Chapter 110

Chapter 110

El didn't stay to watch the entire match; they left halfway through.

When the match ended, the victory crystal slowly descended from the air into Silver Cocoon's palm and was eventually passed to Meng Shijiu.

Meng Shijiu only realized when he held it that this wasn't an ordinary crystal. Inside the translucent crystal lay a golden petal.

The golden color was bright and eye-catching, with the slender petal's delicate veins clearly visible.

Meng Shijiu studied it briefly, confirming it was actually a sunflower petal.

At that moment, a rapid red light flashed on the cockpit panel.

It was an external communication request. Meng Shijiu clicked to accept.

The voice of the Alpha he had just battled came through the channel.

"Are you going to the venue next door?" The speaker paused. "Don't go."

...

Meng Shijiu hadn't planned to go anyway.

The silver-haired Alpha took the pomegranate juice handed by See, bit the straw, and squinted contentedly: The match was over, the weather was clear and refreshing, perfect for grabbing a meal ^^

See walked beside Meng Shijiu, holding his terminal and carefully navigating to a dessert shop.

The black-haired, silver-eyed young man looked serious: Time was tight, the mission urgent, he had to plan the most comfortable route for his host = =

It was just that, for some reason, the signal wasn't great right now, and the navigation was a bit glitchy.

Just after exiting the venue, before even reaching the corner, Meng Shijiu suddenly stopped.

A dangerous, oppressive scent hit him out of nowhere.

... Datura.

It was Jue Ning's pheromones.

Meng Shijiu walked around the corner and looked around.

There were few pedestrians; the road was empty.

The sun hung in the sky.

When the wind blew, the sunlight seemed frozen. The autumn sun was like a silent, focused pupil.

Venue Two.

The spectators had been cleared out, but the match between Jue Ning and Cui Suifu was still ongoing.

The two had just steadied themselves when they spotted another figure not far away, backing sneakily toward them.

That person carried a backpack and was holding a can of pheromone blocker. After cautiously glancing to the side, they turned around.

—It was none other than classmate Ying Canglun.

Ying Canglun turned and saw Meng Shijiu, was also startled, then grinned, revealing a row of dazzling white teeth.

Ying Canglun's voice was brimming with barely contained excitement: "Shijiu!"

Meng Shijiu was momentarily speechless: "..."

Ying Canglun: Hehe.

Ying Canglun raised his camera and explained in a low voice: "First-hand news, gotta get it."

Meng Shijiu nodded, affirming: "...You'll succeed at anything you do."

Ying Canglun glanced at the unfamiliar young man beside Meng Shijiu but didn't ask further.

He took a bag of snacks from his backpack and casually offered it to the silver-haired Alpha.

Meng Shijiu: !!

Meng Shijiu's eyes lit up: "You'll succeed at anything you do!"

Ying Canglun silently looked at him and clutched his chest.

The three of them hid and sat in a dark spot.

From this vantage point, the entire arena was visible below.

Five minutes later.

Ying Canglun sprayed the blocker on his face: "Pshhh— I'll bet a bag of chocolate on Jue Ning winning."

See: "I'll bet two bags on Cui Suifu."

The blocker: "Pshhh— I'll bet three bags— Pshhh— Please don't question my ability to gather temporary information."

See said calmly: "Four bags."

The blocker: "Five bags. With this concentration of pheromones— Pshhh— His Highness won't be able to hold out for long— Pshhh— if he doesn't release his own pheromones."

See: "Six bags."

After speaking, both of them looked at Meng Shijiu.

Meng Shijiu, having listened to the whole exchange: ?

Meng Shijiu silently shifted his gaze back, somewhat uncertainly looking at the arena before him.

For some reason, Jue Ning had created a pheromone domain within the arena. At this moment, the entire field was shrouded in dense black mist, churning and almost swallowing the whole venue.

Nothing was visible.

Let alone the mechas' figures.

Meng Shijiu: So what exactly are you betting on?

Although pheromone use was permitted in this match, all competing mechas were equipped with standard pheromone filtration barriers. Unless encountering a top-tier Alpha's pheromones, the impact on the arena was actually quite limited.

The Alliance clearly anticipated such contingencies as well; the current scene still appeared manageable.

Meng Shijiu's left ear heard "Pshhh— Pshhh—", his right ear heard See's chanting, and before his eyes was a tangled mess of black fog.

Meng Shijiu frowned, staring at the chaotic haze he simply couldn't see through.

Meng Shijiu: I hate Jue Ning =∧=

*

Within the black mist.

Cui Suifu sat in the cockpit, watching the motionless mech not far away through the screen.

Guang Tou (Baldy): "Master, there's no time limit for the match. Aren't you going to attack yet?"

Guang Tou—originally named Jin Ying, personally renamed by Cui Suifu—was meant to commemorate an artificial intelligence from the crashed aircraft "Xuan Yi."

His master had a lofty justification: this way, whenever its name was mentioned, his future wife would remember the life-and-death experience they shared during their first meeting 🙂

Cui Suifu was irritated.

If he killed him, would Shi Jiu scold him?

The red-haired Alpha crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back into the seat, musing idly.

…

In a secluded corner behind the spectator stands.

The three of them had completely stopped paying attention to the match. They had turned their backs to the arena and were roasting sweet potatoes right there.

That's right—Ying Canglun's bottomless backpack actually contained a sweet potato.

The three of them huddled around the fire.

Orange flames licked the air as the sweet potato turned caramel-colored, its skin slightly cracked.

Meng Shijiu said reverently, "Sweet potato."

Inhibitor Spray: "Pfft—"

Meng Shijiu: "..."

Meanwhile, See, having witnessed Meng Shijiu's repeated silent affirmations of Ying Canglun, had already defined him as a deep, scheming individual not to be underestimated. He quietly noted every detail, vowing to redeem himself in the next contest for affection.

The sweet potato slowly roasted through in the charcoal fire, emitting a simple yet sweet fragrance.

Meng Shijiu touched the back of his waist.

When Meng Shijiu took out Nian Jiu, the other two fell silent.

A beauty paired with a treasured blade, a treasured blade... a treasured blade cutting sweet potatoes.

With two swift "swish" sounds from the snow-white blade, the sweet potato split into three portions, passed to the other two.

Just as they took them—

Suddenly, Meng Shijiu stood up abruptly from the ground.

In that brief moment, the usual casualness on the silver-haired Alpha's face vanished completely. His brows furrowed, shadows falling at the corners of his eyes.

"Crack."

At the same time, a cold aura spread from him like a tide. Alpha pheromones rapidly spread outward, and wherever they reached, a thin layer of frost quickly formed on the ground.

The previously flickering charcoal fire let out a soft "puff" and went out.

The silver-haired Alpha didn't speak, turning slightly to look at the arena.

Ying Canglun instinctively followed Meng Shijiu's gaze.

...He saw that the arena, which had been completely swallowed by black mist just moments ago, was now much clearer.

Although the mist hadn't disappeared, the two mechs facing off were now visible.

Meng Shijiu lowered his head.

...Where the other two couldn't see, around the silver-haired Alpha's ankle, concealed by his pant leg, a coil of black mist had wound itself.

The damp, cold, and sticky black mist, like a living creature, still stubbornly wound itself around, again and again, even after being repelled by the Alpha's cold pheromones.

Entwining, shifting, invading, tightening.

On the other side, Cui Suifu narrowed his eyes in the cockpit as he stared at the mech opposite him that had suddenly accelerated: "Huh?"

Cui Suifu: "Is he finally ready?"

Before the words finished, the opposing mech shot forward like a pitch-black afterimage, cutting a cold arc through the black mist, almost skimming the ground as it charged.

Just as Cui Suifu prepared to meet it, his peripheral vision caught a somewhat conspicuous figure outside the arena who had stood up.

His brow lifted ever so slightly.

"Guang Tou" executed an almost brutally sharp spin to evade.

…

In the shadows of the stands, the black mist around Meng Shijiu's ankle tightened further.

The damp, cold sensation seeped into his skin, almost penetrating his bones. He glanced down, then looked back toward the two figures at the center of the arena.

Cui Suifu continued to dodge Jue Ning's attacks, his movements appearing almost rushed.

See glanced over and immediately called it out: "Faking it."

He must have noticed the host was present and was deliberately showing weakness to play on his sympathy.

Meng Shijiu: "I'd believe it if you said Jue Ning was faking, but Cui Suifu..."

Inhibitor Spray—no, Ying Canglun—munched on his sweet potato: "He's faking. I've seen their previous recordings. His Highness isn't usually like this."

Meng Shijiu: "..."

It wasn't that Meng was biased toward Cui Suifu; he just couldn't quite believe Cui Suifu would act like this.

Little did he know, Cui Suifu had already figured out Meng Shijiu's unconscious preferences through their previous interactions.

The silver-haired Alpha always lingered a moment longer on glimpses of vulnerability.

Now, Cui Suifu appeared to be in retreat, yet each step was perfectly calculated. It made Jue Ning's aggression seem relentless while placing himself in a position of forced endurance.

Cui Suifu watched the mech before him, lightly pressing his tongue against his canine tooth, his lips curved: Trying to play this game with me? You're not quite there yet.

Seizing a spare moment, he couldn't help but glance at Meng Shijiu.

The next moment, Cui Suifu's gaze froze, the smile dying on his lips.

What is that?

Cui Suifu’s pupils narrowed slightly as he focused his gaze.

—Around the silver-haired Alpha’s wrist, something black was tightly coiled.

By the time Cui Suifu realized what it was, he could no longer restrain himself and swiftly counterattacked Jue Ning—

The hitherto restrained mecha suddenly erupted with terrifying propulsion, carrying a wave of cold, hard air pressure as it charged straight toward Jue Ning.

…It was a coil of black mist. At some point, it had also wound its way around Meng Shijiu’s wrist.

Like a pair of shackles, or perhaps a lover’s hand.

Rage, like ice and fire intertwined, instantly shattered Cui Suifu’s reason.

How dare he touch him right in front of me!

…

Before Meng Shijiu could do anything about the pheromones coiling around his wrist, the ground suddenly split open. Vines as thick as bowls burst from the soil, carrying a pungent, intoxicating aroma of wine, and roughly tangled around his arms and waist, even attempting to climb toward the back of his neck.

Cui Suifu’s pheromones and another distinctly different set of pheromones eroded and strangled each other, both desperate to imprint their mark even deeper into the silver-haired Alpha’s scent.

Meng Shijiu frowned. The next moment, the black mist suddenly snatched the knife, Nian Jiu, from his hand and swung it violently toward the vines on the ground.

Inside the cockpit, Cui Suifu gave a furious laugh: You’re using the blade I gave Shijiu… to slash at me?

The red-haired Alpha’s voice dropped completely: “You’re asking for it.”

The vines surged in response, coiling and constricting even more savagely.

As the vines grew wildly, the scents of wine and datura intertwined. Meng Shijiu glanced back and saw Ying Canglun already slumped against the wall, having passed out.

Meng Shijiu frowned and gave the rampaging vines a light kick: “Stop.”

Even when the black mist pressed its advantage with another attack, the vines didn't dare move again.

Meng Shijiu: “Jue Ning… isn’t acting right.”

The match was going fine—why did he have to wrap his pheromones around me like this?

Although Jue Ning was indeed a weirdo, truth be told, he had never truly crossed the line before. Even their kiss happened after their relationship was confirmed, and he still got slapped for it.

Meng Shijiu guessed correctly.

Although Cui Suifu was putting on quite a show, throughout the entire match, Jue Ning’s eyes hadn’t even registered Cui Suifu at all.

There was only a certain kind of craving left.

Especially after this person appeared on the scene.

*

The referee, having seen enough drama, finally announced the match was forcibly terminated.

Meng Shijiu stood there conspicuously for a while before Jing Shu hurried over.

“How’s this being handled?” Meng Shijiu asked.

Jing Shu replied succinctly: “One cheated to manipulate the bracket, the other concealed his oncoming rut. Both are disqualified.”

Meng Shijiu: “…”

Meng Shijiu looked at him: “Captain Jing, huh.”

Jing Shu showed no guilt: “Mm.”

The black mist still coiled around his ankle, unseen by anyone.

Meng Shijiu shifted his gaze and saw the red-haired Alpha had already left the field and was walking toward him, while Jue Ning had vanished.

The black mist hooked onto him, faintly guiding him toward a certain direction.

This style of doing things…

Meng Shijiu sighed, then suddenly thought of something.

—Lately, have there been this many sudden ruts?