“Who are you?” Little Dandelion, forced into human form, cautiously peered at the man beside her and asked.
“The one who can end your life anytime,” the man replied with a blank expression. He had disguised himself so well that, if it weren’t for the identical aura he carried from earlier, Pu Xin wouldn’t have recognized him as the one who had blocked her and Ye Hanzhou at the lab entrance not long ago.
Pu Xin wasn’t afraid of his cold words. Seeing him stride ahead without looking back, as if deliberately trying to shake her off, she hurried to catch up and grabbed the hem of his coat. “Why did you destroy that seed?”
That was the reason she had chased after him. When the culture vial shattered, she had sensed a very faint aura of a seed, but upon closer inspection, it was notably different from her own seed, like… a part of it.
The thought that her seed might have been torn apart made Pu Xin’s heart ache. She couldn’t imagine it being destroyed, and if it were true, she feared she would be unable to stop herself from taking the life of whoever harmed her seed.
The man, hearing the word “seed,” looked back in slight surprise. “What seed? That’s merely a cloned specimen of someone’s genes.”
As he spoke, he appraised Little Dandelion up and down, a hint of implication in his tone. “From what you’re saying, that disgusting little thing really does resemble a dandelion a bit…”
He used the word “disgusting” with clear disdain. Noticing Pu Xin’s slightly surprised gaze, he realized he had said too much, then turned his head and continued walking forward. “Stop following me. If you don’t go back, the two in the lab won’t have a good outcome.”
But Little Dandelion wasn’t fooled. She grabbed his coat again and refused to let go. “They won’t be harmed for now,” she said.
Knowing this was true was precisely why she had followed him.
She was too curious about the man in front of her, someone who could perceive the thoughts of the strange cactus, something nearly impossible for a human.
Having been grabbed twice, the man glanced down at the hand at his waist, not polite at all. “Want to die?”
Little Dandelion didn’t follow his sudden train of thought. Hit by those three cold words, she looked clearly aggrieved. Pouting, she not only refused to let go but leaned closer, whining, “I won’t let go. Are you going to kill me?”
The man hadn’t expected her to be so shameless. Frowning, he looked at her. “So eager to die?”
Pu Xin thought he was just babbling. He looked scary, but his threat had no weight, it seemed more like an attempt to frighten her.
Little Dandelion pulled on his coat, inching forward, and imitated how he had just poked her fuzz. “Don’t threaten me, I’m not buying it.”
Her impromptu mimicry was rather effective. The man snorted, drew the energy gun from his waist, twirled it once, and rested his index finger on the trigger, aiming it at Pu Xin’s forehead. He didn’t say a word, but his intention was clear.
Distracted by the dazzling flash, Little Dandelion gasped exaggeratedly. Suddenly, a black muzzle appeared on her forehead. Blinking her emerald green eyes, she wisely said, “I’ll let go if you tell me your name, okay?”
She sensed no malice from him; it even seemed like he only wanted to push her back.
Annoyed by her insistence, the man nudged her forehead again with the energy gun as a warning.
Pu Xin shook his coat softly, her voice coquettish. “If you tell me, I won’t hold onto you anymore.”
It sounded like a compromise.
The man met her bright, hopeful gaze, silently studying her for a few seconds before averting his eyes. “Aqi,” he said.
He spoke the name casually, whether out of indifference or truth, Pu Xin didn’t know. Hearing the response, she smiled with curved eyes and said earnestly, “I’ll remember, Aqi. Next time we meet.”
She let go of his coat as promised. The man, perhaps surprised at her obedience, turned his head and met her clear, sincere eyes, so bright they seemed like a sky after rain, impossible to look at directly.
Aqi hummed briefly, put the energy gun away, and walked quickly down the corridor until he vanished.
Pu Xin watched his retreating figure, a flicker of confusion in her eyes. She sensed an aura extremely similar to Arcius’s, yet subtly different in ways she couldn’t articulate.
Noticing Little Dandelion hadn’t pursued him, Aqi quickened his pace, finally stopping in a secluded corner, leaning against the darkness to catch his breath.
The short walk was trivial for him; what he truly needed to calm was the pulse of his heart when near the little dandelion earlier.
That inexplicable excitement—he hadn’t brushed her off, even wanting her to hold tighter, to coo and say a few more words.
It was strange, too strange. He had never imagined his emotions could fluctuate so drastically because of someone else.
The cactus, emerging from his pocket to normal size, its leaves crowded with eyes, stared curiously at him. “What’s wrong?”
Aqi removed his disguise and exhaled.
He could not describe the feeling of touching the little dandelion fluff. Lowering his gaze to calm his emotions, the faint light from the side revealed the lower half of his face, almost identical to Arcius’s.
He picked up the cactus hanging from his arm, rubbed it vigorously to soften its bristles, and muttered, “Ugly thing, tell me… what’s the connection between that little dandelion and that idiot?”
Hidden in darkness, speaking softly, the cactus might not have heard him if not so close. Observing Aqi’s subtle emotions, it rotated its eyes upward and, after brief thought, replied, “You like her a lot?”
Those five words stabbed at Aqi like a sharp thorn. Reflexively, he glared at the cactus. “No! Shut up!”
Intimidated, the cactus fell silent. The corner was quiet for a while, Aqi’s neural interface vibrating lightly. Glancing at the comm display, he pressed his lips together.
After a few shakes, the comm stopped. Aqi tidied his scattered emotions, tossed the cactus over his shoulder. “Let’s go. That tyrant is coming…”
The cactus curled its short legs and leaned against him. “If they’re coming all at once, we better move.”
Aqi smirked, pulled on a mask and cap, and moved like a nimble cat through the labyrinthine corridors, disappearing quickly.
Pu Xin glanced back every few steps, only exhaling when his aura vanished completely. When would she be able to find all the little ones?
After a few steps, violent tremors shook the corridor, dust falling from the walls, as if a massive hammer struck from above. Sensing danger, she transformed into a little dandelion ball and flew back rapidly.
Approaching the lab, she heard a clatter inside.
“You idiot, could you at least check the situation before acting? Now they think I’m working with you. We’re both doomed!” Ye Hanzhou shouted, exasperated.
“Who the hell are you calling an idiot? You started the fight! If I hadn’t intervened, you’d be half dead by now!” Arcius retorted angrily.
Hearing the little ones curse, Pu Xin frowned. Another curse escaped from Arcius as well. “I really must be out of my mind to come back and save you!”
Her frown deepened. She could tolerate Xiu Xiu Little One’s swearing, but how did Hanzhou also get infected?
The two argued back and forth, with occasional energy gun sounds, as if a gunfight raged inside. Their volume was enough to rile a woman’s temper.
“None of you leave today!”
“Shut up!”
“None of your business!”
The first voice was Ye Hanzhou’s, the second Arcius’s, leaving the woman speechless.
After a brief pause, a small explosion shook the lab. Ye Hanzhou coughed, swearing, “Can you shoot carefully? This is a lab! You could blow everything up!”
Arcius replied bluntly, “No!”
Another small explosion followed intentionally, nearly driving Ye Hanzhou mad.
Pu Xin stood at the door, pondering, waiting for the little ones to resolve things themselves.
Soon, two disheveled figures emerged, clothes and faces gray with soot and dust, looking like miners crawling from a coal pile.
Perhaps unprepared to encounter her, Arcius raised his soot-covered chin at Ye Hanzhou. “Don’t follow me!”
The tremors above continued. Hanzhou scoffed, then noticed the pale pink figure of Pu Xin nearby. Words stuck in his throat, he lifted his energy gun toward her.
Arcius, noticing immediately, grabbed Hanzhou’s gun before it rose, pushing it up, shouting, “Are you insane pointing a gun at my mom?”
Hanzhou froze. “You… you said what? Mom?!”
Arcius’s words revealed a truth hard to accept. Hanzhou doubted himself, glancing at him, then at the girl who stood obediently with an expression hard to read.
Arcius guided her, inspecting her from head to toe. Sighing with relief at no injuries, he said, “Mom, why are you here alone? I was just about to look for you.”
After being brought here blindfolded and drugged, he’d slowly lost consciousness, hearing the person who brought him demand “Little Dandelion” from the lab. Panicked but weak, he drifted into sleep, waking to a scuffle between Ye Hanzhou and another woman, seizing an energy gun when guards weren’t paying attention.
Fearful of being too late to save his mom, he acted immediately.
Pu Xin patted Arcius’s back. “I met a strange person, spoke two sentences, and came back.”
She noticed Ye Hanzhou staring at her strangely and smiled sweetly, ignoring Arcius, walking toward Hanzhou.
Hanzhou, still shocked Arcius found his mother, and that she appeared so young and beautiful, returned her smile politely. He could sense she was a demi-human and treated him kindly, so he smiled and greeted, “Auntie, hello…”
Calling a girl several years younger “Auntie” felt strange to Hanzhou.
He expected a polite response, but Pu Xin tilted her head and frowned, poking his chest with a delicate finger. “Can you do a DNA test with me?”
She sensed no aura of the little one from Hanzhou, yet maternal instinct told her he was likely her child. Humans had strange methods; absence of aura didn’t mean he wasn’t hers.
Hanzhou, puzzled, finally asked, “You… you said what?”
Pu Xin repeated firmly, adding his name, “Can you do a DNA test with me, Hanzhou?”
Just then, stronger tremors shook the ground. Pu Xin, focused on Hanzhou, wobbled but was steadied by a hand faster than his own, and a scowling voice said, “Mom, let’s talk outside. Probably my people have arrived.”
Today’s attack was unsurprising given recent events. He had been forced to the Hetulu Empire’s palace and missed the initial rendezvous with his guards. Rott would not let his disappearance go unchallenged.
As he spoke, the tremors intensified. Pu Xin focused on Hanzhou, restraining her words, her gaze lingering. Arcius led her away, reluctantly.
Hanzhou noticed the tremors stop after a while. Hidden virtual screens popped out, revealing Helange, his golden hair defying the wind, crimson cloak fluttering, standing on ruins, amber eyes cold.
“If you don’t want to die, hand over Arcius!” Helange commanded.
Pu Xin looked at Arcius disdainfully. “Your bastard dad’s useful, at least he knows how to rescue you.”
Arcius’s expression was complex; he only murmured.
Ye Hanzhou was shocked. He had just learned a major secret: the influential capitalist with the Hetulu Empire’s royal blood was Helange.
Pu Xin continued, “But he came late and would use violence to save you. By the time he arrives, you might already be torn apart.”
Helange’s impression score plummeted to -999999.
Arcius, holding his mother’s hand, smiled subtly. “Indeed, very foolish.”
Hanzhou glanced at him, then Pu Xin, then Helange on the screen, oddly nostalgic for when Little Dandelion had rested in his arms.
Hanzhou suggested practically, “Should we contact him directly?” pointing at Helange.
Pu Xin clapped. “Hanzhou, you’re smart!”
Arcius: “……”
Hanzhou chuckled awkwardly, sensing Arcius’s sour glare. He realized the respected capitalist was a spoiled three-and-a-half-year-old in private.
Pu Xin, curious, fiddled with the virtual screen. Helange staggered slightly, face darkening.
“Fool Helange, can you see me?” she waved.
Helange’s dignity pricked. He gathered composure. “Where’s that idiot Arcius? Being captured in the street, disappointing!”
Pu Xin rolled her eyes. “I like him, that’s all. Why interfere?”
Helange’s face blackened, but recalling his broken sword, he coldly replied, “None of your business!”
Rott reported, “Sir, madam’s location has been identified.”
Within minutes, all three were rescued. Pu Xin emerged pristine; Arcius and Ye Hanzhou looked like miners crawling from coal, covered in soot and dust.
Rott wrapped Pu Xin in a blanket. “Madam, coming from such a cold, wet place, don’t catch a chill.”
Arcius raised a questioning brow. Once Pu Xin was wrapped, Rott offered another blanket. Ye Hanzhou grabbed it first, wrapped it around himself, moving out leisurely.
Arcius: “……”
Now even before confirming she was his mother, she snatched his things. Once confirmed—he shuddered.
Ye Hanzhou sneezed, glancing at Arcius before sipping the hot water Carmel had prepared.
Helange, seeing Arcius’s disheveled state, sneered. “Captured and miserable, you truly disappoint me.”
Arcius, no longer feeling frustration, barely suppressed a smile. “Can you rephrase? I don’t need your expectations.”
Helange: “……”
Arcius wrapped himself in Rott’s blanket, sitting obediently by his mother.
Pu Xin, noticing the faint smell of gunpowder and chemicals, moved aside. “Arcius, you stink all of a sudden. Don’t come near me.”
She stood, hugged the blanket, shuffled aside, clearly disgusted. Poor Arcius sniffed himself and shouted, “Rott! Arrange a bath for me immediately!”
Pu Xin sipped the hot water Carmel handed her, drinking it all while a black-suited guard politely caught the empty cup.
As she passed, a voice carried in the wind: “Don’t tell anyone my name, Little Dandelion.”