Chapter 040

Chapter 040

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the giant black egg that had blocked his view disappeared, only to reappear beside him within five seconds, rubbing against him vigorously.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone covered by the bathtub lid and couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation. He gently patted the black egg. "Big Black, stop it."

Lou Hao's head emerged from the bathtub, seeing the black egg that had been so aggressively showing off in front of him now rolling around coquettishly before Bai Xiaoyu.

Lou Hao: "..."

He tried to lift the bathtub to get out, but was knocked back down by something.

Damn!

If he could fight right now, he would have already rushed over to take on that freakish black egg!

Besides, he was only wearing underwear, which severely limited his ability to act.

Bai Xiaoyu, seeing the black egg blocking his view again, called out, "Lou Hao, since you're awake, it means you've absorbed most of the medicine in the bath. You looked quite lively earlier, so clean up this mess in the bathroom."

After saying this, he turned with the black egg, then paused and added, "By the way, you'll be staying here for now."

This was the room farthest from his own, probably due to some territorial instinct. Whenever he got too close, Big Black would start causing trouble.

Finally, Lou Hao managed to get out, touching the large bump on his forehead and carefully assessing his condition, leaving him stunned.

Given the severity of his injuries, even if the repair device could heal the surface wounds, it would be difficult to mend the internal damage.

Now, however, he could exert himself instead of lying there motionless.

His body still carried a faint scent of the medicinal bath, which would be imperceptible if he weren't a Beastman.

Just this slight aroma invigorated him.

He had half of the Huang family's bloodline and had encountered their medicines many times over the years.

Such severe injuries required top-grade medicine to treat properly.

Lou Hao fell into deep thought. Didn't Bai Xiaoyu get expelled from Imperial Star?

Back then, his companions had joked about it, saying he could finally be rid of Bai Xiaoyu.

Almost everyone in Imperial Star knew that Bai Xiaoyu had truly been abandoned.

But not long after, he was ambushed during a mission by members of the Huang family.

Now, Bai Xiaoyu was treating him with top-grade medicine...

This must be the medicine Bai Xiaoyu had been keeping all along. His expression changed.

Bai Xiaoyu had no idea what Lou Hao was thinking. He put the little one aside and continued refining the Vital Essence Elixir.

The medicine he had given Lou Hao earlier was the Vital Essence and Repair Elixir. Now, he wanted to refine a gentler version of the Vital Essence Elixir that the little one could use freely.

He selected the best herbs from those sent by the two parents today, carefully picking out the finest specimens. After selecting them, he extracted the most tender and fresh parts.

After all these steps, the amount of herbs usually sufficient for twenty to thirty bottles of Vital Essence Elixir was reduced to just enough for one bottle.

The remaining herbs could still be used to make more elixirs, but the quality would be lower, and the efficacy would be compromised.

Bai Xiaoyu didn't waste anything and quickly used up the remaining herbs to refine S-grade elixirs, which were not at his usual SS level.

He stored these elixirs, planning to sell them in his online store. Many people who had been waiting for the cultivation fluid had already expressed their frustration.

Next, Bai Xiaoyu carefully placed the tender parts of the herbs into the alchemy furnace, using finer mental threads to extract impurities.

Although the dark matter extracted almost destroyed the more fragile medicine ball, he managed to avoid disaster.

The black egg and the little one stayed quietly on either side of him, clearly separated.

With utmost caution, Bai Xiaoyu finally refined the Vital Essence Elixir with a faint green hue.

His face relaxed with relief.

Then, he proceeded to refine new cultivation fluid.

The little one was born weak and needed solid Vital Essence first. Last time, in an emergency, he had used the same solidifying elixir and cultivation fluid as other eggs, which required mental guidance. With the new elixir, he wouldn't need to enter the alchemy furnace or guide with mental power every time.

However, this would have to wait a few days until the little one stabilized. After that, the real challenge would begin. Even three months in the shell might not be enough to fix the little one's congenital issues, and problems would likely persist after hatching. But for now, he focused on the immediate problem, planning to deal with post-hatching issues later.

Bai Xiaoyu placed the little one back into the alchemy furnace with the Vital Essence Elixir and cultivation fluid, which worked better than before.

While Bai Xiaoyu was busy, Lou Hao, having finally changed his clothes, came out with heavy steps.

Was this Bai Xiaoyu's cultivation facility?

Looking at the amusement park outside, he was momentarily speechless.

He had heard that Bai Xiaoyu and his group of The Henchmen loved to play, but he never expected that Bai Xiaoyu would transform his cultivation facility into an amusement park.

It was truly eye-opening.

Compared to the bustling Imperial Star, this planet was desolate.

Yet Bai Xiaoyu's place was actually decent. According to the information he had heard, Bai Xiaoyu had been deliberately assigned to the most backward and rudimentary cultivation facility.

Of course, this was partly due to Bai Qi and the others, who knew Bai Xiaoyu couldn't accept such an environment and had even placed bets on when he would escape.

He remembered that the longest predicted time was no more than ten days.

Now, more than three months have passed, and Bai Xiaoyu seems to be enjoying himself so much here that he has no intention of leaving.

As he walked and observed, his doubts grew.

Is this really the worst-equipped nursery on the fringe planet? How can the infrastructure here be comparable to that of Imperial Star?

When he finally reached the nursery and saw the equipment inside, his jaw nearly dropped.

Having a roommate from the Mecha Manufacturing Department, he often heard about various high-end devices used in space.

The incubation machine in front of him was the latest model released three months ago, priced at five hundred million credits!

Not only that, but the egg compartments inside the incubator were almost full, which shocked him greatly.

With Bai Xiaoyu’s performance in the incubation field, handling nearly a hundred eggs would likely be overwhelming for him, considering his impressive internship results that once amazed the Imperial Military Academy.

At this moment, he noticed two incubation specialists moving around, tending to the eggs.

It seems I’ve taken a wrong turn.

This must be another nursery, not the one where Bai Xiaoyu is stationed.

Just then, Zhang Yi saw the injured man coming down and approached him. "You’re awake?"

Lou Hao nodded, and Zhang Yi gave him a thorough look. "You’ve been unconscious for a day, since yesterday. But thanks to the potent medicine given by the incubation specialist, you look much better now after using it both internally and externally."

Yesterday, you were covered in wounds, pale-faced, and looked as if you were about to pass away. Lu Qing and I had to handle you as gently as possible.

Otherwise, we might have carried you out accidentally.

Lou Hao wasn’t too surprised about being unconscious for a day; he had exhausted all his strength and spirit during his escape. Instead, he focused on the medicine. "You said it was Bai Xiaoyu who provided the medicine?"

Zhang Yi nodded, and Lou Hao took a deep breath.

Indeed, as he had guessed, Bai Xiaoyu had used his precious life-saving medicine on him.

He always repaid kindness with kindness and grievances with grievances.

Since Bai Xiaoyu saved him, repaying him was natural, but the idea of offering himself in return...

Bai Xiaoyu came down carrying an incubation box and a large black egg, only to see a troubled-looking person standing at the door.

"Looks like the medicinal bath helped you recover somewhat. In that case, let’s talk about compensation."

Lou Hao paused, thinking, here it comes.

Bai Xiaoyu: "I carried you back, and you’ve been using the place, eating, and taking the medicines. According to market prices, the total comes to twenty million credits."

Lou Hao: "...I don’t have any credits right now."

Why isn’t this going as expected? A bit awkward.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Then you’ll have to work off your debt."

Lou Hao struggled visibly. "Must it really be this way?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Of course. You need to figure out what you can do here at the nursery, or else you’ll be kicked out. Think about it while I start my live stream."

Lou Hao looked bewildered. "Live stream?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "Do you want to be blocked out?"

Lou Hao nodded reflexively.

Then, under his horrified gaze, Bai Xiaoyu started the live stream.

The live stream image projected instantly.

As soon as it began, the chat exploded with activity.

People were calling him the dog streamer, sending stars and showers of stars continuously.

"Dog streamer, it’s been a while since you cooked eggs. When will you start cooking them again?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "At least another week. If there are any issues with that batch of eggs, it will take even longer."

He then began examining the eggs one by one, looking very professional, and introduced their conditions while occasionally answering questions from the live stream.

Lou Hao’s mouth gaped open. Is this highly skilled person really Bai Xiaoyu?

At this moment, someone in the live stream spoke up, "Streamer, have you thought about what we discussed yesterday? Your junior brothers and sisters are waiting for your nod to start their internships."

The familiar voice drew Lou Hao’s attention, and he saw the face of the old professor from the incubation department of the Imperial Military Academy. Staring at the verified titles, he began to question reality.

Another familiar face appeared, the old professor from the prestigious Department of Pharmacy at the Imperial Military Academy.

"Streamer, your egg-cooking technique shares roots with pharmacy. Some of your junior brothers and sisters want to learn from you. What do you think?"

"Old Liu, everything has its order. Besides, why is your Department of Pharmacy trying to muscle in?"

"Hmph, your face isn’t exactly thin either."

Everyone watched as the two old professors argued in the live stream.

The audience: "..."

Hey, hey, hey, stop that.

Their thick filters for these esteemed professors from the Imperial Military Academy were about to shatter into pieces.

Bai Xiaoyu hurriedly went offline as it was time, or he would continue to be questioned about this matter.

After going offline, he turned around and saw Lou Hao with a dreamy expression on his face.

Why does he look so foolish?

Until Dahai came over and blocked his view, he patted Dahai and continued to watch the eggs.

A few of the second batch of eggs had cracked shells.

Perhaps these eggs were luckier and didn't suffer like Xiao Yi and the others, who were tormented by their original owners. They were exposed to top-quality nutrient solutions from the start, receiving abundant nutrition and developing rapidly after absorbing it all.

In recent days, some eggs had started to grow, especially the eight eggs sent by the Sixteenth Legion and the Twenty-ninth Legion. They resembled rising dough, visibly expanding bit by bit.

The thirty-seven eggs sent by the region also showed some growth.

However, among the fifty-two damaged eggs, only a few with minor damage grew slightly, but not noticeably.

Those with obvious cracks showed no reaction at all. Especially the one with the most severe damage, where a part of the shell was missing, remained dull and unchanged.

Bai Xiaoyu took out the system scroll and found that another circle could be flipped open.

The shells of newborn eggs can absorb beneficial nutrients and block harmful substances. To some extent, they are similar to human skin, growing along with the developing offspring inside. Once damaged, they cannot heal or repair themselves like skin.

After the shell is damaged, the egg not only absorbs nutrients more slowly but also fails to effectively block harmful substances. This has a fatal impact on the developing egg.

Some eggs, upon sensing the damage, will automatically stop growing and eventually become silent eggs. In the galaxy, such eggs that fail to develop and hatch are called silent eggs.

Other eggs continue to develop, but the damage causes localized loss of growth ability. As the embryo grows and stretches, the damage increases, ultimately leading to the egg's rupture. If the embryo is fully formed, it might survive; otherwise, the consequences are unimaginable.

Bai Xiaoyu frowned, not expecting to solve the problem of contamination by the mad beast grass only to face an even more challenging issue.

He needed to find a solution quickly.

Lou Hao finally snapped back to reality and walked over to see the eggs.

Lou Hao: "Why did you take on these eggs?"

Damaged newborn eggs are a major headache for galactic cultivators. The chances of hatching them are slim. Some become silent eggs, while others break mid-hatching, leaving only a few lucky ones that fully develop and are saved when the egg breaks.

That's why most galactic cultivators dare not take on such eggs. It's also the reason why the Cultivation Association had these eggs listed for so long without anyone accepting them.

Bai Xiaoyu: "No one took these eggs. Now that I have, I just need to find a solution quickly. The rest doesn't matter."

Lou Hao was taken aback. "You're right."

He felt that Bai Xiaoyu now spoke and acted in a calm and reassuring manner.

Despite being the same age and having graduated recently at twenty-one, this was different from his impression of Bai Xiaoyu.

Back then, he had seen Bai Xiaoyu, in the middle of the night, lying haphazardly with his Henchmen Group at the school dormitory entrance, howling and disturbing everyone's sleep. Several campus robots chased them with stun batons and laser guns. Due to his poor physical condition, Bai Xiaoyu was caught and tied up, hanging from a tree in front of the dormitory for public humiliation.

The difference was too stark; it was hard to believe they were the same person.

Bai Xiaoyu started researching but found nothing after three days. The same problem persisted with the Hulubawa eggs, which failed to absorb the nutrient solution adequately.

Looking at these eggs, Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help but think that incubating eggs could make one go bald.

However, there was progress. After three days, Xiaobudian's condition had stabilized. He could now use specially formulated medicine directly in the incubation chamber. Although his appetite was very small compared to the eight eggs sent by the legions, it was like comparing a chick's appetite to an elephant's.

Bai Xiaoyu wasn't worried. Being naturally weak meant he needed less energy, which was normal. Progress had to be gradual.

But this little guy seemed to have gotten used to being held. After absorbing the medicine, he clearly didn't want to stay in the incubation chamber.

Although stable, Xiaobudian's vitality was still weak. Bai Xiaoyu wasn't reassured and attached a thread of mental power to him.

Every time he ate, he would call out frantically. Once, when Bai Xiaoyu and Dahai went out and didn't return promptly, Xiaobudian's breathing became intermittent until Bai Xiaoyu brought him back to the room and let Dahai eat alone.

Dahai also had issues with Xiaobudian.

Whenever Bai Xiaoyu touched one and ignored the other, things would get chaotic.

Now he finally understood that the two eggs were rivals.

His bed was divided between them, with Bai Xiaoyu sleeping in the middle and the eggs on either side. Fixed positions, no swapping.

Swapping would lead to them disliking each other's spots, making it impossible to sleep.

After settling the two eggs, Bai Xiaoyu began refining medicine while pondering the eggs' problems.

After refining a batch, he suddenly paused.

He remembered seeing a handwritten note left by the Bai family's ancestor when he was young, describing a white bone flower. Its stem and leaves, when refined, could fuse with severely damaged skin and bones, stimulating regeneration. Finding it might solve the current problem.

With this thought, he quickly drew a picture based on memory and sent it to Xiao Shiqi and Xiao Shiba's parents. Considering the rarity of the white bone flower, he needed more people involved.

So he contacted Xiao Xi and Su Ran, also asking about the coordinates of the underground laboratory mentioned by Lou Hao.

Xiao Xi agreed quickly, and so did Su Ran. However, when discussing the laboratory, his tone changed.

"When our people arrived, it had been completely destroyed, leaving no clues behind."

Just then, Lou Hao came over.

Bai Xiaoyu let him in, and when Lou Hao saw the boxes of potions, he was stunned.

In recent days, he had already known that Bai Xiaoyu was hiding a master pharmacist. Now, smelling the mixed scent of herbs and potions on Bai Xiaoyu, an incredible thought crossed his mind, "Could you be the elusive master pharmacist?"

Bai Xiaoyu organized the potions, "No, I appear every day."

He actually admitted it!

Lou Hao widened his eyes, subconsciously taking a few quick steps forward. Suddenly, a large black egg popped out from the side and knocked him away.

Lou Hao touched his nose, which was now bleeding, and cursed inwardly, "Where did this thing come from?"

It clearly wasn't here just a moment ago! He had let his guard down.

Looking at the large black egg blocking his path again, Bai Xiaoyu reached out to touch it.

Every time he interacted with Lou Hao, no matter where Dahei was or how far away, within thirty seconds, he would rush over.

He didn’t know why Dahei had such strong hostility toward Lou Hao.

He quickly told Lou Hao about the laboratory.

Lou Hao was not surprised; he remained silent for a moment before his eyes lit up as he looked at the potions.

Turning around, despite the immense pressure of being constantly threatened by the large black egg, he said, "I remember you opened a pharmacy store on the Star Network. You’re a master pharmacist and have the equipment. Why don’t you replace the Huang family’s position in the pharmaceutical world?"

Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, "The Huang family ranks second in the interstellar pharmaceutical world. I’m too busy making potions to have extra time."

Thinking about his own severed wings, Lou Hao took a deep breath, "I have time and experience in managing and expanding a pharmacy store. I can handle everything here at the Pharmacy Department."

Bai Xiaoyu recalled how Bai Qi had praised Lou Hao’s talent in this area but had chosen to study mech command instead.

Bai Xiaoyu patted Lou Hao on the shoulder, "Then I’ll leave it to you."

It really would be a tough job.

At this moment, Lou Hao didn’t realize that his boss would become a hands-off oddity in the future.