Feral

Night fell, and an escort warship silently glided along the aerial rail. Its exterior utilized biomimetic design, replicating the aerodynamic noise-reduction strategy of an owl. Its wings were engineered with a serrated edge, allowing it to traverse the night sky soundlessly, bringing an exquisitely quiet journey to its passengers.

At the same time, this vastly increased production costs.

Such a ship model was rare on the aerial rails, drawing many prying eyes. Drivers on the same rail glanced out their observation windows; from afar, they could barely discern the escort ship’s coating with the help of the flashing navigation lights. A low-profile deep blue, even as a colossal monster, it could perfectly blend into the night. Aside from the registration number at the tail, it bore no crests or markings.

The veteran drivers unanimously pulled away to maintain a safe distance. They all knew that the more restrained the coating, the more imperative it was to proactively yield. Because when a party doesn’t use flashy crests to flaunt their identity, they are actually transmitting a message: the owner of this ship, whether you recognize his identity or not, is someone you absolutely cannot afford to provoke.

Inside a small hover-vehicle, a son pointed outside and asked excitedly, “Dad, when can we buy a ship like that? Look how huge its glass is, it’s seamless! It’s perfect for watching the scenery.”

The old driver spat out, cursing, “Can’t even sit in the passenger seat quietly. Get to the back.”

That said, what old driver didn’t love warships? The middle-aged man couldn’t help but steal another glance. The viewing window on the opposite side was indeed beautiful: a complete floor-to-ceiling panoramic pane without a single steel support frame. He had seen such escort ships at interstellar weapons expos; the interiors were luxuriously decorated, featuring private VIP observation suites. It was practically a luxury penthouse in the sky; merely sitting inside was a form of indulgence. Of course, its disregard for cost made it staggering expensive. One such ship could buy ten of anyone else’s.

At this moment, lights glowed inside the panoramic window, though not too brightly. The single-sided coating, which offered excellent privacy, blocked most of the light, leaving only a vague, composed silhouette.

It was a tall man.

Yu Chen rested his arms, leaning against the pristine glass window as he overlooked the brilliant lights of ten thousand homes. His posture was relaxed as his fingers cradled a crystal chalice. The Burgundy wine swirled gently, coaxing out a ripe cherry aroma.

Breathing the wine, waiting for the tannins to smooth out and the liquid to oxidize and soften before tasting, brought forth another dimension of its blooming flavor. Decanting wine required patience, and so did coaxing a person awake.

Yu Chen caught the intoxicating scent of the wine, his eyes turning casually toward the case standing against the wall. It stood upright, resembling a piece of fine furniture, or perhaps an unopened gift. The “gift” inside was growing impatient to come out.

“Out—” a crisp mechanical button prompt echoed.

Yu Chen arched an eyebrow, imagining the scene of that bird finding the button on the side of the case and pressing down hard with his claws.

“Out, out!”

Yu Chen found it meaningful, discerning a slightly unique sensation from it. It felt very much like… a puppy using a pet speech button, attempting to communicate with its master.

“Ouuuuuut—” Clearly, this was a rather frantic puppy.

A bionic bodyguard was alerted by the sound and alertly approached to investigate.

Yu Chen caught the movement in his peripheral vision. His face instantly froze with a chilling severity, and he delivered a cold command: “Get out.”

The bionic bodyguard straightened stiffly, not daring to defy him, and silently retreated with a bowed waist. Just as it was about to close the door, its master suddenly said:

“No need to close it. Leave it open.”

The bionic bodyguard didn’t understand its master’s intention. It strictly followed the order, retreating outside to stand against the wall by the door, guarding the corridor in perfect alignment with its teammates. From here, they could faintly hear their master’s pleased sigh.

Anyone could see that Yu Chen was in high spirits tonight. Ever since he stopped the medication, it was as if a seal had been undone. Every minute and every second, he could feel his state steadily recovering; his long-suppressed temperament had finally found a breach, eagerly waiting to be unleashed.

He stopped in front of the case, stroking its exquisite leather. His green eyes were deep and unreadable, carrying a dangerous edge of indulgence. After studying it deeply for a moment, he finally pressed the fingerprint lock with a touch of reluctance.

Inside this case was the little toy he intended to spend the night with.

The retrieval box’s pneumatic device hissed as the lid lifted open by a small crack. The breeze from the ventilation system swirled out, spraying a burst of sweet yet sharp heat.

Yu Chen took his time, licking the tip of his teeth. He was like a master sommelier, appraising the information within the scent molecules. The omega’s puberty phase was nearing its absolute end. Under relentless nurturing, that scent resembled the flesh of a thorny fruit growing beneath a sunbaked desert; sour, sweet, and intense, with a slight sting to the throat that struck directly at one’s salivary glands.

“Hah…” A faint murmur like that of a young beast came from within the case.

Yu Chen’s eyes darkened, and his stomach twisted with hunger.

He lifted the lid completely. The body inside was lean and tall, tilting forward under the momentum. But he didn’t worry about this, because the case’s clasps securely tethered the falcon’s limbs, fixing him in place like a porcelain doll. This forced the bird’s shoulders forward and arched his lower back, leaving a space between his waist and the bottom of the case.

Yu Chen slid his arm through that space, effortlessly circling the flexible waist.

He half-lowered his eyes, stared at the omega’s dry lips, and murmured softly, “The little one performed quite the heroic rescue today.”

“Mgh?” Bai Ling looked up dazedly, not yet fully recognizing his surroundings.

The recovery box was rich in oxygen. Having inhaled his fill, it felt as if he had downed a bottle of muscle relaxant. Every fiber of his body thoroughly loosened, and his brain turned light and airy. He inadvertently locked eyes with that pair of green gemstones, his heart undergoing its habitual one-second spike in speed. Veering his gaze away, his nasal tone softened into a vulnerable murmur:

“Are you… angry with me?”

Bai Ling felt somewhat guilty. When he dashed forward to save the child, he hadn’t thought much of it. It was only afterward, while sitting by the curb, that the reality gradually registered, and he imagined how that merman would go hysterical if he found out.

A low chuckle escaped from the merman’s mouth. His slightly cool fingers brushed against Bai Ling’s face, slowly pinching the flesh of his cheek. “Why do you think I would be angry?”

Bai Ling breathed a sigh of relief. “As long as you’re not angry, it’s fine.”

He was afraid of his own stress response, but he was even more terrified of Yu Chen’s. If he himself went mad, Yu Chen could still pin him down; but if the other party broke out of control, where on earth could he find a steel chain strong enough to tether a merman?

Just as Bai Ling was mulling this over, a sudden chill hit his jaw. Pressed by the rim of a crystal glass, his head was forced upward.

With one hand cradling the crystal chalice and the other braced against the wall, Yu Chen used the overhead light to lean down and inspect Bai Ling’s face. The faint redness around his eyes and the traces of tears lingering at their corners stood exposed under the illumination, pitiably vulnerable. His wet eyelashes clumped together, and his grey irises looked away to the side.

Yu Chen coaxed him softly: “Look at me.”

“Don’t…”

“Crying behind my back? Got anxious inside the box?”

“It wasn’t because of that…” Bai Ling denied it, shooting him a rapid glance before lowering his eyelids again. He bit his lip, forcing himself to admit: “You came to fetch me… I was just so happy.”

An unreadable dark undercurrent surged deep within Yu Chen’s eyes, yet his voice grew gentler still: “Only because of that?”

“Putting me in the box was… very thoughtful too! It’s my first time lying in such a comfortable recovery box. Did you rent it, or buy it? Will we use it again in the future?”

Yu Chen’s fingers stroked the wine glass, his movements growing progressively restless.

“I don’t mean to be greedy, but if we do this once in a while, I’d be very glad. If only I were a squid, then I’d have so many legs, and every time one broke, I could be— mgh!”

Such a lovely mouth, of course, had to be stopped.

It began with a tentative taste, nibbling along the contours of his lips, causing the bird to let out a sequence of sharp, ragged gasps.

Yu Chen smiled, tilted his head to down another mouthful of wine, and clamped a hand firmly around the avian’s slender neck. Pressing down against the thin, soft lips, he forcefully transferred the liquid across.

The Little Bird, now laced with wine, tasted sweeter still.

Yu Chen was reminded of a famous and cruel delicacy: ortolan bunting. A cunning hunter would trap this singing bird using a net, locking it in a dark room for twenty-one days to fatten it up, letting it relax and preen its feathers. When the time was ripe, the chef would drown it in Armagnac brandy, roasting it until it was delicate and glistening with oil, presenting it like a small dessert for connoisseurs to savor.

Those who had eaten it said the dish could make the soul tremble.

Yu Chen tightened his arm around the slim waist, pulling the bird infinitely close to himself. Under his overly uninhibited, swallowing invasion, the young omega trembled uncontrollably.

He smoothed the youth’s spine soothingly, yet his mind was entirely filled with images of the bird’s scalding, tender flesh, and those slender, hollow bones.

If one were to take a hot, deep breath from the roasted bird’s abdominal cavity, what sweet juices would burst forth…

Completely immersed in the kiss, he began to lose himself.

Bai Ling’s eyes snapped wide open.

Something’s wrong…

He knew the merman loved to kiss him, frequently pinning him by the waist against whatever surface was nearby to indulge. But today’s sensation was vastly different from the past. This guy wasn’t building up the rhythm, kissing him until his voice turned soft before advancing elsewhere; instead, he was aggressively jammed right at the opening of his throat, lingering there with a restless, surging intent.

Bai Ling’s throat suddenly spasmed. Tightening in a stark reflex, he nearly gagged on the spot.

The merman pulled back a bit. The brilliant crystal chandelier swayed gently overhead, casting an incredibly regal and magnificent glow over his features.

Yet Bai Ling’s pupils shuddered as he watched the man slow and satisfiedly lick the contours of his own lips. That tip of the tongue was clearly—

Forked.

That was by no means an oral organ a human could possess.

Bai Ling curled his toes in sheer tension, Dr. Woodpecker’s warning echoing relentlessly through his mind: He will become feral… feral…

So this was what “feral” meant.

Noticing his sheer panic, Yu Chen methodically set down his wine glass and asked, “Find it disgusting? Can’t accept it?”

The forms of marine organisms were inherently bizarre. A merman belonged to a class of highly intelligent sea monsters; it was barely within the realm of comprehension that certain parts differed from ordinary humans. Besides, this was the guardian he had chosen himself, no matter how eerie, he had to accept it.

“No…” Bai Ling dazed for a moment. Pursing his slightly swollen lips, he said softly, “I just need time… to adapt to your changes.”

This display of submission greatly pleased Yu Chen.

Having reigned as Emperor for over a century, Yu Chen had seen no shortage of diverse military personnel throughout his life. From Grand Marshals commanding army groups down to newly enlisted Lieutenants, every single one displayed varying degrees of deference before him. Yet not one had ever been quite so…

Delectable.

The little darling that perfectly fitted his soul.

“Then you might as well start adapting from this moment.” Yu Chen gripped the flesh of Bai Ling’s waist. Giving him no opportunity to catch his breath, he pinched the young man’s chin, pinning him back into the case as he poured down a simmering, mounting hunger from above.

—Gluttony.

With his breath entirely in disarray, Bai Ling felt nothing but the long, cold, and damp flick of a serpent’s tongue passing through the opening of his throat, arriving at a dense cluster of nerve endings. That vivid red tongue wedged into the esophagus, advancing inch by inch along the tract. The scale and rhythm were handled with immaculate precision, keeping him suspended in a state of mild suffocation where he could barely grasp a breath—

Repeatedly experiencing the thrills, the peril, and the scalp-numbing sensation of a cold-blooded creature expanding within him.

It easily… evoked concepts of bizarre things humans were never meant to experience.

Bai Ling’s chest heaved violently, his entire body trembling as if on the verge of falling apart. He only had one leg left now, and his knee was so weak he could barely maintain his posture.

Only from this moment onward did he realize, with a delayed shock, that Izu Paraiso was a Rotting-breed merman. The man’s true nature was perilous and brutal, capable of tearing sharks apart with his bare hands. Now that the dignified facade was flaking away due to the lack of medication, the razor-sharp ferocity belonging to a top-tier marine apex predator was breaking through.

The distinct metallic tang of blood and possessiveness characteristic of a carnivore was carving deep into his esophagus along with that sharply forked tongue. It felt as if in the next second, he would rise from the deep sea and swallow the tender, juicy bird whole—

“Ugh!” A wave of nausea rolled through Bai Ling’s stomach. Instinctively snapping his jaws shut, he bit down with all his might.

“Hiss,” Yu Chen let out a soft gasp of pain.

Recovering his breath, Bai Ling glared at the other. “Don’t go too far.”

Yu Chen rolled his icy green eyes, licking the wound on his tongue as a trace of iron spread across his mouth. He bites hard.

Seeing the merman staring back at him, Bai Ling retreated slightly in defense. But there was nowhere left to go; he could only press himself into the cramped confines of the case, doing his utmost to evade any further intrusion.

Yu Chen leaned down against his ear, his breath laced with a doting tenderness: “Darling… my darling… instead of letting an armored car crush you, wouldn’t it be better if I broke you myself, hm?”

A chill ran down Bai Ling’s spine, an uncontrollable shudder of horror rippling through him. What kind of madness is this guy spitting?!

“Let me go, quick!” Sensing things were turning south, Bai Ling immediately thrashed his arms violently. The case rocked twice from side to side with his movements, looking as if it were about to tip forward and crash.

A hand clamped onto the top of the case, effortlessly halting the downward momentum. The merman asked briskly, “Why should I let go? When I put you in the box, you didn’t resist. Now that I’ve gathered you up, naturally, I can dispose of you however I please.”

This sweet little vessel was overflowing with the exact substances he adored: loyalty, sacrifice, self-devotion, and the fortitude to throw oneself into danger for the common people.

These beautiful things were laid out before him without reservation, ripe for the taking.

Yu Chen found it incredibly difficult to resist such a bird.

“I ought to cherish you…” he murmured, a hint of something neurotic surfacing in his tone. “Yet after cherishing you for a moment, I feel an immense pleasure. Having lived to this age, my appetite has long been poor. It has been a very long time since I’ve tasted something so delectable…”

Bai Ling swore: “If you’re sick, go take your medicine!”

But on second thought, this old man really was sick, and currently had no way to take his meds. It was useless to argue with him using standard logic. Furthermore, locking him up wasn’t a first for the merman. From past “combat experience,” using brute force definitely wouldn’t work. To catch a snake, you have to hit its vitals; to catch a merman, you have to grab its tail. Yu Chen’s weakness lay in…

Bai Ling thought fast, then suddenly blurted: “I need to use the bathroom. My leg hurts like hell, and I can’t hold it in much longer.”

“Alright.”

The tactic worked like a charm. Bai Ling caught his breath slightly, watching the merman release the constraints of the case with a tender grace. But he never could have anticipated that he would very quickly pay the price for his lie.

Flexing his numb wrists, Bai Ling braced his hands against the merman’s shoulders, intending to hop out of the case.

Yu Chen extended his arms, scooping him up by the waist. Moving his long legs, he carried him all the way into the bathroom. Then, clamping both hands around the base of the young man’s thighs, he kept him pinned against his torso, aligned him directly over the toilet, and delivered an absolute, unyielding command:

“Go ahead.”

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Author’s Note:

Thank you all for the birthday wishes yesterday! Sending everyone a little falcon dumpling soaked in milk~

Regarding the method of cooking the bird, reference was made to Wikipedia.

Dark Night Hen: (Sighs and shakes head) (Shrugs and throws hands up) This story teaches us that you must always believe your brother’s words. What did I say? This smelly bird would offer himself as a sacrifice to an evil god, and sure enough, he got shoved down an esophagus!! Remember to drink more milk afterward to soothe your stomach.

Little Bird: Why do you sound like someone who speaks from experience?

Little Hen: …