201 This Is Not the White Tiger I Desired【All-in-One Subscription Request!】
Lu Chen furrowed his brow.
Their leader?
Was it the Black Swan?
Or perhaps the Azure-winged Dragon or the Ancient Vermilion Bird, yet to return to the park?
Or maybe the park’s administrator?
If your leader wants to speak with me, and I just agree, wouldn’t that be a blow to my dignity?
“How shall we talk?”
Aili said, “It wants to invite the captain to the Black Swan's wing-space for a detailed discussion.”
Does it think I’m a fool?
Lu Chen was not so easily swayed.
“There’s no way I’m going to enemy space. I only accept video calls... By the way, Aili, can you create a biological signal video link?”
Aili hesitated, worried.
“Theoretically, it’s not difficult, but doing so... Captain, the Leonin is at risk of neural virus infection.”
Lu Chen didn’t care at all.
“Why can’t it be me who gets infected?”
Aili sighed helplessly and decoded real-time neural signals, connecting to the Leonin's main screen.
There was no video, only audio waveform patterns on the screen.
This was an encrypted audio signal call.
After a moment of connection, the other side seemed to awaken the consciousness of the duck-billed star beast, observing the Leonin’s cockpit.
After a while, a slightly aged male voice spoke:
“Surprising stealth capabilities; even the Black Swan cannot fully track you. Where did you learn this, young man?”
“Not being fully tracked means they’ve tracked quite a bit…”
Lu Chen sat in the pilot seat.
He simultaneously opened the ship’s hacker program, attempting to trace the audio call’s origin.
He asked, “Before you question me, why not first tell me who you are? Who’s controlling these star beasts?”
“Perhaps one day in the future, I will tell you in person. For now, the Beast Park... no, the Star Beast Shepherd’s good days are over. Greed has blinded them to their true nature. Maybe you can accelerate this process and grant these star beasts their true freedom... which they deserve.”
The voice was deep and hoarse, almost noisy, vibrating in resonance with the body.
However, to Lu Chen, this resonance was just a shallow imitation, far inferior to his own universal resonance cultivation.
“Also, you’re reverse-tracking me. I will cut off this conversation before you succeed.”
Lu Chen noticed the other party’s extreme caution, using very advanced neural network encryption, making it difficult to crack.
“My stealth comes from an accidental fusion of many factors. Even if I gave you the material conditions, you couldn’t replicate it... So, why ask where I trained?”
The deep, ancient male voice sighed.
“Your aura reminds me of an old acquaintance.”
So far away, you can still see my aura?
“So, the Black Swan has been tracking me since the Raka star, even now, you’re behind our ship?”
The voice neither confirmed nor denied, instead comforted him:
“Don’t mind her, she’s a gentle child, just like the owner of the whale pearl inside you, possessing special abilities that enable folding space at the level 60 psychic power.”
Lu Chen was startled.
“My whale pearl... you even know about that?”
The man chuckled.
“It’s my guess, not directly seen. What puzzles me is why your hacking talent is so abnormally high.”
Lu Chen had let his guard down.
He had been probed.
Whether the other party guessed right or not, he now confirmed the whale pearl inside him was real.
Well, it wasn’t exactly a huge secret.
“If you tell me who you are, I might tell you the source of my hacking talent.”
The audio background became noisy; the man hurriedly said:
“Damn it, I have to hang up. If I delay a few seconds more, even if I don’t tell you, you would locate my position and identity... Cherish your two teammates; they are rare in the universe. This duck-billed star beast is a gift for you. Good luck, Captain Lu!”
With that, the audio call was cut off.
Lu Chen failed to pinpoint the other’s exact location.
“This old fellow is quite cunning!”
Beside him, Aili looked at Lu Chen with admiration.
“Captain, you are amazing... It seems they never intended to invade us but feared your counter-invasion, hence their thorough defense and the abrupt hang-up!”
Lu Chen put down the tracing work and stood.
“Looks like the star beasts’ advanced intelligence might be an illusion; someone is remotely controlling them.”
Aili frowned deeply.
“But even the strongest beast masters can’t communicate biologically across such distances. I feel these star beasts are special.”
Lu Chen nodded thoughtfully.
“You’re right. These star beasts are likely artificially bred special species, not naturally occurring.”
Aili added:
“Captain, I sensed the other side controlling the duck-billed star beast’s consciousness via spirit runes, paying close attention to me, Marutun, and Tunmar, but hardly noticing Golia or the Shadowcat.”
“Seems the leader behind these star beasts is quite interested in regressed humanoids.”
As he said this, Lu Chen suddenly stared at the large screen showing the video behind the ship.
The peaceful starry sky rippled suddenly with a spatial wave.
A massive black shadow appeared abruptly and slowly receded.
Aili exclaimed:
“The Black Swan really is tracking us... but the biological signal was from far away!”
Lu Chen was not surprised.
“Looks like the duck-billed star beast was indeed retrieved by them. It’s truly a gift for us.”
Still, Lu Chen’s treasure map and risk-avoidance guide wouldn’t be wrong; they predicted this in advance, or else he would have chosen other star beasts.
“If the Beast Park is about to fall, we should visit the park. Maybe we can capture more star beasts or find unexpected treasures as they collapse.”
Saying this, Lu Chen immediately opened the ship’s system.
As captain of the Leonin, he sent an official email to Beast Park.
He reported having hunted a duck-billed star beast and asked if the park would accept it.
A healthy live duck-billed star beast fetched 40,000 spirit stones inside Beast Park.
Outside, on other planets, it would only sell for just over 20,000.
If the park accepted it and overlooked Leonin’s unauthorized entry, he would proceed there.
Soon, the park replied.
They agreed to accept the duck-billed star beast.
They also posted on the adventurer forum, confirming Leonin’s legitimate tourism and hunting status.
“Good, we’re heading to Beast Park immediately!”
“Mm!”
Thus, the Leonin continued toward the central region of the Zuan Star Nebula.
The journey still took half a day.
Lu Chen rested briefly, sitting at the leisure table.
He sipped tea while opening the news to catch up.
Only a few hours had passed since the Black Swan battle, but news was already online.
The full formation of the star beast group led by the Black Swan had been captured by several live-streaming ships.
In the battle, fewer than ten star beasts were lost.
The Wolf Fang Corporation’s mercenary fleet was completely wiped out.
The Justice Hunters Adventure Group was nearly annihilated, with several survivors’ fates unknown.
Several spectator ships were also lost.
Leonin was not mentioned in the news.
But in comments, forums, and live videos, more than one ship detected Leonin’s radar signal.
At that time, Leonin seemed to be pursuing a duck-billed star beast and a live-streaming ship.
Soon, the Crazy Little Sun Live Company, represented by the live-streaming ship, officially posted on the forum.
They confirmed Leonin rescued two popular streamers from the duck-billed star beast and hinted Leonin had successfully hunted the beast.
This post once again thrust the Original Starry Firmament Adventure Group into the spotlight.
Many connected the feud among Original Starry Firmament, Justice Hunters, and Wolf Fang, speculating this was a premeditated revenge battle.
Others thought such a large gathering of ships naturally attracted the star beast group’s attack.
The fault lay with the live-streaming ships, too engrossed in gossip to notice the danger.
Then, many replies scolded the live-streaming ships.
One comment caught Lu Chen’s attention:
“Don’t badmouth them; they risk their lives to provide us with juicy gossip. They’re great witnesses. You freeload their streams and won’t even tip a rocket!”
Honestly, Lu Chen was grateful.
Whether on Misty Sea Star or here, they provided first-hand intel that helped formulate perfect tactics.
These streamers were not mere entertainers; they were frontline war reporters, more efficient than official news ships, risking their lives to deliver unfiltered truth.
This explained why Lu Chen rescued the live-streaming ship without charging a rescue fee.
Elsewhere, Wolf Fang Corporation issued a statement blaming their fleet’s annihilation entirely on Original Starry Firmament and Justice Hunters.
Bounties increased!
Wolf Fang placed a 50,000 spirit stone bounty, alive or dead, on the captains of both groups: Lu Chen and Quindi Augus.
Seeing the 50,000 bounty, Golia finally couldn’t sleep.
She jumped up from her esports chair, leaning over Lu Chen’s back.
She stared at the bounty on the screen, rubbed her eyes, confirming it was indeed 50,000 spirit stones!
“Fifty thousand! We haven’t earned that much yet, right? If it’s just the captain, why don’t we hand you over to Wolf Fang, collect the bounty, then rescue you?”
Plans aside, could you not stop leaning on me? You’re so big and soft...
It was hard for Lu Chen to focus on the news.
“If you had that ability, wouldn’t it be better to raid Wolf Fang’s headquarters? You’d earn way more than fifty thousand!”
Golia blinked.
“When do we start?”
Lu Chen: “...”
***
Half a day later.
Leonin finally arrived at the Primal Park star system where the Beast Park was located.
More than a hundred solid planets, like emerald pearls, orbited a bright blue giant star.
Each planet was a Beast Park.
Like zoo enclosures: the ape pavilion, reptile pavilion, bird pavilion, and so on.
Hundreds of official cruise ships roamed the system, ferrying hundreds of thousands of tourists to land on these beast planets.
At this time, private cruise ships were banned; only fully armed official cruisers could enter.
Ticket prices had risen several times but failed to dampen tourist enthusiasm.
Especially commoners entering from the Empire’s gateway.
Lu Chen understood—peace breeds a desire for thrills.
Besides the cruisers, each planet had a level-60 warship stationed outside its atmosphere, protecting tourists and star beasts.
The Beast Park’s headquarters was on a middle-orbit satellite in the system’s center.
After the star beast escape incident, a star beast shepherd fleet, led by a level-70 flagship, was stationed there.
Currently, no adventure ships were allowed near the middle satellite.
After capturing star beasts, adventurer ships traded with the official point on the system’s outer edge, the Great Islet.
This was also where travel adventurer ships docked.
Leonin entered the system, completed remote identity registration, and soon landed on the Great Islet.
The Great Islet was relatively barren, with some ice fields.
Its central city was bustling.
Outside the city was the star beast trading plaza.
Leonin landed slowly as guided.
To his surprise, he was received by the Great Islet governor!
Lu Chen hadn’t expected such treatment.
Clearly, Beast Park valued him.
Lu Chen, Golia, and Aili disembarked.
The governor was a huge, stooped elderly cyborg, modified heavily with hardcore cybernetics.
From online rumors, the governor was a fanatic star beast lover, living, eating, and sleeping alongside star beasts.
Eventually, a young star beast tore him apart as a toy, but he survived with an artificial heart and armored skeleton.
Despite that, his devotion remained.
The governor and two attendants waited in the plaza’s center.
Seeing the three, he stepped forward to shake hands.
“Captain Lu, I’ve long heard of your name. You’re truly talented for your age!”
Lu Chen felt a little dizzy from the praise.
He held the governor’s hand for quite a while.
The governor glanced at the Leonin nearby, surprised and admiring:
“I didn’t expect the famous Leonin to be a Flying Di Zhou-class ship.”
Lu Chen finally released his grip.
“Governor, you flatter me.”
The old governor suddenly had an idea.
“Considering your positive image, perhaps Flying Di Company will soon invite you to endorse their deep-space vessels.”
Lu Chen was stunned; that was a good suggestion.
Maybe he should impersonate countless fans to call on Flying Di’s official website and post photos of the Leonin’s heroic figure.
Clearly, maintaining a positive image was important; medals and honors must continue!
“Much appreciated, Governor.”
Then, the two attendants operated large cranes to untie the duck-billed star beast from Leonin and move it to a huge central metal platform for a medical check.
The governor quickly received the beast’s report.
“Only one sword wound across the body, caused by tranquilizer injection. Considering your ship’s efforts, this is impressive.”
Lu Chen feigned sympathy.
“Poor Justice Hunters and Wolf Fang, who covered for us. We succeeded in hunting the duck-billed star beast thanks to their sacrifice... I wonder what Wolf Fang’s connection to Beast Park is?”
He asked mainly out of curiosity.
The governor smiled awkwardly.
“Just business partners. They mainly transport star beast juveniles. Rest assured, Captain Lu, we belong to the Star Beast Shepherd Adventure Group, one of the Three Thousand Star Claws, far stronger than Wolf Fang. They wouldn’t harm you for a mere fifty-thousand bounty. Besides, the situation isn’t clear—I don’t believe Leonin attracted the beast group.”
Lu Chen smiled and shrugged.
“I don’t have that ability either.”
The governor arranged transport for the duck-billed star beast and transferred 50,000 spirit stones to Lu Chen’s Original Starry Firmament adventurer account.
After all, 50,000 spirit stones required a large container, inconvenient to carry.
Lu Chen received the transfer notification, suppressing excitement, appearing calm.
After the transaction, the governor asked:
“I heard, before this, Captain Lu also hunted a Star Ray Yao Yao. Is that true?”
Lu Chen looked sorrowful.
“When I found Yao Yao, it had been stripped of its beast pill and discarded... so cruel.”
The governor sighed.
“Out-of-control star beasts are as cruel as man-eaters. Alas, our defense failure caused the escape incident, leading to hundreds of star beasts and tens of thousands of adventurers perishing in the Zuan Star Nebula.”
Lu Chen could tell the old man truly loved the star beasts and grieved sincerely.
He cautiously asked:
“I noticed spirit runes carved inside the Star Ray. Could the escape incident be related to these runes?”
The governor nodded slightly.
“These runes were our attempt to control star beast behavior to prevent harm, but were hacked by villains, causing the escape.”
Lu Chen wasn’t sure if this was true but asked tentatively:
“Have you identified the culprit?”
The governor shook his head.
“Still investigating. The enemy is very stealthy but certainly remains in the Zuan Star Nebula; otherwise, they couldn’t have controlled so many star beasts to attack you.”
Lu Chen sighed.
“Hopefully, the culprit will be found soon.”
After some small talk, the governor prepared to leave.
“Oh, recovering a complete live star beast grants a group ticket for a one-day tour of Beast Park. Even a minor sword wound counts as a healthy beast.”
He handed Lu Chen a group ticket, good for up to ten people.
“Much obliged.”
Just as the governor was about to leave, he remembered something.
“By the way, no flying ships allowed inside the park; you must take park cruisers.”
Lu Chen nodded, glancing back at Leonin.
“Please protect Leonin well. It holds many valuables; it would be bad if thieves took or saw them.”
The governor smiled awkwardly.
“Certainly.”
After the governor left, Lu Chen quietly released fly drones beneath the ship.
If anyone scanned Leonin with high-precision instruments, there was a high chance to hack their system.
Aili worriedly asked:
“What if Marutun and Tunmar are discovered or taken when we all leave the ship?”
“No worries. I have a plan.”
Lu Chen said confidently.
Then, the three boarded a park cruiser with their tickets, entering Beast Park.
Sure enough!
Not long after departure, a tiny invisible reconnaissance ship hovered above Leonin.
Using high-sensitivity ray beams, it silently scanned the ship’s treasures.
At the same time, it was quietly hacked by Lu Chen’s fly drones.
Then, the invisible scout ship immediately left the Great Islet, heading to the Beast Park headquarters, the middle satellite.
Lu Chen watched calmly.
He followed the cruiser, elegantly touring the park.
The first stop was the Jungle Sea.
A fishing park modeled after Misty Sea Star.
Endless dense primal jungle stretched out.
Though no white-bearded whales lived there, many small star beasts, large birds, and various mammals thrived.
Many small fishing airships hovered above the jungle’s canopy.
Fishermen looked around, raised rods, ready for a dry-fishing contest.
Dry-fishing was still popular in the interstellar age.
Lu Chen had fished deserts on Tuta Star and earned the Desert Air Force medal.
At Jungle Sea, he couldn’t walk further and slapped his thigh.
“I’m going back for my nuclear-powered fishing rod!”
A few steps later, Golia grabbed his arm.
“We’re here to catch star beasts, and this planet only has a few small ones. What’s the point?”
Other tourists suddenly looked at her strangely…
Lu Chen found it interesting.
“Small star beasts are easier to catch, dummy!”
Golia pointed at a nearby fishing price board.
“Look at the sign: five hundred spirit stones for a day’s fishing!”
Lu Chen argued.
“Is five hundred spirit stones expensive? I catch one small star beast and I’m even!”
Golia coldly said:
“Five hundred spirit stones means you lose five hundred spirit stones just by coming to fish!”
Lu Chen still refused to accept it.
Aili whispered in his ear:
“Captain, so many people are watching you!”
Lu Chen realized she was right.
If he came back empty-handed in front of so many people or got filmed and posted online, his lifelong reputation would be ruined.
“Fine, let’s move on.”
The second stop was White Tiger Star.
As the name suggests, it was home to the White Tiger, one of the Four Divine Beasts.
The cruiser slowly descended through the atmosphere.
Lu Chen looked down; the 300-meter-long white tiger was visible clearly outside the atmosphere, like a giant beast.
This level 66 white tiger was said to be very docile and liked to lie down and sleep.
But when the cruiser landed near it, even asleep, its deep breathing was louder than the engine roar.
A vivid example of “imposing without anger!”
Human fear of big beasts was hardwired; this was a star beast tiger.
Even Lu Chen trembled.
One whisker was taller than him…
One tail nearly the size of Leonin.
Its breath stirred rhythmic fierce winds, rustling the pine forest.
A sign outside the tiger enclosure read: “No feeding. Consequences at your own risk.”
Yet a reckless live-stream tourist jumped from the open cruiser deck to touch the white tiger.
It bit him in the mouth.
Tourists screamed!
Simultaneously, satellites in orbit fired a lightning strike at the tiger’s head.
The tiger immediately spat out the streamer.
Though his spine was broken, the man injected anesthesia and insisted on streaming.
“Don’t panic, I’m still alive. The white tiger is just playing with me; otherwise, I’d be inside its stomach!”
The live video sparked a frenzy, with rocket donations enough for expensive artificial spine surgery.
Lu Chen sighed:
“No wonder these people are fearless.”
Soon, the streamer was carried away by cruiser guards and banned for life.
Awakened white tiger, still grumpy, stood and roared, whipping up fierce winds that rocked the cruiser, nearly capsizing it.
To the white tiger, the cruiser looked like an insect, ready to be crushed.
The tiger gazed down at the deck.
Its giant black pupils reflected Lu Chen’s figure.
For some reason, its appetite surged.
Suddenly, it crossed the fence and approached the cruiser.
Even without an escape alert or invisibility, Lu Chen was terrified.
He hastily drew Golia’s sword and forced it into her hand.
Golia looked at his cowardice and almost laughed.
“You finally met your match... and there’s an electric fence in between!”
Fortunately, Aili stepped forward.
Small in stature, she stood before Lu Chen, hands forming seals, channeling beast-controlling power to cast a high-level hypnosis spell.
“...Sleep well, Elder White Tiger!”
Aili’s spell succeeded, nearly making Lu Chen drowsy.
But it had no effect on the level 66 white tiger!
At least she caught its attention.
The giant eyes stared at Aili for a long moment and finally gave up attacking Lu Chen, returning to its den to sleep.
Just then, a guard ship descended from orbit, nearly firing on the white tiger.
Aili breathed a sigh of relief.
“Looks like, to star beasts, the captain is delicious.”
Lu Chen cursed angrily.
“Damn white tiger... After all my fondness for you.”
Golia frowned, tilting her head.
“You like a different white tiger, right?”
Aili suddenly understood something, covering her eyes and turning away, too shy to look at Lu Chen.
No, she wasn’t the white tiger; Golia should be nervous, not her.
She turned back, cleared her throat, and said nothing.
Lu Chen glanced at Golia’s beautiful dress, suddenly recalling a glimpse from the ship.
Good heavens!
“What nonsense are you talking? I like the white tiger card from the game! What did you think?”
Golia twitched at the corner of her eye.
“You better be talking about that... or I swear I’ll break your neck!”
Still shaken, Lu Chen’s mind was filled with white tigers.
For several stops afterward, he was distracted, unaware of what they saw.
Only at the seventh stop, the most popular tourist destination, Xuanwu Star, did he regain focus.
Xuanwu was the Black Tortoise, one of the Four Divine Beasts in Chinese mythology.
Beast Park’s Turtle City Xuanwu was a knockoff, likely a genetic splicing project.
However, from the cruiser, it looked convincing in size and aura.
This was a level 69 star beast, a strange creature formed by a giant turtle entangled with a giant python.
Lu Chen suspected they were a long-term bonded couple star beast.
Its length exceeded a kilometer.
A small town sat atop its shell.
There were food courts, luxury malls, hotels, pools, stadiums, and cinemas.
However, the cruiser only allowed free viewing; landing on the turtle’s back required extra payment.
Price: 500 spirit stones for a day tour—including free presidential suite, buffet meals, cinema, and sports fields; only mall items cost extra.
Ridiculously expensive!
Seeing the mall, Golia couldn’t move.
“We’ve been in the Zuan Star Nebula for days and are tired. Let’s rest here a day!”
Lu Chen thought, you just woke up not long ago.
But he really needed a quiet place to handle the hacker intrusion and prepare to hack the middle satellite.
After all, the scout ship had arrived there.
“I’ll indulge you once.”
Lu Chen paid 500 spirit stones, and with Golia and Aili, disembarked into Turtle City.
Immediately, a beautiful tour guide greeted them, explaining the free entertainment and popular photo spots.
Lu Chen wasn’t interested.
“Take us to the hotel first. I’ll call you if needed.”
Inside the hotel room, they found a 200-square-meter presidential suite.
It had an indoor pool, cinema, billiard table.
Free fine wine and snacks.
A variety of brand-new swimsuits, even lingerie.
Golia was so impressed she didn’t want to shop, just wanted to swim.
Lu Chen hurriedly stopped her.
“Wait. There may be cameras here. I don’t want videos leaking online, making you popular and me always chasing after you.”
“Tch, why don’t you swim too!”
Golia paused changing, juggling several swimsuits on her fingertips.
Lu Chen inspected carefully — no cameras but hidden spirit pressure sensors and infrared imaging.
Supposedly part of security; just to be safe, he forcibly disabled them.
“All set.”
Golia immediately slipped into a classic blue-sky-and-white-cloud swimsuit and plunged into the water.
She treated this place like the Maldives.
Aili wore a beige swimsuit like pajamas, very modest, especially covering her lower half to hide details.
She waded into the water, shyly exposing only her head above the surface, quietly watching Lu Chen on shore.
Lu Chen glanced back.
With each step the Xuanwu moved, the hotel swayed.
The pool rippled accordingly, and Golia’s shimmering snowy form wavered.
Finding this dynamic pool exciting, Golia called Lu Chen to join.
Lu Chen opened his wristband screen, unwilling to engage.
Golia shouted:
“Dummy, you spent 500 spirit stones just to rest? Get in here!”
She splashed water at him.
Lu Chen had no choice but to change into swim trunks and jump in.
He was uninterested in swimming, leaning by the poolside.
While Golia teased and splashed, he opened his wristband screen.
“Stop it, I’m working!”
On screen, his view followed the scout ship landing on the middle satellite.
The middle satellite was a heavily guarded steel forest.
Ground defenses and warship systems were independent and highly fortified, hard to hack remotely.
But Lu Chen easily hacked Beast Park’s monitoring system.
He pulled up the star beast escape incident from a month ago, then scrolled back to find any anomalies before the event.
He saw nothing special…
Until a ship with a pair of bull horns on its bow quietly infiltrated Beast Park.
“Bull Horn!”
(End of chapter)