Chapter 9: Energy

Recently, the temperature has been rising.

Military academy students already trained heavily every day, and once the weather turned hot, they wished they could strip off every unnecessary layer just to cool down.

Today, Song Qiu carried two arms full of lunches as he walked back to the dormitory, nearly melting from the heat.

After asking him that strange question the other day, Fu Ling had simply left.

The only thing she'd said was:

"Come find me at the shop on Saturday."

Song Qiu had never expected Fu Ling to be a teacher.

Later, one of his well-informed classmates explained that the academy's original instructor had entered a contamination zone for research and had remained unconscious ever since returning.

Fu Ling had been hired as a temporary replacement.

Her strength was considered unfathomable.

Rumor even claimed that Wan Zhongchang couldn't gain the upper hand against her.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Wan Zhongchang cared deeply about his students' character.

When he learned about Fang Zihao's behavior, he was furious.

He punished Fang Zihao for an entire afternoon.

By the end, Fang Zihao's legs were so weak he could barely stand.

He didn't even dare wander near the Omega dormitories anymore.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The dormitory hallway was a disaster.

Every two steps there was a shirtless Alpha.

Every three steps there was a Beta walking around in nothing but shorts.

The sight was painful to behold.

Song Qiu hurried upstairs.

The moment he entered the room, he saw Shu Dian lying beneath a fan, desperately cooling himself.

Xi Zhou had abandoned his usual workout routine and was lounging in a chair with his arms bare, fanning himself.

"The food's here," Song Qiu announced.

"I put it on the table. Help yourselves."

After taking off his jacket, he squeezed in front of the fan and inhaled a deep breath of cool air.

Only then did he feel alive again.

Shu Dian immediately gave up his spot.

He even stole Xi Zhou's handheld fan and pointed it toward Song Qiu.

"Beauty Song has worked hard!"

"Would Your Highness like a shoulder massage?"

Song Qiu laughed and waved him off.

"Enough. Go eat."

Both Shu Dian and Xi Zhou loved sleeping in whenever they didn't have morning classes.

They usually stayed asleep until noon.

Since Song Qiu always ate on schedule, he'd gotten into the habit of bringing lunch back for them.

One thing puzzled him, though.

He couldn't remember ever seeing Mu Qianling eat.

Surely the man hadn't grown up surviving on dew alone.

As he enjoyed the fan, Song Qiu glanced toward Mu Qianling.

The Alpha sat perfectly upright, reading a book.

Three buttons of his shirt were undone, exposing the area down to his collarbones.

There was a small mole beneath one collarbone.

It rested against his pale skin like a carefully placed mark.

Mu Qianling turned a page.

Song Qiu's gaze drifted downward.

The long fingers holding the book rested casually against the spine.

The absent-minded way they stroked the cover somehow looked strangely attractive.

Without realizing it, Song Qiu became completely absorbed in watching.

"..."

Suddenly—

Snap.

Mu Qianling slammed the book shut.

"Have you looked enough?"

Song Qiu froze.

He'd been caught.

"I was just daydreaming."

"Heh."

Mu Qianling clearly didn't believe him.

His smile didn't reach his eyes.

"You were staring so hard you almost burned a hole through my book."

"I wasn't looking at you."

Song Qiu stubbornly muttered the excuse under his breath.

Then he turned away and hid behind the fan.

The fan was already running at maximum speed.

Its cool breeze should have eased every trace of heat.

Yet Song Qiu's face continued growing warmer.

He knew he was blushing.

He had always been like this.

Whenever he got nervous, his face turned red.

Mu Qianling was still looking at him.

Unable to endure it any longer, Song Qiu cleared his throat.

"Could you stop staring at me?"

At that moment, Shu Dian approached while chewing on a piece of meat.

"Qiu, do you want some—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

His eyes bounced between the two of them.

The atmosphere felt strangely tense.

Immediately, he backed away.

"I'll... go eat."

"You two carry on."

Mu Qianling lifted his eyes.

"Oh?"

"Now you know people don't like being stared at?"

Still, he finally looked away.

Song Qiu quietly sighed in relief.

Sharp-tongued Mu Qianling.

Next time I need to stay farther away from him.

Even though he knew he was in the wrong, he couldn't stop himself from thinking it.

The blush lingered for a long time.

Feeling strangely restless, Song Qiu climbed into bed for a nap.

Outside, occasional cries from unknown creatures drifted up from below.

Voices blended into indistinct background noise.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Soon he fell asleep.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Once Song Qiu was sound asleep, Mu Qianling withdrew the soothing mental energy he had unconsciously released into the air.

Then he quietly stepped beneath Song Qiu's bed.

A few days ago, he'd ordered an investigation into Song Qiu's background.

The results hadn't been useful.

The slums were chaotic places.

Records were scarce.

The research institute's recommendation had been simple:

𝄄𝄀 Obtain a biological sample. 𝄄𝄀

Song Qiu wasn't using a blanket.

He wore only a sleeveless undershirt.

His slender limbs were exposed.

The outlines of his bones were clearly visible.

Mu Qianling condensed his mental power into an incredibly fine needle.

The needle pierced Song Qiu's skin and drew a tiny drop of blood.

Because the needle was formed from mental energy, it caused almost no sensation.

It left no visible mark afterward.

No one would notice.

As Mu Qianling finished, Song Qiu suddenly rolled over.

One arm dangled over the edge of the bed.

Mu Qianling's eyes fell to his pale wrist.

Dark blue veins faintly showed beneath the skin.

He could probably encircle the entire wrist with just two fingers.

He eats so much.

How is he still this skinny?

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Saturday arrived quickly.

Early that morning, Song Qiu headed to the milk tea shop.

The interior looked much the same as before.

The surrounding plants, however, had grown even more lush.

Branches and leaves visibly flourished.

Behind the counter, Fu Ling lounged comfortably in a rocking chair, scrolling through her terminal.

"Profesor Fu."

Song Qiu stopped outside the counter.

Fu Ling tilted her chin toward a nearby chair.

"Sit."

Once he did, she immediately got to the point.

"Do you know where mental power comes from?"

Song Qiu honestly shook his head.

"No."

"Some people believe mental power is a gift from the gods."

"Others think it's the inevitable result of human evolution."

The shop was still empty this early in the morning.

Fu Ling shifted comfortably in her chair.

"But a small number of people have discovered something interesting."

"Not only humans possess mental power."

"All living things do."

Song Qiu blinked.

"You mean... mutated plants and animals have mental power too?"

"Exactly."

Fu Ling nodded.

"If you're careful enough, you should be able to sense the mental energy around you."

Following her instructions, Song Qiu closed his eyes.

He spread his awareness throughout his body.

Every organ.

Every patch of skin.

Everything.

Gradually, he felt as though he had become a tiny point of light floating in darkness.

Countless glowing specks appeared around him.

They flashed past at incredible speed.

Blinking.

Flickering.

Surrounding him from every direction.

"Do you see them?"

Fu Ling guided his hand onto a nearby branch through the sleeve of his clothing.

"That's the heart of a mutated plant."

"Try absorbing it."

A heartbeat-like pulse throbbed beneath his palm.

At the same time, one of the nearby lights suddenly connected to him.

He could feel everything it felt.

Song Qiu guided his own light toward it.

Then he swallowed it whole.

The pulsing beneath his hand instantly stopped.

At the same moment, an overwhelming surge of energy flooded his body.

It felt as if every blocked pathway inside him had suddenly opened.

The exhaustion.

The hunger.

Everything vanished.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

Song Qiu opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the mutated tree in front of him.

It had withered completely.

"Its condition..."

Fu Ling's voice remained calm and emotionless.

"When mutated plants lose their mental power, they decay."

"The one who receives that power becomes stronger."

She paused.

Then added:

"Humans are the same."

A faint smile appeared on her lips.

"You should try it."

"It's very useful."