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Qi Chao lowered his head to look at the fish tank. The dull gray stone sat submerged in the calm, rippleless Soothing Fluid, showing no changes at all.

Normally, it would take a month to see any changes. Qi Chao mocked himself for being too impatient, then immediately turned all his attention to the little puppet beside him.

"Little One, Dad has been sitting here for an hour. Why have you been sitting with me for so long?" Feeling sorry for his well-behaved Little One, Qi Chao stroked the little puppet's head. He had originally thought his Little One would get bored and go watch cartoons.

Sure enough, it had to be because he had been going out so often these past two days, leaving the little puppet home alone and lonely, that he had become so clingy, right?

The thought immediately made Qi Chao feel guilty. He quickly reassured him, "Unless something unexpected happens, Dad won't be going out for the next few days. I can stay home and keep you company!"

Lan Luo did not understand why Qi Chao was saying this, but he was already used to Qi Chao's routine. He tipped up his head and gave him a dazzling angelic smile.

The old father across from him was instantly melted by the cuteness.

While halfheartedly humoring Qi Chao, Lan Luo's gaze drifted toward the fish tank.

Humans could not see it, but as a puppet, Lan Luo could clearly see the abundant clusters of green light surging within the fish tank.

Normally, Mental Power dispersed quickly in the air. Yet the green light in the fish tank was only being absorbed by the Mother Stone, with no sign of dissipating. Above the tank coiled a chain of Mental Power like a silver snake, and the silver chain was gradually drawing closer to the phantom.

Clearly, the green light had not vanished because of that chain. Only once the chain completely turned into a phantom would the green light gradually begin to dissipate.

It was Lan Luo's first time seeing such a phenomenon, and he almost could not look away.

Noticing the little puppet's distraction, Qi Chao followed his gaze to the fish tank. Thinking Lan Luo was simply curious, he smiled and explained, "If nothing goes wrong, this is the Puppet Heart of Lan Luo's good friend."

"Mm!"

Lan Luo nodded heavily. His azure eyes curved into smiling crescents, as though he was extremely excited. He jumped down from the chair, walked over to the glass fish tank, and tapped the wall of the tank, producing a crisp sound.

As though it sensed some threat and feared its food would be stolen, the Mother Stone in the fish tank suddenly began absorbing Mental Power faster. Before long, it had absorbed half the green light in the tank.

Lan Luo's eyes curved even more, as if he had just witnessed something hilarious.

Qi Chao was more than happy to see Lan Luo getting along well with his future Little One. He moved closer and crouched down. "In a month or two, you'll see the Mother Stone change color. When that happens, this heart-shaped stone will definitely be even prettier than it is now!"

The moment he finished speaking, Lan Luo saw a cluster of green light float up from Qi Chao's body and sway lazily down onto the Mother Stone in the fish tank.

He blinked and looked at Qi Chao.

Qi Chao, meanwhile, acted as though nothing had happened. He looked back at him, completely unaware of what had occurred.

Lan Luo gave Qi Chao a perfunctory smile, then turned to look at the Mother Stone, his eyes filled with confusion.

Why was this human's Mental Power so strange?

Lan Luo could not understand it.

It was one thing that nothing happened after he released so much Mental Power, but why did his Mental Power suddenly float out on its own?

Qi Chao did not know that his Mental Power was actually abnormal. The books had never described this knowledge in detail, so he still believed his Mental Power was merely an ordinary A-Rank.

Seeing that it was nearly six o'clock, Qi Chao instantly switched into doting-father mode. "Little One, are you hungry?"

Lan Luo was not actually hungry. Quite a bit of the Mental Power Qi Chao had released earlier had merged into his heart, so he did not need to replenish his energy for the time being.

For puppets, even the highest-grade Energy Stones were merely substitutes for Mental Power.

Qi Chao found it strange when Lan Luo shook his head, but he did not think too deeply about it. Rising to his feet, he said, "Then I'll cut a little less of the Energy Stone. Even if you aren't hungry, you still need to eat."

Lan Luo nodded and followed him out of the study. As the door closed, Lan Luo looked back at the fish tank once more.

The Mother Stone in the tank was like a glutton with an enormous appetite. By now, it had actually devoured two-thirds of the Mental Power in the tank.

This was normal. A Mother Stone in incubation could only nurture life by continuously taking in Mental Power.

Humans blindly classified Mother Stones into upper, middle, and lower grades.

Yet they had never considered whether the Mental Power they provided truly met the Mother Stone's needs.

Father was the greatest puppet master in the world. His Mental Power was abundant enough to supply energy to three Mother Stones at once, but most puppet masters on Blue Star could not necessarily satisfy even the energy requirements of a single Mother Stone.

Lan Luo closed the door and followed behind Qi Chao. Watching the man's back and recalling the astonishing scene in the study not long ago, he could not help thinking: the Mother Stone in the fish tank should be like him. It would not go hungry.

After the meal, the little puppet pattered upstairs to continue looking at the Mother Stone in the fish tank.

Qi Chao felt somewhat gratified at the sight. It seemed his Little One was truly looking forward to his unborn friend.

If possible, Qi Chao hoped the awakened Mother Stone would be the finest red, because that meant the little puppet could enjoy a long life. But even if it truly turned out to be an inferior white one, Qi Chao would not discard it.

Although there was no precise basis for it, Qi Chao felt that perhaps the Mother Stone had already possessed life from the moment it was awakened.

The most urgent matter was still making the little puppet's body. Thinking this, Qi Chao went into the study again to prepare for work.

Lan Luo sat beside the fish tank, his legs swinging in the air. Every now and then, he poked the glass wall of the tank. As though he had seen something amusing, he narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Qi Chao was amused by the childlike scene. Of course, what he did not know was that every time Lan Luo poked the fish tank, the Mother Stone inside absorbed Mental Power twice as fast. It was like a pitiful little thing that had wandered for years with an empty stomach, finally found something to eat, and was still being watched hungrily by a villain—so it could only stuff buns into its mouth for dear life.

After watching from the doorway for quite a while, Qi Chao finally picked up the design drafts from the desk and said to Little One, "Lan Luo, Dad is going to work in the basement. If you get sleepy, go straight to your room and sleep, okay?"