SCOM - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

An Yingjing was also an Omega, but his skills were no match for Ji Yuezhi. Before he could even react, he was knocked unconscious.

“Ji Yuezhi!” Zuo Luohuan’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the Gen 2 robot dog behind Ji Yuezhi raise its light gun. She rushed over, pulling him into her arms and firing her own light gun at the robot dog. Her expression was grim as she looked at Ji Yuezhi. “Were you planning on getting eliminated with them?”

The force of the impact sent Ji Yuezhi stumbling against Zuo Luohuan. He hadn’t expected her to save him. The sour feeling in his chest vanished instantly. He pressed his lips together, suppressing a smile, and quietly explained, “An Yingjing released his pheromones. You were all in danger.”

Zuo Luohuan kicked An Yingjing towards the United Military Academy team, snatched a light gun from a robot dog, and with a gun in each hand, began firing at the surrounding robots. She spared a moment to tell Ji Yuezhi, “You’re the captain. You should leave this kind of thing to your team members.”

Watching Zuo Luohuan kick An Yingjing away, Ji Yuezhi’s eyebrows finally lifted in amusement, though no one noticed. He said calmly, “And let them come here only to be caught in his pheromone-induced illusions?”

“Not anymore,” Zuo Luohuan said casually, kicking down another robot dog and aiming her light gun at its head chip. “We won’t be affected by his pheromones next time.”

Ji Yuezhi couldn’t contain his smile any longer, though his words remained indifferent. “You underestimate the power of poppy pheromones.”

“At least not like before,” Zuo Luohuan replied, quickly grabbing Ji Yuezhi’s hand and running towards a newly opened path.

“Trying to escape?” The United Military Academy team desperately tried to push towards Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi, leading the robot dogs towards them, preventing their escape.

Just as Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan were about to be overwhelmed by the robot dogs, Yundong Military Academy saw an opportunity. Cha Lili prepared to seize the key code, confident of victory.

Then, everyone’s helmets broadcast the message: “The First Military Academy has successfully acquired the Gashro Empire’s technology and has won the first round of the exercise.” The robot dogs immediately ceased their attack.

Cha Lili was speechless. He looked at the United Military Academy team, their faces a mixture of anger and confusion, then scanned the First Military Academy team before finally asking Ji Yuezhi, who was standing amidst the deactivated robot dogs, “Your two team members weren’t injured? They entered the central control room through the vents?”

Using the vents wasn’t an idea unique to the First Military Academy, but the vents in this secret base were narrow. It would be a tight squeeze for their team members, and any noise could easily give them away. Only Guan Xue and Ding Wuming from the First Military Academy, one short and the other thin, fit the bill.

Cha Lili had initially been skeptical about their whereabouts, but after witnessing the situation with the United Military Academy, he fully believed Ji Yuezhi’s words.

“One of our team members was injured,” Ji Yuezhi said calmly, “but they recovered enough to move around freely.”

Freely enough to crawl through vents and into the central control room. Cha Lili quickly understood. “You proposed the cooperation to distract us.”

Ji Yuezhi didn’t deny it. There was another reason: he wanted to deal with the United Military Academy, even if they had already lost their chance to win. Glancing at the unconscious An Yingjing, Ji Yuezhi’s mood finally improved.

The First Military Academy team went back to find Guan Xue and Ding Wuming. The two hadn’t had it easy inside the central control room. There were robot dogs in there as well, and both had been shot in their arms and legs. Guan Xue had dragged herself to the control console and downloaded the “technology.”

“This looks like a crime scene,” Jiang Hong said as he entered the central control room, seeing two long, winding trails of blood on the floor, as if something terrible had happened there.

“The first round is over. Can someone call for a transport?” Guan Xue’s voice came from behind a desk. She clutched her injured thigh. “I think we need medical attention.”

Jiang Hong and Yan Yan rushed over to bandage her wounds. Guan Xue handed the USB drive containing the downloaded technology to Ji Yuezhi. “Captain, this should be the prize for the second round.”

Ji Yuezhi took it and asked, “Where’s Ding Wuming?”

“He helped me distract the robot dogs earlier,” Guan Xue said, pointing to the side. “I saw him collapse behind that console.”

Qian Mao hurried over to find Ding Wuming. He discovered that the wound on Ding Wuming’s chest had reopened, his arm had been shot, and his face was covered in scrapes.

Fortunately, the instructors showed some mercy and sent transports to pick up the students.

After the first round, they had five days to rest and recover. However, on the way back to the First Military Academy, the Northern Military Academy team kept glaring at An Yingjing of the United Military Academy, especially Luo Shaoyuan.

“Despicable, shameless Omega!” Luo Shaoyuan spat. “Using your pheromones to trick us!”

“When you Alphas used your pheromones to suppress us Omegas, no one called it despicable. Now that it’s our turn, it’s a problem?” An Yingjing retorted, rubbing the back of his neck, which still ached from Ji Yuezhi’s blow. He also had various footprints on his body, mostly from the robot dogs, and a deeper mark on his abdomen, which his teammates said was from Zuo Luohuan’s kick.

Luo Shaoyuan’s face flushed red, then she gave up. “…Are your pheromones really poppy?”

“Didn’t you all experience it firsthand?” An Yingjing was also annoyed. He had exposed his pheromones, but hadn’t even made it to the central control room and ended up getting kicked.

As the winners of the first round, two members of the First Military Academy were unconscious and receiving treatment. The others were calm, considering their arduous journey.

After everyone disembarked, Instructor Jia Hailan stood before them and announced, “In five days, someone will come to take you to the second round’s location. Rest and recover during this time.”

Each team had injured members, so no one had the energy to cause trouble during those five days. They stayed in their dorms, recuperating.

The next day was Saturday, and Zuo Luohuan went home to have dinner with her mother.

“An Omega with poppy pheromones appeared at the United Military Academy?” Yi Tong asked, sitting across from Zuo Luohuan.

Zuo Luohuan nodded. “The United Military Academy kept it well hidden, probably hoping to make a splash in the exercise.”

“Even with those pheromones, the First Military Academy still won,” Yi Tong said, looking at her daughter with pride.

“It was Ji Yuezhi and the other team members who held their ground,” Zuo Luohuan put down her chopsticks. “All of us Alphas were affected.”

“Little Ji is very capable, just like his father,” Yi Tong praised.

Zuo Luohuan suddenly recalled how Ji Yuezhi had dealt with An Yingjing in the secret base and chuckled. “He is, quite vengeful.”

“Nonsense. You were classmates last year and are teammates now,” Yi Tong warned her daughter. “Don’t provoke him unnecessarily. Get along well with Little Ji.”

“Yes, yes,” Zuo Luohuan raised her hands. “We’ll definitely be loving towards each other.”

“Is that all you’re eating?” Yi Tong frowned at her empty plate. “You haven’t eaten much.”

“I had a snack before coming,” Zuo Luohuan stood up. “I’m heading back to school now. I’ll come see you next weekend after the competition.”

“Go ahead,” Yi Tong said. “The Military Council and several other departments are in meetings these days. Things are quite busy, and I might not be home.”

Zuo Luohuan returned to the First Military Academy after dark. She walked along the tree-lined path, lingered by the Challenge Hall for a while, and then returned to her dorm.

In the middle of the night, Zuo Luohuan sensed something. She abruptly sat up, went to the window, and peeked through the curtains. There was nothing below, only the occasional leaf falling to the ground. Her gaze swept across the trees near the Alpha dormitory building. Branches swayed gently in the wind; everything seemed normal.

But she quickly opened her optical computer, sent a message to a group chat, grabbed a gun from under her desk, and jumped out the window. As she fell, she fired two shots: one at the alarm on the Alpha dormitory building and the other at Jiang Hong’s window.

The alarm blared, and the branches in the woods rustled more violently.

“What’s going on?!”

“Damn it!”

“Something’s happened?!”

The previously quiet Alpha dormitory building suddenly lit up, and everyone rushed out, still half-dressed.

Zuo Luohuan had already entered the woods. A strong Omega pheromone scent permeated the air. Her heart sank, not because the pheromones were affecting her, but because of the decaying undertone, a clear sign that the Omega was dying.

Zuo Luohuan moved faster, finally finding the discarded Omega under a tree. Her throat had been slit. She couldn’t speak, and despite clutching her throat, blood continued to flow. Unable to talk, tears streamed down her face as she desperately pointed in a direction.

The Omega wore a Disciplinary Committee badge. She was a student on patrol tonight. Based on the Disciplinary Committee's structure, she should have had a partner.

Zuo Luohuan glanced back the way she came, then chased in the direction the Omega had indicated.

Just as she left, Jiang Hong arrived, carrying an emergency medical kit. His first reaction to the broken window had been to grab his gun. After the alarm sounded, he grabbed the medical kit. The Alpha dormitory building didn’t lack fighters, but it did lack emergency medical supplies that could save lives.

Jiang Hong pushed open the window, saw Zuo Luohuan’s retreating figure, and followed. He found the collapsed Omega and immediately applied a hemostatic agent to her neck.

The entire process took less than ten seconds. The bleeding stopped temporarily. He was covered in sweat, and only after the Omega stabilized did he breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn’t like Zuo Luohuan’s previous injury, which couldn’t be healed.

“Dead…” the Omega student rasped, pointing at the Disciplinary Committee badge on her chest.

Jiang Hong lifted her into his arms. “I’ll take you to the infirmary. Don’t worry about anything else.”

The student’s tears fell onto the blood-soaked ground. They had been attacked. The instructors were away for the weekend, and only a few remained on duty. Her partner had sacrificed their life to buy her time to reach the nearest Alpha dormitory and warn everyone. But she had failed, captured before she could complete her mission. She had only managed to release her pheromones, hoping an Alpha would notice.

Thankfully… someone had.

Meanwhile, all the Shadow Disciplinary Committee students were alerted and instructed to retrieve their weapons from the designated meeting point.

Yan Yan was one of them. He only knew one meeting point, the place Zuo Luohuan had taken him before, which was also closest to their dormitory building.

Support my work!

Comments

Popular Posts