I Married A Proud, Beautiful Omega First, Then Fell In Love - Chapter 15

The thirty-minute basic assessment concluded swiftly, and all participating students were teleported back to the original assembly hall.

Some students could not stomach a real battlefield. Even though their time had expired without their kill counts breaking into the single digits, they were left ashen-faced by the mangled corpses of the Zerg and the stench of viscous fluids. The moment they were teleported back, their legs gave out, and they collapsed, retching up bile.

The remaining students were considerably calmer. Though their physical strength was heavily depleted after experiencing the intense, full-simulation combat, they persisted in standing upright to maintain the dignity and poise of a warrior. Holding their breath, they stood within their designated grid lines, staring at the light screen that was about to announce the results.

They knew their specific kill counts and were certain whether they had passed; looking at the screen now was merely to see their ranking.

This recruitment drive was aimed at the Capital Star. Most of those participating in the assessment were children of the nobility—flowers raised in a greenhouse. They were proud and cared deeply about their grades and “face.” If they appeared weaker than others, they would likely face the cold mockery and ridicule of their peers.

At that moment, the final tallies were being processed. Data streams flickered rapidly across the light screen. Adam watched the screen, wearing a smug, determined smile, as if first place were already in his pocket.

“Settlement complete. Results will be announced immediately,” the cold electronic voice announced.

Adam looked over expectantly, waiting for the victor’s coronation. However, once the tidy rankings appeared, he scanned them quickly, and his expression instantly turned ugly. His chest heaved, filled with fury.

First Place: Motin Points: 42

It wasn’t him.

“This is impossible!” Adam shouted immediately, drawing sideways glances from those around him. In particular, a black-haired Omega did not hide his mocking gaze at all, causing Adam’s rage to flare, nearly losing his mind.

“How is it impossible? Are you saying it’s impossible for an Omega to defeat an Alpha and take first place?”

The black-haired Omega looked over with a smile. His peach-blossom eyes were curved, yet they radiated a dangerous aura that made people involuntarily shiver.

Adam’s expression shifted for a moment. As a member of the nobility, he could not make discriminatory remarks about Omegas in a public setting. Furthermore, he recognized the black-haired Omega in front of him: it was Motin, the grandson of Mo Nanshan, the General of the Capital Military District. He was not someone to offend lightly.

Just as he was about to explain, Will, standing behind him, suddenly pulled at him and said, “Brother, I don’t see myself on the list of those who passed. But we… I clearly killed enough Zerg! Is there a problem with the data statistics?”

Adam retracted his intended words and pivoted: “Right, there must be a problem with the data! Let’s go ask Principal Douglas. He certainly won’t let such an injustice happen!”

Having finished speaking, he turned away under Motin’s half-smiling gaze. He thought he had rid himself of the person, but Motin, never one to miss out on the excitement, followed them. “I’ll go with you. I happen to be looking for my grandfather anyway.”

An announcement sounded outside the observation room. Douglas and Mo Nanshan exchanged a look. Douglas turned his leather chair toward the door, crossed his legs, and rested his combat boots casually on the edge of the raised floor. He said flatly, “Enter.”

The scene Adam and his companions walked into was this: the man leaning casually in his seat, dressed in military uniform yet looking wild and unrestrained. His gaze swept over them wantonly with an air of condescension.

“Is there something the matter?” Douglas asked.

“General Douglas, Will and I clearly killed a number of Zerg exceeding the required passing line, yet we aren’t on the ranking list. There must be a mistake!” Adam clenched his fists, deeply irritated by Douglas’s attitude as he questioned him indignantly.

Will was also very angry. “My brother was the top student at the Imperial Military Academy. How could he fail to even pass the basic assessment? Someone must be playing tricks!”

Douglas listened to their accusations with a good-tempered air, then let out a laugh. The sound fell nonchalantly into the quiet space, making the Albert brothers suspect he had discovered something. For a moment, their minds were in disarray, and a feeling of guilt began to surface.

Will’s psychological resilience was weaker than Adam’s. While Adam was merely momentarily dazed, Will was already breaking out in a cold sweat, his gaze shifting away as his confidence wavered.

“So, you two brothers suspect my assessment is unfair?” Douglas said slowly. “Or do you think my management skills are so poor that someone was able to find a loophole to target you?”

The blame was dropped squarely on them. Adam’s face turned a bit pale. He wanted to retort directly, but he didn’t dare. After all, although the man before him was of “lowly blood,” he was nominally on equal footing with Adam’s own mother.

Thus, he adjusted his emotions, steadied himself slightly, and managed a forced smile. “How could that be? An assessment personally supervised by General Douglas must be absolutely fair. But even with the fairest things, accidents happen. We simply have questions about the results; appealing is a student’s right. Surely General Douglas wouldn’t be unable to satisfy such a basic request?”

Douglas found it nauseating to watch him use such high-sounding words to make excuses for himself. He lost his patience and said bluntly, “I was the one who cancelled your results. You know perfectly well what you did, however…”

Before he could finish, Will interrupted in a panic, as if triggered. “I don’t know what General Douglas is talking about.”

The interruption caused a flash of chilling coldness to cross Douglas’s eyes. His blade-like gaze made Will lower his head in guilt. He then turned to Adam, looking at his pale face, and asked, “You really don’t know?”

This matter had been decided and handled behind the scenes by his mother; it was supposed to be seamless, with no evidence to be found. Adam steadied his mind, feigned a normal appearance, and frowned. “Yes, we don’t know. We hope General Douglas can enlighten us.”

He was gambling. He bet that even if Douglas had discovered it, he had no evidence and wouldn’t bring it out into the open. Based on the fact that he was a member of the Albert family, Douglas couldn’t possibly be so disrespectful!

To his surprise, Douglas heard this and said, “In that case, Poria, show them the records. Let them understand what they were doing while they ‘didn’t know’.”

Poria immediately activated the light screens. At that moment, the hundreds of screens in the observation room merged into one large wall-sized display. The screen turned from black to deep blue, seemingly ready to play the “evidence of their crimes.”

Adam’s eyelid twitched. He hadn’t expected Douglas to not only have evidence but to display it so unreservedly for everyone present to see. Although there weren’t many people in the observation room, there were outsiders… Adam glanced at Motin standing behind Mo Nanshan; the other’s obsidian-like eyes were filled with interest.

He fully believed that if this person saw the evidence of his and Will’s guilt, the noble circles would be filled with rumors about it by the next day.

Damn it.

Adam gritted his teeth and stopped it. “Fine, don’t play it.”

He paused for a moment to compose himself. “However, what does General Douglas intend to do? My mother just provided you with a group of excellent Fine Arts faculty members, and you treat us so mercilessly. Isn’t that a bit ungrateful?”

Douglas was genuinely amused by his words. Clearly, they were the ones who cheated first, yet now he, who was upholding fairness, had become the heartless executioner. It was evident that in the eyes of these nobles, there was no sense of fairness or justice—the only “fairness” was their own self-interest.

What benefited them was called fair; what disadvantaged them was unfair.

Douglas laughed for a while, then retracted his expression. He looked at the two men who were barely holding on, his voice carrying an oppressive weight: “Didn’t I just say it? There was a ‘however’ that I hadn’t finished before being interrupted. It seems Susanna needs to give you some remedial lessons in etiquette.”

“You,” he pointed at Adam, “can pass the assessment, but your results are cancelled, and you have no ranking eligibility.” He then tilted his chin toward Will. “He, however, cannot pass.”

“But…” Hearing this result, Will anxiously wanted to explain for himself, but then Adam spoke up.

He had successfully been admitted to the Imperial Special Academy as his mother had instructed, but it was in a deeply humiliating manner. Adam looked at the condescending man, clenched his fists, and sneered, “We accept this result. I hope General Douglas does not regret this.”

Douglas gave a dismissive snort. What did he have to regret? Anyone can talk tough, but very few can actually follow through. No matter how formidable Adam was, he was still just a student. Once he entered the school, he would be trained just the same.

After Adam and Will left, Douglas also stood up and said to Mo Nanshan, “Keep an eye on the follow-up work. If there are technical issues, find Poria. I’m going to check on the other exam halls.”

After his figure disappeared from the observation room, Motin retracted his gaze and asked, “Grandfather, is he the Empire’s First Admiral, General Douglas?”

Mo Nanshan nodded.

An indiscernible emotion flashed through Motin’s peach-blossom eyes. He gave a pleased hum of laughter. “As expected of the rumors, he is a truly excellent Alpha.”

Douglas knocked on the door of the Medical Department’s observation room and pushed it open before there was a response from inside.

Qin clutched a coffee cup, not even giving him a glance. “Finished so soon on the Military Department side?”

Douglas sat down in the leather chair next to Qin, propping his legs up casually on the central control desk. “Yeah, not much to test. I just let that group of pampered little flowers play a game of real-life mecha combat.”

“How is it going on your end?” Douglas gestured toward the light screen with his chin.

“Nothing much. No one is cheating.” Qin took a sip of coffee, his eyes remaining fixed on the screen.

Douglas clicked his tongue. “You’re truly ruthless. To prevent cheating, you actually used a completely paper-based exam. I wonder if these little flowers even know how to write anymore; they probably can’t even hold a pen steady.”

Having said that, Douglas also looked up at the screen, prepared to enjoy the sight of these noble children being tormented. However, as he watched, his brow furrowed. He discovered a familiar figure in the right corner of the screen.

A long-haired blonde Omega sat elegantly, holding a pen and writing something on the snow-white paper. His expression was serious; he paused occasionally to think, but soon resumed answering the paper.

Although the monitors were set to one side of the candidates and the screen only showed a profile, that posture and that expression were things Douglas knew only too well. He would recognize them even if the person turned to ash… Who could it be if not Elan?

Douglas was silent for a moment. “What is he doing here?”

Qin finally spared him a glance. “You didn’t know?”

Douglas truly didn’t know. He looked at Qin with a dark face and said nothing.

Qin gave him a sympathetic look.

He hadn’t expected his friend’s married life to be so bleak that his partner wouldn’t even tell him about such a major event as applying for school.

Douglas felt uneasy under his gaze. He feigned indifference with a huff and looked away.

Less than five minutes later, he couldn’t help but turn back and ask, “…What major did he apply for?”

He vaguely remembered that Elan was previously in the Military Department of Capital Star University. Why had he run off to the Medical Department now?