Chapter 26: Baba Teaches the Cub to Hunt~
The wind swept through the streets, rustling the leaves and bringing the fragrance of breakfast from the roadside. The scent of the mundane world lingered around the cub’s nose. As Shen Zexi turned a corner, the scene before the cub’s eyes instantly transformed.
It was a world of holographic technology and cyberpunk. Within the hubs of the aerial walkways, floating platforms were built, and a torrent of spaceships flowed continuously. If it weren’t for the speed and altitude limits on the Prime Star, those luxury ships of the wealthy and noble could fly even faster and higher.
Even the sunlight was simulated by quantum technology based on ancient civilizations, standing in stark contrast to the old-fashioned, simple atmosphere from before. Except for the beastmen who came from the Blue Star and liked living on solid ground, other star-race beastmen would purchase floating buildings if they had enough star-coins.
The Federation’s Prime Star had a population of 600 million. For beastmen with residency on the Prime Star, their homes were basically in the air. The Prime Star occupied a massive area, enough to satisfy the housing needs of 600 million people. Of course, there were also wealthy people who disliked noise and simply bought an island to build their preferred residence on. Do not look down on a small island; land on the Prime Star was worth its weight in gold, and sometimes an island was worth the price of a small planet.
Due to Shen Zejue’s cub-stealing antics, not only was he suspended and given a harsh lashing by his second sister, but he also became famous at the academy. Everyone was curious about what the cub looked like, to make this prominent figure of the First Academy—the Shen Bully—like him so much that he’d go as far as stealing him.
Then, someone went to the Star Network to search for information on the cub and posted the cub’s photo on the campus forum. Once people saw the cub’s photo, they went from questioning the Shen Bully to understanding him. If their own siblings were as cute as this little cub, no matter how “wasteful” they were, they would be happy to spoil them.
Shen Lin’s photo went viral on campus. If the administrators hadn’t stepped in, the students would have overturned the forum. Shen Zejue, who had caused this series of events, had no idea that the little cub’s reputation was now greater than his own.
Shen Zejue arrived at school with a face swollen from his sister’s beating. Ignoring the surrounding gazes, he walked into the classroom with his hands in his pockets, swaying as he moved. The moment he stepped inside, everyone’s eyes snapped toward him. Tali’er’s gaze was especially intense, as if he wanted to stare a hole through Shen Zejue’s bag.
Shen Zejue suddenly understood. Smugly, he pulled a tuft of pink fur from his bag and waved it in front of his rival.
“It’s my brother’s~”
He was incredibly cocky. Tali’er snorted and turned his head, not wanting to see that “villain-achieving-his-goal” face. But as he turned his head, he saw another annoying person standing at the classroom door.
“Tali’er, you forgot your lunchbox. Mom asked me to bring it to you.”
“It’s filthy. I don’t want the lunchbox. You bastard born of a mistress, get out of my classroom!”
“Tali’er, Mom said you can’t skip meals; it’s easy to break your health that way. Also, you haven’t come home; Mom and Dad are very worried about you.”
“Get out!” Tali’er roared.
Tali’er’s eyebrows shot up, and his red hair exploded with crimson flames. Red Ibis beast-markings appeared on his face.
“Not good, Tali’er’s bloodline is rioting! Quickly, call a teacher…”
As an S-grade Red Ibis, Tali’er’s bloodline pressure forced the lower-level beastmen in the classroom to the floor, with the severe cases already forced into their beast forms. The classroom was in total chaos.
The weak beastman hesitated for a moment. Just as he was about to step into the classroom, he was stopped.
“Tali’er doesn’t welcome you. Please leave.”
The white-haired youth’s attitude was firm, his gaze like a torch. A fierce beast aura rushed forward, and the weak beastman’s whole body went stiff. Powerful bloodline pressure crushed over unceremoniously, and the weak beastman had to avoid its sharpness. He opened his mouth but eventually left, dejected.
Tali’er was taken away by a teacher, and the classroom was cleared of the bloodline’s residual power by a medical team. Shen Zejue walked among the students waiting for a healer to check their physical condition. The follower beside him asked curiously, “Boss, don’t you usually clash with Tali’er? Why did you help him?”
Shen Zejue didn’t explain.
The First Academy was the Federation’s top academic institution, providing hundreds of millions of excellent students to various professions in the Federation every year. Whether in resources or teachers, it was the best of all Federation schools, which was why it could recruit twice the original number of students every year. The academy was filled with hot-blooded students, and conflicts would occasionally erupt over small frictions. The academy’s security teachers were used to cleaning up the students’ messes.
Following procedure, they asked Shen Zejue and other students some questions before letting them all return to class. As Shen Zejue walked toward the classroom, he saw an aircraft bearing the Tali’er family crest parked in the parking lot.
The tempering of his ultra-S-grade Fierce Beast bloodline allowed his body to reach heights beyond ordinary people. Like a high-precision instrument, he could capture any tiny organism with extreme clarity. He saw the appearance of the middle-aged man stepping off the aircraft very clearly. Generally speaking, Tali’er’s looks somewhat resembled his father. However, the middle-aged man’s eyes were more restrained and steady, unlike Tali’er’s blatant sharp edge.
Shen Zejue had attended some banquets with his second sister and had seen Tali’er’s father. The man smiled at everyone he met, moving through the crowd like a social butterfly. Shen Zejue had encountered him once and privately appraised him as a sanctimonious hypocrite.
“Ba~”
I’m here to see you again~
The little cub, with his little milk-voice, emerged from the bushes and threw himself onto the giant tiger. The black tiger crouched down.
Shen Lin tilted his head. “En?”
The black tiger let out a roar. Shen Lin felt the consciousness transmitted by the black tiger; the other party wanted him to sit on its back. To the cub’s surprise, Big Monster Baba—who had been indifferent to him a few days ago—was actually waiting at the jungle entrance today. He saw Big Monster Baba as soon as he arrived.
His heart leaped a little with joy, and he happily rushed over to rub against the black tiger. The fur on the black tiger’s body was shaped like steel needles; even though it was lying flat obediently, it still pricked his face. When the little cub looked up, several red marks had appeared on his jade-white face.
A trace of annoyance flashed in the black tiger’s eyes, and its large head nudged the cub’s body. Shen Lin was nudged onto its back without defense. The black tiger’s body expanded several times over again, and his vision was suddenly raised high.
The dangerous jungle that the cub previously needed the help of the Ghost Vine to cross was effortless for the black tiger. In just a blink of an eye, they reached the habitat. The wind whistled past, but Shen Lin didn’t feel cold; instead, he felt a hidden sense of peace.
This is my Baba. The Baba I dreamed of seeing again.
Even though every time he dreamed of Baba he would re-experience the intense pain of his heart being pierced, he still wanted to see Baba. Two hundred eighty-six days, four hours, thirty-five minutes, and eight seconds. He had counted the time, waiting past the time he and Baba had agreed upon before coming out. Baba didn’t fulfill the promise; he had died.
The cub had secretly gone back to look for Baba, but he couldn’t find him. Baba was gone. The cub had turned the city upside down, but he wasn’t there. Later, he heard people say Baba had been taken into the research base. The cub spent all his effort and finally managed to find Baba.
The result… He only got a part of Baba. They had dismembered Baba. They opened Baba’s brain for experiments. Baba’s eyes, which hadn’t closed even in death, looked at him just like that.
The cub was discovered by the base and could only escape with a part of Baba’s body. He was dazed, wandering aimlessly. When someone found him, he hid in the safe-house Baba had built. Until his parents found him.
He… didn’t want to hide anymore.
…
Shen Lin buried his face in the thick tiger fur, rubbing against it longingly. The tiger fur was sharp and would often prick the cub’s tender white face until it bled. Only with this slight pricking pain could he clearly know: Baba had truly returned.
Even after they arrived, Shen Lin was reluctant to get off the tiger’s back. It wasn’t until the black tiger let out a prompting huff that he slid down unwillingly. The black tiger looked down at the tiny cub, who wasn’t even as big as its paw, its gaze softening.
The black tiger roared, dived into the jungle, and startled a flock of nesting birds in the distance. Immediately following, the ground vibrated. The dense trees on both sides were forced apart to open a path. The black tiger ran back, carrying prey in its mouth. It was a giant rabbit.
Shen Lin looked at the black tiger in confusion, not understanding what it wanted to do. Until the black tiger leaned close to the rabbit’s belly and roared. The rabbit’s belly moved.
The giant rabbit’s neck had been bitten through; it was as dead as could be and would definitely not come back to life. Shen Lin took a closer look and saw a pair of gray ears poking out from the rabbit’s belly. This giant rabbit actually had an invisible pouch under its abdomen, like a kangaroo. Compared to the mother rabbit, the rabbit cub was smaller, but not by much.
Shen Lin looked at the black tiger in confusion.
“Roar~”
The black tiger bit the gray rabbit that was about to hop away and placed it in front of Shen Lin, nudging him with its wet nose. The meaning was clear: it wanted him to take care of this gray rabbit cub. The black tiger crouched beside him, its tail flicking back and forth impatiently. Its gaze stayed on the cub at all times, ensuring no accidents occurred during his hunt.
Shen Lin felt a warmth in his heart. Big Monster Baba was still the same as before, teaching him how to hunt, rather than blindly protecting him behind his back like his monster brothers and sisters. One strict, one kind—two completely different attitudes, but both shared the same concern.
Shen Lin no longer hesitated and directly switched forms. His fluffy pink tail controlled his braking behind him. On all fours, he bared his teeth and lunged toward the gray rabbit nearby. Unfortunately, even though he had copied the black tiger’s hunting movements perfectly, his teeth hadn’t finished growing. His bite force couldn’t reach the strength needed to pierce the fur. He could only grind his teeth against the gray rabbit’s neck.
The gray rabbit cub looked a bit larger than the pink little red panda. It used its hind legs to kick the little cub away. The little cub shook his head and climbed up from the grass. The grass was thick, and it didn’t hurt at all when he fell. The little cub blinked his eyes, looked at the black tiger once, and lunged at the gray rabbit again.
After several rounds, the gray rabbit was exhausted and lay motionless in the grass, its neck covered in a ring of the cub’s saliva. The little cub sat on the gray rabbit, legs crossed, and cast a proud little look at the black tiger. The black tiger nodded steadily.
Shen Lin peeked. Even though the black tiger was completely black and only its golden eyes could be seen—and its expression couldn’t be read—the cub, familiar with Big Monster Baba, could see without linking to its mental sea that it was likely satisfied.
Sure enough, the black tiger walked over, bit the soft fur of its own neck, walked onto a boulder, and began to help him groom his fur. The gray rabbit survived by luck and hopped into the bushes without looking back.
Today I lived another day. It’s wonderful~
The tiny little cub was washed back and forth by the black tiger’s saliva. The pink fur that usually exploded was now smooth and flat. The little cub was licked into a daze. The tiger’s tongue was covered in backward barbs; with one light stroke, it could lick off a large piece of flesh. The cub didn’t feel much pain; instead, it felt quite comfortable.
Having woken up too early and being put through hunting training by the black tiger, his energy was mostly depleted. The cub let out a small yawn, his dark eyes clouded with a watery mist. His consciousness grew blurred, and he planted his head into the black tiger’s embrace.
The cub fell asleep; even the thunderous purring of the black tiger didn’t wake him. Seeing the little cub had fallen asleep, the black tiger carefully drew him closer into its embrace in a protective posture and closed its eyes to sleep. And from within the fur on its chest, a pair of tiny pink ears peeked out. The small ears twitched from time to time, capturing the surrounding sounds.
When Shen Lin woke up, the artificial sun above the Beast Blood Pool only had a small tail left according to interstellar time, and a large red glow spread across the horizon. Shen Lin opened his eyes and first looked around alertly. He found it was pitch black all around, with only a few rays of light shining through cracks. Squeezing out through a crack, he saw the sky full of red clouds. Only then did he realize that the pitch-black place he had seen earlier was actually a space specifically left by the black tiger in its chest, which could shelter him from the wind and rain while controlling the temperature.
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