Fu Siheng sat at his desk for quite a while before finally abandoning the idea of asking Shi Yuanyang.
Given the tangled web of gossip groups Shi Yuanyang was part of, if Fu Siheng let slip that he was inquiring about someone from the Research Institute, the entire academy would probably know within five minutes.
He suddenly realized what he was thinking about and couldn’t help letting out a self-deprecating laugh.
Am I losing my mind? Why do I even care about this?
He disconnected the call and began tidying up his desk.
The surface was clean and organized…there was barely anything to put away. Still, he dawdled until it was officially time to clock out.
The two captains from next door were also leaving. They stopped by to greet him: “Major Fu, not leaving yet?”
“Leaving right now.” Fu Siheng cast one last look around the office, then locked the door.
Military uniforms weren’t permitted off-duty. He changed into a crisp white shirt, which highlighted his tall, lean build and refined features.
It was dusk. The soft, romantic glow of the setting sun stretched across the horizon like a gorgeous sheet of brocade.
Deafening physical training slogans echoed across the drill grounds: “Obey orders, execute discipline, invincible in battle—!”
A group of bare-chested Alphas were running along the track, their strides heavy as iron hoofs crashing through ice. Their packed muscles radiated explosive power as they roared the ground force’s core motto.
Fu Siheng walked two laps around the outer perimeter of the track before his communicator chimed.
“Hello, Dad,” he said, taking the call while feeling warmed by the lingering twilight.
Fu Shouming’s tone carried its usual, unyielding sternness: “Why aren’t you back yet? What are you wandering around the track for?”
Fu Siheng glanced up at the surveillance cameras on the distant building and said indifferently, “Just walking a bit more. I’m leaving soon anyway.”
“It’s not like you’re never coming back. What’s with the dramatic talk?” Fu Shouming grumbled.
Silence stretched between them for a brief moment. Fu Shouming felt like the conversation with his son was about to fizzle out again.
He hesitated before adding, “Once you return from this assignment, I’ll submit an application to upper management to get you into the Combat Command Center.”
Fu Siheng’s breath hitched. His grip on the communicator tightened. “Are you serious?”
“Of course I am. When has your father ever lied to you?” Fu Shouming’s voice held a rare, subtle weight.
Having secured his father’s promise, Fu Siheng felt his mood lift significantly.
By the time he stepped out of the First Ground Force gates, the sky was nearly pitch-black.
Ever since he started working, he had moved out of the family home and lived alone in a high-end apartment a few blocks away.
As night fell, small asteroids sparkled like diamonds in the cosmic sky, drifting slowly through the dark void. On the magnetic levitation tracks overhead, shuttles and aircraft wove back and forth, painting a bustling, brilliant nightscape.
Passing an intersection, an unusual noise echoed from an alleyway.
Nighttime security in Warner had always been a bit shaky. Fu Siheng, used to it by now, kept walking; this alley was on his direct path home.
Not far ahead, a gang of street thugs holding baseball bats was shoving a young boy, trapping him against the corner of a wall.
The air was thick with a heavy scent…not the natural combat pheromones released during intense exercise, but intense sexual pheromones.
“Heh, cute ass. An Omega like this must be a real blast to ride.”
“Frightened now? Still wanna join the Mecha Club? Thought you were hot stuff just because you latched onto a rich guy? Pfft, he’s just a useless Omega too.”
Several crude voices mocked him. The boy put up a weak struggle, seemingly trying to talk back to the leader.
The leader grabbed him hard by the collar and snapped viciously, “You fucking dare talk back? Wanting to die, huh? If you don’t get down on your knees and blow me today, you won’t learn who calls the shots at the Imperial Military Academy!”
Fu Siheng’s face darkened as he turned his gaze toward them.
The speaker wore a white tank top, while the Omega he was hauling up happened to have light chestnut hair.
A Heran.
What a joke for Warner, a place that preached AO equality and claimed to “protect” Omegas by forbidding them from entering the battlefield.
Seeing this scene…something far too common…alongside the recent internet trends claiming “Omegas are noble, Alphas are trash” felt like an absolute irony.
Noticing his gaze, the guy in the white tank top immediately glared back. “What the hell are you looking at?! Want to die?”
The moment Fu Siheng saw the boy’s hair color, his face had turned icy cold. The deepening night hid his expression.
He paused his steps, looking at the leader. “No, I’ve just never seen someone like you…” His tone was casual, deliberately pausing mid-sentence to draw all the thugs’ attention.
“A Warner dog,” he added with a trace of disdain, pronouncing every word crystal clear.
The insult instantly set off an explosion. The thugs abandoned the boy and swarmed toward Fu Siheng.
“Fuck! Who are you calling a Warner dog?!” White Tank Top roared in fury.
To be called a “dog” by a Heran immigrant on Warner territory was a humiliation he had never imagined in his life. This guy was either insane or completely suicidal.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” He bellowed in rage, swinging his baseball bat straight toward Fu Siheng.
Seeing a dozen Alphas charge at the tall, slender man, the boy squeezed his eyes shut in terror.
White Tank Top swung the bat at lightning speed…he clearly had some training. The heavy wooden bat whistled past the air, inches from Fu Siheng.
If that hit landed clean, Fu Siheng would either pass out or end up half-dead. The thugs grinned in anticipation, eager to watch him get flattened.
In the next second, an unbelievable scene unfolded.
Unhurried and without a shred of nervousness, Fu Siheng casually leaned aside, dodging the bat effortlessly.
The thug nearby gasped, completely caught off guard by his lightning-fast reflexes.
Before anyone could react, Fu Siheng grabbed the descending bat with one hand while smoothly lifting a leg. With a heavy thud, White Tank Top flew backward like a sack of bricks, smashing hard into the wall before collapsing onto the ground.
The impact was so powerful the wall seemed to shake.
It all happened in a split second. Before anyone could process what took place, the guy was already down.
White Tank Top seemed severely injured, unable to stand as he curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach and groaning in agony.
Hearing the sound, the boy nervously parted his fingers to peek.
He saw Fu Siheng casually twirling the stolen baseball bat…flipping it smoothly into the air, tapping the end, and catching the top with effortless mastery.
His other hand remained tucked casually in his pocket. The hand holding the bat looked slender, yet packed terrifying power.
An eerie silence fell over the alley. The remaining thugs wanted to attack, but none dared to move.
“Fuck… what are you waiting for?! Beat him up!” White Tank Top wheezed, trembling from the pain.
The thugs all took a step forward, only to freeze simultaneously.
The boy quickly ran up and hid behind Fu Siheng. The man’s aura was so commanding that simply standing near him brought an absolute sense of security.
Fu Siheng casually tossed the bat onto White Tank Top’s body, eliciting another painful yelp.
He looked down at the leader coolly. “Didn’t you want to teach people who calls the shots at the academy? Come to the Dean’s office this Monday. I’ll be happy to discuss it with you.”
White Tank Top’s groans instantly choked in his throat. Though beaten senseless, his brain still worked. After processing Fu Siheng’s words, his eyes widened in utter disbelief.
Fu Siheng paid him no further mind and walked straight toward the alley exit.
By tossing away his only weapon without hesitation, Fu Siheng had sent a clear psychological message: he could obliterate them just as easily empty-handed. As he walked away, not a single thug dared to block his path.
The boy hurried to catch up with him.
Fu Siheng didn’t push him away. Under the warm glow of the streetlights, the two walked one after the other.
After hesitating for a long time, the boy finally summoned the courage to speak up.
“Um… are you from Hera too?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he realized it was a dumb question. Heran traits were most prominent in their hair color…the lighter the shade, the purer the bloodline.
Honestly, the moment he noticed Fu Siheng’s silver hair, the boy felt embarrassed by how meekly he had acted earlier. That was pure combat-lineage hair! You only ever saw hair like that in the Galactic Ground Forces. The lighter the shade, the stronger the mental strength.
Warner’s history was forged in war, so even in times of peace, people deeply respected warriors and the strong.
To his question, Fu Siheng merely offered a faint “Mm,” showing no intention of introducing himself.
The boy stammered awkwardly, “I… I almost forgot to introduce myself! My name is Lin Yue, I’m a student at the Imperial Military Academy. Benefactor, listening to what you said earlier… are you at the academy too?”
The word “Benefactor” made Fu Siheng cringe slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Don’t call me that. My name is Fu Siheng. I’m a newly appointed instructor.”
Lin Yue’s eyes went wide. “F-Fu Siheng?!”
Realizing it was rude to use his full name so casually, his face flushed red as he frantically explained, “I-I’ve heard about you! Ah, no, not from rumors… I mean, I watched your competitions a long time ago! So you’re the new instructor everyone’s been talking about… Oh gosh, what am I even saying…”
He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
Fu Siheng curled his lips into a light smile. The news of his transfer back must have spread through the academy long before his father’s official order even came down.
In front of his idol, Lin Yue lost all ability to speak coherently, stammering out, “Instructor Fu, w-welcome back! I… I’ll listen carefully in your class!”
Fu Siheng let out a chuckle. “You don’t even know which grade I’m teaching yet. How are you going to listen?”
Lin Yue’s face burned even hotter, and his Omega pheromones spilled out uncontrollably.
Even though Fu Siheng couldn’t smell them, he felt an instinctive repulsiveness toward the surge.
To help Lin Yue calm down, Fu Siheng said plainly, “I teach the third-years.”
Lin Yue’s eyes lit up. “Really?! I’m a third-year!”
Fu Siheng added, “I might not teach your specific class, though.”
Gaining a bit more confidence, Lin Yue said happily, “That’s fine! Just being able to see you every day makes me happy!”
Seeing his idolizing expression, Fu Siheng thought awkwardly to himself: If Shi Yuanyang saw this, he’d accuse me of tormenting Omegas again.
Lin Yue added, “Instructor Fu, I plan to stay at the school for graduate studies after I finish my degree. We’ll probably run into each other a lot!”
Fu Siheng looked at him and said, “At the Research Institute? That place has good prospects. It’s a solid choice.”
“Really?! I’m already reaching out to an advisor, and I’ve been helping a senior with his experiments lately,” Lin Yue scratched his head bashfully, feeling flattered. “It’s just a pity Omegas can’t apply to the Military Command College. If we could, I could’ve been Senior Yan’s junior classmate.”
Noticing the surname, Fu Siheng asked, “Senior Yan?”
Lin Yue replied, “Yeah! The president of the Research Institute, Senior Yan Xun. I super love watching his combat matches! I don’t study command, but I love watching those fights.”
This kid… really has a wide range of interests, Fu Siheng thought. Can you even understand those tactics?
Lin Yue then added softly, “Well, I don’t really understand them anyway…I just watch for his face.”
Fu Siheng: “…”
He couldn’t help complaining internally: Are you blind? What’s so great about his face?
Lin Yue continued, “I heard that when he ran for president, his vote count beat second place by a whole extra digit.”
Being the president of the Research Institute was no easy feat. Historically, the post was held by the Alpha who won first place in the League tournament…a grueling event covering combat command, hand-to-hand fighting, and mecha piloting. It required top-tier mental power and physical strength.
Though Fu Siheng hated to admit it, he grunted a half-hearted nod. “His combat skills are… decent, I suppose.”
Lin Yue said earnestly, “It wasn’t just because of his raw power, though. Supposedly, the entire Interstellar Relations College flipped their votes to support him. That college is packed with Omegas, and just because he’s the academy’s heartthrob, they all rallied behind him! I heard he’s held the title of campus heartthrob for six straight years, counting high school! He’s amazing.”
Fu Siheng’s mind was screaming internally. What kind of nonsense is this?!
Campus heartthrob for six years? He was the heartthrob during all four years of university?
Pure nonsense! He probably crowned himself. Unbelievable.
As they spoke, a beam of soft light slowly swept across the street above.
Fu Siheng looked up alertly, catching sight of an object in the sky.
Beneath the quiet, starlit sky, the Apollo Planetary Belt shimmered like rippling water. In Warner’s airspace, a massive night-patrol vessel hovered quietly, guarding the sleeping planet.
Even across thousands of light-years, one could imagine how majestic and grand its structure was.
Lin Yue suddenly pointed at the night sky and gasped, “Ah! Isn’t that the night patrol team led by Senior Yan?!”