Chapter 16

Was the feeling in the dream real?
Nan Yuan remembered that initially, he was having a nightmare.
But later, the dream turned ambiguous. In the dream, his parents and older brother left one after another in front of him. Even though he knew he couldn’t catch up, he stumbled forward in pursuit.
He remembered nothing else, only running through the dark dream.
Just as he was sinking deeper, he felt someone pinching his ears.
The person in the dream was unclear, but he knew it was a girl. It must be her, she always appeared when he needed her.
She leaned in extremely close, pinching his ears, then his face and forehead.
She stood right in front of him, pinching his cheek and feeding him water, soothing the turbulent restlessness surging in his veins.
Nan Yuan couldn’t move his hands or feet, forced to endure the person’s fingers pinching and fiddling with his ears.
When her touch met his burning, near-exploding ears, a wave of coolness washed over him.
Then, that person tore his clothes.
This won’t do!
Nan Yuan wanted to stop her, but he couldn’t move or speak. Fortunately, the girl didn’t do anything else.
Next, Nan Yuan felt her wiping his face and ears, it felt incredibly soothing; even the pain in his ears eased.
But then, why was she rubbing his stomach?
Nan Yuan endured it until she finally moved her hand away.
He wanted to open his eyes, to see what she looked like…
But no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t move. Nan Yuan had seen animals die during evolution, and he felt his strength draining away bit by bit, perhaps he, too, would die like that.
Just as he was about to sink into darkness, he sensed an energy of extremely high purity.
It was that same power again, the first time he encountered that person, she had given him a potion-like energy that could heal wounds and replenish strength.
He hadn’t repaid her yet; he couldn’t die.
Nan Yuan fought fiercely against the surging energy within him.
He didn’t know how much time had passed, only that every time his energy ran low, she would fill him with abundant power.
When he felt her pinching his ears again, Nan Yuan broke free from the dream’s restraints and opened his eyes.
But there was no sign of her in front of him.
Was it just a dream? Nan Yuan felt an indescribable emptiness in his heart. He lowered his head and suddenly noticed that a piece of his clothing had indeed been torn off.
The events in the dream were real.
Nan Yuan froze for a moment.
He heard his own heartbeat suddenly grow clamorous.
Pausing briefly, he realized his hearing had elevated to another level, he could even hear the sounds of humans conversing far in the distance.
He had always longed to find other humans, to seek out his own kind in this post-apocalyptic world.
But now that those people were only dozens of kilometers away, Nan Yuan’s mind was entirely fixated on the mysterious her.
Unaware, he unconsciously covered his stomach beneath the torn clothes, his bewildered expression unbearably adorable.
At the time, the situation was urgent, so Tao Shushu had torn the cub’s clothes to use as a towel.
But now that the cub was awake, acting as if he’d been taken advantage of, even Tao Shushu felt a bit confused.
Wasn’t it just tearing some clothes and applying a bit of medicine to the bruised areas?
Why was the cub so traditional?
Was this really a cub of the interstellar post-apocalyptic era?
Tao Shushu pinched the cub’s cheek again.
Nan Yuan’s ears immediately perked up, and he stared ahead nervously.
What kind of nightmare had the cub had to make him so uneasy? Tao Shushu was a bit concerned and decided to check the memory fragments the system had just provided.
She patted the clothes beside him, signaling for the cub to change.
Nan Yuan paused, noticing the new clothes next to him, but he held them without making a move.
Thinking that the cub seemed rather traditional, Tao Shushu drew a picture, a chibi-style boy changing clothes inside the vehicle, while a little lion and a little girl stood guard outside, exploring and keeping watch.
Then, Tao Shushu picked up the little lion and took it under the vehicle to inspect the surroundings.
The little lion had been well-behaved in the car, almost like a lion-shaped accessory, but once outside, it shook its mane and began to move around.
Tao Shushu pondered: the little lion’s behavior suggested that after the cub’s evolution, he had brought about a level of dominance.
Tao Shushu yawned, and the lion took a few steps around the car, baring its teeth in one direction as if facing a formidable enemy.
Could there be a new threat?
Just as Tao Shushu was about to go check it out, the car door opened.
The cub, dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants, was hanging from the car door with his short limbs, slowly climbing down.
Previously, the cub’s clothes were tattered, making him look pitiful.
But now, in clean and tidy hoodie and sweatpants, with a fair and clean face, he had a bit of youthful vigor.
Tao Shushu was very satisfied with the first set of clothes she had bought for the cub.
After taking screenshots from various angles while holding her phone, Tao Shushu yawned again, feeling a bit sleepy.
But the little lion’s behavior made her uneasy, what if there really was an enemy nearby?
Besides, the cub’s full moon was only thirty hours away, but the night before the full moon might not be peaceful either.
Tao Shushu decided to play a little longer.
Nan Yuan steadied his mind and carefully listened to the ruined city.
The sound of wheels rolling over gravel, weapons being loaded, and low voices conversing...
Someone was heading this way.
When he had just evolved and awakened, Nan Yuan’s energy was not yet under control, forcing him to hear every sound around him.
But now, he could freely control the flow of energy within his body, focusing his abilities in a specific direction.
After listening, Nan Yuan also drew a picture.
His drawing wasn’t as vivid as Tao Shushu’s, he clumsily sketched a vehicle and the people inside it holding guns.
Nan Yuan drove the car behind a broken wall to hide it and erased the tire tracks.
Then, he set up some camouflage and hid behind the barrier with the little lion.
Tao Shushu glanced at the cub. He was quite cautious and methodical.
So capable!
Just as Tao Shushu was about to pinch the cub’s ear to praise him, a new task prompt suddenly appeared on the system: [Side Mission 4: The ability-user group "The Slaughterers" has repeatedly plundered resources from other ability users and enslaved them. Having detected the energy radiating from the cub, they have decided to come and seize it. Eliminate the "Slaughterers" group, take over their supplies, and receive the reward: Gold × 1000, Primary Clarity Card × 7, Prestige × 200.]
Tao Shushu clicked to accept the task.
1000 gold!
She could sacrifice some sleep, she just needed to grind through the mission.
Tao Shushu took a sip of water to shake off her drowsiness.
While focusing intently on the distance, he decided to move ahead to scout the path and test how far she could stray from the cub.
Without hesitation, Tao Shushu shifted her perspective and began exploring forward.
Using the truck as a reference, she found she couldn’t go beyond about three kilometers.
Just then, a tank stopped in front of her.
It was that group of people.
Tao Shushu counted them, one, two, three, four. Only four. They probably weren’t the main force of the "Slaughterers" gang.
Tao Shushu thought for a moment, waited for the group to move farther away, then immediately moved a large rock to jam the tank’s tracks.
After that, she switched back to the cub’s side, poked the cub to get its attention.
Nan Yuan wore a faint smile at the corner of his lips. He had already heard the group parking and the thud, likely from her moving the rock to cause trouble.
Suppressing a laugh, Nan Yuan observed the situation.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed. He grabbed the little lion and rolled to the side.
The spot where they had been hiding was blown to rubble, and the group could now pinpoint their location precisely.
Nan Yuan’s heart sank.
Several bullets shot toward him in quick succession and Nan Yuan quickly fired back.
But before his bullets could reach their targets, someone else acted faster, restraining the group.
Tao Shushu was furious. Why did these people immediately resort to such lethal weapons?
Usually, upon discovering humans, shouldn’t they try to recruit them first? They really were the ruthless Slaughterers gang.
Tao Shushu pinned down three of them.
But one managed to escape her grasp. That person was incredibly fast, likely possessing a speed-based ability.
Tao Shushu refused to believe anyone could outpace her, the player.
She laid her phone flat, eyes fixed intently on the screen.
But the escapee was slippery, constantly moving just off-screen and occasionally tossing explosive weapons.
The three pinned individuals were terrified.
They hadn’t even finished their first attack when they were suddenly assaulted.
Their companion asked why they didn’t run.
They wished they could, but it felt like a mountain was pressing down on their backs, nearly crushing them.
Nan Yuan, calm and unhurried, pulled out a particle gun and pulled the trigger.
The speed-based ability user grunted and collapsed to the ground.
Tao Shushu immediately moved to restrain him.
These people are way too fragile, Tao Shushu muttered to herself.
She held them down and handed them over to the cub for interrogation.
Nan Yuan found some rope and tied the group together.
“Are you here for the energy?” Nan Yuan asked with a dark expression.
The injured speed-based ability user nodded meekly. He didn’t dare resist. He prided himself on being the fastest in the entire Slaughterers gang, and because of his speed, he had never been injured in battle. Yet, this teenager, no older than seventeen or eighteen, had managed to shoot him with a single shot.
It was terrifying.
Nan Yuan’s expression was icy cold.
The one with the energy wasn’t him, it was that person. She always seemed to pull energy out of nowhere.
Fortunately, that person was powerful enough to protect herself.
Nan Yuan released his ability. The little lion crouched in the distance, head lowered, not daring to move.
The four before him couldn’t withstand the pressure and began confessing everything.
“Our organization is called the Slaughterers. Our methods are quite brutal, so there have always been people opposing the boss’s rule. Recently, with the beast tide approaching, some planned to escape. The boss thought it was the ones who stole his energy, so he sent us to deal with it.” Who would have thought it was a stranger, and one so incredibly powerful?
"We communicate with signal flares. The boss used to be from the Second Legion and knows tactics well, so our base is very secure. The others have no choice but to obey if they want to survive, because there’s no safer base on this barren planet. It’s not the spaceship dock, that area was destroyed by machines."
Hearing the mention of the Second Legion, Nan Yuan blinked, but aside from that, he didn’t even pause his breathing. The four trembling captives didn’t notice his momentary distraction.
"Our base is twenty kilometers away, equipped with a watchtower. You won’t be able to break in, there are plenty of guards stationed there."
Nan Yuan didn’t waste words. "Keep driving. Pretend you’ve captured me and take me inside."
"Don’t try any tricks." Nan Yuan shifted his gaze, and a section of each of the four men’s hair was cleanly sliced off.
This was something Nan Yuan had just discovered, he could control light, and light could also be a weapon.
The four, who had still harbored some rebellious thoughts, instantly became obedient. This ability could easily kill without a trace.
When Tao Shushu returned with a cup of water, she saw Nan Yuan smiling as he untied the prisoners.
Even when interrogating captives, he was so gentle, their cub’s temper was just too good.


Author’s Note:
Cub: Being pampered.