New Life

Within the off-white culture fluid, the cracked silver-white egg swayed ever so slightly. A few seconds later, it swayed again.

If not for the tubes connected to it and the milky flocculent matter in the culture fluid no longer remaining still, magnifying the traces of the egg's movement, along with the alert from the nearby monitor, it would have been difficult to notice Eggy's movements with the naked eye.

The live feed ended and the image disappeared. Lu Jiu's voice came from the Neural Computer again.

There was delight in Lu Jiu's voice, indicating that this movement was a good sign, but Chi Li's heart still did not settle. "We should go take a look. What if it's..."

The moment his feet touched the carpet, the aftereffects hit too hard. Chi Li's muscles felt weak and sore, and the words he had not managed to say caught in his throat.

Hearing Chi Li draw in a breath, Si Jinyan inexplicably felt a little guilty, and his heart lurched. The image of Chi Li with red-rimmed eyes, tears streaming down his face as he begged him to stop, surfaced in his mind again. Yet he had been unable to control himself, and his blood heated rapidly.

"Don't worry. Lu Jiu is there; he'll handle it," Si Jinyan said, getting up and gripping Chi Li's arm reassuringly.

Chi Li shot the culprit a look, grabbed a shirt nearby and pulled it on, then urged Si Jinyan, "Hurry."

They had not gone to see Eggy for several days.

When they arrived at the base and saw the egg in the culture room, that sense of vitality passed through the culture fluid and the glass wall into their hearts. Only then did the anxiety hanging over them finally ease.

Chi Li stared intently, unaware