Chapter 97: Ability to Strengthen

The shuttle landed at the entrance of their home. Maine carried Xie Sen into the bedroom, put Xie Sen on the bed, moved his body down and slowly rolled up Xie Sen’s pant leg to reveal Xie Sen’s white calf.

Xie Sen sat up. Maine held his foot, and put the anklet back on him with a serious look.

After he put it on, Maine kissed him on the back of his foot, and his toes subconsciously curled. Maine raised his eyes and looked at him deeply, “Don’t take it off again, okay?” He rubbed his thumb against Xie Sen’s ankle bone, as his eyebrows wrinkled. “I want to turn the live buckle into a dead buckle, but I’m worried that I’ll need to take it off in special circumstances.”

Xie Sen was relieved to see that Maine wasn’t affected by the energy, and stroked Maine’s neck. “Mn. It’s not coming off.” He moved his palm down the side of Maine’s neck to the back, and applied a slight pressure.

Maine leaned forward compliantly with Xie Sen’s urging, and Xie Sen moved in to kiss him for half a breath before he pulled back slightly, his lips tinged with bright color.

Xie Sen pressed against his forehead. “Are you still insecure now?”

Maine’s eyes darkened. “I’m worried about your safety.” He backed away, lifted Xie Sen’s chin, and pecked Xie Sen on the cheek. “Nothing can happen to you.”

Xie Sen laughed. “Don’t be too nervous. My contract plants are very powerful.”

Maine still said, “Don’t remove the anklet. Even if you do, tell me in advance.”

Xie Sen agreed, “Okay.” As he was talking, heat suddenly swept through his body, and then it abruptly receded.

“Aaaahhh, A’Sen, that’s great, the energy is all back!” Adam’s excited voice rang out in his head.

Xie Sen turned his ankle, and there was no trace of energy on the anklet. He smiled. “That’s good.”

Adam said, “I’m going to run the energy. You’ll be amazed in the morning!” Then there was no sound.

“What’s wrong?” Maine asked, when he saw him motionless.

Xie Sen looked at him, then pulled down the collar of his shirt over his right shoulder. The five-colored peony had turned a big solid red color, as lifelike as if it were a real flower. The red petals set off his skin, which made it look even whiter.

Maine couldn’t help it. He reached out and touched the petals. “It’s changed to one color. Has all the energy been collected?”

Xie Sen nodded. His eyebrows arched, and he was in a very good mood. “Mn, I don’t have to worry anymore.”

“Worry about what?” Maine looked at him. “What would happen if the energy wasn’t recovered?”

Xie Sen hesitated for a moment, then said honestly, “My body would get worse and worse, and then I would have died…”

Maine lowered his head, kissed him, and interrupted his words. Then he held him in his arms but at a slight distance. His voice trembled slightly, “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You said the energy would make your body better, but you didn’t tell me about the possible problems. What if it didn’t come back?!”

Xie Sen patted his back. “I was afraid you would worry. You see, even now that things have worked out, you’re still worried.”

Maine’s jaw tightened. He let go of his hand, and locked eyes with him. “You said you wouldn’t lie to me. Is there anything else you’re hiding from me?”

Xie Sen had planned to talk to Maine after he recovered all the energy anyway, so when he heard Maine’s question, he thought for a second and nodded. “Yes.”

Maine’s expression changed instantly, and he grabbed Xie Sen’s hand. “Tell me. No matter what it is, tell me.”

Xie Sen returned the hold on his hand. His eyes were downcast as he organized his words. His lips pursed, and he only looked up at him after a moment. “Don’t be afraid of me. If you can’t accept it, I…” He took a deep breath. “I’ll move out.”

“No!” Maine flatly refused. “You’re mine. I won’t let you leave!”

The corners of Xie Sen’s mouth curved up slightly, then dropped to a flat line as he spoke. He whispered about his true identity, Adam’s existence, and explained why he hid it. At first, it was because he didn’t know him well, and later because he was afraid Maine would worry.

Maine’s eyes changed rapidly, and by the time Xie Sen finished, his face had tightened with obvious anxiety. He grabbed Xie Sen by the shoulders. “Will you leave suddenly?”

Xie Sen shook his head. “No. This is my new life.”

Maine’s expression eased a little as he ran his hand along his shoulder and caressed the back of Xie Sen’s neck. “No wonder you’d forgotten so much. No wonder you’re nothing like you used to be, and no wonder there’s so many plants…It’s so nice.” He kissed Xie Sen’s lips. “Your new life is also my new life.”

Xie Sen kissed him back, and his body quickly began to burn. He was swept up in Maine’s arms, and slowly lay back down on the bed. Maine covered him while he carefully avoided his abdomen. He deepened the kiss, as he stroked his earlobe with one hand and slid the other downwards.

When Xie Sen woke up again, it was dark. The chaos before his sleep came back to him, and his face flushed. The man who had writhed and frantically demanded…that definitely wasn’t him!

“Are you okay?” Maine asked in his ear with a warm voice as he rubbed his waist with his hand.

Xie Sen buried half of his face in the pillow like an ostrich. His voice slurred, “Hungry.”

Maine laughed lightly, and leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Dinner is ready. Shall we eat here, or go to the dining room?”

Xie Sen was a little surprised that his body was so adaptable. On second thought, it probably had something to do with the fact that all the energy was recovered. He reached for his clothes, and said as he put them on, “Let’s eat in the dining room.”

It was probably because he slept too much the afternoon before, but the next morning, Xie Sen woke up very early. He looked at the time, and saw it was only 5:30. He felt particularly refreshed and his body was full of strength. He even felt that the air was extra fresh in the room where he had slept all night.

“A’Sen, you’re awake. Do you feel different?” Adam sounded excited and proud.

Xie Sen told him how he felt and asked, “Is it related to the energy?”

“Yes. Your body has become very good, and the rest of the changes you will discover when you wake up fully.”

Xie Sen finished his breakfast and while he was walking in front of his home, he realized what Adam meant when he said the rest of the changes. The beasts lived to the front and right of the house, while directly in front of it was land where plants hadn’t yet been planted, so the contract beasts went for a morning run around that area every morning.

In the giant black leopard’s words, when they later went back to the forest, they would need to hunt, so they must ensure their physical fitness. He was walking in the doorway, while the contract beasts were running around the circle that morning. Once they were at the closest position to him, normally they would continue running, but this time they turned around and ran towards him. At the same time, he heard a few different voices.

“Good morning A’Sen!”

“Wow! I’m not even next to A’Sen right now, but I feel so comfortable too!”

“…”

Xie Sen froze. He was very familiar with these voices. They belonged to the contract beasts, but only he communicated with them before when he touched them. Now they were still some distance away, and he could understand them.

The giant black leopard was very fast, and landed in front of Xie Sen with a jump. It raised it’s right paw. “A’Sen, what happened? Your natural aura is stronger!”

Xie Sen was surprised and happy, as he rubbed the back of the black leopard’s paw. Then the rest of the contract beasts also arrived, and they were all roaring and asking questions.

Xie Sen withdrew his hand. “The energy is gathered, that’s all.”

The contract beasts knew more about the energy than even the other people, since they had all been affected by it. So as soon as Xie Sen said that, they understood.

The giant tiger roared with excitement. “A’Sen, you can move in with us! I’ll be comfortable next to you!” Only after he roared did he realize he hadn’t made contact with Xie Sen, and lifted up his meat pad.

Xie Sen said, “I can understand without contact now,” he said, then spread his hands. “But I can’t live with you.”

The giant black leopard said, “Then how about you come and sit in our resting place every day?”

Xie Sen smiled, “Sure. I’ll just be home and visit you guys every day.”

The giant elephant beast said, “You can’t stand all the time now. Put a recliner over there. We feel comfortable as long as we’re near you.”

Xie Sen said, “Okay, I’ll go buy a recliner later. You guys go back to running!”

The contract beasts ran away reluctantly. First extremely fast, as if they were phantoms, then when they reached Xie Sen’s home, their speed would become extremely slow, and they would simply take a slow walk.

Xie Sen went online to buy a recliner, and chose a solid chair that could sit and lie back. He asked Maine, “Do you want one?”

Maine looked at him, a smile in his eyes. “No.”

Xie Sen then placed his order and bought one. After the purchase, he cut to the monitoring of the farm. The office, staff dormitory and the tool house were all built, and there were road signs all over the farm, while each area was clearly divided. The soil in the ground wasn’t dry any longer after several days of continuous sprinkling.

Xie Sen’s eyes curved slightly as he asked President Ma to order the seeds. Now he could plant them in the land without any worries.

Maine put his hand on his shoulder. “I’m going upstairs. Will you come with me?”

Xie Sen thought for a moment and shook his head. “I’ll wait for the recliner to be delivered, and sit with the contract beasts for a while.”

Maine leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. “Call me if you need anything.”

It didn’t take long for the recliner to arrive. Xie Sen opened the door and, to the amazed eyes of the delivery staff, the python carried the recliner to a location in the accommodation area.

Xie Sen thanked the employees, and closed the courtyard door.

Xie Sen half leaned back in the recliner, and brushed up on the school forum as the contract beasts played happily near him. Not long after, Tuan Tuan flew back from outside and ‘chirped’ around Xie Sen excitedly.

Xie Sen rubbed its fluffy head feathers. “Where is the flying eagle beast? Haven’t you been playing with it lately?”

Tuan Tuan’s little mouth was full of words. Xie Sen was stunned. Tuan Tuan’s voice was still clear and crisp, but whereas he used to only hear a ‘chirp,’ now he could understand it.

After Tuan Tuan finished, he made the customary ‘chirp’ twice.

Xie Sen came back to his senses. “You mean, you and the flying eagle beast heard that A’Jia and its beast master went to play in a faraway place. You were curious and followed along. You stayed there for a while, then came back, but the flying eagle beast stayed behind?”

Tuan Tuan’s voice suddenly rose to a high pitch. “Chirp! A’Sen, can you understand me now?”

Xie Sen was about to answer when Tuan Tuan laughed out loud. “I’ve been staying near the energy, it really works. Chirp.”

Xie Sen was puzzled. “When did you stay near the energy?”

Tuan Tuan tilted its round head proudly. “I stayed on the sunflower for a long time, and also on a reef in the Deadly Waters for a long time.” It sounded aggrieved. “I became much more powerful, but Sen still couldn’t understand my words.”

When Tuan Tuan was on the Yagi Continent and Planet Blue, it was often missing. Xie Sen had been letting it run loose, but he never thought it would go looking for the energy. He squeezed Tuan Tuan’s wings. “Tuan Tuan is amazing! I can understand you now.”

Tuan Tuan tilted its head, and rubbed against his hand, “I’m smart, right? I knew it. They can communicate with you because of their energy, and now I can too.”

Xie Sen laughed and praised it wildly. Tuan Tuan landed on the python’s head and contentedly pecked at its feathers.

Xie Sen was about to continue brushing up on the webpage when his communicator rang.  When he picked up, Ma Qun’s voice came through, “A’Sen, come to the Research Institute now.”

Xie Sen heard the seriousness of his voice, and sat upright to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“Cen Jun says he wanted to sue you for stealing his stuff, that energy. I originally ignored it, but he confirmed that the energy did exist. Moon City is ready to go straight to legal proceedings, but I stopped them. Just in case you were misunderstood, after we discussed things, it was decided that you would be examined at the Institute.”

Xie Sen was surprised, “How did he prove it?”

Ma Qun, “You remember what he said about the usefulness of energy, right?”

Of course Xie Sen remembered. “It enhances human abilities and also promotes plant growth.”

Ma Qun, “Good, those are the two. He provided a medical report from before he left for Misty Planet, and compared to now, his abilities have more than doubled. At the same time, he came up with a new plant, a blueberry.”

Xie Sen wasn’t surprised that Cen Jun could produce a new plant. He had guessed that when he saw Cen Jun’s reaction at the meeting yesterday.

Blueberries were a blue-based plant, and the main color of water energy was black and blue, so it made sense to find a blueberry near water energy.

Ma Qun finished explaining, then hesitated for a moment. “Is there really energy there?”

Xie Sen also hesitated, and then said in a definite tone, “No.”

Ma Qun laughed. “It is indeed unbelievable. Cen Jun came up with convincing evidence, so you have to come to the Institute, or things will go too far and the police will have to deal with it.”

Xie Sen raised his eyebrows. “Let the police handle it. That way he can even be sued for defamation.”

The police were very cautious when Xie Sen and Maine arrived at the police station at 10:30 a.m. Cen Jun had red blood in his eyes, and his gaze was stern when he saw Xie Sen. His hands were clenched into fists, but he refrained from moving.

Xie Sen and Maine were both celebrities, especially Xie Sen, who was Star City’s anchor and now the youngest pregnant female, so the police gently went over the matter.

Xie Sen was very cooperative. “I don’t know what he’s talking about in terms of energy. I’m willing to be examined, and I’m requesting that the examination be made public, but it must not compromise my body.”

“Of course,” the officer immediately assured him.

The police hired a famous doctor from the military department to examine Xie Sen, and the results came out quickly. The military doctor looked at Cen Jun with a bad expression, and showed the results on the screen. “Xie Sen is in good condition in all aspects of his heart, mind, and body, and after passing through the energy field tester, there is nothing in him that has anything to do with energy.” He paused. “In short, everything is normal.” He looked at the police, “I have also seen the results of Vice President Cen’s examination. His mental state is extremely unstable, and he has the tendency to harm others. I think he should get an order of deportation.”

“Bullshit!” Cen Jun jumped up, and rushed towards Xie Sen, but he was firmly grabbed by the police officers. He cursed, “You are all in it together! Helping him to hide. All a bunch of robbers!”

Xie Sen was deflated, Cen Jun’s energy had doubled, and a new plant had been discovered. For a plant researcher, it was like a pie in the sky. He could have had a good life if he had been content, but he was too greedy.

“Settle down!” The police officer scolded.

Cen Jun shouted, “He must have energy on his body. It’s definitely disguised in some way, otherwise how can he have two contract plants. It must be because of the energy!”

All of a sudden, all eyes fell on Xie Sen. The military doctor’s eyes glowed. “You have two kinds of contract plants?”

Xie Sen nodded helplessly, “Yes.” He added, “It’s a natural awakening. It’s nothing to do with external forces. What he is claiming about this energy, I’m not sure. Now that I’m cleared, can I sue him for slander?”

The officer said, “Yes.”

In the end, Cen Jun was convicted of slander, and had to pay Xie Sen compensation. He was denied the right to participate in the exchange, and ordered to leave Star City. The Star City police verdict was communicated directly to the Moon City police, along with a copy of Cen Jun’s psychiatric examination, and a friendly recommendation to the Moon City authorities that Cen Jun receive medical treatment.

Cen Jun was repatriated the next day. On the way there, he received an unsigned message, [I only recovered what belongs to me. Just because you found it doesn’t mean it belongs to you.]

He froze, realized something, and was about to keep it as evidence when the message self-destructed. He shouted, “Evidence! He admitted it!”

The fellow officers glanced at the empty communicator, looked at each other, saw the word ‘psycho’ in each other’s eyes, then shut Cen Jun in his room and stopped talking to him.

Maine sat on the couch while Xie Sen stood behind him, and rested on his shoulder. His head was side by side with him as he looked at the screen. “Self-destructed and he really can’t find out?”

“Mn.” Maine said, then grabbed his hand. “Sit down.”

“No, I just finished an apple and a glass of juice. I’m too full to just sit.” Xie Sen propped his chin on his shoulder. “I hope he’s thinking straight.”

He asked Maine to send the message, mostly because the cause was the energy. He had said something earlier to hint at it, but Cen Jun might not have understood, and kept thinking he had been robbed of something. That’s why he sent that blunt message.

Maine’s eyes flashed coldly. That kind of person was never satisfied. How could he think not about it? He rubbed the back of Xie Sen’s hand, and the cold in his eyes was gradually replaced by warmth. His female was too kind.

Cen Jun left. The news of Xie Sen’s double contract plant spread, and soon hit the headlines. Xie Sen and Maine sat together and watched the news as netizens debated and speculated about how he was able to contract two types of plants.

The school forum also had a posting [Shocked. The scrap turned out to be a genius!]

Xie Sen took a look at it. He knew what it was about, so he clicked in and read it. He casually looked for a while, returned home page to refresh, and actually brushed out a military ink color news that was directly on top.

Maine explained, “This is the military news.”

Xie Sen clicked in. According to the news report, a civilian ship from Star City, with more than five hundred passengers on board, including seventy-one children under eleven years old, was hijacked by star pirates.

When the news broke, the crowd was in an uproar. Starnet users who checked the list and found people they knew were on the ship were even more emotional, and kept brushing the military to agree to any demands from the star pirates.

Things remained deadlocked until the next day, when Lieutenant General Meyer, who was stationed at the Kling border fortress, led the Saint Lion Guards, beat the star pirates to the punch and successfully rescued the ship.

In a flash, the statement made by Lieutenant General Meyer when he rescued the hostages quickly caught fire on the Starnet.

In the video, Lieutenant General Meyer, dressed in a straight suit with his sturdy body, firm face and calm voice, said that under absolutely no circumstances would the military department abandon any citizen. The military department was the solid backing of the citizens of Brandt Star forever.

The Cox family’s reputation instantly rose. Xie Sen found that most of the students who had been hesitant to join the legion to which they nominally belonged had made a decision and instead chose the first legion led by the Cox family when they brushed the school forum.

When Maine saw the news, he only grunted and didn’t say anything.

Xie Sen didn’t even grunt, he decisively closed the news. His impression of Meyer was really too bad. Just by having taken more than a glance, he started to worry about it affecting his appetite. Some people looked human, but the heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys were black.

Meyer finished solving the star pirates, escorted the ship away, and led the Saint Lion Guard back to the Kling border fortress. He returned to his lounge, and looked over the online reviews and applications for military enlistment with a smile on his lips.

At that moment, his communicator rang. When he saw the alert on the screen, his expression changed and he picked up.

The other party sounded anxious, “Lieutenant General, the research base has been discovered.”

Meyer’s voice sank, “How could it be discovered?”

The location of the base was remote and underground.

The other side was crying from the truth, “It was an archeologist who took a giant beast with him. The giant beast was digging holes and tunnels everywhere, and…and it was found.”

Meyer’s forehead tightened, and the big word ‘unlucky’ flashed sharply in his mind.

His eyes were fierce. “Kill him. Never let him bring back any messages.”

The other party thought to himself, if it could be solved directly, they would have dealt with it long ago. He stammered, “Lieutenant General, I sent a team to chase the man and the giant armored beast. It would have been easy to catch, but, but there was a flying eagle beast.”

He heard Meyer breathing more heavily, and didn’t dare drag his feet, as he finished in one breath, “The flying eagle beast was flapping its wings in mid-air, and our men couldn’t stand at all. The wind it generated was too strong, and the bomb changed course and didn’t hurt it.”

Meyer clenched his fist hard. When he heard the flying eagle beast mentioned, he thought of Xie Sen and Maine. His heart was filled with hatred. “Use the particle cannon. I give you permission. No matter what, you have to catch them. Don’t leave the flying eagle beast and giant armored beast alive.”

“Yes.” The other party sighed with relief. His purpose was to get the permission to use the particle cannon. Since the Soria incident, Meyer had been very strict on the regulation of powerful weapons, and they all needed his personal authorization.

That afternoon, Xie Sen woke up from his nap and made reasonable use of his natural aura, as he sat on the recliner and brushed up on the news, while the contract beasts felt the aura and lounged around on the ground as they chatted. Suddenly, a harsh and tired eagle cry came from the distance, and Xie Sen’s heart stuttered. It was the sound of the flying eagle beast!

He got up and looked towards the sound. A black shadow was gradually approaching them. The contract beasts stood up. A few ran towards the black shadow, and then followed the black shadow back. Not long after, the black shadow appeared above them, a drop of warm liquid fell on Xie Sen’s forehead. He wiped it off. The bright red color on his skin was extraordinarily harsh.

The next moment, the sound of a heavy object hitting on the ground rang in his ears, Xie Sen’s eyes went wide as the huge body of the flying eagle beast landed in front of him. The flying eagle beast was drenched in blood, and there was a large hole through the tail end of its right wing.

“Roar!!!” Various manic contract beast cries rang out.

The viewers in the studio were stunned, and followed with an explosion of pop-ups, [Who hurt the flying eagle beast? I want to kill him!]

[Oh my god. This is too cruel!]

The flying eagle beast was lying on the ground. Its head rested on the ground as its huge glazed eagle eyes looked at Xie Sen. “Gaw…”