SCOM - Chapter 17
Chapter 17
That night, many students from the Information Department went sleepless. The top fifty on the red list were basically first and second-years. First-years had classes by grade, and the school affairs office had a public course schedule that could be checked with a simple login. However, the second-years’ schedules were completely ‘personally customized.’ With the course selection week not yet over, they could only begin to inquire and eliminate possibilities from the list through various means.
Aside from a dozen or so new students who had squeezed onto the list last month, the rest of the top fifty were all second-years. Among them, some had revealed their schedules to friends or on other occasions. The Information Department students quickly gathered and compiled their correct schedules from forums or class group chats.
There were eleven left who had never revealed their schedules to outsiders, but it was possible to start with students who had the same instructors and find out which courses had already been taught. The military academy had a total of three main courses and two elective courses. Since there were still untaught classes this week, the Information Department students could only study the family backgrounds, personalities, and grades of these eleven students, and finally deduce what courses they might choose to fill out their schedules.
This was a massive undertaking. The military students, new to information gathering, all stayed up with bloodshot eyes, using a myriad of methods to barely complete the fifty schedules after dawn.
Jiang Hong happened to have chosen this course. The Jiang family was not one of the fifteen army groups of the Military Committee, but it was one of the most formidable families in the Federation because the Jiangs specialized in information gathering. Having been immersed in this environment since childhood, this assignment was not difficult for him. Moreover, he knew one more person’s schedule than the others.
Zuo Luohuan had shown him her schedule that day.
After gathering information and making deductions, Jiang Hong finished all fifty schedules by one in the morning.
Jiang Hong poured himself a glass of water and returned to his desk. He looked at the challenge on the anonymous forum regarding Ji Yuezhi's schedule and smiled. This kind of information gathering really wasn't too difficult.
He and Ji Yuezhi shared one main course. Jiang Hong stroked his chin and thought, during the day, Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan had gone in the same direction. At that time, in that direction, there was only Jia Hailan's class.
Jiang Hong filled in 《The Nature of Command》. Not just the course name, but also the instructor's name, class time, and location were all entered into the form.
Given Ji Yuezhi's background, his other main course should be from the Weapons Development Department. This department had six popular instructors, and three of them were teaching second-years this year.
Jiang Hong pulled up the profiles of these three instructors. One specialized in general mechanical weapons, while the other two focused on aerial combat. The Ji family excelled in general mechanical weapons. In his view, Ji Yuezhi, who tended to want to master all possibilities, would favor an area where the Ji family was slightly weaker.
Finally, he had to eliminate one of the two instructors.
Jiang Hong repeatedly reviewed the instructors' profiles, speculating on their relationships with the Ji family. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He remembered what Instructor He Yue had said during the day and looked again at Ji Yuezhi's first two main courses.
Jia Hailan was an Alpha, He Yue was an Omega, so the remaining instructor…
Jiang Hong looked at the two instructors from the Weapons Development Department, and sure enough, one was a Beta. He unhesitatingly filled in ‘Bai Feng’s 《Weapons Research》’.
If his choice was correct, Ji Yuezhi was most likely obsessive-compulsive.
There were still two elective courses. Jiang Hong continued his deductions: knowing that Ji Yuezhi had chosen one main course each from the Command, Combat, and Weapons Development departments, it was highly likely that his electives would be one from the Starship Department and one from the Information Department. However, since Ji Yuezhi hadn't chosen single combat as a main course, it was also possible he had put it in his electives.
At two in the morning, Jiang Hong finally completed Ji Yuezhi's schedule. He guessed that the other had given up the Starship Department course and chosen the single combat elective.
The reason was Ji Yuezhi's antagonistic relationship with Zuo Luohuan.
Before bed, Jiang Hong posted the deduced schedule for Ji Yuezhi on the forum, hiding his contribution and name.
The next morning, the students from the Information Department all handed in their schedules. The teacher didn't check them for correctness on the spot and simply continued with the lesson.
However, after an all-nighter, how could these military students bear not knowing the answers? First, classmates began comparing schedules with each other. Then, some of the top fifty students on the red list who enjoyed the excitement also joined in, posting their own schedules. And so, a lively "schedule checking" event kicked off.
By the afternoon, the anonymous forum was flooded with posts about the "schedule activity." As the schedules of the top fifty students were revealed, the deductions of the Information Department students were also put to the test.
【Stayed up all night writing fifty schedules, not a single one is completely correct…】
【Bro, take a word of advice from your jiejie, if you can't even get the first-year schedules right, this course isn't for you.】
【Got thirty-six schedules right, not bad, I guess.】
【Amazing, the fifty schedules that Jiang Hong kid wrote are exactly the same as the ones posted by the people on the red list, not even the class times are wrong!】
【Well, he's a Jiang. It's normal, that's what they're born to do.】
【Last night, wasn't there an ID called ‘Gong Si’ that posted Ji Yuezhi's schedule?】
【Yes, yes, I saw it! Isn't Gong Si just Hong? It must be Jiang Hong.】
【2:10 AM, at that time, a normal Information Department student would still be deducing the schedules of the top fifty. The only person with the leisure to deduce Ji Yuezhi's schedule is definitely Jiang Hong.】
【So our Classmate Ji chose these courses, hehe, I'll choose the same when I'm a second-year.】
With Jiang Hong's impressive achievement of getting all fifty schedules perfectly correct, the anonymous forum immediately treated his deduced schedule for Ji Yuezhi as the standard answer.
【Schedule saved. Next time I'll go for a chance encounter. Thanks to Jiang the Bodhisattva for his kind deduction.】
【Sob sob sob, our Classmate Ji is truly an outstanding and self-reliant person. Even after suddenly presenting as an Omega, he still chose combat!】
【Alphas of the First Military Academy, wait to be crushed by Classmate Ji!!!】
Zuo Luohuan had heard about this matter. After all, Jiang Hong was constantly bragging about himself. She didn't pay it much mind; it was just a schedule. As for those who saved Ji Yuezhi's schedule, hoping for a chance encounter, they were most likely out of luck.
She didn't think someone as cold as Ji Yuezhi would like anyone.
As time went on, Ji Yuezhi's schedule became widely circulated. And when he did indeed attend Bai Feng's 《Weapons Research》, it served as another powerful piece of evidence. The people on the forum were practically worshiping Jiang Hong.
Over the next two days, some people who saw that their elective course was the same as Ji Yuezhi's, with the same instructor, eagerly awaited the class. However, after attending the class, these people never saw Ji Yuezhi.
Was Jiang Hong's schedule wrong?
At first, people didn't believe it. They all wondered if Ji Yuezhi had taken a leave of absence, but the instructor said no student had requested leave.
The first elective was a miss, and the second elective was also a miss. Were they both wrong?
When Jiang Hong heard this, his first reaction was: Impossible!
It was possible to be wrong about one course; he had been hesitating between single combat and a Starship Department course at the time. But it was absolutely impossible for both to be wrong.
Jiang Hong was extremely confident in his ability to gather information and make deductions. He wondered if he had gotten the class time and instructor wrong, and that same day, he posted another revised schedule.
However, on Thursday, still no one ran into Ji Yuezhi.
Jiang Hong: “…”
On the last afternoon of the week, a post on the anonymous forum finally caught everyone's attention.
【I'm an idiot. I took a flower arranging class this afternoon and ran into Ji Yuezhi.】
【Huh? What kind of arranging class?】
【《The Art of Flower Arranging》】
【Eh? Is this a combat course? Arranging flowers in the enemy's head?】
【It's actually such a brutal course? I didn't even choose it!】
【Wow, arranging flowers in a cracked skull? How artistic. A course like this is a perfect match for Classmate Ji!】
The original poster had been sneakily posting during class just to share and express their shock. But from the very beginning, the thread went off-topic, and later devolved into a discussion of one hundred and eight ways to crack an enemy's skull. Finally, the original poster simply threw out a photo.
In the classroom, students in black military uniforms each had various flowers laid out before them, with several vases placed nearby. The most eye-catching person was in the corner. He held a completed arrangement, his other hand resting on the flowers as if adjusting the angle. As he looked down at the flowers, his expression was unexpectedly gentle. Although the corner wasn't well-lit and was even a bit dim, he stood there as if he were a source of light, dazzling and brilliant.
【Beautiful… I mean the flowers are beautiful.】
【Ahhhhhhh, who will be so lucky in the future to receive flowers personally arranged by Classmate Ji! Just thinking about it makes me die of jealousy!】
【Help me, I want to be the flower in Ji Yuezhi's hand. Everyone, am I wrong?】
【No, you're not wrong. I want to be it too. Draw your sword!】
【Sob sob sob, this must be ‘in me, the tiger sniffs the rose.’】
When Jiang Hong saw this post, he was lounging in his dorm with his feet up. The moment he saw the picture, he sprayed a mouthful of water all over his desk.
Damn, he chose 《The Art of Flower Arranging》? What kind of logic was that?!
Jiang Hong felt he must have overlooked some crucial information. Could this course have some special meaning? Otherwise, why would Ji Yuezhi possibly choose it?
He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out. There were other posts on the forum from people in the same classroom. Jiang Hong carefully examined the pictures they posted. There were quite a few Alphas and Betas in the class. Some genuinely liked flower arranging, but he estimated that most of them were there to learn how to please Omegas in the future.
So why did Ji Yuezhi choose this course?
Jiang Hong couldn't figure it out. He simply left his room and walked towards that classroom, wanting to stand outside and see for himself what mystery this 《Art of Flower Arranging》 held.
However, by the time he arrived, the flower arranging class was almost over. Students were leaving the classroom one after another. The instructor was a teacher invited from the neighboring arts university. He quietly peeked inside and saw only fresh flowers and vases. When the class ended, the students all left holding a bouquet of flowers. It seemed there was no mystery at all; it was just a normal flower arranging class.
At that moment, Jiang Hong suddenly remembered that Ji Yuezhi still had one more elective course. His mind raced. At this time, the Starship and Weapons Development departments still had two A-level courses. That couldn't be right. Why would a provisional S-class student choose an A-level course?
As Ji Yuezhi came out holding his flowers, he saw Jiang Hong standing at the door, lost in deep thought. His eyes seemed to sweep over him casually, but he didn't see the person he was looking for. He then turned and walked towards the next classroom.
It took Jiang Hong a moment to come to his senses. He looked up and saw him walk across the hall, stop at a dance studio, and finally push the door open and go inside.
“???”
At this time, in this classroom, wasn't it just the most unpopular course left?!
Jiang Hong was completely dumbfounded. He frantically tapped his optical computer, pulling up the course schedules of all the instructors from the school affairs office. He found the entry for Friday afternoon: 《Flexibility Yoga》, Instructor Yu Yue, Location: Mixed-Use Building, Room 612.
At this very moment, Jiang Hong was standing on the sixth floor of the Mixed-Use Building, in front of Room 606, opposite classroom 612. And just now, Ji Yuezhi had pushed open the door to Room 612 and walked in.
Soft what, what yoga? Before the equal rights movement, this was a course specifically used in Omega academies to train the flexibility of an Omega's body!
Which student at the First Military Academy didn't dream of going to the battlefield and earning merits in the future? Omegas would never choose such a course. The reason 《Flexibility Yoga》 was established was because the school discovered that a few Alphas had excess strength but were too stiff, which was detrimental to combat. So after discussion, the instructors decided to offer the course, but it remained the most unpopular course at the First Military Academy, bar none.
Jiang Hong's eyes were sore from staring, but he never saw Ji Yuezhi come out of that classroom. In the end, he could only accept the fact that he had chosen 《Flexibility Yoga》.
It was simply ridiculous!
No wonder his later schedule predictions were wrong!
Filled with excitement and disbelief, Jiang Hong sent a message to Zuo Luohuan: 【Do you know what two elective courses Ji Yuezhi chose?】
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