Forcibly Marked by My Fiancé’s Best Friend - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A high-speed nuclear missile had struck the “Lakala” operational headquarters. Repairing the damage and waiting for reinforcements would take at least three months, during which they had to remain in hiding. Operations against the Imperial Planet were forced into a hiatus for reorganization until a new batch of elite reserves, equipped with the latest research-developed mechs, could arrive at the front lines. Only then could the remaining elite forces of the Empire catch their breath.

…………

At the upper levels of the Star Tower, Lian Xu had just finished the final wave of combat. He hadn’t even had time to change his sweat-soaked suppression patch before he was summoned to the Operations Center Group by an emergency order. The encrypted file sent to his optical computer read: “Establishment of the Supreme Administrative Command Center and Appointment of the Supreme Administrative Commander.” All personnel involved in the Lakala operation were required to attend.

The makeshift Operations Center was cramped, barely able to hold the survivors of the mission.

Lian Xu scanned the room.

To his knowledge, approximately 2,000 personnel had participated in this mission, yet the people crowded into this narrow meeting room numbered barely over a hundred. Some were even in wheelchairs, pushed in by their comrades.

After a year of brutal warfare, the casualties were heavy. All this effort had only managed to force “Lakala” into hiding; they were far from being completely crushed. According to senior command analysis, they would make a comeback within three months.

When that happened, it would be another grueling battle.

But they no longer had an elite force capable of fighting, and even the mechs were…

Were they really expected to rely on these hundred-odd lingering survivors to fight?

“Cough… don’t say that. You and I only kept our lives because the Commander saved us. The Commander is young and headstrong, but there’s no denying his strength is far above ours. In fact… he might be the most powerful and brilliant soldier the Empire has seen in years.”

The speaker was the deputy leader of the Lakala operation, General Pei. He had performed outstandingly in this war and was likely to be promoted from a four-star to a five-star general.

Although Lian Xu had never seen him in person, he knew of the “Commander” General Pei spoke of. He had heard that the man had single-handedly swept through two of Lakala’s top elite teams, driving the mangled wreckage of a mech straight to their headquarters to rescue hundreds of prisoners, sending “Lakala” scurrying for cover in a panic. He had launched a high-speed nuclear missile at close range, ensuring he and the prisoners remained unscathed while completely obliterating the base.

Otherwise, they might not have even had the chance to stand in this meeting room for a brief respite.

However, Lian Xu had also heard that after forcing Lakala into retreat, the Commander had executed every single one of those hundreds of prisoners. Not a soul was left alive. No one knew what happened in between, and even the Cabinet Ministers, upon hearing the news, did not dare to bring him back for interrogation.

One must realize that the Commander’s act of harming his own compatriots was a severe violation of Star Tower regulations.

“Heh, if it weren’t for the Emperor’s favoritism, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for his crimes!” The man standing next to General Pei seemed to have a deep grievance against this Commander.

Lian Xu thought back to the secret order: “Supreme Administrative Commander”—a title he had never heard of before.

With a creak, the doors to the meeting room swung open.

A young officer dressed in a white-and-blue military uniform entered. His shoulder straps were embroidered with the Empire’s rarest and most precious gold and silver threads, and two staggered silver chains hung from the bottom of his metallic chest insignia.

“—A white-and-blue uniform?”

The crowd stared in shock at the young man and the two equally young and striking male Alphas beside him.

For meetings, officers were required to wear uniform black military dress with standard shoulder and chest insignias. The highest-ranking officers wore white-and-gold, much like the two figures on the stage.

Because the war had just ended and the secret order was issued so suddenly, those fresh from combat hadn’t had time to change into proper attire, still bearing the marks of the battlefield. They stood in stark contrast to the uniquely dressed officer on stage.

“Greetings, everyone. I am the Supreme Administrative Commander of the Command Center, Shen Zaizhou. I was also the field commander for the Lakala operation; I presume you have heard of me.”

“—What?!”

“The field commander? What is the Command Center? Does the Empire even have such an operational unit? And a ‘Supreme Commander’—is His Majesty trying to create a brand new operations center?”

The crowd below whispered amongst themselves.

These were all officers who had rushed straight from the battlefield to the meeting room. They had only skimmed the orders on their optical computers, lacking the energy to study the exact contents. They were waiting to hear the Commander’s live explanation.

Lian Xu had also only managed a quick glance at the file after entering the room.

He looked up at the three men on stage. The Commander was indeed young, but the powerful aura he projected exerted an invisible pressure that felt almost suffocating.

Suddenly—

The main screen in the meeting room flickered to life, showing the Emperor of the Empire in his palace. As His Majesty slowly raised his hand, everyone’s attention was instantly captivated. A golden badge shimmered in the sunlight; it was identical to the young man’s chest insignia, except the Emperor’s was solid gold, while the young man’s was rimmed with a circle of silver.

“As of today, the Imperial A-Tower Command Center shall exist alongside the B-Tower Cabinet, working in tandem to ensure the stability of the Imperial Planet. I hereby appoint Shen Zaizhou as the Supreme Administrative Commander, with full authority over the Command Center. In its initial phase, Commander Shen Zaizhou will conduct evaluations to select the core internal members.”

“You are all elites who have endured the cruelties of war. I believe the Commander will select the best candidates from among you to become members of the Command Center and work together to repel foreign enemies.” His Majesty stood up and bowed deeply to the crowd. “I thank you for your selfless dedication, which has allowed the Empire to survive until now.”

The crowd hurriedly bowed back, expressing their most sincere greetings to the Emperor.

As the screen faded to black, the crowd processed His Majesty’s words, finally understanding the true meaning of the secret order.

The Emperor had established the Command Center and given Shen Zaizhou—the first-ever Supreme Administrative Commander—total control. The Command Center was located in A-Tower, the place closest to the Emperor, which demonstrated its significance in His Majesty’s heart.

Shen Zaizhou announced to the group that the Command Center was officially established as of today. Eight officers would be selected to join the internal Command Center to manage related affairs, with a three-month probationary period.

In other words, these were only preliminary appointments. Whether they could truly stay in the Command Center depended on passing the evaluations personally designed by the Commander. Furthermore, the official appointments were set for five days after the Lakala operation was fully concluded.

Before the formal appointments, every one of the hundred-plus elite officers present had a chance to enter the Command Center.

While they weren’t yet clear on what exactly the Command Center would entail, they knew one thing: it was personally established by the Emperor, or rather, specifically created for Shen Zaizhou’s status as Supreme Administrative Commander.

The Cabinet would no longer hold absolute power; the establishment of the Command Center stripped them of their final say.

In the future, if the Cabinet wanted to do anything, they would have to consult with the Command Center first before making a decision.

Lian Xu smiled to himself. The Cabinet’s good days were finally over. Regardless of what the Commander’s ultimate goal was, the establishment of a Command Center led by him was a cause for excitement.

Lian Xu, who was busy mentally mocking the Cabinet, was suddenly stunned when he heard his own name.

“Lian Xu, Male Omega, age 22, four-star Lieutenant General. For outstanding performance in the Lakala operation, you are hereby appointed as the Head of the Military Operations Group of the Command Center. The evaluation period is three months. If there are no objections, please swear an oath to the Commander that you will be absolutely loyal to His Majesty and the Command Center, strictly abide by the Command Center’s officer regulations, and strictly execute all orders issued by the Commander.” A blonde officer, who usually looked quite carefree, spoke with cold, stern gravity as he delivered the appointment.

Lian Xu looked up and blinked.

The secret file had mentioned the distribution of responsibilities for core members. Aside from the Commander and two Deputy Commanders, there were five groups, each with a primary person in charge—the Group Head.

And he had actually been appointed as the Head of the Military Operations Group.

The other groups were overseen by the two Deputy Commanders, but the Military Operations Group reported directly to Commander Shen Zaizhou.

What an incredible honor.

Only an hour had passed since he arrived at the meeting room, and Lian Xu had already been appointed as a core internal member of the Command Center.

This was even more unbelievable than being promoted from a four-star Lieutenant General to a five-star General.

Because of this, officers who outranked him did not hide their expressions of disdain.

Lian Xu’s mood fluctuated wildly; one second he was feeling smug, and the next he was crushed by the scrutinizing, contemptuous glares of the crowd. It was hard enough for an Omega to reach his current rank, yet now a young Omega Lieutenant General was being allowed into such an authoritative place as the Command Center.

They began to doubt the “weight” of this new Commander and his intelligence.

Unexpectedly, the Commander completely ignored the whispers and the blatant disdain of the crowd, looking at Lian Xu and saying calmly, “Lieutenant General Lian Xu, if there are no objections, please take the oath.”

That cold voice woke Lian Xu like a sleeping lamb. The powerful pressure returned, and Lian Xu pushed everything else aside, instinctively raising his right fist to his left chest to swear the oath.

“I swear that I will be loyal to His Majesty and the Command Center. If I commit any act of concealment, disloyalty, or betrayal, I shall voluntarily surrender my uniform and military status, submitting to the judgment of the Imperial Supreme Military Court. My descendants shall be forever barred from entering the Star Tower, and I shall have no grievances!”

After the oath was finished, his heart was pounding. The Commander looked down at Lian Xu from his elevated position. His cold eyes softened slightly, carrying a trace of sympathy and pity.

Only after he looked away did Lian Xu finally snap out of it, taking deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Despite the Commander being so young—the records showed he was only 19—he was more composed than most senior officers. He even occasionally showed that god-like look of pity for all living things, which made Lian Xu intensely curious about what kind of person the Commander really was.

Half an hour later.

The appointments ended, and the meeting concluded, signaling the start of the evaluation period.

Lian Xu watched the three commanders leave in an orderly fashion, feeling as though he were in a dream. He never thought he would live to see the day the Cabinet’s political power was so drastically curtailed.

He left the meeting room and returned to his dormitory to pack his bags.

Even though it was only a probationary period, those selected would inevitably come into contact with the core operational secrets of the Command Center. Therefore, Shen Zaizhou had arranged new independent dormitories for each of them.

Starting today, Lian Xu had to move.

“Where are you going with your things?”

A man emerged from the shower wrapped in a towel. Seeing Lian Xu busy packing, the man—who usually never paid attention to this Omega—suddenly felt a surge of irritation and an urge to interfere.

Lian Xu’s hand paused mid-pack, and he frowned slightly.

This man never asked about his whereabouts.

“The Commander arranged new dormitories and required me to move there.”

“Heh.” Yin Zhuo let out a cold laugh. So, he was a dog for that newly appointed Command Center now. “Don’t forget your status.”

Hearing this, Lian Xu felt a lump in his throat. He had never wanted to acknowledge his “status,” or rather, Yin Zhuo never dared to let anyone know what that status was.

“I know,” Lian Xu said.

Ying Zhuo’s veins suddenly popped. He threw down his towel and grabbed Lian Xu’s wrist, his grip tightening violently. An Alpha with a terrifyingly high physical strength—a wrist-force value of 18,000—was now forcefully squeezing the wrist of an Omega who looked fragile in comparison.

“You know? If you knew, you wouldn’t betray me by turning around and joining the ranks of that bullshit Commander!”

As the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, Yin Zhuo had naturally known about the establishment of the Command Center earlier than others, but he had never mentioned it.

Thus, standing in that meeting room today, Lian Xu had been completely blindsided.

“I didn’t betray you!” Lian Xu retorted, though his tone wasn’t particularly forceful. “The Commander personally appointed me; how could I refuse? Besides, it’s only a tentative appointment. I have to pass the evaluation to officially enter the Command Center.”

They called it an evaluation, but both men knew in their hearts that once the Commander personally handpicked someone, their entry into the Command Center was essentially a done deal. The evaluation period was more of a transition.

After all, even when he was just a field commander, Shen Zaizhou had a thorough understanding of everyone’s combat performance and various abilities.

Lian Xu himself hadn’t seen the Commander on the battlefield, but after the meeting, he heard from General Pei that the reason this operation succeeded was that on the night before departure, the Commander had discarded the original plan provided by the Cabinet and drafted a new one himself.

All the combat plans for the past year had been executed according to the Commander’s orders. No one could believe that the final, desperate victory was due to a single piece of paper the Commander had scribbled in the face of imminent danger. Several experienced generals had analyzed the discarded Cabinet plan on the battlefield and realized that if they had followed it, they wouldn’t have lasted six months before being totally wiped out.

How could he not be convinced by a Commander with such decisiveness and wisdom?

Yin Zhuo, however, acted as if he had heard a massive joke and laughed coldly. He knew the Emperor wanted to set up a Command Center for Shen Zaizhou, but he hadn’t expected the Emperor to give him so much power—it was a blatant insult to the Cabinet.

The Cabinet’s power had been halved; all areas related to combat were re-assigned to the Command Center, and even the core manufacturing rights for mechs were handed over to Shen Zaizhou.

It was hard to say what the Emperor was thinking right now.

Yin Zhuo gripped Lian Xu’s wrist and leaned in, pressing him down, his eyes filled with resentment and fury: “Lian Xu, don’t forget that you are my fiancé. Behind you stands the entire Cabinet!”