Chapter 1 The Counselor’s First Day “Teacher, I’ve been marked…”

Chapter 1: Counselor's First Day

A torrential downpour, followed by deafening thunder.

Mou Lin, his fluffy curls in disarray, jolted awake.

The booming thunder made his heart race. Clutching his chest, he rolled to the edge of the bed and turned on his terminal.

The time read 4:05 a.m. The nighttime emergency channel was normal, except that his partner, around 1 a.m., had caught two alphas red-handed stealing access cards from the office.

But Mou Lin felt anything but relieved. His right eyelid kept twitching, and every muscle in his body was tensed as if poised to save him from disaster, yet he had no idea where this danger was coming from!

"Cheng Jingnian: ?"

A notification flashed on his terminal. His partner seemed to have noticed he was online in the early hours and sent a question mark.

The rain continued to pour. A sense of unease wrenched Mou Lin’s heart like a wet towel, and refused to fade. So, he decided to share this anxiety with someone else.

He opened the social app, and after a brief loading animation, a message from earlier popped up.

"2:13 a.m."

"Medical Class 1, Dai Xiaole (Omega): Teacher, I’ve been marked."

Mou Lin’s heart stopped.

Biting back a mouthful of curses, he pounded the emergency button. Red lights flashed as a piercing alarm blared through the room. The terminal automatically connected to his partner’s end, whose voice was calm and clear: "What do you need me to do?"

"Drive over and pick me up. An omega has been marked," Mou Lin said, somewhat calmed by his partner's composure. While requesting authorization to track the student's location, he snatched a random jacket from the closet and dashed downstairs. Thank goodness for the terminal and interstellar ABO technology—he was spared a manual search for where the student had been marked.

"—He’s at the Red Corrosion Bar in Tahú District!"

Mou Lin stumbled into the hovercar, struggling to lift his hand and connect the terminal to the navigator. A hand clad in metallic armor reached from the driver’s seat, effortlessly straightening him and attaching the terminal.

Data streamed from the terminal into the hovercar’s navigation system. A five-point safety belt ejected from the compartment and automatically fastened. Almost simultaneously, the engine roared to life, and the powerful acceleration pressed Mou Lin firmly into his seat. The heavy rain at high speed turned the windshield into a blurry white screen, with only the navigation guidelines visible in the dimly lit interior.

The driver sharply turned the steering wheel while lifting it, pulling off a near-perfect 270-degree drift along the guidance line before merging into the top-tier express lane. The hovercar’s soundproofing kept the rain and dampness outside, leaving only the faint rumble of thunder, making every sound inside exceptionally clear. Mou Lin heard his partner’s voice, reliable but puzzled: "Ten minutes. Help me check why the nighttime emergency system didn’t alert us about something this big."

"No need to check." Mou Lin gripped the safety belt, feeling a strange sense of relief. "The student was probably scared and messaged me on the social app. He sent it two hours ago. I’m screwed, ha."

A moment of silence from the driver. "Then, the pheromone detector should’ve automatically alerted us—" Marking would cause significant pheromone fluctuations. To ensure student safety, the military academy terminals had built-in detectors that automatically warned during AO pheromone peaks and alerted when suspected marking behavior was detected.

"He’s in heat. I approved his leave the day before yesterday." Once an omega’s heat leave was approved, the system automatically disabled the pheromone detector for privacy reasons. In effect, Mou Lin had personally turned off the detector. The more he thought about it, the more despair he felt, as if his life were flashing before his eyes.

What did Earthlings who loved ABO novels ever do wrong… He was just blowing off steam online—why did he have to suffer like this?!

Mou Lin deeply missed the days on Earth when there were only two genders.

He used to be an ordinary office worker, with a hobby of reading ABO novels. Who doesn’t enjoy a little spice? Until one day, his department was abruptly dissolved, and they only managed to get their severance pay because the deputy team leader fainted on the spot in the office. That night, Mou Lin escaped reality by binge-reading the latest ABO novel until 3 a.m. Depressed by his bleak reality, he impulsively posted, "If I could just find a job, I’d even be willing to be a beta in an ABO novel!" He thought he’d fallen asleep right after, but it turned out he’d dropped dead instead!

When Mou Lin opened his eyes again, he was faced with a newly signed employment contract. The person across the desk shook his hand with a warm smile: "Mr. Miao, it’s a pleasure to work with you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be the counselor for Class 1, Grade 1, at our Federal First Military Academy. The person who just entered is your partner for the next year, Drill Instructor Cheng Jingnian."

Mou Lin: Huh? Am I dreaming?

He turned around in confusion and met a pair of deep green eyes.

"Mr. Miao? Mr. Miao?" The man nudged him. "We’re here. Get out."

Mou Lin gave his head a shake and unbuckled his seatbelt.

The thunderstorms on White Frost Star, where the Federal First Military Academy was located, always came and went quickly. By now, only a post-rain haze lingered in the night, making the neon sign at the bar’s entrance seem a little less glaring. But Mou Lin still felt dizzy—

Although omegas who could attend military academy typically had milder heat reactions, Student Dai Xiaole, what gave you the bright idea to enter a bar on the third day of your heat???

Mou Lin stormed into the bar with his jacket, only to be stopped by the first obstacle. The security guard, taking in his oddly homey appearance, held the door: "Betas aren’t allowed."

"Are you sure?" Mou Lin rolled up his sleeve.

The guard looked baffled. "Yes? This is my job. Giving me a hard time won't change anything…"

"It will." Mou Lin muttered. He counted to five in his head, and once the eye contact duration met the requirement, a green data screen popped up before his eyes. The guard’s experiences from the past and next 24 hours scrolled past like a data stream, while the guard himself remained completely unaware. Mou Lin was used to it. Enduring the intense headache from information overload, he saw a vision of a future where, if he failed to enter, this guard was fired the next day for—

"I’m from the Federal First Military Academy. My student is inside. He messaged me two hours ago saying he’d been marked." Mou Lin showed the guard his counselor ID. The terminal’s light cast a pale glow on his face. "The Federal Military's been cracking down hard lately, especially on cases involving military academy victims."

The guard’s face turned even paler than Mou Lin’s. "I—We usually only screen by looks, not gender. The boss said someone important was coming today, so we’re only letting alphas and omegas in… Please, go ahead!"

He hastily pulled the door open. Just as Mou Lin was about to rush in, a hand reached past him and grabbed the walkie-talkie the guard was trying to use to alert someone.

It was Cheng Jingnian. His deep green eyes appeared almost black like a well in the fog, and the bright metal crawling from his neck to his right ear made him look as sharp as a blade. His right arm, covered in the same metallic material, firmly gripped the guard’s shoulder: "Where is he?"

The guard squealed and squirmed but refused to answer. Mou Lin was so anxious he wanted to punch him, but Cheng Jingnian was clearly more skilled at interrogation. With no more effort than crumpling a plastic bag, Cheng Jingnian effortlessly slammed the guard to the ground, twisted his arm, and pinned him, rendering the guard unable to even cry out in pain. He eased up slightly and repeated: "Where is he?"

The guard finally caved, squeezing out a choked "Third floor, Crown VIP room." Mou Lin snatched the walkie-talkie and sprinted off, with Cheng Jingnian catching up moments later. But as soon as they opened the door, a deafening wall of sound surged from the bar. The nighttime storm on White Frost Star clearly hadn’t dampened the partygoers’ enthusiasm. The smell of alcohol, mixed with a jumble of pheromones, clung to them like a sticky net, hitting them head-on with the explosive beat. No one noticed two betas had just entered.

Mou Lin covered his nose, searching for the stairs amidst the chaotic light beams. Betas couldn’t perceive the information in AO pheromones; to them, it was just a simple scent. He wondered if these AOs were too high to notice, but the pheromone concentration indoors was already almost pungent. Combined with moving in the dark and occasionally tripping over unseen obstacles, Mou Lin grew increasingly frustrated.

This damn bar! Not even an emergency exit sign! If there’s a fire, everyone here will be roasted alive!

He took a wild swing at the wall but was intercepted mid-swing.

Mou Lin prepared to snarl, but when he turned, he saw it was Cheng Jingnian. In the flickering lights, the other’s movements were unclear, but he seemed to be shaking his head.

Mou Lin made a frustrated face.

Cheng Jingnian handed him his terminal, its screen deliberately dimmed: "The pheromone concentration is off. I suspect there’s an inducer."

Mou Lin shuddered.

It had been three weeks since he’d smoothly started this job. To successfully pass the probation period, secure a permanent position after a year, maintain his post-transmigration quality of life, and fulfill the contract he’d signed, he’d been cramming ABO knowledge whenever students weren’t causing trouble. Thanks to his extensive reading, Mou Lin knew inducers were a common cause of trouble. He’d read the related descriptions three times, even while dealing with a student crying about being scammed out of 4,800 credits in an online romance.

Inducers, as the name suggests, were used to induce hormonal fluctuations in AOs, pushing them into physiological peaks. Even betas would experience amplified emotional swings from exposure. In ABO novels, they were tools for mischief, but in reality, aside from the black market, they could also be found on medical prescriptions.

However, medical inducers were strictly controlled and only prescribed to patients with pheromone disorders. Their suspected presence in a bar was definitely not just for kicks.

Mou Lin stopped and tapped on the terminal screen. Fortunately, the guests here were too immersed in the pheromone waves to notice the two of them skulking along the wall. Soon, Cheng Jingnian’s wrist vibrated. His terminal displayed a message: "Temporary law enforcement authority granted. Audio and video recording activated." followed by a determined-looking bird emoji Mou Lin sent.

The Federal First Military Academy had a unique position within the federation and was even more special on White Frost Star. One could say White Frost Star was an academic world built around it. The academy also bore part of the law enforcement and oversight duties on this planet, which, for individual staff, meant drill instructors could apply for temporary law enforcement authority, and counselors could apply for temporary oversight authority. Although Mou Lin was still in his probation period, his partner Cheng Jingnian was an official staff member!

Finally, something he’d prepared for was paying off. Mou Lin felt a spark of accomplishment in this chaotic night and showed his first genuine smile since waking up.

Cheng Jingnian patted his shoulder, then slipped an arm around his back, guiding him toward the opposite side of the dance floor.

The overly intimate gesture confused Mou Lin until he spotted the staircase beyond the crowd and suddenly understood. The disco ball in the center of the dance floor was too dazzling, and the guests were dancing too hypnotically—he’d completely missed the staircase hidden in the shadows behind the bar.

They were both betas, so how did he have such good vision?

He glanced at Cheng Jingnian and leaned in closer, playing along. The two pretended to be a clingy couple, inconspicuously passing the semi-private booths on the second floor and smoothly reaching the third floor.

Judging by the decor, the third floor had almost completely detached from the bar’s atmosphere. The dim light and closed doors made this level resemble a temporary hotel, with all its implied indecency, debauchery, and almost palpable risk of STDs hitting Mou Lin in the face. Thankfully, there was a conspicuous figure outside a door at the end of the hallway, sparing Mou Lin and Cheng Jingnian the trouble of peering at each doorplate.

"What do we do?" Mou Lin nervously eyed the bodyguards—five of them, both Alphas and Betas, all dressed in black suits, their muscles bulging under the fabric, filling out their shoulders and chests. He had already confirmed Dai Xiaole's coordinates, and the height matched the third floor’s. If a lightly trained military cadet couldn’t escape from this entire floor, then the VIP here was definitely the one responsible.

Cheng Jingnian’s arm, which had been resting on Mou Lin’s shoulder, withdrew. He said, "Step back. Take my jacket."

The bodyguards seemed to notice the unusual movement and grew alert. Hired bodyguards, as long as they upheld their professional integrity, wouldn't let anyone disturb their employer. The narrow hallway offered no room for evasion—the only way forward was to confront them head-on.

Mou Lin retreated behind Cheng Jingnian. The spotlight cast a snowy halo over Cheng Jingnian’s silver hair, while the metallic sheen covering his right wrist to his fingertips glinted sharp as a blade.

Mou Lin heard him say, "Five minutes."

Author's Note:

----------------------

Don’t be fooled (?) by this chapter—it’s actually a comedy! [You got this!]

Thank you to all the readers who've made it this far. I hope you’ve had, and will continue to have, a lighthearted and enjoyable reading experience! [Sparkling eyes][Sparkling eyes]

----