Chapter 21: But now Zao Zao is not alone

**Chapter 21 — But Now Zao Zao Isn’t Alone**

So you’re saying that when you run into a problem you can’t solve, you curl up into a ball… like a scared animal? Is that right?

Mei Lun silently stared at this “ball.”

That shouldn’t be the case — even if he hadn’t been raised by the Crown Clan before, given the innate stubbornness of the Crown Clan, how could there be such a timid little thing among them?

Mei Lun thought for a moment. He wanted to correct the young cub’s mindset — although the last two generations of the Crown Clan had caused plenty of chaos, they had all resisted fate in their own ways. Running away was not acceptable…

But Xiao Chuzao stirred slightly, and his shimmering golden halo reappeared. This little white fluffball lifted his tiny head, ears twitching, dewy eyes gazing up at Mei Lun.

Looking at this ball of fur, Mei Lun suddenly had countless things he wanted to say, but he swallowed them all back down.

—He’s only five! What could he possibly have done wrong?!

“Mrrow?”

Grandfather Mei Lun, why are you asking this?

The little fluffball still hugged his tail, his voice soft and confused.

This was the only heir born to the Crown Clan in centuries — and from the Dwight bloodline no less.

Mei Lun melted from the cuteness, covering his face with one hand. The lock of snow-white hair tied at the back of his head with a black ribbon trembled slightly with his movement, like a refined gentleman baffled by something unexpected.

“It’s nothing serious. Zao Zao is still too young. You can learn slowly as you grow. For now, just listen — as members of the Crown Clan, we carry the empire’s honor and duty. Even when faced with insurmountable challenges, we will never hesitate to — *take up arms.*”

Meanwhile, above Saint Cas’s imperial planet, Amos hovered in the sky, his massive wings unfurled behind him, a psychic weapon clutched in his hand. He coldly watched a raging tide of beasts surge forth from spatial distortions like a monstrous wave.

Compared to the enormous, savage creatures, Amos seemed small, but with a single swing of his weapon — so fast it blurred — his terrifying psychic power instantly reduced a large group of attackers to gory mist and dust.

Just then, his communicator buzzed, but only once — no message followed.

Frowning, Amos calmly issued the next order for pursuit before turning midair. His wings sliced through the heavens as he headed back toward the palace.

Inside the palace, Mei Lun’s expression gradually darkened after finishing his “take up arms” speech.

He raised his hand, and his psychic energy coalesced into countless rhombus-shaped shards of light, held tightly in his palm like boomerangs ready to be thrown. Above his head, what remained of his shattered halo crown — now merely a circular base — slowly materialized, exuding grim determination.

He turned toward the door of his room, taking a step forward. The warmth in his smile had vanished entirely, replaced by cold detachment. His scarlet eyes narrowed slightly as psychic energy surged through him, and the already crumbling halo continued to fracture. The whites of his eyes, which had just begun returning to normal, reddened again. Yet his posture remained poised, exuding the Crown Clan’s signature arrogance even in this extreme state.

The little white fluff was shielded behind him. Xiao Chuzao sensed the shift in the atmosphere.

“Mew?”

Grandfather Mei Lun?

From the window of Mei Lun’s room, Xiao Chuzao could see the sky steadily dimming into gloom, occasionally lit by flashes of light. The swirling snow caught in the storm had turned crimson, and the bodies of fallen beasts rained from the sky, pulverized by the last defensive stand of the imperial forces.

Aside from the ominous crimson snow, everything seemed under control — the Crown Clan and Saint Cas military had things handled. Though the number of combat-capable Crown Clan remaining on the planet wasn’t large, it wasn’t small either.

Everything appeared reassuring.

From the very beginning, the Crown Clan had acted with measured composure — this bizarre incursion should pose no real threat to the Saint Cas Empire.

Some time had passed since the strange invasion began, and everything seemed to be going smoothly.

But outside, it was eerily silent. Too quiet — unnaturally so.

"Zao Zao, stay inside and don't move."

The battle-hardened Crown Clansman sensed something wrong.

Gripping his psychic weapon, Mei Lun forced the door open with a surge of psychic energy.

Outside—the palace guards seemed to still be at their posts, unmoving.

But it was unnervingly strange—even as the door swung open, none of them turned to look—

Their hearts had stopped; their rigid bodies silently lifeless. The last one to sense danger had barely managed to press the alarm on his communicator, but no message could be sent.

Mei Lun's crown halo had shrunk to a faint ring of light, its most basic layer, now on the verge of shattering. At times like this, the Crown Clan showed extreme restraint—they didn’t want their death to bring catastrophic destruction to Saint Cas. Many Crown Clansmen, facing inevitable doom, would end their own lives in the final moments before their halo shattered—arming the 'nuclear bomb' with a safety lock.

Though still capable of combat, their awareness of the outside world faded sharply at this stage—they became sluggish and stubborn.

It was only now, at this critical moment, that Mei Lun finally realized something was off.

Too late now.

Not far away, an unfamiliar young man stood there, adjusting a tiny camera clipped to his collar.

Hearing the door open, he looked up, meeting Mei Lun’s crimson eyes—frenzied yet eerily calm.

He smiled—

"Hello there, Crown Clan. This new drug works well, doesn't it? Let me think—Mei Lun, right? I wonder if you still remember me? Finding you wasn't easy."

He bowed slightly, putting on a show of courtesy. When he lifted his gaze again, his eyes seethed with bottomless hatred.

"...Who are you?"

Mei Lun flung his psychic energy outward, his movements lazy but his focus razor-sharp, firmly guarding the doorway. With a thunderous crash, the structure behind the man crumbled.

If possible, Mei Lun would’ve avoided fighting in the palace.

Repairs were troublesome enough, and damaging another Crown Clan member’s property might ignite infighting.

But this intruder was too suspicious—how he got in, what he wanted, all unknown. For the cub’s safety, better to eliminate him quickly.

Startled, the cub instinctively balled up in the corner, peeping softly—"Meow?"

Gramps Mei Lun, what's going on?

Mei Lun didn’t respond. His expression was grim. Before the enemy, space itself writhed unnaturally, swallowing his psychic energy—no, someone must have obtained an extremely rare ore capable of causing spatial fluctuations. These ores were scarce, only found in pairs, each containing energy that could open spatial gateways between two points—like the spatial jumps used aboard starships, though much rarer and limited in use.

This almost perfectly countered his long-range, small-scale psychic weapons and likely helped the intruder infiltrate Saint Cas and the palace.

Was he the target?

Mei Lun tightened his grip on his psychic weapon, lost in thought.

Having him guard the cub now seemed like a deadly mistake.

The enemy remained unaware of Mei Lun’s unwavering defense of the doorway, consumed by his own hatred.

"I'm just a small wanderer who lost my nation and planet during Saint Cas's expansion. When you, Mei Lun, destroyed my homeland, you never imagined this moment—I simply received help from sympathizers who allowed me to witness your Crown Clan's downfall with my own eyes."

Before the enemy could finish speaking, Mei Lun slammed the door shut. Countless psychic weapons shot from his hands in rapid succession.

If it counters him—then force this thing to its breaking point.

The space stone was already losing control, and the enemy himself wasn't strong. Under relentless assault, Mei Lun swiftly closed the distance. Everything ended quickly—by the time he stood his ground, Mei Lun already held the psychic weapon that had pierced the enemy's chest. He cast a sidelong glance, finally seeing the man's face clearly.

After a beat, he murmured, "Oh, you're that petty royal from some backwater planet who tried to seize my empire's territory, kept attacking our starships, and declared war on us?"

To think anyone survived?

That Mei Lun could even recall it was only because that provocation over twenty years ago had been so outrageous. They must have thought the Crown Clan was finished, eager to carve up a share for themselves, declaring war in the belief that even a small gain would be tolerated. In the end, Mei Lun, handling an adjacent beast horde at the time, wiped them out on a whim.

Mei Lun withdrew his arm; bloodstains already marred his clothes. He shook the blood from his hand, watching the young man collapse. Blood poured from his mouth and nose, yet he wore a grotesque grin.

What was he grinning about?

This was all... too easy.

A soft noise came from behind.

Mei Lun turned.

The door he had shut was now pushed open a crack, and a little white puffball clung to the doorway, meowing softly.

"Grandpa Mei Lun... are—are you okay?"

Everything happened too fast. Xiao Chuzao had no idea what was going on outside—he'd only heard violent noises. By the time he scurried over to the door, everything was over. He pushed it open and stood frozen at the sight of blood—the crimson hue shocking the youngling into immobility.

Mei Lun had no time to speak.

At the moment the young man's heartbeat ceased, a soft beep rang out, and a small canister connected to his chest rolled free.

It was a lock keyed to his heartbeat—now that it had stopped, the canister opened.

As soon as Mei Lun saw what was inside, his pupils constricted. He reacted instantly, cleaving it into dust—but the substance still dispersed. He was closest, taking the brunt of it. His crown started trembling violently.

—"Want to see the Crown Clan’s destruction? There’s a way—make them come into closer contact with corruption, push them further into collapse."

This was an isolation canister, containing the most potent source of corruption harvested from the deepest contamination. It had once destroyed the Crown Clan’s habitat, devastating their entire race. At close range—especially for a Crown Clan member whose crown was already unstable—it would shatter the fragile halo and cause their psychic powers to collapse. Of course, it was also extremely dangerous to ordinary people. This man never intended to survive.

Mei Lun could already sense Amos rapidly approaching. Others nearby had heard the commotion and were rushing toward him.

But it was too late.

His crown—was about to shatter.

And not far away, the space stone on the corpse had reached its limit and was about to explode.

Mei Lun staggered backward, barely managing to collapse against the door.

He reached out, slamming it shut with desperate force before the little one could fully grasp what was happening.

Everything happened too fast. The youngling only saw Grandpa Mei Lun’s halo crack from the center, disintegrating outward piece by piece. Then, he was shoved back by the door, tumbling head over heels. His tiny wings flapped furiously, instantly propelling him back to pummel the door.

"Mrow! Mrow! Mrow!"

"Grandpa Mei Lun! Grandpa Mei Lun! Let Zao Zao out!! Grandpa Mei Lun!!"

"Zao Zao—needs to come out!!"

Desperately pushing against the door, the little one threw his tiny frame at it, bouncing and battering it with all his might.

The little cub seldom reacted so drastically when faced with trouble, just as he had demonstrated earlier—when encountering an insurmountable threat, Zao Zao would curl up into a ball.

But now—Zao Zao was not alone.

Xiao Chuzao seemed to hear the gentle voice that had brought him into this world whispering to him—"Don’t be afraid, Zao Zao. You can do it. Only you can."

Mei Lun leaned against the door, gazing at the sky, looking every bit the disheveled gentleman at this moment. His shattered halo hung like scattered black petals, and his voice faltered: "Don’t be afraid, Zao Zao... His Majesty... will be here... soon... Just wait a little longer... It’s still dangerous outside..."

Marching toward destruction—this was the fate of the Crown Clan—

Every time their psychic energy went haywire, the Crown Clan seemed to hear this voice—*Just give in. This is the Crown Clan's inescapable fate...*

Compared to his kin, he was still fortunate.

Mei Lun slowly closed his eyes.

"If only I could see the snow one last time... with Zao Zao..."

Too short. The time fate had granted him was way too short.

He hoped His Majesty would arrive in time, preventing this little one—whom they had waited centuries for—from witnessing his ugly state and getting traumatized.

The Crown Clan, his crown already split in two, put the blade to his own throat, ready to end his life—to flip his own 'safety switch' before the crown shattered completely and exploded out of control.

Nobody was coming to save them...

Nobody—

"Zao Zao won't allow this!"

A child's voice, strange yet oddly familiar, rang out like a thunderclap right in his ear.

The faraway homeworld hummed in response, as if affirming the little cub’s connection to this world, making even other Crown Clan members pause momentarily.

A sudden burst of golden light cut through Mei Lun’s action. Wrapped in the warmth of that golden psychic energy, Mei Lun finally allowed the door to burst open.