In the blink of an eye, Monday arrived, and the news of the massive street brawl on Wanhua Street was spreading like wildfire throughout the military academy.

Wanhua Street was a frequent hangout for military academy students. The Student Union had spent the entire weekend verifying the safety of all active students, managing to release an official announcement by Sunday night.

Inside the training hall, Zheng Lin and a group of students were discussing the contents of the announcement.

“Professor Yan was actually implicated? I wonder how badly he’s hurt.”

“Isn’t this Jiang Hao the one who always tags along beside Li Xiao?”

“Heh, serves that unlucky bastard right. It would have been better if he died.”

The moment the alpha student finished speaking, someone clapped him heavily on the shoulder from behind. Bewildered, he spun around only to be flattened onto the ground by a brutal punch to the face.

“Ugh! Who did that?!”

Qian Can shook his throbbing right hand, looking down disdainfully at the alpha student on the floor. “Keep a respectful tongue in your mouth when you speak.”

Livid, the alpha cursed under his breath, gesturing to several of his companions to retaliate.

“A grandson from Shengya dares to act like a big boss here in Danse?!”

But before they could make a move, from the corner of their eyes, they saw Li Xiao and Song Jin walking over from a distance.

Though wearing the exact same standard training uniform, the two carried a uniquely oppressive aura when walking together.

Li Xiao’s gaze swept across them indifferently. The moment several of the students locked eyes with him, they froze instantly on the spot, not daring to move an inch.

“Qian San, what are you doing?” Song Jin asked, his expression carrying a trace of impatience.

Qian Can mumbled as he walked back, “Their mouths were too filthy, I couldn’t hold myself back.”

Song Jin glanced over. “You let him push himself back up so easily. Did you not eat enough breakfast?”

Hearing this, Qian Can glared back at the alpha. “Next time, I’ll definitely hit him until he can’t crawl up at all.”

The alpha’s scalp tingled under the glare, his initial aggressive momentum long gone. Shrinking his neck, he stood there frozen, watching Li Xiao and the others leave, not even daring to breathe loudly.

“Didn’t they say that Jiang Hao was injured? He looks completely fine, though.”

“Maybe it was just a minor scratch?”

“And here I thought we’d have one less competitor for this phase examination.”

Hearing the discussion among his classmates, Zheng Lin cast a disdainful glance toward Li Xiao’s direction.

“No need to worry. That Jiang Hao is a single-digit scorer on written exams. And by the way, Li Xiao is even worse than him.”

Gasp—!

A collective intake of breath echoed around the area.

Li Xiao’s practical combat capability was incredibly formidable; who would have thought his theoretical shortcomings would be so drastic?!

The ranking for the phase examinations was determined by combining the scores of both the written paper and the practical combat. In a fiercely competitive military academy, a difference of just one or two points could shift a student’s rank by several spots. It was practically impossible to boost one’s ranking solely on practical combat scores.

The class bell rang, and the instructor, Zhao De, stood before the assembly, addressing everyone, “Starting today, we will begin intensive training for the phase examinations. I heard a student in our class was injured?”

Jiang Hao raised his hand. “It’s me.”

The events of Wanhua Street were known to the entire military academy. Jiang Hao’s involvement was purely due to atrocious luck, so Zhao De didn’t press further, simply asking, “Can you participate in this Friday’s phase examinations?”

Jiang Hao replied, “I should be able to, but I won’t be able to join the training sessions for the next few days.”

Zhao De nodded, gesturing for him to step out of formation and rest over by the steps while the others began jogging to warm up.

Suspicion in the Academic Affairs Office

At the same time, inside the military academy’s Academic Affairs Office.

Yan Qing walked into the office with a mechanical support brace strapped to his leg, his gait looking slightly awkward.

A group of young teachers hurried over to support him upon seeing his state.

“We couldn’t get in touch with you over the last two days. We were worried sick!”

“Is the leg injury severe? Why didn’t you request sick leave if you’re in this condition?”

Yan Qing sat down in his designated seat, waving his hand with a soft chuckle. “It’s fine. It’s just a hairline fracture from an impact. The doctor recommended wearing the support brace for a few days; it’s really not as severe as it looks.”

“Yan Qing?” Xiang Hong, the Dean of Instruction for the second-year students, entered the room after finishing a meeting. Seeing Yan Qing, he hurried over with an anxious expression. “Why didn’t you contact me when something happened? Your family isn’t stationed here; I could have at least gone over to lend a hand.”

“Just a minor injury,” Yan Qing deflected without explaining much.

The teachers crowded around Yan Qing, offering warm inquiries and concerns until they absolutely had to leave for their scheduled classes.

Soon, only Yan Qing and Xiang Hong were left in the office.

Xiang Hong adjusted his thick glasses, looking at Yan Qing as he asked in a low voice, “You went to the aerial bar that night? How did you end up running into those rioters?”

Yan Qing flipped through the lesson plan he would be using today, answering casually, “I must have failed to check the horoscope before stepping out. I was preparing to head home when my vehicle was accidentally struck by theirs. Fortunately, my car’s performance parameters were exceptional, otherwise I’d be gone by now.”

Xiang Hong pressed further, “Did you drink too much? How could you miss so many hovering transport vehicles outside?”

Yan Qing replied helplessly, “I assumed they were ordinary citizens, who knew they would ram straight into me?”

“You, sometimes you’re truly too careless. How can anyone feel at ease about you?” As Xiang Hong spoke, he picked up Yan Qing’s teacup and walked toward the open pantry nearby.

From an angle completely hidden from Yan Qing’s line of sight, he pulled a capsule from his pocket, crushed it, and deftly let the liquid drip into the cup while retrieving the tea leaves.

As he poured the hot water, Xiang Hong kept a close eye on Yan Qing’s movements from his peripheral vision.

The other man was currently focused, carefully pasting newly written notes onto his lesson plan.

“You still have an hour and a half of lectures this morning. If you can’t push through, just request leave,” Xiang Hong said, placing the teacup right next to his hand.

Yan Qing offered his thanks, picking up the cup and bringing it to his lips to blow on the hot steam before setting it back down to add another line of notes onto his memo pad.

Xiang Hong straightened up inconspicuously. “Do you need me to escort you over in a bit?”

“No need.” Yan Qing picked up the teacup once more, then seemed to think of something. He gestured for Xiang Hong to come closer, looking around warily before dropping his voice to a whisper, “Actually, I managed to snatch something incredible from that bar that night.”

Xiang Hong’s eyes narrowed slightly behind his thick lenses, though his expression instantly smoothed back into his usual demeanor when he looked at Yan Qing. “Snatch? What kind of incredible item?”

“Keep your voice down,” Yan Qing hissed like a thief, casting a cautious glance toward the doorway. “A type of divine blood. Word says that drinking it can elevate one’s pheromone grade—even an omega suppressing an alpha wouldn’t be an issue!”

Xiang Hong knitted his brows, a look of profound confusion appearing on his face. “What divine blood? That’s completely absurd.”

“It’s the absolute truth,” Yan Qing insisted confidently. “I overheard a multi-billionaire boss talking about it in the private booth next to mine while I was drinking. A single vial sells for tens of millions, and it’s not something you can buy even if you have the funds.”

“And so you went ahead and snatched it?” Xiang Hong asked in sheer disbelief. “You are a military academy teacher, after all. If you get discovered—”

Yan Qing made a silencing gesture, clicking his tongue in annoyance. “I drank a bit too much and acted entirely on impulse—I’ve only told you about this, so you must keep it an absolute secret for me.”

Xiang Hong looked utterly speechless. “Why would you even want to snatch something like that?”

Yan Qing set his teacup down onto the desk with a firm thud, his eyes turning cold. “I’ve tolerated that perverted old fool for a long time. If it can truly elevate my pheromone grade, taking the risk was entirely worth it.”

As they spoke, his terminal vibrated. Seeing that it was his alarm, Yan Qing stood up to gather his teaching materials.

“I’ll head to class first. I’ll let you take a look at it later.”

With that, Yan Qing picked up his lesson plan and limped out of the room.

Hearing the door click shut, Xiang Hong’s gaze fell onto the cup still emitting wisps of warm steam. After a moment of hesitation, he poured out the tea and replaced it with a fresh brew.

Returning to his desk, Xiang Hong composed a message and transmitted it out.

【Target status doubtful; requires further observation.】

A reply came back almost instantaneously.

【Uncover this person’s true background as quickly as possible.】

The Silent Week

By Thursday night, Li Xiao was reviewing all the surveillance footage captured by 09.

For several days in a row, the blood delivered to the residential district near Wanhua Street had shown no further movement, and the staff from the aerial bar had not materialized at the Shike Used Bookstore again.

09 sat on a corner of the desk, hugging an energy stone that had been polished smooth from constant licking.

“Those people have just been ordering takeout to eat for the past few days; they haven’t gone anywhere at all.”

It was impossible to tell whether this state of inactivity indicated they were preparing to relocate or simply lying low to ride out the storm.

“Maintain continuous surveillance.” Li Xiao rubbed his aching eyes, rising to take a shower before heading to the kitchen to grab a glass of water while drying his hair.

Passing the refrigerator, Li Xiao casually opened it, finding ice cream occupying a massive half of the storage space.

That kid Song Jin had bought far too much at one time, throwing it all here because his own dorm’s cooler couldn’t fit it.

Li Xiao pulled out a tub, taking a photograph to bait his little lion.

【This flavor is quite good.】

The moment he stepped back into his bedroom, he caught the faint sound of light footsteps originating from the balcony. In the next instant, the French window slid open, and the prey actively lunged inside.

“Daring to secretly eat my ice cream, you’ve got some nerve.” Song Jin reached out to snatch it, but Li Xiao deftly steered it away.

“You really are far too easy to bait.” Li Xiao scooped up a spoonful and brought it to Song Jin’s lips, but just as the other opened his mouth, Li Xiao popped it into his own mouth instead, commenting with a thoroughly solemn expression, “I’m starting to worry whether you’ll get easily lured away by bad guys.”

Teasing this kid was indeed an exceptional way to relieve stress.

Song Jin had been waiting expectantly only to be completely played. He directly cupped Li Xiao’s head, moving in to steal the ice cream straight from his mouth.

“You should worry about whether you’re about to get thrashed by me first.”

Li Xiao strained his neck back to avoid him. Seeing Song Jin’s fierce momentum, he was significantly more worried about getting bitten than getting thrashed.

“I’ll share a bite with you.”

Song Jin demanded, “Open your mouth.”

Li Xiao spoke while eating, “I didn’t mean sharing it straight from my mouth.”

Seeing that Li Xiao wasn’t giving him a single bite, Song Jin reached out to seize the tub. “Is your skin itching for a beating again?”

Evading Song Jin’s hand, Li Xiao slightly tilted his head and leaned close, passing a mouthful of ice cream directly into his mouth.

Their tongues brushed unexpectedly, causing Song Jin to shudder slightly. He instinctively wrapped his arms around Li Xiao’s waist, pursuing him aggressively without allowing any room for denial as Li Xiao tried to pull back.

Li Xiao’s eyes darkened. He cupped Song Jin’s chin and returned the kiss fiercely.

Under the passionate chase of the two, the mouthful of ice cream melted completely away in no time.

Li Xiao pulled back slightly, reminding him in a low murmur, “Breathe.”

Only then did Song Jin realize he had been holding his breath the entire time. He took two deep, somewhat ragged breaths.

“Weren’t you supposed to be unskilled at this?”

Li Xiao gently wiped away the moisture from the corner of Song Jin’s lips. “Who told you I was unskilled?”

Song Jin pinned his hand down, his voice dropping. “Who did you learn it from?”

A trace of amusement leaked into Li Xiao’s voice. “Isn’t this something one is born knowing? Does it even require learning?”

Song Jin, who was absolutely not born knowing: “…”

Impossible.

Weathering Song Jin’s highly skeptical glare, Li Xiao stated casually, “Even if one hasn’t eaten pork, one has at least seen pigs run, right?”

Song Jin, who had never had the opportunity to see pigs run, gritted his teeth, silently vowing to make a certain “pig” record a thorough instructional video for him to make up for his incomplete childhood.

Before the ice cream could be finished, Song Jin caught a notification from 07.

07: 【Experimental Building No. 3306 is completely vacant tonight.】

“Yeah.” Song Jin signaled for Li Xiao to follow him.

“Where are we going?” Li Xiao asked, thoroughly puzzled.

Song Jin stated, “To run a DNA comparison between you and Yan Qing.”

Li Xiao’s expression shifted slightly.

The little lion truly is incredibly sharp; nothing can be hidden from him.

“You think there’s an issue as well?” Catching the shift in Li Xiao’s expression, Song Jin asked back.

Li Xiao admitted with some hesitation, “It feels a bit strange, though I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Song Jin asserted, “Once the DNA report comes out, everything will be clear.”

With their mechs’ capabilities, evading the campus surveillance was an exceptionally easy task for the two.

Song Jin unlocked a biological laboratory, handling a complex array of medical equipment with practiced familiarity.

Li Xiao sat quietly to the side, watching his operations before asking in a low voice, “Did you study this specifically?”

“My dad is a doctor.” Song Jin placed the samples into a designated container. “His laboratory was basically my toy room when I was growing up, though I was only ever interested in the instrumentation; I didn’t care for studying medicine.”

Finishing the setup, Song Jin glanced at the countdown timer displayed on the instrument’s virtual screen, sitting down shoulder-to-shoulder with Li Xiao to wait.

“Nervous?” Song Jin inquired.

Li Xiao confessed honestly, “A little.”

The DNA results would not merely determine whether he shared a biological bond with Yan Qing; it would directly impact a massive array of factors.

If Yan Qing wasn’t his omega father, then why would he lie? What exactly was the man plotting?

If he truly was his father, then as a third party, it made absolutely no sense for the late Empress and Yan Qing to share such an incredibly close relationship.

Song Jin noted, “Since we’ve already come this far, we can only continue investigating to the end.”

“Yeah.”

While Li Xiao was buried in his thoughts, Song Jin swiftly composed a text message and transmitted it to his older brother, Song Yu.

【Record a video of you and Brother Shi french kissing and send it to me. I need a successful version.】

After clicking send, several minutes passed without the slightest response from the other side. Song Jin directly fired off a custom meme featuring Song Yu secretly eating cake.

Sure enough, the moment the ultimate weapon was deployed, the other side instantly reacted.

Song Yu: 【What even is french kissing? We never french kiss.】

Song Jin: “…”

Song Jin: 【Are you two already experiencing physical dysfunction at such a young age?】

Song Yu fired back a meme in response.

It was a picture of Song Jin wearing his cat mascot head, stepping in flip-flops with a thoroughly impatient expression on his face, captioned—Thinking you can control Laozi? You’re still a bit too green.

Song Jin: “…?”

How on earth did his brother get his hands on this photograph?!

The soft, innocent voice of 07 echoed by his ear: 【Big Brother 00 comes to harvest data on a regular schedule; he happened to take the photograph along with him.】

Song Jin: “…”

00 was the combat suit belonging to his brother, Song Yu. All mechs of their caliber could establish internal communications via a dedicated satellite link, minimizing the risk of interceptive hijacking.

To think he would steal even this kind of photograph and turn it into a meme—that dead old man truly must be bored out of his mind every single day, doing nothing but subhuman antics.

“Discovered by your brother?” Li Xiao asked casually, catching a glimpse of Song Jin’s screen.

Song Jin stated with a dark expression, “Once we return, a brawl with him is completely unavoidable.”

Seeing the chat logs displayed above, Li Xiao couldn’t help but laugh softly. “The fact that your brother hasn’t blacklisted you yet is already considered exceptionally generous.”

Song Jin: “…”

After a long wait, the instrumentation emitted a sharp notification tone, causing both of their spirits to jolt.

Song Jin imported the generated report into 07’s database, cross-referencing it directly against Li Xiao’s existing DNA parameters.

07: 【Executing comparison—Comparison complete—】

The two swiftly scrolled through the document, arriving at the final line of the report—DNA non-matching parameters exceptionally high; biological relationship non-existent.

Li Xiao stared blankly at the string of characters, temporarily unable to define his exact emotional state.

It felt like riding an extreme roller coaster. A father he had just acknowledged a few days ago was suddenly revealed to share absolutely no biological connection with him. He couldn’t tell whether he felt a surge of relief, a wave of disappointment, or perhaps an intricate blend of both.

“As expected, he isn’t…” Song Jin turned to look at Li Xiao. “Either he’s an imposter, or he truly isn’t your omega father.”

Seeing Li Xiao fall into a deep silence, Song Jin took his hand.

“What do you plan to do?”

Li Xiao stared at the holographic report suspended in mid-air, his expression grave. “We’ll follow his conditions first.”

Song Jin nodded, erasing all traces of their usage within the laboratory before returning to the dormitory sector with him.

Flying down toward the gardens outside the living zone, the faint sound of an argument reached their ears. One of the voices sounded remarkably like Zheng Lin’s. Li Xiao signaled for Song Jin to investigate.

In a concealed northwestern corner of the garden, two first-year alphas were standing at the end of a long corridor. One of them was indeed Zheng Lin.

The distance was too great to verify whether the other individual was a modified human, so Li Xiao and Song Jin quietly ducked into the shrubbery to eavesdrop, as the profiles from 07 and 09 popped up in their vision.

【Wei Wen, 18 years old, alpha, first-year student in the Mechatronics Department of the First Military Academy. His rank in the previous phase examination was 45th on the comprehensive leaderboard.】

The score was considerably excellent, not lagging behind Zheng Lin’s performance parameters at all.

“Don’t you want to prove your worth to your family?” Zheng Lin’s voice was pitched low, but his tone carried a sharp, aggressive edge. “Your intelligence parameters are capped right here; attempting to break into the top ten on your own is impossible. Only I can help you.”

Wei Wen kept his head lowered, his entire posture radiating hesitation and timidity.

“B-But I’m scared…”

Zheng Lin’s tone turned thoroughly impatient, “I’m asking you for the absolute last time, do you want to participate or not? If you don’t want to, forget it. You’re making it seem like I’m forcing you into this. There are plenty of people begging for an exceptional opportunity like this; don’t you dare regret it later.”

With that, Zheng Lin prepared to storm off in a fit of rage.

Wei Wen hastily hauled him back, whispering frantically, “Could you please give me a few more days to consider it? Let’s wait until this phase examination concludes. If my scores still haven’t shown any improvement by then, I’ll…”

Zheng Lin fell into a long silence. Just as Wei Wen’s anxiety reached its absolute peak, he stated in a thoroughly lukewarm tone, “Fine, for the sake of our friendship, I’ll preserve the spot for you for a few more days. But you must give me a definitive answer immediately after the phase examination.”

Wei Wen nodded quickly.

As the two began walking back along the corridor, Wei Wen asked softly, “Did you participate as well?”

Zheng Lin replied, “My physical constitution parameters didn’t meet the initial threshold; I’ve been adjusting my system for the past half-year. You are far more fortunate than I am.”

Wei Wen murmured, “Are the requirements truly that strict?”

Zheng Lin scoffed, “Cut the nonsense, this is a classified military project. How could it not be strict?”

Once the two had walked far into the distance, Li Xiao and Song Jin finally returned to their dorm room.

“I wonder if I’m overthinking things,” Song Jin said as he entered the room, looking toward Li Xiao. “What do you think?”

Li Xiao nodded. “Highly suspicious.”

Zheng Lin’s deceptive tactics wouldn’t be able to fool a mature adult with social experience, but handling a group of naive students within a military academy was more than sufficient.

The vast majority of military academy students had faced high-intensity training regimens since childhood to ensure they could stand out early upon entering the academy, securing a vast amount of internship and deployment resources to swiftly accumulate military merits for their eventual entry into the high ranks of the military.

Many of them might possess exceptional academic and combat capabilities, but their cognitive frameworks were remarkably simple. They easily trusted the people around them—especially comrades who rolled in the mud alongside them day in and day out. The bond forged between them was far deeper than ordinary friendship, making them highly unlikely to maintain any defensive barriers against one another.

09 hovered in mid-air, condensing into a small sphere. “Should I place this Wei Wen under tracking surveillance?”

Li Xiao replied, “Yeah.”

The faction at the aerial bar had gone completely silent; perhaps they could locate a breakthrough clue from within the military academy instead.

The Phase Examination

The following day marked the commencement of the first-year phase examinations.

The practical combat evaluation was divided into two distinct sectors: mechanical operations and hand-to-hand combat.

Everyone had received their specific evaluation data early in the morning, requiring them to report to their designated arenas within the stipulated time frame to match against opponents assigned by the AI system.

Inside the preparation lounge, Li Xiao was methodically wrapping bandages around his hands, asking Jiang Hao, who was currently performing warm-up stretches, “Are you fit for this? Don’t force yourself.”

Jiang Hao replied, “It’s no strain. I haven’t moved for several days; I’m practically bursting to get started.”

Qin Le shed his outer jacket, placing it into his locker before retrieving bandages to wrap his ankles.

“Ten matches this morning, all of you make sure to wrap tightly. Don’t sustain any injuries.”

“Understood.” Qian Can chuckled as he executed extension stretches nearby. “Lele is starting to resemble an absolute mother more and more.”

Qin Le countered, “Then you as a son are a bit too ancient.”

Qian Can gasped, “You actually dare to look down on me?”

Qin Le noted, “If my memory parameters serve me correctly, you are older than me by two months.”

Qian Can: “…”

“Let’s move.” Song Jin flexed his fingers, adjusting the tension of his bandages to a comfortable threshold. “There’s a high probability someone might seize the opportunity to settle personal scores today. Keep your wits about you.”

Qian Can asked, “What if I end up thrashing someone too brutally and they refuse to accept it?”

Song Jin turned a beaming smile toward Li Xiao. “Don’t we have His Highness the Second Prince present? He’ll cover any fallout for us.”

Li Xiao stated calmly, “You are the wife; whatever you say is correct.”

Song Jin: “…”

Qian Can and the other two: “…”

To be hit with a critical strike by a casual couple before even stepping onto the battlefield—how is anyone supposed to survive this day?

The five separated at the main entrance. Song Jin followed his directional guide to his assigned arena, finding Qi Ge standing directly opposite him.

Not since Qi Ge had been deported from Shengya had they crossed paths.

The proctoring cadet verified the identification data and physical states of both parties before activating the AI adjudication system.

The moment the whistle blew, Qi Ge launched an immediate offensive. In the blink of an eye, he forced his way into close proximity, driving a brutal elbow strike straight toward Song Jin’s face.

Song Jin retreated half a step, raising his arm to block the fiercely aggressive impact, his hand slicing down toward the side of Qi Ge’s neck in a swift counter-strike.

Qi Ge tilted back violently, switching hands to drive a fist toward Song Jin’s face. The humiliation he had suffered back in Shengya replayed continuously within his mind, causing his strikes to turn increasingly vicious.

Song Jin evaded a rapid wave of offensive strikes, his heels already pressing against the absolute boundary of the arena.

The proctoring cadet brought the whistle to his lips, staring intently at that foot, ready to blow at any fraction of a second.

The spectating students whispered among themselves.

“Qi Ge is still as fiercely aggressive as ever!”

“His velocity parameters aren’t something an ordinary person can keep pace with!”

“His state today is completely different from his usual baseline. As expected, even a powerhouse like Song Jin forces him to turn absolutely serious.”

“What kind of powerhouse is Song Jin supposed to be? He doesn’t even have room to strike back.”

The moment the student finished speaking, they watched as Song Jin suddenly lunged low, his hand locking tightly onto Qi Ge’s ankle.

Gasp—!

A collective sharp intake of breath rippled through the crowd.

Under Qi Ge’s extreme offensive velocity, Song Jin had actually managed to pinpoint an absolute opening!

Within the arena, Song Jin met Qi Ge’s astonished gaze, chuckling softly, “Over these past few months, you haven’t shown a single shred of improvement. You really made me anticipate this for nothing.”

Enraged by the sentence, Qi Ge ground his teeth, “Is that so?”

He prepared to forcefully wrench himself free, only to discover that no amount of exertion yielded any results. Dragged forward by Song Jin’s momentum, he attempted to utilize the rotational force of a side-spin to break the control before losing his center of gravity entirely.

Song Jin had completely predicted his defensive strategy. He lifted his leg, driving a heavy kick straight into Qi Ge’s knee.

“Ugh!”

Midway through his spin, Qi Ge was kicked flat down, crashing heavily onto the floor. Before he could scramble back to his feet, he met with Song Jin’s follow-up counter, stumbling back several paces before barely managing to stabilize his stance.

“Strike back,” Song Jin teased with a light laugh. “Don’t be so polite, I’m not accustomed to it.”

Finding himself driven into an increasingly passive position, Qi Ge’s expression turned utterly dark. Seizing the brief moment of close proximity, he secretly released a massive wave of his pheromones.

At such a short distance, Song Jin would inevitably sustain a severe physiological impact.

He only required the other party to manifest a single fraction of a second of hesitation to seize the absolute upper hand.

Yet at the exact moment the pheromones flooded the air, Song Jin’s extended fist suddenly feinted, his body executing a spin at extreme velocity to deliver a brutal back-kick.

Qi Ge had failed to predict the fake movement entirely, absorbing the impact of the kick squarely against his chest as he was sent flying straight out of the arena boundaries.

The whistle blew sharply.

The proctoring cadet announced solemnly, “This match goes to Song Jin!”

The spectating students were left utterly dumbfounded, forced to look up at the slow-motion replay generated by the AI adjudication system.

“Song Jin’s velocity parameters are too fast! My god!”

“To think Qi Ge would actually lose in terms of raw speed, I never expected this!”

“Song Jin’s sheer aura of relaxation is the most terrifying aspect, don’t you think? Qi Ge was completely outmatched.”

“Holy shit! May the Dancing Mouse protect me, please don’t let me run into Song Jin!”

The moment he was kicked flying, Qi Ge had no time to make any recovery maneuvers. He slammed his fist against the floor in sheer resentment, pushing past the surrounding students as he stormed away.

A notification indicating his next arena assignment materialized on his terminal. Song Jin walked in that direction, scanning the vast hall. With a single glance, he locked onto Li Xiao among the crowd, who had just utilized a brilliant feint to force his opponent out of bounds.

Having concluded his first match, Li Xiao sensed something and turned his head, his gaze locking perfectly with Song Jin’s across the distance. In the next instant, the other boy executed a highly flirtatious blowing kiss gesture, his smile radiating pure mischief.

Before Li Xiao could even manifest a reaction, a wave of hooting, cheering, and screaming erupted from the surrounding students.

“Song Jin is smiling at me! How can he be this handsome?!”

“My heart literally experienced cardiac arrest, I am not joking.”

“Why can he be beautiful, handsome, and cute all at the same time?! I want to lock him away in my family’s castle so badly, sob sob…”

“Ahhh, I’m dead! He must definitely play around quite a bit, right? But just for that face, I am completely down!”

“You can tell just by looking, Song Jin definitely knows how to play, but he has the capital to back it up.”

Hearing the discussions floating around him, Li Xiao: “…”

No, he’s completely faking it.

Currently, the boy was nothing more than an incredibly innocent bad kid who still required his older brother to send instructional videos just to handle a simple kiss.