Chapter 68
Chapter 68: There Was a Little Monster in Her Belly—It Ate Magic Power and Was a Bottomless Pit
“I’m the crown prince?” Sui Xuan Chu repeated, putting on a casual, joking face like he wasn’t dying inside. “Do I look like the crown prince?”
The first lie had made him sweat. The second came out smooth and effortless.
Then he dragged Jiang Tea Tea down with him.
“Huang Big Dog,” he said dramatically, “I wish your ancestors’ grave exploded. I wish I were the crown prince too—then I could get trained by your male idol every day. But I’m not. If you don’t believe me, ask Sister Tea.”
Jiang Tea Tea shot him a sharp look and leaned into the lie without hesitation. “Right. He’s not the crown prince. The crown prince is someone else, in the Royal Military Academy. Who exactly, we don’t know.”
“Those people outside heard the crown prince was in the Royal Military Academy, then saw us eight sharing two rooms and using a snowfield flyer. They assumed it was crown prince privilege. They had no idea it was just our reward for finishing Round One early.”
“While they were guessing, an infiltrator from the Insect Clan overheard them. The Insect Clan assumed we’d go looking for food, so they blocked us at sea.”
“You don’t understand—if Commander-in-Chief Chong Ming hadn’t arrived in time, Sui Xuan Chu would’ve been killed by the Insect Clan as a stand-in crown prince.”
Huang Da Zhuang and the others stared, still uncertain. “Sui Xuan Chu… you’re really not the crown prince?”
Sui Xuan Chu rolled up his sleeve and extended his arm. Red-black scales surged over his forearm, glittering darkly. “The crown prince is Gold Dragon Clan. I’m red-black Dragon Clan. If you still don’t believe me, I can bleed again.”
That did it.
Huang Da Zhuang and the others immediately believed him. The rumors outside were just rumors. Those people had been treating their hard work like backdoor privilege.
Jiang Tea Tea clapped her hands. “Come on. Your idol—male idol—brought us food to make up for Sui Xuan Chu almost getting killed. Eat. Heal your wounded souls.”
“Sui Xuan Chu,” she ordered. “Food. Now.”
Sui Xuan Chu opened his storage button and unloaded basin after basin—three massive basins of meat, three basins of fish, three basins of shrimp, all steaming.
The six men forgot every rumor in the universe.
They turned into werewolves, practically launching themselves at the food.
Sui Xuan Chu lifted his brows at Jiang Tea Tea and mouthed silently, Thank you, roommate.
Jiang Tea Tea rolled her eyes and ate too, then even shared her yellow nutrient fruit.
To her shock, everyone made the same face after one bite.
“It’s not ripe! It’s sour and bitter. I can’t eat it. I really can’t.”
Jiang Tea Tea didn’t understand. To her, nutrient fruit was sour with sweetness.
In the end, she decided it was their problem. She had over a thousand pounds of it. She could eat it slowly.
After the feast, everyone was stuffed and sleepy. They collapsed onto beds and fell asleep in seconds.
Jiang Tea Tea, despite eating the most, was the only one whose belly still looked unnaturally flat.
Above them, Chong Ming’s super battleship didn’t actually leave. It activated stealth mode and hovered overhead.
Everything happening below—their movements, their voices—appeared clearly on the huge screen in front of Chong Ming.
Adjutant AI stood beside him, watching and listening. “Commander-in-Chief… should we intervene? Those eliminated cadets might spread the guess that Sui Xuan Chu is the Young Highness.”
Chong Ming resized the screen and pulled up the live feed of Agris instead. “No need. If the Young Highness can’t handle something this small, what kind of crown prince does he think he is?”
Adjutant AI straightened. “Yes, Commander-in-Chief.”
In the holding room, Agris had just finished treatment. He slammed against the walls, voice full of venom. “Chong Ming, you filthy loach, rotten loach! If you have the guts to capture me, then come see me! Come!”
Chong Ming’s voice came from all directions, cool and amused. “Your Highness Agris, I’m watching you.”
Agris spun, searching for the cameras. There were none he could find. “You’re pleased with yourself?”
“If you were me, you’d be even more pleased,” Chong Ming replied smoothly.
Agris forced his rage down, voice tight. “You tore up our ceasefire treaty, captured me, destroyed so much of our infrastructure and warships. That’s a declaration of war.”
“The Insect Clan has ten trillion bugs. We outnumber the Zhen Lin Empire’s citizens by who knows how many times. You’re already 150 years old. If we truly fight again, more of your Zhen Lin Empire will die.”
Chong Ming laughed softly. “Decades ago, your Insect Clan killed over a hundred million citizens of the Zhen Lin Empire. I paid you back more than fivefold.”
“If we fight again now, the ones who die in greater numbers will be your Insect Clan, not my empire.”
Agris scoffed. “You’re delusional—”
“I’m factual,” Chong Ming cut in. “Oh. I forgot to tell you—your empress mother didn’t contact me.”
He paused, letting it land. “But your fiancée, General Atuya, did. Want to guess how she begged me to save you?”
Agris exploded. He rushed the door, yanking and pounding, trying to tear it open.
The door didn’t budge. Like iron. Like stone.
The room’s ability suppression made him powerless.
Chong Ming switched the feed again, back to the competition’s thirtieth army groups.
After a moment, Secretary Wen entered. “Commander-in-Chief, there are several urgent governmental matters. Please review them.”
Chong Ming didn’t even look away from the screen. “The crown prince is free. Send them to him. Let him handle them first.”
Secretary Wen blinked, then nodded. “Yes.”
“He’s asleep,” Chong Ming added, as casually as if he were ordering tea. “After you send them, call him. Wake him up. Have him handle them through the night.”
Secretary Wen’s expression remained perfectly controlled. “Understood, Commander-in-Chief.”
At 2:00 a.m., Jiang Tea Tea woke with a jolt, breath tight.
For a split second she thought her magic power was draining again—something swallowing it in the dark.
Then her stomach roared like thunder.
Not magic power. Hunger.
She raised her lightbrain and checked the time. Not even eight hours since she’d eaten. And she was starving.
Was losing eighty percent of her magic power affecting her human body too? Was her body screaming for fertilizer to replenish?
Fine. Food first. She could investigate the rest later.
Jiang Tea Tea slipped out of bed, pulled on her combat suit, didn’t even tie her hair, and eased out without waking Cheng Lin Yue.
In the small living room, Sui Xuan Chu was awake, slumped against the wall. He yawned so hard his eyes watered, scratching his head like he wanted to tear his scalp off while a lightbrain projection floated in front of him.
Jiang Tea Tea coughed lightly. “Why aren’t you asleep? It’s late.”
Sui Xuan Chu looked up, exhausted and bitter. His cover was already blown to her, so he didn’t bother hiding anything. “My uncle. He can’t stand that I finished Round One early and get to rest for half a month. He dumped a mountain of work on me.”
“And to make sure I do it, he had his secretary call me and wake me up. I’m doing it through the night.”
He looked like he might actually cry. “Roommate. What grudge is this? Why does he torture me like this? I’m so tired I want to die.”
Jiang Tea Tea pulled out a nutrient fruit, took a bite, and said around the crunch, “No choice. Big family, thin bloodline. Your uncle can’t call anyone else. Unless he gives you a brother.”
Sui Xuan Chu laughed bitterly. “If you’re expecting my uncle to give me a brother, you might as well expect me to give my uncle a grandson.”
Jiang Tea Tea considered it seriously. “That could work. Once you’re an adult, find a mate. Have a grandson. Let your uncle train his grandson instead. You get freed.”
Sui Xuan Chu’s expression turned tragic. “No. With my uncle’s methods, I’d get trained along with my child.”
He waved a hand miserably. “Forget it. You don’t understand him anyway. I’ll keep grinding. Damn… I’m dying of sleep.”
Jiang Tea Tea watched him yawn until tears gathered in his eyes. Without another word, she went to the bathroom.
When she returned, she carried a jar of green tea leaves. She poured hot water, dropped in a few leaves, and set the cup in front of him. “Drink. It’ll wake you up.”
Sui Xuan Chu sniffed. “That smells amazing. What is it?”
“Green tea,” Jiang Tea Tea said simply.
Sui Xuan Chu lifted the cup, inhaled, and felt his brain clear as if a window had opened. He took a small sip.
The flavor spread through his mouth—fresh, clean, sharp. Sleepiness vanished like it had never existed. Even his mental power felt smoothed, combed, organized.
He drank two more sips, eyes brightening. “Roommate… where did you get this?”
Jiang Tea Tea lied without blinking. “Primeval Forest. I usually chew the leaves dry, but I figured you wouldn’t like that, so I brewed it.”
Sui Xuan Chu stared at the jar. “Is that whole jar for me?”
Jiang Tea Tea handed it over. “All for you. Chew it dry or brew it. It’s insanely good for staying awake.”
Sui Xuan Chu accepted it with both hands, popped a leaf in his mouth, and chewed. The taste was clean, and the plant-type psychic power in it felt natural and strong.
Jiang Tea Tea nodded, satisfied. “Okay. You keep grinding. I’m going out.”
Sui Xuan Chu blinked. “Now? Where?”
“Can’t sleep,” Jiang Tea Tea said, pulling on her hood. “Going for a walk.”
Sui Xuan Chu nodded. “Fine. Don’t go far. If anything happens, shout.”
Jiang Tea Tea zipped up her suit and slipped out, chewing her nutrient fruit as she headed for the deep-sea entrance to find fertilizer.
Sui Xuan Chu drank the entire cup.
Then, as if it would be a waste otherwise, he chewed the tea leaves from the bottom too.
A warm, energized hum rose in his body. He suddenly felt like his ability rank was… shifting upward.
He didn’t hesitate. He opened his lightbrain, dumped some leaves onto his palm, took a photo, and sent it to his uncle Chong Ming with a message:
“Imperial Uncle, my roommate Jiang Tea Tea gave me a jar of green tea I’ve never seen before. It wakes you up and is rich in natural plant-type psychic power. I drank the brewed tea and ate more than ten leaves—my ability rank is about to break through!”