Chapter 131: Who’s the Egg Thief?
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
Heinrich suddenly turned his head toward Yuanxiao’s nest. It was empty. The water’s surface was calm. Yet he felt like something had flickered in his peripheral vision moments ago. Uneasy, he set down the crystal building blocks in his hands and moved to the large white egg. He carefully inspected the surrounding walls and floor, making sure there was no space for an intruder to hide. Then, he looked down at the egg—still intact, without a single crack.
Frowning, Heinrich returned to the pile of gifts and resumed packing. After finishing with the crystal blocks, he pulled out a seawater wind chime crafted from crystal, shells, and pearls. When raised, its unique design sang a distant, beautiful melody as water flowed through it. He temporarily released it, letting the wind chime drift and sing in the seawater while he bent down to sift through piles of seaweed and silk cloth, searching for suitable materials to wrap the delicate gift.
The wind chime’s song was deeper and more mournful than a beluga whale’s call—like a soft lament. The cracks on the large white egg reappeared, pushed open once more by Yuanxiao. They blinked their bright blue eyes. Before them stood the handsome man in white robes with long hair, reaching a finger forward, as if to poke Yuanxiao’s soon-to-be-exposed nose.
In that instant, like a flash of lightning, a crystal sword appeared, resting on the Spiritual Monarch’s shoulder behind him, inching slowly toward his neck.
The Spiritual Monarch wanted to touch Yuanxiao, but to interact with the physical world in reality, he had to manifest in this dimension. Likewise, Heinrich’s crystal sword blade could cut through the Spiritual Monarch’s arteries.
“Who are you? Turn around.” Heinrich’s voice was cold and sharp. He had thought his earlier reaction would intimidate the intruder, forcing them to hide longer before revealing themselves again. Yet, at the exact moment he deliberately used the wind chime to create a noise distraction, this person appeared right next to Yuanxiao, even attempting to touch Heinrich and Lin Xu’s egg!
The figure wore white robes but had no fish tail. The style of the robes was completely different from mermaid attire. Who was this? And how did they appear here on Thales?
The Spiritual Monarch tried to stand, but the crystal sword pressed hard on his shoulder, pinning him down. He sighed and slowly turned his head to face Heinrich, only to see Heinrich’s pupils shrink sharply.
“Lin…” Heinrich’s hand trembled. His voice faltered for a moment when seeing the Spiritual Monarch’s face—identical to Lin Xu’s. But the fog of confusion was quickly cleared by reason, and he demanded, “You’re not Lin Xu. Who are you?”
“Why wouldn’t I be Lin Xu?” the Spiritual Monarch asked with a smile.
But that question only deepened Heinrich’s suspicion. He gripped the crystal sword tighter, as if it could sever the Spiritual Monarch’s head in the next instant. The Spiritual Monarch raised a finger to block the sword’s blade. A golden light slid along the translucent edge and struck Heinrich’s brain, instantly knocking him unconscious.
Darkness swallowed Heinrich’s vision as he lost control of his body. Then a white light flooded his sight, as if he had fallen into another dimension. All around was white and bright. A voice called out, “Heinz?”
Heinrich cautiously got up and saw a familiar yet strange figure emerge from the bright light. She looked surprised to see Heinrich there. “How did you get here?”
“Mom?” Heinrich was completely stunned. Chu Suifeng smiled at his expression. “Oh, I see. Well, since you’re here, let’s chat a while. I haven’t seen you in a long time.”
The Spiritual Monarch watched Heinrich drifting in the seawater. He moved the man aside and knelt again before the large white egg, tapping the shell with his knuckles. He had only come to check on Lin Xu’s child, not to confront Heinrich, so he sent Heinrich’s consciousness into the spiritual realm for the time being.
Though they had met only twice, this little one was quite entertaining. Yuanxiao seemed frightened by the recent scenes, retreating deeper into the shell, closing themself off, unwilling to see anyone, even trembling slightly. The Spiritual Monarch stroked the smooth shell and sighed wistfully, deciding to come back another time.
Just as Heinrich asked his mother, “Are you real?” Chu Suifeng said suddenly, “I have to go now. We’ll talk next time.”
The white light faded instantly, and Heinrich gradually regained consciousness from the darkness. Heinrich sprang upright, finding himself lying next to a scattered pile of crystal building blocks. The seawater wind chime was still trapped beneath some seaweed, and the crystal sword stood alone in the corner. Yuanxiao lay quietly in the nest, exactly where Heinrich had left them.
Was everything that had just happened… a dream? But how had he suddenly fallen asleep? And who could have woven such a vivid dream for him? The white-robed man who looked just like Lin Xu was definitely not Lin Xu. His gaze and aura were all wrong. If anything, he resembled the Lin Xu still working a clerical post at the Apocalypse base—smiling gently and sincerely.
But the mother in the dream? She was exactly like Chu Suifeng in both appearance and temperament.
Heinrich told Lin Xu about this when he returned. Lin Xu was momentarily stunned but then thought deeply. “Maybe he’ll show up again tomorrow. Let’s wait for him. He showed you images of me and your mother, so maybe he’ll create different illusions for me. Tomorrow, I’ll pretend to leave the crystal cave, and you stay a bit longer before leaving too. Let’s see if he appears.”
As Lin Xu and Heinrich were discussing this plan, a cracking sound suddenly came from the direction of the large white egg. Both of them snapped their heads around just in time to see a half-inch crack open across the shell.
Only a small gap, and it appeared only on the side facing them. On the opposite side—which they couldn’t see—the crack ran wider. Far away, they spotted a small white claw stretching out of the gap. With a snap, they broke off a tiny piece of the shell, then withdrew back inside. The unsupported crack sealed up again as if it had never existed. Heinrich and Lin Xu held their breath, listening intently as a soft crunching sound came from the flowing water—the baby was gnawing on the eggshell.
When the chewing stopped, Lin Xu grabbed Heinrich’s arm and swam over, his tail brushing the water gently. They reached the front of the crack. Though sealed, the broken shell piece couldn’t be reattached, leaving a small hole about the size of a fingernail. Through the hole, Lin Xu saw a patch of dark scales. Suddenly, the scales twitched, and a round icy blue vertical pupil opened, locking eyes with Lin Xu and Heinrich.
Lin Xu instinctively gripped Heinrich’s arm tighter. The round eye blinked once and then shut again. A small white claw shyly covered the eye and side of the face as the baby buried their head back inside the egg. Such a beautiful little one…
A warm wave spread from Lin Xu’s chest to his limbs. His gaze focused only on the baby inside the shell. “It’s a baby dragon,” he whispered, voice trembling slightly.
“Yes,” Heinrich’s usually deep voice wavered a bit. “But their claws and back seem to have white fins.”
“Is it hungry?” Lin Xu asked, releasing Heinrich’s arm. He swam back quickly, grabbed a few sea crystals, and hurried back to the egg. Crushing one, he let a drop of energy liquid drip through the crack. The milky-white energy liquid landed just beneath Yuanxiao’s eye. Startled awake by the scent, the baby clawed at the liquid, then stuck out their tongue to lick their paw.
Lin Xu dripped another drop. Yuanxiao perked up, nudging their dragon snout toward the crack and flicking their tiny pink tongue to lap at the energy. The little tongue was warm and moist. Their upper lip was black, while the lower was white. It eagerly licked the liquid drop by drop, like a newborn kitten.
Lin Xu felt his nerves tremble as he watched Yuanxiao’s tiny tongue. Thoughts ran through his mind about how to handle the intruder once they caught them tomorrow. No egg thief would escape his grasp.
– –
The next morning, the Spiritual Monarch first stopped by the northern glaciers of Thales to cuddle Yuanxiao, then flew down to the southern glaciers to check on the descendants of the penguin babies brought there long ago. After happily petting the fluffy creatures to satisfaction, the Monarch returned to Lin Xu’s crystal cave just as Heinrich and Lin Xu were leaving one after the other, talking about heading out to harvest some sea crystals. Yuanxiao was still left sleeping inside the cave.
The Spiritual Monarch stepped carefully inside, drifting past the piles of mermaid gifts scattered on the floor until reaching the large white egg. Peering through a tiny hole, the Monarch could see Yuanxiao sleeping peacefully, though the hole was too small to reveal much—only a white paw covering their eyes.
Smiling softly, the Monarch bent down. “Little one, I’ve come to see you.”
Yuanxiao’s icy blue eyes blinked open, clouded with sleep. The Monarch’s heart nearly melted. Manifesting a physical form, the Monarch extended a finger, the fingertip condensing into a drop of golden liquid that radiated a fragrant energy.
Yuanxiao’s eyes brightened immediately. It shook their head and prepared to swim toward the hole to receive the sweet energy drop.
Suddenly—a powerful current rushed through. Yuanxiao only caught a glimpse of a dark tail flashing past. Before it could taste the energy liquid, the large egg spun and toppled over. Tears welled up in Yuanxiao’s eyes.
Outside the shell, Lin Xu dashed in like a cannonball and tackled the egg thief. The mermaid’s claws immediately pressed against the intruder’s throat. The crashing waves sent Lin Xu’s long hair billowing like storm-tossed sea foam.
“Who are you?” Lin Xu snarled. The Spiritual Monarch said nothing. As the bubbles between them cleared and the water calmed, Lin Xu could clearly see the Monarch’s face.
Surprised by Lin Xu’s violent attack, the Monarch smiled knowingly and said, “I am the Spiritual Monarch.”
Lin Xu’s face was harsh and furious; his claws dug into the Monarch’s flesh and bone, yet the Monarch merely smiled, the scratched area glowing faintly with golden light. A single thought struck Lin Xu’s mind—this being was definitely not human.
“Why do you wear my face?”
“Because I am you.”
“What are you talking about?”
Wasn’t the Spiritual Monarch an advanced alien civilization? Lin Xu couldn’t easily believe this claim. There was much to explain, but their current situation was obviously no time for peaceful conversation.
“This is a long story. Mind if we move somewhere more private to talk?”
Before Lin Xu could respond, a beam of light shot from the Monarch’s eyes and entered Lin Xu’s forehead. He immediately collapsed against the Monarch. Heinrich raised his sword to intervene but was struck by another beam.
“Go talk with your mother for a while. Don’t interrupt us.”
Lin Xu’s consciousness instantly fell into a boundless white void with no end in any direction. Yet beneath his feet, he felt solid ground. Looking down, his tail had changed back into legs, firmly planted on the softly glowing white floor.
Moreover, he was wearing the black combat boots from his base days. Raising his hand, he saw the old gloves designed to assist in handling heavy thermal weapons, quite different from the interstellar-era combat gloves.
Author’s note:
Lin Xu: I dare anyone to touch my kid!!!
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