The galaxy stretched out vast and boundless as celestial debris of various sizes skimmed past the starship. Reflected on the glass window was a handsome man’s face.
Cheering human voices, roaring star beasts, and the sharp bang of the auction hammer—this auction was fast approaching its grand finale.
Having already fulfilled his task of buying a birthday gift for his younger sister, he was currently leaning absently against the observation window. His long legs were crossed casually, his gaze resting on today’s main attraction: a massive star beast that had just been hauled up by mechanical chains.
Locked inside a specially reinforced cage, the beast had only three remaining eyes, all blood-red. Its breathing was heavy, dripping with blood-laced saliva, and a massive shock collar was clamped around its neck. Its tough armor had been cruelly peeled open, and one of its severed tails stood stiffly upright, barely retaining a shadow of its former majestic menace.
Ever since the Empire and the Federation signed a joint agreement banning the keeping and breeding of star beasts, the trade had moved underground. Chu Yanyi hadn’t seen such a fierce star beast in a long time, so he straightened his back to inspect it closely.
“Are you back with us? Still thinking about Ying Yu?” A female Omega sitting on the sofa rested her chin on her hand and let out a soft “tch.” “The guy is dead and buried. You just attended his funeral, so you can finally put your mind at ease, right?”
Sitting beside her, a handsome male Beta chatting with Chu Yanqi covered his mouth: “Eh? Are you talking about that Ying Yu who always went against you and Mr. Chu? Did he actually die?”
The crowd around them burst into laughter: “You are way out of the loop! How long ago was that?”
“It’s just my brother who’s gone completely obsessed. Claiming that without a body or a funeral photo—plus with Ying Yu’s lover nowhere to be found—he thinks the guy isn’t dead yet.” Chu Yanqi shrugged, the burn scar across her back looking exceptionally gruesome.
“I’ve figured it out: unless Ying Yu dies directly at his hands, he will never rest easy. But if Ying Yu were still alive, why hasn’t he shown his face? With an explosion of that scale, it’s impossible for him to have survived. Someone like him deserves to die without a corpse left intact.”
Chu Yanyi chuckled softly and shook his head. Leaning on his cane, he opened the glass window in front of him: “Xiao Qi, speak no ill of the dead. He’s gone, so what’s there to hold a grudge over?”
At such a close distance, he could even smell that blood-tinged scent that set one’s heart pounding.
The Omega beside him was quick-witted, immediately handing the bidding remote control straight to Chu Yanyi.
“You actually like this thing?” Chu Yanqi’s striking features scrunched up. “There’s really something wrong with your taste.”
“Mr. Chu actually has a good eye,” a Beta ventured boldly. “I heard that star beasts of this quality are extremely difficult to capture alive, and the cost of keeping them is sky-high—ordinary families can’t afford them at all. The last one was just a corpse, yet it fetched an astronomical price.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. They had been instructed early on to serve this brother and sister pair well—especially the elder brother. A nameless, poor kid who had fought his way up from nothing in the black market after the truce between the Federation and the Empire, he had even become one of the figures in power here. Even the older generation of the top families in the black market didn’t dare to slight him.
This Alpha, who appeared remarkably mild-mannered and polite on the surface, possessed countless underhanded methods in private to make people wish they were dead.
Chu Yanyi casually pulled out a cigarette case, enjoying the sight of the trapped beast struggling before him, and slowly placed a cigarette between his lips: “Only the fierce ones are interesting.”
Before the words fully left his mouth, a massive claw swept past his eyes, bringing a gust of harsh wind. Had its claws and fangs not been clipped off in advance, Chu Yanyi and the Omega leaning down to light his cigarette might have met a grim fate.
A blue flame leapt up, and the tobacco hissed as it caught fire.
“A lunatic like Ying Yu? Making you limp in one leg and leaving such a huge scar on my back? If not for your good luck, you wouldn’t even know how many times you would’ve died.” Chu Yanqi winked and took a sip of wine. “See that? If you guys really want to be my sister-in-law, you have to be fiercer toward him.”
Chu Yanyi remained composed, slowly exhaling a puff of smoke while smiling without a word. He was exceptionally attractive; merely standing there quietly made hearts skip a beat, though no one dared to stare for too long.
A sudden wave of boos erupted from the auction seats below. Chu Yanyi’s fingers tapping on his cigarette case paused slightly. He looked toward the star beast in the arena, which was growing increasingly violent, and at a man staggering into the arena pulling a large cart of bloody meat.
The man was unkempt, scruffy, wearing tattered clothes, with a dull gaze and slow movements. When the camera swept over the slave code on his neck, the Omega standing beside Chu Yanyi scoffed.
Just an utterly unremarkable slave.
Except… this face was remarkably familiar to Chu Yanyi.
Why would this person be here?
When Chu Yanyi was starting out, he knew that Ying Yu had a man by his side. The two were exceptionally close, almost to the point of eating and living together. Even if one didn’t know what Ying Yu looked like, this man had indeed been photographed a few times.
The man had a quiet gaze and defined features. Though he possessed a cold and frosty appearance, his emerald eyes were striking—happening to be precisely the type Chu Yanyi favored.
Hence, Chu Yanyi couldn’t help but look at those photos a few extra times back then. Just like everyone else, he had secretly sent people to investigate this man’s identity.
The result was that none returned alive.
Chu Yanyi himself was warned by Ying Yu through several straightforward assassination attempts to stay away from his person.
He had almost fallen victim to it due to carelessness.
After all, no matter how great the conflict, people usually kept up surface appearances. At that time, Chu Yanyi didn’t know yet that Ying Yu was simply a reckless lunatic.
And lunatics couldn’t be explained with common sense.
He wondered how the person beside Ying Yu had ended up reduced to a slave.
Could it be that Ying Yu was truly dead? Chu Yanyi stared at the filthy man in the arena. Logically, before Ying Yu died, this man should have been right beside him.
Chu Yanyi narrowed his eyes.
The numbers on the virtual screen rose rapidly. Without a second thought, Chu Yanyi directly raised the price significantly, causing everyone to turn their heads toward his position. Even Chu Yanqi frowned—this wasn’t Chu Yanyi’s style.
Regardless, spending this much money on a star beast was simply too lavish.
The numbers paused briefly before freezing into a golden hue, announcing the end of this auction. The sound of machinery turning echoed as the collar slowly dropped, and the star beast’s deafening roars rang out. The slave froze, quickly running toward the door on the other side, but the tightly shut doors completely shut down any possibility of escape.
The atmosphere in the room reached a boiling point. Many spectators stood up and shouted, either cheering for the star beast or mocking the slave’s cowardice.
Chu Yanqi whistled: “Brother, time to inspect the goods. Let’s see if this money was worth spending.”
“Does Mr. Chu think this slave can last ten minutes?” someone beside him asked curiously.
Chu Yanyi lowered his eyelids to hide the cold emotion in his eyes. He curled his lips comfortably into a smile, staying silent.
“I bet five minutes at most,” Chu Yanqi smiled, leaning back into the arms of an Alpha beside her. “Handsome, want to make a bet?”
“This slave clearly has injuries on him. Miss Chu is making it hard for me.”
“Exactly! Look at him—he doesn’t stand a chance of fighting back at all.”
“Then I bet three minutes!”
“Two minutes!”
…
Chu Yanyi bit his cigarette, listening to their discussion as his eyes darkened: “I bet he survives.”
Since he was Ying Yu’s pillow partner, he ought to have some skill.
The moment these words were spoken, the companions drinking with them shut their mouths, not daring to say another word.
“Ah?” Chu Yanqi rubbed her chin in surprise. “If you lose, lend me your newly bought flyer for a couple of days.”
Chu Yanyi smiled: “I’ll give it to you directly.”
Having lost its restraints, the star beast caught the scent of food and pounced wildly toward the man. The man didn’t seem to react at all until the very last moment, when he barely dodged the beast’s blood-soaked jaws.
The virtual screen instantly froze on the man’s thin, dirty face, where the strangle marks on his neck and the slave brand were glaringly visible.
Whether out of sheer luck or not, the man actually anticipated the direction of the beast’s attack. Panic-stricken, he pushed the cart of meat to the ground, taking advantage of the beast being distracted to scramble over to the other entrance on all fours. He pounded frantically on the door, then turned around to glance in panic at the surrounding audience.
He seemed to be begging for help, but the only response he received was a chorus of boos.
“You’re going to lose, Brother,” Chu Yanqi chuckled.
Chu Yanyi crossed his arms, his gaze ice-cold. Nobody would look for trouble by helping a slave—he knew this better than anyone.
If he couldn’t carve out a path of survival on his own, the time of this man’s death wouldn’t be far off, even if it wasn’t today.
Sure enough, as the floor beneath his feet vibrated slightly, the damaged body of the star beast leapt forward, landing right in front of the slave.
Although the man managed to rely on the terrain a few times to dodge the beast’s gaping maw, he couldn’t avoid being cornered against the wall by the famished beast. On the virtual screen, he was trembling all over, tears streaming down his face in utter wretchedness.
Seeming to realize the gap in strength, the man closed his eyes numbly, his deformed right hand dangling to one side in a posture of quietly awaiting death.
Ying Yu actually took a liking to someone like this?
Chu Yanyi let out a disappointed sigh and stubbed out the cigarette at his fingertips. Before the people in the private booth could figure out what he meant, a gunshot cut through the star beast’s roar.
The massive monster was pierced through its vital point by a single shot, collapsing heavily to the ground. The spectators looked at each other in bewilderment; everything seemed to fall into silence, followed by screams as well-trained security personnel rushed inside.
Chu Yanyi casually tossed back the gun he had snatched from the auction bodyguard’s belt, looking completely innocent.
He picked up the glass beside him and drank it down in one gulp: “I told you, I bet he would survive.”
The Omega quickly poured more wine for him, flattering: “Your marksmanship is truly incredible, Mr. Chu.”
Chu Yanyi took a sip of wine, acting as if nothing had happened: “Have your boss turn it into a specimen and gift it to him.”
Amid Chu Yanqi’s disgusted “tsk-tsk-tsk,” he lowered his head as if by accident, tilting the wine glass in his hand slightly as the golden liquid slowly dripped down.
The slave was caught completely off guard as the wine spilled over his face, yet he still raised his head blankly. The blood and wine mixed together on his face, and even those emerald eyes were completely dim and lifeless at this moment.
Ying Yu, to think even you would see a day like this—where even your own little lover is reduced to such an inhuman, ghost-like state.
Could it be that karmic retribution really exists in this world?
“Do me a favor and ask your boss,” Chu Yanyi rested his hand on the railing, asking softly, “Since I bought this star beast, can it come with a free gift?”
“What a pitiful guy,” Chu Yanqi sighed. “In the future, he’ll definitely feel that dying in the star beast’s jaws would’ve been better.”
“I can’t exactly go home empty-handed,” Chu Yanyi offered the man a gentle smile, though his eyes remained entirely devoid of warmth, cold as a glacier.