Chapter 158: Interstellar (ABO) 12

"If you rely on suppressants too much, they eventually lose effectiveness and you'll be found out sooner or later. Excising the pheromone gland is the most efficient method." Ke Yuanya noticed his shock and added, "Without that damned pheromone, I won't have heat cycles, nor will I have to worry about any troubles breaking out on the battlefield."

"..." Ke Yuandao was momentarily at a loss for words.

All he could say was that this female protagonist possessed remarkably progressive ideas.

Yet, upon second thought, in the ABO novel his wife had written back then, the protagonist was also an Omega who had sneaked into a military academy using suppressants, only for the suppressants to fail later, leading to a tangled romance with an Alpha who initially despised him.

If the Omega his wife wrote had simply castrated himself before entering the military academy, would his wife have been able to continue writing that story at all?

"This is no minor matter. Are you really going to go through with this?" Ke Yuandao asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time." Ke Yuanya gave him a deep look. "We're almost of age, which means our heat cycles will be arriving soon. You haven't been using suppressants, so you might get by for a few years, but I can't. Ever since we moved to Throne Star when I was eleven, I've been on a long-term regimen. If things continue like this, suppressants won't work on me anymore. The best solution is to cut it out." Ke Yuanya pointed to the back of her own neck, her tone turning somewhat chilling. "Getting married and popping out babies like Mother later in life—I can't do that. I just want to live as an ordinary human being."

"So, little bro, lend me the money." Ke Yuanya turned to him with a broad grin. "Tomorrow, the academy has a two-day break. I've already lined up a doctor to perform the surgery for me. All I'm missing is the cash."

Since she had everything prepared, Ke Yuandao asked, "Don't you need to talk to Mom and Dad about this?"

"Once the surgery is done, I'll naturally tell them," Ke Yuanya replied. "If I told them now, they'd probably rush to find some Alpha to marry me off."

"Hmph, once I excise my pheromones, who would dare marry me?" The thought brought a smug look of triumph to Ke Yuanya's face.

"Alright, I'll lend you the money. But can that surgeon even be trusted?"

"I suppose so. I saved him from a bunch of thugs once," Ke Yuanya said, rubbing her chin.

"Which hospital are you doing this in?"

"How could something like this be done in a hospital?"

"Then where is the surgery taking place?"

"In an underground clinic, of course!"

*What the hell?* Ke Yuandao immediately thought of those girls in real society who fell victim to botched plastic surgeries at shady underground clinics just to save a buck.

Q City on Throne Star was a remote and chaotic place.

It was the black market of Throne Star, where anything too illicit to be sold elsewhere could be traded.

Of course, muggings and holdups were a regular occurrence here as well.

With a single punch, Ke Yuanya knocked away a mugger who had blocked their path, dusted off her clothes, and turned back to ask, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Ke Yuandao shook his head, his expression unchanged.

Seeing his calm demeanor, Ke Yuanya clicked her tongue in amazement. "Not bad at all. You didn't even get scared to tears?"

"Why would I be scared to tears?" Ke Yuandao rolled his eyes. "I'm not a three-year-old child."

Ke Yuanya felt there was something different about her younger brother compared to before, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Her brother used to be a complete crybaby. Could it be that the trauma he suffered earlier had somehow addled his brain?

Still, him turning out like this wasn't so bad—at least the meals he cooked were exceptionally delicious.

Only a few pedestrians walked along the sides of the street. Ke Yuanya led the way, turning this way and that until they finally reached their destination.

They stood before a dilapidated two-story house whose walls were covered in graffiti scrawled by mischievous children.

"Doc, I'm here. Are you around?" Frowning at the tightly shut door, Ke Yuanya stepped forward and pounded on it hard.

Ke Yuandao backed up a few steps, terrified that the rickety door might collapse under Ke Yuanya's assault.

For a long time, there was no response.

Ke Yuanya muttered under her breath, "Why is nobody here? Damn it, are they playing me again?"

With that, she raised her leg and delivered a heavy kick to the door.

"Bang!" The wooden door fell inward, sending up a small cloud of dust.

"What the hell, this thing is so fragile..." Ke Yuanya trailed off midway.

Ke Yuandao, standing behind her, felt puzzled. "Yuanya? What..."

He, too, froze the moment he took in the scene inside the house.

There was no mystery—inside the room, a young man in a white lab coat was tied to a chair, while several bulky thugs wielding pitch-black firearms glared menacingly at the two of them.

Five minutes later, Ke Yuanya—now tied up just as securely like a zongzi—complained to the man in the white coat, "Doc, how many times have I told you, you should've replaced that lousy door ages ago. Look, now you've dragged me down with you."

"Replace my foot. Even if I replaced it, it would just get kicked open by reckless punks like you lot. Changing the door is a total waste of money."

"Besides, I've also told you to knock more gently. You should've just called out outside until nobody answered and left; did you really have to kick it in? Can you blame me for this?" The doctor rolled his eyes and retorted. "And besides, the moment you saw something was wrong, you should've hauled ass and run. Why were you just standing there blankly?"

"Weren't I carrying him along as baggage? I was afraid if I ran, he'd turn into a sieve," Ke Yuanya shrugged.

Ke Yuandao, standing to the side: "..."

Fine, so he had apparently become mere baggage.

"Who is this?" The doctor glanced sideways at him, his brow furrowing deeply. "Dragging random people into my clinic—are you trying to put me out of business early?"

"My little brother. If I hadn't brought him along, looks like you wouldn't have much time left to live anyway," Ke Yuanya chuckled dryly. "Should've known better than to come."

"Bullshit, my clinic could stay open for a long time yet."

"Then what's up with this bunch?" Ke Yuanya jutted her chin toward the heavily armed thugs surrounding them.

"No idea. They just suddenly barged in, tied me up, and then you guys showed up."

Meanwhile, the leader of the thugs had finished making a call outside and told his companion, "The boss says bring these two along as well."

Immediately, the three of them—tied up tight as mummies—had their eyes covered and were loaded into a vehicle.

"Master, you're heading toward District Y," Gousheng, disguised as an earring, whispered quietly in his ear. "Should we call the police?"

District Y was an unmanaged zone on Throne Star, also known as the Death Zone. It was a sprawling marshland plagued by year-round drifting toxic gases and numerous venomous creatures. Furthermore, due to a peculiar convergence of coordinates and magnetic lines, even reconnaissance aircraft would malfunction and crash if they entered.

"No need to call the police," Ke Yuandao replied, shaking his head. "This is part of the female protagonist's trials. Let's not interfere."

Perhaps he could tag along and rack up some experience points of his own, too.

The moving vehicle slowly came to a halt. Ke Yuandao and his two companions were shoved out of the car. The ground beneath their feet felt soft and spongy, indicating they had arrived near the wetlands.