I Marked My Arch-Nemesis Omega - Chapter 33

Sheng Yu finished thirty pull-ups and jumped down, glancing at Song Qing who was still standing nearby. “Why aren’t you doing other tasks? Just standing here.”

“It’s time for dinner.”

“Alright.” Sheng Yu rubbed her wrist. “Didn’t expect the president to wait for me.”

“I thought you’d want me to wait.”

Sheng Yu chuckled and looked at Song Qing. “So that’s what you think, President.”

There was no assembly order for dinner—just a report was needed. Some chose to skip dinner to complete their tasks, like Bai Ying, who felt this rare chance to interact with mechas was too precious to miss. She believed if she let this opportunity slip, it might never come again.

Zhang Yunsu had already gone to dinner with her roommate, while Meng Yu was still working on her tasks. In the end, only Sheng Yu and Song Qing headed to the cafeteria together.

When they arrived, the cafeteria wasn’t crowded yet. They grabbed their meals and found a seat.

“Best to head back before nine,” Song Qing said.

“Mm,” Sheng Yu acknowledged.

Song Qing glanced at her. “You seem to be adapting well.”

“True,” Sheng Yu replied, sipping her soup. “Since middle school, I’ve mastered all sorts of wall-climbing skills to evade student council patrols, so my stamina’s decent. Today’s training was tiring, but I managed.”

Song Qing: “…”

“Too bad. At this school, with you around, I have to follow proper procedures to leave. Feels like I might lose my edge.”

Song Qing ignored the comment. “Eat up. We should head back soon.”

“Tch.” Sheng Yu smirked. “Already tired of me.”

Song Qing brushed off the remark. “If you feel unwell, let me know—”

Sheng Yu laughed. “What could possibly be wrong with me?”

Clearly, Song Qing still hadn’t let go of the idea that she was an Alpha. Annoying, but as long as she kept denying it, things should be fine.

After dinner, they returned to complete their tasks. Sheng Yu scanned her training list, planning to tackle them in order. Song Qing started immediately upon entering the training hall. As time passed, everyone focused on their tasks without distractions.

By 8:40 p.m., Song Qing had finished all her tasks. Though she’d taken short breaks, her overall condition was better than ever. After saying goodbye to Sheng Yu, she headed back to the dorm to shower.

Sheng Yu wrapped up shortly after nine, slipping away unnoticed. When she returned to the dorm, Song Qing was already out of the shower, sitting at the desk, lost in thought. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, she turned at the sound of the door opening.

“I thought you might stay behind for extra training.”

Song Qing leaned back in her chair. “No need.”

Sheng Yu raised an eyebrow, grabbed her clothes, and headed to the bathroom.

The temperature in the bathroom was slightly higher than outside, and the scent of shower gel still lingered. Song Qing guessed that Sheng Yu had just finished bathing. Standing in front of the mirror, Sheng Yu examined her face, touched the back of her neck, and pinched it lightly.

She took a deep breath.

She had made it through the first day.

After her shower, Sheng Yu didn’t dawdle and went straight to bed. Meng Yu returned shortly after she did.

Bai Ying didn’t come back until past midnight. Already on the verge of collapse from not having eaten, she had also endured an extra hour of training. She felt like she was about to fall apart. Fighting off exhaustion, she forced herself to shower and tried to cheer herself up, consoling herself with the thought that at least she’d get to touch a mech tomorrow—it wasn’t a total loss.

Bai Ying’s movements were quiet, but Sheng Yu still woke up. Staring at the ceiling, she felt a burning sensation in the gland at the back of her neck. Sheng Yu noticed it keenly, frowning slightly. But aside from the heat, there was no other sensation.

Just as she propped herself up to get out of bed, the gland returned to normal. She lay back down, slowly tracing her fingers over it.

Why had this suddenly happened?

If there had been any significant changes, they weren’t obvious.

Was this a precursor to differentiation?

At 6:30 the next morning, the dormitory building was jolted awake by a collective broadcast.

Listening to the announcement, everyone rushed to the bathrooms. The broadcast demanded that they assemble in front of the dormitory building within ten minutes. Sheng Yu’s dorm wasn’t in as much of a hurry—she even stayed in bed a little longer.

Song Qing and Meng Yu had already gotten up early, so the bathroom wasn’t too crowded. Bai Ying left Sheng Yu with five minutes to spare.

Before heading out, Song Qing glanced at Sheng Yu with a hint of concern.

“Go ahead, don’t wait for me,” Sheng Yu waved her off.

“Mm…” Song Qing hesitated, unsure whether to leave.

“Don’t waste my time,” Sheng Yu said, looking at her.

Only then did Song Qing leave.

Sheng Yu joined the lineup just as the ten-minute mark arrived. Hundreds of people still hadn’t made it on time. Those who had arrived punctually began a two-lap morning run. Once finished, they could head to breakfast on their own. Those who hadn’t made it in time had to run four laps—even a single second late meant four laps.

“You go ahead,” Sheng Yu said, baffled by Song Qing’s insistence on sticking with her. The other Alphas had already sprinted to the front.

“Didn’t have breakfast. Can you even run like this?”

“I can manage,” Sheng Yu replied, giving Song Qing another look, slightly exasperated. “Go on ahead. Grab a good spot in the cafeteria and get breakfast ready. I’ll catch up soon.”

“Okay,” Song Qing nodded.

Sheng Yu called out again, “Song Qing.”

“Hm?”

“Are you feeling unwell or something?”

Song Qing answered earnestly, even meeting Sheng Yu’s eyes to emphasize her sincerity. “No, I’m just worried about you.”

Sheng Yu: “…”

It wasn’t until halfway through the first lap that Sheng Yu finally convinced Song Qing to go ahead. Watching Song Qing accelerate and overtake others, she picked up her own pace.

She had wanted to hold back, but she also didn’t want to keep Song Qing waiting too long.

Song Qing went to the cafeteria, picked out breakfast, and found a seat. Since the food containers were specially designed, there was no need to worry about the meal getting cold. She had expected to wait a long time, but to her surprise, Sheng Yu walked in not long after.

Song Qing was momentarily stunned. She stood up, just about to go find Sheng Yu, when Sheng Yu had already located her spot.

The cafeteria was quite large, and Song Qing had no idea how Sheng Yu had spotted her at a glance.

“That fast?”

“Yeah,” Sheng Yu responded, sitting down across from her.

Most of the people eating breakfast in this area were Alphas, with only a few Betas scattered among them.

She was starting to regret it—people really shouldn’t act on impulse.

Fortunately, Song Qing had chosen a corner seat. As Sheng Yu ate her breakfast, she casually remarked, “After this, it seems we’re going to tour the mechs.”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve probably piloted a mech before, right?” Sheng Yu asked, looking at Song Qing.

Song Qing nodded. “But not often. I’ve been a boarding student since I was little.”

“Do you have a custom mech?” Sheng Yu asked curiously.

Song Qing instinctively tightened her grip on her chopsticks, glanced at Sheng Yu, and shook her head, as if suppressing something. “No.”

Sheng Yu was taken aback, frowning slightly. “Why? Usually, when someone from a prominent family differentiates into an Alpha, doesn’t the family start building them a custom mech? And you’re an A-rank Alpha.”

Moreover, Song Qing was so skilled. It was strange that she didn’t even have a custom mech in the works.

Song Qing fell silent, looking at Sheng Yu, unsure what excuse to give.

There was no way to lie about a custom mech—ownership required registration, and it could be easily verified with a check.

Sheng Yu could tell from Song Qing’s expression that there was likely more to the story, but she didn’t feel like pressing further now. “I wonder what kind of mechs they’ll let us see this time.”

“Probably just standard combat and support mechs. If we’re lucky, we might get to see an A-rank custom mech,” Song Qing said, steering the conversation away.

At seven, everyone gathered at the cafeteria entrance, all eager and ready.

The mech hangar was underground, but there was a dedicated exhibition hall for tours.

Inside were various models of standard combat and support mechs. Though no one was particularly disappointed—these mechs might not be custom, but they still looked incredibly sleek and impressive, enough to stir excitement.

Sheng Yu glanced at Song Qing, keenly noticing the longing and desire in her eyes.

The instructor enthusiastically introduced each mech, his voice brimming with pride. Sheng Yu, hands in her pockets, paused in front of one particular model.

“What’s wrong?” Song Qing asked, looking at her.

Sheng Yu shook her head and smiled. “Nothing. Just looking.”

Her father’s former unit had used this model. After his death, it had been phased out—officially labeled as obsolete, but Sheng Yu suspected there was some fatal flaw.

Only a handful of units had ever used this model, and none of them seemed to have fared well.

After the tour, they moved to the mech simulation room. The experience was still virtual, so it didn’t matter if you couldn’t pilot one—you could choose to sit inside and get a feel for it. Those who could pilot could opt for manual control. After all, it was a virtual world—anything went.

“I have a feeling I’m going to throw up,” Bai Ying muttered under her breath. “Right after breakfast…”

“Definitely,” Sheng Yu agreed. “So when you come out, make sure to walk far away.”

Bai Ying glanced at Sheng Yu and remarked, “No camaraderie among classmates at all.”

The instructor had probably anticipated that many would vomit, so they had already deployed numerous cleaning robots in advance.

However, many didn’t even make it out before throwing up directly inside their virtual-world mechs.

Sheng Yu watched as those people sat in their mechs, faces ashen, with vomit flying everywhere inside, and silently averted her gaze.

The instructor remained unfazed, even gathering to discuss a few who had particularly poor reactions.

Sheng Yu, Song Qing, and the others were in the second round. Sitting in her mech, Sheng Yu hesitated between manual and automatic mode.

Honestly, she was itching to try, but in the end, she chose automatic.

Leaning back in her seat, Sheng Yu prepared to relax—only to be kicked the moment she exited, accompanied by a smug laugh ringing in her ears.

“Hey, isn’t this Sheng Yu?”

The one piloting that mech was Qi Liao.

The next second, Song Qing charged over, ramming into the offending mech and drawing its close-combat weapon.