T/N: Thank you very much to an anonymous reader for the ko-fi Also, the author used the same title previously and it’s also split like this in the raws, so ignore the “part 1” in the title lol.
CW: Nonconsensual kissing (one party is asleep)
In the original novel, the five major military institutes of the empire would soon join to hold a competition on a remote planet.
In the original novel, Pei Shijian had, of course, also gone.
The planet was quite dangerous. The surface was filled by an ancient, towering forest, and within the forest, there were all kinds of alien beasts and poisonous plants.
These alien beasts were unintelligent, and they couldn’t leave the planet. They couldn’t compare to the danger level of a Zerg, but it was difficult for these students, who only had weapons and couldn’t use mechas to face them.
But with the help of his strength and his physique, Pei Shijian took to the situation like a duck to water. Later, he found an ore in a hidden cavern that could strengthen his physique, and his strength rose up another level. It even stimulated the imperial blood in his body, and thus he discovered that his father was actually the emperor.
Basically, this plot point was an important turning point in the original novel.
Generally speaking, someone couldn’t go and snatch the original protagonist’s opportunities. If it went poorly, the world consciousness would lock onto them and kill them straightaway. But when Shao Ci remembered how the ore could increase his strength, he was intrigued.
Still, these were all things that happened later. Right now, what he had to worry about was how he would complete his daily task after binding to Pei Shijian!
Shao Ci felt that compared to Pei Shijian, all of his previous capture targets were angels (._.)
Regardless of how much Shao Ci was dreading it, that day was coming up soon.
Every new student had to go to the competition, even if they were the kind that just came over to the academy hang out. Shao Ci didn’t know whether or not the original host had thought about the competition when he came to hang out. After all, in the original novel, he had been expelled.
Everyone got on the airship with excitement. The empire’s military institute was the wealthiest of all the five major institutes, and it had the most students from noble and imperial families. Naturally, the airship was very comfortable. It could compare with a luxury tour airship. Even the rooms were double rooms.
Then problems began to occur.
Shao Ci and Ji Zhaoyun were assigned into one room.
When Shao Ci found out, he was ready to curse up a storm. The more he didn’t want something to happen, the more likely it would happen. He was getting more and more unlucky these days… But it was no big deal as long as he didn’t get put in a room with Pei Shijian.
A spoiled rich kid like Ji Zhaoyun would naturally prepare a ton of luggage when he traveled. After all, how could someone of his status make do in the wilderness?
Shao Ci grabbed a few clothes at random and some things that he thought he might need in the wilderness, then went to help Ji Zhaoyun with carrying his luggage.
“There’s no need.” Ji Zhaoyun turned to look at him and said, “With the way you look like a gust of wind would blow you over, if you help me with my luggage people will think I’m treating you poorly. Besides, I have a space button that I can put them in.”
Shao Ci let out a breath of relief. If he had to carry the luggage for such a long time, he really wouldn’t be able to last… He had also forgotten that there was something like a space button. Still, in the future, a space button was extremely expensive. It was usually used to store a mecha. Only someone like Ji Zhaoyun would use it to store luggage.
Shao Ci carried his own luggage and got ready to leave, but Ji Zhaoyun stopped him in his footsteps, looking cold. “Give your luggage here too.”
“Huh???” Shao Ci was stupefied.
How could someone who disdained betas as much as Ji Zhaoyun be willing to put someone else’s things with his own things? And this “someone else” was even his family’s servant. Ji Zhaoyun’s favorability score for Shao Ci was still at zero, too.
Still, people changed. Shao Ci didn’t read into it too deeply and handed his luggage to Ji Zhaoyun.
After the students gathered, they began to board the airship one by one, and the people everyone paid attention to the most, Pei Shijian and Edwin, were assigned to the same room.
After the airship took off, nobody could calm down. They assembled in the airship’s training room and began to temper themselves.
Ji Zhaoyun was, of course, not an exception, but when he was preparing to go train, he received a message. He frowned, heading towards a hallway in the airship that was relatively more isolated.
Edwin had already been waiting there for a long time. In front of outsiders, he looked aloof and like he kept people at a distance. Even if he was standing in the most bustling place on earth, nobody would have the courage to approach him.
“What did you want me for?” Ji Zhaoyun said impatiently, looking over with a frown. “My time is precious, you know.”
“Let’s change rooms,” Edwin said coolly, looking like he was disgusted but had no choice to speak.
Ji Zhaoyun snorted. “And what if I don’t want to? If I change rooms just because you said to change rooms, what should I do with my reputation?”
“Don’t you admire Pei Shijian a lot?” Edwin was about to lose his patience. “You’re still not happy when you’ve been given a chance to get in close contact with him?”
When Edwin mentioned Pei Shijian, Ji Zhaoyun froze.
For a while, ever since he had fought with Prince Latiao, he had unconsciously pushed Pei Shijian to the back of his mind. Even during the finals of the virtual mecha competition, he hadn’t paid attention to Pei Shijian’s matches.
Now, the overflowing admiration he had held for Pei Shijian had disappeared completely. When he thought of Pei Shijian, he didn’t even think of him more than he would of a passerby.
Yes, because he had found someone even better now. Pei Shijian was no longer important.
“That’s in the past. Now, I already…” Ji Zhaoyun looked like he had thought of someone. His expression was complicated. Immediately, he continued, “Anyway, I don’t have any interest in Pei Shijian anymore. Isn’t he your close friend? You want to avoid living with him that much?”
If Pei Shijian knew that he had been shunned by these two people, and was even being thrown around like a hot potato, he would be furious.
“You know what my goal is,” Edwin said frankly. “If you have any conditions, name them.”
“Hmph. I really don’t know what it is about a beta that has drawn your attention,” Ji Zhaoyun said. “No matter what else happens, don’t think about changing rooms. I absolutely won’t agree… I’ve got stuff to do, so I won’t keep wasting my time with a guy like you.”
When he finished speaking, Ji Zhaoyun turned to leave without the slightest hesitation.
Edwin watched Ji Zhaoyun leave. His deep green eyes iced over, killing intent seething in his gaze.
–
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Meanwhile, Shao Ci laid down to rest in his room as soon as he finished his meal. How could he have the heart to go train when he thought of the situation he was faced with? He should take the chance to enjoy himself a bit while he still had the chance.
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Although Shao Ci didn’t want Pei Shijian to level up, he also wanted him to level up. This way, he could leave the world quickly.
After he finished his medicine, Shao Ci felt himself getting sleepy. He laid down in bed and fell asleep.
At some point, the door opened. Ji Zhaoyun’s silhouette appeared in the doorway.
When he saw that Shao Ci was sleeping, Ji Zhaoyun kept even more quiet. He closed the door tightly, walking slowly to the side of his bed.
Shao Ci was sleeping fitfully. His brow was slightly furrowed, as though he was dreaming of something bad.
Ji Zhaoyun extended a hand, caressing Shao Ci’s forehead. His movements were a little stiff. He had never tried to touch someone so gently.
Shao Ci’s eyelashes suddenly quivered. Ji Zhaoyun froze, but he didn’t pull his hand back.
After a moment, Shao Ci didn’t show any signs of waking. He continued to sleep soundly.
“…Rest well,” Ji Zhaoyun said in a low voice. He lowered his head, planting a soft kiss on Shao Ci’s cheeks.
“Mm…” Shao Ci mumbled.
Ji Zhaoyun’s pale cheeks flushed completely red instantly and he raised his head in alarm. He looked back at Shao Ci, who didn’t stir, feeling a sense of defeat.
“Dammit, you cheat, being so cunning… You clearly knew all along, but you never said a word to me. Do think of me as a joke?”
As Ji Zhaoyun spoke, he thought back to how he had people whip Shao Ci the night they first met. His mood sank.
“So what exactly do you think about me…”
Ji Zhaoyun looked at Shao Ci, lowering his head helplessly. He kissed Shao Ci on the lips. He could only feel how soft those lips were, becoming intoxicated in moments. He used his tongue to probe between Shao Ci’s teeth.
A sticky, liquid noise sounded in the room.
After a long time, Ji Zhaoyun finally lifted his head, his face scarlet, and wiped his mouth of silvery threads of saliva. He unconsciously moving to undo Shao Ci’s buttons, reaching out to press Shao Ci down and lowering his head to nip at Shao Ci’s fair, slender neck.
Though it was already weak, he could smell the faint fragrance at such a close distance. It made him recall the day that he had fought with Prince Latiao, as well as that night.
He had never told Shao Ci that even with all kinds of fragrances around the room, that faint omega scent was so clear that there wasn’t any smell that could cover it up. Even a slight sniff would make someone sink into an inescapable trance.
And now, if he bit down, Shao Ci would be marked by him. Shao Ci could be his.
But Ji Zhaoyun let out a breath, looking at Shao Ci who was sleeping calmly. As though he was venting, he reached out to pinch Shao Ci’s cheek. “You dummy.”
–
The airship arrived at its destination by the second day. It was a planet that looked beautiful from a distance. From its appearance, it was impossible to tell what kind of dangers were hiding within.
Normally, there was nobody who would come to this planet. After all, it was dangerous and had no resources worth mining. There was simply nobody who would come besides for thrill seekers.
Shao Ci yawned, disembarking from the airship. He had slept so early yesterday, so why was he so tired today?
And he didn’t know why, but his neck hurt a bit. Maybe he had slept wrong… Shao Ci had no idea what had happened yesterday. He even felt that yesterday had been peaceful.
The only problem was Ji Zhaoyun’s temper early that morning. Of course, Shao Ci was already used to this.
The planet’s air quality was excellent, and just smelling it made him feel refreshed. When he tilted his head back, there was a never-ending forest before his eyes.
It was pretty good to look at it from a distance, but as soon as he thought about how his future days would be spent inside, he wasn’t happy anymore.
Most of the students from other had already arrived. Everyone gathered at a simple and crude base. Despite the short time, there were already several students disputing with students from other institutes.
Shao Ci noticed that there was a group of students from the neighboring military institute clustered around a youth. He looked familiar, and Shao Ci unconsciously looked back at him several times.
Next to him, Ji Zhaoyun became unhappy. “What’s there to look at?” He followed Shao Ci’s gaze and discovered a beautiful teenager. He immediately snorted. “That guy’s not even as handsome as I am.”
Shao Ci: “…” Hey, why are you competing over something like this!
The teenager noticed Shao Ci. He turned towards him, smiling slightly.
Ji Zhaoyun’s fury washed over him again. He stepped in front of Shao Ci. “You can’t look.”
Shao Ci had no idea how looking at the students from the neighboring institute had got on Ji Zhaoyun’s nerves, but he finally remembered. Wasn’t this teenager the Zerg he had met on the airship the other time?!
Fuck, he didn’t expect to meet him again somewhere like this. He didn’t expect a planted Zerg agent would actually sneak into one of the five major military institutes… Still, this was pretty normal, huh.
The Zerg in this world were fairly different from the Zerg in the previous world. Most importantly, the lower class Zerg in this world couldn’t change into human form, but higher class Zerg could change their form at will. Moreover, their spiritual energy and strength was innately strong.
It was perfectly normal that a higher class Zerg coming over to act as a sleeper agent could simply join one of the five major military institutes… It was under such grave circumstances that Pei Shijian could drive these Zerg away. It was all thanks to his plot armor.
In any case, he was walking fast last time and the other person hadn’t seen his face. Shao Ci turned away like nothing had happened. He didn’t want this Zerg villain to drag him in.
Although the empire’s military institute was famous and had the support of the imperial family, it wasn’t the most impressive academy. The other academies had their own strengths.
Students didn’t get along with those at other academies. Every few years, they would compete, and the victorious academy would become the number one institute for those few years.
This competition would be based on the students’ wilderness survival skills. They would have to make it through the primeval forest to their destination, and they couldn’t use their mechas or weapons with high destructive power. They could only use cold weapons.
When the competition was mentioned outside, everyone said the purpose was to train their unity and cooperation, but everyone secretly knew that if they could take the lead in this competition, they could say they were winning glory for their school and get even more opportunities in the future. Thus, everyone fought like their lives depended on it.
Of course, they were ensured safety in such a dangerous place. Every student received an emergency alarm. If anything that was serious enough to threaten their life and safety, they could press the alarm, and a teacher would come to their rescue immediately.
But pressing the alarm was an automatic forfeit. It was a more embarrassing method of action.
Shao Ci didn’t care about being embarrassed. Going through the forest with his trash omega body? It was obviously impossible. He might as well just forfeit. The only thing was that forfeiting right at the start was a bit embarrassing, so he would endure for two or three days and then forfeit.
The teachers told everyone a few things to take note of, then divided everyone into groups by drawing lots. There were two people per group, and they would have to stay together for these few days. If one party forfeited, the other person would also lose their opportunity.
Pei Shijian’s student ID was earlier in the numbers. He walked directly up on stage and tapped on the screen casually. The numbers stopped immediately.
Everyone in the audience was worked up. They all knew how strong Pei Shijian was. How wonderful would it be if they could be paired up with Pei Shijian! They might be able to achieve a grade they had never obtained before.
Shao Ci completely ignored the scene. According to the original plot, Pei Shijian would be paired up with Ji Zhaoyun. It had nothing to do with him.
Pei Shijian spoke. “Number 154.”
Wait, why did this number sound familiar?
Afraid to face reality, Shao Ci lowered his head to look at his student ID. Number 154.
“Classmate Shao Ci, what a coincidence! It’s truly a blessing.” Pei Shijian walked over, a slight curve on his lips. He stood before Shao Ci, extending a hand. “I’ll be in your care.”
Blessing? This is just a curse, okay!!
Why was he the one who got Ji Zhaoyun’s chance from the original novel… Shao Ci had thought that the competition would be a bit more difficult. Now, he felt like he was sending himself to his death.
Though competition had as many safety measures as possible, there had been several students who had died in accidents in the past since it was hard to predict what situations might arise in the forest. In the original novel, Pei Shijian had offed several of students from other academies who had come to provoke him. It was easy to imagine what was in his future!
The surrounding crowd had complicated expressions. Shao Ci reached out a hand, almost completely stiff, and shook hands with Pei Shijian. He could only feel his cold sweat. “I’ll be in your care…”
Meanwhile, Edwin and Ji Zhaoyun had been paired together. It was obvious they hadn’t expected this situation.
Taking the circumstances into consideration, Edwin walked over, suggesting that his and Pei Shijian’s group advance together. He reasoned, “Two people is too few, and we have better chances with four people. At night, we can take turns keeping watch. It’ll be much safer.”
Edwin sounded very reasonable. Plenty of people moved as a group of four because of their relationships. There even some who proceeded as groups of six or eight.
Pei Shijian naturally had no objections. If people as strong as Edwin and Ji Zhaoyun joined his team, it would benefit him.
As for Shao Ci… Pei Shijian chuckled. Ever since they had come to this planet, he had no plans to let Shao Ci leave alive.
Ji Zhaoyun just sneered, giving Shao Ci a sidelong glance. “I’m only agreeing to come and take on this task because of how weak you are.”
Shao Ci grabbed Ji Zhaoyun’s hand in excitement. He said, moved, “Thank you so much, you’re amazing!”
Ji Zhaoyun had basically saved his life! Although he knew Ji Zhaoyun probably came for Pei Shijian, and his words just now were just acting cool to hide his soft spot for Pei Shijian, Shao Ci was very emotional.
Ji Zhaoyun froze. His face immediately turned red. He blurted, “What are you doing? Who gave you the right to hold my hand?”
Despite his words, he didn’t make any move to throw him off.
Edwin noticed his movements. His eyes focused on where their hands were touching, his gaze turning cold.
–
The four of them headed towards the forest as planned. Though they didn’t meet any other academy students, everyone had silently agreed to separate. Nobody would take the same road as someone they saw as their opponent. They were too afraid of being plotted against.
Although their group was strong, Shao Ci didn’t have high hopes… He felt that it was already pretty good as long as these guys didn’t mess around. Pei Shijian in particular had to seize the opportunity. It would be good if everyone could reach the end point.
The beginning of their journey went smoothly. As they went on, the road got more and more difficult to travel. There were all kinds of shrubs all over. While the other three alphas were still full of energy, Shao Ci couldn’t keep going. He was panting in exhaustion.
It was lucky that the other three people were all alphas. Shao Ci could muddle through with the excuse that he was a beta. If their squad had another beta to compare Shao Ci to, then he wouldn’t have any self-respect left.
“I knew you’d be like this.” Ji Zhaoyun turned to look at him, looking disdainful. “As soon as I saw you, I knew you’d drag down our squad. If you really can’t keep going, it’s not impossible for me to piggyback you.”
Shao Ci was given a huge shock. The first half of Ji Zhaoyun’s words were fine, he was used to it anyway… but what was with the second half?!
Was Ji Zhaoyun always such a good person? He was even willing to carry a beta classmate from his team during a competition. Shao Ci had even expected that he would sarcastically suggest their two teams go their separate ways.
Even if Ji Zhaoyun was affected by what happened with Prince Latiao and no longer discriminated against betas, he wouldn’t be so intimate, right? This was already OOC, okay!
“Or do you not want it?” Ji Zhaoyun narrowed his eyes. “Even I don’t mind, but you mind?”
“N-no, I just…” Shao Ci hurried to explain, “I think I can keep going for a bit, I won’t impose on you.”
Rather than letting Ji Zhaoyun piggyback him, he would be better off gritting his teeth and enduring a bit longer.
“Hmph,” Ji Zhaoyun said. “Then let’s keep going. If you can’t keep up, don’t come running to me for help.”
Shao Ci gritted his teeth and endured for part of the way, but he really couldn’t manage any longer. He nearly tripped over a tree root. Just as he was about to fall to the ground, Edwin, who had been silently paying attention to him, caught him.
Because of Shao Ci’s instructions, Edwin still kept a delicate distance between them. Now that there were only four of them, he didn’t care so much. He said, “It won’t work if you keep going like this. I’m stronger than Ji Zhaoyun. I can defend myself better. Let me carry you on my back.”
While putting himself forward, Edwin casually stepped on Ji Zhaoyun’s reputation.
Shao Ci approved greatly, because Edwin’s words were too true. It was easy to tell based on the system’s choice of the capture target who was the stronger one.
“What do you mean by that?” Ji Zhaoyun immediately got into a bad mood. He glared at Edwin. “You’re saying I’m not as good as you?”
“That’s not what I mean,” Edwin said calmly. “I’m just telling the truth.”
Ji Zhaoyun’s expression turned ugly, but most importantly, he had no way to retort. He just grabbed Shao Ci’s hand. “Say it, who do you want to carry you?”
Shao Ci: “???” Fuck, why would something like this happen now?! Pei Shijian is still on the sidelines watching, okay!
Forget about Edwin, but what the heck was Ji Zhaoyun getting in on the action for? But if Shao Ci didn’t let Ji Zhaoyun piggyback him this time, he would definitely kick up a big fuss. After all, he was that kind of person.
One the other hand, Shao Ci wasn’t worried about Edwin. After all, he had always been very reliable, and his personality was much better than Ji Zhaoyun’s. He should be able to understand his choice this time.
So Shao Ci gave Edwin and apologetic look and chose Ji Zhaoyun.
“See? As expected, he chose me.” Ji Zhaoyun gave Edwin a smug glance, then put Shao Ci onto his back. He said, “You’d better hold on tight. I won’t be paying attention to you while I walk.”
Despite his words, Ji Zhaoyun was very attentive, afraid that Shao Ci would get scratched by any branches.
Edwin froze. For a long time, he didn’t move, and he quickly fell behind the two of them.
Pei Shijian walked over. Calmly, he said, “Although you want to be kind to someone, they don’t seem to want to accept your feelings.”
“This has nothing to do with you,” Edwin said. “I’m very clear about what he’s thinking, and I can understand his actions.” He did understand what Shao Ci was thinking, but he still couldn’t really accept it.
But Edwin blamed himself. How could he think Shao Ci was doing the wrong thing? Shao Ci couldn’t do anything wrong. Everything was Ji Zhaoyun’s fault… Exactly, everything was because of Ji Zhaoyun.
“Oh?” Pei Shijian’s lips curled up. “But you don’t look very happy… Is it so hard to accept what you think? Do you think you’ll be repaid what you have been given? Sometimes, even if you give, you won’t get what you want.”
Although Pei Shijian wasn’t completely clear on what had happened between Edwin and Shao Ci, he was happy to drive a wedge between them. It would be best to make that damn Shao Ci learn what it was like to be completely isolated and alone.
“No, I’ve never thought that way. I’ll be happy as long as I can stay by his side…” Edwin suddenly gritted his teeth, looking at the people ahead of him. But he had no choice but to admit that in that moment his heart was filled with a raging fire of envy that almost consumed half of his rationale.
He had never felt such envy since he was born, but ever since he began to stay at Shao Ci’s side, he had almost always felt these kinds of feelings. It was insufferable agony, but he endured it as he had before.
At the beginning, he had just wanted to stay at Shao Ci’s side, but human desires were without an end. As long as they got one thing, they would want even more.
If he was the only one at Shao Ci’s side… it would be wonderful.
Edwin had thought the same thing many times, but now he couldn’t restrain himself anymore.
Edwin’s expression iced over. He stared at the people up ahead, but he felt relaxed in a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He finally understood what he had to do.
Extraneous people like this shouldn’t have existed in the first place.
Pei Shijian watched Edwin’s expression change and left, smiling.
But he didn’t know that Edwin wasn’t thinking about betraying Shao Ci because of his words. Instead, he was filled with killing intent for Ji Zhaoyun.
–
After entering the forest, a few alien beasts began to appear. These beasts looked similar to normal animals, but they were even more horrible.
When he first saw an alien beast scurry out into the open, Shao Ci was given a terrible shock. He was able to relax after he saw Pei Shijian kill it easily using a pocket knife.
Even though they looked so terrifying, since they could be killed with an ordinary weapon like that, it seemed that they weren’t so hard to deal with. In comparison, those Zerg who could shift into human shape and blend into society were even more scary.
The sky was turning dark. They decided to find a place in the forest to rest.
Ji Zhaoyun had brought a tent specially designed for leisure. It was very convenient, and could pitch itself with the press of a button. He also took out some delicacies and water out of his space button. Who knew if he had come to compete or to vacation.
The tent that Ji Zhaoyun had prepared was quite large. It could fit two people.
Although Ji Zhaoyun wasn’t exactly willing, they collectively decided to let two people keep watch and the other two rest. They would switch every two hours.
When they drew lots, Shao Ci and Edwin were paired up, and Ji Zhaoyun and Pei Shijian were paired up.
Although Ji Zhaoyun wasn’t happy, when he thought of his victory from earlier and how he had carried Shao Ci the entire way, it was no big deal if he just stepped back for the night watch. This way, he wouldn’t make trouble.
Pei Shijian laid in the tent soundlessly. Even though they were so close, Ji Zhaoyun had completely forgotten his admiration for Pei Shijian. His mind was full of Shao Ci, and he couldn’t sleep at all.
Though something like that had happened the first time they met, Shao Ci forced a kiss on him the second day, and he even stayed after that. Shao Ci always stayed by Ji Zhaoyun’s side, and this time he had chosen him over Edwin… Could he believe that Shao Ci had some feelings for him?
When he thought back to the first kiss, Ji Zhaoyun felt a bit embarrassed, but his heart filled with sweetness.
Outside the tent, Shao Ci was resting against a tree listlessly, looking at the bonfire. He nearly fell asleep several times. He couldn’t stop himself from yawning, and his eyelids were closing involuntarily.
Edwin watched him, his heart pained, and said, “If you’re truly to tired, go rest first. There will be no problem with me here.”
Shao Ci shook his head, struggling to speak. “No, I can’t sleep right now…” If he slept at this kind of time, he had a feeling that something bad would happen.
At some point, the time ticked past midnight. The system’s voice suddenly rang in Shao Ci’s mind.
Daily task refreshed. The current task is [Force a kiss on the capture target once]. Host, please do your best.]
Shao Ci was immediately jolted awake.
The author has something to say:
The long-awaited battlefield… >A<
Since I have no way to resist the Mujou Twins and the the beautiful winged Tengu I started playing Onmyoji, but I couldn’t roll the most foundational pretty characters…