“Papa!” A tiny child appeared on the holographic display of his personal terminal. His enormous steel-blue eyes were brimming with moisture, and he had pressed his whole little face up against the camera.
At that moment, Lu Liran was lying high in the massive crown of a tree, dozens of meters above the ground. Resting his head against a thick branch, he greeted the little fellow on the screen. His normally sharp features softened. “What is Cubby doing?”
“Cubby's talking to Papa,” the little fellow answered in a soft, babyish voice.
Lu Liran chuckled and tried asking another way. “What did Cubby do at home today?”
“Took my medicine at home.” The little boy scrunched up his nose. “And I played ball with Uncle Jin. But Uncle Jin only played with Cubby for a few minutes.”
“We've talked about this. You can only play ball for a little while.” Lu Liran lowered his voice, speaking in a deep, gentle tone. “When Cubby, Papa, and Uncle Jin get back to our real home, we'll have your heart examined. Then you'll be able to play a little longer.”
The boy had been born with an underdeveloped heart and needed surgery as soon as possible after his third birthday. The desolate planet's medical technology was far too backward to perform such an operation.
The little fellow nodded and patted his small chest with a solemn expression. “Cubby will be good. I'll wait for Papa to come home!”
Warmth spread through Lu Liran's heart. He murmured a reply, then said, “Let Uncle Jin talk to Papa now, Cubby.”
“Okaaay,” the little one answered sweetly.
A second later, a middle-aged man's face appeared on-screen.
Jin Fei was Lu Liran's only companion on the desolate planet. A beta, he now served as something of a housekeeper, taking care of everything at home whenever Lu Liran went out.
“Young Master,” Jin Fei greeted him.
Lu Liran spoke gravely. “I'll be coming back a few days later than planned.”
“Are things not going smoothly?” Jin Fei asked. After a pause, he added, “The ticket… you couldn't get one?”
By “ticket,” he meant a permit for interstellar travel. Even at a price of one million star coins, such tickets were nearly impossible to obtain.
Stranded on this desolate planet, Lu Liran could only return home by traveling between the stars.
“They raised the price on the spot.” A flash of ruthlessness crossed Lu Liran's eyes. “Five million star coins for one ticket. Five times what it was.”
Jin Fei sucked in a breath. “Five million?!”
“We'll have to rethink our plans,” Lu Liran said. “I've picked up another bounty job along the way. I expect to be back in five days.”
“Understood, Young Master.” Jin Fei sighed. “Please take care of yourself. Whatever happens, Young Master Ziqian needs you more than anything.”
Cubby's full name was Lu Ziqian.
Lu Liran fell silent for two seconds before answering. “I'll get back as soon as I can. Where's Cubby?”
“He's asleep.” Jin Fei turned the camera to show the little boy sleeping soundly.
Lu Liran's eyes curved slightly. “Sleeping so peacefully. Good night, little thing.”
Once the call ended, the familiar cold hardness returned to Lu Liran's face.
A translucent mission panel unfolded before him. He gave it a cursory glance and closed it, then moved swiftly and nimbly through the dense forest.
The sky was gradually growing light.
This was an extraordinarily dangerous uninhabited zone. Even seasoned hunters would never willingly enter it. Bloody scenes of predators preying on the weak played out here at every hour of the day.
Black-maned deer were a legally huntable meat-producing species. The flesh of wild black-maned deer was firm, fragrant, and tender, with an incomparable flavor. Because the choicest edible portions amounted to only three percent of the animal's body, the market price of its meat had risen to thirty thousand star coins per kilogram.
Even so, plenty of people were eager to pay a fortune for the delicacy.
A male black-maned deer could weigh a full hundred and fifty kilograms and reach speeds of eighty kilometers per hour in a sprint. Its impact was like that of a truck hurtling forward at full speed. The beautiful, trident-shaped antlers on its head, curved like a seven-stringed lyre, were unquestionably formidable weapons capable of killing a person.
Lu Liran's mission was to hunt a wild black-maned deer.
…
A black-maned deer collapsed with a thunderous crash, barely clinging to life.
Lu Liran raised his hunting knife and approached. The polished blade reflected the deer's branching antlers.
He ran a hand over the animal's heaving neck and mane as it snorted for breath. Then he angled the razor-sharp knife into its windpipe and, with one clean motion, severed its tough throat and artery.
The enormous creature seemed to die almost instantly.
In the uninhabited zone, the strong invariably preyed on the weak. At the very least, Lu Liran always dispatched his quarry by the quickest and most efficient means, minimizing its suffering.
After storing the male black-maned deer, which weighed about a hundred and seventy kilograms and measured nearly two meters in length, in his portable inventory, a translucent panel appeared before him—
[Mission: Forest Uninhabited Zone Survival Challenge (Completed)]
[Reward: 200,000 star coins (automatically deposited into star card)]
[System detection: Total completed missions exceeds 50; completion rate 100%. Additional reward: Livestream function unlocked. Automatically connected to the interstellar livestreaming platform.]
[Current status: Physical recovery progress 92% (Fully capable of taking on ten people with a single punch; occasional flare-ups of old injuries can still cause unbearable pain.)]
Lu Liran had grown accustomed to the strange translucent panel hovering before his eyes. Even on a technologically advanced planet, an interactive System capable of affecting reality while apparently operating on a single individual would have been astonishing.
Fortunately, after testing it several times, Lu Liran had discovered that only he could see the panel.
He had somehow become bound to the panel's System while on the verge of unconsciousness. The System gradually repaired his nearly ruined internal organs and snatched him back from death's grasp.
By now, his body had almost returned to its former peak condition.
Apart from the occasional pain from his “old injuries.”
The only thing that puzzled Lu Liran was the so-called “livestream” function. But he had no intention of investigating it now. After all, he was still in the uninhabited zone, and a little boy was waiting for him at home.
Lu Liran crouched by a pool and washed himself briefly. His face was reflected in the water.
He regarded the reflection impassively. It was a face no one would willingly approach. Two scars, each as thick and long as a thumb, crossed his face, dominating his appearance and ruining the delicate, handsome lines of his original features.
Long exposure to sun and rain had tanned his skin a healthy wheat-brown. Firm muscles hugged his frame, giving his body smooth, powerful contours.
Anyone who saw Lu Liran would take him for a lean, wiry alpha, never an omega who already had a child.
Expressionless, Lu Liran secured his hunting knife at his waist and soon left the uninhabited zone behind.
A camp stood on the zone's outskirts. Bounty hunters planning to venture inside and black-market merchants hoping to chance upon a profitable deal often gathered there.
Lu Liran approached one of the black-market merchants and asked evenly, “Interested in a black-maned deer?”
The merchant froze. Wild black-maned deer were fiercely aggressive and exceptionally alert. Few hunting teams could capture even one, and their market price had all but soared beyond reach.
Perhaps it was only a black-maned deer fawn? he guessed. Even that would be a good find.
Before the merchant could react, Lu Liran took the dead black-maned deer from his inventory and tossed it out. The hundred-and-seventy-kilogram beast hit the ground, sending up a heavy cloud of dust.
The entire camp erupted in excitement.
“Holy shit! That's an adult male black-maned deer?! Brother, you're incredible! Did you get it all by yourself?!”
“Has the weather turned cold lately? Are black-maned deer getting sluggish and easier to catch?”
“Bullshit! I put together a four-man hunting team and went in there two days ago. We ran into a herd of those deer, and one of our men got his guts ripped open by their antlers! Easy to catch, my ass!”
Lu Liran looked up at the black-market merchant and repeated his question. “Interested?”
Only then did the merchant come to his senses. He nodded vigorously, grinning so broadly his mouth nearly reached his ears. “Interested, absolutely! Come inside and we'll talk! Put it away for now!”
The merchant ushered Lu Liran into his luxurious tent, his eyes shining. “Boss, what else have you got to sell? I'll buy anything you bring out of the uninhabited zone! And I'll give you the best price!”
Anyone who could venture into the uninhabited zone alone, emerge without a scratch, and even bring down an adult male black-maned deer was unquestionably a bounty hunter worth befriending.
“Boss, let's add each other as contacts! I'll buy goods from anywhere, and I promise you a great price. Just call me Xiao Hei!” After they completed the transaction, the black-market merchant looked at Lu Liran, rubbing his hands together as he tentatively made his enthusiastic proposal.
