SCOM - Chapter 46
Chapter 46
The infirmary was always stocked with simple, disposable clothes for cadets to change into after accidental injuries.
They had agreed to change into clean clothes first, but neither of them moved. They stood in a quiet embrace, Ji Yuezhi's hand still resting on Zuo Luohuan's waist. His mind was a chaotic mess; he had thought of everything and yet nothing at all. In the end, all that remained was an instinctive attachment to the Alpha.
The higher the grade of an Alpha and Omega, the deeper the bond between them becomes once a mark is formed. Even though theirs was only a temporary mark, Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi would be caught in a profound, inseparable emotional state for the next few days.
Just like now. From the moment the temporary mark was successful, all of Zuo Luohuan's thoughts were on Ji Yuezhi. She wanted to protect him at every moment.
Ji Yuezhi closed his eyes and rested on Zuo Luohuan's shoulder for a moment before saying softly, "I want a scent patch."
Zuo Luohuan turned her head to look at him, raising a hand to wipe the sweat from his face with the pad of her thumb. Ji Yuezhi instinctively nuzzled her palm, slowly opening his eyes to gaze at her quietly with a faint smile.
An Omega, so docile and vulnerable, was an absolute temptation to the Alpha who had just marked him.
Zuo Luohuan's gaze fell on Ji Yuezhi's lips, which were a vibrant red from the recent passion. She found it hard to control herself as she slowly lowered her head.
Ji Yuezhi's long, damp eyelashes trembled, and he eventually closed his eyes gently.
But what touched his lips wasn't something warm and moist. Instead, a slightly rough and cool sensation met his soft lips.
Surprised, Ji Yuezhi couldn't help but open his eyes, only to find Zuo Luohuan's thumb pressed against his lips. She looked down, rubbing his lips neither too lightly nor too heavily, bringing out their vivid color. Then, with an almost imperceptible reverence and cherish, she lowered her head and kissed the back of her own thumb.
It would be impossible to say he wasn't disappointed. After the temporary mark, Ji Yuezhi's subconscious only wanted more intimate contact with her.
As Zuo Luohuan straightened up, ready to move her thumb away, Ji Yuezhi suddenly parted his lips and took her fingertip into his mouth.
Zuo Luohuan stiffened and frowned, but ultimately couldn't bring herself to scold him, only giving him a deep look.
Ji Yuezhi licked it before letting her fingertip go, complaining softly, "A little salty."
Zuo Luohuan's arms around him tightened uncontrollably. She held him with a bit more force, chuckled lowly for a moment, and then said, "That's your sweat. There should be a bit of iris sweetness too."
They continued to stand in their embrace for another moment before Zuo Luohuan asked in a low voice, "Can you stand steady?"
Ji Yuezhi nodded slightly. "...Yes."
Only then did Zuo Luohuan release him. She turned to find an Omega scent patch, tore open the packaging, and walked over to Ji Yuezhi to help him apply it.
Before applying the patch, she saw the two teeth marks on the gland of his fair nape. That strange possessiveness she had struggled to suppress began to surge in her heart again—the desire to hide him away, to keep anyone from seeing him. To have him cling to her at all times, offering himself to her in a sacrificial manner.
When Ji Yuezhi didn't feel the scent patch after a long moment, he turned his head and asked Zuo Luohuan, "Is it on?" His tone carried the subtle, coquettish charm of an Omega towards their Alpha.
Zuo Luohuan snapped back to her senses and applied the scent patch. The pheromones of the temporary mark emanating from Ji Yuezhi were instantly concealed.
"After all this time, the Capital must have noticed something is wrong." Zuo Luohuan took a step back, meeting Ji Yuezhi's gaze. "You get changed. I'll wait for you outside."
"Okay."
Zuo Luohuan first found some clean clothes and placed them on a nearby cot. Then she picked up Ji Yuezhi's military jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. Finally, taking an Alpha scent patch for herself, she walked out.
Watching Zuo Luohuan leave, Ji Yuezhi could no longer hold himself up and slid to the floor. The Alpha's pheromones were too domineering and potent, making a marked Omega unable to bear being apart. He had to endure with all his might not to call out for her to stay and keep him company.
Fortunately, the circulation system in the infirmary completely purified the pheromones in the air, and both of them had applied scent patches. Ji Yuezhi sat on the floor for about ten minutes before he regained his strength, cleaned himself up, and changed his clothes.
Zuo Luohuan, waiting outside, didn't rush him, waiting until Ji Yuezhi came out.
"Communications are back online. Some instructors are already on their way," Zuo Luohuan said, taking the discarded clothes from Ji Yuezhi's hands. "I'll go with you to your dorm to get sorted out first."
The infirmary clothes were for the injured. When the instructors arrived, they would surely look for Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan, and the two of them couldn't show up in their current state.
"Mm."
The two of them headed towards the Omega building in the south. At this time, most people were likely gathered at the junction between the north and south sections, with another group near the building for visiting students. The southern area was almost deserted.
Back in the dorm room, Ji Yuezhi threw all his dirty clothes into the washing machine and turned to look at Zuo Luohuan.
"You can go take a shower. I'll stand guard here," Zuo Luohuan said.
Ji Yuezhi hesitated for a moment. "What about you?"
The mixed pheromones she carried, pheromones of that level, would attract attention the moment she stepped outside.
"After you're done showering, I'll borrow some clothes from you," Zuo Luohuan said.
...
This night in the Capital was destined to be a busy one. Meetings were held one after another. The Federal Military Committee was in an urgent discussion about the northern border, and all communication signals were blocked after they entered the conference room.
Many of the First Military Academy's instructors were also in all-night meetings or had already gone home to rest. As for Jia Hailan and the others, they were with the instructors from the other three military academies, planning the second stage of the military exercise.
The Scavenger Army had sent someone to find He Yue on short notice, reporting the appearance of a suspicious person. She had to lead a team to make an arrest.
Since Jia Hailan was leading the planning for the military exercise at the First Military Academy, He Yue's departure didn't have a significant impact.
As soon as she went outside, her comm's signal returned. She received another message from the Scavenger Army: the suspicious person was very likely one of the top ten on the Scavenger Army's extermination list, so half of their forces had been dispatched tonight.
Throughout the Capital late at night, one way or another, the forces capable of turning the tide were drawn away from the First Military Academy or were temporarily in a state of signal blackout.
A few instructors from the First Military Academy resting at home felt an inexplicable unease. They got up and looked towards the academy, and what they saw was alarming.
Flames lit up the rooftops of all the buildings in the northern section of the First Military Academy.
It wasn't just the instructors; the guards on patrol near the Military Committee finally noticed something was wrong and urgently turned to press the alarm for the conference room.
"What happened?" The first person to walk out of the conference room was Ji Xixiu.
"It looks like there's a fire in the northern section of the First Military Academy," the guard said hesitantly. "There are flames on the roofs of several buildings."
Ji Xixiu strode out, the corners of his narrow eyes sweeping over the distance. He turned and ordered, "Contact all instructors of the First Military Academy and have them rush to the school. For those who can't be reached, send people to find them. Dispatch elite doctors from the Capital Hospital, the Federal First Hospital, and the United Hospital to the First Military Academy. Also, put the Capital on lockdown. Notify the Seventeenth Army to patrol. If any suspicious individuals are found, kill them on sight."
He paused, then added, "Request the instructors from Yundong Military Academy, United Military Academy, and Northern Military Academy to go to the First Military Academy."
The people who had just come out of the conference room hadn't fully grasped Ji Xixiu's train of thought. One asked dryly, "Something happened at the First Military Academy?" His tone held a hint of disbelief. This was the Capital, where the Seventeenth Army was stationed.
Ji Xixiu didn't answer. He walked outside, took a squad of guards, and boarded a flyer heading for the First Military Academy.
On the way, he dispatched troops several times, casting a net over the entire Capital. At the same time, he received news that no one inside the First Military Academy could be contacted; the signal was suspected to be blocked.
Just as they were about to arrive, the communication signal at the First Military Academy suddenly returned.
Ji Xixiu tried to contact Ji Yuezhi, but there was still no answer.
The flyer flew over the northern section. Someone looked out the window and discovered that the fires burning on the rooftops were fueled by human bodies.
"People?!" A commotion instantly broke out on the flyer, as they thought the students of the First Military Academy had met with disaster.
"Send two squads down to check," Ji Xixiu ordered over the flyer's channel. "One detachment will come with me to find the visiting students here for the military exercise. The rest of you, spread out and find the academy's cadets."
Once the order was given, the dozen or so flyers that had arrived in formation immediately dispersed.
Before arriving, Ji Xixiu had prepared for the worst. He didn't expect that when he reached the visiting students' building, he would find a considerable number of cadets standing guard there, and they didn't seem to be in too bad a shape.
"Guan Xue, Guan Xue!" Qian Mao was the first to spot the flyers in the night sky. He quickly called out to Guan Xue, reminding her, "The rocket launcher, quick!"
Guan Xue immediately shouldered her rocket launcher and tossed it into the nearby bushes.
When this group of cadets saw that the person getting off was Ji Xixiu, they all shot up as if injected with chicken blood, ready to salute.
Regardless of the rumors about Ji Xixiu, or the times he occasionally acted like a normal father picking up Ji Yuezhi at the school gate, in the hearts of most cadets, he was an unreachable existence.
"Where is Classmate An Yingjing?" Ji Xixiu's gaze swept over the cadets, finally landing on Guan Xue.
"Uh..." Guan Xue was already feeling a bit guilty. A rocket launcher wasn't something that could just appear in a military academy. She had gotten it from the black market, had Qian Mao fix it, and it only had one round of ammunition.
"Over there." Seeing Ji Xixiu's eyes turn cold, Qian Mao immediately pointed behind him. "He's a little injured, but it's nothing serious."
Ji Xixiu strode over. Seeing several corpses on the ground, he turned his head to ask Qian Mao, "You fought a battle with the Gashiro?"
"Yes, but one escaped," Guan Xue quickly added, following him.
By then, Ji Xixiu had already seen An Yingjing sitting and resting. Judging by his mental state, he indeed seemed to be fine.
"This was an oversight on the Capital's part. Your pheromones would attract the Gashiro's covetous attention. We should have sent people to guard you sooner," Ji Xixiu said, bending down to speak to An Yingjing.
"It's-it's fine. People from the First Military Academy came to help us." Seeing Ji Xixiu, An Yingjing was reminded of Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi who had left, and he also felt a bit guilty.
Ji Xixiu glanced around and noticed that all the visiting students were standing at the front of the building and hadn't come over. The students from the First Military Academy who had come were all Omegas and Betas. Weapons, medicine, bandaging the wounded—all procedures were being carried out in an orderly fashion. It was clear someone had organized them.
"Is Ji Yuezhi here?" Ji Xixiu suddenly turned and asked the cadets present.
"The Captain was right over there..." Guan Xue pointed enthusiastically in one direction, then saw nothing.
"Looks like he left," Qian Mao said.
Ji Xixiu's gaze fell on the obviously guilty-looking An Yingjing. "Do you know where he is?"
An Yingjing: "...He-he left with Zuo Luohuan, I think."
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