The next morning at breakfast, He Qing heard the news reporting that a diplomatic delegation, including people from the Federation, was coming to the Empire.

He Qing glanced at the Federation representatives. The Federation was a faction that split off from humanity after they entered the interstellar era, alongside smaller groups like star pirates and border rebels.

“Will we be working with them?” He Qing asked as he took a bite of lotus seed porridge.

“No,” Duan Chenhui shook his head. “We’re still rivals.”

He Qing looked down at his lotus seed porridge and asked tentatively, “Any idea when the diplomatic team will arrive?” He had spent the whole night thinking about it—he could retrieve his lotus seed before the Sacred Cup was handed over to Duan Chenhui for safekeeping.

Duan Chenhui glanced at him, as if amused, “You seem quite interested.”

“Such grand events don’t happen every day,” He Qing replied calmly.

Duan Chenhui took a bite of his porridge before responding, “They’ll arrive at the border in a month.”

He Qing did a quick calculation. “Pretty soon.” By then, he could find an excuse to sneak out.

After breakfast, He Qing drove out, took a turn, and arrived at a private room in a café. Inside, Zhang Yi, Zhang Lin, Shi Lei, and Chu Yan were deep in heated discussion.

Zhang Yi: “Shi Lei, don’t listen to him! My combat style is the best for you! The others are too strong!”

Zhang Lin: “I know the enemy’s weak points.”

Chu Yan: “Mine’s better—one hit, one kill.”

“…”

Shi Lei wore a pained expression. “Can I still back out now?”

“Of course not.” Zhang Yi slapped his shoulder, “Relax, with our help, you’ll definitely rank up.”

He Qing walked over, glanced at their combat plans, and said, “Try all their methods once. Then you’ll know which suits you best.”

Shi Lei’s eyes lit up. “Right, I’ll test them out a few times.”

Zhang Yi patted the seat next to him, signaling for He Qing to sit. “You’re finally here. Let’s start quickly, or we’ll run out of time!” He was seriously worried that He Qing wouldn’t manage to complete all his challenges!

He Qing sat down, grabbed his holographic helmet, and said, “I should be able to rank up by a few thousand today.”

Shi Lei almost dropped his helmet. “A few thousand?!”

He Qing smiled and put on the helmet. “Yes.”

Zhang Yi and the others exchanged glances and quickly put on their helmets to watch. They logged into the network, and He Qing set up a face for himself, preparing to fight anonymously. He even gave Zhang Yi and the others permission to watch his match.

He Qing entered his room and looked around. The plain walls were too dull, so he changed the room to an arena and pulled up the list of challengers, selecting the first lucky person.

If he sent three consecutive challenges and the opponent didn’t accept, he could skip them and challenge the next higher rank.

After a while, the first opponent accepted the challenge, and a person appeared in the room.

He Qing looked at him—a student he didn’t recognize. “I’m He Lian. Pleased to meet you.” This was his alias.

“I’m Lin Song, likewise.” The other was equally direct.

“Apologies in advance.” He Qing smiled and immediately charged forward. The next second, the system voice chimed, [Lin Song is out. He Lian advances.]

Lin Song, clutching his stomach after being knocked out of the ring with a single punch, stood there in shock. Wait! What just happened? How did he lose already? He looked at He Qing’s ordinary-looking face and thought, maybe he’s a talented new student? That could be possible.

Convincing himself, Lin Song stood up and said, “I lost. Congrats, He Lian.”

“Thank you for the match.” He Qing walked over and helped him up.

Lin Song nodded and disappeared. He Qing then selected the next challenger.

In the observation room, Zhang Yi yawned. “Looks like we won’t see anything exciting until He Qing reaches the top thousand.”

Zhang Lin nodded in agreement. Shi Lei’s jaw hung open. “It’s like a pro player bulldozing through a newbie village—there’s no suspense at all. But… is he really an Omega?”

Shi Lei voiced what everyone was thinking.

Zhang Yi was silent for a moment, then looked at the others, “He’s supposed to be an Omega… isn’t he married to the general?”

The others fell into thoughtful silence. Shi Lei trembled slightly as he said, “If He Qing really makes it to the top, wouldn’t he evolve into an Enigma? Like the general?”

“…Damn!” Zhang Yi’s eyes widened. So, was He Qing actually an Enigma pretending to be an Omega to lure another Enigma? This was starting to make a lot of sense!

“Don’t overthink it. Their relationship has nothing to do with us,” Chu Yan crossed his arms, staying aloof as always. Then he glanced at Shi Lei, “He Qing’s fine, but you need special training.”

“Yes…” Shi Lei replied meekly, sneaking a glance at Chu Yan.

Chu Yan was disgusted, “You’re not He Qing. Don’t try to copy his style.”

Shi Lei wiped his face and grinned, “I just think it’s interesting. Does the general know?”

“Probably?” Zhang Yi thought about it and was slightly creeped out. If the general knew He Qing was faking his weakness, things could get complicated. He was sure He Qing hadn’t been marked yet!

Zhang Yi turned back to He Qing’s live stream. He Qing had already defeated several more challengers. His method was simple—one punch per opponent. It was straightforward and brutal. Normally, He Qing didn’t seem like such a violent person…

After watching for a while, they decided there wasn’t much to see and took Shi Lei to challenge other people.

At noon, He Qing logged off StarNet. Zhang Yi removed his helmet and asked, “Not continuing?”

“I’ll continue this afternoon. I’m heading home for lunch.” He Qing tidied up, opened the door, and left. “You guys keep going. See you.”

Zhang Yi wanted to say more, but He Qing had already closed the door and left. Zhang Yi rubbed his chin, muttering, “Going home for lunch? He’s really playing the part.”

– 

As He Qing left the private room and passed through the lobby, he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Duan Chenhui’s back. Duan Chenhui was talking to someone He Qing had seen at their wedding—Duan Chenhui’s uncle, Duan Xing.

However, Duan Chenhui addressed him as bofu (uncle) rather than dabo (elder uncle), which sounded subtly different.

He Qing secretly glanced at Duan Xing. Duan Xing seemed to be in his sixties and bore some resemblance to Duan Chenhui. If the general had lost his parents at a young age, it was likely this uncle had raised him.

“What brings you here, Uncle?” Duan Chenhui asked formally, but his tone was somewhat distant.

Duan Xing took a sip of his coffee. “The new year is coming. Grandfather asked me to see if you’re coming back to the family estate this year.”

He Qing froze. That’s right—their New Year was a commemoration of when humanity left Blue Star, and it was in October.

Duan Chenhui looked down at his coffee, not replying immediately. Duan Xing continued, “Does He Qing not want to come?”

“No,” Duan Chenhui raised his head, “I haven’t mentioned it to him yet.”

Duan Xing frowned slightly, as if wanting to say more, but after a moment, he slowly set down his coffee. “Perhaps you should talk to him about it.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“If you say it’s inconvenient, I’ll tell them not to bother you.”

“It is inconvenient.”

Duan Xing didn’t say anything more. He finished his coffee and stood up. “Alright, if you decide to come, let me know in advance.”

“Mm.” Duan Chenhui nodded and stood up as well.

Duan Xing took a few steps, then suddenly turned and looked straight at He Qing.

“…”

He Qing was caught red-handed, locked in an awkward stare with Duan Xing. He had been too engrossed in eavesdropping. So, was it true that no relatives had visited them because Duan Chenhui had forbidden it?

Duan Chenhui rubbed his forehead and walked over. “He Qing, what are you doing here?”

He Qing smiled casually, twirling the prayer beads on his wrist. “Just passing by after school.” He glanced at Duan Xing, “Uncle, long time no see.”

Duan Chenhui raised an eyebrow, clearly aware that their home was in the opposite direction, but nodded. “Since you’re here, let’s go back together.”

“Long time no see,” Duan Xing’s expression remained unchanged as he looked at them. “Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t we have lunch together?”

He Qing looked at Duan Chenhui, waiting for him to decline. But Duan Chenhui just stared at him silently, leaving He Qing unsure of what he meant.

Duan Xing spoke again, “If you don’t object, I’ll take that as a yes.”

Seeing as they were both silent, Duan Xing took the initiative to arrange their schedule. He Qing mentally knocked on his wooden fish and smiled, “Sure.”

“Good,” Duan Chenhui finally spoke.

He Qing glanced at him sideways, starting to suspect that Duan Chenhui was doing this on purpose. He followed Duan Xing into the hover car. It was spacious, and Duan Xing sat across from them like a stern family elder assessing a daughter-in-law.

He Qing suddenly felt a bit of pressure. If Duan Xing was half a father-in-law, this was going to be tough.

Duan Xing said, “With the outsiders arriving soon, you both need to be careful.”

“I will, Uncle. No need to worry,” Duan Chenhui nodded.

He Qing also nodded, but then Duan Xing asked him, “Will you be returning to the family estate for New Year?”

He Qing didn’t expect Duan Xing to ask again. He turned to look at Duan Chenhui, but once again, Duan Chenhui remained silent. Was he letting He Qing decide?

Duan Xing smiled slightly. “I hope you’ll both come home for the holiday.”

Since Duan Chenhui wasn’t speaking, He Qing had no choice but to reply, “If we have time. We’ve been busy lately.” He was genuinely busy—busy challenging his classmates.

Duan Xing didn’t seem to mind his “nonsense” and nodded kindly, “No problem, next year works too.”

He Qing smiled and didn’t say anything more. By next year, Duan Chenhui’s leg should be healed.

Duan Chenhui finally spoke up, “We’ll see.”

Just then, they arrived at the restaurant. He Qing got out of the car, feeling exhausted. Fathers-in-law were hard to deal with. He looked up and saw that it was a revolving restaurant—somewhere he’d never been before.

“This restaurant is quite nice,” Duan Xing said, but he didn’t get out. He smiled, “I’ve got something else to attend to. I’ve already reserved a table for you two. Enjoy your meal. Goodbye.”

Thud—the car door closed, and the hover car sped away.

“…”

He Qing turned to look at Duan Chenhui. General, your uncle is quite odd.

Duan Chenhui rubbed his forehead. “Well, let’s go eat.”

“It’d be a shame to waste the reservation.” He Qing silently recited a mantra, following Duan Chenhui into the restaurant.