The scene unfolding before him was, without a doubt, both magnificent and shocking.

Blazing firelight dyed the sky a brilliant orange-red. The sun was sinking, and scattered flecks of molten-gold radiance spilled down, falling across the sleeping giant beast and gilding the scales on its body with a layer of prismatic, shimmering light.

And its size was even more astonishing—like the colossal dragons of Western myth. Its body towered like a mountain, blotting out the sky. Just the presence of it, coiled there in sleep, was terrifying enough to make anyone who saw it feel instinctive dread.

...Th-This... what is that?!

For a moment, Wen Yuzhi simply couldn’t put his feelings into words.

Astonishment? Fear?

...Or maybe both at once.

He had never seen a creature so vast and uncanny. It was even bigger than any starship he’d ever seen—how tiny a human looked standing before it was almost absurd.

—Did something like this really exist in reality?

Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help putting a huge question mark on it in his mind.

Because of that enormous thing, Wen Yuzhi didn’t dare wander around anymore. Instead, he moved lightly and found a relatively clean spot near the escape pod to sit down.

As he walked, he kept his guard up toward the giant beast the whole time. Only after it showed no reaction for a long while did he dare move on to the next step.

First, Wen Yuzhi did a quick, simple treatment of the wounds on his body. The emergency spray included in the escape pod was impressively effective—some of the smaller cuts were already close to healing, leaving only faint red marks on his pale skin.

He didn’t touch most of what remained in the bottle. Who knew when rescue would come? The supplies in his hands were something that became less and less with every use—he had to plan carefully.

Waiting, unsurprisingly, was long.

While waiting for rescue to arrive, Wen Yuzhi tidied up this place he’d chosen to settle, and by the time he finished, it was already night.

When night fell, the world took on a different face.

Darkness swallowed the land. Only the roaring flames in the distance could barely provide a little light.

On his first day in a strange place, Wen Yuzhi didn’t dare sleep. He forced himself to stay awake, watching the surroundings.

But the wilderness was far less safe than he’d imagined.

When a rustling sound started, Wen Yuzhi looked toward it—and instantly met a pair of green-glowing eyes.

It was a stray beast.

It was so hungry it was nothing but skin and bones. The way it stared at Wen Yuzhi was full of drool-thick desire and craving.

It had been starving for a long time. And yet, not far away, in an area rich with resources, there was a powerful giant beast lying there—powerful enough to frighten it. It didn’t dare go over, so it could only circle around nearby.

It hadn’t expected that by waiting, it would truly get a chance—

A tender, delicate human.

The stray beast was patient. It stayed hidden in the dark, lying in wait, until night fell—only then did it prepare to enjoy this “meal.”

Wen Yuzhi had no experience dealing with wild animals at all, but he didn’t panic. He tightened his grip on the broken metal rod from the escape pod.

The moment the stray beast lunged, the Omega—who looked so fragile—suddenly swung the rod down at its head.

A direct hit!

“Crack—!”

A sound like bone shattering rang out.

The stray beast’s assault stalled for an instant from that blow.

Wen Yuzhi seized the opening and bolted back, stumbling across muddy ground.

The wet soil was soft and loose; every step came with heavy resistance.

But Wen Yuzhi didn’t dare stop. He ran for his life, the howling wind scraping his cheeks until they stung.

What made it hopeless was that the stray beast still caught up.

It was fast—the distance between them kept shrinking.

Closer... closer...

“Huff, huff—”

The harsh, heavy breathing drew nearer. Just as Wen Yuzhi thought the stray beast was about to pounce, a piercing scream suddenly erupted behind him.

He whipped his head around, only to see the stray beast that had been chasing him get skewered in an instant—pierced clean through by two sections of bone spines that thrust up from the ground.

Bloody chunks of flesh sprayed everywhere. The sight was horrifying.

Wen Yuzhi stared blankly at it. Whether from the frantic sprint or the shock of that gore, his face was deathly pale.

But before he could even catch his breath, Wen Yuzhi realized something even worse.

In his panicked flight, he had unknowingly run straight into the territory of that giant beast!

He was standing at the edge of a massive crater now.

Curled in the center of the crater’s bottom was the very beast he’d seen in the daytime.

And the impact of seeing it up close was even more grand and overwhelming than when he’d watched from afar.

It was a pure visual shock. Something that huge carried an oppressive weight all on its own.

Wen Yuzhi even slowed his breathing.

He tried to comfort himself by gripping the metal rod tighter—while his other hand reached toward his chest.

Wen Yuzhi knew perfectly well the metal rod might drive off small animals, but against a monster that size, it would probably be about as useful as poking it with a toothpick.

So he didn’t pin his safety on that little rod. His greatest reliance was the necklace around his neck—more precisely, the gemstone on it.

Su Yu’s background limited his horizons. So when he saw the gem hanging against Wen Yuzhi’s chest, he only assumed it was a high-quality sapphire. He didn’t notice that not long ago, this very gem had sold at auction for an astronomical price—because it was a new kind of mineral.

After modification, the energy contained in that mineral could, when the owner was in danger, release a protective barrier. Supposedly it could withstand the simultaneous attacks of ten mechs—and even major natural disasters like volcanic eruptions and planetary explosions with ease.

Back then, Wen Yuzhi had been preparing his escape plan. The moment he saw something that good, he immediately spent a fortune to buy it.

Because the transaction amount was enormous, the auction even made the day’s current-affairs news, and a swarm of netizens speculated wildly about what big shot had thrown money around so extravagantly.

None of them ever imagined the bidder would be an Omega raised behind closed doors since childhood.

Wen Yuzhi’s pale fingers rested lightly on the glossy gemstone. He watched the giant beast with the utmost care, as if the instant it showed any sign of going berserk, he would activate the barrier inside it.

Yet Wen Yuzhi held his breath and waited for a long time and saw no change at all. The giant beast seemed uninterested in an “ant” hovering at its feet. Its eyes remained tightly shut.

Still, Wen Yuzhi didn’t dare relax. He hadn’t forgotten how that stray beast had just died.

There was no one here besides him and this giant beast.

Even though Wen Yuzhi didn’t know why the beast killed the stray creature but didn’t strike at him, if he could keep his life, he certainly didn’t want to die an ugly death.

And just as he lowered his head, thinking about what to do next, a faint sound suddenly came from the bottom of the crater.

“Rrrgh......!”

A low, hoarse beastly growl mixed with painful, ragged breathing sounded especially clear in the still night. The air itself seemed filled with a thick scent of rust.

Wen Yuzhi had been watching the beast the whole time. The moment it moved, he immediately looked down into the crater in alarm.

And with that look, he realized the beast’s body seemed covered in dense, countless wounds.

Come to think of it, this giant beast was unlike any creature Wen Yuzhi had ever seen. It resembled a mythic dragon: its exterior covered in hard scales, wings on its back, and the injuries came from those scales—scales that had been peeled back and pried up.

It was as if something had forcibly torn them loose, exposing the blurred, savage flesh beneath. Pale golden blood seeped and flowed out, sliding along the lifted scales and sinking into the soil under the beast.

Seeing that, Wen Yuzhi finally understood why the area wasn’t near a water source, yet the surrounding ground was strangely wet and soft.

—Turns out this land had been soaked through with the beast’s blood.

Thinking about the hardship of his own escape, Wen Yuzhi couldn’t help wondering in the back of his mind just how much blood this thing had lost.

No wonder the stench of blood here was so heavy—even the choking smoke of scorched ruin couldn’t overpower it.

As Wen Yuzhi lowered his head in thought, he didn’t know if his gaze was simply too focused, or if he’d stared at those wounds for too long.

But when the Omega lifted his head again, he saw that the giant beast that had been resting with eyes closed had, at some point, opened them....

A pair of golden, vertical pupils—brighter than the sun—were staring at him coldly.

“!!!”

Wen Yuzhi’s long lashes trembled, and his whole body went rigid.

What kind of look was that?

—Cold. Violent. Not a trace of emotion.

Even though it was a warm color like sunlight, the feeling it gave was colder than the unmelting snow on a glacier—sharp, indifferent, carrying a bone-deep chill of brutal, predatory savagery.

Wen Yuzhi’s face went pale with fright. His body was taut, crimson lips pressed together, and those round almond eyes stared at the giant beast with extreme tension.

...Like a cat whose fur had exploded, terrified by some huge predator.

That was the giant beast’s first impression upon seeing Wen Yuzhi.

He was simply too small—thin arms, thin legs. The exposed skin looked like it had been raised in a greenhouse, tender and soft, so fragile it seemed it would shatter with a touch. He didn’t even pose the slightest threat to the ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) beast by approaching.

A fragile, slightly dirty...

Human cub?

Almost instantly, the beast made its judgment.

And in the same moment, after initially confirming Wen Yuzhi was no threat at all, the silver-white beast’s cold killing intent gradually faded. Calmly, it withdrew its gaze.

Without that oppressive pressure hanging over his head, Wen Yuzhi’s stiff body finally loosened a little.

He quietly, in small movements, backed away a few steps, opening up what he believed was a safe distance.

Wen Yuzhi’s movement was slight, but the beast still saw it. It only glanced at him casually before quickly looking away again.

It might dislike humans, but it wasn’t to the point of picking a fight with a cub.

Wen Yuzhi, seeing no sign of anger, felt a bit more steady. At the very least, it didn’t look like it planned to eat him, and it hadn’t shown any malice.

This was an intelligent creature.

...Maybe he could try to communicate?