“He was definitely about to blow his top just now, hahaha—”
Not far away, Feeney was hiding in a corner, live-broadcasting to Anya, who wasn’t far behind.
“He’s got such a heavy idol burden now. He’s clearly still a cub, but I said early on, you see, being handsome is a lifelong thing!”
Anya tutted softly on the comm, “Keep your voice down when laughing, be careful he holds a grudge.”
Anya couldn’t help it either, a smile appearing on his face.
“I’ve got my spiritual power perfectly restrained, how could he possibly notice me?”
Feeney continued.
After years of experimentation.
They had discovered that when their spiritual power wasn’t well controlled, or when emotions fluctuated, and if they didn’t carefully restrain their spiritual power, the little one could easily see their spiritual threads, and even speak in their heads.
But as long as they restrained themselves and the little one wasn’t searching seriously, it wasn’t easy for him to find them.
Anya didn’t comment on this.
He just looked at Feeney, “By the way, Third Brother, why did it go so smoothly for you this time? So smoothly it feels odd—not a single problem on the way, just headed straight to Zao Zao.”
Feeney was displeased, “I’m not always lost, you know?”
Anya, “Really? I don’t buy it.”
On the planet, where the young Crown Prince stood, there was a small starship behind him, and not far off, the mission targets had been dealt with. Chao Huangmu was piloting a temporary small mech, racing toward Chu Zao.
The true strength of the Holy Cas Empire lay in spiritual power, including developing spiritual power weapons and constantly enhancing strength and force. They excelled at group starship maneuvers, each legion led by Crown Clan, typically with their emperors and princes as the primary power and afterward as auxiliary staff. So compared to this, single-soldier mecha, which required extremely high personal capability and large starship space, was only slightly developed, mostly as a supplement.
As a hybrid with Soul Clan blood, Chao Huangmu had also grown rapidly in the past few years and was, aside from the Crown Clan, one of the few capable of moving in the pollution zone unsheltered.
He hopped down from the mech and straightened up—the youth was tall, much taller than Chu Zao; the young Crown Clan would have to add his crown to reach the top of Chao Huangmu’s head, almost equal height.
His black standard combat uniform clung to him, radiating a bit of heat, black hair slightly damp. He approached Chu Zao with bright sunlight.
“Zao Zao, are you tired?”
He blinked his puppy-dog eyes and lifted his communicator—he had recorded it all, Zao Zao’s valiant stance.
“Military ration packs don’t taste good—you see, I brought this—”
The young Crown Prince was focused, his eyes glinting, searching for Third Uncle, but was suddenly distracted by Chao Huangmu’s candy.
Chu Zao: …
Ahem, well, Zao Zao was already grown up, no longer the little cub who longed for sweets.
He was a tough little Crown Prince.
But then again—
“Where did you get this candy? I haven’t seen it before.”
The young Crown Clan scrutinized it a couple of times, looked at it again, then glanced around, confirming no one else was there, and reached out to take the candy—
He had liked sweets since he was little, and still loved them as he grew. The Holy Cas Empire had pretty much monopolized the whole starfield’s candy companies.
Chu Zao had seen all kinds of candy.
“Right?” Chao Huangmu grinned too, edging forward, trying to cover Chu Zao in his shadow, but since Zao Zao had grown, he could only cover half. “I found it during a supply run, seems like a new factory, don’t know the origin, but I did a human test, it tastes good. Checked it on the instruments too, nothing harmful.”
Pretty tasty. Chu Zao should like it.
And because the little Crown Prince liked candies, Chao Huangmu had eaten a lot too these years—even though he didn’t use to enjoy sweets, he’d grown fond of them. After all, Zao Zao said eating sweets brought happiness.
The little Crown Prince stuffed the candy in his pocket. Suddenly he paused, finally noticing something. Wings flapping, he lifted off, grabbed something, and landed again—Chu Zao followed the spiritual thread he’d grabbed with his senses.
His gaze landed somewhere; he reached out, removed his crown, and wrapped the spiritual thread around it—
Feeney, hiding nearby, was still talking to Anya.
He was trying to prove his constitution wasn’t really that outrageous—though it was weird. Even he felt odd; this trip really was smooth, not even a beast horde in the way.
Suddenly Anya said—“Oh, right, Amos just messaged me and told you to bring Zao Zao to visit Grandpa. He told Zao Zao you’re here—”
Feeney: …
At the same time, Feeney shut his eyes abruptly, caught off guard—as a loud voice sounded in his head—
“Third Uncle!! You’re sneaking after me again!!”
Well, got sold out and caught.
Feeney muttered, finally waved, came out from behind a large rock, and walked toward Chu Zao.
To Crown Clan at their peak, the young Crown Prince, though now taller, bigger, and no longer that tiny cub who could be scooped up at will, was in their eyes still a cub.
“Alright, alright, stop yelling, Third Uncle hears you. I’m just passing by, having a look—”
“You always say that, Third Uncle.”
The young Crown Prince was disgruntled, hand in pocket, pretty face with soft lines. When sulking you could see the look he had as a little one, a bit puff-faced, but more steady and composed compared to the pure cuteness of before. Only in front of his guardians will this little guy, picked up and cherished and loved all his life, would let his instincts slip and act spoiled—that was almost his nature.
Could he be blamed?
Feeney grumbled to himself—even at Chu Zao’s age, he was supposed to act on his own now, but due to the state of the interstellar and the cub’s uniqueness, there was always a Crown Clan trailing him.
Just that Crown Clan like Amos and Lien were simply too good at hiding for Zao Zao to catch them.
And most of the time, Amos worried the most.
Amos had always been the one trailing the cub the most.
But right now, Amos was busy, so sometimes they took turns following—Feeney thought, sticking close was not a bad thing, just in case.
But Amos was the most sorrowful. Though he hid his emotions well, to them it was obvious—watching the cub growing up, only acting cute and calling “Baba” when spoiled, cuddling up only sometimes, and getting older, those moments were getting rarer.
“Dad said Great-grandpa is reacting to Auntie, seems he recognizes her.”
Chu Zao glanced at Chao Huangmu beside him.
“Let’s go together?”
Anya on the comm agreed, “Got the message too, I’m heading over.”
He was actually here to replace Feiman, but Feiman had just gone to rest after visiting Ebinino when the news came.
It looked like they were closer to the world on the other side of the pollution.
Recently, tides of pollution had grown more intense, the barrier looking close to collapse, and as Ebinino’s crown solidified, power fluctuations became frequent.
Before the barrier opened completely, they needed to find a way in—to control and eliminate exotic beasts that might threaten Holy Cas, and prepare for a new round of pollution.
Fortunately, with Zao Zao, interstellar pollution research had finally progressed—them being able to cross heavily polluted areas without Zao Zao.
Anya was thinking this.
Watching Chu Zao and the others prepare to head near Ebinino’s planet.
No one noticed the violent force fluctuations starting on the barrier, pollution surging layer upon layer, bringing several booms in an instant.
Feeney instinctively looked over, Zao Zao halted, turning, a bit puzzled, “What’s going on? Is there a pollution tide?”
“Probably.”
Chao Huangmu replied.
“These kinds of things happen a lot—”
Just as he finished, Chao Huangmu’s attention—usually indifferent—was once again fixed on Chu Zao.
His eyes widened a little in response—in the young Crown Prince’s surroundings, power was gathering, and for a moment, with a rip, that force started warping—spatial force shifting.
“Careful!”
Chao Huangmu lunged by instinct, trying to pull Chu Zao away.
Feeney’s wings flared behind him, shielding the two youths.
But before they could escape, the star’s most mysterious spatial forces rapidly expanded. From the impact of the barrier and pollution, countless forces twisted and bubbled up—large and small spatial distortions opening right where they were.
Theirs was a massive one, erupting wide like a blood-red maw, swallowing them whole—along with nearby starships, equipment, mechs, and countless debris—
Chu Zao had experienced such things when he was younger.
Chu Zao felt his head get big—he and Chao Huangmu both turned to Feeney.
The little Crown Prince’s wings spread, six in all. He grabbed Chao Huangmu, then Third Uncle, trying to escape the spatial force, but clearly, this force came too suddenly, formed too fast, and the closure time was far too brief to get out.
Anya’s communicator flashed once, then blacked out suddenly—
Anya: ??????
The Holy Cas Empire group army issued a full-line alert at the same time—pollution force surges had triggered large-scale spatial anomalies; please avoid all planets near the barrier at once.
Anya was stunned.
Just then, Amos’s call came through.
Time had not changed His Majesty’s appearance in the slightest.
But in that moment, his gaze was clearly odd. “Where’s Zao Zao?”
Where’s my cub?
The comm was out—along with all the Crown Clan’s localization devices, gone.
Anya: …
Anya: ………
“Second Brother, there’s some good news.”
Amos signaled with his eyes, then spoke.
“Zao Zao is with Third Brother, so no need to worry about safety—”
Even in the worst pollution zone, there was a spiritually powerful, no longer the five- or six-year-old little Crown Prince.
“And now—the locator’s back, Third Brother’s usually has issues, but Zao Zao’s definitely correct.”
Anya operated the starship’s command panel, looking at the locator, taking a deep breath.
And Amos clearly saw it too. In that instant, even over the screen, Anya could feel Amos’s gloomy aura.
“The bad news is—that recent spatial anomaly just swallowed Zao Zao, his little guard, and Third Brother. Now the locator is in a never-before-explored, rather distant unknown region.”
Even though perception showed Little Chu Zao and Feeney were fine, that was still an unknown pollution zone—no one could be sure what was there.
So—
Bad news: Second Brother, your cub is really lost.
Anya had been flustered for a moment, but with all this information, he calmed down a bit.
Really now—just this once Amos wasn’t watching, let Feeney do it, and this happened.
Anya quickly said—
“I’ll go check the place where they were swallowed.”
Elsewhere, at the Holy Cas Empire barrier defense line, remains of First Legion.
Amos turned to look into the barrier.
Feiman had her hand on the barrier; Ebinino was in his usual state, but the silver-black crown on his head was wrapped with golden light, already faintly showing the basic shape of a Crown Clan coronet.
Ebinino stared at Feiman—he was still unconscious, but in the pollution, he stared at Feiman, sometimes flying upward suddenly—then circling back to look at her again.
Like the “flying-high” game when Feiman was a child.
Then Ebinino let out a low, soft growl.
He was looking around—hey, where’s the cub? Where’s the cub?
Amos had walked up.
Feiman wasn’t sure what had happened, but one thing was obvious: her Second Brother was in a terrible mood—
Or rather, an extremely terrible mood—the spiritual pressure around him was grinding stones into powder at a terrifying speed.
But Amos was used to putting on a calm front; his face remained composed.
Feiman couldn’t help stepping back, her coronet emerging in response, floating above her head.
Amos raised his hand and placed it on the barrier. Above him, the silver-black coronet emerged, carrying the absolute authority of the Dwight line, his crimson eyes meeting Ebinino’s gaze.
“Ebinino, you need to open the barrier enough for part of a starship to pass through.”
Hearing his name in such a tone, Ebinino instinctively moved, but with his mind unclear, he still didn’t really understand.
Feiman realized what was going on.
“Second Brother? What happened?”
“Zao Zao is lost.”
Feiman: ?
What?
“On the other side of the pollution.”
Amos looked at Ebinino, thinking, then gestured.
He mimed the small, fluffy appearance of the young Crown Prince—unchanged all these years.
Maybe because of his Angel Clan hybrid bloodline, his cub’s original form was still adorably fluffy.
Amos demonstrated the volleyball-sized white ball—
“Remember? The cub, the cub’s lost.”
Feiman: …
“Wasn’t Feeney watching over him?? Why would Zao Zao get lost??”
Ebinino: …
Cub?
The cub is lost?
How lost?
Because he never finished hearing the little one howl?
No—
Ebinino, slow to react and not too clear-headed, was obviously very different from before. Now he let out a very angry low roar—
Where is he lost?
“Ebinino, open the barrier.”
Amos already had the now anxious Feiman go make preparations—
They still had to systematically check the far side of the pollution, but they could no longer wait—while handling those issues, they also needed to bring their cub back.
Ebinino was still reacting.
Amos looked at Feiman, but pressed his spiritual power onto the barrier—
“Ebinino isn’t in bad shape now. If he can’t open the barrier once we’re ready, I’ll use some extreme measures.”
Of all present, only Amos could forcefully rip the barrier open wide enough to pass through.
The news of little Chu Zao being lost hadn’t spread yet, and after the pollution tide faded, things were relatively calm.
But on the other side of the pollution.
It was anything but calm.
Thunderous booms kept sounding on certain planets—though still some distance away, with their advanced tech, some knew exactly what was happening on those distant border planets.
Now, on this starfield, the cruel survival game continued—even becoming entertainment with the subtle “stability” formed, with commentary, live broadcasts, even betting and gambling. Everyone pursued the chance to leap ahead, total safety, powerful mechas, and outstanding personal combat ability—
Within the pollution, their star systems were surrounded by both pollution and exotic beasts; they compressed their limited living space to the extreme, banishing and herding the weaker races or nations ever closer to the pollution, also trading with the beasts, letting them devour these humans to save themselves.
This had gone on for over a hundred years.
The now-sentient exotic beasts quite approved.
They even spiced up the survival game—eventually creating this cruel, layered, exploitative world where humans were bred as beast food.
Among the many tiny unpolluted zones, the strongest was the Gerson Empire.
They were preparing for the next survival game.
Suddenly they heard the noise.
“What’s going on?”
“What has everyone been doing lately?”
In the Gerson imperial palace, those plotting which planet and race to throw to the exotic beasts next listened to the commotion.
“Go see if there’s anything up with the beasts. Why have these two years been so unstable?”
The Gerson Empire, now cruelly balanced, didn’t want anything disturbed.
Meanwhile, the starship, the cub, and both Feeney and Chao Huangmu fell into a strange place together.
The little Crown Prince was shielded in the middle by Feeney and Chao Huangmu.
He coughed on the dust, choked a couple of times, dirt on his face. He looked up—
“Where is this?”
Then he looked at Third Uncle, who was also hacking and spitting dust.
At last, the cub’s stern, cool and handsome expression couldn’t hold—his six wings flared instinctively, kicking up a storm of dust, making Chu Zao cough again as he stared at his now-dusty wings—damn, he still wasn’t good at grooming; if he shed feathers, Dad would scold him. So he quickly put away his wings, looked at his now “matte” coronet, and stowed that too—he checked his communicator at last, but couldn’t keep up the front any longer. Like he’d rolled around in dust, covered and dirty, and next to him the equally bedraggled Chao Huangmu and Feeney.
The young Crown Prince leaned against the starship, trying to wave away dust. Propping himself up, he couldn’t help but smack the ground again, then glared at Feeney in shock: “Third Uncle, your constitution is contagious?!”
Where the heck have you dragged us now?!