Chapter 53: My Teddy Bear Cookies Died a Tragic Death!

The moment the mission update appeared, a chorus of curses erupted among the cadets. Many of them wished they could storm into the monitoring room, grab the instructors by their collars, and demand an explanation!

Who the hell came up with this twisted idea?

This was nothing short of a ruthless ambush, cutting them down right at the jugular.

The freshmen grumbled in frustration.

Sick bastards!

Utterly deranged!

This mission update had completely killed any thoughts of forming alliances—it was downright malicious!

---

“Those dumb Alphas probably have no idea that the ‘sick bastard’ they’re cursing is you, huh?”

Aiger glanced sideways, his eyes landing on Philo, who was sitting at the far end, leisurely sipping his tea.

Hearing this, Philo simply smiled, ever composed and as polite as ever.

“It seems I may have disappointed them. I wonder if, after this exam, any freshmen will still choose me.”

“You? Worried?”

One of the instructors chuckled. “Aren’t you and Aiger the two who get the most students every year?”

There was a hint of envy in his voice.

Aiger attracted students because he was undeniably the strongest.

Philo, on the other hand, wasn’t necessarily weaker, but his combat skills were about average compared to the other instructors.

Yet, despite that, Philo always managed to attract a flood of students, simply by being patient and good-natured. Even the other instructors couldn’t help but be jealous.

Some had even tried to imitate him, only to lose their patience within an hour.

They began to question their past lives—what sins had they committed to be forced to nurture these Alpha brats in this one?

They simply couldn’t do it.

Philo chuckled lightly. “Instructor Nishiyama, please don’t tease me. You’re much more skilled than I am, and your students are all exceptional.”

He furrowed his brows slightly, looking as if he were genuinely troubled. “Managing too many students can be such a hassle.”

Nishiyama immediately felt the pain and nodded in agreement.

One was already a headache. Having several more? Nightmare fuel.

Perhaps… having too many students wasn’t such a great thing after all.

The envy he had felt earlier vanished completely—but then, he noticed something odd.

Philo had lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows over his face.

His voice dropped into a low, almost unsettling chuckle.

“Even so, there are still students who haven’t chosen me.”

Nishiyama froze.

A second later, he was suddenly shoved aside—hard.

The force knocked him off balance before he even had time to react.

???

Nishiyama stumbled back three steps, utterly confused. What just happened?

A broad, intimidating figure had stepped in front of him, completely blocking his view.

Aiger had swept everything out of his way, revealing Shen Yu, his tone half-mocking, half-taunting.

“Still not used to it?”

“From the looks of it, now that everyone knows you’re behind this, even fewer students will choose you.”

“At least now, you won’t have to worry about managing too many.”

Philo’s smile faded slightly. “Aiger, are you saying you disapprove of my plan?”

“Hell no, I support it one thousand percent.”

Aiger raised a hand and clapped.

Clap. Clap.

The slow, lazy, utterly insincere applause froze the air for a moment.

Philo took another sip of tea, his smile barely there now, saying nothing.

The room fell into a deep, awkward silence.

Until Aiger broke it again.

“Oi, what the hell are you staring at?”

He plopped down onto a floating chair, legs crossed, and glanced at Shen Yu.

“I’m talking to you. Why are you staring at Ji Laili? Who’s the instructor here—me, or him?”

His tone dripped with annoyance.

The other instructors wiped the sweat off their foreheads, smiling wryly.

They wanted to ask the same question.

Why the hell were they still putting up with this nonsense, even after becoming instructors?

But soon, they noticed something else.

Aiger’s words struck a chord.

Looking closer, they realized Shen Yu had indeed been staring at the same Alpha on the blue screen this whole time—Ji Laili.

A few instructors exchanged curious glances.

Weird…

Shen Yu, who usually hated Alphas, was focused on one specific male cadet?

“What’s so special about him?”

“They’re totally involved!”

A loud, confident voice cut through the room, shocking the instructor who had just spoken.

“Huh?”

The instructor turned to look at Eugene, who had just made the statement.

Eugene nodded, his eyes sharp with conviction.

“Trust me, something is going on between Shen Yu and that Alpha!”

“Uh…?” The instructor blinked, hesitated, then turned back, raising a hand. “Eugene?”

Eugene nodded again, dead serious. “That’s me. Shh. Keep your voice down. This is prime observation time—we can’t afford to miss any clues.”

The instructor: “…”

…Maybe having too many students really was a bad thing.

Because Philo’s students included this lunatic.

---

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield…

“Huh?”

“Why is this kid just standing there like an idiot?”

On the holographic blue screen, Ji Laili had finally arrived at the site of the gunfire.

But when he got there, the area was eerily silent.

It was as if, after the single gunshot, everything had returned to an unnatural stillness.

His initial excitement faded. Something wasn’t right.

Logically speaking, if someone had just been eliminated, then there should have been at least one Alpha “corpse” left behind—along with a backpack.

Even if the eliminated Alpha had already left, the backpack should still be there.

But there was nothing in the clearing.

Not a single trace.

What the hell are they planning?

Ji Laili immediately suspected that this had to be another one of the instructors’ tricks.

Most Alphas were confident in their abilities.

If the Alpha who fired the shot still had a quantum gun, Ji Laili doubted they would just hide.

His mind raced, piecing things together, but he didn’t retreat.

He controlled his breathing, his muscles tensing, while his sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.

Above, the thick canopy of trees blocked out the sunlight, casting everything in deep, impenetrable shadows.

The Alpha stood motionless, blending so seamlessly with the surrounding trees that he seemed to have become one with the forest.

At first glance, he looked like he was spacing out—or perhaps overly cautious.

The instructors watching this scene had already dismissed him in their minds.

An Alpha acting like a statue? Boring. Not worth their attention.

“Looks like most of them will be eliminated in the first round. Instructor Philo really went all out this time.”

Just then, the Alpha on the blue screen moved!

“What is he doing?”

Ji Laili unzipped his backpack and took out his supplies.

The instructors, now able to see what was inside, twitched their lips.

This kid really was one of a kind. No wonder he had rushed over the moment he heard gunfire.

“…What a waste. I thought he was about to—”

“He’s found the hidden enemy’s location.”

Aiger cut in suddenly.

“What?”

The backpack he had set down was now replaced by a small box of cute teddy bear cookies.

His well-groomed nails pressed down on the cartoon bear-shaped snack.

Crack!

The bear caved in slightly, crushed under his fingers.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he hurled it in a specific direction!

The HD blue screen captured the faint blue veins along his hand in crisp detail.

Shen Yu’s eyes remained fixed on the boy in the screen, unblinking.

The adorable teddy bear cookie in his hand had suddenly turned into a lethal weapon!

It sliced through layers of overlapping leaves, weaving past golden sunlight filtering through the trees, and struck its target directly!

“Holy shit, sneak attack—!”

From the southeast, a massive Alpha crashed to the ground, landing on his ass after being hit by the cookie.

The cookie box tumbled to the ground, shattered into pieces—completely obliterated.

The Alpha brute rubbed his sore butt, cursing under his breath.

“The hell, man?! You wanna fight, do it fair and square!”

A shadow loomed over him.

The Alpha looked up to see a figure walking toward him, silhouetted against the light.

The approaching military boots stopped three meters away, right beside the ruined teddy bear cookies.

Beneath soft chestnut curls, a furrowed brow cast a shadow over a pair of upturned, half-lowered eyes, exuding an air of troubled frustration.

He bent down and picked up the broken cookie box.

Not even sparing a glance at the man on the ground, his focus was entirely on the crumbled remains in his hands.

His fingers gently cradled the ruined box, his tone filled with grief—

“My teddy bear cookies…”

“They died such a tragic death…”

He sighed in utter disappointment:

“Now they’re completely destroyed. Shattered to dust. Not even the wind needs to carry them away—just walking a few steps will scatter them…”