I couldn't stand being in that disgusting, antiseptic little room for another second. It smelled like poverty, which was offensive to my very core. I threw open the flimsy metal door and stormed into what looked like a main reception area, which was just as filthy and run-down as the room I'd woken up in. A couple of nervous-looking people in cheap uniforms flinched when they saw my face, which was satisfying, but they didn't jump to attention the way staff usually did for me. I immediately straightened this pathetic new body, trying to project the dominance I knew I possessed, but the body just felt weak, and the foreign, submissive instinct inside my gut was churning unpleasantly.
I walked right up to the front desk, which was manned by a scared-looking guy with a name tag that read "Kit." I slammed my fist onto the counter, which resulted in a pathetic thud, not the powerful crack I was used to. "Listen to me, you idiot," I demanded, trying to keep my voice low and intimidating. "I don't know who this body is, but I am Liang Xu, and I need to use a clean phone right now to call my father. He is extremely powerful, and if you don't help me, I will have this entire filthy establishment shut down by the end of the day." My words should have made him tremble, but instead, Kit just looked at me with bored, tired pity.
Kit finally sighed, and his reaction was utterly humiliating. "Look, friend," he said, not even addressing me with respect. "We all have a bad day, but you're not an Alpha, and you're certainly not Liang Xu—your scent is barely there, and you smell like a generic Omega who just got released from observation." He pointed a finger at a cheap sign on the wall that had pictures of different people, categorized by the Greek letters. He circled the Omega symbol. "That's you. Now, stop making noise and go sit down before the real authorities hear you throwing around names you shouldn't be." The sheer disrespect made my blood boil, but I felt a sudden, cold terror creep in: he was completely unimpressed by my threats, proving my old power meant nothing here.
My desperate rage hit a brick wall. I looked around the room and saw the other patients and staff giving me wary looks, clearly annoyed by my shouting. My old world was built on inherited power and wealth; this new world, this ridiculous manga universe, was built on biological rank—something this weak, worthless body did not possess. I didn't have a scent strong enough to dominate anyone, and I felt the shameful, instinctive need to actually listen to the low-ranking Beta staff member. It was the most demeaning thing I had ever experienced, worse than being hit by the truck.
I retreated to a nearby metal bench, my mind spinning. I was a nobody, a Omega, I couldn't be sure—in a body that responded to authority and weakness. The rules of this place were immutable, and my usual tactics wouldn't work on anyone, not even this pathetic desk worker. I had to ditch the name Liang Xu for now; it was only getting me pity and mockery. I needed information on the identity of this new body, and I needed to understand the current social structure fast, because I could feel myself starting to hyperventilate from the sheer loss of my former privilege.
I gritted my teeth, gripping the side of the cold metal bench. I wouldn't stay weak. I wouldn't live like this. Even trapped in this pathetic, low-status body, I was still Liang Xu, and I knew how to use people. I had to observe, learn, and then claw my way back up the power structure, no matter what Alpha or Omega instincts this body tried to force on me. I swore right there that I would find out who this weakling was and then immediately begin the long, disgusting climb back to the top of this new, stupid society.