To Song Jiong, what Song Yu said to Song Jin didn’t really matter; as long as the result was in his favor, it was irrelevant.

Suddenly struck by a thought, Song Jin pulled a metal case from the bedroom and set it on the bar counter. With a snap of his fingers, the case unfolded like a robot, instantly transforming into a display stand.

“These are synthetic pheromones. They were made based on your descriptions,” Song Jin said casually. He picked one up and pressed the nozzle. A scent of rotten tomatoes immediately permeated the air.

Caught off guard, Li Xiao almost got a face full of it and retreated swiftly.

Song Jin hadn’t expected it to be this foul. He jumped up and ran: “Is everything you smell this stinky? How do you put up with it?!”

Li Xiao adjusted the living room’s purification system to maximum power, flung open the floor-to-ceiling windows, and stood by them, refusing to take another step closer. “Even if those deteriorate, they’re still pheromones. Yours smell like tomatoes rotting in a vat of black sludge. It’s worse than a toilet; you don’t even need any suppressive force—two pumps in the face could send someone to their grave.”

“…” Song Jin held his breath and shuffled over. “Are you okay?”

Li Xiao wore a disgusted expression: “What do you think?”

Song Jin: “Don’t let your nose fail you, baby; there’s still a lot to do.”

“…” Li Xiao glanced at the dozens of spray tubes on the table. “Are you telling me I have to smell all of those?”

Song Jin nodded as if it were obvious: “Why else would I have taken them out?”

Li Xiao turned to leave.

“Wait.” Song Jin grabbed him. “You just accepted my gift.”

Li Xiao’s face was wooden: “Take it back. I don’t want it.”

Song Jin grabbed him again: “Whatever you want, just say the word.”

Li Xiao turned his head to look at him: “Does the Shengya Marriage Law have a clause stating that couples are legally required to sniff rot together?”

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin gritted his teeth: “If we’re doing it, we’re doing it together.”

After the scent dissipated, the two took a deep breath and returned to the bar counter with expressions of impending doom.

Li Xiao frowned: “You made such a big box—are you trying to kill me in one go?”

“We aren’t divorced yet. What good would it do me if you died?”

Song Jin opened the memo on his terminal and logged the first scent. “Help me find the ones that most closely match the students.”

Having learned from the first one, Song Jin kept the second one at arm’s length, spraying only a tiny amount.

“Ugh—dammit.” Song Jin held his breath and asked Li Xiao, “How is it? Who does it match?”

Li Xiao: “…None of them.”

“Next.” Song Jin picked up another.

By the last tube, Li Xiao’s nose had gone numb, his whole person felt numb, and it felt as if his soul had left his body.

“Nothing good ever happens when I’m with you.”

Song Jin’s temples throbbed from the stench, but he quickly recorded it in his memo and blurted out nonsense: “Life is long, baby; you’ll get used to it slowly.”

Li Xiao: “…You want to spend your whole life with me?”

Song Jin: “Is that not allowed?”

Li Xiao: “I’m afraid ‘baby’ might expire in a few days.”

Song Jin: “…”

Out of thirty-five synthetic pheromones, they successfully identified five that closely matched the exchange students, and all of them could be individually accounted for.

Li Xiao looked at his notes and asked casually, “What’s the point of this?”

Song Jin: “To use technical means to create a program that’s easier to detect, so you don’t have to go around smelling them one by one.”

Li Xiao finally showed some interest: “What carrier is the program implanted in? Is it portable?”

“I haven’t decided yet.” Song Jin finished writing and looked at him. “What, are you interested?”

Li Xiao: “Not interested, but I need it. Give me one when you’re done.”

Song Jin: “What’s the payment?”

Li Xiao: “Didn’t I just give you something?”

Song Jin: “…”

The sound of the door opening followed. Qian Can and Qin Le walked in from outside. Seeing Li Xiao there, they vomited before they could even say hello.

Qian Can pinched his nose in disbelief: “Boss, did you two team up to pick through trash? It stinks!”

Qin Le couldn’t take it and grabbed Qian Can’s hood to cover his nose.

Li Xiao stood up and ruffled Song Jin’s hair: “Don’t go picking through trash to eat again next time.”

Song Jin: “…”

Before Song Jin could strike, Li Xiao left the dorm first.

“You’re lucky you ran fast.” Song Jin scoffed. Turning, he saw Qian Can and Qin Le staring at him with strange expressions. He asked calmly, “Do you want to eat some too?”

Qian Can/Qin Le: “…!”

Too?!

Song Jin sent the organized content out, and a reply came back quickly.

[The first-generation pheromone detection program will be ready in two days.]

Song Jin pondered for a moment, found someone named Song Yang in his contacts, and edited a message to send.

[Brother Yang, help me make a carrier for a pheromone detection program. It’s urgent.]

He added a cute cat emoticon at the end. The reply came quickly.

Song Yang: [I have some ready-made ones. I just happened to finish a batch of new toys, I’ll pack them together and send them to you.]

Song Jin: [Give me one more, I need to give it to someone.]

Song Yang: [That’s not something you can just give away. Who is it for?]

Song Jin: [Li Xiao, my spouse.]

There was a long silence before the reply came.

Song Yang: [Tell him to come find me himself.]

Song Jin: “?”

It’s just a small detection tool—why make it so formal?

The terminal vibrated; another message arrived.

Song Yang: [Danse doesn’t have much, but it has plenty of money. Don’t let such a high-quality big client run away.]

Attached to the text was an emoticon of a gray wolf hugging and snuggling a little kitten.

Song Jin: “…”

Plenty of money? Can they be richer than you, a top-tier weapons expert?

Why does it feel like Brother Yang knows Li Xiao too?

Qin Le and Qian Can brewed coffee and cut a plate of fruit, sitting across from Song Jin.

Qian Can: “Boss, is it really okay for you to send Meng Tao’s eavesdropped content to Li Xiao? What if he turns around and hands it to the Danse Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accusing us of illegal surveillance?”

“He won’t.” Song Jin looked at Qin Le. “Did Zhang Zhen come to make a scene?”

“No.” Qin Le looked puzzled. “I don’t understand why Li Xiao would do this. Just as he said to Zheng Lin, if the exchange students’ reputations turn sour, he will be affected too.”

Song Jin took a sip of his coffee. Images of Li Xiao’s various actions flashed through his mind, and he said in a low voice: “To him, compared to the exchange students’ reputations, dealing with Zhang Zhen and his crew is more important.”

Qin Le looked thoughtful: “In other words, Li Xiao and Jiang Mu are on the same side? I remember that Jiang Mu is a relative of General Yi Yongning.”

Song Jin: “Not necessarily, but he is definitely not on the same side as the Meng family.”

Qian Can ate some fruit and said casually: “I heard my mom say earlier that the Danse cabinet reshuffle has been postponed again. Danse was already in a mess domestically; if things go wrong, they might start fighting at any time.”

Song Jin scoffed, the smile on his lips vanishing instantly: “As long as it doesn’t involve Shenya, let them fight all they want. It’d be best if they blew each other to bits.”

Qian Can smirked: “What if they bomb the house of that earrings guy?”

Song Jin glanced at him: “Am I short on a house for him?”

Qian Can: “…”

You have money, you have the final say.

After showering, Li Xiao habitually sat down to scroll through domestic news.

The case of Qu Yuefeng’s bribery, which had been hanging in the balance for days, had a reversal. The mistress and lover who had been jumping up and down previously were exposed for being paid to write fabricated stories. Even the so-called bribery evidence was faked; in some cases, even the companies involved were non-existent.

At the same time, another legislator named Wei Yuan was put on the trending list. The top posts were all photos of Wei Yuan entering high-end clubs, along with suspicions that he colluded with private enterprises to defraud the government of huge sums of money.

It seemed Yi Yongning had made his move.

Tiangjiang Throne.

Meng Jian heard the news from the palace and almost couldn’t believe it. He switched to the military affairs system and saw that an official notice had been issued: the handover was delayed by another month.

His subordinate lowered his head and said respectfully: “I heard Yi Yongning went to the palace and cried for half an hour. After he came out, His Majesty issued the order.”

“Impossible!” Meng Jian slammed the table and stood up. “His Majesty hates Yi Yongning’s weeping and wailing the most. It would be a miracle if he wasn’t removed early—how could he possibly delay it?!”

The subordinate pursed his lips, genuinely unable to answer.

There was a knock at the door, and another beta in military uniform hurried in: “Officer, just received news from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—something happened to the Zhang family kids!”

After listening, Meng Jian remained silent for a long time before suddenly kicking his chair far away.

“A bunch of losers!”

The uniform-wearing beta: “His Majesty never cared much for the Jiang family, either. Why would he be so angry this time?”

Meng Jian put his hands behind his back and laughed out of anger: “What he cares about isn’t the Jiang family! It’s the event itself!”

The beta thought about it and asked suspiciously: “Are we being too high-profile?”

“The thing those in power fear most is one family dominating everything.”

Meng Jian stared at the photo on the table with a cold expression and an icy tone. “They’ve grown up, their wings have hardened. They want to use the Yi family to manipulate me, forgetting who it was that supported him in sitting firmly on the throne back then.”

In the photo, Li Ji, only sixteen and still a prince, stood next to the uniformed Meng Jian, both of them smiling at the camera, as close as a grandfather and grandson.

Beta: “Could it also have something to do with the Second Prince?”

At the mention of Li Xiao, a murderous intent surged in Meng Jian’s eyes.

Since that brat returned, nothing had gone his way.

The assistant’s terminal vibrated, and he reported to Meng Jian: “Officer, a communication from Legislator Wei Yuan.”

Meng Jian signaled for him to take it, and soon Wei Yuan’s holographic projection appeared before them.

“General Meng, you have to help me with this!” Wei Yuan started straight away.

Meng Jian: “I can’t help.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Yuan became anxious: “When you gods fight, I’m the cannon fodder who suffers. If I’m dragged down, won’t you lose this fight?”

Meng Jian’s expression was cold: “Everything exposed on the internet is true. How do you expect me to help? It’s clear the Yi family won’t let you off that easily.”

Wei Yuan: “Then what do I do?”

Meng Jian put his hands behind his back: “If your son could put in more effort, maybe I’d think of a solution.”

Wei Yuan’s face changed, and he looked down, thinking for a moment: “I understand.”

Saturday. Li Xiao went off-campus to receive news from Jiang Chi.

Jiang Chi’s scavenging skills had leveled up. While other rogue organizations were still fighting Qilin for territory, he quietly emptied Qilin’s armory.

Li Xiao had him ask around for the “Fierce Tiger” in N1926. Although Song Jin would definitely send people there, he wouldn’t necessarily share all the intelligence.

Jiang Chi: [The old man surnamed Zhong said there are two types of blood: circulating blood and ‘true’ blood. ‘True’ blood is extremely rare, but he refuses to say where it comes from.]

True blood?

Li Xiao thought of the two numbered vials in Qilin’s cold storage. Song Jin had shown him the blood test report, but the data was too professional for him to decipher immediately. The pheromone spectrum was highly similar to the Bique people, so he could only be sure that the blood did indeed come from the Bique.

Closing his terminal, Li Xiao noticed Jiang Hao standing in front of a knife shop, unable to move.

Li Xiao walked back and looked through the window to see several Tang swords hanging in the shop. Although flashy, the materials weren’t solid; they weren’t the real deal and couldn’t even be sharpened.

Jiang Hao asked expectantly: “Can I bring these into school?”

Li Xiao: “No.”

When he finished speaking, he saw the light in Jiang Hao’s eyes go out instantly. Feeling a bit sympathetic, he took him to another store, searched for a long time, and finally found something suitable.

“This should be okay.”

Jiang Hao looked down at the object Li Xiao handed him—a finger-long Tang sword brooch. It could actually be unsheathed, but the blade wasn’t thicker than a toothpick.

“…”

The world of normal people is too hard to get by in.

The street was crowded. Just as they left the shop, several people were shoved toward them. A sharp blade point stabbed out from the crowd. Li Xiao pinned the hand holding the knife, gave it a forceful twist, and reached out to rip off the alpha’s mask.

“Ugh!” The alpha felt pain, leaned back to avoid Li Xiao’s hand, and pulled a spray bottle from his pocket to aim at Li Xiao’s face.

Li Xiao kicked the man away and tilted his head to avoid it, smelling the scent of chili oil mixed with a sedative.

Beside him, Jiang Hao acted almost simultaneously with Li Xiao, seizing the killer’s wrist and elbowing his face. He instinctively moved to snap the man’s neck but forcefully pulled back at the last second.

Close call; almost committed a crime.

Amid the screams of passersby, the two killers failed and fled in disgrace.

Jiang Hao looked at Li Xiao nervously: “Big brother, are you okay?”

Li Xiao shook his head. Seeing his clear eyes, he was puzzled: “You have a resistance to sedatives?”

“There were sedatives?”

Jiang Hao shook his head. “Other than the chili oil, I didn’t smell any other scent.”

Li Xiao was unaffected because a resistance chip had been implanted at birth, plus his unique constitution made most poisons ineffective. But it was strange that Jiang Hao was fine, too, as the sedative was very potent.

Jiang Hao looked in the direction where the killers fled: “Do you want me to chase them and take a look?”

Li Xiao: “No need.”

The people who wanted to kill him were always the same few.

His terminal vibrated, and Li Xiao casually swiped it open. Seeing it was Song Jin, his head started to ache again, and his nose felt numb.

[What time are you coming back?]

Li Xiao: [Are you a nagging little wife checking up on me?]

Song Jin: [Who told you not to let me join in?]

Li Xiao: [Is the program done?]

Song Jin: [We’ll talk when you get here.]

Li Xiao told him the approximate time he would return to school and prepared to head back with Jiang Hao. Everything that needed handling was done; lingering outside too long was just asking for trouble.

It was almost dark when they returned to school. After Jiang Hao parked the car, the two walked toward the living area.

“Li Xiao.”

Hearing the voice, Li Xiao turned. He saw three alphas walking toward him, all wearing the military uniform of the school. The one in the middle had a buzz cut that made his head look pointed.

“Who are you?” Li Xiao asked.

“I’m Zhao Cheng, Second Year, Mecha Department.” The pointed-headed alpha scanned Li Xiao. “I heard you’re very strong. I want to spar with you to exchange learning experiences.”

Li Xiao had absolutely no interest in invitations from strangers.

“Sorry, I have an appointment.”

Li Xiao had only taken two steps when Zhao Cheng blocked him. Jiang Hao noticed the two alphas behind him had also followed and surrounded them, unable to avoid being alert.

“What do you want? Big brother already said he’s busy.”

Zhao Cheng tugged at the corner of his mouth, smiling unfriendlily: “Don’t be so afraid. I’m not going to eat you.”

The two alphas behind him couldn’t help but laugh.

“Brother Cheng is ranked third in the grade. Many people would give anything to get one-on-one coaching from him.”

“Exactly, you’ll never find another opportunity like this if you miss it.”

Li Xiao checked the time: “I have an appointment; I’m going to be late.”

Zhao Cheng: “It wouldn’t happen to be with Song Jin, would it?”

Noticing the change in Zhao Cheng’s eyes, Li Xiao didn’t deny it: “Xiao Jin is waiting for me to go back for dinner.”

After he finished, Zhao Cheng’s expression indeed turned stiff.

“Actually, I’ve been paying attention to you for a long time.” The smile on Zhao Cheng’s lips faded, his lowered voice filled with a hint of ruthlessness. “I really want to know what you have that makes Song Jin look at you differently.”

“Do you like Song Jin?” Li Xiao asked directly.

Zhao Cheng’s lips tightened into a straight line; his silence was an admission.

Li Xiao said sincerely: “Actually, I don’t have any ‘abilities.’ If he took a liking to me, it’s purely because he likes this face and my round head.”

Jiang Hao glanced at Zhao Cheng’s pointed head: “…”

Big brother, you really are stabbing right into someone’s sore spot.

Zhao Cheng: “…”

The other two alphas: “…”

This brat is making personal attacks!

If Li Xiao had said Song Jin liked his personality, Zhao Cheng wouldn’t have been this angry. The implication was that he was ugly, and Song Jin wouldn’t look at him regardless of how strong he was.

“Stop with the nonsense!” Zhao Cheng glared at Li Xiao. “Do you dare to spar with me once?”

Just as Li Xiao was about to refuse, he heard Song Jin’s voice.

“What’s there to be afraid of?” Song Jin walked to Li Xiao’s side. “Since they’ve come to your door, of course, you must accept the challenge.”

Li Xiao: “You want me to fight him?”

Song Jin: “He’s looking for you.”

Seeing Song Jin arrive, Zhao Cheng changed his aggressive attitude and became somewhat shy: “Good evening, I’m Zhao Cheng. We’ve met before.”

Song Jin tilted his head, his gaze lingering on his pointed head for a moment: “I remember you—and your head.”

Zhao Cheng: “…”

Damn it!

EF District, Combat Training Hall.

At this hour, there were already many students in the hall. The training grounds were open to students every night; as long as they registered, they could go to any field to train.

Zhao Cheng brought the three of them to District C, which included a simulated forest terrain and hundreds of mecha-robotic arm obstacles and launchers. Zhao Cheng scanned the sensor area with his terminal, and a virtual screen popped up in mid-air, playing a simulation animation.

The seven or eight-meter-long robotic arms could swing 360 degrees; a single slap could send someone flying. There were also steel arrows fired from every angle. Passing through these obstacles smoothly was extremely difficult.

“How is it? This is considered a very basic training ground.” Zhao Cheng looked at Li Xiao. “You should be able to handle it, right?”

Jiang Hao: “This is basic? There could be life-threatening danger.”

Zhao Cheng didn’t think much of it: “The steel arrow tips are soft rubber, and we’ll be carrying emergency life-saving airbags before entering. It’s not dangerous at all.”

The commotion here attracted students from other nearby fields. Hearing that Zhao Cheng was going to spar with Li Xiao, they all got interested, frantically calling people in various chat groups; some even went straight to the forum to post.

[District C, Venue 320, EF District: Li Xiao vs. Second-Year Mecha Department’s Zhao Cheng. Get here fast!]

“What’s going on?! Li Xiao vs. Zhao Cheng?! Coming right now!”

“Is it that sudden? It started without an announcement, wait for me!”

“Zhao Cheng is in the top three of the grade! How can he compare?!”

“District C is the 8.9 difficulty traversal obstacle course? Exciting!”

Qian Can got the news and sprinted toward the EF district, running into Da Bei halfway, and encountering Qin Le on the way to the parking lot. The three of them jumped into a car, drifted in the air, and flew off.

Da Bei held the front seat, feeling a little nervous: “What exactly is going on? Do you guys know?”

Qin Le: “No idea.”

Qian Can: “That Zhao Cheng’s individual combat ability is very strong; he’s ranked first in every individual combat training session.”

Da Bei grew more anxious as he listened: “Will my brother be in danger?!”

Qin Le: “That won’t happen.”

“It’s just that if he loses, his pride will take a huge hit.” Qian Can chuckled.

Venue 320, District C.

Li Xiao was still familiarizing himself with the rules, and the area was already packed with onlookers.

“Did you figure it out?” Zhao Cheng urged while warming up.

Li Xiao said casually: “You’re familiar with it, you go first.”

“No problem.” Zhao Cheng smiled confidently. Seeing other students focusing on this side, he added, “But since it’s a competition, there has to be a wager.”

Li Xiao: “A wager?”

Zhao Cheng said loudly: “If I win, you must divorce Song Jin.”

Whoa—!

A gasp echoed through the crowd.

Playing that big?

Li Xiao is at a huge disadvantage facing a second-year!

“I don’t agree!” someone in the crowd shouted.

“Neither do I!” others echoed.

Zhao Cheng looked at Li Xiao provocatively: “Afraid?”

Li Xiao was indeed afraid. Divorce meant going to training classes; he really couldn’t afford to lose.

“Then what if you lose?” Li Xiao asked.

Zhao Cheng: “You call the shots.”

Before Li Xiao could decide, Song Jin spoke up.

“I heard the military academy has a betting tradition. Today I happen to catch it; I’ve wanted to play for a long time.”

Li Xiao: “…”

What scheme are you cooking up now?

Song Jin clicked on the control panel for District C, finding a squad system. A virtual screen dozens of meters high popped up in the sky, displaying two teams, A and B.

Song Jin changed A to Li Xiao and B to Zhao Cheng, noting the wagers for both sides.

Qian Can and the others arrived in a rush, working hard to squeeze into the crowd. They saw the bet information for Li Xiao’s side appear on the giant screen.

“If Zhao Cheng loses, everyone who bet on him must go to the plaza outside the dormitory area with him and perform line dancing for three hours, chanting ‘Grandpa Li, you’re so great’ while dancing.”

Crowd: “Pfft, hahahahaha…”

Li Xiao: “…”

Who is the punishment for?

Sensing Li Xiao’s gaze, Song Jin smiled: “Am I not very considerate?”

Li Xiao went over: “Add a few more words.”

Song Jin watched as he added “Baby Song, you’re so amazing” after “Grandpa Li, you’re so great.”

“…”

Li Xiao: “The whole family should be together and complete.”

Song Jin wanted to change it back but was seized by the wrist by Li Xiao: “Can’t afford to play?”

Song Jin chuckled: “What is there that I can’t afford to play?”

Song Jin turned on the voice control system. His lazy, cold voice echoed throughout District C.

“Bet on who loses. Betting is limited to three minutes, no freeloading allowed.”

The number of people on Li Xiao’s side climbed steadily, while there weren’t many on Zhao Cheng’s side. The onlookers were conflicted. Rationally, they believed Zhao Cheng had a better chance of winning, but if he won, they’d have to watch Li Xiao and Song Jin get a divorce—who could stand that?

When the three-minute countdown ended, Zhao Cheng’s side gradually caught up, with a 40/60 split between him and Li Xiao.

Song Jin swiped through the screen: “I didn’t expect 3,864 people to want to do line dancing. It seems the military academy life is too oppressive, limiting your nature?”

Someone from the second year yelled in the crowd: “I’m betting my dignity, Zhao Cheng, you brat, you’d better win some glory for the second years!”

Qian Can stretched his neck to take a look. There couldn’t be more than 3,000 people in the hall; presumably, many who hadn’t even arrived had placed bets.

Nearly 4,000 people line dancing—just thinking about the scene was stimulating.

Da Bei was a bit uneasy: “Your military academy actually has this kind of tradition; you guys play way too wild.”

Qin Le: “…It wasn’t originally allowed, but after big shots who walk outside the rules played it enough, it became a tradition.”

Song Jin locked the list of bettors and looked at Li Xiao with a smile: “You’d better win some glory too, otherwise you’ll have to go line up for training classes alone tomorrow.”

Li Xiao: “…”

You really don’t care if I live or die, do you?