Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Bai Xiaoyu gently patted the little one, his mental threads soothing the small beast inside the egg around its head. Watching the small beast's mental tendrils and limbs struggling to grab his mental threads, he rubbed his face against the little one's eggshell and softly said, "Little one, I haven't abandoned you. Our little one is so adorable and outstanding, with first-rate mental abilities. Anyone would like you. I like you so much that I wouldn't dream of abandoning you."

After being praised, the little one seemed to calm down a bit.

These past few days, the little one had been in a cold war with him, never revealing these emotions.

He hadn't realized that the little one had memories from birth. Even with vague memories of being treated this way, it still held hope for its mother just now.

He hadn't known about this before; the little one kept it all inside, always appearing lively and cheerful, showing no signs of distress.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the slightly trembling white egg in his arms, continuously comforting it until the white egg gradually calmed down. The small beast's mental tendril on top of its head slowly regained some vitality and stood up next to Bai Xiaoyu's mental thread. This time, it didn't playfully chase after Bai Xiaoyu but instead behaved very obediently.

Bai Xiaoyu couldn't help but think of his nephew, Bai Ji. When his elder brother and sister-in-law had an accident, Bai Ji was only three years old. At that time, he was just eighteen, dealing with his brother and sister-in-law's funeral while also taking care of his nephew.

He had to bury his own pain deep within, shouldering the entire Bai family at eighteen, an age when others were just coming of age. He quickly transformed into a pillar of support for his family and his nephew.

He had to become strong by force.

Balancing his nephew's education and the family responsibilities, he once found himself overwhelmed and unable to adapt.

Despite his best efforts to take care of his nephew, it wasn't enough.

Children need more than just an uncle; they need their parents' tender care.

His nephew would cry out for his parents in the middle of the night, and as he grew older, he would constantly ask where his parents were, watching other children interact with their parents at kindergarten with envy.

As his nephew grew up, he gradually stopped crying and developed dreams. He became an excellent, lively, and cheerful boy, smiling like a little sun. He went to a military academy and became a soldier.

But Bai Xiaoyu always felt that something was missing in his nephew's upbringing.

Although he was worried about the little one, in the original host's memories, Feng Shuang'er was indeed a gentle mother, treating the original host well. The cheap father was also present, and their interactions looked no different from those of a typical family of three.

At least the original host was happy before coming here, and he had everything other children had.

So he worried about the little one, hoping it could grow up happily surrounded by both parents, just like the original host, who had both paternal and maternal love.

The guardianship application hadn't come through yet, and the little one might be taken back. He even thought of letting them spend more time together to build a bond, but then this happened.

Now the little one was clearly resistant to its mother and unwilling to leave with her. Perhaps due to its high mental abilities and recent experiences, the little one now had the intelligence of a two or three-year-old child, similar to his nephew's age when he was sent over.

Since this was the case, he couldn't make decisions alone.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the little one's eggshell. He leaned close to the white egg, his expression becoming serious. "Little one, are you sure you don't want to live with your mother?"

The little one bounced a bit, nodding without hesitation.

Bai Xiaoyu patted the eggshell again. "Don't rush into a decision. If you don't want to go back with her, you'll see other kids with their parents, but not have yours. If you stay with me, I won't be able to notice your distress as finely as a mother would. Many times, if you don't tell me, I might not know. And there's the father's care, the prosperity of Imperial Star, and with your future potential, you could become one of the most favored royal children, just like the original... me in Imperial Star."

Bai Xiaoyu continued, "If you get into a fight and cry, I won't step in to help. Don't say I can't handle the other parents; I might not even be enough for that child to hit..."

Suddenly, the white egg bounced up. Bai Xiaoyu was taken aback but soon noticed the small mental tendril on top of the little one's head fully revived, moving energetically.

He received the little one's emotion—“I only make others cry. If Brother can't fight, isn't there Big Black Egg?”

Bai Xiaoyu poked the white egg. "Such big talk for such a little one. Wanting to make others cry? Besides, aren't you and Big Black Egg sworn enemies?"

The white egg rolled in his arms, and Bai Xiaoyu continued receiving the little one's determination to stay with him.

Bai Xiaoyu stared at the white egg for a long time, neither of them exchanging any words.

Suddenly, Bai Xiaoyu's eyes regained focus. He picked up the white egg and walked back to the room, giving the little one another bath.

After placing the egg back on the bed, Bai Xiaoyu said to the standing white egg, "Since you don't want to leave with your mother, I'll find a way. Rest well."

At this moment, the black egg also returned, cleaned itself briefly, and rolled onto the bed.

Tonight, the two eggs didn't cause any trouble, and soon, one person and two eggs fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Qi Yanhuan returned to her room, frowning as she touched her belly. The egg had been moving vigorously on the way back, but now it had stopped moving again.

Qin Lie looked worried. "Little Huan, are you okay?"

Qi Yanhuan sat down and carefully sensed for a while before answering, "I'm fine now. The egg was moving earlier."

Qin Lie reached out and gently touched Qi Yanhuan's surprisingly large belly. Now there was no abnormality, but earlier, the round belly had moved noticeably. "Should we call the boss over to check?"

Qi Yanhuan touched her belly. "The egg has moved before. The boss said that because of our egg's characteristics, it can move inside. It moved suddenly just now, but it didn't harm me. Now it's quiet, probably just normal fetal movement. No need to disturb the boss."

She saw Bai Xiaoyu entertaining those people from afar, wearing conspicuous royal guard uniforms. Thinking of the clingy white egg, she knew Bai Xiaoyu and the white egg's identities. Those visitors were likely parents from the enlightenment center.

They were having a family reunion, and she didn't want to disturb them.

Besides, she had no issues now and didn't need to bother the boss late at night.

On the other side, Old Qi arrived at their residence. They lived near the student dorms, each room similar in size to Bai Xiaoyu's, a standard one-bedroom apartment.

Old Qi didn't mind much, as someone who often stayed in laboratories, he had low requirements for temporary accommodations.

His assistant tried to take the metal box from him, but Old Qi refused.

He placed the box on the table and turned to his assistant. "There's nothing more for you here. You can go now."

After the assistant left, Old Qi quickly opened the box. Inside were many bottles and jars. His gaze fell on a thick transparent bottle with a metallic sheen, containing blue threads that seemed to be moving. He was a bit surprised.

This material was forcibly extracted from the insect prince's mass. To extract it, he used a container filled with a hundred times the concentration of specialized anesthetic. Even so, it didn't paralyze the material for long. From opening the container to extracting the sample, it took less than thirty seconds. If he hadn't reacted quickly, he might have lost his hand.

This tiny strand was about ten times the thickness of a hair. When first extracted, it was extremely aggressive, breaking through dozens of containers. It struggled for a whole day before gradually calming down. In the following days, it barely moved. He measured its activity daily, and it started highly active but gradually decreased, with its aggressiveness diminishing over time.

He was almost beginning to doubt whether this thing was about to lose its activity, after all, it wasn't the main branch, just a fine thread wrapped inside one of its tentacles.

Now it's moving again?

Old Qi pressed down on the container holding the fine thread, and soon a small opening appeared in the container, with liquid spilling out from within.

He collected the leaking liquid and began testing it with various substances from his bottles and jars.

The results came out quickly, and the activity had actually increased.

How could it suddenly increase? What happened?

Old Qi researched until late into the night but still couldn't draw any conclusions. So he packed everything back up, closed the box, and went to rest.

Now he needed to conserve his energy; tomorrow he had more important things to do, since he hadn't yet met the alchemy master. No matter what, he had to find the person as soon as possible.

About half an hour after Old Qi entered his room, a faint sound suddenly came from inside the metal box. Soon, with a muffled thud from within the box, a small hole appeared on the surface, and a blue little tentacle emerged.

The little tentacle stood upright in the box, wiggling around as if sensing something. In just a few breaths, the little tentacle suddenly bent, with the upper part falling and both ends sticking to the box, as if arching its body on the box. It moved forward, gaining speed rapidly, then kicked off and shot out, landing on the ground and disappearing into the night.

In the middle of the night, Qi Yanhuan suddenly woke up, and her belly started moving again.

Qin Lie immediately got up and, seeing the situation, became anxious. "Little Huan, what's wrong? I'll notify the boss right away!"

Qi Yanhuan smiled bitterly. "This time, the egg is just moving like it did earlier tonight, but it's not calming down like before; instead, it's getting worse. We'll have to bother the boss at this hour."

Bai Xiaoyu has good mental strength and wakes up easily when there's noise. His optical brain is in sleep mode, and only a few specific people can disturb him.

Almost as soon as the optical brain flashed, he opened his eyes. The Big Black Egg also woke up, but Little Dot, having used a lot of mental energy communicating with Bai Xiaoyu today, remained asleep.

Bai Xiaoyu got up quickly and walked to the living room, followed by the Big Black Egg. He connected his optical brain, and Qin Lie's anxious face appeared on the screen.

Qin Lie: "Boss, the egg in Little Huan's belly keeps moving. This is the second time tonight."

Bai Xiaoyu: "Don't worry, I'm coming over right away."

His first thought was that Qi Yanhuan was going into labor, but calculating the days, she still had half a month left. He had checked yesterday, and it wasn't time yet. To understand the exact situation, he needed to see her in person.

As he quickly put on his clothes, he told the Big Black Egg, who wanted to come along, "Big Black, be good and stay here to take care of Little Dot. I'll go alone; I'm not comfortable leaving Little Dot here alone."

This little guy is still very sensitive emotionally; if he wakes up and finds no one here, he might think we abandoned him.

But leaving the Big Black Egg behind would ensure Little Dot is safe.

Bai Xiaoyu left, and although the Big Black Egg was unwilling, it reluctantly went back.

While Bai Xiaoyu was rushing over, a tiny blue tentacle stood outside Qi Yanhuan's door, as if sensing something. Suddenly, it shook its head excitedly and then darted through the gap in the door.

This thing was so small that it didn't make any noise as it made its way to the room. Once there, it climbed up the bed frame and slipped under the covers. Soon, a blue thread-like object appeared on Qi Yanhuan's clothes, hidden beneath the blanket, unseen by anyone.

At this moment, Qi Yanhuan's belly moved even more violently. The two new parents watched in horror as the belly bulged and contracted, as if something was about to burst out!

The blue thread outside couldn't wait anymore. It pierced through the clothes and directly penetrated the most swollen part of the belly. A blood spot instantly appeared on the clothes, gradually spreading.

After penetrating the belly, it found the egg inside, which was still translucent but gradually becoming solid. The blue thread suddenly convulsed in excitement, moving in S-shaped patterns in the amniotic fluid, trembling. It clung tightly to the egg, and numerous large tentacles appeared where the thread touched, seemingly looking at each other through the thin, translucent eggshell.

Outside, Qi Yanhuan's face suddenly turned pale, not from pain but from fear.

She touched the spot causing the intense pain, remembering a similar incident in the water, when her child had been parasitized by some unknown entity. What was happening now?

Terrified, she grabbed Qin Lie's hand tightly. "Something's inside, the baby..."

Qin Lie pulled aside the clothes covering the spot, revealing her pregnant belly, where a small opening had appeared, bleeding.

Panicked, he lifted Qi Yanhuan. "I'll take you to the boss right away."

As he carried Qi Yanhuan, the transparent ball hanging around her neck slipped out, and the light blue thread inside was moving wildly, as if trying to escape.

Just as he reached the living room, Bai Xiaoyu opened the door. He had free access to Qi Yanhuan's room.

Seeing the scene, he was shocked. "I'm here; put her on the medical bed."

Observing Qi Yanhuan's condition, though her face was pale, her body hadn't suffered significant damage.

He breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he had arrived in time.

Bai Xiaoyu immediately noticed the small ball around Qi Yanhuan's neck, which was empty. The marble-sized transparent ball had broken?

He quickly examined the wound, confirming it was caused by something long and thin.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental strength probed inside as he asked, "When did the pendant break?"

Neither Qin Lie nor Qi Yanhuan had noticed, realizing only now that the ball had shattered.

"We don't know."

Seeing their expressions, Bai Xiaoyu continued asking about other details.

This thread had never shown any aggression before and had seemed quite docile. Why did it suddenly break out and attack the mother today?

Moreover, the first time Qi Yanhuan's belly showed abnormal movement tonight was when he had just picked up Feng Shuang'er.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental strength probed inside, and soon the situation inside appeared before him.

A twisted blue thread, resembling a rope, clung to the translucent egg, writhing wildly. All the tentacles originally scattered throughout the egg had gathered at the point where the thread touched, also moving frantically, causing the entire egg to shake.

Bai Xiaoyu observed that the thread hadn't caused any further damage yet. While thinking of a solution, he noticed that it wasn't just one thread but two intertwined ones, not connected at the ends.

Is this the result of the original one splitting into two after evolving?

Xiaoyu still didn't understand this thing, but given the previous performance of the tentacle, it wasn't surprising.

The thicker of the two threads, which was wrapped around the thinner one, rolled several times on the egg's surface and seemed unsatisfied. It aimed at the transparent eggshell, where more of its kind were attracting it. The intense desire to merge with them made this tentacle lose control of its instincts, wanting to pierce deeply into the egg.

Bai Xiaoyu had been watching closely. Seeing this, he used his mental power to forcefully pull the blue thread away from the eggshell. This thread quickly recovered and tried to pierce in again.

Bai Xiaoyu continued to pull it away. After several attempts, the small tentacle began to go berserk and started attacking Bai Xiaoyu's mental power thread fiercely.

When Bai Xiaoyu first pulled the tentacle, he noticed that this small tentacle was not from the same entity as the ones inside the egg!

The thread it wouldn't let go of was the original thread from the necklace's bead; this one wasn't.

This thread was much thicker and darker in color, approaching a deep emerald green.

Moreover, it was more violent, bloodthirsty, and highly aggressive.

Even this small tentacle, driven purely by instinct, was already so powerful. Its main body would be even more so. Now, it felt much stronger than the threads produced by the tentacles inside the egg.

Bai Xiaoyu looked at the tentacle, frowning. This thing was extremely dangerous. One was already shocking enough; now there was an even stronger one. How many of these things were there? Usually, the more powerful the species, the fewer their numbers. He had encountered two in such a short time—had they broken this rule?

As the thread fiercely fought Bai Xiaoyu, it suddenly dropped when it wrapped around another small tentacle due to excessive movement.

The small tentacle immediately stopped and quickly wrapped itself around the smaller one again, as if it cherished it dearly.

Bai Xiaoyu's mental power thread paused for a moment before wrapping around the lighter-colored small tentacle and pulling it out.

He then faced even more intense attacks.

Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow. With a weakness, it would be easier to handle.

Next, he released another mental power thread, successfully separating the two and using a syringe to suck in the lighter-colored small tentacle.

As expected, the darker-colored small tentacle followed and darted into the syringe.

Bai Xiaoyu pulled out the syringe and saw the tentacle wrap itself up again.

Qi Yanhuan and Qin Lie were stunned when they saw what was in the syringe. Could it really be part of the baby starting to...

Bai Xiaoyu, fearing their misinterpretation, quickly explained, "There are two small tentacles in here. One is from the necklace around your neck, and the other is from outside. The one that hurt you is the outsider. The one from your necklace actually protected the egg and you by wrapping around the other tentacle."

Bai Xiaoyu thought it was fortunate that the other thread had stayed with Qi Yanhuan, holding back the tentacle until he arrived. Otherwise, if that tentacle had entered the egg, who knows what would have happened.

Hearing this, both of them looked at the syringe with softer expressions. Bai Xiaoyu asked Qin Lie to use the healing device to mend Qi Yanhuan's wound while he focused on the blue small tentacle again.

The blue thread, in its new environment, tried to attack again. Bai Xiaoyu directly filled half the syringe with the high-concentration nutrient solution prepared for the tentacles inside the egg.

Since they were the same species, their habits should be similar.

The method that worked on the tentacles inside the egg should work on this one too.

In the transparent syringe, the tentacle that had planned to wreak havoc suddenly stopped and plunged into the front part of the solution with the small tentacle.

It absorbed greedily, as if it hadn't eaten for centuries, quickly growing thicker. The solution in the syringe became clearer.

Bai Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow, pushed out the absorbed liquid, and refilled the syringe.

After several repetitions, both the light and dark small tentacles grew larger. The lighter one had adapted, while the darker one, having eaten for the first time in centuries, wrapped around the lighter one and straightened, losing its aggressive state and seeming content.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi watched in anger and shock as the deep-blue mass suddenly began attacking its container late at night. After breaking a few containers and calming down for a bit, it went berserk again in the middle of the night, shattering over a dozen containers. They had to inject increasingly concentrated anesthesia to subdue it.

Bai Qi glared at the still-agitated mass and said viciously, "You're full of energy, aren't you? For the next week, you won't get any energy-rich substances!"

The blue mass attacked everything in the container wildly. Its tentacle had found its little tail!

It had to find its little tail!!

No one could stop it!!