Ch10 - Dilemma

Editor: Decembery

“Omega?” Du Chen’s entire body froze, “How is that possible?!”

“I also thought it was impossible.” Mu Feibai raised his hand and scratched his head before he found a random seat and slumped down as though he had lost all strength, “But it is indeed what was written in the third-party contract given by the gaming platform.”

When forming a contract, the contractor party’s residential ID would go through a review, as well as their tax and credit details, which meant there was no chance of falsifying such information.

But how could Ghost 2207 be an Omega? 

The one who is so strong and skilled in-game, is an Omega?

How on earth did he go through battlefield training with such a delicate and frail body? Even if he only trained in the virtual world, the full-dive equipment also brought painful side effects onto the Omega physique in the real world… How the hell did he force himself through it?

Mu Feibai wondered, yet could not find an answer.

It was unknown what Du Chen was thinking, but his expression immediately changed. The corner of his mouth rose in a cold smile, “An Omega wants to enter the professional league? Does he not know how we usually train?”

My Feibai corrected him, “It’s not that he wants to come, but rather the boss who wants him to come. He himself might not be willing to, actually.”

Du Chen pursed his lips, “It’s better if he doesn’t want to. Omegas should obediently stay at home, get married and have children, and not cause trouble everywhere.”

Mu Feibai did not want to continue listening to his words.

“Omegas also have the right to pursue their dreams.” He raised an eyebrow at Du Chen, “My mother is an omega, and he won first place in the Star District Chess Competition.” 

Du Chen lightly snorted, “That’s because your father was there.” 

Mu Feibai retorted, “I don’t believe Omegas must rely on Alphas to realise accomplishments and establish their worth.”

“Realise accomplishments and establish their worth?” Du Chen glanced at him, his tone cold and hard, “Without relying on Alphas, it is already very difficult for an Omega to live with their dignity intact. In that situation, what even is ‘realise accomplishments and establish self-worth’? Have you ever seen an Omega in heat?”

“Du Chen.” Mu Feibai stood up, releasing pheromones belonging to a top Alpha, suppressing the sneering boy in front of him. “If boss can successfully recruit Ghost, he would become our teammate. You’d better tone that attitude down a little.” 

Being suppressed by the other’s pheromones, Du Chen’s complexion didn’t look well. 

He avoided Mu Feibai’s line of sight, but stubbornly insisted, “If he had an Alpha, his Alpha also wouldn’t allow him to join the professional league. If he doesn’t have an Alpha, what is the difference between him entering the pro-league and a sheep entering a wolf’s den?”

His Alpha.

Hearing this phrase, Mu Feibai’s heart suddenly trembled. 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

The information he had just seen in the meeting room floated to his mind. The Omega’s delicate face and eyes in the photo were likening a spooked deer… would he already have an Alpha?

Qtja xlcv bo Ciqtj mbeiv ajwf atf jifga jcv yjaaif-tjgvfcfv rbei yftlcv atja vfilmjaf nlrjuf?

“Jjqajlc.”

Cc jqjatfalm nblmf kbxf Ze Mflyjl ogbw tlr wbwfcajgs atbeutar. 

Ge Jtfc mbcalcefv lcvloofgfcais, “Po tf gfjiis vjgfr ab mbwf, Jjqajlc rtbeivc’a mjgfifrris gfifjrf qtfgbwbcfr ab reqqgfrr batfgr. Ywfujr mjc’a yfjg la.”

……

When Qiu Yu answered his manager’s video, his heat period was not completely over yet. 

He repressed his irritability, trying to keep his emotions out of his voice. “Temporary transfer to a professional team? Sorry, I’m not interested.”

The manager encouraged him, “This is a very good chance for you. If you miss it, it is unlikely to be offered to you again.”

Qiu Yu lightly gripped his fingers behind the light screen, his tone calm. “I’m an Omega, I’m older, unmarried, and my heat periods aren’t stable. For me, joining a professional team isn’t a ‘chance’, but rather ‘danger’, and would also add to the troubles of others.” 

He didn’t know what stimulated the Eagle Riders battle team, as they didn’t give up even after knowing about his gender.

The manager patiently encouraged him for a couple more sentences, and seeing Qiu Yu wasn’t the least bit convinced, could only follow their leader’s orders and take out a contract. “It is written clearly in the contract you signed that ‘the platform has the right to assign the anchor commercial activities’, which also includes lending them to the aid of a professional esports team.”

Qiu Yu recalled for a moment before frowning, “I remember that clause did not mention the issue of transferring.”

As he spoke, he pulled up another window, found the electronic contract and read out, “The platform has the right to assign the anchor marketing activities, including advertisements, product endorsements, entertainment competitions etc…” 

Qiu Yu’s expression slightly changed, his voice froze.

The manager smiled slightly, “Entertainment competitions.”

Qiu Yu: ……

Who would draw an equal sign between the “entertainment competitions” that were part of “marketing activities” and Century’s Finale’s professional esports league? 

When he had initially read up to here, the original body’s memories only mentioned gaming platforms would annually arrange an online competition for all the anchors, which was more of the entertainment type!

But he did sign the contract.

To have fallen for a language pit, he couldn’t blame anyone else. 

If he were in the apocalypse and someone tried to toy with wording in front of him, he would have directly punched them, and that would be the end of that. However, in this world, he didn’t even have a chance to convince others with reason.  

This time it was he who looked down on the opponent. Next time, he definitely wouldn’t make a mistake like this again. 

In the present, Qiu Yu could only harden his tone and continue to protest, “I don’t accept.”

The manager revealed a conflicted expression, “I’m afraid that’s not possible. You’ve signed a level-A contract, which ensures you receive the minimum broadcasting salary, and our company would take care of your social security, which is equivalent to that of our company’s employees. According to the contract, accepting transfers is also a part of your job, and furthermore, you have gone over and agreed to this term when we initially signed the contract.”

“I should at least give my permission when you assign me work, right?” 

The anxiety and emotional turbulence due to his heat churned in his body, and he could barely keep the irritation out of his words.

“If you continue to reject this transfer, we can also lower the grade of your contract to remove this clause.”

The manager wore a business smile, “However, if we do that, you would only be able to sign a level-C contract, and you would also be required to pay a penalty due to the breach of contract. A level-C contract does not include a base salary, and you will also need to pay for social security yourself. Moreover, the split ratio of income from executives and audience tips would also be decreased.”

Qiu Yu fell silent for a while, before saying, “Give me some time to reconsider.” 

At least until his heat period was over and he could finally calm down and think to make a decision.

The manager did not continue to force him. “No hurry, after you’ve thought about it, contact me again.”

…… 

“How could they do this! Indeed, none of the capitalists are good people!”

Two days later, Xu Qingqing almost flipped the table in anger after knowing of the gaming platform’s terms to transfer Qiu Yu. “I thought that gaming platform was a conscientious one, giving so many benefits to their anchors, I thought they were different… I had no idea they would do such shady business!”

“Whether it’s a dog or a wolf, they’ve both got to eat meat.” 

After his heat period ended and stopped interfering with his thinking and logic, Qiu Yu very quickly understood the gaming platform’s stance. “When some professional team sets their sights on me, it is a chance for them to profit, so they’ll try their best to close this deal. However I think there is still some room for negotiation regarding downgrading the contract and paying the penalty.”

Since the final goal was profit, the gaming platform wouldn’t close in on him too tightly. If they completely fall out, it wouldn’t be good for the platform either.

Hearing him say this, Xu Qingqing asked, “Have you decided to downgrade the contract?”

Qiu Yu nodded. “En. That clause is too big of a variable for me, there’s no way I can keep it. I’ve calculated the penalty, if I can get May’s full-time base salary, and in addition to the rewards from executives and audiences, I can probably pay it off… First I’ve got to drag in on until the end of May, and receive my full salary before negotiating.” 

Anyhow his fanbase was pretty solid, so even if he used up all of May’s salary and changed to a level-C contract in June, which didn’t have a base salary and relied on executives and audience tips, he would probably still have enough income to support himself.

“Ai, why is it so hard to be an Omega.” Xu Qingqing sighed, “With your capabilities, even if you were a Beta, you’d be a superstar player… fate really is so unfair!” 

Qiu Yu smiled without replying.

He had seen all too many instances of fate being unfair. In the apocalypse, there were no legal or moral restrictions, and the lives of the weak were much much harsher. Right now, he at least had the freedom of choice, while the weak in the apocalypse wouldn’t even have a chance to choose. 

Although he was a soldier who adhered to military rules, there were also many times where he could not do anything to help. 

After scolding the gaming platform and the Eagle Riders team for a while, Xu Qingqing left Qiu Yu a box of her homemade biscuits and then rose to leave.

Qiu Yu sent her off at the apartment door, and just as they were about to part, his expression shifted, turning to look towards the next door.

Next door, outside Xu Qingqing’s apartment was a tall and buff Alpha who immediately stood up and pounced towards them! 

Dense Alpha pheromones spread along the corridor, carrying the scent of mud after fierce rain. 

Just as Qiu Yu put Xu Qingqing behind him to protect her, he was immediately suppressed by the surge of pheromones. His legs uncontrollably softened, and his back crashed into the doorframe before he used it to steady himself, and stood up unwaveringly. 

“Ah!!!” Xu Qingqing reflexively screamed.

She fell on the floor, her entire body trembling, trying to back away with her legs curled up. 

The Alpha man didn’t catch anything in that lunge, yet he didn’t continue advancing. A mocking smile appeared on his lips, his line of sight falling on Qiu Yu’s face. 

“You’ve got some courage.” His nostrils twitched, sniffing the air around them, “Such a sweet Omega, but your expression isn’t the least bit cute.”

Supported by the doorframe, Qiu Yu reached back into the house and grabbed a glass vase beside the door, and smashed it on the pointed edge of the wall.

The vase shattered, sharp glass pierced his palms and blood flowed down along his fingers. 

As his body gradually lost strength under suppression of the Alpha pheromones, the embers in his blood seemed to have been rekindled, reigniting the effects of his heat… Thankfully, the painful sting forcefully kept him sober and awake. 

“Call the police.” Qiu Yu’s voice was low and hoarse, and a little soft.

Throughout the entire process, Xu Qingqing was fully shielded behind him, not giving the man any chance to approach her.

Qiu Yu held a glass shard, sharp as a knife, between his fingers, hidden in the shadow between his body and the doorframe. 

In the battlefields of the apocalypse, he had often been underestimated due to heavy injuries, and then he had retaliated and killed his opponent just before losing consciousness. As long as he could remain vigilant until the last moment, and not be completely overwhelmed by Alpha pheromones, he still had a chance to get out of this situation. 

Just a little closer… If the man dared to come a step closer, he could take his life in an instant!