Chapter 129: The Little Rabbit x The Consul

Star Calendar Year 3000.

Various races achieved autonomy and formed a Federation. Amidst a brief period of chaos, the Human Federation fractured into the Upper and Lower Cities, with friction persisting between them for decades.

Following the destruction of the last human experimentation organization in the Lower City, the area was finally fully reclaimed.

The Upper City dispatched Chief Consul Xiu Aflend to take over and restore order to the chaotic Lower City. For a time, the various faction leaders of the Lower City were in a state of panic, scrambling to find out the preferences of this Consul, who was rumored to be a “God of Death.”

But none of this had anything to do with Wen Chu. Because he was just a lop-eared rabbit.

Lower City.

On the bustling Central Avenue, a palm-sized, fluffy lop-eared rabbit poked its head out of the bushes. Its three-cleft mouth chewed incessantly on the grass at its lips, while it let out a tiny sneeze.

“A-choo!”

The rabbit’s sneeze was small and thin, quickly drowned out by the heavy traffic; no one noticed him at all. Everyone’s attention was focused on the border between the Upper and Lower Cities, holding their breath as they awaited the moment the city gates would open.

“I heard the Consul is only twenty this year; truly young and promising.”

“Hah, I’ve seen plenty of his type. Definitely someone from a wealthy family who bought his way in. Once he gets to the Lower City, it’s not certain who will be managing whom.”

“He surely won’t continue collecting the Air Tax, right… Cough, cough, cough!“

“This flu is getting worse…”

…

The little rabbit in the bushes listened until he felt dizzy, let out another tiny “A-choo,” curled his body into a tight ball, and tried even harder to eat grass.

So cold. His throat hurt so much. He needed to eat more, eat lots of grass; if he was full, it wouldn’t hurt anymore.

Wen Chu didn’t know what was wrong with him. He only knew that recently, he didn’t like eating grass anymore, and he would get dizzy after taking just two steps in his human form. He was probably sick. Back in the laboratory, when he got sick, he would take various colored little pills or get an injection, and he’d be fine. But here, only one shop had those little pills, and they cost money to exchange.

He had no money.

Wen Chu rubbed his drooping ears with his paws. Being sick was miserable, and combined with his current bewildered and helpless situation, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad.

He still didn’t know what had happened. From birth, he had been in the laboratory. Every day, specialized personnel came to feed him, draw blood, record data, and inject him with things. Sometimes the injections made him feel bad, but if he endured it, he would get delicious Timothy hay the next day.

Wen Chu once thought the world was just like that.

Until one day, a massive hole was blasted into the laboratory, and he saw what the real sky looked like for the first time. He was in his lop-eared rabbit form at the time and was blown away by the shockwave of the explosion, hitting a rock and fainting.

When he woke up again, the laboratory had turned into ruins, leaving him as a lone rabbit staring blankly at a brand-new world.

The outside world didn’t have Timothy hay, or even dry hay. Wen Chu tried to pick grass and dry it himself, but before it could dry, people picked it up to build houses. He wanted to work, but the factories in the Lower City didn’t hire children under fourteen, and they even asked him for an ID card and tax proof.

Wen Chu didn’t even know what an “ID card” was. He was treated as an undocumented resident and twisted off to the police station in exchange for a reward bounty. He only managed to escape by turning back into a rabbit.

The outside world was too scary, so he had lived stealthily as a little rabbit, eating grass to survive until now. At first, he got diarrhea because the grass was too wet, and just as he had finally adapted, he got sick again.

Wen Chu stared at the only shop not far away that sold the little pills, fighting back his nausea as he nibbled a few more mouthfuls of grass.

He didn’t want to become a cold, dead rabbit; he wanted to take medicine. If he took medicine and ate until he was full, he would get better.

This was why Wen Chu had risked coming to Central Avenue today. He needed the little pills. Everyone was coming to Central Avenue today to see the Consul, so he could take the opportunity to find the medicine.

“He’s here!”

With a shout of surprise, the iron gates at the junction of the Upper and Lower Cities rumbled down, drawing everyone’s gaze.

Wen Chu seized the opportunity, curled into an inconspicuous little ball, and rolled gurgle-gurgle into the pharmacy. No one noticed the movement of such a tiny fur ball.

Wen Chu had just let out a sigh of relief when he was dumbfounded by the shelves full of dazzling goods inside the store.

W-Why were there so many kinds of little pills? He hadn’t seen this many types before, had he?

Looking at the pharmacy, which was excessively large for a small rabbit, Wen Chu gritted his teeth and forced himself to transform back into human form. The little lop-eared rabbit vanished, replaced by a pale-faced, white-haired child.

The child looked no more than seven or eight years old, with long white hair, thin and frail, yet the rudimentary form of beautiful, exquisite features could already be seen. He was wearing a small white fluffy cloak, which only highlighted the childishness of his face.

As soon as Wen Chu turned back into human form, the dizziness became much more pronounced.

“Cough, cough, cough! Cough!!”

He nearly lost his balance, grabbing a shelf with one hand as he let out a violent cough. His throat tasted of sweet iron. Wen Chu wrapped himself tighter in his only garment—the little cloak made of his rabbit fur.

Even though it was summer and the sun was shining brightly, he felt even colder.

Wen Chu touched his forehead. Boiling hot. Even the air he exhaled from his nose felt scorching. Cold and hot at the same time—was he turning into a roast rabbit, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside?

Wen Chu coughed several more times, thinking dizzily while rapidly stuffing medicine into his cloak. The medicine boxes had pictures he didn’t understand, so not knowing which was useful, he simply took one of every kind from the nearest shelf.

Before he could turn to the next shelf, a violent noise suddenly came from outside.

“Boom—”

Wen Chu was so scared he gave a little jump. It was an explosion! It was the same sound as the night the laboratory was blown open.

Panic-stricken and no longer caring about the medicine he hadn’t finished taking, Wen Chu wrapped his cloak full of medicine around him and fled out the back door in a panic.

Just as he got out the door, he heard a second “Boom.”

N-No way, right? He just stole some medicine, was he going to be blown up for it? QAQ

Terrified, Wen Chu turned back into a little lop-eared rabbit on the spot, dropping the medicine all over the ground as he prepared to bolt. But before he could dive into the bushes, colorful ribbons scattered across the sky.

Wen Chu stared blankly at the ribbons falling to the ground.

There were several more booms; colorful fireworks exploded in the blue sky amidst the cheers of the crowd, then fell to the ground as a marching band played the spirited “March of Humanity.”

Following the uniform footsteps and the spirited honor guard, a fully armed military jeep drove slowly forward. On the vehicle, a man with short blonde hair, dressed in a sharp black military uniform with a gun at his waist, looked through the lowered brim of his hat with transparent blue eyes, gazing coldly at everything before him.

From Wen Chu’s perspective—that of a rabbit no larger than a palm—he could only see the man’s cold side profile and distinct jawline.

This was an extremely young, handsome man.

Wen Chu watched in a daze for a moment before finally reacting. That wasn’t artillery fire just now; it was fireworks. That meant there was no danger. Scared him to death; he thought stealing medicine outside really got you blown up.

Not bothering to look at the man again, Wen Chu hurriedly turned back into human form and gathered up the messy pile of medicine on the ground.

He had been suffering from illness for a long time and was already at the end of his rope. After this series of upheavals, Wen Chu was somewhat exhausted. Thinking that everyone’s focus was now on the newly appointed Consul and they wouldn’t notice him, Wen Chu simply sat against the corner of the wall and opened the medicine he had just stolen.

He didn’t know which was which, so he simply took two of every kind and pulled up a handful of grass from beside him. Along with the grass, he earnestly swallowed every single pill.

Some of the pills were exceptionally bitter. Wen Chu stuck out his tongue and scrunched up his face, comforting himself as he ate.

Once I finish eating, I’ll be fine. Once I finish, it won’t hurt anymore.

…But why was he getting colder the more he ate?

Wen Chu curled up tighter. It wasn’t an illusion. It really was so cold.

“Cough! Cough, cough, cough!!”

Wen Chu let out another heart-wrenching cough. He looked at the medicine beside him, confused. He had taken the medicine, so why wasn’t he better yet? Was it because he hadn’t eaten enough?

Thinking this, Wen Chu was just about to grab a few more pills when a roar came from the pharmacy entrance.

“Who stole from the pharmacy while I wasn’t looking!?!”

The Consul had already passed by. The pharmacy owner had just come back to his senses, and upon turning around, he saw the supplements section in a complete mess.

He cursed loudly: “Are you short of these few bottles of medicine to buy a coffin? I just looked away for a few minutes! Who is so wicked? Don’t let me catch you!”

He was discovered. He had to run.

But Wen Chu’s consciousness had begun to fade. While he thought he should run, he also felt as if he was floating. He even felt that his body wasn’t so cold anymore; instead, he felt a long-lost warmth and smelled the fresh scent of Timothy hay.

Was he cured?

Wen Chu leaned against the wall by the pharmacy’s back door, a sickly flush appearing on his pale cheeks. His consciousness was becoming blurry.

If he was cured… could he continue eating grass?

On the other side, the pharmacy owner moved quickly. Under the gaze of the crowd, he followed the trail of scattered medicine to the back door. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the child sitting against the wall and the multitude of medicines scattered around him.

The pharmacy owner immediately started cursing: “You damned little thief! Stealing so many health supplements, hope you choke on them!!”

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward, intending to teach this sticky-fingered brat a lesson.

Just then, a cold voice rang out: “What is going on?”

The pharmacy owner froze. When he saw the blonde Consul who had returned, the anger on his face instantly turned into sycophancy. He bowed and scraped to Xiu: “It’s nothing, nothing, just a blind little thief. I’ll send him to the Public Security Bureau right now, follow our local procedures.”

Xiu raised an eyebrow with interest: “Your local procedures?”

The pharmacy owner realized he had misspoken and shut his mouth, his face turning pale as he lowered his head.

Being able to open the only pharmacy in the Lower City, he naturally had his own information channels and was better informed than others. This blonde Consul had earned the nickname “God of Death” while still in the Upper City. No one knew his background, only that whether it was a noble who committed a crime or anyone else, falling into his hands meant strictly impartial sentencing. Or even execution on the spot.

Even the human experimentation labs that had gone unresolved for so long were completely wiped out in just a few months under this Consul’s leadership, with only a few fugitives left.

Now, saying those convoluted rules of the Lower City in front of the newly appointed Consul—wasn’t that just walking right into the line of fire?

The pharmacy owner’s forehead was covered in cold sweat, wishing he could slap himself for his loose tongue. This wasn’t the old Consul who split bounty money with them; how could he mention the police station here?

The pharmacy owner didn’t dare speak, and Xiu stared at him with a faint, unreadable smile. The surroundings fell silent, settling into a tense standoff.

“Cough… Cough, cough, cough!!”

Just then, a heaven-shaking cough came from the corner of the wall.

The white-haired child was flushed red with fever, still dazedly stuffing grass into his mouth while coughing. It was obvious he had burned up into a stupor. Combined with the mess of vitamins, lutein, glucose, and other random items scattered around him, the situation was all too clear.

The plague in the Lower City had finally spread.

Xiu’s expression grew colder. He ignored the clearly suspicious pharmacy owner and walked forward in a few strides, bending his long legs to half-kneel in front of the white-haired boy.

Xiu spoke concisely: “Hold on, I’m taking you to a doctor right now.”

As he spoke, Xiu picked up the kitten-like child in his arms under the stunned gaze of the crowd.

By this time, Wen Chu had fallen into a semi-comatose state. He only smelled a sharp, cold fragrance and hazily saw a golden shadow. Then he felt his feet leave the ground, and his previously cold body began to feel warm and toasty.

This is…

Wen Chu groggily buried his face in the Consul’s neck, trying hard to press his burning cheek against the other’s skin to cool down, and mumbled incoherently in a small voice:

“…Mam…a?”

So warm.