Chapter 214

Chapter 214

Bai Xingshu nodded and readily admitted, "Yes."

Noticing the looks on everyone’s faces, he raised an eyebrow. "What’s with those faces?"

The students swallowed hard. Upon hearing his confirmation, the group of Alphas stumbled back in unison, their panic full-blown as they frantically asked Bai Xingshu, "Deputy Squad Leader, where's your inhibitor?"

They had all snuck a peek at Bai Xingshu’s gland earlier—each one of them swore up and down they hadn’t seen that device!

This was nothing short of a nightmare scenario!

The Combat Department hadn’t had an Omega enroll in years, so none of the Alphas in the department had ever been on suppressants.

If they caught even a whiff of an Omega’s pheromones now—even if the Omega wasn't in heat—there was a chance they’d be thrown into involuntary rut!!

And the consequences… would be just like the Squad Leader still lying motionless on the ground, maybe even worse!!!

They’d all been on the receiving end of his fists since forever (?)—didn’t they know this already?!

Listening to their panicked cries, Bai Xingshu cracked his knuckles.

So when Lin Li arrived at the assembly point that day and saw a sea of “corpses” sprawled across the ground, he paused mid-step before finally settling his gaze on Bai Xingshu—the only one still standing.

A few seconds passed before Lin Li lowered his head, voice flat. "Fall in. Move out. Points docked for lateness."

In an instant, every groaning student snapped to attention.

Expressions turned serious, ranks formed neatly, and a loud chorus of affirmations rang out.

Only after Lin Li gave a nod and led them forward did the students behind begin making faces at each other and whispering among themselves.

Some Betas whimpered softly—they weren't among the reckless Alphas in the class, so why had *they* gotten hit too?

But most were busy confirming:

—You didn’t catch any scent from the Deputy Squad Leader, right?

—Same here, not a thing.

—When he hit you, you really didn’t see an inhibitor either, right?

Back and forth they went, quickly arriving at the same answer: yes.

Their whispers grew quieter and quieter.

They all knew exactly what it meant for an Omega to go around without an inhibitor—and yet have no scent leakage.

The students: "..."

Mass internal screaming!

It wasn’t the feeling of “our precious baby got snatched up”—it was outrage over some heartless bastard of an Alpha pouncing the moment a newly presented Omega emerged.

Their Deputy Squad Leader was still completely clueless about it all!!

[Note: "presented" refers to the process of biological transformation into an Omega in ABO dynamics.]

[Note: Inhibitors are devices placed near the gland to suppress Omega pheromone emissions.]

What a scumbag Alpha!

Lin Li kept his eyes forward, but he could still hear the whispers from behind. From the scattered bits of conversation, he quickly figured out what was going on.

Lin Li got it all but really wished he didn’t: "..."

Even before Bai Xingshu's transition to Omega, Lin Li had known that Shen Geng had temporarily marked him once. Now hearing this new information, his heart twinged painfully for a moment before he started wondering if he should snitch on the Crown Prince’s pushy behavior to his superiors—the Emperor and Empress.

Thinking this, Lin Li sneaked a glance at Bai Xingshu.

He saw the faint smile on Bai Xingshu's face.

A faint... smile that promised murder.

If Lin Li could hear the students’ chatter, Bai Xingshu could hear it even more clearly.

The other stuff didn't matter, but why were these guys so perfectly in sync about treating him like some clueless idiot?!

Bai Xingshu cracked his knuckles and cut a sharp look toward Lin Lie.

His open display was meant to make his stance crystal clear to Lin Lie.

Lin Lie kept his gaze lowered, not joining any of the conversations around him. His expression was blank, though a little pale.

He looked okay, and even seemed a bit more like Lin Li now.

For a fleeting moment, Bai Xingshu remembered the time he told Lin Li he'd called off their deal—Lin Li had worn the same expression when he walked away.

At that thought, Bai Xingshu turned to glance at Lin Li, only to lock eyes with him unexpectedly. Before he could even register his surprise, Lin Li looked away first.

As if nothing had happened.

Bai Xingshu: "...?"

Weird.

Military academy students were expert gossips. While Class S was busy digging up dirt on who Bai Xingshu’s scumbag Alpha was, news about his transformation into an Omega spread like wildfire.

Then, some people got bold.

They felt like they had another shot now!

An Omega—maybe they could finally settle the score! —Thought those who had once trained hard, only to be wiped the floor by Bai Xingshu.

Unsurprisingly, every single one of them ended up eating dirt courtesy of Bai Xingshu.

Meanwhile, Shen Geng, the guilty Alpha, was quickly exposed and became the main attraction.

On one hand, everyone was shocked that Shen Geng dared to make a move on Bai Xingshu; on the other, they couldn’t believe he actually pulled it off!

Though Bai Xingshu was, in a way, the campus menace, he was also the top campus hottie.

Most military cadets had a thing for badasses, and combined like this, the effect was double the impact.

Who knew how many people had secret (or not-so-secret) crushes on him? After the news broke, hearts shattered everywhere—not just among Lin Lie and his few friends.

No surprises here—while Bai Xingshu received requests for revenge, Shen Geng faced several challengers himself.

Winning wasn’t the point—landing a few hits was enough.

Shen Geng: "..."

Confronted with this kind of challenge, there was no way he'd refuse or back down.

As a result, Shen Geng ended up returning to the dorm even later than usual.

Bai Xingshu was pretty amused by all this, though he didn’t indulge in any showy "concerned big brother" acts.

Shen Geng wasn't about to show weakness or retreat, determined to prove to everyone that he was worthy of being with the school's brightest star. Though Bai Xingshu felt it wasn't about being "worthy"—just whether he liked someone—he still respected Shen Geng’s decision.

And at night...

He could use checking Shen Geng’s injuries as an excuse, letting his hands wander here and there, before naturally winding up in bed together.

Before his differentiation, Bai Xingshu had never really thought much about such things, but afterward, he found he rather liked it.

After five days of this, the system finally returned—way later than it predicted.

Bai Xingshu felt a sudden weight in his mind, followed by the system’s voice bubbling with excitement: [He agreed! We can modify the mission requirements!]

As it spoke, the system flashed up the profile of a person. [This is the trash Alpha you need to humiliate! Give him a proper beating!]

[I’ve gathered all the relevant information! And clarified everything!!] The system couldn’t hide its pride.

At that moment, Bai Xingshu was still in the competition zone, following orders as part of the spearhead unit lying low. Upon hearing the news, he immediately focused on the data the system provided.

A name totally unfamiliar to him appeared before Bai Xingshu’s eyes.

[Chen Zhike? Who’s that?] Bai Xingshu couldn’t help but ask the system. [Have I ever interacted with him?]

He had previously wondered who the trash Alpha could be, researching several Alphas from the top families in the Combat Department—or wannabe elites—but he’d never come across this name before.

In response to this question, the system’s database proved way more thorough than Bai Xingshu’s memory.

It could pull up details of people he’d met years ago.

Instantly, Bai Xingshu recalled his freshman year, stepping into the freshman assembly area for the first time—the first guy to approach him.

—"Uh… excuse me, are you a new instructor?"

—"I didn’t see you during registration yesterday. Someone who looks like you—I definitely wouldn’t forget!"

Bai Xingshu watched the scene where this guy over-eagerly started chatting with him.

Then came Lin Lie’s reprimand. The other sulked like he resented Lin Lie’s domineering attitude, though clearly intimidated.

The footage from the system ended there.

[That’s all. After the Freshman Tournament, he got assigned to Class B, and after that, you only ran into each other a handful of times.] The system added a few scattered scenes.

Like not long after class assignments, when they brushed past each other in the cafeteria—the guy turning to stare at Bai Xingshu for a few seconds.

As time passed, those lingering gazes became fewer and fewer. By the time freshman training rolled around, the trash Alpha in the footage was just gazing at Bai Xingshu in awe.

Bai Xingshu stared blankly at these scenes he had no memory of, then shifted his gaze to the trash Alpha’s background information.

The Chen family was somewhat renowned in a certain galaxy. With liquid assets exceeding a hundred million, they could indeed be considered a family of some standing.

However, within the context of the Capital Military University, their background could only be described as upper-mid-tier—placing them in the top 20%.

Just as Bai Xingshu had surmised, to the original host, this trashy Alpha might have seemed like a member of the elite, but to Bai Xingshu himself…

Never mind Lin Lie—even the down-on-their-luck Alpha families Bai Xingshu had previously flagged as key suspects were a step above this guy.

In fact… Bai Xingshu even felt he might be able to compete with this guy himself.

Thanks to the Fourth Legion’s continuous promotion, Bai Xingshu’s name had begun to spread outward, and the book *Squad Surprise* had also gained circulation. Now, Bai Xingshu’s liquid assets had already reached fifty or sixty million, and with a bit more time, hitting a hundred million wouldn’t be just a dream.

After excluding those from ordinary backgrounds, this guy could easily be considered the most basic among the remaining Alphas. If the system hadn’t actually brought back the data, Bai Xingshu would never have believed it—he wouldn’t have thought of him in a million years.

Bai Xingshu rewatched the video footage. Forget mediocrity or excellence, forget whether he was elite or not—just the guy’s playboy-esque smugness when saying something like, “I definitely wouldn’t forget someone who looks like you!” made Bai Xingshu want to scoff: [How could the original host have liked this guy?]

Talk about blind!!

Was the original host really his counterpart?!