Ch 25 – Discovered

Upon sobering up, Curtis hissed and rubbed his temples: “Did that group of bastards not get me to a medical pod?”

“What group of bastards?” An all-too-familiar voice rang out from beside him.

Curtis felt his blood freeze in an instant, and his headache seemed to vanish.

Curtis immediately jolted to his feet and stared at the man sitting at his bedside: “Father.”

The man looked at Curtis with golden eyes, and gave a mild ‘hm.’ “You’re awake, Fetus.”

Curtis: “Uh…..what?”

“You don’t seem to be very happy with your mother or I. Perhaps we should talk about it.” The man crossed his legs and leaned back, placing his arms on the armrests. “Fetus.”

Curtis was very afraid of his father, but he really couldn’t understand why he was calling him ‘fetus.’ He asked very cautiously, only to hear the Supreme Governor scoff.

“I have failed in my duty as a father. I didn’t even know my child’s real name,” said the man.

Curtis: “Real name?”

“Please have a seat, Fetus.” The man gestured for him to sit.

Curtis was at a loss, but he still sat down quietly.

Once he was seated, the man turned on his personal datapad and played a video recording.

Curtis’s emotions shifted from confusion to shock, and in the end, he stayed silent.

What else could he do? He couldn’t very well lose his temper in front of his father.

“Oh, that’s right, Fetus. Your mother has a similar recording.” The man opened the video his wife had sent to him. “You seem to have a deep obsession with the word ‘fetus.’”

Curtis noticed something: “Why did the man who greeted you in the first video disappear in the second one?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps he was embarrassed.” The man was very curious about this. “Are you not embarrassed?”

Curtis lowered his head in embarrassment.

“In the interest of respecting your choice, your name is now officially Fetus. Congratulations.” The man clapped expressionlessly.

Curtis took a deep breath: “I want revenge.”

The man: “On me and your mother?”

“Of course not. I respect you both.” Curtis deflated.

“Respect, ah….” the man drawled.

Curtis hunched his shoulders and waited in silence.

He waited for a long time, but the man didn’t say a word. Curtis felt his heart beating faster and faster.

Finally, the man let out a cold scoff. Curtis trembled and shut his eyes, but the man was already getting up to leave. “Don’t cause me any unnecessary trouble. I don’t want to see news reports of the Supreme Governor’s son bullying others.”

“Yes, Father,” Curtis replied hastily.

The man left and Curtis rolled out of bed with a hiss, clutching his head.

A nanny robot rushed in and helped Curtis into a medical pod.

Curtis thought back to what he’d experienced before passing out. He thought of Sarah, whom he met yesterday, and recalled the words he spoke to him and the comfort he offered.

Finally, he came to the conclusion that he had made a mess of things all because of that damn Sarah!

Curtis hadn’t been in his right mind. What the hell was that person trying to persuade him to do, ah?! Now look at what happened. His name had been changed.

His parents were angry at the moment, so he would have to wait a while before trying to appease them and get them to change his name back.

That was to say, he would have to live under the name “Fetus” for some time.

Lying in the medical pod, Curtis abruptly slammed his hand against the door at this thought.

A pop-up from the system warned him to cease his aggressive behavior. Curtis now had another wound, and his treatment time would be extended.

Curtis asked which planet he was on. He had gotten a bad feeling after hearing his father’s voice. Sure enough, he was now on the capital planet, and the Supreme Governor had issued an order that Curtis was to remain there for a full month.

The Supreme Governor still believed that Curtis would go out and arbitrarily cause trouble.

Curtis behaved himself and kept his mouth shut.

But the Supreme Governor was correct. Curtis would not swallow this insult. He had to go out and find out who those three people were.

Yu Xi and his group had fled, planning to leave for a while, change their starship’s paint job, and then return under different identities. Yu Xi really liked that planet, and wanted to go back for another visit.

Tau had closed himself away. He knew that the young master was stupid, but he hadn’t expected him to be that stupid.

Would he only be able to live as ‘Fetus’ from now on? He was a disgrace to his father.

Tau completed his craft project while in seclusion, but his expression was so fierce that Yu Xi couldn’t help but ask what was on his mind when he stopped by.

“I want to eliminate Curtis,” said Tau.

Yu Xi gasped: “Heavens, isn’t he your young master?”

“Illegitimates have no young masters. They only recognize one master.” Kersz approached with a glass of chocolate milk and leaned against the doorframe as he explained to Yu Xi: “Their good attitude toward their master’s family members is purely for their master’s sake. They don’t actually hold much affection for those people.”

Yu Xi understood: “So to him, Mr. Fetus is a stain on his master?”

Kersz: “You changed how you address him pretty quickly.”

“But yes, to him, that brat is just a stain he wants to erase.” Kersz nodded.

“But didn’t you want to make contact with him?” Yu Xi asked. 

After all, the probability of them randomly selecting a planet and encountering the Supreme Governor’s youngest son was extremely low.

Curtis was a member of that establishment, and Kersz must have found out.

“I wanted to make contact, but not like that.” Kersz had thought that they could go there often to have fun, so that Yu Xi could meet other humans and cheer up. He could also slowly become friends with Curtis over time.

Being too enthusiastic from the start would only arouse suspicion.

Of course, there was no need to think about it any longer. It was over.

“Do you think he’s angry with me?” Yu Xi asked.

Kersz and Tau exchanged glances.

Yu Xi blinked his eyes nervously.

Kersz: “Trust me, he absolutely wants to kill us.”

Tau: “He’s no good. He’s an impulsive bastard who’s always getting into trouble.”

Kersz: “I’ve looked into him, and this guy has been getting up to no good since childhood.”

Tau: “He is subservient to his father, but once he’s out of his father’s sight, he just does whatever he wants.”

Yu Xi understood: “So he holds a grudge against me?”

Tau and Kersz nodded.

Yi Xi was somewhat depressed: “But I didn’t do anything to him.”

“That’s just how he is…..eh?” Before Kersz could finish speaking, Yu Xi moved closer and hugged him.

Kersz hesitated for a moment, then hugged Yu Xi back: “This is a little sudden.”

“It is? But this makes me feel very safe.” This was the latest thing Yu Xi had discovered that made him happy – a nice, tight hug.

“Has anyone ever told you that your hugs are especially unique?” Yu Xi asked Kersz.

“No.” Kersz felt his face heating up. He didn’t think his hugs were anything special. His mind worked quickly, and he realized that Yu Xi might not be referring to his hugs, but to the idea that he was rather different from others.

Kersz let out a cough, somewhat bewildered.

Yu Xi listened quietly as Kersz’s heartbeat quicked, and he felt more at ease.

“It doesn’t matter if he hates me. I can just change my face and identity, and even if we meet again, he won’t be able to recognize me.” Yu Xi felt that his true self wasn’t the object of that hatred, but rather the identity he wore.

“Yes, once you change your identity, no one will recognize you.” Kersz nodded.

“But I need some time to prepare…..I’ll need a completely different face, and I’ll also need to make a minor adjustment to my height.” Yu Xi was very vigilant. He knew that Kersz would eventually seek Curtis out, so he needed to be on guard and avoid too much contact with the young master.

Just to be on the safe side, they orbited the planet a few times, and each of them chose a new appearance before re-entering Daybreak.

They once again chose the same city. It was clear that Kersz had plans for Curtis. Yu Xi didn’t inquire, but he knew that the two individuals needed to maintain a certain distance to allow each other some breathing room.

They heard a commotion upon disembarking from the starship, and when they took a closer look, they found two people fighting.

And when they looked even closer, one of the combatants happened to be Curtis.

Tau sent Kersz a wary look.

“I really had nothing to do with this.” Kersz was very helpless. “How was I supposed to know he would come to the spaceport, ah? There’s no way I could have tracked him.”

Tau started to refute him, but then he suddenly sucked in a deep breath, his eyes flaring wide.

Kersz saw his expression and had a bad premonition.

Sure enough, when he slowly turned his head, Yu Xi had already walked in between Curtis and the man he had beaten.

However, Yu Xi reacted quickly this time. Realizing that he had become too engrossed in the show, he started to back away.

“Wait a minute, you.” Curtis put a hand on Yu Xi’s shoulder.

Yu Xi immediately found an excuse: “Sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going and walked right between you two. I’ll move out of the way.”

“Hold up.” Curtis didn’t let go. “You just happened to wander over here?”

Yu Xi nodded repeatedly.

Curtis: “Why do I feel like you were watching us fight? You seem really familiar to me, just like a former…..friend.” He stared intently at Yu Xi.

Yu Xi didn’t dare look him in the eye: “I-I’m not.”

“Speaking of which, it’s strange. I simply haven’t been able to find my friend’s whereabouts,” said Curtis.

“Mind letting him go?” Kersz asked, stepping forward.

Tau followed right behind him.

“Three people?!” Curtis didn’t release his grip. “None of you are allowed to leave! You must be undercover agents who infiltrated Daybreak! A thorough investigation is in order!”

He waved his hand, and guards immediately came over and restrained the three of them.

Curtis had the guards take them in to be investigated. Kersz wasn’t worried, because he knew that Yu Xi’s technology was thousands of years ahead of this world’s, and that they wouldn’t be able to find fault with them. 

Yu Xi, on the other hand, was terrified. He had never been escorted by security before.

“Could you be a little gentler with him?” Kersz asked, somewhat dissatisfied.

“Why should we be gentler with him? Because he suffered from radiation sickness as a child? Because he’s just so pitiful?” Curtis asked sarcastically.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! I know who you are! You’re the Supreme Governor’s son, aren’t you? This is an abuse of power! We haven’t committed any crimes! Why are you taking us to be investigated?!” Kersz struggled violently, and the guards restrained him even tighter.

Tau put up no resistance due to being deep in his own persona. He was now a timid teacher, so he attempted to reason with the guards while calming Yu Xi and Kersz down.

They were sent for a thorough inspection, and just as Kersz expected, no problems were detected with any of them.

Kersz demanded an apology from Curtis, while Tau played a supporting role, saying “It’s fine, it’s fine.” Yu Xi still looked quite frightened.

Were there really no problems with them? How were they able to pass inspection?

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with them?” Curtis asked the detection robot.

“There are no problems, Mr. Fetus.” The robot was very well-mannered.

Curtis turned to look at Yu Xi.

Yu Xi blinked, looking somewhat aggrieved.

Curtis: “Did you hear what it just called me?”

Yu Xi nodded.

Curtis took a step closer: “Then why aren’t you laughing, ah?” he asked through gritted teeth.

Yu Xi: “Ah?”

“Everyone! Everyone who hears my name bursts out laughing! Do you know why I punched that guy? Because he couldn’t hold back his laughter!” Curtis pushed his face closer to Yu Xi’s, and Yu Xi shrank back.

“Why aren’t you laughing?” Curtis asked in a level tone.

“Can there not be good people in this world?” Kersz appeared even more agitated.

“I don’t believe you people. Even though you look completely different and you don’t seem to be the same height.”

Curtis gritted his teeth: “It’s just too bizarre. I’ve beaten up so many people over the years, and only twice has someone stood between me and the person I beat up, striking that same ‘spectator’ pose.”

“Just passing by? I don’t think so. You were mesmerized, weren’t you?” Curtis continued to move closer to Yu Xi, who avoided his gaze.

Yu Xi’s guilty conscience was becoming increasingly difficult to conceal. Despite Kersz’s continued assertions that he was frightening Yu Xi, and that this was causing his current state, Curtis trusted his intuition.

“Too strange,” Curtis said.

Yu Xi inched away in small, quick steps, but Curtis continued to position himself in front of him.

Yu Xi turned away again, and Curtis mirrored him accordingly: “Really too strange.”

“Okay, I apologize. To express my remorse, how about I give you a tour around the city?” Curtis was certain that he had caught this person red-handed. There was definitely something wrong with him.

“Sure thing.” Kersz pulled Yu Xi in front of him and traced a finger over his back a few times. Yu Xi discovered that he was writing in the script of the ancient humans, asking if he had the ability to get them away despite the heavy guard.

Yu Xi nodded slightly. They could return to the starship.

“You think we’re the people who made you change your name to ‘Fetus?’” Kersz suddenly raised this topic again.

Curtis smiled, but halfway through his smile, Kersz punched him in the face.

This round was a wash. Time to reload and try again.

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Chapter 24 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 26