Xie Sen was completely oblivious to what Maine had done. He rubbed the tiger beast's paw, soothing its disappointment at not immediately getting the toy it wanted. Then he clicked on the friend request in the livestream and saw the 999 notification. He immediately checked the comments.
The comments were almost entirely copy-pasted: "Add me as a friend!"
Xie Sen set his friend request settings to reject all requests, then blocked them and proactively added Feng as a friend. He mentally estimated that the tiger beast was over three meters tall, so the ball would have to be at least three meters in diameter to be fun.
Then he thought, if it were truly a three-meter solid iron ball, it would weigh nearly a hundred tons—even a tiger beast wouldn't be able to handle it!
He asked Feng, "Hello, do you have any alloys with low density and high hardness? What's the price?"
Feng said, "Yes, tell me what you want, and I'll make it for you. It's free."
"That won't do. I can't take advantage of you. If it's free, I'll find someone else."
Feng said, "Thirty thousand a ton."
Xie Sen: "..."
Even if it was an alloy, a solid ball would weigh at least twenty tons. He had once thought he'd made a lot of money, but now he realized he was still broke, not even enough to buy what the Tigermon wanted.
He thought for a moment and asked, "How thick can the walls of a sphere made of the lowest-density alloy be to protect it from the Tigermon? If it's hollow in the middle and the walls are just the right thickness, how much would it weigh?"
Feng replied after a moment, "A little over three tons."
That meant a Tigermon toy, which would cost no more than a hundred thousand. Xie Sen gritted his teeth and made a hard decision: "I'll pre-order this. How do I get paid?"
"We'll pay after I inspect it."
Xie Sen: "Okay."
After pre-ordering the Tigermon toy, he began buying the toys the other contracted beasts wanted. The large bathtub and cushions went smoothly, though they weren't cheap, totaling over thirty thousand.
"How much did you spend?" the Rhinomon asked.
Xie Sen hesitated for a moment before honestly answering, "Thirteen thousand."
"That's expensive!"
"I still haven't made enough money!"
The Giant Rhino said, "I'm not going to buy anything else yet. I'll figure it out when I make some money."
The Giant Rhino was the representative of the contracted beasts when it came to money, and after hearing it speak, the other contracted beasts echoed it. Xie Sen thought for a moment. The other contracted beasts hadn't said anything specific.
He nodded, "That's fine. While I'm making money, you can think about what you want."
He closed the online shopping interface, and the barrage of comments immediately exploded: "Why aren't you buying anything? Black Giant Leopard Beast hasn't bought anything yet!"
"The streamer is biased. Giant Wolf Beast/Giant Lion Beast...didn't buy anything!"
Except for the Giant Tiger Beast, Spotted Giant Leopard Beast, and the two Giant Elephants, who had bought something, the other contracted beasts all started to speak up.
Xie Sen was about to speak when a message popped up in the lower left corner of the livestream interface. He opened it and saw, "What does Giant Wolf Beast like? I bought it for him."
It turned out they were targeting Giant Wolf Beast!
Xie Sen's screen was fixed on the audience. Seeing the message about the ban, the audience began to post comments, offering to send gifts to the contracted beasts who hadn't purchased anything.
Xie Sen mentally consulted the contracted beasts and left it to them to decide.
"I'm going to earn my own money to buy it! I'm not a freeloader!" Black Giant Leopardmon snorted proudly.
"Me too! They're not my beast masters. I don't want them buying anything," Giant Lionmon followed.
The contracted beasts all expressed their willingness to earn their own money to buy it. Xie Sen smiled and declined the audience's offer, letting the contracted beasts play freely. He moved to a blind spot in the camera's corner and sat, pondering what other performances he could offer.
The contracted beasts huddled together, happily discussing something. After a while, they dispersed, some making noise together, others retreating to their own nests to relax.
Xie Sen kept an eye on the livestream's popularity and noticed it was steadily rising. The audience constantly commented on whatever the contracted beasts did, offering compliments and praise.
He suddenly realized that the audience really only wanted to see the contracted beasts; their performances were merely a way to enhance their charm, not essential for the audience.
Realizing this, he thought of the good-looking streamers he'd seen before, chatting with the audience. He figured even
if they didn't perform, it wouldn't matter. A high-level contracted beast was like a giant panda in the eyes of the audience; even if they did nothing, there were still people who liked it.
He sat down against the wall, occasionally thanking the audience for their gifts. But with so many people giving, he eventually switched to a voice thank you system and personally thanked only those who sent watermelon showers.
"Long Teng is giving the streamer a watermelon shower."
Xie Sen was startled, then quickly thanked them. At the same time, he saw the special text behind the gift: "Congratulations on starting the live stream!!!"
"Yaben is giving the streamer a watermelon shower.
"
"Qiao Ke is giving the streamer a watermelon shower." "Yan Qi is giving the streamer a watermelon shower."
Three more reminders followed, and Xie Sen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as he thanked them. Did these people all make an appointment? The live stream could use either real names or anonymous names, but they all used their real names, clearly intending for him to know who was giving the gifts.
"Wow! Who is the host? Why are all these celebrities suddenly here to give us gifts?"
"I understand Young Master Qiao coming for the Giant Tiger Beast, but I don't understand the rest, especially the youngest S- and A-rank bonded individuals. They've already bonded, so why are they still here to show their support?"
"Long Teng is the Gold Medal Prince. These bonded beasts are at Gold Medal, so it's normal for him to know the host."
"I was just guessing, but now I know who the host is!"
"It must be Xie Sen, the Plant-type bonded individual! No wonder these bonded beasts are so obedient."
Xie Sen shrugged helplessly at the comments. He'd known he'd be recognized, but he'd just hoped it would be later. Now it seemed his hopes were dashed.
Just as he was thinking, a vigorous voice rang out from the doorway: "Asen! Why didn't you tell me you were going live?"
He looked towards the doorway. Long Teng was running towards him, and in a moment, he was right in front of him. He briefly appeared on the live feed before disappearing into a blind spot.
Long Teng's cheeks puffed up, and he said disgruntledly, "Grandpa told me after seeing the headlines. I just watched the screen recording posted online. What a shame, I didn't even get to see them perform."
Xie Sen smiled, "There will be a performance later. You can watch it during the next livestream."
"Really?" Seeing Xie Sen nod, Long Teng immediately smiled brightly, revealing his brilliant white teeth. He turned and ran towards the giant tiger beast, "I'm going to play with them."
The contracted beasts were very familiar with Long Teng. Seeing that he didn't react, they continued to play their own games. The giant tiger beast lay still and wagged its tail. Long Teng jumped up and pounced on it, hugging its fleshy neck as if it were an oversized stuffed animal.
The barrage of comments immediately exploded again: "Ahhh, let it go! I want to hug it too!"
"It's great to be rich! If I were that rich, I could do this too!"
"Wake up! Even if you're rich, you can't do that. Who do you think is poor when giving gifts?"
Long Teng hugged the giant tiger beast, his eyes full of anticipation: "You're amazing! I saw your attack performance. It was amazing! Fight me again!"
The giant tiger beast roared softly, looked at Xie Sen, and shook its head.
"Let's fight, let's fight!" Long Teng rubbed its neck with his hand.
The giant tiger beast suddenly stood up, twisted its body, and ran towards Xie Sen at an extremely fast speed. Long Teng was completely unprepared and was thrown to the ground. Lying on his back, he shouted to Xie Sen, "Asen, can you let it fight me?"
Xie Sen looked at the giant tiger beast lying in front of him and rubbed its paw. The giant tiger beast's voice immediately appeared in his mind: "He's so talkative." Xie Sen
laughed and shook his head at Long Teng. Long Teng was disappointed and was about to jump up when a large head looked down at him from above. It was the spotted giant leopard beast.
Long Teng's eyes lit up, and he jumped up and looked up, saying, "Will you fight me?"
The spotted giant leopard beast shook its head, raised its hand and extended its claws, nudging his shoulder. Long Teng didn't move. It tilted its head and pushed again. Long Teng fell backwards violently. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and did a backflip to regain his balance.
Xie Sen frowned. Little Spot had always been so cute and adorable. What did this mean?
Little Spot raised its paw to push Long Teng again, but this time Long Teng fell to the ground. Little Spot's tail waggled joyfully, and he used his paw to push Long Teng, sending Long Teng tumbling across the ground. Little Spot chased after him, looking incredibly happy.
Long Teng burst into laughter, did a few somersaults, and leapt onto Little Spot, who then engaged in a chaotic tangle.
Xie Sen: "..." His worries were for nothing. Those two childish little things.
"Oh, oh, oh, I'm so envious, host! I want to go too!"
"Host, have a fan meeting! I want to rub Giant Tiger Beast's neck!"
"I want to rub Giant Wolf Beast's tail!"
Xie Sen smiled at the comments and then went live. He wasn't planning a fan meeting. If he did, many people would definitely try to get their contracted beasts, which would be too dangerous.
Not long after, he received a message from Maine. Because he was livestreaming, Maine didn't come in directly, but instead texted him, saying he was waiting at the door.
Xie Sen checked the time. It was almost five o'clock, so he said, "Everyone, today's livestream is over. Thank you for your support."
"Don't turn off the livestream. The host doesn't need to be here. Just leave it on like this."
"Yeah, don't turn it off. I'll just come and watch when I have time."
Xie Sen walked over to the contracted beasts to ask their opinions. Knowing they could make money from livestreaming, they all said they'd turn it off later. So Xie Sen didn't turn it off immediately, agreeing to shut it down at nine o'clock.
He called out to Long Teng, but Long Teng said he wanted to play for a while. Xie Sen let him go and left.
As he was out, Maine embraced him. Maine gave him a deep look and led him out.
Xie Sen felt the amused glances from the security guards at the door, his face flushed slightly. He coughed softly and waved goodbye.
They boarded the shuttle, and just as Xie Sen settled into the passenger seat, Maine, who was in the driver's seat, leaned in close. One hand rested on the seatback, cradling him in the seat, and with the other, lifted his chin and leaned down to kiss him.
Xie Sen parted his lips, sensing his agitation, and somewhat perplexed, he raised his hand and gently stroked the back of Maine's head, a soothing gesture.
After a long moment, pain rippled through his lips, and he hissed softly, gasping for air and pulling his head back. Maine's eyes darkened, and he gently rubbed his thumb against his cut lip, his brow furrowed in annoyance.
Xie Sen glared at him with a mixture of resignation and amusement. "It's only been a little over three hours, why are you so worked up?" He licked the wound. "Tomorrow at work, I'll be teased by my colleagues again."
Maine stared at the wound, his voice hoarse. "Don't do that, I can't help it," he said, lowering his head and gently kissing the corner of his injured lip.
Xie Sen reached out to push him, but due to his position, he pushed his arm. "Why are you so clingy? Let's go home first."
Maine reflexively withdrew his hand, his expression changing slightly, his brow furrowed, but quickly returned to normal.
Xie Sen's eyes were fixed on his face, taking in his expression clearly.
"What's wrong?" He immediately noticed something was wrong.
"It's okay." Maine sat back in his seat, set the route home, and started the shuttle.
Xie Sen stared at his delicate profile like jade, then looked at his arm. Seeing that the shuttle was running steadily, he grabbed Maine's right hand, pinched it with one hand, and pulled up his sleeve with the other.
Maine tried to withdraw his hand with a little force, but Xie Sen held it tighter. Xie Sen glared at him: "What did you do this afternoon? How did you get hurt?"
Even if he didn't see the specific wound, he knew that Maine must be injured by looking at Maine's reaction.
Maine pursed his lips and didn't answer, with a flash of panic in his eyes.
Asen is so kind, would he hate him if he knew that he had killed someone? Would he be afraid of him? Dislike him? Would he want to... leave him?
Just thinking this made Maine feel a tightness in his chest. He grabbed Xie Sen's hand with his backhand, so hard that Xie Sen gasped. "Gentle, it's going to break!"
Maine immediately let go. "I'm sorry." He turned his head and stared at Xie Sen, his eyes filled with nothing but Xie Sen. He said firmly, "You're mine."
Xie Sen sensed his uneasiness and was surprised. He nodded. "Yes, you are."
"You said you would be with me forever. You can't leave me!" Maine looked at him deeply, his eyes filled with deep uneasiness.
Xie Sen nodded, unable to resist asking, "Did anything happen this afternoon?"
Maine's jaw tensed instantly, and he stared at Xie Sen for a long moment without saying a word.
The shuttle quickly landed in the apartment parking lot. Xie Sen was still wondering what had happened, but he had no idea.
The two men got off the shuttle and walked out of the parking lot. As they passed a shuttle, they heard a cry of surprise from inside: "What did you say? Young Master Ruiluo of the Kes family was murdered?" "
Yes," another voice said, "Look at the news. The news made the headlines as soon as it came out. Admiral Kes was furious and ordered a thorough investigation."
Xie Sen paused and stared at Maine with wide eyes. Maine glanced at the shuttle with a cold look, then took Xie Sen's hand and continued to walk towards the apartment.
Xie Sen let him pull him, his mind in a mess. When he heard that Ruiluo was murdered, the first thing he thought of was Maine. Seeing Maine's reaction, he knew it without asking.
Maine pulled Xie Sen into the apartment, closed the door for an instant, turned around and pushed Xie Sen against the door, and said anxiously: "You said you would be with me forever! You are not allowed to hate me! You are not allowed to leave me!"
Xie Sen looked up at his panicked look and asked: "When did you plan this?
A fierce look flashed across Maine's eyes. "After the parking lot," he said, reaching out to touch the side of Xie Sen's face. "He used Leomon to test your abilities, hoping to capture you to help him forge a bond." Xie
Sen suddenly realized. No wonder Rohat had been saying Leomon was acting strangely that day, assuming it was because the beastmaster wasn't around. It seemed Rui Luo had done something.
"How did he kill him?" he asked again.
Maine didn't hide anything. "I led him to the forest. I wore bloody clothes and pretended to be injured. He was determined to kill me and chased me. I led him to a signal-blocking location, but suddenly stopped and he collided with the knife."
He said with a sneer, "He's not worthy of fighting me."
Xie Sen looked at him. So he used such a simple method to eliminate Rui Luo?
"Where's the knife?"
"It was left at the scene. It was his own knife. I found it in the parking lot," Maine said, looking down at him, still uneasy. "Don't hate me. He deserved to die."
Xie Sen sighed softly and put his arm around his waist. "Yeah, I don't hate him."
He'd been shocked when he'd heard Maine had committed murder, but since the victim was Rui Luo, someone who wanted to kill Maine and capture him, he'd accepted it.
If he hadn't experienced the apocalypse, he might have been naive and found it difficult to accept. After all, he grew up in a society ruled by law and preferred legal justice.
But he had experienced the apocalypse, and there, he'd seen too many people die because of their weakness. Some people let go of those who wanted to kill them, only to be killed anyway.
You can let your enemy go, but your enemy may not let you go.
Maine hugged him tightly. "Asen, you're so kind," he said, bending down to pick him up horizontally and heading straight for the bedroom. Xie Sen moved his feet. "Go to the sofa."
Maine paused, hesitated for a moment, then placed him on the sofa and draped his entire body over him.
Xie Sen put his hand on his shoulder, putting some distance between them. "Take off your clothes. Let me see your wound... How did you get hurt?"
According to Maine, Rui Luo had no chance of hurting him.
Maine glanced at him. "He was accompanied by two bodyguards, both Soria's men."
Xie Sen clenched his fist, then suddenly released Maine's hand. He said carefully, "Rui Luo wants to kill you. I don't mind if you kill him, but you must promise me that you won't kill innocent people, or I'll..."
"I promise you!" Maine said quickly. "Don't say it! Even if it's just a hypothetical, I don't want to hear it!" Xie
Sen didn't finish the rest of his words. He looked at Maine and said, "Remember your promise. Don't forget it."
"I won't forget it," Maine said firmly.
Xie Sen breathed a sigh of relief. In the book, Maine, who cared nothing for revenge, dragged everyone in Star City to his grave. He was terrified that Maine would disregard the lives of others.
"Let me see your wounds."
Maine removed his T-shirt, revealing bandages wrapped around his abdomen and arms. The bandages on his arms were stained with blood. Xie Sen frowned. "You're supposed to be good at trauma treatment, aren't you? Why didn't you take care of it properly?"
Maine untied the bandages and pulled medicine from his backpack. "We're in a hurry."
Xie Sen rebandaged Maine's wounds. Maine changed into a clean T-shirt and reached out to hug him. Xie Sen placed his hand on Maine's shoulder. "Hold still. Be careful not to touch the wound. Let's sit down and watch the news together. Have you given away anything?"
He said, opening his bracelet and accessing the Star Network. The front was filled with news about Rui Luo's murder.
Maine sat beside him, his hand on his shoulder. "It was handled very cleanly, but Soria should know. The gold-medal surveillance camera must have recorded me picking up the knife. He probably saw it before dismantling it."
He snorted. "Even if he didn't, he'd have thought of it. But he has no evidence to accuse me. The only surveillance camera he had, he disposed of himself."
"Is there really no way to recover the surveillance camera?" Soria's eyes were red, his tone filled with hatred.
"There's no other way. According to my wife's instructions, the method used is irreversible pulverization."
Soria hung up the phone, his body slumped onto the sofa. He scratched the leather, his nails scraping against the surface with a harsh sound.
He had never imagined that the surveillance footage he ordered destroyed would now serve as evidence against Maine, but the footage could not be restored.
Maine! Soria gritted his teeth. "You dare to attack Rilo? I will make you suffer a fate worse than death!"
Suddenly, as if filled with strength, he flung open the door and rushed out, bursting into Meier's study. "It's Maine, it's definitely him! Arrest him and execute him!"
Meier's face was weary, and he frowned heavily. "Shut up! When I first heard the news, you said it was Cuomo?"
Soria bit his lip. It was like a bolt from the blue. His first thought was that Rilo had clashed with Cuomo in the forest.
But when he later learned that Rui Luo had died at the hands of his own knife, he knew it was Maine. That was the knife he had given Rui Luo, a custom-made one, and there was only one, and Maine had picked it up.
"The murderer is Maine," he said stubbornly.
"Reason? Because they've had a conflict? Do you know how many people Rui Luo has offended?" A vein in Meier's forehead twitched at this. "He's offended almost everyone in the major aristocratic families, and countless civilians. Why do you think father didn't order the arrest of all the suspects?"
"I originally thought you'd spoiled him into a spoiled brat, but I didn't expect him to be so lawless. Look online for yourself, there's a chorus of praise. The Kes family has lost face."
"He's your son! He's been murdered, and you're saying anything sensible?" Soria's eyes widened, his voice rising sharply. "You're still only thinking about the Kes family's reputation! Isn't it shameful to let the murderer get away with it?"
Meier's face darkened. "The murderer will be caught. The Kes family's authority cannot be questioned."
Daring to attack the Kes family's legitimate son clearly showed that he didn't take the Kes family seriously.
Soria looked at him coldly, feeling a chill in his heart. This man had no heart, no emotions, only the Kes family in his eyes.
"Then go get Maine! He's the murderer!" he shouted. "Are you trying to cover up for him?"
"Reason? He's not from the Kes family, and he never fought with Ruilo. Why did he attack Ruilo?"
Soria bit his lip hard. The surveillance was broken, and even if he told the truth, it would raise suspicions and expose Maine's identity. Now that Ruilo was gone, if Maine's identity as the Flying Lion Beastmaster was exposed, they would shield Maine even more.
"He hates Ruilo, he hates us. He knows his father didn't die in a car accident, but was murdered by us. He's seeking revenge!"
"You did it," Meier corrected. "The bodyguards accompanying Ruilo are your people. You should be familiar with their abilities. Do you think Maine can take them out quietly?"
Soria gritted his teeth. "He can."
Meier: "When Sokto attacked him, he didn't dodge. Do you think he's that powerful?"
"That's because he didn't dodge at all," Soria said, his patience running out, his eyes red. "Don't you want to catch him? Fine, I'll find someone to catch him. I won't let him go!"
"Stop," Meier shouted as he watched him walk out. "The police will investigate. What's your meddling in this? You've covered up so many things for Rui Luo, and now it's all been exposed. Rumors are circulating online that the Kes family is bullying and ignoring the law. So many people are watching them. Are you taking action now to prove they're right? The Kes family has absolute power over both the military and police, running amok and acting lawlessly?"
Soria glared at him resentfully. "I don't care what anyone says. I won't let Maine go."
"Who are you looking for? Sokto? He can't protect himself right now. You'd better be honest. If Maine is the murderer, the Kes family won't let him go."
"What's wrong with Sokto?" Soria turned around suddenly.
"He's just taken office, and he's been reported for corruption. The resources on Mining Star A are half what they were last month, and profits plummeted in April. You should ask him what good things he's done!"
Soria quickly called Sokto's number, but the message said the call was under investigation and he couldn't be reached.
"He won't do that. Have him transferred back." Soria's lips trembled. First, Rui Luo's accident, and now Sokto's problems. The back-to-back blows had left him looking particularly grim.
"The relevant authorities are investigating. He can't return for now. Go get some rest." Meier rubbed his brow. The constant stream of incidents and Soria's nagging had left him exhausted.
Soria gritted his teeth and turned to leave the study.
Xie Sen looked at the online rankings for 'Suspect in Rui Luo's Murder' and the events surrounding the name and sighed, "He's such a jerk, isn't he?"
Maine sneered. "He gets what he wants, makes what he hates disappear, and does whatever he wants. He's been raised that way. But when he was little, he mostly hated toys and pets. As an adult, he couldn't make people disappear, so he just had to mess with them."
Xie Sen sighed again, "The reporters are amazing. They broke all this so quickly."
Maine's lips curled slightly. Of course it was fast. He'd been preparing for this for a long time.
At this time, a message alert sounded from his bracelet. He clicked it and
saw Huo Feng: "The materials needed for the finished product are insufficient. The first batch of products is half less than expected. I would like to find a time to visit you for a detailed discussion." Maine snorted, knowing that Huo Feng's intentions were not pure: "Reject."