Odd Habits

Shen Jue x Pei Ningyu

In the year 5202, after the apocalypse destroyed Blue Star, all of humanity had long since migrated to Planet B08.

On Planet B08, humans continued to evolve. Not only did they retain their post-apocalyptic ability users, but a new species also evolved, gifted with extraordinarily powerful mutated genes: the Overclass.

The Overclass possessed immense abilities. However, their ancestors had evolved by devouring ability users of their own kind, leaving the group innately burdened with the most bloodthirsty and vicious of "inferior genes." They were regarded as the most cold-blooded and heartless monsters.

Thus, to control the Overclass and prevent them from expanding their territory any further, or from brutally slaughtering the majority populations of Planet B08, ability users and ordinary humans, the government established the Overclass Oversight Bureau, an agency specifically tasked with supervising and imprisoning the Overclass.

Overclass residents of the bureau had no basic civil rights and no freedom to come and go as they pleased. From the moment they entered, they were destined to spend the rest of their lives in this desolate region, until death.

That wasn't all.

Under the pretext of improving their "inferior genes," the government also secretly conducted physical experiments and modifications on the Overclass.

Shen Jue had originally been a gene thief on an abandoned planet near Planet B08, making a living by selling the gene replication chains of the planet's powerful. But one slip-up landed him in the hands of Overclass hunters who had been lying in wait for a long time. He was sent to the Overclass Oversight Bureau to receive "the highest level of education."

But how could he possibly stay put in the bureau?

He pretended to comply, while secretly making other plans, and joined forces with a group of Overclass residents to escape.

Just when he thought he could get away with ease, a new supervisor arrived at the Overclass Oversight Bureau, sent directly from above: Pei Ningyu.

They said Pei Ningyu was an outstanding graduate of the Yiguang Academy. He should have had a bright future ahead of him, working at the Ability Research Institute and becoming a revered research leader. But he had been reassigned to the Overclass Oversight Bureau after being accused of accidentally killing an ordinary human.

Shen Jue knew him well.

He had sold the gene replication chain of Pei Ningyu's father. Back then, he had nearly been caught and brought to justice by Pei Ningyu. They were practically sworn enemies.

Now old and new grudges would be settled together. Peace was well and truly over.

But as their clashes grew more frequent, Shen Jue realized something:

Pei Ningyu seemed to have a strange habit.

He seemed to desperately need Overclass blood. More than once, Shen Jue had caught him secretly drawing blood from Overclass residents and injecting it into his own body.

One time, Shen Jue even discovered that Pei Ningyu had drawn his blood.

Shen Jue had assumed he was going to inject it into himself. Instead, Pei Ningyu stuck out his red tongue and licked the blood smeared across his palm, his expression utterly entranced, as though savoring some delicacy.

What did Pei Ningyu really want?

Content warnings:

1. This story is on the longer side, and has a large cast, so the romance between the main characters develops rather slowly.

2. Updates are irregular. There is no backlog, so I post however much I manage to write.

3. To be continued.

Theme: Honesty and kindness.