Zhang Han felt his mind turning into a blank screen as the lizard's gaping mouth closed in on him. He couldn't think of any coherent way to escape.
It would probably crush his skull like a cherry.
He would die in a second and without any suffering.
But he didn't want to die. Not now, not after he managed to escape his home planet...! But the feet of the lizard were clawing towards him rampantly.
As Zhang Han raised his arms over his face as a pathetic attempt to protect himself, the scuttling noise of the lizard stopped.
His mind was too unfocused from the anxiety, he wasn't sure what happened.
"You aren't able to do much," said a low, mocking voice.
It was Vaien.
Right. He'd been watching from the mouth of the cave.
Zhang Han's mind cleared slightly. He swiveled his head and saw that Vaien was standing directly besides him. But he was too anxious to pay any mind to how Vaien seemed to teleport from one spot to another. Adrenaline rushed through him as he searched for the giant lizard that had been trying to eat him.
Vaien seemed to think his actions were funny and chuckled aloud.
The lizard beast was standing about one meter away and seemed frightened. It was huddling back into the grass while its scales turned to yellow and greens, camouflaging itself perfectly.
Despite the fact it'd retreated, Vaien sauntered over to it.
The lizard bared its teeth threateningly at him, but in a blur of red Vaien had grabbed it by the tail, lifted the gigantic thing off the ground, and chucked it off the cliff...
Zhang Han saw its giant flailing limbs and heard a 'THUNK' as it hit the bottom.
He just...tossed it off the cliff? Casually?!
"What..." he murmured in disbelief. "How did you…? That creature should weigh over two-hundred pounds…"
"I never thought those from other planets would be so weak," said Vaien, pointedly ignoring his question and looking down at Zhang Han as he spoke. "You won't make it a few steps without dying. Why don't we have a chat?"
Vaien was clearly saying that there were more beasts like that lizard. Hulking in size, aggressive in nature.
Zhang Han wrinkled his brow. He didn't know anything about this world. Its level of danger was much higher than he expected...
He looked back to the pool of blood on the soil nearby and grimaced. The arms had chew marks, but most of the body had already been devoured, it seemed. The lizard also had the strange ability to camouflage its scales to blend into its environment.
Who knew how many other things like it were hiding in the tall grass plains below?
So, while Zhang Han didn't like the hidden implications of Vaien's words and the way he laughed at the fact he nearly died, he felt that there was little choice but to have 'a chat' with him.
He wasn't going to be an idiot and venture out by himself.
Zhang Han carefully followed him back to the cave entrance.
Seeing it from the outside allowed him to inspect it more. There were a number of tools in the back, furs as a bed, cooking utensils, a fire pit outside. It was a one-man home, simplistic as it was.
Vaien sat down on a seat made of stone near the fire pit. He put a hand under his chin, staring at Zhang Han, then opened his mouth and said,
"I didn't help you out of the kindness of my heart."
Zhang Han's lips made a thin line, his heart beat increasing with anxiety. He expected as much.
"So that's why you let me go outside without any warning? So that I learned what I'm dealing with?"
"Yup. I guess even if you don't have much knack for combat, at least your brain functions."
Zhang Han didn't show any change in expression from Vaien's words, rude as they were. After all, he used to be a diplomat. He didn't need to be ruffled over such a statement.
He would have doubted it if Vaien told him upfront that the creatures here were like monsters and capable of killing him in a flash, but now he'd experienced it firsthand. A mere human with no laser gun or ion grenades, much less a functional ship, could not stand up to these beasts.
But Vaien could. He could even make them retreat.
Of course Zhang Han didn't know how Vaien's strength would compare to other monsters besides the lizard that he'd just seen, but this man was still in a better position than he was. And right now he didn't care about finding out why or how he did it, Zhang Han just wanted to secure his life until tomorrow.
Zhang Han gave him a steady look and asked, "So what is it you want in exchange for helping me survive here? What do I possibly have to offer you?"
Vaien seemed to look over his figure from top to bottom, making Zhang Han get a strange feeling in his gut again. His gaze was intense, as though inspecting prey...
Zhang Han was puzzled, but no matter what Vaien wanted, he would need to agree to stay alive. If he were kicked out of this cave for the night he'd probably be chewed to pieces like the corpse that the lizard had been eating.
"The truth is, I haven't had a good fuck lately."
Zhang Han almost toppled over. His mind stopped functioning.
"...can you repeat that?" he asked incredulously.
"I'm talking about sex, obviously!"
Zhang Han was just as dumbstruck as before. A…good fuck? That was what he wanted?!
Vaien just sneered. "Do you have anything else to offer besides your body, anyway?"
Did he have something else? He truly wished he did.
Zhang Han stuttered out, "I have a knife, an insta-light…couple of nutrient bars."
Vaien seemed unimpressed. In fact, Zhang Han was also unimpressed. These items were paltry. If only he could get back to his ship, he might be able to offer something better, but it was a long ways off from here.
Trying to buy time he blurted out, "Isn't there anyone else you can do it with?"
Vaien gave him a glare, as though it were Zhang Han being the offensive one.
"If there was, why would I bother to carry your unconscious ass back? It's true that small groups of people live here, like the guy that ripper lizard was eating, but I'm not doing shit with them. They're just a bunch of traitors."
Zhang Han was suddenly conflicted. He wondered about the 'others' Vaien mentioned, maybe he could find refuge with them instead of making a sex deal. But how was he supposed to go out and find them by himself?
So then, he did want to live…but, in exchange for becoming…a bed slave?
"Look," said Vaien, making it sound like serious business despite his previously crude words, "I'm not gonna force you to do anything, but I won't help you survive in return for nothing, either. It's enough work living here by myself, so why should I bother helping a stranger who's going to make things more difficult? Besides, I've already been kind enough to save your life once, for free."
"…" Ah, so kind of you to save my life once, for free.
Zhang Han felt a mix of anger and humiliation, but the acceptance that as aggravating as this man was, he made reasonable points. He was hard-pressed to make any argument in return.
That was because Zhang Han had a similar outlook on life as Vaien.
There were only a few people that he cared about and would give anything to protect, but if it were a stranger he could care less. An incentive to help someone else was always necessary. Otherwise, why bother? Why go the extra length? On Gaojun, where governmental and military power was key, being a 'good person' didn't do you any good.
So that was why, unsavory as this deal was, it wasn't something that would make Zhang Han falter besides those first few waves of shock.
But...still, why was this guy so desperate for sex?
Vaien had an indignant expression, somehow able to read Zhang Han's deadpan stare that was judging his nature thoroughly.
"Hey, don't look at me like I'm desperate. What functioning man doesn't want it? The problem is that it's been over two years since I've had sex. Shit happened, I guess, and now I'm here alone and don't have anyone to go to bed with. I saw you today, and thought…maybe?"
"I see," Zhang Han said flatly.
So it was 'lust at first sight', huh? Classic.
Well, thankfully it wasn't something dumb like 'love at first sight', otherwise he'd be too afraid that Vaien was some kind of crazy person. On the other hand, Zhang Han was perfectly capable of dealing with a casual fling or two. If he ever managed to figure out how to survive on this planet by himself, then he could just leave Vaien then and there.
But for now he was going to choose his life over dignity…and going to have to have sex with a guy he'd met less than an hour ago.
Oh well, getting torn apart and eaten by the ripper lizard would probably be worse.