SCOM - Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Zuo Luohuan: "..."
Whether he differentiated into an Alpha or an Omega, he had never forgotten his duties to the Disciplinary Committee.
Ji Yuezhi was no different than usual. The awkwardness in Zuo Luohuan's heart gradually faded, and she reverted to her lazy, frivolous demeanor. "You don't like it? I'll get you something else for your next birthday."
An outsider hearing this would think the two had a great relationship, but only the people involved understood the true meaning—she dared to tease him again next year.
Ji Yuezhi probably had no desire to engage with Zuo Luohuan's behavior. After she finished speaking, he turned and left directly.
Jiang Hong caught up from behind, patting Zuo Luohuan's shoulder. "What were you two talking about?"
Zuo Luohuan glanced sideways at her shoulder and brushed his hand away. "Nothing."
"Ji Yuezhi differentiated into an Omega. He must not be feeling good about it," Jiang Hong remarked, stroking his chin. Even in the current Federation, there wasn't a huge difference between the three secondary genders, but being an Alpha was ultimately a bit easier, especially in terms of strength. Betas and Omegas often had to put in much more effort to catch up to Alphas.
Remembering the person who was just as he always was, Zuo Luohuan looked ahead. "Whether he's an Alpha or an Omega, he's still Ji Yuezhi."
Jiang Hong: "...That's true."
Today, the entire sophomore class was filling out their official course selection forms. The teachers worked through their lunch break, scanning their students' forms into their optical computers. By the afternoon, the course selection system was open, and students could choose their desired instructor's courses.
The First Military Academy had five major departments: Combat, Command, Information, Starship, and Weapon Development. Within these departments, there were dozens of main courses, and when combined with other elective courses, students had at least a hundred options to choose from. However, each cadet's time was limited, so they could only select three main courses and two elective courses. The elective courses could be changed each semester.
Ji Yuezhi opened his optical computer and logged into the First Military Academy's course selection system. A vast number of courses instantly popped up. His pheromone level had already been registered; since his differentiation had just ended, it was temporarily set at S-class, but that was enough for him to choose any course at the First Military Academy.
He first chose "The Nature of Command" from the Command Department, taught by Alpha instructor Jia Hailan. Next was "Shooting Methods," taught by Omega instructor He Yue. The last main course was "Weapons Research," taught by Beta instructor Bai Feng.
And two more elective courses...
Ji Yuezhi stared at the selection system, a little dazed. "The Art of Flower Arranging" and "How to Make a Small Home Cozy" were both good, but "Flexibility Yoga" also seemed very interesting. After a long period of indecision, he finally selected his two elective courses.
Every cadet selected their courses on their own optical computer. Unless they told others, no one would know what they had chosen, at least not for the first week.
"What courses did you pick?" Jiang Hong asked, showing Zuo Luohuan his selections. "For my three main courses, I chose 'Information Gathering Methods,' 'Solo Combat,' and 'Shooting Methods.'"
After submitting her choices, Zuo Luohuan showed him her optical computer.
"Two are the same as mine, 'Solo Combat' and 'Shooting Methods.' You also chose Jia Hailan's class." Jiang Hong continued to look at her elective courses—one from the Information Department and one from the Starship Department.
There were many people in the classroom discussing their course selections just like them. In previous years, Jia Hailan's class and the classes of several Combat Department teachers were extremely popular. This year, He Yue was added to the list, but only cadets of the same level could choose her course.
"After you finish selecting today, you can all attend your chosen classes tomorrow. At ten o'clock tonight, the Academic Affairs Office will send everyone's schedules to your optical computers. Remember to check for them," the teacher reminded them before leaving the last class of the afternoon.
After course selection, the sophomore cadets were in a state of dazed excitement. A year ago, when they first enrolled, they were already thinking about their goals. Many would secretly sneak over to audit the classes of their seniors, though they could only pretend to be passing by and steal a few glances. Now that they could finally choose their own classes, they were naturally happy.
As a result, the First Military Academy's anonymous forum was currently ablaze with discussions in various threads. The annual posts sharing information about instructors were bumped to the top, and of course, there was no shortage of gossip.
【Exposing Jia the Fox's methods to prevent junior students from falling into the trap~hot!】
【Serious discussion, are those teachers in the Combat Department sick in the head? The sadistic kind of sick.】
【Do students from the Information Department know a lot of secrets?】
Countless classic posts were bumped up by enthusiastic students, but new hot threads also appeared, such as one speculating on which courses the sophomores on the school's ranking list had chosen. Among them, a few names appeared with the highest frequency.
【Does anyone know what courses Senior Ji chose?】
【Although Senior Ji's differentiation result was unexpected, his courses will undoubtedly be from the Combat and Command departments. Oh, and maybe a Weapon Development course too.】
【True. Even though Ji Yuezhi differentiated into an Omega, he definitely won't be worse than those stinky Alphas. We Omegas can also achieve great merits on the battlefield in the future.】
【To the person above, I don't deny that Omegas are formidable, but we Alphas don't stink, do we?】
【Heh, if you're so capable, then don't release your pheromones when you're losing a fight in combat class!】
【That's just the Combat Department. We Alphas from the Starship Department aren't like that.】
【Weapon Development Department silently agrees~】
...
The liveliness of the forum had nothing to do with Zuo Luohuan. In her dorm room, she dismantled the SL-9 pistol—or more accurately, she destroyed it.
The SL-9 light gun had internal technology. Even if dismantled, it was only the outer shell. The moment she opened the interior, it self-destructed, giving her no time to see it clearly. But this gun was just an excuse to divert attention anyway, so it wasn't important.
Last year, Zuo Luohuan found the first-year academy courses boring, so she skipped class and left, heading towards the Northwest Star Cluster. She eventually stopped at the Xijiang Exile Star, where she nearly lost her life.
Zuo Luohuan lay directly on the bed board in her dorm, raising an arm to cover her eyes and block the glaring light: ...The Federation has been too quiet on the surface these past few years.
At ten o'clock that night, the Academic Affairs Office successfully distributed the individual course schedules. Zuo Luohuan opened her optical computer, glanced at it, memorized her weekly schedule, then got up and headed out towards the Challenge Hall.
Even at this hour, the Challenge Hall was still brightly lit and bustling with noise. Whether Alpha, Omega, or Beta, anyone who loved to fight loved to gather here.
This was Zuo Luohuan's second time here this semester. As soon as she entered, she heard a roar of cheers and looked up to see two people standing on the most crowded ring: Yan Yan and Guan Yuan.
Both had typical Alpha builds—tall and well-muscled. At this moment, they stood facing each other, their shoulders soaked with sweat, a clear sign they had already fought one round.
Zuo Luohuan casually found a seat and watched Yan Yan and Guan Yuan fight.
She had fought Guan Yuan last year. Back then, he was ranked sixth among the Alphas and had a lot of credits. He was the first person Zuo Luohuan had sought out, a master of close-quarters combat.
As for Yan Yan, she had fought him just last month. All she could say was... he was completely undisciplined.
Relying on the physical and reflexive advantages of an Alpha, he fought wildly. She had seen it at the school gate that day—Yan Yan had clearly never received any combat training.
Guan Yuan on the stage had also obviously noticed Yan Yan's problem. He closed the distance between them, seized Yan Yan's arm, and tried to twist it outwards while simultaneously kicking sharply at his calf.
Yan Yan suddenly ducked, pulled his arm back, and rammed his head towards Guan Yuan, dodging it!
He had no technique; he dodged purely on instinct. Ever since his arm and leg were broken twice, Yan Yan had replayed the scene in his mind every night, asking himself over and over again how he could have dodged.
Now, he finally had the chance to dodge.
However, Guan Yuan was systematically trained. When one move failed, the next followed immediately, putting Yan Yan at a great disadvantage.
"It's been almost a month," Zuo Luohuan said to herself, sitting on the second floor, leaning forward with her chin in her hand as she watched Yan Yan on the ring. "He's been soaking in the Challenge Hall every day, so why can't he learn anyone's moves?"
On the stage, Yan Yan didn't last through the second round before being kicked off by Guan Yuan.
Yan Yan's limbs looked fine, but his internal organs had taken multiple heavy blows. Even straightening up was a bit of a struggle, and he could only lean against the wall, gasping for breath.
For someone like Guan Yuan, the credit wagers were all above fifty points. By losing this match, Yan Yan lost all the credits he had earned in the past two weeks, leaving him with only the base two points.
The thought of his precarious credit score gave Yan Yan a headache. As he felt his way along the wall to leave, he thought that the fight had been exhilarating. As expected, the people on the ranking list were formidable. He heard that Zuo Luohuan had challenged and defeated everyone on the list last year. No wonder he hadn't even had time to react before she broke his arm and leg that day.
Yan Yan suddenly clutched his chest and hurried to a secluded spot, bending over to vomit a mouthful of congealed blood.
"Let me ask you something."
Before Yan Yan could wipe the blood from his mouth, he heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw the very person he had just been thinking about standing before him. "Zuo Luohuan?"
Zuo Luohuan leaned against the wall, suddenly changing her original words. "According to custom, you should call me 'Xuejie'."
Perhaps her tone was too much like a certain person from the Disciplinary Committee, as Yan Yan subconsciously asked, "Will I lose points if I don't?" His points were almost gone; any more deductions and he'd be expelled.
Before she could answer, Yan Yan forced himself to add, "Xuejie." Credits were the most important thing in the world; he understood that now.
Zuo Luohuan had just said it on a whim. She pulled a crumpled ball of paper from her pocket and tossed it to Yan Yan. "Take a look. If you're willing, you can sign it."
The two were now standing behind a wall, shielded by a row of trees. The distant pale yellow light barely reached them, with only the faint, dappled moonlight filtering down from the sky.
Yan Yan looked down and smoothed out the paper ball with his hands, only to find it was an envelope. He opened it and found a piece of black cardstock inside. It was now a crumpled mess, but the contents were unaffected.
It was an invitation card, with only two lines of text.
【We sincerely invite Classmate ___ to join the Disciplinary Committee. Recommender: Zuo Luohuan】
Yan Yan looked down at the military uniform he had haphazardly thrown on, then raised his head stiffly. "Didn't you say you weren't from the Disciplinary Committee?" His points were gone!
Zuo Luohuan smiled faintly. "I only said I didn't have the wheat ear insignia."
Yan Yan: "..." Are all people from the capital this black-hearted?
Perhaps his expression was too awful, because Zuo Luohuan finally said kindly, "There are two Disciplinary Committees. Ours doesn't deal with credits."
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