TCPUAAV Chapter 31

 

 

The cubs had been so excited during the day that even by nightfall, they couldn’t settle down. They lingered in Ruan Shiqing’s bedroom for a long time before reluctantly heading to bed.

 

Once the little ones were finally asleep, Ruan Shiqing lay down, holding the puppy tightly in his arms and nuzzling him gently. He sighed contentedly, “It’s been such a long day. Let’s get some rest.”

 

For the first time, the little dog didn’t struggle against being held.

 

Resting his head on the boy’s arm, Rong Heng watched as Ruan Shiqing slowly closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.

 

It wasn’t until much later that Rong Heng gently nuzzled against Ruan Shiqing’s chest, then carefully slipped out of his embrace.

 

A small shadow on the floor began to elongate as Rong Heng resumed his human form. He stood by the bed, quietly gazing at the sleeping boy.

 

Reaching for the Blue Star Necklace around his neck, Rong Heng hesitated. He had intended to leave it by Ruan Shiqing’s pillow. That way, when the boy woke up and found him gone, he’d know it was a voluntary departure and wouldn’t worry too much.

 

But as his hand stretched out, his movements faltered.

 

The Blue Star Necklace dangled from his fingers, swaying slightly, mirroring his wavering heart.

 

Once he left, this necklace would be his only connection to this place.

 

After a long moment, Rong Heng withdrew his hand and wrapped the Blue Star Necklace back around his wrist.

 

He lowered his gaze, looking at the boy who was sound asleep. In a soft, apologetic tone, he murmured, “I’m sorry.”

 

Without making another sound, Rong Heng jumped out of the bedroom window.

 

His injuries had fully healed, and Noah had already provided him with Dares’ coordinates. At his peak, the Ymir could run at full speed, silent and swift like the night wind.

 

He had come here, but now, he left just as quietly.

 

Dares’ shuttle was hovering deep within the scrapyard.

 

The Glory G-7C Shuttle was the exclusive vessel of the Crown Prince. Equipped with advanced sensor-jamming technology, it could completely evade this backwater garbage planet’s satellite surveillance and detection systems.

 

Tonight, no one would know that a shuttle had landed on B3024 and departed again.

 

Dares, who had been waiting in the depths of the scrapyard for hours, was bored out of his mind. Muttering to himself, he grumbled, “Why hasn’t His Highness arrived yet? How much longer do I have to stay on this godforsaken planet?”

 

Then, a voice that sent chills down his spine spoke from behind him:

 

“Dares, you’ve grown bolder and more presumptuous, haven’t you?”

 

“Y-Your Highness!” Dares stiffened and turned around, putting on an ingratiating smile. “This is a matter concerning Your Highness’ safety. Of course, only your most loyal subordinate could handle it!”

 

In truth, the other three fleet captains—Merrell, Shoy, and Jasper—had all wanted to come. A fight had even broken out among the four of them, with Dares narrowly emerging victorious to secure the privilege of piloting the Glory to B3024.

 

Not because they were particularly eager to welcome His Highness back, but because they were curious about this so-called “magical garbage planet.”

 

Or rather, they were curious about Ruan Shiqing the Master.

 

But reality had been disappointing. Dares had arrived brimming with curiosity and excitement, only to wait in the barren depths of the scrapyard for nearly fourteen hours.

 

Other than endless piles of metal garbage, he hadn’t seen anything remotely “magical.”

 

Ignoring Dares’ chatter, Rong Heng seated himself in the co-pilot’s chair and summoned Noah. “Noah, erase all footage from the defense system.”

 

After a pause, he added, “And check if there were any images or videos of the cubs uploaded to the network today.”

 

Noah quickly conducted a search and found two or three relevant posts, all from users located on B3024. “There are two or three posts involving Mr. Ruan and the cubs. Should I block them all?”

 

“Block them,” Rong Heng said as he fastened his seatbelt. “And perform regular searches. From now on, any information involving them must be blocked immediately.”

 

Earlier at the racetrack, he had noticed some people using their smart devices to secretly take photos of Ruan Shiqing and the cubs.

 

With Mo Li and Ruan Shiqing present, the three cubs were perfectly safe on B3024. However, if their images were circulated on the holographic network and caught the attention of certain individuals, it could lead to trouble.

 

Before leaving, he ensured there were no loose ends.

 

“Let’s go. To Sikkim.”

 

“…What? We’re leaving just like that?”

 

Dares, unwilling to give up, tried to bargain. “Your Highness, shouldn’t we at least meet Mo Li? Or Mr. Ruan, perhaps?”

 

Rong Heng turned to look at him, his gaze cold and piercing.

 

Dares: …

 

“Understood, Your Highness. We’ll leave immediately.”

 

The Glory shuttle roared to life, heating up and taking off into the night sky. It ascended rapidly, soon shrinking into an inconspicuous dot.

 

When Ruan Shiqing woke up, his arms were empty.

 

Stretching lazily, he sat up, only to realize the puppy was nowhere to be seen. Normally, at this hour, the pup would still be sprawled on his pillow, half-awake and watching him groggily.

 

“Up early to play today?” he muttered, slipping into his slippers and heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

 

After washing up, Ruan Shiqing went downstairs to greet the cubs.

 

As usual, the cubs were full of energy. Ever since they’d gained their freedom, they had been waking up even earlier than Ruan Shiqing, heading out to the yard to bask in the sun.

 

The little mermaid and dragon cub floated lazily on the water, while the fox cub lounged on a wicker chair, meticulously grooming her fur.

 

The small robot, 09, was diligently trimming the overgrown falling-star vines in the yard. The Xiong brothers had just woken up as well and were doing their morning exercises on the other side of the yard.

 

Scanning the yard, Ruan Shiqing didn’t see the puppy anywhere.

 

“Where’s Snowball?” he asked, puzzled. “Have you seen him?”

 

Everyone shook their heads.

 

Ruan Shiqing frowned slightly, a vague sense of unease rising in his chest. “Where could he have gone so early in the morning?”

 

He walked around the house in his slippers, searching every corner upstairs and downstairs, but there was no sign of the puppy.

 

The bad feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

 

Finally, he went to his workshop and activated the tracking system embedded in the Blue Star Necklace.

 

The virtual screen displayed three blue dots in the yard—representing the cubs basking in the sun. But the dot representing the puppy was nowhere to be found.

 

Ruan Shiqing repeatedly tried to locate and track the signal, but every attempt returned the same result: Signal unavailable or Signal out of range.

 

“Impossible…” Ruan Shiqing murmured to himself.

 

The tracking system in the Blue Star Necklace was a program he had written himself. He refused to believe that anyone on B3024 could crack it.

 

The only possibility left was that the necklace—and Snowball—were no longer on B3024.

 

Snowball had been taken off the planet.

 

Ruan Shiqing checked the surveillance footage from last night. The video showed that the bedroom door had remained closed the entire time, and nothing unusual had occurred in the yard.

 

But the absence of anomalies was the biggest anomaly of all.

 

The defense system couldn’t fail, and Snowball couldn’t have simply vanished into thin air from the bedroom.

 

The only plausible explanation was that the person who took Snowball had erased the footage from the defense system.

 

Whoever they were, their skills were undoubtedly superior to his; otherwise, it would have been impossible to bypass the alarms and delete the surveillance data without alerting him or 09.

 

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ruan Shiqing dialed Mo Li’s contact.

 

“Good morning, Mr. Ruan. Calling me so early—is there something you need?” On the holographic display, Mo Li appeared to be enjoying breakfast.

 

“Sorry to disturb you,” Ruan Shiqing said without wasting words. “Snowball is missing. The tracker I installed has stopped responding, and I suspect he’s already been taken off B3024. Since you’re connected to the inner city, I’d like to ask you to check if any spacecraft left B3024 between midnight and eight this morning.”

 

Though B3024 was just a remote garbage planet, it still had basic security protocols.

 

With Mo Li’s connections, it might be possible to confirm whether any spacecraft departed during the time Snowball disappeared.

 

If they could confirm one had, all they would need to do was identify the model and owner to trace Snowball’s whereabouts.

 

If no spacecraft had left…

 

“Hold on a moment—don’t worry, I’ll make some calls to confirm,” Mo Li said hurriedly, quickly reaching out to contacts at the energy center.

 

B3024’s entire defense system, including Golden Crow I and Lunar II, was managed by the energy center.

 

Ruan Shiqing slumped into his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose as he waited for Mo Li’s response.

 

A short while later, Mo Li ended his call and returned with an apologetic expression. “I’ve checked. There were no spacecraft departures during that time frame. Are you sure there’s no mistake?”

 

He thought to himself, Who would go to such lengths to steal a puppy in the middle of the night? It doesn’t even make sense.

 

He was about to offer some comforting words and suggest Ruan Shiqing check other places when a thought suddenly struck him.

 

Mo Li froze in place.

 

Wait. There was a spacecraft that left B3024 last night—

 

The Glory G-7C Shuttle.

 

But that was His Highness’ personal shuttle. The Crown Prince had departed for Sikkim on official business. Why on earth would he steal Mr. Ruan’s puppy?

 

Besides, given the relationship between His Highness and Mr. Ruan, it didn’t make sense for him to take someone’s pet without even leaving a message.

 

The more Mo Li thought about it, the less sense it made.

 

Crown Prince, puppy… Crown Prince, puppy…

 

The two words swirled in his mind until he suddenly jolted, recalling a rumor about the Ymir clan:

 

The Ymirs’ young were said to be extremely fragile. To protect their cubs, the Crown Prince had never appeared in public until he reached adolescence.

 

But no one knew exactly how fragile their cubs were, as no one had ever seen one.

 

By the time Mo Li had met the Crown Prince, he had already entered adolescence and was exceptionally strong. There hadn’t been even a trace of fragility about him.

 

Still, no one questioned the rumor. The four great noble clans had notoriously low birthrates, and the few cubs born to them were protected like treasures. The Ymirs were no exception.

 

Mo Li’s hand shot to his mouth in shock. Could the puppy have been… His Highness?

 

His Highness was familiar with Ruan Shiqing, yet Mo Li had never seen His Highness at Ruan Shiqing’s home. And Ruan Shiqing himself clearly didn’t know who His Highness was; he’d never mentioned anyone resembling the Crown Prince.

 

The more Mo Li thought about it, the more suspicious it all seemed.

 

Mo Li’s shock turned to panic, mixed with a strange sense of excitement. I petted the Crown Prince’s head! I’m doomed, but I petted his head!

 

Ruan Shiqing, noticing Mo Li’s increasingly strange expression, had to interrupt. “Mr. Mo Li[mfn]No idea why he’s calling him Mr Mo Li, because he’s supposed to be “Marlin” right now[/mfn]? Mr. Mo Li, are you okay?”

 

Snapping out of it, Mo Li awkwardly hid the hand that had patted the Crown Prince behind his back. “It’s nothing, just some personal matters that came to mind.”

 

“Then I’ll let you get back to them.” Ruan Shiqing, preoccupied with Snowball’s disappearance, didn’t press further. After a few polite words, he ended the call.

 

Slumping back into his chair, Ruan Shiqing began piecing together the information he had.

 

Mo Li said the inner city confirmed no spacecraft had left during the specified time frame. But if the Blue Star Necklace couldn’t have malfunctioned, the only explanation was that the departing spacecraft had some form of cloaking device.

 

It wasn’t that no spacecraft had left; it was that B3024 hadn’t detected its presence.

 

Having spent so much time on B3024, Ruan Shiqing was certain no one local could possess such advanced technology.

 

But even if someone did, why would they only take Snowball?

 

Whoever it was, they had the ability to come and go unnoticed. Yet they hadn’t shown any interest in the three valuable cubs in his home. This clearly wasn’t about money or resources. There had to be some other reason.

 

Suddenly, Ruan Shiqing thought of the man he had first encountered.

 

That soldier in military attire, piloting the Silver Falcon, had crashed in the scrapyard. Ruan Shiqing had briefly met him before the man vanished, leaving behind the injured Snowball hidden in a sealed compartment of the Silver Falcon.

 

Now that he thought about it, wasn’t it odd for a spacecraft to be carrying a puppy, let alone hiding it in a sealed compartment?

 

Could Snowball be some rare species? Did that man return to reclaim Snowball after recovering from his injuries?

 

The more Ruan Shiqing thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Grabbing a piece of paper, he began sketching a portrait of the man from memory.

 

The encounter had been a long time ago, and the lighting at the time had been poor, so Ruan Shiqing could only manage a likeness that was about seventy to eighty percent accurate.

 

After scanning the sketch and uploading it, he summoned Noah. “Noah, run a search across the entire network and find anyone resembling this sketch.”

 

Noah hesitated for a moment—two or three seconds longer than usual—before responding, “Understood, sir. Please wait.”

 

Looking at the sketch, which bore a close resemblance to the Crown Prince, Noah thought to herself, Good thing His Highness has spent the past few years fighting on the front lines and rarely appears in public. The few images of him online have already been erased by me.

 

Displaying the search interface to Ruan Shiqing, Noah sent an urgent message to Rong Heng:

 

“Your Highness, Mr. Ruan has drawn your portrait and is conducting a search across the entire network. Based on the available information, he seems to suspect you’re the dog thief.”

 

Her tone carried a barely perceptible hint of schadenfreude.

 

Rong Heng: ??????

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Dares raised his hand hesitantly. “Uh… Can I ask what’s this about a dog thief?”

 

Rong Heng’s face turned as dark as ink. He coldly snapped, “Shut up.”

 

Dares immediately surrendered, raising both hands in a gesture of compliance and making a motion as though zipping his lips shut.

 

Meanwhile, Noah explained calmly, “It’s a rather straightforward deduction. B3024’s technological level is extremely backward, and there’s no one there who could surpass Mr. Ruan’s skills. Using my internal permissions, I easily deleted the surveillance footage from the defense system. Naturally, Mr. Ruan would assume the culprit is a highly skilled outsider.”

 

“And…” Noah hesitated for a moment before continuing, “You might have forgotten, but Mr. Ruan has met you before.”

 

An outsider, a soldier—it’s a simple leap to associate that with a powerful force.

 

If not you, then who else would he suspect?

 

Rong Heng fell silent.

 

For a long moment, he said nothing before finally asking, “How is he doing emotionally?”

 

“He’s fairly calm,” Noah replied. “However, he did contact Mo Li earlier to leverage his connections in the inner city for information. This suggests he’s genuinely anxious.”

 

Rong Heng pressed his lips into a thin line. This was better than he had expected—at least there were no tears or dramatic breakdowns.

 

Letting out a soft breath, he said, “Keep an eye on him. Notify me immediately if anything happens.”

 

Noah responded cheerfully, “Understood, Your Highness. I’ll take good care of Mr. Ruan for you.”

 

“…” Rong Heng felt something odd about Noah’s tone but couldn’t pinpoint it. In the end, he simply waved his hand dismissively and leaned back into his seat.

 

His return to Sikkim was a secret mission, which meant he couldn’t use official warp channels. Traveling from B3024 to Sikkim via detours would take three days.

 

In three days, he would arrive back in Sikkim.

 

Ruan Shiqing carefully examined all the images Noah had retrieved through the search but found no matches.

 

Exhausted, he shut off the virtual screen. Just as he pushed open the door to leave, he spotted 09 and two of the cubs huddled sneakily by the workshop door.

 

Caught red-handed, 09 awkwardly straightened up and stammered, “S-Sir, we were just here to call you for dinner.”

 

It’s already evening?

 

Ruan Shiqing glanced at the darkening sky outside. It made sense—he’d spent a lot of time cross-referencing the images.

 

Forcing a light smile, he said, “Alright, let’s go eat.”

 

The little dragon cub trailed closely at his feet, hesitantly wrapping his arms around Ruan Shiqing’s leg. In a muffled voice, he asked, “Daddy, where’s big brother? Why isn’t he here?”

 

Nota also tugged at the hem of Ruan Shiqing’s clothes, looking up at him with concern.

 

The cubs were very sensitive to emotions.

 

Their dad had been searching for Snowball all morning, going up and down the house without success. Then he locked himself in the workshop, and when he finally came out, his face was still clouded with worry.

 

The cubs could instinctively tell that something was wrong.

 

Ruan Shiqing’s forced cheerful expression faltered. Squatting down, he gently patted their heads and pulled them into his arms. In a low voice, he admitted, “Snowball is missing.”

 

Sensing his sadness, the cubs cautiously clenched his hands.

 

The little dragon cub, ever optimistic, said, “Then let’s find big brother together!”

 

Nota, who blindly trusted the one who had once saved her life, declared confidently, “Big brother is strong! He won’t be in danger!”

 

Ruan Shiqing hugged them tightly and said firmly, “Daddy will bring him back.”

 

Snowball’s disappearance had become a mystery.

 

Ruan Shiqing enlisted Mo Li’s help to keep an ear to the ground while also issuing a bounty notice: a reward of 1 million star coins for anyone who could provide Snowball’s whereabouts.

 

When Mo Li heard the news, he gasped in shock.

 

Mr. Ruan isn’t messing around. A million star coins?

 

The bounty was so tempting that Mo Li almost wanted to claim it himself.

 

But of course, he didn’t dare. His life was more important.

 

Feeling guilty, Mo Li avoided Ruan Shiqing altogether in the following days. Fortunately, after sending the bounty notice and asking Mo Li for help, Ruan Shiqing seemed to calm down. Aside from occasionally taking the cubs out for walks, he stayed in the repair shop.

 

No one knew what he was doing.

 

Mo Li only knew that the number of weapon blueprints Ruan Shiqing submitted had noticeably increased. The production line couldn’t even keep up with the speed at which he was designing.

 

Every time Mo Li looked at those intricate, drool-worthy designs, he suspected that Ruan Shiqing’s brain housed an entire arsenal.

 

And this made him even more worried about the Crown Prince’s impulsive actions. What if these tensions soured their relationship in the future?

 

Such a perfect golden thigh to cling to—I’m not letting go!

 

Rong Heng and Dares arrived in Sikkim under the radar.

 

Instead of returning directly to the palace, Rong Heng chose one of Dares’ properties as a temporary base.

 

“Why aren’t we going straight to the palace? According to imperial law, you’re the rightful heir. Now that you’ve returned safely, the regent has no reason to ascend the throne,” Dares said, baffled.

 

In three days, the regent was scheduled to hold his coronation and wedding ceremony at Palka Palace. If they didn’t act in time, it would be much harder to reclaim the throne after the regent officially ascended.

 

“There’s no point in showing up now,” Rong Heng said calmly.

 

He glanced at Dares and pulled up the Sikkim Daily on a virtual screen. “I take it you haven’t read the news these past few days?”

 

Dares shook his head. “I hate reading the news.”

 

Rong Heng let out a soft scoff. “During our three days of travel, I read all the reports on the royal family in the Sikkim Daily. I discovered one crucial detail.”

 

“The real controllers of the Empire’s four major conglomerates will all be attending the regent’s coronation and wedding ceremony.”

 

The four conglomerates—Naxi Group, Quark Dockyards, Planck Energy, and Schwarz Transport Company—dominated the Empire’s economy.

 

Although they competed with each other, they also collaborated on various fronts.

 

The heads of these conglomerates rarely gathered in person, typically sending representatives instead.

 

But now, all four would be present at the regent’s coronation. This could only mean one thing: the regent had struck a deal with them.

 

Nothing solidifies alliances better than a lucrative exchange of interests.

 

If Rong Heng were to appear publicly now, he likely wouldn’t even make it past Palka Palace’s gates.

 

Dares gaped. “Would they really dare to commit regicide?”

 

“Why wouldn’t they? They’ve done it before.”

 

Rong Heng’s tone was sharp and biting. “Where do you think the Baghdad-class heavy interceptors came from? Who else but the four conglomerates has the resources to deploy over a hundred unregistered, uncommissioned warships?”

 

Dares was at a loss for words.

 

This time, Rong Heng didn’t mock him.

 

This is the difference between soldiers and politicians.

 

Dares had spent too much time in fringe systems like Yanji, far removed from the political center, and was used to the straightforwardness of the battlefield. He didn’t understand the schemes and betrayals of court politics, but it wasn’t his fault.

 

“Since you’re here, pay attention and learn,” Rong Heng said, loosening the collar of his uniform as he walked toward the bathroom.

 

But Dares blocked his path, clearly agitated. “If Sikkim is so dangerous, why did you come back, Your Highness? What are we going to do next?”

 

Rong Heng brushed him aside with ease. “Next, I’m going to take a bath and then get some sleep.”

 

Then he stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

 

Dares, nearly getting his nose hit by the door: “…”

 

Is His Highness mocking my intelligence?

 

After his bath, Rong Heng changed into soft sleepwear and, as promised, went straight to bed.

 

Dares stared at him like he’d seen a ghost.

 

Having spent so much time on the front lines, Dares was used to seeing the Crown Prince live rough—grabbing quick naps in corners of the battleship, downing nutrient solutions for meals.

 

But now, in a situation where their cover could be blown at any moment, His Highness not only decided to sleep but also changed into pajamas?

 

What if they were discovered? Was he planning to escape in his sleepwear?

 

Dares itched to grab his boss by the collar and demand an explanation.

 

But he didn’t dare.

 

So, he begrudgingly took a shower and went to bed himself.

 

Truly, the emperor is calm while the eunuch panics.

 

 

 

---

 

 

And the separation arrived :’(((( So sad, I get Rong Rong’s actions, but yeah, it’s still not nice

Also, poor Dares

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~