At that moment, the scene was deathly quiet. The Betas remained silent for a long while before turning back one by one, looking at Lei Ting with bizarre expressions: *Big brother, have you forgotten your own gender?*
"I'm not that kind of Alpha," Lei Ting said, his expression unchanging.
"Listen to yourself," the long-haired Beta scoffed. "If a soft, fragrant Omega tripped right in front of you, are you saying you wouldn't catch them?"
"I might just trip faster than they do..." Lei Ting replied. "Then I'd just lie there on the floor. You know, the universe as my quilt, the starship as my bed, that sort of thing."
The long-haired Beta looked genuinely shocked. "Good grief, did you come to the *Sun* just to sleep in?"
"I did not! No, I didn't!" Lei Ting looked equally shocked. "That’s called a 'Ship’s Executive Decision: Tactical Hibernation!'"
*Tactical hibernation, my foot!*
The Betas were rolling on the floor laughing. When the trio finally made it up to the second floor, Lei Ting quietly buttoned the standing collar of his white shirt, straightened his tie, and tugged at his uniform collar, barely managing to hide the faint red glow emanating from his suppressor.
The Betas nearby noticed his actions. Realizing that this rare Alpha—one who actually got along with Betas—didn't want to deal with those three, they cooperatively shielded him behind the crowd.
Thus, Lei Ting sat in the corner of the lounge sofa, dressed in a uniform that was almost excessively neat and tidy. With the serious, upright air of an ordinary person, he watched the three newcomers exit the elevator and cast indifferent glances toward the group of Betas.
It was only now that Lei Ting noticed the two black-haired Omega boys looked somewhat similar, except one had blue eyes and the other had green. Furthermore, both were draped in gold and silver jewelry over their uniforms. From a distance, they looked flashy enough; up close, they were practically blinding.
"They’re twins, I think," the long-haired Beta whispered to Lei Ting, sharing his intel. "The blue-eyed one is the older brother; he’s engaged to the red-head. The green-eyed one is the younger brother, the favored one. The red-head was helping him just now..."
Lei Ting was bewildered. "Brother, you can tell them apart from that far away?"
"I came here on the same ship as them. I’ve been watching this circus for a whole week, man..." The long-haired Beta’s expression twisted slightly. "I really cannot understand them, brother!!"
"Don't worry, I can't understand them either," Lei Ting said slowly.
As an ordinary person who had experienced a normal life on Earth, even now that he could smell pheromones, he couldn't comprehend the logic behind how some Alphas and Omegas could have their favorability ratings instantly maxed out just by a whiff of pheromones.
However, from his past experiences surfing the StarNet, the information he received told him one thing: everyone loved watching this kind of drama.
*Tsk, unbelievable.*
In any case, Lei Ting couldn't imagine a day where he would fall in love with someone under the influence of various conditions, including pheromones. He couldn't see himself wanting to share his life, hobbies, and ideals with another person, becoming so intimate that they were viewed as a single entity by outsiders.
Impossible. Completely impossible. He would never have a partner in this life.
Loving someone was a terrifying thing. It meant allowing your soul to be supplemented by another. In such a situation, if the two people weren't a good fit, it was over. If you lost that gamble, the grief would be unbearable.
To love someone, to let one's eyes follow their every move—that was far too distant a concept for Lei Ting.
No... rather, the act of 'pursuing' itself was a distant concept to him. His life plan had never been about moving toward a specific goal. After all, planets were round; this had taught him not to be obsessed with direction.
Despite being an Alpha, he was easygoing and disliked taking on responsibilities. That was Lei Ting. Even if he would choose to grit his teeth and charge forward when necessary, his nature was... hard to change.
The flashy O-A-O trio disappeared at the end of the corridor, and Lei Ting suddenly felt a bit bored. He didn't show it directly, instead speaking amiably to those around him. "I'm going out for a walk. I just left the Medical Department today, so I'm still a bit unfamiliar with the environment."
"Go ahead, go ahead. Just remember to be back before 21:00, or you won't be able to get back in," the Betas said, waving him off dismissively.
Lei Ting gave a small wave of thanks and entered the elevator with a smile.
After the elevator doors closed, the Betas suddenly fell silent.
A moment later, someone in the crowd spoke up. "Do you guys believe he'll be different?"
"I do," the long-haired youth said. "Everyone is different... There must be more to Alphas than just people with their eyes above their heads. Just like how there are more to Omegas than just delicate flowers, and more to us than just mediocre talents."
"It should be said that anyone who can make it here is 'extraordinary' by nature."
Another girl spoke as she stood up and walked toward her room.
"At the very least, I've truly had enough of those people whose heads are filled with nothing but romance all day long," she said.
...
Beneath the deep sky, the artificial sunlight was brilliant.
Lei Ting wandered aimlessly, a map open in the corner of his vision.
As he walked, he browsed the content on the *Sun's* local area network, casually joining something called... the Alpha Forum.
To be fair and analytical, he didn't quite believe there were truly no faculty members in there. Or, at the very least, even if there were no teachers, the academy's management AI, 'Pacific,' had to be present. After all, the entire internal network of the *Sun* was likely built upon its foundation.
The ship's broad decks were crowded with people, the vast majority of whom wore freshman uniforms.
With fifty thousand freshmen, even if only a tenth were out and about right now, it was still a literal sea of people.
To avoid hitting any passersby, Lei Ting let his calcium metal cube float quietly beside him as he drifted toward a densely populated area.
The name of this place on the map was the 'Commercial District,' and a look inside confirmed it. However, the shops on both sides of the road were still in the process of setting up before their grand openings.
Furthermore, according to the information on the street corner signs, the Commercial District didn't charge students money. Instead, it used points earned from various courses and extracurricular tasks within the academy.
Students paid points, merchants provided goods, and the academy paid the merchants in currency. In this process, no form of proxy buying was allowed for student-related transactions, and points were non-transferable.
These rules would remain in effect until the students graduated four years later. During this period, items purchased by students were not allowed to be resold. If one wished to sell an item, it had to be stripped for parts and listed on the Orion Human Federation's largest trading website, and the items would have to be certified by the academy.
These regulations, detailed down to the bone, made Lei Ting wonder what on earth had happened in the past... *Good grief, did people actually try to make a fortune inside the academy?*
As he was pondering this, a golden head of hair came toward him under the sunlight.
Everyone who saw him felt their eyes dazzle, and Lei Ting was no exception—especially since the other party was walking straight toward him, eventually coming to a halt right in front of him.
"Lei Ting, is your injury healed?" the other asked.
Lei Ting helplessly opened his eyes, which had been squinting from the glare. "...Yes. Thanks for the concern, Lu... uh, Kang Lu?"
"You can call me whatever you want, but my common name is Lucas." The golden-haired youth, a faint blue light peeking from beneath his collar, shrugged. He stared directly at Lei Ting. "Did you see that card?"
"Ah, I saw it." Lei Ting sighed.
Back when he was still in the ward, Luo Xian had sent over some food and nutritional supplements. The gift box Lucas had casually left on the table also contained nutritional supplements useful for superhumans.
But what Lei Ting hadn't expected was that among those supplements was a data card that looked like an instruction manual... After reading it with his light-computer, a ten-year VIP membership for the 'Corn Factory'—ahem, Kang's Pharmaceuticals—was automatically bound to his identity information.
An annual privilege gift pack that could be accumulated, free treatment at any medical station under the Kang's umbrella, a flat 50% discount on all Kang's medicines with a free gift included, and even a buy-one-get-one-free deal on nutritional supplements after the discount...
Anyone could see that this tiny, recyclable, one-time-use data card was worth a fortune.
Because of this, Lei Ting always felt a bit uneasy facing Lucas. He didn't know how to put it; he had already accepted the benefits, so saying anything hypocritical now would be awkward.
Lucas also noticed the slight awkwardness in him, and his expression became equally strange. "To be honest, you don't need to feel bad... After all, you saved me. Besides, I have plenty of those cards on hand. Those medicines are actually very cheap to manufacture; even with the discount and the buy-one-get-one-free deal, we still make a profit..."
Lei Ting was rendered speechless by these words. His mouth twitched, unsure of how to respond, as he and Lucas—who had suddenly realized he'd said the wrong thing and shut up—stared at each other.
"Pfft." A muffled laugh came from not far away.
Lei Ting snapped his head around, only to find that the direction of the sound was a shop currently being stocked. There were several people at the entrance, respectively registering, unloading, inspecting, checking data, and looking at the local network. None of them looked like they could have overheard their conversation from that distance.
"..." He looked in that direction suspiciously, then led Lucas a few steps further away to continue their talk.
Lucas was a bit bewildered but followed him anyway. He added, "Besides, I just confirmed that although my family has a station on campus, it also follows the school rules. In other words, you won't be able to use that privilege for at least a year, and you might not even use it for four years..."
Lei Ting froze for a moment, realizing why Lucas had been walking from that end of the street. "So, you can't use it yourself either...?"
"No," Lucas said dejectedly. "My family didn't tell me at all before I came. On the *Sun*, no outside privileges are allowed..."
"Ha." The laughter rang out again from nearby, even slightly louder this time.
Lei Ting recognized it as a clear, pleasant, and magnetic male voice. He silently glanced over, ruled out the woman getting into a vehicle and the workers who had finished unloading and were preparing to leave, and locked onto the last person remaining at the door—a man who was still looking down, fiddling with a white data pad.
He was a man with an extremely handsome profile, soft medium-length black hair, and a frame that looked to be at least 1.9 meters tall. His physical appearance was top-tier.
But at the moment, he seemed somewhat exhausted. His entire being seemed to radiate a vibe of "Haha, I'm so over this job!"—yet he continued to obediently keep his head down and work. He was the quintessential picture of a weary laborer.
...*Could it be him? Someone who could hear their conversation clearly at this distance?*
Lei Ting narrowed his eyes slightly, turned around, and stared at the man.
"...Anyway, I should head back now. Don't forget to check the strategy posts on the public forum for earning points..." Lucas said, following Lei Ting's gaze toward the shop entrance. "...What are you looking at?"
"Nothing..." Lei Ting watched the man at the shop entrance, whose fingers paused for a brief moment, and said slowly, "I just thought I saw an acquaintance. Shouldn't you be heading back? Stay safe, and remember to stick to the main roads."
***
