In the monitoring room of Wyatt Mecha Academy, all campus surveillance feeds had been switched to remote monitoring, updating in real time every corner of the rainforest. Here, one could see freshmen hiding alone in the woods, alert to their surroundings, as well as teams confronting each other, trying to secure more supplies for their side.
The time was already 2:17 a.m., yet several people remained seated in the monitoring room.
Chen Wang glanced back at Lu Ze, who was full of energy and showed no signs of drowsiness, then looked outside the door at Fei Luo’er, who had set up a table and was patiently reviewing documents. Eventually, he turned his gaze back to the surveillance screens.
“Is there something you’d like to say, Professor Chen?” Lu Ze shifted his posture, pulling a chair over to sit beside him. “I’m just a bit worried about how my son is getting along with his classmates, so I’m keeping an eye on things. Is that a problem?”
“Are you planning to stay here for the next few days, Mr. Lu?” Chen Wang replied without turning his head. “Wyatt’s management won’t make mistakes, and we won’t let any student face danger. As you can see, this is just an exam albeit with stricter rules.”
“I trust you, of course,” Lu Ze said with a smile. “But it seems my husband has gotten wind of some rumors.”
Fei Luo’er stood up and came inside to check if Lu Ze had fallen asleep. As soon as he entered, he heard the way Lu Ze referred to him, and his previously tired mind suddenly became much clearer.
“What rumors?” Chen Wang turned to look at him.
“For example, a certain earl’s family seems to be missing a few bullets from their ammunition depot, and so on.” Lu Ze spread his hands and shrugged, the muscles on his arms rippling with the movement. To Chen Wang, it even carried a hint of threat.
Lu Ze yawned and continued, “It seems a bold student has been ordered by her father to avenge her brother. I don’t want my son to come back with an extra hole in his forehead.”
Chen Wang frowned. “That’s impossible.”
Wyatt’s inspections were layered and thorough. How could a student possibly bring real bullets inside?
“I had someone let it slide,” Fei Luo’er chimed in at the right moment. “If we didn’t let her bring real bullets in, how could we expose the earl family’s ambitions?”
“Whoa, here it comes.” Lu Ze suddenly stood up, taking two steps to the surveillance screen and staring intently at one of the monitors. On it, three people were in a standoff. A red dot shifted from the blue-haired boy’s shoulder to his forehead, while the honey-skinned Omega clenched his fists, as if waiting for something.
At the same time, on a planet with a tropical rainforest climate, in a certain corner, Qiao An aimed her gun at Lu Heguang’s forehead and said softly, “Interested in discussing a collaboration?”
“Is this how you discuss a collaboration?” Salorian gritted his teeth, his voice reminding Qiao An that there was another person present. Seeing Lu Heguang shielding Salorian, a glint flashed in Qiao An’s eyes. She suddenly shifted her gun’s aim to Salorian’s forehead.
Just as she had guessed, Lu Heguang tensed up all over and warned in a low voice, “Put down your weapon, and we can still discuss a collaboration.”
“Put down my weapon? Then we won’t be able to discuss a collaboration.” Qiao An waved a finger with her other hand, leisurely saying, “You two made my brother suffer so much. How could I let you off so easily?”
“Joan, it was Parker who started trouble with us first,” Lu Heguang said in a low voice. As he spoke, he subtly shifted his body closer to Salorian. Salorian noticed his movement and glanced down at his lower back, where a dagger was tucked into his belt medical students weren’t equipped with weapons. Their goal leaned more toward finding teams or individuals to cooperate with, striving to ensure both their own and others’ survival.
Did Lu Heguang want him to launch an attack?
Salorian slowly reached out and rested his hand on the dagger’s hilt. Just then, Joan suddenly spoke up, “Wait a moment. I have something here that might interest you.”
She pulled a string of dog tags from her training uniform pocket, and Rice’s name was clearly among them.
“Sorry, I eliminated everyone I thought wasn’t strong enough. Most of them were from your class,” Joan said, picking out one dog tag and tossing it to Lu Heguang. The Alpha caught it and clicked his tongue, “Allen.”
“Don’t worry, he’s still in our territory. Whether to eliminate him or not is up to you,” Joan threw the dog tags aside. “My request is simple: let’s team up and eliminate those who don’t deserve to stay. How about it?”
“Including people from your own class?”
“Of course,” Joan nodded. “There’s a rule you don’t know yet, right? I heard it’ll only be revealed after the survival battle ends. I guess your guide wouldn’t tell you either, for the sake of your mental well-being. Let me be the good person and give you a heads-up.”
“Joan, this violates the competition rules…” Salorian warned, but the next moment, Lu Heguang’s gaze shifted toward him. “Senior, do you really know?”
Salorian fell silent, only managing to speak after a long pause amidst Joan’s mocking laughter, “Do you believe me or her?”
“Then if I believe you, Senior, will you tell me?” Lu Heguang asked. Salorian hesitated, then shook his head. Lu Heguang sighed and patted his hand, “Alright, I won’t let your score get deducted because of me.”
“So, you’re willing to listen to me now?” Joan smiled. “First, promise you’ll cooperate with me.”
“I promise,” Lu Heguang took two steps forward, moving farther away from Salorian. To Joan, this was a sign that he no longer trusted Salorian. The female Alpha’s smile deepened. “Good. Actually, telling you this secret will help you understand the benefits of cooperating with me after the survival battle ends, the remaining members of our two classes will form a squad. As your future teammate, I acknowledge your strength, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to let weaklings join our team.”
“So that’s why you want to eliminate those you consider weak?”
“Of course, a strong team doesn’t need weaklings.”
Before she could finish her sentence, a figure flashed before her eyes. Joan instinctively aimed her gun in that direction, only to realize the person had no intention of attacking her. She thought to herself, I’ve been tricked. In the next second, her weapon was snatched away, and the situation abruptly reversed. She was pressed against a tree, her back turned, by Lu Heguang.
On the other side, Salorian failed to brake in time. The slippery fallen leaves underfoot made him lose his balance, and he fell hard on his butt, soaking most of his pants. What was even more infuriating was that his palm had been cut by a rock hidden beneath the leaves.
“Hah, you actually came to the survival challenge during your heat cycle?” Joan, who had been tense, relaxed as she caught the floral scent spreading through the air. She glanced sideways at Salorian, who was slowly getting up. “I heard you really hate Alphas. Aren’t you afraid of attracting one who’ll pin you down and mark you in this state?”
“Shut up.” Lu Heguang’s expression darkened. He glanced back at Salorian, who was wrapping his bleeding hand with his clothes, trying to mask the overly strong pheromones his worst fear had come true. He could only hope Salorian’s scent wouldn’t attract any wild beasts.
“What, you’re worried about him?” Joan seemed to have discovered some great secret, even forgetting her own predicament as she teased, “The one who hates Alphas the most, and your guided one is actually an Alpha who likes you.”
“Joan, shut up.” Lu Heguang was getting a headache from her words. “If you keep talking, I’ll destroy your emblem.”
He released Joan, preparing to let her leave. “If you really want to team up with me after the survival challenge, don’t provoke me again.”
“Fine, fine.” Seeing that he agreed, Joan didn’t press further. Before leaving, she seemed to remember something and turned back to Lu Heguang. “Oh, I forgot to tell you my weapon is loaded with real bullets.”
Lu Heguang was startled. He quickly unloaded the magazine and checked. “She’s telling the truth.”
Salorian, still wrapping his hand with his clothes, stood up without a word and chased after her. Lu Heguang hurried to catch up but couldn’t keep pace with Salorian. By the time he caught up, Salorian was already pulling a dagger out of Joan’s torn emblem.
A piercing alarm sounded in their ears. Joan’s face showed anger and unwillingness as she cursed and got up from the ground. “Looks like even Omegas bite when they’re pushed.”
“Senior, are you okay?” Lu Heguang noticed Salorian’s pale face and moved to support him, but Salorian avoided him and walked back on his own.
Joan snorted. “You really want to chase after him, huh?”
“None of your damn business.” Lu Heguang couldn’t take it anymore and turned to leave. Behind him, Joan’s indifferent voice followed. “He’s not easy to chase. Don’t come crying later.”
Even with his impeccable upbringing, Lu Heguang couldn’t stand her provocation, but he couldn’t bring himself to curse. He simply turned and glared at Joan.
“Senior, senior, are you ignoring me now?” When Lu Heguang found Salorian, he was examining the cut on his palm. Hearing Lu Heguang’s pitiful tone, the Omega chuckled. “Don’t worry, I know Joan didn’t tell a single truth. People like her shouldn’t be let off easily. Let her go play in the second round of testing.”
Lu Heguang: “…”
Actually, she did get one thing right.
But Salorian was in denial right now, so it was better not to provoke him. Lu Heguang silently accepted his words. “Does it still hurt?”
“The pain isn’t the issue. The real problem is that my pheromones might have already been noticed by others.” Salorian sighed. “The suppressants aren’t working. When I get back, I’m going to complain to the seller and demand compensation.”
“What do we do now?”
“What do we do? I can’t just find an Alpha to mark me, can I?” Salorian said self-deprecatingly. “I’ll just have to endure it. Anyway, today is already the second day. If I hold out for three more days, I can leave this place.”
Lu Heguang hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back. Salorian seemed to read his mind and quickly took two steps back, covering his butt with one hand and the back of his neck with the other. “Hey, what Joan said isn’t true, right? You can like anyone you want, just don’t set your sights on me!”
Lu Heguang: “…”