IMAO Chapter 20

Ji Rong felt helpless. He knew his Omega father’s sudden decision to abdicate had something to do with him, but his father Ji Chong was definitely the main factor.

…

In Star Wars, Mahar main district.

As soon as Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong logged in, they saw the same message spamming across the world chat.

[World][It’s Wan Wan]: The Iron-Blooded Emperor abdicated, and I still haven’t found a partner. Are you all waiting for the world to end before you’ll DM me?

…

[World][Black and White Mousse]: The Iron-Blooded Emperor abdicated, and I still haven’t found a partner. Are you all waiting for the world to end before you’ll DM me?

Since Hoyt, Jiang Yuan hadn’t logged into Star Wars for a long time. He barely glanced at the messages when the system notification rang. His DMs showed 999+, who knew how many messages there actually were.

[Private Message][Jiang-ge’s Little Lackey]: Gege, you’re finally online! Waaah! Gege, you’re so amazing! Gege, I love you!!!

[Private Message][Snow in the Wind]: I want to be Gege’s little shadow!

…

[Private Message][Sleepless Under the Moon]: The God is online!!! God, someone said you’re an Omega, is that true?

Jiang Yuan just skimmed through the messages. There were way too many.

[Guild][Irresistible Me]: Ahhh, front row photo op! The God is online!

[Guild][Words of Weight]: Boss, do you need a sidekick? The kind that can act cute! If you need someone to warm your bed, I’m available too!

…

[Guild][Round Belly Sweet Life]: God Jiang!!! Peeking around, touching God Jiang’s little hand!

Jiang Yuan frowned slightly before asking.

[Guild][7592101]: What’s going on today?

[Guild][Little Shepherd]: It’s all my fault…

Seeing Mu An’s ID in the guild chat, Jiang Yuan noticed he was online and sent him a message. Mu An joined the group directly and found the two of them.

Seeing Mu An reminded Jiang Yuan of when he and Armand were buried. He asked through voice chat, “Is your ex still giving you trouble?”

Mu An: “Pfft—”

Mu An said cheerfully, “He deleted his account and left the server! Your classmates are too fierce! His entire team got wiped out.”

Jiang Yuan: “Good. That guy was disgusting.”

Mu An: “Right? If it weren’t for your help, I wouldn’t have known what to do~”

Mu An: “By the way, Jiang Yuan, Armand told me about what happened. How are you feeling?”

Jiang Yuan: “I’m… okay.”

Mu An: “I looked into it. Sudden transitions can cause heat instability, so be careful, especially since there are so many Alphas at your school. If you have any questions, you can ask me.”

Jiang Yuan thanked him, knowing Mu An was worried about potential issues at the military school: “I’ve moved to a private dorm, so it should be fine.”

Mu An: “That’s good.”

Jiang Yuan: “Oh right, what’s going on? My DMs exploded when I logged in.”

Mu An: “It’s because of what happened with me. Remember?

“You created a guild to help me, right? Then a bunch of top players suddenly left their guilds to join Wuji. Many people tried to join after that. When the guild filled up, they made a second and third guild. Now there are nine full guilds. I couldn’t manage anymore, so I stopped creating new ones.”

Jiang Yuan: “I know about that. You’ve worked hard…”

He had created the guild because Mu An’s ex Li Wenfeng had people bury Mu An and Armand. Jiang Yuan was just angry then, so he called his classmates to form a guild. But it wasn’t really his. Technically, it belonged to that assassin team.

After learning what happened, the assassin team even helped them counter-kill Li Wenfeng’s people.

Mu An: “I didn’t do much, just basic management. Li Wenfeng’s old guild had to pay people to stay, but now they’re fighting to donate money to the guild. I didn’t accept it though, just approved applications in order.”

Jiang Yuan: “Hmm, but why do they all seem to know who I am?”

Mu An: “Because of your and Ji Rong’s IDs. Someone explained it in world chat before. Someone got information about what 7592101 means, and since you and Ji Rong joined the Interstellar Mecha Competition, you got exposed.”

After Mu An briefly explained, Ji Rong raised his eyebrows upon hearing this. His main account Yuan Rong had been chased before. People would follow him everywhere, even in battle maps where opponents would chase him around instead of fighting.

But the situation didn’t seem too serious yet.

Thinking this, Ji Rong and Jiang Yuan decided to queue for a game. However, after entering the 5v5 match, he realized he’d thought too soon. This wasn’t just being followed. They were being surrounded and ambushed by spectators!

“Ahhh, God YUAN! God RONG! Ahhhhhh, quick, record this!”

“God YUAN, come at me! I mean, fight me!”

…

“RONG-gege! I’m an Omega~ Be gentle when you fight me! Gege, need an Omega partner? I can warm your bed~”

After one match, teammates and enemies occupied the battlefield map. The whole time it was “Gege fight me,” “Gege I love you”. Could they even play the game anymore?

Another system notification…

Jiang Yuan glanced at his private messages, which had already hit 999+ unread messages again. He was getting a headache and immediately clicked “ignore all.” Among all the confessional messages, there was one message that stood out. It was an apology, but Jiang Yuan naturally didn’t see it. That message was instantly buried under the flood.

The sender didn’t follow Jiang Yuan’s world coordinates, but instead silently watched their one-sided friendship after receiving no reply. They waited for a while until Jiang Yuan’s avatar turned gray, then quietly logged off.

Neither Jiang Yuan nor Ji Rong could properly experience the game. They couldn’t even do basic practice, let alone battle. The two decided to log off.

After shutting down their gaming devices, they exchanged a look in their room.

“Looks like we can’t use this account anymore,” Jiang Yuan said, rubbing his forehead.

Ji Rong smiled. “Let’s make some alternate accounts then.”

Jiang Yuan considered Ji Rong’s suggestion. Star Wars wasn’t just a game to them. It was also a simplified simulation pod that greatly helped with physical training and mecha operation awareness. They couldn’t just quit because of these annoyances, but being treated like a circus attraction was getting on his nerves.

Then he remembered he didn’t need to create a new account, he already had one.

“I actually have another account from before,” Jiang Yuan mentioned, thinking they shouldn’t end their practice session so early.

Ji Rong looked at him. He had already guessed Jiang Yuan had another account, so he wasn’t surprised. He calmly said, “I have one too, but it’s similar to this one. It’s not convenient to use. I’ll create a new one and add you. What’s your in-game name?”

“Jiang Bu Xi Zhou (A Boat Unmoored on the River),” Jiang Yuan replied quietly.

This account belonged to the original owner. The original name was Two Trees Do Not Make A Forest, which was a couple name matching Song Yi Rui’s old account. Jiang Yuan had changed the name and hadn’t logged in since. The original owner’s team had talked about getting him back then.

“Got it. I’ll create my account and add you once it’s ready!” Ji Rong said after some thought.

Jiang Yuan nodded and logged in.

Finally – some peace and quiet.

Soon, a friend request came from a new account.

[System Message: Player Jiang Xin requests to be your friend Accept/Decline]

Jiang Yuan accepted without hesitation and sent a team invite. Once Ji Rong joined, he turned on voice chat: “What made you pick that name?”

“You don’t like it?”

A familiar, slightly lowered voice sounded in his ear, like ghosting fingers gently pressing against his eardrum.

“It’s not that. Just seems kind of ordinary,” Jiang Yuan said.

A seductive chuckle came through the headset. Its owner was clearly in a good mood. “I think it’s special. I like it.”

“Whatever you say,” Jiang Yuan scoffed.

When Jiang Yuan came online, someone on his friends list noticed and immediately sent a message.

[Friend] Chi Chi: Xiao Mu[mfn]Nickname from the name Shuang Mu Fei Lin [/mfn], you’re back?!

[Friend] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: Yeah

Jiang Yuan remembered this “Chi Chi.” The last time he logged in, this person had also messaged him, asking if he wanted to rejoin the team.

[Friend] Chi Chi: It’s good you’re back! Although I don’t know what happened between you and Tian-ge[mfn]From SYR’s Tian Xia You Xin[/mfn], but there’s no need to stop playing because of it.

[System Message: Chi Chi invites you to join ‘Wolf Fang Team’ Accept/Decline]

Jiang Yuan declined without much hesitation.

[Friend] Chi Chi: Join the team, Xiao Mu! Don’t worry, Tian-ge left the team a while ago. You won’t run into him.

[Friend] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: No thanks, I have a friend. We’ll just join any team.

[Friend] Chi Chi: Is that so… Well, let me know if you need any help.

Seeing Jiang Yuan’s insistence, Chi Chi stopped inviting. Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong did join a random team. It was not too big or small, with about two hundred members. Jiang Yuan’s account was decent enough, and if he hadn’t vouched for Ji Rong, the team wouldn’t have accepted such an obvious newbie account. After all, who knew how long a fresh account would stick around?

[Guild][Captain][Black Tiger]: Welcome newcomers.

[Guild][I’m So Cute]: Welcome! *throws flowers*

…

[Guild] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: Hello everyone.

[Guild] Jiang Xin: Hello everyone.

…

[Guild] I’m So Cute: Black Tiger-gege, carry me! I want to rank up! It’s so hard!

[Guild][Captain][Black Tiger]: Sure, I’m free anyway.

Carrying one or two makes no difference.

Black Tiger added after some thought: “Let’s take both newcomers, carrying one or two makes no difference.”

[Guild] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: No need.

[Guild][Captain]Black Tiger: Don’t be shy, come join us. I’m free today, I’ll help you guys play.

[Guild] I’m So Cute: That’s right, newbies don’t be shy! Let’s go together! Black Tiger-gege is super strong!

As Jiang Yuan was thinking how to refuse, a private message popped up-

[Private] I’m So Cute: Don’t be shy, you’ll get used to it after playing more. Your partner’s rank is so low, it’d be hard to carry alone. Why not join us?

[Private] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: How did you know he’s my partner?

[Private] I’m So Cute: Haha, I could tell just by looking at the IDs!

[Private] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: IDs?

[Private] I’m So Cute: Your surname is Jiang, right?

[Private] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: Yes.

[Private] I’m So Cute: Then it’s obvious. ‘Jiang Xin’ means ‘Jiang in the heart,’ right? Your partner must be a cute little Omega!”

Jiang Yuan was stunned. Ji Rong being associated with “cute Omega”? Even he, an actual Omega, wasn’t even cute…

[Private] Jiang Bu Xi Zhou: Why… cute Omega?

[Private] I’m So Cute: If they were an Alpha, the ID definitely wouldn’t be “Jiang Xin.” It’d be something like “Jiang Jiang (Wild Grass)” hahaha!

Jiang Yuan: …

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.

You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get access to the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.