Long Shiyu sat on the sofa, savoring steaming hot takoyaki.
The food provided by the Hunter Association was remarkably delectable. The octopus meat inside boasted the perfect tenderness, and the seaweed had a delicious aroma. The fried chicken drumsticks he just had were great too, with their exceedingly crispy skin.
Dragons required substantial sustenance to fuel their daily activities, and they would be forced to sleep if they didn’t get enough food.
However, the human form demanded much less energy, making this meal sufficient.
Now that he had eaten his fill, Long Shiyu’s spirits were lifted, and his long silver tail playfully swished across the floor.
Normally he would not behave in such an unrestrained manner, but Shen Zhaomu was around. Given his spiritual strength, all attempts at surveillance or spying would be discovered, making the room safe.
Long Shiyu was a rare silver dragon. Under the light, his silver-white scales gained colorful, iridescent hues at their edges. They shifted from light purple to light green, then to dark blue and moon white. They changed together with shifts in the angle of the light and resembled a melting milky way with multi-colored stars. When he spread his wings against the clear sky, it would seem as if diamonds could fall off at any time.
Even the academics who hated dragons most had to concede that this astonishing spectacle was beyond what humans could achieve.
Only a single light illuminated the living room. Under the dim light, the long tail still gleamed beautifully.
Shen Zhaomu went through the information once more, taking meticulous notes before returning to the living room.
Long Shiyu had turned on the TV and was watching clips of previous missions. The holographic projection allowed him to completely immerse himself as if he had been physically present.
The mission playing was one from two or three decades ago. The hunters had ventured deep into the polar region, fighting against glacial behemoths, but an avalanche sent them tumbling into the crevices between glaciers.
Traversing the narrow fissure, they reached an ice wall, where a colossal black silhouette stood frozen in its final moments—
The enormous red dragon extended its claws, glaring angrily, yet every part of its body between its wings and tail had been turned into bone.
It had been slain by an unknown creature, reduced to skeletal remains in an instant.
Most of the images in Shen Zhaomu’s collection revolved around dragons.
Shen Zhaomu descended from upstairs. He initially wanted to light a cigarette and relax, but ultimately opted for a cup of coffee, which he consumed while lounging on the sofa.
The video clip concluded, and Long Shiyu raised his head.
“Have you ever slain a dragon?”
Shen Zhaomu momentarily faltered, his tone carrying a touch of hostility. “What can you do if I say yes? Will it change anything?”
“I’m just asking.”
“Such a question is pointless.”
The young man’s expression remained unchanged, appearing nonchalant, yet his tail no longer swished on the floor.
He was undoubtedly saddened.
Shen Zhaomu understood the dragon clan’s idiosyncrasies well, and noticed the change in the other’s mood immediately.
He wanted to say something, but eventually swallowed his words.
Ultimately, Long Shiyu was still his prey. The peace between them was only a special, temporary situation. There would inevitably come a day when they would become enemies.
The inherent cruelty ingrained in dragons’ genes could not be eradicated. In the years before the Interstellar Alliance was established, the brutal oppression of other races by dragons remained vivid in everyone’s memories.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Shen Zhaomu reminded himself countless times that no matter how gentle and weak Long Shiyu appeared, there would come a time when he would lash out.
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He took another sip of coffee.
He cast another glance at the listless tail.
Shen Zhaomu cleared his throat.
“I…”
A knock at the door interrupted him, causing Long Shiyu to promptly retract his tail.
“Come in,” Shen Zhaomu beckoned.
His friend, who had been outside the restaurant in the morning, entered. His name was Lu Shanhuai. He belonged to the same hunter group as Shen Zhaomu and was currently one of the senior commanders.
Upon seeing Long Shiyu in pajamas seated on the sofa, Lu Shanhuai’s eyes nearly popped out in astonishment.
“Damn, you’re serious about this one!”
Shen Zhaomu neither agreed nor disagreed.
Indeed, keeping Long Shiyu by his side proved to be the most convenient arrangement.
Lu Shanhuai was still so shocked that he could not speak. After struggling for a while, he finally articulated his thoughts, “Damn it. I lost that bet.”
“Stop making absurd wagers all the time,” Shen Zhaomu chided, sitting down on the sofa and reclining back against the pillow. “You can’t afford to lose wagers with that little amount of money you have.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re right. I’m not as affluent as you, Young Master Shen,” Lu Shanhuai conceded. His attention remained fixated on Long Shiyu. “By the way, what’s my sister-in-law's name? How did you two meet? How long have you known each other?”
“I’m Shiyu,” Long Shiyu responded. He refrained from addressing the other inquiries and instead turned his gaze toward Shen Zhaomu.
Shen Zhaomu shrugged. “I picked him up by the roadside.”
He wasn’t wrong to say this.
The first time he encountered Long Shiyu, the young man stood by the road, clutching a lunchbox.
Then Long Shiyu had allowed himself to be taken away without putting up any resistance.
He even seemed pretty happy with his circumstances at the time.
…He was definitely a silly dragon.
“On which road did you find him? You should share that information with me, brother,” Lu Shanhuai said to Shen Zhaomu before directing his attention back to Long Shiyu. “What with your horrible temper, having Long Shiyu date you is like planting a flower in a pile of cow… ow, ow, that hurts!”
Shen Zhaomu kicked him and admonished, “What did you come here for?”
“Can’t I come to visit you?” Lu Shanhuai put his feet up and fiddled with his terminal. “I’ve recently accepted a mission to capture scarlet salamanders. Here’s a tactical simulation based on the latest data. I’m trying to achieve zero casualties, but the salamander’s self-destruction is a major issue. Could you help me take a look?”
“When is the mission?” Shen Zhaomu asked.
“In a month and a half.”
“Then finish your current simulation round first. I’m not done reviewing the information.”
“Alright, I’ve got time.” Lu Shanhuai waved dismissively. “You get back to your work. I know you’re a workaholic.”
Shen Zhaomu returned to the table to scrutinize the documents, while Long Shiyu switched to yet another recording. He propped his head up with a hand and started to display signs of drowsiness.
Lu Shanhuai’s simulation wrapped up swiftly this time. One member of the team perished, while seven suffered severe burns.
Shen Zhaomu had yet to emerge from his study — he was probably deeply immersed in his documents. Noticing this, Lu Shanhuai promptly opened a chat interface on his terminal, where a group chat called [Brotherhood of Straights] was blinking with new messages.
Counting Sheep: [Calling Huaishan, calling Huaishan. Have you met him?]
Lu Shanhuai replied promptly.
Huaishan: [Yes, I’ve met him. I lost the bet. We should refer to him as sister-in-law from now on.]
Counting Sheep: [Damn.]
Peerless Man: [What the hell. Has that iron tree finally blossomed?]
Counting Sheep: [If I had such a cute boyfriend, I wouldn’t just blossom. I’d have pink bubbles popping up above my head every day. No wonder Brother Shen was so aggressive at the restaurant today. He was playing the hero.]
Qin Shi: [……]
Huaishan: [Indeed, my sister-in-law is adorable. He just dozed off on the sofa.]
Lu Shanhuai glanced at Long Shiyu, who sat at the end of the sofa. The young man had dozed off with his head propped up, his ebony hair cascading softly over his ears.
Hunters were very sensitive to auras, and Long Shiyu’s aura was exceedingly faint. It was tranquil and harmless, just like himself. Even in slumber, he huddled in a corner, resembling a small and harmless creature that wouldn’t disturb anyone.
Though his features could be described as striking, they were evened out by his aura, and he ultimately gave off an obedient, endearing air. It wasn’t ostentatious, yet it was still captivating.
Peerless Man: [You’re treading on dangerous ground; Brother Shen is in this group. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get beat up after he sees this?]
Counting Sheep: [It’s not like Brother Shen reads these messages… We’re the ones who dragged him in.]
Huaishan: [We’re innocent! What’s wrong with calling him cute? I, Lu Shanhuai, am and always will be a straight man.]
Counting Sheep: [Any photos? Any photos?]
Lu Shanhuai raised his head, swiftly capturing an image of Long Shiyu’s blurry slumbering visage.
Huaishan: [<Photo> Isn’t he cute?]
Counting Sheep: [Oh, I’m done for. So cute!]
Qin Shi: [So what if he’s cute? Would anyone dare take him on missions? He’s just eye candy.]
The group fell into silence for a few moments.
They were aware that Shen Zhaomu intended to bring Long Shiyu along on their next mission.
Counting Sheep: [You still haven’t buried the hatchet with Brother Shen?]
Peerless Man: [Yeah, it’s been so long already. He’s just a normal human and he hasn’t done anything to provoke you. Aren’t you taking it too far by calling him eye candy?]
Qin Shi: [Even ordinary people will show spiritual fluctuations. Lu Shanhuai, you’ve already met him. Did you sense anything at all?]
Lu Shanhuai was taken aback. He truly hadn’t sensed anything — in an era where most had awakened some degree of spiritual prowess, Long Shiyu could be considered feeble.
He was abnormally fragile.
Qin Shi: [Eye candy is eye candy. I’m not exaggerating things.]
Qin Shi: [He’s just besotted by his appearance. I didn’t expect such crude behavior from Shen Zhaomu.]
Lu Shanhuai furrowed his brow. [Do you even have the right to pass judgment? Have you even met sister-in-law?]
Qin Shi: [So what if I haven’t? He shouldn’t meddle in our world.]
Qin Shi: [Can he hold his own in combat? Can he understand strategies? Has he even seen an exotic creature firsthand? Can you guys list his talents? Does he possess any knowledge of the hunters’ world?]
Counting Sheep: [Hey, Old Qin, stop it. I’m sure Brother Shen has his own considerations.]
Peerless Man: [Cmon, stop fighting. I’m gonna go pet my cat. Everyone, go to bed soon. Staying up late will make you bald.]
The chat ended on a sour note. Lu Shanhuai’s brows remained furrowed as he opened yet another combat simulation.
On the holographic projection, the heavily-armed hunter stood directly in front of the scarlet salamander, flanked by mobile, lightly-armed hunters charging in at high speed.
His command was perfect in prior battles, and he couldn’t a single flaw no matter how many times he reviewed them. However, he ultimately could not prevent the salamander from self-destructing.
He could, of course, request additional manpower from the association. The scarlet salamander was renowned for its strength, and even ordinary people recognized their name. Lu Shanhuai’s current simulation results were already quite impressive.
Yet, there had to be a better approach. As the commander, it was his responsibility to find it.
The salamander possessed a crimson pouch in its throat that contained roiling flames.
It was now in its death throes, consumed by rage and madness. Snipers were strategically positioned on a distant hillside. As long as their shots reached the pouch, the stream of fire would dissipate into the air, preventing the salamander’s self-destruction.
However, regardless of how many times the snipers took aim, their success rate still hovered stubbornly around thirty percent — the volcanic dust in the planet’s atmosphere severely hindered visibility.
Lu Shanhuai had experimented with countless strategies, from employing snipers, to having highly mobile lightly-armored hunters directly suppress the salamander. However, all his strategies would result in casualties.
In the holographic projection, the infernal flames spewed forth once more.
Lu Shanhuai rubbed his temples and sighed.
He turned around, only to see Long Shiyu staring at the holographic combat simulation projection. His pretty eyes were still slightly groggy from sleep.
Perhaps ordinary people would find a projection filled with casualties and injuries too dark.
Just as he was about to attempt to lighten the mood, Long Shiyu, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
“Your approach is wrong.”
“…What?” Lu Shanhuai thought he had misheard.
“Your approach is wrong,” Long Shiyu reiterated. “It’s been wrong from the start.”
I knew it! Severely underestimating him just cause he has no energy emissions! Isn’t that the classic trope of “too strong for those weaker than him to even realize”? Nice! I hope this is just a quest to find the most delicious food and how to capture the ingredients, while also falling in love.
Thank you for the chapter~!
Hahahaha. The kitten may have claws and teeth, 😸
A classic example of don’t judge a book by its cover ~
Love the direction this is going in! Makes me feel special because i know he’s secretly strong af😎
Ty for the chapter!
Don’t you dare underestimating my dragon baby! He only looks like that because he was lack of delicious food to have energy and not falling asleep! Hahaha
Yess bby don’t let these arrogant snobs underestimate you, you’re the strongest out of all of them hahahahah
Thank you for the chapters, I’m enjoying binging this in my free time!
Did Shiyu say this because he saw their chats
To quote an old American TV commercial, “Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful” 😆. That same beauty will probably be the reason Lu Shanhuai humors him and listens to the explanation lol