WMSR — QT Chapter 156

WMSR – QT Chapter 156

By

siofra

Consequently, across these past few days, Bai Yichen had been fretting over this predicament to the point where he felt his hair was practically falling out, leaving a faint layer of bruised fatigue beneath his otherwise pale eyes.

Just as Bai Yichen found himself utterly at his wits' end, his communicator suddenly chimed with another ping. Initially paying it no mind, he casually tapped it open, only to freeze the instant he inspected the notification that materialized before him:

--Respected Colonel Bai Angus, the moment you receive this message, first accept our congratulations: your application for the marriage matching system has successfully cleared the screening process. Following a comprehensive evaluation of your personal combat capability and general qualifications, you currently rank within the top one thousand among the empire's eligible omegas [Note: Editor/System administrative text anomaly referencing the matching pool], qualifying you for the next round of selection. Please prepare a five-minute self-introduction video within three days to thoroughly showcase yourself and secure greater favor among the empire's eligible omegas. Please note that this marriage matching selection campaign operates under the supervision of the imperial civil administration and the Imperial Omega Protection Association, and will be broadcast publicly across the star-net under the scrutiny of all imperial citizens. Marriage matching is a solemn and sacred institution; any uncivilized, inappropriate, or overdue video submissions may subject you to prosecution and placement on a credit blacklist, severely impacting your daily life. Please treat this matter with utmost gravity.

What on earth was this?

Though uncomprehending, Bai Yichen instinctively felt it was not something he could simply brush aside.

Failing to understand, he turned to the star-net for answers. However, when Bai Yichen—who had poured his entire energy over the past few days into figuring out how to resign from the military department—shifted his focus elsewhere, he abruptly discovered that merely days later, the news wave surrounding the capture of Amborah Cole had completely subsided. Instead, every corner of the network was abuzz with fiery discussions concerning the annual imperial marriage matching, debating how many eligible omegas the empire boasted that year, which omega possessed the most stunning visage, whose personality was sweetest, and ultimately, which enviable alphas would succeed in winning the beauties' hearts.

This nationwide frenzy of public engagement left Bai Yichen utterly bewildered. Following a more thorough investigation, he finally uncovered the truth: owing to the dwindling population of omegas within the empire, the demographic could no longer satisfy the demand for every alpha to secure an omega partner. Therefore, to preserve a sense of equity among the mass of alphas, guarantee a blissful post-marital life for the increasingly scarce omegas, and manifest imperial humanistic principles, the marriage matching system was officially launched.

This mechanism operated as a partner-selection procedure dominated by omegas, convening once a year. All unmarried alphas meeting the empire's criteria could elect to register and participate, with each alpha permitted to register only once every three years. Those alphas registering within any given year underwent a comprehensive ranking derived from their physical metrics, economic standing, and overall qualitative parameters. Contestants ranking within the top one thousand advanced to the subsequent stage, tasked with uploading a meticulously prepared five-minute video to grant omegas deeper insight into their profiles. Following review of the footage, every eligible omega was mandated to select five candidates from that pool of one thousand for face-to-face interactions, culminating in the final selection of their life partners.

Naturally, omegas were not strictly obligated to make a selection; every newly wed-eligible omega possessed three opportunities to decline all prospective candidates and sustain their single status. Yet this reprieve remained capped at three instances, meaning every newly adult omega was compelled to enter matrimony after a maximum extension of three years. This constituted a rare display of legislative rigidity born of the empire's anxiety over dwindling omega demographics, implemented because only omegas could propagate formidable alphas—a matter bound directly to the empire's future survival, prohibiting any frivolous squandering of such precious reproductive windows.

Upon grasping the full context behind these intricacies, Bai Yichen could not help knitting his brows slightly. It was hardly difficult for him to discern that this policy—ostensibly draped in preferential protections for omegas—in practice severely restricted omega autonomy. While the marriage matching system seemingly placed the executive initiative in the hands of omegas, it weaponized structural frameworks to usher omegas into matrimony with diminished resistance and heightened operational efficiency. Beneath its polished facade lay an apparatus of absolute domination over omegas.

Bai Yichen massaged his temples, never anticipating that the original host had actually registered for this program. Securing an omega companion remained the universal aspiration of every alpha, a reality Bai Yichen could hardly fault. The catch, however, was that once an application was filed, revoking it proved exceptionally difficult—compounded by the fact that he had already cleared screening and secured a spot within the top one thousand.

Ultimately, after delving deeply into the mechanics of the marriage matching system, Bai Yichen discovered that exiting midway through the top-thousand tier was structurally nonexistent; failing to execute subsequent stages within prescribed deadlines incurred punitive violations across the board. The repercussions of non-compliance—including placement on the credit blacklist—left Bai Yichen's complexion turning ashen; clearly, in pursuit of birth rates, the empire clamped down ruthlessly on omegas while imposing equally stringent mandates upon alphas.

Yet for the empire's general populace of alphas, such stringent enforcement felt entirely imperceptible. Given the profound scarcity of omegas, securing one required surviving fierce competition, rendering placement in the top one thousand of the marriage matching system an extraordinarily high-value golden ticket carrying immense leverage to win a beauty's heart—only a fool would drop the ball at such a juncture.

After wrestling with his dilemma for a moment and realizing zero pathways existed to bypass the ordeal, Bai Yichen resigned himself to filming a modest, perfunctory video which he uploaded directly to the designated portal. Beneath the submission window rested a hyperlink directing users to the public star-net exhibition gallery. Driven by curiosity, Bai Yichen clicked it open, discovering countless peers who had likewise uploaded promotional footage showcasing multi-faceted talents, witty banter, and ruggedly heroic styling. Every submission boasted staggering production quality interwoven with subtle psychological ploys—clearly demanding extensive preparation rather than hasty assembly over a brief interval.

Observing this, Bai Yichen experienced a wave of internal reassurance. Amidst such an array of dazzling productions, his own self-introduction video—dry, lacking background settings, devoid of musical scoring, and completely unedited—would surely register as utterly inconspicuous, blending seamlessly into obscurity.

Harboring that comforting assumption and believing he could dismiss the complication as a mere formality, Bai Yichen diverted his attention away from the gallery to refocus on his primary source of dread: his rapidly expiring leave.

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