Sweet Hunting Ground [GB] - Chapter 5.2

The two of them stayed temporarily in Zone Four for a few days.

“Regarding this incident, the United Police has issued a statement, saying they will thoroughly investigate the attackers…” In their cramped temporary lodging, the projection on the wall continued reporting on the star pirate attack. Ani lowered the volume of the news broadcast and continued reading the text on her reader.

The reader displayed information about the “Blue Ocean Dragon.”

She scrolled through the screen and occasionally asked Lin questions about the content. Sometimes Lin would answer, other times he would refuse to cooperate. She didn’t mind and kept asking anyway.

“Young master, what exactly were you sent to do? I don’t think the accident with your starship was just an accident. Do you have any siblings or something? Maybe they’re trying to kill you.”

Lin, wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the sofa, looked drowsy and carried a lazy, injured air: “…Dying at my brother’s hands would probably be quicker and less painful than dying at yours, I guess.”

“Haha.” Ani didn’t bother simulating emotion, she let out two dry, indifferent chuckles, then glanced at him again. “Is that so? Who knows, maybe in my hands, you’ll end up dying from pleasure.”

“…” Lin buried his head under the blanket, refusing to respond.

“This ‘Universal Live-Stream Hunting Game’… these specially-invited participant families, what’s that about?” Ani’s fingers scrolled through the information. “Looks like all the big shots on Blue Ocean Star are busy preparing for this game. Is it that important?”

“Very important.” Ani thought he wouldn’t answer, but Lin surprisingly spoke a few words. “It involves the allocation of some very valuable items. Behind this game is the Freedom Alliance. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s just a live-stream, the profits hidden within it are unimaginably huge.”

The Freedom Alliance — a giant force spanning across several star systems.

“The Blue Ocean Dragon family is an investor in Blue Ocean University.” Ani swiped down with her fingertip, almost talking to herself. “So Blue Ocean University also has the right to select participants. They’ll represent the Blue Dragons in the competition and become Starsea Warriors?”

“Warriors,” Lin repeated softly, “Just desperadoes, that’s all.”

Ani said, “The comprehensive abilities of the merfolk bloodline rank among the best in the entire star system. The people selected by this university are the cream of the crop. On the star network, merfolk warriors are infamous for their brutality and strength.”

Yet Lin didn’t feel the slightest bit of pride. He said, “No matter how strong they are, they all end up as corpses — dead men.”

Suddenly, Ani asked, “Is it based on grades that you select Starsea Warriors?”

Lin let out a mocking laugh. He was about to retort, but remembering that this little weirdo in front of him was supposedly a “top student”, the words stalled on his lips. At that moment, from next door, like clockwork, came the moaning sounds of a man.

This cheap temporary shelter was located in the chaotic Red Light District of Zone 4.

A street-working man lived next door, and every day around this time, his passionate cries echoed regularly — business seemed to be booming.

Lin lowered his brows, suppressing his frustration again and again. In the end, his nails still pierced through the blanket. He ground his teeth and said, “I already gave you money! Why are we staying in a place like this!”

Ani paused for a moment, glanced at the blanket, then tilted her head slightly to try to see his expression. “Mm… Lately, Zone 4 hasn’t exactly been peaceful. Many places have been attacked by space pirates. Zero-One-Three is dead set on killing me. This place, relatively speaking, is hard to find. It’s safer.”

She thought for a bit, then added, “Even though you want to kill me too, there’s a chip in your brain. I’d imagine that keeps you in check, at least somewhat.”

Lin took a deep breath. He was just about to forget this whole situation when the iron bed next door started creaking violently, creating a deafening noise that made the bookshelf against the wall tremble, a few old, p*rn discs falling down from the cluttered shelves.

“…” The two of them fell silent.

Ani looked at Lin, curled up on the sofa. His features were handsome, his long, dark blue hair messy and scattered across the blanket. This pampered young master, with his soft, delicate skin, looked like he could barely breathe in a place like this. His face always carried a sickly pallor, his brows furrowed tightly, as if enduring untold suffering.

Ah…

Weren’t merfolk supposed to be a brutal and powerful race? Why wasn’t he like that?

Ani fell into a subtle kind of contemplation. Ever since she had dragged him out of the wreckage of a starship in that abandoned old building, she had never seen a merfolk in their prime. Naturally, she had assumed that all those stories online were exaggerated.

Lin averted his gaze, curling himself deeper into the blanket, trying to shrink his entire body inside. But before he could fully disappear, a shadow appeared before him. The girl’s cool hand pressed against his forehead.

Lin looked at her, his eyes somewhere between resentment and hatred — in any case, he clearly disliked her.

Ani, very familiar with his physical data, immediately determined that he was still in a state of weakness, burning up with fever. She pulled a healing serum from her bag, deftly tore open the packaging, and snapped off the protective cover on the front of the syringe.

Something silver flashed in her bag.

Lin’s eyesight was excellent — he immediately noticed that Ani’s student backpack had become bulkier than before. Ani glanced through the instructions on the serum, followed his line of sight casually, and said offhandedly, “Swiped it from Zero-One-Three.”

She pulled open the zipper, revealing a silver laser gun, a high-grade item worth half a merfolk.

In the end, this gun still landed in her hands. 013 had been too desperate to care about it.

After explaining, Ani noticed that Lin’s gaze still hadn’t left the silver gun. She casually pulled it out and handed it to him. “Wanna play with it? Careful though, I haven’t had the chance to—”

Before she could finish, Lin suddenly gripped the gun tightly and pulled the trigger, aiming straight at Ani’s chest.

The photon beam flared to life, an extremely bright laser lighting up the entire room, the alley outside, making the entire dim Red Light District seem to return to daylight in that instant.

And just as quickly, that brief ‘daylight’ faded.

The laser blasted through Ani’s chest, flesh and bl00d vaporized, revealing the wriggling pink mucus beneath. Then, terrifyingly fast, that wound began to regenerate, so quickly it was suffocating to watch.

Ani’s words halted, then she smiled and said, “I haven’t had the chance to fully figure out everything Zero-One-Three taught me, but I should be able to handle this gun now.”

Lin stared at her face, his chest rising and falling violently.

Ani half-knelt, grabbed his hand, and guided the muzzle of the gun to her neck. It was the same spot she had aimed at 013 on the ship. She steadied Lin’s trembling fingers and said, “Here. Try it.”

The blue-haired merman stared at her without moving, then threw the silver weapon back into her arms and said, “Just kill me already.”

“No. You said you’d cooperate with me,” Ani replied. “I looked into reproductive locks. Mermen only open up to the ones they like—of their own kind. You all usually mate in water, and since your species doesn’t intermarry, researching your fertility is a pain.”

She shook the syringe slightly and continued, “Don’t I seem close enough to one of your kind? Haven’t I been acting real enough?” There was a hint of confusion in Ani’s tone.

The mucus at her chest had churned for a while but was now completely healed. She had successfully simulated most of that mutant’s near-immortal regenerative ability.

Ani reached out and lifted Lin’s chin. The weakened merman didn’t bother to hide the hatred and coldness in his eyes, but she ignored it and injected the healing agent directly into his vein.