Chapter 21

Feng Ran changed her clothes and ran out of the house, still feeling a little uneasy. She was the one who wanted to test Shen Shiqian, so why did she feel resistant to Shen Shiqian like that? Was it because she didn't like him? It was just an act. She had been insincere to others before.

But more than fear or disgust, Feng Ran's most direct feeling at that moment was pain, as if something was tearing her heart apart, overflowing with endless coldness and darkness that swallowed her.

It was as if she was resisting, resisting Shen Shiqian's love for her. This resistance had nothing to do with emotional likes or dislikes, because she would feel this resistance sometimes when she was with Luo Le.

Does Shen Shiqian like her?

Feng Ran found it hard to believe, especially since Shen Shiqian called her "Feng Ran," not the Ran Ran she knew. What exactly did he see and think at that moment? Feng Ran was suspicious of the "Feng Ran" Shen Shiqian spoke of. She knew far too little about Shen Shiqian; this was the first time she had encountered such a complex person. She couldn't trust him blindly, especially since even though she had clearly rejected him, he didn't seem inclined to let her go.

She couldn't understand, nor did she want to accept, that this kind of entanglement had to be categorized as liking or loving.

There were very few places Fengran could go after leaving home, so in the end he hopped on a special bus to Fengting.

There's been no real progress on setting up the lab yet. Customizing large, specialized equipment takes time, but the smaller, standard equipment arrived yesterday. So, Fran started looking at her research materials late at night. It's good that he's motivated, but it's unforgivable that he's disturbing Feng Ran's precious rest time.

Following the robot's guidance, Feng Ran went directly to the largest room on the second floor. Because of the lack of furniture, Fran was sitting on the floor. All the equipment was placed on the only operating table, and a lot of printed paper documents were spread on the floor, making it look extremely messy.

Feng Ran: "Which one do you plan to study first?"

Fran didn't notice Feng Ran's arrival. Hearing the voice, he was startled. He looked up and saw that Feng Ran looked somewhat resistant. He took out a clip from his dirty white coat and put it on his nose. He replied in a muffled voice, "It's the effect of the mental energy drug. I want to see if I can create a real physical breakthrough drug."

His actions reignited Feng Ran's lingering anger. She had only changed her clothes in her haste to leave without showering, so there was inevitably a trace of bitter chocolate pheromones on her. She raised an eyebrow: "Does it smell bad?"

Logically speaking, Shen Shiqian is also a 3S-level Alpha. Although everyone's pheromone scent will be different due to different compatibility levels, the base values ​​between AOs are higher than those between A. Fran's reaction should be more positive. Could it be that the B-level and 3S-level are not a good match? But that shouldn't be the case. Feng Ran feels that he is quite sensitive to his own pheromones.

Fran looked at her with a complicated expression: "Like benzodiazepine, taste is linked to smell, but this can already be considered pain." He muttered to himself, "What's so good about this kind of thing?"

Feng Ran finally understood why Xi Sen had turned into that awful state the last time Shen Shiqian went into a false heat. She had no idea that the smell would be so intense for others. She then secretly released some pheromones to dilute and cover up the smell on her body.

Are you feeling better now?

Fran twitched his nose with the clip on it. Feng Ran didn't know if it was clear or not, but it seemed like he often wore it like that, and his nose was very straight, almost straight enough to slide down.

The stuffy air became lighter, as if snowflakes were brushing against their faces. Fran took off the clip: "I really can't smell it anymore. Is your pheromone coverage ability that strong? What level is it?"

Fengran: "SSS level".

The level and pressure of pheromones are determined by mental strength. Over the years, she has overdrawn her mental strength and taken various supplements, which is like some kind of Spartan training. Perhaps she has exceeded the upper limit of the SSS rating.

Fran gasped, "Really?"

Feng Ran: "Of course, the bitter essence smell you just smelled is also SSS level, but there may not have been much left so you couldn't feel it very clearly."

"Where does the Empire get so many SSS-class shards? It's said to be a once-in-a-century occurrence, so there are only..." As he spoke, his eyes widened, and he looked at Feng Ran in horror.

Feng Ran nodded frankly, confirming his guess: "That's right, it's Shen Shiqian's."

Fran blurted out, "What type do you like?"

There was so much bombshell information that Fran felt his brain was spinning from staying up all night and couldn't quite process it all. For a moment, he didn't know which of the various pieces of information was important. It seemed that ever since he met Feng Ran, he had been constantly being frightened.

Feng Ran walked over and picked up the documents he had scattered on the ground, saying calmly, "I don't like them." As she said this, a jumble of images flashed through her mind, as well as the scenes of Shen Shiqian looking at her with deep affection and speaking to her softly these past few days.

Feng Ran forcibly suppressed the strange feeling in her heart and ignored the images and memories that surfaced. She thought unhappily, so what if Shen Shiqian likes her? She doesn't like Shen Shiqian. Although according to Luo Le, it is indeed a bit tricky for an Alpha to like wallpaper love, don't compare her to an ordinary Omega.

Feng Ran has a slight case of mysophobia and can't sit on the floor as casually as Fran, but the only piece of furniture, the workbench, is full of equipment and instruments, so she can only squat down to look at the documents.

Fran is a very talented person in the field of potion making, but he is obviously not well-educated. He can come up with many different ideas and uses for each experimental potion, and propose one possible conjecture and verification direction after another. He is especially patient, even like a human machine, but he lacks some solid professional knowledge and basic cultural knowledge. As he writes, he always circles some terms and marks them with explanations, and there are even spelling errors in some words.

When Feng Ran first read Fran's research report on 9312, he thought it was just average academic research and didn't intend to keep him. However, he didn't expect that the rigid academic paper format was completely out of line with Fran's research style, so it seems that most of Fran's professional knowledge was self-taught.

Just as Feng Ran was pondering whether rearranging the experimental drug combination might make the enhancement of mental strength more pronounced, Fran slammed his hands on the ground and exclaimed, "No way!"

Fran looked up at her expectantly again: "You're definitely more than SSS level! Even an A-level Alpha's pheromones can only cover two-thirds of a B-level Alpha's pheromones. How can you two, who are of the same level, achieve complete coverage?"

Feng Ran: "The evaluation system for mental strength after reaching S-level is different from that for ordinary people. The more difficult the improvement, the more completely crushed it, right?"

Fran: "That can't be completely erased. Even S-rank will have a small amount of residue left when facing A-rank, but I can't feel it at all on you."

Feng Ran squinted and thought for a moment: "What if I took relevant drugs and had long-term training that provided benefits?"

Fran was very alert and sensitive in this regard: "The improvement brought by drugs and training is minimal, and it is impossible to have a leapfrog effect. According to you, Shen Shiqian has been active in the interstellar battlefield, and his mental training may not be less than yours."

Feng Ran was about to scoff and say that wasn't necessarily true, but then he heard Fran say, "Are you not sensitive to pheromones?"

Feng Ran stopped, put down the documents in his hand, stood up, and looked down at him: "So what if it is?"

Fran: "I'm the opposite of you. I'm very sensitive to pheromones." He then knelt on the ground in a more comfortable position. "Yesterday was the same. Your pheromones had a very obvious effect on my disordered symptoms. Even today, when I smelled the pheromones of two 3S-level Alphas, I didn't have a particularly obvious fever reaction. Logically speaking, I should still be in heat, but this state has completely stabilized."

After rambling on for a while, he finally scratched his head, looking a little guilty, and said, "I think your pheromones should have a restraining effect on other pheromones."

The research subject has shifted to Feng Ran herself. Fran was worried that she would be angry, but she wasn't. Feng Ran maintained absolute rationality when it came to research-related matters.

Feng Ran pondered for a long time: "Then how do you explain the existence of special individuals?"

But she only said one sentence and then stopped talking. She had only released pheromones to a few people. Shen Shiqian was highly compatible with her and would always fall into a false heat. Basil's pheromones had the opposite effect on her, but if she deliberately provoked him, Basil would also easily react. Fran was an Omega, so that was another matter.

As for the reactions of the two Alphas, Feng Ran didn't really understand how Alphas actually dated. After all, if they couldn't be marked, they would just kiss each other. She had just given Shen Shiqian a simple mark but hadn't had time to observe whether it worked. Logically, it should be normal if it didn't work. Marking between Alphas goes against their instincts, so they should both be in pain. But she didn't pay attention to Shen Shiqian's expression.

Basil's reaction was completely unlike what one would expect from restraint. Of course, there was also the reason that her pheromone level was higher than Basil's, which might have made people feel good. Basil is a special individual with a counter-effect. Their compatibility has not been checked and is unknown, but his pheromones have never gone out of control in front of Feng Ran. If this can be considered a kind of restraint, then Fran's statement is also valid.

Feng Ran: "I can agree with your point of view for the time being, but if it is a special effect, based on the special individuals I have encountered so far, their pheromones have a very weak effect. I still think there are many unreasonable aspects to the complete suppression of other people's pheromones."

Fran's eyes widened: "You think my pheromones aren't very effective?" But he quickly added in a self-comforting tone: "That's because you're not sensitive enough and you have a restraining effect. Seriously, how insensitive are you? Would you even react to highly compatible pheromones?"

Feng Ran: "No."

Fran: "That doesn't seem right, what about the vulnerable period?"

Fengran: "The symptoms of the susceptible period are not very obvious to me. Except when I first differentiated, I can basically control myself now. If my emotions fluctuate greatly, I can take an injection of inhibitor."

Fran: "What is self-control?"

Feng Ran: "Just control yourself and don't let it show. Other symptoms are just like a cold, fever, or sneezing."

Fran: "This is definitely not normal, is it?"

Feng Ran: "Really?"

Feng Ran had never seen what other Alphas' fertile periods were like. Feng Xiqiao never came home during his fertile period, always fooling around with other women outside. He would only come back after taking precautions. Although Qin Xin couldn't smell it, Feng Ran could. As for Feng Linye, he always made such a commotion as if he was about to die, running around in his room waiting for the doctor to give him suppressants. He had no credibility or reference value for Feng Ran. Other Alphas at school would take leave when their fertile periods came. Feng Ran's understanding of fertile periods was nothing more than the emotional irritability and pheromone loss described in books. Of course, since such things sometimes vary from person to person, she naturally thought that other people's strong reactions were just because they were weak and had a low pheromone level.

Fran: "What's your highest compatibility level with other people?"

Feng Ran twitched the corners of his mouth, upholding the fine virtue of seeking truth from facts, and faced the number for the first time: "99".

Seeing that Fran was about to glare at her again, she calmly added, "Follow Shen Shiqian."

Fran broke down: "What normal person would have such a high degree of compatibility with someone of the same sex?!"

Feng Ran forced a smile, his fate uncertain: "This is still the average of three different calculations."

Fran seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly tried to get up from the ground, but he had been squatting, lying down, or kneeling on the ground for too long, and he hadn't eaten all night. He must have been suffering from low blood sugar. His vision blurred and he felt dizzy. He took a step forward and fell to the ground, rolling away.

Feng Ran watched his fluid movements as he fell, and coldly thought that an Omega's body was indeed very flexible.

"Have you not eaten yet? Why don't you go downstairs and eat first?"

He scrambled to his feet, looking disheveled with a layer of dust covering his light pink hair. He had almost shattered the lenses of his protective goggles. "No, let me finish!"

Have you ever taken a compatibility test to see if you're compatible with other people?

Feng Ran: "No, I don't care about that."

Fran's eyes shone with a fiery light, like rubies or magma, his expression so excited that it was almost inexplicably distorted: "I have a hypothesis and its corresponding conclusion," he mimicked Feng Ran's ugly, life-or-death smile: "You can test your compatibility with any AO as much as possible. If the value remains above 80, then you are probably not an Alpha."

"You are Enigma."

Feng Ran looked into Fran's eyes without moving, but the terminal on her wrist vibrated numbingly. Her artificial intelligence had been listening silently for so long, and its desire to participate and express itself seemed to explode at this moment.

She took the terminal off and placed it on the control panel, momentarily feeling a headache coming on: "Just say what you want to say."

Upon receiving permission, Xing Tong immediately activated the terminal's light and shadow projection, opening several page windows to display the data it possessed: "Master! I think his hypothesis is highly probable! Although there is very little information about Enigma, it's not entirely nonexistent. I previously thought Shen Shiqian's compatibility was too strange, but because the probability of Enigma's birth is so small, even more so than a destined one, and the records left by the Empire only mention that E can mark all other genders without mentioning pheromone compatibility, plus this record lacks relevant verification, I categorized it as Level Two Questionable..."

Once Xing Tong enters a state of heightened expressiveness, it becomes like an automatic generator, expanding and writing a long passage from a single instruction. However, its autonomous thinking ability carries more than one instruction, so it speaks incessantly, making Feng Ran vaguely feel that it is an unintelligent "artificial idiot".

Fran cautiously peered at the edge of the control panel, intently studying the data it displayed. He was utterly astonished by Xing Tong's emotionally charged and impassioned voice: "Is this an intelligent system that uses your voice data?"

Feng Ran nodded slightly, and Xing Tong's data flow stopped its long-winded output: "Master! Listen to my analysis!"

"I'm listening, please continue."

Xing Tong stopped there. It extracted the key information from all the data and compiled it into a report. Noticing that Feng Ran's mood wasn't very high, it calmed down and said, "Master, do you need me to test your pheromones? I can test all the pheromones in the Academy of Sciences' database."

Feng Ran looked at the report and felt it was unreal. Enigma was an existence even rarer than 3S-class. They were not controlled by pheromones and were special beings that were free from the ABO gender system. They could be compatible with anyone and could mark anyone. In fact, this marking was so powerful and domineering that it could change the gender of other people, causing the normal logic of the existence of the second gender system to completely collapse.

This power can be described as devastating, but the Enigma are special creations favored by the heavens. They not only completely crush others in the gender system and are invincible, but they are also geniuses endowed with "wisdom". At least in the history of the change of the royal court, the victory of the Carlos clan relied on an Enigma major general. However, due to the excessive power and uncontrollability of the Enigma, the empire erased this history from the public eye.

The reason was that the major general got the then crown prince pregnant, causing the Alpha, who had no reproductive cavity, to grow a gestation sac, making him as soft and warm as an Omega. He desperately craved marking and comfort in the palace, and the crown prince's strong will could not resist the attraction of Enigma, leading him to abandon his people.

This is the first scandal since the founding of Carlos. The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be felled by the wind. The more powerful something is, the more it is beyond control, and the more criticism and resistance it will face. Feng Ran is all too familiar with this feeling.

Feng Ran didn't think she should be happy about her specialness. On the contrary, she should be glad that this trait was not fully displayed during the first differentiation. Otherwise, she might be locked up in the Academy of Sciences for research experiments now.

"No need." Feng Ran didn't really want to know the exact result. It was as if she had stubbornly taken a step back between being slowly sliced ​​to death and being torn apart by chariots, and chose poison.

What is she thinking right now? She should have some thoughts; she needs to be constantly thinking, otherwise she'll feel like she's deviating from the norm and becoming abnormal.

But she always seemed abnormal. Feng Ran rarely reflected on herself so deeply because such thinking was a waste of time and had no impact on the operation of reality. At least, what she wanted had never been fulfilled because of it.

If she were normal, she wouldn't be standing on the borderline between black and white, unknowingly wallowing in pain. There are so many ways to change the status quo. She can create the necessary conditions for victory in any extreme situation, no matter what idea is not favored. In fact, she should have been like this from childhood to adulthood.

She could have completely ignored Feng Xiqiao and Feng Linye. Before they tormented her to the point of exhaustion, at the moment Qin Xin made her choice, she could have resolutely abandoned that home where she had no place to call home. But she didn't do that. She just stood on that narrow border, needing to hold onto something to maintain her balance.

One hand holds pain, the other desire; only by maintaining oneself with these two can one remain impartial and unbiased, neither black nor white.

What it would be like to lean towards one color is not within Feng Ran's consideration, because she stands between two worlds, has witnessed too many lives that are not her own, and after simply putting herself in their shoes, she coldly discovers that she is already tired of the idea of ​​obtaining happiness. There is no way of life that belongs to her or suits her in the black and white world.

So she could choose not to live; it was an option she forced upon herself. She lacked reverence for death and pain, and also lacked trust in happiness and beauty. She lived in a daze, thinking that death was acceptable.

This idea was certainly abnormal, but Feng Ran didn't think there was anything wrong with it. After all, since she had cowered in that position and stopped moving, nothing had been able to hurt her deeply. The pain of the past was just a rope that was being held lightly and could not force her into darkness.

Feng Ran sensed that her thoughts were somewhat stagnant. She blinked mechanically and turned to look at Fran: "Fran, does it matter whether I'm an Alpha or an Enigma? Gender doesn't change what kind of person I am, right?"

After Fran read the evaluations of Enigma in the sealed documents, his thoughts became complicated. He felt somewhat guilty and dared not confront Feng Ran: "That's true..."

Feng Ran's expression remained cold and stern: "AOs attract each other with pheromones and combine to form a bond based on compatibility. But what about Enigma? They treat everyone the same, deviating from the normal system of the world. How do they obtain happiness?"

"What seems like doing whatever you want is actually abandonment and isolation. Powerful abilities and talents are not a blessing, but a compensation, aren't they? They are the only means to connect with the world."

At times like this, Fran found Feng Ran terrifying. She lacked the gradual development of emotions typical of normal people; instead, she was blindly rational, arrogant, aloof, and stubborn. Although what she said did make sense, he couldn't agree with her.

Fran: "Didn't you say that gender differentiation is a strange disease unique to humans? You're just a little more severely affected than others. It doesn't stop you from pursuing happiness. What you're saying sounds like you're denying those homosexuals who love each other against their instincts."

Feng Ran then slowly responded: "Oh, I'm gay."

Fran gritted his teeth: "Didn't you say you didn't like Shen Shiqian?"

Feng Ran: "Yeah, but what does it have to do with him? Does being an Alpha mean you have to like him? Besides, I'm not really an Alpha, it's just that the person I like happens to be an Alpha."

There is still some connection, because ever since the Empire produced a top-tier 3S-level Alpha like Shen Shiqian, the proportion of Alphas has risen sharply. It's hard to imagine that any Alpha would dislike Shen Shiqian.

Fran's voice was somewhat cold as he objectively said, "Isn't this great? You don't have to go against your instincts to mark each other, and he can even get pregnant and give birth. You can form a happy and harmonious family."

Feng Ran sighed: "There will be a big difference between going from an Alpha to an Omega, right? Even if I can accept it, can the other person accept it?"

Fran was somewhat sensitive to the topic of Alphas: "Yes, you Alphas are all superior beings, so it's normal for you to look down on Omegas."

Feng Ran felt that he was just talking in anger. Although the proportion of Alphas was indeed smaller than that of Omegas, in recent years, due to the decline in fertility, most of the protection laws introduced by the courts were favorable to Omegas. It was even possible that the Empire would restart the pheromone matching marriage mechanism in a few years.

She finds it unacceptable because Alphas are inherently aggressive and invasive; they only want to be the dominant one, and are naturally competitive and have no concept of being conquered.

This inherent difference makes their acquired personalities completely different from those of Omegas, giving them a unique, vibrant, and eye-catching quality. Feng Ran has no intention of changing this quality in Basil.

She couldn't even imagine what it would be like for Basil to be marked and transformed by her, to conceive life for her in a completely different, delicate way. This change was too extreme and too enormous, an unknown conflict that Feng Ran couldn't bear or accept. Her head started to ache again, and the image of that dull, decaying Basil kept flashing back, making her heart ache with a heavy pain.

Feng Ran's smile was bleak: "Fran, I wish the person I like was you."

This way, she wouldn't have to worry about the consequences of the gender change. But ultimately, if Basil were an Omega, would Feng Ran still like him? She doesn't really have a strong concept of liking or love. She always confuses intimate behavior with acting skills. Her whole family is devoid of love; they all seem respectable but are actually abnormal.

She liked Basil simply because he was warm, and she just happened to lack that warmth. Since Basil liked her, it was only natural for her to hold his hand, regardless of his gender.

But Feng Ran couldn't quite understand why Basil liked her. It was as if she was an object being presented to Basil. At first, Basil probably only cared about her appearance and how different he was from others. If he really got to know her, he would find that her dull personality wasn't really that likable. If there had to be another factor, it could only be the attraction of her pheromones.

If she weren't an Enigma, but just an Alpha like Shen Shiqian who would fight with anyone's pheromones, Luo Le probably wouldn't have noticed her, right? Given Luo Le's arrogance, that's highly likely. But could the liking based on appearance and pheromones really make the arrogant Luo Le submit to her and become her exclusive Omega? Feng Ran didn't even dare to think about it too much.

Fran wanted to say something in dissatisfaction, but he stumbled unsteadily. Feng Ran was startled by the figure and came to his senses. His face darkened quickly: "Go eat, and then go to sleep. If you message me again after 10 p.m., I'll start reforming you!"

Xing Tong weakly called out from the side, "Master..."

"Shen Shiqian woke up and asked you where you went and when you were coming home."

Feng Ran was at his wits' end: "How does he look?"

Based on the limited footage collected by the two robots at home, Xing Tong could only analyze: "It looks quite stable."

Feng Ran: "Alright, let's go back."

Fran was casually dragged downstairs by her. The kitchen of the villa was empty. The robot could only take out pre-cooked food and nutrient solution from the freezer and heat it up for him. Feng Ran pushed the door open to leave, but Fran awkwardly called her back.

He watched as Feng Ran regained his cold, calm, and emotionless expression, but resentment ultimately replaced his unwillingness. He gritted his teeth and said listlessly, "I'm going to buy another bed and set it up in the lab."

Feng Ran was puzzled: "It's fine, whatever you want. You don't need to tell me about this."

Fran: "Tch."