The little cub’s howl could only be understood by the Crown Clan.
In their original form, they communicated through the Crown Clan’s unique mental power.
So, at this moment, the white fluffball little Chu Zao, baring his tiny teeth and claws, looked to others like a small exotic beast—and not even one known as a fierce creature in the interstellar world.
The shop was in chaos. Amid the noise, the man who had been shouting earlier quickly walked over. Naturally, he also saw the exotic beast egg lying on the ground and the little white fluffball on the chair, hugging the remaining fruit, whining in protest.
The exotic beast egg wasn’t a rare or expensive kind. Buyers usually purchased them with a “blind box” mindset—if they managed to hatch a unique species, they could sell it to the black-market merchants of these chaotic planets, especially to the daughter of one of the local rulers.
That young lady loved cute, fluffy things. But her twisted personality meant that anything adorable in her hands never survived for more than a month. Thus, on these wandering planets, this kind of exotic beast egg sold exceptionally well. Everyone dreamed of “opening an SSR,” instantly earning enough money to live comfortably for a year.
Little Chu Zao still hugged the fruit, his little claws gesturing.
Then his tiny nails extended, pointing again and again at the thief, so anxious he almost spoke in this form.
“Awwooo! Awwooo!”
Zao Zao hadn’t even moved earlier!
It was all this man’s fault!
Bad guy, liar!
The man had only been trying to confuse everyone to find a chance to slip away.
Now, seeing the egg’s owner glancing at little Chu Zao, he relaxed slightly and hurried to speak again, righteously: “It was definitely this little beast that broke the rules, sir. Look, it even stole a fruit!”
Stole a fruit?!
Little Chu Zao’s tail fur puffed up.
Zao Zao never stole anything!
That was what Ba Ba gave to Zao Zao!
“It does look that way.”
The bearded man’s eyes flickered with cunning.
Behind him stood several others, looking like a small team—one of those hunting groups that often roamed wandering planets, seeing both danger and opportunity outside their bases.
Someone nearby recognized them: “Isn’t that the Tiger Squad?”
“Oh no, stay away from them. If they target you, there’s no reasoning with them.”
Amidst the whispers, the customers who had been watching from outside the shop didn’t dare to step in. The remaining staff, unaware of the full situation and intimidated by the Tiger Squad’s reputation on this wandering planet, also didn’t dare to interfere.
Soon, those men surrounded the earlier speaker and the little white fluffball, baring its tiny teeth and hissing.
Little Chu Zao bared his small fangs, glaring at the group.
He was small, but not weak.
The little wings on his back tensed; the soft creature had already calculated several attack routes.
However, he hesitated slightly—
He didn’t know what Ba Ba’s situation was.
Could he handle these people? Would it cause trouble? Before, even if he couldn’t win, Zao Zao could just run away—but now, Ba Ba was here.
The tiny fluffball bristled but didn’t move.
“Sir,” the man trapped beside him was sweating. He wanted to sneak away, but his escape path was blocked. He had no choice but to speak again. “You’ve found your lost item, right? So can I—”
“Hey, don’t rush.”
The tall, bearded man stepped up, chuckling as he patted the man’s shoulder and pulled him closer, lowering his eyes threateningly.
“You said you saw this little thing steal the egg and break it, right? You’ll need to testify.”
“Yeah, you’re a witness—how can you leave so soon?”
The tall man squinted at the fruit in little Chu Zao’s arms.
The milk fruit was a rare variety, not something normally displayed openly. Though he had some reputation here, he’d never seen one before and couldn’t identify it.
But one thing was certain—this little thing had an owner. It had clearly been left here temporarily, and whoever owned it must be quite wealthy; otherwise, they wouldn’t feed such a fine fruit to such a small creature.
His eyes turned sly with thought.
The soft fur, the curious tail, the tiny wings—such an adorable little thing, clearly the type to be loved by anyone.
Instead of gambling on what kind of beast might hatch, why not just grab this one directly?
“Go ask who owns this little thing. My item’s been damaged—it has to be compensated! Everyone knows how expensive exotic beast eggs are. Forget negotiating—this little thing should be my compensation!”
He laughed heartily.
“No need for other talk. I’ve got things to do. I’ll just take this little one. I’ll leave someone here to handle the rest. Be sure to tell its owner I was polite enough to leave a message.”
The clerk looked panicked. “Please wait a moment—”
Even if he didn’t know what little Chu Zao was, he recognized the milk fruit in its arms.
That was one of the few low-pollution foods in the store. Whoever could afford such a fruit must have an extraordinary identity.
But he couldn’t afford to offend the man before him, either, so he quickly sent someone to fetch the shopkeeper, trying to stall for time.
Yet the man had no intention of waiting, clearly ready to act. By the time it was over, he’d already be gone, enjoying his spoils. Even if the owner was furious, what could they do?
This was the law of the strong devouring the weak.
He reached out to grab the little one—and the fruit in its arms too.
But little Chu Zao was ready.
Clutching the fruit tightly, his tiny claws gathered strength. The moment the man reached out, he leapt, spinning midair, and bit down hard on the man’s wrist.
The man cried out in pain, pulling back his hand, while the cub landed atop the ceiling lamp, taking the high ground. A white fluffball glared down, ears flattened back, tiny claws gripping the lamp, wings flared, tail lashing furiously behind him.
“Awwooo!”
Bad guys!
You’re all bad guys!
Don’t think Zao Zao was easy to bully—Zao Zao was a super powerful little angel!
A long time ago, the little cub was often bullied, but as he grew a little older, he began to fight back. Later, he learned that there were always people who bullied the weak and feared the strong, so he had to be tougher when he grew up, or he would always be bullied.
“Damn it! Get that little thing down!”
He jumped up in anger, not even realizing how fast little Chu Zao had moved. For a moment, he couldn’t even react—his eyes hadn’t kept up.
If not for the little one’s adorable and harmless appearance, he might have already sensed that this creature wasn’t to be trifled with and backed off.
Someone picked something off the ground and threw it up.
The little cub leapt easily through the air, jumping from one chandelier to another.
Below, people were shouting noisily. Above them, faint golden light flickered over the cub’s head—as if, with just one spark, that beautiful golden halo, symbolizing power, would appear. At the same time, the weapon little Chu Zao always carried—his tiny bow and arrow—was stirring restlessly, waiting for the right moment and place to act.
He was a child nobody wanted, so he had to learn to be strong, to crawl and climb, to not fear pain—or else others would only push him further.
Zao Zao already knew that.
Zao Zao was already used to it.
There were many things one had to learn—how to find food, how to find shelter, how to comfort oneself.
He had no one to call out to; he had to rely on himself…
A stone, from who-knows-where, came flying toward him.
The little cub, once fierce and fearless, froze for a moment when he saw the rock coming. He was still too small, still haunted by nightmares of being hit before.
As the rock came close, his body stiffened completely.
But then—there was a faint *crack*.
The rock froze midair—just like that, in front of everyone’s eyes.
Then, as if disintegrating, its edges blurred and slowly turned to dust, scattering down through the air.
Huh?
Little Chu Zao snapped out of his frozen state. His small wings were still spread, flapping a little in confusion.
The palm-sized fluffball, clutching his fruit in his paws, looked like a stunned little doll.
The people below shouted in anger, “Who?!”
“Zao Zao.”
Another calm, indifferent voice sounded.
No one knew when, but Amos was already standing beneath the chandelier where little Chu Zao perched. He looked up, his crimson eyes meeting the cub’s. His aura was cold; his brows slightly furrowed. Amos was usually calm—not one for showy displays—but at this moment, he looked… irritated.
The little cub shrank slightly.
He had seen that expression before—the Archangel had once looked the same way when annoyed by his crying or meddling.
Had he caused trouble again?
The little tail behind him slowly drooped.
“Awwooo—”
I’m sorry…
Zao Zao hadn’t meant to cause trouble—they were the ones who provoked him.
The little cub never wanted to trouble others, especially not his own kind.
He wanted to be like the other little angels in the clan—to have family, to have friends—to not always be the only one alone when everyone else was laughing together.
What was this little thing saying?
Amos didn’t even spare a glance at the people behind him. He lifted his hand. “Zao Zao, come here. We’re leaving.”
Huh?
The little cub tilted his head, watching Amos’s expression, then leapt lightly from the chandelier and slipped into Amos’s arms.
“Awwoo~!”
Baba!
Amos caught the little cub and reached up to cover his eyes.
Behind them, the tall man who had looked so fierce moments ago now broke into a cold sweat. He stared at Amos—when had this man arrived?
He hadn’t sensed a thing.
But, for the sake of saving face, he gritted his teeth and said, “Wait! That little beast of yours stole and broke my exotic beast egg—and it bit me! You’ll have to leave it behind, or don’t blame me if—”
Before he could finish, his underlings pointed at him in horror. Slowly, he looked down—blood was dripping from his fingertips, and then his right arm suddenly slid off. Pain crashed over him as Amos, cold and indifferent, walked past, holding the snow-white fluffball in his arms.
Those crimson eyes—swept across him with chilling disdain.
