While they waited for the milk to heat, Master Roshi looked at Broly's innocent, bewildered little face. For some reason, his lecherous streak surfaced again. A suspicious blush spread across his cheeks as he leaned closer to Broly and whispered, a sly grin on his face. "Ahem... Little guy, I gave you milk and saved you, and I'm giving you food, too. When you find your mom, remember to share some of your food with me, okay? Heh heh..."
"Master Roshi!" Sea Turtle couldn't listen any longer. He covered his face with a foreleg. "Could you... could you stop saying such shameless things at your age? He's still a child!"
"You stupid turtle, what do you know? Shut up!" Master Roshi snapped irritably.
Ding!
The microwave beeped to signal that the milk was ready.
Master Roshi took out the warm milk, thoughtfully inserted a straw, and held it out to Broly. Pointing to the straw, he said, "Here, suck on this tube like this, and you'll get delicious milk."
Broly looked at the strange plastic tube, then watched Master Roshi demonstrate. He seemed to understand.
He reached out with his little hands and clumsily wrapped them around the milk carton, which was rather large for him. Then he put the straw in his mouth and cautiously took a sip.
A warm, milky liquid flowed down his throat. It was a gentle, sweet taste Broly had never experienced before.
In an instant, Broly's little eyes widened, sparkling with delight!
"Gulp, gulp!"
The next moment, Broly stopped hesitating and began sucking down the milk in big gulps, his little face beaming with contentment and joy.
"Tasty, huh?" Master Roshi watched him eat and chuckled proudly. He didn't forget to remind him again, either. "Remember our deal, okay? Share, share!"
Broly had no idea what he was saying. At that moment, all his attention was absorbed by the delicious milk.
In less than ten seconds, Broly had drained the entire carton, leaving not a single drop.
But for Broly, with his Saiyan physique and enormous energy needs, one carton of milk wasn't even an appetizer.
Broly let go of the straw, licked his lips, and pointed to his stomach again, looking at Master Roshi with hungry eyes.
"You're still not full?" Master Roshi asked, stunned. He scratched his bald head. "There isn't much milk left... You're old enough to eat other things, too, right? How about... trying some bread?"
As he spoke, Master Roshi uncertainly took a loaf of bread wrapped in plastic from the fridge and handed it to Broly.
Broly took the bread and, without even looking at the wrapping, opened his mouth and took a big bite.
He bit off a large chunk, plastic wrapper and all!
"Oh no! That's the wrapper! You can't eat that!" Master Roshi cried in alarm. He hurriedly tried to stop him, snatched the bitten piece of plastic from his mouth, then tore open the bread's wrapper and handed him the soft bread inside. "Eat this part. It's soft and sweet!"
Broly looked at the unwrapped bread in his hands and hesitated for a moment. Then he shoved the whole thing into his mouth in one bite and swallowed it with barely a chew.
After finishing it, Broly began searching the fridge again.
"You... You're still not full?" Master Roshi stared at him, dumbfounded.
This time, before Master Roshi could fetch him anything else, Broly's eyes had already locked onto a vacuum-packed ham in the corner of the fridge.
The deep-red chunk of meat held an irresistible allure for him.
Broly reached out, grabbed the ham—which was bigger than his face—and without a moment's hesitation, opened his mouth and bit into it!
"Hey, hey! You can't eat the packaging, either!" Master Roshi cried, hastily trying to stop him.
But Broly seemed to have learned his lesson. He bit down hard on the tough ham, using his tongue and teeth to skillfully peel away the plastic wrapper. Then he spat it onto the floor.
Broly ate with relish, his cheeks bulging and grease smeared all over his little face.
The huge piece of ham soon disappeared into his little belly, too.
Broly patted his still-flat stomach and turned his gaze to the fridge again, where the remaining food seemed to be beckoning to him.
Over the next half hour, Master Roshi stood by like a spectator, watching in stunned disbelief as the tiny child devoured, in no time at all, the food he'd stocked in his fridge to last him a whole week—including, but not limited to, fruit, vegetables, dried fish, leftover fried rice, and several cans of luncheon meat...
He wiped it all out!
Throughout the whole ordeal, Broly displayed an appetite and eating speed utterly terrifying for someone with such a small body.
When Broly finally patted his full, round belly with satisfaction and let out a burp smelling of milk and meat, he flopped down on the floor without a care in the world.
He was practically asleep in an instant.
Broly soon began making soft, steady snoring sounds, while Master Roshi remained frozen in the act of reaching for the last cookie, staring blankly like a statue.
Master Roshi turned in disbelief to look at the fridge, now completely empty—not a single crumb of food remained. Then he slowly turned back to the tiny figure sleeping soundly on the floor, as if all he'd just done was play an easy game.
Master Roshi's mouth twitched. Shock, heartache, and a hint of sheer absurdity were written all over his face.
Th-this little guy... He sure can eat!
He ate... ate all the food I'd stocked up for a whole week!
No wonder his parents abandoned him...
With an appetite like that, he'd eat through a fortune, even if his family owned a mine!
Looking at Broly's innocent sleeping face, Master Roshi eventually let all his feelings out in a long, complicated sigh. "Sigh... What an... innocent little child."
Only Master Roshi knew how much worry for his future food supply was mixed into that sigh.
What Master Roshi never could have expected was this:
From that day on, the little guy named Broly stubbornly stayed at his house.
At first, Master Roshi planned to "take him in temporarily and send him away as soon as possible." He actively asked around on nearby islands and through some old friends, hoping to find Broly a kind family to adopt him—preferably one with plenty of money.
But as time went by...
As Master Roshi spent more and more time with the little guy, who did nothing but eat, sleep, and quietly observe the world with curious, clear eyes—tail and all, never crying or making a fuss...
A strange bond quietly formed.
Master Roshi's heart, which seemed so carefree but had been lonely for centuries, was gradually filled by this little life that had unexpectedly entered his world.
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