Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Ying Yuanxing gazed at the egg in the incubator, curious about what would hatch. As he pondered, the chicken he held stirred.

He looked down. The previously limp, unconscious hen had opened its eyes, struggling vigorously, held by its wings.

"What... what’s happening?" Huang Yu froze, seeing Huang Hua awake. He glanced at the egg, his head spinning.

Earlier, Huang Hua pecked the egg and fainted, and then the egg became ready for incubation. He’d thought Huang Hua’s soul had transferred, but now...

Huang Yu scrutinized the chicken in Ying Yuanxing’s hand, searching for a clue. Yet, he couldn’t discern if it was Huang Hua or just an ordinary chicken.

Huang Hua had lost her self-awareness too long ago, fully animalized, with no trace of her former self.

Suddenly, Huang Yu had an idea. He quickly grabbed some hay, placed it on the ground, and asked Ying Yuanxing to release Huang Hua. He had a way to confirm the chicken’s identity.

Ying Yuanxing complied. The hen flapped its wings, fluttering awkwardly away, clearly displeased by being grabbed.

But seeing the hay, its eyes lit up, and it immediately began pecking. Meanwhile, Huang Yu let out a soft, whimpering peep.

Without seeing Huang Yu, the sound alone would have made Ying Yuanxing think it was a chick—so tender, so pitiful, evoking compassion.

But then he saw Huang Yu’s hulking frame, and Ying Yuanxing fell silent for a moment, turning away. It was a bit of an eyesore.

His younger brothers stared at Huang Yu in shock. One blurted, "Big brother, didn’t you say you..." couldn’t make such sounds anymore?

Huang Yu ignored them, continuing his beseeching cries while glaring. He was racking his brain to confirm Huang Hua’s identity, and all they did was watch and bicker instead of helping.

Originally, Huang Yu had considered asking Ying Yuanxing later—if eggs had to be laid, he’d do it himself and spare his brothers.

But now? They could all eat more and lay eggs sooner. Less idle time.

The younger rooster who had spoken guiltily lowered his head, daring not to utter another sound.

Hearing Huang Yu’s cheeps, the hen briefly looked up at him.

Huang Yu’s heart pounded. He didn’t know whether he hoped she would act as he expected or not.

Meeting the hen’s gaze, Huang Yu watched as it simply lowered its head and continued pecking at the hay. Clearly, the hay suited its taste. After finishing what Huang Yu had brought, it noticed the coop door was open and immediately dashed out to the vast pasture.

As a rooster, Huang Yu’s eyes were small, and his face was no different from other chickens. Yet, Ying Yuanxing could somehow perceive the sadness in him.

"This isn’t her," Huang Yu murmured. If it were Huang Hua, even fully animalized, she had one unchanging habit—whenever he made that pleading sound, she would always give him food.

It was their agreement, a way to confirm if Huang Hua still had any awareness, even if just a subconscious habit.

When the farm had enough food, Huang Hua would sometimes give him treats, and he’d eat them or not—she never forced him.

But when rations ran thin, Huang Yu rarely tested this, because as soon as he made the sound, Huang Hua would force-feed him. At that point, he had no choice—she would circle him relentlessly until he ate.

Yet, not testing at all wasn’t an option. Back then, Huang Hua looked just like any other chicken. If not for the scarlet streak on her foot, Huang Yu sometimes couldn’t tell them apart.

The gnawing dread from this uncertainty would build until it crossed a threshold in his heart, forcing him to prepare some food and check Huang Hua’s condition.

Before, no matter how many times he tried, he always got a reassuring response. Now, there was none.

Even if he guessed Huang Hua might have transferred into the egg, the lack of response still unsettled him. What if his guess was wrong? Did that mean his sister had completely forgotten him?

Ying Yuanxing glanced at the hen that had run off, then at Huang Yu, before walking over to the incubator and touching the egg. Reading the metrics that popped up, he said, "Huang Hua couldn’t have just disappeared. This egg must be her."

Huang Yu snapped his head up. Had Ying Yuanxing discovered something? How could he be so sure?

Ying Yuanxing checked the displayed bond indicator and ID tag on the egg—neither had been there earlier. Now, they confirmed the egg was Huang Hua.

But what would hatch from it? A chicken’s body with Huang Hua’s consciousness? Or something else?

Huang Yu couldn’t see what Ying Yuanxing did, but the latter’s certainty inexplicably reassured him. After being on the farm for so long, he had some understanding of Ying Yuanxing’s character—he wouldn’t say such things without knowing something.

Now certain the egg was Huang Hua, Huang Yu scanned the incubator’s surroundings and suddenly saw danger everywhere. The egg was left completely unprotected—what if a chicken or duck flew up and knocked it off?

Moreover, Huang Yu had another worry. Even if the egg was Huang Hua, what kind of Huang Hua would hatch? If she looked exactly like an ordinary hen, without the crimson blemish on her foot, how would he recognize her?

If it were just for himself, Huang Yu wouldn’t speak up. But for Huang Hua, he had to.

"Fine, I’ll have them stay somewhere else. If needed, they can stay outside for a while," Ying Yuanxing said casually. He remembered one thing—hatching chicks required enough space in the coop. If it was full, the hatch would fail.

Huang Yu thanked him quietly. Ying Yuanxing waved it off dismissively and messaged Yuan Qing, asking her to build more coops and stables.

But mentioning the stables reminded Ying Yuanxing of something.

"Those cows and sheep are also anomalies, right?" Though he was already certain, he needed Mu Ye’s final confirmation.

Mu Ye nodded, puzzled as to why Ying Yuanxing was asking again.

Ying Yuanxing fell silent for a moment. If he remembered correctly, cows and sheep could also give birth to calves and lambs. If it was the same situation as Huang Hua, what would those offspring be like?

"Never mind, we’ll see later," Ying Yuanxing shook his head.

Three days passed in a flash. Huang Yu had spent all that time in the coop, even crouching by the door to eat—just a few quick bites before rushing back inside.

Of course, in those three days, he had also laid three eggs—all large. But Ying Yuanxing didn’t use them for the other entities on the farm. They could wait until Huang Hua hatched. A few more days wouldn’t matter.

As the time Ying Yuanxing had mentioned for hatching drew closer, Huang Yu grew increasingly nervous. He shooed his younger brothers to the door, afraid their liveliness might scare Huang Hua—what if she hatched as a chick? A few young roosters' rowdy presence could be too intimidating for a hatchling.

Ying Yuanxing also arrived early at the coop, equally curious about Huang Hua’s condition.

Mu Ye followed behind him, staring nervously at the incubator. If Huang Hua could regain her self-awareness in a new body, could the other animals do the same?

Huang Yu gazed fixedly at the egg, feeling as though it was growing larger—was he seeing things?

No, he wasn’t. The egg was indeed expanding, its shell grew translucent.

Ying Yuanxing’s eyes widened. The egg had grown dozens of times larger. If it had been the size for hatching a chick before, now it was big enough for an adult hen.

Under their watchful eyes, the shell cracked, the fissures widening. They leaned in, trying to glimpse what was inside, but it was shrouded in dark mist—nothing was visible.

"Doesn’t seem like a chick’s hatching," Ying Yuanxing murmured. If this was how chicks hatched, he’d have to wonder what monstrosity of a chicken would emerge.

Suddenly, a crisp *crack* sounded. Ying Yuanxing looked down—then jerked back abruptly.

A hand reached out from the egg. The scene was straight out of a B-grade horror flick, chilling at first glance. But after the initial shock, Ying Yuanxing quickly realized—

Actually, it wasn’t that scary. At most, a hand emerging from an egg was a bit startling. Maybe viewers wouldn’t even be frightened.

*Viewers would beg to differ—their courage wasn’t that strong either.*

"Not scary at all, but my heart rate skyrocketed the moment that hand appeared."

"My pulse spiked too. The scene wasn’t frightening, but I was still terrified."

"The streamer seems a bit startled too."

"This scene is truly mind-bending. It's normal to be startled if you're not prepared."

"But, is this a supernatural being hatching from an egg? Feels quite magical."

"Speaking of which, if it can really hatch, Mu Ye's ability is pretty amazing."

"Before, when I heard Mu Ye talk about this ability, I thought using it to save anomalies was of limited use—like, useful but with too strong side effects. But now, if it can really restore Huang Hua, this ability is practically incredible."

"It's not that Mu Ye's ability is strong, but the combination of the streamer's and Mu Ye's abilities is powerful."

Ying Yuanxing steadied himself, watching as the outstretched hand felt around. Huang Yu moved closer at this point, letting out soft, chick-like peeps, even offering his head under the palm, which made Ying Yuanxing a little worried.

Even though Huang Yu is an anomaly, so is Huang Hua. If Huang Hua doesn’t recognize him and mistakes him for an enemy, isn’t Huang Yu basically exposing his vulnerability?

Pale fingers touched the fluffy chicken head, stiffened for a moment, then rubbed it a few times, trembling slightly.

*Crack*, the eggshell split further, revealing a small forearm—equally fair but somewhat thin.

Judging by the length of the arm, Ying Yuanxing gestured—wasn’t this a child’s arm?

After extending one arm, Huang Hua seemed tired, pausing for a while before continuing to tear at the shell. Despite the eggshell looking thin, Huang Hua struggled, making Huang Yu eager to help.

But he’d learned the basics of animal hatching these past few days. Normally, the animal must break free on its own—outside help might cause issues.

After an agonizing wait, Huang Hua finally tore a large hole in the shell, her head and half her body emerging.

"Big sis?" Huang Yu tentatively called out, staring at the familiar yet youthful face.

Huang Hua looked at Huang Yu’s much larger body and smiled, reaching out to pat his head. "Huang Yu, you’ve taken good care of yourself."

Huang Yu buried himself in Huang Hua’s arms, refusing to lift his head.

Huang Hua hugged him, smoothing his messy feathers, then looked up at Ying Yuanxing and Mu Ye.

"Mr. Ying, thank you for saving me," Huang Hua said softly.

Ying Yuanxing glanced at Huang Hua’s yellow dress and waved dismissively. "What’s with the clothes?"

"They’re transformed from my feathers," Huang Hua replied. Noticing Ying Yuanxing’s curiosity, she added, "If you want it, I can take it off now."

Ying Yuanxing wanted to refuse but was indeed intrigued. Still, he wasn’t in a hurry. "Come out first. We’ll talk about the clothes later."

At the very least, he needed to get Huang Hua proper clothes first. Even if her body was childlike, her mind was an adult’s—asking her to undress now would be rude.

Huang Hua nodded, struggling to free herself from the shell. For some reason, she couldn’t break free easily. Mu Ye wanted to help, but Huang Hua shook her head. She felt that if she emerged on her own, she wouldn’t be born with deficiencies—but if helped, it was uncertain.

Having regained life once, Huang Hua treasured this body dearly. Unless absolutely necessary, she didn’t want any issues.

Watching Huang Hua’s weakening efforts, Ying Yuanxing got up and fetched some Weird Food.

No strength? Eating would fix that.

Huang Hua hesitated briefly before devouring the Weird Food. With renewed strength, she tried again—this time, with much greater success. Soon, she kicked free of the shell entirely.

Unnoticed by Ying Yuanxing, after Huang Hua’s birth, the green part of his core brightened slightly, and the Weird Qi he absorbed increased.

The newly hatched Huang Hua looked like a three- or four-year-old girl—thin but surprisingly strong, easily lifting Huang Yu and his brothers.

Curious about what had happened, Ying Yuanxing asked her thoroughly. Huang Hua answered truthfully.

She’d been without consciousness until seeing the large egg—drawn to it as if entranced. After being absorbed into the egg, she wavered between consciousness and oblivion, gradually regaining clarity.

Later, hearing Huang Yu’s voice outside and feeling the shell thinning, she summoned the strength to break free.

Having satisfied his curiosity, Ying Yuanxing noticed Huang Yu’s affection for Huang Hua and decided to give them space. He left, passing the eggs Huang Yu had laid to Mu Ye.

"See if you can use these to save other anomalies," Ying Yuanxing said.

Mu Ye paused, then accepted the eggs. There were anomalies he wanted to save first.

Exiting the coop, Ying Yuanxing sighed at the sight of a chicken outside. Though it could be butchered, it was an anomaly—one with consciousness. Eating it would be like eating an anomaly.

Consuming sentient beings was something Ying Yuanxing couldn’t do.

Even if this chicken looked no different from a normal one...

Pushing down his craving for meat, Ying Yuanxing returned to the kitchen, and made grilled fish for himself.

He could buy meat from the supermarket, but in the Anomaly World, the origin of the meat was questionable. Ordinary meat was harder to find than Weird Food—safe meat was a luxury.

Meanwhile, after speaking with Huang Yu, Huang Hua realized their situation had greatly improved.

"Big sis, we’ll never go hungry again," Huang Yu said, handing her a bunch of fresh greens.

Huang Hua stared at it. Her memories of the time she was unconscious were hazy and unpleasant, though the last fragments were better—after arriving at the farm, according to Huang Yu.

The familiar scent of the fresh greens made her begin eating.

Perhaps hatching had drained her strength. Despite the Weird Food, Huang Hua was still hungry, devouring the fresh greens in one go.

Then she realized—Ying Yuanxing raised them to lay eggs. Yet since arriving, she hadn’t laid any, consumed an egg, and even ate his Weird Food.

"Big sis, is something bothering you?" Huang Yu noticed her unease.

"Huang Yu, do you know what Mr. Ying likes? I’ve eaten so much here but given nothing in return. That doesn't seem proper," Huang Hua asked.

"Ying Yuanxing likes good food. The farm grows a lot, but lately he seems less interested in Weird Plant fruits—more into meat, eggs, and milk," Huang Yu pondered, recalling Ying Yuanxing’s mutterings.

Meat?

Huang Hua looked at herself. If Ying Yuanxing were here, he’d recognize that gaze.

Luckily, Huang Yu knew both Huang Hua and Ying Yuanxing well enough to stop her before she could act. "But Ying Yuanxing doesn’t like eating anomaly meat. He prefers normal meat—from beings without consciousness."

The issue was, such meat was hard to find, and its safety was questionable—it might belong to some rare species.

Animals surviving in the Anomaly World weren’t ordinary. Though Ying Yuanxing had meat cravings, he wouldn’t slaughter them just for a meal.

These creatures had difficult enough lives—why hunt them when there were other options?

"What happened to my old body?" Huang Hua abandoned the idea of cutting her current self, changing her approach.

Huang Yu blinked, understanding. "Big sis, you’re not thinking of giving your old body to Ying Yuanxing, are you?!"

"It’s genuine chicken meat, not an anomaly body. Plus, after eating so much fresh greens here, the meat would be especially tender. I even remember some chicken recipes—I’ll cook some for Mr. Ying later," Huang Hua nodded, assessing her former body. The contrast with her identity made it morbidly funny.

Fortunately, Ying Yuanxing didn’t hear her—he wouldn’t know how to react.

"But if Ying Yuanxing wanted to eat it, he should have slaughtered you right after you were born. Yet he didn’t. He must still be hung up on that," Huang Yu said, knowing he had to emphasize the severity to talk Huang Hua out of her idea.

Of course, this wasn’t entirely an excuse—Huang Yu believed he was speaking Ying Yuanxing’s true thoughts.

"I’ll go take a look," Huang Hua said, standing up to walk outside. Though her steps were steady, to Huang Yu, his sister had just been born and was still a newborn. Besides, the whereabouts of that chicken were unknown, and he couldn’t bear to let her walk too far.

"Sis, wait here. I’ll fetch it for you," Huang Yu stopped Huang Hua, calling over two younger brothers to keep an eye on her while he flapped his wings and flew off. Soon, he brought the hen back.

The hen stumbled in, legs giving out, before standing up again.

The familiarity of the scene gave Huang Yu the creeps. He instinctively glanced over, relieved to see Huang Hua still conscious—he’d almost thought she’d gone back to the hen’s body.

Though he’d briefly considered the idea earlier, the best outcome was for his sister to regain awareness and have a normal body, not remain a chicken.

"Sis, what’s going on?" Huang Yu asked, puzzled.

Huang Hua didn’t answer, studying her old body intently. She could still control it, even possess it, though it’d take some effort.

Suddenly, the hen laid an egg, startling Huang Yu.

Huang Hua picked up the egg and pumped Weird Qi into it. The shell cracked quickly, and a fluffy chick emerged. With the infusion of Weird Qi and some hay, the chick rapidly grew into a hen identical to Huang Hua.

"Take this to Mr. Ying. It’s a chicken without consciousness—he should like it," Huang Hua said, her face slightly pale from the Weird Qi expenditure, though she’d recover after resting briefly.

Huang Yu nodded, clamping the hen’s neck in his beak before flying off toward the farm.

Ying Yuanxing stared at the chicken Huang Yu had brought, listening to his explanation, and went quiet.