After Being Forcibly Marked By My Fiancé’S Best Friend Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The three-meter, lightweight humanoid Mech is the most common combat Mech on the Imperial Planet. It has a moderate difficulty of operation, is flexible, and suitable for rapid assault.

Lian Xu remembered this model. During the decisive battle with Lakalā, this small Mech, relying on its agility, weaved through the enemy ranks. The sweeping projectiles mounted on its waist could inflict fatal damage to enemies within ten meters.

It was a mainstay on the battlefield.

The Mech he was looking at now was slightly different from those used in battle. The exterior hadn’t changed much, but the core output had been modified. The sweeping projectiles on the waist of the new Mech had been removed, and a protruding device, similar to a laser lamp, had been added to the silver metal shell.

“What is this?”

The manufacturer, who was welding the Mech’s arm, poked his head out from behind and replied, “This is the new Mech modified by the Commander. How about it? Pretty cool, right?”

This was Lian Xu’s first time inside the SCA Base, and the staff here didn’t recognize him, so their interaction lacked any obvious sense of hierarchy.

He nodded in agreement: “It is quite cool.”

“This thing that looks like a laser lamp… what is it?”

“Oh, that? I heard it’s called a Plasma Velocity Projectile.” When talking about this, the manufacturer was bursting with pride. “You wouldn’t believe it, the newly appointed Commander is an absolute genius! He designed this velocity projectile. It’s incredibly powerful, but we don’t know exactly how it’s used yet.”

Lian Xu was simply stunned by the description.

“Where is the Commander?” he asked.

The manufacturer thought for a moment and said, “He should be in the headquarters conference room. I heard the boss say they are discussing a major issue, so they’ll probably be there all day. If you need to see the Commander, maybe come back tomorrow.”

Lian Xu didn’t leave immediately but persistently asked where the headquarters was.

The manufacturer looked at Lian Xu, finding him quite strange.

“You’re not from our base, are you?”

“No.” Lian Xu answered truthfully. “My name is Lian Xu, and I am the head of the Military Operations Group.”

“Oh, oh, oh! You’re Group Head Lian from the Military Operations Group!”

Most internal staff at the SCA Base were Betas and Omegas. They generally didn’t pay much attention to outside matters, focusing instead on researching and manufacturing top-tier combat weapons. However, the establishment of the Command Center and the division of authority forced them to pay attention to this appointment and reform.

So, when the Military Operations Group was mentioned, the manufacturer immediately thought of the young Omega.

“Group Head Lian, I finally get to meet you in person! I’m an Omega too!” the manufacturer said excitedly, even waving his welding tool in the air. “A lot of people at the base know about you. You’re such an honor for us Omegas! We all admire you greatly!”

Lian Xu felt his cheeks warming slightly. It was the first time he had heard such words.

“Is… is that so…”

“You don’t know, the base used to be managed by the Inner Cabinet, and the people in charge were all Alphas who were directly assigned from the Star Tower because they couldn’t fight anymore. They looked down on us Omegas.”

Lian Xu could guess the rest without needing to hear it. It was nothing more than Alphas using their gender advantage and the lingering prestige of the Star Tower to abuse their power and exploit their Omega subordinates.

Omegas were inherently less dominant than Alphas, and since the SCA Base didn’t have strict combat requirements for manufacturers—they only needed to pass basic assessments to get a pass—Mech manufacturing was their top priority.

The assessment for a manufacturer was far more difficult to achieve than a simple pass.

As the first Omega ever to hold command over the military, Lian Xu was a role model and goal for countless Omegas who had been bullied, exploited, and longed for equality.

The establishment of the Command Center meant the end of the Inner Cabinet’s dictatorship, and Lian Xu’s appointment specifically opened up a new era for Omegas in power.

Lian Xu thought carefully. He was, to date, the only Omega in charge of the Star Tower military. The manufacturer’s admiration was not flattery or a sudden impulse, but genuine joy for a fellow Omega.

No wonder the eyes of the people around him on the day of his appointment looked as if they wanted to strip the skin from his body. The position of Military Operations Group Head, coveted by everyone, had fallen onto his shoulders just like that.

It was certainly infuriating.

But so what?

Lian Xu believed he was qualified, and he could do better than anyone else, just as he had promised the Commander at the training ground. His efforts were aimed at standing in a higher place and wielding greater power.

The Commander’s appointment had given him that opportunity.

The manufacturer stood on the high platform, blinking as he looked down at Lian Xu, wondering if the Omega had heard what he just said. He climbed down, put away his welding tools, and approached the Omega.

Perhaps it was the gentle aura emanating from the Omega, but his identity didn’t make the manufacturer feel intimidated or unapproachable; instead, there was a long-lost sense of familiarity.

The manufacturer leaned in and tilted his head: “Group Head Lian, what are you thinking about?”

Lian Xu snapped back to reality, startled by the Omega so close to him. His shoulders involuntarily twitched, and he forced himself to remain calm: “Nothing.”

The manufacturer said, “Oh,” realizing Lian Xu was looking for the Commander. Fearing he was wasting time, he used his hands to describe the exact location of the headquarters conference room to Lian Xu.

Although now was not the best time, and his matter wasn’t so important that it absolutely had to be discussed today, the manufacturer’s earlier comment about the Commander discussing a major issue in the conference room—likely related to Mech manufacturing—piqued his curiosity.

After bidding farewell to the manufacturer, Lian Xu resolutely walked toward the headquarters. When he glanced back, the Omega manufacturer had already climbed back up to weld the Mech.

He scanned his surroundings and noticed that almost every Mech was being worked on by only one person.

Before he could ponder this further, the activity in the base building drew his attention.

Lian Xu followed the directions and found the conference room. The door was ajar. Just as he was hesitating whether to knock, a clear, cold voice came from inside.

“Since you’re here, come in.”

For some reason, Lian Xu’s heart trembled, and he suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. He took a deep breath and stepped into the conference room. The people inside uniformly cast scrutinizing glances at him, except for one person who sat with his eyes lowered, seemingly indifferent to his arrival.

After stepping inside, the feeling of oppression intensified.

The air pressure in the conference room was so low it was almost suffocating.

“It’s you, our new Group Head!” A blonde man crossed his arms over his chest, leaning casually against the conference table in a lackadaisical manner.

It was one of the Deputy Commanders who had read the appointment results that day.

Shen Zaizhou was fiddling with a metal gear. His other hand rested casually on the table, his fingertips tapping lightly, never once looking up at him.

Facing so many pairs of eyes, Lian Xu felt somewhat flustered.

“Group Head Lian, welcome!” One of the men smiled and extended his hand toward him.

Lian Xu instinctively reached out and shook it.

For so many years, he had been the one reaching out to others; this was the first time someone had taken the initiative.

The eyes of the others softened slightly with this small interlude.

“The meeting ends here. We will discuss the specifics once the parts are fully prepared,” Shen Zaizhou said flatly.

The others quickly excused themselves.

The man who shook hands with Lian Xu said before leaving, “Group Head Lian, I’m the person in charge of the base, Chao Yuan. Come visit sometime!”

He had no trace of pheromones on him. If he wasn’t hiding them extremely well, he could only be a Beta. Faced with the man’s enthusiasm, Lian Xu was a little overwhelmed and could only nod in response.

Chao Yuan guessed that Omegas were generally sensitive and immediately explained, “Please don’t misunderstand, it’s just an invitation to tour the base.”

“I’m a Beta,” he added.

Lian Xu nodded and said, “Okay.” He was right; he was indeed a Beta.

Due to the unique nature of his differentiation, Lian Xu was highly sensitive to pheromones. Even with a strong inhibitor patch on, he could still smell the unique pheromones of others, especially Alphas.

Chao Yuan smiled at Lian Xu, his expression slightly disappointed, as if he wanted to chat longer. But with the Commander still seated in the conference room, he didn’t dare linger and hurried away.

The large conference room was instantly left with only three people.

Shen Zaizhou looked up at the blueprints that covered almost the entire wall opposite him and calmly asked, “Did something happen at the base?”

Lian Xu didn’t know if this counted as “something” in the Commander’s eyes, so he hesitated to speak. Then, he heard the other person say, “I believe you have the ability to resolve whatever it is.”

“Is He Yu giving you trouble, or is Yin Zhuo making you feel like this Group Head position is difficult to hold?”

Lian Xu’s heart sank.

So, he knew everything.

“That’s not good. You are the person we carefully selected!” the Deputy Commander teased. “You’re not going to disappoint us so quickly, are you?”

Lian Xu didn’t quite understand the Deputy Commander’s meaning.

“Your Highness, it’s time for the inspection,” Shen Zaizhou said.

Your Highness?

Lian Xu slightly turned his head to look at the blonde man. Unfortunately, the man was also staring at him with a half-smile. He immediately retracted his gaze, his body stiff, as if frozen in place by the scrutiny, unable to move.

The Deputy Commander put on a look of grievance and complained to Shen Zaizhou: “My dear, we agreed to go together. Why are you going back on your word?”

Shen Zaizhou lifted his eyelids: “If you don’t want to go, return to the Command Center and let someone else take over.”

“What?!” The man panicked. “No way, I want to go with you! I’ll go check. Wait for my good news!”

After the Deputy Commander left, Shen Zaizhou shifted his gaze to the seemingly flustered Lian Xu.

“His Highness Lan Jia is always like that; don’t mind him.”

“Yes… understood.” Lian Xu relaxed and proceeded to recount everything that had happened on the training ground that morning.

Shen Zaizhou remained expressionless, his thoughts unknown. But when he heard that there was an issue with the assessment results, his eyes darkened slightly.

“You suspect his identity?”

Lian Xu nodded and continued, “The pheromones of the same person cannot change so drastically in less than a month. If the assessment results weren’t tampered with, then his identity must be false.”

Tampering with assessment scores is a serious violation of Star Tower regulations and could lead to a court-martial if discovered. The consequences are severe, and most people wouldn’t dare risk it.

Therefore, Lian Xu leaned toward the latter possibility.

“You want me to step in to prove that the results are correct, so they panic and expose themselves?”

Lian Xu pursed his lips. He knew this was somewhat unrealistic. The Star Tower assessment was the most rigorous examination system on the entire Imperial Planet. The probability of an ordinary Omega successfully replacing someone to enter the Star Tower was almost zero.

“Alright, we’ll proceed as you suggested.” Shen Zaizhou agreed to adopt Lian Xu’s plan. “Then you will have to put in more effort. If he can impersonate a student, it means the loopholes in the Star Tower are not limited to this. There will be more people like him lurking in the shadows. To root them all out, you will inevitably offend some people.”

“Are you suggesting that the Star Tower might be…” Lian Xu didn’t finish his sentence.

The information Yin Zhuo had inadvertently revealed that day suddenly surfaced, making him wonder what kind of power was hidden within the Empire that allowed someone to be so brazen and reckless.

“Lian Xu, do what you think is necessary. You are very intelligent. I believe it won’t take long for you to understand why I placed you in the Command Center. Some things cannot be achieved merely with the identity of the Prime Minister’s fiancée. Self-abasement is not a long-term strategy either. A wolf in sheep’s clothing will always show its tail, don’t you agree?”

Lian Xu lowered his eyes. Since that explosion, every step he took felt like licking blood from a blade. Even if he was misunderstood as using dishonorable means to beg for status, he had to complete his mission. He never regretted it, but Shen Zaizhou’s words made him reconsider.

What he had always needed was respectable and formidable authority.

Now that he had the identity of the Operations Group Head, those shameful labels could be completely torn off, allowing him to be his true self with dignity.

The Inner Cabinet dared not confront the Command Center directly, and his identity served as a shield.

Lian Xu smiled. He finally understood what General Pei had told him before he left: “The Commander, he is like a savior.”