Forcefully Doting On You - v2c13

 

Chapter 45

Randt Star is the most prosperous planet under the jurisdiction of the Kale Federation, apart from the central star. It is relatively close to the central star, with interstellar travel using a warship taking only about four or five hours.

To conveniently accommodate the contestants from the distant Galactic Empire, a recently built competition venue is located two kilometers away from the warship landing site. Five hundred meters from the venue, there's the accommodation building for the contestants.

Both the preliminary and final rounds of the Mecha Tournament are held on Randt Star, and the grand finals will take place on the capital star of the Galactic Empire.

Following the guidance of the Randt Star reception team, the teams from the capital star moved into the dormitory assigned to them.

The dormitory area is large, with many high-rise buildings. Each dormitory room is designed for two people, typically accommodating a mecha fighter and their bound mecha repairer, making it convenient for pre- and post-battle mech inspections and maintenance.

Both Mu Cai and Claire did not have bound mech caretakers. This time, only two mecha repairers brought by Claire from the Leon family had accompanied them.

These two mecha repairers had already been informed by Claire beforehand and knew his intentions, so they volunteered to share a room.

Claire was pleased internally, but his face remained expressionless. He looked at Mu Cai and said, "I have no objections. How about you, Cai Cai?"

Mu Cai had no objections. He was not familiar with the two mecha repairers, so sharing a room with a stranger was naturally not as comfortable as sharing one with Claire.

Although Mu Cai had been in this world for almost a year, he had gradually developed a deeper understanding of the differences between alphas and omegas through exposure and experience.

However, ever since the Galactic Empire implemented the suppression device policy, the atmosphere within the empire had become friendlier between alphas and omegas. Not to mention that the two-person dormitory was a small two-bedroom apartment, so they didn't live in the same room, which made things quite convenient.

Moreover, Claire was not like other alphas. He had never overstepped his boundaries with Mu Cai, treating him more like an older brother taking care of his younger brother instead of showing any other interest in him.

Upon having this thought, Mu Cai nodded in agreement.

________________________

That night, the two of them moved into the dormitory. Claire went out to buy towels, toothbrushes, and other daily necessities for them, as well as bring back some food. Meanwhile, Mu Cai stayed in the room, using his smart brain to check and reply to messages.

Ruan Jia had always wanted to accompany Mu Cai to the competition, but since he was neither a mecha warrior nor a mecha repairman, he had no grounds to do so. Even if Ruan Jia followed him, there would be no place for him to stay.

The Ruan family also did not allow Ruan Jia to go to the Randt star. Although the Galactic Empire had been advocating for omega rights for more than a decade, it was still too risky for a powerless omega like Ruan Jia to travel alone to an unfamiliar planet. As a result, the Ruan family kept him at home.

Mu Cai read through the numerous complaints sent by the other party and patiently comforted him. Finally, he promised Ruan Jia that he would visit him right after the competition. Only then was he able to appease Ruan Jia.

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Mu Cai was about to lie down on the couch for a rest when he heard a knock at the door.

Assuming that it was Claire returning from his errand, and that he was struggling to retrieve his keys due to carrying numerous shopping bags, Mu Cai hurried to the door.

Unexpectedly, the person standing outside was Leon.

He was still wearing the same white military uniform as before, his eyes fixed on Mu Cai with a smile on his face.

Mu Cai was surprised. How had Leon found this place? Was he still upset about their morning quarrel and came looking for revenge? Or was he here specifically to confront Claire?

The dormitory was bustling. Some rooms even left their doors open. Mu Cai could faintly hear music and movie sounds from the neighboring dorms, including people talking.

If he raised his voice, a dozen mecha warriors from the Imperial Mecha Academy would be ready to back him up, so he wasn't afraid of what Leon might do to him.

He directly asked, "What are you doing here?"

Leon smiled and said, "Just came to see you."

The person was practically leaning on the door frame, standing just across the threshold, very close to Mu Cai. The dorm room could be considered Mu Cai's private territory. Having the person standing right at the boundary of his private space made Mu Cai feel uncomfortable.

He voiced his displeasure, "I don't want to see you."

The boy in front of him was staring at him with dark eyes, his red lips pouting in an annoyed expression.

Despite this, there was no intimidation to his demeanor. It was as if he was a feisty kitten that could barely stand, not even extending his claws but meowing his small roars at him, attempting to scare him off.

Yet Leon showed no humiliation or anger from the rejection. Instead, he seemed even more eager to talk to Mu Cai. "Why don't you want to see me? Is it because I offended you this morning? I apologize for that, but as you said, I am from the Kale Federation, and some opinions are hard to change."

Mu Cai was surprised that Leon would apologize so straightforwardly. However, he still wasn't keen on Leon being here. He wanted to choose a good movie to watch with Claire later.

Claire had a great sense of aesthetics and was full of ideas. When Mu Cai occasionally engaged in recreational activities like reading or watching movies with him, he found their exchanges to be quite interesting.

Therefore, Mu Cai had no qualms about showing Leon the door. "I accept your apology. Do you have anything else to discuss? If not, I'll be closing the door."

Leon raised an eyebrow.

He didn't expect Mu Cai to be so impolite. But it made sense, as Leon recalled Claire's actions this morning, seemingly unable to win Mu Cai over. Although Claire was ranked number one on the list of alphas the omegas of the Galactic Empire preferred to marry, Mu Cai wasn't swayed by him. It was only normal that Leon would experience a bit of cold treatment as well.

Mu Cai didn't know what the person across from him was thinking, and he also didn't know why Leon kept looking at him without speaking.

As he was about to close the door after arguing with Leon, a hand pressed against the edge of the door. Leon leaned towards Mu Cai and said, "There's a nice cinema not far from the base. Do you want to see the latest movie?"

Mu Cai: "…"

Leon was so blunt that Mu Cai could hardly believe his ears.

Was he... trying to flirt with him?

What happened to being more subtle?

Mu Cai was about to reject the offer when a cold, deep voice came from the side. "If you have nothing important, don't block the dorm entrance."

Both people at the door turned to see Claire standing nearby, carrying several bags. Under the overhead corridor lights, his sharp eyebrows and eyes cast numerous shadows of light and darkness.

Claire noticed the look of surprise on Mu Cai's face and his typically severe expression softened slightly. He stepped forward to the doorway, forcing Leon to step back.

The faint smell of rust and a citrus aroma quietly spread at the dorm's entrance, both strong and relentless.

Of course, Mu Cai noticed as well.

He twitched his nose twice, recognizing the metallic smell as Claire's pheromone, and the citrus scent as Leon's.

Both alphas were releasing their pheromones at the dormitory's entrance — a tradition that dated back to primitive times in this star system. The struggle for a mate was customary, and only the strong deserved the best.

However, their struggle was much more civilized and did not affect the oblivious omega.

Mu Cai noticed the two of them still standing at the door, allowing the cold wind to seep inside the dorm. The temperature on the planet Rant had been dropping recently, and though there was heating inside the rooms, the hallway remained cold.

Mu Cai couldn't understand why these two men began releasing their pheromones all of a sudden, particularly in the chilly hallway.

It appeared that alphas had impressive endurance since neither seemed to feel the cold.

Given their indifference to the cold, he decided to close the door and keep himself warm inside the dorm, leaving them to deal with each other out in the cold.

Mu Cai, upon thinking about this, reached out to grab the bag from Claire's hand, "You two have something to discuss? Discuss it outside, I'm going to close the door, the wind is blowing in."

The two alphas locked in their standoff finally came to their senses. Upon hearing Mu Cai's words, Claire quickly turned to look at him.

The young lad was looking down, only his fluffy head facing Claire. He stretched out a thin white hand intending to grab the bag, while his other hand stirred around inside it. His large, black eyes searched eagerly in the bag, much like a hamster foraging for food.

The bag was packed with food!

The pupils of a delighted Mu Cai sparkled. His nose twitched as he caught the salty aroma of meat and sweet scent of butter. Without any hesitance, he pulled the bag out of Claire's grasp and tried to pull the other bag from him as well, "Give me the bags, you guys talk outside, I'm about to close the door."

Claire felt a sudden sense of abandonment as his bag was ruthlessly taken from him. In a haste, he stopped Mu Cai from closing the door, "Cai Cai, hold on. I'll just say a few words to him, and I'll be right in!"

Mu Cai wrinkled his nose, seemingly reluctant, but he nonetheless nodded, "Alright, just come in quickly."

Emphasizing his point, Mu Cai added, "The wind coming in is indeed cold!"

Claire, finding the situation both amusing and frustrating, replied, "I got it. I'll just leave it ajar. I'll be in shortly."

Finally satisfied, Mu Cai with the two heavy bags swaying at his sides, ambled off inside.

Leon, who was standing aside, watched the scene unfold. His initial irritation from the distraction and the aggression stirred up from the fight had wholly dissipated. He couldn't help but chuckle a little: "Seems like you're not treated as well as I thought."

The previously pitiful expression on Claire's face immediately vanished, replaced by a gaze as icy as a sword's edge.

Leon, far from being afraid, continued to reminisce about Mu Cai's demeanor: "He's very cute, interesting, and handsome too. He's quite popular around here."

Leon paused, glancing at Klaire with a provocative look, "The Kale Federation doesn't appreciate strong omegas like the Galactic Empire does."

Claire replied coldly, "Enough of this nonsense. You don't have to hassle Mu Cai. We'll see you on the battlefield."

Leon agreed, "True, only the winner will earn the right to have him."

Klaire, however, didn't bother to respond. He opened the partially closed door, walked in, and then closed it shut.

Win or lose, Mu Cai was his. Of course, he planned to win. After all, an omega like Mu Cai should have the best alpha.

________________________

Two days after the people from the Capital Planet arrived at the Randt Star, the preliminary rounds of the Mecha Tournament officially commenced.

Due to the large number of participants in the preliminary round, there were over 7,000 mecha fighters. Thus, the rules of the preliminaries were straight-forward and unsophisticated: contestants were pitted against each other in one-on-one combat by drawing lots. The winner progressed, effectively eliminating 50% of the competitors. This 50% would then undergo another knockout round, weeding out more participants, and leaving approximately 2,000 for the finals.

The venue hosted ten arenas, with ten large screens simulcasting the ten battles. Competitions were held continuously each day, from 8 am till 8 pm.

There was an element of luck involved in the mechanics of the preliminaries, largely depending on who you drew as your opponent. Many mecha fighters, fully qualified to advance through the preliminaries, were praying not to be matched against strong competitors like Claire or Leon.

Meanwhile, there was official betting on the Mecha Tournament. Via television or smart devices, bets could be placed directly on the live broadcast screen using a bank card linked previously.

Several types of bets were available like guessing the champion, guessing the winner for each match or even guessing the duration of a match.

Generally, details about the next day's matches were announced at 8 pm the day before and sent to the participant's smart devices.

Tomorrow, Mu Cai was scheduled to participate. He drew an opponent named Ivan, an alpha. According to the official website, Ivan was a senior at the Federation Mecha Academy. And as per unofficial news, Ivan had even undergone military training during his vacation.

Mu Cai glanced at the betting situation for his match: about a billion people had placed bets, and his odds were as high as 200 to 1.

He wasn't certain he could win, so he didn't rashly bet on himself. Instead, he found a photo of Claire among the popular championship contenders. Claire was a hot favorite to win, with the highest number of people betting on her victory. Mu Cai also placed a bet of a thousand common points on him.

When it was time for the match the following day, Ivan took control of his mecha and entered the arena.

He saw an azure mecha step into the arena from the opposite side, which was smaller than the usual mechas, matching its controller.

Due to betting, all contestants' photos and information were published on the Star Network. Even an ordinary ID photo taken at a deadly angle couldn't hide the handsome figure of the teen in the picture.

An omega would even compete in the Mecha Tournament — the Galactic Empire must really be lacking in alphas, Ivan thought. Moreover, his opponent was a mecha repair student from the Imperial Mecha Academy, not a mecha combat one, and seemed to lack experience in operating mechas. Ivan felt like he was being handed a free pass to the finals.

The ten large screens were simulcasting the progress of matches across all arenas. The audience in the arena, as well as those watching the live broadcast on the Star Network, were fixated on Mu Cai's match.

Among the ten matches, Mu Cai's was the most intriguing. Almost everyone who had seen the contestant's information was curious about how an Omega would operate a mecha.

The audience at the competition mainly consisted of contestants, leaders from various mecha academies, and government officials from the Randt Star. The venue was packed with people and buzzing with excitement, as numerous supporters waved flags and banners.

Leon crossed the security line and stood beside Claire, watching the two mechas on the field. Having interacted with Mu Cai before, he naturally didn't think that Mu Cai had little mecha operating experience. Otherwise, Claire would not have agreed to let Mu Cai participate in the competition.

Claire noticed Leon's approach but remained speechless, focusing intently on the field.

"Ivan is a senior at the Federation Mecha Academy, with outstanding grades and military training experience. What do you think?" Leon rested his hand on the railing as they stood in the front row, clearly observing both contestants on the field.

Claire stared at the azure mecha, shining brightly under the lights like a young person's eyes. Although they couldn't see the cockpit's interior, he felt that Mu Cai must be fully focused at this moment, with brilliant starlight hiding within his large, dark eyes.

Claire replied indifferently, "I don't have any particular thoughts; he's just an ordinary opponent."

Leon raised an eyebrow, "So confident in Mu Cai?"

A hint of a proud smile appeared on Claire's face, "That's because I taught him."

Leon couldn't help but feel an immense sense of jealousy.

________________________

The referee declared the start of the match.

At this instant, almost all eyes in the audience were stuck on the scene.

Mu Cai rushed forward the moment the command fell. His speed was exceptional, unmatched even by the most seasoned mech fighters within the military.

At this moment, Qingluan, like a streak of azure, dashed forward.

Ivan was greatly astonished, hardly believing that the command input time could be so short! He swiftly used his mental control to grip one leg of the mech, while coordinating with the command inputs, and narrowly managed to dodge the other's attack.

However, he was still a step too late.

One of Ivan's mech arms was suddenly seized, and in the next moment, he was completely hurled out of the arena, subsequently crashing heavily onto the ground.

The rules of the Mecha Tournament involved knocking the opponent out of the arena's boundaries. Now, since Ivan was outside the boundary, it naturally meant that he had lost.

Everything happened so fast that it was not until the referee, seemingly awakening from a dream, announced Mu Cai's victory that the audience began to cheer. The cheers increased in volume wave after wave, seemingly about to overturn the roof of the stadium.

When the results of the judgment came out, a line of text also appeared on the screen. Mu Cai broke the twenty-year-old record of the mecha fighter, Bartley, who is now a Brigadier General in the Galactic Empire. Thus, becoming the fastest person to finish a match in the Mecha Tournament.

["How on earth is this omega so amazing?! It felt like it was over in an instant, he was that fast!"]

["Did he practice for a very long time to get this speedy? His profile clearly says he's a mecha repair student!"]

["Could it be because his mecha is smaller? Lighter ones might move faster."]

["That's impossible, the time for command input alone was longer than that! Is his mecha a new model?"]

[" ..."]

After the referee declared the victory, Qingluan disengaged the mecha state.

Mu Cai stood in the arena, waving and saluting the surrounding audience.

Clearly visible on the giant screen, were his long and distinct eyelashes, his black shiny eyes that seemed to hold stars, and his shining smile lit up by the overhead lights. Both the on-site spectators and the interstellar broadcast audience could see all this distinctly.

________________________

Author's note:

As Mu Cai sat in the dormitory enjoying hot bread and smoked meat jerky, he was extremely delighted: How fortunate it was to have the door shut behind him!

Outside, in the cold wind and dealing with Leon, stood Claire, lamenting: "He actually just left me behind like this, QAQ".

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