Chapter 15: You're His Only Remnant for Me

By the time Zhan Xing followed Shao Ye into the machine factory, the bodyguards—battered and humiliated by him the night before—stood trembling at the entrance, their faces pale with unease.

At the mere sight of Lu Zhanxing, their legs involuntarily quivered. A visceral, gut-wrenching fear gripped them so tightly that they’d have bolted on the spot, were it not for their boss lingering in the background. Trapped by obligation, they suppressed their terror, awaiting orders.

Shao Ye’s fury ignited the moment he spotted Boss Bai waiting by the gates. The man who once commanded a fraction of his respect was now nothing more than a stain he couldn’t quite erase. Shao Ye’s jaw tightened, his silence sharp as a blade, his demeanor colder than the steel machinery surrounding them.

Boss Bai, however, wore his usual irritating, self-assured smile, pretending as if nothing was amiss. "Ah, Ye, are you feeling better? You gave us all a scare when you collapsed yesterday. I was genuinely worried about your health, you know."

Worried?

The word boiled in Shao Ye’s head like venom. If his glare could flay skin, Boss Bai would’ve been nothing but raw nerve and sinew by now. He almost spat out “shameless bastard” but clenched his teeth just in time.

With Lu Zhanxing standing firmly by his side, Shao Ye found his voice brimming with a confidence that bordered on derision. “Thanks to my… husband’s care last night, I’ve recovered just fine,” he said, his words barbed and unapologetic.

Boss Bai’s hand gripped his cane so hard his knuckles turned bone-white, the protruding joints betraying his rage. Yet, he forced his smirk to stay in place, a twisted mask of strained civility. “Good, good. That’s a relief.”

Shao Ye slid his hands into his pockets, his stance dripping with defiance. “Cut the charades, Boss Bai. Let’s not waste time dancing around. We both know what’s keeping you up at night—your shipment or me. Either way, you need my help to find my sister. Rest easy, I’ll have it done before month’s end. Even if an asteroid obliterates this planet, I’ll finish the damn job.”

Boss Bai sighed, an exaggerated gesture that reeked of theatrics. “Ah, Ye, have I really become so untrustworthy in your eyes? When I say I care about you, I mean it. You’re far more valuable to me than any shipment.”

Shao Ye’s sharp laugh cut through the air like a whip. “Don’t insult my intelligence. I used to think you deserved some respect for taking me in during my worst days, giving me a chance to learn, to stand on my own. But now? It’s crystal clear you only invested in me for your own gain. A pawn in your grand scheme.”

Boss Bai’s face faltered, the flicker of genuine disappointment creeping into his otherwise unyielding facade. “So, that’s what I’ve always been to you?” he murmured.

“You’re a businessman, Boss Bai,” Shao Ye replied coolly. “Do what you will with me; I don’t care. Just spare me the sentiment. It’s revolting.”

With that, Shao Ye turned on his heel, striding decisively into the factory without waiting for a response. Lu Zhanxing followed, pausing just long enough to shoot Boss Bai a glare colder than winter steel. Then he, too, vanished inside, leaving Boss Bai standing in silence.

A low tremor coursed through Boss Bai’s frame as his composure cracked. With a feral growl, he hurled his cane to the ground, the clatter echoing in the stillness. His bodyguards recoiled, their heads bowing lower, unwilling to risk catching his gaze.

“Prepare the car. We’re going to the lab,” Boss Bai snapped, his voice jagged with restrained fury.

Hours later, they arrived at a covert laboratory hidden beneath the ocean’s depths. The space was encased in reinforced, pressure-resistant glass that offered a panoramic view of the deep, haunting blue beyond. Shadows danced in the faint glow of passing marine life, each movement amplifying the eerie serenity of the scene.

Boss Bai stood before the massive glass wall, his figure stark and solitary against the expanse of the ocean. There was an unmistakable hollowness to his presence, as though the weight of his ambitions had eroded something vital within him.

“Boss, the E001 specimen has been delivered,” one of the guards announced, accompanied by white-coated researchers carefully wheeling in a cryogenic chamber.

Inside, the muted hum of machinery and the sterile gleam of polished metal imbued the lab with an oppressive air. It was a space where dreams and deceit intertwined into a suffocating web.

“Leave,” Boss Bai commanded, his tone dismissive as he rested a hand on the chamber’s cool surface. The researchers hesitated.

“Sir,” one ventured nervously, “the subject is still volatile. It’s critical for your safety that you—”

“I said leave.” His words snapped like a whip, scattering them from the room.

Alone, Boss Bai’s hand lingered on the glass, his gaze locked on the girl suspended within. Her features were strikingly familiar, a haunting echo of someone he once cherished. She lay there, still and ethereal, like a fairy ensnared in an unyielding prison.

“Shao Lan,” he murmured, his voice barely audible. “Your brother’s back. He’s tearing apart the world looking for you.”

A subtle flutter of her eyelashes sent a shock through the room. The monitors attached to the chamber began to beep, registering an irregular heartbeat. The tension in the air thickened, a silent promise of chaos yet to come.

“Feeling good, are you?” Boss Bai’s voice carried an edge, a wicked little curl at the corners of his mouth. “I’m glad you’re happy. Hell, I’m happy too. Shame, though, isn’t it? He brought another man with him. Left us in the dust.”

The warning from the monitoring device shrieked, a jagged, slicing sound. Inside the containment pod, the girl thrashed violently, her body bucking against the restraints like a feral beast losing its grip on reality. Her movements grew wild, untamed, almost animalistic.

“Shao Lan,” Bai’s tone softened into something unsettlingly personal, ignoring the alarms. He dragged his fingers slowly across the pod’s glass, sketching the outline of her face as if savoring every curve. “Do you know why I sent you to the rebels' lab myself, then paid a king’s ransom to get you back? Because you and he… you’re too damn alike. After Ah Ye disappeared, you became my only thread to him. I thought, maybe, I’d treat you well—hell, you’re still a girl. But you couldn’t even split into an Omega, could you? No, you had to become an Alpha.”

His expression twisted, something monstrous surfacing in his features. Fury boiled behind his eyes, and his fists slammed into the glass with a thunderous crash. The sharp sound reverberated through the lab, a chaotic symphony to his anger.

The girl’s eyes snapped open, blood-red and glinting with an almost predatory focus. That gaze wasn’t human—it cut through the air, piercing straight into Bai’s soul. He froze for a heartbeat, rattled despite himself.

But the smirk returned, brittle and sharp. “You don’t even look like him anymore. He’s softened since then. Oh, he’s still sweet, but only for that liar.”

The girl’s glare didn’t waver, locking onto him with a pressure that felt physical, suffocating. It was a raw, visceral dominance, more terrifying than the pheromones of any Alpha. But Bai dismissed it—she was still behind glass, still bound, still nothing more than a cornered animal.

He carried on, his voice like venom dripping from a blade. “Shao Lan, did you know? Your dear brother turned out to be a rare, prime Omega. Didn’t see that one coming, did you? Fate’s a bastard, isn’t it? And those rebel scientists I saved from that hellhole of a prison? Useless. Two years, and they couldn’t rewire you into an Omega. Pathetic.”

Caught up in his rant, Bai didn’t notice the spiderweb crack forming on the pod’s glass.

“When I saw your brother again, I considered letting you go. But he disappointed me. And when someone pisses me off…” He let the words hang, his smirk widening. “Well, his precious little sister? She’s staying right here. Don’t you think that’s fair?”

He turned back toward the pod, triumphant—only to freeze.

His face drained of color, fear clawing at him.

The shrill alarm cut off abruptly, replaced by the sound of shattering glass and sloshing liquid. She stepped out of the pod, unshackled and utterly naked, her body trembling as if barely containing its raw, terrifying power.

Her movements were deliberate, each step echoing with a foreboding rhythm. She advanced, her dripping hair clinging to her face, evoking the haunting memory of when Bai first met her in the rain. But the vulnerability was gone. Now, there was only feral, predatory intensity in her eyes—a promise of reckoning.

Bai’s breath hitched, his chest tight with a suffocating dread. He had made a mistake. A catastrophic, irredeemable mistake.

*

Meanwhile, in the machine factory, Shao Ye finally completed assembling the Alliance’s third-generation mecha replica. He handed the design blueprints and production codes over to Bai’s assistant, a nameless drone with an uncanny air of detachment.

“Where’s your boss?” Shao Ye asked, wiping the sweat from his brow. “He made such a fuss over this project. Why isn’t he here?”

The assistant’s reply was cold, mechanical. “The boss is attending to urgent matters. He will be informed immediately. In the meantime, Mr. Shao, you are free to take the month off. We’ll contact you if production requires troubleshooting.”

Shao Ye’s lips tightened, his suspicion flickering. “Pass a message along. Tell him he’d better keep his promise.”

Without waiting for acknowledgment, Shao Ye left the facility with Lu Zhanxing at his side.

That night, sleep came fitfully, dragging Shao Ye into a vivid nightmare.

In his dream, he stood before the laboratory’s containment pod. His sister, floating in a sea of tubes and viscous liquid, appeared eerily calm. He rushed to her side, hands fumbling to free her from the cruel apparatus.

“Shao Lan, I found you,” his voice broke, trembling with relief. “It’s me, your brother. I’m here.”

Her eyes fluttered open, but recognition didn’t come. Instead, her hand shot out, gripping his throat with inhuman strength. In one fluid motion, she hoisted him into the air.

“Shao Lan! Stop!” His voice cracked as his vision blurred. “It’s me… your brother. Don’t you know me?”

A figure emerged from the shadows—Bai. He watched the scene unfold with a perverse calm, twirling a strand of Shao Lan’s hair around his finger. “She’s mine now, Shao Ye. This is what defiance gets you.”

The dream ended with her grip tightening, and Shao Ye jolted awake, drenched in sweat.

“Another nightmare?” Lu Zhanxing’s voice cut through the dark, steadying.

Shao Ye nodded, his throat dry. He took a sip of water, staring into the void. “A nightmare… but it felt too real.”