Fu Siheng spent the entire afternoon in his office, reviewing each student’s profile and medical history on his light-computer.
The two other instructors sharing the office didn’t make conversation, and all three worked in silence. Fu Siheng wasn’t the type to initiate small talk either, leaving the office completely quiet.
When the workday ended, the other two left, but Fu Siheng remained at his desk, continuing to read through the records.
Class 3 was indeed weak.
Out of thirty students, only two possessed S-rank spiritual power; the rest were all A-rank, which was the absolute minimum threshold for the Command Academy.
In comparison, Class 1 boasted ten S-ranks and one SS-rank, while Class 2 had seven S-ranks. Stacked up against that kind of talent…and with an unmanifested instructor like himself at the helm…Class 3 looked like nothing more than runner-up fodder.
Coincidentally, one of the two S-ranks happened to be Zhao Zhifan, the boy in the white tank top he had bumped into the day before.
Fu Siheng set the records of those two S-rank students aside and sent a message to the class monitor, instructing him to organize a class meeting for that evening.
As an instructor, he was responsible for teaching class subjects, but he also functioned much like a counselor or advisor.
Once that was taken care of, he checked Changliao to make sure Yan Xun was still safely tucked away in his block list, rotting in the dark. Satisfied, he packed up his textbooks and headed out for dinner.
Meanwhile, the group chat “Imperial Military Academy Alpha Nightclub: Guaranteed Satisfaction” was buzzing relentlessly with notifications.
Li Xiao: Class 3’s monitor just announced a class meeting tonight. Bros, anyone down to go spectate?
Mysterious Class 3 Monitor: Are you guys… looking to get killed?
Xiao Hai – Inhibitor Proxy (DM me): For a handsome instructor, I’m willing! I saw him from a distance today…he’s genuinely gorgeous! That silver hair is so cool and domineering!
Linlin Isn’t Yueyue: Can… can I come along?
Research Institute Official Account: Does anyone have Instructor Fu’s contact info? Aside from Changliao?
Senior Yan Is So Handsome: Holy shit, why is the official account coming back to life? Scared the hell out of me!
Keep It Real: Hahaha, so creepy. First time seeing the official account talk.
Shishi Doesn’t Date: Why do you want Xiao Heng’s contact info? [/curious_omega]
Linlin Isn’t Yueyue: Caught a Senior wild in the chat!!
Research Institute Official Account: Do you have it? @Shishi Doesn’t Date
Shishi Doesn’t Date: Are you Xiao Qiao? Instead of doing your shift, you’re messing around in chat. Watch me report you to your President Yan.
Senior Yan Is So Handsome: HAHAHAHAHAHA.
Miao Xian Duo Duo Duo: Hahaha, first time seeing the official account get shut down like that.
Research Institute Official Account: …You’ve got quite an attitude.
Shishi Doesn’t Date: Got a problem with it? An instructor’s contact info isn’t something you just pass around. [/contempt]
Miao Xian Duo Duo Duo: Senior Shishi is so feisty! Awesome!
Fu Siheng had originally planned to eat dinner with Shi Yuanyang, but as he neared the cafeteria, Shi Yuanyang called to cancel.
“Our president isn’t human!” Shi Yuanyang whined miserably. “He’s making me go back and repair mechs late at night! He’s a total dog! A dog! A dog!”
Fu Siheng agreed smoothly. “He is.”
“?”
Shi Yuanyang sighed. “Ugh, I can’t come meet you now. Waaa, I really wanted to watch you command the podium and charm all those brats.”
“Speak properly,” Fu Siheng said, exasperated.
Shi Yuanyang sighed again. “Damn it, I’m being infected by my junior. Speaking of which, he said you saved him…that’s Lin Yue, remember?”
“Yeah.”
“He said he wants to crash your class meeting. Can you save him a seat?”
Beep… beep… beep…
“??”
Fu Siheng truly couldn’t understand what was going through these kids’ minds. Back when he was a student, the boundary between students and instructors was strictly maintained. Nobody dared speak so casually until after graduation.
Tsk. Times really have changed.
After finishing dinner, he walked toward the academic building for the meeting.
As the flagship discipline of the Imperial Military Academy, the Command Department’s building was designed in a grand Baroque style, towering imposing and magnificent over the campus.
Normally at this hour, students would be out for evening training. Tonight, however, quite a few were milling around outside, looking around as if waiting for someone.
When Fu Siheng approached, they all turned to look, only to flinch and avert their eyes like they’d received an electric shock, pretending to look down at their communicators.
Fu Siheng glanced at them, then walked straight into the building to take the elevator.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, two students squeezed in. Before they could close a second time, three more dashed inside.
Fu Siheng swept his eyes over the backs of their necks. The slightly raised glands indicated they were five Omegas.
The elevator stopped at the eighth floor with a crisp ding. Fu Siheng stepped out, while the five students remained frozen in place.
The second his figure disappeared around the corner, they began jumping up and down in excitement.
“Ahhhh! So handsome! I can’t…I’m going into heat!”
“Oh my god, his skin is so pale! Not rough like those Alphas, and he smells faint and wonderful! What an absolute knockout!”
“Does anyone have inhibitors? I can’t control myself, ing!”
Just as the five were clustered together, Fu Siheng unexpectedly stepped back around the corner.
The group instantly went mute, completely stunned.
Fu Siheng looked at them and asked, “Which department are you from?”
His voice was cold and detached, clearly keeping people at a distance, yet it possessed a magnetic charm that made it impossible to look away.
One of them whispered nervously, “Reporting, Instructor… we’re from the Equipment Manufacturing Department.”
Looking at how fragile and delicate they appeared, Fu Siheng suddenly lost any desire to lecture them. He simply said, “Don’t do this again. Head back to your own department.”
With that, he turned and left.
He had been in the military for the past two years and hadn’t interacted with unfamiliar Omegas in a long time. They really were… troublesome, helpless creatures.
Meanwhile, in the group chat:
Today I’m Licking Chongyang: I officially announce it! I’m switching sides to Instructor Fu! He’s way too gentle with Omegas!!
Miao Xian Duo Duo Duo: He’s so handsome, waaa! This is where love begins!
Yuezi – Lemon Soda Alpha: …Don’t you guys think you’re being a little dramatic?
Research Institute Official Account: Wow, is this the legendary new instructor? Where are you guys? I want to go stalk him too!
Shishi Doesn’t Date: Why is the official account constantly changing users? Can whoever’s on it act like a normal person?
Research Institute Official Account: Why the hostility? Command and Mech Manufacturing should live in harmony! The principal even singled us out for criticism last time [/devious_smile]
Shishi Doesn’t Date: Oh, you idiot. You’re Yi Fengbei, aren’t you? Were you the one asking for Xiao Heng’s contact info earlier?
Research Institute Official Account: Holy shit, how did you know it was me? Wait, it wasn’t me earlier! Yan Xun was using the terminal!
Senior Yan Is So Handsome: Senior Yan??
Shishi Doesn’t Date: ???
Inside Class 3’s classroom, absolute silence reigned. Not a single person dared to sneak a peek at their communicator, even though several students had legs that were practically numb from the constant vibration of group notifications.
Fu Siheng pointed to his name and phone number written on the blackboard. “This is my name and contact information. Going forward, if you encounter any problems, feel free to reach out to me.”
A chubby student whispered quietly from below, “Does that include romantic problems?”
His voice was only loud enough for those nearby to hear, causing a few others to shake with suppressed laughter.
Fu Siheng glanced at them. “If you have something to say, stand up and say it.”
Silence immediately reclaimed the classroom.
He picked up the roster. “I’ll call on a few of you first so I can get to know you. Han Fei.”
“Here!” A burly Alpha stood up sharply.
Fu Siheng nodded; he looked like good material.
“Zhao Zhifan.”
No response.
He called again, “Zhao Zhifan, are you here?”
The chubby student stood up. “Instructor, he has a stomachache and is suffering from diarrhea back in the dorms.” Another wave of snickers rippled through the room.
Fu Siheng set down the roster and picked up his communicator. “Dorm phone number?”
The chubby student hadn’t expected him to be so strict. Stunned, he stammered, “Our… our landline is broken.”
Fu Siheng nodded, dialed the academy’s main switchboard, and said, “Connect me to the dormitory supervisor for Building 22.”
The chubby student froze, his mind instantly exploding into panic.
The truth was, Zhao Zhifan had snuck out over the wall to go to an internet café. This was going to be a disaster.
The Imperial Military Academy operated under strict military discipline. Aside from weekends and approved leave, students were forbidden from leaving campus under any circumstances, and the penalty for staying out overnight was severe.
Sure enough, as soon as Fu Siheng hung up, his expression turned icy.
“Tell him to come see me during morning training tomorrow,” he told the chubby student. “Also, every member of your dormitory will write a one-thousand-word self-reflection report and turn it in to me tomorrow morning. Tonight, your physical training is increased by three hundred reps…he will make up his portion when he gets back.”
The classroom became dead silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Fu Siheng looked at him and said coolly, “Did you hear me?”
The chubby student shuddered and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Yes, Instructor!”
In his heart, he cursed Zhao Zhifan’s ancestors to the eighth generation while secretly feeling that this new instructor was far too harsh.
“I’ve already emphasized the ‘Excellence Program’ earlier,” Fu Siheng said, addressing the entire class. “Starting this semester, every single one of your individual performance evaluations matters. Because of Zhao Zhifan, your entire dormitory just lost five discipline points, which will be deducted from your final term score.”
The chubby student felt like he’d been struck by lightning again, standing there with his mouth agape.
Fu Siheng’s gaze held a trace of disdain as he leaned both arms on the podium. “Before I came here, people told me that you were Class 3, and that whether in physical strength or spiritual power, you were inferior to Class 1 and Class 2. I didn’t want to believe it at first. But looking at today’s attendance and your general state of mind, I think they were overestimating you. Forget the ‘Excellence Program’…at this rate, you’re all going to fail your year-end evaluations.”
The expressions on everyone’s faces shifted dramatically. No Alpha could stand being told to their face that they weren’t good enough, even by an instructor.
Yet due to Fu Siheng’s authority, they could only swallow their anger in silence.
Fu Siheng shook his head privately, reminding himself not to rush. He had to take things step by step.
After all, these kids couldn’t be compared to the actual marine corps.
He picked up his notebook from the desk and dismissed the class.
At six o’clock sharp the next morning, morning training officially commenced.
Fu Siheng walked toward the athletic field with Shi Yuanyang, with Lin Yue trailing behind them like a small tail. It wasn’t until they reached a fork in the path that Lin Yue reluctantly headed off toward the Mech Manufacturing Department.
The morning sunlight was gentle. Both Fu Siheng and Shi Yuanyang were fair-skinned and tall, drawing plenty of attention just by standing side by side.
Shi Yuanyang, with his naturally curly light-brown hair and sleepy eyes, nudged Fu Siheng with an elbow. “Hey, my junior seems really interested in you. Want to consider him? He might be an Omega, but his spiritual power is A-rank.”
“You pick a partner based on spiritual power?” Fu Siheng countered.
“Holy crap, I’m trying to set you up out of the goodness of my heart. Are you frigid or something?” Shi Yuanyang muttered.
Fu Siheng had zero interest in delicate, bird-like Omegas. Just as he was about to retort, his eyes landed on the far side of the athletic field, and he paused.
Seeing him freeze, Shi Yuanyang followed his gaze.
A group of Alphas from the Command Department were scattered along the running track, every single one of them well over 185 cm tall, chatting as they waited for everyone to assemble.
In the middle of the field stood several rows of small mechs, each over three meters tall.
In preparation for the upcoming league, basic mech training had been integrated into their daily routine.
The most eye-catching figure in the crowd was Yan Xun. Clad in a jet-black tactical uniform, complete with a peaked cap, fingerless gloves, and a tactical belt, he was even wearing a pair of sunglasses.
He practically exuded arrogance and swagger…the kind of look that made a person desperately want to punch him right in the face.
Of course, that was just Fu Siheng’s personal opinion.
The public’s opinion was clear from the group of Omegas who were practically drooling nearby. God only knew why these people were clinging to the chain-link fence outside the Command Department’s area, or why their own instructor wasn’t stopping them.
Beside Yan Xun stood another student of similar height, with ruggedly handsome features and a slightly darker complexion.
Noticing the two approaching, he raised a hand and called out, “Instructor Fu, Shishi, good morning!”
“What kind of ridiculous nickname is that? Are we even close?” Shi Yuanyang muttered under his breath.
He felt goosebumps rising on his skin. He had only been to the Command Department twice before and had never spoken to this guy named Yi Fengbei. He had no idea why the guy was calling him by his Changliao username.
Faced with Yan Xun, Shi Yuanyang felt he had every reason to ignore Yi Fengbei entirely. Instead, he raised his voice toward Yan Xun: “President Yan, why are you wearing sunglasses during training?”
Fu Siheng glanced over, but Yan Xun turned his head away slightly, attempting to dodge the question.
Yi Fengbei, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Omegas…especially ones like Shi Yuanyang, who looked gentle and easygoing.
He chimed in enthusiastically, “He got blocked by his ex last night and didn’t sleep a wink! He’s wearing sunglasses to hide his dark circles! You know, idol baggage! Hahaha, idol baggage!”
Fu Siheng quietly shifted his gaze away.
Midway through Yi Fengbei’s sentence, Yan Xun had intended to instantly choke-hold him from behind to silence him, but it was already too late.
“Pfft…what did you say?” Shi Yuanyang couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing. “President Yan actually got dumped by someone?”
As the words left his mouth, a subtle, heavy silence fell over the air.