Eight

Number 17 raised his head again, blood already running down his chin. The crew-cut Alpha had him pinned in a corner, hammering punches at his face, but Number 17 only raised his arms to block, not fighting back. He Wei looked left and right, then delivered his verdict: 'Number 17's soul left his body today.'

'They're showcasing a new fighter.' Gu Yunchi said. 'Every time a newcomer arrives, the first match is against Number 17.'

The entire match, Number 17 barely threw a punch. When the referee stepped in to call it, he lay quietly beneath the fence, his face covered in blood. The crew-cut Alpha was still planning to land a few more on his head, but the referee stopped him — it was an exhibition match, after all, no need to go too far.

The crew-cut Alpha stood at the center of the Octagon Cage, raised his fist in a winner's pose, chin lifted as he surveyed the room before leaving. Number 17 lay on the mat for a while, then slowly sat up. Almost unconsciously, he glanced toward the audience again.

His face paint and blood had mingled into one, wretched beyond description, his cheeks already swollen so badly he was barely recognizable. Lu Heyang sat more than a meter above the Octagon Cage, looking down at a slight angle. Through the black wire mesh, Number 17 sat inside like a cornered beast with its claws and fangs broken. Their gazes crossed from a distance for half a second, and Number 17 turned his head away with effort.

The referee bent down to ask him a few questions. Number 17 shook his head, hooked his fingers around the fence and stood. His nosebleed was still running. With stiff movements, he wiped his mouth and chin, then walked out of the Octagon Cage with his head lowered.

'What a waste.' He Wei looked genuinely regretful. 'Number 17 could clearly have won, but lost like this — his acting is terrible.'

'He really wasn't in it today.' Gu Yunchi observed.

Lu Heyang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked, 'When did he come here?'

'Last year, I heard.' Gu Yunchi took a sip of his drink. 'He used to fight at other venues.'

Number 17's back disappeared into the tunnel. Lu Heyang pulled his gaze back, opened his Mobile Phone, his fingertip sliding across the screen, pausing on a message for a few seconds. Then he turned the screen off and said, 'I'm going out to make a call.'

He Wei let out a mischievous cackle. 'Who is it? An Omega?'

Lu Heyang stood up, perfectly composed. 'Mm.'

After walking around the Underground Club, Lu Heyang realized there was no quiet place suitable for a phone call. He wasn't entirely sure where he'd wandered to; an elevator stood before him. Lu Heyang pressed the button at random and stepped in. First floor — the doors opened, and he stepped out, crossing a short corridor to the outside of the building.

A narrow alley, the streetlight dim and yellow. Lu Heyang stood against the wall, dialed a number, and after about ten seconds, the call connected.

A mature female voice came through. 'Out having fun?'

'Mm.'

'I heard since He Wei came back, he's been dragging you out to play every day.'

Lu Heyang laughed softly. 'Before he came back, Yun Chi and I went out to play often too.'

'Go to Luan Mountain tomorrow at noon?' The Omega let out a very soft breath. 'My flight lands in the early morning.'

'Go.' Lu Heyang paused, then said, 'Stop smoking.'

'Nothing I can do, don't want to quit.' The Omega's voice sounded weary. 'Going to sleep now. Get home early. Good night.'

'Good night.'

After hanging up, Lu Heyang remained where he stood, watching two Alphas walking toward him.

The building's side door was right beside him — the place he'd just walked out from — but Lu Heyang caught in his peripheral vision that an Alpha had already blocked that way.

Lu Heyang now had a rather concrete understanding of what 'rough' meant in Chengxi.

A wall at his back, three Alphas cutting him off front, left, and right — a practiced, well-rehearsed pincer. Unless Lu Heyang could take on three at once, there was no way out.

But regardless of whether he had the ability, Lu Heyang had no intention of fighting three at once. Against three thugs of unknown origin carrying knives and clubs, going head-on was no wise move. From the upbringing he, He Wei, Gu Yunchi and the rest of them had received since childhood, hot-headed displays of bravado were the stupidest possible behavior. What had happened had happened — the most important thing now was to figure out how to keep himself safe.

'That Wristband's gotta be worth ten or twenty thousand, yeah?' The blond-haired Alpha at the head of them looked Lu Heyang up and down, then glanced at his wrist, confirming this was some pampered rich kid. He said with amusement, 'Where'd you wander out from, little young master? Got your wallet on you?'

Lu Heyang said nothing, pulling his wallet from his trouser pocket. He and He Wei and the others had a habit — when they went out, they generally didn't bring cards, only cash, and the Mobile Phone they carried was a backup one with nothing important in it; if it got lost or stolen, it didn't matter.

Another Alpha snatched the wallet from Lu Heyang's hand, opened it for a look, took all the bills out, then rifled through it and asked, 'Where's your card?'

Lu Heyang was about to answer when, to his left — over by the side door — a sudden sound. In the space of a blink, the Alpha standing on Lu Heyang's left let out a grunt, and a long, powerful hand appeared around his neck.

An Alpha in a black hoodie moved with startling speed to shield Lu Heyang, his jacket hood pulled up over his head, tall and lean. Lu Heyang heard him say coldly, 'Give the money back to him.'

The Alpha with the hand around his neck froze on the spot. The blond one beside him spat a curse, his knife tip pointing straight at the Alpha in black. 'Who the hell are you? Mind your own damn business?'

Another Alpha reached for his phone. Lu Heyang knew he was about to call for backup, so he said, 'No card. Only brought cash.'

He patted the black-hooded Alpha's shoulder lightly. The other man was sharp enough to grasp his meaning at once, released the Alpha's neck, stepped back half a pace, still shielding him.

Seeing they had the upper hand again, the blond one scoffed, pointed his knife at Lu Heyang. 'Get against the wall and squat. Take off the Wristband. And the phone. Hand them all over.'

'Give you the stuff and let us go.' Lu Heyang said calmly. 'That's all I brought.'

'Tch — told you to squat, so squat.' The Alpha on the right impatiently thrust out a leg to kick Lu Heyang's knee, trying to force him down.

Before that foot even brushed Lu Heyang's trousers, the Alpha in black suddenly, without warning, stomped hard down on the man's shin, then immediately followed with a spinning elbow strike, sending him crashing to the ground, curled up and screaming, his club rolling a meter away.

His movements were astonishingly fast, his skill professional and athletic. Seeing this, the other two thugs turned and bolted toward the alley's mouth. The Alpha in black moved with sharp reflexes, caught one of them, drove a fist into his nose bridge, then grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. He turned back to deal with the last one, only to find Lu Heyang had already pinned that Alpha to the ground and kicked the knife into a corner.

'South gate, send people!' The first one to fall had somehow gotten a call through at some point, screaming at the top of his lungs.

'Let's go.' Lu Heyang said.

The Alpha in black instead turned back, hauled up the one cowering against the wall, and said in a low voice, 'The money.'

The man, trembling, handed over Lu Heyang's money. The moment the Alpha in black got the cash, Lu Heyang grabbed his hand and started running forward. 'Forget the money.'

Lu Heyang was pulling the Alpha in black toward the side door when the other man tugged him back. 'They'll come out from inside.'

He reversed his grip and pulled Lu Heyang toward the other end of the alley. On a summer night, the empty lane behind the building — never touched by sunlight — carried a cool, damp, musty air. The dim yellow light and shadows swayed violently with their footsteps. Lu Heyang looked at the Alpha ahead of him; the hood over his head bounced with the motion but never slipped off.

After two or three turns, the Alpha led Lu Heyang into a cramped little room, shut the battered door behind them, and carefully locked it.

Both of them were trying to control their breathing, but after such exertion it wasn't easy to settle. Their panting sounded heavy in the dark. The little room seemed stuffed full of things, leaving only a small space for the two of them. They stood face to face, very close. Lu Heyang caught a faint smell of blood on the other man, and a very light Alpha Pheromone.

'Are you hurt?' Lu Heyang asked softly, suddenly.

The Alpha had been focused entirely on listening for sounds outside, and only when Lu Heyang spoke did he seem to realize how close they were standing. He instinctively tried to step back, but immediately bumped into something with a muffled thud.

Lu Heyang tugged at his sleeve. 'Careful.'

After a silence, the Alpha answered, 'No.'

'Thank you.' Lu Heyang said.

Another silence fell, their breaths tangled together. Lu Heyang could feel the other man was in a state of extreme discomfort. After a full half minute, the Alpha finally said, 'Your phone must be important. It shouldn't have been taken.'

'It is important, so thank you.' His eyes gradually adjusting to the dark, Lu Heyang could see the pointed top of the other's hood, but the Alpha's face was completely hidden within it.

A rustling sound, and something was pressed into Lu Heyang's hand — the crumpled roll of cash.

'Your money.' The Alpha said.

His fingertips brushed across Lu Heyang's palm, cool to the touch. When Lu Heyang closed his hand around the roll of bills, he accidentally caught part of the Alpha's fingers as well — only the briefest contact — but Lu Heyang heard the other's breath catch and scatter in an instant, unnervingly clear in their current surroundings, especially with how close they stood.

At a moment like this, Lu Heyang called out to him: 'Number 17.'

The rapid breathing stalled for two seconds, then became even more disordered.

The chirping of insects drifted in faintly from somewhere, and a thin line of light seeped in through the gap beneath the door.

'Mm.'

A long time later, what answered Lu Heyang was a single word — low and hoarse.