Good question.

Anyway, Yun Xunlan felt that this alpha could never be him. He told Jian Wenxi: [Hmm, so I plan to select the top nine based on the practical assessment scores after watching the selection live stream.]

Actually, if he decided that way, it wouldn’t matter whether he watched the selection live stream or not. But Yun Xunlan thought that Yun Xunguang’s words made some sense. After all, this was someone he would be facing every day in the future. Even though he already knew that during the sensitive period, an alpha would find other alphas unpleasant to look at, Yun Xunlan still wanted to personally confirm just how much he found them unpleasant, so he could be mentally prepared. If he encountered someone particularly annoying, he would have to eliminate them; otherwise, it would be torture to face them for a long time.

Meanwhile, on the holographic screen, Jian Wenxi continued to ask: [When is the live stream for the Imperial Guard selection?]

[Yun Xunlan: Three days later.]

Isn’t three days later Yun Xunlan’s birthday? Jian Wenxi thought.

He asked again: [So does that mean your coming-of-age banquet will be postponed?]

The sensitive period for an alpha lasts three to five days, but regardless of how many days it lasts, Yun Xunlan’s coming-of-age banquet would have to be postponed; it couldn’t be held during the sensitive period.

[Yun Xunlan: Yes, it will be postponed to seven days later. Are you coming?]

Currently, the galaxy was not unified, and the various factions were chaotic and complex. But overall, they could be divided into three major forces: one was the Galactic Empire they belonged to, the second was the Corona Empire, which controlled one-third of the galaxy’s star regions, and the third was the Nebula Federation, formed by various small and large planetary nations.

These three major forces were evenly matched, and as the third prince of the Galactic Empire, Yun Xunlan’s coming-of-age banquet naturally held unusual diplomatic significance. At that time, the Corona Empire and the Nebula Federation would definitely send corresponding diplomatic officials to attend and congratulate him.

Jian Wenxi, who had a severe fear of crowds, felt suffocated just thinking about that scene. Not to mention that he had recently been attacked at a crowded auction, which made him even less inclined to go to places with many people!

So, Jian Wenxi “politely declined”: [I won’t be coming. You know my introverted personality; I don’t like going to crowded places. I’ll wish you a happy birthday in advance. Take care of your injury, and I’ll visit you when you come out of your sensitive period.]

[Yun Xunlan: Okay. Thank you, Wenxi.]

Yun Xunlan indeed hoped to be happy on his birthday— as long as the system could lighten his burdens a bit, making it easier for him to complete his daily survival tasks, he would be very happy.

For example, if the task of “collecting 10,000 pieces of text deemed ‘insulting to the host’ by the system” could be reduced to 1,000 or even 100 pieces, that would be great. After all, he couldn’t repeatedly look at the negative comments he had previously collected. Who knew how hard it would be to gather 10,000 new negative comments every day?

So, Yun Xunlan pulled out that old line and negotiated with the system: “Xiao Ju, my birthday is coming up, and I’ve also injured one hand. Can’t you do me a favor and let me read fewer of these negative comments?”

Surprisingly, the system was quite accommodating this time, readily agreeing: “Sure, I promise you. On your birthday, I’ll turn a blind eye. As long as you read 9,999 negative comments, I’ll consider it a completed task. Happy now?”

Yun Xunlan was silent for a few seconds: “… Happy, thank you.”

“Glad to hear that.” The system gave him a kiss, “This is your birthday gift from me. You have to be this happy every day from now on~”

Yun Xunlan: “……”

Yun Xunlan was “happy” to the point of being unable to sleep.

In his insomnia, he first welcomed his sensitive period, followed closely by his second eighteenth birthday.

Just after midnight, Yun Xunlan worried that he would have to watch the Imperial Guard selection during the day and might not have time to find negative comments to complete his daily tasks. So, thinking that he was already awake, he decided not to sleep and opened his holographic screen, preparing to organize a batch of new “bedtime reading materials.”

However, as soon as he clicked into the social app, he was overwhelmed by a flood of birthday wishes.

Seeing this, the system exclaimed in surprise: “Who is so generous that they even bought the opening screen advertisement to wish you a happy birthday?”

“Not important.” Yun Xunlan calmly closed the opening screen wishes, “We’re not here for that.”

In his previous life, as the number one medical cultivator, he had saved countless cultivators over the centuries. Whether it was praise or accolades, he had heard so many that he was already numb to it, and nothing could stir his heart anymore.

Now, Yun Xunlan just wanted to see his “bedtime reading materials.”

But this time, no matter how he changed the search terms, he couldn’t find a single negative comment about him—at least not on the four major interstellar social apps.

The system asked: “What’s going on?”

Just as the system finished asking, Yun Xunlan’s holographic screen vibrated.

Jian Wenxi sent him a message: [Yun Xunlan, I thought about it carefully, and I’m really sorry I can’t attend your birthday banquet. So, I prepared an extra birthday gift for you.]

[Yun Xunlan: Thank you, is it those opening screen wishes? I saw them.]

[Jian Wenxi: Yes, I wish you happiness every day in the future, joy and happiness ^ ^]

After finishing the conversation with Jian Wenxi, Yun Xunlan put down his holographic screen and went to the window to light a cigarette.

However, the kind of cigarette he smoked was more like a calming agent than a regular cigarette. After all, it was specifically designed to stabilize the turbulent emotions of sensitive period alphas. One puff would cool him down, making all worldly desires dissipate.

But at this moment, as Yun Xunlan smoked this cigarette, he felt his heart grow colder.

He gazed out at the tranquil night scene, his voice hoarse: “Your birthday gifts are truly surprising, one after another.”

“What’s wrong? Don’t you like the one I gave you?” the system asked him, “Then I won’t give you any more.”

Yun Xunlan was being contrary: “… I like it, very much.”

The system asked again: “Then you don’t like what Jian Wenxi gave you?”

“Wenxi probably did more than just the opening screen wishes.” Yun Xunlan didn’t say whether he liked it or not; he just mentioned that Jian Wenxi had good intentions, “He must have also blocked some topics online that insult me, fearing that seeing them would affect my mood.”

The four major interstellar social apps were all controlled by the Jian Corporation, so it was incredibly easy for Jian Wenxi to block some topics.

Yun Xunlan sighed: “He doesn’t know that not seeing them would affect my mood.”

Jian Wenxi also didn’t know that he needed to see those words to complete his daily survival tasks.

The system, having heard this, wanted to smoke a cigarette for Yun Xunlan too and suggested: “Why don’t you skip searching for negative comments tonight and write your will instead?”

Yun Xunlan: “……”

“Not to that extent. It’s not like the whole internet is blocked. If it really doesn’t work, I can still search on other apps.”

Yun Xunlan extinguished the cigarette at his fingertips, thought for a moment, and said: “Actually, this might be better. Many people have a rebellious mentality; the more you prevent them from insulting me, the more they want to. After my birthday, I’ll let Wenxi lift the topic restrictions. They might insult me even more, which would be beneficial for me.”

The system sighed deeply: “Such a precarious situation. Why don’t you consider completing the second task instead?”

Yun Xunlan lay back on the bed, his posture relaxed, golden eyes gazing at the ceiling: “I’ve considered it.”

The two daily tasks released by the system each had their pros and cons. One had no exposure risk at all, while the other had simple completion conditions. He could choose to complete either task.

In his previous life, without the internet, the first task was very difficult to complete. Yun Xunlan survived by completing the second task because he could use magic to disguise himself and avoid exposing his true identity, as well as teleport thousands of miles at any time.

In this life, without magic, he couldn’t rely on physical teleportation anymore. He could still disguise himself, but he usually had attendants and guards following him, making it very difficult to complete the second task. Not to mention—

“Usually, I can’t find anyone to insult me face-to-face. Today, on my birthday, will I be able to find someone? Who would dare insult me on my birthday?” Yun Xunlan retorted to the system, “And after today, I might even have guards watching over me while I sleep. Who would dare insult me under their noses?”

Do they really think the top warriors selected from the Galactic Empire are pushovers?

The system: “……”

The system: “Go to sleep; you can find anything in your dreams.”

Sleep my foot.

Just thinking about having to rely on the internet to search for negative comments again, and then having the holographic AI housekeeper help organize them into an e-book to fulfill the first task’s prerequisite condition, made Yun Xunlan even more unable to sleep.

The next morning at exactly nine o’clock, Ni Chun arrived at Yun Xunlan’s bedroom and gently knocked three times on the door: “Your Highness, the live stream for the Imperial Guard selection interview is about to begin, you…”

Yun Xunlan hadn’t slept all night and was sitting at the low table by the floor-to-ceiling window, playing with a tea pet with his newly healed hand. He replied to Ni Chun: “Hmm, I’ll watch it on time.”

And he did watch it on time.

—But he found every alpha unpleasant to look at.

This kind of “rejection” was an instinctive response ingrained in all alpha genes during the sensitive period.

Even though the one hundred SS-level top alpha warriors entering the royal guard selection interview stage were impeccable in appearance, ability, and talent, Yun Xunlan still couldn’t develop any fondness for them.

Especially since today’s live stream was presented in holographic projection, it was almost indistinguishable from being present in person, except he couldn’t smell their pheromones. This made Yun Xunlan feel an extreme discomfort, as if his territory had been invaded by another alpha.

He only intended to select the top nine, but the interview order was random and not sorted by scores.

Finally, after enduring the annoyance of watching twenty-six alphas, Yun Xunlan finally saw an alpha who ranked within the top nine.

He ranked second overall, named Fu Yanxi, with red hair and brown eyes, sharp eyebrows, and starry eyes. The first impression he gave was that of a hot-tempered, unruly troublemaker.

But in reality, his demeanor was completely different from his appearance. Throughout the interview, he remained calm and composed, giving off a very reliable vibe.

It wasn’t hard to imagine that even if he wasn’t selected for the royal guard this time and continued to serve in the original army, given time, he could still become an outstanding officer with an immeasurable future.

So before the chief examiner could finish asking his questions, Yun Xunlan marked Fu Yanxi with a check on the holographic screen, indicating that he had chosen him.

After that, the chief examiner finally asked Fu Yanxi the last question: “Major Fu Yanxi, what strengths do you believe you have that would allow you to stay by the side of His Highness the Third Prince?”

“Absolute loyalty and obedience.”

Fu Yanxi clenched his right fist against his heart. Rather than answering the question, it felt more like a declaration, as he firmly stated: “I am willing to give my life for His Highness the Third Prince!”

However, his unwavering pledge of loyalty did not move Yun Xunlan in the slightest. After all, the twenty-six alphas before him had all said the same thing, and the forty-two who followed him in the interview were even more exaggerated, comparable to wedding vows, each one more sincere and passionate than the last.

—Until the seventieth alpha stood before Yun Xunlan.

This alpha had a pair of striking blue eyes.

That shade of blue was pure and rich, radiating outwards in delicate strands around the dark pupils, resembling the vast sea frozen in ice during a cold winter wind—deep and silent, with no bottom or edge in sight.

The moment Yun Xunlan saw him, his entire body involuntarily tensed up, and his fingers instinctively clenched into a fist—this was a posture ready to attack.

Because Yun Xunlan felt an unprecedented strong threat emanating from him.

In that instant, the primal instincts of a sensitive period alpha urged every particle in Yun Xunlan’s body to scream: tear him apart, crush him, make him submit before you.

Yun Xunlan closed his eyes and took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing the boiling and surging warlike emotions in his blood. He thought: He must be the alpha with the highest practical assessment score among these one hundred alpha warriors.

When Yun Xunlan opened his eyes again and clicked on this alpha’s information, he found that his guess was indeed correct.

The man was named Yu Chen, 27 years old, an SS-level alpha, graduated from Anluos Military Academy, formerly the chief individual mech operator at the Mecha Academy, currently serving in the Beidou Kaiyang Corps, and was the officer with the highest overall score in this royal guard selection assessment. His personal resume was exceptionally impressive, with no flaws to be found.

But no matter how impressive he was, he was still just an SS-level alpha. Why did he provoke such a strong reaction in Yun Xunlan?

Was it because of the sensitive period?

Yun Xunlan’s brows gradually furrowed, struggling with whether to eliminate him.

After much hesitation, Yun Xunlan finally made up his mind: eliminate him.

Although this alpha was strong enough, he found him too unpleasant to look at—he was already like this before the real person even stood in front of him; how would it be when he actually saw him?

There were one hundred alphas participating in the interview; he didn’t need to choose the one he found the most unpleasant.

Just as Yun Xunlan was about to click the cross next to the man’s name, his peripheral vision caught sight of his military academy graduation score, and he suddenly saw a striking line of text: 【”War Psychology”: 100】

100?

Full marks?

Full marks in “War Psychology”???

At first, Yun Xunlan thought he was seeing things, but when he focused and looked carefully several times, the number remained unchanged, causing Yun Xunlan to feel a rare sense of astonishment—how could anyone achieve a perfect score in that subject?

Didn’t Yun Xunguang only get 95 points when he graduated?

Yun Xunlan’s fingertip hovered over the cross, unable to click it down. He raised his gaze and once again seriously scrutinized the alpha with the wolf-tail black hair in front of him. However, the man’s interview was nearing its end, and Yun Xunlan had missed all the previous questions the chief examiner had asked him, only able to hear their exchange about the last question:

“Major Yu Chen, what strengths do you believe you have that would allow you to stay by the side of His Highness the Third Prince?”

Upon hearing this, the alpha raised an eyebrow, and the untamed wildness in his blue eyes almost solidified into substance, revealing his rebellious and unruly nature.

Before hearing his answer, Yun Xunlan first saw the sunlight rising behind him, shifting through the glass window with the passage of time, falling into the alpha’s eyes, creating a glimmer in the center of his pupils, giving Yun Xunlan the illusion that he was being watched.

It was as if the words the man was about to say were directed at him—

“I can turn anyone into a dog that can only kneel and beg for mercy.”