Chapter 7  

Beneath the sun, the silver starship resembling a colossal cosmic creature slowly hovered above a dilapidated little shop. With two faint mechanical sounds, a black light wall swiftly descended, enveloping the entire store.  

Outside, no one could see a thing.  

Anshus’s true form was fierce and massive. As he stooped to enter the cramped room, his footsteps suddenly halted as he spotted the emperor seated amidst a pile of monster prosthetics and fake horns—  

Carl, who followed closely behind, paled in shock. Though he couldn’t fathom why the emperor would appear here, he instinctively bowed in respect. Yet, to his horror, Anshus lashed out with his claws toward the revered figure!  

“Your Highness! No—”  

It was far too late to stop him.  

In an instant, the sound of tearing fabric filled the air as the Humanoid Skin Suit disintegrated into dust, revealing a white-bearded old man beneath. He chuckled mischievously, “Boring! You saw through it again, kid!”  

“…” Carl was both terrified and speechless!  

Ordinary people couldn’t see through the disguises of the Sina Star People wearing Humanoid Skin Suits, but Crown Prince Anshus was different. In his youth, during training, he had awakened the ability to see through biological disguises—not just the Sina Star People, but even if an alien took human form and infiltrated their planet, he could instantly discern their true nature.  

The white-bearded old man before them was Brull, a renowned Humanoid Skin Suit designer in the black market… and, more importantly, Anshus’s grandfather.  

Only someone of his status would dare dress up in the emperor’s likeness to tease his grandson.  

Brull was of royal blood but had a stubborn temperament. Fifty years ago, after his partner passed away, he left the political center of the capital, changed his name, and settled here as a suit designer, refusing to return to the royal family no matter what.  

Now, seeing that Anshus wouldn’t lose control again, Carl quietly excused himself, leaving the grandfather and grandson to their reunion.  

In the dimly lit room, Brull turned and rummaged through piles of prosthetics. After a long search, he finally pulled out a case from the heap of suits and tossed it backward without looking.  

Anshus caught it effortlessly, his sharp claws prying the case open before donning the suit inside.  

“If you can still recognize people, then it’s not as bad as they made it out to be,” Brull coughed, tidying up his messy seat before comfortably sinking into it. He studied his grandson’s humanoid form with satisfaction and nodded. “Good. Fits perfectly.”  

Anshus’s humanoid form was equally imposing. His pitch-black formal attire was impeccably neat, and beneath his disheveled hair, his features were sharp—high nose bridge, deep-set eyes, and a gaze as cold as a blade, making him seem like a machine ready for battle at any moment.  

His handsome face remained indifferent even in front of family.  

Brull, familiar with his temperament, grinned. “Anshus, if you can get angry at a fake suit-wearer, what would you do facing your father? This won’t do.”  

“…”  

“Seems my earlier guess was right. It really is because of betrayal.”  

“…”  

Anshus clearly had nothing to say to him. His thin lips, accustomed to issuing absolute commands, remained sealed. After testing the suit’s flexibility with a few movements, he turned and strode out with steady steps.  

The long ramp leading to the starship was two stories high. Anshus ascended step by step, but just as he was about to enter the ship, he froze.  

A faint, almost imperceptible chuckle drifted through the air.

Someone was saying, “You Mi… yes… just like that…”

Anshus’ eyes clicked as they swiveled sharply toward the diagonal glass window—

A small figure stood before a lit black backdrop, the lamb-like Monster Horns on his head glowing almost luminous under the white light. He shifted through various poses, and at some unheard prompt from the photographer, suddenly abandoned his previous serious expression, crinkling his eyes as he burst into laughter at the camera.

Golden pupils trembled.

Found.

“…Your Highness Anshus, is something wrong?” Carl asked in confusion as the figure remained motionless atop the high ladder.

Of course, he couldn’t know what Anshus had seen.

Behind the glass window, inside the black market’s doll shop, that little lamb monster dressed in various beautiful or handsome outfits, striking different poses for photographs—had no actual horns at all!!!

That wasn’t a Sina Star Person.

It was a perfectly human-shaped, petite human being!

…

You Mi had been thoroughly frightened that day.

The first scare came from the massive Starship that suddenly appeared above the black market. The second was the abrupt, prolonged roar that followed from the Starship’s direction.

At that moment, not just him—even Vera, who hadn’t initially cared about the Starship, paled. Everyone assumed troublemakers had arrived, hastily drawing defensive weapons…

Only when the Starship finally departed with that thunderous noise did the crowd’s tension finally ease.

By evening, You Mi clocked out as usual and met up with Lin En for dinner at a highly-rated noodle shop.

Since acquiring his horns, You Mi had hardly worn masks anymore. When Lin En had asked about it, he’d cleverly explained that he’d spent money on a minor flaw-correction surgery—transferring his monster flaw from his mouth to his head!

Many Sina Star People underwent such procedures, some because their flaws hindered human-form activities, others simply for aesthetics.

After hearing this, Lin En—believing You Mi qualified for both reasons—stared at his horns for a long time before declaring, “They did an exceptional job!”

Lin En meant it; he adored You Mi’s Monster Horns.

Even now, while waiting for their noodle soup, Lin En couldn’t stop praising them: “This flaw modification was absolutely perfect! It suits your human form so well! You look just like a little lamb spirit from the movies!”

Pleased by the compliments, You Mi happily accompanied Lin En to the supermarket after dinner.

With horns now adorning him, You Mi’s courage around these monsters had gradually grown.

This time, he chose to walk through the supermarket like a Sina Star Person, though his small stature still posed challenges. Reaching for items on higher shelves required tiptoeing, often necessitating Lin En’s help to retrieve desired products.

Amid the supermarket’s bustling crowd, You Mi suddenly felt unseen eyes upon him. Puzzled, he glanced back.

In the aisles, towering Sina Star People moved about, with only a few curious children occasionally staring at him.

You Mi continued shopping.

Soon, that familiar sensation returned—he definitely felt watched again!

Whirling around, he found no one behind him.

Lin En asked, “Mi Mi, what’s wrong?”

You Mi scratched his head. “Nothing…”

He assumed the day’s earlier disturbances at work had left him jumpy… A good night’s sleep would fix it.

Yet the next day, the feeling returned.

That morning, You Mi had no filming work to do. With nothing else on his schedule, he pushed his small cart to collect scrap nearby and recycle waste materials.

Houses in the capital were too expensive. If he wanted to buy a small home of his own, he needed to work hard and save up.

You Mi went to a nearby square where he often found defective mechanical raw materials discarded by the Sina Star People. These could all be sold to the recycling station.

The machinery parts were large. After parking his cart, You Mi rolled up his sleeves and went to pick up a steel pipe. As he turned around with effort, he froze in shock.

His previously empty cart was now piled high with the most expensive raw materials available.

What was going on?!

Startled, he put down the steel pipe and ran over. No matter how he looked at it, this was definitely his cart.

“Who…?” You Mi glanced around. “Did someone drop these?”

An elderly woman scrubbing a shop door nearby gave him a sympathetic look. “I saw someone toss them in. They must be unwanted scraps—just take them.”

You Mi couldn’t believe it. “Unwanted… really?”

The old woman glanced over and chuckled. “Just sell them with peace of mind. Look, they even have ‘scrap’ labels on them.”

Upon closer inspection, You Mi indeed found small tags in the corners marked “scrap” and “discard.”

But with so much material, he couldn’t possibly push the cart himself. He had never managed to fill it completely before…

He had no choice but to open his Optical Brain and call the recycling station owner.

Delighted to hear about the large haul of mechanical materials, the owner told him to wait there and soon arrived in person with a truck to inspect and haul everything away.

You Mi stood there, dazed, watching the Star Coins roll into his account.

With nearly two hours left until lunch, You Mi couldn’t stay idle. He pushed his cart out again, this time to collect old doll clothes.

Doll figures had no life, didn’t sweat or fall ill, so their clothes were never truly dirty. In fact, they were often made of fine fabric, discarded only because the styles were outdated or the children no longer liked them.

Occasionally, You Mi would visit homes to buy old male doll clothes at low prices. If they didn’t fit, he would alter them himself, making them as good as new.

This was one of You Mi’s little money-saving tricks.

On his way to the residential area this time, he once again felt that strange gaze.

But every time he turned around, there was nothing.

Uneasy, he stopped at a villa and only collected one set of old doll clothes before leaving.

On his way back, the sky suddenly darkened. You Mi pushed his cart alone along the wide road, walking faster and faster. As he reached an uphill slope, that eerie feeling returned—

This time, it wasn’t just a feeling. He could hear it too.

Footsteps.

You Mi slowly turned around.

“……”

Behind him stood a towering monster with menacing demonic horns, blade-like wings, and a body covered in black scales. It loomed over him, its gaze fixed downward.

So… it wasn’t the sky that had darkened. The monster had blotted out the sun.

A chill shot down his spine. His body trembled. In the face of such overwhelming danger, tiny You Mi stood frozen for several seconds. When he finally snapped out of it, his first instinct was to reach for his Alarm Bracelet—

He never got the chance to press it.

The terrifying monster did move, lifting a claw—but not toward him. Instead, it reached back and took off a backpack.

The monster frantically pulled out one exquisite, brand-new doll outfit after another, some still in their packaging. His eyes were frantic, yet his movements were careful as he stuffed all these new clothes into his little cart!

Until the pile grew taller than You Mi.

“???” You Mi stared at him dumbfounded.

Both figures stood frozen in place.

As if sensing You Mi’s instinctive fear, the monster suddenly took a step back, retracting his sharp claws and folding his wings tightly behind his back.

You Mi realized—he meant no harm.

This monster lacked human form; he was a disabled Sina Star Person.

Though his fear wasn’t due to the other’s disability, You Mi worried his reaction might hurt this unfortunate creature. Summoning all his courage, he straightened up and asked, “Are these all unwanted items? But they’re so new… what a waste. Do you make doll clothes? Is this a clearance sale? Though… my used clothing prices are very low.”

The monster gazed at him and shook his head.

You Mi could only do as usual—note the quantity in his little notebook and open his Optical Brain to transfer payment.

Still, the monster shook his head.

Thinking the offer was too low, You Mi immediately added a hundred Star Coins. “Honestly, this price is still a loss for you. You’d get better deals at secondhand markets.”

Suddenly, the monster leaned down, his golden, razor-sharp pupils locking onto You Mi before lowering his head… and sniffing the horned cap on You Mi’s head.

You Mi nearly fainted from terror, standing rigidly at attention.

Then, he heard the monster speak: “You Mi.”

!!!

“How… how do you know my name?!”