CH 28

Editor: DarkSapphire, Sahloknir

The little white chicken was thrilled with its new feather. 

It couldn’t sense its owner’s resentment at all. As it flapped its little wings around him, as usual. This time, it managed to finish a round before lying on the ground and gasping for air.

Yue Ran motionlessly and coldly stared at his weak spirit beast. 

Jiang Xiao assumed there was no change, but he still took the initiative to ask.

[(Private) Formless Slash: Did its attack increase?] 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: Yes, only by fifty.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: I think it’s best to not continue wasting my time and resources on it.]

Before, he was raising the chicken to pass time.

This stupid chicken was useless except for being cute. He feared that its bug-like attribute would be passed down to another spirit beast if used as a refined material.

Jiang Xiao smiled, knowing that the little summoner wanted to make a stew out of the plump chicken. 

[(Private) Formless Slash: Keep raising it, maybe something will happen.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: What use does it have for me?]

[(Private) Formless Slash: Maybe it will transform. Feed it some rare materials in the future and see if that works.] 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: Oh.]

Yue Ran stared at the chicken and couldn’t resist his urge to poke it with his staff.

Whatever, it wasn’t like he was using it as his sixth. Might as well test it.

Poking the white chicken suddenly made it flutter its wings twice, but it lost its balance during landing. As a result, it tumbled down the roof with a rumble. Before it fell off the roof, it quickly grabbed a shingle with its claw. Using the shingle, it got up slowly and returned to its owner. 

Fuck, simply making a fool of itself! Yue Ran unsummoned it in disgust.

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Xiao’s face again, only to be swept away from the recent gloom.

The truth was, it didn’t matter if the white chicken would transform or not. He just wanted to find an excuse to be alone with the younger man.

His gaze at the little summoner beside his swordsman, and moved to the ‘A’ and thought of what Qin Xiujie told him. 

[(Private) Formless Slash: You don’t like alphas?]

Inside, Yue Ran corrected as alphas were the ones that didn’t like him.

But being someone who had trouble expressing his real feelings, he didn’t want to talk about it. So he aloofly gave a simple [Yes].

[(Private) Formless Slash: Why?] 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: They are a group of animals who only think with their nose.]

[(Private) Formless Slash: Some don’t look only at pheromones.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: I know.]

Of course, he knew that many AO were only together because they liked each other. But that kind of happy ending was not open to him. 

Build feeling through interaction, create affection through interaction. Couples have to ‘interact’ before they can develop an emotional attachment. But he didn’t even have a chance to ‘interact’ at all.

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: My guild is looking for me. I’ll see you later.]

[(Private) Formless Slash: Okay.]

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He watched the younger man jump off the roof and leave. He used {rest} on the roof for the time being and opened the private chat between him and Eastern Blizzard, and sent a message to propose the price quote for the spirits.

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[(Private) Eastern Blizzard: No need, no need. Spirits from open eggs are usually sold to the NPC shop because they aren’t worth anything on the market. I’ll ask around my guild and send them to you once I gather all of them up.] 

[(Private) Formless Slash: No, this’ll be a long-term deal. Let’s lock in on a price.]

Curiosity killed the cat, but Eastern Blizzard wanted to know.

This was one of the great gods. Maybe there was a hidden game feature he didn’t know about, or maybe it had something to do with the next update…

[(Private) Eastern Blizzard: Tempest God, what are you using these for?] 

[(Private) Formless Slash: Gifts for my wife.]

Eastern Blizzard: “…”

Why did he have to ask!

But didn’t the rumour say Vault of Heavens Essence quit? Did he change his account? 

He instantly tossed the fleeting thought out of his mind. It was normal for players to change accounts in any game. Plus, it wasn’t his concern, anyway.

After pondering over this, he listened to Tempest God and gave a notice in the guild chat.

When the summoners in the guild saw the buying price was higher than the NPC resale value, they met with their guild leader to start trading one by one. Once they were done, Eastern Blizzard sent over the first batch of goods.

Jiang Xiao gave him the money and knew that he had another excuse to see the little summoner tomorrow. 

But he needed a new location.

The roof was a good place for a tryst, but its scenery wasn’t the best.

So the next evening, Yue Ran saw his cousin off after dinner and returned to his computer to see a new private message from Jiang Xiao.

He climbed a high mountain according to the coordinates provided in the message. Once he was there, he was standing at the edge of the cliff. He looked down and spotted a big stone poking out from the side of the cliff five meters below. When he leapt down onto the stone, he quietly turned his attention to the resting Jiang Xiao. 

[(Private) Formless Slash: Look ahead.]

Yue Ran rotated his camera and was stunned speechless by the view.

The game has a day and night setting that matches the city in the real world. The multicoloured sunlight of sunset caused the sky to appear as if it was on fire as it spread its colour in all directions enthusiastically. 

[(Private) Formless Slash: Do you like it?] 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: Yes, how did you find it?]

[(Private) Formless Slash: Unintentionally.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: This is a good place.]

After they fed the chicken, they sat there, chatting until nightfall.  

Then…Yue Ran asked a deadly question.

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: How do we get back?]

[(Private) Formless Slash: Jump.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: …] 

Yue Ran quietly glanced at his senior and wordlessly took a step forward to end his character’s life by jumping off the cliff.

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Xiao’s face as he watched the little summoner disappear, which he happily followed afterwards.

After that day, Yue Ran started a brand new gaming experience.

The next evening, he swam to the middle of the lake and reached a stone pile. 

Both sides of the shores were brightly lit, contrasting with the dark water.

It was a silent, starry night. The clear surface of the lake glowed from the brightly lit stars. Coupled with the relaxing night time background music, this felt like a dreamland.

On the morning of the third day, he entered a lush forest and went to the highest and thickest tree. Using vines twisting around the tree, he leapt upward and found the vines reached the treetop.

He took in the panoramic view of the entire forest, a mysterious and otherworldly feeling surged within his heart. 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: How did you find this place?]

[(Private) Formless Slash: I was in the neighbourhood.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: Huh?]

Jiang Xiao forged a story with a straight face, calmly explaining that he met a passionate summoner at a stall. 

The summoner was saving up for something and saw him buying spirits. Thus, they added each other as friends. He would be notified every time there the seller has more inventory. Weirdly, the seller would always pick different locations which lead to Jiang Xiao finding a deserted place to contact his junior.

Yue Ran thought no one could compete with the senior’s ability to find hidden gems. Any of these places could rival the posts in Unpopular Scenic Spots in Hero’s Bound.

After pondering, he casually brought it up.

[(Private) Formless Slash: Not interested. You can post if you want.] 

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: Neither do I.]

[(Private) A- – – – Killer: By the way, how much is it altogether? I’ll reimburse you.]

Understanding the little summoner’s temper, Jiang Xiao gave him the market price.

After a long, pleasant conversation, they went their separate ways. For Jiang Xiao, he went to explore more areas to find the next dating spot. 

White Koi’s members had been paying close attention to their leader’s every movement recently. They couldn’t figure out what was going on inside their leader’s head.

So that night, Ashen Inner Thoughts waited days and nights for the other missing, emotionally injured victims. After the other was nowhere in sight, he called the other through WeChat, “Are you sure Jiang Xiao is fine?”

Qin Xiujie replied with a smile, “What’s wrong with him now?”

The other side cried, “Doesn’t do instance dungeons, doesn’t complete quests, doesn’t do arena, he even stopped fishing. No one knows what he has been doing these days. Yesterday, Blank met him by chance and saw him jump up the mountain wall, then once he reached midway, he jumped down dead. Afterwards, he just revived on the spot like nothing had happened and walked away. Blank was flabbergasted.” 

Qin Xiujie: “…”

The other end begged, “Please investigate and see what the heck the leader was doing?”

Qin Xiujie answered while grinning, “Okay, give me a minute.”

He ended the call and dialled Yue Ran’s number to see if he knew anything. He would never expect that the always cold Jiang Xiao could do this. After a moment’s silence, he asked, “They were good?” 

Yue Ran confirmed, “Yes, very beautiful.”

Qin Xiujie inquired, “What else?”

Yue Ran was puzzled. “What else what?”

He’s pursuing you, can’t you see? These words ran in circles inside of Qin Xiujie’s mouth, and in the end, he swallowed them. He thought that he’d better inform Jiang Xiao about Ran Ran’s mutated pheromones in advance, so Jiang Xiao won’t continue with his useless efforts. If Ran Ran really fell in love, the ending would be a disaster.  

His heart trembled as he requested, “Could you send me those locations’ coordinates? I want to check them out next time I’m free.”

Not questioning his older cousin, Yue Ran held his phone with one hand, opening and typing the in-game private chat with his other hands. He copied and pasted all the coordinates and pressed enter. “Okay, I sent them. If nothing else, goodnight.”

Qin Xiujie was surprised. “Isn’t it a bit too early for sleep?”

Yue Ran frowned. “I’m feeling a little dizzy. Maybe from too much gaming.” 

Qin Xiujie urged hurriedly, “Then go to bed. Go to the hospital if you continue to feel unwell.”

Yue Ran mumbled, “En.” Ended the call and logged off of the game to sleep.

The next day, he didn’t wake until ten o’clock. There were several WeChat messages waiting for him, which were sent by his good friend, Xiao Yu. Because their other friends had finally passed his estrus period after a long resting period, their meetup plan was a go.

Naturally, he didn’t mind. He replied when he was free today, planned which karaoke to go to afterwards, and once they got a time and a place, he got up to do his morning routine. He turned on his computer for a quick, short gaming session. In the afternoon, he strolled out the door. 

It was probably from the intense sun, but as soon as he got out of the subway station, he was hit with a dizzy spell again. He supported himself using the street lamp until the nauseousness passed. 

What’s wrong with me? Do I have heatstroke?

His thoughts were muddled. The WeChat notification broke him from his trance as he unlocked his phone to check the new message.

[Xiao Yu: You’re the last one. Come quick and have a look at this beast. He was practically blind because of his recent estrus period.] 

Yue Ran wanted to reply that he didn’t feel well, then his eyes landed on two certain words. Then it dawned on him—wait a minute, could he be in his first estrus period and not heatstroke?

He placed his hand on his forehead. It felt warm.

Not only that, he realized now he seemed to be burning all over.

No, he had to help himself. 

When one’s estrus period comes, first time…call the helpline, find a near-empty place to wait for help, and stay away from alphas.

He surveyed his surroundings and saw an office building by the road. He rushed in and called the helpline with his barely maintained reasoning, followed by sharing his location with his friend and explaining his situation.

After all of this, his vision became more blurry.

He attempted to recognize the blobs he was seeing and walked against the wall, trying to find an unoccupied room. Unfortunately, the moment he turned a corner, he instantly ran into someone. 

He was acutely aware of the smell of alpha pheromones and was immediately on alert. The restlessness of the estrus period quickly overwhelmed him.

An alpha, what should he do?

An omega’s pheromones would be countless times sweeter when they are in their estrus period. Was it possible that his pheromones would not repel alphas? He didn’t have the strength to resist right now. What if he was dragged away by this alpha. Who would save him?

He stepped back in a hurry, and when he saw that the other person was going to press down on him, he was in complete despair. 

It’s over! I’m going to be marked by this strange alpha! What…what should I do…?

Before he could finish his thoughts. The alpha didn’t make a single noise as he went straight over him and fell on the ground, frothing at the mouth with all his limbs twitching.

Yue Ran: “…”

I really thought too highly of myself! 

He reached his limit. His legs turned into jelly as he fell to the ground, ready to cry.

Help! There’s an omega in his estrus period. Is there anyone that could help!