Little Butterfly was the first to fly out, followed closely by Little Nine, who grabbed Chiu Chiu and ran off too. Eighty was a beat slower, but quickly caught up.
Xie Chiyuan left the children to keep Yu An company while he went to attend to his official duties.
After he left, the children all ran to Yu An.
Chiu Chiu kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed. He hugged his older brother and pressed his face against him before asking, "Big brother, are you feeling unwell? Your face feels hot."
As he spoke, Qiuqiu became nervous, and he touched his older brother's hand again as if to confirm.
Thankfully, my hands aren't hot.
Chiu Chiu still remembers Little Butterfly's fever a while ago. He knows that's what illness is, and he doesn't want his older brother to get sick like Little Butterfly.
Yu An noticed his nervousness, so she nuzzled him again and comforted him, "Don't be afraid, big brother is fine."
The baby octopuses used their cool little tentacles to cool down their older brother's face. The baby octopuses surrounded their older brother, and Little Six flew to the side of his pillow.
Yu An narrowed his eyes slightly.
He touched each baby's belly, his voice a little hoarse: "Have you all eaten yet? There's milk in the room, I'll go get it for you."
Bazai patted his belly and replied, "We've already eaten!"
Xie Chiyuan wasn't there, so Yu An squeezed onto the bed with the kids. The kids were all well-behaved; they noticed Yu An's voice was hoarse, so they weren't too noisy.
Chiu Chiu held Yu An's hand and played on his phone. He was playing a dress-up game, and Chiu Chiu was trying hard to think of what clothes to wear for his little character.
Xiao Jiu poked him from the side and gave him advice: "Choose this one, it's very sparkly."
Chiu Chiu hesitated for a moment, then chose this sparkly dress. The next second, in the dress-up battle, Chiu Chiu suffered a crushing defeat. He was stunned for a moment, then clicked "start again."
Xiao Jiu frowned, refusing to believe it: "I made the wrong choice just now. This time, you choose this outfit, the pink top and shorts, and these shoes."
Chuchu hesitated for a moment and then reminded her, "We're going to a party, so we should wear skirts."
Xiao Jiu was full of confidence: "Everyone else is wearing skirts, so you'll stand out from the crowd in this outfit! Besides, we lost the last game because we were wearing skirts."
Chirp: "..."
Chuchu frowned slightly, but urged by Xiao Jiu, he still chose to wear shorts to the party.
And then.
Chiu Chiu lost the PK again.
Xiao Jiu failed twice in a row, and her game coins were being deducted in a flurry.
Yu An could hardly bear to watch anymore.
But Xiao Jiu refused to give up and insisted on continuing to instruct Qiu Qiu. By the end, Qiu Qiu's eyes were red. He threw down his phone and buried his face in Yu An's arms.
Yu An, both amused and exasperated, coaxed him, "Don't cry, okay? I'll download a game for Xiao Jiu's phone later too."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu refused without hesitation: "I won't play. My game is different from Qiu Qiu's. His wardrobe is full, mine is empty."
Upon hearing this, Yu An stroked Qiu Qiu's head and asked curiously, "Qiu Qiu, why are your wardrobes different?"
Chiu Chiu sniffed and said, "I spent money."
His clothes were all bought with a lot of money. Some clothes couldn't be purchased directly; you had to draw a certain number of cards to have a chance to get rare outfits.
In short, it can be summed up in two words: pay-to-win.
Yu An was slightly taken aback. He asked in surprise, "Chirp, where did you get so much pocket money? Did Seven give it to you?"
But he also remembered that Qiuqiu had been playing this little game on her phone for a long time. She had been playing it before Qizai came back.
"Buied by Meow Meow."
Chiu Chi counted the number of gifts he had received: "Xie Chiyuan bought some for me too, he said it was a bribe. Now it's Qi Zai buying me more!"
Seven Cub came from behind and crushed Meow Meow and Xie Chiyuan, who was secretly bribing him.
Baza, who was originally playing a team battle game, perked up his ears and felt a pang of jealousy: "Chuchu, why do they like to spend money on you so much?"
After thinking for a moment, Qiuqiu honestly said, "Qizai said that if you don't fight with him, he can also spend money on you."
Bazai: "..."
snort.
Is he, the big boss of the ocean, the kind of guy who would break his tentacles for money?
Ba Zai resolutely rejected the suggestion, but Xiao Jiu, on the other hand, was secretly plotting something.
Time passed little by little.
The little ones, including Qiuqiu, played on their phones until they went back to sleep. Yu An, having fully rested, touched the quiet little butterfly and asked, "Sixth child, how are you feeling today?"
The little butterfly rubbed against her older brother's finger and said, "Great, I feel even better than before."
Yu An's wrist has healed, thanks to Xie Chiyuan's busy work during this time. His act of feeding the cub with his own blood hasn't been discovered yet.
It wasn't that he intentionally wanted to keep it from Xie Chiyuan, but if Xie Chiyuan knew about it, Xie Chiyuan would likely not agree with his actions.
"Sweetie, let's go for another check-up next time."
Yu An wanted to understand why her own flesh and blood were related to the growth of the babies.
To find out the truth, a more detailed examination is definitely needed.
The main thing is that Sixth Brother never refuses anything his eldest brother suggests.
He nodded.
"Big brother."
After agreeing to the check-up, Liu Zai remembered something else: "Do we still need to have the check-up done in the West District?"
They had undergone tests at hospitals and laboratories in the West End, but Liu Zai wasn't sure if storing this data here would be harmful to them.
Yu An trusted Xie Chiyuan and the West District, but Liu Zai didn't have much trust in this place.
It is very difficult for mutants to establish a trusting relationship with humans.
"I... I'll think about it some more."
In the past, Yu An would have chosen the West District without hesitation. But now, besides the West District, he has other options.
For example, the Secret Shield Research Institute, which he can freely enter and exit.
For example, the eldest son—
Just as Yu An thought of her eldest child, she suddenly realized that perhaps they didn't need to do any more tests.
The older cub has been with him the longest, so this cub must know everything that has happened between them!
Upon realizing this, Yu An immediately went outside.
Six-Eyed hovered in the air, looking down at the snoring octopus, little mushroom, and little chirp below, and then at its eldest brother's back.
He flew out in a flash.
In the living room.
Yu An tried to video call Da Zai, but after a while, there was no response.
He frowned and sent a few voice messages.
"Big brother, contact me after you see this message."
"I need to talk to you about something."
After sending these two messages, Yu An paused for a moment before simply asking the question directly.
Do you know how I raised you all?
"Why would my blood have any effect on you?"
"What exactly is the Secret Shield?"
When asked the last question, Yu An's voice trembled slightly.
For him, Secret Shield has always been like home.
He liked everyone in Secret Shield, including Dr. K who always had a sour face, and he missed him very much.
But one thing after another was silently telling Yu An—
The Secret Shield is not simple.
What are the mutants cultivated by MiShield for? Has he really been treating patients at MiShield all these years? Why are his images displayed in MiShield's dark room?
What memories are in his lost memories?
More and more questions filled Yu An's mind.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, so he simply raised his hand and punched his head.
"How come I... can't remember anything?"
Seeing that his older brother was about to walk into a dead end, Liu Zai quickly stopped him.
"Brother, don't rush."
Liu Zai sat next to him, trying to calm him down: "Let's think about the past slowly. Now we're all together, and we can solve whatever we encounter together."
Yu An still tugged at her hair.
He frowned deeply: "The second, third, and fourth children haven't returned. I can't find the children, and I can't remember anything. I have no idea what to do next."
If the children deliberately hide their tracks, Yu An will have a hard time finding them.
But Yu An and Liu Zai both remembered one of the cubs. They looked at each other and said almost in unison, "The third cub hasn't appeared yet. Could it be hibernating?"
Sanzai is very lazy; he's a lazy little guy who loves to sleep.
The lazy little one spends his time either sleeping or patrolling to see if the other little ones are causing trouble.
The troublemaker among the kids, Eighth Kid, has clashed with Third Kid countless times.
Come to think of it, it seems that the hot-tempered gossip has gotten into trouble with all the kids...
Yu An sometimes beats him up, and he deserves it.
“Third Brother’s sleep lasts quite a while.” Sixth Brother finished stating the facts and then comforted Yu An, “But don’t worry too much, Big Brother. Once Third Brother wakes up, he will definitely know to come find you.”
The original prototypes of Yu An's mutant offspring were not very strong.