CR CH14

Chapter 14: Dominance Rating

Prior to this, Jiang Tianji had possessed a faint, lingering intuition that since his differentiation into an Alpha, his baseline physical capacity and endurance seemed to have drastically improved.

Although he barely looked human after crushing those thirty grueling laps, he was, at the very least, still breathing.

Jiang Tianji’s consciousness remained highly fragmented; the entire sequence of migrating from the Main Training Zone to the dormitory, scrubbing himself clean, and dragging his body onto his mattress was a massive blur—it felt as though he had completed the entire process within a fever dream. His breathing was heavy and ragged as he curled around his blanket, closing his eyes to rest his exhausted nerves.

Huang Qi whispered excitedly, “You’ve seriously got some massive balls on you! Look, I’m not saying our captain isn’t a striking piece of work, but a commanding officer is still a commanding officer. You literally kept those huge eyes of yours glued right to him. However long you stared at Captain Ling was exactly how long he kept his eyes locked onto you… and then you actually dared to run your mouth to him like that!”

Hearing his roommate deliver a passionate speech using “Holy shit” as a comma and “Fucking legendary” as a period, Jiang Tianji let out a weak, exhausted chuckle.

“But to be perfectly fair, you’re also phenomenally unlucky. We barely ever see Captain Ling around here; he’s always ridiculously busy… out of all the officers you could have crossed, you just had to pick the one who is the least visible, the most passive-aggressive, the most difficult to deal with, and by far the most badass. You truly are a legend.”

Feng Huo and Huang Qi continued to squat by the head of his bed, chattering away like a pair of magpies, their voices gradually lulling Jiang Tianji into a deep drowsiness.

“Comrade Jiang Tianji, what exactly was going through that skull of yours? You actually dared to openly flirt with Captain Ling. The very moment your portraits flashed across the hover-screens in the Main Training Zone, the lights in several of the Special Ability Division’s dorms flickered right on. I reckon you’re about to become a massive celebrity around base overnight.”

“Honestly, I still can’t figure out what Captain Ling was thinking either. Normally, shouldn’t he have initiated by driving a fist straight into your gut? How did you actually end up scoring a custom fan perk instead? Hey, hey… you still keeping that poster, or what…?”

An arm nudged his shoulder, but Jiang Tianji lacked the residual energy to offer a physical response, merely letting out a half-dead, pathetic grunt.

“He honestly looked like he was driven past the brink of sanity. The exact moment your legs gave out and you literally went flat on your belly and started crawling across the dirt, Captain Ling stood right beside you without uttering a single syllable before suddenly bursting into a sharp chuckle. For a fraction of a second, I genuinely felt like he was contemplating strangling you to death right then and there. But for some inexplicable reason, he reined it in, spun on his heel, and walked away.”

With his eyes squeezed shut, Jiang Tianji buried his face into his pillow, his frame shaking with a muffled laugh.

“We were actually worried you’d be reduced to tears, but your psychological resilience is surprisingly top-tier,” Huang Qi couldn’t help but marvel. “If it were Feng Huo in your shoes, he’d probably have leaped off the dormitory roof by now.”

Finding himself suddenly caught in the crossfire, Feng Huo promptly delivered a sharp kick to Huang Qi’s bunk.

“What’s there to be ashamed of? A real man is perfectly transparent and unapologetic; he knows how to endure what ordinary men cannot possibly stomach.”

Jiang Tianji was somewhat astonished that Feng Huo hadn’t explicitly labeled him as “shameless.” Forcing his eyelids open to a tiny slit, he trembling raised his completely drained, limp hands to lock fingers with Feng Huo in a weak handshake.

“Brother Feng… your righteousness knows no bounds.”

While the three of them were causing a chaotic racket in the dorm room, Ji Yandong had been pulled out by the instructors for a private briefing. His return was somewhat delayed. Because the dormitory door had been left wide open, he could easily distinguish those two booming voices from a massive distance away. Stepping across the threshold to witness the absolute state of his roommates, he let out a thoroughly helpless sigh, reaching out to slam the light switch down with a sharp clack.

“You lot are far too rowdy. Go to sleep.”

Feng Huo and Huang Qi offered a couple of unsatisfied sighs, muttering under their breaths, but they still obediently scrambled back to their respective bunks.

Ji Yandong draped his uniform jacket across the back of his chair. As he passed alongside Jiang Tianji’s bed, his movements paused.

“What happened today wasn’t entirely your fault. Captain Ling has undeniably taken a specific notice of you. He is typically buried under a mountain of operational duties and rarely involves himself with the baseline affairs of Z01. However, do not let your emotions dictate your actions next time. This place functions on a drastically different protocol than an academic institution. Even though the basic forces don’t maintain a hyper-strict environment, physical disciplinary measures are nothing to joke about.”

As he spoke, he leaned his frame over, gently pulling the blanket up to tuck Jiang Tianji in as a form of quiet reassurance.

“Day after day of repetitive training gets incredibly monotonous, which means gossip spreads like wildfire around base. Most people just treat it as a lighthearted joke anyway. If you happen to overhear any whispers down the line, don’t take them to heart, understood?”

Ji Yandong’s cadence was incredibly gentle and measured, his soft voice nearly coaxing Jiang Tianji straight into a deep slumber.

It wasn’t until those hands applied a fraction of deliberate force to pat him right on the stomach that Jiang Tianji jolted awake with a sharp gasp. Letting out a casual, unbothered grin, his mouth immediately began running wild again.

“Captain, you sound exactly like a doting elder. If my mother were even a fraction as gentle as you, my life would be perfect.”

A heavy thud promptly landed right against the crown of his head, causing Jiang Tianji to let out a sharp cry of pain.

Ji Yandong let out a long sigh: “I was trying to say… forget it.”

He hesitated on the brink of elaboration but ultimately chose to withhold his words. Delivering a firm punch to the adjacent bunk—which was violently vibrating from his roommates’ muffled laughter—he turned to leave, only for Jiang Tianji to reach out and catch him by the sleeve.

Ji Yandong looked back, his eyes catching the recruit’s bright gaze illuminated by a stray sliver of light filtering in from the corridor.

Those green eyes didn’t carry a heavy layer of exhaustion; instead, they shone with a brilliant, shimmering amusement.

“Captain, people are born with mouths precisely so they can talk up a storm. As long as you guys don’t mind the noise, nothing else matters.”

Ji Yandong stared down at him. For a fleeting instant, he felt as though this boy actually comprehended the true reality of everything around him.

But in the next heartbeat, the youth seemed to entirely exhaust his residual energy reserves, his head dropping back onto the pillow as he fell into an instantaneous sleep, promptly accompanied by a steady stream of soft, rhythmic snores.

Ji Yandong shook his head helplessly, gently placing the recruit’s limp hand back beneath the covers.

The following day, at the Z01 Commander’s Administrative Office.

Dr. He Qian was currently executing a comprehensive operational handover with Ling Kongmiao. After finalizing the diagnostic analysis of Jiang Tianji’s various physiological metrics, she locked her eyes onto the display terminal, her expression tinged with a deep sense of marvel.

“This is remarkable. I was initially concerned that we might encounter some severe anomalies, but the comprehensive metrics indicate that all of Jiang Tianji’s data points are perfectly aligned… no, in fact, they can be classified as flawless. His Dominance Rating places him securely within the top 1% of the Federation database.”

“The top 1%… that truly is an exceptional existence that can only be encountered through sheer happenstance,” even Dr. He couldn’t help but murmur in awe.

“Although the underlying etiology of why he remains entirely incapable of perceiving his own pheromones remains ambiguous, it currently appears to exert zero negative impact on his baseline functions. We simply need to proceed with standard cycles of specialized, high-potency suppressants. As for certain unique circumstances, our department is still actively conducting targeted research.”

As she spoke, He Qian raised her eyes, noticing that Ling Kongmiao had been staring at the hardcopy report in his grip for a protracted period without uttering a single word. She inquired with a hint of hesitation.

“Is there an issue with the metrics, Captain Ling?”

Ling Kongmiao’s gaze remained firmly anchored to the line reading: Dominance Rating: Top 1% of the Federation Database. He stared at the data for a long moment before letting out a soft, quiet sigh: “It’s quite surprising. I genuinely assumed he was nothing more than a useless slacker.”

The higher an Alpha’s Dominance Rating, the more potent their awakened talents and beast forms would manifest. Placing within the top 10% was already considered a rare phenomenon, let alone breaking into the absolute elite of the top 1%.

Alphas belonging to this specific classification possessed an incredibly high probability of undergoing dual awakenings, with each subsequent awakening drastically augmenting their baseline operational capabilities.

He Qian teased lightly, “If I recall correctly, Captain Ling’s rating sits within the top 5%?”

“Yes. At the time, we genuinely questioned whether there was an instrumental malfunction with the diagnostic equipment. After the official confirmation arrived, my mother spent a solid half-hour weeping.”

He Qian was profoundly surprised: “Why? Was your mother dissatisfied with the evaluation? But the top 5% is already an exceptionally—”

Ling Kongmiao rested his chin in his palm, interrupting smoothly: “Because she had spent my entire childhood firmly convinced that I would eventually differentiate into an Omega. Although the exact logic guiding her conclusion remains entirely a mystery, she repeated it so often that I simply accepted it as an absolute fact myself.”

“When the official results were finalized, I actually experienced a distinct wave of disappointment.”

A complex wave of foreign emotion flickered across his sapphire eyes, though it was instantly masked behind his characteristic, mocking smile.

As if a specific realization had suddenly dawned upon her, the corners of He Qian’s mouth curved upward into a slight smile. Deactivating the primary display terminal, she tossed out a casual inquiry: “Speaking of which, I believe Captain Ling also attended the Imperial Hanyu Academy on the Capital Planet during your younger years?”

Ling Kongmiao didn’t offer an immediate response. His gaze swept lightly across the high-clearance identification badge pinned to her chest, his slender fingers unconsciously twirling the stylus in his grip.

“The Genetic Research Institute.”

His voice was barely audible, his cadence slow as if he had plunged into a deep, private calculation.

He Qian failed to capture the low murmur, instinctively following up: “What was that?”

“Nothing.” Ling Kongmiao tilted his head slightly, his vocal tone carrying a highly intriguing, cryptic edge.

“It’s just that… someone has already asked me that exact question very recently.”