It was still quite early before midnight, and Number 9 suggested that they shouldn’t bother going back to the inn to rest. Instead, they should find a bar to sit and wait.
The night air on Planet Blackpool was bitingly cold, but inside the bar, it was as warm as spring. A roaring charcoal fire burned in the lobby’s fireplace, and surprisingly, more than half the seats were occupied; from the chatter, it seemed everyone was waiting for the midnight Vulcan Festival.
Evan had the bartender arrange a private booth in the innermost corner. Number 9 and the little mermaid had to take off their hats and scarves, and their plush cloaks had to be removed as well, fully exposing their appearances. They didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
Once seated, Number 9 took charge and ordered four beers based on everyone’s tastes: a specialty Dragon Race dark beer for LAN, a high-alcohol yellow beer for Evan, a popular refreshing white beer for the little mermaid, and a very sweet fruit beer for himself.
“Can you drink?” An Ming asked curiously.
“Solid foods like fruit and snacks don’t work, but liquids are fine,” Number 9 replied smugly. “After drinking, it can be 100% discharged from the body.”
“Wow,” An Ming marveled once again. In his mind, Number 9 was already no different from a real human being.
“Then guess where it’s discharged from?” Number 9 asked mysteriously.
The little mermaid rolled his eyes and cooperated, answering, “Your big d*ck.”
Number 9 immediately gave him a thumbs up. “An Ming, you really know how to give face. You’re my truest brother.”
The little mermaid cackled, and the two clinked glasses in silent understanding.
LAN was in a very good mood, smiling without saying a word. Evan, however, had a dark face.
After taking a few sips of their respective drinks, Number 9 spoke again: “Although it might be a bit strange, I want to say that I can discharge it right now… and it’s just as clean as when I drank it… No, that won’t do, I need to manufacture some ‘body fluids’ for myself.”
An Ming: “Body fluids?”
Number 9: “Saliva, stupid! Oh right, right, there’s also that white stuff… emm, I need to look up some data… make it smell nice.”
He turned his head: “Big Bug, can I borrow some of yours tonight? I need to analyze the components. I’m afraid one sample won’t be enough, so you’d better provide a lot…”
“…Get out.” The military Zerg’s temple throbbed; he looked like he was about to explode.
Just then, a commotion erupted at the entrance. Six fierce-looking, muscular armed soldiers barged in.
They sat down brazenly at a square table in the middle of the lobby and slammed the table hard. “Where’s the bartender?”
“Coming, coming! What would you gentlemen like to drink?” The bartender greeted them with a smile.
The booth was semi-open, and Evan, sitting on the outside, quickly leaned out for a glance before turning back. “Praetorian Guard.”
An Ming’s heart sank. He looked at LAN, who appeared unbothered.
“Bring six servings of the best and most expensive wine in the shop!” one of the harsh-voiced soldiers shouted he seemed to be the captain.
“Right away! Coming right up!” The bartender left and returned shortly after. “Please enjoy, officers!”
“You, stay right here. No need to wait on others.” The harsh-voiced man overbearingly commandeered the bartender but didn’t mention paying extra for the service.
They hadn’t had more than a few sips before they began cursing like drunks: “Damn it! I’ve been looking all night and haven’t found a thing!”
“What are you gentlemen looking for?” the bartender asked, playing along.
“A Mermaid Omega! We’ve been looking for months! People at the rally this afternoon said a new one appeared on Blackpool, but now there’s not even a shadow of it!”
The bartender replied, “There is such a rumor. I also heard this mermaid has exquisite beauty and is protected by several bodyguards.”
“So what! Won’t he still have to surrender? The few of us are five A-ranks and one S-rank the most elite Alphas of the Human Empire!”
An Ming listened in silence, looking at LAN with deep concern.
“Don’t be afraid,” LAN said.
An Ming nodded. He wasn’t particularly worried about the bartender selling them out; they were heavily covered when they entered and only took off their hats after the drinks arrived. As long as LAN didn’t actively seek trouble, they should be fine.
But he just had a bad feeling.
Outside, the Praetorian guards continued their ruckus, showing no regard for the public setting.
“Damn, what a shitty job! I’m starting to doubt if there are even any living Mermaid Omegas left in the galaxy. Our ‘Good Mark’ is just dreaming!”
“Exactly! The military pay would have to double for this to be worth it!”
“But once we catch one, it’ll be a fortune. We won’t have to worry for the rest of our lives!”
The bartender asked, “Speaking of Emperor Mark, I heard he plans to appoint himself Grand General soon. Officers, is this true? He’s just a Beta; that’s quite rare!”
The harsh voice replied, “You’re in the public star zone of Blackpool, why do you care about our Human Empire? Besides, didn’t an Omega used to lead before?”
He added, “Fck, letting an O who gets fcked lead an army into battle how unlucky! Luckily, that guy named Lan is already dead. Traitor!”
After speaking, he spat fiercely on the ground.
The bartender was puzzled. “But I heard that if it weren’t for Grand General Lan Feng turning the tide, it would have been difficult for the Human and Zerg Empires to destroy the Dragon Race in such a short time. How did he become a traitor later, and why is he dead?”
An Ming glanced at the three people beside him; all were expressionless.
He was internally bewildered. Who was this Grand General Lan Feng? He sounded like a major character, so why wasn’t he mentioned in the original book at all?
Also, LAN and the others seemed very familiar with Emperor Mark and the Human Empire, so why did they have no reaction to the name ‘Lan Feng’?
What a crappy book…
“Of course he’s a traitor! Who else is as cold-blooded and heartless as him?” The harsh-voiced man was eager to talk. “Speaking of which, he was f*cking unlucky. First, he was forced to face his father’s tribe on the battlefield facing his old man head-on. After killing his father, he suddenly regretted it and gave the Dragon Race a chance to counterattack, which killed the former Emperor, Estel… The former Emperor was so damn unlucky to have such a niece/nephew who was neither here nor there! Luckily, our Good Mark inherited his brother’s throne and exiled him directly… Hahaha!”
“Is that so?” The bartender said in shock. “But I do know a bit about Lan Feng’s family relations. His father was the Dragon General Lans, and his mother was the Human Princess Manshu-Estel. The former Emperor Estel was his uncle, and Mark-Estel is too… Speaking of which, Emperor Mark is quite ruthless; Lan Feng was his own nephew…”
“That Lan fellow was the first to ignore family ties, so you can’t blame our Good Mark for being unkind.” The harsh-voiced man snorted.
“But I also heard that Grand General Lan Feng went into self-exile. It’s said his subordinates were extremely loyal and would follow him to the death… He himself had a rare SSS-rank mental power. Emperor Mark is just a Beta; would he dare to punish him?” the bartender added.
The harsh voice said, “Self-exile or forced exile, what’s the difference? Anyway, his spaceship crashed, and he died in space a year ago! Hahaha!”
The guards laughed together, their laughter full of schadenfreude.
The bartender chuckled along, though he didn’t seem to entirely agree.
The guard continued mocking: “Hey, you know what? Even if the ship didn’t crash, his mecha would have exploded, or he’d have food poisoning any way would do. Scum like him doesn’t deserve to live in this world…”
The more An Ming heard, the more he felt something was wrong. His heart raced. An Omega Grand General? SSS-rank? Father from the Dragon Race, mother from the Humans?
…Surname Lan?
He looked at the three beside him in panic, only to realize with a shock that Evan had completely transformed into a Zerg!
The Zerg rose high from his seat as black armor grew segment by segment. His arms rapidly transformed into sharp bone blades, and he soon became an alien figure that almost reached the ceiling.
He hunched his back, his entire head a menacing mix of black and red. Two large and four small vertical pupils were so crimson they looked like they were dripping blood, revealing four rows of dense, sharp teeth.
“I’m going to kill them!” A coarse, muffled voice erupted from deep within the alien’s throat.
“Stay calm, Big Bug!” Number 9’s finger produced a needle-like object, which he plunged into a gap in the Zerg’s neck armor with lightning speed.
“Calm down quickly!”
Whatever Number 9 injected worked instantly. The alien Zerg went limp and fell straight onto Number 9.
He had fainted.
“Ugh…” Number 9 looked delicate and beautiful, but his strength was immense. He hauled Evan back into an upright position. “What a waste! I was supposed to save this for before bed…”
LAN hadn’t moved since the beginning.
He held his glass, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. The next moment, the sound of a glass breaking came but it was from the neighboring booth.
It wasn’t crushed; it was smashed. A crisp “shatter” rang out clearly even in the noisy bar.
“What was that noise?” the guards noticed.
An Ming’s whole body froze.
The bartender: “Oh, haha, it’s the guests in the booth. They probably dropped something accidentally; I’ll have them pay for it later.”
There was no more sound from the neighboring booth. They didn’t seem to want to draw attention either.
The guards finally realized they were being too loud and stopped that topic, turning instead to talk about the Mermaid Omega pheromone extract they obtained a few days ago.
“The kick is so damn strong. I was soaked this morning, and I was still hard at noon…”
“Just wait until we catch one and give it to the Emperor. Imagine how much fun he’ll have every day…”
The foul language could no longer hold An Ming’s attention. He suppressed the massive unease in his heart and asked worriedly, “LAN, are you okay?”
Hearing the little mermaid’s call, the hybrid dragon-human, who had been like a stone statue, finally reacted.
He lifted his face and turned toward the little mermaid.
Without his golden hair draped over his face, An Ming discovered that LAN’s face and neck were already covered in deep black dragon scales.
His back also began to heave like a living thing, his dragon wings silently screaming to tear through the flesh.
His green-gold vertical pupils were narrowed into two thin lines; the inhuman sensation was overwhelming and terrifying.
“Holy crap, why are you guys taking turns transforming!” Number 9 had just managed to get Evan back to human form when he was nearly shocked into a system crash by the current scene.
An Ming sensed that LAN was in a bad state. Sure enough, Number 9 shouted, “LAN is going to go berserk!”
An Ming was at a loss. “What should I do…?”
Number 9 turned pale with fright. “We can’t let him go berserk! The secret that he isn’t dead can’t be discovered! Comfort him!”
An Ming was so scared he reached out, not knowing where to touch LAN.
“Stupid!” Number 9 reminded him. “Oral pheromone injection!”
An Ming was so nervous his brain short-circuited. He completely forgot that this meant a temporary marking.
Oral… oral…
He closed his eyes, steeled his heart, threw himself onto LAN, cupped that scale-covered face, and kissed him.