Monster Cub Live Stream – CH5

Chapter 5

After the initial shock, Feng Wu’s very first reaction was to scoop the little cub into his arms and shield him from the gazes of the people around them.

Both Feng Wu and Xiong Yingjun were tall and striking figures, the sort that naturally drew attention in a crowd. Quite a few people had already been secretly watching them, and naturally they had also seen the scene of the little cub ripening the tomato seeds.

Plant-type ability users were exceedingly rare throughout the entire Empire. Every single one of them was regarded as a treasure of the Empire.

And up to this point, Feng Wu had never heard of any plant-type ability user being sent to Sin Star. This little cub was very likely the first—and at present the only—one.

Rare things attracted attention, and among those paying attention, there would certainly be no shortage of ill-intentioned people.

Greed and calculation were mixed into the gazes around them. Feng Wu blocked those looks from reaching the little cub, while Xiong Yingjun released his mental power in full and glared at the surrounding crowd.

Certain people who had been about to step forward abruptly halted, cold sweat breaking out as they were shaken by the overwhelming mental pressure. They immediately came to their senses and withdrew those little greedy thoughts.

Blocked from view, Lin An’an had no idea what was going on. He could only lift his head to look at Feng Wu, his bright black bean-like eyes full of confusion.

Feng Wu explained in a low voice, “Plant-type abilities are very rare. You’re still young, so it’s inevitable that some people will set their sights on you.”

Lin An’an understood at once.

Right now, neither his ability nor his mental power had fully recovered, so he truly did not have much ability to protect himself. Still, it was not a huge problem. At his current rate of recovery, it would not take too long for him to return to his peak condition.

Xiong Yingjun patted his chest and said, “But Little An Cub, don’t be afraid. With your big brothers here, no one will be able to do anything to you.”

The little cub let out a small yingji.

Of course. His Brother Wolf was the greatest king of the wilderness, after all!

The auction was about to begin, and the two men were preparing to leave the trading hall with the little cub when an elderly man approached them head-on.

“Please wait, all three of you!”

Xiong Yingjun stepped forward. “What is it?”

The old man was plainly dressed, leaning on a cane, and walked with a slight tremble. His tone sounded extremely gentle and approachable. “Pardon my asking, but those tomatoes… would you be willing to sell me some?”

Lin An’an had not been the one to stimulate the tomatoes’ growth, and the seeds had not been bought by him either, so he could not make the decision on his own. He looked to Feng Wu. “Boss?”

Feng Wu lowered his head to the little cub. “An Cub, you decide.”

Lin An’an shook his head. “Yingji.”

His ability had not recovered yet. Ripening even that single tomato vine had already exhausted all the ability reserves he currently had. Besides, the tomatoes were meant to be kept for “Fourth Brother,” so they could not be sold casually.

Seeing this, Feng Wu said to the old man, “Sorry. An Cub says they’re not for sale.”

After speaking, he moved past the old man, intending to leave with Lin An’an.

Xiong Yingjun followed beside them and suddenly said in a low voice, “Boss, don’t you think that old man looks kind of familiar?”

Feng Wu thought so too, but for the moment he could not recall where he had seen the man before.

The old man still had not given up. “I don’t need many—five tomatoes will do!”

Feng Wu did not stop walking. The old man grew anxious. “Two, then. Just two! My wife’s body is failing. She used to love tomatoes. I just want to fulfill her wish one more time before she leaves, let her be happy once…”

Lin An’an’s heart was suddenly stirred.

Noticing that his clothes had been lightly tugged, Feng Wu lowered his head and saw the little cub looking at him, a trace of reluctance and pity in those bean-like eyes. “Yingji.”

Feng Wu stopped and turned around, nodding to the old man. “An Cub says it’s okay.”

The old man looked overjoyed and repeatedly said, “Thank you, thank you all!”

Feng Wu picked two large, bright red tomatoes. The old man took the initiative to ask, “Name your price.”

Feng Wu lowered his head to the little cub again. After thinking for a moment, Lin An’an extended two little tentacles and waved them. “Yingji.”

Twenty star coins.

If this had been in his original world, selling two tomatoes for twenty star coins would probably have gotten him pelted with rotten eggs and cursed as a heartless profiteer.

But fruits and vegetables in this world seemed to be quite precious, so charging twenty star coins should not be too outrageous… right?

Lin An’an felt a little guilty, thinking that if the old man haggled, he would take the opportunity to back down and sell them more cheaply.

Although he could not understand the cub’s strange language, the old man saw those two tentacles and felt that he understood. After asking Feng Wu for the newly opened account information, he transferred the payment without hesitation.

“Beep—Your account has received 200,000 star coins.”

T-two hundred thousand?

Lin An’an reflexively touched his ear, suspecting that his hearing had broken.

The old man carefully accepted the two tomatoes, thanked them once more, and was just about to leave when Lin An’an hurriedly tried to call him back. “Yingji jiji!”

The old man asked, “Is there something else?”

Lin An’an pointed at the string of zeroes on the terminal and tried to explain with a flurry of yingying jiji, but no matter what he did, he simply could not produce words that others could understand. He could not help feeling anxious.

Feng Wu spoke for him. “An Cub thinks you transferred too much.”

The old man paused, then smiled at once. “Not too much. I’ve made a mess of my life, but the one thing I did manage was earning a bit of money. Besides, this is a gift for my wife. No matter how much it costs, I think it’s worth it.”

Lin An’an was stunned by those words and missed his chance to stop the old man. He looked at the terminal screen, using his little tentacle to count the zeroes in the account balance, and felt that this world was unbelievably surreal.

Since when had making money become this easy?

Watching the old man’s departing back, a thoughtful look flashed through Feng Wu’s golden eyes. He thought he might know who the old man was.

If he remembered correctly, this elderly man should be named Shang Youyuan, the Empire’s former richest man.

It was said that after both he and his wife developed Alpha Syndrome and came to Sin Star, their three children had already begun tearing each other apart over his fortune, fighting so fiercely that it had become nothing short of a farce—and one that still had not ended even now.

Xiong Yingjun smacked his lips. “Boss, can you understand what Little An Cub is saying?”

Feng Wu shook his head. “No.”

That only made Xiong Yingjun even more curious. “Then how do you know what he means when he keeps going yingying jiji?”

Feng Wu said only one sentence: “He’s easy to read.” After that, he said no more, leaving Xiong Yingjun frowning in total bewilderment.

Feng Wu and Xiong Yingjun arrived at the venue just before the auction began.

Because a supposed miracle medicine for Alpha Syndrome was being auctioned, C City’s auction this time was packed with people. Even people from other Sin Star cities had traveled long distances to come.

Everyone knew perfectly well that the medicine most likely had no effect, but there were still people unwilling to give up even a 0.01% hope.

The auction hall was completely full, yet there were only three doses of the miracle medicine.

Lin An’an had originally been sitting on Feng Wu’s shoulder, but later the crowd became too dense and too cramped, so Feng Wu held him in his hand instead, lest the delicate little cub be squashed flat into a cub pancake by the crowd.

Fourth Brother’s condition was extremely dire. Both Xiong Yingjun and Feng Wu had already resolved that no matter how many star coins it cost, they had to secure one dose.

The miracle medicine was the final item up for auction. The three doses would be bid on together, and the top three bidders, ranked from highest price to lowest, would each receive one dose.

When Lin An’an first heard the words “miracle medicine for Alpha,” he was still thinking how strange this world was—that a miracle medicine would appear at an auction instead of in a hospital.

And when he heard everyone bidding, the inexperienced little cub was so shocked that his tentacles nearly curled back in.

Three hundred million, two hundred eighty million, and two hundred fifty million—that was the final price of the three doses.

Feng Wu spent two hundred eighty million, and Xiong Yingjun had already muttered “That’s fucking expensive” who knew how many times.

The price itself was only part of the issue. The main thing was that they knew perfectly well there was a ninety percent chance the medicine was useless, yet they still had no choice but to spend so much money and willingly be taken in.

Three complete suckers, plain and simple.

After the auction ended, the staff led them to one of the rooms backstage at the auction house, where the three buyers of the miracle medicine met one another.

By sheer coincidence, the one who had spent three hundred million was someone they had just met earlier—the rich man who had bought two tomatoes for two hundred thousand star coins.

Lin An’an’s eyes lit up, and he waved a tentacle at the old man in greeting. “Yingji!”

The old man—Shang Youyuan—smiled and said, “We meet again.”

The third buyer was a stranger, a tall man with a hard, stern expression. The exposed part of his arms was bulging with muscle, and twisted tattoos coiled across them, making him look extremely fierce and not easy to provoke.

Before handing over the miracle medicine to them, the staff produced three agreements and said, “Please decide first whether you wish to sign this agreement.”

Feng Wu swiftly scanned the contents of the agreement, his brows drawing together. “After use, the efficacy is not guaranteed, and all consequences must be borne by the user?”

“Correct,” the staff member said. “Those are the terms set by the person providing the medicine.”

The tattooed third buyer asked, “And if we don’t sign?”

The staff member said, “The seller’s condition is that if you don’t sign, they won’t sell.”

At those words, both Feng Wu and Xiong Yingjun’s expressions turned rather unpleasant. Shang Youyuan, however, remained calm and was the first to sign the agreement.

—At worst, it would only mean death.

In the end, Feng Wu and the tattooed man also signed and received that tiny pill, smaller than a fingernail.

Having witnessed the entire process, Lin An’an was both shocked and puzzled, and became even more curious about this strange illness called “Alpha Syndrome.”

What kind of disease could make a pill with no guaranteed effect sell for the astronomical price of three hundred million?

The staff member put away the agreements. “If needed, the venue can provide complimentary security services and arrange for an escort to take each of you to your specified destination.”

Feng Wu said, “No need.”

The tattooed man also declined. Only Shang Youyuan, after hesitating for a moment, accepted the venue’s goodwill.

Although everyone at the auction had worn the disguise masks provided by the venue, it was still possible for their real identities to be discovered. And the miracle medicine was far too precious and unusual—there would inevitably be people with ill intentions.

Unlike Feng Wu and the tattooed man, Shang Youyuan was only an elderly man, and his ability to protect himself was relatively weak, so he could only choose the safer option.

The “Fourth Brother” Feng Wu had mentioned lived in C City. After obtaining the medicine, Feng Wu and Xiong Yingjun did not linger and went straight to Fourth Brother’s residence.

Fourth Brother’s full name was Si Youlin. Like Xiong Yingjun, he was one of Feng Wu’s adjutants. Feng Wu had barely been diagnosed with Alpha and sent to Sin Star before Si Youlin and Xiong Yingjun followed after him.

No one had expected that Si Youlin would be the first among them to face life and death directly.

By the time the three of them arrived, Si Youlin was lying in bed, his face deathly pale, his breathing weak as a thread, so thin that his cheeks had sunk inward.

Seeing that it was Feng Wu, Si Youlin struggled to get up from the bed. “Boss…”

Feng Wu stopped him. “Don’t move.”

Xiong Yingjun hurried over and pressed down on Si Youlin’s shoulder. “Good heavens, Fourth Brother, you’re already in this state and you still want to move? Lie down properly for me!”

Si Youlin forced a smile. Seeing that their spirits were low, he instead turned around and comforted them. “Alright, this day was bound to come sooner or later. I was mentally prepared long ago. You don’t need to worry too much about me.”

Xiong Yingjun’s eyes had already reddened. Hearing Si Youlin say this, the burly man, tall as a mountain, could no longer hold it in and burst into tears with a wail.

“Fourth Brother—Fourth Brother, how could you be so cruel! How can you bear to just leave me, Boss, and Second Brother behind like this—!”

Feng Wu’s temple twitched at the sound. “Lower your voice.”

Xiong Yingjun gave a loud, hiccupping sniff. Remembering that Fourth Brother was unwell and could not handle too much noise, he finally managed to suppress his crying.

Curled up in Feng Wu’s palm, Lin An’an, however, felt deeply confused.

He was already so gravely ill—so why was he still not being taken to the hospital? Why was there no healer by his side? Why was there not even a single caregiver staying with him?

Feng Wu sat down beside the bed. Taking advantage of the moment, Lin An’an climbed onto the edge of the bed and secretly stretched out a little tentacle to touch one of Si Youlin’s fingers.

—Severe multi-organ failure. If treatment were abandoned, he would last at most one week.

But in an interstellar era, this illness could hardly be called a “terminal disease.” Even without a healing-type ability user nearby, one could still slowly recover to a state of normal daily life through the use of a treatment pod combined with medication.

Lin An’an did not understand why they had chosen to give up treatment and instead place their hopes on a sky-high miracle drug worth 280 million star coins that did not even guarantee any effect.

The little cub looked miserable and troubled. What on earth was going on here?!

The discomfort in his body had dulled Si Youlin’s senses somewhat, so he did not notice the faintly soft touch on his finger at all.

Feng Wu took out the pill worth 280 million. “You can decide for yourself whether or not to take this miracle medicine.”

“There’s nothing to decide.” Si Youlin smiled. “Even if this medicine doesn’t work, all that means is continuing to wait for death. But if I take it, maybe there’ll still be a sliver of hope.”

Feng Wu lowered his eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions surging within them. His hand hanging by his side clenched tightly into a fist, and his hard nails pressed several crescent-shaped marks into his palm, drawing blood.

—Sorrow, grief, rage, and yet, beneath it all, a profound helplessness.