Chapter 67: Stocked for Safety
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“The vote has concluded—Exercise Plan No. 3 has passed with the highest tally,” Marshal Chen Qiu announced solemnly to the assembled officers.
All eyes were on him, and the reactions varied. The meeting room, modest in size, held over fifty high-ranking Federation commanders, along with twelve senior military committee members led by Chen Qiu himself.
Near the front, General Zhou Yunchen stood with his usual composure—rigid, upright, and immaculate in his uniform, chest adorned with medals. Among all present, he was the most strikingly handsome and youthful.
The announcement of Plan No. 3 caused no visible change in Zhou Yunchen’s expression. Observers who looked closely noticed that his figure was semi-transparent—the room’s ceiling projection system displayed a full 3D hologram of the General. Several other commanders, stationed at frontier outposts, also attended via holographic projection.
“According to Plan No. 3, the exercise will be divided into three parts: emergency defense operations, counterwarfare exercises, and the final parade. The first two will take place in the Rose Sector, conducted jointly by the Silver Halberd Fleet, the Shield of Achilles Fleet, Kuafu Fleet, Azure Dragon Exploration Corps, Absolute Sea Exploration Corps, and Adorno Exploration Corps. The final parade will showcase the central Federation forces that participated in the beast war,” Chen Qiu explained again.
“In the emergency defense operations, the three exploration corps will simulate beast combat tactics, launching attacks on the three fleets on standby. The fleets will respond and conduct defensive operations…”
After Chen Qiu finished, the generals began discussing specific details: site selection, supply lines, broadcast arrangements, and more. As the sun set in shades of purple and red, the arguing officers finally ran out of energy, and Marshal Chen called the meeting adjourned, leaving the remaining details for the next day.
The room filled with casual chatter as Chen Qiu relaxed his shoulders, intending to discuss weaponry with Zhou Yunchen. He glanced at the General’s hologram, only to see it dissolve into points of light. Chen Qiu raised an eyebrow, sighed, and asked his colleague, “Has Zhou Yunchen been busy lately? I recall his report mentioning that the Silver Halberd Fleet stayed in the Rose Sector for maintenance.”
Maintenance, meaning repairs on the ships and leave for the crew. By all logic, Zhou Yunchen shouldn’t be this busy.
An older general beside him spoke, “Busy? My granddaughter told me she saw Zhou Yunchen with Lu Yao at the Moon Goddess Café the day before yesterday… seems like a date.”
Chen Qiu chuckled, “Ah, that explains it. Busy with… those appointments, then.”
“The beast tide is coming, and he should drop such frivolities,” the older general said.
Chen Qiu smiled, gesturing toward the younger commanders still present. “In the past hundred-plus years, human technology has advanced so much. Watching them bicker here, few truly fear the beast tide. The real pressure remains on our generation—to show the public the climax of this upcoming beast war is what worries the military.”
“You’re too easygoing,” the general grumbled. “Every year, tens of thousands of Federation soldiers die on the frontlines against the beasts.”
“The Federation has hundreds of billions of people,” Chen Qiu replied. “Daily life claims tens of thousands too.”
The general fell silent, deep wrinkles etched like cliffs and ravines. “For us, it’s tens of thousands. For children like Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen, orphaned by beast wars, it’s the only pair of parents they’ll ever have lost.”
“Do you really want Zhou Yunchen to stop these… romantic distractions?” Chen asked. The older general sighed.
At the mountaintop villa, the snow leopard, remotely controlling the holographic projection system, stretched his back lazily, tail tip trembling. Shaking off the stiffness, he manipulated the projection to appear in the Silver Halberd Fleet flagship the Ares command room, continuing to participate in the meeting.
At the First Research Base, the preliminary registration for the Hephaestus Mecha Tournament was complete, and organizers announced the first round’s procedures. Participants had to submit initial mecha models, ensuring they functioned correctly in intelligent simulations. The organizers had access to each participant’s personal AI assistant, which would evaluate model performance.
The procedure resembled conventional mecha design competitions. The main concern for base researchers: competitors had to use the provided standardized equipment and systems for modeling. Even the NTL mecha’s base framework, when run on the organizers’ equipment, couldn’t handle the computational load without lag. In the interstellar era, network and hardware lag were rare, but researchers accustomed to the base’s high-end systems had to find ways to squeeze their models into the limited competition environment. Lu Yao leaned on the desk, frowning. “Who came up with this requirement?”
Mo Feng shrugged. “The organizer provides A101 computing devices, developed by Helios Group—who supply hardware for starships, mechas, and weapons. They sponsor the tournament; probably marketing.” He patted Lu Yao’s shoulder. “It’s also for fairness. This way, individual participants aren’t at a disadvantage against high-tech mecha corporations. Everyone starts on equal footing.”
“Still… I’ve used A101 before,” Lu Yao said, closing his eyes. “It’s painfully slow.”
“No worries, I trust you!” Mo Feng said, giving him an encouraging slap on the back.
“I’ll handle this personally,” Lu Yao decided. The base had planned to send senior engineers for the first round, but now, Chief Engineer Lu would compete himself.
Three days after their conversation at Pavilion Lake, Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen met again in Dr. Elaine’s office, as per her instructions. This time, it wasn’t Lu Yao’s usual consultation room. Elaine guided them into a space with a double sofa, decorated in soft beige and coffee tones that gave the room a cozy warmth. Elaine noticed them sitting shoulder to shoulder and glanced a few times at the cream-colored sofa. “You like this sofa?” she asked.
Lu Yao shook his head. “I just… haven’t seen a multi-person sofa here before.”
Elaine replied, “I also do marital counseling.” She liked having couples sit on the same sofa; the way they positioned themselves and interacted could reveal many subtle psychological cues. Some couples leaned apart on opposite arms, some leaned together.
Zhou Yunchen sat stiffly, neither close nor distant from Lu Yao. He was tense, trying to mask the unease of his private identity behind the social authority of a military officer. Lu Yao was slightly more relaxed, but his hands were folded in his lap, a small sign that the unfamiliar room unsettled him too. Or perhaps this was just an omega’s nervous response to an upcoming alpha pheromone adaptation training.
Elaine said, “If you ever need it, you can also come for marital counseling.” She felt that Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen could use it now, but she hesitated, uncertain if their flirtatious, almost “will-they-won’t-they” dynamic counted as playful couple behavior. Neither of them spoke. Elaine let the topic drop. “Let’s discuss the specifics of the adaptation training.”
Zhou Yunchen shifted slightly, breaking his statue-like pose. He glanced at Lu Yao, who remained expressionless.
“The adaptation training has three stages: scent adaptation, pheromone adaptation, and marking adaptation. Lu Yao, your case is special; you’re highly sensitive to his pheromones. So I’ve adjusted the usual order: pheromone training will come first instead of scent training. That’s what we’ll begin today. The pheromone training will have two courses. The first course consists of three sessions. Because you encounter each other in daily life, it may influence the training. After the first course, I’ll adjust the second based on your results. If the effect meets the standard, we’ll move on to scent adaptation. The training room is to your right. It’s equipped with pheromone blockers, so there’s no risk of leakage. These are headphones.”
Elaine handed one pair to Lu Yao and the other to Zhou Yunchen, and additionally gave Lu Yao a wristband. “There won’t be any recordings inside. I’ll guide you separately via voice from outside. Lu Yao, the wristband monitors your physiological state. Alpha pheromones will constantly be released, and if your body reaches the critical threshold, I’ll stop the session. Then this is an alpha suppressant,” Elaine said, handing Zhou Yunchen a syringe. “A fast-acting prescription. If you feel your pheromones are out of control, administer it. That’s everything for now. You two can change into the provided clothing. By the way, the windows in the room are adjustable for transparency; if you prefer privacy, you can close them.”
As Zhou Yunchen went to change, Elaine stayed with Lu Yao. “Lu Yao, here’s the situation,” she said deliberately. “While I trust General Zhou’s character and self-control, accidents can sometimes happen.”
“Statistically possible,” Lu Yao said, waiting for her to continue. He assumed she meant some unexpected incident—but Zhou Yunchen wouldn’t, of course, do anything reckless. In a sense, it was just entropy.
Elaine offered, “I’ve prepared safety equipment and preventative medicine in the room. Do you need them?”
Lu Yao blinked, then declined. Elaine’s expression was complex, but she accepted his choice. In truth, Lu Yao wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by “safety equipment”—it wasn’t like he expected a bulletproof vest.
When Lu Yao changed into the replacement clothing Elaine had provided and entered the training room, Zhou Yunchen was already standing stiffly in the center. Curious, Lu Yao walked around and spotted a bright box on the table—now he understood what Elaine meant by safety equipment. She had even prepared sizes from L to XXL for them to choose from.
Author’s Note:
Elaine, master of support—next time she should sit at the head of the table.
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