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| The Beloved Little Mother Insect (LITTLE MOTHER) |
Pearl appeared fragile, yet sometimes unexpectedly resilient.
He silently suppressed his sobs as he buried his slender pale fingers in the StarCloud Hound's fluffy fur to absorb just a little warmth and security before carefully climbing out of the other's embrace.
Even his grievances were handled with caution.
Pearl wiped his reddened eyes with the back of his hand. The tear-stained cheeks that should have been damp were instead dried by the Mycelium absorbing all moisture, leaving only a faint glimmer of wetness at the corners of his eyes.
He let out a puzzled "Huh?" and was about to touch his face again when a warm tongue suddenly licked over his still-damp eyelashes.
—It was "Big Dog."
The radiation effects had temporarily subsided, and the deep darkness in the StarCloud Hound's eyes seemed to have lessened somewhat.
It clumsily licked the corners of Pearl's eyes, but seemed almost eager when swallowing the last of his tears.
The burning hunger in its stomach seemed soothed by that single teardrop.
The gathered Mycelium intertwined and kept revealing more pale white strands as they shifted.
Pearl relaxed slightly from the licking.
He reached up to stroke the Beast's Mycelium fur. His trembling arms and calves—still tense with fear—were stained with crushed berry juice, the sweet mixture gradually cleaned away as the StarCloud Hound tilted its head and licked every inch.
His bare, pale skin was delicate, and almost poreless—a characteristic of Artificial Humans approaching "perfection."
Whenever the Beast's slightly rough tongue passed over the purple-red berry stains, the small Artificial Human sitting on the ground would gasp softly and would push against the Beast's large head with his pale palms while whimpering in a thin voice, "That tickles."
The Artificial Human's skin was very sensitive.
He said, "No more licking," and "I'll get angry."
But when the StarCloud Hound nuzzled its furry head into his embrace, the indecisive little one would laugh with a tearful voice, soft and gentle, and just simply rubbing the Beast's ears while murmuring, "Bad dog."
Pearl was always like this.
He seemed to never learn how to refuse.
Even when bullied harshly, he would only whisper, "Please be gentle."
The Beast lowered its head, inch by inch taking in the scent of this young one. As the sickly-sweet berry juice was completely licked into its stomach, the eyes soaked in utter darkness seemed to gain a faint new light.
So sweet.
The StarCloud Hound wrinkled its nose.
It didn't like the taste of berries.
But it didn't matter—it liked the scent of this young one.
The disheveled little Artificial Human, now cleaned of berry juice from his arms and calves, was lifted by the scruff of his collar by the Beast. His weak feet dangled briefly before finally finding solid ground, where he clung to the other's neck to steady himself.
Pearl didn't know that night had fallen, but the StarCloud Hound did.
At this hour, shouldn't the young one be sleeping?
The young male Beast dug through its scarce knowledge about young ones in its mind. Its unusually clear thoughts fueled its desire to ponder as it stared thoughtfully at this pale, frail young one.
Sensing Big Dog's gaze, Pearl tilted his head, his pupils shifting toward the Beast.
He asked, "Are... are we leaving?"
It was a somewhat lost question.
For Pearl, everything from the moment he woke up had been utterly unfamiliar. Even someone as dull as him could tell this was neither the auction house nor the disposal facility for defective products.
Those who are blind aren't suited to frequent unfamiliar environments.
The Beast also tilted its head as the floating mycelium in the air clearly capturing the emotional shifts of the young one.
It couldn’t comprehend such complex feelings, but that didn’t stop it from making concessions for the changes in the little Artificial Human after regarding him as its "possession."
As for why such concessions occurred...
It licked its nose, the flicker in its pupils almost imperceptible, while the sweet taste still lingered in its throat.
The Beast let out a soft, low growl. It crouched on the ground, leaning against the giant tree in the oasis behind, and swung its long tail to encircle Pearl before pulling the Artificial Human closer.
The slender Pearl stumbled and abruptly tumbling into a patch of soft, furry warmth. Shaking his head, he struggled to crawl out, but before he could sit up properly, the unyielding tail wrapped around his waist and pressed him against the Beast’s flank.
It was soft, and warm.
Pearl’s struggles to rise slowed. His arms that were exposed to the cold desert night air, rubbed against the warmth, before tucking themselves deeper into the cozy spot.
The sensitive skin of the Artificial Human still bore red marks from the Beast’s licking, standing out starkly against his pale complexion.
The StarCloud Hound, which had been gathering the young one into its embrace, paused briefly, its gaze inexplicably guilty. It discreetly draped its fuzzy long tail over Pearl’s exposed skin.
Warmth layered upon warmth in that moment, the deep night rendering the desert even more silent.
Pearl, who had been tense earlier, completely relaxed against the StarCloud Hound. He clutched the Beast’s fur, his fingertips entwined with clusters of pale mycelium, winding around them again and again.
Unrelenting fatigue washed over him like a tide, assaulting Pearl’s nerves.
Drowsily, he tugged at the fur in his palm, but in the end, he couldn’t resist the pull of sleep, closing his heavy eyelids.
Just as his consciousness sank into oblivion, Pearl mustered his last bit of strength, his pinkish lips moving faintly as he whispered to the Beast, which was quietly watching him with its head tilted, "Good night."
Good night?
The Beast tilted its head, its deep eyes reflecting the pale image of the Artificial Human.
Good night.
It opened its mouth, mimicking the Artificial Human’s voice, and let out a vague, somewhat awkward soft growl.
Then, using its mycelium, it gathered the previously scattered, still-intact berries to one side—perhaps they could serve as a meal for the young one when he awoke.
By now, the sky had darkened completely.
The arrival of the Radiation Storm made the entire planet more dangerous. The StarCloud Hound, symbiotic with the Mycelial Carpet, had retained its sanity under Pearl’s influence, but not every Beast was as fortunate.
As the night deepened, the effects of radiation multiplied. Many Beasts emerged from their burrows with their eyes pitch-black and lifeless, roaming the barren depths of the desert like zombies in search of flesh and blood.
Giant Lizards covered in scales with venomous saliva; Sandworms that were bloated and lurking beneath the desert sands; Rat Swarms that were moving in packs and capable of stripping prey to the bone in an instant...
The buffs brought by the Radiation Storm were unmistakable. Countless Beasts surged forth, turning the planet into a living hell.
In the desert oasis, the only one in the northern region, the presence of the StarCloud Hound and the Mycelial Carpet within it emanated an aura of a powerful predator, faintly hovering in the air, and carving out a pocket of peace for the Artificial Human by its side.
But Pearl’s scent was not so easily concealed.
A sweet, delicacy-like fragrance permeated the evening air. Though many Beasts in the northern district feared the StarCloud Hound's presence, some greedy creatures still took their chances, attacking in wave after wave.
—Such as the insatiable desert Rat Swarm.
The small Artificial Human nestled in the StarCloud Hound's arms had pale cheeks flushed with the rosy hue of deep sleep. His long hair cascaded across the grass was gently gathered by the whitening edges of the Mycelium.
While he was lost in dreams, the wide-awake StarCloud Hound narrowed its beast-like eyes while gazing toward the faint glimmers hidden among the distant sand dunes.
They were countless pairs of eyes glowing with red light.
A dense, rustling noise echoed across the yellow sands beyond the oasis. The StarCloud Hound's eyes darkened slightly as its nimble Mycelium brushed against Pearl's cheek before coalescing into two slightly thicker tendrils that covered the small Artificial Human's ears.
Young ones needed a quiet sleeping environment.
Only after leisurely completing this task did it unhurriedly lift its eyelids, its now clear eyes settling on the distant Rat Swarm.
Devoid of any emotional fluctuation, it nonetheless provoked the Rat Swarm into feeling challenged.
Driven mad by radiation, the Rat Swarm charged forward.
The dark mass of rodents surged like a tide, so dense that not a single grain of sand could be seen beneath them. Thousands of invaders advanced with ferocious momentum, making the Beast StarCloud Hound appear isolated and helpless in comparison.
If the Rat Swarm were to climb over its body, it would be reduced to a bloody skeleton in mere moments.
But the turnaround happened in an instant—
The soft Mycelium erupted violently and silently spreading from the oasis to cover vast stretches of yellow sand.
The Mycelial Carpet that had once softened into a blanket beside Pearl now revealed its true nature. It mercilessly slaughtered its prey and completely devouring the Rat Swarm within seconds—leaving neither flesh, blood, nor bone behind.
After erasing all traces on the sand dunes, it quietly retracted, and even knowing to wash itself clean in the nearby water source before returning to nestle close to the small Artificial Human.
The satiated Mycelium and the StarCloud Hound simultaneously let out a contented sigh before curling their tail around the little young one and pulling him into their embrace.
The observing audience expressed sentiments of being "healed."
These insectoid members, accustomed to sweating it out on training grounds, found their hearts inexplicably softening. They stared intently at the sleeping "new specimen," their longing almost tangible.
They wanted him, wanted to touch him, wanted... to hold him in their arms.
Suddenly, within the frame, an avian Beast swooped down, settling for snatching a berry from the edge of the oasis before flapping its wings and fleeing like a thief.
The berry still carried the sweet fragrance of the Artificial Human.
The StarCloud Hound, caught off guard, bared its fangs fiercely.
It intended to chase after the thief and reclaim the berry that belonged to its young one, but the moment it moved, the small Artificial Human in its arms let out a faint, drowsy murmur with his brow slightly furrowed.
The enraged StarCloud Hound froze.
After a pause, it settled back into its original position.
Seeing the Artificial Human, who was smacking his lips, return to peaceful slumber, it slowly retracted its murderous aura. Lowering its head, it skillfully licked his forehead and adjusted its warm, furry tail a bit higher to cover Pearl's stomach.
Young ones... should be cared for like this, right?
Wasn't this the epitome of practice makes perfect?
...
In the distance, the opportunistic "thief" flew away from the area requiring vigilance.
Mid-air, its radiation-induced third claw clutched the berry, ready to deliver it to its beak for a feast. But before its beak could fully open, a massive shadow attacked from the side—
The sharp black-blue pincer limbs crushed the bird's body, causing the berry to instantly lose its grip and plummet vertically from mid-air.
But the crimson fruit never reached the ground.
Before it could splatter, the master of the pincer limbs—who had been waiting like a mantis stalking its prey—caught the alluring trophy just in time.
This was the very fruit that had once pressed against Pearl's smooth, pale abdomen through a thin layer of fabric and was saturated with the sweet fragrance unique to an Artificial Human's skin, driving these frenzied monsters wild with desire.
Though the Observation Sphere could record continuously, it still couldn't capture the extreme precision of a high-level Narga's movements. Thus, viewers outside the lens never clearly saw what Hui had caught in that split second.
His sharp mouthparts carefully parted, but just as he was about to swallow the fruit, this powerful Narga abruptly halted—
Instead, he extended his forked tongue to lightly taste the berry, then abandoned consumption, intending to conceal this trophy deep within his scaly armor.
But his plan was thwarted.
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