Qin Luo sat alone at the cave entrance, his heart pounding. One moment he was worried Rong Shi would harm his Highness, the next he was worried beasts would snatch them both away, and then he worried he’d be snatched away himself before they returned.

“Don’t just go into heat anywhere,” Qin Luo squatted by the fire, rubbing his hands, muttering softly, “I really should have insisted on going with them earlier.”

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from ahead. He immediately gripped his military knife, scared out of his wits.

Not long after, Rong Shi and Song Yu walked back.

Qin Luo sighed in relief: “How’s that omega?”

Song Yu took a long stride over a rock and sat down by the fire: “Not so good.”

Qin Luo looked at him, then at Rong Shi: “Was he marked?”

Rong Shi sat opposite Song Yu, thinking about what had just happened.

He had previously guessed that the omega with the mole on his chin might be the one who influenced him in his previous life, but unfortunately, it wasn’t; the pheromones were completely wrong.

Let alone control him, he wasn’t affected at all.

But unexpectedly, that omega was actually related to Gu Yan.

The moment the omega’s pheromones intensified, it was less like Gu Yan couldn’t resist and more like he was mentally controlled, completely losing his autonomy and acting entirely according to the other’s instructions.

There was also something else very strange.

Alphas in their susceptible period are more easily affected by omega pheromones. Song Yu was clearly affected before they went, but when the omega’s pheromones intensified, he showed no reaction at all. Rong Shi didn’t think this was entirely due to the inhibitor.

They were so close, and both had taken inhibitors. Gu Yan completely lost his mind, while Song Yu showed no reaction. No matter how he thought about it, it wasn’t normal.

Song Yu laughed carelessly: “It’s bad because he wasn’t marked. If it weren’t for a certain someone going to watch the show, they might have already become a couple.”

Rong Shi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, his train of thought interrupted: “What did you just say?”

Song Yu looked at him, baffled, “Say what?”

Rong Shi’s expression was serious: “Repeat what you just said.”

Song Yu sneered, got up, and walked into the cave: “Forgot.”

Rong Shi frowned, recalling the phrases “it’s bad because he wasn’t marked” and “might have already become a couple” from what he had just said.

Could it be that he wasn’t the only one forced to be matched in his previous life?

But the question remained: how did they find omegas with high compatibility? Pure coincidence?

At the cave entrance, Song Yu casually turned his head, his peripheral vision sweeping over Rong Shi. The other person sat there without a word, lost in thought.

He retracted his gaze and returned to his sleeping bag to continue resting.

The next day, the three who had no awareness of the assessment slept until broad daylight.

When Rong Shi woke up and walked out of the cave, Qin Luo had already raided all the nearby bird nests and was tinkering by the fire with Song Yu.

Ever since they started eating wild game, nutrient solution became redundant.

The bird eggs, wrapped in mud, would shatter easily after being roasted in the fire. Song Yu’s slender fingers cleaned the mud, peeling an eggshell with elegant grace: “Which way are we going today?”

Before the bird egg reached his mouth, there was a sudden blur, and only the eggshell remained in his hand.

Rong Shi calmly popped the snatched bird egg into his mouth and said: “I don’t care.”

Song Yu crushed the eggshell in his hand, his voice cool: “Does mine taste better when you steal it?”

Rong Shi: “You ate my egg, what’s wrong with me eating yours?”

Song Yu: “…”

Qin Luo was truly choked: “…” Mountain roads are not for racing!

After wandering for a day and a half, Rong Shi changed direction and headed back towards the destination. He had found out what he needed to know, and continuing to wander was pointless.

In his previous life, he reached the destination on the first day. He hadn’t bothered to learn about others’ scores, but it had been almost three days now, and most people should have arrived.

That evening, they found a small wooden cabin near the destination.

Song Yu: “Why is no one here?”

Rong Shi’s voice was a little weak: “…Teams that reach the destination cannot stay here.”

Beyond this mountain, in the valley, was the military academy’s temporary base. Teams that completed the destination check-in would be guided there to rest.

The rules were indeed like that, but Rong Shi’s carefully calculated sixty points flashed before his eyes.

After a few steps, he hesitated, which was rare for him: “How about—”

Song Yu, hands in his pockets, slowly said: “Since we’re already here, are we going back instead of going in?”

Rong Shi: “…” Turning back would indeed be too obvious.

Opening the door of the small wooden cabin, they saw an AI robot dressed as a refugee. 【Congratulations, you are the first team to reach the destination. Please follow the map’s instructions to the base for rest.】

With a soft pop, a newly printed map emerged from under the robot’s clothes.

Rong Shi: “…”

Song Yu: “…”

The base was the military academy’s dedicated warship for missions. After activating stealth mode, its exterior could simulate the surrounding environment, making it very difficult to find with the naked eye.

Upon arriving, Song Yu plunged into the bathroom. Three days without a shower had reached his limit of endurance. His body’s sweat had turned sour countless times, mixed with all sorts of grime, and the smell was indescribable.

Space on the warship was limited. To free up more room for rest cabins, the bathrooms were shared communal bathhouses, separated only by curtains.

Qin Luo was to Song Yu’s left, one spot over, humming as he applied shower gel: “Why didn’t I realize shower gel smelled so good before?”

Song Yu: “You just smelled too bad.”

Qin Luo: “Good point.”

Soon, Rong Shi also walked in and went to Song Yu’s right, one spot over.

Only the three of them were in the entire bathhouse. Song Yu couldn’t resist teasing: “Chairman Rong, I told you to carry me to a loss, but I ended up carried to a win. Are you even capable?”

Rong Shi: “…”

Qin Luo laughed from his side: “The military academy must be going crazy.”

Song Yu showered and quipped: “Your top-tier position is secure now, first love.”

Warm water poured over his head. Rong Shi smoothed his wet bangs back: “Same to you, goddess.”

Song Yu: “…”

Thinking of the cafeteria food, Qin Luo quickly left after washing up.

Now that they were here, there was surveillance everywhere on the warship except the bathrooms and toilets. He wasn’t worried about anything happening to his Highness. After three days of eating wild game, he really wanted something else.

The two, who had been bantering, came to their senses and realized they were the only ones left in the bathroom.

Hearing the sound of a curtain being pulled back from the next stall, Song Yu also turned off his water.

His medium-length blonde hair draped over his shoulders, water droplets slid down from his hair tips along his muscles. He casually took a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then pulled back the curtain and walked out.

Rong Shi was drying his hair as he walked towards the outer area when he suddenly heard an extremely faint sound. He paused, then quietly retreated.

Two betas in uniform walked in carrying basins. Seeing two curtains drawn in the left row with water inside, they exchanged a look and took out stun guns from under the clothes in their basins.

The water from the showerhead hitting the curtain made a splashing sound. The two held their breath and approached, each standing in front of a cubicle. They made a gesture to act, then pulled back the curtains and plunged their stun guns inside.

“What’s going on?!” The beta on the left was startled, “No one’s here.”

“No one here either!”

The two cubicles were empty except for the spraying showerheads.

“Did they leave?”

The other person’s gaze swept to another drawn curtain in the corner. He gestured to his companion, and the two quietly walked over, one on each side.

Inside the small cubicle, Song Yu and Rong Shi stood close together, their eyes meeting from a very short distance, all their muscles tensed.

Through the curtain, they heard footsteps in the water approaching. Rong Shi raised his hand and counted to three.

Song Yu’s eyes were cold, his lips a tight line. The wet towel in his hand was slowly wrapped around his right hand.

Just as Rong Shi’s hand gesture changed to one, the curtain was suddenly pulled open, and both acted simultaneously.

The wet towel in Rong Shi’s hand was like a whip, lashing hard at one of the beta’s faces. As the opponent lost his balance, the wet towel wrapped around his wrist, which held the stun gun, twisting it back and tying it with his other hand.

The activated stun gun hit himself, and after a few convulsions, he collapsed to the ground.

When the stun gun was thrust at him, Song Yu grabbed the opponent’s wrist. His right hand, wrapped in the wet towel, threw a punch, and the beta was hit hard against the partition.

He took two steps, lifted the opponent by his collar, and delivered another punch.

The beta was dazed for a moment from the blows, then picked up the stun gun again and lunged.

Song Yu threw him to the ground, used the momentum to do a backflip, and landed a knee on his spine.

“Ah—!”

Song Yu grabbed his struggling hand, bent it back, and pressed the stun gun against his own neck. Within two seconds, the person passed out.

Seeing that the situation was resolved, Rong Shi grabbed a fresh dry towel to dry his hair and walked out.

“Why did you help me?” Song Yu asked calmly.

Rong Shi’s hand, drying his hair, paused. His voice was as calm as ever: “I hate trouble, that’s all.”

Song Yu watched him leave, then shifted his gaze to the two bodies on the ground.

Soon, Qin Luo entered with two alphas in uniform.

Qin Luo’s face was pale: “They are too—this is a military academy warship!”

Song Yu walked out, nonchalantly saying: “Take them back. If they don’t talk, slice the flesh off them piece by piece.”

His casual tone made it sound like an ordinary trifle, but everyone present dared not take it as a joke.

After changing clothes, Song Yu found Rong Shi eating heartily in the cafeteria.

Carrying his tray, he sat opposite him. Song Yu quietly grumbled: “You left so fast. You didn’t even help all the way.”

Rong Shi took a sip of soup. After swallowing what was in his mouth, he unhurriedly said: “Didn’t someone clean up after you?”

Song Yu looked up, his scrutinizing gaze fixed on him: “Who exactly are you?”

Rong Shi ate his meal, pretending not to hear.

Even after finishing the meal, Song Yu couldn’t get any information out of him.

Walking out of the cafeteria, they ran directly into Lu Ming and others who had just arrived.

Lu Ming was originally chatting and laughing with Zhang Yi, and the dozen or so people following him all had expressions of having won a battle. But upon seeing Rong Shi, the smile on Lu Ming’s face froze.

Zhang Yi was astonished: “You, how are you here?”

There was no one at the destination, and he hadn’t seen any students until now. He thought they were first.

Lu Ming walked over, suppressing his discomfort, and greeted Song Yu, his tone unconsciously tinged with sarcasm: “You guys are really fast.”

Song Yu ignored him.

A few people at the back of the group had been saved by Rong Shi when they encountered the buffalo herd. Upon seeing Rong Shi, they were overjoyed.

“Chairman Rong, you guys are really fast!”

“As expected of Chairman Rong, truly strong, hahahahaha!”

“Looks like we couldn’t win after all, but I’m still so happy to be second!”

Hearing them say “Chairman Rong” repeatedly, Lu Ming’s face turned dark.

Rong Shi nodded faintly to the others. As he walked past Lu Ming, he patted his shoulder: “For your ability, this result is quite good. It’s worth celebrating.”

Lu Ming hadn’t reacted yet, but Song Yu laughed first.

When a proper person insults, they truly insult.