Chapter 4

Of course he couldn't, because he didn't have one.

Qin Su would only say something like that in his head.

The harsh reality was that, to keep the image he was building as a "big shot" from being affected, he had to keep under wraps the fact that he had no Optical Brain and was a "backward outsider."

Qin Su met Ji'en's eyes politely.

In his nervous, hurried glance, Ji'en saw clearly that the tall Alpha before him not only had a cold aura, but after hearing his words, looked at him with eyes devoid of even the slightest warmth.

Realizing this, Ji'en, who had already exhausted all his courage just asking, felt his heart leap into his throat.

That was too impulsive.

Ji'en thought.

Under the influence of Alpha pheromones, the vast majority of Alphas already had terrible tempers. He had impulsively thrown restraint aside and approached this Alpha, who looked difficult to deal with. Would he...

Abiding by the principle that the more one spoke, the more mistakes one made, Qin Su faced the request to add each other on their Optical Brains. Looking at Ji'en, who had glanced at him and quickly lowered his head for some reason, he gave a brief, stubborn reply: "Sorry."

Even if the heavens fell, his mouth would hold them up.

Before approaching him, Ji'en had hesitated for a full seven seconds, indirectly showing that he was not the type to pester someone relentlessly. Qin Su, meanwhile, had not rejected him in harsh, cold language, leaving them both an appropriate amount of dignity and allowing him to back off gracefully.

Qin Su believed that anyone with normal intelligence and emotional intelligence would understand the implied rejection.

The nervous Ji'en had thought the other man would ignore him. Hearing him speak, he answered instinctively before he had time to think: "Ah... oh, all, all right, then..."

Before he finished speaking, Ji'en suddenly realized that the Alpha before him was not angry and had even responded to his question in a tactful way. Ji'en was overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.

And his own response just now...

It had been an absolute mess.

Realizing this, Ji'en looked embarrassed and bowed his head even lower. "...Th-then, goodbye," he said quietly.

Ji'en didn't think the other man would respond again. He turned, wanting only to leave quickly, when a low, cold voice came from behind him.

"Goodbye." Qin Su returned Ji'en's farewell.

Ji'en briefly stiffened as he turned, then heard his own heart pounding as though it would leap out of his chest. To keep the Alpha behind him from hearing it, he quickened his steps and left.

Seeing Ji'en rejected, the other freshmen who had been secretly watching put aside their own budding intentions.

Even an Omega that beautiful had been rejected. They had even less of a chance.

Though they had given up on the idea, they still couldn't help looking at the cold Alpha.

A few seconds after Qin Su had fobbed Ji'en off, the speeding train arrived at his destination. The moment the doors opened, Qin Su naturally scanned his ID and stepped off the train.

"How strange." Only after secretly watching the Alpha disappear from sight did Ji'en speak to his companion. "Even though I was rejected, I don't feel as disappointed as I thought I would."

"I think I know why," Ji'en's companion, also an Omega, said. "It's probably because that Alpha looked cold and ruthless, and extremely difficult to approach, yet he had the manners of a true gentleman. I watched the whole thing clearly just now. Even when he turned you down, he did it tactfully. He wasn't so condescending as to look at us like we were weaklings. His gaze was serious and calm the whole time."

Understanding dawned on Ji'en. "I get it! His attitude toward me didn't have that sense of 'just an Omega.' He treated us as equals. It felt like whether someone was an Omega, a beta, or an Alpha, there was no difference in his eyes!"

"Exactly." Ji'en's companion nodded in agreement, then added, "I don't know why, but imagining him looking at everyone with equal indifference is so thrilling." His voice carried a hint of excitement as he spoke.

"...Huh?" Ji'en didn't quite understand, but he didn't dwell on it. He soon remembered something important and bit his lower lip in annoyance. "Oh no, I forgot to ask his name! I wonder if I'll get another chance..."

Ji'en's words made the other freshmen on the train who had been silently watching Qin Su feel a pang of regret as well.

After Qin Su exited the interstellar train, winding star tracks crisscrossed behind him, while a vast, oval, honeycomb-shaped metal building floated in the clear blue sky before him.

Qin Su saw his identity ID number flash before his eyes. Immediately afterward, the three-meter-tall, pentagonal silver metal door before him opened neatly in five directions in an instant, revealing a pentagonal dorm room with an unmistakably cold texture.

According to the freshman handbook the system had shared with him, the Fourth Military Academy placed great importance on privacy. Each student's ID could only open their own dorm room.

Thus, the instant the metal door opened, Qin Su, unsure whether any "eyes" were watching from nearby, entered his dorm room at an unhurried pace without pausing.

Almost a second after he entered, the dim room automatically became as bright as day, and the oxygen supply equipment started up silently.

In the metal wall, Qin Su saw the pentagonal dorm door close tightly behind him.

Now in a private space, Qin Su thought of what had happened on the train and promptly asked the system, "How much does a top-tier Optical Brain cost?"

This time, he had been able to bluff his way through because of Ji'en's personality, but he couldn't keep doing that.

Based on everything he had seen, Optical Brains in this world were like cell phones in the real world: commonly used electronic devices.

Even if he never added a single Optical Brain friend in the future, he couldn't do without one.

Otherwise... someone might think he came from an extremely poor and backward planet. He absolutely couldn't let that label stick to him; it would run counter to his plan to disguise himself as a "mysterious Alpha."

He had absolutely no intention of discriminating against poor and backward planets. It was just that... to achieve his goal, he needed a top-tier Optical Brain.

Not only did he need an Optical Brain, it had to be a "top-tier Optical Brain."

Only then would it match the "mysterious big shot" persona he wanted to create to attract fans.

``` [Top-tier Optical Brain x1 costs minutes of Life Points.]

"..."

Qin Su's gaze fell on his life countdown, which had continued to rise and now stood at "230 minutes and 39 seconds" thanks to the comments that were still appearing sporadically from riding the Protagonist Group's popularity, and the favorability he had gained from his strong image in the waiting hall. His silence was deafening.

Great. He had checked the price, and it was something he couldn't afford.

Based on what the system had said before, Qin Su judged that this wasn't its first time binding a host, so he asked, "777, how did the hosts who were as 'short on cash' as I am bind an Optical Brain?"

[Simple. They either stole one, snatched one, applied to the school for one, or bought one,] 777 said. [Those are the methods previous hosts have used. You can try them too.]

"None of those will work." Qin Su dismissed them all without hesitation.

Steal or snatch one? What kind of big shot would do that?

Applying to the school wouldn't work either. It would make the school think he "needed financial aid," which still wouldn't help the big-shot persona he wanted to create.

Buying one was even less of an option.

Even if he had star coins, buying one would leave his identity information in this world, permanently leaving a record that he had only bought an Optical Brain after transferring to the Fourth Military Academy. Besides, not only did he have no star coins to buy one, he also lacked enough Life Points to buy one from the system.

In that case, given his current situation, he could only change his approach...

Qin Su's gaze fell on the dark green interface spread out before him, his eyes growing dark.

He hadn't closed the interface since arriving in this world, and none of the locals he had encountered along the way had looked at it.

That was enough to prove that only he, who was bound to 777, could see the system's interface.

In other words, how could this not count as a kind of "one-of-a-kind, top-tier quality"?

And the word "host"... meant that the system was currently parasitically bound to him. So, could he understand it as...

Qin Su suddenly spoke to the system. "777, I'm the one you serve, right?"

The one I serve? 777 thought for a moment and replied, [That's not wrong, but please be precise. You're the one I serve temporarily!]

It was a system that had served several hosts to death, after all.

"Is that so?" The corners of Qin Su's lips curved upward, and his tone rose slightly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that as long as I'm alive, you have to serve me."

777: [...I can't argue with that.]

Having easily figured out the system's personality from the details of their brief time together, Qin Su asked a question he already knew the answer to. "So, which do you think has better functions, an Optical Brain or you?"

Sure enough, the next moment, Qin Su heard the answer he wanted.

[Do you even need to ask?] 777 said very loudly. [Obviously me, and I won't hear otherwise!!!]

Qin Su's smile widened, and he praised it sincerely. "777, you're very good."

[? Well... thank you?] Wh-why was he suddenly praising it? He was oddly, oddly polite.

Nobody disliked being praised. Amid its confusion, 777 felt a tiny bit pleased by the compliment.

"As I should." Having confirmed that 777 possessed the functions of an Optical Brain, Qin Su said without ceremony, "So from now on, you're my 'Optical Brain.' Glad we settled that."

[...]

[???]

Wait, the new host's brain... Could he do that?

Fooled for the first time, 777 blurted out, [Then what does that make what the previous hosts did?!]

This was the first time a host had used it as an "Optical Brain."

Having solved this thorny problem, Qin Su was in a good mood. His tone rose slightly as he casually made something up. "I guess they were more adventurous."

If he had to show an Optical Brain at some necessary moment in the future, anyone who saw his "unique, one-of-a-kind" Optical Brain would be amazed by it.

After all... the system was far superior to an Optical Brain.

777: [...]

Why does that sound so strange?

But... as a system bound to a host, it needed the host to complete life-extension missions and continually inject fresh blood into the Interstellar Legend comic to boost its popularity. It simply couldn't refuse a service it was required to provide its host when it was within its capabilities.

Having happily decided to use the system as an Optical Brain, Qin Su had no intention of letting it sit idle. He said directly, "777, within three minutes, I need specific data on the venue for tomorrow's entrance ceremony, the route there, the activities, the important people attending the ceremony... and so on."

The number of comments about him in the upper left corner was increasing more and more slowly. Judging by the rate of increase during this period, these additional comments and his previous favorability points would probably only sustain his Life Points for no more than fifteen hours in total.

Before his life countdown ran out, he had to learn as much as possible about tomorrow's gathering and naturally draw attention to himself during the freshman entrance ceremony, increasing everyone's favorability toward him.

[...Okay.] Having been fooled into accepting its identity as an "Optical Brain," 777 responded instinctively.

Three minutes later, Qin Su saw the data that had appeared on the interface, and a strange look flashed through his eyes.

Not bad speed. Looks like I can cut it down to one minute next time.

With that thought, Qin Su opened the data—

An unknown amount of time later, Qin Su, immersed in the data, suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Qin Su, what are you doing here?"

Then the data before his eyes turned into dazzling white light. When the piercing light faded, Qin Su saw his roommate Jiang Lu standing in front of him.