
It looked as though he had come to visit some poor little submissive who had just suffered a terrible ordeal.
Hill felt even more embarrassed. He didn’t even dare look Chu Xingyu in the eye, and could only say in a tiny voice, “She… she’s actually a pretty good person.”
Chu Xingyu’s body jolted, and he stared at Hill in disbelief.
How had this guy managed to brainwash himself and start making excuses for her in such a short time?
Chu Xingyu sighed, picked up a tube of ointment, and rolled up his sleeves. “Forget it. I’ll help you apply it.”
“Lie on the bed and pull up your clothes.”
Hill immediately backed away. “I’m really fine. Hey, don’t pull at my robe.”
Chu Xingyu assumed that Hill simply didn’t want his friend to see him in such a sorry state. But after things had already come this far, what was there left to be embarrassed about?
He tugged insistently, and the Omega whose strength had been steadily reaching its peak after having his glands removed suddenly gave a loud rip, tearing Hill’s robe apart.
Most of Hill’s upper body was exposed. He gave Chu Xingyu a helpless look. As an Alpha, he certainly wasn’t the one who would feel awkward about showing some skin.
Since Xingyu clearly didn’t care, he decided to shamelessly give in. “Fine, fine, look all you want.”
“See if there’s anywhere on me that’s worth wasting that expensive medicine on.”
Hill had sustained plenty of injuries from fighting and racing, so his body wasn’t without its flaws.
There were only a handful of regenerative medical pods in the entire slum, and they naturally weren’t something people like them could afford.
As a result, his back, arms, chest, and sides were marked with scattered scars. Most had already healed, leaving behind only faint traces. Even the newest ones had long since faded to pink.
Though Hill’s body was covered in suggestive marks, he didn’t look miserable or battered.
Then Chu Xingyu thought about how Hill had been speaking with a strong, steady voice from the moment he arrived, and how agilely he had dodged him just now.
Looking closely at him again, Chu Xingyu saw none of the listlessness, humiliation, or forced smile of someone who had been tormented.
And so he realized that he had been making assumptions all along. He had been so caught up in his own conclusions that he had completely failed to notice the obvious signs in front of him.
As an Omega, he was naturally sensitive to other people’s emotions. And Hill’s attitude whenever the subject came up was hardly one of avoidance.
He looked practically as though he had gotten a taste of something wonderful and wanted more.
Chu Xingyu stared at him with an indescribable expression. Hill awkwardly ran a hand through his hair.
He cleared his throat. “Cough… She really is great. You don’t lose out by being with her. If anything, I’m the one who benefited.”
But who was Chu Xingyu?
He had personally witnessed Pei Liang cut out her glands.
Pei Liang had no way to control anyone through pheromones, which meant that Hill’s current behavior wasn’t the blind obedience and worship of a pheromone slave toward their “master.”
Rather—
Chu Xingyu couldn’t help asking, “Is she really that good?”
In an instant, Hill’s face turned red again, and he even became indignant from embarrassment. “Are you even an Omega? Who keeps pestering people about this sort of thing like you do?”
Chu Xingyu gave him a disdainful look. “The advertisements outside the windows of the place we live play this stuff all day long. Expecting me to meet the standards of an ordinary Omega is asking too much.”
That was true. Hill fell silent.
But Chu Xingyu suddenly remembered what Pei Liang had said while he was being castrated.
She had said that pheromones would only interfere with her charm. Even without them, she could still conquer anyone.
Clearly, Hill’s current reaction had proven her words.
Chu Xingyu then recalled the scene on the racetrack when she had faced the cameras and torn a mecha apart with her bare hands.
The two images overlapped in his mind. His heart skipped out of rhythm for a moment before returning to its normal beat.
Meanwhile, Pei Liang had only just arrived in the hotel lobby when someone stopped her.
The two assistants in suits whom she often saw at Elder Uncle Pei’s side bowed respectfully to her. “Miss Liang, the old master would like to see you.”
The old master in question was naturally not her cheap father. Pei’s father didn’t have the authority to order these two around. They were referring to Elder Uncle Pei.
Pei Liang had originally hoped to find somewhere quiet to hide, but she knew that was unrealistic.
His once-hopeless daughter had suddenly displayed value that was impossible to predict. There was no way the Pei family could remain calm.
Pei Liang nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”
The two men escorted her outside. The vehicle waiting for her turned out to be Elder Uncle Pei’s private car as well.
That made Pei Liang feel almost flattered.
The journey passed in silence. The car drove all the way to the Pei family’s main residence, where every head of the Pei family had lived. The estate covered an enormous area and even contained a private artificial lake and a golf course.
To possess such a vast mansion in the central district showed just how enormous the difference in resources was between the nobility and the common people—even within the central district itself.
When the car stopped at the entrance, the butler was already waiting with a group of servants.
The old Pei Liang had never received such treatment. Because of her aptitude and her birth mother’s reputation, she had been considered a low-ranking member of the main family despite belonging to it.
But now, the spectacle made it look as though Elder Uncle Pei were receiving some extraordinarily important political figure.
Pei Liang walked into the hall, where the first thing she saw was a vast crowd of people.
The Pei family’s main hall was spacious, but even it was barely large enough to accommodate everyone gathered there.
Pei Liang took one look around. Had practically everyone from the main branch and the more prominent side branches come?
Pei Liang felt a little exhausted. If she had known she would have to face so many familiar old faces the moment she came out, she would have been better off staying at the hotel and playing with the little stray.
When Elder Uncle Pei saw her enter, his face immediately softened into the kind, benevolent expression of an elder looking at a younger member of the family—completely unlike the stern, critical attitude in the original owner’s memories.
He greeted her with a smile. “A-Liang, you’re back? Come over and let the family get a good look at you.”
Pei’s father hurried forward and pulled her over affectionately. “Don’t you recognize anyone anymore? Why are you just standing there like a fool the moment you come in?”
One of the Pei family elders waved a hand. “Second Brother, don’t tug at the child. She just came out of the arena, so it’s only natural that she hasn’t fully recovered her composure yet.”
The atmosphere was one of perfect familial harmony, even warmer and more cordial than during a festival.
After all, in a family this large, internal struggles were inevitable. At gatherings, there was always plenty of verbal sparring and hidden barbs wrapped in sweet words.
But today, everyone’s attention was focused on Pei Liang.
Pei Liang naturally knew why. Judging solely by the value she had demonstrated in the arena, if the Pei family made full use of her potential, she could bring them at least another two levels of advancement.
With a little careful cultivation, they might even have a chance to become one of the most prominent noble families in the entire Empire.
When such enormous opportunities and benefits were right before them, internal conflicts were naturally set aside for the moment.
Take the smiling woman standing beside Pei’s father, for example. She was the original owner’s maternal aunt, and Pei’s father’s younger sister.
The two had fallen out years ago over disputes involving their interests. At every family gathering, they had always regarded each other with mutual loathing.
Yet now, this cheap aunt of hers was affectionately linking arms with Pei’s father, the two siblings looking as though they had reconciled long ago and were deeply attached to each other.
Pei Liang was left marveling at the sight. For a moment, she almost thought she had transmigrated into a warm and harmonious family.
Still, Pei Liang had seen plenty of situations like this. She was already accustomed to people flattering and fawning over her, wrapping everything in an appearance of liveliness and harmony in hopes of obtaining some benefit from her.
So she went along with it and allowed herself to be guided to the seat below Elder Uncle Pei. She smiled at everyone watching her and said, “Is today some kind of special occasion? It’s rare for everyone to have the time to gather like this.”
She then glanced at several families in the room. “I remember Aunt and Sixth Uncle’s families live in other star systems, don’t they? When did you make the trip over? Was the journey all right?”
Those families smiled. “Now that you’ve achieved such glory, how could we not come as your family, no matter how far away we live?”
Their star systems were a considerable distance away, and the journey required them to jump through dozens of wormholes. Under normal circumstances, making so many jumps within a short period was bad for the human body.
Overloading oneself with jumps could cause dizziness, nausea, and blurred vision. Why would nobles sacrifice their physical comfort just to save time?
Yet this time, they had managed to traverse all those wormholes in only two days. Several of the families had only recently disembarked from their ships, and their heads were still spinning.
They worked these details into the conversation, revealing them without making it obvious. But they failed to see any moved or delighted expression on Pei Liang’s face.
She simply sat in her seat, listening to everyone with the social smile that those present knew all too well, nodding from time to time.
The last time the Pei family had seen her had been only a few months ago, but the Pei Liang of then was completely different from the person before them now.
Back then, from her speech and behavior to her temperament and presence, she had been an unimpressive young woman who could not hold her own. Even among her siblings, she had never been particularly outstanding.
Yet in less than six months, she had undergone such a dramatic change. Everyone was bewildered, and their eyes turned toward Pei’s father.
Pei’s father’s smile had also grown somewhat stiff. He felt close to his daughter, yet he was no longer receiving the adoring, approval-seeking gaze she had shown him in the past.
Thinking back, her strangeness had already begun to show the last time they met, when he had arranged her engagement. He simply had not taken it seriously then.
At her age, she was rebellious and sensitive. Nothing she did seemed particularly unusual. Pei’s father had never cared much about her.
Now, under the questioning gazes of the family, Pei’s father felt awkward. How could he possibly know the reason for his daughter’s change?
It was almost as if he had spent a great deal of time raising her.
In fact, this was only the third time he had seen her all year.
Elder Uncle Pei cursed Second Brother for being useless in his heart and had no choice but to smooth things over himself.
He asked Pei Liang, “Over the years, quite a few members of the family have gone to develop their careers in other star systems, so we don’t necessarily get to see them every year.”
“There are many elders you haven’t seen since you were ten, aren’t there?”
As he spoke, he pointed to an old man and asked with a kindly smile, “Do you still remember your Third Granduncle?”
“I remember you children liked playing in front of Third Granduncle when you were little.”
Pei Liang nodded. “I remember.”
Elder Uncle Pei smiled. He had not even had time to continue when Pei Liang said, “When I was little, Third Granduncle said I was the disgrace of the Pei family and never gave me a New Year’s gift.”
The entire hall fell silent, the atmosphere becoming suffocatingly awkward.
Everyone looked at Third Granduncle with complicated expressions. The old man’s face flushed red, and he said sheepishly, “It was just a joke, just a joke. Children can’t tell what’s real and what isn’t.”
Pei Liang looked confused. “But it’s true that I was the only one who didn’t receive one. My share was given directly to Big Cousin. Could it be that Third Granduncle told Big Cousin to give it to me, and he pocketed it instead?”
Big Cousin’s scalp prickled. He let out a dry laugh. “Was there such a thing?”
“There was.”
“Then I may have forgotten. I received so many New Year’s gifts when I was little, and I hardly touched them. After leaving them there for so long, I just forgot. You won’t hold it against your big brother for being so forgetful, will you?”
Big Cousin’s expression darkened. In fact, all the younger members around them were displeased as well. Someone they had always looked down on had suddenly risen to a position where they had to look up to her. No one could be happy about that.
The elders, however, had yet to notice the younger generation’s feelings. They only thought that Third Granduncle had handled the matter badly.
It was not that they cared about those few credits. But treating a child so harshly—what kind of behavior was that?
They were completely oblivious to the fact that they had seen it happen before and had said nothing.
Elders were always poorly informed about the circles their younger relatives moved in. They even tended to feel self-satisfied, assuming that the younger generation all had excellent relationships with one another.
Elder Uncle Pei hurriedly changed the subject to ease Third Granduncle’s embarrassment.
Pointing toward the group of young people, he said, “All your brothers and sisters came to see you today. Even your Fourth Cousin—”
Before he could finish, Pei Liang immediately shed her lazy demeanor, suddenly brimming with energy.
“What? Fourth Cousin came too?”
She scanned the crowd and locked onto a young man who was only two years older than her.
Then she personally went over and pulled him out of the group, her face filled with excitement.
“Fourth Brother, you really came back? I honestly don’t even know what to say.”
The young man was flattered and bewildered. He had no idea when he and Pei Liang had become so close.
Elder Uncle Pei laughed. “As expected of two soldiers—you certainly have more to talk about.”
Her Fourth Cousin had also graduated from the Empire Military Academy and had since gone to serve in the military district of a neighboring star system. Aside from Pei Liang, he was one of the few members of the Pei family to pursue a military career.
He was quite talented and had performed well during his time at the academy. He had even competed as a starter in the mecha league, though he had only participated once and hadn’t accomplished much.
Now serving in a military district, his rank was already considered quite high for his age. He could certainly be called a promising young man. Before Pei Liang emerged, he had been the Pei family’s greatest hope for advancement in the military.
Originally, Pei Liang’s sudden rise had left her Fourth Cousin jealous and bitter. If she entered the military, the Pei family’s resources would naturally be poured into her without limit. How much support would be left for him then?
But now, Pei Liang’s show of closeness delighted him instead. With her on good terms with him, they could cooperate in the military in the future, which would bring him no small number of benefits.
Just as he was getting excited, someone asked Pei Liang, “It looks like your Fourth Cousin really dotes on you. Otherwise, you wouldn’t remember him for so long.”
Pei Liang shook her head. “No, that’s not it. It’s because my Fourth Cousin once said that if I ever amounted to anything, he would eat shit right in front of me.”
“My Fourth Cousin crossed an entire star system to come back and fulfill his promise. Honestly, I don’t even know what to say.”
Pei Liang put on a deeply moved expression, as if to say: What a true man my Fourth Cousin is.
