Chapter 9

[okk!]

Another wave of manga popularity had just surged. No sooner had 777 written down key phrases like "Gurgha trousers, black silk shirt, red soft-soled leather shoes, Cold Blast Bomb" in its little notebook titled "Strategies for Increasing the Host's Manga Popularity" than it heard Qin Su's voice and answered without thinking. It had no idea that, without realizing it, it had already been won over by Qin Su's abilities.

Soon, Qin Su saw several very short lines of text appear on the dark green skin.

[Name: Qin Su

Photo: ID photo.jpg

Height: 190.

Identity ID: QS

Gender: ?

Background: ?]

"..."

What the Fourth Military Academy had on file turned out to be the stripped-down version of his initial data that the system had shown him at the start. Qin Su scanned it in less than a second, and the anxiety hanging over him eased.

So it was much as he had guessed. When he first transmigrated into this world, the playful text in parentheses in the data the system displayed had indeed been the system slipping in its own commentary.

His swift departure just now had actually been partly driven by a selfish desire to "escape." Before attending the entrance ceremony, he had only memorized information about the important people onstage. He knew nothing about some of the freshmen seated around him.

To avoid a situation where someone among them spoke to him like the Omega on the train, and he made more mistakes the more he spoke, he could only pretend to be aloof and leave.

"Not bad."

After saying that, Qin Su recalled how, during Xuan Jingxi's presentation onstage, the display interface of her Optical Brain had changed with her wishes each time. Raising a brow, he didn't manually click the "x" in the upper right corner of the data page. Instead, he tentatively let the thought "close the data page" flash through his mind.

The data interface closed at once.

Qin Su: "..."

He had confirmed it again. The system was naive, but as long as he dared to fool it, it really would believe him. He had tricked the system into being his "Optical Brain," and it had actually replicated all the Optical Brain's functions to serve him.

777 was still waiting for its host to ask it to modify the data. It hadn't expected Qin Su to close the data interface instead.

Out of kindness, the system reminded him: [You don't need me to modify it manually? Previous hosts always had me add lots of impressive-sounding prefixes like "descendant of a royal family, descendant of a noble family, illegitimate child of a prominent family"... to make themselves look prestigious.]

Previous hosts had said that, in this military academy where citizens from countless planets gathered, every planet had countless royals and nobles. Who had the time to check whether the claims were true? Anyone they fooled was a gain.

Of course, it could only modify data, not change the hosts' actual backgrounds. If a host was unlucky enough to be exposed, they naturally had to bear the consequences themselves.

"No need," Qin Su declined.

Leaving enough "blank space" didn't just mean there were countless possibilities. In a sense, it also implied the "fact" that his "background was too deep to uncover much information," giving anyone who examined this data in the future unlimited room for speculation.

Until the very end, even Qin Su himself couldn't be sure what sort of content he would write into this virtually "blank" data in the future.

If he really added those things, it would be like dancing in shackles, limiting what he could do and increasing the risk of exposure.

Qin Su swept his gaze over the skin. The life countdown in the upper right corner now read 4,827 minutes and 16 seconds.

That meant he didn't have to worry about dying for at least the next three days.

Heading for the dormitory with a clear destination in mind, Qin Su recalled what he had overheard at the entrance ceremony and tentatively said to the system, "I need the data on every classmate in my class, and information on the important students in each class of the 26th-year freshmen."

[Okay.]

As the system finished speaking, Qin Su saw another document appear on the skin.

Qin Su had no intention of opening it. He had been going nonstop for more than twenty hours. Even if he wouldn't die without rest, he was human and used to sleeping. Unless he had no choice, he didn't want to change that habit too much.

Everything else could wait until he had rested.

[Damn it, Boss 1 disappeared again!]

[Add me on V if you want handsome private photos of Boss 1 from every angle with no bad sides]

[Handsome private photos? The author or a friend or relative of the author?]

[Someone add them and tell me, so I can mark them. I'll sell you health supplements when you're old,]

From the bullet comments, Qin Su could easily deduce that once he left the main cast's sight, he would disappear from the bullet comments too.

That raised a question.

"System, I'm curious. When will I be able to get my own dedicated shots without relying on the main cast? And when I travel back and forth between the Comic World and the real world, how can I land wherever I want?"

Qin Su had left the venue early enough that the interstellar train was empty, with only him aboard.

[Once your life points are enough to keep you alive for three months, host, you can choose whether the manga's camera captures you. If you want to select your landing location when traveling between the two worlds, you need to spend minutes of life points when the white light flashes to exchange for one landing at a specific location.]

Qin Su: "...Got it."

Exchanging fifteen days of life points for one landing at a designated location was a "luxury" he couldn't afford at the moment.

After returning to the dormitory, Qin Su took a quick shower and drank two bottles of nutrient solution to sustain his vital signs. Only after deliberately changing into the brand-new pajamas provided by the dormitory did he take out his phone, set an alarm, and lie down in the sleeping pod.

Since he didn't know where the system would randomly spawn him in the real world, he would wake up one second before leaving this world and return to the real world awake.

The venue.

With Qin Su's departure, the freshmen seated around him unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

Whether arriving or leaving, he had never once glanced at anyone. That cold aloofness emanating from his very bones had put them under immense pressure just by being in the same room, even though he had done nothing to deliberately pressure them.

Although Qin Su had vanished from everyone's sight, the "legends" about him were still "circulating."

"Phew... he's finally gone." After murmuring this, the Alpha Raymond composed himself and asked the friends he had known through their families' connections before coming to the Fourth Military Academy, "Everyone, do any of you recognize that person just now?"

"No."

"Never seen him."

"Me neither."

"Same here."

A dozen or so seconds passed, and everyone Raymond looked at, whether Alpha or Omega, gave him a negative answer.

"Tsk..." Having received no satisfactory answer, Raymond anxiously ran a hand back through his brown hair, thick with styling gel. "He's really kept himself hidden. There are so many of us, and not one has ever seen him."

Someone said ingratiatingly, "If even you haven't seen him, Raymond, how could we have?"

Aside from the black-haired Alpha of unfathomably mysterious background who had left not long ago, Raymond had the best family background among those gathered together. If even Raymond didn't know him, how could they?

The remark drew a chorus of agreement from the others.

"Haha, exactly... I'm just saying, with his bearing and looks, even one glimpse would have left an indelible impression."

"All right." Raymond sighed, knowing he wouldn't get a scrap of useful information from this group.

Although there hadn't been the slightest disdain in the other man's eyes, his refusal to socialize with anyone itself conveyed that there was "no need" or that they "weren't worth it," suggesting a background higher than all of theirs. Raymond could only turn to connections above him to investigate, but... to trouble someone over this...

Before Raymond's thoughts had settled, a voice suddenly cut in and interrupted him.

"Raymond, do you know the black-haired Alpha who was sitting beside you just now?"

Everyone looked toward the voice and saw a beautiful Omega walking toward him.

"No, but... whose family are you from?" Raymond looked questioningly at the male Omega, whose hair was dyed pink, with distinctly pale yellow roots.

Catching sight of Xuan Jingxi leaving, He Wenyuan blinked and smiled, answering a different question. "Xuan Jingxi is my older sister."

Xuan Jingxi's younger brother?

Raymond immediately straightened up and held out his hand. "Hello."

"Hello." He Wenyuan held out his hand and gave Raymond's a light, brief shake before letting go. A flash of disgust passed swiftly beneath his lowered, curled eyelash extensions. When he looked up at Raymond again, only concern remained in his eyes. "I'm sure you saw it too. That Alpha whose background is unknown... something was a little off about him during my sister's speech..."

He Wenyuan stopped at just the right moment, saying no more. Looking innocent, he added, "I was just a little worried, and thinking of the marriage intentions between our families, I came to let you know."

That last sentence made Raymond's eyes light up, and his earlier hesitation vanished without a trace. "Thank you, I understand."

"It's only right." He Wenyuan smiled weakly. "I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."

His goal achieved, He Wenyuan left in satisfaction. For information he couldn't uncover himself, he could only have someone else do the work.

Raymond's maternal uncle held an important position at the Fourth Military Academy. Judging by Raymond's expression and the speed at which an identity ID could spread, presumably it wouldn't be long before information about that mysterious Alpha reached the entire Fourth Military School.

When the time came, he would plan his next move based on the information being circulated.

After watching the Omega's retreating figure leave, Raymond withdrew his gaze. Meeting the expectant looks of the classmates around him, he said solemnly, "Just wait."

Xuan

"Raymond, that's just what I'd expect from you."

"Then we'll wait for your good news."

[Hahaha, that's Plague Bro for you. With just a few words, he redirected all of Raymond's firepower onto Boss 1]

[Here he goes again, so green-tea. Being green-tea toward our Boss 1, just strangle him already (eye roll)]

Qin Su, lying in the sleeping pod and preparing to close his eyes, caught sight of this bullet comment about himself: "...?"

Had he eaten that guy called "Plague Bro" out of house and home? Why was he spreading rumors about him out there like that?

Ridiculous!

Qin Su silently opened a little notebook in his heart and held a grudge.

Still, since "Plague Bro," as the manga viewers called him, was going to such lengths, Qin Su was quite curious what kind of "surprised" expression he would make when he learned about his "data."

While He Wenyuan was deliberately stirring up Raymond's wariness of Qin Su, Ji'en excitedly rushed over to his cousin Samuel.

"Dear cousin, I found him! I found the Alpha I was looking for!"

Recalling how the two of them had run into each other earlier while searching for an Alpha, Samuel, happy for Ji'en and for himself, excitedly seized Ji'en's hand. "Congratulations! I found mine too!"

"What?" Ji'en looked around. "Where is he?"

He could only see He Muzhi, Lailisi, and Lin Yin, three familiar friends of his cousin's.

"That Alpha has already left." Even now, Samuel still felt lingering fear when he recalled the look the other man had given him. "What about the Alpha you were looking for?"

He hadn't seen his cousin interact with anyone either.

"He left too," Ji'en said cheerfully.

He had been able to see the Alpha again, confirm his identity ID and that he too was a freshman, and witness with his own eyes that the Alpha was equally incapable of mustering any interest in anyone. So he didn't feel disappointed.

"What's his name?" Samuel asked curiously.

Ji'en froze for a second, then raised a hand to scratch his head. "I don't kno..." Before he finished, Ji'en recalled what he had seen just as the entrance ceremony was about to begin and changed what he was about to say. "Although I don't know his name, cousin, I can still tell you who he is. He's the Alpha whose aura was so powerful a few hours ago that your legs went weak, even though he was wearing an Alpha pheromone blocker patch!"

Lailisi, Lin Yin, and He Muzhi, who had been talking quietly, fell silent. "..."

What a coincidence.

Samuel: ""

"Hm?" Looking at the slight twitch at the corner of his cousin's mouth, Ji'en was confused.

Samuel raised a hand and rubbed the twitching corner of his mouth. "Dear Ji'en, you might not believe this, but it seems the two of us were looking for the same Alpha..."

"Ah... huh?"

"Aaaah, he caused such a huge sensation even while wearing a pheromone blocker patch! Not only did the freshmen keep looking at him, but the upper-year students were looking down at him too, and even the Fourth Military Academy's management behind the scenes were watching his every move through electronic eyes! With that kind of entrance, if he's not an Alpha, I'll livestream myself eating a keyboard upside down!"

The familiar white light flashed. Back in the real world and lying on his dormitory bed, Qin Su heard his roommate Jiang Lu's familiar voice from outside the curtain.

Qin Su: "..."

Sorry, but he was just an ordinary Earthling with nothing whatsoever to do with interstellar ABO. He couldn't be an Alpha at all. Maybe Jiang Lu should start getting ready to livestream himself eating a keyboard.

"Damn it!!!" His roommate had reached some point in the manga and let out an excited roar. "We still don't know his name! The netizens are right, Plague Bro can't do it. Raymond, please! The hopes of the whole village rest on you!"

"..."

His roommate probably wouldn't believe it, but "his" name was "Qin Su."

Qin Su sat up and lifted the bed curtain, seeing Jiang Lu with his back to him, excitedly swiping at his tablet.

To let Jiang Lu know he was in the dormitory too, Qin Su deliberately made a very obvious noise as he pulled back the black blackout curtain.

Swish...

Unable to keep up with the manga and able only to excitedly hammer likes onto the bullet comments, Jiang Lu jolted all over. He turned his head stiffly and met Qin Su's dark, heavy gaze, feeling as though he had plunged into an ice cave.

Remembering how loudly he had just been shouting, Jiang Lu guiltily swallowed with a gulp. When he had returned to the dormitory after his morning classes, Qin Su's bed curtain had already been closed. He had tentatively called out once and gotten no response, so he had assumed Qin Su wasn't in the dormitory and had gone home.

Lift Qin Su's bed curtain? Impossible. He wouldn't dare lift it even if he had a hundred times his courage.

Who would have thought Qin Su was in the dormitory! Luckily he hadn't lifted it. Otherwise, if he'd opened the curtain and seen Qin Su lying on the bed, he might as well have washed his neck clean and waited for death.

Jiang Lu hurriedly explained, "Qin Su, I'm really sorry. I thought you weren't in the dormitory, so..."

"It's okay." Seeing how nervous Jiang Lu looked, Qin Su knew he had misunderstood again and thought he was angry. He quickly curved his lips into a smile. "It's break time now, isn't it? You didn't do anything wrong."

"Haha, okay..."

Jiang Lu's unsettled heart calmed down.

"Mm." As Qin Su responded, he lowered his eyes and silently glanced at the clothes he was wearing, his gaze dark.

The clothes he wore were the pajamas provided by the Fourth Military School's dormitory. In other words...

Not only could he take the clothes he wore and the items in their pockets into the Comic World, he could also bring clothes from the Comic World into the real world. As for whether he could bring other things... he needed to verify it step by step.

Since he had already gone there and brought things with him, it would feel like a tiny bit of a loss not to return the favor and bring back some "local specialties."

"I'm going out for a bit." Once he was ready, Qin Su said goodbye to his roommate.

"Huh? Okay..." Looking at the closed door, Jiang Lu breathed a sigh of relief while feeling utterly bewildered.

What had Qin Su gone to do?

Although he had one required class and two electives that afternoon, Qin Su still returned to the apartment very close to the dormitory. The last time he entered the Comic World, he had sent Assistant Jiang a message in advance, asking him to deliver perfume-blending equipment and materials to his apartment. He needed to make the most of his time and keep blending until he produced a personal "pheromone" that satisfied him.

The Comic World.

In the end, Raymond went to his uncle.

In the office with its curtains drawn, Raymond had barely begun before his uncle interrupted him.

"All right, Raymond, you don't need to say any more. I know who you're talking about." Theodore thought of the data they had stared at and studied countless times after the freshmen's entrance ceremony, without being able to make anything of it. Their efforts could be summed up as "looking at nothing."

At the thought, Theodore pursed his lips. "Are you sure you need it?"

"Of course," Raymond answered without hesitation.

What was with that look his uncle was giving him? Could it be that he couldn't give it to him? Remembering that he had already boasted, Raymond opened his mouth again. "Dear Unc—"

Theodore opened his Optical Brain and interrupted Raymond. "I've already sent it to you."

Raymond: "?"

"That simple?" Raymond blurted out.

Theodore smiled. "Dear, you'll understand once you've seen it."

Raymond: "Huh?"

"All right, Raymond, now that you've got it, go on out." Theodore waved Raymond away.

"Everyone." When Raymond came out and saw his friends waiting eagerly, he put his uncle's strange expression out of his mind for the moment and walked confidently toward them with his head held high. "Sorry for the wait."

"Well? How did it go?!" someone asked impatiently.

The others said nothing, but the anticipation in their eyes expressed the same question.

"When have I ever lied to you?" Raymond hadn't had a chance to look at it yet either. As his friends watched in delight, he unfolded the enrollment data on that Alpha, which he had received from his uncle and hadn't yet had a chance to examine—

Happy May Day! [cat head]