Chapter 4: The Illegal Job Plan Ends in Disaster

To avoid frightening Old Man Huang at the junkyard with the eleven identical Succubi, Cheng Hai decided to only take two with him at first.

Following their numerical order, he naturally chose Number One and Number Two.

Being selected to accompany Cheng Hai, Number One and Number Two puffed out their chests, basking in the envious gazes of the other Succubi as they happily followed him.

Number Two was completely absorbed by Cheng Hai, pestering him with questions throughout the journey, while Number One remained preoccupied.

He was still thinking about the patch of land in the backyard.

If we could grow vegetables there, Cheng Hai could eat fresher meals, and his health should improve, right?

Number One's concerns were well-founded.

Cheng Hai, who rarely left the house, had skin so pale it was alarming and incredibly fragile. A slight brush against the wall from being jostled by the Succubi earlier had left a red mark.

Moreover, Cheng Hai neglected his own care. Long-term malnutrition, coupled with his irregular sleep schedule, had left him alarmingly thin. The bones at his wrists protruded, as if they could snap with a single twist, and the only plump part of his body was his buttocks, which remained prominent even through loose pants.

Most importantly, they had been here for several days, and they still hadn't caught a whiff of Cheng Hai's pheromones.

Even Betas have a distinct scent, but Cheng Hai had none.

He lacked scent glands on the back of his neck and had no trace of a belly, appearing completely like a boy who had never undergone any differentiation.

If Cheng Hai hadn't told them he was thirty-two, no one would have guessed he had been an adult for so long.

His face remained youthful, his skin smooth, taut, and fair. His slightly curly hair was a lustrous black.

However, due to years of staying indoors, with his sleep schedule completely out of sync, dark circles were undeniable beneath his eyes. He wore thick-rimmed black glasses, and when he lowered his head, he seemed to fade into the background, like a wilting flower.

But when he lifted his head and spoke, he came alive, gesticulating wildly, stunningly beautiful.

And equally fragile.

Cheng Hai, however, was oblivious to how vulnerable he appeared in the eyes of the Succubus. Irritated, he smoothed down his hair, which had once again sprung up, and sternly told Number Two, who was still trying to cling to him, "Stop! Don't touch me anymore!"

Number Two stared at Cheng Hai in shock.

The small, bristling Cheng Hai held up a forbidding hand, as if he wanted to put 108,000 li between them.

Number Two's eye twitched, and he began to pout again.

"Enough, enough!" Cheng Hai stomped his foot hard. "You're a grown man! Can you stop crying over every little thing? Be a little tougher!"

Number Two sniffled hard, his voice soft and trembling. "I... I just wanted to smell Cheng Hai's scent a little longer..."

"We Succubi have always been kept in shipping boxes. We only awaken when our Master buys us and we catch their scent. After that, we need our Master's scent to survive. To us, our Master's scent is our true nutrient. We only stay healthy if we smell enough of it..."

Cheng Hai's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking in disbelief.

Only now did he fully grasp that these creatures before him were indeed Succubi.

Ah, this is really...

Speechless and out of options, Cheng Hai resigned himself to letting Number Two press against him again, but only if he kept three steps between them.

Number Two reluctantly stopped looking so dejected.

Cheng Hai led Number One and Number Two to the landfill.

The landfill was vast, with mountains of garbage piled high, the stench overwhelming. Number One and Number Two couldn't help but sneeze repeatedly. Old fences and a guardhouse stood around, but there was no one in sight.

This dump had once been a state-run facility that collected, compressed, and separated waste for recycling. But for some reason, the local population had moved away, the workers had left, and the government had withdrawn its funding. Only one Beta elder remained, working tirelessly each day to compress and separate the waste all by himself. He'd been doing this for ten years, barely making a dent in the task.

Cheng Hai couldn't stand to see the old man doing so much work alone. Whenever he finished his drawings, he'd come to help. Unfortunately, his physical condition was poor; he couldn't do much and was slower and less efficient than the elder. Most of the time, he just sat with the old man, chatting to pass the time.

"Old Man Huang!" Cheng Hai shouted as soon as he entered the dump, his voice hoarse. "Huang Dashan! Get out here!"

"Yelling your head off? Trying to raise the dead?"

With a bang, the door to the innermost room of the dump burst open. The rusty iron door creaked and groaned loudly with the slightest movement. A white-haired elder with a booming voice and a formidable presence strode out, hands on his hips.

"You again, you brat... Whoa, where did you bring this beauty from?" Old Man Huang had been about to launch into his usual tirade against Cheng Hai, but he suddenly noticed the person Cheng Hai had brought with him this time.

He curiously sized up the two figures hiding behind Cheng Hai.

"What's the point of hiding? You're a head taller than that kid Cheng, you can't hide no matter how hard you try!"

Old Man Huang said, yanking Number One and Number Two out from behind Cheng Hai.

From a distance, he'd only caught a glimpse of their brilliant golden hair and figured they were probably decent-looking. But up close, their beauty was overwhelming. Old Man Huang was momentarily stunned. Their identical blue eyes were so clear and beautiful, they seemed utterly out of place in this filthy, dilapidated junkyard.

He had to admit, a Succubus's beauty really needed to be striking to live up to their title. Even Old Man Huang, who prided himself on his vast experience with people, couldn't help but marvel.

"Where did you get such gorgeous twins?"

Cheng Hai didn't know how to explain. Should he tell them he'd bought these Succubi? He'd originally planned to buy a gentle, submissive Succubus without a dick, but the seller had gone overboard and sent him eleven instead?

Seeing Cheng Hai's hesitation, Old Man Huang turned to Number One and Number Two. "Did that kid Cheng trick you into coming here? There's not a soul for miles around! Communication here is a whole year behind The Capital!"

Old Man Huang was used to joking around, his mouth running wild. He'd only meant to tease them to ease the twins' tension, but the sensitive Succubi misinterpreted his words as an insult to Cheng Hai. Number Two immediately put his hands on his hips and jabbed her finger at Old Man Huang's nose, yelling, "Cheng Hai is the most honest and best person in the world! We're honored he's willing to deceive us! How dare you speak ill of him! And do you even know? Cheng Hai is our...!"

Cheng Hai lunged forward and clamped his hand over Number Two's mouth.

Good heavens! Are these Succubi completely shameless?!

Do they just blurt out anything that comes to mind?!

Old Man Huang stared in shock at the scene before him. Number Two's words echoed in his mind, threatening to shatter his entire world.

"Cheng kid... did you put some kind of love potion on them?" Old Man Huang trembled, pointing a shaky finger at Cheng Hai.

Cheng Hai was at a loss for words.

"No, it's... ah, Old Man Huang, this is a long story. I don't know how to explain it to you."

After a moment's hesitation, Cheng Hai decided against revealing the truth. After all, his relationship with Old Man Huang was only that of ordinary friends, and such a confession would sound bizarre.

He sighed. "I came to you today because I wanted to ask for your help with something."

Old Man Huang barely suppressed his shock and turned to Cheng Hai. "What is it?"

"I was thinking," Cheng Hai said, "you might be short-handed here, right?"

Now Old Man Huang understood, but after glancing at Number One and Number Two, he replied, "Of course I'm short-handed! I'm the only one managing the trash across this entire area. If I'm not short-handed, who is? But..." He looked at the delicate skin of Number One and Number Two and said fairly, "Your friends stick out like sore thumbs just standing here. With their looks, they should be celebrities, not picking through my trash."

Old Man Huang was telling the truth. With their appearance, they could make a fortune just streaming online and chatting casually every day.

"You're no different," he continued. "If you'd just clean yourself up a bit and ditch those ugly glasses, you'd have made big money and bought a villa in the upper district long ago. You wouldn't be stuck helping me in the dump."

As he spoke, Old Man Huang reached out to snatch Cheng Hai's glasses. Startled, Cheng Hai stumbled back several steps, clutching his glasses protectively.

A pair of glasses was expensive, after all.

Cheng Hai's face twisted. "Stop joking, you know I'm terrified of being in the public eye."

Old Man Huang snorted coldly.

What he said wasn't entirely wrong.

But the problem was—

"They don't have identification," Cheng Hai said truthfully.

Even internet influencers now needed to verify their identities with identification before they could stream.

"No identification?"

"That's right. And I don't have the money to get them ID. They can't stray too far from me."

Old Man Huang also spoke the truth: "That makes you sound even more like a con artist."

"......"

"So, I had to bring them here," Cheng Hai said. Whether it was because he'd seen too much of the world or for some other reason, Old Man Huang never cared about the origins or whereabouts of the people around him. Just like he never asked Cheng Hai why he lacked any differentiating characteristics.

After a moment's thought, Old Man Huang nodded. "Fine. I'll let it slide for your sake. But I can only pay them so much—it's up to them how much trash they can haul away."

With that, he turned and began rummaging through the trash heap, starting his day's work.

Cheng Hai followed with Number One and Number Two.

"What are you doing? Aren't you going to help me? Why are you just standing there watching me?"

"Uh, Old Man Huang, I wanted to say—they're not twins."

"If they're not twins, that's fine. I can handle triplets. Just bring them over."

"Uh, they're not triplets either."

Old Man Huang's hands froze mid-work, and he straightened up to look at Cheng Hai.

"Quadruplets?" Old Man Huang exclaimed. "Four faces from one person—that's quite something! But quadruplets are nothing. I've even seen sextuplets. Those little brats were wailing at my feet, and I could tell them apart clearly. Don't worry!"

Cheng Hai hardened his resolve. "They're eleven!"

...Silence.

A profound quiet fell, as if the scene had become a silent film, every movement slowed. Old Man Huang's eyes widened. Number One and Number Two pressed closer to Cheng Hai's side, and Number Two even took the opportunity to sneak a kiss on his hair.

"What... did you say?" Old Man Huang's voice rose to an unprecedented volume. "Eleven?! That's not something a human can even give birth to, is it?!"

Cheng Hai silently wiped the spit from his face, delivered by Old Man Huang's disbelieving spray.

He knew no one could accept this reality.

But eleven was still better than the "Succubus fake one, compensate ten" scenario, wasn't it?

In a way, Old Man Huang had accidentally stumbled upon the truth.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" Number Two surged forward again. "How can you call us things?"

Is that really your priority?! Shouldn't the priority be whether you're even human?!

Fearing Number Two would say something even more explosive, Cheng Hai clamped his mouth shut again, stuffing her head into his chest.

Number One watched as Number Two's face turned crimson in Cheng Hai's embrace. Being pressed into his chest only made it worse, his beautiful face contorting with rage.

If I'd known she'd start talking nonsense too, I'd have joined in! I want to be held like that too!

Cheng Hai didn't realize that his actions wouldn't silence the Succubi; they'd only make them want to talk even more nonsense.

Old Man Huang pondered for a moment.

"Kid, it's not that I don't want to help you, but eleven people are simply too many."

"I can send two or three over to assist you each day."

"That's not the issue."

The nonchalant demeanor he'd worn earlier vanished as he turned to Cheng Hai with uncharacteristic seriousness. "I don't know where you got these eleven beautiful, undocumented triplets. I've lived over a hundred years and seen all sorts of things. I never wanted to pry into your origins before, but this time, I have to be clear."

Cheng Hai was caught off guard by Old Man Huang's sudden intensity, staring at him blankly.

"There are no such things as free lunches. What you think is a heaven-sent opportunity could very well be a carefully laid trap. You're not like the Betas I know, and I can tell you're hiding many secrets. For the sake of our eight years of acquaintance, I advise you to leave immediately."

Without giving Cheng Hai time to react, he snatched a wooden stick from the ground and chased them away.

Cheng Hai lingered a moment too long and received a few sharp thwacks to his rear.

Number One and Number Two reacted swiftly, baring their teeth fiercely at Old Man Huang. If Cheng Hai hadn't restrained them, they would have attacked him without hesitation.

Only after they had finally left did Old Man Huang wipe the cold sweat from his forehead with a shaky hand.

Cheng Hai couldn't smell pheromones, but he could sense them. The moment he said, "Separate early," the two beautiful women had simultaneously released their pheromones, a suffocating, explosive force that had nearly crushed him.

If he hadn't been strong in his youth and maintained his fitness through daily training, he would have collapsed right then and there. Their ranks were likely S-rank or above.

As he watched Cheng Hai and the others disappear into the distance, Old Man Huang sighed.

How did that young man find such fierce Alphas? And judging by their possessiveness toward Cheng Hai, what will happen during their rut period...?

Tsk, tsk... I just hope Cheng Hai doesn't get torn to shreds by these crazy Alphas.