Chapter 158：Thorns and Roses

At the beginning of September, Chelman's entrance examination began, because an Omega appeared in this session of candidates, the recruitment results were drawing all of society's attention.

As everyone knew, Chelman's entrance exam was a total of three tests, and the requirements were extremely strict, only the elite among thousands could be in the final selection of candidates.

The first test was the spiritual power and physical test, you only needed to reach B + in the two to pass.

The second test was a written test, which included military command, defense co-ordination, weaponry, Zerg 101, astronomy, spaceship science, mech piloting, mechanics, chemistry, physics, geography and so on, a total of twenty subjects, and each subject needed 85 points or more (out of 100) to pass.

The third test was outdoor survival. The school would randomly drop candidates on a Zerg infested remote minor planet, asking them to survive for 15 days using only basic weapons and equipment.

The first two exams seemed to have a very high threshold, but there was no danger, the last test however, was a matter of life and death. In those 15 days, the candidates must kill as many Zerg as possible and find the final rendezvous point. The school would give a helper button to each candidate, so whenever they met lethal danger they could press it and a teacher would immediately come to the rescue. Of course, this action was considered an automatic forfeit.

Rescue meant forfeit, and a rescue request could be delayed by unpredictable situations, so there were candidate fatalities almost every year, even the all-powerful Alpha were no exception.

As a result, although Chelman didn't prohibit Omega enrollment, since its establishment to the present, nearly 700 years, an Omega candidate had never appeared, Cecil was the first.

All sectors of society were concerned about Cecil's examination. The vast majority of people believed that he would be brought down in the first test, an Omega was very unlikely to have a B+ physique.

But unfortunately, everyone guessed wrong this time, Cecil smoothly passed the test, he even suppressed his spiritual power to S level, and physical level to B+. There was an outdoor survival examination later, if he caused everyone to go into high alert now, there would be too many people to count aiming for his life before the exam. He was not afraid of a challenge, but a little less trouble was naturally best.

Osborne waited outside the test room, caught sight of the boy walking out, brushing up his hair, a slight smile lighting up the corner of his mouth, and found it difficult to look away. In only a few days, the boy seemed to have become even more dazzling, like a small sun.

Osborne stiffly walked over and asked, "Did you pass?"

"Yes, after taking out my gland, my physique has greatly improved, I just met the standard." Zhou Yun Sheng glanced at him.

That indifferent and unconcerned gaze made Osborne's chest feel stuffy. He nodded, his tone very serious, "The third test is not a joke, you have to think this through."

"I know, I did sign the life and death form after all." Zhou Yun Sheng waved his hand, unconcerned.

His character was as sharp as his appearance.

Because of this intuition, Osborne had to give up his desire to persuade the teenager. He stood in place and watched him walk away, his heart felt empty.

The news that Cecil passed the first test caused a great uproar on the Star Network. Many people expressed their disbelief, demanding that the school make the data public. But this was a matter of personal privacy, along with pressure from Old Bernard, the school wouldn't dare release it. They made a statement on the official website, asking everyone to quietly wait for Cecil's third test.

If a person whose physical quality failed to meet the standard forced opened the door to participate in the third test, then he was basically begging for death. It's well known, in order to select only the best students, and also highlight the fairness and transparency of the entrance examination, the school broadcasted the students' minor planet battle video live without edit, there was no possibility of cheating.

This was also to stimulate the school's enrollment rate. Each year, numerous hot-blooded teenagers were fascinated by these fighting videos and apply for the army, the fight against the Zerg required many talented people on the frontline.

Remembering that the third test was completely open to the public, the clamoring people quieted down, sincerely hoping that Cecil would pass the second written test. Most of the people with this idea had ulterior motives. For them, Omega should stay at home and bear children, it was simply unforgivable behavior to remove their gland. They were looking forward to seeing scenes of Cecil being frightened by the Zergs and expressing regret about his wayward actions.

If ability determined the amount of social responsibility you bear, then an Omega's social responsibility was to only bear children. Cecil would learn a lesson sooner or later.

These arrogant remarks were from the vast majority of Alpha and Beta, and even a small percentage of Omega, causing Zhou Yun Sheng to sneer repeatedly at the comments. He had intended to pass the second test on the border, but his sour mood made him enter all the correct answers, and he left the examination room early.

Because a machine was in charge of marking the tests, as long as the answers were submitted, it took half an hour to get the results. He sat in the hall and waited with a cold drink.

"Cecil, how did you do?" Osborne couldn't restrain himself, he had been waiting outside knowing that the teenager was in the classroom. Chelman was a world for Alpha and Beta, there was a lot of unpredictable danger a lone Omega could encounter there.

He really didn't understand why the boy was so stubborn, but his courage to break stereotypes made him sincerely appreciate him. He wanted him to pass the exam, but he was afraid of him passing the exam and meeting more dangers.

He'd had a dream last night, a dream of the teenager lying in a pool of blood, a huge pale tussock moth lying on him, stretching out its sharp mouth to suck out his insides. Terrified, he desperately ran over to rescue the boy, then woke up after a dreadful feeling of free falling only to find his whole body soaked in sweat.

He had never been so worried about another person, even Joshua couldn't strongly affect his emotions this way. He was now very distressed because he couldn't figure out what he wanted to do with Cecil. Maybe when he passed the entrance exam he could completely push him out of his mind.

Currently, Cecil was his duty, he must protect him from harm. With that thought, Osborne's tangled mood calmed down a little.

A burly Alpha and a few good-looking Beta were standing close by, glowering at Cecil as if looking at something distasteful. They were from the Aldrich family.

The Aldrich family were once subordinates of the Bernard family, but after Old Bernard was injured, their family head replaced him as Marshal. Originally, the Bernard family and Aldrich family's relationship was very close, but twenty years ago, Old Bernard suddenly announced that they were completely cutting ties with the Aldrich family. There were rumors that Old Bernard's accident was actually the result of a scheme set up by the Aldrich family.

Therefore, the family that least wanted to see the Bernard family rise back to prosperity was the Aldrich family. Although Cecil was an Omega, this didn't prevent the Aldrich family from looking at him as a thorn in the flesh.

Osborne looked at them coldly, then glanced back to see that the boy was still casually drinking his cold drink, his bright red lips wet from the milk. He looked very cute, Osborne's eyes couldn't help but slightly darken.

He restrained his gaze and whispered, "If you get into the third exam, I think you need to focus on the people from the Aldrich family. See that redhead Alpha? He's called Barnett, the most outstanding child in Aldrich family's current generation. His physique is SS, and he's very good at manipulating mech, you should try to avoid him."

"He's the most outstanding descendant of the Aldrich family? Then if he died, the Aldrich family would suffer a great loss?" Zhou Yun Sheng looked at the group standing not far away, his eyes shining.

Osborne would've never thought that that would be his response, he frowned slightly.

"Listen, stay far away from him in the exam. A SS physique Alpha is an extremely powerful presence, you're not his opponent." He resisted the urge to rub the boy's shaggy hair and added, "Concentrate on the exam, try to survive, don't think of anything extra."

Cecil had had no grudge against Osborne. He understood that the situation he later fell into was completely because of his insistence on going about things the wrong way. He even slightly felt that if he hadn't forced Osborne to marry him, the man wouldn't have ran away and died outside. So Zhou Yun Sheng was able to treat his ex-fiancé with a calm attitude.

He blinked his moist peach blossom eyes at Osborne and smilingly asked, "They all say you're the strongest in Empire Star, what's your body data? How are you compared to Barnett?"

Osborne had never revealed his physical data to anyone, including Joshua, who had asked him several times, but for some unexplainable reason, he felt compelled to answer the teenager honestly. "Both my spiritual and physical are 3S, but I have not reached my upper limit yet."

Zhou Yun Sheng nodded in acknowledgement. He had long guessed that this would be the result, or else Osborne wouldn't have been able to hold the Zerg Queen's counterattack solo, allowing Joshua and Kyle to safely lead the troops away. He was worthy of the 'Strongest in Empire Star' title.

Osborne quietly watched the boy and saw an insipid expression, his black eyes hadn't produced any emotion resembling worship, and couldn't help but feel some disappointment.

"Ah, the results came out." Just then, the boy pointed toward the huge display screen.

Red font printed out the candidates that were eliminated, green font showed the candidates who passed, obviously, the results were arranged in accordance to ticket number.

"What number are you?" Osborne glanced at the teenager's personal terminal.

"Number 0164." Zhou Yun Sheng waited for the display to scroll down and found his results on the second page, as expected, he got full marks, which were also the best results since Chelman opened enrollment.

Everyone also noticed this grand score, but because it was only the ticket number, no names were shown, they couldn't guess who this genius was. Osborne's expression was somewhat sluggish, and he hurried to catch up when the teenager walked away, he sincerely said, "You're very good."

"That's par for the course." Zhou Yun Sheng threw the empty cup in a garbage processor and asked, "How was it compared to Joshua?" Speaking of Joshua, he always felt a bit of a subtle mood when he thought of him, as if he was looking at a clone.

"You don't have to compare with him." Osborne's expression was uncomfortable.

"Right, I have a new life, I am me, there's no need to compare with anyone." Even if he uses my name and appearance. Zhou Yun Sheng gave a bright smile, his sunlight filled bright eyes made Osborne feel dizzy. He looked away, more embarrassed.

"Bye." Zhou Yun Sheng waved and calmly left.

Around the corner, Old Bernard was chatting with Chelman's headmaster, he learned of his grandson's exam results and high-spirited laughter travelled throughout the hall. Seeing his grandson walking up to him, he slapped his shoulder a few times, praising 'Atta boy'. Unconsciously, he'd stopped looking at his grandson as an Omega.

Osborne stood still for a long time, until the two bid farewell to the headmaster and boarded their airship.

———————-

A week later, the third exam finally began. The Star Network administrator selected the minor planet's number and published its data on all the candidates' personal terminals.

CT073, the minor planet with one of the worst living environments. The planet was covered in dense forests and vast oceans, and the weather was hot and humid all year round, which was the most suitable atmosphere for Zerg reproduction. Human beings once intended to give up on the planet, but they'd found an extremely rich source of energy ore underground, and the major mining companies had flocked in.

In order to ensure national interests and the safety of the miners, the army carried out a large-scale campaign of Zerg eliminating activities almost every year. The candidates had to follow the army, but they would be assigned to the least dangerous areas, and if they met a threat to their life, they could also press the helper buzzer.

Of course, whether they could be successfully saved relied heavily on luck. This was a serious battle, death was inevitable.

The candidates boarded a spacecraft to travel to CT073, there they found the strongest in Empire Star, General Osborne, among the rescue team's ranks and their nervous moods were greatly alleviated.

"Equip your weapons and wait for deployment." An officer ordered.

The candidates immediately opened the silver storage box they were handed and found two particle guns and two energy swords inside, there were no other weapons. Some people seemed to feel very excited, some people seemed very nervous, and some people had pale faces and breathing difficulties. But the sole Omega among the candidates didn't reveal the slightest change in expression, he just earnestly checked the equipment.

The other candidates had been informed of Cecil's written test results and were waiting to see how he braved the battle field.