Chapter 47 Auditory Hallucination

Chapter 47: Auditory Hallucination

Understanding the situation, Ji Anzhi froze too, caught in a dilemma: moving was hard, staying still was worse.

If he moved, his legs hadn't recovered, and forcing himself to stand would only recreate the earlier awkward situation. If he didn't move, the feeling under him was impossible to block out, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Ji Anzhi lowered his head, his face flushed with embarrassment, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into. Although he had a reputation for being a flirt back on Saor, he always had others wear masks of his face to carry out those affairs. Usually, he just pretended to flirt, batting his eyelashes and saying a few suggestive words. This was his first time being in such close contact with an alpha!

Ji Anzhi, the pure-hearted one, hadn't yet figured out how to break the awkward silence when Qi Yanshen, his breathing heavy, his voice deep and magnetic, asked, "Are you okay?"

Ji Anzhi instinctively shook his head, then remembered his numb legs and nodded emphatically instead.

Ji Anzhi's movements were rather large, inevitably shifting his lower body and causing Qi Yanshen's arousal to grow even more. The rich scent of gardenia spread throughout the cockpit...

Qi Yanshen immediately snapped, "Wait! Don't move!"

Noticing the reaction below him, Ji Anzhi obediently stayed still. Smelling the gardenia fragrance in the air, his face flushed an even deeper shade of red. He whispered in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum, "S-sorry, I didn't mean to... My legs went numb from sitting too long, and I lost my balance... so this happened..."

Qi Yanshen tried hard to calm the heat in his lower body, but with little success. Understanding that Ji Anzhi had lost his balance due to leg numbness, Qi Yanshen said, "Be more careful next time. Don't stand up too suddenly."

Ji Anzhi mumbled a dejected "Mm," not daring to nod.

A few minutes later, the numbness in Ji Anzhi's legs subsided, with no pain or tingling. He quickly stood up and left the pilot's seat.

Seeing Ji Anzhi leave, Qi Yanshen also breathed a sigh of relief. If Ji Anzhi hadn't gotten up, he was truly afraid he might have made another inappropriate move.

But this lifetime's most embarrassing moment was now set in stone. He believed he would absolutely never forget it.

Ji Anzhi walked to the cockpit door, leaving behind a "I'm going down first" before descending via the starship's built-in staircase.

Ke Haocheng, who had received the message of the mech's return, was at the hangar bay overseeing its parking. Since no mechs had returned to the hangar at noon, he thought they wouldn't be back until after five or six o'clock. He didn't expect Chief Qi to return at 3:30 PM. But why wasn't he coming down?

Ke Haocheng assumed Chief Qi was delayed by something and didn't go to urge him. After a while, he saw Chief Ji descend from Chief Qi's mech, his face flushed, a clear sign something was off.

Ke Haocheng wanted to ask Chief Ji what was wrong, but Chief Ji seemed startled upon seeing him, his face turning even redder as he stammered, asking if Ke Haocheng needed anything.

Seeing the unnatural blush on Chief Ji's face, Ke Haocheng curiously asked where Chief Qi was; the message he received clearly stated Chief Qi's mech had returned.

Chief Ji avoided eye contact, saying guiltily, "Ch-Chief Qi... he has some matters to attend to, he'll be down later. Um, I have things to do too! I'll be going now, bye!"

Without giving Ke Haocheng any chance to stop him, he dashed off in a flash.

Ke Haocheng was still wondering what was wrong with Chief Ji when he turned and saw Chief Qi also emerge from the mech. His perpetually icy face actually had a light flush, but aside from that, his gait seemed a bit odd, though nothing else appeared unusual.

Although Ke Haocheng didn't know the scent of Chief Qi's pheromones, he knew no alpha at the military academy had a habit of wearing perfume. So, this fragrance could only be Chief Qi's pheromones.

Such a strong scent... was it his rut? He wondered if Chief Qi had used...

Huh?!

Wait!!

Rut!!!

Ke Haocheng suddenly remembered Chief Ji's abnormal flush earlier and his clearly unusual state. Combined with Chief Qi's abnormal pheromones, a thought popped into his head.

Were Chief Qi and Chief Ji a couple?!

An A/B relationship! He never thought he'd witness one firsthand!

Ke Haocheng was shocked by his own speculation. After all, A/B relationships were practically synonymous with mutual torment. He never imagined Chief Qi and Chief Ji would be so brave.

Ke Haocheng's awe for the two Chiefs grew imperceptibly. How deeply in love must they be to dare to be together? He heard that less than a month into the semester, Chief Qi often sent snacks to Chief Ji—and those were ridiculously expensive brands that kids from average families like him wouldn't even dare look at. Could it be they were already together back then?

While marveling at how well they had hidden it, Ke Haocheng also worried whether Chief Ji, a beta, would be okay. After all, alphas were quite beastly... ah, no, quite dominant and enduring. Chief Ji was a beta with only a B+ physical fitness rating, while Chief Qi was an S-class alpha with an SS physical fitness evaluation. Wouldn't that be a problem?

Thinking this, Ke Haocheng felt even more respect and sympathy for Chief Ji. Chief Ji could be considered the pride of betas. He must care more about Chief Ji's health. Maybe he should later inquire if there were methods to improve physical fitness; it would make things easier for Chief Ji.

And so, unbeknownst to Qi Yanshen and Ji Anzhi, a misunderstanding was born, and the other party firmly believed it, leading to rumors that spread like wildfire later on that the two were dating.

On the way, Ji Anzhi calmed down. Qi Yanshen was an S-class alpha and the child of a Federation Legion Commander. Given his upbringing, he probably looked down on someone like Ji Anzhi. It was just a normal physiological reaction caused by the impact. Better to just let it go.

Having counseled himself, Ji Anzhi thought about what he would do for the next nine days.

Now that his personal scoring task was complete, going out to help hunt Zerg was impossible; fighting Zerg himself would be pure suicide. The Wen brothers had already finished debugging the starship. Rong Bai had gone with Luo Hai to see if there were any herbs specified for personal scoring tasks nearby. Everyone else was busy with their own tasks, but Ji Anzhi couldn't help with any of them.

But he couldn't just do nothing either. Even if others didn't say anything, he would feel guilty.

After some thought, Ji Anzhi decided to go help Jian Fuxu, and perhaps probe for information about the explosion at the start of the semester. He had been very concerned about that explosion and needed to figure out what caused it. Otherwise, this unstable factor was like a ticking time bomb.

A ticking time bomb that could trap him in a cage with no way back at any moment.

Arriving at the laboratory door, a genetic scan confirmed his identity and the door automatically opened.

Ji Anzhi walked in. Jian Fuxu was at the operating table making something. Looking at the micro-manipulation instruments, Ji Anzhi guessed it was probably a miniature Energy Bomb, possibly with a detection system attached. Seeing Jian Fuxu absorbed in his work, Ji Anzhi didn't disturb him rashly. Instead, he found a seat with a clear view and sat down, watching how Jian Fuxu operated.

A few minutes later, Jian Fuxu stopped; the creation was complete.

Jian Fuxu picked up a panel nearby, tapped it a few times, and a metal ball the size of a lotus seed in front of him floated up. The next second, the metal ball opened its camera eyes and flew a circle around the laboratory.

Confirming the metal ball could transmit surveillance footage, Jian Fuxu let out a relieved breath and looked at Ji Anzhi opposite him, asking, "Something you need?"

Ji Anzhi pretended to be eager. "Is there anything I can help with? I've finished my personal scoring task and have nothing to do now."

Jian Fuxu raised an eyebrow slightly, somewhat incredulous. "Finished?"

Seeing Ji Anzhi nod, Jian Fuxu was once again astonished by Ji Anzhi's capability. He thought Ji Anzhi's task would take at least two days at the fastest, never expecting him to complete it in just one day.

Jian Fuxu's own personal scoring tasks were a bit difficult; there were two.

The first required him to independently modify or create an energy-powered monitor, which was the metal ball he had just made.

The second was to steal energy from other squads, at least 500 units.

The first was already done. The focus was on the second. The second task meant that if they wanted to get the points, fighting was unavoidable.

But the whole team wasn't worried about this task not being completed. After all, fights would break out in the last few days anyway, and they could easily snatch plenty of energy in the chaos.

Jian Fuxu indeed had a lot of work here, but he wasn't aware of Ji Anzhi's abilities in the energy field, even though he often encountered Ji Anzhi in Energy Department classes. He inquired, "How are your energy fundamentals and micro-manipulation?"

Ji Anzhi declared confidently, "No problem."

Jian Fuxu tossed him a basic Energy Bomb and told him to disassemble and reassemble it.

Under Jian Fuxu's watchful eye, Ji Anzhi spent eight minutes disassembling and reassembling all the components. Jian Fuxu took the bomb back for testing; it could still function, no issues.

After agreeing to let Ji Anzhi help, Jian Fuxu demonstrated to Ji Anzhi how to operate and assemble the metal ball he had just made. After two demonstrations, Ji Anzhi could skillfully operate and manufacture the bombs. For the next three or four hours, the two occupied separate areas in the laboratory, eventually producing seven metal balls in total.

Jian Fuxu checked the three made by Ji Anzhi, confirming they were error-free and operational, then announced the day's work was over. The two headed to the starship's conference room for a meeting.

Every evening at seven, barring any enemy attacks, they had to meet in the conference room for reports.

When Ji Anzhi and Jian Fuxu arrived, everyone else was already there. With just the two of them taking their seats, the meeting could begin. Ji Anzhi, feeling guilty, didn't dare look Qi Yanshen in the eye.

Once they were seated, Qi Yanshen, sitting at the head of the table, spoke: "The individual scoring tasks for the Star Chart Department are done."

Hearing this, except for Luo Hai and Lilette who had inadvertently noticed the point discrepancy while killing bugs, everyone else was in disbelief. They opened the assessment interface and saw the original 100% had indeed changed to 103%.

They finished it on the first day?

Chi Yan's gaze toward Ji Anzhi shifted from that of an admirer to a die-hard fan. Ke Haocheng's originally respectful eyes also held a hint of pride.

See! We betas are pretty impressive too!

Meanwhile, Jian Fuxu, sitting beside Ji Anzhi, said calmly: "I've completed half of my individual scoring tasks."

Everyone's attention shifted from Ji Anzhi to Jian Fuxu. A heavy silence fell over them.

Before forming the team, they had mentally prepared themselves. With three first-year chiefs who had defeated a fourth-year chief in the freshman challenge, they had anticipated a gap, but not one this vast...

Amidst the oppressive silence, Qi Yanshen continued: "Aside from the special individual tasks that must be done later, try to finish the others in the first four days. Reserve three days in the middle specifically for hunting bugs, and the final three days will focus on defense and retaliation against sneak attacks."

"Wen Jue, Wen Run, any problems with the ship?"

The Wen brothers replied: "None, everything's normal. But the speed is a bit slow. We plan to make modifications later, which might take about two days."

"…………"

Then came the routine progress reports, followed by slight adjustments to personnel assignments. Ji Anzhi would still be assisting Jian Fuxu.

After the meeting, everyone returned to their rooms or went back out to hunt bugs.

The starship had ample space, so everyone had a private room. When Ji Anzhi entered, Xiaoxue was still curled by the flowerpot, basking under the sun lamp, looking lazy.

At the sound of the door, Xiaoxue only opened a slit in her eyes to glance over. Seeing it was her owner, she lazily closed them again to rest.

Back in his room, Ji Anzhi felt much more comfortable, and his slightly dizzy head cleared up.

Looking at the nearly transparent plant in the flowerpot, Ji Anzhi always felt it seemed dangerous, as if it lacked some nutrient, leaving it malnourished and even threatening its life.

He had considered asking someone from the Biology Department, but he wasn't sure if they'd detect anything unusual. The biggest problem was he had no one there he could temporarily trust, so he put it on hold.

Meanwhile, Ji Anzhi had bought many plant nutrient solutions and soils, even some for specific plants. Unfortunately, the results were minimal. Only one special nutrient solution, released for sale once a year, worked somewhat, making the leaf color solidify for a day.

That solution was reportedly specially formulated for a main ingredient in mental soothing agents. One concentrated tube, diluted, could last a month. Ji Anzhi had spent thirty thousand star coins on a tube to test it. Finding it effective, he planned to repurchase, only to discover it was sold out. The next chance would be the following year.

Ji Anzhi had no choice. He had never studied nutrient solution formulation and had no time to learn. He could only wait for next year's release and try to grab as many as possible.

Ji Anzhi crouched and gently touched the leaf, which felt like icy jadeite—cool, unlike ordinary grass.

After just a few touches, Ji Anzhi suddenly heard a faint sob, as if drifting from afar yet whispering close to his ear. Instinctively, he drew the energy gun from his thigh holster, released the safety, turned, and shouted into the room: "Who's there!"

No outsider was visible, but Ji Anzhi didn't lower the gun. Holding it, he searched every corner in case someone had entered invisibly. He even fired shots at the ceiling, though not with the energy gun; he used a metal gun with powder bullets to avoid major malfunctions on the starship.

After checking the room, Ji Anzhi opened the door and examined the corridor outside, but found nothing amiss. He returned the energy gun to his leg holster and went back in.

Meanwhile, in the invigilation room aboard the mothership stationed in the exosphere of the assessment planet, the group monitoring Qi Yanshen's team was puzzled.