Pei Liang: “……”
Wait, she’d only been joking around. This guy next door couldn’t seriously have gotten any ideas from that, could he?
Besides, with her distinctly East Asian features and his blond hair and blue eyes, nobody would believe it even if they insisted.
Then he said, “Your mother doesn’t actually like children. Of the two children she has now, you were an obligation she had no choice but to fulfill, while the other was an accidental consequence of circumstances.”
“I actually rather want a child with her.”
“Why don’t you just leave the Pei family and acknowledge me as your father? I’ll take good care of you and your mother. The three of us can be one happy family.”
This time, Pei Liang’s expression became indescribably strange. At her age, having someone look at her with such an outpouring of fatherly affection was enough to make her entire body shudder.
Fortunately, even with Valen’s laid-back personality, he wasn’t going to make a decision like that over the phone.
But perhaps because he was already imagining that she might one day become his daughter, Valen had originally called to give her a verbal scolding and tell the unlucky child not to cause her mother any more trouble.
Now, however, he inexplicably had a little more patience with Pei Liang. He didn’t lecture her anymore, merely saying, “I’ve already asked Richter to plead for leniency regarding your disciplinary action for fighting.”
“I heard you won both times. That does count as having some redeeming qualities. Still, for the time being, I hope you’ll behave yourself. At the very least, don’t create a situation that even your father can’t clean up.”
“All right. I’m sure you’ve realized your mistake and started reflecting on it, so I won’t put any more pressure on you. Let’s have dinner together this weekend.”
With that, he hung up, leaving Pei Liang sitting expressionlessly on the examination bed.
Had that guy just unilaterally cast himself in the role of her father?
Pei Liang shook her head and decided not to think about the tangled relationship between her bargain-bin parents in the previous generation. Nor did she bother considering whether today’s casual joke might lead to some sort of custody battle between the husband and wife.
It was fortunate that both sides of her parents were of pure East Asian descent. Otherwise, if the guy next door went home and blabbed a few words, she would probably be sent for a paternity test immediately.
What Pei Liang didn’t know was that she was relaxing far too soon. Because of that one flippant remark, there would be plenty of chaos at home in the future.
Of course, that was a story for later. At present, the teachers responsible for the test had already made all the preparations.
Pei Liang was fitted with a helmet and then instructed to lie down on the bed.
This was the most advanced testing equipment of the era, designed to ensure that no student with potential at the Imperial Military Academy would ever have their talents wasted.
It didn’t merely test one’s mental-power level. The machine could even trace a person’s genes back thousands of years.
Within the vast river of human history, one could easily locate one’s ancestors.
Pei Liang closed her eyes. In an instant, she felt as though she were standing amid a boundless sea of stars. With a mere thought, she could reach any place in the world, no longer constrained by her physical body.
Even the teachers’ voices sounded unreal. Following their instructions, Pei Liang did her best to demonstrate the flexibility of her mind.
She had no idea how much time passed. It felt as though she had circled that sea of stars, leaping across every star within it. Once she could no longer find anywhere new to explore, she finally stopped.
Yet after she came to a halt, she didn’t hear the teachers’ voices for quite some time.
Only several breaths later did the chancellor’s distinctive voice reach her.
“All right. You can get up now.”
Pei Liang sat up and removed the helmet. The teachers around her wore a variety of complicated expressions, but they all had one thing in common: none could conceal their disbelief.
When one of them noticed Pei Liang looking over, he closed his mouth, which had fallen open in shock. His expression then changed to one of excited admiration.
“This is simply unbelievable.”
“Although we had some idea it might happen, seeing it with our own eyes is still difficult to believe.”
“An S-rank really evolved into a 3S? This discovery could rewrite history.”
“Could this discovery be recorded in the annals of history?” someone asked excitedly. “We were the first to discover it. The research value this holds could potentially change the world.”
“Not just that.” The chancellor’s calm voice cut through their excitement.
Everyone turned to him. His gaze was fixed on the screen displaying the test results, and he said with certainty, “3S is merely the limit of what current instruments can detect. She clearly has more potential beyond that.”
“Uh…”
The people around him were left bewildered. That claim was simply too outrageous.
Admittedly, there were differences even among 3S ranks. But to declare that Pei Liang had been limited by the most advanced instrument seemed rather presumptuous.
It wasn’t as though there had never been other 3S-level Alphas who had achieved similar results.
The chancellor, however, had no intention of explaining himself. Even when the teachers cited data and desperately began analyzing the results, he made no effort to defend his opinion.
He merely looked at Pei Liang. She showed none of the excitement or delight one might expect from suddenly leaping two levels. Her expression was calm, as though everything were perfectly natural.
She interrupted the teachers’ discussion and asked, “As a 3S-level student, can I join the school team as a substitute?”
The teachers thought she was being foolish and hurriedly said, “Student Pei Liang, the evolutionary phenomenon occurring in your body holds incalculable value for all of humanity.”
“Your body must not suffer the slightest harm. I do not recommend that you participate in the mecha league. But rest assured—your name is destined to be written into history. Compared to that, the annual mecha league is utterly insignificant.”
Students participated in the mecha league to achieve a good ranking or put on an impressive performance, all in the hope of securing a brighter future.
But Pei Liang could now obtain an achievement that others might spend their entire lives pursuing simply by lying there.
Why bother with anything else?
Pei Liang, however, replied as a matter of course, “Of course my name will be written in history. What I’m asking about is my eligibility as a substitute in the mecha league.”
She was being stubborn now. The teachers’ expressions turned serious.
“We will not recommend that you participate in the league.”
“Although you’ve evolved to the 3S level, you haven’t yet fully adapted to your new realm. There is a certain risk to your life during the mecha league’s matches. Your body is now an important asset of the Empire—”
“Then draw a few tubes of blood from me first,” Pei Liang interrupted, waving a hand. “Even if I die, the probability of my body being destroyed so completely that not a single bone remains is still extremely low, right?”
“When the time comes, retrieving my corpse won’t interfere with your research. I’m sure that before you brought me here, you thoroughly investigated my life—even down to how many slices of ham were in the lunch I ate, right?”
“So your subsequent research doesn’t actually require my cooperation. What exactly are you teachers hesitating over?”
Her sophistry provoked the research fanatics around her into a nameless fury. One of them was just about to reprimand her in his capacity as a teacher when the chancellor spoke.
“I agree to let you participate.”
Pei Liang looked at the chancellor and saw an unfathomable depth in his eyes.
“You don’t need to enter the school team as a substitute. I’ll adjust the roster and make you a regular team member.”
As he said this, he looked into Pei Liang’s eyes and smiled. “I look forward to seeing what you can do.”
“Chancellor!” the others exclaimed. “You can’t indulge a student’s whims. What we should do now is report this discovery to the military district’s higher-ups.”
Richter said, “I am the military district’s higher-up.”
“Every 3S-rank Alpha has one most fundamental duty: piloting mecha and fighting to protect all of humanity.”
“Unless they are dead, it is shameful for a 3S-rank Alpha to hide in the rear and enjoy a life of comfort. She will become an honored imperial soldier in the future as well. Do you want to bring shame upon the imperial military?”
The others still found it difficult to accept, but at the Imperial Military Academy, Chancellor Richter’s word was absolute. In the end, they could only swallow their objections.
Seeing how smoothly they had reached a consensus, Pei Liang was quite pleased with the chancellor’s reasonableness.
She liked people who followed through on their principles, so she was in high spirits when she left the testing room.
The league was just around the corner, with less than half a month to go.
The sudden change in the roster naturally caused an uproar at the academy. Pei Liang, a nobody until now, had suddenly forced her way onto a school team made up almost entirely of 3S-rankers. She had even become a starting member, while the 3S-rank Alpha she replaced had been reduced to a substitute.
At first, the students doubted whether the news was real. They assumed it was another rumor, like the one claiming Pei Liang had taken on more than a dozen 2S-rank or higher Alphas and beaten them all—a prank intended to make her look ridiculous.
But after checking the academy’s official announcement and confirming that it was genuine, the entire military academy exploded.
“Pei Liang? Who’s that? What’s her mental rating? What year is she in? Does she have some impressive record, or did the academy dig up some mecha prodigy from somewhere?”
“Give me a break. She’s just an incompetent second-year who used her family connections to squeeze into the elite class. She’s only an S-rank. By all rights, she shouldn’t even qualify as a substitute.”
“I know her. She’s near the bottom of the elite class in overall grades. Mecha piloting, unarmed combat, marksmanship—she’s dead last in everything. During the last class exchange, even an S-rank Alpha from Class B beat the crap out of her.”
“Then what the hell is she doing on the school team? And as a starting member, no less?”
“No wonder that idiotic rumor was spread a few days ago. It was all groundwork for this. What are the teachers thinking?”
“I heard the adjustment was ordered personally by the chancellor.”
“…”
“Has the Pei family gotten powerful enough to buy off the chancellor?”
“Impossible. The head of the Pei family is only on the same level as the chancellor. Could this be a strategy to confuse the other military academies?”
That was, in fact, the most likely explanation. As the leading military academy in the empire, the Imperial Military Academy was watched by countless eyes.
Aside from the two first-years, the information on every current team member had already been studied repeatedly by the other military academies.
Could the chancellor be deliberately bringing in someone who appeared on none of the other academies’ data lists, disrupting their plans and making them waste time and effort at a crucial moment?
It was the only explanation that made sense. Besides, the senior who had been replaced was now a substitute. When the actual competition began, Pei Liang could simply claim to be unwell and withdraw, leaving the lineup unchanged.
Although many people agonized over it before finally convincing themselves that this logic held up—and spread the idea until everyone accepted it—they still found it awkward that Pei Liang occupied a starting position.
Was the Imperial Military Academy really so short on talent? Even if she was just a smokescreen, why pick someone like her?
The most important point was that she had been showing up at the training room every day, training in earnest. She was taking the performance so seriously that she seemed to be playing the part in full.
But only the Alphas training alongside her knew just how brutally difficult life had become.
At first, they had been somewhat unwilling to accept their defeat that day. After all, they had already been training for most of the day, and the accumulated fatigue in their minds and bodies had made it difficult for them to maintain their full strength.
But during the intensive training that followed, everyone truly came to understand that this monster was operating on an entirely different level from them when it came to experience and technique.
The talents, combat skills, and tactical awareness they had always prided themselves on seemed unbearably immature before her—so immature they could hardly bear to look at themselves.
What was more, her body was not particularly advantageous. In terms of pure physical strength, she was actually at the bottom of the school team.
Yet even trying to fight her with sheer physical power was impossible. It was as if she had an engine installed inside her body, or a layer of liquid armor capable of changing form at will. More than anything, she seemed like some kind of [redacted] device.
In the face of that entire string of cheats, her slight lack of physical strength was utterly negligible.
The key was that she was generous, too. One of the seniors she had previously beaten into the ground had asked her, red-faced and stammering, how she did it. Instead of hiding anything, she actually explained everything.
In the previous apocalypse dungeon, Pei Liang had already worked with Gong Ran to develop a method for teaching internal energy cultivation to ordinary people, allowing those who had not evolved to gain the strength to fight monsters.
This world was somewhat easier. The people here could apparently condense internal energy naturally.
So Pei Liang cobbled together a cultivation technique, claiming she had comprehended it from ancient Eastern texts passed down through her family. Then, with nothing better to do, she had tried practicing it herself. The result, according to her complete bullshit story, was that she not only developed true energy capable of circulating through her blood and meridians, but that her body and mind evolved along with it.
She managed to bamboozle everyone present—including the instructor—so thoroughly that the instructor hurriedly asked her to explain in detail.
But someone suddenly realized that if this had been passed down through the Pei family since ancient times, then it was their secret technique. Asking about it so directly would be deeply offensive. Although no one in the Pei family had ever displayed such a talent before, taking advantage of a child’s ignorance to demand their secrets would still be bullying her.
They decided it would be better to negotiate with the Pei family first.
Who could have known that Pei Liang would be such a blunt instrument? Before anyone could smooth over the awkwardness of their request, she had already spilled the entire secret like beans from a split pod.
With the mental strength of the 2S-rankers present and above, hearing it once was enough for them to memorize it perfectly.
If the head of the Pei family and her father ever found out, the blood they spat would probably be enough to send them flying backward.
After explaining everything, she even waved her hand grandly. “I came up with this cultivation technique myself, so naturally I’m the one with absolute authority over how it’s used.”
“If you have any questions, come ask me. I’ll tell you everything I know. After all, it’s for the sake of the academy.”
In an instant, that arrogant blunt instrument’s image in everyone’s eyes rose dramatically, as though a halo had appeared above her head.
The seniors she had beaten down and humiliated were no longer angry. All they wanted to say was that she was a saint.
They even decided that the next time she was being beaten, if they happened to be there, they absolutely had to rush forward and shield her.
Even Teresa and Arnold, who held Pei Liang’s character in such contempt, had to admit that she was not without redeeming qualities.
That said, cultivating internal energy was not something one could accomplish overnight. With the league approaching, the team members’ training schedules remained unchanged. However, during their exchanges, Pei Liang’s experience and opinions were now clearly being taken much more seriously.
The Pei family had already learned that Pei Liang had joined the school team. Her father, who usually paid her no attention, had even called to check on her.
However, Pei Liang’s mental evolution had not yet been announced in any form. With the Imperial Military Academy’s closed-off administration, even the Pei family knew nothing about it.
As a result, her father assumed it was merely some strategy on the chancellor’s part, or that there was some other consideration involved. He only told Pei Liang not to cause trouble.
But since she had to continue training that weekend, she had no time to attend the appointment with the guy next door—no, with Mr. Valen and her bargain-bin mom.
She couldn’t even make it to her invitation from Hill, the promising young man she had taken a liking to. Hill had specifically called her about it.
The setting behind Hill was clearly not the gaudy, chaotic slums. He was obviously in the central district.
His face was full of excitement. He had only obtained his visa yesterday, yet he had hurried into the central district today without delay.
“I’ve found some leads on the people who tried to assassinate you,” he said, “but this information isn’t suitable for sending online. I asked Xingyu to bring it to you on Monday.”
Pei Liang nodded. She wasn’t in any hurry about that matter.
Instead, she asked him, “Did you replace the motorcycle’s engine? How did the race go this week?”
The joy on Hill’s face was impossible to hide. “The new parts are great. I came in first.”
Pei Liang smiled. “Congratulations. I look forward to seeing you enter the central district as a racing star.”
“I will.” Hill gazed at the scenery of the central district, his expression filled with longing and determination.
Then his benefactor said, “I won’t disturb you while you’re out sightseeing, then. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the surroundings. It’ll be good for you in the future.”
“Wait!” Hill hurriedly said. “I heard you’re going to participate in the upcoming mecha league?”
Pei Liang nodded. “That’s right.”
Hill looked a little embarrassed. “Then, could you give me a ticket to watch it in person?”
Although the mecha league stadium could hold hundreds of thousands of people, tickets were already impossible to obtain at this point. As someone from the slums, Hill hadn’t even been eligible to buy one before he received his visa.
“Sure.”
It was nothing difficult for Pei Liang. With a movement of her finger, an electronic ticket for a VIP seat in the front row appeared in his terminal.
Hill’s face lit up with surprise. After his benefactor ended the call, he suddenly discovered that there was another sum of money in his account.
The note attached to it read: Have fun.
Once again, Hill gained a direct understanding of just how generous his benefactor was. She even reimbursed him for going into the city to have fun.
If it weren’t inappropriate, he might even have been tempted to call his benefactor right then and ask whether she could employ him for life. He wouldn’t have minded washing himself clean and waiting for her in bed right now.
He even—
Hill recalled what Xingyu had said to him before he left. Xingyu had probably noticed that his feelings had been wavering lately and that he had been working especially hard for his benefactor. He was worried that Hill might really become involved with that woman and lose the last of his principles.
But people like them—people who had been thrown into a centralized garbage-processing dump—what luxury did they have to preserve their pride or their principles?
*
On Monday, Chu Xingyu indeed came to the special-level class with a file folder to see Pei Liang.
In this era, it was rather unusual to use a file folder to carry documents. Such things were mostly used in transactions conducted in the black districts.
The two of them avoided the others and went to a corner behind the teaching building. Pei Liang accepted the file folder Chu Xingyu handed her.
She opened it and gave the information inside a quick look, then smiled. “Looks like the little stray has been working hard lately.”
The contents of the file were not something he could have easily uncovered with his standing in the slums. He must have taken considerable risks.
Chu Xingyu had always opposed Hill becoming too deeply involved with this woman. He frowned and said, “You’ve gotten what you wanted. This is the limit of what Hill can investigate at present.”
“If he digs any deeper, he’ll risk his life to get it done. I’ll definitely stop him.”
To climb higher, Hill would certainly be willing to take such risks.
Pei Liang glanced at him and smiled. “You can’t stop him, just as he can’t stop you.”
As an Omega studying at a military academy made up mostly of Alphas, how much danger and risk did Chu Xingyu have to bear?
Pei Liang didn’t believe Hill had never tried to stop him.
Sure enough, Chu Xingyu froze at her words. His expression immediately turned ugly, and he said nothing more before turning to leave.
Yet perhaps it was only her imagination, but Pei Liang felt that he smelled especially good today.
Pei Liang did not hurry out. Instead, she stayed there and carefully looked through the stack of documents again.
The organization to which the assassins belonged had now been identified, and Pei Liang had also narrowed down, within a certain range, the people with whom the leaders of those organizations had been in contact.
The person who wanted Pei Liang dead could not possibly have come from the slums. Following this line of investigation, what Pei Liang needed to do next was mobilize forces in the central district and uncover the connections between them.
But as she had just said, there was no rush for now.
Pei Liang put away the documents and emerged from the corner, preparing to return to the classroom.
She had not gone far when she suddenly caught that sweet fragrance again. She remembered it—it was the scent that had clung to Chu Xingyu earlier.
But compared to before, it was now far more intense.
Pei Liang had not thought much of it earlier, but she immediately understood what was happening now and hurried forward.
She saw Chu Xingyu leaning weakly against a tree and struggling onward. His face was deathly pale, his expression anxious, and large beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.
Had he suddenly entered his heat cycle, or was this the backlash from an inhibitor losing its effect?
Whatever the case, his condition was clearly poor. Alphas were especially sensitive to an Omega’s pheromones, and Pei Liang had already sensed the nearby Alphas beginning to stir as they followed the scent.
Fortunately, Chu Xingyu was far from the crowds, and ordinary students’ mental levels were not yet high enough to detect the pheromones clearly.
But by an unfortunate coincidence, two people suddenly appeared around the corner: Teresa and Arnold.
Both were 3S-ranked, and it was obvious they had been drawn there by the Omega’s pheromones.
Pei Liang was now certain. These three were absolutely the protagonists of the original story.
The unfamiliar, sweet pheromones stirred the two young Alphas. Their gazes turned dark as they looked in this direction.
“An Omega?”
Pei Liang immediately took off her coat and draped it over Chu Xingyu, temporarily using her own Alpha scent to block the spread of his pheromones.
She said to the two of them, “Wrong guess. It’s perfume I sprayed on before leaving this morning.”
Then she picked up Chu Xingyu and ran.
The two of them naturally gave chase. It wasn’t only the pheromones attracting them—Pei Liang also had a history of attempting to drug and assault an Omega.
As Alphas, they were instinctively responsible for protecting Omegas. How could they allow someone like her to be alone with an Omega?
Thus, the two pursued Pei Liang all the way to the infirmary.
They happened to see Pei Liang snatch up an inhibitor and plunge the needle into Chu Xingyu.
The inhibitor took effect rapidly. The pallor faded from Chu Xingyu’s face, and the weakness throughout his body, along with his shameful desire, disappeared.
But the lingering trace of the Omega’s pheromones had not completely faded. He glanced at Pei Liang, then at the two Alphas who had entered afterward. He bit his lower lip, an embarrassed look crossing his face.
Teresa and the others were 3S-rank, after all, and their self-control was far stronger than that of ordinary Alphas. Although their instincts had briefly stirred with disappointment when the sensation vanished, their reason remained firmly intact.
Teresa frowned. “You’re an Omega?”
Chu Xingyu bristled. “So what if I am?”
“Omegas shouldn’t be here,” Teresa said. “It’s too dangerous.”
Chu Xingyu clenched his fists. “I’m a command-track student. My grades and practical assessment scores are far above those of students in my year, ninety percent of whom are Alphas. Does all of that mean nothing just because I’m an Omega?”
Teresa didn’t know how to answer.
Then Pei Liang let out a sigh. “When you get down to it, that blasted gland is just too much trouble.”
“If you have no interest in falling in love, getting married, or having children in the future, why not just have it removed?”
The two Alphas immediately sucked in a sharp breath and stared at the lunatic who was encouraging an Omega to castrate himself.
Pei Liang found their stares baffling. “What? It’s the truth.”
“If this thing between my legs got in my way, I’d cut it off without hesitation too.”
“Yikes—”
This time, even Chu Xingyu felt a chill between his legs.
The three of them stared at Pei Liang, genuinely feeling that they had lost.
