IMAO Chapter 9

Due to their unique nature, suppressants were initially priced within the affordable range for the average person, as the government aimed for widespread adoption.

The standardized national retail price was 1,000 star coins per dose. An Omega typically required three injections per month, consuming at least three doses monthly. A year’s supply cost 36,000 star coins, while an average person’s salary was around 6,000 star coins.

Jiang Tianze had always been strict with Jiang Yuan, giving him little money. Moreover, Jiang Yuan had previously spent a considerable amount on perfecting a mecha model for Song Yirui, despite Qiu Jingming covering most of the cost. Purchasing a year’s supply of suppressants for Qiu Jingming was a significant expense for him.

Ji Yang’s family happened to sell suppressants and he offered it at a 20% discount, which naturally piqued Jiang Yuan’s interest.

“Can I get a discount?” Jiang Yuan inquired further.

Hearing Jiang Yuan’s question, Ji Yang nodded decisively, lifting his chin. “Of course! There are no middlemen making a profit from the price difference!”

Jiang Yuan scratched his head and said, “I’ll buy from you when I have the money. I don’t have that much right now.”

Ji Yang patted his chest, looking as if he had it all under control. “Sure!”

Two days later—

The Goddess of Destiny finally arrived at Capital Star as scheduled. Capital Star, located in the Solar System, was one of the eight major planets. In ancient Earth terms, it was called ‘Earth’—a simple name still in use today.

Although the Federation continually expanded outward, the sentiment towards the mother planet remained unchanged. After excessive development, Earth’s ecosystem had altered, resulting in widespread desertification and land submerged by rising sea levels. Current technology could easily solve these issues, but after deliberation, the Federation decided to maintain the current state as a cautionary tale for humanity.

This once blue and green interwoven planet now appeared from outer space as vast stretches of yellow desert and blue ocean, with only small patches of green and land remaining. Different districts, including various military academies, were established above Earth using magnetic field levitation technology.

Visiting this so-called mother planet for the first time and seeing the extreme weather outside the protective shield, Ji Yang felt uneasy. Since entering the interstellar era, humans had been very mindful of environmental protection on every planet. He had never experienced such harsh conditions before.

After passing through security, Jiang Yuan stood at the restroom entrance guarding Ji Yang’s luggage. Over the past few days, they had become good friends.

Ji Yang, in particular, treated Jiang Yuan like a close brother, even asking him to test the mechas he would design in the future!

Jiang Yuan held the luggage with one hand while using his other to operate his communicator, sending a brief message to his family informing them of his safe arrival on Capital Star.

Once Ji Yang emerged, they left the spaceport and took a car directly to First Military Academy.

They reached First Military Academy by evening. The school gate featured a logo of a peace dove, olive branch, and Earth, symbolizing the Federation’s aspiration for peace.

Jiang Yuan and Ji Yang approached the new student reception desk together. The student at the desk smiled slightly at them and said, “Please take out your admission letters so I can verify them.”

Despite being in the interstellar era, First Military Academy still maintained paper admission letters, sent by registered mail to each student, with an electronic copy also preserved.

Hearing this, Ji Yang immediately opened his bag, took out his admission letter, and handed it to the student at the reception desk.

When the male student opened Ji Yang’s admission letter and saw that his major was Mecha Engineering, his expression changed several times. If the Mecha Department was the top combat program, then Mecha Engineering was undoubtedly the top academic program!

Those admitted to the Mecha Engineering program all had far above-average intelligence.

“Hello, Classmate Ji. Please wait a moment.” The student’s tone became very polite. He then proceeded to verify Jiang Yuan’s admission information. Upon receiving Jiang Yuan’s admission letter, the student’s eyes widened, and he muttered, “Mecha Department…”

“Hehe,” Ji Yang grinned as if the comment was about himself, looking proud. “Yeah, my buddy is in the Mecha—”

Before he could finish, they heard the student’s next words, “Beta?”

“Are you the Beta who got into the Mecha Department this year?” The student asked, looking astonished.

Jiang Yuan gave a slight “Mm” in response. At this, all the students at the new student reception desk were stunned. They turned to look at Jiang Yuan in unison. The Mecha Department! Except for a phenomenal Omega who was admitted six years ago, the Mecha Department hadn’t seen any gender other than Alpha for many years!

This year, news of a Beta being admitted left everyone incredulous. Seeing the person in the flesh, they naturally began to scrutinize Jiang Yuan.

Ji Yang, upon seeing Jiang Yuan’s admission letter, looked utterly bewildered. He had genuinely believed the other was an Alpha, but it turned out Jiang Yuan was actually a Beta!

Ji Yang asked uncertainly, “Jiang Yuan, you’re a Beta?”

Jiang Yuan nodded, “Yes, why?”

Ji Yang clicked his tongue, awkwardly sticking out his tongue, “I always thought you were an Alpha.”

After a moment’s thought, Ji Yang added, “No wonder you haven’t had any scent these past few days. When I first met you, you had a very faint Alpha scent.”

Jiang Yuan thought about it for a moment before realizing where the Alpha scent Ji Yang mentioned had come from. It must have been from the badge Jiang Tianze had given him.

“Jiang Yuan, you’re awesome!” Ji Yang gave Jiang Yuan a thumbs up.

Jiang Yuan just smiled. If anyone was truly awesome, it was due to the original owner’s relentless efforts, which had nothing to do with him.

After briefly verifying their admission letters, the senior at the reception desk enthusiastically led Jiang Yuan and Ji Yang to their dormitories. Since they were in different departments, they wouldn’t be living together.

The two exchanged contact information before Jiang Yuan followed the guiding senior to his own room. Carrying his luggage, Jiang Yuan finally arrived at the dormitory building.

After presenting his admission letter once more at the entrance, Jiang Yuan successfully registered his information. From then on, he would only need to use his personal identification to freely enter and exit the school.

The living conditions were far better than Jiang Yuan had imagined. Upon seeing his room, he couldn’t help but sigh, “Isn’t this school too rich? Everyone gets their own separate room.”

Jiang Yuan’s room was a one-bedroom unit with a private bathroom, shower, dining area, living room, and even a desk in the living room. It was a perfect personal nest. Though not large, it had everything one could need. Jiang Yuan was extremely satisfied with the room.

“Only the Mecha Department students get individual rooms. Other departments aren’t like this,” the senior who led Jiang Yuan briefly explained.

It turned out that apart from Mecha Department students having their own rooms, students in other departments typically shared a suite among four people. The conditions were still good, with each having their own bedroom, but sharing a dining area and living room with roommates.

After entering the room, Jiang Yuan quickly unpacked and arranged his clothes. The room still lacked some greenery. He had noticed plants for sale in the school’s supermarket earlier and planned to buy some later.

After settling in and briefly exploring the room’s features, Jiang Yuan closed his front door and headed to the supermarket to buy some plants.

Stepping into the school supermarket, Jiang Yuan discovered it was almost as large as the big supermarkets in the Red Galaxy! The variety of goods was impressive!

After selecting a few potted plants and checking out, Jiang Yuan was walking out from checkout counter number one when he spotted a familiar face near counter seven.

The person was pushing a cart and seemed to be having some trouble at checkout, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Ji Rong was frustrated. He had just wanted to buy some essentials, but he’d forgotten that he had spent all his money earlier booking the luxury suite on the Goddess of Destiny. He could have used his father’s account to pay, but doing so would display his father’s name on the payment page…

Now he’d have to return the items, wait for his father to transfer money to his account, and come back to buy them later.

“Are you a new student? I can pay for you. I’m Shui Zhong, nice to meet you?” The speaking student had beautiful brown hair and looked at Ji Rong with a hint of anticipation.

At the same time, another person eagerly chimed in, “Junior, let me pay for you!”

Ji Rong: “…”

Just as Ji Rong was about to accept, his eyes suddenly lit up as he spotted Jiang Yuan passing through the crowd. He called out, “Jiang Yuan!”

Jiang Yuan who was called: “…”

Ji Rong stared at Jiang Yuan for a moment, the corners of his lips curling up slightly as he said softly, “Jiang Yuan, help me pay for this. I’ll pay you back later.”

Jiang Yuan considered for a second, then nodded thoughtfully. It was only fair, given that Ji Rong had lent him a washing machine before…

“How much is it?” Jiang Yuan casually asked as he walked over.

“The total is 181 star coins,” the cashier answered directly upon hearing Jiang Yuan’s question.

Jiang Yuan paid, and the two left the supermarket. The group of Alphas and Betas who had wanted to pay for Ji Rong earlier looked disappointed. Regardless of gender, people are visual creatures, and Ji Rong’s face was the kind that fit a large portion of people’s aesthetic preferences!

As Ji Rong drew near, Jiang Yuan shifted slightly to the left. He wasn’t comfortable being too close to others, but to Ji Rong, this looked like blatant aversion!

Ji Rong: … Did his scent really repulse him that much?

Although Ji Rong had suspected that Jiang Yuan might be a student at the same school, given his exceptional skills—after all, where else but the First Military Academy—he hadn’t expected to encounter Jiang Yuan on the very first day of school.

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