Chapter 168
"Looks like I really am from a small town."
"No Optical Brain, can't you see for yourself? What an idiot."
"Hey Mike, how could you say that? You said he was brought back from Godforsaken Planet, and probably couldn't afford the cost of using his Optical Brain, which is why he knows nothing about these things."
"Haha, that's true. Otherwise, it's impossible to explain why our school fell into ruin overnight because of Qin Su, and why he still doesn't know about the fact that even that guy Onion was killed by Qin Su, which caused such a stir on the StarNet."
"If you ask me, why did Onion provoke Qin Su for no reason?"
"You can't say that. We're the First Military Academy, after all. Don't you know Qin Su's ID is a string of '1's? For us, the First Military Academy, this is called 'possessing a treasure and being punished.' We were bound to face this day sooner or later. Sigh, it's just that we're the ones who suffer."
"Damn it, who says otherwise?"
"Hey, have you heard? Because the Zerg have been mostly wiped out, our Military Academies, which are designed specifically to target the Zerg, are going to be merged into regular Military Academies."
"Before I went back to school, I overheard my aunt's meeting at home. Our First Military Academy might be assigned to a low-level Military District on a low-level planet. What the hell is that? It's practically exiling me!"
"Zhou Ting, if you had killed your brother before the merger, your parents wouldn't have abandoned you."
"You think I don't know? But I'm a beta, how am I supposed to get close to an SS-Class omega? Forget about the bodyguards, even I would be suppressed by his Pheromones before I even get close."
Despite the fact that he was being sidelined at the First Military Academy, the sarcastic remarks did not subside despite Xuan Jingcheng's deliberately softened attitude. They had been harboring resentment for not being able to leave the Fourth Military Academy like the others in their class, and finally found an outlet for their anger. They looked at Xuan Jingcheng with disdain, sizing him up and down, while chatting amongst themselves.
In reality, nobody really paid any attention to Xuan Jingcheng.
"???"
"!"
"..."
'Hold!'
Xuan Jingcheng never expected that after painstakingly killing off a member of the Xuan Family's collateral branch and obtaining the status of Xuan Jingcheng for admission, he originally intended to leverage the inherent superiority of the First Military Academy over the Fourth Military Academy to naturally establish contact and ties with He Muzhi in joint operations between Military Academies Military Academy to the 'superior' position of the First Military Academy.
He Muzhi simply admired Qin Su's 'superior demeanor'.
Although her gender suited He Muzhi's taste, her Pheromone levels were not right, so he could only try to get her out of his identity.
The First Military Academy is full of heirs from aristocratic families. He Muzhi is unfamiliar with the First Military Academy, so if he were to steal an identity, given He Muzhi character and personality, he wouldn't bother to verify it.
Therefore, how can it not be considered that 'whatever He Muzhi likes, I can find a way to have it'?
As for Qin Su...
If he can't afford to offend them, he'll avoid them.
Unexpectedly, plans don't always go as expected. He barely escaped death and was already planning to get as far away from Qin Su as possible, Qin Su...
He even claimed he would completely abolish the First Military Academy???
Even the Zerg are gone.
How is he supposed to handle this?
What about all that effort he put into killing the real Xuan Jingcheng?
Xuan Jingcheng was almost driven mad with anger.
[That familiar gaze fixed on its prey... (I feel nauseous)]
[Ahhh, it really is here! Come quick, my darlings, he's here!!]
[The moment he was dug out, I knew it was our baby (so touching). Even though his face, hair color, name, and even gender have changed, I only needed one look to know he was back! Kill him!!]
[Sprinkling a handful of glutinous rice. jpg]
[If you don't like it, get lost. Why come to our Baobabang page looking for attention?]
This is no longer something that can be solved with just a handful of glutinous rice.
[If it weren't for Qin Su, our A Yuan wouldn't be in this situation. That damned Qin Su!]
[That damned Plague God, get out of here!]
Upon hearing the news he wanted to hear, Xuan Jingcheng's inner turmoil gradually subsided, and his gaze, which had been initially agitated, shifted to one of keen interest as he scrutinized the group.
While carefully listening to the filtered information, I memorized their faces completely.
Name?
It doesn't matter, I won't survive tonight anyway.
Just like the Pheromones revealed in their words, the reason they are still kept in this school is because they are unimportant to their respective families.
According to them, even Middleton, who was being suppressed by various forces, could easily trap them here and cause them to fall into ruin together with the First Military Academy. Onion was also dead. Even if they died, as long as they did it cleanly enough, their families would first suspect Middleton, thinking that Middleton was looking for someone to vent his anger on.
After this experience, he has lost interest in keeping records; he is absolutely capable of being 'clean'.
Having thought this through, and having grasped the gist of the matter, Xuan Jingcheng curled his lips, turned around, and strode away.
"Hey." Mike was suddenly dazzled by the red-haired Alpha's smile. Seeing Xuan Jingcheng turn to leave, he suddenly called out to him, "What's your name?"
Before the other person could speak, Mike continued, "Since you're good-looking, how about we add each other as friends? Together tonight..."
Xuan Jingcheng didn't reveal the fact that he didn't have Optical Brain for the time being, and stopped in his tracks to interrupt, "Excuse me."
Xuan Jingcheng glanced casually at the other person's hair, speaking in a polite but arrogant tone, "Your black hair is so offensive it makes me want to vomit."
Well said!
[???]
[Don't make your personal agenda too obvious, tui]
[Stomp on the villain! I'm stomping on him!]
Beta was stunned by the rejection and, in the brief moment of her disbelief, Xuan Jingcheng strode away.
After a few steps, Xuan Jingcheng heard a series of curses coming from behind him.
The next day.
The First Military Academy announced the deaths of five students.
The First Military Academy, already teetering on the brink of collapse amidst the turmoil, was now in a state of panic. Almost everyone remaining was forcibly bound to the First Military Academy, and morale was low. The deaths of just a few people were hardly even topics of conversation when the First Military Academy held absolute dominance, let alone now.
No one cared whether any student lived or died.
Xuan Jingcheng finally found the only remaining advantage of the First Military Academy.
--
As the Fourth Military Academy Principal, Aiseboer received increasingly frequent invitations and inquiries from various Military District as the start of the semester drew closer.
Without exception, Aiseboer always replied:
Which Military Academy should I choose? I don't know, Qin Su hasn't contacted me yet. Why don't you go ask Qin Su?
With just one simple sentence, he left both the person seeking information and the person making the invitation speechless.
In the past, Aiseboer had to consider their mood before even speaking to them, but now... things change, and if Aiseboer chokes them to death, it's their own bad luck.
Ask Qin Su?
Who dares? They don't want to become the next Middleton.
Previously, Qin Su was described in rumors as 'powerful,' 'benevolent,' and 'inclusive'... Who knew that the Fourth Military Academy's once-in-a-lifetime live stream would be Qin Su's live stream targeting the First Military Academy?
This left them completely unsure when Qin Su would turn ruthless, making them increasingly wary.
The Zerg have been almost completely wiped out. What remains on each planet is basically food for the local inhabitants, and some planets have even seen the emergence of 'Artificially Farmed Zerg'.
In conclusion, merging Military Academies specifically designed for the Zerg into regular Military Academies is an inevitable step.
Not wanting to lose the Fourth Military Academy... Aiseboer Qin Su made things difficult for them, they had no choice but to shamelessly try to find out Qin Su's intentions.
We should strive for what we can, and if that fails, we should settle for second best and try to establish friendly cooperation and exchanges with the Military Academy that Qin Su is interested in.
Throughout the holiday, Qin Su was busy testing the insect Glands he had brought back. He spent most of his time in the Real World and rarely returned to the Comic World unless necessary. He could only keep up with the developments in the Comic World through the Comic Updates.
Through the Comic Updates, Qin Su learned that countless people in the Comic World misunderstood him for targeting the First Military Academy on Erato Planet and for 'pressuring' anyone not to target Aiseboer again.
Although the truth is that he did not have complete control over any of them, he only succeeded in "pressure" them by 'borrowing' the president's Optical Brain, issuing orders in the president's voice, and then using the incriminating evidence he had collected to coerce and entice them, as well as threatening their lives.
Willing to be used by him? Absolutely not.
Ironically, because of this... bizarre misunderstanding, various planets and families, facing the 'fear of the unknown,' while trying to figure out his thoughts, launched a series of Purge operations against the Zerg, which they believed were expressions of loyalty to him.
Although the process was dramatic, from Qin Su's perspective, the result was 'satisfactory' for him.
Their actions not only saved him a lot of trouble, but also confirmed for Qin Su the fact that 'no one wanted to oppose him'.
Whether other things are true or not has become irrelevant now that the situation is settled.
Importantly, he updated the list based on the participation this time.
Apart from the families that habitually remain neutral until the very last moment, the list consists entirely of other families from various planets with different stances who have all participated in this siege against the Zerg.
Based on their behavior, Qin Su could temporarily conclude that they were being fooled by the persona he had marketed, and that if anything happened, they would stand on his side.
Naturally, Qin Su not only saw Halton's conversation with He Muzhi before leaving the school, but also the words that Aiseboer used to brush off a normal Military Academy invitation.
Halton's thinking is not without reason.
Judging from his inner thoughts, He Muzhi is gradually moving in the direction he was seduced, intermittently losing some of his good qualities and morals, and becoming like him, secretly and immorally judging others with a dark mind.
As a beneficiary of the existing system, Qin Su made no attempt to clarify things with He Muzhi and Halton, allowing them to continue misunderstanding.
But... Aiseboer asked him?
Qin Su: "..."
I'm sorry, he himself didn't know... To be precise, this choice shouldn't have been made by him, the 'student'.
Those who make the choice will bear the corresponding responsibility.
The Fourth Military Academy was not a school where Class 6 of the Class of 26 was the only one he could be sure of, and Class 6 would overwhelmingly support his choice.
If he chooses a bad school or something bad happens to him later, students from other grades or classes might harbor resentment towards him.
He was selfish and didn't want to bear the consequences.
Although Aiseboer believed he should be listened to, in reality, Aiseboer remained the official Principal of the Fourth Military Academy.
Given these circumstances, Aiseboer, who controlled the Fourth Military Academy, naturally had absolute control over its future after the School Merger.
Therefore, if any problems arise at the school chosen by Aiseboer in the future, Aiseboer himself will naturally be the primary person responsible.
Qin Su printed out the forms he had recorded, saved them to his spatial storage, and muttered to himself, "No wonder everyone says that running away is shameful, but it's useful."
Qin Su decided to take leave School Merger.
Although the actual School Merger has not yet begun, Qin Su guesses that there is a greater than 90% chance that Aiseboer will choose between the First Military Academy, which is ranked first, and the Fourth Military Academy, which has the same number as the one that was used to Purge the Zerg.
The First Military Academy is number one, and everyone wants to be number one.
The Fourth Military Academy holds a special place in Aiseboer's heart.
Qin Su didn't care which of the two schools Aiseboer chose, since everyone from the Fourth Military Academy would definitely be included together, unlike the First Military Academy which was split up.
Based on how much others believed in his 'persona', regardless of which school he was merged into, without knowing his intentions, Class of 26 (Class 6) would not be randomly assigned any extra people, nor would it be disbanded.
What he needs to consider is how to establish himself at the new school.
He and Class 6 were renowned, and people from regular Military Academies had never really come into contact with them, so he wasn't sure if they would 'submit' to him.
After the Life Points storage ended, Qin Su reopened the latest update of the comic.
Upon seeing the somewhat familiar, seemingly pieced-together face appearing on the comic page, Qin Su: "..."
Pair up good people?
Netizens can describe it.
Only...
Qin Su looked at the reflection of black hair on the laptop screen. "...?"
What did black hair ever do to deserve this? He's happy just because he dyed it Green √?
No disparaging or belittling!
Speechless, Qin Su stared at the screen ratio, quickly searched and pulled back to previous images, compared He Wenyuan's height, and easily discovered that He Wenyuan had grown quite a bit taller than before.
The current He Wenyuan is the same height as He Muzhi; if you put He Muzhi, it's quite chilling.
What is Alph? It's clearly growth hormone.
Seeing He Wenyuan, who had changed his appearance and identity, the only thing that comforted Qin Su was that the First Military Academy had lost its former glory, and He Wen... no, Xuan Jingcheng, along with it, would also be merged into a lower-level Military Academy First Military Academy.
At that time, even if Xuan Jingcheng wanted to see He Muzhi, he might not be able to do so even if he traveled 'a long way across mountains and rivers'.
Xuan Jingcheng, after much scheming and a series of swift and decisive actions, ended up digging themselves into a quagmire.
"Tsk..."
A wicked smile returned to Qin Su's face.
--
The news of the School Merger had been circulating widely during the holidays, and it was finally confirmed on the day the Zerg-Clearing Military Academies, reopened.
The decision on merging the School Merger, and the entire school will move into the selected Military Academy within the next five days.
From the very first day, students from all grades at the Fourth Military Academy engaged in a heated debate between sentiment and prestige. The Forum was almost entirely filled with posts about this issue, with people constantly tagging Qin Su.
Qin Su never appeared.
Qin Su had never appeared on the Forum before, so everyone was used to it and didn't forget to ask the students of Class 6, Class of 26 about the situation.
On the second day of school, with only one day left until the final decision, similar situations intensified.
[89L: Raymond, didn't you claim to know Qin Su the most? Why are you silent now?]
[99L: Ahhh, is there any definite news @He Muzhi?]
[100L: We Class of 27 freshmen are fearless, we even kind of want to set off fireworks! Anyone else understand? We've gotten a huge perk! Thank you, my King Su!]
[101L: @ Class 6, Class of 26 Class 6, I know you guys are spying on me, don't hide and keep quiet, just give me a straight answer, is it the First Military Academy or the Fourth Military Academy? OK?]
[102L: I'm really scared by what you guys are doing]
[103L: Principal]
[104L: Here's something even scarier: It's been two days since the start of the semester, and has any of you seen Qin Su at our Fourth Military Academy? I haven't seen him even once.]
[105L: (Class 6) I went to check on the first day of school when we met up with them as usual, and Qin Su was indeed not there.]
[106L: Oh no, I suspect that the reason why Class 6) is so quiet now, which used to be very active, is because they know some bad news, such as Qin Su not wanting to go to the Fourth Military Academy and going to the school he prefers on his own?]
[107L: You mean our Fourth Military Academy has fallen out of favor?]
[108L: To be precise, the Fourth Military Academy is not worthy of it at all. It's clearly Class 6 of the Class of 26 cohort that has fallen out of favor.]
[109L: The worst part is that @He Muzhi has fallen out of favor]
[110L: Does nobody care? If the Zerg still existed, wouldn't it be time for Class of 26 to choose their specialization now? Class of 26 has witnessed history.]
[111L: It was clearly Qin Su who led Class 6) to create 'history', didn't he?]
[112L: Don't go off-topic @He Muzhi, say something!]
He Muzhi: "..."
Everyone guessed correctly; he was indeed spying on the screen.
But... what could he say? From last semester until the end of the holidays, Qin Su had not contacted their (Class 6 once. He had secretly used various means to look for Qin Su.
Unfortunately, Qin Su seemed to have vanished into thin air; there wasn't even a trace of him.
This had happened before during a previous holiday, but this time the Zerg were gone, making everyone in Class 6 increasingly uneasy.
This unease persisted until Qin Su finally appeared.
"Hey, He Muzhi, don't worry too much, Qin Su will definitely come back."
"Um."
After He Muzhi finished speaking, Lailisi's gossipy voice rang out again.
"He Muzhi, what did Grandpa He say to you via video call when we met? Why are you frowning?"
He Muzhi sighed as he recalled the incident, "Do you remember Temple? Not long after I left home, he disappeared without a word."
"He didn't take anything with him before he left, but he left behind all the money he had earned during this time, which makes me a little worried."
All four of them had interacted with Temple. Lin Yin comforted them, "Don't worry, Temple knows what she's doing and has definitely chosen a place for herself. More importantly, He Muzhi, have you thought about why Qin Su agreed to let you bring Temple back under those circumstances?"
During the holiday, the four of them were almost inseparable. He Muzhi Temple a shadow, which made Lin Yin wonder.
"I can roughly guess." In front of his childhood friends, He Muzhi made no attempt to hide his dark thoughts. "After Temple returned from the First Military Academy, he's been quite different from before. It seems... he wants to do what he did with Onion at the First Military Academy more than what he did with his friends."
After He Muzhi discovered this, he first hinted at refusing, Temple remained unmoved. He had no choice but to refuse directly, which resulted in Temple confessing to him directly.
He even suspected that Temple left because she was hurt by his rejection, which left him feeling uneasy.
"In the past, I would never have imagined having this kind of relationship with Temple. Now, before he left, I actually had the thought, 'This doesn't seem so bad.'"
I feel like I'm becoming a bit like Onion.
"..."
Upon hearing He Muzhi compare himself to Onion, the other three present frowned in disapproval.
For a moment, she was shocked, Lailisi immediately retorted.
"How could that be?" Lailisi said with a look of displeasure. "How could that disgusting Onion compare to you?"
He Muzhi: "... Am I worse than him?"
Lailisi rolled her eyes. "I think you're so anxious because Qin Su didn't show up that you've almost lost your mind."
No one understood the changes in his own feelings better than He Muzhi. His friends treated him as always, which eased He Muzhi's suppressed emotions considerably. He nodded earnestly, "That makes sense."
Seeing that He Muzhi was still in the mood to joke, Lin Yin felt much more at ease. Lin Yin shrugged and said in a relaxed tone, "The average lifespan is three hundred years. From childhood to old age, people will always change over such a long period of time. It's not a big deal, is it? Besides, people can have more than one kind of relationship. They can be friends or superiors and subordinates. They can be the same at work and do whatever they want after work."
Lin Yin's words, directed at He Muzhi's complex feelings for Temple, were deliberately pointed out in a very clear way.
Samuel nodded vigorously. "That's right!"
Lin Yin continued, "I have a strong feeling that Temple will come back."
He Muzhi thought about Temple's state of mind and nodded in agreement, while also reconsidering his relationship with Temple.
As Lin Yin said, there are more than one kind of emotional connection between people.
As everyone at the Fourth Military Academy waited anxiously, the largest conference room fell silent. Everyone stared solemnly at the large screen above the center of the round conference table displaying the names of the 'First Military Academy' and the 'Fourth Military Academy'.