Forcibly Marked by My Fiancé’s Best Friend - Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The door creaked open.

Yin Zhuo walked in and kicked the figure on the floor. Lian Xu, wrapped tightly in the quilt, remained motionless.

“Stop playing dead. Get up and eat.” He said “eat,” but it was actually just a nutrient solution. As long as it kept the Omega’s bodily functions running, Yin Zhuo didn’t care about health.

In his eyes, Lian Xu was a useless accessory. One didn’t need a “vase” on the battlefield to kill enemies; at best, he was a filler. The fact that Lian Xu had returned unscathed from the Lakala operation was, to him, unbelievable.

When the person on the floor didn’t move for a long while, Yin Zhuo frowned and crouched down to check. Seeing the Omega shivering with his eyes tightly shut, his own heart skipped a beat.

“Lian Xu! Open your eyes!”

No matter how much he called, there was no response. Yin Zhuo cursed under his breath and pressed a hand to the other’s forehead. It was as hot as freshly boiled water.

Yin Zhuo loathed physical contact with Lian Xu, but he couldn’t let a medic come into this room to treat him. He had to grit his teeth, carry the man out, dump him on the sofa, and then contact the base medic to treat the Omega.

The medic arrived post-haste after receiving the message, now bowing his head in worry as he examined the Omega on the sofa.

“Group Head Lian’s pheromones are unstable, and catching the rain has caused a slight fever. I’ll prescribe some medicine. It would be best… if you, Prime Minister, released some soothing pheromones. It would help him feel better.”

Yin Zhuo gave a faint “Mm,” looking as though he had listened, but in reality, he didn’t care at all.

The medic wanted to tell Yin Zhuo that once the Omega woke up, he should be taken for a full pheromone check-up, but looking at that grim face, he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Last time he had been bold enough to remind the Prime Minister, he had been kicked out. This time would likely be the same; the Prime Minister wouldn’t follow medical advice.

Seeing the medic hesitate, Yin Zhuo impatiently urged him to leave. “If there’s nothing else, go back. I’ll take care of him.”

As the medic reached the door, Yin Zhuo called out, “Don’t let my father know about this.”

The medic nodded and left, trembling.

Yin Zhuo fed Lian Xu the medicine and didn’t throw him back into the dark room, letting him sleep on the sofa for the night.

The medicine prescribed was a specialized formula for Omegas. After a night’s sleep, Lian Xu was mostly recovered. When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Yin Zhuo’s resentful, deathly face.

It was incredibly bad luck.

Lian Xu felt he would have been better off staying unconscious.

Seeing that he was healthy again, Yin Zhuo ruthlessly locked him back up. The fever was gone, but the heat wasn’t over yet; he couldn’t come out.

“Be good. Stay for a few more days,” Yin Zhuo said with forced kindness.

Before the door closed, Lian Xu glanced back at him. He thought the sun must have risen from the west—Yin Zhuo was actually speaking like a human.

Yin Zhuo stared at the Omega’s bright eyes, momentarily stunned.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s disgusting.”

Lian Xu: “…”

Nutcase.

He was wrong. Yin Zhuo wasn’t a human; how could he speak like one?

After locking the door, Yin Zhuo fled as if escaping a disaster.

Lian Xu spent another four days in the dark, cold room until his heat passed. During this time, Yin Zhuo delivered water and nutrient solution daily at fixed intervals. He Yu was busy training recruits and had no time to harass him.

Once the isolation ended, Lian Xu felt a weight lift. Even though he slept on the floor and the room was cold, it was better than sleeping on the floor next to Yin Zhuo’s bed.

Lian Xu applied to return to the training grounds, arriving just in time for the weekly mock assessment.

As the Head Instructor, He Yu couldn’t directly interfere with the recruits’ assessment. That task naturally fell to Lian Xu. He needed to supervise every item and keep records, ensuring every recruit performed at their true level before drafting subsequent training plans based on the results.

“Long time no see.” Yu stood by the Pheromone Threshold Tester. Seeing a noticeably thinner Lian Xu, he couldn’t resist leaning in to greet him. His finger secretly reached behind to hook onto Lian Xu’s belt.

Lian Xu glanced at him indifferently and shifted back to maintain distance.

“First group, begin,” Lian Xu said sternly.

Yu smiled. His arm reached across Lian Xu’s chest to grab the roster from the instrument. Whether intentional or accidental, the edge of the roster brushed against the Omega’s clothes as he pulled back, and his hidden fingers grazed lightly over Lian Xu’s chest.

“Qu Baijing.”

He Yu called the name nonchalantly. Lian Xu’s eyes darted to the restless Alpha, his expression shifting slightly.

“Present!” The called recruit stepped out from the middle of the line, walking to the instrument with a smile.

Yu remembered this Omega—the second-place recruit who had tried to challenge him in the cafeteria.

“Instructor He, I’m ready!” The Omega clearly hadn’t given up on He Yu. He ignored the actual proctor, Lian Xu, and gave the man calling names a wink.

“Why are you telling me? I’m just leading the squad.” The subtext was clear: You should report to the proctor, Lian Xu. He Yu then glanced quietly at Lian Xu. Seeing no emotional change on the Omega’s face, he said with a grin: “Group Head Lian, can we start?”

At this, Qu Baijing restrained his smile and turned to Lian Xu. “Group Head Lian, I’m ready.”

Lian Xu nodded slightly, not taking the disrespect to heart. He had faced enough cold shoulders and skepticism to be used to it. Especially with He Yu present, it was obvious who the recruits preferred to respect.

However, the Omega’s voice sounded familiar. He felt he had heard it somewhere before and couldn’t help but pay more attention.

The Alpha, who had been watching Lian Xu constantly, was suddenly taken aback. He looked at Lian Xu’s slightly dark expression, his hand tightening on the roster.

Lian Xu’s look… is he angry again?

But He Yu hadn’t said anything to the Omega; it shouldn’t be that.

Just then, the machine emitted a series of beeps, signaling the end of the test.

A red S flashed on the screen.

A red S signifies that the pheromones are extremely unstable.

Pheromone thresholds are categorized into three levels:

Green (A): Stable.

Yellow (B): Slight fluctuation.

Red (S): Dangerous.

Qu Baijing’s pheromone fluctuation had reached the dangerous S level, which was quite rare in the Star Tower. When a threshold reaches S, it leads to two extremes: incredible explosive power or, conversely, a state of mania where both Omegas and Alphas lose self-awareness.

Among officers with an S threshold, most fall into the former category, leading people to believe an S threshold grants more power. This leads some to chase it during training, ignoring the inherent dangers.

The recruits collectively let out a “Whoa!”

“Baijing, your threshold is actually S? No wonder you’re so good!”

Qu Baijing tilted his head and smiled proudly. “I didn’t know I was S either. I thought I was A!”

The recruits, who had been envious just a moment ago, now looked at Qu Baijing with frozen expressions. “What? He didn’t know he was S?”

The A threshold is the most stable and common; instructors have always maintained that A is the ideal state for officer training. At the very least, one should be B to ensure they don’t become uncontrollable during emergencies.

To prevent accidents during training or on the battlefield, the Star Tower prepares threshold tests for every recruit specifically to weed out those unfit for the military base.

An Omega with a high danger coefficient like Qu Baijing should have been eliminated during the pre-entry tests or subjected to secondary assessments. He shouldn’t have entered the base directly. As for how he slipped through to become a formal officer, Lian Xu wasn’t sure, but he suspected someone had meddled with the process.

Yu’s gaze was heavy as he stared at the letter on the device.

“Qu Baijing, pheromone threshold test: Failed. Next,” Lian Xu announced without hesitation.

Qu Baijing snapped his head up. “On what grounds?!”

He was an S! A rare, top-tier Omega! How could he be declared a failure?

Lian Xu rubbed his thumb and said calmly, “The last item in the Star Tower Assessment Guide Appendix, ‘Pheromone Threshold Danger Explanation’—how much of it do you remember?”

Qu Baijing’s face went white. How could he know what was in the appendix? No sane person reads the useless appendices. Weren’t they only supposed to memorize the Star Tower Regulations?

“I… I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “The exam only required memorizing the regulations. It didn’t state we had to know the guide!”

Lian Xu frowned slightly. That was a fair point.

However, he remembered the first lesson at the Star Tower Academy was a detailed explanation of the Assessment Guide. During the final exam, proctors would also remind recruits to take the threshold test. If they hit S, they had to report it to delay their entry. To prevent people from cheating their way in, a specific test was conducted before entering the base. A double insurance, and yet Qu Baijing had found a loophole.

Lian Xu asked him, “Then do you know that accepted recruits are re-tested before entry? Those with an S threshold are not allowed in without special permission.”

“This… I…” Qu Baijing was speechless, his eyes instinctively drifting to He Yu for help. “Instructor, I…”

Yu looked at him expressionlessly, saying nothing. The message was clear: if Group Head Lian says you failed, you failed. Looking at anyone else won’t help.

Lian Xu noticed the interaction. He followed Qu Baijing’s gaze to He Yu, catching them “exchanging glances.” No wonder the voice was familiar—it was this guy.

“Why? Does the instructor have something to say?”

He Yu, suddenly called out, felt a bit annoyed.

“No. I wouldn’t dare.”

Lian Xu glared at him. Wouldn’t dare, or don’t know what to say?

However, the matter of Qu Baijing hiding his threshold to enter the base wasn’t over. Now was not the time for a confrontation with He Yu.

Lian Xu turned back to Qu Baijing. “Are you planning to confess and seek leniency, or do you want your military commission revoked and to be expelled from the Star Tower?”

The crowd gasped. No one expected the consequences for hiding a pheromone threshold to be this severe!

Qu Baijing had worked hard for three years at the Academy to get into the base and become a formal officer. He could finally hold his head high in front of his family and was one step closer to the person he liked. And yet, Lian Xu wanted to kick him out for this? Why?

Besides, it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“I didn’t hide it.”

Lian Xu licked his molars. He hadn’t expected the kid to be so stubborn.

“Qu Baijing. Omega. 18 years old. Composite score of 92. One of the top graduates of the Academy. Mech piloting assessment: Grade B. Am I correct?”

Qu Baijing was shocked that Lian Xu remembered his file so clearly, even his exact scores.

“Yes…”

“Half a month ago, the military base tested the new recruits. Your result was A, correct?”

Qu Baijing remembered clearly that after his test, the machine showed S, not A. But the final published result said A.

“Yes!” He looked up at Lian Xu, the corners of his eyes reddening. “The test result was A! The score published on StarNet was A! Even if it’s wrong, it’s either a problem with the test at the time, or there’s a problem with this machine you’re using!”

He didn’t think he was in the wrong.

“Fine. Since you say it’s the machine, I’ll test it myself.”

This device was the latest “Phase One” model, twice as accurate as the ones they used before. It was fine. But to convince the recruits that there was no error, Lian Xu felt he needed to prove it personally.

Qu Baijing gave a cold laugh. Was that all?

“If Group Head Lian has misunderstood me, shouldn’t you apologize?”

Lian Xu was silent for two seconds, seemingly deep in thought. Before he could speak, He Yu stepped past him and onto the platform.

“Star Tower officers undergo pheromone threshold tests every year. My last one was a month ago, and the result was A,” He Yu said, looking back at Qu Baijing. “If my test still comes out as A, then there’s nothing wrong with the machine.”

Lian Xu: “…”

Showing off.

A month ago, the war was at its peak—there was no damn test. He stared at He Yu, his burning gaze saying: Go ahead, show off. If you don’t hit A, you’ll prove the machine is broken, and there’ll be no way to fix this mess!

He Yu gave Lian Xu a calm smile.

Lian Xu was practically fuming.

His own threshold was S, and it hadn’t changed in years. He Yu, on the other hand, had constantly fluctuating pheromones. There was no guarantee he’d hit A today.

But He Yu didn’t look worried at all.

Qu Baijing also didn’t really want He Yu to step up. Lian Xu was the one who made the accusation; he should be the one to step up.

“Isn’t this a bit unscientific…?” someone whispered.

“Then you go up? You’re crazy enough to question Group Head Lian’s words?”

There were doubters, but there were also supporters.

Faced with the recruits’ questions about the lack of rigor, there didn’t seem to be a good solution. Regardless of who tested, there was a possibility of cheating—Qu Baijing was proof of that. A recruit’s results could be falsified, and the recruits didn’t know the previous scores of the Group Head or the Instructor, so they wouldn’t be fully convinced.

Everyone fell silent.

Seeing his goal achieved, Qu Baijing smiled triumphantly.