Why Do All the Villains Look at Me Like This? - Chapter 97

The Golden Giant Dragon was flung away like broken trash, crashing to the ground and quickly becoming partially buried under dust and rubble. Almost immediately, Huai Sui retreated from Meng Xuexiao’s side, silver dragon wings unfurling from his back. With lightning speed, he darted through a crack in the wall caused by Yao Huai and Zhuoyue’s battle.

Yao Huai’s attack landed almost simultaneously, tearing a rift in space itself. Huai Sui’s wings were seized by an invisible, colossal hand, twisting and deforming like clay. Crimson blood mist exploded outward as shattered bones protruded from the mangled remains.

“Cough, cough cough!” Huai Sui coughed up mouthfuls of blood, plummeting from the sky like a kite with a severed string. He vanished into the ruins of collapsed buildings below.

Everything had happened too quickly. Meng Xuexiao stared blankly at the spot where Huai Sui had fallen, unable to process what had just occurred. Yao Huai didn’t pursue him, instead maneuvering his wheelchair to Meng Xuexiao’s side.

He scrutinized Meng Xuexiao from head to toe, confirming the young man had no visible injuries. His gaze lingered briefly on the slightly reddened skin of Meng Xuexiao’s neck, where the dragon’s claws had pierced.

“The situation escalated suddenly. I didn’t have time to inform you of my plan.”

Yao Huai’s lips moved slightly, “I’m sorry to have startled you.”

Yao Huai was explaining the earlier events, but Meng Xuexiao’s focus had long shifted. He had never truly been angry about the lack of warning; his mind was now in complete turmoil, filled with Huai Sui’s recent words.

He unconsciously clenched his pocket, where the Mecha Recorder Huai Sui had given him lay hidden. He hadn’t had time to examine it yet, but he had instinctively slipped it into his pants pocket before Yao Huai arrived.

After a moment of silence, he replied, “It’s fine. I don’t mind.”

As Meng Xuexiao spoke, Yao Huai observed his expression intently, discerning the truth from the falsehoods in the young man’s words.

For instance, Meng Xuexiao’s claim that he “didn’t mind not being notified” was true, but his assertion that “it was fine” was a lie.

If it wasn’t because he hadn’t been notified in time, then it could only mean…

Yao Huai narrowed his eyes, glancing at the corpse of the Golden Giant Dragon.

“Do you care about Zhuoyue’s soul?”

“Before dying, Zhuoyue forcibly used a forbidden Dragon Clan technique to transfer his soul. I shattered half of it, the other half should be with Huai Sui.”

“Huai Sui is already critically wounded and can’t have gotten far. I placed a tracking mark on him just now, we’ll catch up soon.”

He suspected Meng Xuexiao’s distraction stemmed from this matter. After all, they were collaborators, and he had promised Meng Xuexiao he would completely eliminate Zhuoyue. Now that the goal remained unachieved, Meng Xuexiao naturally wouldn’t be pleased.

But no matter. Meng Xuexiao would get everything he wanted, and this time, they could add Huai Sui to the list.

Meng Xuexiao knew catching up to Huai Sui wouldn’t be difficult. The real problem lay in the obvious trap Zhuoyue and Huai Sui had set.

First, the two dragons had kidnapped him to restrain Yao Huai, then they had launched a psychological attack, attempting to sow discord between him and Yao Huai. Meng Xuexiao had to admit, he had indeed been somewhat swayed.

Now, he faced two choices:

1. Disregard Huai Sui’s warning and join Yao Huai in annihilating Huai Sui and the remaining half of Zhuoyue’s soul.
2. Take Huai Sui’s words seriously and investigate thoroughly. But a thorough investigation would take time, meaning he and Yao Huai might lose track of Huai Sui entirely.

Each choice could lead to a completely different outcome. Meng Xuexiao forced himself to remain calm and think clearly.

After all this effort, what could Zhuoyue and his brother possibly gain?

The only explanation Meng Xuexiao could think of was that Zhuoyue and Huai Sui were using these actions to create opportunities to escape.

If their sole purpose was to flee, then the authenticity of the information they provided became questionable. After all, its only purpose was to buy them time.

What if Meng Xuexiao wasted hours meticulously studying the Mecha Recorder Huai Sui had given him, only to discover it was empty—just a device Shen Zekai had carelessly lost?

Or worse, what if the data inside was fabricated? What if the Empire had already developed methods to manipulate data? How would he account for all that wasted time?

After all, this was such a perfect opportunity to capture both Huai Sui and Zhuoyue in one fell swoop…

Meng Zixiao gripped the Mecha Recorder in his pocket again.

Forget it. I’ll deal with the recorder later. Let’s catch Huai Sui first.

Even if something had happened, capturing Huai Sui would allow him to get the truth directly from the source. Wouldn’t that be simpler and more straightforward?

Turning to Yao Huai, Meng Xuexiao said, “As you suggested, let’s go after Huai Sui immediately.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Meng Xuexiao waited half a second, but Yao Huai didn’t move.

This reaction… it’s far too strange, isn’t it?

Yao Huai himself had proposed chasing after Huai Sui!

This forced Meng Xuexiao to consider another possibility, Could Yao Huai really have a problem, as Huai Sui implied?

Meng Xuexiao glanced at Yao Huai, his heart pounding, and their eyes met.

Then… both saw confusion in each other’s gaze.

Then, Meng Xuexiao saw Yao Huai extend a hand toward him, gesturing at the wheelchair beneath him.

“Aren’t you going to sit on it?”

Meng Xuexiao froze, taking several seconds to grasp what Yao Huai meant.

Yao Huai wanted him to sit on the wheelchair, just like before.

Meng Xuexiao couldn’t help but sigh in relief.

What was I worried about? Yao Huai doesn’t have a problem—he just wants me to sit on his lap.

Fine, I’ll do it. Probably just to catch up to Huai Sui faster.

But when Meng Xuexiao actually sat on Yao Huai’s lap, feeling the powerful pulse of the veins beneath him, he froze again, suddenly realizing something was wrong.

Since when have I become so comfortable with this kind of thing?

Under normal circumstances, Meng Xuexiao would have agonized over the significance of their seated arrangement.

The current situation was entirely different from when they had shared the wheelchair.

Back then, they had feared sudden attacks from Zhuoyue or Alien Beasts. Now, with Zhuoyue dead and Huai Sui crippled, the surrounding Alien Beasts would surely be too terrified to act up. There was no need to continue using the wheelchair.

Meng Xuexiao sighed, pressing his forehead in frustration.

As expected, he thought, no matter how much I try to reassure myself, I’ve become a nervous wreck, constantly on edge.

If he could, he genuinely didn’t want to suspect Yao Huai, let alone… become his enemy.

After all, Yao Huai had faced Raven, Shen Zekai, and Wu Zian without faltering, and had fought Zhuoyue to a draw, leaving one dead and the other crippled. The mere thought of it was terrifying. If these 2S-Class powerhouses couldn’t defeat Yao Huai, what chance did an ordinary F-grade like him stand?

“Buzz, buzz…”

Just then, something vibrated.

Meng Xuexiao’s hand instinctively went to his pocket. It was Shen Zekai’s Mecha Recorder, buzzing to life.

“…”

Why now? Of all times, why now?

Meng Xuexiao grew even more suspicious that the earlier performance had been Huai Sui’s own staged act. Huai Sui had already made overt provocations, followed by covert ones. Now, he was likely trying to subtly manipulate Meng Xuexiao into further doubting Yao Huai.

But Huai Sui had miscalculated. Meng Xuexiao had resolved not to look at the Mecha Recorder until Huai Sui was captured.

Even if Yao Huai truly was as Huai Sui claimed—untrustworthy and not a good person—their current alliance against Huai Sui… wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Meng Xuexiao convinced himself of this, summoning every ounce of his willpower to avoid even glancing at the vibrating recorder.

He had done his best, but he had overlooked one crucial detail. At that moment, he and Yao Huai were pressed tightly together, skin against skin. Yao Huai could feel the recorder vibrating.

He raised a hand and pointed at the device, “Shouldn’t we deal with this?”

Meng Xuexiao now found himself in a genuine dilemma.

If he continued to ignore the recorder as before, Yao Huai would likely grow suspicious.

That would leave him in a situation where he pleased neither side.

Or…

Just take a quick look.

No matter what Huai Sui sends, he won’t believe it.

Having convinced himself with this reasoning, Meng Xuexiao retrieved the recorder.

To his surprise, the screen was flooded with messages.

While recorders in the Interstellar Era did possess limited communication capabilities, this wasn’t their primary function. Moreover, the messages appeared to be a one-sided conversation.

[Give up, Huai Sui. Holding onto this recorder is pointless. Should I calculate its value ratio for you?]

[To be honest, if the area where Meng Xuexiao is located weren’t affected by a strange energy field disrupting my detection of his exact position, I wouldn’t waste my precious time on you.]

[Huai Sui, this is the last thing Shen Zekai left for Meng Xuexiao. If you lose, damage, or misplace it, your chances of redeeming yourself in Meng Xuexiao’s eyes will plummet to zero.]

[Even if your entire Empire consists of uncivilized beasts, surely you can distinguish between what’s important and what isn’t, right?]

These phrases, this familiar tone, had haunted him for days and nights before his duel at the Federation Military Academy.

This no longer seemed like Huai Sui’s conspiracy. After all, a proud race like the Dragon Clan would never slander themselves.

Meng Xuexiao had initially resolved to maintain a 100% skeptical attitude toward whatever he saw in the Mecha Recorder and to pursue Huai Sui relentlessly. His conviction remained unshaken.

But… watching the Artificial Intelligence’s one-sided warnings to Huai Sui in the Recorder, and seeing what “Shen Zekai had left for Meng Xuexiao,” he couldn’t help but feel a flicker of curiosity.

Even if his rationality told him what the optimal course of action was, he was still human—a man of flesh and blood. Shen Zekai had been his best friend, his only friend. He would just ask a couple of questions, just two…

Meng Xuexiao typed a few words into the Mecha Recorder.

He had initially wanted to ask directly if the AI was the same one from Shen Zekai’s mecha, but after hesitating, he instead typed out the names of several movies.

During his training at the Federation Military Academy, he had copied 185 films for that AI. Now, he entered the titles of a few of them.

The moment Meng Xuexiao sent the film, the Artificial Intelligence responded without hesitation:

[Meng Xuexiao? Huai Sui gave you the Mecha Recorder?]

[Where are you now? I know something happened on your end—half the Alliance has fallen—but I can’t sense your coordinates at all!]

[Is Yao Huai… still with you?]

It recognized him! The AI had identified him instantly!

It was real!

When Meng Xuexiao saw the last question, [Is Yao Huai… still with you?], he immediately thought of Yao Huai, who was sitting pressed against him. He froze, glancing sideways like a thief and pressing the Mecha Recorder’s screen closer to his chest.

He had prepared himself to keep Yao Huai from seeing the screen, but he quickly realized… Yao Huai wasn’t even looking in his direction. He seemed completely uninterested in such things.

Only then did Meng Xuexiao remember that Yao Huai had always been uninterested in technological devices. It had been the same at the Federation Military Academy; Yao Huai couldn’t even operate a vending machine properly.

Forcing himself to calm down, he asked his second question:

[What exactly is Shen Zekai’s current situation?]