When Sun Mao learned that the surveillance cameras in Zones 4 and 5 were malfunctioning, his expression immediately changed. He quickly contacted Xie Sen, but received no response.
He knew something was wrong and ran towards Zones 4 and 5, encountering the unconscious Soria on the way.
He frowned; he knew something about the conflict between Maine and the Kex family. Xie Sen was Maine's boyfriend, and Soria's sudden appearance here was hardly a good sign, yet he was currently unconscious.
He called an ambulance and continued to Zones 4 and 5. The contracted beasts were all normal, but Xie Sen was nowhere to be seen, and the food belonging to the Flying Eagle Beast outside the door hadn't been touched.
"The Flying Eagle Beast didn't come to eat today?" he asked.
The security guard nodded, also looking puzzled: "It's always punctual; I don't know why it didn't come today. Maybe it went hunting."
Sun Mao's brows furrowed; he couldn't figure out what was going on. He left Zones 4 and 5 and sent a group message to his colleagues asking if they had seen Xie Sen, but they all said they hadn't.
He sensed something was wrong and dialed Maine's number. Maine answered quickly and, before he could speak, said, "Ah Sen has been taken away. Check your surveillance footage; I need to know who did it."
Sun Mao replied, "Sorry, the surveillance cameras near sections four and five are malfunctioning. I'll check the ones near the entrance later… I just saw Soria unconscious not far from sections four and five."
"Sorria…" Maine repeated coldly, "The surveillance footage is very likely related to him. He probably has experts in this area. The destruction of the parking lot's surveillance cameras last time was his doing."
"I'll investigate now." Sun Mao hung up, thought for a moment, and contacted Zhao Hao. These professionals were far more skilled at finding clues through surveillance footage than he was.
Maine drove the shuttle at high speed, following the direction of the tracking device. Ten minutes later, the tracking suddenly stopped.
His jaw tightened instantly; he was worried the tracking device had been discovered and thrown away.
"Boss, he's a celebrity. We have to disguise him, otherwise he won't be able to get out," the light gray-haired man said.
The man with the buzz cut nodded, steer the shuttle off the main road, along a side street, and stopped in a secluded spot. "Hurry up."
The light gray-haired man pulled out a pile of cosmetics. "Hehe, don't be nervous, no one will notice for a while. Who would think we'd put him in a kangaroo bag and bring
him out? Besides, that man broke the security cameras, we're safe." "Don't let your guard down, only part of the cameras are broken. We were filmed before we went in and after we came out," the buzz-cut man reminded him.
"Boss is always cautious," the light gray-haired man praised, applying yellow foundation to Xie Sen's face to improve his complexion.
As he was applying the foundation, the shuttle suddenly tilted to one side, wobbling a few times before regaining its balance.
The light gray-haired man's hand jerked, and the yellowish foundation spread from Xie Sen's nose to the side of his hair. He was stunned. "What happened?"
The buzz-cut man looked out the window; everything was calm. His expression tightened. "Nothing, continue."
The light gray-haired man continued applying foundation to Xie Sen, changing his skin tone. The man with the buzz cut kept staring out the window. Suddenly, a shadow appeared on the ground outside the window, and the shadow changed shape in the next moment. The shuttle tilted again and began to sway.
This time it tilted even more sharply, almost at a ninety-degree angle. A little more and the entire shuttle would flip over.
The two of them swayed back and forth. After the shuttle came to a stop, the light gray-haired man swallowed hard. "Boss, this is a bit weird."
"Shut up. Do you think this is some ancient ghost story?" The buzz-cut man's face was grim. "I'll go take a look."
He pushed open the shuttle door, got off the shuttle, and looked up.
Instantly, a strong gust of wind hit him from the side and above. He couldn't stand up at all and fell backward, tumbling several times on the ground before crashing into a rock.
"Ah..." he cried out in pain.
The light gray-haired man was startled. His hand suddenly lost its strength, and his index finger drew a long line on Xie Sen's face, which stood out against the light yellow foundation.
Xie Sen had been trying to wake up from the shaking of the shuttle, but the overwhelming fatigue had kept him unconscious. The stinging pain from the slash made his eyelids twitch.
"Boss!" the light gray-haired man cried out in alarm, turning to look out the window. Seeing the crew-cut man lying beside the rocks, he quickly pushed open the shuttle door and got out. He took a step towards the crew-cut man, and a huge gust of wind swept behind him, sending him flying through the air. He landed in a prone position with a loud howl.
When Xie Sen, struggling to sit up, saw this scene, his mouth agape in surprise.
Then, the light dimmed, and he turned his head. An eagle's head peered in through the window, its large, clear, grayish eyes blinking at him before tilting its head in confusion.
Xie Sen exclaimed in surprise, "Flying Eagle Beast?" Remembering how the man had taken flight, he immediately understood what had happened. He managed to raise his hand and gratefully patted the Flying Eagle Beast's head. "Thank you, you saved me."
"Ah Sen?" The Flying Eagle Beast flapped its wings in confusion. "Why have you changed?"
"Huh?" Xie Sen was also puzzled. He touched his face and felt a layer of yellowish foundation. He instantly understood. He wiped his hands on the seat in disgust, but he was too weak to do so properly, so he gave up and explained, "They put something on my face."
At that moment, a black shuttle stopped in front of them. Xie Sen's eyes lit up. Sure enough, the next moment he saw Maine stride down from the shuttle.
Maine strode towards the shuttle where Xie Sen was. Upon seeing the Flying Eagle Beast, his expression softened slightly. He opened the door opposite the Flying Eagle Beast and, seeing Xie Sen, suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. His gaze swept across Xie Sen's face, then fell on the cosmetics beside him. A flash of coldness crossed Maine's eyes. He got into the car and hugged Xie Sen tightly. "Ah Sen."
Xie Sen raised his hand and barely touched him, smiling at him. "I'm fine, just weak."
Maine released him, lowering his head to kiss him. Xie Sen turned his head away, disgusted. "There's something on your face."
Maine kissed his lips. "It's alright, wait for me here." He looked at the Flying Eagle Beast. "Take care of him for me." With that, he got off the shuttle and walked towards the person struggling to get up from the ground.
The Flying Eagle Beast cried out, "Of course I'll protect Ah Sen!"
Xie Sen smiled and stroked its head. "Thank you. How did you know I was here?"
The Flying Eagle Beast said, "I didn't know it was you." It explained that it had gone back to eat and had unintentionally witnessed him being taken away.
Xie Sen thought to himself how coincidental it was. If the Flying Eagle Beast hadn't seen him, things would have been much more complicated. Although Maine could catch up with him at his speed, rescuing him wouldn't be easy, since he had been captured, and Maine would be blackmailed because of it.
He turned to look out the window. Maine kicked the light gray-haired man, who had just gotten up, to the ground. The short-haired man glared furiously at Maine and threw a punch.
Maine's face was cold and ruthless, his entire body radiating a chilling aura. His attacks were swift and vicious, causing both men to cry out in pain.
The short-haired man's expression hardened. He summoned his contracted beast, a B-grade long-tusked boar, about two meters long with long tusks. It charged straight at Maine.
Seeing this, the light gray-haired man simultaneously summoned his kangaroo beast. The kangaroo beast stood upright, over two and a half meters tall, with a powerfully muscular body. It swung its fist at Maine.
Xie Sen's eyes widened suddenly, his heart tightening. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Maine nimbly dodge the attack.
Without a contracted beast, Maine knew that if the fight continued like this, even if they didn't lose, they would be injured. Xie Sen couldn't help but worry. He immediately summoned his watermelon vines and exchanged for a fiery red chili pepper, giving them commands when the Flying Eagle Beast suddenly cried out towards the window.
Xie Sen turned his head and saw a black shuttle bearing military insignia parked not far away. Four tall, uniformed males disembarked. Seeing Zhao Hao, the leader, Xie Sen smiled and summoned the plants back to the system.
With a roar, a gigantic rhinoceros appeared at the forefront, instantly engaging the long-tusked boar in combat.
The two robbers and their contracted beasts were quickly subdued. Maine beat them to the point of near death before Zhao Hao intervened, stopping him. Maine searched their bodies for communication devices and tossed them to Zhao Hao.
"There are definitely accomplices providing backup," Maine said coldly. "If you can't find him, I'll take action myself."
Zhao Hao handed the communicator to his subordinate: "Immediately perform voice simulation and reverse the tracking."
Maine didn't say anything more, turned around and carried Xie Sen down from the shuttle. The Flying Eagle Beast poked its big head out of the window and greeted the Giant Rhinoceros Beast.
Hearing that Xie Sen was injured, the giant rhinoceros rushed to Maine's side, looking down at him. Xie Sen smiled at it and gently touched its chin, saying, "I'm fine, thank you."
The giant rhinoceros softly mooed.
Zhao Hao walked over and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"
Xie Sen nodded, "I'm just a little weak. How did you know I was here?"
Zhao Hao replied, "Sun Mao called the police. We tracked down the kangaroo beast's owner through the entry and exit records. The Ministry of Transportation assisted in the tracking, following their shuttle all the way here."
Xie Sen asked again, "Where's Soria?"
Zhao Hao's expression tightened slightly, "Sun Mao found him unconscious on the ground and called an ambulance. The paramedics found a self-destruct device on him. Not long ago, the bomb disposal team reported that they had successfully removed the device and disposed of it properly."
Xie Sen instinctively grabbed Maine's sleeve. He immediately understood Soria's purpose.
This madman, Soria, actually wanted to use him to get close to Maine, intending to die together with them, and even wanted to torture Maine by harming him before he died.
Maine exuded a cold aura, a fleeting unease in his eyes. He looked down at Xie Sen: "You met him?"
Xie Sen nodded: "Yes, he told me to call you to the Gold Medal." He glanced at the short-haired man being escorted onto the shuttle, "Soria had a micro-particle cannon, which he took."
Zhao Hao said: "It's been found. We'll conduct a related investigation. You don't look well; you'd better go to the hospital for a checkup."
Maine picked up Xie Sen and prepared to leave. Xie Sen tugged at his sleeve. He looked at Xie Sen, who frowned and looked at Zhao Hao: "Please let us know the results of their investigation as soon as possible. I still don't know their purpose."
Zhao Hao nodded: "Okay."
Maine carried Xie Sen to the shuttle. The Flying Eagle Beast and the Giant Rhinoceros Beast watched him from the window. He waved to them and started the shuttle. The Flying Eagle Beast flew into the air and followed the shuttle, while the Giant Rhinoceros Beast returned to Zhao Hao's side and nuzzled him.
"Captain Zhao, is that Xie Sen? He looks different."
"Are you blind? His face is obviously covered in makeup. Luckily he was rescued in time, otherwise who knows where he would have been taken."
"Seeing is believing. The contracted beasts are so affectionate towards him. Not only are the uncontracted eagle beasts friendly, but even the boss's contracted beast is very close to him."
Zhao Hao glanced at them indifferently: "They all treat Xie Sen as a friend. It's fortunate he didn't get into trouble this time. Just think about the contracted beasts in his livestream room; what would they do if they knew something happened to him?" His
subordinates exchanged glances, a chill running down their spines as they imagined the possible scenarios.
If all those contracted beasts came out, regardless of their attack power, just their presence on the street would cause a sensation.
Zhao Hao walked towards the shuttle: "We must thoroughly investigate who kidnapped Xie Sen. This must never happen again," he said, looking at his trusted subordinates. "A word of advice: high-level beast lords who want to form a contract should maintain a good relationship with Xie Sen."
Xie Sen was taken to the hospital by Maine and underwent a full-body examination immediately. The results came back quickly: no external injuries, but he had inhaled an excessive amount of a potent psychic drug.
The doctor's expression was serious: "This is a banned drug. It's too strong. If the dosage exceeds a certain level, it can even cause shock. We must call the police."
Xie Sen lay dazed on the bed. Maine held his hand, her gaze fixed on his face, and replied, "The police have intervened. Please keep a record of the drug's composition. Now, treat him."
The doctor was very efficient, clearing the residual drug from Xie Sen's body in less than ten minutes.
Xie Sen's spirits had recovered considerably, but he still felt fatigued, like someone exhausted from overexertion.
The doctor said, "This is a normal aftereffect; he should recover in two hours at most."
Maine paid the bill and took Xie Sen back to his apartment. The Flying Eagle hovered above the apartment for a moment before flying back to Gold Medal to have lunch.
Maine carried Xie Sen all the way back to the bedroom. Xie Sen pointed to the bathroom: "I want to look in the mirror."
Maine carried him to the mirror, and Xie Sen looked at his own sallow complexion in the mirror, his face full of disgust: "Put me down, I want to wash my face."
Maine put him down, holding his waist with both hands. He stood up effortlessly, carefully washing his face and hanging the towel on the towel rack. Looking at Maine's tense expression through the mirror, he turned around, wrapped his arms around Maine's neck, and gently bit his chin.
He smiled: "Don't be so serious, I'm fine."
Maine looked deeply at him, his eyes filled with self-reproach and unease, lowered his head and kissed him, then silently carried him to the bed.
Xie Sen knew very well that Maine was a very sensitive person. Seeing his reaction, he knew what Maine was thinking. He grabbed Maine's hand and looked up at him: "Smile."
Maine looked at him for a long time, then suddenly said, "I'm sorry," Maine said, hugging him tightly, "Soria's target was me. I dragged you into this. I didn't protect you well. In fact, if Zhao Hao hadn't appeared in the end, I might not have been able to deal with them."
His tone was dejected: "I'm too weak."
Maine was always confident, except when it came to their relationship. Hearing the doubt and denial from him, Xie Sen's heart couldn't help but clench.
He shoved Maine's shoulder, glaring at him: "Don't talk nonsense. Soria's actions have nothing to do with you. He's a madman. In my eyes, you're the best, and even you can't deny that."
Xiesen said, "It's normal that you couldn't win against those two plus two contracted beasts. They had helpers, and so did you. You have me! I was just about to have the plants teach them a lesson. With the two of us working together, how could they possibly be no match? Even without Zhao Hao showing up, we could have utterly thrashed them."
He wrinkled his nose as he spoke, "Do you look down on my abilities? Do you always think I need protection?"
"No," Maine quickly said, seeing his anger rising, "I just... subconsciously felt you needed protection, I didn't look down on your abilities."
Xiesen scoffed, "You just don't trust me! You don't consider me a comrade!"
Main pursed her lips, "Although you refused to marry me now, I've always considered you my partner. I want to protect you, to keep you from fighting, from getting hurt."
Xie Sen frowned, and said seriously, "I hope you can change this mindset. I'm a man, not a parasite. I have passion too, and I'm not afraid to fight when danger arises."
He patted Maine's face: "In the future, when facing bad guys, remember, you're not fighting alone. I'm here. If we lose, it's because we're both bad, not just your fault."
Maine grabbed his hand and kissed his palm deeply, his expression moved and affectionate: "You're so good."
He thought, there could never be a better person in the world than Xie Sen. Xie Sen was in danger, yet he comforted him. How could he be so good, so good that he wanted to meld him into his very bones, so that no one would ever discover it.
Xie Sen smiled and poked the corner of his mouth: "Then smile."
Mei Yin smiled back at him and kissed the corner of his lips: "Sorry, I made you worry."
Xie Sen kissed him back, and after a while, he breathed heavily: "Don't overthink things anymore, you old man, be a little more easygoing." Feeling Mei Yin's physical reaction, he kicked him lightly, "I'm hungry, I didn't eat lunch." Mei
Yin buried his head in his shoulder, calming the impulse that had surged from the kiss, and after a while, he rolled out of bed: "I'll go make you something to eat."
While Mei Yin was cooking, Xie Sen contacted Sun Mao and asked for half a day off. Sun Mao readily agreed, worried that he might not be feeling well and suggested that he take a few more days off. Xie Sen declined his offer, saying that he could go back to work the next day, and then asked Sun Mao to look after the contracted beasts and let him know if there were any unusual symptoms.
After eating, he took a nap and finally returned to normal. He moved his limbs and exclaimed how wonderful it felt to have strength in his body! He didn't realize it usually, but compared to when he was feeling unwell, he knew how comfortable it was to be in a normal state!
He pulled Maine to sit on the sofa: "How's Zhao Hao's investigation going?"
Maine put her arm around his waist, opened her bracelet, and looked at the information Zhao Hao had sent with him.
The other party was a group of contract beast traffickers who searched for and captured various contract beasts on planets near Brant Star and in the desolate forest, selling them on the black market in the three major cities of Brant Star for huge profits.
Maine's voice was cold: "They saw the reports about the Flying Dragon Beasts, and they know you're very skilled at finding contracted beasts and are very popular with them. They want to capture you and bring you back to work for them."
Xie Sen frowned: "Are the contracted beasts they sell forced into contracts?"
"Most likely."
Xie Sen asked again: "Is there any way to sever the contract after it's formed?"
Maine: "The contract ends when one party dies. The stronger the synchronization rate between the two contracted parties, the stronger the impact of one party's death on the other, most likely causing mental breakdown and ultimately death. Only contracted parties with very low synchronization rates have a chance of survival."
Xie Sen gritted his teeth: "So those with insufficient synchronization rates who force contracted beasts into contracts don't need to worry even more. Even if the contracted beast dies, the impact on them won't be high."
"That's outrageous!" Xie Sen exclaimed angrily. "Are contracted beasts obligated to obey their master's orders?"
Maine replied, "After forming a contract, the contracted beast's instinctive rejection of its master transforms into instinctive obedience. If the master forces an order, the contracted beast will comply unless it strongly resists. This is rare, as contracted beasts are mentally unstable, and resisting a master's forced orders would cause them great suffering."
Xie Sen felt sorry for the forced contracted beasts. After reviewing Zhao Hao's information and seeing that he had apprehended the entire group, he breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then frowned again, wondering, "I wonder if there are other groups involved."
Maine said, "Where there's profit, there will be people willing to do it."
Xie Sen said, "When the contracted beasts return to the forest, we must remind them to be careful." He then asked, "How is Soria?"
"She's awake and under investigation. There's news about her online," Maine said, switching to the news interface.
The headline at the top read: "Lieutenant General Kex's wife, Soria, brought a self-destruct device to Gold Medal. Why?" "
After Soria entered Gold Medal, surveillance in some areas was disrupted. According to reliable sources, police used Soria's bracelet to locate the perpetrator. During interrogation, the person claimed it was involuntary and that Soria coerced them. Experts say this device is the latest version, extremely powerful, capable of causing casualties within at least one kilometer."
Numerous comments followed the news. Xie Sen swiped the screen.
"How vicious! There are many people and contracted beasts in Gold Medal. Is he trying to take revenge on society?"
"Only military personnel have access to this latest device. Soria is not an official. Did Lieutenant General Kex provide it?"
"He's insane. Whoever he wants to target, this behavior is too extreme." "
Maybe he really is insane. I heard he's been mentally unstable since Rilo's death."
"Hopefully, the military can provide a reasonable solution. This kind of person is a cancer."
"Ha, if you ask me, the Kex family has a lot of problems. How many times has Rilo been exposed for oppressing commoners and weak nobles? Soria is now taking revenge on society, and Sokto, as a military personnel, actually acted rashly and wanted to kill students who hadn't even graduated yet. Not a single one of them is a good person."
In the Kex family study, Han Zheng's face was ashen. He slammed his hand on the table: "Didn't I say that Soria's matter was not to be spread? What happened to the news?"
Meyer's jaw tightened: "Perhaps the emergency personnel leaked the information."
Han Zheng took a deep breath. He silently supported his forehead. After a long while, he looked up: "Soria can't be saved, and he shouldn't be saved. Send him to Tianfeng Star."
"Father!" Meyer looked at him in shock.
Tianfeng Star was euphemistically called a sanatorium. It was a small planet where criminals with mental illnesses who had committed serious crimes or attempted crimes were kept.
This was a method devised by the military many years ago to prevent criminals from escaping punishment by using mental illness as a sanatorium. They were placed together on a small planet.
A motley crew of feigning madness and extreme individuals gathered, their killing and desires running rampant.
Now, it's infamous—the birthplace of demons.