SCOM - Chapter 14
Chapter 14
After coming out of the Challenge Hall that night, Yan Yan didn't go back for two days. Guan Yuan's attacks were vicious, specifically targeting his chest and abdomen. Although his limbs looked fine on the surface, he knew the severity once he got back.
"Aren't you going to the Challenge Hall anymore?" Ding Wuming asked curiously, seeing Yan Yan resting on the edge of his bed after just returning to the dorm.
Yan Yan clutched his aching ribs, replying gruffly, "I'll go back in a few days."
Ding Wuming looked closely at his expression and understood. "I told you before, Guan Yuan is really strong. But those people on the rankings all hit hard."
"Yeah," Yan Yan responded distractedly, his mind on other things.
"Speaking of which, you're famous on the forum," Ding Wuming said with some excitement. "They say you're the first person to be beaten up by both Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan, and you fought Guan Yuan too. Now they're guessing you might collect fights with the entire Red List top ten."
"Collect what?" Yan Yan asked, snapping back to attention.
Ding Wuming's eyes flickered. "Just... getting beaten up by everyone in the Red List top ten."
Yan Yan: "..."
Seeing the change in his expression, Ding Wuming quickly changed the subject. "I successfully joined the Disciplinary Committee!"
Normally, Yan Yan had no interest in the Disciplinary Committee. The mere thought of point deductions annoyed him. But today, he responded, "What are the benefits of joining the Disciplinary Committee?"
That night, Zuo Luohuan had tossed him a crumpled invitation, mentioning there were two Disciplinary Committees, giving him seven days to consider, take it or leave it, very perfunctory. Later, Yan Yan searched the school forum but found no trace of a second Disciplinary Committee. All discussions about it referred to the one he knew, the one that deducted points.
"Benefits?" Ding Wuming thought carefully. "Being in the Disciplinary Committee gives you prestige, right? Getting in means you're among the best at the First Military Academy. Plus, after graduation, when joining the military, you'll have the Disciplinary Committee network."
Yan Yan fell silent after hearing this. He subconsciously felt that the Disciplinary Committee Zuo Luohuan mentioned was different from the one Ding Wuming was talking about now.
"Do you want to join the Disciplinary Committee too?" Ding Wuming asked, then added, "This year's selection is over, but you can try next year."
"Don't want to," Yan Yan denied immediately. "I just wanted to know why so many people want to join, even without credit bonuses."
Speaking of credits, Yan Yan remembered his pathetic 2 points. He was constantly teetering on the edge of expulsion.
"Joining the Disciplinary Committee definitely has its advantages," Ding Wuming said. He didn't stay in the dorm long, gathering his things. "I'm off to the club."
The dorm door closed. Yan Yan sat on the edge of the bed for a while longer, then took out the invitation card. After staring at it for a long time, he signed his name on it.
For some reason, he felt like he had just walked into a wolf's den.
Yan Yan still had a class to attend. He pushed himself up, carefully put on his military uniform, ensuring every button was in its proper place, before heading out.
With only 2 credits, he didn't dare be arrogant.
...
The Single Combat course had many instructors. Zuo Luohuan and Jiang Hong chose Instructor Kang Guang, an S-rank Alpha who had served ten years in the Southwest 78th Regiment of the Twenty-sixth Army Group. He was also one of the popular instructors in the Combat Department.
"Pretty much every year, the S-rank students from the Combat Department come out from under him," Jiang Hong said, walking beside Zuo Luohuan. "Today's the first class. Wonder what it'll be like."
"I'm more looking forward to the group combat course next semester."
"We'll have to wait for that," Jiang Hong said as they walked into the classroom side by side.
The two-hundred-square-meter classroom was empty, just a vast space with special, slightly soft flooring that felt tacky underfoot. About thirty students were already standing inside.
Seeing Zuo Luohuan glance down at the floor, Jiang Hong explained proactively, "This flooring is made of composite materials from the Capital Research Institute. It can simulate hundreds of types of terrain and significantly impacts combat."
Environments varied across different stars in the Federation, naturally leading to geological differences.
They didn't talk for long before Instructor Kang Guang walked in expressionlessly. He wore the same black military uniform, with a yellow wheat ear badge on his chest bordered in red – the mark of a First Military Academy instructor. Two straight scars flanked his mouth, joining perfectly into a single line, as if someone had swung a blade across his mouth, trying to slice off half his head.
"Is everyone here?" Kang Guang's eagle eyes scanned all the students in the classroom, then he waved towards the door. "All of you, come in."
As soon as he spoke, ten students walked in from the doorway, or more accurately, former students. These ten also wore black military uniforms, but pinned to their chests were shield badges.
All the students in the classroom instinctively looked over. Someone couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "They're Fierce Shield Holders!"
Fierce Shield was a designation, specifically represented by a badge depicting a shield enveloped in flames.
Every year, the First Military Academy enrolled up to fifty thousand students, but only slightly over twenty thousand graduated; nearly half were eliminated during the four years. Among the twenty thousand-plus graduates, three thousand students had the chance to earn such a badge. These individuals were privately known as Fierce Shield Holders. Upon graduation, various army groups would quickly snap up these Fierce Shield graduates.
The requirements for a student to obtain the Fierce Shield badge before graduation were extremely strict. It wasn't just about combat prowess; they needed excellent grades in all three main courses, which couldn't be just branch courses from a single department, so some missed the opportunity from the start due to course selection. Additionally, they needed to accumulate ten thousand credits and finally pass a school review to receive the badge.
Normal classes and participation in school challenges, big or small, were simply not enough to amass ten thousand credits. There was only one way to earn that many credits: undertake missions issued by the First Military Academy.
The number of credits varied with mission difficulty. Not all three thousand Fierce Shield badges were claimed each year.
The First Military Academy had numerous rankings. The Combat Department alone had two: the Red List and the Alpha Ranking List. The Red List included Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. The key difference with the Alpha Ranking List was that pheromones could be released, meaning competitors could freely use pheromones to suppress opponents during matches. However, these rankings only applied to first and second years because third and fourth years could start accepting missions. For them, there was only one ranking list – the Fierce Shield.
"First class of the semester, a little treat for you," Kang Guang grinned, the scar splitting his face, making him look even more terrifying. "I hear the Combat Department aspires most to the Fierce Shield. I specially invited ten senior brothers and sisters over for you to experience it."
The students in the classroom: "..." It wasn't the joy of experiencing having a Fierce Shield badge; it was clearly the experience of being beaten senseless by Fierce Shield Holders.
"Line up in ten lines first, one by one," Kang Guang said, then leaned against the middle wall of the classroom and sat down.
The classroom was divided into two sections: one side stood the ten graduated senior brothers and sisters, the other side the queuing second-year students.
"Who's stronger?" Zuo Luohuan turned her head to ask Jiang Hong.
Jiang Hong looked at the ten Fierce Shield Holders, thought for a moment, and whispered, "They're all very strong; Kang Guang picked skilled ones. The strongest are two: counting from the left, the sixth and tenth are tied for 1000th place on the Three Thousand Fierce Shield list."
The Three Thousand Fierce Shield list wasn't ranked by the people who received the shield each year, but by all Fierce Shield holders in the history of the First Military Academy. From the moment they received the shield, they entered the ranking. Their ten thousand points were reset to zero, and mission credits were recalculated until graduation day.
Currently, the number one on the Three Thousand Fierce Shield list was Ren Pingbo, thousands of points ahead of second place. Unfortunately, he betrayed the Federation and joined the Gashro Empire.
Zuo Luohuan glanced at the tenth person closest to her and said, "Her, then."
"I'll choose the other one," Jiang Hong said.
Their decision wasn't early; by the time they queued up, they were already towards the back, forced to watch first.
Logically, with ten seniors facing multiple opponents, those at the front would tire them out and provide combat experience, giving those at the back an advantage. But after one or two people went, everyone regretted not standing at the front from the beginning.
Because this group of Fierce Shield Holders was too brutal. Several people were beaten so badly they couldn't even control their pheromones, wildly releasing them in the classroom. A mix of Alpha and Omega pheromones filled the air, leaving everyone stunned.
"What are you doing?" Kang Guang glanced at a spectating student reaching for an inhibitor, grinned grimly, and chuckled deeply. "In my class, in my classroom, things like inhibitors and pheromone patches, no one is allowed to use."
"...Damn," even Jiang Hong couldn't help but curse under his breath.
He wasn't unfamiliar with desensitization training—spending time in a room filled with high-level Alpha or Omega pheromones, controlling oneself—but never a mix of over a dozen S-rank pheromones.
The entire class consisted of S-rank students, their pheromones much stronger than other ranks. As an Alpha, he not only had to endure the pungent scent of his own kind, suppressing the urge to vomit, but also smell the naturally tempting pheromones of Omegas of the same rank in the air, suppressing his desires. It was sheer torture.
"If you can't even tolerate this level of pheromones, might as well just dig out your glands early," Kang Guang stood up, scanned the few students trying to cover their noses, and roared, "Hands down, all of you!"
Whether queued at the front or back, no student was having an easy time. Those at the front were beaten half-dead, pheromones running wild. Even after finishing, they couldn't leave the classroom, weakly squatting or sitting. A couple of Alphas directly vomited. Omegas bit their arms, curled up in a corner, motionless. As for those queued at the back, those with weaker willpower had their pheromones triggered, facing the seniors and losing within a few moves.
At this time, the Betas in the classroom were the happiest. Betas weren't sensitive to pheromones; neither Alpha nor Omega scents had much effect on them.
Zuo Luohuan quietly observed the senior sister on the far right. Judging by her build and attack direction, she was likely an Omega, agile and skilled at using softness to overcome force. Due to the pheromone situation, the queue moved faster than she expected.
Before two hours had passed, it was her turn.
The senior sister on the far right rotated her arm, looked up at Zuo Luohuan, and stated her name as per procedure: "Geng Yingyu." Before her voice faded, she launched herself forward, kicking towards Zuo Luohuan's side.
Zuo Luohuan's expression remained unchanged. She reached out, grabbed her calf, and pulled fiercely towards herself. If pulled over, Geng Yingyu's face would meet a fist next. But the moment she was pulled, Geng Yingyu flipped in mid-air, using the momentum to break free from Zuo Luohuan's grasp, simultaneously attacking with her other foot, forcing Zuo Luohuan to let go and push her away. There was a brief stalemate between them.
Zuo Luohuan's hand that had just gripped Geng Yingyu's calf clenched slightly behind her back. The force of the opponent's attack was too great; her hand tingled slightly from the impact.
The brief exchange allowed both to gauge the other. Geng Yingyu attacked again, holding nothing back, her speed so fast it left afterimages. This time, Zuo Luohuan couldn't dodge completely and was hit in the chin by her raised elbow.
Unable to dodge in time, Zuo Luohuan's lower lip immediately split and bled. But that wasn't the main issue. Geng Yingyu's every move carried too much force, strangely contrasting with her body's flexibility.
Fierce Shield Holders were indeed strong.
Zuo Luohuan raised her hand, wiped the blood from her lip with the back of her index finger, switched from defense to offense, closed the distance between them, denying Geng Yingyu any chance to dodge, engaging directly in physical confrontation.
"Desensitization training isn't bad," Kang Guang muttered to himself, watching Zuo Luohuan gradually gain the upper hand. Then he walked to a spot and signaled Geng Yingyu.
...
Geng Yingyu was almost pinned to the ground, but she didn't let go of Zuo Luohuan, grabbing her collar. Instantly, both fell together.
Even on the ground, Zuo Luohuan had ways to attack, but her opponent suddenly laughed. The next second, an intensely captivating Omega pheromone surged towards her like a tidal wave.
Musk-scented pheromones, Geng Yingyu's hidden trump card, capable of maximally provoking an Alpha's desires.
It wasn't just Alpha pheromones that could suppress Omegas; conversely, Omega pheromones could also affect Alphas. This was vividly demonstrated in combat. If one side faltered, the other could seize the opportunity and claim victory.
Putting aside Zuo Luohuan, who was closest to Geng Yingyu, even Kang Guang in the classroom frowned and covered his own nose. As for the other students, they were completely overwhelmed. Some knocked themselves out directly.
The pheromones wrapped around Zuo Luohuan like a shroud. She subconsciously held her breath. Geng Yingyu seized the chance, flipped over, and kicked her away.
Zuo Luohuan landed on one knee, ruthlessly pressing down on the spot she was kicked, her eyes ice-cold. She shot up abruptly, her speed even faster than Geng Yingyu's before, directly grabbing her and slamming her to the ground. Her black military boot was about to stomp on Geng Yingyu's chest.
"Enough!" Kang Guang intervened, pulling Zuo Luohuan away. "You win."
Zuo Luohuan's expression cleared. She retracted her hand, then extended it to Geng Yingyu on the ground, smiling. "Senior Sister, acknowledged."
Geng Yingyu lay on the ground, looking at the offered hand, a chill running down her spine. If the instructor hadn't stopped her just now, she had the illusion she would have died right there. But she showed none of this on her face, took Zuo Luohuan's hand, and smiled back. "You're very strong."
By now, the others had mostly finished fighting. Kang Guang finally showed mercy, turning on the classroom circulation system to disperse the chaotic mix of pheromones.
"That's it for today's class. Next time, remember to bring a change of clothes. Use the room next door to clean up afterwards," Kang Guang grinned. "Don't affect the other students outside."
Zuo Luohuan looked down at the mess of pheromones clinging to her and couldn't help but click her tongue.
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