Translated by Eve
Edited by Juurensha and Serefina
Adonis would naturally cut Lin Zhan some slack. Not only because Lin Zhan was this world's protagonist, but also because he had long since planned to have him be his successor, as per the original plot, to prepare for Adonis' future fake death.
—-This was the first time that Adonis looked forward to a war breaking out.
The fact that Sui Yuan wanted to cooperate with him on this made Adonis feel extremely happy. As such, he began to plan his and Sui Yuan's life after their "sacrifice" even more meticulously and thoroughly. After all, they were likely going to settle down in this world for the rest of their lives. Adonis absolutely didn't want for his sweetheart to suffer even the smallest grievance.
Speaking of which, aside from the troublesome Omega pheromones that could suppress and attract Alphas, Adonis was extremely satisfied with this world. This was because the technology was advanced and life was convenient. Furthermore, evolution made everyone's lifespan very long. Their nation was also rich and powerful, and everyone lived peacefully. The most important point was that Alphas could also impregnate Betas, though the probability was rather low.
Anyways, since there were quite a few Beta-Beta couples that could have children, then he, as an Alpha, should be able to impregnate his partner.
When he thought about Sui Yuan holding their child in his arms, Adonis…Tch, why did he feel a bit unhappy?
When he thought of how Sui Yuan frequently played with the Crystal Beast while ignoring him, Adonis decided to push worrying about having a child for later, and also pondered over just straightforwardly discarding the idea altogether.
—-Sui Yuan can only belong to him. He can only look at him. A child is unnecessary.
An Alpha's possessive nature and Zhao Xihe's original controlling nature combined well. As such, his new temperament that came from fusing these two traits was even more intense than each individually.
Sui Yuan naturally didn't know what Adonis was planning in secret. If he had known, he would absolutely be ready to grind this possessive pervert into a bloody paste.
After spending their lunch break digesting the news of "Zheng Yu and General Adonis are having an affair" that made people feel sad, the trainees gradually regained their focus during the afternoon training.
All in all, although they were young and inexperienced, they were the top students of the military school. They were outstanding talents that had been chosen to become Mecha Fighters. No matter if it was their willpower or their endurance, both were above average. The most important part was to keep their own identities in mind.
Since even the instructors hadn't wanted to get involved in this matter, then they definitely didn't have a say in it. Only an idiot would unnecessarily argue and offend someone they shouldn't offend before getting expelled! So, as trainees, they only needed to carry on as usual. At most…….they could only discreetly suck up to Sui Yuan.
Thus, when Sui Yuan resolutely abandoned Adonis' residence and returned to his own dorm room to rest, he discovered that his roommate treated him with much more enthusiasm than before.
"Yi? You want to eat at the cafeteria tonight? Is the General not going to come bring you dinner?" His roommate's eyes widened in astonishment. What had nearly tumbled out of his mouth was: To give up such a delicious meal and drink nourishment fluid instead, you have to be really stupid!
"…I'm not actually spoiled to the point where I can't drink nourishment fluid," Upon hearing his roommate's implication, Sui Yuan fell silent. He decided to rectify his reputation.
"I didn't think that at all," his roommate coughed awkwardly, "I just feel that..it would be better if the stalemate between you and the general didn't last too long. After all, from what I see, he really cares about you. He treats you so well."
To this, Sui Yuan continued to stay silent. He obviously also knew this, but he also thought that he should teach the general a lesson.
"…Whatever. I won't say anything more. As long you have a sense of propriety, that's fine," his roommate shrugged and patted Sui Yuan on the shoulders comfortingly, "To tell you the truth, if you really aren't going back there tonight, I'm afraid that I won't be able to sleep well tonight."
Sui Yuan glanced at him, eyes full of skepticism.
"That's because I think that after sleeping half the night, our room will be invaded by someone. You understand, right……" His roommate teased him, looking "sad", glancing at the dorm's door with a look of pity.
Sui Yuan: "………………"
—-Now that he mentioned it, according to Adonis' character, this was definitely a possibility!
Since he wasn't certain of what was happening on Lin Zhan's end and wasn't sure whether the Alpha pheromones had dissipated from his body yet, Sui Yuan only used the communication device to call Lin Zhan and didn't go find him in person.
Once Sui Yuan received Lin Zhan's reply– that he was still going to temporarily stay at the dorms, away from places with Alphas– he went to the cafeteria with several other Beta trainees, their arms around one another's shoulders.Very soon, he saw Adonis, who had been waiting for him at the cafeteria entrance for a long time.
The originally noisy cafeteria quieted down. Everyone held their breaths as they lowered their heads to mind their own business. At first glance, it felt like he had entered a funeral hall—the cause for this was the obviously displeased Gate God standing by the door and exuding a cold pressure.
The trainees that originally had wrapped their arms around Sui Yuan's shoulders hastily withdrew their hands. They retreated to a safe distance. They tried their best to not toe Adonis' bottom line.
Alphas were possessive creatures. They were extremely protective of their Omegas. Even though it was a Beta now…there probably wasn't much of a difference.
Indeed, when the trainees around Sui Yuan displayed their tactful behavior , General Adonis' expression became much better. He even lowered himself to nod at them.
Immediately, the Beta trainees were all overwhelmed by his favour, practically to the point of having tears stream down their faces. They escorted the reluctant Sui Yuan to Adonis. Soon after, not showing even an inkling of friendship, they pushed him into the general's arms.
Adonis wrapped an arm around Sui Yuan's waist. His other hand restrained his struggling arms. His face that originally had a wintry chill instantly became warm, as if spring had arrived with blooming flowers. The corner of his mouth rose into a smile, and he gave everyone a positive 'Well done, I will remember all of you' expression.
The Beta trainees saluted their beloved idol and senior officer, barely restraining their excitement. Soon after, they rushed into the cafeteria, leaving the two people alone. The people in the cafeteria also silently watched this scene and glared at these trainees who had 'sold their friend for personal gain' with hate and jealousy. They wished it could've been them.
Sui Yuan who was sold out: "………………"
"Do you want me to accompany you in drinking the nourishment fluid, or do you want to accompany me to eat dinner?" Adonis lowered his head and looked at Sui Yuan's discontented face, his tone relaxed and enticing.
Understanding that the other's key words were 'accompany' and 'together', Sui Yuan resigned himself to his fate with a sigh and chose the latter.
At the Mecha Training Camp, Adonis deserved to be called a crafty man of many guiles. To maintain a cold war while surrounded by his fanboys was virtually impossible! Sui Yuan, who wasn't originally the type to stay angry, very quickly caved under the vast ocean that was the 'collective strength of the people' and Adonis' sugar-coated bullets.
Adonis who was able to coax his beloved, exhaled a breath of relief. He didn't know how many times he's thanked the gods that his beloved was a silly-cute person and not someone who was fierce and strong-willed. Otherwise, his previous actions and display of 'harming others for his own personal gain' would not only prevent him from being able to win him over but would also force his beloved to thoroughly break off all relations with him and consider them irreconcilable enemies.
—-It was just a pity that he had yet to discover that beneath Sui Yuan's silly-cute appearance, he was unyieldingly stubborn. Furthermore, this kind of behaviour–where he did not say a word, yet had actually had already planned stratagems to prevent objections from being raised by others — caught people unprepared, making them feel endlessly remorseful.
"So what you're saying is that you want to cultivate Lin Zhan to be your successor, as per the plot?" Sui Yuan stuffed a chunk of meat into his mouth and chewed on the delicious morsel.
"Yes. After all, we already planned to find an opportunity to fake our deaths during the war. Lin Zhan is the best candidate to stabilize the morale of the troops–After all, he has the protagonist's halo," Adonis deadpanned while placing Sui Yuan's favourite foods in front of him.
"…Anyway, the case of Alphas and Betas being together isn't a big deal, so there shouldn't be a need to fake our deaths, right?" Sui Yuan knitted his brows slightly. He really liked Mechas, and the earlier they completely deviate from the plot, the earlier he'd have to leave…..
"I know," Adonis nodded his head to show his understanding, "However, if we are separated from our systems, we'll become normal people. We won't have their life-saving protection anymore. I can't be certain that you and I will survive the war unscathed," Adonis rubbed Sui Yuan's rough, black hair. He smiled a bit helplessly, "I don't want to see anything bad happen–any accident that could take you away from me."
Sui Yuan hung his head, cheeks puffed, seemingly engrossed in eating. He didn't react to the way Adonis used every single opportunity to confess to him.
However, he knew that he himself felt bitter remorse, remorse but not the slightest bit of regret or hesitation.
He quickly sorted out his emotions and raised his head. His clear eyes were full of trust, holding no hints of confusion, "Ok. I understand. Actually, I don't like the battlefield. At most, I just find mechas to be quite interesting."
"Although you can't operate a real mecha once you leave the army, you can operate virtual mechas. Besides, even as a Mecha Fighter, you can't pilot your mecha everywhere everyday anyway. If it's not during war times, they're really strict about it," Adonis consoled him with a smile and did not notice Sui Yuan's brief moment of strange behavior.
0007 wound around them, pensive.
Because he felt remorseful and because the time in which they could be together visibly became shorter and shorter, Sui Yuan quickly abandoned his anger towards Adonis. He swiftly returned to his previous good temper from even before their relationship had gone public. As a result, Adonis became increasingly insatiable, deliberately flaunting how in love they were as if they were 'stuck together by glue'. It was so sweet that it blinded all the single dogs' eyes.
"So it seems that everyone is equally stupid when they fall into the river of love," a General, who specifically took advantage of a hard-to-come-by holiday to go spectate, sighed ruefully to his equally curious subordinates, "I had never imagined that Adonis could pursue a partner with that cold face of his that was as stiff as a board. However, now I know better. Not only that, but he is completely shameless. I'm pathetic compared to him!"
All his subordinates: We also want to go see! Seeking time off, ah QAQ
After Adonis had his fill (?) of sweetly passing time in their own little world, he finally started to work on the issue of cultivating Lin Zhan under Sui Yuan's impatient urging.
Although he was cold-hearted and felt no sense of kinship or responsibility towards the this world's army, Adonis also knew what the idiom 'no eggs stay intact under an overturned nest' meant. If Lin Zhan couldn't take over when Sui Yuan and himself 'died fighting', and the war ended in their defeat, then the two of them could not smoothly live out their simple lives.
As such, it was imperative that he cultivate Lin Zhan.
When Sui Yuan told Lin Zhan that he would be Adonis' successor, Lin Zhan, who had just settled the Omega inhibitor emergency, was stupefied.
"…What? You said that Adonis wants to choose me?!" Lin Zhan's eyes widened as he repeated Sui Yan's words incredulously.
"Yes. That's why from tomorrow on, you will come with me to receive Adonis' training," Sui Yuan nodded, patting Lin Zhan's shoulder in encouragement, "Adonis' training is quite strict. You definitely have to persevere. I'll help you."
Lin Zhan's eyebrows furrowed. His initial excitement shifted to apprehension and worry, "Why…choose me? I'm not the most outstanding trainee. Moreover, I'm not an Alpha. I'm not even a Beta. Does the General know that I'm just an Omega?"
"Why does it matter that you're an Omega? Do you think that as an Omega, you're worse off than the Betas or Alphas? Your training performance is a lot better than many of the Alphas!" Sui Yuan was unflinching, "Although I'm also not clear as to why Adonis chose you, but I believe in his insight. I believe in your potential even more."
"I…I don't know…This is just too incomprehensible…" Lin Zhan shook his head, hesitating. Although he understood that the army needed to choose a replacement for Sui Yuan after deciding to renounce him after the two became a couple, he could not understand at all why Adonis would choose himself. He was not confident at all and was full of doubt. He wondered if this was because of his pheromones.
Although he didn't want to doubt his revered childhood idol and didn't want to be narcissistic, Lin Zhan, who understood how an Omega's pheromones could heavily influence a highly compatible Alpha, couldn't help but feel cautious and want to plan ahead.
He didn't want the general to choose him just because of his pheromones or because he was an Omega. Furthermore, he didn't want his existence to be the reason his good friend would fall into an emotional predicament. Even if he greatly desired General Adonis' guidance, Lin Zhan would give up this extremely rare opportunity for his close friend.
"Don't think so much," Sui Yuan felt a bit helpless.
Omegas were meticulous by nature. They were beings that carefully thought things over. Even though Lin Zhan considered himself a Beta, he was incapable of escaping the unconscious influence of his Omega identity.
"You should know what Adonis is like. He chose you for a reason. Before, he chose me, and no one understood why. Now, he's choosing you in the same fashion. It can only be said that he has unique vision and can see things that other people can't," Sui Yuan smiled teasingly, half jokingly poking at Lin Zhan's secret worry, "It couldn't be that you suspect that he harbours evil intentions towards the Omega you?"
"Of course not!" Sui Yuan had hit the bullseye, and so Lin Zhan denied him reflexively. He ended up falling into Sui Yuan's trap.
"Then there's nothing else to say. When today's training finishes, come with me to see Adonis," Sui Yuan said decisively.
Lin Zhan hesitated before finally nodding.
Although he knew that he shouldn't interact with Alphas too much as an Omega, let alone an Alpha who was his good Beta friend's lover, Lin Zhan could not persuade himself to give up this chance–What's more, this was the decision made by Adonis, the representative of the army. Unless he were to expose his own Omega identity, he didn't have the right to refuse.
In summary, he'll take this step by step. He should believe in General Adonis. Even more, he should believe in his good friend.
Juurensha: I feel like this is very ominous for some reason….
Eve: 2 more chapters until this arc ends. And 8.11 doesn't take place in any particular world.