Chapter 17: Knows a Bit About Scams, But Not Much

The night before the pheromone resistance training, Ji Laili made several trips to the infirmary.

Usually deserted, today the infirmary was so packed it was about to explode.

He struggled to squeeze in, his chestnut-colored curls drowning in the sea of people, until the same Beta girl from last time pulled him out.

The Beta girl remained calm. “You okay?”

Ji Laili shook his head like a little dog shaking off water droplets. His way of fixing his hair never involved smoothing it down—just a good shake, and he was done.

“Why is it so crowded today?”

“Next year, on this same day, you’ll notice there are way more Alphas around,” the Beta girl explained. “It’s pheromone resistance training. Every year, on the night before, these Alphas flock here to buy inhibitors.”

Whoever said Alphas were dumb clearly didn’t know them well—these Alphas were downright schemers.

They even knew to buy inhibitors in advance to avoid embarrassing themselves the next day… even though it was completely useless.

“Are you here to buy inhibitors too?” she asked kindly. “They won’t do much. Save your credits.”

Ji Laili shook his head. “No.”

But he couldn’t help his curiosity. “Are inhibitors really that useless?”

Normally, pheromones caused Alphas to lose control, and inhibitors were supposed to prevent that.

To Ji Laili, taking inhibitors in advance was like drinking medicine before catching a cold—it might not stop it entirely, but it should at least help a little, right?

The Beta girl chuckled and gave him a mysterious wink.

“For normal pheromones, sure.”

“But this is the Federation Military Academy.”

Ji Laili started to understand—the pheromones here were definitely not normal. He rubbed his nose, unsure whether to be relieved or horrified.

Ji Laili left the infirmary after picking up some nasal spray and spent the night tossing and turning, lost in thought.

And he wasn’t the only one.

The next day, most of the Alphas standing outside the sealed training rooms were sporting dark circles under their eyes.

Seeing this, Instructor Aige laughed mockingly. “How interesting.”

“Did you all go out raiding as space pirates last night?”

“Too excited to sleep, Instructor!”

“Yeah! The thought of being first in the test had me up all night!”

One Alpha shouted, “Instructor, we couldn’t be space pirates even if we wanted to! The inhibitors were all sold out!”

Aige raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So it was for inhibitors?”

The crowd immediately turned to glare at the idiot who spoke—so embarrassing!

Realizing he had exposed them all, the Alpha shut up instantly.

But that wouldn’t do.

Aige had been waiting for this moment. He cleared his throat. “So none of you managed to buy inhibitors?”

“Still want them?”

What did that mean? The new students exchanged wary glances, choosing to stay silent and wait for Aige to continue.

Then, the instructor casually pulled out a military-green backpack from behind him and tossed it to the ground. With a loud clang, the zipper slid open, revealing an overflowing pile of inhibitors inside.

Aige raised an eyebrow and tapped the pile. “Want some? 250 credits per shot.”

The new students’ eyes lit up.

Ji Laili never expected Instructor Aige to be running a side business like this. He turned to look at his two friends.

Zhai Yifei and Lei Po seemed completely uninterested, showing no desire to buy anything.

That’s more like it!

Ji Laili felt a surge of pride—he couldn’t stop Aige, but he could stop his friends!

“Hmm?” Lei Po, noticing Ji Laili staring at him, hesitated. “Do I have something on my face?”

Before Ji Laili could answer, the Alpha with the cool little ponytail had already run a hand over his own face.

A slow, mocking voice came from the side. No need to look to know which idiot it was.

“An Alpha worrying about his face? Planning to win first place with your looks?”

“You don’t know shit!” Lei Po sneered, his gaze wild and cocky. “How else am I supposed to seduce little Omegas? And you—stop talking to me.”

Successfully shutting the annoying guy up, Lei Po turned to Ji Laili and, after a moment of thought, confidently said:

“You wanna borrow money from me?”

“…Po-ge, how did you even reach that conclusion?”

“Still playing dumb?” Lei Po slung an arm around Ji Laili’s shoulders, his tone full of amusement. “I saw you staring at Instructor Aige for a while just now.”

“And?”

What did that have to do with borrowing money?

“You must not have bought any inhibitors!”

Lei Po was absolutely certain. “If you’re short on cash, I’ll lend you some—250 credits is nothing!”

His entire expression screamed, “Your bro is rich.”

Ji Laili was still reeling from the earth-shattering revelation that his friend was an absolute idiot when another generous fool spoke up.

“No need.”

Zhai Yifei tugged slightly at his military uniform’s collar, exuding his usual wealthy, aristocratic air. He shot a cool glance over, full of superiority.

With a casual lift of his hand, a subordinate presented a handful of inhibitors.

The Alpha lackey grinned and said to Ji Laili, “Haven’t seen Young Master this generous in a while.”

Ji Laili: “…”

Expression blank, he found himself unable to laugh or feel proud anymore.

He really wanted to ask them, “Have you two read a single book in your life? What medicine do you need right now?”

But under the weight of his friends’ overflowing kindness—especially Zhai Yifei’s aloof young master charm and Lei Po’s clear, naive foolishness—Ji Laili swallowed his words and accepted his fate.

“…Thanks, ge. Next time, don’t buy them.”

Now, he finally understood what Shen Yu meant.

Since this was their first offense, he’d let them off easy—so they’d actually remember next time.

With that in mind, Ji Laili glanced at the Alphas who had eagerly purchased inhibitors, recalling how cautious they were at first.

Honestly…

They understood a bit about scams, but not much.

Maybe only around 40%.

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The sealed training rooms were specifically designed for pheromone resistance training. Unlike other facilities, these rooms were entirely silver, with reflective metal panels enclosing the space from all directions.

No pheromones could escape from here.

Ji Laili followed the group forward, occasionally hearing painful roars coming from behind the metal doors.

“Those are Alphas who lost control.”

Instructor Aige’s voice drifted from the front, noticing the unease in the crowd. “See ahead?”

At the silver door labeled Room 03, a row of medical personnel in white protective masks stood waiting. The sharp scent of disinfectant filled the air.

Ji Laili spotted the familiar Beta girl among them.

She also noticed him and gave a quick wink. Ji Laili smiled back, his eyes curving into crescents.

Suddenly, a shiver ran down his spine.

A damp, eerie gaze seemed to crawl over his back, licking at his skin.

The strange feeling of being watched made Ji Laili suspicious.

He turned sharply to look behind him.

Was it Shen Yu?