Grayson looked like he wanted to press the issue, but a glance at his light brain distracted him.

"The aquarium will open soon. We should head over."

Relief washed over Neville’s expression.

Getting out of this place sounded like an excellent plan. Two equipment failures in one day were too many to be a coincidence.

Neville nodded, "Agreed."

After collecting their belongings from the lockers and changing, they made their way toward the exit.

Neville stole one last glance at the Adult Playground, the crowds of people enjoying themselves without any equipment, trying to kill them.

Yeah, something’s really off about this.

✦ ✦ ✦

Hidden behind a pillar near the vending machines, Lilianna watched Grayson and Neville leave the Adult Playground with a scowl etched deep into her beautiful features.

Nothing is going according to plan.

That kinetic wall should’ve killed or injured Neville. A quick hack into the maintenance system, a selective power drain to a specific pair of gloves, and voilà: a free fall.

However, why did a damsel in distress situation happen?

Sure, Grayson was really amazing to save Neville in time, but more importantly, it should’ve given them something to argue about.

Instead, they had somehow grown closer because of it.

The hoverboard had yielded similar results.

Yes, Neville had fallen.

Yes, it had been dramatic.

But it didn’t give Neville enough injury to stop this date.

Grayson had even swept Neville off his feet like some romance novel male lead and cradled Neville in his arms.

Disgusting.

Absolutely disgusting.

"Lilianna."

Chronos materialized beside her, a nutrient solution packet in hand. He took a long sip from his drink while watching Lilianna’s expression with amusement.

"They’re leaving." He said, pointing at Grayson and Neville.

"I can see that." Lilianna’s eyes did not forget to follow Grayson and Neville as they walked out.

Grayson’s hand was resting protectively on Neville’s lower back.

The sight made Lilianna bite her lips hard.

Chronos leaned against the vending machine casually. "I’m serious, you know."

"About what?"

"If you keep this up, they’ll be engaged by the time we reach the Meteor Shower event." He gestured vaguely with his nutrient packet. "You’re basically directing a high-budget romance film at this point. Creating all these dramatic situations for them to bond over."

Lilianna’s head whipped toward him. "Shut up!"

"I’m not going to say you should stop." Chronos’s eyes gleamed with mischief behind his disguise. "I’m just pointing out that all your tricks have done is give Grayson multiple opportunities to be closer to Neville."

"You’re wrong!" Lilianna hissed, her voice dropping to a furious whisper. "That slut is the one trying to get closer to Grayson. All he did was rely on Grayson! That’s the reason why nothing was working out!"

Chronos tilted his head slightly. "Well, can’t you just admit that they’re getting closer to each other?"

"We’re following them." Lilianna ignored him. "Come on."

She pushed off from the pillar and stalked toward the exit, her dyed brown hair swishing aggressively.

Chronos watched her go, furrowing his brows.

He took another sip of his nutrient solution.

"What did Grayson even do?" he murmured to himself.

"Oh, wait, he saved Neville one time." A pause. "I guess that counts?"

Chronos finished his nutrient solution, crushed the packet, and tossed it into a nearby recycler.

"Chronos! What are you doing?!" Lilianna shouted, her voice echoing around.

She was already halfway to the exit, looking back at him with murderous impatience.

"Hurry up!"

Chronos rolled his eyes, dropping his pleasant expression the moment her back was turned. His face twisted and grimaced as he mocked her words silently.

Shouting like that? Who the fuck begged me to hide her? Really crazy.

With a long-suffering sigh, Chronos pushed himself off the vending machine and followed. He saw her messaging someone again, and his eyes glinted coldly.

Once I know who that is, I’ll be done for the day.

○●○●

The Azure Depths Aquarium’s entrance was marked by a massive holographic whale that breached through an artificial waterfall every thirty seconds. The projection cast rippling blue light across the gathered crowd, creating the illusion that everyone was already underwater.

Neville had never seen so many people crammed into a single space.

The queue stretched from the entrance all the way past three storefronts, winding around like a serpent made of impatient families, couples on dates, and groups of teenagers taking selfies with the holographic displays.

Anti-grav strollers hovered at various heights, children pointing excitedly at the promotional posters promising "Over 10,000 Species from Across the Imperial Galaxy!"

Neville, with his leg still bruised and sprained, made it a little hard to walk. Even more so as the crowd kept jostling him every few seconds.

"I didn’t expect it to be this crowded," Grayson commented, as his eyes scanned the queue.

He stood close enough that Neville could smell his fresh water pheromones cutting through the chaos of scents around them.

"It’s the weekend," Neville replied, adjusting his nerd glasses. "Plus, I heard they just imported a rare bioluminescent jellyfish colony from the N Sector. It’s been all over StarNet."

"You checked the news?"

The question held a hint of amusement. Neville felt his ears warm.

"I... It’s a habit."

What he couldn’t say was that he had spent three hours last night researching everything about this aquarium because Shelly wouldn’t shut up about how "romantic" underwater dates were in all the best BL novels.

Apparently, the blue lighting was "flattering for confession scenes," and the intimate atmosphere was "perfect for skinship progression."

Neville had told Shelly to shut up approximately forty-seven times.

Then, the crowd suddenly surged forward without warning.

Someone’s elbow caught Neville’s shoulder.

A child darted between his legs. An alpha’s cloying floral pheromones infiltrated his senses, followed immediately by the sharp citrus of a nearby omega in distress. Then followed by musky undertones of at least five different AO, and something that smelled distinctly like burnt coffee—

Neville’s stomach lurched.

As a mermaid dominant omega with heightened sensory perception, crowded spaces were never really pleasant to be in.

But this was worse than usual.

The sheer concentration of mixed pheromones created a nauseating cocktail that made his head spin and his throat constrict.

Neville inevitably stumbled on his feet.

The crowd pushed again, and suddenly Grayson wasn’t at his side anymore.

Neville’s chest tightened, and he began to panic from suffocation.