Chapter 3: Palpation
Shen Qingzhu didn’t mean to gloat over someone else’s disaster. Just, for an Alpha, suddenly turning from predator to prey was pretty much a disaster.
On the other hand, the 23 year old Omega Shen Qingzhu was already successful, with enviable wealth and status. For the 18 year old Alpha Shen Qingzhu, who was obviously poor, perhaps this wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
At least there was no risk of going hungry.
Thinking of how he drank one out of the two nutrient solution tubes available, and the remaining 108 star coins in his bank account, Shen Qingzhu sighed.
He began to look through the optical terminal on his wrist. It was an outdated, black model with only basic functions like messaging, emailing, and browsing the StarNet.
Basically, a decoration. The only useful helper for Shen Qingzhu had always been Zhujian. Although Zhujian in this world was a bit dumber, it was still far more useful than this old optical terminal.
“Zhujian, report today’s schedule.”
Shen Qingzhu wanted to understand what “him” of this world was doing.
Zhujian: “Yes, Master. Your schedule today is as follows: meet with the orphanage director to check out and pack you belongings.”
“The C-0713 starship ticket you booked will depart on time at 27:30 this evening.”
“From your current location, it will take 30 minutes by train plus 45 minutes by space elevator to get to the C-07 low-orbit space station.”
“According to the space station’s regulations, passengers must arrive at least 2 hours before departure to go through identity verification and security checks.”
“Therefore, you can leave latest at 24:15.”
“Please allow extra time in case of unforeseen accidents to avoid missing your flight.”
Shen Qingzhu asked curiously: “Where is the destination of this starship?”
Zhujian: “Master, you were admitted to Imperial University’s School of Pheromone Research.”
“Imperial University starts school on September 1st of the Imperial Calendar. You must complete registration on the university’s planet no later than August 30th.”
Shen Qingzhu was pleasantly surprised. He hadn’t expected that “he” was also admitted to Imperial University, and even chose the same school as him.
But thinking again, “his” Omega father was still Shen Xian, and he had grown up influenced by his father. And as a rare 3S-level Alpha, applying to the School of Pheromone research made perfect sense.
Imperial University and the Royal Omega Ethics Academy were both located on the A-class planet called University Star.
Shen Qingzhu recalled that when he took the Cole family’s private starship to get from C-07 to University Star, the trip took almost a month.
Public starships would definitely take longer.
Today was 14/33, equivalent to July 4th on the Imperial Calendar, so his time was a bit tight.
Luckily, “he” had already bought a ticket. Shen Qingzhu wouldn’t have been able to get to Imperial University with only 108 star coins otherwise.
According to Zhujian, he first needed to see the orphanage director to check out.
The orphanage he stayed in was funded by the government and stopped providing free housing once children turned 18.
If the orphanage children still had nowhere to go after 18, they could pay rent to stay in the orphanage until the age of 20, and the rent was much cheaper than outside.
“Shen Qingzhu” turned 18 a few days ago and paid a month of rent in advance. If he checked out now, Shen Qingzhu should be able to get back over a half a month’s worth of rent money.
It wasn’t much, but every star coin counted to him right now.
However, before he did anything, Shen Qingzhu had one urgent matter to deal with. He needed to understand the pheromones of this Alpha body.
As everyone knew, for both Alpha and Omega, their pheromones were prone to instability during the first two years of secondary differentiation.
Omega Shen Qingzhu took almost a year and a half to fully stabilize his pheromones.
But at that time, he lived in a safe environment, excellent living conditions, and access to effective pheromone-regulating medication.
This Alpha body was completely different. It was obvious that “he” didn’t receive proper care during “his” secondary differentiation. “His” body was thin and weak, likely suffered from long term malnutrition, and his environment was subpar.
In theory, during the period of instability, newly differentiated Alphas and Omegas were recommended to stay home as much as possible and avoid social events. Only after their pheromones were fully stabilized and under control should they go out.
But in reality, the time of one’s secondary differentiation coincided with the start of entering college, and almost no one would give up going to college because of unstable pheromones.
“Shen Qingzhu” was no exception.
However, “he” was an extremely dangerous 3S-level Alpha.
Shen Qingzhu had witnessed footage of an S-level Alpha losing control of their pheromones in public, causing every Omega within a kilometer radius to go into heat. A and B were forced to the ground, and some even fell unconscious from pheromone shock.
The S-level Alpha nearly forcibly marked an Omega, luckily, the police arrived and prevented a potential tragedy.
Now he himself was an Alpha more difficult than S-level.
If a 3S-level Alpha lost control… Shen Qingzhu didn’t even want to imagine the consequences.
At the very least, he’d probably be muzzled and locked in a black room by authorities right?
Shen Qingzhu shivered.
At first, he was a little excited to change from O to A, but now he only hoped nothing would go wrong with this body so he could walk out of the door today.
Shen Qingzhu gently began palpating the glands at the back of his neck.
Finding that they were currently flat and not swollen, Shen Qingzhu was a little relieved. This meant that his susceptible period wouldn’t arrive anytime soon unless triggered by external stimulation.
But it was important to note that A and O glands were very sensitive. Normally one wouldn’t touch them at all because it would likely awaken one’s bamboo shoot.
However… Shen Qingzhu touched his glands again and then looked down. Seeing that his bamboo shoot was completely unresponsive, Shen Qingzhu’s expression turned subtle.
If he hadn’t seen the appearance of the fat bamboo shoot before, Shen Qingzhu might’ve thought there was something wrong with this body’s bamboo shoot.
Was it because the post-climax cooldown hadn’t passed yet, he thought idly. But he wasn’t too concerned, since he had already confirmed its functionality firsthand.
After a simple examination, Shen Qingzhu confirmed his glands had no issues. Then he began to test his pheromone release.
Shen Qingzhu had once been strictly trained in pheromone control, so his control of his own pheromones was terrifyingly precise.
Although he was in a new body, the method for controlling pheromones for A and O was basically the same. Shen Qingzhu only used a moment to accurately locate the dormant pheromones in his body, and then released a thin, hair-like thread of pheromones into the air.
An icy, faint scent like a bamboo forest in the winter suddenly filled the air of the cramped room.
Shen Qingzhu smiled slightly, not surprising to find that the smell of this body’s pheromones was exactly the same as his own.
Unexpectedly, despite being a 3S-level Alpha, his pheromones were not aggressive. Shen Qingzhu was very satisfied. He was gentle by nature, and didn’t want his pheromones to be dangerous to others.
This way, even if he lost control, he could at least ensure the safety of the people around him.
Now that he was done checking his pheromones, Shen Qingzhu began to test his spiritual power.
As a former 3S-level Omega, Shen Qingzhu had extremely strong spiritual power. He was able to manifest his spiritual power tangibly, and skillfully developed a variety of ways to use it.
Since this body was also 3S-level, “his” spiritual power shouldn’t be too far off.
Shen Qingzhu mobilized the strength inside his body.
Release, release, release--
Nothing came out.
Shen Qingzhu: ?
Tsk, he knew it. With the bad state of this body, how can there be no side effects?
Still, this matter wasn’t something that could be fixed in a short time. Shen Qingzhu had actually encountered similar cases in the past.
After he enrolled in Imperial University, he would slowly nurse his body back to health.
Zhujian: “Master, you have a new message. Please check it.”
Shen Qingzhu opened his optical terminal, surprised that someone would contact him. The message was sent by the director of the orphanage, telling him to go to the office because someone was looking for him.
“Zhujian, who do you think would come to the orphanage to find me at this time?”
From “his” empty list of contacts and Zhujian’s narration, Shen Qingzhu could see that “Shen Qingzhu” was deliberately keeping his distance from other people to hide his background and genetic level. To the outside, he was just a gloomy and dark-skinned teenager.
So Shen Qingzhu was curious about who would look for him and had the status to ask the director directly?
Zhujian: “Master, there are no monitoring devices in the director’s office. Should I use special methods to obtain the real-time information inside?”
Shen Qingzhu: “...No need.”
He already had a vague guess in his mind.
“Zhujian, do you have any video records of me during my usual activities outside?”
Zhujian said it did.
Shen Qingzhu: “Play them for me.”
Zhujian projected a holographic screen via Shen Qingzhu’s optical terminal.
Shen Qingzhu watched the dark-skinned boy on the screen closely.
Ten minutes later--
A gloomy teenager with dust all over his clothes, slightly hunched spine, and messy bangs covering most of his face slowly knocked on the director’s door.
“Come in!” Someone inside called out loudly.
Shen Qingzhu opened the door and stepped in, immediately feeling two unreadable gazes.
From behind the seaweed like bangs, Shen Qingzhu lifted his eyes slightly, meeting the stare of a pot-bellied police officer sitting on the sofa.
Shen Qingzhu’s heart jumped silently.
He heard the officer’s rough voice: “Brat, your name is ‘Qing’?”