Chapter 78: Blue Planet

Long Teng, puzzled by his own reaction, stood stunned in place. But when he saw Kabu was raising his hand to Bai Jiao’s shoulder, his body acted faster than his brain, and he quickly ran to Bai Jiao’s side. He smiled, wrapped his arm around Bai Jiao’s shoulder, and inserted himself between the two men in a rough manner. “A’Jiao. A’Sen said it’s time for lunch.”

Bai Jiao was used to his big-hearted behavior, and simply took his hand off. “Wait. I’ll put the medicine away.” Some medicines tended to spoil if left unattended, and he was taking advantage of his stay here to dry some of them.

Kabu immediately said, “I’ll put it away for you. You can come back this afternoon to take it away!”

Bai Jiao laughed lightly. “No, I’ll do it myself.” He looked at Long Teng. “When are we leaving?”

Long Teng looked at him suspiciously, then said honestly, “I don’t know.”

Bai Jiao lowered his eyes to hide the smile in his gaze, collected the herbs and said, “Probably soon. We’ve stayed quite a while.”

Kabu watched with a lost look, as Bai Jiao followed Long Teng away. Since he was only the healer of the Lion tribe, he naturally wasn’t stupid. Bai Jiao had deliberately asked when they would leave. In fact, it was to remind him of that fact.

Kavi sought him out at dinner, and sighed at his appearance. “I told you long ago. They are not from here.”

The four of them went to the sacred mountain for three more days and found a lot of plants, then they decided to return to the spaceship and leave the next day for planning. Back on the ship, they packed their own things. Xie Sen organized the information on water diversion, farming, and animal husbandry into a sketch. He hadn’t found a pen and paper, so instead he used black charcoal on a strip of cloth, so it was easy to read.

He took the drawing to Kavi, and explained it briefly to make sure he could read it. Xie Sen smiled, and reminded him to use a bone knife to carve it into the stone so that it would last longer.

Maine took his hand, and they walked away from the Lion tribe. After a while, Maine stopped and touched his cheek, “Are you feeling better?”

Xie Sen looked at him in surprise. Maine said, “I can sense it, the guilt you feel towards them.” He frowned. “But in reality, you helped them.”

Xie Sen pursed his lips. “The difference in the sacred mountain was because of the energy. The energy is related to me, so the trouble is caused by me. It’s a good thing it was solved in time.”

Maine wrinkled his brows in a moment of silence. “I don’t understand. Your plant likes these energies, so you collect them. What does it have to do with you?”

Xie Sen thought about it. This question really wasn’t easy to answer. He had told Maine that Adam liked energy, so they collected it, but in fact, the energy was Adam’s originally, so he was actually retrieving energy.

If he was honest, his words would be inconsistent, but if he wasn’t honest, he couldn’t explain his relationship to the energy. He said, “I’ll tell you more when the petals are brighter, okay?”

Maine valued him too much. He wasn’t worried that Maine would look at him differently when he knew about the System. But he wasn’t ready to tell him either. This wasn’t the time. The energy had so much to do with his health, that he didn’t want Maine to know while there wasn’t a complete guarantee that he would be okay.

Because he knew that Maine would be even more nervous than he was. The energy recovery was going well and progressing quickly. He didn’t want Maine to worry about it for nothing.

Maine looked at him with penetrating eyes. Xie Sen was inexplicably weak. Maine looked at him for half a second more, then lowered his head and kissed his lips, as he said in a deep voice, “Okay.” He didn’t want to make things difficult for Xie Sen at all.

Xie Sen reached out, wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him back.

The two returned to the ship. Xie Sen sat on the couch in thoughtful silence, and looked out the window as the sky darkened. The wood energy had almost led to serious consequences. He didn’t know what would happen with the remaining two energies.

In any case, the more he delayed, the greater the impact might be. It was safest to retrieve them as soon as possible. He called out to Adam in his mind and asked directly, “Adam, can you sense the location of the remaining energy?”

Adam quickly responded, his voice excited, “I can feel the golden energy. It’s very close to us!”

Xie Sen immediately turned on the bracelet, which was currently disconnected, but many basic functions could still be used. He pulled out a downloaded interstellar map, and slid his finger across the map according to Adam’s description, and soon got the location of the golden energy – Blue.

Xie Sen immediately had a picture of this large planet in his head. It was indeed very close to the small planet where he was now. He remembered Long Teng mentioning that it was a planet with a lot of water, and he held his chin and talked to Adam about it, “The corresponding color of the gold energy is white, what kind of carrier do you think it will find?”

Adam said bitterly, “I don’t know, I can only feel the pure aura near it.”

Xie Sen thought for a moment. “Forget it. When you get there, you will be able to sense the exact location. Blue is close to here. I’ll discuss it with them. Instead of going back to Brandt Star, we’ll go directly to Blue.”

Adam sounded very happy, “Yeah! Sen is great. We’ll be able to recover the gold energy soon!”

Xie Sen’s proposal was fine with the rest of them. Maine, naturally, went along with him. Long Teng was especially excited. “Great! Planet Blue is beautiful and fun, and there are many open fighting arenas. I like it there!”

Bai Jiao laughed, “Blue is a famous interstellar tourist planet. I’ve read about it many times in travel magazines, but I haven’t been there. Now that I have a chance, I’m looking forward to it.”

Liu Shen only needed to manage things related to the ship. When he heard that they were going to be able to replenish their energy on Blue, he nodded and let Long Teng plan the route. After the group talked about it, they went to their respective rooms.

The next morning, Maine and Long Teng put their contract beasts into their space buckles, while Kavi led the whole clan to send them off, and gave them a lot of local wild fruits.

Xie Sen thanked them. The four of them were about to board the spaceship, when Kabu suddenly rushed over to Bai Jiao. His gaze was expectant and affectionate. “Can you stay and be my mate?” he said in a firm tone. “I will treat you well for the rest of my life!”

Bai Jiao froze. He was often isolated because his contract beast was B class. His rank was too prominent among the females, and didn’t meet the mainstream female standards. He was obsessed with researching various herbs and pharmaceuticals, so he had very little time to deal with people. Although he was good-looking and had a good family background, it was the first time he had been confessed to in this way.

He was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. “Sorry.” He turned around, and got on the ship.

Kabu watched the ship take off, and stood there for a long time.

Liu Shen and Maine went to the cockpit, while the other three sat in the dining room, ready to talk about Blue. After he sat down, Xie Sen saw that Bai Jiao was looking out the window, and didn’t make a sound to disturb him for a while.

Bai Jiao sat on the stool by the window. He watched the silhouette that gradually became smaller until it disappeared, while he held his chin and looked a bit dazed. He didn’t quite understand why Kabu would confess to him.

In his impression, he was very unpopular with males, and conversely, he had a bad impression of males. Some males were very strange. They obviously had no previous contact with him, but when they saw him, they would pretend to be surprised and say in an exaggerated tone, “He is the B class female beast master?” Then they and their companions laughed together.

He thought those people were sick in the head, as if they couldn’t see. The other group was always very dissatisfied. They would stop him, and say some bad words. He didn’t want to waste time with them, and directly sprinkled powder to deter these people.

Later on, no one dared to stop him. Of course, then even fewer people wanted to approach him. More than once, he had heard people privately call him a ‘pseudo-male.’ They even took pleasure in speculating about his future mate’s miserable life.

“Hahahaha, soft females are only welcomed by males. No one would want him even at 50, right? Perhaps a ‘pseudo-female’ could be found to make just the right pair.”

So, why did Kabu confess to him?

Long Teng looked at Bai Jiao, and tugged on his sleeve. “Why are you upset?” He added, “You shouldn’t be upset.”

Bai Jiao looked back, and the corner of his mouth tugged up. These silly words, he actually remembered. He smiled. “I’m not unhappy.” He looked at Long Teng and wondered aloud, “But you. Aren’t you always in good spirits? Why do I feel like you have no energy?”

Long Teng’s black and white eyes looked at him. “I was afraid that you would promise Kabu to stay. I was happy that you refused Kabu, but you looked unhappy so I was unhappy too.”

Bai Jiao was stunned. Long Teng’s eyes were clear and his gaze was sincere, which let him know that the words were true. His heart warmed slightly. It wasn’t the first time he felt this feeling. He also experienced it before when Long Teng gave him a plant.

He smiled. His beautiful eyes curved up, and his clear face was no longer as emotionless as a jade sculpture that isolated people on the outside. It was as if a spring breeze brushed away the falling snow from red plum petals, and revealed the true face of its bold beauty.

“I was just thinking about something. I wasn’t unhappy.”

Long Teng stared at Bai Jiao, and his heartbeat inexplicably accelerated. He raised a bright smile, and revealed his bright white teeth. “That’s good.” He didn’t hold back, as his eyes shone. “You are so pretty.”

Bai Jiao laughed again. Xie Sen who was sitting across from them couldn’t help but laugh too. Bai Jiao looked over, a little embarrassed. Xie Sen said, “Teng is right. You are very good looking.”

Xie Sen looked at the two people across from each other, and felt like they were a bit different from before, but exactly what the difference was he couldn’t explain.

Long Teng was busy saying, “Right. Right. I was right!”

Bai Jiao’s mouth curved slightly, but he didn’t not want to continue talking about his appearance, so he turned the topic to business. “I’ve only read the tourist book, but Blue is a large area. It’s ninety percent water, and the main inhabitants are mermaids, but because it is a tourist planet, all races will be there.”

Xie Sen was surprised. “Mermaids? You mean the ones with tails on the bottom half of their bodies?”

“Yes,” Bai Jiao gave him a puzzled look. His description was too strange. “The mermaids have a long history, so maybe it has something to do with their living environment. They are different from Brandt Star people. They can switch between beast and human form. They are very strong themselves, and have no contract beasts.”

Xie Sen thought about the countless film and television works that speculated about mermaids, and was more curious than before about the Planet Blue.

“They can swim fast!” Long Teng’s eyes were bright. “We have to take a mermaid boat. Super fun!”

Bai Jiao looked at Xie Sen. “Is there a destination? Or are we just going to wander around?”

Xie Sen, “Yes.”

Bai Jiao smiled, and didn’t ask more questions. He sensed that every time Xie Sen decided to go somewhere, it was definitely not a random choice, but had a purpose.

At four o’clock in the afternoon, the spaceship arrived at Blue, and upon entry, each person paid an entry fee of 10,000 Star Coins.

The spaceship landed at a huge spaceport. As soon as it did, several beeps sounded, and everyone received a welcome message, while their personal bracelets finally connected to the network.

Liu Shen stood by the door of the ship, and said, “Contact me when you are ready to leave.”

Long Teng nodded. “Okay, thank you, Uncle Liu.” After he finished, he took Bai Jiao’s hand, and ran out. As he was running, he turned back towards Xie Sen and Maine and waved. “Hurry up, hurry up.”

Xie Sen nodded in response, and walked out quickly hand in hand with Maine. After they left the spaceport, there was a faint smell of seawater. Except for the spaceport behind them, the rest of the world was blue seawater, so deep that they couldn’t see the bottom.

In the distance, there were many tall buildings on the sea, while near the spaceport there were docked a variety of speedboats, and aircrafts. Many tourists were coming out of the spaceport, people of all colors and hairstyles, while excited voices that said “wow!” kept coming.

Xie Sen noticed that while most people took transportation, a small number of people summoned flying contract beasts and left directly on them.

Xie Sen asked Adam in his mind for the exact location of the golden energy. Adam was silent for a moment and then said, “One hundred and sixty kilometers to the west.”

“Where to?” Maine wrapped his arms around Xie Sen, as he shielded him against being bumped.

Xie Sen gave him the location. “We’ll go there ourselves!” He wasn’t sure what kind of impact the golden energy would have, and Blue was so crowded and mixed up, that the fewer people who went, the better.

Long Teng circled around, and ran over to ask where they were going, Xie Sen told him the destination, and he immediately said he would go there too. There were so many people on the ground that the flying dragon beast had no place to land, and could only fly in mid-air.

“Oh, my God, a flying dragon beast!” Its huge size was too noticeable, and it immediately caught the attention of the tourists.

“An S class contract beast! Actually it is already contracted. Which big shot has come?” Some people were curious.

Long Teng looked around at the people, and was worried. “How do we get up? If Big Black comes down, will all these people be overwhelmed?”

Xie Sen didn’t want to draw attention to himself, so he whispered, “I’ll let the vines get us up there. They will also let the flying dragon beast fly faster later.”

Long Teng put his arm around Bai Jiao’s shoulders. “I’m with A’Jiao.”

Xie Sen nodded. Maine summoned the flying lion beast, and stopped it side by side with the flying dragon beast. The crowd of tourists roared again, “Flying lion beast! It’s a flying lion beast!”

“Two S class contract beasts! Is there something big happening in Blue?”

Xie Sen quickly summoned two watermelon vines, and in the next instant, Long Teng, Bai Jiao, himself and Maine were circled by the watermelon vines and carried up to the backs of the flying dragon beast and the flying lion beast respectively.

The visitors were stunned. What just happened?

“Did I see it? Those guys just flew up, and then went away on the contract beasts?”

“I saw it too. How did it happen? This is too bull, right?”

“I didn’t see the appearance of those people clearly, but they looked very young, ah. Which planet are the noblemen from?”

Xie Sen knew nothing about the discussion behind him. He was sitting on the back of the flying lion beast, as he leaned against Maine and looked at the scenery. The view from high up was wide open, with blue water everywhere. The sky was light blue, and the clouds were white, like big clumps of cotton. The sky was high, the sea was wide, and it made him feel extraordinarily relaxed.

Occasionally, they passed by some buildings, those with gorgeous styles, standing firmly in the water. One of them was particularly eye-catching. The outer layer was clad in ghostly blue glass, while the bottom floor was very high, so when you looked up at it, it would create the illusion of meeting with the clouds.

There were many flying contract beasts on the sky road, and many flying machines above. The flying lion beast and flying dragon beast couldn’t fly as they wished, and the speed wasn’t very fast.

Xie Sen felt the temperature on his right shoulder as it got warmer, and relaxed knowing that the distance to the energy was decreasing. However, after a short while, his eyebrows knitted up, “Stop.”

The flying lion stopped where it was. The flying dragon passed it, then turned its head back and roared at it. Long Teng asked aloud, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Sen stroked his right shoulder. The temperature was dropping, it was getting farther and farther away from the energy, and he immediately realized that the energy was moving.

“Not going there anymore.” Xie Sen said, then asking Adam in his mind, “Adam, can you feel the exact location?”

Adam said, “Hold on…Huh. Its location is changing, and the energy is strong, then weak. I have to use more energy to feel the location. It’s now in the east, fifteen kilometers away from here. A little further… Sixteen kilometers.”

It was about a kilometer farther away in about half a minute, so the carrier of the energy was moving at a speed of over a hundred kilometers per hour. 1

Xie Sen immediately said to Long Teng, “Follow the flying lion.” He rubbed the side of its neck, “Can you fly higher? We’ll take the uppermost passage. Weave through the craft and the rest of the contract beasts, and fly east as fast as you can.”

“Yes.” The flying lion beast replied, then its wings flapped up and down dramatically. Its body rose steeply, then it quickly turned its head and flew east.

Without the influence of the rest of the flying objects, their speed was abruptly and dramatically faster. Xie Sen clutched the mane of the flying lion beast, while Maine held him in his arms and asked in his ear, “The energy is moving?”

Xie Sen nodded, “Yes, it’s getting closer to us now.”

Maine put his hand on his right shoulder. The sunflower that had been standing on his right shoulder had felt the high temperature when it entered the area, and moved to his left shoulder.

Maine was a little worried. “The temperature is very high. Will you have a hard time?”

Xie Sen shook his head, “No.”

Twenty minutes later, Xie Sen felt the temperature on his right shoulder rise to the extreme, then after a moment, it dropped a little bit, so he hurriedly looked down and back. There was a flying machine that was moving farther and farther away from them, so he hurriedly said, “Slow down.”

By the time the craft passed below and the flying lion, Xie Sen felt the change in temperature on his right shoulder, and was sure that the golden energy was there. At the same time, a cry rang out in his head, “Oooooooooooo! It’s scary…”

The cry was soft and pitiful, as if from a small child, but the voice didn’t sound human.

He was stunned, and quickly said to the flying lion beast, “Follow that flying machine.”

The flying lion beast immediately accelerated, and soon wasn’t not far behind the flying machine.

Adam’s voice was a little weak, but his tone was very excited, “There it is, very close. It’s strange. Why is the energy I’m sensing so intermittent?”

Xie Sen said, “Are you using up too much energy?”

Adam said, “Well, the gold energy is strange. The rest of the energy can be felt in real time.”

Xie Sen was a little worried. “You rest first, I’ll keep an eye on it, I’ll call you if something happens.”

“Okay.” Adam said, and then there was no sound.

Xie Sen listened to the soft cries that came from time to time, and had a guess in his heart. He looked down at the flying machine in front of him, and asked in his mind, “Can you hear me?”

“Oooh… Huh?” the cry stopped, and the soft voice asked in confusion, “You are? Big Pincers? Or Big Tail?”

Xie Sen, “…” What was all this?

“I am a human. Do you have a strong energy in your body?” he asked.

“How do you know? No, humans can’t understand me. Woo, woo, woo. I asked them not to catch me, but they still took me away and hit Big Pincers and Big Tail. Woo, woo, woo…”

Xie Sen had a huge headache. He’d never met someone who could cry so much. 

“I’m really human. Because you have energy inside your body, I can communicate with you. How do you feel now? Has the energy affected you?”

“I’ve gotten so big. Oooooo. I’ve also become stupid. I always like to move, and I like to open my mouth. The elders say only stupid people like to open their mouths. Oooo. I was taken away because I opened my mouth. I became a fool…”

Xie Sen was confused. What was all this?

“You’re not stupid,” he tried to comfort it. “Look, you can communicate with me, and think clearly and intelligently.”

The other party’s voice was soft but stubborn, “No, I am. I obviously don’t want to move. I don’t want to open my mouth. I can’t even control my own actions. I’m just a fool, oooh…”

Xie Sen rubbed his forehead. He had a headache from all the crying, and couldn’t figure out how to comfort it.

Maine said, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Sen, “Nothing, the energy is in the creature, and I’m communicating with it.”

Maine looked towards the craft. “In there?”

Xie Sen nodded, “Yes.” Maine hugged him tightly, and didn’t say another word to interrupt.

Xie Sen thought about it, and said in his mind, “The energy was originally mine. I can take it back. After I get it, you can control yourself.”

“Really?” The other party’s tone rose, and then cried, “Oooooooooo, but I’ve already been captured.”

“I will save you. What species of creature are you? What are they capturing you for?” Xie Sen asked.

“They want to rob my treasure,” the other said. “I am a silver shell. Big Pincers, it called me Little Silver. Oooooooooo, I’m not Little Silver anymore. I have become so big!”

Xie Sen pondered a little. When it was open-mouthed they grabbed at its treasure. He guessed, “Is your treasure a pearl?”

“Yes, it’s beautiful. But it’s gotten so much bigger. The energy is in it. Oooh, I can’t control myself, so when I opened my mouth, it was seen.”

It dawned on Xie Sen, that he didn’t know how much bigger the shell had gotten. When he looked at the size of the craft, it couldn’t be as big as the sunflower had become, but with the energy in it, it definitely wasn’t small. No wonder it was taken away.

“Oooooo, will you really come to my rescue? They’re coming to pry my mouth again, it’s so scary, oooooooooo. They’re still hammering my shell. What should I do? Am I going to die?”

Xie Sen’s heart tightened, no matter what species Little Silver was, it was an intelligent creature that could communicate with him, so there was no way he could be indifferent to Little Silver’s death. Moreover, if there was no golden energy, it would be just a happy little shell that wouldn’t have encountered such danger.

He said firmly, “No, don’t open your mouth! I will find a way to save you.” He didn’t know much about shells, but he still knew that they were hard outside while their flesh was soft.

“Mmmmm. I will try my best to keep control, and not to open my mouth when someone is there.” Little Silver choked out, “Come on, hurry up.”

Xie Sen was about to discuss with Maine the possibility of a direct grab when Maine said, “They’re getting ready to land.”

Just as Maine said, the craft descended rapidly and finally stopped below a tall building. It was the same one Xie Sen had seen on the way in, the one with blue windows that seemed to meet the clouds.

Xie Sen hurriedly said, “Land.”

During the landing, Xie Sen stared down. A team of tall uniformed men came out of the building and ran directly to the door of the craft, then stood in two rows. Four strong men came down from the craft. They carried a large wooden box in their hands, and were escorted by the uniformed team towards the building.

The flying lion beast and the flying dragon beast descended to the bottom, and immediately caught their attention. The forward movement stopped.

The flying lion beast landed smoothly in front of them, and Maine jumped down with Xie Sen in his arms. The temperature of Xie Sen’s shoulder got hotter, and the sound of Little Silver crying became clearer.

The eyes of one of the strong men who were carrying the wooden box glowed brightly. People who had senior contract beasts weren’t of low status, and as for S class contract beasts, they were usually owned by the top people of each planet.

He laughed out loud, “Hahahaha! Worthy of the flying lion beast’s, and the flying dragon beast’s beast masters. You are so well-informed, but man, you guys are too anxious. We haven’t yet decided how to sell this treasure. Wait for the news!”

Long Teng came over, “Treasure? Inside the wooden box? What is it?”

The strong man was stunned, and his eyes were a bit wary. “You didn’t want to see the treasure in advance because you read the publicity from Phantom of the Sea? Then what are you doing in front of us?”

The black-clad uniform squad took a neat step forward, and put their hands on the weapons pinned to their waists.

Xie Sen hastily laughed, “Of course I’ve read the publicity,” he exaggerated. “Oh, I’ve never seen such a big shell. I’m curious, can I have a look?”

The uniformed squad’s hands left their weapons, and the burly man laughed again. “Hahaha! unfortunately I must refuse you. It won’t show itself again until I’m sure by what means. Then it will be sold.” He shrugged. “You know, mysterious treasures tickle the mind even more.”

Xie Sen stared at the wooden box, a little distracted by the sound of Little Silver’s cries.

The strong man saw his eyes glued to the wooden box, thought he especially wanted it and laughed. “I know, females have no resistance to beautiful items. If you’re anxious, why don’t you stay at the Phantom of the Sea, and you can make an offer as soon as the sale is confirmed. Well mate, get out of the way, we’re busy!”

Xie Sen thought to himself, he had no way to resist. He considered it but came up with no good answer except to move aside, out of the doorway. This was someone else’s territory, and there were so many guards with weapons. Just trying to grab it was definitely not the right thing to do.

He watched the strong men carry the wooden box into the building, then he quickly walked into the lobby. A beautiful waiter at the door immediately said, “Welcome to the Phantom of the Sea. May I ask what you need?” His hand was held slightly forward, and a virtual screen appeared above his palm. The screen had various options, which included a variety of food and drink entertainments. Each also has a subdivision, such as gambling as entertainment, the way to bet on the battlefields, machines, cards, shopping on the shopping plaza and auctions.

One building, all-inclusive. It had everything.

Xie Sen immediately made a decision. “We want to stay.”