After Marking the Omega Officer Who Was Pretending to Be an Alpha - Chapter 6

Shao Enzhuo did not know when she had fallen asleep last night. She only knew that when she opened her eyes again, it was already bright outside, and sunlight streaming in through the window fell across her face.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up from the bed. The small wooden bed beside hers was already empty, and the bedding had been neatly arranged. She glanced out the window, then got out of bed.

The weather today was nice.

After washing up, Shao Enzhuo walked out of the house and saw Shao Lanzhi washing vegetables beside the well in the courtyard.

“Grandma.”

Hearing her voice, Shao Lanzhi turned back and glanced at her.

“Zhuozhuo, you’re awake.”

Shao Enzhuo slightly narrowed her eyes and looked toward the bright morning sun hanging high in the distance. Then she gathered up her long hair, tied it into a ponytail, and walked toward Shao Lanzhi.

“Grandma, what time is it now?”

“It’s already past ten. Grandma saw that you were sleeping deeply, so I didn’t wake you. This morning, I went to the clothing shop to ask for leave for you. I said you weren’t feeling well and couldn’t go to the shop to weave clothes for the next few days,” Shao Lanzhi said slowly as she washed the vegetables in the basin. “You’ve lost your memory and don’t remember anything. Grandma thinks you should rest for a few days and adjust.”

Shao Enzhuo had no objections. “Thank you for the trouble, Grandma.”

Last night, Shao Lanzhi had told her that in the Capital of Hope, Betas could only earn money through labor. She worked at a clothing shop in the city, and the cute patterns on her clothes were all woven by her.

“Zhuozhuo,” Shao Lanzhi said, “let’s eat lunch earlier today.”

Shao Enzhuo walked over to Shao Lanzhi, crouched down in front of her, and helped wash the vegetables.

“Grandma, I’ll help you.”

Shao Lanzhi smiled. “Alright.”

As Shao Enzhuo washed the vegetables, she thought about how she would differentiate into an Alpha. While she could not accept joining the Hope Organization, she also felt that Shao Lanzhi seemed to have left many things unexplained.

She raised her eyes and looked at Shao Lanzhi.

“Grandma, there’s something I don’t understand.”

Shao Lanzhi asked, “What is it?”

“How do you know I’ll differentiate into an Alpha when I turn eighteen?” Shao Enzhuo looked at Shao Lanzhi in confusion. “Maybe I’ll be a Beta like you.”

“Every Beta can undergo genetic testing when they reach six years old. After the genetic test, they’ll know what they will differentiate into at eighteen,” Shao Lanzhi patiently explained to Shao Enzhuo. “Zhuozhuo, your genetic test report showed that you would differentiate into an Alpha at eighteen. That’s why Grandma knows.”

“Undergo genetic testing?” Shao Enzhuo asked thoughtfully. “Grandma, where do people get genetic testing done?”

Shao Lanzhi said, “At the Science and Technology Hall.”

Shao Enzhuo repeated, “Science and Technology Hall?”

Shao Lanzhi said, “Mm.”

Shao Enzhuo had not expected that this apocalyptic city would even have a Science and Technology Hall.

“Grandma, where is the Science and Technology Hall?”

“The Science and Technology Hall is near the city center,” Shao Lanzhi said as she stood up to draw water from the well. “Our home is a little far from the city center. It takes about twenty minutes to walk there.”

“Then… could the genetic test be wrong?” Shao Enzhuo really did not want to differentiate into some Alpha and join the Hope Organization. “Could I possibly differentiate into an Omega?”

Eleven years ago, when Shao Lanzhi took Shao Enzhuo for genetic testing and received the report, she had also hoped that the genetic test was wrong.

But genetic tests were never wrong.

They had never been wrong.

“Every Beta’s genetic test is one hundred percent accurate. There has never been a mistake,” Shao Lanzhi said, looking at Shao Enzhuo with complicated feelings. There was an indescribable bitterness in her eyes. “Although more than two hundred years have passed since the apocalypse, before the apocalypse, many technologies were preserved and inherited by the Capital of Hope. Genetic testing won’t be wrong.”

“Can genetic testing still be done now?” Shao Enzhuo did not want to differentiate into an Alpha. She believed that joining the Hope Organization would definitely bring nothing good. “What if the genetic test really was wrong? Grandma, I want to do another genetic test.”

Shao Lanzhi said, “There’s no need, Zhuozhuo.”

Shao Enzhuo asked, “Why?”

“Ever since you were six, Grandma has taken you for many genetic tests,” Shao Lanzhi said. Her slightly tired tone carried a helpless sorrow. “Zhuozhuo, Grandma hopes more than anyone that the genetic test was wrong.”

Shao Enzhuo’s heartstrings trembled slightly.

She stopped washing the vegetables and raised her head slightly, meeting Shao Lanzhi’s gaze. She could feel the emotions in Shao Lanzhi’s eyes, and she could also understand Shao Lanzhi’s feelings and thoughts.

To humans, walking corpses were a nightmare.

Shao Enzhuo knew very well that leaving the Capital of Hope to clear out walking corpses was undoubtedly like stepping one foot into the gates of hell. Moreover, Shao Lanzhi had told her that her father had died in the mouths of walking corpses after leaving the city to clear them out, and in the end, not even his body had been recovered.

As her grandmother, Shao Lanzhi naturally did not want her to differentiate into an Alpha. Shao Enzhuo’s heart was filled with mixed feelings.

“Grandma…”

“But if you want to do a genetic test, that’s fine too. The Science and Technology Hall can do genetic testing at any time.” After all these years, Shao Lanzhi had long since accepted the fact that Shao Enzhuo would differentiate into an Alpha. “If you want to go, Grandma will go with you.”

Shao Enzhuo did not speak.

The adjudicators’ cruel actions, which disregarded human rights, had left her with only a negative impression of the Hope Organization. There were already very few survivors in the apocalyptic world, yet the adjudicators killed survivors who wanted to live. She could not understand it, and she would never agree with it.

If she was destined to differentiate into an Alpha, then there was nothing she could say. After all, she could not change her genes. Still, she wanted to do another genetic test so she could completely give up hope, and while she was at it, she wanted to go take a look around the city center.

“Grandma, I want to do another genetic test.”

Shao Lanzhi asked, “Then shall we go after lunch?”

Shao Enzhuo said, “Okay.”

—

After lunch.

Shao Enzhuo used the excuse that she wanted to wander around the city alone and did not let Shao Lanzhi accompany her outside. Although Shao Lanzhi was worried, she agreed and reminded Shao Enzhuo to come home early.

From the moment she transmigrated into the book yesterday until now, Shao Enzhuo had not properly looked around the Capital of Hope. Today, she planned to take a good walk around this Capital of Hope, humanity’s final pure land.

A gentle breeze blew.

The air was filled with a faint fragrance of flowers and grass.

There were gradually more and more people on the street. Shao Enzhuo walked along while looking around. This place was a little different from what she had imagined. It was somewhat like a small, remote county town.

And…

These people seemed to be living quite well and peacefully in the Capital of Hope. Although she had an extremely bad impression of the Hope Organization, the Capital of Hope, as the final pure land, had protected the surviving humans. In the end, the fact that smiles could appear on the survivors’ faces was a wonderful thing.

For the Capital of Hope in the apocalypse to achieve this much

was already not easy.

Even so, she still did not approve of the Hope Organization’s methods.

While wandering around, Shao Enzhuo was suddenly dazzled by the reflection of something shiny and could barely open her eyes. She raised her hand to shield her face and narrowed her eyes to look. Only then did she discover that the reflection came from a bracelet worn on a woman’s left wrist.

It was a very delicate and unique silver ring.

Shao Enzhuo continued walking forward and discovered several more people wearing identical silver rings on their wrists. However, most people were not wearing them. Could those wearing silver rings also be people from the Hope Organization? But judging from their clothing, they did not look like it at all.

“Help! Help! Murder!”

The scream coming from ahead instantly caught Shao Enzhuo’s attention. Now, whenever she heard the word “murder,” she felt sick and nauseous, so she immediately quickened her steps and ran forward.

She saw a girl running this way while shouting for help, with several fierce-looking people chasing behind her.

“Stop! Don’t run!”

Seeing that those people were about to catch up to the girl,

“Save me! Please save me!” The girl had nowhere to turn and ran toward Shao Enzhuo. She grabbed Shao Enzhuo’s arm and begged excitedly, “They want to catch me! They want to kill me! Please save me! Save me!”

Hearing this, Shao Enzhuo subconsciously pulled the girl behind her and protected her. She stood in front of the girl and looked at the people who had caught up.

“Why are you trying to catch her?”

“She’s a thief. She stole steamed buns from our shop,” one of the men said fiercely, glaring at the girl behind Shao Enzhuo. “She’s been stealing steamed buns from our shop every day for the past few days. She steals them and runs off, and she runs very fast. Today, we were waiting to catch her!”

So that was what happened.

“I didn’t mean to steal the steamed buns,” the girl said from behind Shao Enzhuo. “I… I…”

“You what? No matter what reason you have, you can’t steal steamed buns from our shop,” the man said loudly with an angry expression. “If you don’t pay today, don’t even think about leaving!”

Shao Enzhuo felt that the girl behind her had most likely stolen the steamed buns because she had no other choice. After all, there were too many people in this world who could not control their own circumstances.

“How much are the steamed buns she took?”

She took out the five coins Shao Lanzhi had given her before she left.

“I’ll pay for her. Are five coins enough?”

“Three coins are enough.” The man restrained his irritable mood and took three coins from Shao Enzhuo’s palm. Before leaving, he did not forget to glare at the girl. “You’re lucky someone paid for you this time. Don’t let me see you again.”

The girl grabbed Shao Enzhuo’s clothes and shrank her neck.

Those people turned and left.

“Alright, they’re gone.” Shao Enzhuo withdrew her gaze and looked back at the girl. “You don’t have to run anymore.”

The girl looked at Shao Enzhuo with endless gratitude.

There was light in her eyes.

“Thank you. You’re so kind.”

“It was nothing, no need to thank me.” Seeing that the girl had a pure appearance, dressed plainly, and seemed to be around the same age as herself, Shao Enzhuo asked, “What’s your name?”

“My name is Ren Qiruo.” Ren Qiruo looked at Shao Enzhuo with smiling eyes. “What about you? What’s your name?”

“Shao Enzhuo,” Shao Enzhuo said, then asked, “Why did you steal steamed buns? Was it because you haven’t eaten for a long time?”

Ren Qiruo nodded. “Mm.”

Shao Enzhuo felt that Ren Qiruo did not look like someone wandering the streets. But why had she fallen to the point of being so hungry that she had to steal? So she asked, “Where are your parents?”

“Ever since my mom left the city seven years ago to clear out walking corpses, she never came back.” Ren Qiruo’s expression changed slightly, and she slowly withdrew her smile. The light in her eyes gradually dimmed. “My stepmother got sick some time ago and can’t get out of bed. All the money at home was used to buy medicine. We don’t have food or money anymore, and it still isn’t time to collect this month’s relief grain, so…”