Maine's lips curled up slightly, and he looked at him with a half-smile: "You want me to scream?"
Xie Sen inexplicably felt a sense of danger, and instantly became timid, muttering softly: "I'm older than you, so you should scream like that."
Maine reached out and rubbed his head, and firmly dispelled his idea: "Impossible."
"Tsk," Xie Sen turned his head to avoid his hand, complained, and said, "Everything is possible. I will definitely let you scream like that in the future!"
A smile flashed in Maine's eyes: "Then it depends on your ability."
Xie Sen rolled his eyes, and couldn't think of a good idea for the time being, so he asked: "When is your birthday?"
"The 25th."
"Wow, I'm exactly one month older than you!"
The two chatted casually, and soon dinner was ready. They sat in the living room to eat dinner. Xie Sen looked around: "Where's the bird?"
"It flew out in the afternoon, probably to find food." Maine didn't care too much.
Xie Sen: "You didn't give it any food?"
Maine shook his head. "The food in the entire refrigerator isn't enough for it."
Xie Sen was stunned. He'd known yesterday that the bird had a voracious appetite, but he hadn't expected it to be so voracious. It could have crushed the bird to death with the food it devoured. He had no idea how it could possibly eat.
He shared Sun Mao's suspicions, and Maine nodded. "I've looked it up. It's probably a bald eagle."
"I never expected the first S-rank contracted beast I've ever seen to be so small and adorable," Xie Sen exclaimed.
Maine opened his bracelet, pulled up the information he'd looked up, and expanded the virtual screen. He then turned the screen towards Xie Sen and raised an eyebrow. "Small and adorable? You won't think so once you see it as a grown man."
Xie Sen looked over, and saw that the entire screen was almost entirely occupied by a giant bird flying in mid-air. The bird was enormous, with a wingspan of at least three meters. Its head was covered in hard white feathers, while the rest of its feathers were a shiny black. Its claws were sharp, and its beak was hooked, all gleaming with a sharp brilliance.
The giant bird's light gray eyes stared at the screen, its aura fierce and menacing, as if it would pounce at any moment. Just looking at the photo sent a chill down
Xie Sen's spine. Not only did the chill run down his back, but so did his heart. He abruptly stood up, his stool shoving back and making a sharp scraping sound against the floor.
Maine stared at him in surprise. "Scared?" He reached to turn off his wristband.
"Don't!" Xie Sen said quickly, propping himself up on the table and leaning forward to examine the photo more closely.
Sure enough, it was spot on!
The bird's image was an exact replica of the alien beast leader who had attacked Star City alongside Maine in the book!
Xie Sen tried to recall more details, but all he could recall was Maine's description of the attack. Maine had hacked into Star City's largest livestreaming platform, brazenly and arrogantly announcing his return for revenge.
And at that moment, hovering beside him was this giant bird—the white-headed eagle beast, the leader of the alien beasts.
Xie Sen clenched his fists. It turned out that Maine had encountered the bald eagle the night he turned evil.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. If he hadn't found Maine that night, would Maine have left Star City and disappeared? And when he returned, it was very likely to be just like the plot in the book—an attack on Star City with a fully grown bald eagle.
"Chirp!" A crisp bird chirp rang out from the window. A moment later, a plump little bird perched on Maine's raised left wrist. It stretched out its wings, flapped its bulging belly, tilted its round head, and looked at Xie Sen cheerfully. "Chirp!"
Xie Sen looked at it, then at the virtual screen, his expression shifting.
The two main villains had gathered. What should he do now?
Things had changed from the book, and Maine hadn't completely turned evil, but... would he suddenly revert to his old ways?
He stared at the palm-sized bird, his eyes gradually filled with murderous intent.
If he killed it, would Maine lose contact with the alien beasts, and would the horrific scene of Star City being attacked by them be prevented?
"Chiu~" The bird chirped, its voice several pitches lower than usual. It blinked its large eyes, its wings tucked against its chest, its neck hunched, its face aching with misery. Half of its head feathers, matted in blood and still unwashed, looked truly pitiful.
"Don't you like it?" Maine asked.
Xie Sen said, "How long will it take for it to reach adulthood?"
"The adulthood period for high-level contracted beasts is quite long, at least three years."
Three years? Xie Sen looked at the bald eagle chick staring at him with misery, then at Maine. If he hadn't grown up with the darkened Maine, everything would have been different!
He couldn't take the life of another creature just because of something that might happen, especially since this creature's intelligence rivaled that of a human.
"If you don't want to raise it, if you don't like it, just kill it," Maine said emotionlessly. The moment he finished his words, he suddenly reached out and grabbed the bird.
"Chiu!!!" The shrill bird calls suddenly exploded in the living room.
Xie Sen was startled. Seeing Maine's murderous expression, he quickly reached for his hand, "No, let it go! I quite like it."
Maine glanced at him and let go. The bird flapped its wings, turned, and pecked Maine in the face. Maine dodged easily, staring at it with a stern expression.
Seeing the bird about to attack Maine again, Xie Sen quickly spoke up, "It was just a joke, just testing your reflexes. It won't do that again!"
The bird didn't react. Though tiny, it possessed an innate ferocity and a deep sense of vengeance. Despite Maine dodging its attacks time and again, it remained undeterred, attacking from every angle, intent on pecking Maine.
Xie Sen watched with trepidation. Though small, the bird was incredibly fast, which meant Maine could easily dodge it. If it had been him, his face would have been disfigured.
He paused, then spoke, "Chiu~!"
Instantly, both bird and man stopped, their movements synchronizing as they stared at him.
Xie Sen's face flushed slightly, then he raised his eyebrows smugly and waved at the bird. "Don't be angry, take a break. Have you eaten?"
The bird chirped twice at Maine in its fiercest tone, then landed on the table, its plump butt facing him. It walked over to Xie Sen, patted its belly with its wings, and rubbed against Xie Sen's hand on the table.
Its feathers were so soft that they tickled Xie Sen's hand.
Xie Sen poked its fat body with his finger. "You're so fat, so you'll be called Tuan Tuan from now on. Remember, don't hurt anyone, okay?"
The bird nodded. "Chirp~"
Xie Sen called out tentatively, "Tuan Tuan."
"Chirp~"
Xie Sen praised, "How clever."
Maine looked at him. "What happened to you just now? You didn't react right when you saw the photo."
Xie Sen chuckled dryly. "I was just startled. I didn't expect such a cute little creature to be so fierce when it grows up."
"Are you worried it might hurt someone in the future, so you want to kill it?" Maine asked.
"I was mistaken," Xie Sen said, nodding at Tuantuan's small body. "S-rank contracted beasts are very intelligent, and it's not a sin for you to be the one who's strong."
Maine looked at him, and Xie Sen smiled, "Hurry up and eat! It's getting cold."
After they finished their meal, Xie Sen, concerned for Maine's injuries, refused to let him wash the dishes. He cleared them himself and went to the kitchen. Tuan Tuan followed him around, flitting around him and curiously observing his work.
Xie Sen knew it was intelligent, not as an animal, but as a child. He explained the kitchen routine while washing the dishes, but he didn't expect it to understand everything. Washing dishes was boring anyway.
After finishing the dishes, he looked at Tuan Tuan's untreated feathers and offered them, "Let me clean them for you."
Tuan Tuan tilted its round head and jumped into his hands. Xie Sen carried it to the bedroom and examined its head. Finding the wound had healed, he gave up worrying and gently washed its feathers in the washbasin.
Although he was careful, he inevitably got its entire head wet, and its feathers drooped and stuck to its forehead.
It looked as if it was bald.
"Chiu!!!" Tuantuan stared at the mirror for a moment, then cried out shrilly. Then, turning away from the mirror, he tilted his head back and looked at Xie Sen with a look of grievance.
Xie Sen suppressed a smile, thinking that even birds cherish beauty. He gently blotted the water from its feathers with a piece of paper, soothing it, "It'll be beautiful once it dries."
Sure enough, that evening, after Tuantuan's feathers were clean, their white feathers naturally fluffed up, a truly beautiful sight. Tuantuan flew in front of the mirror for a long time before leaving Xie Sen's bedroom.
As Xie Sen was getting ready for bed, Maine came into his bedroom and naturally sat down beside the bed. Xie Sen
was startled. "What are you doing?"
Maine said, "Aren't you having a nightmare? I'll keep you company."
Xie Sen blinked and moved aside. Sleeping together was good; he wouldn't have to worry about Maine running away.
On Saturday afternoon, Xie Sen was playing games with the children at the orphanage when a familiar warmth suddenly washed over him, and his eyes lit up.
The system's hard green book slowly opened. Dense vines gradually emerged from the third blank page. Finally, a circle was outlined in the middle of the vines. The circle gradually solidified, its true form gradually emerging. Xie Sen couldn't help but laugh.
"Congratulations, Master, you have activated the watermelon vine. You can choose the vine's toughness."
Huh? Xie Sen was stunned. So the watermelon vine was the main character, and the watermelon was the supporting role!
He glanced at the exchange button, and a prompt immediately popped up in his mind: One energy for one meter of watermelon vine. Please select the quantity.
Xie Sen blinked. What about the watermelon? He was more interested in eating right now. The thought of the taste of watermelon made him want to eat it right away.
He checked his remaining energy. He only had 2, which was the gift the children had just given him. He wanted to exchange it, but he was reluctant.
He looked at the fourth blank page. It said 2/400 at the bottom, meaning that the fourth plant would require 400 energy.
He wasn't in a hurry. After all, after activating three plants, A Dan could already sense where the energy was scattered.
With this thought in mind, Xie Sen shut down the system and continued playing games with the children. He said goodbye and left just as they were about to eat dinner. By then, his remaining energy level was 8.
He returned to his apartment and called out to A'dan.
As usual, A'dan gave a flurry of compliments before beginning to sense the energy. Xie Sen felt the temperature of the peony on his right shoulder rise ever higher. Just when he thought he was about to be burned, A'dan spoke again, and the temperature of the peony rapidly dropped.
"Red energy is on this planet," A'dan's voice was a little weak.
Xie Sen asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"
"No, I can only sense the red energy right now. The rest of the energy is farther away and is being interfered with by the red energy, so I can't sense it for now," A'dan said.
Xie Sen activated his bracelet and accessed the star network to find a map of Brandt Planet. The map was vast. Aside from the three main cities in the center, the outer areas were covered in a vast, unbroken forest. A red line marked the danger zone in the middle of the forest, forming a continuous ring.
He asked A Dan, "Can you feel where it is exactly?"
"East, about a thousand kilometers from here."
Xie Sen marked the location and found a point a thousand kilometers east. Looking at the destination, he sighed, "This is too difficult!"
It's in the middle of a desolate forest! Even without looking up information, the red area sign told him it was dangerous.
"Difficult? Why?" A Dan was puzzled.
Xie Sen explained: "The wild forest is full of wild beasts, and the plants are also extremely fierce, even carnivorous plants. The place you mentioned is in the most dangerous center. In addition to these, there may be poisonous gas and miasma, and I don't know if there will be any problems with the terrain."
Adam: "You have a natural breath on you. As long as you don't take the initiative to attack, animals and plants generally won't attack you. As for the other difficulties...Asen, you must have a way, right? You can definitely get the red energy. I believe in you!"
Xie Sen looked up at the sky: "I can't even believe myself."
"No, how can you think so, you are the best!" Adam encouraged in a tone, and then put pressure on, "If you can't find the energy, your body will not be able to recover, and... if the unstable soul is delayed for too long, the consequences will be very serious."
"What consequences?"
"Soul leaving the body."
Xie Sen was shocked. Isn't this death? He took a deep breath: "I will find a way to find the energy, but... I can't see the energy, right?"
Adam explained: "Energy will find a carrier. I can feel it. As long as you see it, I will have a sense of it and I will tell you."
"Okay, I see. I'll think about what preparations to make."
"Come on, Arsen. I'm going to replenish my energy."
Xie Sen walked out of the room worriedly. When he arrived in the living room, he met Maine who had just returned. Xie Sen looked at him in a black suit, which was clearly his hunting outfit. He asked quickly: "Did you go to the forest?"
"Yeah."
Xie Sen angrily stepped forward and grabbed his hand, pulled down his collar to check the injury on his shoulder: "Are you crazy? Don't you know you are injured? Huh..."
The originally bloody wound now only left a black scar, and it looked like nothing was wrong.
Maine said, "I'm fine. The scar will fall off in two days."
Xie Sen was stunned: "Your recovery ability is amazing!"
Maine saw his dazed look and rubbed the top of his head: "Modern medicine, trauma technology is the best, this recovery speed is normal."
Xie Sen knew he had made another common sense mistake. He coughed dryly and changed the subject: "Did you go hunting?"
"No," Maine said, "I saw a news report. There seems to be a big change in the depths of the wild forest. People have discovered different species of high-level contracted beasts on the edge of the danger zone. I went to the forest to take a look. There are no changes on the periphery. I want to make some preparations to investigate further. Maybe I can find a flying lion beast."
Xie Sen's heart skipped a beat: What a coincidence?
Could it be related to red energy?!