Chapter 202

Chapter 202

The Caretaker Association reported the issue through multiple layers of leadership and simultaneously launched an investigation. In fact, apart from elder-level individuals with extremely high mental energy, others couldn't even come into contact with the dark substances, let alone differentiate the differences among them.

After all, this batch of dark substances was particularly unusual. Without the effect of the Marrow Purification Serum, Bai Xiaoyu also needed to enhance his mental energy using his tail to detect them.

At this moment, Bai Xiaoyu was looking at the light yellow dark substances expelled into the bottle. He found that these dark substances had become grey and visibly inactive after being expelled with mental energy and the purification serum, now looking no different from ordinary dark substances.

President Luo observed the same thing. "Little Tiger, based on the analysis of these dark substances, more than 80% of the elders in the Caretaker Association believe this is a good thing. The other ordinary members, who couldn't detect them, also think so."

Bai Xiaoyu wasn't surprised; these dark substances seemed harmless, weak, unstable, and easily expelled. It was natural for people to lean towards thinking it was a good thing.

Bai Xiaoyu thought for a moment and asked, "What about the other elders?"

President Luo replied, "The remaining 10% are silent, and 10% believe that the dark substances have been strengthening over the past few thousand years. The abnormal situation now raises a red flag, and we must remain vigilant. However, they also couldn't find any issues, so the situation is currently one-sided. We have already reported it and sent the dark substances you expelled for further investigation. Let's see if there are any other findings from the Imperial Star."

Bai Xiaoyu nodded. "For now, this is the only thing we can do."

But looking at the restored dark substances in his hand, he had a feeling that there wouldn't be any findings from the Imperial Star in the short term.

President Luo paused, then added, "Your mental energy is indeed extraordinary. Many of the veterans in the association couldn't detect it."

This time, the matter was of great importance, so Bai Xiaoyu didn't hide anything from him. He had always known the boy had strong mental energy, but he hadn't expected it to be this extraordinary.

Bai Xiaoyu knew from experience that President Luo took his responsibility for newborn eggs very seriously. More things about the caretakers would eventually be known through him, so it was only a matter of time.

Soon, the Royal Nursery received the news, and as Bai Xiaoyu had expected, most of them thought it was a good thing.

After the report was submitted, only Bai Qing, who knew some of Bai Xiaoyu's situation, looked at these results in deep thought.

The chief steward next to him, having witnessed many incidents where Bai Xiaoyu caused trouble in the Imperial Star, saw that the emperor had always sent someone to handle it, considering it just minor mischief. However, in the past year, every matter concerning Bai Xiaoyu had made this person frown and think more carefully, with increasingly serious expressions.

Sure enough, the next second, Bai Qing spoke. "Have Elder Qi lead a research team to study on-site."

With Bai Qing's decision made, the various factions in the Imperial Star were informed and kept an eye on the matter.

At this time, Bai Qi was still furious about the eggs, as none had hatched yet.

Naturally, he felt both anxious and furious. After all, he, as a prince, wasn't naturally awakened like traditional Bug princes. So, all his princes and chieftains either needed to be cultivated by himself or taken from others.

Now, other princes and chieftains, even if not fully assembled, at least had a small scale.

He was the only one who had none. How could he not be anxious?

Originally, he had planned to do something to kidnap Bai Xiaoyu, but Bai Xiaoyu had always been followed by a powerful bodyguard. Even when they had a chance to ambush him outside, the man in the bio-mimetic mask was so powerful that he was detected long before they could act. All the warriors were taken down before they even saw Bai Xiaoyu.

All the berserkers he sent never returned.

Knowing they couldn't be rescued, he had no choice but to painfully detonate the chips in their brains.

Now, with Elder Qi leading a research team there, it was a perfect opportunity, coinciding with the earlier notice to have Qi Yun go together.

At that moment, Bai Xiaoyu frowned as he faced another group of mindless berserkers, more than the last time—a full thirty of them. After Big Black brought them back, Bai Xiaoyu used his mental energy to neutralize the residual mental energy from the chips in their brains. After all, there had been a close call with the previous batch of berserkers almost successfully self-destructing.

The berserkers who had regained their sanity also came to help, and the enraged roars of the berserkers, now regaining their sanity, echoed once more through the underground medical facility after two months.

Having treated a batch before, Bai Xiaoyu was now more composed, controlling them and then having two legions help find their relatives.

At this point, Zhou Miaomiao's eggs had successfully started developing, and a bunch of eggs were now scurrying around, full of energy.

As for Bai Xiaoyu's batch of eggs, the incubation had already begun. Sixty new eggs were delivered earlier, followed by another twenty-two, and with the six hibernating eggs delivered by President Luo, the remaining twelve spots were allocated to two legions.

Among the eggs delivered later, except for the six hibernating eggs that President Luo sent over, which didn't exhibit the issue—likely because these eggs had been dormant for several years or more and weren't recently born—all the other eggs, whether they were the twenty-two new regional eggs or the new eggs from the two legions, showed highly active dark matter.

For the past ten days or so, Bai Xiaoyu had been closely monitoring these highly active dark matter eggs, boiling them every few days to expel the substances. Currently, the earliest three eggs that were incubated at Ren Zitao's place had been developing for a month and a half, and the cubs inside had started to take shape, showing no difference from the cubs in other eggs.

One of the three eggs even contained a small beastman cub, indicating that the dark matter hadn't affected the cub's form.

Bai Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief.

He had received notice from Imperial Star, informing him that a research team would be sent over, which surprised him a little. After all, nine out of ten elders from the breeding association believed there was no issue, and he thought the matter wasn't being taken seriously on Imperial Star.

However, since they were sending people over, he would just provide them with the data he had and cooperate accordingly.

Thus, he quickly shifted his attention back to the eggs until two days later, when Old Qi arrived with his team.

Old Qi looked at him with a somewhat meaningful gaze, but Bai Xiaoyu paid no mind to it. After greeting each other, Bai Xiaoyu was about to leave since the data transfer could be handled by President Luo.

Just as he stepped out, someone rushed straight into his arms.

He spun around, deftly avoiding the collision.

The person looked over, revealing a strikingly beautiful, somewhat androgynous face.

Bai Xiaoyu froze for a moment, recognizing the face but not quite placing it.

The person struggled to maintain their expression, saying, "I came all the way from Imperial Star to see you, and this is how you greet me?"

Upon hearing the voice, Bai Xiaoyu suddenly remembered who it was. "Qi Yun? What are you here for?"

Looking at Bai Xiaoyu, Qi Yun, who had mostly seen Bai Xiaoyu's dramatic, tiger-like persona on the star network, found it hard to tear his eyes away from the person standing before him.

Over the past year, this person, who had once been too weak to walk a few steps without panting, had not only grown taller but also more robust, looking much stronger and more confident, almost magnetic. The only thing that remained unchanged was the indifferent look in Bai Xiaoyu's eyes, as if he were looking at a stranger.

Qi Yun replied, "I came to find you."

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu now, he was suddenly reminded of when Bai Kan had teased Bai Xiaoyu about his poor taste, saying he should look in the mirror more often instead of pursuing Qi Yun.

The once frail Bai Xiaoyu, despite his arrogant behavior, was still considered the only redeeming quality in the eyes of those in Imperial Star due to his exceptional looks, which had now become even more outstanding. It felt like this was the real Bai Xiaoyu, finally coming into his own.

Bai Xiaoyu took a step back, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. "You came to find me?"

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu trying to keep his distance, Qi Yun's expression stiffened slightly. "Is it not okay? Are you unhappy?"

Bai Xiaoyu said, "No, it's the same with anyone. If there's nothing else, this is it."

As he turned to leave, Qi Yun, somewhat exasperated, blurted out, "You weren't like this when you were pursuing me."

Back then, Bai Xiaoyu would give him anything he asked for, even though he hadn't agreed. Now, although he was here because Bai Qi had forced him to come, seeing the drastically changed Bai Xiaoyu made him feel resentful.

At that moment, the people coming in and out of the breeding facility perked up their ears, and the novice interns who were helping to remove the dark substances from the eggs delivered by other breeding facilities exchanged knowing glances.

Just then, little golden tiger, who had come to find Bai Xiaoyu, stopped in his tracks, staring at the two in front of him.

What did he just hear? His older brother had pursued this person?

Little golden tiger sized up Qi Yun, and after a moment, the corners of his mouth twitched. He couldn't help but think—his brother must have been blind before!

Although that Big Black was extremely annoying and always hogging his brother's bed, this guy was completely no match for Big Black in terms of looks, physique, or strength.

No matter how Little Golden Tiger thought about it, he couldn't help but shout his opinion.

Bai Xiaoyu turned his head and saw the culprit. He walked over and grabbed the back of the little guy's neck. "That's a question you should ask yourself."

Feeling challenged about his taste in aesthetics, Little Golden Tiger immediately exploded, shifting back to his human form to argue, "The little merfolk I fancy, which one of them isn't far better than him? Even that little zombie looks ten thousand times better than him."

Usually, Little Golden Tiger wouldn't hate someone for no reason. No matter who it was, as long as his brother liked them, it was fine. The problem was, this guy seemed to have ill intentions toward his brother.

He didn't like this person.

Bai Xiaoyu reached out and pinched his little face. "Is that so?"

The little guy nodded and then quietly leaned in to whisper in his ear, "Does Big Black know you have such a problematic connection?"

Bai Xiaoyu looked down at him. "What nonsense. You sure seem to know a lot for a little guy."

The little guy blinked his big eyes. "Then will you play with me today? When Big Black comes looking for me, I don't want to go for training either."

Bai Xiaoyu tightened his grip. "Skipping class?"

The little guy said, "I miss my brother."

Bai Xiaoyu turned around, still holding the little guy. "No way. Back to training."

The cub instantly shifted back into his beast form, trying to escape with a flick of his tail, but Bai Xiaoyu was quick and grabbed him. Just then, a tall figure walked over.

At this moment, Qi Yun realized he was being completely ignored and reached out, trying to stop the person. Bai Xiaoyu, however, placed the tiger cub, who was trying to escape, into Qi Yun's arms.

As Little Golden Tiger and Qi Yun locked eyes, Bai Xiaoyu's lips curled slightly. "You can't escape your past, Little Zeus. Even with a new body, you still have to pay for what you did."

Little Golden Tiger, snapping out of his shock, bristled with anger, and sharp claws sprouted from his hands.

Big Black walked over. His keen senses allowed him to hear Little Golden Tiger's whispered complaints from far away.

Noticing Big Black's intense gaze, Bai Xiaoyu met his eyes calmly. "It's not mine..."

Little Golden Tiger broke free and was grabbed by Big Black again, yelling, "If it's not yours, whose could it be? How dare you just throw me over?"

At this point, someone in the corner couldn't help but laugh out loud. Bai Xiaoyu wasn't surprised. "Xiao Lü, I thought you weren't going to show up."

Xiao Lü stepped forward. By now, Qi Yun, with several claw marks on his face, was fuming. Seeing another attractive figure, he spat, "So, are you now into him?"

Xiao Lü walked up. "Even if I am, what of it? We have an agreement from long ago. I made a pact with Bai Xiaoyu that if my partner hadn't appeared after a thousand years, he would become my partner."

With that, Xiao Lü suddenly threw a punch at Qi Yun.

The supposedly invincible, S-ranked Qi Yun was knocked out cold, his ears ringing, unable to move.

Xiao Lü looked at him with disdain. "So weak. How dare someone with no skills think they could be a rival for our dragon clan?"

In their world, the competition for a mate was brutal, and they never held back from a fight when they met a rival.

Xiao Lü blew on his fist and walked toward Bai Xiaoyu. "Alright, the problem's temporarily solved. Anyway, you're my millennium-long promised partner. How did you end up with someone so weak that you didn't even need a second punch..."

His gaze flicked to Big Black standing beside Bai Xiaoyu, and he quickly changed the subject. "Bai Bai, I came to find you because the dragon cubs couldn't come over. They asked me to bring you something."

As Bai Xiaoyu and the others walked away, Qi Yun glared at their retreating backs, his eyes burning with hatred. He swore that once Bai Xiaoyu took him to Bai Qi, he would get his revenge tenfold.

Qi Yun caused a commotion here, attracting everyone's attention. Old Qi, who was still here, linked up with Elder Chen and Elder Han, who were still in disguise. Both sides had the same goal, so they quickly reached an agreement.

Bai Xiaoyu watched as Xiao Lü pulled out tiny milk teeth, scales of various shapes and colors, and half of a bug cub's small horn.

Bai Xiaoyu’s gaze softened as he looked at the items. "How are the cubs doing?"

Xiao Lü replied, "Of course they're good. They fight with the elders in the forbidden area every day just to get out. These were lost during their battles."

Xiao Lü’s enthusiasm grew when she talked about the little dragons. "They also said to tell you to wait for them. They’ll storm the dragon den to come see you."

Bai Xiaoyu smiled. "They have great goals. But please tell the cubs to lay off the elders for now. I’ll see if I can find a chance to visit them in the future."

"They might not listen, but don't worry. We dragons are always fighting as we grow up. It's strange if we don't fight." Xiao Lü paused, seemingly sensing the surroundings. After confirming it was safe, he suddenly lowered his voice. "When I came, they had just completed their second molt, growing to the age of three all at once."

Bai Xiaoyu instantly thought of Little Prince and Little Bai. Were the cubs, who also have Bug ancestry, growing at this inhuman rate as well? As long as they had enough energy, they could surpass the normal human growth rate, undergoing rapid growth at regular intervals.

Xiao Lü pointed to his own leg. "Before, they were only as tall as my knee, but now they're up to my thigh."

Moreover, the dragon cubs were eating more. While high-energy meats were plentiful for the dragon clan, the real focus was on the potions. After the cubs' molt and evolution, the daily consumption of prepared potions had suddenly increased three to five times. Now, in addition to bringing gifts from the cubs to Bai Xiaoyu, Xiao Lü also needed to bring back potions.