Chapter 36: The Overwhelming Scent Mark

Chapter 36: Domineering Scent Mark

Recalling the events of last night, Luo Le's expression turned grim.

Yesterday, Huo Lanjing had marked him...

Something he had once longed for now filled him with disgust.

Luo Le was overwhelmed with regret. If he had known it would end up like this, he would never have come over last night.

Upon returning, he intended to wash it off immediately, despite knowing how detrimental it was to his health. He felt uncomfortable keeping it on.

Luo Le subconsciously reached back, aware that his gland had already swollen. Without looking, he knew it must be reddened.

The room was saturated with the Alpha's distinctive pheromones, a territorial assertion of dominance.

He ran his long fingers through his hair in agitation, his peripheral vision catching sight of a note on the nightstand.

Luo Le crawled over, grabbed the note, and then lay back down, lifting his hand to unfold and read it.

The characters were robust and dynamic, a blend of cursive and structured script - the handwriting of Huo Lanjing.

Between Chen Wuxing and I, we are not what you might assume. Let's discuss in detail tonight.

Not what he imagined?

Did Huo Lanjing think he would believe anything he said?

Luo Le put down the note and gazed blankly at the pristine ceiling above, lost in thought for several minutes. Suddenly, Yu Bing's image flashed across his mind.

The assessment!

Luo Le sat up straight, but as soon as one foot touched the carpet, before the other could follow, an odd sensation in his lower body made him stumble, nearly losing his balance.

He quickly turned back, gripping the edge of the bed to regain stability.

An expletive slipped from his lips.

Afterward, he rose slowly, supporting his waist with an awkward posture as he limped into the bathroom.

Inside the sixth-floor office of the Mecha Building.

Yu Bing glanced at the clock on the wall; it was almost time, yet the person had yet to arrive.

Once the deadline hit, he would revoke Luo Le's qualification.

One who was not punctual had no right to join his research team.

Yu Bing counted down in his mind. Right at the last second, the door was suddenly knocked on.

Putting down what he was holding, he said, "Come in."

Luo Le, outside the door, had beads of sweat covering his forehead, and his hair was slightly disheveled, clearly indicating that he had run here.

"Come on in."

He hadn't been late after all – the assessment would proceed.

"Alright, thank you, Professor Yu."

Luo Le closed the door and walked over as calmly as possible, then slowly sat down, though he couldn't entirely hide his discomfort.

Yu Bing pushed the twelve-page document in front of Luo Le. "This is your exam paper."

After expressing gratitude, Luo Le picked up the pen on his right and signed his name. Just as he finished, a sheet of paper appeared before him.

Yu Bing said, "Wipe your hands."

Luo Le took it and wiped his hands. "Thank you."

Yu Bing glanced at his hand. "You have three hours. The clock starts now."

Luo Le acknowledged with a nod and turned his attention to the test paper.

The diagrams on it were different from the neat script – they were hand-drawn.

Luo Le unfolded the paper and gave it a quick scan. It was highly specialized, with many questions requiring intricate knowledge.

Without solid professional knowledge, one wouldn't be able to solve a single problem.

He flipped back to the first page and immersed himself in the questions.

Yu Bing gathered the documents needed for the upcoming meeting, stood up, and turned to leave. Throughout this, Luo Le didn't spare him a glance.

He wasn't worried about Luo Le cheating, as he had personally rushed to complete those questions the night before.

Let alone a student, even a professor might not be able to answer all of them.

It seemed Luo Le had pulled an all-nighter reading, but last-minute cramming wouldn't help in this situation.

The majority of the exam consisted of computational problems, with numerous traps and even some case studies that were unfamiliar to him.

They could possibly be related to projects Yu Bing had studied.

Luo Le's head spun from all the calculations, and his lack of sleep from the previous night left him groggy.

Three hours flew by, and just as Yu Bing called for the pens to be put down, Luo Le managed to finish writing his answers.

There was no time left for any scrutiny or review.

Yu Bing watched in surprise as Luo Le's pen paused on the final question. He had actually completed it all – a four-hour exam, and he was just a student.

Taking Luo Le's paper, Yu Bing glanced over it. Recalling the peculiar stance Luo Le had assumed earlier, coupled with the faint yet distinct Alpha pheromones that didn't belong to him, he hesitantly asked, "In the afternoon, we'll have a hands-on session on constructing the buoyancy and propulsion components of a mech, along with related calculations. Are you up for it?"

Luo Le shook his head negatively.

"Alright then, go get some rest. The session will start promptly in the afternoon."

Luo Le stood up and left the room.

Only after Luo Le's departure did Yu Bing take the time to carefully examine the paper, starting from the back.

The most challenging questions were usually placed at the end. By assessing those, Yu Bing could roughly gauge Luo Le's proficiency.

His gaze swept across the last answer – it was correct.

The final question involved inverse numerical analysis between mechs and cosmic radiation. Given Luo Le's age, he shouldn't have been exposed to such advanced material yet.

Yu Bing picked up the exam paper with both hands, carefully examining it from top to bottom.

Meanwhile, Luo Le had left and swiftly found an unoccupied small room on his own.

Those three hours had been torturous for him, causing discomfort both downstairs and in his glands.

As a newly marked Omega, his pheromones were currently quite unstable. The suppressant patch had reached its limit during those three hours.

Luo Le reached out to remove the patch. In that instant, the rich scent of grapefruit filled the entire room.

After he covered the spot again, the aroma lessened slightly, but was still present.

This was the Mecha Building, with numerous people entering and exiting, including Alphas. If an Omega's scent were to be detected by an Alpha in their rut, they might go into a frenzy, leading to potential complications.

Luo Le went over to crack open a window slightly.

The room was filled with miscellaneous items, covered in a thick layer of dust.

Presumably, no one would come here.

Luo Le opened the door and closed it behind him.

Suddenly, Yu Bing's voice sounded from behind, unexpectedly cold. "Luo Le, aren't you going to eat?"

Luo Le stepped aside, putting some distance between them. "Good afternoon, Instructor Yu. I'll head there right away."

Yu Bing glanced at him and then at the door. "Let's go together. There's something I'd like to confirm with you."

Luo Le nodded. "Sure."

The two of them descended to the fifth basement level.

The mecha building had its own separate cafeteria, so they didn't have to jostle with the soldiers, and soldiers were not allowed to dine here either.

As such, despite it being mealtime, there weren't many people around.

Luo Le sat across from Yu Bing, with few others in their vicinity.

Yu Bing gave him a look before softly asking, "Did you join the military for your Alpha?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Le immediately understood his thoughts. He chuckled and said, "You've noticed."

"Your Alpha's pheromones are quite dominant. It's hard not to catch a whiff when we're this close."

Luo Le felt a bit awkward and lowered his head to take a bite of his food. "Is that so..."

"It smells like cold pine... and..." Yu Bing paused, as a certain person suddenly flashed through his mind – their Commander was the same.

Luo Le knew what he was about to say and interrupted, "Just a little soldier."

Yu Bing thought, indeed, their Commander's wife had a fearsome reputation, and Luo Le didn't seem to be that kind of person.

"I glanced over your test paper just now, and your answers were decent. But since you're here for your Alpha, can you assure me that you'll devote all your attention to research?"

Yu Bing had seen that there were ten mistakes on the paper – three multiple-choice errors, four fill-in-the-blank mistakes, two essay questions, and one calculation error.

Most notably, Luo Le had done well on the analysis question about mental power compatibility with mechas, even proposing a new solution. Of course, it was still uncertain whether it would work.

Luo Le looked down, composed his words, then lifted his head to see Yu Bing's slightly disappointed gaze.

He pressed his lips together and said, "I can't guarantee that I'll be fully devoted to research. To be honest with you, mecha have never accepted me since I was young. I wasn't able to operate one until I met my mentor, who enabled me to connect with a mecha for the first time. Even now, I can only handle low-end mechas. So... I'll need some time to study, but I promise that I'll focus mainly on it."

Yu Bing hadn't expected this reason. After a moment's thought, she replied, "You know, when you just said you couldn't guarantee it completely, I thought you were going to say that you needed to maintain your bond with your Alpha. If that had been the case, even if you passed the assessment, I wouldn't have wanted you in my research team. But I didn't expect it to be like this. Well, then... do your best in the practical part."

Luo Le knew that Yu Bing's words meant she had accepted him. If he passed the practical test, there shouldn't be any major issues.

The gloom that had been weighing on his heart lifted slightly.

Thankfully, he had spent much of his free time in the library before. Although the school didn't emphasize studies on buoyancy and propulsion, he had come across relevant research in other books.

The afternoon's practical session went smoothly, and Luo Le's spirits soared when Yu Bing welcomed him to the team.

His steps were lighter on the return journey, as if a long-awaited piece of good news had finally come his way.

As he neared the dormitory entrance, Luo Le suddenly recalled Yu Bing's words in the canteen.

He sniffed himself, still carrying the scent of cold pine Needles.

If he returned like this, Yang Liqing would surely notice, and coupled with the fact that he hadn't returned last night...

Reflecting on this, Luo Le shook his head, dispelling those amorous images from his mind.

Turning around, he started walking towards the military base's store. Barely taking a few steps, a hovering car suddenly appeared, blocking his path.

He watched as Captain Lin emerged from the vehicle with a smile. "Madam, good afternoon. General has requested your presence."

Luo Le: ...

How could he have forgotten? Huo Lanjing had written on the note that they would have a serious talk today.

Well, let's see what else he has to say. Luo Le got into the car as Captain Lin held the door open for him.

Huo Lanjing's office wasn't far, and they arrived shortly.

Upon entering, Luo Le found Huo Lanjing still engrossed in work. Captain Lin gestured for him to take a seat on the sofa and wait.

Acknowledging the cue, Luo Le settled onto the sofa, patiently waiting.

Feeling somewhat bored, he picked up the book on the table and began to read.

To his surprise, Huo Lanjing had a novel here.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Huo Lanjing's hand suddenly appeared, pushing a cup of tea towards him.

Luo Le put down the book and picked up the tea. "Thank you."

Huo Lanjing didn't respond, merely lifting his own cup as well.

They both sipped their drinks in unison before setting them down with perfect synchronization.

Luo Le didn't wish to engage in this passive-aggressive game and directly asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

Huo Lanjing's hand, adorned with the ring, tapped lightly on his knee. "Why do you think there's a particular connection between Chen Wuxing and me?"

Meeting his inquisitive gaze, Luo Le responded with a question of his own, "Are you saying that there isn't?"

Huo Lanjing caught the hint of mockery in the corner of Luo Le's lips, causing his rising finger to pause in mid-air.

He despised Luo Le's presumptuous self-assurance.

"No, we're comrades-in-arms," Luo Le leaned back.

"And then?" she asked.

Huo Lanjing remained silent for a long while.

Luo Le smiled. How dignified Huo Lanjing was; even in his explanations, he carried an air of superiority.

Feeling that there was no need to continue the conversation, he turned and walked toward the exit.