Chapter 85: 85 Sweetheart
The eagerly awaited Tian Xin now really wanted to turn around and leave; he regretted not having checked who was here before running over so boldly.
He thought about leaving, but he was afraid to show his back to Lin Shen, lest Lin Shen catch him off guard.
He had witnessed Lin Shen’s speed; though merely a Steel Level, Lin Shen moved faster than he did, which was rather unscientific.
Tian Xin pretended to be calm and poised, yet he refused to move another step forward, revealing an elegant smile as he looked at Lin Shen and said, “It’s a pleasure to have friends come from afar. My dear friend, it seems you’ve been doing quite well recently.”
Everyone was expecting Tian Xin to say his signature catchphrase about robbing and making friends, but when he opened his mouth, it was different from what they had anticipated and he even threw in a classical Chinese phrase, leaving everyone bewildered.
An angel, and you’re already surprising enough speaking Mandarin, but now you’re using classical Chinese—what kind of rhythm is this?
“Little Tian Xin, is that you? Come here, come here,” Lin Shen said with a smile, waving to Tian Xin.
Wei Wufu knew Lin Shen was calling Tian Xin, but others didn’t, so to them it sounded like: Little sweetheart, is that you? Come here, come here.
This statement baffled everyone who was already a bit confused.
“What the heck? Little sweetheart?”
“Gosh, what’s the playboy implying? Does he know this angel?”
“Not just acquainted—’little sweetheart’ has been called. This is no ordinary relationship; there must be something fishy going on.”
“The playboy’s awesome, not even sparing an angel. But is the angel a man or a woman?”
Lin Shen’s words had confused everyone in the world, and even Lu Qing beside him was wide-eyed, looking back and forth between Lin Shen and Tian Xin. She also wondered, “This angel looks totally male, right? What did Lin Shen just call him? It hasn’t been long since they separated; how did Lin Shen acquire this… preference… Ugh, what am I thinking… It’s definitely not like that…”
Seeing Lin Shen’s behavior only made Tian Xin more convinced that Lin Shen was setting him up; he wouldn’t dare go closer and would hate not to have an extra pair of wings to double his flying speed and leave this place.
“Friend, I still have important matters to attend to today, so I won’t catch up with you right now. Let’s have a good chat another day,” Tian Xin said, not daring to turn and leave even after finishing his words, as Lin Shen’s gaze bore into him. With a thought, he pulled out two items and tossed them towards Lin Shen, “It delights my heart to encounter a good friend. It was just that I came out in a hurry today and didn’t expect to meet a good friend. I didn’t bring anything valuable; these are some personal collectibles of mine, consider them gifts for our meeting, and may our friendship last forever.”
While Tian Xin’s words sounded nice, the subtext was: Brother came out in a rush today, didn’t bring anything valuable, so robbing me is useless; the only things of value I have on me are these items, just take them and stop bothering me.
Tian Xin threw them a bit high, and as the two items spread left and right, Lin Shen looked up, gauged them, caught them with his hands, and when he looked up again, Tian Xin had already soared away into the distance.
Seeing Tian Xin far off, Lin Shen looked down at the items in his hands, which turned out to be a pet capsule resembling a red jade and a key made of the same material, similar to the Red Jade Lion he had seen with Lu Qing.
After pocketing the items, Lin Shen had no intention of chasing after him; he couldn’t fly and had no hope of catching up.
“The Celestial Race’s advantage of being able to fly is really too great.”
Not having gone far, Zheng Yan, who had been waiting in the distance and expecting Lin Shen to be robbed, saw what had happened. It felt as if he had received a powerful blow to the chest—a ‘Black Tiger Steals Heart’—and his heart hurt as if it would almost stop.
Why is this development completely different from what he had expected? Both calling him a friend, the Angel stole all his Pet Capsules but ended up giving the Red Jade Lion he stole to Lin Shen. What the hell?
Lu Qing was just as stunned, watching Lin Shen and the item in his hand. The rumored thieving Angel, who had made his way to Lin Shen, not only didn’t rob him but gave him a Red Jade Lion as a welcome gift.
The Angel who was supposed to rob, instead gave gifts, a change that people found hard to accept.
Everyone felt that Lin Shen’s background must be unimaginably powerful; they had thought he had some connections, but never predicted it to be to this extent.
When the thieving Angel met Lin Shen, he not only didn’t rob him, but also gave him the things he’d stolen, just like a mouse encountering a cat.
For a moment, everyone was speculating about Lin Shen’s real identity and which family he came from. Even those from major families that had ventured into the universe were taken aback and guessing which prominent family Lin Shen belonged to.
Members from the major families had already started to investigate Lin Shen’s background in earnest.
But communication between bases was difficult, and Dark Bird Base, being a remote outpost, had little contact with the large bases. Lin Shen had never left Dark Bird Base before, so it was hard to trace this back to him directly. To get to him, the first step would be to investigate the Lu and Xu families.
The reputation of being a playboy was becoming increasingly prominent; Lin Shen was now seen by the common people as the top scion of a wealthy family. Now, if someone claimed that Lin Shen’s family was a universe-level powerhouse, plenty of people would believe it.
Since none of the known Super-Base families had the Lin surname, rumors started spreading that Lin Shen was the son of a hidden and powerful family, in comparison to which the famous families were insignificant and not even on the same level.
Lin Shen himself was oblivious to the extent of the background he had seemingly acquired, and even if he knew, he wouldn’t care about it.
He carefully examined the information on the red capsule; it was indeed the Red Jade Lion, a small treasure of Crystal Base Level with stats all above thirty-eight and three skills.
Upon summoning it, the Red Jade Lion stood majestically, unscathed and oozing battle power, far surpassing the injured Red Jade Lion that Lu Qing had.
“Lin, that Red Jade Lion was robbed from me by the Angel. Only the Lu Family has the Red Jade Lion, and Lu Qing can attest to that. If you would be willing to return it, it would give us some leverage for survival here, and I could ensure Lu Qing’s safety. The entire Lu Family would be eternally grateful to you, Lin, and you would be handsomely rewarded in the future,” Zheng Yan had the audacity to come back and try to morally coerce Lin Shen, bringing up Lu Qing, in an effort to reclaim his Red Jade Lion.
“Son of a bitch, what a despicable person.”
“I’ve never seen someone so disgusting.”
“This guy is really the worst, reeking of foulness all over.”
Even the onlookers couldn’t bear to watch anymore; if it were possible, Zheng Yan would probably have been verbally attacked to death by a barrage of comments.
“Get lost.” Lin Shen was not swayed by Zheng Yan’s act and, after coldly dismissing him without even a glance, pocketed the Red Jade Lion and went back to rest by the tree.
He had already sensed that something was off with Zheng Yan and was planning how to deal with him. Killing him openly wasn’t a good option, and he also wanted to confirm his suspicions through what Zheng Yan might reveal.
Zheng Yan was secretly clenching his teeth in anger, but his face showed a look of aggrievement as he turned to Lu Qing.
Lu Qing simply turned his face away, pretending not to see.