Chapter 66

Chapter 66

"Nai Nai..."

Barlow called out to Nevi, watching as Nevi looked up blankly, his eyes filled with alarm and helplessness. Barlow felt his throat tighten, his heart aching unbearably.

In an instant, all the jumbled and chaotic thoughts in his mind faded away. A hint of determination flashed through Barlow's eyes as he patted Nevi's shoulder and said seriously, "Nevi, don't let that doctor bug's words cloud your mind. Impossible? Didn't Bai Bai and Mei Mei just come into this world healthy and strong? What's impossible about that? He's always going on about theories and data—the Empire has so many planets, it's enormous. Has he really seen every possible case? At his age, still so loud and blustery, that expression just now scared the life out of this bug. Let's just never go back there again!"

Barlow went from comforting to ranting, growing more convinced himself with each word, his voice shifting from tentative to forceful.

"Papa, no go, doctor bad bad, Mei Mei ow ow!"

"Papa, no go, Bai Bai not go!"

The two plump, soft babies in his arms naturally couldn't understand what Uncle Barlow was saying, but they caught the last thing Uncle said—that they would never go back there again.

So the two plump little ones opened their big, glossy round eyes and excitedly chimed in with Barlow.

Mei Mei, sucking on a lollipop, puffed out her cheeks angrily and thrust out her plump, lotus-root-like white arm, showing the bruised, bleeding puncture wounds from struggling earlier.

The two-month-old plump babies had never been so wronged in their short lives.

Barlow saw it and immediately felt a pang of heartache. He carefully examined the bleeding points on Bai Bai and Mei Mei's arms, noticing they were indeed more swollen than before. Being the type to always side with his own, Barlow's indignation grew even stronger. "Come here, Uncle will hold you. Does it hurt, Bai Bai and Mei Mei? Uncle's heart aches for you. What's wrong with that doctor bug? With that menacing, terrifying look, can't even draw blood right. Really, we're never going back there again..."

Encouraged by the response, the two little chubby babies got even more worked up. Mei Mei excitedly burst into babbling gibberish, while Bai Bai's eyes welled up, his little lips pouting, looking like he was about to break down crying again.

Nevi's lashes fluttered slightly. He wrapped his arms around the two solid, weighty little babies, as if holding his entire world in his arms.

Nevi pressed a kiss of utmost tenderness onto Bai Bai and Mei Mei's hair, promising, "Alright, we won't go there anymore."

Feeling their papa's snuggle, the two babies quieted for a moment, then lifted their faces and left two big slobbery kisses on his cheeks—one on each side.

Nevi was startled for a moment, then looked down to meet his two chubby babies' eyes.

In Bai Bai and Mei Mei's innocent, clear eyes was nothing but unreserved love and childlike devotion for their papa.

Nevi's heart warmed, but his nose stung with emotion.

He pulled the two babies back into his arms, not wanting them to see him lose his composure.

After quite a while, Nevi spoke in a trembling voice, "Barlow, I'm scared... I hate being different. I hate being unique. My babies don't need to be outstanding or extraordinary. I just want them to grow up ordinary and happy..."

As he spoke, tears began to fall, scalding tears falling into the babies' hair.

Nevi's tone was entirely filled with confusion, bewilderment, and deep fear. The doctor bug's words were like an endless fog, leaving Nevi hesitating in place, unable to see the path ahead.

In the first half of Nevi's life, being special was the original sin—it was the source of disaster.

For a bug with no means of self-defense, being special was not a good thing.

Barlow was stunned, his entire bug body frozen as if petrified.

Having grown up in a harmonious, happy family—even with a lower gene level, doted on by both his parents and society—Barlow had never truly understood, because of Nevi's deep-seated secrecy, nor could he imagine, how helpless and painful life must have been for someone with Nevi's looks on that remote, dark numbered star.

But at this moment, looking at Nevi, Barlow could feel his loneliness and fear.

In a daze, he instinctively grasped something.

Barlow's eyes reddened. He bit down hard on his lower lip, refusing to let his tears spill out in a pathetic flood.

He pulled Nevi tightly into his embrace, his trembling voice resolute and forceful, as if making a vow: "Nevi, don't look down on yourself. You're a hugely popular streamer now with massive influence. Anyone who wants to try anything will have to think long and hard about the consequences! And don't worry—I'm here, and the president's got your back too. We'll all protect the little ones together. No bug will ever get the chance to hurt them! They'll be just fine, growing up safe and sound!"

At those words, Nevi held the two babies close, trembling and sobbing so hard he couldn't speak.

*

By the time the two bugs had finally calmed down, Bai Bai and Mei Mei had, at some point, fallen asleep peacefully in Nevi's arms.

Because of the hospital visit, the two babies had missed their afternoon nap, and they'd been so fussy and restless at the hospital. Now both babies were lying soft and cuddly in Nevi's arms, looking adorable and sweet.

Nevi looked at Bai Bai and Mei Mei, never growing tired of gazing at them, his heart softening in a way he couldn't believe.

He silently steeled himself, vowing that he would do everything in his power to protect his two most precious children.

By now, Barlow had regained his senses. He looked at Nevi pensively and said, "Nai Nai, honestly, compared to the babies, I think you might be the one in more danger? I mean, with your looks and your babies' levels... hey, what if you're actually a high-ranking Excellency, and your level just dropped by accident?"

Barlow's eyes sparkled, but his tone was full of jest—clearly just a joke.

Nevi shook his head, not bothering to answer Barlow's utterly bold and absurd speculation.

Setting aside the impossibility of him—a low-ranking male born on a remote numbered star—ever being a High Excellency, gene levels were always fixed at birth.

They had never heard of any such thing as a level dropping before.

It was too nonsensical.

The two bugs quickly brushed past the topic. By now, the hovercar had reached the fork in the road where they would part ways.

Barlow said, reluctant to part, "Nai Nai, how about I come over and keep you company tonight?"

Although Nevi had just had a good cry and seemed much better, Barlow still couldn't bring himself to feel at ease.

Nevi shook his head and said gently, "Luo Luo, I'm okay. Don't worry, head on home. Orit heads out on another business trip the day after tomorrow, and you won't get to see him for a long time."

Barlow felt a bit sheepish at that. He hesitated for a moment, but seeing how resolute Nevi was, he had no choice but to agree.

Before getting out of the hovercar, he made sure to remind him, "Nai Nai, that doctor bug—I just can't trust him no matter how I look at it. I'll give the president a call later and ask him to step in and make sure that doctor keeps the babies' information confidential! If he dares to bother you about more tests or anything, just refuse everything. And if he dares to show up at your door with a bunch of bugs, make sure to call the authorities and contact me right away."

With that, after Nevi dutifully acknowledged, Barlow got out of the hovercar, still uneasy, looking back every few steps as he walked toward a tall, silent military female who had been waiting not far away for a long time.

Only after seeing Barlow throw himself into Orit's embrace did Nevi restart the hovercar's autopilot.

By the time he got back to his new home's neighborhood, the sky was already starting to dim.

But just as Nevi, feeling tired, pushed the stroller around the corner toward his new home, the uninvited visitors at the front door made his pupils constrict, his whole bug body tensed up.

"Good evening, Mr. Nevi." The brown-haired female leading the group, dressed in a pale white uniform, keenly caught the sound of movement. He turned to look at Nevi and greeted him with a beaming smile.

Despite Nevi's wary and hostile expression, Vitkay continued, as if nothing were wrong, "Congratulations. Your babies are truly outstanding—even stronger than I imagined. I never expected they'd both be high-grade A+ level babies! There's an excellent chance they'll jump to S-level when they reach adulthood! You might not fully grasp what that means! The number of S-level females currently in existence doesn't exceed four digits, and the only S-level male His Excellency in existence is His Majesty the Emperor himself."

Vitkay paused, watching Nevi's face go pale. The smile on his face widened as he said, as if implying something more, "Having such outstanding babies is both your fortune and your burden."

Nevi stood about five or six steps away from Vitkay and his group, separated by a shallow walkway. He gripped the stroller handle tightly, struggling to maintain his composure and rationality.

"Vitkay, why are you here? I believe I made it clear last time that I hoped that would be our last meeting." Nevi stared coldly at Vitkay, questioning him without mercy.

From the time he'd taken the babies for their level test to now, Vitkay had not only learned the results but had also arrived at his new doorstep ahead of time.

Clearly, he was here with ill intentions.

Despite his intense anger, Nevi had no energy left to resent the completely untrustworthy doctor bug. Right now, all he wanted to know was what Vitkay intended to do!

"Mr. Naiwei, you must be quite tired after bringing the cubs back. Why not step inside for a more detailed discussion?" Vitkay asked politely, his smile never wavering.

"No need. Say what you have to say right here. What exactly are you after by going to such lengths to obtain my cubs' levels?!" Nevi glared at Vitkay's hypocritical, sickening mask, unable to maintain his composure any longer.

"Mr. Naiwei, please don't say that. The Juvenile Protection Association obtained your cubs' information through entirely legitimate and legal channels. Just this afternoon, we saw your cubs' gene level information uploaded to the system, and we rushed right over." Vitkay explained with feigned mild helplessness.

With that, seeing no reaction from Nevi, Vitkay pulled a stack of documents from his briefcase, his smile fading as he spoke in a serious tone: "Mr. Naiwei, since you're eager to know why we're here, I'll be direct. After a thorough investigation and discussion by the Juvenile Protection Association, we've determined that your current circumstances are not suitable for raising two cubs of such exceptionally high levels. To ensure the cubs have a better growth environment and conditions, and to allow their talents to be fully realized, we have decided."

Vitkay paused, his cold words cutting into Nevi's heart like blades, leaving him frozen in shock.

"We are temporarily revoking your custody of the cubs, taking over their care on your behalf, and will select more suitable foster families for them."

*

---

Author's note: The countdown to the showdown begins!!

Thank you all so much for your support. I'll keep working hard!