In 2189, extraterrestrial life forms made their first public appearance, and humanity officially established contact with other planets. This marked the beginning of an explosive era in Earth's technological advancement. A variety of cutting-edge technologies began to emerge like mushrooms after rain, paving an infinitely wide path for the progress of human civilization and bringing unprecedented possibilities.
In 2323, the Fourth World War broke out, and the Earth plunged into total chaos. Cities were gradually reduced to ruins by the raging flames of war, and countless precious lives were lost in the smoke. The world order was mercilessly toppled like a house of cards and struggled to rebuild amidst the rubble.
After a long and brutal war, peace returned to the world on the day of the rebirth of Nidhogg. However, the war left Earth with heavy scars, with large numbers of humans perishing and some races even being wiped out. To ensure the survival of human civilization, the artificial human program was brought to the forefront of history, while humanoid robots quietly entered the annals of human history.
In 2510, due to frequent natural disasters and the failure of the artificial human program, human society officially entered the era of great unity, and the Human Republic was born.
By 2730, after nearly three centuries of development and evolution, humanity had finally returned to peace. At this point, humans were able to travel across the entire galaxy, and they evolved six distinct genders, with alpha, omega, and beta subcategories among both males and females. In the past couple of years, a new type of alpha, known as the super-alpha or S-class alpha, was discovered. These alphas could transform into orc-like forms, with battle strength more than twice that of a regular alpha.
The leather seat creaked slightly under him as Li Mou rested his chin on his hand, gazing out at the rapidly passing stream of hovering cars. His pinky finger unconsciously tapped on his knee.
The silver-gray hovering car glided slowly, the air conditioning sending a gentle breeze, mingled with a faint scent of cedarwood from the car interior, barely perceptible.
"Young Master, you can't cause any more trouble this time," came Xiao Zhang's voice from the front seat, holding back laughter, his shoulders shaking slightly in the rearview mirror. "Madam said that if you don't start focusing on your studies, she'll send you back to the Northwest Star to farm."
Li Mou lazily rolled his eyes, tapping his fingers harder against the window glass. "Farm? I'd rather try blowing up a piece of land."
Suddenly, he sat up straight, pressing his nose against the window, staring at the Empire Tower in the distance, which was just beginning to emerge. He sighed, "Honestly, the sun on the Southern Cross Star is so harsh, it's worse than an alpha's pheromones. It burns right down to the bones..."
When Li Mou woke up from his nap, the hovering car was just about to land slowly in front of the main gate of the Veylai Academy.
He opened the car door, and a blast of hot air and exhaust fumes hit him. He raised a hand to shield his eyes, looking at the holographic display of the academy rules at the entrance. The large characters flashing on the display made him chuckle helplessly.
"It really is so tacky, yet somehow trendy," he thought. The flashing words read: "Our only dream—peace."
"Young Master, did you bring enough suppressants?" Xiao Zhang, holding a limited edition backpack, caught up with him. "Should I go back to the pharmacy…?"
"Enough already," Li Mou snatched the backpack away, the metal sound of the suppressant box clinking from the side pocket. "If you keep nagging, I'll start suspecting you're the omega."
He waved his wrist, and the "alpha" gender tag on his smart bracelet was especially glaring. "Remember, when you report to the old man, just tell him that even if I jump from the top of the Empire Tower—" He suddenly raised his voice and pointed at the ground beneath him with his right index finger. "I'll never submit to him."
Zhang Xiao stared at the young man's back as he slowly walked towards the school gate, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch slightly.
Those bold words made it seem as if he really was going to leap off the towering three-hundred-story Imperial Tower.
Weilai Academy, an institution established in memory of the home planet, was furnished with an antique charm. Even the iris recognition robot at the entrance retained the simple and unsophisticated appearance of a hundred years ago.
Li Mou stood at the entrance, listening to the soft "beep" of the iris recognition door of Weilai Academy.
The display screen clearly showed: "Male, alpha, 17 years old, Class 3, Grade 2 of the First-level Academy."
Li Mou's gaze quickly swept over the word "alpha", and a faint smile played on his lips.
Shortly after entering the school gate, he heard a heated argument coming from the lawn on the left:
"It must be an alpha! How could an omega blow up the pheromone laboratory at the Neon Institute on North City Planet?"
"But I heard he's more delicate-looking than an interstellar idol!"
"Does good looks matter?" The boy with dreadlocks slapped the tree trunk hard, stood up, and his eyes sparkled with a challenging light. "Wanna bet?"
"I'll go first. I bet a million star coins it's definitely an alpha. Omegas are meant to be protected. Which one would be so fierce that an entire planet is afraid of them?"
"Tsk, I wonder who's stronger, him or Cheng Cai."
"We must make them have a fight then."
"Agreed!"
Li Mou raised an eyebrow and deliberately walked past them quietly.
The inhibitor box in the side pocket of his schoolbag collided with the metal tag, making a clear sound.
The classroom was at the end of the corridor. Inside the carved glass door came the continuous rumbling of electronic devices.
Zhang Yuan, the homeroom teacher of Class 3, Grade 2, took a deep breath at the door, stepped in wearing eight-centimeter-high-heeled shoes, and entered the classroom with a sweet smile.
Class 3, Grade 2 of Weilai Noble Academy in the Third Spiral Arm of the Interstellar Federation was a truly unique existence.
The students in this class all had top-tier Alpha genes, and their parents were either extremely wealthy or powerful—either tycoons who dominated interstellar trade, political families that held parliamentary votes, or academic authorities with great influence in scientific research.
As perfect products of gene-optimization technology, these "genetic lottery winners" had their life trajectories planned by their families since birth. From elite education to the inheritance of family businesses, from seats in the interstellar parliament to leadership positions in scientific research institutions, their time on campus was merely a necessary social ritual in their lives. For them, the knowledge taught in class was as easy as a holographic game.
It was more of an entertainment activity to pass the time than actual study. With the dual advantages of genetic superiority and family privilege, they were more eager to enjoy their irreplaceable student time on campus and indulge in everything that could bring them happiness.
Given that these "favored ones" frequently caused out-of-control incidents both on and off campus, such as damaging experimental equipment and tampering with interstellar communication frequencies, after seven consultations by the interstellar board of directors, the school finally decided to group them together to form an independent management unit.
This arrangement not only prevented the disruption of the teaching order in ordinary classes but also allowed these children with top-notch resources to release their energy within a controllable range through customized "self-management courses".
Thus, the independent teaching area originally intended for interstellar exchange students became the exclusive domain of these "hell-raisers".
The school euphemistically named it the "Elite Autonomy Experimental Project". However, there was a completely different exception in this class shrouded in a halo of privilege—Cheng Cai.
This young man from Junk Planet, a marginal star domain, has neither a prominent family crest nor the perfect bloodline from gene optimization.
His exceptional admission was due to a major discovery made during a universal gene screening by the academy's gene bank.
The gray-haired boy actually carries a rare S-class mutated Alpha gene. It should be noted that in contemporary interstellar society, the probability of a naturally-occurring S-class Alpha gene is only one in ten billion.
Moreover, all S-class Alphas recorded in history have come from noble families that have undergone generations of gene optimization.
As the "genetic desert" of the Interstellar Federation, most of the residents on Junk Planet have suffered from genetic degradation due to long-term exposure to radiation pollution. Cheng Cai's existence is simply a miracle that defies the laws of genetic inheritance.
What's even more puzzling is that in an interstellar era with an extremely low fertility rate of only 0.3%, no family would easily give up an offspring with superior genes—especially those noble families that master gene-optimization technology.
They have already established a complete system for embryo screening and gene preservation. The only reasonable explanation is that Cheng Cai's genes underwent a natural mutation in the extreme environment of Junk Planet.
This extremely rare genetic mutation caused him to exhibit a strange spectral response characteristic of an S-class Alpha during genetic testing, yet there are unique sequences that cannot be explained by existing genetic theories.
The academy broke its century-old rule of "no admission for non-noble offspring" not only because Cheng Cai's genes have high scientific research value but also due to the covert pressure exerted by the Interstellar Parliament.
At a time when the genetic class hierarchy is becoming increasingly rigid, Cheng Cai's existence is like a stone thrown into a calm lake.
Perhaps it can provide a breakthrough for resolving the increasingly acute contradictions within the genetic classes of the Federation... Of course, for now, these matters have nothing to do with these children.
After all, in this era of extremely low fertility, regardless of social class, everyone is eager to dote on their offspring without limit. So even though there are constant struggles among the upper classes, in this first-level academy, children are, after all, just children.
Their main focus is to enjoy life.