Chapter 461: Beyond the Main Story, New Year’s Special Chapter 16

Chapter 461: Beyond the Main Story, New Year's Special Chapter 16

Although Baide had said there was no rush, the various legions quickly got ready, waiting only for Grath's orders.

The documents that needed reviewing had been divvied up over the past few days, so there was nothing left now.

Baide lazily opened the only file in front of him. As soon as it opened, a long list of names automatically popped out and kept scrolling nonstop.

He sat up straight, closed the file, glanced at the title, opened it again, and the list resumed scrolling—and it still hadn't finished.

Baide closed the file again, looked at Feilin beside him, and started to doubt himself.

"I did say this time would be treated as a drill and an outing, and each legion should only send one fleet, right?"

Although it was done in the form of legion operations, they wouldn't actually deploy the whole legion. Each legion was enormous. Except for big battles like the Insect Tide, there was no need to mobilize everything otherwise. If they deployed more than half a legion's forces, people would talk about it endlessly on the star network.

Baide had only acted on a whim, wanting to take the little one out for some fun, let him see the world, and incidentally let him soak up Grath's way of doing things. He couldn't really let such a little shorty take charge of his First Legion's Corps Commander's work.

Of course, it'd be best if they ran into some insectoids to help with the household budget. He was under a lot of pressure right now.

Feilin stood to the side and coughed once. "It's already been sent back and trimmed down several times by Corps Commander Sade."

Baide closed the file, sent it back with his mental power, and wrote a line of approval—too many people, cut it in half.

He stood up, stretched, and said cheerfully, "Alright, work is done for today. Time to go have fun—go play with Ye Mo."

Feilin was silent for a moment. He wanted to pretend he hadn't heard and didn't want to be disrespectful, but His Majesty really was sometimes a bit too carefree.

Baide glanced at the time. "It's his cartoon time now, isn't it? Why hasn't he come over yet? It must be Norton bugging him and keeping him from coming."

No, it was clearly because a toy room had just been finished, and the little prince had gotten so into it that he'd even cut his visits to his potted plants down to once every two days. But he still showed up at Baide's office at the same time every evening to watch cartoons.

Feilin, who knew Ye Mo's schedule inside out, thought this but still followed Baide to the toy room.

It was actually a room about the same size as Baide's office—you could even call it a small hall. Now it had become a little paradise, even using the airspace, with small staircases and little houses up high arranged at staggered heights—the little prince apparently hadn't been allowed up there yet, but Prince Jacob was very satisfied with it. He had a lot more places to land now.

When they pushed the door open, they saw Ye Mo lying by a long table. The table had also been lowered to his height. On the table sat a dollhouse, a one-to-one replica of the room they were in. Ye Mo was opening the small door, his little head almost poking all the way inside.

He pulled his head out and looked at Elia. "Mo Mo wants to take a picture of this."

Ye Mo had already figured out what Elia could do with her weird gadgets and was eager to learn.

Elia placed the vintage camera in his hands, half-hugging him as she taught him. "Just press here."

Ye Mo struggled to lift the camera with both hands and started to panic. "Mo Mo's hands—Mo Mo doesn't have hands."

Elia took a breath and snapped a photo.

Baide reached over from behind and helped him press the shutter, flash and all. Ye Mo let out a small, amazed "Wow." "Baide's amazing."

"Amazing, right? My photography skills are top-notch as well. If you don't believe me, ask Deenlie and Herli."

He bent down with practiced ease, dodged Herli, blocked Deenlie's leg whip, and nimbly backed off to create distance. "See, that's proof of my skills. You're welcome, Deenlie and Herli."

Jacob, who had nearly been caught in the crossfire, came down from above and landed beside Elia, looking a bit helpless. "Is it because of the photos in the group chat earlier? Didn't they already fight about that..."

Elia pulled out another camera and snapped photos of them. "Ye Mo isn't in the group. We should shut them up while we can."

Jacob thought about it from their perspective and agreed. He wouldn't want Ye Mo to see his embarrassing moments either.

Ye Mo had also gotten used to them making a ruckus like this sometimes. At first, he would make a fuss, stare at them blankly, then run over, grab someone's leg, and try hard to break it up. Now he understood that they were just training.

Ye Mo hugged the camera happily and shuffled over to Norton. "Mo Mo takes pictures."

"Very good."

Getting praised, Ye Mo puffed out his chest, but afterward he didn't mess with Elia's camera anymore. Instead, he carefully set it down beside Norton. "Elia said to help Mo Mo take pictures of Fatty."

Fatty was Ye Mo's lion plushie, which got its name after Ye Mo met Pawpaw.

Ye Mo had placed it in the apple-tree-shaped treehouse on the other side of the room, and had even put a few apples in there. Now he went all the way over to get it.

A few minutes later, he still hadn't returned. Norton stood up, walked to the treehouse, and crouched down. He saw Ye Mo hugging the plushie, asleep on the soft cushion inside the treehouse, with a few apples rolled off to the side.

Elia came over too. "He fell asleep again."

She poked her head up to the treehouse window, took a good look, then raised her camera. She had an album just for Ye Mo's sudden power-offs. Kids needed a lot of sleep, and even with an afternoon nap, little ones would fall asleep fast in all sorts of places.

When Ye Mo had first arrived, it hadn't been as obvious, probably because he wasn't used to everything yet. No matter how sleepy, he would force himself to get into Norton's arms before sleeping. Later, he gradually started finding spots to sleep in the lounge. Then he could sleep peacefully in Baide's office. And now, Ye Mo was practically falling asleep all over the place.

These past two days, it seemed like because of the new toy room, he'd been more active, and his power-offs seemed to be happening more often.

Norton had already reached inside. He lifted Ye Mo out and held him, not forgetting to grab his plushie—if he forgot, the emotionally sensitive little kid would tearfully apologize to Fatty the next day.

Ye Mo wasn't sleeping deeply and was already half-awake. He pried his eyes open. "Mo Mo, Mo Mo's Fatty..."

"It's right here."

He rubbed his eyes hard, trying to wake up. "Mo Mo's cartoon today, want to watch it."

"Mm."

Norton glanced at the time. It was about time for cartoons, anyway.

He carried Ye Mo toward Baide's office, with Feilin following along.

...

Norton set Ye Mo down, and by the time he went to get a pillow, Ye Mo had already fallen asleep by his chair again.

Arnold secretly tickled the bottom of his foot, satisfied as he watched Ye Mo curl up. He said quietly, "How about we skip it for today? Let him sleep first."

Adrian frowned. "But I promised Mo Mo earlier that I'd definitely wake him for cartoons."

Yesterday, Ye Mo had slept through his cartoon time. The next day, he'd specifically reminded everyone that if he fell asleep during cartoon time, they had to call him.

Baide patted his head. "But we're not watching cartoons."

The voices got a little louder, and Ye Mo, lying there, had already caught the keyword. He struggled to lift his head, eyes still closed. "Ca—cartoon."

He stubbornly sat up on his own, rubbing his eyes hard until he was awake, then lowered his hands. "Cartoon, Mo Mo watches too. Mo Mo's part of it."

Baide said casually, "Of course Mo Mo is part of it. It's about to start—I was just about to call you."

Because he'd just woken up, Ye Mo's face was flushed, and he was still a bit out of it. "Thank you, Baide."

Baide coughed. "No problem."

Adelaide hadn't arrived yet. Jacob turned off the lights and easily pulled up the episode Ye Mo had been watching.

The opening song was halfway over when Adelaide slipped in quietly, holding a tray, and set the bottle down in front of Ye Mo.

Ye Mo rested his hands on it, his head nodding slightly, but he still managed a few sips. A moment later, he stood up and curled into Norton's arms.

Adelaide glanced over from the side. Ye Mo never missed the opening or ending songs, even if he was busy drinking milk—he'd take a few quick sips, swallow, then hum along in fits and starts.

Ye Mo clung to Norton's waist, face hidden, and mumbled, "Mo Mo's bottle is broken."

The lights came on, and a group of Graths had quietly gathered around. Arnold picked up Ye Mo's bottle and checked it—it was fine, and the temperature was just right. Adelaide never made mistakes.

Adelaide frowned. "Does it taste off? But we didn't change the formula."

Arnold poured a little into his palm and tasted it carefully. "The taste is normal."

Norton picked Ye Mo up, frowning as he looked him over. "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

As soon as he loosened his hold a bit, Ye Mo automatically curled back up, burying his face in Norton's shoulder and neck.

Ye Mo kept describing how he felt, a little all over the place. "Mo Mo doesn't hurt, but Mo Mo feels bad."

He heard Ye Mo's sad voice. "Mo Mo is broken."

Norton felt warm liquid drip onto his neck and slide down his skin.

He stood up. "Call the medical center and get things ready. We're heading over now."

...

The doctor held a thick stack of reports, adjusted his glasses, and said plainly, "A slight fever."

The Graths all let out a small sigh of relief. Arnold pressed further, "But he looks really uncomfortable, crying nonstop. And how did he get a fever? Can Graths get fevers? Is that normal?"

The doctor explained patiently, "Actually, this is a good thing. The young prince is very special—his mental energy is stable, so it doesn't affect him much. This also means that only when he grows up, when his body can handle it, will his body be influenced by the mental energy, gradually adjusting and improving to the corresponding level."

"Ah, in other words, his body is currently a bit weaker than an ordinary Little Grath. Please pay extra attention—don't let him get too cold or too hot, and while ensuring he gets enough activity, try not to tire him out."

Norton let out a long breath of relief. He gently patted Ye Mo's back and said softly, "Mo Mo isn't broken, and won't be broken. It'll be better soon."

Ye Mo was lying listlessly on his shoulder. He had mostly only caught his name from what the doctor said, but he understood that nothing was wrong with him, so he perked up a little and stammered out his request, "Even if Mo Mo's broken, you can't throw Mo Mo away."

Norton hummed in agreement. "Won't throw you away. Mo Mo stays here forever."

A moment later, he added, "Well done, Mo Mo. That's right—always say whatever's on your mind."