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Chapter 1: Becoming A

“Hello, dear audience members. We are at the site of Planet Z-91’s Humsand City’s Interstellar Pheromone Research Conference (IPS).”

“After three months, the IPS has successfully concluded today.”

“We are honored to invite a very special interview guest. He is from the Lyman Empire, the youngest scholar ever to be invited to the IPS, at only 23 years old!”

“He was born on a C-class planet. At the age of 18, he was admitted to the Lyman Empire’s top institution for Omega: the Royal Omega Ethics Academy. In his first year, he became the academy’s first top student from a civilian background! He-”

“BOOM--!”

The holographic screen trembled violently, and the reporter’s voice became fragmentary: “...because of his achievements in pheromone research… benefiting hundreds of millions… has been compiled… textbooks…”

“CRASH--!!”

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, the vast and dark universe was dyed red by fire.

In the luxurious first-class cabin covered with thick, snow-white fur carpet, an elegant young man was standing quietly by the window, frowning at the sight of interstellar pirate starships in the distance. 

Between explosions, the screen stabilized temporarily: “He is the Lyman Empire’s treasured researcher, known as the Star of Omega--Shen Qingzhu!”

Hearing his name, the young man by the window glanced at the holographic screen, facing a familiar face: black hair and green eyes, wearing a gentle smile.

This was an interview he did a month ago before his research group left Planet Z-91.

Shen Qingzhu’s brain turned quickly, and then he acted without delay. He hurried to the cloakroom and took off his formal, luxurious clothes, and pulled out an outfit that was dark and flexible.

Two minutes later, the door to the first-class opened slightly.

Shen Qingzhu communicated to his personal AI called Zhujian through brain waves: [Is the monitoring outside the door solved?]

Zhujian: [Of course, Master. Please believe in my professional ability.]

Shen Qingzhu, dressed in all black and wearing black gloves, flashed out and rushed towards the direction of the life-pods in Area B.

All the while, Zhujian was informing him of the real-time situation on the starship: [Master, the Apollo starship’s energy sources number 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, and 15 have all been destroyed. Damage proportion: 37%. Starship’s propulsion system damage proportion: 45%.]

[Estimated in 13 minutes, the Apollo will lose all its defensive capabilities.]

[At that time, the Scarlet Pirates will successfully hijack the Apollo.]

[And you, my noble master, will become the most valuable hostage of the Scarlet Pirates--an SSS Omega with supreme beauty and spiritual power~]

Shen Qingzhu: [Shut up.]

Zhujian: [Yes, Master. But before I shut up, I have one more thing to report.]

Shen Qingzhu had just found a hoverboard hidden in the starship’s bulkhead: [Say.]

Zhujian: [After the first explosion three minutes ago, the prince issued 33 call requests to you and 127 messages.]

Hearing about the prince, Shen Qingzhu’s green eyes flashed with impatience, but he still asked: [What did he say?]

Zhujian: [The prince told you to stay in the first class cabin and not leave. He said he informed the nearest military legion to save you.]

Zhujian commented: [He lied to you again.]

[According to my monitoring, since the explosion occurred, he hasn’t contacted any military personnel. He only sent communications to an unknown target.]

Shen Qingzhu raised an eyebrow slightly and didn’t ask Zhujian to find the unknown target. He asked: [What did the prince send?]

Zhujian: [He sent: Leave Shen Qingzhu to me.]

“Tsk.” Shen Qingzhu instantly understood that the group of pirates outside who dared to hijack an official research delegation of the empire was tied to the prince.

But knowing the prince, Shen Qingzhu wasn’t very surprised to learn he did this.

[Where is he right now?] Shen Qingzhu asked calmly.

Zhujian: [Since he didn’t get your reply, he checked the monitoring and found the cameras of the first-class area were all out of order. He’s already on his way here with his own people.]

Zhujian: [In addition to the prince, 13 Alphas on the Apollo have sent you a communication request. They’re also rapidly approaching the first-class area now.]

Shen Qingzhu: ???

Where did 13 people come from? He didn’t even know ten Alphas on this starship!

At this moment, the danger of those Alphas was not lower than that of the pirates outside. 

Shen Qingzhu had met countless Alphas, so he had no expectations for the moral quality of the majority of Alphas. 

The prince was a good example.

Shen Qingzhu: [Zhujian, change my route. Go to Area D instead.]

The Alphas were concentrated around the first class section in Area A. If they didn’t move around, then Shen Qingzhu could’ve reached the life-pods in Area B. But now that they were all searching for him, he would likely bump into someone if he continued in that direction. 

Zhujian: [Ok, Master.]

Zhujian: [The new route is planned. It will take 7 minutes to arrive at the life-pods in Area D using the hoverboard. There are still 12 minutes left before the pirates hijack the starship, please set off immediately.]

The moment Zhujian’s words fell, Shen Qingzhu had already stepped on the hoverboard and disappeared into the corridor in a blink of an eye. 

Seven minutes later, Shen Qingzhu saw the life-pods. 

Thanks to Zhujian, he managed to dodge all of the Alphas on the way. 

Due to the severe damage to the Apollo’s energy sources, the starship automatically turned on the life-pods in each area for passengers to escape.

Riding on the Apollo were all the empire’s top scholars in ABO pheromone research, and they were all treated at the VIP level. Most of them stayed in Area A, while the starship’s staff stayed in Area E, so no one was in Area D.

Shen Qingzhu entered the life-pod unimpeded and quickly lay down in a capsule. 

After the capsule was locked, Shen Qingzhu’s body was enveloped with an anti-shock gas. t/n maybe the gas can prevent you from crashing into the wall? idk

Zhujian: [The capsule is in good condition. In order to prevent discomfort caused by the capsule launch, a sleeping agent will be released in one minute.]

Zhujian: [Master, please get ready.]

Zhujian: [When the safety of the external environment is confirmed, the capsule will release an awakening agent.]

Although it was Shen Qingzhu’s first time being attacked by interstellar pirates and he was about to wander unconscious in the universe, not knowing when he would wake up, he wasn’t panicked at all. Just a little nostalgic. 

Unlike his gentle, smiling appearance, Shen Qingzhu’s resolute expression right now wasn’t like the perfect Omega who was sought after by all Alphas in the empire. 

In the pitch-black environment, Shen Qingzhu’s thoughts wandered back to when he was in the same dark and quiet capsule many years ago. 

“BOOM--!”

After another violent quake, Apollo’s intelligence system issued a harsh alarm: “DU--DU--DU--! The energy sources are 98% damaged. The power grip is 100% damaged. The starship defense system will shut down automatically in 30 seconds!”

Zhujian: [Master, I’ve just received a communication signal from the Third Army. They are on their way and will arrive in at least 30 minutes.]

The Empire’s Third Army?

After thinking, Shen Qingzhu reacted that the Third Army wasn’t a force under the prince. 

Zhujian reminded: [The sleeping agent has been released. Master, please relax and have a good sleep.] 

[The capsule is about to be launched. Stealth mode is on.]

Shen Qingzhu only had time to say: [Launch the capsule in the direction of the Third Army-]

⋅ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ ‧ ₊ ˚ ⋅

“Di--Good morning, Master. It is Planet C-07, year 1066, the 33rd day of the 14th month. Now it’s 8:30 AM. Next, today’s weather forecast is…”

Shen Qingzhu was awakened by the soft sound of music and Zhujian’s childish voice that sounded slightly more robotic than usual. 

Shen Qingzhu’s head felt heavy and aching. He immediately told Zhujian through brain waves: [Stop talking first.]

But Zhujian’s voice didn’t stop: “The temperature ranges from -35 degrees Celsius to 43 degrees Celsius. The air quality is D minus. Southwest wind, level 17 to 18*. Please wear cold and heat protection when going outside, and wear a filtered mask when you travel.” t/n *this means strong winds coming from the southwest at force levels 17 to 18 on the Beaufort scale, where 12 is a hurricane

Shen Qingzhu: ?

When he opened his eyes, Shen Qingzhu finally realized something was wrong.

Since he traveled to the Imperial Star and entered the Royal Omega Ethics Academy, Shen Qingzhu had never been to a planet with such a large temperature difference between day and night, lower than A quality air, and outrageous winds. 

It wasn’t that an Omega constitution couldn’t stand such environments, but that the people watching over him wouldn’t let him go back to C-07. t/n wut people can stand that kind of environment (°ロ°)!

Shen Qingzhu sat up and looked around the room he was in.

It was a small room without any windows, less than ten square meters and shrouded in darkness. The only furniture was the single bed Shen Qingzhu was laying on, and a small gray table next to the bed. 

The material of the furniture was the cheapest recyclable material, and judging from the degree of wear, it was probably in use for at least 30 years.

Although the bedsheets were a little better, the texture was quite rough. For an Omega with delicate skin, just rubbing against it might leave red marks. 

Shen Qingzhu: …

Who left him in such a room?

He remembered that before he fell asleep, he reminded Zhujian to launch the capsule in the direction of the Third Army.

Was the Third Army so poor they could only arrange this kind of room for him?

Or was his capsule cut off by someone else halfway? And now he was stuck in some bastard’s little dark room?

While his mind was turning, Shen Qingzhu looked down at his hand to see if his fingertips were red from when he just twisted the sheets. 

The moment he looked, Shen Qingzhu’s heart jumped and his eyes widened like saucers. His fingers were actually two centimeters longer than before!

And, why was his skin so dark?!

Shen Qingzhu shouted: “Zhujian, turn on the light!”

“Okay, Master.”

A dim light illuminated the space. Although it wasn’t too bright, Shen Qingzhu clearly saw that his skin was darkly tanned.

His pupils shook, but he forced himself to calm down and looked at his arms and legs, which were also much longer than before. 

His mind buzzed. Although he’d seen a lot throughout the years, Shen Qingzhu had never encountered such a crazy situation. 

Obviously, Zhujian couldn’t receive his brainwaves, maybe something went wrong with it during his sleep. Shen Qingzhu asked out loud again: “How long was I asleep for?”

As soon as he spoke, Shen Qingzhu finally noticed that his voice was not right either. It was deeper and more resonant than before, and there was no hoarseness he should’ve felt if he slept for a long time. 

Shen Qingzhu: …

Why did everything become so strange and absurd?

Zhujian’s answer only added to his confusion: “Master, you slept for 8 hours last night.”

Shen Qingzhu scratched his head. How come when he woke up, Zhujian seemed to have digressed into a not-so-intelligent AI?

Since asking questions didn’t seem to help, Shen Qingzhu got out of bed, wore the dirty, cheap slippers, and found the single bathroom in the small residence. 

Fortunately, it was cleaned up well and there was no strange smell. After ordering Zhujian to turn on the lights in the bathroom, Shen Qingzhu looked into the medium length mirror on the bathroom wall. 

The person in the mirror was thin and around 1.8 meters tall. He had long bangs that blocked most of his face, and curly black hair that was down to his shoulders. His hair was dry and frizzy, and at first glance, he didn’t seem to be very put together. 

When Shen Qingzhu raked back his bangs, he looked fixedly at the brown-skinned face in the mirror with green irises.

Shen Qingzhu looked at himself for a long time under the dim lighting conditions and finally determined that the face in the mirror was indeed his own, but his features were sharper and more defined than before. When he was expressionless, he seemed a little dangerous. 

Shen Qingzhu tilted his head and squinted at his strange self in the mirror. Zhujian was still here, and he was still him, so why was everything so weird?

“Zhujian, report my body’s data.”

Even if the AI was not so intelligent, it still had the basic functions. 

“Name: Shen Qingzhu

Species: Human

Gender: Male, Alpha

Age: 18 years old

Height: 181cm

Weight: 68.5kg

Blood Type: …”

Anything else that Zhujian said, Sheng Qingzhu didn’t pay attention to at all. 

His mind was now full of the sentence: male Alpha and 18 years old!

What kind of new hidden camera prank was this?

But with Shen Qingzhu’s strong spiritual power and sensitivity, he was sure that there was no monitoring equipment in the room. 

Moreover, with his status, it was impossible for there to be a program team who would dare trick him. 

And adding 7cm to his height, changing his body shape, and changing his skin color was impossible. 

But how did he become an Alpha after already differentiating into an Omega?

As a renowned researcher of ABO pheromones, Shen Qingzhu was completely sure that the possibility of mutation was zero. His pheromones showed no previous indication of differentiating again.

Although he couldn’t confirm his age, he could easily check whether he was an Alpha or not.

As everyone knew, every Alpha had a physiological part that was unique to Alphas.

An Alpha had one more bone than Beta and Omega. Called the reproductive bone, it was the kind of bone that can’t be described openly. t/n the author gained inspiration for this "reproductive bone" because male wolves have a bone in their yknow that is used in mating (i didn't know this before :0)

The reproductive bone was the reason why Alpha could create a lifetime mark with Omega.

As an elegant and reserved omega, Shen Qingzhu stayed away from all Alpha who approached him, but he knew a lot of theoretical knowledge.

When he took an anatomy class, his professor only showed drawings purely to learn about anatomy, so to this day, Shen Qingzhu had never seen a real reproductive bone. 

He was a curious person. 

So…

In order to determine his gender, Shen Qingzhu returned to the bedside and slowly pulled down his pants.  

t/n lolololol

Zhujian = bamboo sprout

Qingzhu = green bamboo

the MC has a lot of bamboo symbolism haha

time for a new storyy!! this story is really cute and sweet, i hope more people can discover this novel and having fun reading it ₊˚⊹ᰔ the moment i saw no one had translated it yet, i knew i had to take the opportunity!

happy reading~~

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