Chapter 80

Although Saibansi said as much, Luo Li still hesitated.

If he really kicked him and the man turned hostile afterward, what would he do?

Kroya’s pitch-black pupils fixed unblinkingly on the boy’s face.

When angry, he put on that spoiled, untouchable pout, but it was all talk—his temper was actually soft and timid.

After Saibansi gave him a couple of mild scoldings, those young, almond-shaped eyes shimmering with unshed tears misted over, and he ended up crying in front of everyone.

He was like a flower in the apocalypse, hiding behind a vibrant, poisonous facade while concealing the sweetest nectar in its core.

With that thought, Kroya deliberately parted his lips a little and took one of those plump, soft-white toes, flushed with a hint of peach pink, into his mouth. His tongue slipped between the toes, licking wetly.

Luo Li’s whole body jolted with a sudden numbness. “What are you doing!”

He struggled, his slender legs twitching a few times. Caught off guard, one foot landed squarely on Kroya’s straight, prominent nose bridge.

The man closed his eyes, his firm lips pressing into a thin line. He gripped Luo Li’s ankle and inhaled deeply between the delicate, girl-like sole of his foot.

A satisfied sigh rumbled from deep in his chest.

【Fuck, he really got off on that.】

【Today’s Top News】

【Can you move your face? Don’t bruise our Baby’s little feet.】

【Please, I want sis to step on my face too (screaming)】

When Soi returned to the camp with the repaired data, he saw Kroya’s tent flap open. Inside sat that petite boy.

But today, the boy didn’t look obedient at all. His snow-white little feet rested on Kroya’s shoulders, pink toes occasionally curling up to poke and kick at the man’s chin.

Kroya didn’t make a sound—in fact, he seemed to be enjoying it.

His subordinates didn’t dare say much, but they lit up at the sight of Soi, as if he’d just become their savior.

“Boss has lost it—like he ate a poisonous mushroom or something.”

“You’ve gotta say something quick. We can’t watch this anymore!”

Soi raised an eyebrow.

He and Kroya were partners; there was no need for him to meddle in the man’s private life.

But judging by Kroya’s behavior, it was clear he’d taken a liking to Luo Li.

This could be trouble…

Soi fiddled with the data Lai An had left behind, pondering for a moment before heading toward Kroya’s tent.

At that moment, Luo Li was perched on Kroya’s lap, the man’s arm wrapped around his waist. His damp, reddened lips parted slightly as he distastefully nibbled the fruit Kroya offered him.

He heard movement outside the tent and looked up, suddenly locking eyes with Soi’s olive-green gaze.

Though they’d met before, the sight of this pierced-up youth still startled him. Luo Li’s small teeth chattered.

“Seems I’ve scared him.”

Soi smiled and stopped a short distance away. “No hard feelings. I don’t bite.”

Kroya, still holding Luo Li, said casually, “Luo Li’s sticking with us starting today. Lili, this is Soi—you’ve met him.”

Luo Li shot a quick glance at the dark-skinned, pierced guy. He fit every stereotype of a street thug, just a handsome one.

But a thug nonetheless.

“When did I say I was sticking with you?”

Luo Li furrowed his delicate brows in displeasure. Up close, his voice was even softer and more syrupy, his words enunciated like a teenage girl throwing a pouty fit. “I want to go back inside the Enclosing Wall. I’m not staying in this sinkhole.”

Kroya replied, “Perfect timing, then. We’re heading back soon anyway—much more convenient to go together.”

Soi’s eyes flickered, but he said nothing.

They hadn’t been down in the pit for long; they never returned this early before.

Kroya was clearly making an exception for the boy.

Unfortunately, though Luo Li looked a bit dim, his eyes were sharp. “You think I’m stupid? If you really wanted to go back, you wouldn’t have set up camp here. You’re clearly just… stalling…”

Soi prompted, “Delaying tactic.”

“Right, a delaying tactic! You want to keep me here longer so I get used to it and won’t want to leave?”

Kroya was a little surprised that he’d pieced it together, despite stumbling over his words. But he recovered quickly. “Setting up camp was necessary. There’s unusual King Snake activity at the bottom of the sinkhole this time—we have to be careful with everything.”

He paused. “Tell you what: we’ll head out for Base tomorrow and drop you off on the way. Sound good?”

Luo Li couldn’t find a reason to refuse. He lifted his pointed chin with a huff. “Fine, that’s more like it.”

He graciously ate two more pieces of fruit and let Kroya nuzzle into the crook of his neck for a while. Before long, he was hungry again and imperiously ordered Kroya to make him some food.

The poachers’ dinner was simple: nutrient solution from cans and some quick, filling snacks to tide them over.

They figured the delicate boy with the girl’s face would be picky, but Luo Li just wrinkled his pretty brows and obediently ate his share.

The team’s canned nutrient solution came in big, satiating portions, and the biscuits were as large as a man’s palm.

Luo Li clutched his biscuit and nibbled at it in tiny bites, his cheeks puffing out like a little hamster’s.

Once full, he hugged his knees and sat off to the side. The firelight played across his exquisitely painted features, making him stand out starkly among the rough group of men.

After dinner, the poachers headed to the lake outside to bathe. Cleaning agent was pricey, and if they could handle it outdoors, they preferred not to waste the money.

Kroya said, “I set up a tent for you over there. Ready to head out now?”

Luo Li eyed the lake. He wanted a bath too. Cleaning agent kept him clean, but it couldn’t wash away the exhaustion in his body.

“Go later, after they’re done.”

Luo Li hesitated. “All right.”

Laughter drifted faintly from outside. Luo Li looked up and spotted Soi’s back in the distance, standing in the middle of the lake with his upper body bare.

A vivid red-and-purple scorpion tattoo snaked from his floral arm all the way down his back.

His dark skin gleamed with a subtle sheen under the moonlight. His iron-forged muscles tensed and bulged with his laughter, making his physique look even more imposing and intimidating.

A closer look revealed plenty of piercings on his body.

He gave off the vibe of a total criminal.

Luo Li feared men like that, and right then, Soi happened to turn his head, their eyes meeting across the distance.

A few poachers nearby noticed Luo Li’s gaze and nudged Soi’s waist with their elbows.

Their looks carried a layer of knowing teasing.

Luo Li hurriedly ducked his head, gathered the clothes he wanted to change into, grabbed a towel, and waited in silence.

Soi waded to the shore and took a shirt from someone, slipping it on. He only buttoned a couple, hands jammed in his pockets, looking even more roguish.

The other men had finished washing too, but tonight’s atmosphere felt oddly charged.

Especially once they realized Luo Li was waiting behind them—it added a layer of unspoken camaraderie.

“He’s a guy too—why’s he being all shy over there?”

“Hey, Soi, don’t you think that look he gave you… Could the kid be into you?”

The group snickered.

Soi casually toweled off his wet hair, saying nothing.

Just then, Luo Li walked up.

He wore Kroya’s slippers, his soft, pale feet looking even tinier inside them.

Carrying a small basin with his change of clothes, Luo Li stopped in front of the group and suddenly sensed something off about their stares.

Following their downward gazes, he realized they were fixed on the clean pair of underwear in his basin.

Luo Li: “!!”

He frantically stirred the clothes inside to cover it up.

Then he rushed off toward the lake, head down.

He was already regretting insisting on this bath. But now that he was here, he couldn’t just turn back.

Pretending nothing had happened, he skirted the group.

The lake water was a bit cool, but in this sweltering heat, it didn’t feel cold.

Luo Li first submerged his legs, waiting until he adjusted before venturing into deeper water.

As the crisp lake enveloped him, his racing heart finally settled.

He stayed in the shallows, not going farther in. The water here reached just past his chest, his feet touching bottom—reassuringly safe.

The vast lake under the moonlight was exceptionally serene, its surface nearly still without even ripples.

Luo Li’s long hair fanned out like seaweed in the water. He squinted slightly, feeling the lake flow between his fingers.

The surface was calm, but the water still moved…

And it was flowing pretty strongly.

…A bit too strongly, unnaturally so.

Currents battered Luo Li’s palms in pulses, as if something massive thrashed wildly far below, churning the entire lake into unrest.

Luo Li snapped alert. Something was wrong. The once-calm surface now roiled with unnatural waves.

He shivered involuntarily and hurried toward the shore.

But the lake water, churning unnaturally, blocked his path forward. And beneath his feet, he stepped on something slick—almost like small pebbles, or perhaps…

Scales.

Oh no, this was bad.

No way he was this unlucky. Had that snake really caught up to him so quickly?

In his panic, the scaly thing began to shift slowly.

A massive snake tail thrashed through the water, coiling gradually around Luo Li’s waist.

The raised scales weren’t sharp. Instead, they ground against his skin with a tingling itch, drawing nearer in the most insidious way.

Terrified of startling it, Luo Li could only let the tail constrict tighter and tighter, looping around his legs again and again.

He didn’t know how much time passed before the tail finally loosened its grip a little.

Wasting no time, Luo Li yanked his legs free from the snake tail.

He had just managed to prop himself up halfway out of the lake, straining to break loose, when a strange rush of heat splashed against the small of his back.

Amid the chill of the lake water, the scalding sensation stood out vividly.

Luo Li burst into frightened tears. He clapped a hand over his lips, stifling terrified whimpers that slipped through his clenched teeth.

The feeling was all too familiar—the thick, unmistakable scent of a Dangerous Species… exactly like the one he had smelled in the cave.

He had abandoned King Snake and the eggs in the Nest, fleeing without a backward glance.

Luo Li didn’t dare turn around. He could only steal a peripheral glimpse at the Dangerous Species behind him.

His knees pressed tightly together beneath the snake tail as the male King Snake murmured into his ear.

The boy’s slender shoulders quivered faintly.

“I… I really can’t lay eggs for you…”

He wanted the snake to see clearly.

He was a boy—a real one.

He had no organs for laying eggs.