Chapter 54: An Alpha Who’s Interested in Him?!

Ji Laili was crestfallen—he didn’t even get to eat a single bite.

He hadn’t even tasted what these cookies were like before they became a sacrifice.

If he had known, he would have taken a bite first before throwing them out.

“You…” He was still mourning the uneaten teddy bear cookies, while the Alpha on the ground looked completely dazed.

“You… actually knocked me down with a box of cookies?!”

Ji Laili sighed. “I had no choice. My luck is terrible. I never draw good equipment, so I had to sacrifice my precious food instead.”

Damn it!

This was unacceptable!

To think that the one who took him down was this seemingly harmless, curly-haired, chestnut-colored kid.

And worse—he had used a simple box of teddy bear cookies. Sure, the packaging was reinforced, but who would’ve thought teddy bear cookies could be this lethal?!

“Wait, how did you even find my hiding spot?”

With so many trees around, how had this kid managed to pinpoint his exact location?

“Good question,” Instructor Xishan remarked, looking puzzled. “This whole area is full of trees.”

“I remember him just standing there, staring into space after he arrived. Or did I miss something?”

Aiger crossed his arms and let out a chuckle. “Xishan, I think it’s you who was zoning out. That kid has been observing his surroundings from the very beginning.”

“Observing…?” Xishan was momentarily stunned before realization dawned on him.

Aiger casually switched which leg he had crossed over the other, his tone lazy. “That kid’s got depth—he’s sharp. Not like those dumb Alphas.”

The instructors watching the scene began to understand, though some trainees were still clueless.

Aside from the instructors, there were also several of their students watching from the surveillance room.

“It’s all just trees. Did he see something we didn’t?”

Surely, Ji Laili wasn’t seeing a different reality from them, right?

“The simulation has a 100% realism factor. The Federation’s training simulations are practically indistinguishable from reality.”

Of course, they knew that already!

An Alpha was about to respond—only to be stunned when he realized that the one who spoke was Shen Yu!

The surrounding people gave him strange looks.

Even Philo seemed intrigued. His gaze swept over the boy’s face—pale yet breathtakingly cold.

Shen Yu acted as if he didn’t notice any of the stares, his expression completely indifferent.

His eyes remained locked onto a single Alpha the entire time.

His voice, cold and crystalline, cut through the air:

“Whoever chose that hiding spot was a fool. They thought they were being seamless.”

“But in reality, being too flawless… is the biggest flaw.”

As if to prove his words, the boy on the blue screen curved his eyes into a smile, casually tossing the tattered cookie box in his hands.

“The enemy is hidden, while I am in the open. And this dense forest? It looks like a carefully constructed inescapable trap.”

“The moment you lay eyes on it, your instincts scream at you to be cautious.”

Shen Yu’s gaze remained calm, his voice steady.

“People’s first instinct is to suspect the rear.”

Ji Laili grinned effortlessly, “The rear is the biggest and most easily exploitable weakness.”

“Ambushes almost always come from behind.”

“But, since you had no way of knowing which direction I came from when you heard the gunfire, then…”

His bright, laughing eyes briefly fluttered shut before opening again, brimming with mischief.

Shen Yu felt himself sink into those smiling eyes, his usually cold expression softening.

His eyelashes trembled slightly, as if trying to capture the way the Alpha’s gaze sparkled with laughter.

His own gaze nearly pierced through the screen, as if he wanted to reach out—

To embrace this warm, puppy-like boy.

“Then…”

Shen Yu’s voice overlapped perfectly with the Alpha’s on the screen:

“The rear might just be the safest place.”

The instructors in the surveillance room looked dazed, momentarily unsure how to react.

Eugene, however, looked absolutely thrilled. “See?! I told you! They really are—”

“Truly impressive. It seems Shen Yu really does consider him a rival.”

Another instructor sighed in admiration. “The rumors were true after all.”

Eugene: “……”

The proud Alpha had an expression of utter disbelief, as if he was being pranked.

Damn it! Who could understand what he was feeling right now?!

Meanwhile, in the simulation—

“That being said… you people who rely on sneak attacks really do love attacking from behind.”

Ji Laili’s chestnut curls bounced lightly as he spread his hands with a dramatic sigh.

“So, in the end… you’re the one who told me your real location.”

“When did I—”

The Alpha’s words caught in his throat.

Ji Laili knew he had figured it out and chuckled. “Wind speed and light shadows in nature are natural indicators.”

“If you move carelessly, you’ll disrupt the wind speed and the light’s natural flow.”

“When someone tampers with the ‘answer key,’ isn’t it obvious they’ll be noticed?”

“Besides!” Ji Laili emphasized, “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. I attacked fair and square, but you let your guard down and got hit.”

“‘Unfair’ and ‘dishonorable’? I’m not accepting those accusations.”

The burly Alpha’s brows furrowed deeply, his expression a mix of reluctance and frustration.

Ji Laili blinked playfully. “Any other questions you need me to answer?”

“Yeah. What brand were those teddy bear cookies?”

…?

What?

Ji Laili was momentarily stunned and glanced down at the broken box.

“…You wanna buy some to try?” He asked hesitantly.

Alpha: “Try them?! Hell no! That looks like the perfect assassination tool!”

Ji Laili, still holding the tattered cookie box: “…Huh?”

“Look, look!”

The other Alpha had completely forgotten his original purpose, now fully obsessed with the teddy bear cookies.

“A single box of cookies with this much power? If I start using them as hidden weapons, I could carry them openly and no one would even suspect them! Gahahaha!”

His laughter was loud, cocky, and unbearably stupid.

The instructors in the surveillance room: “……”

Disgraceful. Absolutely disgraceful.

In the end, due to the Alpha’s insistence, Ji Laili reluctantly tossed the cookie box to him.

The Alpha caught it, delighted—until he heard:

“I gave you the cookie box. Now, how about we trade? Where’s my gun?”

At these words, the Alpha finally remembered his actual mission.

Forgetting all about the cookie assassination plans, he grinned up at Ji Laili.

“What’s the rush? Your gun is right here—if you want it, come take it yourself!”

The moment his words fell—

The Alpha struck without warning!

Ji Laili remained on high alert, dodging the attack immediately as both sides exchanged blows.

It wasn’t long before he noticed something strange.

The guy across from him kept trying to make physical contact with him.

Ahem. That thought sounded a little ambiguous, but it wasn’t wrong either.

Because Little Butterfly had once mentioned that they didn’t want him to be tainted by another Alpha’s scent…

For a while now, Ji Laili had been carefully avoiding any physical contact with Alphas.

He didn’t want Shen Yu to catch another Alpha’s scent on him.

And on top of that—he had only recently remembered that this was an HHH world.

Given the current situation…

Ji Laili’s mind short-circuited, and his thoughts went completely off track.

Could it be that this guy…

Was an A-bro?!

And—an A-bro who was interested in him?!

With his head now filled with all sorts of wild thoughts, Ji Laili suddenly found himself really missing Shen Yu.

Just then, the other guy abruptly stopped fighting.

The buff Alpha looked at him with a serious expression.

Ji Laili felt uneasy. “…Not fighting anymore?”

“Nope!” The guy waved a hand decisively. “Brother, I have something to tell you.”

Ji Laili: !!!