Ferocious bird

Phantom limb pain. When it flared up, it was excruciating.

Bai Ling calculated the time. It had been just over a month since his amputation. His severed nerves didn’t know the flesh was gone and continued to transmit pain signals to his brain, day and night. That terrifying, burning sensation… if he ignored it, the pain would only get worse, perhaps even to the point where he’d lose his mobility entirely.

He had to find some painkillers.

The Imperial Palace was heavily guarded, so it wasn’t convenient to roam around. He’d better get outside to look for it.

Escaping the Imperial Palace tower might have been impossible for others, but for him, it was feasible. In his past life, as the leader of the revolutionary army, he had planned the assault on this place countless times. He knew the internal maps by heart, so evading surveillance was a piece of cake.

In the stillness of the night, a door in the pitch-dark corridor creaked open. Bai Ling slipped inside, making his way to the water pump room.

This room connected directly to the Merfolk Waterway. As long as he wasn’t discovered, he could swim through the channel to the outside of the palace. It was safe and fast.

An old-fashioned diving suit remained in the pump room.

Bai Ling put it on deftly. He bent down and forcefully lifted the heavy cover. A blast of icy water vapor hit his face. Looking down, the waterway was bottomless, like a murky, pitch-black monster waiting to devour him whole.

It looked like a direct passage to hell.

He could only take a deep, steadying breath and slowly submerge into the opening. As he swam through the water, he thought, It’s just hell. I’ve been on the front lines for so many years; I’ve seen horrors far more terrifying than any hell.

The former owner of this waterway was supposedly the last Merfolk in the world— the former emperor, Izsu Paraiso.

Bai Ling curled his lip. Even if the ghost of that vicious merman appeared, he wouldn’t be afraid.

Just as he thought this, the current rippled against the moss-covered glass walls. A subtle bubbling sound brushed past his ear. Gurgle…

Bai Ling paid it no mind. The forecast predicted rain today. In his view, it was probably just a change in water pressure caused by the atmosphere.

Gurgle… gurgle… The bubbling sound grew more urgent.

Bai Ling’s heart rate remained steady. He accelerated, and his hand finally touched the bottom. Good. The valve was right in front of him. He just needed to grab the rust-covered handle and pull—

It didn’t budge.

How could this… No. The valve had to open. The air in his lungs was only enough for another twenty seconds. After that, he would drown right here!

His knuckles turned white. Veins bulged and spasmed on the back of the hand gripping the valve. His own frantic heartbeat thundered in his ears, so loud that it drowned out the increasingly clear sound of something breaking the water’s surface nearby.

What’s that?

Bai Ling struggled to turn his head. A massive, swift shadow had already filled his entire vision.

Immediately after, a high-pressure wave parted the water. The dark water surge outlined the silhouette of a behemoth, easily three meters long. Its limbs were long, its muscles powerful, and the texture of its skin, which glowed with a sinister blue, scaly light, was cold enough to make his scalp tingle.

Bai Ling’s breath hitched. He watched as the monster raised a towering wave and whipped its tail viciously toward him—

BOOM! The water slammed violently.

The rusty valve, after ten years, was forced open.

Bai Ling’s consciousness was hazy. He only felt the current carrying him, rushing him toward the exit. He strained to look back and saw the monster give one powerful flick of its tail. THUD. It struck the reinforced glass with a heavy, forceful sound, then, eeries scales flashed by as it swam cleanly upward.

It wasn’t trying to kill him…

It… saved him?

Bai Ling ripped off his mask and, soaking wet, climbed out of the drainage outlet onto the bank. He stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

What the hell is that thing?! Is it some mechanical bio-weapon the tyrant kept in the waterway? Or… the lingering, vengeful spirit of a Merfolk?

He had no way of knowing.

He glanced back with a complicated expression. The Imperial Palace tower stood majestically by the sea. The night wind blew, lifting the dark gold curtains on the top-floor terrace and the glass reflected the clouds obscuring the moon.

It looks like rain.

Bai Ling didn’t linger. He needed to hurry into the city and find those painkillers.

---

At nine in the morning, a light rain drifted from the overcast sky. The pharmacy had opened early and its awning already extended against the weather.

Uriel climbed down from his mecha. Shielding his forehead with his hand, he pushed open the door, but the complaint about the rain died on his lips as he saw someone standing soaking wet at the front of the line.

The shopkeeper looked troubled. “Sir, your card won’t go through…”

“Could you try this account number?”

“Still nothing. Why don’t you step aside for a minute so I can help the other customers.”

The young man was silent. He slowly moved aside, yielding the counter. As he walked, he made a ‘clank creack’ sound, loud enough to make Uriel look twice.

A prosthetic leg? Uriel thought. He’s probably here for painkillers.

Uriel had guessed so accurately because his own work involved assistive devices for people with disabilities. To be precise, he was an engineer who built mecha specifically for pilots with special needs.

The job sounded glamorous, but in reality, it was fraught with difficulties. He couldn’t secure sponsors, so the project was delayed again and again. When a rich sponsor finally agreed to invest, the test pilot he had lined up bailed on him.

With the project about to start, Uriel had been so worried he hadn’t slept, which was why he was here buying melatonin.

Where is he supposed to find another experienced mecha pilot… and for the compatibility tests, they needed a disabled person…

Bai Ling, standing to the side, suddenly spoke. “You need to add oil.”

Uriel sighed. “I know I need to try harder, but… huh?”

How did he know I needed to ‘add oil’? Uriel turned his head, confused, only to see Bai Ling pointing outside.

He looked outside. The rain was streaming down his mecha’s canopy and running right down to the bent knee joint. The mecha’s knee kept shuddering, almost like it had rheumatism. If he tried to drive it like that, he’d definitely get into an accident.

Uriel broke out in a cold sweat. He’d been so muddled from lack of sleep that he’d forgotten to add the lubricating oil!

So that’s the kind of ‘add oil’ he meant.

He spotted the mecha’s problem at a glance. Is he a mechanic? Uriel couldn’t help but ask, “Kid, have you worked in a repair shop before?”

Bai Ling was noncommittal. “I piloted a mecha for a while. I did my own maintenance. If you do it enough, you get experienced.”

Of course, that “while” was equivalent to twenty years in his previous life.

Bai Ling didn’t know Uriel’s identity and was simply offering a small favor. Mecha maintenance was a precise business, after all. The slightest carelessness could lead to an accident.

His thoughts returned to his own problem. He continued to rack his brain for his electronic account numbers, praying that one of the banks hadn’t received the news of his sentencing and forgot to freeze his card. He just needed to pay, to buy the box of painkillers on the counter that was so close, yet so far out of reach.

Because of this, he didn’t notice the middle-aged man beside him, whose eyes had lit up. The man was staring at him, sizing him up from head to toe.

This is a potential talent! He is young, with a good build. Those hands are long and slender, like a pair of sharp talons. One look and you could tell he had Avian raptor blood.

It was just that he was dressed in thin clothes and soaked to the bone, looking like he’d just crawled out of the sea, as if he was completely destitute.

The shopkeeper noticed the puddle of water growing on the floor and frowned, trying to shoo him away.

“Hey, sir, have you figured it out yet?”

He added with a sneer, “Coming to buy medicine with no money.”

Bai Ling’s expression remained neutral. He nodded, not showing any anger. “I’ll go now.” He had to find a way to get some work and make a quick buck.

Uriel, however, frowned. He said to the shopkeeper, “Is this what you call customer service? The government provides a subsidy every month for pharmacies to give free medication to individuals with disabilities who can’t afford it. What happened to your store’s quota? Did you pocket it?”

The shopkeeper’s face stiffened. Uriel hit his nerve and he immediately snapped, “None of your damn business.”

“Of course it’s my business.” Uriel sneered and scanned his own wristband. “This kid helped me out. Whatever medicine he wants, get it for me. I’m paying.”

The shopkeeper glanced at the screen, and his face instantly went pale. The ID information clearly showed that Uriel belonged to the upper aristocracy. He was someone the shopkeeper couldn’t afford to offend, not even if he had eight heads.

The shopkeeper quickly plastered on a fawning smile. “My apologies, my apologies! We do have the free medication quota. The gentleman wanted three strong painkillers. You’ll only need to pay for two of them.”

The pharmacy also sold some health supplements and food. The shopkeeper brought out another item, a large, brick-like object. “And the one-kilogram pack of compressed biscuits that Mr. Bai wanted.”

Compressed biscuits? Uriel stared, startled. This stuff was convenient rations for the lower class, but the taste was truly awful. No one would buy it unless they were used to living a hard life.

He turned back to look at Bai Ling. He looked to be only eighteen or nineteen. His snow-white hair was plastered to his forehead and his gaze was sharp, but he was so thin his ribs seemed to show through his clothes. At a glance, it was obvious he had no family to look after him.

Bai Ling saw him pass over the bag and politely declined. “Thank you for your kindness, but I have no way to pay you back, so I can’t accept this.”

Uriel forcibly stuffed it into his hands. “No need to pay me back! This is… this is a deposit! Yes, a deposit—”

Saying that, Uriel hurriedly pulled out a business card and handed it over as well, smiling. “Look, I’m a mecha engineer, and I’m currently recruiting a test pilot. I see you’re also short on cash. Why don’t you come and try out at our facility? We partner with all the major mercenary associations. I can introduce you to the association for a position, and then you can come work at our project lab. That way, you can earn two salaries.”

Two salaries.

That meant a stable supply of high-priced painkillers in the future.

Bai Ling stared at the business card, paused for a second, then decisively snatched it and closed it in his palm. He might not necessarily go, but there was no harm in taking it.

The rain began to let up. Uriel watched as the little white-haired kid left, walking with a slight lopsided gait, carrying the brick of biscuits. He then eagerly made a call to his big boss.

However, the one who answered was a measured, modulated AI voice: “Young Master Uriel, hello.”

Uriel recognized it immediately. This was the other party’s mechanical butler. He didn’t dare to be disrespectful and maintained a polite tone. “Excuse me, is the Imperial Uncle in? Our project might have some progress. I just found an excellent candidate.”

“The Master is resting. I will relay your message to him.”

Uriel thanked him, “Thank you. I also wish for the Imperial Uncle’s continued health.”

After disconnecting the call, the AI drove its wheels, gliding cautiously into the inner chamber. It stood by the wall of a pool. A dark, heavy ripple moved beneath the deep water’s surface. Its shape was unclear, but in the instant its tail fin moved, the light glinted off its scales on the water’s surface.

AI: “Master, are you awake?”

A human hand grasped the edge of the pool. Blue veins snaked across the pale forearm muscles.

“It’s too stuffy. I’m going out for a walk…”

AI: “As you wish, sir. I will go and prepare.”

---

Rushing back, Bai Ling reached the vicinity of the palace just before evening. He hadn’t seen the tyrant yet; he had to return.

Looking up, besides the increasingly cold rain, a pheromone storm tide was also slowly blowing in.

Just as Bai Ling had told North, this kind of storm tide was a unique feature of the Capital Planet. Under the influence of the special climate and the artificial atmosphere, if the concentration of pheromones in the air suddenly spiked, the molecules would strike into each other, potentially triggering a butterfly effect.

Its trigger mechanism was still a mystery and a major research focus for many meteorologists.

Bai Ling looked through a window from the street.

Affected by the disturbance, a child who had been happily clapping along to Makka Pakka was now crying, his face red. A news anchor reporting a funny story found his eyes gradually welling up with tears.

For some reason, today’s storm tide felt exceptionally sour and bitter. The sorrow within it seemed to be overflowing.

This was unusual.

But Bai Ling felt nothing.

He was still in his first differentiation. Strictly speaking, he was only half a Beta and was desensitized to pheromones.

At that moment, dark clouds were gathering over the turbulent, deep sea. Soon, the capital’s temperature would drop sharply, from 15°C to -3°C.

So cold. He had to get back to the palace before dark.

Bai Ling thought again of the monster in the waterway, and a chill ran down his spine.

Forget it. I’ll just climb over the outer palace wall this time.

 

---

At the same time, on the palace tower’s terrace, someone was gazing out at the cold, gray curtain of rain.

The AI robot asked curiously, “What are you looking at, sir?”

“There’s a black dot moving on the tower.”

“Oh, that is likely a Peregrine Falcon. They are raptors that live in the city.”

“A Peregrine Falcon?”

“Correct. A particularly vicious type of bird. In winter, they will catch pigeons to warm their talons. After they’ve warmed up, they tear them to pieces and eat them.”

Yu Chen suddenly smiled. “Such a ferocious little bird? I’d like to raise one.”

The AI said in all seriousness: “Sir, you shouldn’t get a sudden whim to raise a bird just because you dreamed of one crashing into your chest. You yourself are completely unaware, but on my monitors, you are breaking the critical threshold and releasing controlling pheromones over the entire planet.”

An Alpha’s “controlling” behavior stemmed from a fierce, possessive territorial instinct.

It only occurred when an Alpha believed their own Omega was in grave danger, triggering a protective controlling impulse.

The AI knew very well that its master did not have a mated Omega. The only thing that came close was the recurring dream about the small bird.

Although its master was vague about the dream’s contents and unwilling to discuss it, the AI’s algorithm guessed the dream was likely related to death.

The AI offered a rational reminder: “I suggest you first take care of your own wrecked body before pondering the feasibility of raising a bird. Furthermore, the mental tonic you just drank will take effect in ten minutes. Please cherish the scenery while you can.”

Yu Chen did indeed feel his vision begin to blur. The light in his retinas was dimming, bit by bit.

This was the tonic’s effect.

To allow his brain to rest to the maximum extent, his optic nerves had to be shut down, reducing visual information intake.

“I will go get your cane.” The robot glided away smoothly.

Yu Chen turned around, no longer looking at the gloomy sky. The unexpected downpour had ruined the Capital Planet’s signature pink-orange sunset, making it a chaotic mess.

Amidst the approaching gust of wind, a faint muttered curse could be heard, “Ah… I’m freezing to death…”

Immediately after, there was the sound of a heavy landing, followed by damp, chaotic footsteps. The breathing was uneven and trembling.

Yu Chen only felt himself being suddenly yanked backward, pulled into the shadow behind a pillar. Two ice-cold hands urgently shoved their way inside his clothes. The voice that was shivering so badly from the cold that it trembled, tried to threaten him in a hushed whisper:

“Don’t… make a sound… I’m seizing your…”

Bai Ling hugged his waist from behind. His fingers, which had regained a little feeling, fumbled around, feeling the undulating shape. He then said viciously:

“… Seizing your abs.”

An extremely vicious raptor.

For some reason, Yu Chen suddenly thought of this.

---

Author has something to say:

Bai Ling: (Coldly) Open up! FBI! Hand over your eight-pack!

Yu Chen: (Takes the opportunity to grab the bird’s wings) (Rubs)

Bai Ling: ?