Chapter 50
When Gu Xiyu woke up, it was already dark.
The curtains in the room were drawn, and a few warm yellow lights were lit around. The man in a dark fleece shirt was sitting at the table, a thin round communicator in front of him. A translucent shadow floated in the air, so it seemed like he was talking to someone.
“I see. I will enter the palace tomorrow morning.”
Wen Yu had carried him to the bed while he was unconscious, lying him stomach down with a cashmere quilt beneath him.
He remained in the same position for a long time.
He should have thought of it earlier. If Wen Yu could absorb his electric shock, and even heal the deep scratches immediately, why should drugs work on him?
It was his mistake.
Gu Xiyu moved his body in wonder, finally realizing that something was wrong.
His neck was a little heavy, and he raised his hand to scratch it a few times, and his small fleshy palm met a hard circular object.
“?” Gu Xiyu froze, inexplicably having a sense of foreboding.
The object around his neck was so strong that he couldn’t break it even after scratching it for a long time with his little claws. The ring was the right size for his neck, with no extra space. He lowered his head to bite it, but his teeth could not reach it.
When the Admiral hung up the communication and walked over to the bed, he found the little tiger rabbit frantically stomping around in an attempt to remove the ring around his neck. It seems the little thing on the bed got tired, as he curled up his body and stopped moving, doubting his rabbit life.
The little tiger rabbit looked up at him with a sour look in his eyes and a sense of resentment.
Gu Xiyu was not only frustrated but also angry, so angry that he wanted to chew Wen Yu’s head off.
To Commander Gu, it was humiliating to have such a ring forced on his neck.
Wen Yu even patted his head and said, “With this ring on, you are my exclusive property.”
Gu Xiyu: “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Wen Yu laughed lightly, “That’s just as well, I’m not a human being.”
“……”
What Wen Yu put on Gu Xiyu’s body was indeed a pet ring. It was usually worn by domestic pets; it came with its tracker and could control the distance between the pet and its owner to a certain extent. The function could be turned on or off by the keeper. It also came with a function that prevented the pet from escaping or disobeying. As long as the pet has such a situation, the keeper can trigger it remotely through the communicator worn by him or her, which can put the pet into a paralyzed state for a short period of time.
Now it would be even more impossible for Gu Xiyu to run away.
However, since ‘Admiral Caesar’ was the Great Demon, there was no need for him to run away.
He tried to communicate with Wen Yu: “Actually, we can first talk; I definitely won’t run away; can you take off the thing around my neck?”
Wen Yu touched him gently and asked, “Haven’t we already talked?”
Gu Xiyu went silent.
Then what was his reaction? Oh, he refused and mocked the Great Demon.
There seemed to be no more room for maneuvering in the short term.
Gu Xiyu took the time to open the panel and was going to glance at it and close it, but his eyes were drawn to the 60 of the danger value.
“It dropped?” While he was asleep?
Why?
The system replied back, [Probably because you became his pet and he likes how obedient you were.]
Gu Xiyu’s mood was a bit complicated, and he sneered, “Really? Why do I think he likes the disobedient ones instead?”
Looking at the level of illness the great demon of this world had, he might not have been able to deduct 10 points from the risk value if he hadn’t resisted at first.
The system seemed to laugh a few more times. The intelligent system in this world was not as difficult to get along with as the ones in the previous two worlds.
Gu Xiyu stared at the panel for a long time before shutting it off. The black remote control that was used to trap him earlier was still in the big black box, and from his perspective, he could still see the flickering red light.
He couldn’t resist asking Wen Yu, “What’s that?”
Wen Yu’s eyes were inexplicably tinged with a smile, and without saying anything, he walked over and picked up the remote control, flicking his finger on the button.
A slight mechanical sound rang out in the room.
In the direction of the end of the bed, the ceiling between the wall and the bed suddenly opened up, and a silver-gray bar slowly descended from above. As it extended down, an LCD screen as thick as a knuckle appeared.
Wen Yu leaned against the large box and pressed the remote control again.
The screen lit up in front of Gu Xiyu; some action scenes appeared, and a sound came from nowhere.
–It was a TV.
Gu Xiyu: “……”
The remote control was for that? The whole thing was fancy.
Gu Xi Yu’s eyes followed Wen Yu, and he saw him heading in the direction of the bed, and he realized that there was another door connecting to the room next door.
That was probably how the Great Demon returned to the room in the afternoon.
The TV was showing the evening news, and he suddenly heard the anchor mention Xie Mingsn’s name.
“Although the Blue Mine Star was held, Lieutenant General Xie and his team were ambushed and attacked by the aliens on their way back to the city. The warship crashed, and unfortunately, all the soldiers and generals died.”
The two anchors, a man and a woman, were bringing out information to the audience in the form of a dialogue.
“Based on the samples collected back by Lieutenant General Xie, the Ministry of Science and Research has confirmed that it was an undiscovered alien species, with body tissues more similar in structure to what invertebrate soft-bodied creatures we know, and with an extremely high ceiling for expansion and contraction. Presumably, they have the means to pass through holes thinner than a silver needle and are transparent in color, making it very convenient to infiltrate.”
“I’m sure Lieutenant General Xie definitely did his best too, and not being able to save the squad was harder on him than it was on any of us. The satellite obtained internal data, including surveillance footage, before the warship crashed. Viewers can go to the official website of the Imperial Palace to watch footage of some of the aliens’ manifestations and get an idea of the dangerous species listed as RDE 376. If signs of RDE376 activity are found on the main planet or in other Imperial domains, be sure to report them to the Imperial military immediately.”
“The species numbered RDE poses a great threat to humanity, and if it is not dealt with at the first opportunity, there could be endless troubles.”
After delivering this important information, a small screen was suddenly inserted at the side of the two.
Gu Xiyu heard the female anchor say, “This time, Lieutenant General Xie also accidentally discovered the beast race’s warship on his way back; the crash site has been marked, and the Empire will soon send an army to study the cause of the warship’s crash.”
“Everyone should be well aware that the Beast Race is one of the few alien races that do not take the initiative to attack humans. Of course, there have been battles with the Beast race in the battle report records, so this unspecific relationship makes them remain classified as dangerous. The marker point is not far from Imperial territory, so it does not preclude the Beasts from having plans to launch an attack on the humans.”
The male anchor picked up the story, “The screen shows an item that Lieutenant General Xie collected from a Beast warship and submitted separately to the Imperial research base. How it is used and what it does are still unknown, so the military has decided to forward it to the research department to unlock the answer.”
The camera was focused on a bead the size of an ordinary human fist. The bead had several layers of color but was predominantly orange and red.
The light emitted from the bead on the screen was reflected in Gu Xiyu’s jewel-like eyes, and an unusual throbbing came from his heart when this bead appeared.
Not from the soul, but from this body.
He was suddenly blessed to the core.
He was of the Beast race, and he was riding a single-person spaceship that crashed near a Beast warship; it was reasonable to suspect that the original owner intended to escape before the warship went out of control in order to have a chance of survival. Gu Xiyu doesn’t know what happened in the middle, but the original owner didn’t survive in the end.
This bead was probably what he was going to give to the Great Demon.
Xie Mingan’s search was one step ahead of him, so he didn’t find it then.
The news anchor was still making remarks in response to the bead: “The bead is made of material unlike anything the Empire has ever seen, and the military has tried everything to break it open. It is like a mere ornament, yet it has been detected to contain great energy, with indicators that meet the energy requirements of the NOVA (NOVA) program previously proposed by the research base.”
The biggest source that plunged humanity into the alien crisis was that particular ‘portal’ that had suddenly appeared. The NOVA plan proposed by the Research Department was dedicated to finding a way to plug up that rift. According to the calculations of the Ministry of Research, it is possible to carry out this project, but it requires a lot of resources and effort, and one of the things that seem impossible to them is the energy required to carry out this task.
The maximum amount of energy that the Empire could provide was not enough to carry out its mission, and the project was aborted before it even began.
This group of people used the energy meter and detected that the bead that could belong to the original owner was compressed with energy that met their ideals.
Gu Xiyu’s small, fleshy palm pressed against his chest.
Regardless of what that bead would be used for in the future, he felt he should get it back first.
Wen Yu returned from the next room with a book in his hand. The TV was still showing the small video of the bead being submitted to the research department, and Gu Xiyu saw him only glance at it before withdrawing his gaze, completely disinterested.
He didn’t seem to recognize the bead, which meant that it wasn’t his.
After picking up the remote control, Wen Yu suddenly switched the TV program to the animation station.
Gu Xiyu stared blankly at the two bears walking hand in hand in the field on the screen and looked at Wen Yu in confusion.
Does the Great Demon like cartoons?
Wen Yu, who received his gaze, slightly tilted his head and came to a realization, “I thought you only watched cartoons.”
“……”
Gu Xiyu felt that he must have done it on purpose.
When he was upset, the tail behind him would flap with a force that could probably have the effect of a whip. After a few flaps, he jumped off the bed with his back to Wen Yu and hopped onto the sofa alone, preferring to stay away from his mission target.
Wen Yu didn’t stop him, nor did he come up to say anything, only looking down and flipping through the book in his hand.
Gu Xiyu glanced at the cover, which read “Distribution and Introduction of Imperial Military Bases.”
“……”
He crouched down on the sofa for a long time, his head gradually calmed down, and then he began to fall into a new round of confusion.
Gu Xiyu had always felt that he was a very calm person, and because he was missing a part of himself, the people and things around him could not affect him. Over time, he became even more numb, and even his emotions were very passive and dull.
But now, he would fall out with his target over the smallest thing.
Wasn’t this what people always called ‘hypocrisy’?
Gu Xiyu silently disliked himself for a moment and began to adjust his mood. Since it was a new world, he had to put aside his past experiences with the other soul fragments. This one was obviously different, and the way he should execute the mission this time should not be as bizarre as the previous times.
As Wen Yu put down the book in his hand and prepared to rest, the little tiger rabbit, which had slept through the day, fell asleep on the couch again. He was probably still throwing a tantrum, and his head was facing inward with only the back of his fluffy head facing him.
He raised an eyebrow and did not disturb him.
The little tiger rabbit has quite a temper, I wonder who spoiled it.
–
At 3.30 am, Wen Yu opened his eyes and sat up in shock.
The darkness hid the emotions on his face, and did a good job of hiding the thin sweat that was rising on his forehead. The shock and loss in his eyes were caught in the moonlight that filtered through the window and twisted around his cold eyes.
There it was again—the same feeling and a dream that could never be remembered. His heart felt empty, as if something important had been viciously taken away.
This had been Wen Yu’s secret for as long as he had been conscious. Every so often, he would have strange experiences in his sleep, waking up before the end of his dreams but always unable to keep them either. The sensation after waking up disgusted and repulsed him, for it was fear that only those who possess weaknesses have, the fear of losing something.
But this was an impossible thing for him.
He had always found the world so uninteresting, he was devoid of a sense of belonging, even his birth was unlike that of normal beings, who are born from the union of their parents, so he should not have the fear of losing something.
His throat was a little dry, and he grabbed the glass of water that had been prepared by the bed. His Adam’s apple rolled as he drank, and the uncontrollable heart palpitations eased off.
His cold gaze passed through the glass of water to the small thing on the sofa.
Several hours had passed, but the tiger rabbit was still in the same position with its back to him, as if he was determined to fight him to the death.
Wen Yu suddenly changed his mind and rolled out of bed.
He felt a little disadvantaged. Having been in the human city for some days now, he would often hear humans sharing with their companions how cute and delightful the pets they had at home were.
—“It’s nice to have a little furry animal that you can pet when you’re in a good mood, or cuddle with when you’re not. It’s like having an extra companion to tease and keep you company, and you can sleep with it at night to warm your bed. If it’s even sweet and humane, it can even comfort you when you’re sad or upset!”
—“So, in this age of overpopulation, don’t complain that pets are overpriced, they are in short supply.”
These were the words he had heard humans mention in passing.
Wen Yu had no intention of placating his little pet in turn, but when he thought about it, he couldn’t just let the little one he had so painstakingly tricked continue throwing a temper tantrum.
So he walked over to the sofa and reached out to pick up the sleeping tiger rabbit.
As soon as he touched him, his eyes opened, and his tail flashed with a trace of electricity.
Wen Yu carried the little tiger rabbit and said proudly, “Warm up the bed for me.”
After saying this, he threw him onto the bed with one hand.
He thought the little tiger rabbit would be stubborn to the end, tell him “no” in a huff, and jump off the bed. Unexpectedly, he just gave him a calm look with drowsy eyes and then consciously slipped under the warm cashmere duvet. The fat and fluffy body disappeared in an instant, with only the small ball of fur at the tip of its tail exposed on the edge of the blanket.
Wen Yu stared at the little blob for a few seconds and couldn’t resist reaching out to shake it.
The little ball moved impatiently under his palm a few times before it was finally pulled out of the blanket.
Wen Yu lay back down on the bed and took the little tiger rabbit, which was like a walking water bag, into his arms like a cuddle pillow before falling back to sleep.
When Gu Xi Yu woke up the next day, Wen Yu was no longer in the room. The curtains in the bedroom with the golden pattern had been pulled open at some point. He jumped to the end of the bed and could clearly see the view outside the window.
The Great Demon’s room was on the third floor, so he could look out even further. A towering building could be seen far away in the direction the window was facing. The casting material of that tall building was somewhat smooth, and the sunlight hit it with a blinding reflection.
As the colored bird said, several circular hollow objects were hovering around it at varying heights, and from this distance, he could faintly see them turning in place at a gentle pace, with tiny ‘iron birds’ occasionally moving in and out of those magical floating structures.
That was the Imperial Palace.
Gu Xi Yu remembered that Wen Yu had arranged to meet someone at the palace today.
He looked around the room and couldn’t find a clock, so he had to hop to the door and move through the maze of the mansion, trying to find the tall, distinguished figure.
He hoped he hadn’t missed Wen Yu’s departure time.
Most of the servants in the mansion were seeing him for the first time, so his presence caused quite a stir, with some pretty girls exclaiming.
“How cute, is it a rabbit? But it looks so different.”
“Hush, it has a ring on it, so it’s a kept pet.”
“Could it be Lord Admiral’s ……”
There was a lot of chatter in the house, and he ended up finding Wen Yu in the dining room.
The dining room of the Admiral’s mansion was the size of a ballroom, and the large long dining table that he had only seen in stories or dramas before now actually appeared before him.
There was no one else in the dining hall except two servants that stood at the side, ready to serve food or clear the table. Wen Yu was sitting alone in the main seat and was not surprised to see him, he even greeted him in a friendly manner, “Good morning, you didn’t eat much yesterday, come over and have something to eat, I’ve asked someone to prepare your share.”
Gu Xiyu jumped onto the table and stared at the pet food bowl, not knowing whether it was dog food, cat food, or rabbit food, and hesitated to move.
After a long time, he calmly lifted one of his legs and kicked the bowl away, walked to Wen Yu’s plate at a somewhat awkward pace, and said with confidence in his heart, “I don’t want those; I want the ones on your plate.”
He was asking Wen Yu to prepare a new breakfast for him—a normal breakfast like his.
Unexpectedly, Wen Yu cut some eggs and ham with a knife and fork and forked them directly in front of him.
Gu Xiyu, who was deeply afraid that he would be drugged again, said ahead of time, “I want to go to the royal palace with you.”
Wen Yu raised an eyebrow and responded readily, “Okay.”
“……” Gu Xiyu was still unable to get used to a target who was so nice to talk to, especially after being deceived several times yesterday. As long as Wen Yu was kind to him, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was a trap.
“Don’t worry, it’s really not drugged this time.” Wen Yu seemed to see through his thoughts and spoke out to remind him.
Gu Xiyu was so hungry that his stomach started to make rumbling sounds, and his heart sank. Thinking that he’d find another opportunity to sneak into the palace, he opened his mouth to bite off the food on the fork.
The chef at the Admiral’s mansion was really good; even a simple Western-style breakfast could be so delicious.
Wen Yu pushed the plate directly in front of him with a few slices of ham sandwiches on it and said, “Eat them all if you like.”
Gu Xiyu didn’t have to be polite to the Great Demon.
Wen Yu sat straight in his chair, and when he saw him eating with gusto, his thin lips lightly opened. “I didn’t expect you to like such awful human food.”
Gu Xiyu said earnestly, “If it’s hard to eat, you shouldn’t eat it in the future; give it to me.”
The man in the chair gave a low laugh and didn’t say anything back. The servants in the dining room and those passing by were all new to such a scene and were wondering when the admiral had raised a rabbit.
Wen Yu was also thinking.
There was something he finally agreed on with humans.
Watching a small pet eat was indeed a pleasant experience.