Chapter 22: Comfort

As Youxing remotely extracted the control chip, the little one’s movements halted abruptly.

The inexplicable hunger, impulse, and rage in its mind vanished in an instant.

It was as if one had been playing Temple Run in a dream, only to wake suddenly and find oneself lying safely in bed. From being chased by monsters, blocked by traps, and running until breathless in the nightmare, to suddenly returning to a quiet bedroom where limbs could stretch freely—anyone would be left bewildered.

Yet the little one’s confusion didn’t last long. Pain radiated from every limb and bone, leaving it utterly at a loss.

Its limbs had been pierced by reinforced concrete pillars, its abdomen slashed open by the collapsed water platform, and the scales on the back of its head blown away by a missile strike.

What troubled it most was the foreign object wedged in its mouth—a large, angular chunk of iron that it could neither chew, swallow, nor spit out.

In truth, with its jaw strength, crushing the iron block would have been effortless. But after all the turmoil—from the coastline to the warehouse—a long trail of blood marked its passage. Even a beast of its size, with such blood loss, was now on the verge of collapse.

The wounds on its limbs and abdomen bled continuously. The reckless collisions and trampling had torn them further, worsening the bleeding.

With the madness gone, all it wanted was to remove the object stuck in its mouth. Yet the fighter jet’s wing, forced deep by its powerful chewing, was now lodged tightly between its upper and lower jaws.

Youxing clutched his left chest, which throbbed dully with every breath. He guessed his ribs were most likely broken. Still, a fractured rib was less debilitating than a broken limb; he could at least manage to stand.

Perhaps he ought to thank himself for having invested two points in “physical fitness.” Otherwise, tumbling from a height of thirty meters—even with several moments of cushioning—would not have resulted in merely a rib fracture.

“Youxing!”

A furious voice rang out from a distance. Youxing turned and instantly felt a surge of apprehension. Approaching him were Senior Ayu and Officer Xianglong, both moving in uncanny synchrony, their brows visibly darkened with anger.

Soya Ayu had collided with Officer Aihara while searching for Youxing. Learning that Youxing had climbed onto the beast’s back had terrified Soya. The two had no time to exchange further information and rushed toward King Glass. On their way, they witnessed Youxing tumble down from the creature’s neck, nearly suffering cardiac arrest themselves.

Seeing him struggle to rise from the ground, they stood stunned, their blood pressure soaring even higher—did he not see the seventy-meter-tall beast beside him? Why wasn’t he fleeing? Standing right at its feet, one move from that giant and he’d be crushed into meat paste!

Yet not only did Youxing not run, he even moved closer to the beast.

Youxing didn’t even think to call the little one’s name, nor to coax it into opening its mouth through that “one, two, open” game to spit out the fighter jet. At this point, he couldn’t speak at all; even breathing made his chest ache so much he wished he could stop altogether. And looking at the mangled flesh in the little one’s mouth, he feared any movement would only cause it more bleeding and pain...

With this in mind, Youxing could only approach, gently touching the creature’s shell-like skin.

Could it feel his touch?

Did tactile nerves run beneath its carapace?

Would his caress bring it any comfort?

The thought made Youxing’s nose sting.

True, he and the little one shared none of those childhood bonds. But seeing the beast, wounded and suffering from disaster, barely breathing as it lay there...

Its large eyes were still filled with the bewilderment of a young creature, unsure of where it was or why it hurt so much, so exhausted, utterly unaware it had been harmed by villains.

He wondered how the little one had survived these twelve years. The thought left Youxing with a bitter ache deep in his heart.

His younger self had been unable to save the little one.

Even now, grown up, nothing had changed.

The little one didn’t notice the familiar figure standing at its feet. It couldn’t feel the touch, nor make out his face. Weakened by pain and exhaustion, it slowly lowered its head, pressed its abdomen to the ground, and lay flat.

The pain across its body faded into vagueness, and even the iron block wedged in its mouth no longer seemed so unbearable.

Yes, lying down felt much better.

From deep within the beast’s throat came the sound of air moving, a resonance much like a long, heavy sigh.

The scene caused Soya Ayu and Officer Aihara to halt in their tracks. It looked for all the world as if Youxing had soothed the beast, coaxing it to lie quietly on the ground.

A flood of questions and ellipses surged through their minds—was this some kind of superpower? Did Youxing possess a special ability to calm monsters?

But before their confusion could resolve, the small silhouette caressing the beast slumped to the earth in exhaustion.

“Youxing!!—”