Chapter 6

He woke up feeling like his arms, legs, and waist were about to give out. Mu Chenxing hurt all over.

He had been utterly exhausted from the previous night’s training, and the sudden medical emergency had made him completely forget to stretch. Now, his weak physical frame was staging a full-scale revolt.

Mu Chenxing sprawled flat on his bed, letting out a miserable groan.

His three roommates pitied his condition, but they showed absolutely no mercy—they dragged him out of bed and ushered him off to class.

“Can’t we just skip class today?” Mu Chenxing groaned in agony. He had zero interest in nursing studies; he was only cramming the material to avoid blowing his cover.

Tong Xiao shot back immediately, “We worked our absolute hardest to get into this military academy—we are definitely not here to skip classes!”

Xia Weizhen added, “You can slack off on anything else, but absolutely not your studies.”

Tao Xirui chimed in, “Skipping class is wrong. We’re here to learn.”

Mu Chenxing: “…”

“If you want to excel at studying, you need a strong, healthy body first,” Mu Chenxing argued, propping himself up on his desk with a grin. “Otherwise, you’ll get exhausted after reading two lines—how are you supposed to learn then? So, who wants to hit the training hall with me tonight?”

The three roommates rolled their eyes in perfect unison.

Even so, after dinner, they followed Mu Chenxing to the training hall anyway. But before allowing any workouts, they insisted on doing their homework in the Alpha basketball arena first, refusing to let Mu Chenxing sneak off alone.

Mu Chenxing knew his roommates were simply worried he would overexert himself again, so he tagged along… to copy their homework. For him right now, independent nursing assignments were as challenging as advanced calculus would be for an elementary schooler.

But copying was not an easy option either. His three soft-looking, delicate roommates were surprisingly strict about academics—no slacking was tolerated. They refused to let him copy their answers directly, but they were more than happy to explain the concepts to him.

Mu Chenxing was thrilled by this arrangement and shamelessly fired off one question after another.

After a few problems, Tong Xiao sensed that something was off. “How do you not know *any* of this basic material?”

Mu Chenxing squeezed out his best confused expression, playing dumb. “I don’t know. My mind just suddenly went completely blank on these concepts.”

Tong Xiao looked thoughtful. “Could the pheromone surge have affected your memory?” He eyed Mu Chenxing suspiciously. “And you’ve been way more energetic these past few days.”

Xia Weizhen nodded. “Yeah—maybe that Alpha’s pheromones had a biological impact on him? We just caught a whiff from a distance yesterday and felt miserable, and Xingxing was unconscious for nearly three days. There could easily be some neurological side effects.”

Tao Xirui looked worried. “Should we ask Professor Zhang to run another checkup?”

Mu Chenxing waved his hand quickly. “I already did. Professor Zhang did a full workup last night too, but he was stumped. He told me to contact the police as soon as possible to get the details of that Alpha so we can study his pheromone profile and adjust my suppressants.”

The three roommates found the explanation highly logical.

“No wonder. We just caught a whiff of the residual scent and it wrecked us—you took the full force of it directly. Who knows how severely it impacted you.”

“Those police officers, though—why did they pair you with an Alpha who has such aggressive pheromones?”

“It was probably an emergency… Xingxing just had bad luck.”

“At the end of the day, it’s still Shen Mingshu’s fault!”

“The police and Professor Zhang are handling it,” Mu Chenxing said, silently thanking his roommates for filling in the logical gaps for him. He quickly steered the conversation back to his studies. “Teach me how to solve this problem first.”

Tong Xiao thought about it. “Answering questions one by one is too tedious. Let me break down the core concepts of these two chapters for you.”

Mu Chenxing was overjoyed. “Awesome, thank you! Lunch is on me tomorrow.”

Tong Xiao tapped him lightly on the head. “Lunch? You spent a small fortune buying gifts for Shen Mingtao and his brother not long ago—you need to save your money!”

The other two nodded in agreement.

Mu Chenxing: “…”

It sounded like his family was not particularly wealthy, or the original owner of this body had splurged far too aggressively in the past. He still had no idea about his family background, but he decided to focus on the present.

As Tong Xiao began tutoring him, he realized Mu Chenxing did not even understand the most basic vocabulary. This solidified their suspicion that the pheromone surge had caused memory loss. Tong Xiao would explain a concept and curse the unknown Alpha under his breath, with Xia Weizhen and Tao Xirui chiming in.

The three of them roasted the mystery Alpha mercilessly.

Mu Chenxing felt a twinge of guilt. He silently apologized to the unknown passing Alpha in his head while enthusiastically joining in on the roasting. Then, he focused on cramming.

During the tutoring session, Mu Chenxing realized his roommates were genuine academic prodigies, especially Tong Xiao. He explained the lecture slides with crystal clarity, starting from the most fundamental concepts. In less than half an hour, Mu Chenxing actually grasped the entire chapter. It was infinitely better than fumbling through digital databases on his own.

After the three took turns lecturing him, Mu Chenxing called an end to the study session and gently coaxed them into the Omega training area. Tong Xiao and the others mumbled Cleanly, wondering if the Alpha’s pheromones had turned him into a fitness nut, and resumed cursing the unknown officer. Mu Chenxing kept his mouth shut, letting the unknown Alpha take the heat—it was not like the guy would ever know.

With last night’s emergency alarm and the roommates’ strict surveillance in mind, Mu Chenxing worked out for exactly fifty-five minutes before voluntarily stopping and heading back to the dorm with them.

Before going to sleep, he thought of the poor Alpha who had been thoroughly roasted all evening. He pulled up the registry of high-ranking police officers he had searched the previous night. Since they were all high-ranking officers, their official photos were available online. Mu Chenxing systematically eliminated them one by one. With his years of experience tracking targets and criminals, his visual identification skills were highly precise and efficient.

He pondered for a moment, poked his head out of his bed curtains, and asked his three roommates, who were currently busy applying face masks and skin moisturizers: “Can you search for the details of S-rank Alphas online?”

Tong Xiao understood instantly. “Are you trying to identify the Alpha from that night? Is he an S-rank or higher?”

“Yes,” Mu Chenxing replied. “Professor Zhang believes that the officer’s pheromones are at least S-rank. I tried searching online, but I couldn’t find a match.”

Tong Xiao frowned. “Alphas with S-rank pheromones usually rise through the military or police ranks very quickly. They should be easy to find… unless he’s a rookie?”

Xia Weizhen suggested, “Didn’t Xingxing say he ran into him in a dead-end alley? If he was out on a night patrol, he’s probably a newly graduated officer.”

Tao Xirui agreed. “If he’s a rookie who graduated this year and has been on the job for less than five months, it would indeed be difficult to find his records online.”

Mu Chenxing: “…Alright, let’s leave it at that. I’ll just wait for the police station to contact me.”

***

The next day at lunch, Mu Chenxing dined with his roommates. He ordered the same combo meal as Xia Weizhen—again, made of unfamiliar ingredients but quite delicious. He was happily eating while listening to campus gossip when his wristband vibrated. He tapped the screen to reveal an incoming call from an unknown number.

“Hello—yes, I understand. I’ll see you shortly.”

He hung up the video call and met his roommates’ questioning stares. “Where is the Omega External Affairs Office? The police department from 17th Street wants me to go over and make an official statement.”

His simple question instantly earned him three willing escorts.

The four of them quickly finished their lunch and rushed to the Omega External Affairs Office. Several school officials, their department head, and two police officers were already waiting inside.

Mu Chenxing genuinely had no recollection of the events leading up to the incident, so he was unable to answer most of their questions, starting his account from the moment he woke up in the dead-end alley.

When he mentioned that his self-inflicted wounds—the bitten tongue and the slashed thigh—were deliberate actions to maintain consciousness, the room fell silent. His roommates’ eyes welled with tears.

The subject himself was entirely calm, even reassuring his roommates: “I’m fine. I managed to stab those attackers in their vital spots a few times, so they’re probably still in quite a bit of pain.”

Everyone: “…”

The interviewing officer cleared his throat to regain control of the meeting, asking hesitantly, “Do you recall any specific dialogue from the attackers?”

Mu Chenxing thought for a moment. “Just a few crude remarks. No useful or strategic information.”

The officer frowned, speaking delicately. “If it’s not too distressing, could you repeat what they said?”

Tong Xiao and the others instantly grew tense, clutching his sleeves, while the school officials chimed in, “If it causes you any psychological stress, you don’t have to repeat it.”

*Omegas in this world are truly treated like the definition of fragility,* Mu Chenxing thought. Keeping his face completely expressionless, he calmly recited the crude remarks verbatim.

Tong Xiao and the other roommates ground their teeth in anger, while the school officials’ face darkened.

The police officers, however, looked visibly surprised. The officer taking notes asked, “Are you absolutely certain those were their exact words?”

“Yes,” Mu Chenxing replied. “Is there something wrong?”

The officer let out a relieved breath. “You were in the middle of a full pheromone surge at the time—with an A+ pheromone rating—and yet, with those attackers in such close proximity, you managed to maintain complete conscious awareness the entire time? That is highly unusual.”

Mu Chenxing: *No wonder they’re giving me such strange looks. My lack of biological common sense is showing.*

“Do you remember anything else?” the officer pressed.

Mu Chenxing shook his head. The officers asked a few more questions, but he continued to shake his head.

Their department head finally grew annoyed. “You are aware he was experiencing a severe pheromone surge and had to resort to self-harm just to maintain a shred of sanity. How much do you realistically expect him to remember under those conditions?”

Mu Chenxing paused, observing the room. No one protested the department head’s words; even the school leaders looked disapprovingly at the officers.

The officer offered an apologetic smile. “We simply want to conduct a thorough investigation.”

Before the department head could argue further, Mu Chenxing smoothly intervened. “I truly cannot recall anything else… but I would like to ask, who was the officer who assisted me that night? I would like to thank him in person. Additionally, his pheromones are exceptionally powerful, and our medical department needs to know his exact rank and pheromone traits to adjust my suppressants.”

The officer blinked and exchanged a brief glance with his colleague. “Apologies, but that officer is not from our local jurisdiction. It’s not convenient for us to disclose his identity.”

The other officer quickly added with a reassuring smile, “The residual pheromones will naturally dissipate over time, so it won’t impact your daily life.”

The subtext was clear: they were absolutely not going to share any information, not even the officer’s pheromone classification.

Mu Chenxing understood. The savior Alpha held a highly elevated position.

Once the questioning concluded and the school leaders confirmed that Mu Chenxing’s physical health was stable, they were dismissed.

Just as he and his three roommates stepped out of the building, they saw Shen Mingshu and Shen Mingtao walking in from the opposite side.

Xia Weizhen whispered, “I knew those two were suspicious.”

Mu Chenxing replied, “Not necessarily. It’s just that they were the last people I dined with before the incident, which naturally makes them the primary suspects.”

Tong Xiao agreed. “They usually completely ignore you, yet they suddenly invited you out for dinner. The timing is incredibly suspicious.”

“Let the police handle it,” Mu Chenxing said. “I’m sure they’ll uncover the truth. Let’s get back—I need to catch up on my homework.”

Over the next few days, there was no further communication from the police department. Even the Shen brothers left him entirely alone. The events of that night seemed to have quietly resolved themselves.

Mu Chenxing thoroughly searched the profiles of every high-ranking Alpha police officer available online, but still found no matches. He eventually set the matter aside, focusing entirely on his studies. Between catching up on middle and high school curricula and his daily physical conditioning, his schedule was completely packed.

With so much to do, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the weekend arrived.

***

Xia Weizhen had an elective course early on Saturday morning and left the dorm first. Tong Xiao and Tao Xirui went out to shop, while Mu Chenxing declined their invitation to study, remaining in the dorm to focus on his schoolwork.

He studied until his eyes grew blurry and his head throbbed, taking a break only when he received a message from Xia Weizhen.

Mu Chenxing had not forgotten that Xia Weizhen had mentioned being bullied, and Saturday was the only day Xia Weizhen had classes alone. He decided to walk over and check on his roommate, having already arranged to meet him for lunch at the Sixth Canteen before Xia Weizhen’s class ended.

The Sixth Canteen was located on the eastern side of the campus, close to the administrative center and the building where Xia Weizhen’s elective class was held.

By now, Mu Chenxing was fully proficient in using his wristband to navigate the campus map and transit routes. He sent a quick reply, packed up his study materials, and headed out.

When he stepped off the campus shuttle, it was not yet noon; Xia Weizhen’s class had likely not finished. With his hands slipped into his pockets, Mu Chenxing strolled casually toward the academic building to meet his roommate.

As he walked, he noticed that the oncoming students kept glancing at him, then conspicuously detoured to give him a wide berth. He was not in a rush, walking with slow, deliberate steps, and there was no one following him. Yet, students several meters away would repeatedly glance at him, then quicken their pace to move ahead of him.

He narrowed his eyes.

Previously, when he was walking with his roommates, he had assumed that people giving them a wide berth was simply a polite gesture to yield the path to a group. Now that he was alone, the behavior was unmistakable.

And those swerving to avoid him—were they all Alphas?

“…He’s coming this way, do we need to evacuate?”

“No need. He’s not the same green kid from back then; there’s no reason to evacuate. Even if you stood right next to him now, you wouldn’t feel a thing—wait, why do I smell his pheromones?”

“Must be a mirage. He’s currently hundreds of light-years away on a mission, and you just said yourself he has perfect control over his scent.”

“True. It’s probably just a mixture of the crowd’s pheromones blending together into a similar scent.”

Mu Chenxing stopped in his tracks, staring thoughtfully at the two middle-aged Alphas who had just brushed past him in the crowd.

He recalled Shen Mingshu’s words about him “reeking of some random wild man’s scent.”

He lifted his sleeve to his nose and sniffed. He could only smell the clean, crisp scent of laundry detergent.

What on earth are these Alphas smelling on me?