The Hunter and the Prey

Chapter 101

Creating an abyssal rift is not very easy.

Especially when humans want to create a passageway "to a fixed location", it takes an extraordinarily long time.

And in this case, it's three days.

It took three full days before everything was finally set up.

Along with scarlet light from the blood-drawn spells, an unending stream of Abyssal magic pumped out of the blackened ore, gathering in the air like a chaotic storm.

The color of the sky became dark and gloomy, as cold as the approaching storm.

The ground is vibrating.

It was as if something was roaring, struggling, trying to break free of its confinement deep below the surface.

"Ka-"

A less-than-explicit cracking sound rang out from beneath his feet.

A look of fear passed over the mercenaries' faces, and they subconsciously fell backward, their faces white.

Only the black-robed man was still standing still, slightly tilting his head, an elusive smile rippling across his face shrouded in dark shadows.

In front of them, the newborn chasm of the abyss unfolds.

It was a narrow, deep passage, half frozen in reality, half suspended beyond the continent, from which a poisonous gray mist slowly escaped.

The mercenaries looked hesitantly toward their leader.

And Xu Feng looks to the black-robed man.

The black-robed man said, "You're going to have to be fast."

He stretched out a withered, thin hand and pointed toward the abyssal fissure in the distance:

"While the apparatus I provided is able to withstand the poison inside the abyssal rift, this is only true in the early stages of the rift's unfolding, when it develops completely, it doesn't work, and we'll only have a short time to act."

Xu Feng twisted his head to look at the mercenaries behind him, his tone frenzied and highly inflammatory:

"When we find that metal, the gargoyles and the gargoyle's treasure, it will be ours!"

The fear disappeared.

The eyes of all the men radiated a light of great excitement and wildness, and they raised their weapons, uttering boorish assent and laughter.

"So, get a move on!"

Xu Feng shouted.

*

In the mercenary base.

All mercenaries are under control, every facility is being inventoried, and Administration employees are hustling their way through it.

Everything is in order.

The results of Wen Yao's trial are still pending, so in the meantime, they can only wait.

Mu Hang sat in his chair, the slender teenager in his arms.

He dropped his head, sniffing the scent of the other man's hair.

The guava-scented shampoo has a light scent, like a very light forest, clean and fresh, with a little hidden warmth and sweetness.

The space on the ship is limited, and it is perfectly constructed to create narrow and restricted areas of activity, creating the possibility of prolonged contact and time together.

And Mu Hang tends to be very patient in this.

Like an experienced hunter, soundlessly closing in on his prey, compressing the safety zone between them, invading the other's personal space in an unmoving way, slowly, patiently, letting the other familiarize himself with his presence, adapt to his touch.

Like right now.

The teenager's eyes narrowed slightly as he lazily curled up in his arms, unguarded, softly allowing him to embrace and caress him.

Mu Hang wasn't wearing gloves.

He held the Administration's mission report in one hand, sweeping it over with downcast eyes, while his other hand pressed against the back of the teenager's neck, rubbing it absently, touching the other man's slightly cool, delicate flesh, the fine velvety shreds of hair, until the small patch of skin was slightly reddened by his rubbing.

Mu Hang looked at his watch, closed the report and asked softly:

"Hungry?"

Shi An yawned and opened her hazel eyes.

He just accidentally fell asleep.

Since he had absorbed the magic power from that Abyssal Eye a few days ago, it took even more time to sleep and absorb the magic power contained within.

He didn't hate Mu Hang's touch, he could even say he liked it.

Being cold-blooded, the temperature of the other man's body was very comforting to Shi An.

To the dragon, a warm hug from a human was a perfect nest, not to mention the fact that the human was shiny and extremely aesthetically pleasing to him.

More importantly ......

As a dragon that had been sleeping for tens of thousands of years, he had never been too sensitive to human boundary issues.

It felt good to be held anyway, and Shi An never pondered the appropriateness of such a thing.

Plus, Mu Hang had been following him every inch of the way these past few days, and those three demons didn't have a chance to sneak out, and although the three of them often had bad ideas, they at least had the knowledge and understanding of human society.

And their absence has led to a serious consequence.

That is, Shi An herself was completely unaware that she was being approached and domesticated by this human with ulterior motives.

Upon hearing Mu Hang's question, Shi An thought for a moment and nodded his head with an "Uh-huh".

His tone was soft, with the huskiness of unbroken sleep, as if he were unconsciously pouting.

The top of the teenager's shaggy hair brushed against the tip of Mu Hang's nose, bringing a slight tickle.

Mu Hang dropped a kiss on the top of the other's hair, his voice hushed, and said:

"Come on, there's ice cream for lunch today."

"Yeah!"

Shi An's eyes lit up and her lips curled up happily, "You're the best!"

Mu Hang lowered his eyes, his long silver-white eyelashes hiding the emotions underneath them.

With a smile on his lips, he repeated it in a faint voice:

"Best?"

Shi An blinked, somewhat not quite understanding why the other would suddenly repeat those two words, "Huh?"

"It's nothing." The smile on Mu Hang's lips deepened slightly, "I just like the title."

He lowered his head and dropped a light kiss on the teen's lips.

Mu Hang was very satisfied to realize that Shi An, who used to resist the act of kissing, seemed to have completely adapted to this kind of contact, and even naturally raised her head, revealing the fine white curve from her jaw to her neck, and obediently allowed him to kiss her.

He could feel the burning hot, as if magma-red desire coursing through his veins.

Calls for seizure, destruction, & aggression.

But, once again, Mu Hang overcame it, restrained it, suppressed it.

Same as countless times before.

So, before the teen could catch his breath, he slowly released the other man and tenderly swiped the wet mark on the teen's crimson lower lip with his fingertips.

A hint of dark pleasure swept across the man's eyes.

Look, get used to it.

Take your time.

Like a predator unfolding his own silk web, full of warmth and love, watching his prey, waiting for the other little by little into the tender trap, little by little wrapped in the sticky cobwebs, pulling the fall into the abyss that can not be escaped.

Mu Hang rubbed the teen's neck, earlobe, and cheek with the fingertips of his other hand, his voice low and gentle:

"Come on, let's go eat."

*

After dinner, Wen Yao comes in for his usual debriefing.

After two long days of searching for nothing, she finally brought some useful news to Mu Hang.

Unfortunately, the mercenaries who had been left inside the base didn't seem to be close enough to the center of power to know exactly where their leader had gone and what he had done with most of his subordinates and manpower.

However, at least one of the mercenaries had provided them with a faint bit of information and clues.

Digging down that trail, especially with the help of Zhuo Fu, Wen Yao and her men soon found some valuable information.

Before getting to the point, Wen Yao glanced hesitantly toward Shi An, who was sitting next to Mu Hang.

The other man was hanging his head down, digging into his cup of chocolate ice cream with a silver spoon in all seriousness.

It wasn't that she was too paranoid, but it was true that this kind of important information about the Administration shouldn't be talked about in the presence of other people.

Mu Hang, however, rambled on:

"It's okay, go ahead."

With Mu Hang's approval, Wen Yao no longer hesitated, but told what he knew.

They looked for a niche.

Located on the edge of the Rust District, near the side of the Avon Snowfield.

Due to the specificity of the location, there was a high probability that that was the location where the mercenaries hid their treasures.

After all, it wasn't very easy to carry and transport such a large amount of treasure silently from within the Avon district, so hiding it close by was their best option.

Shi An listened with perked ears, feeling her mood gradually becoming uplifted.

But as Wen Yao is about to get to the exact address of the location, he is gently interrupted by Mu Hang:

"Okay."

The exact address cannot be divulged at this time, and especially not through Shi An to the dragon's ears.

In case the treasure was taken by the other party before they could arrive, their actions this time would have done them a favor, and not only would they lose the chance to go head-to-head with the dragon, but they would also lose the crucial and important bargaining chip.

Of course, Mu Hang will let the dragon know the address.

But that timing has to be well controlled.

He had to make sure that when the dragon came sniffing around, what awaited it would be blood and death, fire and blades.

Wen Yao asked tentatively:

"Sir, so what ...... do we do next?"

Mu Hang narrowed his eyes and ordered, "Prepare to move off the ship."

Wen Yao: "Yes!"

After receiving her orders, she gave a clean salute to Mu Hang, then turned and headed out the door to begin preparations for the entry into the Rust Zone.

Shi An licked her ice cream-soaked spoon and turned her head toward Mu Hang:

"Are we leaving the ship next?"

Mu Hang played with the soft hair of the teenager with his fingertips, and although there was some regret in his heart, he still nodded with a calm face and said, "Yes."

"To find the dragon's treasure?" Shi An asked.

"Uh-huh." Mu Hang nodded again.

Shi An's heart leapt with joy.

Great! Next up is finally going to find his stolen treasure!

And according to what Wen Yao had just said, their next destination would be inland from Rust, near the Avon Snowfield, where the canyon Shi An had been trying to get to was located.

He squinted slightly, a hint of pleasure passing over his face.

And it's all in Mu Hang's eyes.

He leaned in close and wiped the remnants of ice cream off Shi An's lips, his eyes a cold, hard-textured cobalt blue in the light.

Mu Hang's voice was quiet and indifferent, not much emotion could be heard:

"Looking forward to it?"

Shi An nodded obliviously.

Mu Hang's thin lips curved up slightly, and a hint of a smile swept past his lips.

He rarely smiled, and while a smile would soften the cold, hard lines of his lips, it would instead deepen the almost icy coldness of his aura.

"Me too."