Yuan Han’s Tea Set

Beloved dad! Little Ball is bored, can Little Ball enter the Galactic web?

Beloved dad! This Galactic web just can’t do! Little Ball only used five seconds to break the firewall; it took ten seconds in the past!

Beloved dad! The defence mechanism at home is too weak, can I hack into it?

Beloved dad! Can Little Ball use your Galactic currency to buy a new shell? Little Ball wants a new set of clothes.

Beloved dad…

Ever since the smart system called Little Ball came back, he didn’t stop yapping. The tiny ball was creating a ruckus, seemingly overjoyed at the prospect. The entire house was bustling with his childlike voice.

Beloved dad…

Yao Si was displeased by the noise. Even though she understood that Mu Xuan was the creator, so the way he was being addressed was normal, but it had been her personal term before. To hear someone else calling him dad was uncomfortable.

There was more than one child in the house now.

The ball toured the entire house before returning to circle her curiously.

Eh, beloved dad, who’s this person that followed us back?

Who followed you back! You’re the one that followed us back!

“Number 27.” Mu Xuan reached out to grab the ball, stopping him from circling around. He then stuffed the ball into Yao Si’s hands. “Sisi is my cub, register her dna data into your system. She will be your new master.” He caressed her head affectionately, his face indulgent. “Here’s the ball you wanted, you can play with it.”

○|￣|_

Yao Si was speechless. She had indeed mentioned that she liked the machine, but she hadn’t been referring to the overly energetic ball! She glanced at it again. Hmm, it was better as a machine.

Cub?

Little Ball was motionless for a time, then turned around several times as though inspecting her. At that moment, a bright light grazed past her, exciting the ball.

Ding! Inspection complete! Wa, it’s real, it’s real! Your stats are the closest I’ve seen to those of beloved dad! That’s great, beloved dad really has a cub!

Little Ball started to jump and roll around her rapidly. When he finally thought of something, he returned back to her palms obediently, snuggling lovingly against her before shouting.

Beloved mum!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Beloved mum? They both addressed Mu Xuan as dad, so why did he push her up by one generation!

Perhaps… Even the metal ball was aware of the common knowledge among bloodlings that she hadn’t been aware about?

At that instant, she could feel herself lowering the average intelligence level of the entire Galactic!

Beloved mum, Little Ball will be yours from now on; till death do us part!

Beloved mum, Little Ball is very useful. As long as there is reception, I’ll be able to hack anywhere.

Beloved mum, is there anything you want to hack into? Galactic data or the Alliance? I’m able to hack past any firewall.

Beloved mum, with me around, the entire galactic is in your hands.

Yao Si face stiffened, remembering something, she said, “Erm… Was this how you talked to Yuan Han?” Was Yuan Han’s arrogance because of this system?

Er…

Little Ball froze, suddenly remembering his ‘ex’. Its light dimmed. Looking devastated, the ball muttered weakly, Little Ball wasn’t fully awake at that time. I could only operate based on my data—to protect anyone with pure earthling DNA. Only when I was awakened by beloved dad that my consciousness came back. Little Ball didn’t mean to go against beloved mum…

“Earthling DNA?” Yao Si turned to Mu Xuan in confusion.

“That is the first rule of the primary program,” Mu Xuan explained. “When I designed him, I guessed that he would gain consciousness, so I added a few rules that he wouldn’t be able to disobey without the master’s orders. He wasn’t allowed to harm bloodlings and was to use all possible means to protect anyone with earthling DNA. The latter holding priority over the former.”

This meant that in the face of both bloodlings and earthlings, Little Ball would prioritise the latter. This was easily understood since unconverted earthlings required more protection as compared to the immortal bloodlings.

This explained why Little Ball had been protecting Yuan Han so relentlessly. But since Mu Xuan’s orders was the highest order, Little Ball was able to awaken.

Yuan Han was starting to sound increasingly more pathetic. Even though Number 27 hadn’t been fully awake, Yuan Han could still be considered half of an ex-owner. Yet Yao Si had never expected that Number 27 might have treated him as an endangered species that required protection rather than a real owner!

Time to light him a candle!

“Oh right, why are you number 27?” Yao Si asked. “Were there 26 others before you?”

Nope, Little Ball is unique. Little Ball jumped up before continuing to speak. Little Ball is called Number 27 because beloved dad was lonely. He felt that this number sounded like…

Ding…

Before he could finish his sentence, Mu Xuan reached out to press a button, and the ball dimmed, falling motionless.

Was he… switched off?

“It’s getting late. Let’s eat!” Mu Xuan said solemnly.

“Ah?” Yao Si looked down at the time. “But it’s only two!” Didn’t they just finish their lunch?

Mu Xuan froze for a while, then in a more solemn tone, “I’ll need time to prepare dinner, so I’ll start now.” He turned hurriedly and took the ball from her hands.

Did duck blood curd really require four hours of preparation time? Yao Si was confused, feeling that Mu Xuan had entered the ‘nanny’ mode. She glanced at the bustling man and wondered if she was hallucinating again? Why did his neck look like there was an allergic reaction again?

Yao Si was about to search for some medicine tackling allergies when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the screen—Yao Qian.

“Are you looking for Mu Xuan?” She opened the door and turned on reflex, preparing to call Mu Xuan.

“No! No!” Yao Qian shook his head. “I’m here to find you, Your Highness.”

“Me?”

“Yes!” Yao Qian frowned. After a moment of hesitation, he said, “Fourth Elder… wishes to see Your Highness.”

“Me?” Yao Si was surprised. Ever since they came back from Heavenly Bestowed Yard, both Fourth Elder and Yuan Han had been handed over to the Elder Council. Betrayal by a bloodling, especially one that was an elder, sent the entire Elder Council into a state of shock.

Besides their detachment from the worldly affairs, their unity was another reason for their long-standing survival and instilled fear in the other races. Due to the suppression of the bloodline, the younger generations weren’t able to harm the older generations.

Betrayal by their own kin was something that had never happened before, so even the other Elders in the Elder Council weren’t aware of the reasons behind Fourth Elder’s actions.

But why did he want to see her? Yao Si had never interacted with him a lot, their only private conversion being the day Luo Ying was contracted with the doomsday virus. Even though she was a fifth generation bloodling, shouldn’t he be seeking Mu Xuan if he required someone of authority? So why her?

“Did he say why?”

Yao Qian shook his head. “No, since the day he came back from Heavenly Bestowed Yard, he has refused to speak, only requesting for your audience.”

Yao Si formed her hands into fists. “Alright, I’ll go!” After a brief consideration, she added, “Inform Bai Yi that I would like for him to accompany me.”

“Bai Yi?” Yao Qian asked with confusion before remembering who he was. “Yes, Your Highness.” He then turned around anxiously and headed out.

Yao Si returned to inform Mu Xuan of the matter. Surprisingly, he merely instructed her to take care of her safety before continuing with his dinner preparations.

When she was out, Mu Xuan turned to the ball. It was time to clear Number 27’s memory.

–

Yao Si could barely recognise the Fourth Elder when they met. Even though she had seen him a few hours ago, he seemed to have aged drastically in that time, becoming smaller. His age and exhaustion became apparent; it was as though his entire spirit had been sucked away, leaving just the shell. Soulless and empty.

He sat lifelessly on the chair, as motionless as a statue.

Only when Yao Si appeared outside his cell did he finally lift his head to glance at her. He lifted the sides of his lips, seemingly breaking into a smile albeit looking bitter. “Your Highness, you’re here!”

“Mmh.” Yao Si sat down on the chair nearby, still unable to believe how he had managed to torture himself to such an extent in just a short few hours. “I heard that you wanted to see me.”

Fourth Elder fell into a short daze before regaining his senses. He stared at her for a long while, his gaze heavy. It made her heart sink.

“I can only tell Your Highness about it.” His gaze started to falter, losing its focus. “Your Highness, what do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything. ”

Yao Si inhaled deeply. At least he was talking. “Why did you bribe Yuan Han?”

“Because he is worthy of research.” Fourth Elder then added, “He has perfect human DNA, which is exactly what the Heavenly Bestowed Yard needs. If we could replicate his DNA, we could potentially bring earthlings back.”

“You mean he really is an earthling?” Yao Si exclaimed.

“No!” Surprisingly he denied her claim. “He is actually a clone from Heavenly Bestowed Yard.”

“A clone!” This was indeed unexpected. Yao Si thought that he was like herself and had been sealed, only to be awakened not long ago. Or it may have been something more magical, such as being propelled through time. “But why?” Why did he address himself as an earthling?

“I’m not clear on the specifics yet, but he isn’t the same as the other clones. He was able to gain sentience before conversion. Besides, he has a complete set of DNA memory. Thus, the day he woke up, he escaped from Heavenly Bestowed Yard and has been in hiding for five years.”

“Complete set of DNA memory?”

“Yes!” The elder sighed. “When we cloned him, we used an ordinary bloodling’s separated earthling DNA, but somehow, he didn’t inherit the bloodling’s memory but instead got the original earthling’s memory. He treated that memory as his own and saw himself as the person in the memory. Thus, he assumed that he was the last surviving human in the Galaxy.”

This meant that Yuan Han’s memory wasn’t his, but had been inherited, which resulted in a misconception. He had to really think that he was the main character of a time traveling drama!

Er… then why does it seem like he’s been suffering under a spell of bad luck?