Chapter 1: Genetic Matching: Prince Consort? He Has No Interest At All.

Cepheus Galaxy, Capital Star, Imperial Palace of the Lacey Empire.

A young man in formal royal attire swiftly ascended the steps and entered the council hall, bowing to the man on the throne. “Royal Father, you summoned me?”

The man on the throne was the founder of the Empire’s new era, His Majesty Xize.

Xize was currently in his forties, his features still youthful. Having weathered countless storms, the man possessed a unique regal wisdom and steadiness. He was normally extremely strict with this eldest prince, but today, a rare smile touched his face. His tone was gentle as he spoke, “Luo Fei, in one more month, you will be eighteen.”

Luo Fei nodded. “Yes, Royal Father.”

Xize asked, “What would you like for a birthday gift?”

Luo Fei smiled slightly. “I would like to request a half-month vacation. Is that acceptable?”

Xize was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected his son’s desired gift to be so simple.

A half-month vacation?

Xize stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Luo Fei had been exceptionally intelligent since childhood. He had inherited the powerful genes of the Imperial couple, Xize and Lin Yuan. At the age of five, his mental power had surpassed the 300 peak that ordinary people found so difficult to reach, and he could even control an S-Class mecha. Because of this, Xize had placed extremely high expectations on this child.

Over the years, Xize had been exceedingly strict in disciplining his eldest prince, always grooming him as the heir to the throne. Ever since Luo Fei could understand, Xize had arranged an intensive curriculum, training all his abilities comprehensively. While other children were at home reading comic books, Luo Fei was already learning combat skill techniques from his teachers. While most of his peers could only do basic arithmetic, Luo Fei was calculating extremely complex mathematical formulas. While other kids only knew the current ruler was called Xize, Luo Fei could already recite the Empire’s modern history flawlessly.

Perhaps it was Xize’s advanced educational approach that made this child stand out from his peers from a young age, making him far more mature and composed than others his age.

He was clearly just an eighteen-year-old youth, yet he was always so calm and unruffled.

Perhaps he had pushed him too hard. Always demanding he act as the heir apparent, he hadn’t given the boy a vacation longer than three days in all these years.

Meeting his son’s gaze, Xize felt a pang of guilt. He stepped down from the throne to stand before his son.

An Alpha’s body grew fast. Now, Luo Fei was already as tall as his father, his frame upright and well-proportioned. His handsome features were a genetic inheritance from the royal family, with a defined, sharp jawline that looked exceptionally clean-cut. His deep brown eyes bore a seventy-percent resemblance to His Majesty Xize’s, though his face still held a hint of youthful naivety.

—No matter how calm his temperament, his age and experience were limited. He was, after all, only eighteen.

Looking at the son who resembled him so closely, Xize couldn’t help but smile warmly. He patted Luo Fei’s shoulder and asked, “You’re requesting a vacation. Do you have any plans?”

Luo Fei said frankly, “I’ve never left the Cepheus Galaxy. I want to travel around a bit before the semester starts.”

Xize nodded in understanding. Though this child had been raised in comfort since birth, he had lived at a closed-off elite school during the academic year. During holidays, he had to follow his Royal Father’s arrangements to study various subjects. He had stayed on the Capital Star for so many years, never having traveled anywhere for fun.

Luo Fei had recently finished the Empire’s unified entrance exams, achieving full marks in all subjects, earning admission to the Saint Romia Military Academy. He would be heading to university in a month. So, if he wanted to travel, he could only seize this last month.

Xize was silent for a moment. He studied Luo Fei and asked, “Luo Fei, do you ever feel that your Royal Father has been too strict with you?”

Luo Fei smiled and shook his head. “I am the First Prince. It is my duty to set a good example for my younger brothers. Royal Father is strict with me because he hopes I will mature quickly, right?”

His son’s understanding warmed Xize’s heart. Uncharacteristically, he reached out to affectionately tousle Luo Fei’s hair, lowering his voice. “It’s good you think that way. I will approve your vacation trip. You asked for half a month, but I’m granting you a full one. Go out and explore. Just remember to return before your birthday. Your Royal Father wishes to hold a grand coming-of-age ceremony for you.”

Luo Fei immediately nodded. “Understood. Thank you, Royal Father.”

Xize smiled slightly, turned, and walked back to his throne. Sitting down, he continued, “There is one more matter. According to past royal tradition, all Alpha princes coming of age undergo a genetic matching search to find a suitable Omega for betrothal. The Omega Association just sent over your genetic matching results.”

Luo Fei paused, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly before his expression settled back into calm. “Royal Father, does this mean I must follow the old royal customs? That I should pick an Omega with the highest genetic compatibility and conveniently hold an engagement ceremony at my eighteenth coming-of-age celebration?”

Xize asked, “What is your opinion on this matter?”

Luo Fei looked up at his father on the throne. His voice was earnest. “I don’t want to be engaged this early. Much less to an Omega I don’t even like. The Association’s matching results, whatever they are, will not be my standard for choosing a partner. I hope to find my future Prince Consort with my own eyes, not through some mechanical data screening.”

Despite being an eighteen-year-old youth, his words were incredibly decisive.

Xize felt admiration, but his face remained stern. “Is that so? You wish to defy royal tradition?”

Luo Fei replied, “Unreasonable traditions, in my opinion, should be abolished.”

Xize fell silent.

Standing below the steps, the young man was straight-backed and poised, neither humble nor arrogant, his eyes as bright as stars.

In a daze, Xize felt like he was transported back to his own youth, standing before his father, saying with the same calm candor: If I cannot even protect the one I love, what use is this superior Alpha gene of mine?

—He truly was a son he had personally raised.

On matters of principle, he would never compromise.

A smile touched Xize’s lips again. He nodded. “Well said. Unreasonable rules should indeed be abolished. Since you don’t like it, your Royal Father will abolish this genetic matching custom for you. Your Prince Consort will be your own choice.”

Luo Fei looked up in surprise, meeting his father’s gentle gaze.

Though the Royal Father was strict, he dearly loved his eldest son. Luo Fei felt a warmth in his chest. He smiled and said, “Thank you, Royal Father.”

Xize said, “The matching results the Association sent… are you interested in seeing them?”

The man on the throne swiped his finger across the touch optical computer before him, opening a file. A series of numbers rapidly appeared on the giant virtual holographic projection screen.

Driven by a young person’s curiosity, Luo Fei stepped forward and quickly scanned the information on the screen.

The system had screened the genetic data of all unmarried Omegas around twenty years old across the Empire, ultimately finding ten individuals with a compatibility rating over 90% with Luo Fei. Because Luo Fei was exceptionally talented, his mental power outstanding, the Omegas compatible with him were certain to have very powerful genes.

Many Omegas on the list were sons of generals or daughters of government senators. Luo Fei recognized most of them, or at least had heard the names of the ones he didn’t.

But he found one name completely unfamiliar: “Mo Lin?”

He murmured the name, a trace of confusion in his voice. “Who is this person? I’ve never heard this name before.”

Xize said, “You can look at his data.”

To protect Omega privacy, the Association’s entered data only included family introductions and genetic data; there were no real-life images.

Luo Fei opened the file. There was only one key line.

—Mo Lin, twenty years old. Youngest son of Mo Qiming, CEO of the Fengyang Group. Mother deceased.

Luo Fei had naturally heard of the Fengyang Group. It was one of the Empire’s top financial conglomerates, and its current boss was indeed Mo Qiming.

Hundreds of years ago, the Imperial Military established dedicated mecha manufacturing factories. Military mecha involved substantial classified information and couldn’t be made public. Thus, high-intelligence mecha gradually became monopolized by the Royal Family and the Military. However, with billions of citizens in the Empire, the civilian demand for domestic intelligent mecha was incredibly high. The Mo family ancestors spotted this business opportunity and built a mecha factory from scratch, starting with the simplest household mecha.

It began as a very small plant. After generations of effort, the enterprise grew ever larger, developing increasingly high-end intelligent mecha.

Today, the Fengyang Group had become one of the Empire’s top corporations. Its primary businesses were the research and development of high-end intelligent mecha, intelligent programs, software, and holographic online games. It had numerous sub-companies spread across the Empire’s major galaxies, its fields of influence vast. Fengyang Group’s market share in intelligent programs, software, gaming, and mecha now exceeded 30%. The Mo family had leapt from an unknown family in a remote starfield to an Imperial powerhouse.

This was all knowledge from his economics class. Terms like “Fengyang Group” and “Mo Qiming” frequently appeared on financial news channels. So, Luo Fei was not unfamiliar with this company. But he had never heard that CEO Mo had an Omega son named Mo Lin.

Thinking this, a faint smile crossed Luo Fei’s face. “No wonder I didn’t recognize him. Turns out he’s a second-generation rich kid.”

He generally held no good opinion of second-generation rich kids. The Alpha ones he’d met previously were mostly playboys with a gaggle of lovers. The Omegas were mostly vain and pretentious, only knowing how to spend money, spoiled to the point that even looking at them annoyed Luo Fei.

So, he had no interest in learning more about this “Mo Lin,” a rich-kid Omega.

Luo Fei directly closed the screen, looked up, and said, “Royal Father, this matching result should be ordered destroyed by the Association as soon as possible.”

“Mm. I’ve already agreed to abolish the matching system, so this result will not be leaked.” Xize glanced at the time. “You may go back now. Your Royal Father still has matters to attend to.”

“Yes.” Luo Fei saluted respectfully, turned, and left the council hall.

At the same time, Fengyang Group Headquarters.

In the corner study on the top floor of the skyscraper, floor-to-ceiling windows covering an entire wall cast the outside light unsparingly into the room. A young man sat at a desk, a coffee cup in his hand, eyes squinting like a lazy cat at the dense data on the optical computer screen before him.

After a moment, he set down his coffee and spoke. “The Omega Association suddenly called up my encrypted files. Following the tracking path, they ran a genetic compatibility analysis between my data and an Alpha’s. The analysis result… compatibility over 90%.”

He seemed to be talking to himself. His gaze at the screen was icy. “First Prince Luo Fei is about to turn eighteen. Connecting the dots, the conclusion is simple. The Omega Association is helping the First Prince with genetic matching, screening for a suitable betrothal partner. And I… was selected.”

Silence filled the room for a beat. Then, a gentle mechanical voice spoke by his ear. “Master, what is the plan moving forward?”

The young man didn’t answer. He placed his slender fingers gently on the Delete key. Line by line, the dense numbers on the screen were rapidly and visibly cleared.

The tracking traces on the network were wiped clean, as if nothing had ever happened.

The mechanical voice asked again, “Should we destroy your genetic data in the Association’s database?”

The young man shook his head. “Don’t act rashly, and don’t let anyone discover our existence. A total of ten Omegas were selected, most from prominent backgrounds. That eldest prince might not even notice me.” He rose from his seat, coffee cup in hand, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows. Gazing down at the bustling, skyscraper-filled metropolis below, the corner of his mouth lifted in a faint, cool smile. “Let’s just wait and see.”

—Prince Consort? He had absolutely no interest.

—Here, in this commercial kingdom built on money and technology… he was the true King.