The Tough Guy Forced To Become The Broodmother - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Helping the Puppies

Luo Jia’s meal today was prepared by the puppies.

It was a rabbit.

Luo Jia went over to take a look and whoa it was bigger than a Golden Retriever. Its front teeth were large enough to be used as spoons.

Er-Ha puffed out his chest and said, “The prey is a bit small, so just make do with it.”

Luo Jia quickly replied, “It’s not small at all! You’re amazing.”

Er-Ha: “Hehe.”

Alaskan was a bit unhappy. “Er-Ha, we hunted it together. You can’t take all the credit.”

Luo Jia turned to Alaskan. “Wow, really? Alaskan, you’re so great too! If it weren’t for you guys, I’d probably be going hungry.”

Alaskan lifted his head high.

Samoyed, who had just returned from gathering firewood, had a stiff, extremely unhappy face. Why was he the only one sent to pick up wood?

Seeing Samoyed return, Luo Jia quickly took the wood from his hands. “Hard work, Yeye. It’s my fault my house doesn’t have anything to cook with; we can only roast it outside.”

Samoyed couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile. “Hmph, it was nothing special.”

Luo Jia: “Yeye is so modest.”

In his heart, Samoyed was wagging his tail.

The rabbit was skinned and roasted in no time. The meat was incredibly delicious, sizzling with oil over the fire. The four of them sat together, enjoying the feast.

Luo Jia was reminded of that night Luo Qing’an’s” roast meat, the way he sat by the bonfire with a relaxed posture in the shadows, that faint smile on his lips, and the warmth of his body as they lay in the tent…

Can’t think about that anymore…

Say something, Luo Jia…

Luo Jia asked, “By the way, you mentioned you lost your collars. What are those exactly?”

Alaskan said, “Identity proof. With those, we can leave this trash planet.”

Luo Jia asked, “Where did you come from? Is it far? Can I go there?”

Samoyed replied, “Our home is in the Human Empire. Logically, you could go there, but we have no way to take you.”

Luo Jia was surprised. “Aren’t you guys from the Beast Race?”

Er-Ha said, “Yeah, but we’re actually guards bought by human nobles…”

Luo Jia was at a loss for words. The “Sled Three Idiots” as bodyguards… He asked, “Then how did you end up here?”

Alaskan said, “Maybe our master forgot to take us when he left. But if we find our collars, we’ll know the address and can leave this place.”

Luo Jia thought to himself: Isn’t that just abandonment? He could only offer comfort: “I’m sure you’ll find your way home.”

Samoyed said, “Sorry we can’t take you with us.”

Luo Jia waved it off. “Eh, it’s a small thing. Don’t worry about it.”

Alaskan remarked, “You’re very different from the other humans here.”

Luo Jia panicked slightly. Had he been found out? “How so?”

Alaskan said, “Most humans don’t like us… and your scent is a bit strange. It’s getting sweeter and sweeter.”

Luo Jia frowned and sniffed himself. “Why can’t I smell anything? Anyway, I think you guys are great.”

Er-Ha said, “At least you have good taste.”

After dinner, Luo Jia slept on the bed. Samoyed handed him a large coat. “This is Er-Ha’s old clothes. It’s cold at night. Don’t worry, we’ll guard the door for you.”

After speaking, Samoyed returned to his companions.

Much later, once they heard Luo Jia’s breathing steady into sleep, Er-Ha whispered, “The Fox’s mission is a failure.

Alaskan said, “Nothing we can do. We can’t beat him.”

Samoyed suggested, “What if we go steal the collars back?”

The “three fires” on Er-Ha’s forehead glowed brighter. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, my old friend.

Alaskan: “Er-Ha, watch your accent. But… what if we keep a human as a pet?”

Samoyed stayed silent, but Er-Ha said, “We’re supposed to leave this place. How can we keep a human?

Samoyed said, “Let him follow us for now. He doesn’t look like he knows how to hunt; he’ll starve to death.

Alaskan: “Yay! Raising a human!”

The dogs weren’t being loud, but Luo Jia, lying on the bed, heard everything. He wanted to laugh. Did these three forget he was the one who beat them up?

Luo Jia smiled, rolled over, and fell fast asleep.

The next day, the two suns rose. The three Beastmen were already roasting meat. Seeing Luo Jia wake up, Er-Ha called out, “Come eat.”

Luo Jia returned the coat to Er-Ha and asked, “What are the plans for today?”

Samoyed shook his head and handed Luo Jia a bottle of water. Luo Jia took a big gulp.

Er-Ha asked, “We’re going to look for the collars. What about you, human?”

Alaskan wagged his tail. “Why don’t you come with us?”

Luo Jia thought this was a perfect opportunity to explore the world. “Sure, I’ll help you find the collars.”

“Great!” Alaskan wagged his tail enthusiastically. Samoyed frowned; he didn’t quite approve, but he didn’t speak up.

Luo Jia asked, “So what do we do first?”

Er-Ha said, “First, we go to the Lost City to find the Fox.”

Samoyed frowned. “Aren’t you guys forgetting something? This human is the person the Fox wants dead. It’ll be dangerous for him to go to the Lost City with us!”

Luo Jia asked, “Who exactly is this ‘Fox’? And why did she want you to kill me?”

Samoyed sighed. “The Fox is the biggest information broker in the Lost City. Everyone calls her Madam Red Fox. She didn’t tell us the reason for the hit; she just gave us a piece of fur and let us sniff a box that held a high-level Beast Crystal. The scent on it was exactly like yours.”

Luo Jia: “What fur? What box? High-level Beast Crystal?”

Samoyed pulled a box from his pocket and opened it to reveal a patch of yellow fur. Alaskan explained, “The Fox gave this to us. Do you recognize it?”

Luo Jia shook his head. “No. But did the Fox give you a photo of the target? I mean, what did the person look like?”

A lightbulb went off in Samoyed’s head. “Oh right! I think there was something.” He scrambled into their vehicle and pulled out a bag containing a slip of paper.

Samoyed read aloud: “Gender: Male. Height: 1.9 meters… Black hair… Navy-blue eyes…”

The three puppies looked up. Luo Jia pointed to himself. “Me? How tall am I? What color are my eyes? And a high-level Beast Crystal—that sounds expensive! Do you think I’m worth that?”

Samoyed:

Looking at the speechless dogs, Luo Jia breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was the group that killed him before, but it turned out he was just a scapegoat. Navy-blue eyes…

The image of that gorgeous, devilish face flashed in Luo Jia’s mind.

Crap! It was HIM?! I’m taking the fall for that guy?

Luo Jia felt these three puppies were incredibly unreliable. He said, “You got the wrong target. Can you still find this person?”

Er-Ha looked dejected. “The scent we were tracking only led to you.”

Luo Jia: Damn it! That old fox! He only erased his own scent?! And I thought he was a good person! My trust was misplaced!

Luo Jia’s face darkened.

Alaskan said, “Let’s just sneak the collars back.”

Luo Jia: “We are civilized people. We ‘take,’ we don’t ‘steal.'” But seriously, if this Fox is a big boss, are you guys really up to this?

Er-Ha’s ears twitched. He frowned. “But we don’t know where the Fox hid the collars.”

Luo Jia thought for a moment. “You know where the Fox is, right? We can observe secretly and then make a plan.”

The three dogs looked at each other and agreed. They were going to find the Fox regardless.

Samoyed asked, “Why are you helping us so much?”

Luo Jia wagged a finger. “No, no, no. I’m not helping for free. I don’t ask for much—I’m just curious about the outside world. I help you, and you tell me about the world outside. Deal?”

The Beastmen thought it was a fair trade. Samoyed said, “Deal! Let’s go.”

Samoyed found an abandoned old car, and after a quick fix from Alaskan, the engine roared to life.

Luo Jia gave a thumbs up. “Impressive!”

Alaskan wagged his tail. “Mastering transportation is our natural talent!”

Luo Jia praised, “Unrivaled talent!”

“Hehe!”

Er-Ha turned on the player, chose his favorite music, and drove happily. Luo Jia felt much more relaxed. Watching the trash mountains, plants, and the scavenger camp fade into the distance, he felt like he was opening a new map in a game!

In the dark expanse of the universe, amidst the vast, colorful sea of stars, a massive starship surged forward at high speed. The ship bore a large emblem of roses and thorns. It bypassed the star-lanes and appeared directly above Trash Planet B-25.

In the ship’s bridge, several men in white military uniforms sat in chairs, staring intently at the fluctuations on the monitors.

“He’s here. I can feel it.” A man with long black hair sat in a chair, his back perfectly straight. His brow was like a blade, and a silver light flashed in his cold, obsidian eyes.

“Astra, your feeling is correct. I feel it too.” The speaker looked like a young boy with short, pale pink hair and a pink flower tucked behind his ear. His skin was fair as cream, and his peach-blossom eyes were exceptionally vibrant.

“Since we’ve found him, let’s descend and retrieve the lost Broodmother’s Essence.” The man speaking had white hair, a melancholy expression, and a mole under his eye that stood out as he frowned.

Eros looked pointedly at the white moth wings behind him and huffed. “The Empire’s Mecha Legion has been watching us. If they find us, it will slow down the retrieval. Selan, your brain doesn’t seem to be working very well.”

Selan’s melancholic eyes glanced at Eros. “They are merely humans. Kill them if necessary.”

Astra stood up. A black scorpion tail emerged from behind him. He looked at his two colleagues with his dark eyes. “No need for a full landing. Eros and I will go. Selan, stay here and support us.”

Selan nodded.

Astra said, “Retrieve the item and return to the Sanctuary quickly. Mother is still waiting for us.”

At the mention of “Mother,” everyone’s hearts skipped a beat.

Eros’s cheeks flushed slightly. He cupped his face with a blissful expression. “Once the item is back, Mother’s body will be closer to maturity. Then, we can finally be soothed by her. I can’t wait for that day.”

Astra remained expressionless, but the swaying scorpion tail behind him clearly agreed with Eros’s words.

Soon, the hatch opened.

Carapaces formed over Astra and Eros’s bodies as they leaped out, hurtling toward Trash Planet B-25 at maximum speed.