Monster Cub Live Stream – CH44

Chapter 44

Using his ability, Lin An’an stopped the continued leakage of Alpha energy from underground.

On the livestream screen, the pitch-black, sinister fissure was covered by a beautiful green glow. At a glance, the crack that had looked so terrifying just moments ago now resembled a flowing ribbon of soft green fireflies.

Beautiful, dazzling, and shining with a light that made people feel strangely at ease.

Even the barrage in the official livestream seemed to pause for a second at that stunning sight.

[Am I dreaming right now? [stunned jpg]]

[That little monster cub… sealed up the crack?]

[Holy shit! Holy shit!! HOLY SHIT!!!]

[How can there be such an insanely awesome cub? [pupils shaking jpg]]

[If the crack is sealed, then the stuff inside that supposedly affects Alpha… can’t come out anymore, right?]

[Probably…? Does An Cub’s ability really treat Alpha?!]

Xiong Yingjun was stunned by the sight too. He had always known Lin An’an was actually very powerful, but most of the time the other party showed himself in his tiny cub form and had never displayed this sort of power in front of them.

He could not help letting out a howl, his bear eyes wide as copper bells.

The giant squid, who had been dragging the unconscious giant octopus away, also stopped in his tracks at that moment. A trace of shock and amazement flashed through his eyes as he looked toward the fissure.

Xiong Yingjun stepped forward two paces. The spot where he had been standing before was already covered in a thick layer of bear fur.

[Is this enough now?] he asked. [That what’s-it-called… Alpha energy—is it sealed up now?]

Lin An’an withdrew his little tentacles, took a few deep breaths, and said, [No, not enough yet.]

What he had done now was only seal up the Alpha energy that had not yet escaped. But before that, a great deal of Alpha energy had already leaked out.

If those already leaked energies were left alone and allowed to spread, even more people would be affected.

Seeing that the little cub clearly was not done yet, Xiong Yingjun was afraid of disturbing him, so he stepped back again and returned to his earlier spot atop the pile of bear fur.

The thick, soft sensation under his feet made him pause. When he lowered his head and saw the ground full of bear fur, a look of heart-rending grief flashed through his bear eyes.

Lin An’an did not notice the mood of the person behind him. After sensing how much ability he had left inside his body, he hesitated for two seconds, then took out several bottles of medicine made from Red Spirit Fruit from his terminal space and gulped them all down in one go.

He still had the more effective purple medicine on him, but it had not yet been a full week since the last time he took it. The effect of the purple medicine was too strong. If he forcibly shortened the interval between doses, there was a high chance it would damage his ability core.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Lin An’an did not want to take that risk.

The Red Spirit Fruit medicine quickly took effect. Feeling the renewed fullness of ability within his body, Lin An’an let out a long breath, and his little tentacles rose over the fissure once more.

The calm, wave-less soft green sea of light above the fissure suddenly began to churn violently, gradually forming one tiny vortex after another. In the end, under the little cub’s control, they gathered together and became one huge vortex.

The Alpha energy dispersed in the air seemed to be drawn toward the whirlpool. The speed at which it had been spreading gradually slowed, then stopped, and finally it rushed back into the crack at great speed.

[My brain isn’t working enough right now—what is the cub doing this time?!]

[Looks like he’s gathering all the leaked stuff outside and pulling it back into the crack? [careful guess jpg]]

[He is pulling back the leaked stuff! I saw it in another stream! A lot of the people who were affected just now are already improving to different degrees!!!]

[Ahhhhhh my God, I’m so emotional! If we have An Cub, does that mean Alpha finally has a nemesis?! Does that mean we don’t have to be so terrified of Alpha anymore?!]

[I’m emotional too, sob sob sob, but there’s only one cub. There are just so, so many people with Alpha. One person’s strength is still too small [tearful jpg]]

[It’s okay! If there’s one, there can definitely be a second! As long as it’s proven that Alpha isn’t invincible, then there will definitely be a breakthrough, and we’ll definitely find a way to solve Alpha completely!!!]

[I really can’t hold it together anymore, I’m actually crying. After all these years, this is the very first time I’ve seen hope [tears exploded out jpg]]

[As a Sin Star patient, I really don’t know how to describe how I feel right now. I just hope this isn’t a dream. I hope one day all of us will get to leave Sin Star [sincere prayer jpg]]

[I really relate so much. I’m not even an Alpha patient, but every single moment I’m worried—worried that the next person diagnosed and sent to Sin Star will be me [sob sob jpg]]

[Exactly. Every day we live in fear. Every time I watch the people on Sin Star trying so hard to live their lives in the livestreams, I keep wondering when this damned Alpha will finally end. The whole galaxy has waited for this moment for so, so long. We’re all exhausted [eyes cried blind jpg]]

The vortex spun for nearly ten minutes. Only after making sure there was no Alpha energy left outside did Lin An’an finally lower his little tentacles.

The palm-sized little blob swayed, and just as he was about to topple forward and roll into the soft green fissure, Xiong Yingjun quickly reached out with a bear paw and scooped the already exhausted cub back onto solid ground.

[An Cub!] Xiong Yingjun’s voice was full of anxiety. [How are you?]

The little cub weakly said, “Yingji.”

Lin An’an was so tired that he could not even speak with spiritual language anymore. He could only make a couple of little yingji sounds to prove that he was still alive.

He had only just recovered fifty percent of his ability with the purple medicine, and yet in barely half an hour, he had already burned it all empty again.

Lin An’an sighed inwardly. At that moment, Xiong Yingjun’s voice sounded in his ear once again, but before he could make out what the other party was saying, he completely lost consciousness.

Before putting the plan into action, Xia Yuanhan had made every possible preparation.

He had calculated the timing well. Today, the official livestream camera would pass by the place where the fissure had opened. Everyone in the galaxy—whether from the Empire, the Federation, or any of the scattered organizations beyond them—

—all of them would see that cracked fissure, would know about the “substance” hidden within it, and would witness the miserable state of the Alpha patients affected by it.

He had even prepared his StarBlog post in advance. The moment things blew up, he would push the issue straight onto the trending list.

After the livestream started, Xia Yuanhan stayed inside C City’s official stream, watching as the ground fissure split even wider, watching as all the second forms nearby were affected by Alpha…

The trending topic on StarNet quickly exploded. Just as he had predicted, the entire galaxy saw the fissure, learned about the “substance” hidden beneath it, and witnessed the tragic condition of those who had been invaded by it.

Everything seemed to be completely under his control.

Xia Yuanhan let out a cold laugh. Right at that moment, someone knocked on the door—it was his confidant, Fan Xiu.

“Is what I told you to prepare ready?” Xia Yuanhan asked without even turning his head.

“It’s ready, Second Highness.” Fan Xiu’s head was lowered deeply. “The moment you give the order, we’ll publicly release the statement that you established an Alpha research team long ago and have been secretly devoting yourself to finding a cure for Alpha.”

Xia Yuanhan curled his lips. “Very good.”

Announcing the existence of the research team was only the first step. Once the Alpha energy wave spread farther and more people broke out with Alpha because of it—

then, after it had fermented for a little while longer and while countless lives hung by a thread, he would release the statement saying his research team had already found a breakthrough and that a treatment for Alpha would soon be introduced—

Xia Yuanhan could practically imagine how tearfully grateful all of Sin Star—no, all of the Empire, and even the entire galaxy—would be toward him at that time.

He would become the savior who appeared at the darkest moment in the whole galaxy.

Thinking of that, Xia Yuanhan almost could not suppress the laughter rising in his throat. He coughed twice and ordered, “You may go now. Wait for my command.”

“Yes, Second Highness.” Fan Xiu backed away and respectfully closed the door behind him.

After readjusting his emotions, Xia Yuanhan once again turned his gaze toward the enormous light screen in the center of the room.

But after just one look, his brows furrowed sharply.

[That cub is treating Alpha!]

[His ability… really can treat Alpha!!!]

…What?

On the light screen, a pitch-black monster cub had appeared at some unknown point.

The cub was riding on the back of a giant bear, healing patients as he passed. Xia Yuanhan’s pupils contracted violently when he saw that.

That cub… had actually made the patients’ symptoms improve!

Xia Yuanhan forced himself to calm down.

He recognized the giant bear on the screen—it was Xiong Yingjun, who was always by Feng Wu’s side. And that black monster cub, he had seen before as well.

He was one of the main figures from the treatment-fruit incident not long ago. Xia Yuanhan remembered his name was Lin An’an.

At that thought, Xia Yuanhan gradually calmed down.

If there were treatment fruits, then naturally there would also be medicinal herbs capable of easing Alpha symptoms. That person had said before that treatment fruits could only relieve symptoms—they could not actually cure the disease.

If so, then he had no reason to worry too much.

Only with contrast could there be damage. He would make everyone understand that he was the one who could truly save them.

But though he told himself that, as Xia Yuanhan continued watching what the cub was doing on the screen, his mood slowly sank.

The cub healed Alpha patients, sealed the fissure, and even—even gathered all the Alpha energy waves leaked outside and pulled them back into the fissure.

A suffocating pain in his chest finally pulled Xia Yuanhan back to himself. Only then did he realize he had been staring at the light screen so intently that he had forgotten to breathe.

—How was this possible?!

That cub had treated Alpha patients, sealed the fissure, and even taken all the leaked Alpha energy back in.

This kind of power, this absurdly overwhelming power—

could it really not cure Alpha?

Xia Yuanhan clenched his teeth. The piece of jade he had been toying with in his palm cracked with a sharp ka-cha and shattered into several pieces, falling to the ground.

A very strong foreboding suddenly rose inside him.

Things seemed to be… slipping out of his control.

The defensive barrier Lin An’an had cast before leaving was highly effective. The Alpha energy outside could not enter, and Feng Wu and the others were no longer affected.

But none of them truly relaxed because of that.

They did not know what the outside situation was like, nor did they know how Lin An’an and Xiong Yingjun were doing.

No matter how anxious and unsettled they were, all they could do was wait within this small protected space.

Feng Wu stood against the wall, his golden eyes much darker than usual, his brows tightly locked the whole time. Every so often he would tap open his terminal to check the time.

Si Youlin had sent Xiong Yingjun several messages, but none were answered. He sighed and could only comfort himself by thinking that the other party was probably busy rushing along and had no time to look at his terminal.

Gu Yubai held Bai Yang and Bai Yue in her arms, one hand soothing each cat. But the speed of her strokes kept changing, making it obvious that her heart was anything but calm.

He Yinghong suddenly stood up and tried to walk outside the barrier.

Feng Wu reacted immediately and grabbed him. “Don’t go out.”

“Xiao Feng, just let me go outside and have a look,” He Yinghong said anxiously. “My Alpha symptoms aren’t severe. My life isn’t in danger. I just want to look. Nothing will happen.”

“No,” Feng Wu said coldly. “The situation outside is unclear. You could run into patients who have lost their minds, or even vicious beasts. You have no ability to fight them.”

He Yinghong said, “I can fly.”

Feng Wu countered, “A lot of beasts can fly too.”

He Yinghong said, “I fly very fast.”

Feng Wu continued, “A lot of beasts fly faster than you.”

He Yinghong fell silent. Knowing he could not out-argue Feng Wu, he could only let out a deep sigh and sit back down again.

At that moment, Shi Xiaoxing seemed to think of something. She suddenly opened her terminal.

“I just remembered—today is the official Sin Star broadcast day,” Shi Xiaoxing said as she quickly found the stream entrance. “Found it! There just happens to be a drop point near C City today.”

As she spoke, she immediately clicked into the livestream. The familiar figures instantly appeared on the screen.

“Look! It’s Bear Bro and An Cub!”

Hearing that, everyone gathered around at once, and Shi Xiaoxing simply enlarged the display.

Everyone unconsciously slowed their breathing, afraid of missing even the slightest detail.

Second by second, they watched as the giant bear brought the little cub toward the fissure, saw the unconscious giant octopus, saw Xiong Yingjun’s bear fur shed all over the place.

And they also witnessed the breathtaking scene of the little cub sealing the entire fissure by his own power.

At the exact moment the little black blob collapsed unconscious from exhaustion, Feng Wu finally lost control of his strength. The terminal he had been clutching to check the time let out a harsh creaking sound. The hard device cracked twice and split open with several fractures.

Without another moment’s hesitation, Feng Wu rushed out of the barrier, transformed into his wolf form, and sprinted toward the fissure.

Si Youlin reached out to stop him, but failed. When he saw that Feng Wu was fine even after leaving the barrier, he finally realized that all the Alpha energy outside had already been fully reclaimed by the little cub.

Feng Wu’s speed was terrifyingly fast. It had been a very long time since he had run at full strength. Ever since arriving on Sin Star, this was the first time.

The scenery around him sped backward in a blur, yet all he wanted was to go faster—faster still.

At last, he reached the fissure.

When Xiong Yingjun, who had been anxiously pacing in circles, saw the giant wolf, his eyes brightened. [Boss!]

Feng Wu stopped beside the fissure. The soft green light above it flowed cheerfully, but he did not spare it even a single glance.

Xiong Yingjun circled around the little cub in panic. [What do we do, Boss? An Cub passed out!]

Feng Wu transformed back into human form. His spiritual power entered Lin An’an’s body and swiftly checked him once. Only then did he finally relax a little.

“Ability overdrawn. Ability core intact,” he said quietly.

He took out some Red Spirit Fruit medicine the cub had prepared for him from his terminal space and carefully fed it into Lin An’an’s mouth.

Zhang Yifeng and Wuhu La, who had already woken up, came closer too. After confirming that Lin An’an was not in serious danger, they both visibly relaxed.

Feng Wu was still wearing the disguise mask he had not yet removed. After feeding the medicine to Lin An’an, he paused for a moment in thought, then took off the disguise mask from his face.

Xiong Yingjun did not understand. “Boss?”

“Take off your mask,” Feng Wu said.

Without asking questions, Xiong Yingjun obeyed.

When Zhang Yifeng saw this, he suddenly lifted his head and noticed the livestream camera hidden at a high point. He seemed to understand something. At once, he shifted from giant octopus form back into human form and removed his disguise mask too.

Wuhu La had no clue what was going on, but the moment Zhang Yifeng shot him a look, he followed his elder brother’s lead and removed his mask as well.

Feng Wu knew that this region was being livestreamed right now, and he knew all of them were currently under the gaze of the entire galaxy.

In the past, he had only appeared in the livestream in his second form. Only a small handful of people knew his true identity.

But now things were different.

Lin An’an’s power had been exposed to the public. Revealing their true identities at this moment would undoubtedly add another layer of protection around him.

Xiong Yingjun followed Zhang Yifeng’s gaze and finally noticed the livestream camera that had been with them the whole time.

His eyes widened. He finally understood his boss’s intention.

[Holy crap, did I see that right? Isn’t that Marshal Feng Wu?!]

[So the Wolf Bro who’s always been streaming with An Cub… is actually Marshal Feng?! [pupils shaking jpg]]

[I was wondering why that silver wolf always looked familiar! It was the scar on his face! It’s in exactly the same place as Marshal Feng’s scar!!!]

[Damn it, I really didn’t recognize him before [beating the ground jpg]]

[And that giant octopus! Did nobody recognize him either? That’s Zhang Yifeng!!!]

[Who’s Zhang Yifeng? [scratching head jpg]]

[The one who permanently holds first place on the star pirate wanted list!]

[Huh? Isn’t the star pirate wanted list issued by star pirates themselves? Since when do star pirates put bounties on star pirates? [cat stunned jpg]]

[I’m so moved. They’re exposing their identities now just to protect An Cub, aren’t they? qaq]

[The fact that An Cub can treat Alpha has already spread. There are definitely some extreme Alpha patients on Sin Star who’ll want to force An Cub to save people. Marshal Feng and the others revealing who they are is to shield An Cub from those people [covering mouth with tears jpg]]

[With all these big shots around An Cub, he’ll definitely be much safer!]

[An Cub, don’t be scared! If anyone dares try to force you, I’ll be the first one to say no!!]

[Exactly! Yes, An Cub’s ability can treat Alpha, but everyone please stay rational! There’s only one An Cub! He just sealed the fissure and already passed out… solving Alpha isn’t something that can be done in one or two days. We have to think long-term. Don’t ruin the bigger picture over small impulses!]

[I believe in An Cub. Those treatment fruits before were definitely one of the methods he came up with. Even if the effect wasn’t that dramatic, fruits can be eaten by a lot of people. First stabilize everyone so their conditions stop worsening, then slowly figure out a way to treat things on a large scale. Everyone, please stay calm and give An Cub and the others time!!!]

The barrage in the livestream was complete chaos.

After making sure the camera had captured his face, Feng Wu transformed back into wolf form and gently gripped the still-unconscious cub by the scruff, settling him at the back of his neck.

Zhang Yifeng transformed back into a giant octopus. When he saw that the livestream camera was still following them, he immediately frowned.

Wuhu La understood his meaning without a word being said.

In the next second, one of the squid’s tentacles lashed out and hit the livestream camera in midair with deadly accuracy.

Hearing the “corpse” of the camera hit the ground, Wuhu La drew his tentacle back in satisfaction and received a pleased look from his big brother in return.

The team leader behind the camera: “……”

An-another camera destroyed!

Those things were expensive, okay, you big shots!!!

By the time Lin An’an woke up again, he found that he had already been brought back to the villa in the wilderness farm.

He was still in monster cub form, lying on a soft pillow with a fluffy blanket draped over him.

The curtains in the room had been drawn tightly shut, but the darkness behind the slit in the curtains told him it was already deep into the night.

The emptiness and weakness inside his body made Lin An’an feel very uncomfortable. He slowly closed his eyes, recalling what had happened during the day.

The room door opened, and Lin An’an lifted his eyes to meet a familiar pair of golden eyes.

“You’re awake,” Feng Wu said, his brows relaxing slightly. “Do you want something to eat? There are still plenty of ingredients in the kitchen. I’ll go prepare something for you.”

With a puff-shu, Lin An’an changed back into human form. He shook his head. “I just want some water.”

His voice was hoarse.

There had been warm water prepared in the room the whole time. Feng Wu helped him sit up, poured him a cup, and handed it over.

Lin An’an raised his hand to take it, but his arm felt weak and limp, and he almost could not hold the cup steady. He nearly spilled it onto the blanket.

Feng Wu quickly steadied the cup for him. Inevitably, their hands brushed together.

Lin An’an froze for a second, but still accepted Feng Wu’s help and drank nearly half the cup.

“How do you feel?” Feng Wu asked.

“Other than being a little tired, I’m okay,” Lin An’an said with a smile, though the curve of his lips looked a little forced.

Feng Wu could see the forcedness in that smile. He wanted to say something, yet for a moment he did not know how to begin.

“You…” Feng Wu paused. “Do you want to rest a bit more?”

Lin An’an shook his head. “Brother Wolf, stay with me for a while.”

Feng Wu pulled over a stool and sat down by the bed.

Lin An’an suddenly drew the curtain aside and looked out the window. The night sky was full of stars. Tomorrow would be a good day.

The two of them sat there in silence for a very long time. Lin An’an kept staring at the sky until his eyes had gone painfully sore. Only then did he blink and look away.

“I got my memories back,” he said suddenly.

Feng Wu lifted his head slightly and listened quietly.

Lin An’an lowered his gaze a little. His lashes trembled like butterfly wings, giving him a fragile sort of air.

“I’m the Empire’s third prince,” he said suddenly.

Feng Wu replied, “I know.”

Lin An’an tugged the corner of his mouth. “Mm. I know that you know too.”

He had always known—known since the beginning when his memories first began returning—but because his memories had been incomplete all along, the identity had never felt fully real to him. He had never truly placed himself into the role of the Third Prince.

But now, all of his memories had returned.

He knew he was the Empire’s Third Prince, Xia Lin. But he also knew that Lin An’an’s identity and experiences had not been fake either.

After being thrown into Sin Star’s Poison Mist Forest, he awakened his ability at the brink of death—but at the same time lost his memory and went to another world.

He spent over twenty years in that world living as Lin An’an, and only then returned to this world that had originally been his.

Lin An’an lifted his head again and looked toward the star-filled night sky. Among those bright stars, one shone with a light that belonged to the Empire’s Capital Star.

He was Lin An’an, and also Xia Lin—the Empire’s Third Prince.

“I want to go back to Capital Star,” Lin An’an said softly, so softly it almost sounded like he was talking to himself rather than to anyone else.

“I’m going back to Capital Star,” he said.

No matter how little favor he had ever received, no matter that the outside world had already spread rumors of his death, he was still the Empire’s Third Prince.

Lin An’an could not bear to watch the Empire—no, even the whole galaxy—be reduced to that shattered, rotten state because of Xia Yuanhan and the people from the X Galaxy.

Feng Wu looked at him steadily.

The boy’s voice was still hoarse, and still full of exhaustion and weariness, but none of that could hide the resolve in his words or the fury buried beneath the calm surface.

Lin An’an drew his gaze from the stars and fixed it on Feng Wu.

He did not speak, but the question in his eyes was clear enough.

The dark golden eyes trembled slightly. Feng Wu suddenly pulled his chair back, then dropped to one knee before the bed.

He took Lin An’an’s hand hanging at the bedside, lowered his head, and pressed his forehead against the cool back of it.

A bright white light flashed by.

When Feng Wu raised his head, his golden eyes stared deeply into Lin An’an’s strikingly bright black ones.

“I, Feng Wu, in the name of the entire Empire’s First Legion,” he said in a low voice, steady and powerful, “swear to follow Your Highness the Third Prince until the very last moment of my life.”

The curtains stirred though there was no wind. The spiritual contract was formed.

Lin An’an looked at Feng Wu. He heard his own voice say, “Okay.”

And he also heard the violently pounding heartbeat in his chest—clear and unmistakable.

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