Premium Alpha Collection Guide (ABO) - Chapter 22

“Mm, Xu Yunjing, don’t be mad, okay? I’ll accept it, but you can’t refuse when I share the profits with you later. Let’s talk about opening a shop another time. For now, can you tell me about Meijiu’s family situation?”

Meijiu’s left hand gently massaged Xu Yunjing’s head with just the right amount of pressure, while her right hand soothed Xu Yunjing’s back, tenderly calming her heightened emotions.

As she asked about the most pressing matter, Meijiu knew she had to first handle the promise she made to Meijiu, fulfilling her commitment before she could move on to other matters and her life with peace of mind.

Xu Yunjing, her restless emotions now soothed, thought about the Mei family’s situation.

She felt it was hard to explain clearly to Meijiu in just a few words.

“The Mei family’s situation is rather complicated. No… to be precise, there’s no noble family in the Empire that isn’t complicated.”

The great noble families, bound by bloodlines and passed down through generations, had many clansmen.

Where there were people, there was scheming—intrigue and deception abounded as every branch and individual fought for their own maximum benefit.

On the surface, the prosperous families appeared calm, but beneath, dark currents surged.

“Ajing, wait a moment. I have a friend who might have fairly complete information on the noble families. I’ll contact him.”

Xu Yunjing sent a private message via her optical brain to someone named “Baozhun.”

“Baozhun, can you compile a document on the Mei family’s specific situation and send it to me? I’ll treat you to ‘Cloud Moss’ in a few days.”

Baozhun was her childhood friend, the second son of the Bao family’s fourth branch, a male Beta with an extraordinary talent for gossip since he was young.

He held a wealth of secrets about the other branches of his family, providing significant leverage for his branch’s power struggles.

After graduating from the Imperial Media University with outstanding results, he successfully joined the Imperial Propaganda Department.

On the surface, he wrote flawless odes for the royal family, extolling the Empire’s greatness.

His work was so impressive that the Emperor swiftly promoted him to Minister of Propaganda.

But in secret, he was one of the most active members of the Dark Web.

After entering the Propaganda Department, Baozhun gained access to an even larger network of connections and more explosive gossip.

However, he couldn’t share it on the Star Web, as that would suffocate him.

So, he registered an anonymous account on the Dark Web, carefully disguising himself, and began sharing all sorts of juicy tidbits for the Dark Web’s netizens to devour.

Gossip was human nature, and Baozhun’s appearance was like a feast for the netizens, who were like weasels in a melon field, gorging on endless scandals.

His anonymous account thrived on the Dark Web.

The Star Web was the Empire’s officially controlled network.

Though the Empire’s higher-ups loudly proclaimed its safety and privacy, every word and action was secretly monitored by a dedicated department.

Any inappropriate remarks led to secret arrests.

It hadn’t always been this severe, but the rise of the Free Federation, which had heavily promoted itself on the Star Web, caused significant disruption to the Empire’s established power holders.

The royal family and noble houses quickly established the Star Web Oversight Department, operating 24/7 to monitor and control speech.

In Imperial Year 174, two civilian students from Imperial University expressed admiration for the Free Federation in a campus chat group.

They were arrested and detained by the Oversight Department and secretly executed shortly after.

Their close classmates realized that civilians had no privacy or freedom of speech on the Star Web, let alone other rights.

Thus, they banded together to secretly establish the Dark Web, a place where people could speak freely.

Over time, the Dark Web grew stronger, and more clear-headed Imperial citizens created their own Dark Web accounts.

As for the rest, aside from the high-ranking elites, most were deeply brainwashed by the Empire.

The Dark Web became a closely guarded secret among most of the Empire’s citizens.

As a hardcore internet enthusiast, Baozhun replied quickly.

“Jingjing, you’re back on the Imperial Capital Star?! Why are you suddenly interested in gossip about the Mei family? Are you possessed? You’re tempting me with Cloud Moss! Last year, you refused to take me there when I asked. Are you really Xu Yunjing? Who are you, and what’s your motive?!”

Baozhun was a chatterbox, his words endless and rapid, capable of talking for hours without stopping.

Xu Yunjing avoided staying around him whenever possible, as her worsening pheromone disorder made it hard to resist the urge to shut him up.

“Baozhun, do you have it or not? If not, forget about Cloud Moss.”

Xu Yunjing, at her wit’s end, sent a cold, emotionless voice message.

Cloud Moss was a restaurant owned by her mother, famous for its edible natural foods developed at great expense.

It was a favorite among the rich and powerful, and though they later opened branches, getting a reservation remained nearly impossible.

Her family kept a private room at the main branch, and before her differentiation, she had taken friends there a few times.

They never forgot it.

But after joining the military and dealing with her pheromone disorder, she hadn’t been back in a long time.

After hearing the voice message, Baozhun immediately backed down and sent a compressed file.

“Hehe, what a coincidence! I just organized information on all the noble families recently. It’ll make gossiping—er, I mean, adding and organizing information—much easier in the future. Jingjing, don’t forget to call me when you go to Cloud Moss!”

“Thanks. My pheromone disorder seems to have improved a lot. I’ll call you after I get checked at the Empire and confirm everything’s fine.”

“Really?! Congrats, congrats! Wait, doesn’t a pheromone disorder require marking an Omega? Jingjing, did you find an Omega?! You’re secretly dating someone behind our backs? You have to bring them to Cloud Moss—I’m telling the others!!”

Baozhun was thrilled for Xu Yunjing and excitedly went to share the gossip with their other friends.

“Hey, wait, you—”

Xu Yunjing was a bit exasperated.

Once Baozhun knew something, it was as good as announcing it to the world.

—

The Empire is roughly structured like an ancient hierarchical society, but with more advanced technological civilization.

It’s still ruled by absolute imperial power, with noble families dividing up the remaining power, as mentioned at the start.