Chapter 205

Chapter 205: Twined Around Her Hair, Happy Like a Child

Jiang Tea Tea made a small sound of understanding. “Oh. So how often do you shed scales now?”

In the Demon Clan, the Black Forest ran on one law: the strong ruled, and the weak were eaten. Whoever had the harder fist and the greater power claimed the biggest mountain. No one dared provoke them.

Chong Ming was born into the Golden Dragon imperial line and raised as one of the heirs. The burdens on his shoulders were far heavier than anything ordinary people ever carried.

Jiang Tea Tea understood that better than most.

From the day she transformed into a demon, she had fought, seized, and struggled just to survive. That was normal. It was simply the way things were.

Chong Ming’s index finger caught a loose strand of her hair and wound it around his finger, slow and absentminded. The gesture was subtle—almost hidden—yet there was a strange, childlike satisfaction in it.

His voice stayed low and rough. “After I turned thirty, I shed scales every twenty to thirty years.”

Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes lit up like gemstones. “So you’ve shed four or five times already?”

“Yes.”

“And what did you do with the scales you shed?” Her desire wasn’t subtle in the slightest. She wanted them.

The tea flower in her hair continued to bloom, its fragrance spreading through the small lounge.

Jiang Tea Tea seemed oblivious, as if she couldn’t smell it at all. Her gaze was fixed on only one thing—scales.

Chong Ming sat close enough to be drenched in her scent, and he seemed to enjoy it. His tone even carried a hint of indulgence. “Dragon Clan scales are stored.”

“When a dragon dies—if they die on a battlefield and the body can’t be recovered—the scales are used in place of the body for burial.”

“If they die naturally and the body remains, the scales are burned with the bones.” He paused. “Or scattered.”

Cremation. Burned to ash.

A waste of treasure.

Jiang Tea Tea lifted her hand and brushed the golden scales at his neck. “You…”

Chong Ming’s gaze sharpened. “You want my scales?”

Jiang Tea Tea nodded quickly, then asked with careful restraint, “Can… can you give me some?”

Chong Ming’s golden eyes stayed controlled, never shifting into beast pupils. “Yes. How many?”

She hesitated, as if bargaining with herself. “Maybe… start with ten?”

In her world, dragons were treasure from head to tail. Ten scales was nothing. Even dragon saliva was priceless—spit on a blade of grass and it could awaken intelligence, become a spirit, and begin cultivation.

Chong Ming asked evenly, “Do you want them peeled off me, or do you want the ones I’ve already shed?”

Peeled off him?

He was… insanely generous. And terrifying.

Jiang Tea Tea knew fresh was better, but she wasn’t about to demand he rip his own scales off. “The ones you shed. Let me see those first.”

Chong Ming nodded. “Fine. After the Space Weapons Exhibition ends, when we return to the capital planet, I’ll give them to you.”

Jiang Tea Tea’s mood brightened instantly. She practically bounced off his lap. “Okay, okay. Deal. Deal.”

“Then I won’t disturb your work.” She turned to go, already planning. “I’ll head to the warship cafeteria, pack food, bring it to Sui Xuan Chu and Huang Da Zhuang and the others. See you—”

“Jiang Tea Tea.” Chong Ming called her back.

She paused.

He reminded her, “Wear a hat.”

Jiang Tea Tea didn’t understand why, but she answered with a perfunctory, “Oh, sure,” and left.

She was a familiar face on the warship now. The guards greeted her as she passed.

She smelled especially fragrant today. Wherever she walked, guards seemed to straighten without realizing it—eyes brighter, mental seas calmed, like someone had smoothed them flat.

Only when she reached the cafeteria did the cook, while packing her food, ask curiously what perfume she was wearing.

That was when Jiang Tea Tea finally realized—

She’d bloomed again.

A tea flower sat on her head like a crown, shamelessly on display.

Fuming, she stormed into the cafeteria washroom, wrapped herself in magic power, and cast an illusion.

Her hair became tea branches. She grabbed the blooming tea flower and yanked it off—then tore off the other three buds, too.

If she plucked the buds, she wouldn’t have to worry about blooming again out of nowhere.

With the flower gone, she shook off the lingering scent, repainted her face, put on her hat and sunglasses, and headed down from the ship.

The moment Huang Da Zhuang and the others saw her, they acted like she’d crawled back from the dead.

One clung to her arm. One grabbed her sleeve. Someone nearly hugged her leg.

They wailed dramatically, “Sister Tea! You’re back! You’re finally back!”

“If you didn’t come back, we were going to threaten to die in front of our idol!”

“Next time that idol sends you on a mission, take us with you. We’ll be your lackeys—your shields. Don’t leave us!”

“Yeah! The Insect Clan can live without a queen. We can’t live without you!”

“Ten days! Ten whole days! Now I finally understand what ‘each day feels like a year’ means!”

Jiang Tea Tea sighed. “All right, all right. Get up. I brought you food and drinks.”

Instantly, they released her like starving puppies and stared at the packages in her arms.

Jiang Tea Tea pulled out the food boxes: two large containers, five meat dishes, five vegetable dishes, five kinds of fruit, plus drinks and sweet drinks.

Their rest area was Camp 59’s. The smell spread the moment she opened the containers, and other personnel immediately swarmed over.

Within minutes, it turned into a full-blown feeding frenzy. Whoever moved slower ate less.

An hour passed in chaos.

Then Jiang Tea Tea and the others split into two teams again and returned to patrolling the Space Weapons Exhibition.

The rain she’d summoned covered more than just the Meng Ke Steppe—it brushed over the exhibition zone too.

The steppe got a downpour; here it was only fine drizzle. Their uniforms, hats, and glasses were waterproof. The rain wasn’t a problem.

Tourists and visiting citizens moved through the exhibition with umbrellas or hats—or simply got wet.

That same day, one of Agris’s agents tailing Sui Xuan Chu’s group finally spotted Unit ID 59311.

The report shot straight up the chain to Agris.

Ten days.

After ten days, Agris finally heard that Jiang Tea Tea had been found—and there were only ten days left before the Space Weapons Exhibition ended.

He didn’t want to wait another second.

He issued a brutal command: “No matter what method you use, lure 59311 into the Insect Clan exhibition zone within one hour.”

“Succeed, and every one of you gets one hundred million credits.”

“Fail, and you—and your families—die.”