Monster Cub Live Stream – CH63

Chapter 63

The moment he heard that voice, Xia Changluo’s pupils contracted sharply.

This was… A’Lin’s voice?

At the same time, a pair of hands suddenly rested over his own where they lay on his lap, then gently clasped them. Xia Changluo could almost picture it—someone crouching in front of him, holding his hands and looking up at him.

This was Xia Lin—his favorite little brother—using the posture he always took whenever he came to visit him while he was ill. The slim young man would ask in a voice full of worry, “Big Brother, are you okay?”

The voice in reality overlapped with the one in his memory. The young man crouched before him, his voice trembling slightly. “Big Brother—”

“A’Lin…” Xia Changluo murmured. There was shock in his voice, and joy, but even more than that, concern. Since he could not see the invisible person, he could only look straight ahead, his gaze unfocused. “Y-you… are you alright?”

Xia Changluo wanted to lift a hand and pat Lin An’an on the head, but then remembered there were still people outside keeping a close watch on his every move. That guard could not hear his voice, but he could see his movements. If he raised his hand now in a clear gesture of affection, the other party would definitely grow suspicious.

With that in mind, Xia Changluo forced down the urgency in his heart. However, the hands resting on his lap moved ever so slightly, turning over to grip Lin An’an’s hands in return.

“I’m fine,” Lin An’an said softly. “You’re the one I’m worried about, Big Brother. We haven’t seen each other for that long—how did you end up like this?”

As he spoke, his power slipped from his palms and into Xia Changluo’s body.

Xia Changluo could not see him, but he could feel that gentle energy. He was startled. “A’Lin, this is… your ability? You awakened? A healing ability?”

Lin An’an gave a soft yes. But as his power moved through the other man’s body, his expression darkened more and more.

Xia Changluo was sincerely happy for him. “That’s wonderful!”

“Big Brother.” Lin An’an’s tone turned grave. “Do you know what’s wrong with your body?”

“The healers said my heart condition has worsened,” Xia Changluo replied, hearing something strange in his tone. “Why? Is that not the case?”

“No.” Lin An’an tightened his grip on his hands. “Big Brother, you’ve been poisoned.”

Xia Changluo was shocked. “Poisoned? How could I—”

But very quickly, he seemed to think of something, and his expression darkened. “It was Xia Yuanhan.”

“This poison is very strange. It doesn’t create any obvious symptoms of poisoning inside the body. All it does is draw out the illnesses already hidden in the person, or worsen whatever conditions they already have,” Lin An’an said in a low voice. “For example, you already had heart disease, Big Brother. After consuming this poison, the symptoms of your heart condition became much more severe.”

Xia Changluo murmured, “So that’s how it is… No wonder the healers said my illness was strange. The tests showed it was still under control, but the actual symptoms were far more severe than the results suggested.”

Lin An’an lowered his eyes, concealing the vicious chill in them.

If he had never encountered this kind of poison before, he probably would have made the same mistake as Xia Changluo’s healers and assumed it was simply a worsening of his heart condition.

“It’s alright, Big Brother. This poison can be cured,” Lin An’an comforted him. “I’ll help remove some of it right now.”

But Xia Changluo suddenly pressed down on his hands in return, his tone sharp with urgency. “No. Not now.”

Lin An’an was just about to ask why, when he remembered that his elder brother was still under Xia Yuanhan’s surveillance. Given Xia Yuanhan’s personality, the surveillance could not possibly be limited to controlling his daily movements. His condition, his social interactions, even his use of his terminal… all of it was probably under watch.

“If the poison is removed now, Xia Yuanhan will notice,” Xia Changluo said. “You didn’t show yourself directly, which means he did something to you, and you still can’t reveal yourself in front of him, right? So don’t detoxify me yet. We can’t let him discover that you’re here.”

Seeing that Lin An’an remained silent, Xia Changluo added, “A’Lin, I know my own body best. I won’t die anytime soon. And since you chose to come back this time, you must have some kind of plan, right? Don’t let this little matter of mine ruin it.”

Lin An’an took a deep breath. “Fine. I won’t remove the poison yet. But I can help block part of its effect on your body. The poison will still remain in you, but for the time being, you won’t feel nearly this miserable.”

Xia Changluo hesitated for a moment. “Will it be noticed?”

“No.” Lin An’an’s tone was certain, and he smiled. “Don’t worry, Big Brother. A’Lin is now a very, very, very amazing healer!”

“Alright.” Xia Changluo’s fingers moved slightly, as though he wanted to pat Lin An’an on the head like he used to, but in the end he only brushed lightly across the back of his hand twice. “Big Brother believes you.”

Their time together was limited. After quickly helping Xia Changluo suppress part of the poison’s effects, the conversation moved to the main matter.

“You’ve noticed something strange about Xia Yuanhan already, Big Brother,” Lin An’an said. Hearing Xia Changluo respond with a quiet yes, he got straight to the point. “Xia Yuanhan has been working with people from the X-system. Alpha Syndrome is a kind of radiation illness from their world.”

Xia Changluo cried out in disbelief. “How is that possible?!”

Feng Wu, who had been listening the whole time, spoke again, giving Xia Changluo a complete account of everything they knew about Xia Yuanhan and Alpha Syndrome.

They did not have much time, so Feng Wu’s explanation was brief and efficient. Even so, Xia Changluo understood.

He took two deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down at once. “What do you need me to do?”

“Originally, we planned to work with you, Big Brother, to build a transit station for Alpha patients after they leave Sin Star,” Lin An’an sighed. “But from the looks of it now, that won’t work.”

Xia Changluo gave a quiet hum. “Indeed. Xia Yuanhan keeps me under very strict watch. There’s no way he’d let something like that pass through my hands.”

Feng Wu said, “Your Highness, there is one more matter. At present, only you can help us accomplish it.”

Xia Changluo asked, “What is it?”

Feng Wu placed something invisible into Xia Changluo’s hand. It was so tiny—barely the size of a grain of rice—and so light he could hardly feel it there at all.

“What is this?” he asked.

“An invisible detection device,” Feng Wu said. “Custom-made. Surveillance systems won’t detect it. I need you to put it inside Xia Yuanhan’s room.”

Since Xia Changluo and Xia Yuanhan’s rooms were on the same floor, he was the most suitable person for this task.

Xia Changluo did not ask why. He simply nodded. “Alright. Once I’ve placed it there, how do I contact you? My terminal—no, all electronic devices around me are being monitored by Xia Yuanhan.”

“We won’t use those,” Lin An’an said. “They’re not safe. But we can use a mental link.”

“A mental link?” Xia Changluo sounded confused. “Isn’t that only for a mech pilot and their mech?”

“Yes, normally. But this one has been modified so it can be used between people,” Lin An’an explained. “But the requirements are very strict. Both sides have to trust each other completely, and there can’t be any mental resistance during the process of linking. Big Brother, you…”

Before he could finish, Xia Changluo answered firmly, “I can do it.”

Lin An’an smiled. “Good.”

The method of establishing the link was actually very simple. Lin An’an stood up, leaned forward slightly, and gently pressed his forehead to Xia Changluo’s.

Mental energy, invisible to the naked eye, flowed and blended together. In less than half a minute, the connection was established.

“There’s a limit to how many times we can use it,” Lin An’an said. “Go check your mental core. There should be a thread of my mental energy inside it. Each time we use the link to communicate, that thread will wear down a little. Once it disappears completely, the link will break.”

Xia Changluo nodded slightly. “Understood. I’ll use it sparingly.”

“You don’t have to be too sparing,” Lin An’an said at once. “I’ll find a way to come see you again. When I do, I can replenish it.”

Xia Changluo gave a quiet laugh and lightly squeezed Lin An’an’s hand. “Alright. I’ll listen to you.”

Then his expression suddenly turned serious. “A’Lin, you still haven’t told me what exactly Xia Yuanhan did to you.”

Lin An’an pressed his lips together. “It’s already over.”

If he said it was nothing, it would sound too fake. But he didn’t actually want to tell Xia Changluo the full truth right now. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust him. It was because Xia Changluo’s health was poor, and he was afraid the emotional blow would be too much for him.

“A’Lin.” Xia Changluo spoke slowly, but with unmistakable firmness. “Tell me.”

Though his tone was gentle, it carried a force that made Lin An’an feel like refusing would be the same as doing something wrong.

He knew his elder brother well. Whenever Xia Changluo used this tone, it meant he was bringing out his big-brother authority. In the past, the moment he heard it, he would instinctively shrink his neck and prepare to be scolded.

Lin An’an suddenly didn’t know how to begin. He could only turn to Feng Wu for help.

Feng Wu took over. “I’ll explain.”

He seemed especially skilled at taking complicated matters and reducing them to their clearest form. The months Lin An’an had spent on Sin Star became, in his mouth, a short but very clear summary. In only a few lines, he explained what Xia Yuanhan had done to Lin An’an and everything they had accomplished on Sin Star in those months.

As Xia Changluo listened, his grip on Lin An’an’s hands tightened unconsciously.

It hurt a little, but Lin An’an said nothing. Lowering his head, he sneaked a look at Xia Changluo’s increasingly dark expression and, oddly enough, felt a little guilty.

—No, wait. The one who had done wrong wasn’t him at all. Why was he the one feeling guilty?

By the time Feng Wu finished speaking, Xia Changluo’s face had turned black as the bottom of a pot. In those black eyes so much like Lin An’an’s, a storm seemed to be gathering.

He closed his eyes. When he opened them again some time later, all the emotion had been hidden away.

Xia Changluo slowly exhaled.

Lin An’an had expected him to curse Xia Yuanhan as a beast, or to ask about curing Alpha…

But Xia Changluo brought up neither.

After taking in everything Feng Wu had told him, his dark eyes softened toward the empty space in front of him.

Lin An’an tilted his face up and looked back at him, as though Xia Changluo truly could see him.

Then he heard his elder brother speak, his voice full of pride and tenderness.

“Our A’Lin is amazing. Big Brother is very, very proud of you.”

Lin An’an’s eyes widened slightly.

That gentle voice circled around his ears and landed lightly in his heart, like a tiny cotton hammer tapping it once.

He lowered his head in sudden disarray, his nose stinging and his eyes burning.

But inside, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling happy—so happy it felt like bubbles were popping up everywhere in his chest.

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