Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Setting aside how Feng Zhixi eventually dealt with that massive box of sweets, when the two of them followed the prompts of the entry codes on their optical computers to find their ship at the M88 spaceport, they encountered some unexpected faces.
"Hello, Chiefs~" Emir, who had arrived early, greeted them with a beaming smile. Just as she had predicted, they met again quite soon.
While Emir’s presence was a surprise, it wasn't a shock. The ones who truly made them pause in their tracks were—Hill and Ji Wei?!
The biological gas bomb was still alive?!
The moment he saw Hill, Feng Zhixi immediately held his breath. His pace faltered, and he instantly activated the shielding device he carried.
At the same time, Feng Zhixi didn't forget Ji Yeran, who was in the same predicament. Fortunately, he had come prepared. He decisively removed the shielding device from his own left ear and, with lightning speed, clipped it onto Ji Yeran’s earlobe.
The small device Feng Zhixi fastened was a hoop—a delicate silver ring that sat against Ji Yeran’s earlobe. It looked exactly like a stud earring, lending a touch of wild, unrestrained flair to the Alpha’s usually gentle and affectionate face.
Ji Yeran was naturally blessed with striking features; he was the kind of person who could pull off a head of gradient green hair during a rebellious phase and still captivate hearts with his looks alone. Now, with this sleek silver stud, he looked unexpectedly suited to it. The combination exuded a sort of cold, magnetic sensuality.
"??!" Emir looked at the two Chiefs with some surprise. It was the first time she noticed them wearing jewelry. The small silver studs were simple and elegant—one for each of them, identical in style. They looked like a specially commissioned couple’s set, incredibly stylish and cool.
Feeling inexplicably flexed upon, Emir rubbed her eyes. She looked at their matching earrings with a hint of envy, wondering if she should buy a couple’s set for herself and her boyfriend after the competition ended.
Lost in her thoughts, Emir had no idea that what Feng Zhixi had placed on Ji Yeran wasn't a decorative piece to flaunt their relationship, but a miniature scent blocker. It was a subconscious reaction the moment he laid eyes on Hill.
Because it was just too stinky!
Even though he was currently blocking the scent with the device, he still instinctively felt as though Hill was perpetually enveloped in a cloud of horrific toxic gas—a stench that carried for thousands of miles. It was the kind of "stink" you could sense just by looking at someone!
Feeling Feng Zhixi’s movement, Ji Yeran tilted his head in surprise. It was also his first time noticing that Feng Zhixi wore an earring; the action had revealed the stud usually hidden beneath his hair.
The black-haired, dark-eyed Omega, with that tiny silver stud against his pale, jade-like skin, looked perfectly accented. it brought out the arrogant, commanding aura of this Omega to its fullest.
*So, a pampered thing is a pampered thing no matter where he goes.*
Ji Yeran couldn't help but smile.
Shifting his gaze from Feng Zhixi’s earlobe, Ji Yeran surveyed the ship full of military students about to participate in the joint exercise: Emir, Hill, Ji Wei...
As these figures connected with the news of the joint exercise, Ji Yeran suddenly realized something—a major event he had previously overlooked. The starting point of a future assassination case that would shock the Federation was right here.
There were nine students on this ship, including himself and Feng Zhixi. Among them, there were only three Omegas. Besides Feng Zhixi and Hill, the only other Omega was Emir, the leader of the perennial third-place academy.
So, she was the fuse for that future assassination?
Ji Yeran glanced at Emir, his thoughts drifting far away.
In the future before Ji Yeran’s rebirth, a major incident had occurred in the Federation. A Lieutenant General of the military had piloted a combat mecha in a suicide mission, attempting to assassinate Master Hill.
Ultimately, that Lieutenant General, despite his explosive combat power, was intercepted and killed by a joint elite mecha squad just as he was about to succeed. The leader of that squad was the future Federation Admiral, Ji Wei. He had piloted an S-class mecha modified by Master Hill, leading Ji Qi—who was already a captain under the First Army Corps at the time—to eliminate the rebel general.
A mecha explosion had wiped the Lieutenant General from existence. However, the turmoil he caused directly impacted the Federation's First Army Corps.
Not long after, Admiral Ji Wei became the new Federation Marshal. The first thing he did upon taking office was to exile Xu Yi—the prime candidate for the next commander of the First Army—to a fringe star system to "eat dirt."
The reason for Xu Yi’s exile was that during a past joint military exercise, his poor command had led to an Omega student becoming permanently disabled and forced into retirement.
That disabled Omega student was reportedly the partner of the Lieutenant General who had carried out the suicide attack.
The student had retired because they were unfortunately captured by space pirates during the joint exercise. Their glands were brutally excised by the pirates, leaving the rescued student unable to fulfill military duties, forcing a regretful retirement.
That future Lieutenant General had always believed his partner’s tragedy was an accident. Thus, after voluntarily joining the military, he had remained on the front lines of wiping out space pirates.
That was, until his partner finally succumbed to physical collapse and passed away.
Only then did the Lieutenant General find a meticulously detailed revenge plan among his partner's effects—a plan that was more than half-completed. The target of that revenge was a person named Hill.
Hill: the youngest Master in the Federation, backed by the top-tier Xiguang Conglomerate and Admiral Ji Wei—a titan standing at the pinnacle of Federation technology.
Only then did the Lieutenant General learn that his partner, who had been forced to retire due to permanent disability, had never given up on seeking the truth. By the time she finally found it, her enemy was already beyond reach. She hadn't chosen to wallow in despair; she had chosen to plot.
But the truth had come too late. The Omega’s body could no longer hold out, and everything was left unfinished.
In the end, the Lieutenant General failed as well. He possessed only solitary courage, lacking his partner's resilience and the resolve to move only after a plan was set.
When the truth was leaked in the future, no one knew it was connected to Hill. People simply thought the Lieutenant General had gone mad from losing his love.
Amidst the pity, people could only say that a pathetic person must have a hateful side.
At that time, the retired former Federation Marshal had let out a low sigh. For some reason, the old Marshal felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Though the Federation appeared prosperous and vibrant on the surface, with rising stars like Ji Wei and Hill ascending, the old Marshal felt a strange sense of unease. That unease stemmed from the fact that while these new stars rose, the other geniuses of the Federation seemed to lose their luster, fading into obscurity.
That retired Omega and that deceased Lieutenant General had both been children he thought highly of, yet they both ended up at a dead end.
And it wasn't just them. There were many more—so many young geniuses. Why had they all lost their brilliance?
What exactly was going on?
***
Setting aside the future confusion and worry of the old Marshal, at this moment, on the recruitment officer’s ship, Xu Yi was re-verifying the information of the nine attendees and assigning them numbers.
In the joint military exercise, the students had no names, only codenames for easy memorization.
On the ship, Ji Wei saw his cousin, as well as the Omega beside him wearing the same earring.
This Omega traveling with his cousin was very special. He didn't fit the conventional image of an Omega. He possessed a side that was entirely different from the sweetness, submissiveness, and restraint of others—a side that would spark a desire for *conquest* in a powerful Alpha.
Such a proud and haughty favored child of heaven... if one could possess him and make him reveal a different side, what kind of sense of accomplishment would that bring?
*Interesting?* Ji Wei arched an eyebrow wickedly. Such a gesture, performed on his handsome and upright features, carried an indescribable masculine charm.
Ji Wei noticed that his cousin never seemed to have stood this close to any other Omega before.
It seemed this Omega was very important to Ji Yeran.
As he thought this, Ji Wei’s gaze fell upon Feng Zhixi and didn't pull away for a long time.
There was another person observing the two of them—Hill.
As he watched Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran arrive together, the System in Hill’s mind let out a massive vibration.
The System, emitting such a strong fluctuation for the first time, used frantically flashing, blood-red characters to command the host: *Separate these two at all costs.*
Looking at Feng Zhixi, who had caused such a massive reaction from the System, a deep sense of wariness rose in Hill’s heart. He had a premonition that he and this Omega could not coexist.
Everything he currently possessed, and everything he was about to possess, could vanish like smoke because of this person’s appearance.
Carrying this intense sense of crisis, Hill branded Feng Zhixi as a stumbling block that had to be kicked aside from the very first moment he saw him.
Hill’s hostility toward Feng Zhixi didn't just stem from the System’s mission; it was a powerful fear rising from the depths of his soul.
He had a feeling that this person would strip him of everything and return him to his original form.
Hidden within this fear was a lack of self-confidence. It was as if, the moment he stood before this person and came under the gaze of those deep black eyes, he would turn into nothing more than a clown.
*I got to where I am today by relying on myself,* Hill told himself silently in his heart. Then, he placed Feng Zhixi into the darkest part of his inner plans.
However, this shy, easily blushing, blonde and blue-eyed Omega had an appearance that was far too deceptive. Even Emir failed to notice the darkness in Hill’s eyes.
Swinging her long ponytail, Emir gave the sweet and cute petite Omega a friendly smile. She was still wondering who this Omega was to have made the cut. And also, why hadn't she seen the leader of the Blue Lite Academy?
Emir remembered that the leader of the First Military Academy, Ji Wei, had invited the leader of Blue Lite to participate in this joint exercise together.
But where was he now? Where did he go?
Emir looked around persistently; she still wanted to battle Benjamin one more time~
The thick-skinned and highly competitive Emir believed that while she had never beaten the Chief, given the same starting conditions, she was confident her odds against Ji Wei and Benjamin combined were at least fifty-fifty.
That’s right—with her family heritage, Emir was just that confident!
Meanwhile, Benjamin, currently on the Honeymoon Planet, looked at the pink landscape in the distance. No one knew what he was thinking.
***
