Chapter 1
Boom—
Thunder exploded, and several purple lightning bolts ripped through the night sky, as if trying to split the heavens.
Torrential rain poured down in an instant, converging into a waterfall-like curtain. The muffled roar of thunder rumbled closer and further away.
The electric light flickered, and the rainwater seemed to carry an electric charge. In the dark grass, small animals, unable to find shelter in time, were illuminated by the lightning, their drenched fur standing on end.
Inside a small building, completely different in style from the primitive wilderness outside, the extreme weather brought a sense of fear.
The rain was fierce, and the wind howled.
In the pitch-black room, Shi Nuo hid under the covers, his head buried, his whole body curled into a ball.
Suddenly, a deafening clap of thunder exploded, seemingly right next to his ear. Covering his ears was useless; even his heart trembled.
The doors and windows were tightly closed, and the curtains were drawn, but the lightning was too bright, flashing continuously as if the sky was raging in anger.
As dawn approached, the thunder and lightning ceased, and Shi Nuo, extremely uneasy under the covers, finally relaxed his body and drifted off to sleep.
*
Rainwater flowed down the eaves, forming a curtain like a small waterfall.
The wind blew, carrying cold, damp moisture through the air.
The front door was half-open. Shi Nuo sat on a small stool, watching the rain, his eyes drowsy.
The dark clouds were heavy, and even though it was morning, the sky was gloomy. He had to turn on the lights to find things inside the house.
There was no soil or grass in front of the eaves, only a flat, solid paved surface like a reddish-brown ribbon encircling the small building.
Insect repellent and animal repellent were mixed into the paving material, preventing most snakes, insects, and wild animals from approaching.
However, the building was unfinished. Originally intended to be a large vacation villa, the second floor had only a few metal pillars erected, which from a distance looked like several sharp spikes.
Fortunately, it had lightning protection, drainage, and other protective systems. The structure was sturdy enough to withstand the extreme weather outside.
The first floor was complete, with a spacious living and dining room and several small rooms.
Shi Nuo had been sent here ten days ago.
Twenty days ago, his family had informed him that after enjoying so many years of their support, it was time for him to fulfill his duty to the family by entering into an arranged marriage.
However, after learning the identity of his intended partner, he hesitated and resisted, so he was injected with a tranquilizer.
After arriving on this remote planet, those people hurriedly left him and some supplies. The bottom of the starship didn’t even touch the ground before it hastily took off, fleeing the wilderness.
Shi Nuo only knew that Hugh Elvis had been in an extremely unstable condition since childhood, unable to maintain his human form. He had also heard that the other party’s pheromones were disordered, and he had long since become a completely feral, regressed Alpha.
No one told him the real situation, so he didn’t understand, nor could he figure out what the Elvis family’s starship was fleeing from, which made them seem so anxious and hurried. Surely, this medium-sized starship had weapon systems.
He thought that perhaps, even though Hugh Elvis was no longer favored and had even become a “waste” in the public’s eyes, he was still the eldest son of the Elvis family’s bloodline and could not be easily harmed. To avoid a real conflict, quickly leaving his territory was the right thing to do.
Alphas inherently have a strong sense of territoriality.
The Elvis family was large and powerful, and the resources available to their direct bloodline were beyond the reach of many nobles and families.
Hugh Elvis should have been the first heir to the Elvis family, attracting much attention from birth, but at the age of nine, he suffered from genetic disorder syndrome.
Genetic disorder syndrome was a common disease among beastman Alphas. The coexistence of animal and human genes in the body was incredibly complex. The causes and symptoms varied from person to person. Medical technology was advancing, and now some cases could be completely cured.
However, about ten percent of genetic disorder cases were difficult to cure. Affected Alphas either used medication to suppress the pain and continue living, or, more often, died after their genes collapsed.
Hugh Elvis had completely turned feral at fifteen and showed signs of going berserk. After injuring someone, he was sent to this planet by the Elvis family.
From then on, this planet became his territory.
Shi Nuo’s family was only a minor noble family. He didn’t even know how his family had established a connection with the Elvises. After spending a few days here in a daze, he finally understood.
Hugh Elvis was twenty-five years old and of marriageable age. Even in this situation, the Elvis family would find an Omega for him to marry. This was the standard and treatment their direct bloodline deserved.
He was the “connection” the Shi family used to get close to the Elvis family.
Before Hugh Elvis fell ill, he was an Alpha with exceptionally superior genes, and his pheromone level reached the top S-rank.
Since they had specifically sent an arranged marriage partner, he must still be alive.
However, after being ill for so many years, and with the Elvis family’s capabilities unable to cure him, the disorder must be very severe.
But he had endured for so many years…
Shi Nuo suddenly understood the tenacity of a top-tier Alpha’s life force.
*
The heavy rain poured down, converging into rivers on the ground, rushing towards the lower-lying west.
The roaring rain continued incessantly, and the water vapor drifted in, dampening the doorway. Shi Nuo got up and closed the half-open door.
The outside noise was somewhat isolated, and his ears instantly became quieter.
The interior was dim, so Shi Nuo turned on the living room light.
The living and dining rooms were both very large. One could imagine that if the construction had proceeded as planned, it would eventually have become an incredibly luxurious and spacious villa.
The reality was quite different. What appeared before Shi Nuo was an empty living room and, not far away, an empty dining room, without matching sofas, coffee tables, or any decorations.
There was only a single gray sofa in the living room, already a bit worn. He had washed the sofa cover a few days ago. A huge animal skin rug covered the living room floor, soft and thick, also in shades of gray.
He had found the animal skin in the basement storage room. It had been hermetically sealed and was neither dusty nor damp. He had expended considerable effort to drag it upstairs.
After laying it out, the perpetually unoccupied, cold house seemed to gain a touch of warmth.
In the dining area, there was a long table and six chairs.
The entire first floor showed little sign of decoration, but fortunately, the walls and floor were smooth and solid.
After he arrived, he activated the house’s intelligent system and discovered that it was functional. Now, it maintained constant temperature control and disinfection.
This was the most fortunate thing. He didn’t have to worry about the harm caused by temperature fluctuations indoors.
Shi Nuo had checked the log records when he first arrived and discovered that the construction of the house had begun ten years ago when Hugh Elvis was sent here.
As the former heir, he deserved a place to live, even on an uninhabited planet.
However, for some unknown reason, construction had stopped after the first floor was hastily completed. No one had been sent to continue the construction or renovation in the past ten years.
The energy that maintained the intelligent system came from energy crystals. The Elvis family had left him a bag of supplies, including twenty crystals. In the basement, he found a large bag containing about a hundred.
One energy crystal, inserted into the operating device, could convert energy into electricity, providing power for all the equipment in the house for two months.
There was also no shortage of water.
There was a large river five miles away. Shi Nuo hadn’t been there, but he had seen it on the intelligent system’s map.
Water supply pipes were buried underground. After being transported to the house, the water first passed through a purification device, so there were no concerns about water quality.
With no lack of water, electricity, or energy, it seemed he could live here indefinitely as long as he didn’t go outside.
Shi Nuo nestled in the sofa. Compared to twenty days ago, he was noticeably thinner, his face pale. His originally beautiful eyes now held a hint of exhaustion, and a melancholic air hung between his brows. With his eyelashes lowered, he looked even more pitiful and depressed.
After a long time, the rain outside gradually subsided. He got up and walked towards the kitchen.
He opened the built-in refrigerator, divided into refrigeration and freezing zones. There were vegetables, fruits, and meat, seemingly in large quantities.
However, this was his entire food supply for two months. Once it was gone, there would be no more unless someone transported and delivered it from another planet.
When he first arrived, a butler from the Elvis family had told him that the first batch of supplies would arrive in a month. After that, supplies would be delivered every three months using an unmanned transport ship.
A communication satellite had been launched above this planet, allowing connection to the star network. The butler had also told him that if he needed anything, within reasonable limits, he could contact him half a month in advance.
After Shi Nuo actually moved into the house and turned on his optical brain, he discovered that the communication signal was intermittent, and sending messages to other planets was difficult.
At night, he saw countless blood-red spots flickering in the sky and understood the reason. This planet was located at the outermost edge of the star system, and the communication satellite was affected by the tidal storms in space, resulting in a weak signal.
He didn’t know how long this tidal storm would last. All he could do was wait.
His thoughts were chaotic. Shi Nuo felt suffocated, his breathing slightly constricted. He walked to the kitchen window and opened it a crack to let in some air.
The rain outside had lessened, and the fresh, cool air poured in, making him feel much better.
After rummaging through the refrigerated food, Shi Nuo finally decided to cook something.
It was raining, and even with the house’s temperature control system running, he felt colder than before, perhaps due to psychological factors. Eating something warm would be just right.
He took out a small piece of fresh meat, a bag of sealed, fresh green vegetables, and a small box of tofu.
The kitchen was also undecorated, with only the most basic flameless stove and ventilation openings, powered by electricity.
He sliced the meat, cut the tofu into slightly thicker pieces, and washed the vegetables. The water in the small pot began to boil.
Shi Nuo cut half a block of solid oil into the water. This was a type of oil extracted from poultry meat, a natural food seasoning that would make the soup very delicious. He added two more seasonings and then poured the tofu into the pot.
The tofu needed to simmer for a while to absorb the flavor better.
After wiping the splashes of water from the sink and the area around the stove, Shi Nuo was about to add the meat slices. He rarely cooked, let alone sliced meat. The meat slices were uneven in thickness, but as long as they were cooked thoroughly, they would fill his stomach.
Something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. He put down the plate and stared at the window.
A transparent creature clung to the glass. A pair of pale, round eyes rolled, and thin, light gray, vertical pupils seemed to float in front of the glass.
Shi Nuo’s heart pounded violently.
The chameleon-like creature’s eyes gave it away. But before it could crawl to the opening of the window, a gust of air blew it away.
Slap—
Shi Nuo slammed the window shut and locked it.
The attacked creature, unable to mimic its surroundings in time, revealed its true form—a flat, small lizard covered in green scales. It fell into the rainwater on the ground and quickly blended back into the environment.
Shi Nuo watched through the glass. He rarely encountered these reptiles and couldn’t help but feel weak in the knees.
Fortunately, before the lizard could crawl in, the intelligent system detected the creature’s intention to intrude and automatically ejected a stream of air from the wall next to the window.
Shi Nuo opened the wristband-style optical brain on his left wrist. Although he couldn’t connect to the star network, some of the optical brain’s built-in functions were still usable.
He activated the short-range scanning function and, finding no animals in the kitchen, felt relieved.
The house was unfinished, but the intelligent system’s protection devices were comprehensive. It could automatically analyze the surrounding environment and independently calculate corresponding defensive measures.
Usually, the paved area outside acted as a barrier, and snakes, insects, and wild animals would be dispersed by the scent, rarely approaching the house.
Shi Nuo looked up at the rain outside. Perhaps the rain had diluted the scent of the animal repellent. However, when the sun came out, the repellent, heated by the sun, would again emit a smell that animals found extremely unpleasant.
After calming down for a while, Shi Nuo tried to reassure himself. He washed the knife and his hands several times before finally putting the knife away in a storage compartment. He had two other knives, one large and one small, which were enough.
At the dining table, he set down the steaming small pot.
After sitting down, Shi Nuo turned on the pot’s switch. The water inside bubbled, and the meat slices and vegetables floated to the surface. The tofu was cooked just right, tender and smooth, with a salty, savory, and delicious flavor.
The warm food dispelled the chill from his body, bringing a little comfort.
*
Time became the one thing Shi Nuo had in abundance.
He had nothing to do but clean his living area and cook himself a meal when he was hungry.
The rain lasted for three days before stopping. During this time, he kept the doors and windows tightly shut to prevent animals from entering.
When the sun came out, as expected, no animals approached. The lasting effect of the animal repellent was apparently quite good.
Shi Nuo always remembered the butler’s words. However, twenty days later, when the month the butler had mentioned arrived, he didn’t see the delivery ship.
Thinking that it was merely delayed, he waited patiently, subconsciously being more frugal with his meals. He didn’t do any physical labor and rarely went outside, so there was no difference between being full and half-full.
On the thirty-second day, there was no activity in the sky.
On the thirty-fifth day, there was still no sign of the transport ship.
On the fortieth day after arriving on this strange planet, Shi Nuo finally gave up hope. No one would send him food. He had been abandoned.
