TCPUAAV Chapter 141

 

 

In this world, the little ones’ first meeting was anything but pleasant.

 

Heli not only trampled several warships but also overturned a warehouse and devoured all the stored energy inside. The stationed personnel did try to stop him, but they were clearly no match. After several were injured, they had no choice but to retreat. The entire base descended into chaos.

 

Nota had a fiery temper. The moment she realized someone had raided their home, she charged forward without a second thought and started fighting the massive black dragon.

Heli, of course, wasn’t about to back down. In their current world, even when they got along, the little ones often fought for fun. But in this world where there was no friendly bond, they fought with even fewer restraints.

 

Nota struck first. Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai didn’t just stand by and watch — they stepped in to help one after another.

 

The massive black dragon clashed with the fiery red fox. Sitting atop the dragon’s head, Ruan Jiao’s tentacles twitched rapidly, sending out faint psychic ripples from around him. While Nota, Rong Heng, and Ruan Yuebai only paused for a moment before shaking off the influence, the other bystanders weren’t so lucky. Their eyes went vacant, and then, shockingly, they raised their weapons and turned them toward the trio.

 

Rong Heng narrowed his eyes, seeing through Ruan Jiao’s trick. “Watch out — that little one on his head can use psychic control.”

 

At that, Nota gave a cold snort, dodged Heli’s attack with a flash of movement, and made straight for Ruan Jiao.

 

Psychic attacks were the Nine-Tailed Fox clan’s specialty. Though Nota usually preferred direct combat over illusions, this wasn’t the time to be picky. She left the black dragon to Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai and turned her attention to Ruan Jiao.

 

Three against two, and Ruan Jiao’s psychic control couldn’t sway the main fighters — the outcome of the battle was clear.

 

Before long, Rong Heng’s group gained the upper hand. Nota subdued Ruan Jiao, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him into the air. Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai, working together, beat Heli into a panicked retreat.

 

The massive black dragon flapped his wings, chains clinking noisily against his body. He seemed genuinely terrified, no longer retaliating and instead trying to flee. His huge bat-like wings curled around him in an attempt to shield himself from the blows, and he even let out a few low whimpers.

 

At first, Ruan Shiqing thought the dragon’s voice had changed, but after observing for a while, he realized — Heli was crying.

 

Despite his enormous size, his behavior was no different from a bewildered, innocent cub.

When he couldn’t win, he tried to run. When it hurt, he cried. Those red dragon eyes, hidden behind his wings, were brimming with tears. Even the dragonfire puffing from his nose had lost its strength.

 

Realizing he couldn’t win and couldn’t escape, the black dragon finally collapsed to the ground, curling his massive body into a tight ball. His wings wrapped around him with practiced ease, leaving only his sturdy back and his restless tail exposed.

It was the very image of a pitiful creature giving up resistance, resigned to being beaten.

 

Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai both noticed the change. Ruan Yuebai circled the dragon and, through a gap in the wings, saw the heavy teardrops falling to the ground. For once, he fell silent.

 

After a moment’s hesitation, he said, “Something seems off with this black dragon.”

 

Nota came over, still holding Ruan Jiao by the collar. When she saw the dragon’s tears, disbelief crossed her face. “That big guy… don’t tell me he’s still just a baby?”

 

She furrowed her brow and let out a thoughtful hiss.

 

Still sobbing, Heli clearly wasn’t going to answer. Rong Heng turned his attention to the silent Ruan Jiao. Between the two, it was obvious Ruan Jiao was the one calling the shots.

 

Studying the odd little creature, Rong Heng frowned, his tone turning sharp. “Where did you two come from?”

 

Ruan Jiao stared wide-eyed at him, his tentacles standing straight up, but he pressed his lips together and didn’t answer.

 

Rong Heng wasn’t known for his patience — not in this world, where he was even more violent and ruthless toward enemies. He reached out to take Ruan Jiao from Nota, clearly ready to interrogate him by force. But just then, the alarm on Planet B3024 suddenly blared—

 

“It’s the Zergs!” Nota cried out. The others looked up and saw a swarm of Zergs diving down from high above.

 

There was no more time for questioning. Rong Heng immediately gave the order: everyone to the ships, prepare for evacuation.

 

Nota slung Ruan Jiao over her shoulder, gave the still-crying Heli a hard kick, and with a few leaps, jumped onto the dragon’s broad back. Grabbing the chain around his neck, she snarled, “The bugs are coming. If you don’t want to die, do what I say — otherwise I’ll feed you to them!”

 

Heli shuddered at her words and, surprisingly, obeyed.

 

Everyone retreated to the warships. The remaining supplies in the base were hastily loaded onto the vessels. Soon, the five ships activated their shields and sped off in the opposite direction from the Zerg swarm. Heli followed behind them, guided by Nota.

 

The base had been almost completely destroyed by now, so abandoning it wasn’t much of a loss. But unexpectedly, the Zergs pursued them relentlessly, like maggots clinging to bone.

 

The warships left Planet B3024, plunging into the darkness of space — and the Zergs followed without hesitation.

 

The distance between the two sides kept shrinking.

 

Nota, now suited in a portable spacesuit, sat astride the black dragon’s back and glanced behind them. With their pursuers now in clearer view, her eyes narrowed.

 

The swarm… seemed to be after her.

 

Or rather, to be precise — they were after the little half-human, half-Insectoid creature.

 

It wasn’t hard to figure out. Of all the people in their group, the only one remotely related to the Zergs — the only one who could provoke such relentless pursuit — was this one.

 

Nota yanked Ruan Jiao up, brought her helmet face-to-face with his across the oxygen mask, and growled, “Who are you? Where did you come from? Spit it out, or I’ll throw you to that swarm back there.”

 

Ruan Jiao’s eyes finally flickered with emotion. He bit his lip, and after a long pause, replied haltingly, “I… royal clan… from Blue Star.”

 

“Royalty among the Zergs?” Nota frowned at the claim. “Isn’t the Zerg royal line limited to the Queen? And it’s always a female, isn’t it?”

 

She gave Ruan Jiao a scrutinizing look, confirming that he was, in fact, male. “Never heard of a male Zerg Queen. And what’s this Blue Star you’re talking about?”

 

She wracked her brain, digging through half-forgotten memories, until finally, something clicked. “Wasn’t Blue Star a dead planet? What were you doing there?”

 

Her barrage of questions left Ruan Jiao at a loss. Many of them were things he didn’t know himself, so he just pursed his lips and remained silent.

 

Still, he didn’t seem to be lying.

 

Nota knew she wasn’t as quick-witted as Rong Heng or Ruan Yuebai, so she chose not to overthink it. After sending a short message to Rong Heng, she had someone escort Ruan Jiao onto the warship.

 

As for her, she stayed behind and commanded the black dragon, joining the rest of the fleet to confront the Zergs.

 

The swarm chasing them wasn’t large in number, and once they decided to face them head-on, it only took half a day to wipe them out.

 

After the battle, the warships temporarily landed on an uninhabited planet to rest and regroup. Nota went to rendezvous with Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai.

 

She slid off the dragon’s back and stepped onto the boarding ramp. Behind her, the black dragon immediately followed, flapping his massive wings to support his body as he tried to poke his head through the hatch. He managed to wedge in only the tip of his nose.

 

Nota’s face darkened. She pushed his head back out and barked, “Don’t move!”

 

The black dragon backed away a step, looking at her with pitiful eyes. His crimson pupils had a faint golden rim around them.

 

Seeing him like this, Nota finally remembered that despite his huge size, the dragon was likely still just a juvenile. Feeling a bit guilty about scolding him, she dug into her pocket and tossed him a bag of candy, adding a casual threat, “Stay outside. Break anything else, and I’ll rip off your scales to patch the ship!”

 

The black dragon caught the bag in his mouth but instantly spat it out, clearly unimpressed by the plastic texture.

 

The bag hit the ground with a rustle. Against the stark white alkaline soil, the colorful fruit candies stood out vividly.

 

He lowered his head curiously and nudged the plastic with a claw. A sharp talon tore the bag open, and the candies rolled out, releasing a strong, syrupy sweetness into the air.

 

The scent made the dragon twitch his nose. He tentatively flicked out his tongue and scooped up both the candies and the packaging into his mouth. He was about to swallow it all instinctively when a strange reluctance stopped him. Instead, he just held them gently on his tongue.

 

The sugary flavor spread. His drooping eyes suddenly flew open. A gulp followed — and the whole bag of candy went down his throat in one go, leaving only a faint sweetness in his mouth.

 

Excited, he flapped his wings once, smacked his lips, and stared at the hatch with hopeful eyes.

 

Delicious.

 

Ruan Shiqing had been watching him from the side, and from the dragon’s widened eyes, he could clearly read an intense yearning.

 

This world’s Heli had never even tasted candy before.

 

He reached out and gently touched one of the dragon’s metal-reinforced wings. It was cold to the touch.

 

By the time Nota came back down from the warship, she found a black dragon that had suddenly become exceptionally well-behaved and clingy.

 

Due to his massive size, the dragon’s movements on land were especially clumsy. Even with his wings bracing him, he would occasionally trip over the chains dragging behind him.

 

Nota saw him wobbling behind her, his red eyes showing a faintly pleading expression. She couldn’t help but think of the earlier candy. Tentatively, she took out another piece — and sure enough, the clumsy dragon lunged forward with surprising speed and gently scooped the candy into his mouth.

 

“Gross.” Nota wiped her saliva-covered hand on the dragon’s scales in disgust.

 

Heli carefully held the candy in his mouth, eyes narrowing into joyful crescents as he followed along contentedly.

 

Just then, Rong Heng and Ruan Yuebai stepped off the ship and saw the scene, exchanging a thoughtful glance.

 

“They can stay,” Ruan Yuebai was the first to speak.

 

One was royalty of the Zergs—while the internal changes among the Zergs remained unclear, keeping him around might prove useful in the future. As for the black dragon, he had merely been someone that royalty happened upon on some star, chained up and being used as a living weapon. The little Zerg prince, realizing the dragon was both powerful and easy to manipulate, had brought him along during his escape.

 

Rong Heng studied the black dragon for a moment and agreed—this was indeed a rare and valuable asset.

 

And since they had wrecked the base on Planet B3024, causing considerable losses, it was only fair to have him work off the debt.

 

The three of them reached a temporary consensus: Ruan Jiao and Heli would both stay.

 

Because the base had been destroyed and much of their supplies depleted, the fleet set out again after just a day of rest on the uninhabited planet.

 

The Black Ghost took point, with Nota and the black dragon bringing up the rear.

 

They wandered within Imperial space, targeting transport ships of the four ancient clans, the major conglomerates, and even the royal family itself. Through these rich pickings, the once-impoverished pirate fleet gradually became well-stocked and thriving.

 

The black dragon not only got an endless supply of candy, but his chains were finally removed, and he even learned how to shift forms.

 

Still, his favorite remained the massive draconic shape.

 

Meanwhile, following Rong Heng, Ruan Shiqing began to observe more of the Empire’s internal affairs.

 

Queen Thea had been killed in a surprise attack by space pirates, and Crown Prince Soma, consumed with rage, swore vengeance for his mother. With the backing of his maternal grandfather, Old Bart, he seized control over both the military and government.

 

In contrast, the true emperor—Mad King Siyan—remained apathetic about his wife’s death. He continued to hole up in his laboratory, where corpses were regularly carried out each month.

 

In light of such a degenerate father, Soma, who rose up in the Empire’s time of need to take the reins, naturally appeared as a heroic and wise leader.

 

First, he met with the three major conglomerates—excluding the Naxi Group—and struck deals with them, securing both financial and military support. Then, he left Sikkim and traveled to various star systems to deliver passionate speeches, rousing morale and recruiting many into his new army. With that foundation in place, he began to counterattack against the Zergs.

 

Two impressive victories quickly followed, further boosting his reputation. The once fragmented Empire began to stabilize, and the populace began hoping Mad King Siyan would abdicate soon, so Crown Prince Soma could take the throne.

 

It all seemed to align with what the “book” had written.

 

But following Rong Heng and listening to the strategic discussions, Ruan Shiqing realized it was all just smoke and mirrors.

 

Beneath the glossy surface was the ever-growing influence of the Four Major Conglomerates, manipulating everything from behind the scenes.

 

Soma was nothing more than a puppet propped up by Old Bart to counterbalance the other three conglomerates. Though the three rivals hated Old Bart, their interests aligned—they all wanted to control not just the economy, but also the royal family and the legislature.

 

Of the four ancient clans, two had already fallen. The remaining Dragon Clan refused to get involved, and the Nine-tailed Fox Clan, though willing, lacked the strength to make a difference. It was the perfect moment for the conglomerates to expand and reshuffle the balance of power.

 

That’s why Soma had been “persuasive” enough to gain ships and weapons from the big corporations. That’s why they’d won those two battles against the Zergs.

 

They were manufacturing hope—a false one—for the entire Empire.

 

 

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Even in the worst circumstances they managed to all be together :’(((

 

(Soma sure is kinda pitiful, thinking his mother is a poor victim and his grandfather truly wants to help him…)

 

Thanks for reading!

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