HOLM : Chapter 35

Bang, bang, bang!  

Urgent knocks rang out, failing to wake the unconscious man lying in bed.  

The door was soon flung open as someone rushed in and grabbed Chu Shiye by the shoulders.  

“Wake up! Wake up!”  

It was Kane, shaking Chu Shiye frantically and shouting at the top of his lungs.  

Chu Shiye’s eyes remained tightly shut, his brows furrowed as if he were trapped in a nightmare. Even after Kane’s relentless shouting, only one low, hoarse word escaped his lips:  

“…Su Lan.”  

Kane leaned in, his expression turning panicked. “Still sleeping, huh? The person you’re dreaming about is about to be stolen away by someone else!”  

Still no reaction from Chu Shiye.  

Kane clicked his tongue in frustration, then leaned down and yelled directly into Chu Shiye’s ear:  

“SU LAN RAN OFF WITH SOMEONE ELSE!!”  

At the exact same moment, Chu Shiye’s eyes flew open, and he grabbed Kane’s arm in a crushing grip.  

“Ow! Damn it, let go! That hurts!” Kane’s face twisted in pain.  

Chu Shiye didn’t speak.  

His gaze was clouded, his pupils dark and hazy, as though his mind were still lost in a foggy dreamscape. Kane’s words seemed distant, muffled, as if filtered through another layer of reality.  

The only thing that seemed to reach him was the name “Su Lan.”  

Had Ji Mian been present, he would have immediately noticed the telltale signs of Chu Shiye’s mental energy spiraling out of control again—a dangerous state that required immediate intervention.  

But after a few seconds, as if by sheer willpower, Chu Shiye managed to claw back his consciousness inch by inch, pulling himself back from the brink of chaos.  

His eyes gradually regained clarity, and he loosened his grip on Kane’s arm.  

Kane rubbed his sore arm, scowling. “Why the hell are you so strong? I’m not some… lover you’re jealous of—ugh, forget it!”  

“Where’s Su Lan?” Chu Shiye’s voice was hoarse and weak, his energy drained.  

Kane pulled out his communicator, showing him a message from Ji Mian:  

[The city lord summoned me. Please take care of Chu Shiye for me.]  

For a moment, Chu Shiye’s sluggish mind failed to process the message. But as soon as the meaning clicked, his expression changed dramatically.  

He immediately tried to get up but moved too quickly and collapsed onto the floor.  

“Whoa, whoa!” Kane lunged forward but barely managed to catch him. “What’s wrong with you? Are you sick? You look terrible!”  

Chu Shiye didn’t answer.  

Pain tore through his head, sharp and relentless, like a dull axe hacking away at his skull. His body felt like it was being crushed under a grinding stone, every nerve screaming in agony.  

Cold sweat poured down his face, soaking his clothes in mere moments.  

His eyes clenched shut, and it took everything he had to force them open again.  

“Take me there.”  

The words were squeezed out between gritted teeth, heavy with determination.  

Kane hesitated. “No, wait. You need to rest. This isn’t normal. Is your mental energy out of control again? Su Lan told me to look after you. If you die before he gets back, what am I supposed to do? Let me call a doctor—”  

Before he could finish, Chu Shiye’s icy hand grabbed his arm again, even tighter than before.  

Bloodshot eyes stared up at him, and deep within those pupils, a crimson glow flickered ominously.  

“Take me there,” Chu Shiye repeated, his voice low and chilling.  

—

“Care to guess what’s in this tea?”  

Tansen’s smug voice echoed in the room, but Ji Mian’s dark eyes remained calm, unfazed.  

“A mental suppression agent.”  

Tansen blinked, momentarily surprised. He quickly recovered, letting out a laugh. “So you know. And yet, you still dlevel it. Not very bright, are you?”  

Leaning back lazily, he added, “Or maybe… you’ve already accepted your fate?”  

Ji Mian’s voice remained steady. “I’m curious. I don’t recall crossing paths with you before. Why go to all this trouble for me?”  

Tansen laughed heartily, his fingers adorned with glittering rings tapping rhythmically against the armrest.  

“I have a habit of collecting beautiful things.”  

His eyes roamed over Ji Mian with shameless greed, lingering on the pale skin of his neck exposed beneath the inky black hair.  

“And you, dear Omega, just happen to be a particularly exquisite specimen.”  

Tansen’s words dripped with malice. “Strong? Sure, that’s what Fu Zeren said. But what can an Omega with suppressed mental energy really do? At the end of the day, you’re just an Omega—destined to rely on Alphas.”  

Ji Mian’s expression remained placid, the insults sliding off him like water off a duck’s back.  

“It’s strange,” Ji Mian said lightly. “You don’t even know my background, yet you dare to make a move against me?”  

Tansen sneered. “This is a backwater planet. I’ve cut off all external communication, grounded all incoming and outgoing ships. Here, I am king.”  

His tone grew more arrogant. “In a place like this, no one will care if an Omega goes missing.”  

Ji Mian tilted his head slightly. “I see.”  

Tansen loomed closer, his heavy fur coat casting a shadow over Ji Mian.  

“Don’t worry,” Tansen murmured, his voice sickly sweet. “I’ll treat you well. We have all night before the drug wears off…”  

Ji Mian lifted his gaze, his dark eyes meeting Tansen’s with cold clarity.  

“There’s one thing you’re wrong about,” he said softly.  

Before Tansen could react, Ji Mian’s hand shot out, gripping his wrist with surprising strength.  

The black depths of Ji Mian’s eyes gave way to a brilliant, icy blue glow, like a tidal wave crashing through the darkness.  

“Why would you think that drug works on me?”  

—

Outside the high-rise, a few bored bodyguards loitered near the entrance, half-asleep.  

Suddenly, one of them—a shorter man—stiffened. “Who’s there?”  

In the shadowy doorway, a figure emerged—a young man with dark hair and deep brown eyes, his gaze cold and bottomless.  

The shorter guard tensed. “Who are you? How did you get in here?”  

The taller guard next to him snorted. “Oh, I know him. Chu Shiye, that E-level weakling.”  

He sauntered forward, grinning mockingly. “I bet he’s here for that pretty Omega we just brought in.”  

The other guards burst into laughter.  

“Too late, buddy! Your little beauty is probably already warming the city lord’s bed.”  

“Yeah, no need to bother. That Omega won’t be walking straight for days! Hahaha!”  

The laughter died instantly when Chu Shiye’s eyes narrowed, the crimson glow deepening, and an overwhelming wave of killing intent radiated out like a storm. 

—

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of mocking laughter pierced Chu Shiye’s ears like needles. His grip on the short blade in his hand tightened, and the crimson lines in his bloodshot eyes churned like turbulent waters, cold and terrifying.

“Trying to play the hero, huh?” sneered the tall guard. “Think you’ve got what it takes? Guys, take him down!”

“Wait!” The shorter guard grabbed his companion’s arm, looking panicked. “Don’t underestimate him! He defeated Berg before. Don’t let your guard down!”

“It was just luck!” the tall guard scoffed. “At the end of the day, he’s just an E-levell loser. What, are you scared?”

The shorter guard couldn’t take his eyes off Chu Shiye. “No, but… don’t you see? Something’s wrong with him. It’s like… it’s like he’s not human anymore.”

His words were almost drowned out by his trembling voice.

Looking into Chu Shiye’s blood-filled eyes was like staring into the abyss—a primal fear gripped him, making his legs weak.

“Don’t be stupid!” the tall guard shook him off impatiently. “If we let him through, the city lord won’t let us live! Attack! Beat him to death!”

“Where is everyone?! Stop him! Don’t let him get to me!!”

High above, in the chaos of panicked footsteps, a single figure stumbled desperately, leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

Tansen, the city lord, dragged his battered body toward the elevator, his broken fingers trembling as they mashed the buttons. Every few seconds, he glanced back, his twisted face drenched in terror.

The screams behind him grew louder, closer. The elevator ascended painfully slowly, floor numbers lighting up one by one. Tansen’s voice cracked with desperation.

“Faster! Please, faster!”

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open, and for a moment, light filled Tansen’s dimmed world.

Relief surged through him like a dying man spotting salvation—

But then, a cold hand fell on his shoulder.

Tansen froze.

In the reflection of the elevator doors, he saw the blood-streaked face of the young man standing behind him.

“No…”

The elevator doors closed again, sealing off his last glimmer of hope.

Tansen turned slowly, trembling as he faced the man who now smiled faintly at him—a smile colder than winter frost.

“P-please…” he stammered, falling to his knees. “I was wrong! I’ll never mess with you again, I swear! Just spare me!”

He began banging his forehead against the ground, his desperate pleas accompanied by the sickening sound of bone against stone. Blood pooled on the floor beneath him.

A cool, emotionless voice echoed through the air:

“You’d better keep quiet about me. About everything.”

Tansen opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He could only stare, wide-eyed, as the young man leaned slightly closer.

“Because on a planet this isolated, where news can’t get out and no ships can come in… would anyone really care if one so-called city lord went missing?”

Tansen’s face drained of color.

Downstairs, the lobby was in chaos.

Guards lay sprawled across the ground, groaning in pain, their bodies bruised and broken.

Amid the carnage stood Chu Shiye, drenched in blood, his eyes blazing with crimson light. He looked like a blade drawn and ready to strike again.

The tall guard, trembling, tried to crawl away but was stopped by a boot pressing firmly on his back.

“Where is he?” Chu Shiye’s voice was cold, emotionless.

“H-he’s… he’s…” The guard broke into sobs, unable to finish.

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a young man stepping out as if taking a leisurely stroll. His eyes swept over the scene before him, pausing only briefly on the blood-soaked figure in the center.

Chu Shiye turned sharply at the sound, his muddied vision locking onto that one familiar silhouette.

Even through the haze of pain and fury, that image struck like a ray of light cutting through the darkness.

Su Lan.

Perfectly unharmed, standing right there.

A thousand thoughts swirled in Chu Shiye’s mind, but only one mattered: Is he hurt?

The moment Ji Mian appeared, everything else disappeared. Chu Shiye’s focus narrowed to a single point—he couldn’t even bring himself to look at anyone else.

He took one step forward, then hesitated.

They called me a monster, he thought.

Would Su Lan think the same?

Chu Shiye glanced down at himself. His hands and clothes were drenched in blood, sticky and filthy.

He hates messes… Will he hate me now?

Suddenly, all the energy seemed to drain from his body, his shoulders sagging. He shuffled forward slowly, looking more like a defeated animal than a dangerous predator.

Stopping just in front of Ji Mian, he lowered his head.

Before Ji Mian could say anything, Chu Shiye murmured softly, almost like a child:

“My head hurts.”

Ji Mian’s brows furrowed in concern. “What did they do—”

Chu Shiye cut him off, his voice tinged with quiet grievance:

“They bullied me.”

The guards strewn across the floor were collectively struck dumb.

“???”

Who’s bullying who here?!

Ji Mian’s eyes darkened instantly, his gaze turning sharp as a blade. “I see.”

His icy stare swept over the guards, freezing them in place. “I’ll handle it.”

The guards paled further.

“???! Why do you believe him so easily?!?”

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