Chapter 113

Chapter 113

Bai Xiaoyu held the deep blue translucent doll. The little guy was about the same size as Little One, but seemed to be smaller than other younglings of the same age.

The feel in his arms was quite pleasant. Unlike human skin, the doll's translucent skin was extremely clear and smooth, with a slight elasticity, much like how Little One felt when he was covered in bath gel.

He couldn't help but pinch the doll's leg, and the sensation was even more peculiar.

Bai Xiaoyu was also puzzled. According to the information he had seen before, the insectoid princes could transform into human form, indistinguishable from ordinary humans, and even the most advanced technology could not detect them, showing just how successful their disguise was.

Moreover, half of the insectoid princes transformed based on their own strength. They were naturally powerful, and when they could transform, they were usually teenagers or even adults, rarely taking on a form that was unable to take care of itself.

If that was the case, what was going on with this prince now? He must be incredibly weak.

This half-finished appearance, with its strange alien color, clearly indicated something was wrong. However, at this moment, it looked more like a child's toy than the terrifying insectoid prince that everyone feared.

To be honest, this type of toy wasn't just liked by children; adults found it quite appealing too.

At this moment, the doll in Bai Xiaoyu's arms, after being picked up, had its hands, small belly, and face pinched.

He puffed out his cheeks, looking like a little frog holding its breath.

Don't act rashly, endure.

Even if he wanted to retaliate, he had no energy at all, and there was nothing he could do. Seeing that he was about to get close to the egg and the insect crystal, he couldn't afford to fail at the last moment.

Bai Xiaoyu put the doll down, but instead of immediately rushing towards the nearby insect crystal, the little guy watched quietly with his round black eyes as the egg, assisted by the large tentacle, continuously absorbed the insect crystal.

Bai Xiaoyu could see the longing in the little doll's eyes, especially when the large tentacle converted the insect crystal's energy. The deep blue translucent doll couldn't resist moving closer, but then stopped abruptly. His two translucent little hands transformed into tentacles, and shortly after, reverted back. The little translucent guy, now extremely hungry, sucked his fingers while looking up at the giant egg, which was much taller than him, absorbing the insect crystal.

At this moment, the tentacle egg stopped its actions. The egg, which was usually very possessive of the insect crystal, rolled over and pushed the crystal towards the doll. The crystal, now smaller, hit the deep blue translucent doll directly.

The doll stared blankly at the crystal, as if he had been waiting for a long time, and now his wait was finally over.

Everyone thought the little guy would eat the crystal right away, but unexpectedly, he didn't start eating. Instead, he gradually pouted and then burst into tears. The cry was filled with surprise, grievance, and the joy of finally getting what he wanted. It left Bai Xiaoyu and the others completely baffled, unable to understand why the little guy would react this way.

However, seeing him sobbing, the previous hostility from the three others towards him diminished slightly, just a little bit.

The crying of the youngling startled the tentacle egg, which even circled around the crying doll anxiously, gently touching him with its body.

The deep blue translucent doll reached out to hug the egg, trying to climb onto it, but he had no strength.

So, in the comfort of his beloved egg, the little doll could only sniffle and inch closer to the insect crystal, opening his small mouth and taking a big bite.

Despite his tiny mouth without any teeth, he managed to bite a small hole in the extremely hard insect crystal. Normally, this amount would be enough for the tentacle egg and the large tentacle to share a meal.

Now, the doll was gnawing fiercely, taking about ten bites.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as the doll ate an amount that would normally last the tentacle egg and the large tentacle for three to four days, and began to doubt whether he could afford to raise two insectoid princes.

Indeed, from the moment he untangled this mess, he had made the decision. This weak little prince, who seemed to have a close relationship with the tentacle egg, he didn't want to let go. Currently, he didn't seem very vicious, so raising them together might not be a bad idea.

If he didn't raise him, then for this outsider prince, unless he was eliminated, it was absolutely impossible to let him leave.

Apart from the long-term issue of upbringing, the immediate problem was his appetite, which was quite large and worrying. He also needed to address the skin issue of this little prince. After pinching him a few times, he had a rough idea of what to do.

He turned his gaze to the doll who had finally burped after a full meal. At this moment, it seemed to him that the originally translucent doll had become somewhat more solid. After the hearty meal, the doll finally had some strength and slowly climbed onto the egg. Like a little gecko climbing a wall, he crawled up and lay on the upper part of the egg, stretching out his chubby little hands, each holding a transparent energy ball the size of a ping-pong ball.

These two energy balls looked more transparent and pure than those produced by the large tentacle, and one was enough to make the tentacle egg full.

Seeing that the egg was no longer absorbing the other energy ball, the transparent doll opened his mouth and swallowed the remaining one.

He stored the energy ball, saving it for the egg to eat later. Almost immediately after swallowing the energy ball, the little prince's gaze turned to the insect crystal below. Just as he was about to control the large tentacle to encircle the crystal, Bai Xiaoyu, sensing his intention, preemptively picked up the crystal.

The doll puffed out his cheeks and looked at Bai Xiaoyu, then blinked his round, tear-streaked eyes, "Gaga, eee."

Bai Xiaoyu pinched his little face, misinterpreting his meaning, "Alright, I'll catch you three geese right away."

The little prince, seeing the three geese quickly brought before him, felt a bit depressed. How could this stupid human misunderstand so badly?

Did he want geese? Well, not long ago, he might have needed them, but now, after replenishing his energy with the insect crystal, catching a few geese was easy.

He tried to give Bai Xiaoyu a toothless smile, pointing to where the insect crystal had been, and said, "Not eee... it's that..."

Bai Xiaoyu replied, "Not hungry? Then we'll eat it tomorrow."

The little prince was so angry that his cheeks puffed up. This stupid human! He needed to learn human language as soon as possible, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to communicate with such a fool.

He no longer wanted to talk to Bai Xiaoyu and turned to lie contentedly on his beloved egg.

Bai Xiaoyu found it amusing and picked up the transparent doll, who struggled fiercely, even sprouting small fur all over his body.

Bai Xiaoyu, of course, knew what the little guy was up to, "If you don't behave, you won't get any insect crystal tomorrow, and you won't be allowed to get close to the egg."

The little prince instantly retracted all the fur, gently shaking Bai Xiaoyu's hand, "Gaga, I'm good."

Bai Xiaoyu took out a set of clothes originally prepared for Little One and started teaching him how to wear them. Although the little prince was reluctant, he eventually put them on.

With the translucent limbs visible outside the clothes, the dressed little prince looked both cute and a bit eerie.

Bai Xiaoyu took out a container similar to the one used for the large tentacle and opened it, "Now you go inside here, and I'll take you back."

The little prince, seeing the round container, remembered the similar containers that had confined him and caused him much suffering, which he had destroyed. His round eyes showed disgust and resistance. Was this human planning to imprison him too?

Bai Xiaoyu, noticing this, observed the little doll's reaction without showing any emotion. From the obviously modified eggs, he deduced that this little prince had likely undergone similar experiences.

He didn't force the issue but opened another container and beckoned to the large tentacle.

The large tentacle immediately came over, and soon, a toy ball and the tentacle egg were playing together.

Prince Xiao saw this and had his own little plan. He had previously been worried that Dandan needed playmates of the same form, so he had collected many eggs for that purpose. Now, he could simply disguise himself as an egg, eliminating the need for other eggs as playmates!

So Prince Xiao retracted his fangs and silently crawled in, even covering himself with the lid.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as Prince Xiao quickly mastered the toy ball and soon played joyfully with the tentacle eggs, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Now, looking at this eco-container, he called out to the system, "System, scan the marks left by Prince Xiao on this container."

Noticing many places where gaps had been squeezed open, he sent the inspection results to Tao Limeng, asking his team members to help repair them.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi, who had been asleep for some time, finally woke up. He opened his eyes, and Old Qi, who had been watching beside him, was overjoyed to see one golden and one black eye. The half of his face with the golden eye was covered in layers of something that resembled both a shell and scales.

Old Qi hurriedly examined Bai Qi’s body, his expression extremely excited and a bit manic, “It worked! My research direction was indeed correct; humans and powerful insectoids can be compatible.”

Bai Qi sat up, touching his face and feeling the slight pricks from the new growths under his fingertips. Instead of being alarmed, he used the Star Network to view a holographic projection of his entire body. Not only his face but also half of his body was subtly covered with these strange scale-like shells.

Old Qi helped him check various bodily data, and both were thrilled as they compared the before and after results.

Previously, Bai Qi's mental power was 2S, and his physical strength was S+. Now, both had broken through the 2S level, reaching 3S.

It should be noted that 3S is a special grade with no upper limit, which many people cannot achieve in their entire lives. Now, he had easily surpassed it.

Bai Qi clenched his fists, feeling a surge of power throughout his body. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, realizing that power was indeed the most intoxicating thing.

Old Qi then checked his beast form, a large snake with alternating yellow and white segments. The scales on its body had completely changed, making it look somewhat eerie.

Discovering that his beast form had improved even more, Bai Qi, now back in human form, suddenly spoke, “We should have transferred that brain entirely into mine. With my current state, I don’t need half a brain as a medium to make the naturally submissive insectoid prince submit. We can extract the chip from the prince’s brain.”

Old Qi was taken aback, “There’s something I forgot to tell you...”

Thirty seconds later, Bai Qi’s roar echoed throughout the laboratory. His left eye suddenly turned into a strange vertical slit, and he grabbed Old Qi by the neck, lifting him off the ground, “You let him escape while I was asleep? After all the years we spent to capture the prince! What good are you? I’m hungry, and your 3S mental power would make the perfect supplement...”

Old Qi, who usually stood tall before Bai Qi due to his 3S mental power and status, felt a threat to his life for the first time. Looking into the golden vertical slit filled with savagery, he wondered if Bai Qi was already influenced by the insectoid emperor’s nature?

Seeing Bai Qi open his mouth, Old Qi instantly attacked him with his mental power.

Bai Qi, in pain, quickly released his grip.

Old Qi clutched his sore neck, where a clear bruise was visible. If not for his 2S physical strength, his neck would have been snapped.

Looking at Bai Qi, whose eyes were cold and approaching, Old Qi shouted, “Bai Qi, do you know what you’re doing? Don’t let the insectoid emperor’s instincts consume your consciousness!”

Bai Qi paused, then suddenly clutched his head with both hands. After a long moment, he released his hands, the golden color in his eyes and the scales on his face fading away.

Old Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief, “The insectoid prince escaped by shedding his skin, something no one anticipated. The most important thing now is to find him. We have a lead, and you must cooperate with the other side to track down the spacecraft that flew from the livestock planet during that period...”

Bai Qi, now clear-headed, felt a lingering fear but also enjoyed the sense of invincibility he had just experienced. He had long been dissatisfied with this old man bossing him around, and the feeling of choking him was quite satisfying. Moreover, this old man smelled a bit sweet now. A 3S-grade living being was indeed a great supplement, but he still needed him for now.

Bai Qi quickly contacted the person behind the planet, and after a series of negotiations, they finally obtained the trajectories of all cargo spacecraft that traveled during those two days.

This planet sold live livestock across the galaxy, with thousands of spacecraft entering and exiting, including those from nearby and distant planets.

Surprisingly, Bai Xiaoyu’s planet was on the list.

Bai Xiaoyu now had many people under his care, and his orders for live livestock were frequent, which seemed unremarkable, but each household still needed to be investigated.

They had been forced to trace the trajectories because he could no longer sense the presence of the insectoid prince.

He could sense it before, but now it was as if it was shielded by a more powerful mental force.

Very few people possessed such a strong mental force. Could it be that the insectoid emperor had found the prince?

Thinking of this possibility, Bai Qi became agitated. Moreover, the batch of very successful hybrid eggs they had researched for a long time and expended much effort on had disappeared when the laboratory was destroyed, likely consumed by the insectoid prince as food, given their high energy content.

He had merely slept, yet upon waking, not only had the insectoid prince vanished, but the most successful batch of eggs was gone as well. All his previous efforts were in vain, and if he couldn’t find the insectoid prince, he would explode with frustration.

Meanwhile, Prince Xiao was being painted by Bai Xiaoyu with a brush, stroke by stroke, on his exposed limbs.

His hair was dyed, his skin painted, along with his eyebrows, eyelashes, and lips, giving him a healthy, childlike appearance.

These pigments were refined using Bai Xiaoyu’s mental power as a catalyst and would not dissolve unless removed with a special solution.

Given that any galactic being has mental power, these pigments formed a strong mental power film, ensuring that no one would discover Prince Xiao’s secret unless someone with stronger mental power forcibly probed it.

Prince Xiao was extremely unhappy; no prince would like being coated with something that blocked their senses. However, when Bai Xiaoyu indicated that refusal meant staying in the rolling ball without insect crystals, he had no choice.

How could he get stronger without insect crystals, and how could he take his little treasure away without getting stronger?

Bai Xiaoyu put the final touch on the painting, looking at the plump, normal-colored face of the little prince, whose fair skin made his features stand out beautifully, appearing incredibly adorable.

Bai Xiaoyu poked Prince Xiao’s puffed cheeks, holding up a mirror for him to see, and said, “Take a look.”

Prince Xiao glanced at the mirror, his face turning even more sour, “The color... ugly, ugly, ugly!”

Bai Xiaoyu propped his chin with his hand, “Really? But the skin of the larvae inside the tentacle eggs is this color, quite similar to yours.”

At this, a chubby little hand immediately snatched the mirror, staring intently at the reflection, eventually breaking into a wide, innocent smile.

Noticing Bai Xiaoyu’s gaze, he huffed lightly and turned away, continuing to look.

Prince Xiao couldn’t help but pat his face, finding it more and more appealing the more he looked.