Chapter 16: Nightmare, Section 6

Severe pain swept through their bodies, causing the fat men to wrinkle their faces in agony. Their tall and muscular frames bent over like shrimp. They covered their private parts tightly with both hands, their eyes wide with shock.
Their builds were indeed massive—taller even than the two blond men. Crouched on the ground like this, their backs were exposed to everyone. There, a small golden lion emblem suddenly came into view.
“Hm?” Blood-Eyed’s expression changed abruptly as he stopped laughing. Lily was also stunned. Her right hand, which had been raised to slap him again, hung in the air, unable to descend.
“What’s wrong?” The blond man sensed the others’ unusual behavior.
“They’re slaves. Slaves of the Li Chasa family. That emblem represents their master’s mark,” Blood-Eyed replied in a low voice, slipping silently beside the blond man. Hearing this, the blond man seemed to realize something. His gaze toward those fat men changed as well.
“Slaves” didn’t refer to a specific race but was a general term for all races that relied on other forces and were forced to serve them. These fat men had originally been part of the Rick tribe but now were slaves of the Li Chasa family.
As the saying goes, you judge a dog by its master. If what Blood-Eyed said was true, it wasn’t strange that Lily had stopped acting. In fact, most of the bored onlookers left as soon as they saw the emblem. The rest wore smug smiles at the blond man and his companions. If they attacked slaves of the Li Chasa family, these newcomers from Silver Star would surely suffer greatly.
Although the Li Chasa family was considered relatively gentle and gentlemanly among the five major families, no one would enjoy such an embarrassing situation. Everyone was waiting to watch the spectacle.
Sure enough, before Lily could take further action, a clear and pleasant voice suddenly came from the other side of the street.
“Stop!”
The blond man and the others turned in that direction and immediately saw a youth dressed in snow-white clothes.
Well, it was a young man, seemingly only seventeen or eighteen years old, with skin so delicate it seemed fragile. His appearance was also strikingly handsome. His simple white casual clothes fit him perfectly, without any fancy decorations, yet they perfectly reflected his elegance. At first glance, the youth gave off an otherworldly aura, as if he didn’t belong to this noisy world.
Female attire for a man.
That thought flashed through the blond man’s mind. He noticed that despite the youth’s highly masculine appearance, he had no Adam’s apple.

As the fat men surrounding them dispersed, the young boy walked over calmly. It was then that people noticed a group of adorable little girls in princess dresses accompanying him. The crowd was instantly in awe. These little girls were incredibly cute—almost all of them looked like delicate porcelain dolls with astonishingly fair skin. The gorgeous princess dresses not only added no sense of vulgarity but instead made them look like real dolls. Together, they created a striking visual impact. Unfazed by the crowd’s attention, the little girls smiled sweetly, revealing their cute little teeth. “This… this is too much…” Blood-Pupils was stunned by the sight and murmured to himself. He had seen many strange races and customs before, and cute little girls were nothing unusual. But for such a group to be together, all of them so beautiful and adorable, it was simply excessive. By these little girls’ appearance and behavior, it was clear they must have come from a family with excellent upbringing. On an ordinary planet, perhaps only a princess could look like this. Now, with such a large group appearing suddenly, it was simply dazzling. Yes, dazzling. Almost everyone’s attention was drawn to these well-mannered and adorably cute little girls. They didn’t even notice how the handsome young boy had arrived in front of Black-Hair. “Hello,” the young boy said politely as he stopped in front of Black-Hair, smiling. “Hello,” Black-Hair replied calmly, having already regained his composure. Satisfaction appeared in the boy’s eyes. Among the crowd, although Black-Hair’s appearance was unremarkable, he was the first to take his gaze off the little girls. The boy was very confident in his companions, and Black-Hair’s reaction piqued his curiosity. “My name is Betty. These are my companions. It’s nice to meet you here, strangers,” the boy said politely, though his bright eyes had already scanned Black-Hair from head to toe twice. “Black-Hair.” Black-Hair was always sparing with words when dealing with strangers. “Oh… what a strange name. But it suits you well. To be honest, it’s the first time I’ve seen hair of that color. I’m curious—what race are you? As far as I know, humans don’t have hair like that, right?” “Humans,” Black-Hair replied, his gaze turning cold; he didn’t like the boy’s tone.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” The young man immediately noticed the change in Black-Haired’s attitude. A hint of apology appeared on his handsome face as he pointed at the plump man who had remained quiet since they arrived, smiling helplessly.

“I shouldn’t have disturbed you, Mr. Black-Haired. But these Rickclan members are under my friend’s command. When I see them on the road, I have to check in. I already know most of the details. Could you do me a favor and forgive their rudeness? By the way, regarding this young lady, I’m willing to offer compensation.” With that, the young man waved his hand, and one of the cute girls in dresses behind him stepped forward, obediently handing him an exquisite leather bag.

“Hmm, here are five thousand crystal coins as compensation for this beautiful lady. Of course, it’s just a token. As you know, money doesn’t mean much. But this is all I can offer for now. Please forgive my boldness.” The young man’s smile was somewhat shy; perhaps he realized his actions were too direct. Still, he handed a crystal card to Black-Haired.

It was then that Black-Haired realized something was wrong.

After all, he hadn’t done anything special throughout the whole time. It had been Blood-Eyes and Lily who spoke. In terms of appearance, he was just an ordinary person among them. So why was the young man addressing him the whole time? It seemed the young man had already figured out who the leader of their group was…

Amazing intuition!! The young man’s unintentional behavior immediately alerted Black-Haired.

This kind of intuition might seem simple, but it’s actually closely related to human talent. Among ten thousand people, those with such intuition are fewer than five. Moreover, it’s a fundamental requirement to become a competent warrior. One could say that those with this intuition are already somewhat like prophets—often sensing things before they happen, showing an extraordinary sensitivity to external events.

Especially in interstellar battles, where moments are fleeting, only those with such intuition can seize crucial opportunities and react instinctively.

Black-Haired was one of such people, while Blood-Eyes and Lily only had a faint hint of it.

Who exactly was he (or she)?

This question flashed through Black Hair’s mind instantly. But the next moment, he wore his usual humble smile. He reached out to take the crystal card in front of him and then handed it to Lily beside him.
“Okay. I understand. Mr. Betty… It’s been a pleasure meeting you. But we still have a lot to do now. You see…”
“Oh, of course. I was being too forward. Then I’ll take my leave. But for some reason, I have a feeling we’ll meet again soon… Well, Mr. Black Hair, let’s talk again next time we see each other.” The young man smiled politely and gestured with his hand. The fat men who had gathered around immediately stepped aside to make way.
After giving the young man one last deep look, Black Hair said nothing but waved his hand before leaving the scene leisurely with Blood Pupil and the others.
Behind them, the young man’s smile grew even wider…
On the way to the market, the atmosphere among Black Hair’s group was somewhat tense. Lily was upset because she hadn’t been able to get her revenge. Blood Pupil, on the other hand, seemed possessed, with his eyes fixed ahead as he muttered something incessantly.
After a long while, the assassin who had been following Black Hair finally let out a long sigh.
“Boss, I’ve always felt something was off. Now I realize—those young girls might be from the Beth family…”
“Mm.” Black Hair nodded gently.
“The Beth family… quite interesting… Those girls all look like princesses. Big Brother Blood Pupil, are all the people in their family like that?” Sulei suddenly interjected upon hearing Blood Pupil’s words. Perhaps because they were around the same age, she was extremely interested in those little girls.
Hearing her naive words, Blood Pupil gave a wry smile.
“Little girls? If it’s just based on appearance, then yes… But if those girls decide to get fierce, they’ll definitely surprise you greatly. Sulei, you might not know, but the entire Beth family is made up of women—except for that young man. And judging from her behavior, she seems to hold a high position in the family. If those girls can be her attendants, they’re probably quite fierce themselves. Don’t be deceived by their appearance. Cute? Pfft, tell that to someone else. I’d rather face a herd of mammoths than see them on the battlefield.”
“Ah? Are they that scary? Big Brother Blood Pupil, you’re lying to me…” Sulei pouted, clearly not believing Blood Pupil’s explanation.
Her expression only made Blood Pupil smile wryly.

Actually, it’s all just rumors. The five major families are all so mysterious; how could an outsider like him possibly know the truth? One thing is for sure, however—the trip to Silver Star this time is likely to be far from smooth…