Chapter 91
Yi Xingshui and Li Yi used the pheromones that Shu Changze had preserved using high-tech methods on the island.
In his disorganized notes, the sources of the pheromones were recorded. They photographed one specific entry regarding the sources.
The Alpha pheromones were provided by Lu Wei, and the Omega pheromones were provided by Song Zhiyuan.
According to the materials left by Shu Changze, none of the centers across the country had ever publicly disclosed their testing processes or technology. They strictly controlled the center’s staff, making them sign extremely harsh non-disclosure agreements.
The specific procedures and methods were stolen by Shu Changze, who had disguised himself and infiltrated a testing center as a cleaner. He spent nearly half a year undercover, using every means possible to obtain the information.
Using the official, fixed method to test Alpha-Omega compatibility, all of Shu Changze’s samples only yielded values between 55 and 65.
No matter how they were paired, there was no variation.
Such indistinguishable compatibility scores were practically meaningless in a scientific sense.
At that time, fearing discovery, he had already left the center. He racked his brains to recall the situation he had observed.
Every laboratory had an environmental parameter adjustment setting.
However, not every tester would adjust that value. Adjusting the value was often related to the client registration information they received.
In addition, Shu Changze recalled that the center’s backend would separately store a small sample of the collected pheromones.
Clients were not informed of this when they came to pay and register.
It was written in the lengthy informed consent forms that few people read, but the purpose of these small samples was never explicitly stated.
“In summary, compatibility is a man-made concept,” Shu Ci concluded, articulating each word clearly.
“And the experiments they reproduced show that the compatibility value can be manipulated artificially. As long as the environmental conditions during testing are changed, the desired result can be obtained.”
He looked at Lu Wanqing with a complex expression.
They had been tortured by that “1%” for so long, and now he was suddenly being told it was fake, something people had made up?
Then what was the repulsion they had clearly felt at the very beginning?
He planned to report this point to Yi Xingshui. If compatibility was fake, where did the repulsion and stinging pain come from?
“The Royal Family was the first to propose the concept of compatibility,” Lu Wanqing paused. “I heard it from my teacher.”
Shu Ci tilted his head and glanced at Si Man.
“Aunt Man definitely knows,” he said, his tone carrying a hint of wheedling sweetness that came naturally to him.
Lu Wanqing moved his lips but didn’t respond.
He was used to Shu Ci’s thousand faces. When he had a bad temper, he was stubborn, but when he really wanted something, he would do anything.
Si Man, with tears still clinging to the corners of her eyes, was completely charmed by this “Aunt Man.”
The person who had been so cold outside the door just moments ago now sounded somewhat dependent on her. This was her sister’s child, after all!
She spoke about what she knew almost without thinking.
“It was announced to the public by the Royal Academy of Sciences, but in reality, it was a joint proposal submitted to the Royal Family by top scholars from multiple families! Some of those families are still active today, for example…”
Si Man counted off several prominent families on her fingers, and even managed to subtly trample on the Gu family while ostensibly praising them.
As soon as she finished speaking, she stunned.
“Thank you, Aunt Man.” Shu Ci quickly refilled her teacup.
Si Man looked at the teacup with mixed feelings.
Originally, she didn’t understand why these two weren’t avoiding her when discussing such classified matters.
Now, she suddenly realized what was happening.
It turned out they wanted to get intelligence from her that only a noble would know.
Just as her family controlled the biological information testing business, it would have been difficult for the two of them alone to dig up precise information on which families stood behind those compatibility testing centers and where their tentacles extended.
“You…” She twitched the corner of her mouth helplessly.
It was a good thing the Si family was determined to retire and wanted nothing other than to find Lu Wei’s whereabouts. Otherwise, she would have been pulled into this little fox’s camp sooner or later.
He didn’t play by the rules; he was bold and intelligent.
This type of Omega couldn’t be cultivated under the discipline of a prestigious family, yet he was exactly like the Shu Changze in her memories.
Si Man had just been thinking about Shu Changze.
Although the Shu family was not as prominent as their aristocratic families and she didn’t have much contact with them, this man’s reputation had spread far and wide in the Omega circle.
He was almost the most rebellious of their generation, cutting ties with his family at a young age. Etiquette teachers used Shu Changze as a negative example when educating them.
If her sister had secretly sponsored Shu Changze, it made sense.
Someone as unconventional as Lu Wei would appreciate the type of person who challenged the authority of the noble families just like she did. Si Man wasn’t surprised.
But what was the deal with Shu Changze? Repaying a drop of kindness with a spring? After being sponsored by her sister, was he willing to even raise her child for her?
…
Si Man’s thoughts wandered further and further until the rustling discussion between Lu Wanqing and Shu Ci grew louder, pulling her back.
They were discussing the purpose of establishing these compatibility testing centers.
Shu Changze’s clear perception that he would be silenced indicated that they were indeed doing something under the table, something unknown to the public.
“The compatibility between you and me was done privately by Shu Changhai. Shu Cui said he secretly took many people’s pheromones to match with me. The center naturally speculated what he wanted by constantly adjusting the values.”
He wanted an unhappy marriage for Shu Ci.
He wanted Shu Ci to bow his head and submit completely to the Shu family.
“When that extreme data of 1% was handed to him, it played right into his hands.”
Lu Wanqing, speaking from a businessman’s perspective, expressed his lack of understanding.
“Whether it’s ordinary people or noble families, speculating on their attitudes to adjust compatibility data is tantamount to ingratiating themselves with others. For them, I don’t see where the profit lies.”
The two couldn’t argue to a conclusion. Shu Ci disliked Lu Wanqing’s attitude when refuting him, and the serious discussion suddenly changed direction—
“You’re being fierce with me.”
“I am not.”
“You’re refuting me right now and you still say you aren’t.”
“Then be fierce back.”
“I won’t be fierce with you; I’ll bite you tonight.”
“…”
Si Man watched the two young people flirting as if no one else was around, and her old face flushed red. “Ahem.”
Only then did the two realize an elder was present and fell silent, looking at her.
She touched her neck. “Do you want to hear my thoughts?”
Lu Wanqing and Shu Ci looked at each other, shedding the last bit of guard they had against her.
Si Man had come all this way only to receive the most painful bad news, yet she was still willing to share her insights without reservation. They wouldn’t believe it if someone said this wasn’t due to Lu Wei’s influence.
“When I was twenty-four, Uncle arranged a marriage for me and told me our compatibility was 98%.”
For every Omega born into a family, this was something they had to mentally prepare for from an early age.
They were merely tools for marriage alliances for the family’s benefit.
“And what was funny? The funny thing is that the first time we met for a meal, he saw I wasn’t interested, so he attempted to force himself on me, using marking to threaten me into compromising.”
Even though she only learned of Shu Changze’s research results today, she had stopped believing in compatibility back then.
Could a mere number guarantee a marriage for the rest of one’s life?
Even a 98% match could become hideous, like an evil ghost, when they wanted to possess you.
Si Man’s fingertips rubbed the back of her neck, a slight smile appearing in her fine crow’s feet.
“I didn’t want to get married, but I couldn’t do something as arrogant as my sister or Mr. Shu, so… I destroyed my own glands with my own hands.”
That was the most resolute thing she had ever done.
Hiding under the covers alone, with the heart to ruin her entire life, she stabbed down with all her strength.
That morning, the Si family woke up to screams.
The bed was covered in blood. She was comatose and dying on it, in so much pain she had lost sensation.
Thinking back now, that was probably the beginning of her uncle’s desire to passively withdraw from the world. The older sister didn’t acknowledge the family, and the younger sister was selfish and refused to marry, preferring to watch the family decline and fall.
Before becoming disheartened, there is often a period of near-pathological denial.
During that time, her uncle often pointed at her face and spoke nonsense indiscriminately.
“He said the marriage partner he carefully selected for me was someone whose pheromone level crushed almost all Alphas.”
Si Man’s cyanotic eyes swept over the two. Seeing no reaction, she rubbed the space between her eyebrows.
“After the pheromone level system was abolished, it was strictly forbidden to provide level verification to people in any form. Even research topics related to it require layers of approval, and after the final results are published, the application of level determination must be made public.”
Lu Wanqing’s eyes flickered. “You suspect that the small samples left during compatibility testing were taken for level confirmation?”
Si Man pursed her lips and nodded her chin toward Shu Ci. “I’ve seen the news about the trading market and the Omega selection. Do you really think the Gu family chooses partners based solely on compatibility, without looking at background?”
Shu Ci stared at Si Man. He suddenly read her guess from her subtext.
“You mean, the significance of these institutions isn’t to provide compatibility results, but to use this form to cover up their true purpose?”
For example, secretly conducting pheromone level verification.
Si Man revealed a gratified smile. “As far as I know, behind all the testing centers are those few families. They all worship levels, bloodlines, and power suppression.”
She looked at Shu Ci with a kind gaze.
Even without level verification, she knew her sister was top-tier among Alphas. Not to mention Song Zhiyuan—how could someone who fought their way out of a political arena surrounded by Alphas be ordinary?
Shu Ci’s Omega bloodline would only be stronger.
If he were discovered by the Gu family, who advocated for the union of the strong, they wouldn’t let him go easily.
Probably only the eldest young master of the Gu family would think they were a 100% match made in heaven.
Lu Wanqing frowned tightly. “So, the so-called compatibility is just a facade fabricated by these families to select spouses with higher levels nationwide and create higher-quality offspring.”
A few traces of sorrow spilled from Si Man’s eyes.
Her sister was born from such a family, and she was someone who destroyed her own glands in a family harboring such goals.
Without the Royal Family, titles became empty shells. They had to use the most practical thing—ability—to solidify their status.
To ensure their descendants were always the strongest, they stopped at nothing.
They hoped their strength would turn into eternal strength for generations to come.
But how many people who loved each other were forced apart because of compatibility? And how many people married into painful lives of high compatibility?
“What… do they take people for?”
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