"Starting today."
"He."
"Is Ling Xiaoye."
"My... son."
"You..."
"Are his... wet nurse."
"Be sure to... take good care of him."
"Especially... keep him fed."
"Don't let him... cry again."
Ling Ye's solemn words, delivered as if he were issuing a Heavenly Dao decree, echoed through the wrecked hotel room with an unquestionable, almost absurd gravity.
Su Wanqing held the freshly minted "Ling Xiaoye" in her arms. Looking at the big shot's aggrieved expression of I've accepted it, you deal with it, and the glowing, seemingly satisfied bib around the baby's chest, she felt that her life had completely slid into an incomprehensible abyss.
A wet nurse?!
Her? The president of Su Corporation? A wet nurse for an infant of unknown origin?! And this baby had been "personally appointed" by a big shot to fool another, even more terrifying existence—a "Tool Infant"?!
What kind of nonsense was this?!
But she didn't dare protest. She could only nod stiffly and ask cautiously, "Then... then what do we do now? We... probably can't stay here."
Indeed, the room was a complete mess. The police had just been outside, and the hotel staff might come to inspect the place at any moment. It truly wasn't suitable to stay any longer.
Ling Ye irritably rubbed his brow. His current strength was less than one-tenth of its peak. He had a child and a burden with him, while also needing to avoid the possible return of those multiversal terrorists and the mortal police... What a colossal hassle!
He had to find somewhere safe, hidden, and undisturbed! Preferably somewhere... convenient for "breastfeeding"!
His gaze swept over the shabby cloth bundle again.
It contained countless divine artifacts, but was there anything that could solve their current predicament? Could he really use a Fragment of Buzhou Mountain to smash out a Cave Mansion on the spot?
Just as he was at his wits' end—
His gaze inadvertently landed on the embarrassing scrap of paper tossed into the corner. It had fallen from the cloth bundle earlier and was printed with the words "Primordial's Number One Daddy · Ling Ye (First Draft)."
There seemed to be even smaller words written on the back?
Ling Ye instinctively reached out through the air and drew the paper into his palm. When he flipped it over, he saw a crooked address written on the back, followed by several small notes:
[...Safe House... fully equipped with mother-and-baby supplies... good soundproofing... short-term rental available... Contact: Black-hearted Landlord...]
Ling Ye: "???"
A Safe House?!
Fully equipped with mother-and-baby supplies?!
And short-term rental available?!
This... this was something he had written billions of years ago?! Had he actually checked in and received something like this back then?! Could he have foreseen that this day would come?!
Although it was filled with absurdities, this address was undoubtedly a lifesaver at that moment!
Ling Ye had no time to investigate this embarrassing history. He immediately said to Su Wanqing, "Pack up! Let's go!"
In truth, there wasn't much to pack. Ling Ye carefully stuffed the still-slightly-hot Chaos Green Lotus Basin into the deepest part of the cloth bundle—hopefully that damn stone would behave—then glanced at the "Ling Xiaoye" in Su Wanqing's arms and the bib.
The bib seemed quite satisfied with its current state. Its red glow was warm and gentle, and it showed no intention of leaving.
The corner of Ling Ye's mouth twitched. Accepting his fate, he removed his outer robe, which had been stained with urine and milk, and tossed it into the trash. Then he pulled out a more ordinary gray robe from the cloth bundle and changed into it. It was still in an ancient style. He then gestured for Su Wanqing to use the bedsheet from earlier to loosely wrap up the baby and the glowing bib, so they wouldn't attract too much attention.
The two of them slipped out of the room like thieves, avoided the surveillance cameras, and quickly left the hotel.
Following the address on the paper, they reached an old-looking residential complex on the edge of the city. The neighborhood was quiet, and most of its residents seemed to be elderly people or tenants.
They found the correct building, climbed to the top floor—there was no elevator—and knocked on the slightly shabby security door bearing the character "Fortune."
After a long wait, the door finally opened a crack. A middle-aged man with sleep-heavy eyes, messy hair, sloppy pajamas, and a cigarette between his lips stuck his head out. He looked them up and down impatiently. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"Renting a place." Ling Ye was brief and to the point as he handed over the scrap of paper.
The landlord took it and squinted at it, especially at the line on the back and the note reading "Black-hearted Landlord." His expression grew strange. He carefully looked Ling Ye over again—ancient robe, pale complexion, eerie bearing—and then Su Wanqing, who was holding the tightly wrapped baby with a panicked expression.
He muttered, "Tsk, introduced by Old Zhang? Another couple of... weirdos?"
But he seemed accustomed to this sort of thing and didn't ask anything else. He merely stepped aside. "Come in and take a look. This is the only room. The price isn't cheap. One month's deposit and three months' rent upfront."
The room wasn't large. It had one bedroom and one living room, with outdated furnishings, but it was indeed fairly clean, just as the advertisement claimed. Moreover... there was actually a pile of unopened formula and diapers in the corner of the living room. There was even a seemingly brand-new crib!
Ling Ye and Su Wanqing both froze.
The landlord held the cigarette in his mouth and said indistinctly, "Left behind by the previous tenant. They said they didn't need them anymore, so I'm getting rid of them cheaply. If you want them, pay a little extra."
Ling Ye said nothing. He swept his gaze across the room and nodded slightly. The atmosphere here was ordinary and inconspicuous. It would do for now. He couldn't be bothered to haggle, so he pulled several gold nuggets from the cloth bundle—the world where he had checked in to obtain them was unknown—and tossed them to the landlord.
"Is that enough?"
The landlord caught the gold nuggets, and his eyes instantly lit up. After weighing them in his hand, his face split into a grin. "More than enough! What a generous boss! Stay as long as you like! Call me if you need anything! Otherwise, I absolutely won't disturb you!" With that, he sensibly left the keys behind and slipped away.
The door closed.
Ling Ye and Su Wanqing exchanged a glance, both breathing a sigh of relief.
At last, they had a temporary place to stay.
However, the peace lasted less than three seconds—
"Waaah—!!!!"
The "Ling Xiaoye" in her arms let out another ear-splitting cry! He was clearly hungry again or feeling uncomfortable.
Su Wanqing immediately panicked.
Ling Ye's scalp went numb from the crying. Remembering that Madam's "assignment" and the three-day deadline, he could only steel himself and point at the pile of mother-and-baby supplies as he ordered Su Wanqing, "Go! Mix the formula! Change his diaper! Make him shut up!"
Su Wanqing stared at the unfamiliar items, completely overwhelmed. She was a powerful executive who had never lifted a finger around the house. How would she know how to do any of this?
But she didn't dare refuse. She could only grit her teeth, pick up the can of formula to study the instructions, then take up a diaper and try to figure it out. Her clumsy movements were suffocating to watch.
Ling Ye grew furious watching from the side. Several times, he wanted to do it himself, but he was afraid that he wouldn't control his strength properly and might crush the items or injure the baby. He could only urge her irritably, "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?! Can't you understand the instructions?!"
And then, amid the chaos—
The bib on Ling Xiaoye's chest seemed to develop a strong interest in the formula and diapers. Its red glow flickered, transmitting intense feelings of "curiosity" and "wanting to try it too."
It even controlled one corner of the red cloth and tried to reach for the baby bottle in Su Wanqing's hand.
Ling Ye's heart stirred when he saw this.
Perhaps... if he let this damn bib "learn" how to care for a child, it would have something to occupy its attention and stop constantly thinking about "betraying" him?
He immediately said to Su Wanqing, "Treat it... like another child! Teach it! Teach it how to mix formula and change diapers!"
Su Wanqing: "???" Teach a bib how to mix formula and change diapers?! Was the big shot all right?!
But under Ling Ye's murderous gaze, she could only feel like crying as she began performing an extremely bizarre lesson in childcare for the glowing bib, operating everything clumsily as she spoke:
"Look... you have to wash your hands first... Oh, you don't need to wash yours..."
"The water temperature... forty degrees... It should be about this hot..."
"The formula... one level scoop... Not more, not less..."
"With the diaper... you have to tell the front from the back... The tabs go here..."
The bib actually "listened" with great seriousness. Its red glow brightened and flickered along with her explanation. It even used the edge of its cloth to imitate her actions, such as "rubbing its hands"—though it had no hands—and "testing the water temperature"—though it couldn't feel anything.
Ling Ye watched the absurd scene with a twitching mouth, but he was surprised to discover that the bib really did seem distracted. It was no longer fixated on simply clinging to the real baby. Instead, it had developed an interest in the process of "caring for a baby" itself. There was even... a faint sense of "accomplishment"?
What surprised him even more was that as the bib "learned" and "participated," the fluctuations it emitted seemed to become steadier and... happier. Even the faint bloodline-nourishing effect it transmitted to Ling Ye appeared to have strengthened slightly.
Could it be that the act of "fatherly love"—or rather, caring for someone—could itself promote the bib's stability and growth? Could it even nourish him in return?
Ling Ye felt as if he had discovered a new continent!
He immediately changed his strategy. Rather than simply watching from the sidelines, he forced down his discomfort and began trying to "join in" as well.
He picked up a diaper and, imitating Su Wanqing, tried to put it on Ling Xiaoye with extreme stiffness.
The result was naturally disastrous. His technique was clumsy, and his strength was completely uncontrolled. He nearly twisted the baby's leg out of place, making Ling Xiaoye cry even harder.
The bib immediately emitted waves of dissatisfaction and "disdain." It even extended a corner of red cloth and tried to push Ling Ye's hand away, as if saying, "Move! You're so clumsy! Let me do it!"
Then, under the stunned gazes of Ling Ye and Su Wanqing—
The bib actually... rose into the air on its own! It floated up from Ling Xiaoye's chest without any wind!
Like a red ghost, it hovered in midair, its red glow enveloping the crying Ling Xiaoye.
Then, an unopened can of formula nearby suddenly floated up. Its lid twisted open, a spoon appeared out of thin air, and it precisely scooped the right amount of formula into a baby bottle that flew over automatically!
The warm-water flask floated up by itself and poured in the exact right amount of warm water!
The bottle shook itself until the mixture was even!
Then, the bottle flew steadily to Ling Xiaoye's mouth and slipped in with perfect precision!
The entire process was smooth and fluid, as fast as lightning, and a hundred times more professional than the most experienced nanny!
Ling Xiaoye instantly stopped crying and began sucking contentedly.
But that wasn't all!
The used diaper automatically came undone and flew into the trash can.
A new diaper unfolded on its own. As if it were alive, it wrapped around the baby's bottom with extraordinary gentleness and precision. The adhesive tabs fit perfectly!
Finally, the bib controlled a warm, damp towel and flew over to wipe Ling Xiaoye's mouth. Only then did it return to his chest with satisfaction, its red glow warm and gentle as it transmitted the thought: "Done! Praise me!"
Ling Ye: "..."
Su Wanqing: "..."
The two of them stood there as if under a petrification spell, completely frozen.
This... this was a bib?!
This was clearly an all-purpose childcare robot! A Primordial Edition, no less!!!
Ling Ye looked at the bib radiating an aura of "seeking praise," then sensed the origin within his body, which had indeed grown slightly more active because of what had just happened. His emotions became incredibly complicated.
So... the so-called "learn how to feed him, change his diapers, and soothe him to sleep"... didn't actually require him to learn any of it himself?!
He just had to teach this sentient bib?!
All he needed to do was... be a hands-off manager?! Occasionally overflow with a little "fatherly love" to show that he was making an effort?!
A tremendous sense of absurdity and being toyed with surged into his heart. But immediately afterward, it was replaced by an ecstatic joy at surviving a desperate situation!
It seemed... there was hope of completing the assignment?!
However, just as his mood began to relax—
Deep in his shabby cloth bundle.
The temporarily forgotten Chaos Green Lotus Basin.
The grayish-white Small Stone inside the basin, which had only been quiet for a short while.
Perhaps because it had sensed the trace of pure chaotic energy and the happy fluctuations of "caring" that had leaked out when the bib used its power...
It actually...
Once again...
Unable to bear being left out...
Gently...
Trembled.
This time, it trembled with unusual force.
As if... a sleeping heart...
Had begun...
Its first beat.
Thump...
The faint yet heavy sound of that beat seemed capable of shaking the foundation of the entire plane. Like a drumbeat from hell, it clearly... entered Ling Ye's perception.
The ecstasy on Ling Ye's face instantly froze.
Slowly...
Bit by bit...
It transformed into...
Boundless terror and despair.
No way...
Again?!
Before you continue