SCOM - Chapter 23
Chapter 23
On Friday afternoon, the list of thirty-seven preliminary candidates was compiled. From Saturday to Sunday, thirty would be eliminated within two days, with the remaining seven emerging as victors, eligible to represent the First Military Academy in the exercise.
Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi were both on the list. This time, the anonymous forum, contrary to expectations, had no one discussing the hope of seeing the two face off. After all, the Federal Military Academy exercise was an external competition against other academies. Having one more powerful student increased their chances of winning.
【Our First Military Academy has already won two consecutive years. One more win and it'll be three in a row!】
【But this time it's half a year early, and the other two military academies started preparing before us. Winning this year will probably be tough.】
【Isn't Zuo Luohuan participating? Say what you will, but she can definitely fight.】
【Exactly, and we have Senior Ji too!】
Zuo Luohuan never cared for the discussions on the forum. At this moment, she was standing in front of the mirror in her dorm room. She lifted her shirt. The wound on the abdomen near the ribs of the person in the mirror had mostly healed, leaving only a few long, light pink scars.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her gaze, bit the corner of her shirt, and dabbed some ointment onto her fingers, casually smearing it on the scars.
Although the ointment only felt slightly warm when applied, her face was still pale. For a fleeting moment, she lost control of the pain, and the hand applying the ointment suddenly pressed hard against the mirror.
Zuo Luohuan rested her forehead on her raised arm. The corner of her shirt had long since been released. She stared blankly at the floor, as if seeing nothing at all, while the mirror beneath her arm cracked and spread outwards.
The next day, Saturday morning, the thirty-seven candidates for the exercise gathered at the school gate, where the instructors were already waiting.
The selection for the military academy exercise was a major event for both the school and the students. By the designated assembly time, almost all the students had arrived.
"Thirty-six out of thirty-seven are here." Bai Feng glanced at the students opposite him. "Zuo Luohuan isn't here."
Kang Guang gave a grim smile. "Isn't she in her dorm? I'll go drag her out!"
"The assembly time is eight o'clock. It's only seven-thirty now," Jia Hailan said gently. "Let's wait here."
Finally, just before eight, Zuo Luohuan sauntered in late. As she walked over, she was slowly and methodically putting on her military uniform, showing no sign of being in a hurry.
Kang Guang: "..." This student just looked so punchable!
"Everyone's here now. We should get going." Jia Hailan had all the students board the vehicle.
They were taking these thirty-seven preliminary candidates to the training ground to select the seven students who would participate in the military academy exercise within two days.
"All better?" Jiang Hong, who had fallen behind, stood side-by-side with Zuo Luohuan and asked in a low voice.
Although her complexion wasn't great today, she looked more spirited than she had in the past few days.
Zuo Luohuan fastened the last button on her jacket. "All better."
Hearing her confirmation, Jiang Hong felt a wave of relief. Fang Yong really did have some skills.
The seating in the vehicle was spartan, with only two long benches. Handrails were placed at short intervals for people to hold onto. The thirty-seven students sat inside like this, while the instructors were in another vehicle.
After Zuo Luohuan sat down, her gaze inevitably fell on the opposite row. She recognized a few people. Guan Xue and Qian Mao were there; the latter was likely recommended by an instructor from the weapons development department. Yan Yan was also present, looking like he'd been in quite a few fights recently, with injuries still on his face.
Finally, her gaze swept over Ji Yuezhi, who was at the far end of the row. His profile was turned towards the front of the vehicle, one hand raised to grip the army-green handrail. His posture was ramrod straight, completely unaffected by the swaying of his surroundings.
The entire vehicle was sealed without windows. They couldn't see outside, so naturally, they didn't know where they were going.
After a while, a colorless, odorless anesthetic gas quietly filled the vehicle. Before anyone noticed, most of the thirty-seven students had collapsed, with only a few who had stronger constitutions still holding on.
The vehicle was sealed, and with vents in every corner, it was very convenient to pump the anesthetic gas in from there.
Ji Yuezhi had been observing from the very beginning. Even now that he knew something was wrong, he didn't make a move, as the anesthetic gas was most likely released by the instructors. They probably wanted them to be unconscious for a while.
The anesthetic gas was potent. After most of the students had fainted, Ji Yuezhi held on for a while longer before his vision began to blur. Before closing his eyes, he subconsciously looked towards the person at the end of the opposite row and was slightly taken aback: she was leaning against the vehicle's body, seemingly looking back at him.
Ji Yuezhi didn't have time to get a clear look before his eyes closed heavily, and he slumped inwards.
With repeated use, things like anesthetics could easily become ineffective, especially for Zuo Luohuan. Anesthetic gas of this concentration had almost no effect on her. She watched Ji Yuezhi at the far end of the opposite row, his eyes already closed. Because he had fainted so suddenly, his bangs were a bit messy. Only at this moment did the coldness that usually surrounded him dissipate, and his handsome, clean face looked somewhat more docile.
There were surveillance cameras in the vehicle. The instructors must be watching their movements on the monitors right now. Zuo Luohuan shifted her gaze away and, like everyone else, closed her eyes and slumped to the side.
When they opened their eyes again, everyone found themselves alone, with only a backpack and a signal gun.
【Crackle—】
A sound came from above. The students, bewildered, got up and looked for the source, eventually discovering it was static from a broadcast speaker.
The static continued for a moment before someone finally spoke. It was Instructor Jia!
【Beside each of you is a randomly distributed backpack and a signal gun. When a signal gun is fired, you are eliminated. The competition ends at five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Those still holding a signal gun will be the victors. The number of signal guns must be less than or equal to seven. If there is even one more, everyone will be eliminated, and a new preliminary list will be drawn up next week.】
The broadcast played only once, and no other instructor spoke after that.
Apparently, those were all the rules.
As the broadcast played, Ji Yuezhi was already scanning his surroundings. He had clearly been placed in an abandoned building, with no one else around for the time being. He secured the signal gun and bent down to check the contents of his backpack.
A compressed biscuit, a dagger, and a coil of rope.
The contents of the random bag were pretty good. Ji Yuezhi zipped up the backpack, stood in a corner, and observed the area below for a long time before silently leaving the building.
Zuo Luohuan, in contrast, was not so lucky.
Although the anesthetic couldn't knock her out, she hadn't thought to peek. Besides, after they were carried off, black hoods were placed over their heads, blocking their view of the outside world.
Zuo Luohuan deliberately avoided observing her surroundings, only 'waking up' after being thrown into a patch of grass, timing it just right.
After the broadcast ended, she opened the backpack beside her. Inside was a pack of condoms, a toy knife, and a small iron pot.
"..."
It had none of the essentials. Did the person who threw this bag have a grudge against her?
From the sound of the broadcast, they had to make other people's signal guns go off. Fights were probably going to break out soon.
Zuo Luohuan had just gotten up, not even picking up her bag, when someone rushed her from behind, aiming for a chokehold to snatch the signal gun at her waist.
All thirty-seven students wore the same black military uniform. Someone not very familiar with Zuo Luohuan wouldn't necessarily recognize her from behind, but as soon as the student's hand wrapped around her shoulder, he saw the person with her back to him turn her head to the side.
It was Zuo Luohuan!
"Who pushed this one up?" Kang Guang saw the attacking student's pupils shrink and spat, "Scared already."
"I did," Bai Feng said. "This person is a student from the weapons development department, skilled in firearm assembly."
In the surveillance video, Zuo Luohuan didn't even blink. Following the momentum of his attack, she grabbed his hand and threw him away.
"Where's the signal gun?"
Zuo Luohuan stepped forward and patted him down, but found no trace of the signal gun.
"Take a guess?" The other student saw Zuo Luohuan rummaging through his backpack and immediately tried to escape.
Zuo Luohuan shook out all the contents of his backpack. Good grief, he was even unluckier than her. Inside was only a brick and a wilted flower. She suspected it was just trash the instructors had randomly stuffed in from the roadside.
By the time she stood up again, the other person had already fled far away. Zuo Luohuan didn't mind; it was still early.
"He hid his signal gun?" He Yue frowned. "If everyone hides them like this, this kind of selection is meaningless. The entire training ground is too big."
"Just wait." Bai Feng's gaze fell on the student who was still running away.
Less than ten minutes later, the first person to be eliminated from the training ground appeared.
The student whose name was called was the very person who had just escaped from Zuo Luohuan. Upon hearing his name, he froze stiff and looked around for a surveillance camera, asking why.
【There is a constantly lit green light on the body of the signal gun in your hands. Once the person and the gun are more than a hundred meters apart, the green light will turn into a flashing red light, resulting in automatic elimination.】
It was Instructor Bai Feng's voice. This signal gun was probably his handiwork.
"That's so shameless. Why didn't they tell us from the start?"
A student in the training ground cursed under his breath and hurriedly went to dig up his signal gun to carry it with him.
The training ground wasn't that big. The instructors wouldn't have scattered them too far apart. By the afternoon, the tentative probing finally ended, and one signal flare after another lit up the sky.
Zuo Luohuan had no weapon. She broke off a branch to hold in her hand, preparing to go rob someone. She still hadn't eaten anything.
Firing a signal gun would inevitably reveal one's position. Zuo Luohuan headed towards the nearest location. As she passed an abandoned factory, she stopped.
There was someone inside.
The closer she got, the more obvious the commotion became. Moreover, she smelled several kinds of pheromones, none of which were unfamiliar.
Amidst a pile of aggressive Alpha pheromones, the faint scent of iris mixed with blood drifted over. The people inside were clearly fighting fiercely and had sustained considerable injuries.
"Several people against one?" Zuo Luohuan walked in slowly, deliberately kicking a piece of scrap iron in front of her, creating a loud noise in the spacious, abandoned factory that startled the people inside.
An hour earlier.
Ji Yuezhi was walking along the roadside. This area was all an abandoned industrial zone, and an ambush could happen at any moment. He didn't actively seek people to attack; it wasn't time yet. The deadline was five o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow would be the crucial day.
But even if he didn't look for people, people came looking for him.
Three S-class Alphas. One of them was from the weapons development department, skilled at making firearms. Each of them had a weapon: a long knife, a spiked iron rod, and the one from the weapons development department even had a gun.
The gun was a regular bullet-firing gun, not a laser gun. Ji Yuezhi could dodge it, provided the other two didn't interfere.
He only had a short dagger. Facing three S-class Alphas, the fight wouldn't be easy, but the trio couldn't manage to snatch Ji Yuezhi's signal gun either.
The three had formed an alliance as soon as they met. The person from the weapons development department had taken another person's gun and made them temporary weapons. They had spotted Ji Yuezhi from afar and were instantly excited.
No matter how skilled Ji Yuezhi was, he was still just one person. With the three of them, all S-class Alphas, joining forces, were they afraid they couldn't win?
So they found an opportunity to launch a surprise attack. However, Ji Yuezhi was more tenacious than they had imagined. Forget getting the signal gun, they had only managed to graze his arm.
"Try releasing your pheromones and see if you get eliminated," one of them said to the student from the weapons development department.
"Me?" That student was clearly reluctant, in case he got eliminated.
"You're the weakest fighter here. Without our protection, you'll be eliminated anyway," said the other.
Using Alpha pheromones to interfere with Ji Yuezhi was a useful method, but not that effective. However, after confirming they wouldn't be eliminated, the other two Alphas also released their pheromones at the same time. The more interference, the more his concentration would be divided.
Once they eliminated Ji Yuezhi, their chances of being selected for the military academy exercise would be much greater. They were contributing to the others' success.
But they hadn't expected someone else to come and meddle.
"Zuo Luohuan, want to join us?" Chen Ce was stunned when he saw the newcomer, then immediately asked, "Let's eliminate Ji Yuezhi together."
"Together?" Zuo Luohuan stood against the light, a hint of malice in her eyes, as if looking at trash. "Do I need to team up with you lot to eliminate someone?"
Chen Ce was Zuo Luohuan's classmate from the combat department. Hearing this, his face darkened, but he quickly returned to normal and negotiated, "I was just thinking that if you wanted to eliminate him, you could fire Ji Yuezhi's signal gun yourself. That's why I asked. Since you're not joining, then forget it. The three of us just want Ji Yuezhi's signal gun."
"Suit yourselves." Zuo Luohuan walked past them and headed outside, seemingly unwilling to participate in their fight.
Chen Ce breathed a sigh of relief. His biggest fear was that Zuo Luohuan would suddenly team up with Ji Yuezhi. If those two joined forces, the three of them definitely wouldn't make it out of here today.
"What if Zuo Luohuan ambushes us?" the student from the weapons development department thought one step ahead.
"So we finish this quickly and leave through the other side, just in case." When he looked at Ji Yuezhi again, Chen Ce's face twisted with a hint of ferocity. "Ji Yuezhi, leave your signal gun, and you won't have to get hurt."
Ji Yuezhi's arm had been cut several times, and blood dripped from his fingertips, hitting the ground drop by drop. Since Zuo Luohuan's arrival, he had kept his head down, his expression unreadable. Only now did he look up, a sudden frost in his eyes, and said indifferently, "If the three of you leave your signal guns, you won't have to get hurt either."
Hearing this, Chen Ce's face couldn't help but contort. Did Ji Yuezhi still think he had differentiated into an Alpha? The pheromones emanating from his body grew stronger. Alpha pheromones had a natural suppressive effect on Omegas. The thought of what Ji Yuezhi would become made him feel utterly delighted.
A person who hadn't differentiated had been flaunting his strength at the academy for a year, and now that he had differentiated into an Omega, he still dared to be so arrogant.
However, the three Alphas hadn't been releasing their pheromones for long when another, more powerful pheromone, one that could suppress a person to the point of breathlessness, came from the entrance, almost making the three of them want to kneel on the spot.
Chen Ce felt as if he were in a world of ice and snow, unable to even move his fingers. Only one thought remained in his mind: Cold!
He looked towards the person at the entrance in terror, unable to understand why. Weren't these two irreconcilably opposed? Why would Zuo Luohuan step in to help Ji Yuezhi?
"Your pheromones are truly foul." Zuo Luohuan, stepping slowly into the light, sighed. "The moment you released them, I couldn't help but release mine too."
Bullshit!
Your pheromones, Zuo Luohuan, were aimed entirely at the three of them! Not a single bit touched Ji Yuezhi over there! This was clearly helping Ji Yuezhi!
Chen Ce screamed internally, but his knees finally gave way, and he knelt, drenched in a cold sweat.
Ji Yuezhi looked up at her, his lips pressed into a thin line. Even though that frigid ice and snow wasn't directed at him, he could still feel its surging power. The back of his neck would surely be burning hot if he touched it now.
Ji Yuezhi felt a tremor run through his very bones, the kind of tremor born from extreme pheromonal pleasure, a desire to touch.
On the surface, however, Ji Yuezhi remained calm and composed. He instantly snatched the three's signal guns, walked out of the factory, and fired three shots into the sky.
Three eliminated!
When Ji Yuezhi turned back, he saw Zuo Luohuan already squatting there without ceremony, rummaging through the three's backpacks.
"Biscuits, water... you guys even have two cans of beef stew? What a criminal waste." Zuo Luohuan tutted, her stomach already growling.
The three who were waiting to be picked up: "..." How is it a criminal waste for us to eat it?
After she finished rummaging, Zuo Luohuan remembered Ji Yuezhi. She turned her head, her gaze deliberately landing on his still-bleeding fingertips, and negotiated, "Can I have one of your cans? We can cooperate."
"Cooperate?" Hearing her words, Ji Yuezhi's heart skipped a few beats, but his thoughts were clear. She had no fear of anyone else.
"On my way here, I thought this factory would be a good place for both offense and defense. You just fired three signal flares in a row, so someone is bound to come over tonight." Zuo Luohuan picked up the spiked rod one of them had dropped. "The instructor said that by five o'clock tomorrow afternoon, if the number of signal guns is equal to or less than seven, we can get out. He didn't say we have to wait until five o'clock to get out."
"You want to get out early?" Ji Yuezhi understood Zuo Luohuan's meaning.
"The food and sleep here are terrible. I want to get out and rest early." Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow at him. "You're a decent partner for cooperation."
Cooperating was mutually beneficial. Logically, there was no problem with agreeing. Ji Yuezhi lowered his eyes for a moment, then agreed.
After he agreed, the instructors in the monitoring room also breathed a small sigh of relief. They were also afraid the two would face off.
After all, both Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan were students the school paid close attention to. Having both of them in the military academy exercise was definitely a good thing in terms of strength. If the two insisted on a one-on-one elimination, it would be a real pity.
"If they can cooperate here, there shouldn't be any problems when they're on the same team later." Bai Feng mused. He had initially worried that if these two were on the same team, they might have conflicts during the military academy exercise. Similar incidents had occurred in previous years at various academies.
Chen Ce and the other two were picked up by staff in a vehicle. When the staff came in, they smelled the residual Alpha pheromones and were startled. The pheromones in the air were far too domineering.
As for the two who were cooperating, they had already moved to the second floor on the other side of the abandoned factory, preparing to lie in wait for other students.
Ji Yuezhi leaned against a corner on the second floor and unbuttoned his jacket. He hesitated for a moment, then tore off the hem of his shirt to bandage his arm.
Night had fallen. Zuo Luohuan had started a fire. She sat on the outer side, observing the outside through a ventilation opening. Occasionally, she would glance back inadvertently and see the fair skin of his lower abdomen, faintly visible as he bandaged his wound.
"..."
She took off her own jacket and threw it to Ji Yuezhi. "Change your jacket. Your clothes are all torn."
Ji Yuezhi had just finished bandaging his wound when a jacket flew towards him. He subconsciously glanced at his own jacket on the ground: because it had been slashed several times by the spiked rod, the sleeve on one side was shredded and stained with a lot of blood.
But... the jacket in his hands still carried her residual pheromones.
Ji Yuezhi wanted to refuse, but the strong, frigid pheromones on the jacket enveloped him, making him reluctant to let go.
Zuo Luohuan, on the other hand, clearly hadn't thought too much about it. She turned around, pulled the small iron pot from her backpack, and poured a bottle of water into it.
"This pot comes in handy after all." Zuo Luohuan put the can of beef stew in to heat it up and asked Ji Yuezhi, "Want some?"
Ji Yuezhi, covered by the jacket, hadn't moved. He came back to his senses now, and hearing her voice, he regained his composure. "I have my own food."
"Save it," Zuo Luohuan said, poking the burning wood. "I've already put both cans of beef stew in."
The heated can was scalding. Zuo Luohuan took the pot off the fire and let it cool for a while before taking one out and handing it to Ji Yuezhi.
"Thank you."
Zuo Luohuan turned to look at Ji Yuezhi, slightly surprised. "You won this stuff, not me."
With or without her, Ji Yuezhi would have won against those three anyway. In the end, the contents of the backpacks would have been his.
"Facing the three of them would have been difficult," Ji Yuezhi's tone was normal. "Your pheromones helped me."
The pheromones of those three S-class Alphas couldn't suppress Ji Yuezhi, but they could cause interference. No Omega would like that feeling, especially since all three of them had weapons while he only had a dagger.
"I just wanted to cooperate with you to get out early, that's all." Zuo Luohuan waved her hand. "You're injured. Rest first. I'll keep watch."
Ji Yuezhi didn't refuse. He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes to rest with her jacket over him.
The night grew darker. Ji Yuezhi was not sleeping deeply. When the sound of several signal guns fired in succession, he opened his eyes and woke up.
The fire that had been lit was already extinguished, and the person who had spoken of cooperation was gone. Only the jacket on his body reminded him of what had happened that afternoon.
Ji Yuezhi calmly put on her jacket, reached out to touch the extinguished fire pit—it was still warm, extinguished just a short while ago.
A tall, slender figure instantly dropped from the second floor to the first, melting into the darkness.
Ji Yuezhi, dagger in hand, moved silently along the pipes at the top of the factory. He heard a sound not far away. Just as he was about to move forward, he was suddenly pulled into a corner behind a wall.
It was Zuo Luohuan.
"You..."
"Shh." Zuo Luohuan covered Ji Yuezhi's lips with one hand and whispered quickly in his ear, "Two people are approaching from the southeast, and there are a few more at the main entrance. We'll head west."
Just now, Zuo Luohuan had heard a noise. Looking back at the resting Ji Yuezhi, she had intended to go out and deal with the people before returning. She hadn't expected others to appear nearby at the same time, which was why she came back for him.
Seeing that Ji Yuezhi had stopped talking, Zuo Luohuan released him. "The people from the southeast are closer. We'll take care of those two first."
"Alright."
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