Chapter 60: Xiao Sa Takes Care of the Baby and Reunion

Chapter 60: Xiao Sa Takes Care of the Baby and Reunion

The baby hadn't grown any teeth yet, but his mouth was surprisingly powerful. Once he latched on, he wouldn’t let go, sucking with a loud smacking sound.

He was really putting all his strength into it, but strangely, no milk came out.

Xiao Sa winced and drew in a sharp breath. Mercy! Even an Alpha who’s seen it all was caught off guard by this.

"Let go! You little thing, how rude! You can’t just suck on anything for milk!"

He grabbed the baby’s round head with both hands, trying to pry him off his chest.

Little Star stubbornly held on for a bit, and finally, with a pop, was forced to let go of his favorite spot, his mouth empty except for his own saliva.

Little Star pouted, tilted his head, and stared at him with wide, confused eyes.

Daddy has milk, so Daddy is good. Mommy doesn’t have milk, so Mommy is bad!

This vivid thought was unmistakably conveyed through his eyes.

"???"

Xiao Sa's face darkened. "A kid your age should be off the bottle by now. Your mom must be spoiling you. Is she still breastfeeding you?"

Watching from the side, Big Brother burst out laughing, spilling an embarrassing secret. "Xiao Sa, don't you remember that when you were little, you were still asking for milk from Mom even after you were over a year old? Later, Mom couldn't take it anymore and used mustard to make you stop. This little one is just like you."

Caught off guard by this embarrassing reminder of his past, Xiao Sa felt a shiver run down his scalp and his ears heat up. "Big Brother, let's not bring up those old, rotten stories anymore."

He couldn't help but mutter quietly, thinking that he couldn't have been that foolish when he was little.

Haino sidled up to Xiaosha and chuckled twice, "Let me try to soothe him."

As an artificial intelligence who had just recently become "human," Haino always felt an inexplicable closeness and fondness for newly born human infants.

He pulled open his coat and began unbuttoning his black shirt, revealing two exaggeratedly large pectorals, adorned with rugged scars that matched his wild aesthetic. The deep brown flesh quivered under his control.

Haino flashed the baby what he thought was a very friendly smile, "Come here, little one, Uncle will take care of you."

Xiaosha: "..."

Big Brother: "..."

Little Star stared blankly at Haino, blinking slowly, then gradually widened his eyes. Every hair, every eyebrow was filled with rejection. Finally, he let out a loud cry, the piercing decibels echoing through the room.

"Uh." Haino scratched his head awkwardly, looked down at his masculine chest, spread his hands, and shrugged, "The little guy really doesn't know how to appreciate it."

Xiaosha helplessly cradled the baby in his arms, gently patting his back, and glanced at Haino speechlessly, "You scared him."

Little Star struggled to burrow deeper into Xiaosha's embrace, trying to repeat his old trick. But Xiaosha, quick as a flash, grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him up, extending his index finger to poke the pouting lips.

"No sucking where you shouldn't."

The baby pouted, opened his mouth, and clamped down on Xiaosha's finger, refusing to let go, as if he couldn't stand not having something in his mouth.

Xiaosha's finger moved, and the baby's head swayed along with it.

Xiaosha laughed at his antics, about to tease him, when he suddenly felt a dampness seeping through his clothes.

Xiaosha stared in disbelief—Baby had peed!

His mouth twitched as the baby seemed unaware of what he had done, feeling completely at ease, and broke into a silly giggle at Xiao Sa.

Haino nodded with his arms crossed. "So it wasn't because I scared him that he cried. It was because he needed to pee."

Xiao Sa’s brother sighed, unsure whether to laugh or cry. "There are no baby supplies in the room. We should go out and buy some for him."

Xiao Sa quickly took the baby to the bathroom to clean up, changed into fresh clothes, and picked up Little Star with one arm.

"Let's go out and buy some milk powder for you."

Xiao Sa took the little one to a nearby general supermarket.

As soon as they reached the children's section, Little Star's eyes were glued to the shelves filled with a variety of toys.

A mini piano that emitted crisp bell sounds, a dinosaur toy that shot light beams from its mouth, and chick plushies that squeaked when squeezed...

Little Star couldn't move another step, struggling to wriggle free from Xiao Sa's arms.

His eyes sparkled as he looked at the toys on the shelf, then turned to stare directly at Xiao Sa, the little stars in his eyes almost blinding Xiao Sa.

His fair, tender face was already screaming "I want it" in big letters.

Xiao Sa tutted, his long eyebrows raised slightly, eyes narrowing as he looked down at the baby who was fussing for toys, ruthlessly exhaling a soft sound.

"I'm here to buy milk powder and diapers for you. When your parents find you, they can buy toys for you."

This little guy really knew how to push his luck. Not only did he cling to him, but now he wanted to act cute and make him buy toys?

Yeah, right. No way. He wasn't raising someone else's child.

"Alright, let's go buy the milk powder." As Xiao Sa took a step forward, he suddenly felt a tugging force from behind.

He turned his head to see the baby's chubby little hands firmly gripping the shelf, using all his strength, refusing to leave his beloved toys.

While pulling on the shelf, he turned his head to look at Xiao Sa, his golden curls bouncing as he shook his head.

His deep blue, clear eyes, filled with sorrow and pleading, looked at Xiao Sa with his mouth pouting, on the verge of tears.

Xiao Sa was speechless.

For a moment, he seemed to see a young Landis, his eyes filled with longing as he coveted a toy robot in the display window.

An adorable little angel who was too cute for words. Who could resist making him happy? No wonder his mother would pawn her own coat just to make him happy.

Xiao Sa sucked in a breath, a vein throbbing in his temple—this kid, who was he trying to charm with that face?!

The baby pushed his chubby face closer to Xiao Sa, forcing him to tilt his head back, looking away.

Xiao Sa flicked the baby's forehead lightly with his finger and sneered. "Don't get so close. Does looking like Landis make you special? I'm not falling for it!"

After a while, Haino pushed a shopping cart behind them, filled with all the toys Little Star had taken a liking to, piled into a small mountain—the piano, the dinosaur, the chick, and a bunch of miscellaneous unknown items.

Xiao Sa sighed with a troubled look in his eyes. Having a face like that really does make you something special, doesn’t it?

Just where did this kid learn to act cute? It couldn't be something he was born with, right?

Sigh, the situation was complicated. Who knew when he'd see Landis again, and what kind of trouble this little one would cause in the meantime…

Xiao Sa held the baby, gently pinching Little Star's soft, youthful face that closely resembled Landis's. He found a small comfort in seeing the little one so happy.

Xiao Sa added a bunch of diapers to the cart and couldn’t resist buying a new plush chick pajama set for Little Star. By the time they got to the formula section, Haino’s cart was practically overflowing.

Uncertain which type of formula was suitable for a baby of this age, Xiao Sa handed the baby to his older brother for a moment. Looking at the shelves full of various brands of formula, he hesitated before deciding to call over a sales assistant.

"Sir, are you buying formula for your son?"

Xiao Sa turned around and saw a polite, slender young man behind him. The man stared at Xiao Sa for a moment, then smiled and said, "These days, it's rare to see a father picking out formula himself."

Xiao Sa raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm not his father. Ah, never mind, do you know which type is suitable for a one or two-year-old?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the man's face turned slightly red, but his eyes sparkled with surprise. He picked two cans of formula from the shelf and handed them to Xiao Sa. "This type is easier to digest and absorb, suitable for babies who have just been weaned."

He paused, his gaze subtly shifting up and down Xiao Sa's handsome profile and tall figure. Then, as if unintentionally, he asked, "You look so young, sir. Are you married?"

Before he could finish, Little Star had already started wailing, struggling in his older brother’s arms, trying to jump towards Xiao Sa.

Xiao Sa had no choice but to take the baby back and soothe him in his arms.

Little Star pouted and suddenly became unhappy again, grabbing Xiao Sa's collar and climbing onto him. He used both hands and feet until he was hugging Xiao Sa's head.

His entire round body was lying on Xiao Sa's face, as if hugging a rare treasure he didn’t want others to see.

"What are you doing, kid? Let go of me, I can't see!" Xiao Sa was almost suffocated.

It took him a long time to free his head from Little Star's embrace.

The little baby was still flailing his arms and legs, clearly upset about something, before blowing a long string of snot bubbles at the dumbfounded young man beside them.

Although Little Star didn’t fully understand the adult world, he was born with an S-rank mental energy, a rare and powerful ability inherited from his parents. Not only was his body and mind mature for his age, but he was also unusually sensitive to his surroundings and the difference between good and evil.

In his small world, only his PaPa and MaMa could be close.

But this strange man had a look in his eyes when he looked at MaMa that made Little Star dislike him instantly.

After blowing the snot bubbles, Little Star stuck out his tongue and went, "Pbbbt!" before finally being satisfied and burying his head in Xiao Sa's shoulder again.

The young man's mouth twitched, and he said awkwardly, "Children are naughty and need to be disciplined properly."

Xiao Sa's brows furrowed slightly, and he replied coldly, "Sorry, I don't need your concern, sir. Also, I'm already married."

With that, he stopped paying attention to the man and, calling for Haino and his older brother, quickly left with Little Star in his arms.

Back in the room, Xiao Sa changed Little Star's diaper and dressed him in the newly bought yellow plush chick pajamas. He shook the warm bottle of milk and gently put it into the baby's mouth.

At first, Little Star was very reluctant and refused to drink from the bottle. He insisted on being in MaMa's arms to drink milk to feel at ease, wanting nothing to do with bottled milk.

No matter how Xiao Sa coaxed him, the baby refused to drink properly. When the nipple was brought to his left, he turned his face to the right, and when it was brought to the right, he turned to the left, wanting only to climb into Xiao Sa's arms.

Xiao Sa was speechless. Whoever’s kid is this, they’re impossible to handle!

Deciding to try something different, he brought the bottle to his own mouth, saying indifferently, "If you don't drink this, I will. If you don't drink, you'll go hungry."

He pretended to drink from the bottle while sneaking a glance at Little Star.

Sure enough, the baby's face showed a look of shock, and for some reason, Xiao Sa saw a mix of emotions on the baby’s innocent yet expressive face.

The baby crawled from the bed onto Xiao Sa, then gently patted his cheek with his soft, chubby hand, wrapped his arms around Xiao Sa’s neck, and rubbed his chin affectionately.

Xiao Sa stared at him, bewildered. What was this kid up to?

Little Star rubbed his face against Xiao Sa’s, and from the other’s eyes, Xiao Sa actually read a sense of affection.

Xiao Sa froze as if struck by lightning, his temple throbbing. Could it be that this guy is sympathizing with me?

Can a toddler really feel that much? Or am I just imagining it?

Xiao Sa, exasperated, shoved the bottle into the baby’s mouth. "Drink your milk. If you’re hungry later, don’t come crying to me."

Little Star glanced at his 'stubborn' MaMa, then at the bottle, before reluctantly opening his mouth to take the nipple, giving Xiao Sa a sidelong glance as if doing him a huge favor.

Xiao Sa let out a long sigh.

Taking care of this little one was more exhausting than battling humanoid mutants for a day and night. He had no idea how his parents managed it.

※※※

On the other side.

In the opulent administrative palace, Landis was engaged in formal negotiations with the customs planet’s administrator.

The officer was on edge, carefully navigating the conversation with this powerful man who could draw his gun at the slightest provocation.

No matter what he said or the benefits he hinted at offering Landis, begging him to go easy, Landis remained seated on the sofa, unmoved.

The two aides standing behind him were equally expressionless and still.

"You have one week," Landis said coldly, uncrossing his legs. "Eliminate the illegal armed forces. Fail to meet the deadline, and you’ll face the consequences."

The administrative officer was drenched in sweat, his mouth dry from talking for over an hour, but all he got was an ultimatum.

Suddenly, Landis's personal terminal beeped. He frowned and opened it, only to stand up abruptly in shock.

"What’s happening? Did the mutants show up?" his second-in-command, Caro, quickly asked.

"No," Landis’s voice was tight with tension. "Little Star is gone!"

He immediately opened his terminal, made several calls, and then commanded the bewildered officer, "Get me all the surveillance footage from the hotel I'm staying at."

Before the officer could ask what Landis was looking for, the latter had already strode off with his aides.

Landis boarded the aircraft and flew back to the hotel at top speed, his face cold and silent the whole way.

Seeing his superior's anxiety, Caro comforted him in a low voice, "Little Star will be fine."

Landis’s eyes were unusually grave as he frowned. "I’m worried some fool might know the purpose of my visit and have kidnapped Little Star to threaten us."

He slowly and meticulously wiped the gun barrel, his voice calm but filled with murderous intent. "Put the Third Legion at the spaceport on high alert."

Back at the hotel, Landis learned the full story from the two attendants, who looked like they had seen a ghost, and reviewed the floor surveillance, barely containing his anger and anxiety.

Little Star had indeed vanished into thin air. No outsiders had entered the suite all morning, and there was no sign of the child leaving the room. They had searched the room countless times, even dismantling the ventilation ducts, but found no trace of the baby’s crawling.

The two attendants and the security personnel at the door were on the verge of tears, trembling and too terrified to meet his gaze. "We’ve looked nearby, in the stairwells and elevator surveillance, but there’s no sign of the young master."

Landis took a deep breath, his face dark with anger. His blue eyes, cold as ice, seemed to challenge anyone to meet his gaze. But he didn’t lash out at his subordinates. Instead, he suppressed his emotions and said coldly, "Are you absolutely sure he was here just a few minutes ago and vanished within three minutes?"

The attendant nodded hurriedly, "Yes, definitely no more than three minutes."

Landis' eyes flickered as he fell into thought.

In this situation, there were generally three possibilities. Little Star had unique genes, being an alien baby. Who knew if Xiao Sa possessed any alien superpowers, though he had never mentioned anything of the sort before.

Caro frowned, pondering for a moment before saying, "Sir, could it be that the kidnapper utilized spiritual entity abilities?"

Landis nodded. This was the second possibility. He furrowed his brows, thinking carefully, then shook his head, "If there was a kidnapping, the kidnapper would need to be within sight of Little Star, but there were no strangers around."

If someone's spiritual entity abilities could ignore spatial and distance limitations, stealthily stealing a child under the protection of so many people, that would be unbelievably strong.

If such a person existed, they could steal Landis' child today and even steal the emperor outside the palace tomorrow.

Caro's brows knitted together, "Then what could be the reason?"

After the initial panic and anger, Landis had completely calmed down, "The most likely possibility is related to spiritual entity abilities, either the kidnapper's or..."

A flash of realization crossed his eyes, and he looked incredulous. Could it be that Little Star had awakened his spiritual entity and abilities without any warning at such a young age?

Generally, children in the star sea region awakened their spiritual entities naturally, but it usually happened when their mental sea matured enough to nurture spiritual entities, often after the age of six or seven when they started school.

Little Star was only six months old. Even if he developed faster than other children, he was still the equivalent of a one-year-old. Awakening a spiritual entity and abilities without any guidance or training would be just as absurd.

But Xiao Sa was an alien and didn't have a spiritual entity. Could his child be stronger than his father?

For a moment, Landis didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

Caro, having followed him for many years and seen much, guessed a few things from his superior's expression and was also filled with disbelief, "Could it be that Little Star just awakened spiritual entity abilities like teleportation or invisibility?"

Caro looked at Landis with a complex expression. Truly the offspring of an S-rank powerhouse, showing astonishing talent at such a young age.

Though he didn't know the secret that Xiao Sa was an alien, it was clear that the man wasn't someone to trifle with.

Landis took several deep breaths to maintain his composure, his face stern as he ordered the deputies behind him, "Get the search team from the warship over here. Also, send someone to the administrative officer to obtain access to review the surveillance of all nearby areas and expand the search range."

As they were newly arrived external forces, if Little Star had indeed been kidnapped, they couldn't make too much of a fuss and provoke the other side. If Little Star had run off on his own, there was no way a child of his age could crawl far.

"Yes, sir."

Landis' security personnel immediately sprang into action.

To figure out how Little Star had left, Landis ordered the search team to thoroughly examine every corner of the suite.

Finally, they found fibers from the baby's pajamas and crawling marks on the carpet, leading from the room out onto the corridor's carpet.

In other words, Little Star hadn't teleported or been kidnapped. He had indeed crawled away while invisible.

The search team members looked at each other. Caro shook his head, half-amused and half-exasperated. Landis breathed a sigh of relief, though just barely. At least this wasn't the worst-case scenario.

His suppressed anger flared up again as soon as he forced himself to calm down. That naughty brat—when he found him, he'd make sure the kid got a spanking!

We'll see if he dares to crawl around like that again!

Another deputy, Aurel, rushed back, a look of joy on his face, "Sir, we've found footage of Little Master!"

He immediately opened his optical device and projected the intercepted surveillance footage.

On the busy street, a human baby in an orange tiger onesie suddenly appeared on the ground, hidden by the nearby flowers and unnoticed by passersby.

Landis sat on the sofa with a dark expression. This kid actually ran outside the hotel. That was incredibly bold. Even if he wasn't kidnapped by a malicious criminal, it was still possible he could have been taken away by someone acting on a whim.

In the next scene, Little Star seemed to have discovered something and began to crawl quickly again. Despite his short arms and legs, his speed was astonishing, and his urgency was such that he looked like he was missing only a pair of wings.

Everyone’s eyes followed him closely until Little Star crawled to the feet of a tall man, hugging his ankle and looking up with a silly giggle.

The surveillance had no sound, so they couldn’t hear Little Star’s enthusiastic "MaMa." But Landis’s core subordinates in the suite all recognized the man in the footage.

Caro and O'laire were so shocked their jaws almost dropped. "Isn't that... isn't that... Mr. Xiao Sa?"

How could he be here?! So, the young master actually crawled out on his own to find his dad?

And found him almost immediately—what incredible luck! He must be some kind of prodigy!

From the second Xiao Sa appeared in the surveillance footage, Landis was frozen in place like a stone statue, his expression a mix of shock, joy, and anger. Eventually, he silently exhaled, a huge weight lifted from his heart.

Before Landis could issue further orders to find them, a third person entered the surveillance footage.

It was a man as handsome as Xiao Sa, with deep chestnut hair and black eyes, wearing a simple white shirt and casual trousers, his tall figure exuding a gentle demeanor.

He walked over and had an intimate conversation with Xiao Sa. At one emotional point, he teared up, while Xiao Sa, holding Little Star in one arm, gently comforted him with the other.

An awkward silence filled the room as everyone’s eyes subtly turned to their superior sitting in the middle.

Landis sat ramrod straight, his jaw clenched so tight it looked like a bowstring about to snap. His breathing grew heavier as he stared at the two adults and one child embracing in the projection.

What a perfect family scene, as if they were the real deal!

Landis’s eye twitched fiercely, finding it painful to see.

So, Xiao Sa hadn’t left the country and left him with divorce papers just to shake him off. To avoid being tracked, he even changed his appearance, including dyeing his hair, and in less than a year, he had a new family!

His worst fears were finally confirmed. Xiao Sa had never intended to come back to him.

Good, very good!

Caro had been watching his superior closely and knew it was bad. Knowing Landis as he did, his superior was on the edge of explosive rage. He even wondered if that stranger appeared before Landis, whether their boss would pull out his gun and shoot him right there.

Regarding his superior’s personal matters, Caro didn’t know all the secrets, but he was aware Xiao Sa hadn’t been seen on Central Star for the past half year, and he knew about the order to intercept the mechanized beast legion.

Could it be that Xiao Sa had never left the country, leaving Landis to give birth alone, and had found a new lover?!

Given Landis’s temper, this was going to be a disaster. Caro felt like he was in way over his head.

Landis shot up from his seat, turning sharply. "Where are they now?"

O'laire made a few quick calls and stammered out the address. "Th-they're at a nearby business hotel suite..."

Landis took the address and turned to leave. Caro and O'laire exchanged a nervous glance and hurriedly followed.