IMAO Chapter 4

Due to the soul bond between Alphonse and Jiang Yuan, it was no longer a simple neural interface. Naturally, it couldn’t learn about this world through data copying, but only through Jiang Yuan’s eyes.

So during the three days before his travel from Red Star to Capital Star, the first thing Jiang Yuan did every morning was to open the network and absorb knowledge from it.

Of course, Jiang Yuan didn’t have to learn slowly. All he needed to do was open the network and quickly browse through it. Alphonse in his mind would swiftly record all the information.

Three days later.

Jiang Yuan boarded the interstellar flight to Capital Star. Once on the ship, Song Yirui’s face finally disappeared completely from his sight, allowing Jiang Yuan to breathe a sigh of relief.

As the flight took off, Jiang Yuan sat by the window. Across from him sat a young man about his age, holding a communicator and chatting with his family, complaining about his trip and how he couldn’t book a single room and had to share a standard room with a stranger.

“Grandpa, your grandson is so miserable! I couldn’t get a single room! I feel like I might die!” the young man whined.

“What’s going on? You’re going to study, and your father couldn’t even book you a single room?”

The young man replied in an extremely resentful voice, “Don’t you know my dad? He’s invested all his money in those research projects! I’m really afraid that one day he’ll tell me he’s bankrupt.”

“Well… alright, alright, it won’t come to that. Grandpa will send you money. Don’t let yourself suffer while you’re studying.”

After the old man offered to send money, Jiang Yuan clearly saw the young man across from him reveal a smug expression, grinning with dimples on his cheeks. “Thanks, Grandpa! You’re the best! Love you!”

The young man chatted with his grandfather for a few more minutes about recent events before hanging up. He then turned to Jiang Yuan and casually asked, “Hey, I’m Ji Yang. We’re probably roommates for this trip. Don’t take what I said to my grandpa seriously, I’m just a bit short on cash lately, hehe.”

Jiang Yuan nodded, indicating he didn’t care. Clearly, this Ji Yang was a chatterbox. “By the way, what’s your name? You look about my age. Are you also going to Capital Star for school?”

“Jiang Yuan,” Jiang Yuan thought for a moment before answering Ji Yang’s question. “Reporting to school for the new semester.”

“Hey, me too! Which school are you going to? We might even be schoolmates!”

Jiang Yuan didn’t hide it and replied directly, “First Military Academy.”

Hearing this, Ji Yang immediately showed an expression of pleasant surprise. “I’m at First Military Academy too! Oh, I’m in the Mecha Engineering Department. What about you?”

“Mecha Department,” Jiang Yuan answered, lowering his voice.

Ji Yang’s jaw dropped, his face full of admiration. He gave a thumbs up and said, “Mecha Department? That’s awesome, Xiong Di¹兄弟 (xiōng dì) – brothers / younger brother!”

Just as Ji Yang finished speaking, a commotion arose as the ship had left the atmosphere. Outside the window, only scattered stars could be seen, and Red Star was growing more distant.

Ji Yang leaned against the window glass, staring at the endless starry sky, and said, “Although I’ve seen it many times, every time I see these stars, I feel so small.”

Jiang Yuan nodded noncommittally. As an interstellar adventurer, he certainly understood the allure of the starry sky. In search of new star regions, he had spent almost every moment in the company of these stars, alone on his ship, playing music and gazing at the cosmos.

Jiang Yuan awakened Alphonse in his mind. Almost instantly, Alphonse began establishing new universal coordinates deep in Jiang Yuan’s brain, converting and inferring data, and running simulations.

While Alphonse worked, all Jiang Yuan had to do was stare boredly at the starry sky.

Just then, someone walked past him, carrying a scent that was extremely familiar to Jiang Yuan. He instinctively turned his head to glance at the passerby.

A man with a full beard strode quickly down the aisle, bumping into a robot selling snacks. He shot an icy glare at the robot, clearly displeased, and kicked it.

Seeing the man’s lack of manners, those around him frowned, but no one stood up to argue with him.

The man exuded a strong, invasive Alpha pheromone. Even the slightest Omega in the vicinity couldn’t help but tremble upon contact with his scent.

The kicked robot, lacking pain sensors, rolled on its wheels and continued forward, stopping at Jiang Yuan and Ji Yang’s table to ask if they wanted to buy snacks.

Both Jiang Yuan and Ji Yang made some purchases.

While eating, Ji Yang frowned slightly and said, “That guy earlier was so rude, releasing his pheromones freely in public. I saw many Omegas turn pale with fear.”

“Besides pheromones, he also smelled of blood,” Jiang Yuan said calmly.

Ji Yang jerked his head up at Jiang Yuan’s words. “Blood?”

“Mm, very faint, but I smelled it.”

As a Beta, Jiang Yuan wasn’t sensitive to pheromones, but as an interstellar adventurer, he was more attuned to the scent of blood.

“Damn,” Ji Yang’s face instantly drained of color. “Jiang Yuan, you’re scaring me. I’m just a poor, delicate Beta. I can’t handle being scared!”

“Beta? Delicate?” Jiang Yuan raised an eyebrow at Ji Yang.

Ji Yang: “Isn’t that right? Compared to you Alphas, I’m really fragile. So, Jiang Yuan, my safety depends on you! I’ll design mechas for you in the future! Our specialties are a perfect match!”

Jiang Yuan: “…” No, I’m a Beta, I’m not fragile.

Normally, Alphas can control their pheromones. When Ji Yang heard Jiang Yuan say he was in the Mecha Department, he immediately assumed Jiang Yuan was an Alpha.

After a while, three more people walked down the aisle. Catching the scent of blood again, Jiang Yuan watched their retreating figures and stood up, saying to Ji Yang, “I’m going to the restroom.”

Ji Yang nodded, “Go ahead, I’ll watch your stuff!”

The “stuff” Ji Yang referred to was just the snacks Jiang Yuan had bought earlier. As for Jiang Yuan’s luggage, it had all been checked in and should be in their room by now.

Jiang Yuan quickly followed the three men, overhearing their hushed conversation.

“When do we make our move? Hijack this ship?” The tall, thin man licked his chapped lips, looking expectant.

“Why ask so many questions? Just wait for the boss’s orders,” the leader glanced at the thin man, clearly displeased.

“Alright, alright, I was just asking,” the thin man raised his hands in resignation.

As they reached the bathroom door, all three noticed Jiang Yuan following behind them. They exchanged glances, clearly suspecting Jiang Yuan of tailing them. Their hands simultaneously moved to their waists.

Just as Jiang Yuan was about to speak, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly reached out from inside the bathroom and grabbed Jiang Yuan’s hand. The owner of the hand then pinned Jiang Yuan against the door, releasing an oppressive Alpha pheromone that was domineering and pure. As a Beta, Jiang Yuan felt suffocated by this invasive scent.

The man lowered his voice and said in a deep, husky tone, “What’s this? Miss me already after being apart for just a moment?”

The man’s handsome features exuded an indescribable coldness, his deep eyes unfathomable, his mouth uttering suggestive words.

Hearing the man’s words, the three who were about to act immediately turned and walked away, jokingly remarking as they left, “Damn, an Alpha with another Alpha? Two Alphas can play?”

Jiang Yuan: …

The man: …

After making sure the three had left, the man finally released Jiang Yuan and asked, “Why were you following them? Those guys smell of fresh blood. They’ve just killed someone.”

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  兄弟 (xiōng dì) – brothers / younger brother