Chapter 83
Chapter 83: I Get to Raise a Dragon Clan Cub? There’s a Deal That Good?
Six pairs of eyes snapped over at once.
Sui Xuan Chu’s group blurted out in a rush, panic layered over concern. “What’s wrong with Sister Tea? Is it serious? Do you need help?”
“She killed seven insect clan alone—did she get badly hurt? Should we notify instructor group? Notify Chong Ming the commander-in-chief? Have them send a more professional healer down?”
“Yeah! Insect clan infiltrated the training competition. If Sister Tea wiped them out, the commander-in-chief can definitely open a special channel. Maybe she can even go straight up to his ship for treatment.”
Jiang Tea Tea stared at them, speechless.
She didn’t feel unwell. Her waist and belly pain had already been treated with her magic power. Her stomach felt a little off, but it was within tolerable range.
She was about to refuse—she had zero interest in seeing that Old Loach Chong Ming—
But Cheng Lin Yue cut her off faster than she could. “No need to notify instructor group. No need to notify the commander-in-chief. I can handle it.”
“My healing technique is enough. Don’t doubt me. Don’t question me.”
Then she pointed a shaking finger at the others, voice fierce in a way it had never been before. “You deal with the insect clan. I’m taking Sister Tea over there. Once we go, don’t come after us. Don’t come over. Absolutely do not come over—”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked, confused. “Cheng Lin Yue, I’m fine—”
Cheng Lin Yue snapped, cutting her off so hard Jiang Tea Tea flinched. “Shut up. You’re not fine. Listen to me!”
Jiang Tea Tea stared. …?
Wasn’t this the timid, socially anxious bunny?
Where did this sudden fierceness come from?
Was this what people meant by “even a rabbit bites when cornered”?
Cheng Lin Yue dragged Jiang Tea Tea away by the arm.
Jiang Tea Tea wanted to know what was going on, but Cheng Lin Yue looked so serious—almost… feral—that she didn’t resist. She let herself be pulled along.
They went far, far away before Cheng Lin Yue finally stopped. She scanned the surroundings, checked the shared Lightbrain net, made sure no cadets were nearby, and turned on a signal jammer.
Jiang Tea Tea watched the whole performance like she’d stepped into someone else’s dream.
Cheng Lin Yue stood in front of her, grabbed both her hands, and said with intense solemnity, “Sister Tea. I have something very important to tell you. Prepare yourself.”
Prepare?
What on earth could require a great demon like her to prepare?
She’d seen everything under the sun. Demons, ghosts, monsters, madness—bring it on.
Jiang Tea Tea shrugged. “Then say it. Why are you acting so secretive?”
Cheng Lin Yue lowered her voice. “Sister Tea… do you have a boyfriend?”
Jiang Tea Tea blinked innocently. “Boyfriend? What would I want that for? You can’t eat it. You can’t drink it.”
She wasn’t human. Why would she get a boyfriend?
If she was going to find a partner, she’d rather find a tea tree.
Too bad the tea tree clan had only produced one demon: her.
No male tea tree demon. No partner. She’d be alone forever—immortal, beautiful, and powerful.
Cheng Lin Yue bit her lip. “If you don’t have a boyfriend… did you have a one-night fling with someone?”
Jiang Tea Tea narrowed her eyes. “What are you getting at? Spit it out.”
Cheng Lin Yue’s fingers tightened around hers. She swallowed again and again, building up her courage like stacking thin walls. “My uncle is a field doctor. He researches dark medical art, ancient medicine. I learned a little.”
“I checked your pulse just now, and I found you have—”
“What are you doing here?”
The question hit like thunder.
Cheng Lin Yue’s words cut off mid-breath.
Chong Ming’s voice came from nearby—flat, cold, and heavy enough to crush stone.
“And you turned on a signal jammer,” he added. “What are you discussing?”
Cheng Lin Yue’s knees almost went weak. In front of her male idol, her commander-in-chief, she reacted on pure instinct—yanking Jiang Tea Tea behind her and standing between her and Chong Ming like a shield.
“Reporting to the commander-in-chief,” Cheng Lin Yue said shakily, forcing her spine straight. “My squad member Jiang Tea Tea classmate just killed seven insect clan and captured a cadet who colluded with them. She suffered a minor injury, and I was about to treat her.”
Sister Tea was being watched by the thirty legions. She was valuable.
If anyone found out she had a cub, she’d be kicked out of the competition immediately. Her future would shatter.
It was already hard for a female to earn military attention. Cheng Lin Yue couldn’t let the kind, protective Sister Tea lose everything.
Chong Ming wore a black combat uniform. Two people stood behind him.
After hearing Cheng Lin Yue, he frowned and looked past her—straight at Jiang Tea Tea.
Cheng Lin Yue wasn’t tall enough to block her, not really. Jiang Tea Tea still showed above her shoulder.
Chong Ming’s golden eyes settled on Jiang Tea Tea’s face. “You’re injured?”
Jiang Tea Tea pointed at her own belly like she was pointing at a bruise on her elbow. “Got punched twice, kicked twice. Cheng Lin Yue treated me. I’m fine.”
Cheng Lin Yue’s face changed. Treated? Yes, but—her belly had been hit.
Would the cub be okay?
Chong Ming’s gaze followed Jiang Tea Tea’s finger to her stomach. “If you’re fine, then I still suggest—”
“Thank you,” Jiang Tea Tea cut in, polite as a knife. “But no suggestions. I trust my classmate’s treatment.”
Then she pointed toward where the others were. “Jiang Yi Cheng colluded with insect clan. He’s already been taken down over there. You can go see.”
Chong Ming’s eyes flicked, sharp and dangerous. Insect clan again.
He said, “If you’ve been treated and you’re stable, then come with me. We’ll go check.”
Jiang Tea Tea glanced at Cheng Lin Yue. “Sure.”
Cheng Lin Yue still looked like she wanted to say something—like she was choking on it. But she didn’t dare in front of Chong Ming. She could only clench her jaw and follow close, guarding Jiang Tea Tea like a secret.
As they walked, Chong Ming issued an order through his comms. “Use my position as the coordinate. Insect clan confirmed. Bring the ship over. Have Minister Lu come down with a medical kit.”
Adjutant ai answered, “Yes, commander-in-chief.”
Cheng Lin Yue trembled so hard she could barely breathe.
Jiang Tea Tea tried to swap positions with her, but Cheng Lin Yue refused, insisting on staying between Jiang Tea Tea and Chong Ming—blocking them from standing too close.
Jiang Tea Tea slowed, hoping to let Chong Ming walk ahead.
Chong Ming slowed too.
So the three of them walked side by side anyway, the awkward tension stretching like wire.
When they reached the site, a super battleship appeared overhead, hanging in the air like a mountain pressing down. The sheer pressure made people instinctively fear it might descend and flatten them into paste.
Huang Da Zhuang and Cheng Xiao Ting had been debating how to notify instructor group when they saw Chong Ming arriving with Sister Tea.
Every one of them snapped to attention and saluted.
“Commander-in-chief!”
“Greetings, commander-in-chief!”
Chong Ming swept his gaze over the seven insect clan corpses, then over Jiang Yi Cheng, unconscious and bound. He nodded once. “Hello. You did well. Thank you for your hard work.”
Huang Da Zhuang flailed his hands, anxious. “No, commander-in-chief, you misunderstand! The insect clan and Jiang Yi Cheng weren’t killed and knocked out by us. It was our teammate Jiang Tea Tea. She did it alone.”
“Yes,” another chimed in quickly. “Commander-in-chief, those insect clan thought our classmate Sui Xuan Chu was the crown prince. They couldn’t grab him because he had too many people around him, so they grabbed Jiang Tea Tea instead. She wiped them out. It wasn’t us. We’re not the ones who worked hard.”
Sui Xuan Chu added, earnest to a fault, “That’s right, commander-in-chief. The insect clan deaths and Jiang Yi Cheng’s unconscious state were caused by my roommate. We did nothing. The glory belongs to my roommate.”
Chong Ming nodded. “The glory that belongs to Jiang Tea Tea classmate will reach her. Don’t worry.”
Jiang Tea Tea spoke up, tone blunt. “We’re one squad. We take hardships together, and we share glory together. Commander-in-chief, if there’s any reward, count it for all eight of us. Thank you.”
Chong Ming turned his head to her, expression unreadable. “Your merit is your merit. Merit cannot be split.”
“But their assistance won’t be ignored either. You don’t need to share your merit with them.”
Jiang Tea Tea shrugged. “Fine. Do what you want. By the way—why did you come down for no reason?”
She didn’t like coincidences, especially when they involved the Old Loach.
Chong Ming met her gaze evenly. “Twenty minutes ago—half an hour ago, in the command ship—I sensed a dragon clan cub’s distress. I brought people down to confirm.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s eyes flared bright. “A dragon clan cub? You mean there’s an unhatched cub on this planet?”
Chong Ming nodded. “Yes. It may be in the mother’s body. Or it may still be in an eggshell. But the distress signal disappeared twenty minutes ago.”
“So I can’t determine whether it was rescued or already dead. Then I ran into you two acting suspicious.”
Jiang Tea Tea’s pupils lit like lamps. “So if that dragon clan cub isn’t in a mother’s body—if it’s a parentless egg—then whoever finds it gets it? If I find it, can I raise it?”