Chapter 4: Preparation
“Qing” was “Sheng Qinzhu’s” alias on C-07.
Back when “he” realized the Cole family was keeping their eye on him, “Shen Qingzhu” feigned having amnesia, saying he only remembered there was a “qing” character in his name. Therefore, the orphanage registered him as “Qing.”
The pot-bellied police officer was a male Beta, about 174cm tall, probably in his seventies, and had a gun at his waist. Shen Qinghzu concluded he couldn’t take this person head-on. t/n the lifespan of people in this world is like a few hundred years btw
As a top Omega with a common background, Shen Qingzhu had a lot of experience navigating the power struggles among all kinds of people. He was a master of the ability to “speak human to humans, speak ghost to ghosts.”
When necessary, he could play any role.
Now, the role he played was the gloomy teenager “Qing”.
In front of the aggressive police officer, “Qing” flinched in fright and subconsciously stepped backwards. He looked toward the orphanage director behind the desk for help, who was also looking at him.
The director was a male Beta with white hair and a wrinkled face. He was probably over 130 years old. Shen Qingzhu could likely take him one-on-one. t/n it's funny how Shen Qingzhu meets someone and goes… could i beat him?
Seeing “Qing’s” glance for help, the old man’s face soured as if he was afraid of being contaminated and scolded: “Don’t look at me! Answer the officer’s question honestly!”
“Qing” gripped the corners of his own clothes, and his lips pressed together. He timidly turned back to the mean officer and stammered: “I- I’m Qing.”
The officer scrutinized him with beady eyes.
The boy’s skin was brown, his hair a tangled mess, hunched back, and as skinny as a lamppost. He was wearing the cheapest recycled cloth from head to toe. Moreover, he exuded an aura of poverty and timidity that practically screamed he was from the bottom of society.
He should be a Beta, the officer thought to himself.
A Beta this poor and ordinary was destined to rot in the slums, never accomplishing anything in life.
Such a timid brat couldn’t possibly be the one who reported the Cole family to Imperial Star.
Thinking so, the officer immediately lost interest. The remaining questioning was obviously more perfunctory: “What’s your relationship with the Cole family?”
Hearing this, Shen Qingzhu confirmed the man was indeed here to investigate him.
Since Zhujian was the one who made the anonymous report, he wasn’t worried about being exposed. If the authorities really had evidence he did it, they wouldn’t have sent someone like this.
“Qing” looked at the officer blankly, as if he didn’t understand the question.
On the other hand, the old director reacted like a cat having its tail stepped on: “He’s just an orphan! What could he possibly have to do with the infamous Coles?”
Ever since the Cole family had recently fallen, anyone associated with them had also suffered, so mentioning the Cole name became a taboo in C-07.
The officer glared at the old man in annoyance: “Then why do the records say he was sent here by the Cole family?”
Resting a meaty hand on his holster, the officer stood up, facing the director: “Or is it you who’s actually connected to them?”
The director’s face whitened like a sheet, and he began to loudly proclaim his innocence.
Now the officer had seemed to have completely forgotten about “Qing”, instead interrogating the director aggressively.
Behind them, Shen Qingzhu watched the drama with amusement.
From what he knew, C-07 police officers were hardly paragons of justice. And the old director was not the innocent, frightened man he pretended to be.
Sure enough, the farce ended with the director handing the officer a sum of money.
The officer flipped through the bills with clear satisfaction and prepared to leave.
But when he passed by Shen Qingzhu, he suddenly stopped. He scanned the boy who was trying to make himself as small as possible.
“You.” He raised his chin arrogantly: “Lift your hair. Let me see.”
Although he was certain this brat had no connection to the Coles, the officer wanted to see if there was anything special about him that made his name appear on their records.
Shen Qingzhu tensed briefly. He knew that “Qing” couldn’t refuse. Slowly and tremblingly, “Qing” lifted his bands.
A dark-skinned, strikingly elegant face came into view.
“Eyes up,” the officer ordered.
“Qing” bit his lip, and looked at the officer blankly.
When the officer saw the teenager’s stunning emerald-green irises, a greedy glint flashed in his eyes.
It was the look of someone who found valuable prey.
As someone who had been coveted by numerous Alphas in his past life, Shen Qingzhu recognized that look instantly.
Feigning fear, Shen Qingzhu lowered his eyelids and shot a quick glance to the gun on the officer’s waist.
The officer was still fixated on his face and didn’t notice. Since the teenager was quite good-looking, the officer was no longer in a hurry to leave. Instead, he leaned closer with a toothy smile: “Your name is Qing, right? Are you eighteen yet? Have you had your second differentiation?”
As he spoke, he stepped closer, reaching toward the back of the boy’s neck.
Shen Qingzhu’s green eyes hardened with cold light.
Acting startled by the officer’s sudden proximity, “Qing” stumbled back until he hit the wall. He stammered: “No- not yet.”
“Then how about this uncle takes you for a check up?” The officer reached for the hand the boy had tucked inside his sleeve.
Startled again, the boy shrank back and his wrist hit the wall with a clunk, projecting a holographic screen in between him and the officer.
The man was ready to get angry because he thought the boy was resisting, but then he froze.
On the projection was a letter with exquisite design. The gold-embossed characters in the center doused a bucket of cold water on the officer: [Imperial University Admission Notice].
Before the officer could read more, the boy flusteredly closed the projection.
The officer lost his previous arrogance and asked in a strained voice: “Just now… what was that?”
The old director, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, rushed over and shrieked: “Imperial University?! You actually got into Imperial University?!”
It was normal for the two of them to be shocked.
The population of the Lyman Empire was tens of billions. Imperial University was the first-ranked institution in the entire empire, with countless brilliant alumni. Its acceptance rate was one in a million, well-known across the empire as the most difficult university to get into.
Even though C-07 had a population of a billion and ranked fairly high among C-class planets, only a handful of people were accepted into Imperial University each year. And most of them came from influential families and cultivated carefully with abundant resources.
But this penniless orphan right in front of them had actually been accepted into Imperial University?!
What did this mean? It meant this boy was about to leave C-07 behind forever and soar straight to the top.
The old director’s previous disdain instantly vanished. His wrinkled face practically bloomed with flowers: “Kid, such wonderful news-- why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Qing” looked at him in confusion, as if he didn’t understand why the old man suddenly became friendly.
The greasy police officer stepped back, looking at the teenager with a complicated expression.
After seeing the letter, the officer felt a trace of regret. Dark-skinned or not, the boy’s delicate features and beautiful eyes were the type that many powerful people would like. Even if the boy was just a Beta, the officer could’ve used him to climb higher. But this boy had been accepted into Imperial University…
Everyone knew that because Imperial University’s acceptance rate was so low, every student was a genius among geniuses. Therefore, the school’s protection of its students was excessive.
If a student didn’t register on time, Imperial University would investigate the reason down to the last detail. Imperial University’s influence was not something even planetary governors could afford to cross.
As unwilling as the officer was, he gave up on this prey. He curtly said goodbye and left.
After the officer left, the old director smiled widely at Shen Qingzhu: “Good child, I’ll make sure your acceptance is widely known! I’ll call a reporter right now! Let the whole planet know and celebrate you!”
“At that time, the government will definitely give you a huge bonus!”
The old man’s eyes shone as if he could already see the rain of star coins falling into his lap.
Shen Qingzhu interrupted him, and said slowly: “Director, that won’t be necessary.”
“I’ve already bought a starship ticket to leave in the evening. I’ll be leaving soon, so I’m afraid I won’t have time for any interviews.”
“Also…” Shen Qingzhu watched with satisfaction as the old man’s smile fell. “I’m actually here to check-out my room.”
“Since I only stayed a few days this month, can you refund me the remaining rent?”
⋅ ˚ ₊ ‧ ୨୧ ‧ ₊ ˚ ⋅
Even after leaving the orphanage and walking far away, Shen Qingzhu was still savoring the picture of the old director’s pained and reluctant expression.
His emerald eyes curved happily. With the deterrent power of Imperial University’s admission letter, he knew that no one in C-07 would cause him trouble.
Shen Qingzhu still had some time before he had to leave. He asked Zhujian: “Where’s the nearest pharmacy?”
Following Zhujian’s direction, Shen Qingzhu strolled through the underground city. Planet C-07’s surface environment was extremely harsh, so most people lived underground. Only the wealthy and powerful could afford to live in the expensive cities on the surface.
In Shen Qingzhu’s original world, he had always lived in the well-off surface city after being determined to carry the Super-O gene. He had never really seen the underground city before.
With the interstellar’s advanced technology, the living conditions underground weren’t terrible aside from the lack of sky and natural light.
But “not terrible” basically meant barely livable.
Without natural light, most plants couldn’t grow. And humans developed various physical and psychological issues after long-term deprivation of sunlight. This was especially bad for Omegas, being sensitive to their environment.
Therefore, there was a running joke on the StarNet calling Omegas “delicate flowers that could only grow above ground.”
Tsk.
Since it was a workday, the streets were empty. Occasionally, when someone saw the dull, gloomy Shen Qingzhu from afar, they’d take a detour to avoid him.
In his more than twenty years of life, this was the first time Shen Qingzhu had experienced being ignored by strangers. It felt a little novel, and a little exciting.
This made Shen Qingzhu more aware that he had really become an Alpha.
..Or maybe it had more to do with his bad haircut and painfully washed out outfit.
When he reached the pharmacy, Shen Qingzhu found what he needed for his trip: disposable protective suits, white gloves, a filtration mask, and motion sickness pills.
After getting his money refunded, Shen Qingzhu’s bank account now had a grand total of… 326 star coins.
Even after choosing the cheapest brands, he was left with less than a hundred star coins.
Shen Qingzhu, who had never been so poor in his life: =.=
But he wasn’t done yet.
There was still one more thing he absolutely needed, but he couldn’t find anywhere in the pharmacy.
After asking the self-service robot with no luck, he finally approached the pharmacy’s only human clerk. She was a young Beta woman, and when facing Shen Qingzhu’s drab appearance, she didn’t show any disrespect.
Shen Qingzhu told her his request.
She froze, and then leaned over the counter with wide eyes: “Sorry, what did you say you needed???”
Shen Qingzhu: …There was no need to be so surprised.
He cleared his throat lightly and asked again in a gentle voice: “I need a pheromone suppression ring for Alphas. Does your store have them?”