Chapter 49: Hey, It’s So Fierce!
“Alright, little ones! The introductions are over, and now it’s free time. Everyone play in the classroom, and remember to raise your hand if you need to use the restroom, okay?”
As the teacher finished speaking, the group of “little radish-heads” below burst into cheers and squeals.
The teacher maintained a smile, going around to ask each cub what they wanted to play with and if they needed any help.
Some children refused, while others nodded in agreement.
The teacher was humorous and engaging, especially when chatting with the cubs—always able to understand the meaning behind their words. She quickly integrated into the group.
The children had just been separated from their parents and were feeling anxious in the new environment; the teacher’s gentle, calm voice was the perfect remedy for the atmosphere.
Being able to talk to so many peers, the children soon forgot about looking for their parents and began happily playing with their new friends.
Shěn Lín was one of them.
Having just sat down in the classroom, the unfamiliar environment had his emotions at a high state of tension. He sat in his seat with his lips pursed, not interacting with the other children, only looking down to fiddle with his fingers.
He felt as if he were out of place here.
Just then, the purple-haired, purple-eyed cub slowly scooted from his seat to Shěn Lín’s right, stopping only when he reached the corner of the desk and couldn’t move any closer.
The purple-haired cub was very extroverted and enthusiastic, proactively introducing his name.
Shěn Lín, speaking to a peer for the first time, was tense all over. His chubby little hand continuously stroked the Ghost Vine on his wrist, trying to ease his anxiety this way.
“My name is Mò Bái. Mò as in ‘ink,’ Bái as in ‘white.’ Can I be your friend?”
Little Mò Bái was incredibly enthusiastic, appearing not to notice Shěn Lín’s aloofness as he tilted his beautiful little face up, waiting for an answer.
Shěn Lín’s thoughts spun for a moment, and he hesitated for a bit before speaking to Mò Bái.
Shěn Lín could sense that there was no malice in Mò Bái’s emotions; he simply wanted to be friends.
He hadn’t expected that as soon as he spoke, the purple-haired cub’s enthusiasm would only increase.
“Bǐngbǐng, you talk so cutely! Way cuter than Tùqiū. Oh, by the way, the Tùqiū I’m talking about is an Ancient Sea Species sea slug. He’s tiny, tiny—smaller than my fist. He talks very softly and gently, and he’s always being bullied by other Ancient Species, so I help him chase them away. To thank me, he brings me delicious food every day. It’s just a pity Tùqiū couldn’t come to school with me, otherwise I could share the food he makes with you…”
Once Mò Bái started talking, his mouth was like a laser gun, rattling off words. Shěn Lín had zero chance to interrupt and was forced to listen to the entire story.
While talking, Mò Bái seemed to remember something and hurriedly opened the star-computer on his wrist, pulling out several white jade-textured scallops and placing them on Shěn Lín’s desk.
“My Papa said that when you make a friend, you have to give a greeting gift. Bǐngbǐng, I picked these out myself. See if you like them!”
Shěn Lín reached out and picked up a scallop.
Not only did the exterior look like white jade, but it even felt like touching an energy gemstone.
It was cool to the touch and felt very nice.
The scallop opened to reveal a pearl the size of an infant’s fist, smooth and round, emitting a faint glow.
The light it gave off wasn’t just one color, but three: light cyan, indigo, and deep azure, switching colors every three seconds.
Shěn Lín thought that if he put it in his bedroom, it could serve as a nightlight and save electricity.
Mò Bái cupped his delicate face in his hands and pointed to the remaining shells. “You haven’t finished opening them yet!”
Shěn Lín had to put down the pearl and open the other shells.
A box of crimson coral energy gemstones.
A bracelet made of polished sea beast bones.
The final gift was interesting—a roll of exquisite, dreamlike Jiao-silk tucked into a large shell.
The texture was crystalline and translucent, with a faint purple shimmer on the outside, making it look even more mysterious and beautiful.
Shěn Lín had never seen a fabric so beautiful it didn’t seem to belong to the stars.
His gaze was fixed on the Jiao-silk, unable to look away.
Mò Bái covered his mouth and giggled, leaning in close to Shěn Lín’s ear to whisper, “The Jiao-silk of our Merfolk clan is very popular among interstellar beings. It doesn’t get wet in water and won’t melt in fire; you can even breathe freely underwater if you wear it. You can take it back and have someone make a set of clothes for you to try. And it’s temperature-controlled, too! Even if you’re on a harsh primitive star, you won’t be hot in summer or cold in winter—it stays at a constant temperature year-round.”
The more Shěn Lín heard, the more his eyes lit up.
Wasn’t this thing practically made for him?
When he went wandering, he couldn’t do without this kind of “home and travel” essential.
Stroking the smooth, crystalline Jiao-silk affectionately, Shěn Lín began to think about what he had that could serve as a greeting gift.
Mò Bái had given him so many gifts, including the Jiao-silk that hit him right in his heart.
Shěn Lín rummaged through his spatial button.
After picking and choosing, he finally found something hard and pulled it out.
Mò Bái leaned in, curiously poking it with a finger. “What’s this? It looks like a withered tree branch?”
Shěn Lín didn’t explain. Instead, he tapped the Ghost Vine curled inside the pink gemstone bracelet.
The Ghost Vine, which had been pretending to be a piece of jewelry, moved at the sound and lazily slithered out of the bracelet, forming an openwork bracelet around the cub’s wrist once more.
Once the Ghost Vine had moved, Shěn Lín drew energy from the pink gemstone bracelet, rubbing his hand back and forth over the withered branch.
Pink energy seeped into the branch, rapidly repairing its vessels. The shriveled stem became plump and full, the evaporated sap returned bit by bit, and the exterior shifted from withered yellow to a deep green.
The branch sprouted new shoots and buds, and tiny flower buds began to poke their tips out from the green leaves.
It looked fresh and vibrant, trembling slightly with a touch of cuteness.
As the vines extended, the new branches wove and interlaced with each other. Pink and white buds bloomed amidst the greenery, creating a layered, uniquely styled flower crown in Shěn Lín’s hands.
“Whoa!”
Mò Bái let out a very supportive gasp of surprise.
Shěn Lín handed the flower crown to Mò Bái.
“Is it for me?”
Mò Bái pointed to himself in disbelief.
After receiving Shěn Lín’s nod, he excitedly but carefully took the flower crown into his hands, his eyes full of worship.
“Bǐngbǐng, how did you do that? That’s incredible!”
Shěn Lín clearly enjoyed Mò Bái’s praise, but he put on a restrained air and waved his hand dismissively.
Mò Bái placed the flower crown directly on his head. The pink and white blossoms matched his violet hair color surprisingly well.
Mò Bái pulled an exquisite small mirror from his spatial button, looking left and right, looking absolutely delighted.
“Thank you, Bǐngbǐng! I love this gift so much!”
Mò Bái’s affection was very direct; he gave Shěn Lín a tight hug.
His movements were fast. Before Shěn Lín could react, the boy had already released him to go back to looking in the mirror.
Shěn Lín was stunned for a moment, then pulled a box of energy stones from his spatial button and pushed it toward Mò Bái.
“What’s this for?” Mò Bái looked up from the mirror, confused.
Shěn Lín pursed his lips and pointed to the shell box containing the Jiao-silk. “Buying this.”
Mò Bái immediately looked unhappy and pushed everything on the desk back toward Shěn Lín.
“I said it’s a greeting gift! What are you ‘buying’ for? Bǐngbǐng, if you’re going to be this polite, you’re going to hurt my feelings. Aren’t we friends? Friends don’t need to count things like this. Besides, no amount of Jiao-silk could buy the gift you gave me. I’ve never seen the ability to bring a dead tree back to life.”
Seeing that his expression wasn’t a lie, Shěn Lín didn’t stand on ceremony and stored the Jiao-silk into his spatial button.
What he had given Mò Bái wasn’t an ordinary flower crown; it was a small, mobile perpetual motion machine that stored a portion of his energy, which would periodically help Mò Bái clear the pollutants in his body.
Bloodline Frenzy worsened as a Beastman aged. Once the pollutants reached a certain level and weren’t relieved, they would clog the nerves, leading the bloodline to riot and the Beastman to a dead end.
Mò Bái was still young, so he naturally had fewer pollutants; a periodic cleaning would be sufficient.
So, Shěn Lín felt it was only right to accept the gifts.
Once Shěn Lín accepted the items, Mò Bái’s smile returned, looking more genuine than before.
The two little ones gradually became acquainted and were chatting animatedly.
Mò Bái was incredibly curious about the moving Ghost Vine on Shěn Lín’s wrist. He asked directly, “Bǐngbǐng, what is that thing? Why does it move even without roots?”
Shěn Lín stroked the Ghost Vine’s new shoot.
The Ghost Vine affectionately nuzzled the cub.
Mò Bái watched with envy and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it. As a result, he was unceremoniously lashed across the back of his hand by the vine.
“Ow, that hurts!”
Mò Bái pulled his hand back in pain.
Shěn Lín hurried to check. There were no red marks on the back of Mò Bái’s hand; instead, a large patch of tough purple scales had surfaced.
The overlapping scales protected Mò Bái’s tender skin, and not a single wound could be seen.
“Hey, it’s so fierce!”
The pain lasted only for a second. Afterward, Mò Bái spoke to Shěn Lín as if nothing had happened.
Shěn Lín paused for a moment before explaining, “It doesn’t like… strangers~”
Mò Bái’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean as long as we’re ‘acquaintances,’ I can touch it?”
Shěn Lín hesitated, feeling like there was something wrong with Mò Bái’s logic but unable to put his finger on it. He ended up nodding honestly.
“What are you guys playing with? Let me play, too.”
A sharp, shrill child’s voice intruded forcefully.
The two looked up to see a massive, portly child standing beside them.
Almost all the cubs had some “baby fat,” so everyone looked a bit chubby.
But this child was several sizes larger than them. The fat on his chin was squeezed into layers, and his eyes were so plumped out that they were just narrow slits.
He unceremoniously shoved aside the child sitting in front of Shěn Lín. That child wanted to resist, but the fat kid released an S-grade bloodline pressure. The other child, having only an A-grade bloodline, was terrified and dejectedly gave up his seat.
The fat kid snorted and plopped down, quickly reaching out to grab the food in front of Shěn Lín.
“That’s our stuff!”
Mò Bái was unhappy and immediately spoke up to stop him.
The fat kid wasn’t afraid at all. He even tore open the packaging and stuffed the food directly into his mouth before flashing a provocative smile at Mò Bái.
His arrogant attitude was truly revolting.
Mò Bái puffed out his cheeks, unable to stand it any longer, and stood up abruptly.
“Little Fatty, are you asking for a beating?!”
The fat kid made a face at Mò Bái.
He continued rummaging around Shěn Lín’s desk, but his gaze caught the pink gemstone bracelet on Shěn Lín’s wrist. He mocked disdainfully, “You’re a boy and you’re wearing a girl’s bracelet? How embarrassing!”
As he spoke, he reached out to snatch Shěn Lín’s bracelet.
Shěn Lín had been watching the Little Fatty’s every move. Seeing him trying to steal his things, he immediately held the hand down.
“Mine!”
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