Moonlight Allure - Chapter 22

A cold sweat broke out across Jiang Xueyin’s back. This was a place she had never set foot in before. Those inside the cage were less “people” and more commodities, dehumanized objects.

The host announced: “Our first item is an Omega crafted by an anonymous seller at great expense, featuring multiple synthetic pheromones. The starting bid is 200,000.”

Only two words echoed in Jiang Xueyin’s mind: Human trafficking. Even in this world, this was a flagrant crime. How did these people have the audacity?

As Li Jiannan began to critique and judge the person in the cage, Jiang Xueyin couldn’t hear a word he said. Despite the summer heat, she felt a bone-chilling cold. Her heart felt as though it were being squeezed by an invisible hand as she stared fixedly at the cage.

The Omega’s head was bowed, her face lost in the shadows. Her pale neck was exposed without any protection, emitting a complex, shifting array of scents. The air wafted with the sweetness of peaches one moment, the sharp bite of vodka the next, and finally the heavy scent of cedar.

“So fragrant.”

“It feels like different scents have different levels of attraction!”

“It’s not just the pheromones; the person herself is quite the catch!”

They sounded like shoppers at a wet market, picking and choosing with callous tones. Driven by desire, the bids began to climb rapidly.

Jiang Xueyin clenched her fists. She had to endure; Ruan Mingyue’s team wouldn’t be much longer.

The host called out: “Five million, going once.”

Once the price hit five million, the direct bidding stopped, replaced by hushed murmurs. Li Jiannan glanced at Jiang Xueyin. “You seem to like this one; you’ve been staring. Why aren’t you bidding?”

“If I bid, my Omega will notice something is wrong,” Jiang Xueyin’s voice trembled slightly. Suppressing the rage in her heart, she added slowly, “Besides, the pheromone scent on her is too overwhelming.”

Even if she spent five million to save one person, what about the others? There were seven or eight “items” listed. She didn’t have enough liquid assets to save them all; she could only wait for Ruan Mingyue’s team to apprehend these outlaws.

Li Jiannan snorted. “With nerves like that, how did you even have the guts to come in here with me?”

“Five million twice, five million three times—sold!” The moment the gavel struck, Jiang Xueyin’s breathing grew ragged.

The next “item” was also a human being. It was a male Omega with fox ears and white eyebrows likely tattooed on. A fluffy tail was wrapped around the bars of the cage as he curled into a corner, shivering violently.

Suddenly, a loud whistle blast echoed through the speakers. As if responding to a command, the male Omega began to act like an animal, crawling across the freezing floor.

Jiang Xueyin couldn’t bear to look and slowly closed her eyes. Beside her, Li Jiannan remarked, “Now this is interesting! I’ve always loved fluffy little animals.”

She loved fluffy animals too, but she couldn’t accept a human being forced into experiments and reconstructed into a pet. It was horrific.

She opened her eyes and scanned the room. There were familiar faces and strangers alike, but they were all members of the elite, enjoying resources beyond the reach of ordinary people. Beneath their refined, gentlemanly facades lay hearts of predation, possession, and cruelty. In their eyes, others had been objectified, they were no longer of the same species.

The cheers and applause echoed in her ears like the whispers of demons, torturing her. If I weren’t the Scum Alpha, would I have ended up as a ‘person in the cage’ too?

In the original book, Xiao Nianru had been brought to this ship. Had she seen this? What must her state of mind have been then? Anger, resentment, and a sense of injustice wove into a dense web in Jiang Xueyin’s heart, nearly drowning her.

During those two hours of the private auction, every second felt like a year.

As it neared its end, Li Jiannan had successfully bid on one “item” a Beta who had been surgically modified into an Omega. He finally remembered Jiang Xueyin, and a flicker of suspicion rose in his mind. “You didn’t bid on a single thing?”

“I just came to satisfy my curiosity,” Jiang Xueyin replied, staring at the now-empty octagonal cage as a chill ran through her.

“But you don’t look like you were interested in the things in that cage at all. You kept closing your eyes as if you couldn’t stand the sight. You didn’t come here with some other motive, did you?” Li Jiannan’s tone grew deep as he toyed with his bidding paddle, the token used to claim his “prize” later.

Jiang Xueyin glanced at the two security guards at the door and the others hidden in the shadows. Her gaze sharpened. “That’s because my goal wasn’t the people in the cage, but the person in there.”

She pointed toward the private booth where Lin Shan was located.

“Lin Shan?” Li Jiannan took a sip of wine, looking intrigued. “You have business with her? You didn’t need to come here to find her.”

“No, the person I want to see is the one she’s hiding away, Lin Xi.” Jiang Xueyin raised an eyebrow, watching Li Jiannan’s expression.

Li Jiannan’s face shifted, his expression turning strange. “You don’t go causing trouble on my watch. I don’t want to clean up your mess. Lin Shan is a complete lunatic.”

Lin Shan had swallowed the Lin Group in just four years, using ruthless, iron-fisted methods and showing no mercy even to her own parents. Rumor had it the ousted Lin couple were living miserably in a nursing home.

“But I’ve always been someone who doesn’t stop until I reach my goal. Why don’t you just take me to see Lin Xi?” Jiang Xueyin asked with a beaming smile, twirling a lock of hair that had fallen over her shoulder. She crossed her legs elegantly, her eyes flashing with a wild, manic light as she looked at him.

Li Jiannan was startled by that look. He had heard rumors that Jiang Xueyin had gone “mad,” but since the news came from the Song family, he hadn’t believed it. Is she actually insane? She dares to snatch Lin Shan’s girlfriend?

Wait, Lin Shan’s partner was also an Alpha! His expression turned to one of horror as he reflexively covered his chest. “You like Lin Xi? You’re into Alpha-Alpha relationships too?”

“How should I put this, it’s a long story.” Jiang Xueyin silently rolled her eyes. Li Jiannan certainly had a high opinion of himself, did he think every AA couple was a threat to his vanity? She gave a cold laugh. “Regardless, I’m seeing Lin Xi today.”

“Go by yourself if you want, I’m staying out of it.” Li Jiannan glanced at the booth. “You’ve got nerve. Lin Xi is Lin Shan’s heart and soul, and since Lin Shan is in power now, aren’t you afraid of making a powerful enemy?”

“I’m just taking a look. Surely President Lin isn’t that petty?” Jiang Xueyin stood up slowly, her eyes burning as she stared at the one-way glass.

Now that she was certain Lin Shan was in that room, she had every reason to go and save the girl. Li Jiannan sighed; there was no point in advising a fool bent on a death wish. He leaned back on the sofa. “Fine, go then.”

He gave her brief directions. Jiang Xueyin walked straight toward the stairs and stopped outside the small room. She knocked.

“Who is it?” the voice from within sounded dark and gloomy.