Adrift in Space

[Main story complete, bonus chapters will be posted from time to time]

Tu Ran has a genetic disease. To stay alive, he has to leave the White Elephant capital planet where he's lived for years and head to an unexplored planet in search of a way to obtain energy.

In a forest teeming with exotic beasts, there are threats lurking in the shadows besides the beasts themselves.

Weak and lacking both wilderness survival experience and combat skills, Tu Ran thinks it over carefully and finds himself a reliable expert.

Yan Shihuai doesn't know when it started, but he's become more and more concerned about that snow-white, adorable, fragile, hard-to-care-for rabbit.

When Tu Ran stumbles through everything, unable to do a thing, Yan Shihuai patiently teaches him how to survive in the forest. When Tu Ran gets hurt, his eyes reddening as they fill with tears, Yan Shihuai gently wipes them away.

When Tu Ran changes back into his beast form, Yan Shihuai wants to carry the palm-sized little rabbit around with him every day and won't let anyone touch him.

Yan Shihuai has grown used to having Tu Ran by his side. As they prepare to part ways and leave Planet R697, he finally understands his feelings as he faces Tu Ran, who's getting ready to leave.

Later...

They pass through Ogavi, form a bond with the Yunlu Star Beast on Yunlu Star, then follow traces of Blue Star to the mysterious Land of Flowers...

Please add my new serial, "I'm Not a Little Monster!", to your collection!

Blurb

[Early childcare + apocalypse + a not-too-chuunibyou boy saves the world]

Lin Jiaxu was destined to be a monster from the moment he was born, a monster at odds with humanity.

It came out of the night and the forest and arrived in the brightly lit human world.

The newborn monster was ignorant and unknowing. Forests collapsed wherever it went, and beasts were left without a trace of bone. Yet, through a chance encounter, it crossed paths with the human world.

From then on, their roles were reversed.

When he was eight, the Special Operations Team came to his door and asked if he wanted to join them.

They said if he didn't join, they'd kill him. If he did, they'd protect his family and give him money, bonuses, and a job with a government post.

So, do you want to save the world?

Lin Jiaxu: "..."

Did he even have a choice?!

Under the weight of temptation and threats, Lin Jiaxu reluctantly gave in.

Years later, a scarlet arrow streaked across the sky like a meteor blazing through the night.

The monster, which should have been bloodthirsty and cruel, stood in the darkness, facing off against a bizarre and terrifying abomination atop a towering skyscraper.

He had become humanity's strongest protector.

Zhong Qian had encountered countless abominations and knew their scent well. He didn't even need to get close to be certain that the thing disguised as a child was an abomination.

Without a word, he raised his blade and struck.

Just as his blade was about to hit the child, he suddenly pulled it back and stared at him in puzzlement. "Wait, you're actually human?"

Lin Jiaxu, being held up: "..."

What was that supposed to mean? His mother had carried him for ten months and gone through so much to give birth to him. How could he not be human?

"That's right, I'm human!"

Lin Jiaxu ignored the fact that he'd crawled into his mother's belly himself, raised his head, and faced off against Zhong Qian without a hint of guilt.

Whenever his teammates saw Lin Jiaxu come back all tattered after changing into his true form and fighting monsters, they couldn't help sighing.

Fighting really did a number on your clothes.

They also couldn't help but marvel.

He'd spent half his life on the road, only to return as a monster all over again.

Raised by humans, Lin Jiaxu got angry when he heard that. "I told you, I'm not one! Stop comparing me to those ugly things! They're so ugly. What do I have in common with them?"

Zhong Qian replied with a solemn nod. "That's true. But you have to admit, your tastes are pretty similar..."

Lin Jiaxu remembered that golden pheasant monster, or whatever it was called, and firmly rejected the idea. "No, I have good taste! It's ugly, and I'm good-looking!"

Everyone thought about Lin Jiaxu's colorful tastes and the aesthetic sense of those humanoid abominations, then looked at the uniform he'd worn for nearly ten years, as well as the casual clothes his family and Zhong Qian had helped him pick out. Their expressions turned complicated.

Do you really think that's convincing?

Zhong Qian held back a laugh. "All right, all right. You have great taste."

He could always buy the kid some more clothes later and say the kid had picked them out himself. No big deal.

Lin Jiaxu looked down at his clothes. "..."

Don't think I can't tell. You're all talking about me behind my back!

Reader's Guide:

1. This is a fantasy story that's not especially sci-fi. The protagonist is a beastfolk.

2. The setting is fictional and has nothing to do with the real world.

3. The worldbuilding may be a bit messy, so please bear with me!

4. Finally, I hope all you lovely readers enjoy the story~

Theme: Grow through adventure