"Cobweb" was the little toy Feng Zhixi had accidentally seized from the space pirate ship. It had caught his attention not because its design was particularly masterfully crafted, but because of the designer’s ingenious application of energy strings.
Energy strings, the primal source of the magnetic fields that permeated the cosmos and formed the universal energy field, were like grains of sand in a sandbox—the most easily overlooked yet indispensable components of the entire universal energy structure. From the moment the Federation’s scientific community first observed the existence of the universal energy field, to the identification of energy strings, and finally to the research of their functions, every scholar yearning for deep-space exploration had inevitably studied how to better utilize them.
The designer of "Cobweb" had offered a new perspective: implantation.
To use an imperfect analogy, the energy strings in the universe were like the biological code within an intelligent light-brain, while "Cobweb" consisted of two quietly implanted tools: an infection virus and a protection code. The "infection virus" was designed to leverage the energy strings and jumpstart a starship’s power source. Using an amplification device, it would instantly interfere with the fundamental vibrational strings that usually rested quietly in a stable energy field, causing them to become stimulated and active.
This instantaneous activation was, in fact, a stress response triggered by the agitation of the energy strings. Simply put, it was a self-recovery reaction of the strings themselves. In the process of returning to a quiet, stable state, the energy strings would continuously draw energy from the outside world. At that moment, any energy entity within the field could not avoid being drained.
The "protection code," on the other hand, was a virus in a different sense. It could forge an interference signal, briefly deceiving the energy strings, which lacked cognitive ability and only performed mechanical recovery. This was why the space pirate ships could move through the "Cobweb" unimpeded; the device disguised the pirate ship as one of the strings' "own kind," briefly tricking the field.
"Cobweb" did not create a hunting ground through its own raw power; rather, it cleverly used a lever to quietly disrupt the smooth operation of the energy field. Although this interference was infinitesimal—a mere drop in the ocean compared to the vast energy fields spanning the vacuum of space—this ingenious little tool was enough to allow the pirates to slaughter their way through any opposition. "Cobweb" had become a sharp scythe in their hands for harvesting both wealth and lives.
While watching the duel, Feng Zhixi had already predicted the outcome. The more he watched, the more annoyed he became, so he chose to continue tinkering with his new toy. Thus, while the starship officers were still staring slack-jawed at the two mechas locked in an evenly matched struggle, Feng Zhixi—the only person who knew how it would end—had already turned his attention back to his gadget out of sheer boredom.
By now, "Cobweb" had been completely dismantled by him, stripped so bare that even its original designer wouldn't recognize it. After peeling away the layers of messy, useless code, the core formula of the device surfaced.
Feng Zhixi naturally wouldn't keep such crude code, but the designer’s "lever" logic gave him inspiration. This was exactly the research direction he had intended to pursue before his rebirth. Consequently, Feng Zhixi added a brand-new tool to his "little toolbox." Unlike "Cobweb," which required the massive driving energy of a starship to barely interfere with energy strings, Feng Zhixi wrote a completely new biological code.
He was quite interested in this freshly minted toy. Since he had nothing else to do and estimated the duel would take a while to conclude, the bored Feng Zhixi spent his time obsessively testing and adjusting his new version. As it was still an experimental device, he constantly tried to tweak various parameters, researching its limits and variations.
Just before Hill appeared, Feng Zhixi had adjusted the device’s sensing parameters to their maximum threshold and quietly interfaced it with the starship’s main control light-brain, even taking a "stroll" around the core nodes of the Xi Ore energy source.
The hijacked starship light-brain: "..."
Feng Zhixi: o(≧▽≦)o
Immersed in his little game, Feng Zhixi didn't notice how fast time was passing. While he was busy messing with his toy and conducting a "friendly exchange" with the ship's AI, the Warden—who didn't want to win but refused to lose, his actions as contradictory as ever—finally ended the duel.
Thus, amidst the gasps of the crowd, Feng Zhixi remembered the fact that he had lost his bet. He decisively abandoned his toy and looked up, glaring at Ji Yeran as he stepped out.
Feng Zhixi: ╰（｀□′）╯ (I lost? I'm furious!)
The bewildered Ji Yeran: "???" (Can someone tell me what happened?)
In his anger, Feng Zhixi momentarily forgot to disconnect from the starship’s light-brain. The tool, still set to its maximum sensing threshold, continued to work diligently.
The starship light-brain, forced into a friendly exchange: "..."
At first, everything was normal. The tool searched aimlessly until Feng Zhixi, as a top-tier Omega, instinctively discovered the second use for his pheromones. That invisible, aggressive aura that swept out like a tidal wave seemed to collide with a strange barrier.
The collision of these two peculiar forces allowed the tool to capture a trace of something. This strange fluctuation, which exceeded existing detection dimensions, caused the experimental tool to stall briefly. Just as it was about to crash from the overload, it remained connected to the starship’s light-brain. The AI monitored the energy overload and proactively provided both computational power and energy support.
The combination of the two allowed the experimental tool to successfully intercept a segment of the strange energy fluctuation.
Deep within the starship’s core energy chamber, a brilliant light flashed across the surface of the Xi Ore—a transparent, colorless crystal—as if something had been triggered.
At that exact moment, the "System" in Hill’s mind went silent. No matter how Hill screamed for it, the System gave no response.
In the training hall, when the newly arrived Hill saw Ji Yeran—the "core mission target" the System had mentioned—his excitement and urgency took over. Without thinking too much, he immediately redeemed a "high-level skill" from the System. He thought it would be a guaranteed hit, never expecting that annoying Omega to jump out halfway and ruin his plans!
Hill, who had just been metaphorically pummeled, felt his breath hitch. Before he could even process what was happening, that useless "trash System" actually crashed!
One must understand that the greatest difference between top-tier Alphas and Omegas and everyone else was their control over pheromones. As top-tier individuals, Feng Zhixi and Ji Yeran could control their pheromones perfectly. As long as they weren't in their rut or heat cycles, they could manage their output so it wouldn't interfere with others, even when releasing it externally.
However, Hill, who was only an A-rank Omega, could not actively control his pheromones without the System's help.
The sudden crash of the System Hill relied upon meant that when Captain Xu stepped out of the combat room, he was immediately hit by that sweet, lingering scent—unrestrained and wandering like a bratty child.
Captain Xu was incensed. His face darkened instantly as he barked, "Who is releasing pheromones so recklessly? Don't you know this is strictly prohibited on a starship?"
As he scolded, Captain Xu’s gaze shifted to the soldier standing beside Hill—the head of the starship’s mecha maintenance department. Nearly half the people on this ship were Alphas. Bringing an unmasked, un-marked Omega whose pheromones were drifting everywhere was practically a death wish. Or did they want to send the entire First Fleet to a military tribunal?
The dark-faced Fleet Captain glared at the man, fuming with rage.
At this moment, the head of mecha maintenance—whom Hill called "Senior"—was also in shock. This junior from Lanli Academy had high talent and a well-behaved personality, which had earned him his senior's favor. Consequently, he had been looking after Hill lately. Before entering the training hall, he hadn't smelled a hint of Omega pheromones on Hill.
But just now, the moment they entered the combat room, Hill’s pheromone blocking patch had suddenly failed, causing the Omega’s scent to leak out uncontrollably. Everything had happened too fast; the maintenance head felt he hadn't even had time to react. It was his negligence.
The maintenance head lowered his head in shame. However, what he didn't know was that it wasn't his fault. The truth was that the so-called pheromone blocking patches on Hill were "Schrödinger-esque"—whether they worked or not depended entirely on the System's whims. Therefore, it was perfectly normal for the patch to "suddenly fail" and expose the pheromones.
Because Hill had been suppressed by Feng Zhixi’s aura and the System had suddenly gone silent, the enhanced pheromones Hill had released hadn't had time to dissipate. That active, flirtatious scent spread shamelessly through the air, showing signs of becoming even stronger—a textbook case of pheromone instability.
After glaring at his irresponsible subordinate, the Captain turned his gaze toward Hill, who looked dazed by the sudden turn of events. With a dark face and zero intention of being "gentle with the fairer sex," he roared at the stunned little Omega: "What are you just standing there for?!"
With a scent this reckless, did he want to start a riot on the entire ship?!
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
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能量弦 | Energy Strings | Primal magnetic sources that form the universal energy field.
溪矿石 | Xi Ore | A transparent, colorless crystal used as a starship energy source.
蓝礼学院 | Lanli Academy | The educational institution Hill and the maintenance head attended.
信息素阻断贴 | Pheromone blocking patch | A patch used by Omegas to hide their scent.
主控光脑 | Main control light-brain | The starship's central AI/computer system.
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