Ch65 – I Hear I’m a Battle G.o.d (2)
Upon seeing the full goodwill level, the first thing 061 did was to open up the shopping page, ready to buy cards.
061, “……”
After noticing how Chi Xiaochi-esque this action of his was, 061 silently X-ed out of the page, pretending nothing had happened.
At the moment, there were three or four youths in the reception hall. First, they had been given a shock by the other youth suddenly charging in, then, when they got a good look at the person he had dragged in, they were even more astounded, exchanging looks of dismay.
That person was wearing a dark, form-fitting Western-style uniform with a dark red sweater inside. It looked very elegant and expensive, but had already been lacerated with more than a dozen lash marks, the deep red sweater concealing the red blood, making it so that only dark patches were visible.
His fingertips, his palms were all covered in congealed blood and abrasions. His shoulder was a patch of darkness, dark red blood seeping into his top. Fresh air rushed into his burning lungs, but he didn’t dare breathe too deeply, only struggling to cover his mouth, trying to control the flow of air.
In the memories of the people present, this person and that youth were of similar ages, but their temperaments were complete opposites. He had a calm appearance, bringing with it his own reticent, self-restrained beauty. He usually quietly followed behind the youth, and unless the youth asked him a question, he wouldn’t say a single extra word.
A young girl with a high nose bridge and hooded eyes glared at the youth with eastern features. “Zhan, what are you doing?”
The youth raised his eyebrows and sneered, “Rosie, didn’t you say you wanted my Xiao Ji?”
Then, he tightened his grasp on the person’s hair. “……Now that he’s like this, do you still want him?”
Even as Chi Xiaochi was being dragged about by him, he still didn’t forget to politely give his greetings, “f.u.c.k Tony-daye.”
061 suspected, even if they had a system for censoring curse words, it wouldn’t be able to stop this endlessly marvellous mouth of Chi Xiaochi’s.
The girl named Rosie stood up. “Zhan Yanchao, I was just joking earlier……”
“Really? Xiao Ji.” Zhan Yanchao looked at Chi Xiaochi. “Hear that, she was just joking with you.”
“But.” Rosie glared at him. “I actually want him now.”
Zhan Yanchao’s expression and voice cooled instantly. “Oh?”
Rosie walked over to Chi Xiaochi and bent down to face him. In her eyes was three parts gentleness and seven parts an unwavering determination. “Xiao Ji, will you come with me?”
Chi Xiaochi let “Xiao Ji” open his mouth, only letting out a few hoa.r.s.e sounds.
While in his mind, he asked 061, “The world information, give it to me.”
In an instant, countless scenes invaded Chi Xiaochi’s consciousness.
……This was an ABO world.
To be more accurate, this was an ABO world that had experienced a reproductive revolution.
Like the usual ABO world, there were six genders: Male and female Alphas, male and female Betas, and male and female Omegas. The difference between males and females were mainly reflected in their outward appearances, while only A, B and O were the decisive reproductive distinctions.
But unlike the usual ABO world, here, the reproductive distinctions were acquired.
After a long period of evolution, from the time they were born, every child on the planet would acc.u.mulate a relatively constant amount of energy in their bodies. Before the age of 18, under this equilibrium of energies, everyone would, without exception, be a beta, not generating any pheromones, unable to be marked, and unable to mark anyone else.
Upon turning 18, no matter what cla.s.s one was, they would all have to compete in a nation-wide giant mecha battling tournament.
The tournament was run by the national supervisory committee, who were mainly responsible for ensuring fairness and providing a standardised compet.i.tion mecha.
Everyone’s mecha could all absorb the energy from within their master’s body, and after connecting to their master’s consciousness, their master could control the mecha’s movements to battle.
After a battle, the winner could absorb an appropriate amount of energy from the loser’s body, thus achieving rapid self-evolution. The more they won, and the more beautiful their victory, the more energy they would gain.
And when the acc.u.mulated energy reached a certain threshold, they would be able to evolve into an Alpha. The middle range would then be Betas, while those who suffered a series of miserable defeats, and were deprived of energy to the point where it fell below a certain level, it would trigger changes in various parts of their body, turning them into an Omega.
To put it bluntly, it was the law of the jungle under the supervision of the modern social system, where victors were kings, and losers bandits.
And as to the reason behind why the planet attached so much importance to arms and combat power was that they just happened to be next-door neighbours with a Zerg planet.
The Zerg planet was exhausted of natural resources, making life on it extremely hard. With large amounts of giant armour-plated Zergs living there, the Zerg planet naturally turned to the planets closest to it in lightyears.
After hundreds of thousands of years, only this planet still had a surviving civilisation. The reason for this was precisely this Spartan military training, producing generation after generation of soldiers, saving the lifeblood of this planet.
Under this social model of revering military power and respecting the strong, the young generation of winning Alphas were the countries’ new soldiers. As soldiers, they could receive the planet’s resources for free, and their status would also rise accordingly, along with the respect accorded to them.
Betas made up the workforce, maintaining the normal operation of society and providing resources for Alphas.
And as for the Omegas who were unable to fight, they had the lowest value to this planet. Only on the bed were they rare items of the highest quality. How they would be treated off the bed, was entirely up to the kindness of the person keeping them.
To many children of low birth, this mecha tournament was their golden key to raising their status in society. They would do their utmost for this tournament.
So unlike the usual ABO world, cla.s.s distinctions weren’t set in stone. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
The original host was a natural product of this social model, a human sacrifice.
These so-called “human sacrifices” were mainly raised by wealthy families.
Many of these families, wanting to ensure that they could continue to enjoy abundant resources as per the current status quo, and unwilling to let their family’s child suffer too much, would pay a lot of money to employ a child from the slums of the same age as their own, teach them how to fight, and make them lose against their child in the final tournament to give all their energy to their own child.
To put it bluntly, those children were mobile, one-time use batteries.
The original host was surnamed Ji. His name was Ji Zuoshan.
His agreeing to become a “human sacrifice” in the beginning was because a sudden epidemic of Zergs stole away the lives of his parents and elder sister. After the catastrophe, he still had four younger siblings to raise.
The little child didn’t even have the time to cry. He was busy living for the living, he didn’t have the time to cry tears for the dead.
Ji Zuoshan ran through the black market in the rain all day long, asking those suspicious-looking people, “I want to become a human sacrifice. Do you have any way of letting me become a human sacrifice?”
He finally managed to sell himself off in exchange for a safe home for his younger siblings.
When he met Zhan Yanchao for the first time, Zhan Yanchao threw a huge tantrum and scolded the housekeeper who sent him over, “What did you send him here for? Do I need a human sacrifice to cheat?”
With that, he turned back, lashing his whip across Ji Zuoshan’s face.
The young Zhan Yanchao was already very proficient with the whip. With this lash, half of Ji Zuoshan’s face swelled up.
But the boy didn’t even make a sound, just standing there upright, quietly calculating in his mind.
If he was sent back, then his siblings would have no home again.
Then, on the way back, he would have to go to the streets to find some old newspapers that could keep out the cold. If he was lucky, he might even be able to find some paper boxes.
When the housekeeper began to pull at Ji Zuoshan with fear and trepidation in preparation to leave, Zhan Yanchao unexpectedly spoke again, “Wait.”
With his hands clasped behind his back, he strolled over to stand before Ji Zuoshan. Looking at his red and white cheek, he asked curiously, “Why aren’t you begging me?”
In the eight-year-old Zhan Yanchao’s mind, at this time, Ji Zuoshan should be making a big fuss, hugging his leg with tears flowing freely down his face, and do his best to speak words of praise to beg for a chance to stay.
Ji Zuoshan looked at him. “Would it have any use?”
Zhan Yanchao’s interest was piqued. “If I say it does?”
With a bang, Ji Zuoshan fell to his knees.
Zhan Yanchao looked down at him, then maliciously slapped him in the face with his whip. “You’ve knelt, then what’s next?”
Ji Zuoshan bent down without any hesitation, slamming his head against the ground.
Zhan Yanchao grinned as he lashed his whip against his shoulders. “I like this one. He stays.”
Just like that, Ji Zuoshan was allowed to stay in this muddleheaded way. His ident.i.ty was still that of a “human sacrifice”, but his job could be said to be all-inclusive, including, but not limited to, cooking for Zhan Yanchao, training with Zhan Yanchao, waking Zhan Yanchao up in the mornings, and making tea for Zhan Yanchao.
Zhan Yanchao was born on the exact same date as Ji Zuoshan. He was the second child of the Zhan family, just like how Ji Zuoshan was the second child of his.
Zhan Yanchao’s mother died after giving birth to him, so Mister Zhao especially doted over him, raising him to be utterly nasty, headstrong, and egoistic. Wielding his own natural talent, he would brandish his whip at others without even needing a trigger.
But Ji Zuoshan was even more talented than he was.
The amount of energy within his body was naturally higher than other people, and his mental strength was even more abnormally tough.
Before turning eighteen, he even almost directly changed from a Beta into an Alpha during a training session.
Fortunately, he didn’t have any of the problems Zhan Yanchao had. Like his name, he was like a mountain, quiet, gentle, and never the type to show off.
Probably for this same reason, Zhan Yanchao especially liked to bully Ji Zuoshan.
He would often put forward all kinds of unreasonable requests, such as making Ji Zuoshan’s mecha stand in one spot, not being allowed to move as he was attacked by his own mecha. But when he was good to Ji Zuoshan, he was truly good to him. Only Ji Zuoshan could touch his dwarf pony. Only Ji Zuoshan could eat with him, and he would even dump the shredded carrot and eggplant he didn’t like directly into Ji Zuoshan’s bowl.
Ji Zuoshan’s feelings towards Zhan Yanchao were very complicated.
When he was younger, he thought of him as his benefactor.
But after he grew up a little, another kind of feeling had sprouted towards him.
Those feelings stemmed from one of Zhan Yanchao’s many rampages.
One day, when Zhan Yanchao wasn’t home, his cousin came to visit and saw Ji Zuoshan, who was cleaning.
Seeing that though Ji Zuoshan looked thin and weak, he actually had a st.u.r.dy physique, an idea sprouted in his mind. He turned and asked Zhan Yanchao’s father, “Uncle, I’m going camping in the mountains with my cla.s.smates, and need a porter to do ch.o.r.es. How about you lend this person to me for a few days?”
“Human sacrifices” naturally had a low status, and doing a few odd jobs was nothing, so Zhan Yanchao’s father casually waved his hand. “Take him.”
Ji Zuoshan thought nothing of it either. It was just acting as a helper to do ch.o.r.es, so it didn’t mean anything if he went.
In the end, that night, a squad of police cars surrounded the newly set-up tent.
When the cousin was held at gunpoint, he was trembling with fear. “We, we’re just camping here, we weren’t doing anything……”
The police officer said, “Someone reported that you guys were abducting and selling people.”
Zhan Yanchao rushed out angrily from the closest police car. Upon getting close to Ji Zuoshan, who had been busy barbecuing beside the campfire, he grabbed his whip and gave him a harsh lash across the face, making that bright, beautiful cheek turn red. “Get the f.u.c.k back here!”
Catching sight of Zhan Yanchao, his cousin connected the dots. His face turned green. “Zhan Yanchao?! You’re crazy!”
Zhan Yanchao whipped around, the fire in his eyes blazing even brighter than the campfire. He gnashed his teeth and said, “That’s my person, how dare you use him?!”
The entire way back, as Zhan Yanchao drove, he swore at his cousin and Ji Zuoshan harshly.
He scolded, “Ji Zuoshan, you’re really f.u.c.king cheap. He told you to work, so you just worked? You’re so obedient. Are you a dog?!”
Ji Zuoshan remained silent.
For so many years, he’d been this obedient. He didn’t understand why Zhan Yanchao was so angry this time.
Zhan Yanchao slapped the steering wheel. “Speak!!”
He couldn’t not speak now.
Ji Zuoshan said, “I’m a human sacrifice. I should be obedient.”
Zhan Yanchao’s swears immediately changed gears. His pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes were round with anger. “Who says you’re a human sacrifice?! Did I allow you to be a human sacrifice? In the future, you’re going to become an Alpha for me, the strongest Alpha. Let’s see if anyone still dares order you around!”
Ji Zuoshan suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhan Yanchao in the rearview mirror.
……He had already stopped dreaming of becoming an Alpha for many years now.
In order to keep his siblings alive, he didn’t deserve to dream. He was a human sacrifice, a battery made of human flesh, but he hadn’t thought, Zhan Yanchao would make him this kind of promise.
As he looked at Zhan Yanchao, his heart, which had been as steady as a mountain for so long, skipped for the very first time.
Zhan Yanchao seemed to really have meant this promise.
When he went to the mecha academy, he brought Ji Zuoshan with him, bringing him to practice together, even preparing an exclusive combat mecha that was perfectly matched to him for him to train with.
This was something Ji Zuoshan hadn’t even dared to imagine before.
When he was young, he’d made a mecha for himself out of tissue boxes. After being found by Zhan Yanchao, he’d laughed at him for a long time, asking if he really wanted to feed the bugs that much.
Ji Zuoshan didn’t want to be a martyr, nor did he want to become a hero. Wanting to become an Alpha was just because he wanted to support his younger siblings with his own strength, to be on the same level as Zhan Yanchao, to stand at the same position as him, to have the qualifications to be by his side.
However, on the eve of the tournament, Ji Zuoshan suffered a huge blow at the hands of Zhan Yanchao.
Zhan Yanchao told him, the tournament was coming up, so he needed to beat everyone, then lose to him.
Ji Zuoshan didn’t quite dare to believe it. “Didn’t you say……”
But Zhan Yanchao had forgotten what he’d said in the beginning. He raised his eyebrows at him doubtfully, then said with a smile, “Be my Omega. Won’t that be good?”
Ji Zuoshan fell silent for a long time.
Just as Zhan Yanchao was beginning to become impatient, he replied, “Alright.”
Ji Zuoshan thought, Zhan Yanchao was just a child who hadn’t grown up, so he didn’t understand the meaning of a promise, he didn’t understand the hope he’d had for so many years.
When he grew up, everything would be fine.
At the time, Ji Zuoshan didn’t know that there were some people who, no matter how old they grew, they would never grow up.
No matter how silent and gentle as a mountain one was, they wouldn’t be able to stand up to an erosion that extended over many many years, as stubborn as a pangolin.