Chapter 61: Just Watching Isn’t Enough

“You want to capture me?”

The Alpha grinned strangely. “Then let’s see what you’ve got.”

Just as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd suddenly attacked their own teammate. The speed was too fast, too unexpected—some of the slower-reacting freshmen were injured on the spot.

These Alphas all wore the same form-fitting protective suits and visors, making it impossible to tell who was who.

The crowd wanted to fight back, but for a moment, they couldn’t even find their enemies.

Meanwhile, the Alpha on the ground flashed them a strange smile before getting up and diving into the crowd—not to attack, but to slip away unnoticed.

Damn. Ji Laili no longer cared about any mutation-related settings and rushed after him.

If they couldn’t find the rest of the infiltrators, at the very least, they had to catch this one.

But someone was a step ahead.

An injured arm locked around the man’s neck, and with a sharp elbow strike—crack! The man’s head snapped back, and he let out a scream.

“Ah—!”

Zhai Yifei subdued him, ignoring his own reopened wound.

His expression was cold as ice. “I’ll watch him. You go find the others.”

“Got it, Zhai-ge. He’s yours.”

Lei Po was already charging into the chaos with his photon blade, Ji Laili close behind.

They didn’t know who their targets were—the identical combat suits were too confusing. It wasn’t just them; even the freshmen couldn’t tell friend from foe.

“Dammit! Imperial brats, if you’ve got the guts, fight us fair and square!”

Another Alpha, furious from yet another ambush, roared in frustration.

The moment they struck back, the opponent would shout, “I’m your teammate!“

That split-second hesitation was all it took—the so-called “teammate” would immediately stab them in return.

Infuriating!

The freshmen were fighting with hesitation, but the pain levels in this simulation were still at 100%.

Even if they wouldn’t die here, too much damage could still injure their nervous systems!

“Take off the visors, hurry!”

Ji Laili ripped off his own, revealing a few stray strands of chestnut curls falling over his sharp eyes.

“Take them off. There are definitely people here you all recognize—there are upperclassmen mixed into this mission.”

“Freshmen, identify your allies. Seniors! You must recognize the ones participating in this test, right?”

An Alpha responded loudly, “Don’t worry, we know them!”

Ji Laili barely had time to sigh in relief before doubts arose.

“No way! There are too many people—what if someone doesn’t recognize them? If the injuries are too serious—”

“Exactly! There’s so much chaos, how can I pay attention to who’s who while fighting?”

Lei Po cleaved down an Alpha who had tried to ambush Ji Laili. His brows furrowed in irritation, a dangerous edge creeping into his tone.

“Do you have a better plan? If you do, spit it out. Otherwise, shut up and quit whining, or—”

A light touch on his shoulder made him pause.

Ji Laili met his gaze. “Po-ge.”

Then, he turned toward the shifting figures in the crowd and fired a single shot.

The gunshot rang loud, but it couldn’t overshadow his voice.

It was steady, firm.

The boy who always laughed and joked like a puppy now carried an unshakable presence, his eyes shining bright.

As if this was no big deal at all.

It doused Lei Po’s impatience.

And it steadied the anxious, disoriented freshmen Alphas who didn’t know how to handle this sudden crisis.

Unexpectedly reliable.

He said, “I remember.”

“I remember everyone here. Don’t worry. Leave the hassle to me—just focus on fighting.”

Then, at the most inappropriate moment, Ji Laili suddenly smiled.

“Hey, I mean—don’t tell me you guys can’t even handle this much?“

After a brief silence, the Alphas erupted.

“Fuck! Who do you think you’re underestimating?!”

“Hotshot champion contender? So what?! Brothers, show him what we’ve got! Don’t let him look down on us!“

“Taking off visors? Fine! I’ll stand right here—let’s see who doesn’t take theirs off!“

The first person who spoke acted immediately—ripping off his visor and throwing it to the ground.

Not only that, but he lifted his chin arrogantly and stomped on it.

With a loud crunch, the visor shattered beneath his military boot.

“How’s that?”

Shit!

This brat beat me to it!

Not to be outdone, the remaining Alphas yanked off their visors, tossing them down and grinding them into dust.

Alphas with white phosphorus personalities—they couldn’t resist a challenge.

Didn’t matter what was fueling the fire—they were fired up now.

Still…

Ji Laili’s lips curled slightly.

Not bad.

Even he was starting to get fired up just watching them.

—

“And then what?!”

“How the hell did an Imperial infiltrate a Federation freshman assessment? That’s your explanation?!”

One of the exam proctors had an ugly expression, unable to form words.

Aiger, absolutely furious, kicked at a passing cleaning robot.

BANG!

Under Aiger’s wrath, yet another brand-new cleaning bot was successfully destroyed.

The monitoring station fell into a deathly silence.

The instructors all wore grim expressions.

“There’s no need to discuss this any further. Instead, we should focus on a solution.”

Philo’s voice was calm. “The set mutation trait is interfering with their attacks. Why not remove this setting, release the antidote, and allow eliminations to proceed as normal?”

“Proceed as normal?” Nishiyama hesitated. “Philo, you mean to let those freshmen—”

“Precisely.”

“Without the mutation setting, eliminations will be determined by a direct hit to the red marker on the chest, as per standard rules.”

Philo’s gaze remained warm and steady. “Once eliminated, they’ll immediately be ejected from the virtual training ground, making it easier to identify the hidden Imperial infiltrators.”

Entering the virtual training required logging each Alpha’s mental signature.

They only needed to monitor those whose readings showed abnormalities.

“But…”

Nishiyama frowned. “They’re just freshmen. If they suffer too much damage, it could overload their mental state.”

Philo smiled. “Isn’t this a rare, invaluable opportunity to push them beyond their limits?”

“Opportunity, my ass!”

Aiger grabbed Philo by the collar, the scar above his eye twisting into something fierce and menacing.

“Aiger!” The instructors were startled, Nishiyama even stepping forward in alarm.

Aiger was like a beast on the verge of losing control, while Philo—despite being seized—remained refined and composed.

Their stark contrast only made Aiger’s fury seem all the more terrifying.

His expression was volatile, voice low and guttural, mirroring his barely restrained rage.

“Listen to me. They’re just a bunch of kids who only recently became adults!“

“You’ve got some guts, handing this mission over to them like this. If their mental strength collapses under the pressure, they could end up as vegetables!“

“The Federation’s military academy recruits Alphas with potential, not a bunch of mindless idiots! And certainly not to be trained like this!“

Aiger’s enraged roar stunned the entire room of instructors.

The atmosphere grew suffocatingly heavy. The monitoring station fell into an eerie silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The one to break the tension was Eugene.

His eyes widened in shock. “Shen Yu! What do you think you’re doing?!”

A tall Alpha, clad in a black and gold military uniform, stood at the control panel, his fingers moving rapidly over the interface. The glow of the holographic screen cast an eerie blue light over his pale, slender jawline, making his striking features look even more haunting.

Cold. Yet devastatingly beautiful in their starkness.

“You can’t tell?” His voice was unhurried. “I’m going in to save them.”

Eugene’s eyes widened further, his disbelief nearly overwhelming.

His ears must be playing tricks on him.

Or perhaps—everything he thought he knew about Shen Yu was completely wrong.

Shen Yu, who had always despised Alphas, who remained detached, indifferent to life and death—was now stepping in to save them?

Eugene felt utterly dazed.

Lost in his shock, he failed to catch the soft whisper beside him.

“Just watching isn’t enough.”

He was greedy for more.

For example, in this very moment—this moment of danger—

Shen Yu wanted to stand among them.

To fight alongside them.