TCPUAAV Chapter 42

 

Based on Rong Heng’s limited understanding of dragon physiology, dragon cubs typically had an extremely long growth phase. Given their massive size and formidable physical resilience, it took an extended period for them to fully mature.

 

But the way the little dragon cub was growing—gaining a noticeable amount of weight practically overnight—was definitely abnormal.

 

It was like inflating a balloon, expanding rapidly, yet empty inside.

 

That night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Rong Heng quietly left his bedroom.

 

In the living room, the noticeably larger dragon cub lay sprawled on his stomach on a soft cushion, his small bat-like wings relaxed and drooping down. His prized gemstone collection was securely tucked under his belly.

 

Shifting into his human form, Rong Heng moved carefully as he picked up the sleeping cub and examined him from head to tail.

 

Due to his rapid growth, the small horns on the cub’s head had begun to emerge—short, rounded nubs that made him look just as harmless and chubby as ever. His bat wings, though still relatively small compared to his plump body, had sturdy bone structure and had even developed short, dull white bone spurs.

 

Aside from excessive fat and being slightly overweight, the cub appeared to be in perfect health.

 

Rong Heng then pressed his forehead against the cub’s, sensing his spiritual energy.

 

It was completely stable.

 

At a glance, there seemed to be no issues at all.

 

Could it really just be a natural growth spurt?

 

But he had never heard of a dragon growing this fast.

 

Frowning slightly, Rong Heng placed the cub back onto the cushion, still unconvinced.

 

The little dragon cub remained sound asleep, snoring lightly. Whatever he was dreaming about seemed pleasant—he wriggled on the soft pad, letting out a small, contented hum. Then, to Rong Heng’s astonishment, he reached out with his tiny paws, groped around, grabbed a handful of gemstones… and stuffed them straight into his mouth.

 

Crunch. Crunch.

 

The sound of teeth grinding against stone echoed in the quiet living room, making Rong Heng’s own teeth ache in response.

 

A moment later, silence returned.

 

The little dragon cub smacked his lips contentedly and continued sleeping soundly.

 

…Could it be the gemstones?

 

Rong Heng’s gaze shifted toward the small pile of gems. He picked one up, turning it over carefully in his fingers. It was indeed a gemstone, nothing more, nothing less.

 

He had never heard of a dragon being able to grow rapidly just by eating gemstones.

 

After a brief moment of contemplation, Rong Heng found no answers. With a sigh, he shifted back into his cub form and returned to the bedroom.

 

Tomorrow, he would need to contact Hector.

 

*

 

Before Ruan Shiqing even woke up, he was startled by the sound of the little dragon cub wailing from the living room.

 

???

 

Jolted awake, he quickly threw on a robe and rushed out to see what was going on.

 

The little dragon cub was sitting on the floor, clutching his gemstone box, tears streaming down his chubby cheeks. “My gemstones are missing! Waaaahhh!”

 

“Your gemstones are missing?” Ruan Shiqing stepped forward and glanced into the box. It looked exactly the same to him. “Aren’t they all still here?”

 

“Ten are missing!” The cub sniffled, voice thick with tears. “I counted them last night!”

 

The gemstone box was his most precious possession. Every night before bed, he would pour the gemstones onto his cushion, playing with them one by one until he got sleepy. Then, he’d curl up on top of them to sleep. In the morning, he would carefully collect them back into the box and bring them to school.

 

He had thought a few were missing before, but he assumed he had miscounted and didn’t think much of it. But yesterday morning, he had noticed that his favorite ruby was gone. That was when he realized something was wrong.

 

Determined to be sure, last night he had carefully counted each gemstone before going to bed.

 

Then this morning, the first thing he did upon waking up was count them again.

 

And ten were missing!

 

The little dragon cub was completely dumbfounded. Hugging his box tightly, the more he thought about it, the sadder he got, until he couldn’t hold back his tears any longer.

 

Hearing his sobs, the little mermaid and little fox also woke up and helped him search.

 

But no matter how thoroughly they looked, they couldn’t find a single missing gemstone anywhere in the living room.

 

“Are you sure you didn’t count wrong?”

 

Ruan Shiqing helped with the search as well. The living room was relatively empty since it was the cubs’ play area. They checked every inch, even had 09 review the surveillance footage to confirm that no one had broken into the house.

 

There was no way the gemstones could have just vanished on their own. The only reasonable explanation was that the little dragon cub had miscounted.

 

The cub shook his head furiously. “I didn’t count wrong!”

 

He was absolutely certain!

 

His little face was scrunched up in a pout, lips sticking out so far that they could hold an oil bottle[mfn]Don’t ask me about the analogy that’s how it is ;_;[/mfn].

 

Finally, Rong Heng, who had been listening from the bedroom, couldn’t take it anymore. He padded out, bumped his head against Ruan Shiqing’s leg, and looked up at him.

 

Ruan Shiqing picked him up. “Snowball, do you want to say something?”

 

Rong Heng nodded and tapped his smartwatch, bringing up a virtual keyboard. With practiced ease, he typed: [He ate them in his sleep.]

 

Ruan Shiqing: ???

 

Rong Heng had mentioned before that when he used to live at home, he had excelled in language courses. Though he couldn’t speak, he could communicate through text. His family had even given him a personal AI assistant to help facilitate communication.

 

Even though Ruan Shiqing knew this, it was the first time Snowball had actually typed something out to talk to him.

 

A little surprised, he quickly read the message.

 

Then, his expression turned speechless.

 

“…How do you know?”

 

Rong Heng continued typing: [I woke up to get water and saw it happen.]

 

Ruan Shiqing turned to look at the little dragon cub, trying to wrap his head around the idea of someone sleep-eating gemstones.

 

He crouched down and said, “Open your mouth.”

 

“Ahhh—” The little dragon cub obediently opened wide.

 

Ruan Shiqing checked his teeth. They were bright white, neat, and sharp—his little fangs still pointed as ever. No signs of wear or damage. Perfectly healthy.

 

With how hard gemstones were, shouldn’t they have at least worn down his teeth a little if he’d actually chewed and swallowed them?

 

But then again… this was a dragon.

 

Maybe to him, gemstones were no different from crunchy candy?

 

Suddenly unsure, Ruan Shiqing decided to check the surveillance footage in his workshop.

 

The cubs gathered around the virtual screen, eyes wide with tension.

 

As the recorded footage played forward, they watched as the little dragon cub, who had initially been sound asleep on his pile of gemstones, started shifting restlessly.

 

Then, without waking up, he reached out with his tiny paws, groped around, grabbed a handful of gemstones…

 

…and shoved them straight into his mouth.

 

The sound of crunching gemstones echoed through the speakers, making everyone’s teeth ache just from hearing it.

 

Ruan Shiqing paused the video at the exact moment the little dragon cub was gnawing on a gemstone, then helplessly pinched his chubby cheeks. “Do your teeth hurt?”

 

Toothaches weren’t a trivial matter—dental health was important.

 

The little dragon cub dumbly shook his head, still too shocked by the realization that the missing gemstones had been eaten by himself in his sleep.

 

The little fox tilted her head, giving him a scrutinizing look. Then, before he could react, she snatched a gemstone from his box and popped it into her mouth.

 

She bit down too hard.

 

A sharp clink resounded as the gem pressed painfully against her teeth.

 

Her eyes instantly turned red, and she nearly burst into tears from the pain. Rubbing her eyes furiously, she angrily threw the gemstone back into the box. “So hard! What’s even good about eating these?!”

 

Beside her, the little mermaid barely suppressed his laughter and silently handed her a tissue.

 

!!!!

 

“You what?”

 

The little dragon cub, finally snapping out of his daze, gawked at her in disbelief.

 

With an expression of pure disgust, he plucked the bitten gemstone from the box and meticulously wiped it clean before returning it to its place.

 

His tears had dried up, but now he was fretting over something new. Hugging his gemstone box, he asked anxiously, “What if I eat all my gemstones?”

 

He was dead serious, his little face filled with genuine worry, as if the world was about to collapse.

 

Ruan Shiqing couldn’t help but laugh. He rubbed the cub’s fluffy head and reassured him, “If you eat them all, Daddy will buy you more.”

 

Looking at how much the cub had grown, Ruan Shiqing couldn’t shake the suspicion that his sudden growth spurt was linked to the gemstones.

 

But he knew that dragons didn’t eat gemstones. There was no record of gemstones promoting dragon growth, either.

 

Something didn’t add up.

 

Even though the little dragon cub appeared perfectly healthy now, there was no guarantee that long-term effects wouldn’t show up later.

 

Ruan Shiqing made up his mind. He had been spoiling the cub too much—this couldn’t continue.

 

His tone turned more serious. “Eating too many gemstones might give you indigestion. Until Daddy figures this out, no more eating gemstones, understand?”

 

The little dragon cub loved his gemstones too much to risk losing them. He hugged the box even tighter and obediently nodded.

 

With the mystery of the missing gemstones solved, the cubs finished breakfast and were sent off to school.

 

*

 

During recess, while the cubs played, Rong Heng quietly slipped out of the school grounds.

 

He found a secluded spot and dialed Hector’s number.

 

The call rang for a while before connecting. “What is it?”

 

Hector’s holographic projection flickered into view. He looked like he had just returned from outside, with frost clinging to his eyebrows.

 

“You landed on the Nameless Star?” Rong Heng asked.

 

Hector let out an annoyed grunt. “Yeah. This godforsaken place has nothing. It’s so cold even I can’t stand it for long. I’d advise you to give up on whatever idea you had. I’m leaving tomorrow—floating through space is better than staying in this hellhole.”

 

Rong Heng had sent Hector to scout Nameless Star, partly just to get him out of the way. Since the place turned out to be inhospitable, he didn’t press the matter. Instead, he got straight to the point.

 

“If a newly hatched dragon cub suddenly starts growing abnormally fast, what do you think is the cause?”

 

Hector: ???

 

“That dragon cub of yours is either fake or juiced up on growth hormones.” Leaning back in the pilot’s chair, Hector crossed his legs and bit down on a cigarette, grinning lazily. “Dragons don’t reach adulthood until they’re sixty. A newborn hatchling is tiny—how fast could it possibly grow? Your hypothetical scenario doesn’t make sense.”

 

Rong Heng: …

 

“There’s no growth hormone involved.” His expression darkened. “Are there any exceptions?”

 

“I just told you—it’s either fake, or it’s drugged. Pick one.”

 

Hector tapped his fingers on the control panel, then leaned closer to the screen, his golden dragon pupils narrowing in suspicion. “Why are you suddenly asking about dragon cubs?”

 

“It’s Dares.” Rong Heng remained composed. “He has a new dragon girlfriend, and she brought a cub with her. The cub’s been having some issues, so he asked me to check with you.”

 

“…I knew it. No way His Highness the Crown Prince would take an interest in dragon cubs for no reason.” Hector’s expression grew more serious. “My advice? Take the cub to get examined.”

 

Rong Heng ignored that suggestion and instead posed another question. “What if the cub stayed inside its egg for an extended period—say, over a hundred years—before hatching? Could that cause abnormal growth?”

 

“Impossible.” Hector scoffed. “A dragon egg takes a maximum of three years to hatch. There’s no way one would stay unhatched for over a hundred years—”

 

Mid-sentence, he suddenly froze.

 

A flicker of memory surfaced.

 

—That egg, from so many years ago.

 

Back then, he and Garland had spent over twenty years on Luso Star, trying to hatch that egg.

 

But in the end…

 

A brief look of wistfulness flashed across Hector’s face. He bit down on his cigarette and muttered, “Well… maybe it’s not entirely impossible.”

 

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, “Someone once told me a theory: many dragons believe that if an egg takes too long to hatch, it means the hatchling is too weak, so they abandon it. But actually, that’s not the case. Even inside the egg, a dragon cub continues accumulating power. After hatching, if properly guided and stimulated with Dragon Crystals, it can experience rapid growth.”

 

That explanation… fit.

 

Even though the little dragon cub appeared lively and healthy, by dragon standards, his horns and wings were somewhat underdeveloped.

 

“What are Dragon Crystals?” Rong Heng asked, unfamiliar with the term.

 

“A type of mineral.” Hector explained, “They’re found deep within gemstone veins. Technically, they are gemstones, but unlike regular gems, they contain a massive amount of energy beneficial to dragons. Dragon Crystals can accelerate a cub’s growth and even enhance an adult dragon’s strength.”

 

Back when he was young and reckless, Hector had scoured the mines of Luso Star for decades, and in the end, had only managed to collect a single pouch.

 

Gemstones… but with special energy for dragons…

 

Rong Heng immediately suspected that some Dragon Crystals had been mixed in with the little dragon cub’s gemstone collection.

 

“How do you tell Dragon Crystals apart from regular gemstones?”

 

Hector shrugged. “No clue. I can’t tell the difference. They look almost identical—only trained specialists can distinguish them.”

 

Back then, Garland had been the one to refine the Dragon Crystals, not him.

 

Unwilling to bring up Garland, he changed the subject. “Actually, I still have a bag of Dragon Crystals hidden on Luso Star. If you want, I can give you the coordinates—you can fetch them and do a comparison.”

 

Rong Heng considered for a moment. Right now, this was the best lead he had.

 

If Dragon Crystals were the cause of the cub’s abnormal growth, then simply removing them from his collection should solve the problem.

 

“Thanks. Send me the coordinates—I’ll have Dares retrieve them.”

 

Hector sent over the data, then ended the call.

 

Slumping back in his chair, he gazed out at the icy wasteland outside the ship’s window.

 

Muttering to himself, he sighed, “I spent years collecting those damn crystals, and they were never of any use… Hopefully, they’ll come in handy this time.”

 

Rong Heng now had the coordinates.

 

But instead of contacting Dares, he decided to retrieve the Dragon Crystals himself.

 

At this moment, Dares was already en route to Yanji. Sending him to Luso Star wasn’t realistic.

 

After some thought, Rong Heng concluded that the safest option was to go in person.

 

After some more thought, Rong Heng sent a brief message to Ruan Shiqing:

 

[Mr. Ruan, something has come up at home. I need to take Rong Xing back for a bit. Someone will pick him up this afternoon. We’ll return to B3024 in about ten days.]

 

With that settled, he vaulted over the school’s perimeter wall and returned to class.

 

*

 

When Ruan Shiqing received the message, he had 09 pack up Snowball’s belongings.

 

Later, when picking up the cubs from school, he also took the time to request a ten-day leave of absence for Snowball.

 

It wasn’t until they got home that the other cubs realized Snowball was leaving.

 

The little dragon cub pounced on Rong Heng, rubbing against him like a clingy cat. “When will you be back?”

 

Though the gesture was meant to be affectionate, given how much the little dragon cub had grown, it felt more like being crushed under a mountain.

 

Completely unprepared for the full weight of the cub, Rong Heng nearly buckled under the pressure.

 

His expression darkened as he pried the overly heavy dragon cub off, only to be immediately hugged by the little fox. Even the little mermaid leaned over the edge of the pool, tugging at his ear with his small hands, blue eyes fixed on him.

 

All three cubs were waiting for his answer.

 

“…”

 

Forget it.

 

Getting angry at a bunch of children wasn’t worth it.

 

His Highness the Crown Prince escaped from the cubs’ entanglement and pulled up a virtual screen, typing out:

 

[Ten days.]

 

But the cubs had only just begun learning the phonetics of Galactic Common—they couldn’t read yet.

 

The little dragon cub craned his neck, squinting at the screen for a while before whispering to the little fox, “What does it say?”

 

Nota shook her head and whispered back, “I don’t know.”

 

Rong Heng, who heard everything: “…”

 

This is why he always said—if you don’t study, you’ll turn into trash.

 

These two were prime examples.

 

They couldn’t even recognize such simple words.

 

At least the little mermaid was slightly better. After studying the screen, he let out a soft “Ah” and then raised both hands, wiggling his ten fingers.

 

“Back in ten days?” The two cubs understood instantly and immediately relaxed.

 

Rong Heng glanced at the artificial mermaid and felt somewhat satisfied.

 

At least one of them wasn’t completely hopeless.

 

After dinner, the person picking up Rong Heng arrived.

 

They had been sent by Mo Li but were acting under the pretense of taking him home at Mr. Rong’s request.

 

After confirming the person’s identity, Ruan Shiqing handed over Snowball and his small suitcase.

 

“When you get home, make sure to check in.” Ruan Shiqing ruffled the cub’s head.

 

Rong Heng let out a soft “Mm” and rubbed against his palm lightly in farewell.

 

*

 

After arriving at the Fragrance Tower Estate, Rong Heng reverted to his human form and piloted a shuttle off B3024, setting a course for Luso Star.

 

Luso Star was located in the Syracusan sector of the Northeastern Quadrant, whereas B3024 was in the Central Administrative District, with the Augusta Region in between—spanning dozens of star systems. The distance was immense.

 

After having Noah chart the fastest route, Rong Heng pushed the Glory to its maximum speed, jumping through one hyperspace lane after another.

 

These hyperspace routes were a mix of artificial constructs and naturally occurring wormholes. Natural wormholes were notoriously unstable, riddled with asteroid fields that could cause catastrophic accidents if navigated poorly. Only a pilot with exceptional skills and reflexes could traverse them safely.

 

Focusing entirely on the controls, Rong Heng remained alert and sleepless for four days before finally entering the Syracusan sector.

 

Only then did he hand over navigation to Noah and retreat to the rest cabin.

 

After five hours of much-needed rest, Noah woke him, announcing their imminent arrival at Luso Star.

 

From the vast, dark expanse of space, Luso Star appeared as a fiery-red planet, covered in active and dormant volcanoes.

 

Orbiting the planet were several space stations, with numerous transport ships docked nearby. Countless shuttles flitted back and forth, ferrying freshly mined ores to waiting cargo vessels.

 

Activating cloaking mode and altering the electronic identification signature, Rong Heng easily merged into the stream of shuttles heading for the planet’s surface.

 

Nearly 80% of Luso Star’s landmass had been given over to mining operations. The surface was littered with sprawling docking bays and storage depots, with barely any other infrastructure remaining.

 

Upon entering the atmosphere, Rong Heng veered away from the mining convoys, setting course for the remaining 20% of the planet—where dormant volcanoes lay untouched.

 

This region was sacred to dragons.

 

It served as both a burial ground for their dead and a hatching site for dragon eggs.

 

Every dragon had a designated volcano—a personal site where they would return when it came time to incubate their eggs. The heat from the volcanic activity provided optimal conditions for hatching.

 

This was also where Hector had hidden the Dragon Crystals.

 

Following the coordinates Hector provided, Rong Heng soon located the volcano assigned to him.

 

Leaving Glory in Noah’s control, he opened the hatch and leapt directly into the crater.

 

Inside, molten lava churned, radiating intense heat.

 

Thick plumes of smoke curled upward as Rong Heng scaled the steep rock walls, navigating toward a carved-out chamber in the cliffside—the hatching nest.

 

From the outside, the entrance was only about ten meters wide, but once inside, it expanded into a vast, cavernous space.

 

Wasting no time exploring, Rong Heng followed Hector’s instructions and quickly located the storage room.

 

There, he found the locked chest that was supposed to contain the Dragon Crystals.

 

It was covered in dust.

 

Frowning, he lifted the lid—only to find it completely empty.

 

???

 

After thoroughly searching the storage chamber and confirming that there were no other chests, Rong Heng returned to Glory, his mood sour.

 

After taking a quick shower to wash away the volcanic ash, he immediately called Hector.

 

“Did you find the Dragon Crystals?”

 

“The chest was empty.”

 

Both men spoke simultaneously.

 

Then fell silent.

 

“…Empty?” Hector sounded incredulous. “That’s impossible. I know I left them there.”

 

“Then someone else took them.”

 

Rong Heng’s tone was clipped. He had just wasted days on this journey for nothing, and it put him in a foul mood.

 

“No way.” Hector’s response was firm. “I never touched those Dragon Crystals. And Ga—” He cut himself off abruptly, then continued, “He wouldn’t have taken them either. The mining teams aren’t even allowed near the nesting grounds. There’s no way those crystals just vanished.”

 

“Well, they’re gone.” Rong Heng pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “I’m heading back.”

 

Cutting the call, he instructed Noah to prepare for departure.

 

Meanwhile, Hector remained seated in his cockpit, fingers unconsciously tapping against his AI console.

 

He wanted to contact Garland and ask, but when his fingers hovered over the communicator, he hesitated.

 

“…It couldn’t have been him,” he murmured under his breath.

 

When Garland left, he had sworn never to return.

 

He had even forbade Hector from coming back.

 

This hatching nest—the one they had built together—had remained untouched for over a hundred years.

 

 

 

---

 

OH MY GOD I KNEW IT! WHAT HAPPENED TO HECTOR AND GARLAND??? Now I seriously refuse to believe that they gave up on Heli because he “wasn’t worth it”!  (Though I don’t want them to come back and take Heli away from his new family…)

Also, that merchant either is sus as heck or he’s stupidly OP without realizing it

Thanks for reading!

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