Chapter 031 Military Exercise 01

Chapter 031 Military Maneuvers (Part 1)

Zhou Younan and Wei Qing boarded the Sparrow Voyager together.

General Henry Gray looked at the beaming smile on his Marshal’s face, unable to suppress a recent memory.

Wei Qing’s dismissive tone still echoed in his ears: “I just wanted you to scare him a little. I didn’t actually want him on the Sparrow Voyager yet.”

Watching Wei Qing dote on Zhou Younan, Henry profoundly understood the meaning of the idiom, “how times have changed.”

The Zhou Younan who had once been scared sick had now clearly become the Marshal’s beloved.

The Marshal who had once been indifferent and openly disliked Omegas now had eyes only for his new spouse.

Better cheerful than sullen. With the Marshal in high spirits, his subordinates suffered less.

Henry and most of the soldiers warmly welcomed Zhou Younan’s arrival.

A small faction, however, did not. They were former soldiers under Taylor Harris—Wei Qing’s previous spouse.

But there were only ten of them, too few to cause any real trouble.

***

At Port Gonggong, Zhou Younan had seen the Sparrow Voyager from afar. His first impression of her was majestic and awe-inspiring.

Now standing aboard, he was once again struck by her sheer scale.

The interior of the Sparrow Voyager was a labyrinth of passageways, akin to a small steel city—disciplined, orderly, and meticulously structured.

According to Wei Qing, the ship housed weapon, life support, power, and defense systems, each operated by specialized robots.

The carrier also featured flight decks, hangars, shipboard aircraft, mecha bays, and more.

The technology Zhou Younan had seen in Qizhou Palace represented the pinnacle of global innovation, but the tech aboard the Sparrow Voyager, while not the absolute cutting edge, was the most firmly mastered by the Tyrell Empire.

Take, for example, the neural-controlled drones—not yet available on the market but already standard issue for every soldier in the military.

Everyone aboard the Sparrow Voyager was a soldier, clad in black military uniforms, their spirits high.

Zhou Younan was the sole exception, still wearing the same outfit from his palace visit the day before—a loose, cream-colored shirt and gray athletic pants.

Standing beside Wei Qing, Zhou Younan instinctively straightened his posture. He didn’t want to appear too stiff, lest others mock Wei Qing.

Most of the soldiers on the ship were Betas. Zhou Younan was surprised—he had always assumed the military was predominantly Alpha.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a squad of ten all-Alpha soldiers passed by. Their uniforms differed from the standard issue, their gear more sophisticated. Zhou Younan guessed they were special forces.

All bore tattoos on their faces, their gazes at Wei Qing brimming with fanaticism and adoration.

The Tyrell Empire’s military prohibited tattoos. Zhou Younan glanced at Wei Qing beside him, who wore his signature two teardrop tattoos—a mark that had become his emblem.

Perhaps these soldiers had tattooed themselves to emulate him, a sign of their allegiance and admiration.

The way they looked at Zhou Younan, however, was far from friendly.

Zhou Younan was puzzled by their hostility.

Wei Qing noticed.

He stopped in his tracks and, in front of all the soldiers, slipped an arm around Zhou Younan's shoulders. "This is the partner I’ve chosen. I will protect him for life."

The soldiers erupted in a timely burst of cheers.

Zhou Younan lowered his head, too embarrassed to face the scene. He wasn’t someone Wei Qing truly loved—he shouldn’t be standing before his followers like this.

When the drug wore off, Wei Qing would surely recall this moment and want him dead.

Amid the cheers, Wei Qing suddenly lifted Zhou Younan into the air, twirling him until he grew dizzy. But in this situation, he couldn’t bring himself to protest.

Once inside, his feet back on the deck, Zhou Younan steadied himself against the wall. "Go attend to your duties," he said to Wei Qing. "Don’t forget to apply the medicine. I’ll stay here and won’t wander off."

Wei Qing smirked, his usual characteristic smirk in place. "So obedient?"

Zhou Younan nodded. "My rut is approaching. There aren’t many Alphas here, but I won’t cause trouble for you."

Before an Alpha or Omega’s heat/rut, the body gives warning signs. At such times, one should stay home and avoid public spaces.

Without a partner, simply activating the ventilation system and waiting it out sufficed.

If an Alpha or Omega entered their heat/rut in public, it wasn’t just irresponsible—it posed a public safety risk.

Tyrell Empire law mandated legal penalties for such cases.

Zhou Younan’s compliance was for his own safety.

"Besides, you promised Luo Luo you’d head straight to Yaoxing after the military exercise. I don’t want you to have trouble finding me by then."

It was only the third day of their marriage—plenty of time remained before the month was up. Once the exercise ended, he’d see Luo Luo again. For now, he just needed to wait quietly. He had the patience for that.

Wei Qing chuckled and tweaked his cheek. "Still too thin. You need to eat more, bulk up."

"There are chefs here. I’ll have food sent to you. I’ll be busy lately—won't have time to spend with you."

Though he thought it, he simply nodded in understanding.

"But I don’t want you bored."

Wei Qing produced a white card from his palm, twirling it in his fingers. Raising a brow, he said, "This is the keycard to Wang Wu’s lab."

"What would I need that for?" Zhou Younan asked, puzzled.

"I may not like Wang Wu much, but her lab has plenty of interesting things."

"Interesting things?"

"She has a machine that connects to the nervous system, letting you learn while you sleep."

Wei Qing blinked meaningfully. "Wang Wu’s brilliant—not just in mechs, but in many other fields too."

Catching the hint in his words, Zhou Younan asked, "Like what?"

"For example, she studies Earth animals. I heard she’s collected a lot of data on leopards."

"Leopards?"

"Didn’t you say you wanted to pluck Wei San’s fur?"

Hearing Wei Qing mention his threat to pluck Wei San’s fur made Zhou Younan feel strangely ashamed.

He asked Wei Qing, "Has Wang Wu also met Wei San?"

"Yeah."

Zhou Younan was somewhat curious about Wei San. He reached out to take the card from Wei Qing's hand.

The card moved away, and Zhou Younan missed grabbing it.

He looked at Wei Qing in confusion.

Wei Qing held the card in his left hand and waved it around in front of Zhou Younan, while his right hand opened in front of him, revealing a soft measuring tape.

"Before I give you the card, you have to promise to let me do one thing—get your measurements."

"Everyone here has a military uniform. You should have one too."

Hearing that it was for measuring his military uniform, Zhou Younan felt a flicker of excitement.

But excitement soon gave way to resistance. Zhou Younan believed that the military uniform carried an extra burden of responsibility on the shoulders.

As an Omega, all he cared about now was to take care of Luo Luo and improve their lives. The sense of responsibility that came with the military uniform was something he didn’t want to bear.

His mild resistance couldn’t overpower Wei Qing’s persistence. Wei Qing insisted that Zhou Younan stand at attention with arms out.

"First, chest measurement."

Wei Qing stood in front of Zhou Younan, reaching around him.

His breath brushed against Zhou Younan’s neck, making him shiver slightly.

Zhou Younan was about to suspect Wei Qing was doing it on purpose.

Wei Qing withdrew his hands and called out the number: "85."

"Next, waist measurement."

The soft tape moved down as Wei Qing worked.

"Do I really need a military uniform?" Zhou Younan finally blurted out.

"Of course you do. In the future, if we go on stage to receive the Model Military Couple Award, we’ll need to wear them." Wei Qing accidentally revealed the scenario he had imagined.

Just as Zhou Younan was about to say something, Wei Qing quickly announced the number to change the subject: "70."

"Now, hip measurement." Wei Qing knelt down in front of Zhou Younan, his expression serious.

Zhou Younan felt a little awkward because Wei Qing’s awkward movements kept making the tape brush against sensitive spots.

To distract himself, Zhou Younan said, "When buying clothes, robots scan my data. You could just check the terminal."

Wei Qing casually put away the tape. "Fine, then send me the data."

Zhou Younan let out a relieved sigh and tapped his terminal, sending the data to Wei Qing.

Wei Qing gave a nod.

He stood up and held the tape up to Zhou Younan’s mouth. "Open up. I need to measure this."

"Why measure that?"

"Just open first."

Zhou Younan had no choice but to comply.

"Open as wide as possible." A dark gleam appeared in Wei Qing’s pale green eyes.

Zhou Younan had already opened his mouth as wide as possible.

Wei Qing put away the tape, his gaze intense as he stared at Zhou Younan.

Zhou Younan started to squirm under the intense gaze. "What’s wrong?"

"Next time, I want to enter your mouth—opened this much. Can you do that?"

Zhou Younan understood what Wei Qing meant.

Remembering the size of *that thing*, he immediately shook his head. "No, I can’t—I can’t do it..."

"Shh, shh, shh." Wei Qing put a finger to his lips.

Pulling Zhou Younan tightly into his arms, he leaned close to his delicate ear and comforted him, "If you can’t do it, you can practice. Remember to practice opening your mouth wide every day. I don’t want you to get hurt."

*You animal!*

Zhou Younan cursed inwardly.

The faint metallic tang of blood wafted to his nose—from Wei Qing’s whip wounds.

In this situation, Wei Qing could even be thinking about *that*.

Wei Qing spoke in a whiny tone, "I really can’t hold back anymore. I want to have you so badly. If not below, then can’t it be above?"

*Below? Above?!*

*Total animal!*

In his heart, Zhou Younan kept cursing Wei Qing in his head.

But before Wei Qing left, Zhou Younan, despite himself, still told him to stay hydrated.

Before he knew it, Zhou Younan and Wei Qing hadn’t seen each other for two days.

During this time, Zhou Younan had been staying in Wang Wu’s laboratory.

He had been in classes constantly, and when he was too tired, he helped clean up.

Everything in the lab was tossed together randomly, looking like a mini landfill at first glance. With Wang Wu’s permission, Zhou Younan began sorting everything into categories.

The robot teaching Zhou Younan was called GZ800. It was a device capable of connecting to the human brain’s neural system, letting users learn even while sleeping.

Wang Wu had given it a basic AI.

This AI had a habit—it loved to gossip.

And a problem—it couldn't keep secrets.

During their first session, it had blurted out about Wang Wu’s rocky relationship with her son and that he'd run away from home.

That revelation made Zhou Younan instantly suspicious. "You're not going to blab my secrets, right?" he asked warily.

GZ800 smiled: "My owner told me her business herself. Got any problems you wanna share?"

Zhou Younan refused: "No."

"No way you're worry-free. Owner says everyone's got issues."

"Even if I do, I won't tell you."

"Then no gossip for you."

Wang Wu loaded GZ800 with tons of data, mostly concerning mecha design, mechanics, robotics, etc., with a small portion being other materials. The sheer volume of information hooked Zhou Younan, who wanted to go through it all, but there was no way he could get through it all.

As Wei Qing had mentioned, Wang Wu indeed collected numerous documentaries about leopards, rare footage filmed by humans back on Earth.

The more Zhou Younan watched, the more he felt that the leopards in these documentaries—whether the cheetahs on grasslands, snow leopards in highlands, or clouded leopards in rainforests—all reminded him of Wei San, but none were quite him.

"Cheetahs have round pupils?"

Zhou Younan asked GZ800.

"Cheetahs are diurnal animals. Round pupils grant them excellent daytime vision, helping them precisely locate targets' positions, distances, and movement directions."

Zhou Younan got lost in thought.

Wei San's appearance most resembled a cheetah's, but it had vertical pupils.

Why did Wei San have vertical pupils? Mutation? Genetic editing?

GZ800: "Wanna keep watching this stuff?"

After thinking it over, Zhou Younan tested the waters by asking: "Do you know about catnip?"

"Catnip generally refers to Nepeta cataria, a herbaceous plant. It contains nepetalactone, which can induce excitement and hallucinations in about 50%-70% of cats, causing behaviors like rolling, rubbing, sneezing..."

As Zhou Younan read about catnip, his heart skipped a beat.

He blurted out: "Does catnip work on cheetahs?"

"Yes, check these clips out."

Zhou Younan scrolled through the videos; cheetahs did react to catnip.

"GZ800, I'm leaving."

"Got it."

Zhou Younan opened his eyes inside the nutrient tank as the lid hissed open.

Rising, he walked past the LYZ900 standard-issue power armor standing nearby.

He passed a wall packed with weapons—spiked guns, flamethrowers, 8MM30 electronic rifles, and more.

Turning the corner, Zhou Younan moved by a long table piled high with mech parts.

He paused at a small square table with a thermos and his mug.

He raised the mug and drank.

If his pheromones truly carried the scent of catnip, Wei San would probably go crazy for it.

Suddenly, he felt eyes on him.

Setting down the cup, he turned around.

Across the lab, separated by the mecha-laden table, Wei San was staring right at him.

Wei San perched upright on the floor, large green eyes fixed on Zhou Younan, its black-ringed tail swishing gracefully.

"Wei San?" Zhou Younan took two steps forward, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

Soon, he would get the answer he sought: Did he really smell like catnip?