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| Descend from the Stars (STARS) |
Xu Rongchuan absentmindedly drove his modified Land Rover with one hand, utterly unfazed by the evening rush hour traffic. Thanks to the little monster in the passenger seat, his right hand was injured, and he hadn’t taken on any new missions, leaving him with the rare luxury of clocking out on time to go home.
"Mom, they showed me Animal World," the little monster finally couldn’t hold back and started talking. "Why didn’t you use the warmth of your belly to hatch me? Instead, you put me in hot water. Were you afraid I’d get cold?"
Xu Rongchuan shot him a sharp glare. Xu Dan’s smile didn’t waver as he smoothly corrected himself: "Brother."
Xu Rongchuan sighed.
"Don’t call me brother either. I’m neither your mom nor your brother."
Xu Dan tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. "Then what are you to me?"
Xu Rongchuan didn’t answer—he didn’t know how to.
What was he? An enemy tasked with monitoring him and ready to end his life at the first sign of abnormality? Or just some passerby who accidentally picked him up and was planning to boil him for dinner?
There was no answer. But Xu Dan, with his formidable learning and associative abilities, touched the collar around his neck, recalling the golden retriever in the elevator, and came up with his own conclusion: "I know! I’m your dog, and you’re my master. Right?"
Xu Rongchuan: "..."
He decided he couldn’t let the little monster’s imagination run wild any longer and spoke up: "I’m your colleague, your team leader. You should call me Captain Xu. If you really must call me ‘brother,’ fine. You can call me Brother Chuan, like Alice does."
"What’s the difference from ‘brother’?" Xu Dan didn’t understand.
Xu Rongchuan didn’t elaborate. "You’ll figure it out eventually."
Humans are so complicated. Xu Dan felt a little unhappy and turned his head to look out the window at the bustling human civilization outside. His pupils rotated 360 degrees before settling back on Xu Rongchuan’s profile. Then, he grinned again. "You still have something to say to me, don’t you? What is it?"
The light turned red, and the traffic was at a standstill. Xu Rongchuan turned to meet his gaze. His eyes were now indistinguishable from a human’s—clear and bright, reflecting Xu Rongchuan’s image with unwavering focus.
A monster that didn’t belong in this world, yet somehow possessed the innocent eyes of a child.
Xu Rongchuan spoke slowly. "What did you tell the researchers in the Containment Unit?"
"Huh?"
"About where you came from, what abilities you have, what you want to do, whether you want to be human or something else..."
Xu Dan shook his head (a gesture he’d learned from the researchers) and said, "I don’t know. I’m just a fragile newborn, weak and clueless. I don’t remember anything. Since you’re human, I want to be human too. Brother, will you protect me?"
Xu Rongchuan, whose hand had been fractured by this so-called "fragile newborn": "..."
He gave up on correcting the title. "You’re my team member. Of course, I’ll do everything in my power to protect you. But before that, I want you to truly see yourself as human, as part of Pangu, to embrace Pangu’s beliefs and uphold the same justice we do. Do you understand?"
Xu Dan narrowed his eyes slightly, as if grasping something but not entirely. He earnestly tried to parse the deeper meaning behind Xu Rongchuan’s words before finally saying, "Whatever you ask of me, brother, I’ll do it."
"Then let’s make a few promises."
"Deal," Xu Dan smiled. "Alright."
Xu Rongchuan said, "No harming innocent humans, no betraying Pangu, respect other living beings and Anomalous Objects, and also—change your face and become an adult. I don't want to be suspected of child trafficking."
"Does brother not like me like this?"
"No, I don't."
Liar.
Xu Dan recalled the carefree smile on Xu Rongchuan's face in the photo frame, lowered his head, and examined his own body. He felt a bit unhappy but still said, "Fine, as brother wishes."
Xu Rongchuan glanced at the little monster a few more times. Its face was full of lively expressions, like a child who had lost their favorite toy—utterly different from the terrifying creature that had crawled out of the pot in his memory and completely unlike what he had imagined. He couldn't help but smile, a strange thought sprouting in his mind.
Perhaps Du Ruo and Tang Sumu's judgment was correct—this little thing was truly a blank slate right now, with no ill intentions.
And it was even a bit adorably silly.
Hmm... better keep observing.
By the time they finally got home, it was already 8 PM. Xu Rongchuan was so hungry his stomach felt like it was sticking to his back. As soon as he entered, he took off his outer T-shirt, leaving only a fitted tank top, and headed to the fridge to cook. Just as he pulled out two eggs, he suddenly remembered something and politely asked the other being in the room, "What would you like to eat?"
Xu Dan looked puzzled. "Eat? Eat what?"
"..." Xu Rongchuan gave up and turned on the TV for it before motioning for it to sit on the sofa. "Sit here nicely and watch TV. I'll make something delicious for you."
"Mm-hmm," it nodded repeatedly, its eyes following him intently.
Xu Rongchuan had a psychological shadow about the kitchen now. The moment he stepped in, he scanned the surroundings to ensure nothing was amiss before washing his hands and starting to cook. Having raised his younger brother with a heart condition into his teens single-handedly, he had long mastered excellent cooking skills. Soon, he prepared three dishes and a soup: braised pork, beef brisket with potatoes, hand-torn cabbage, and crucian carp tofu soup.
With steaming rice and dishes on the table, he turned to call Xu Dan, only to find it sitting obediently on the sofa, not even watching TV. Its eyes were fixed on the braised pork, its throat bobbing repeatedly, looking as if it were starving to death.
Amused, he beckoned, "Come eat."
At the command, the little monster dashed to the table like an eager puppy, sitting down and staring alternately at Xu Rongchuan and the braised pork. Xu Rongchuan picked up his chopsticks, demonstrating by taking a piece of meat into his mouth. "Eat like this. Slowly, with rice. Got it?"
Xu Dan nodded eagerly again. Xu Rongchuan patted its head. "Go ahead."
Xu Dan displayed its remarkable learning ability, mastering chopsticks after just one demonstration. Following Xu Rongchuan's example, it picked up a piping-hot piece of braised pork and stuffed it into its mouth.
Xu Rongchuan cautioned, "Careful, it's hot."
Then he felt it was unnecessary—after all, this thing had hatched from a boiling pot...
Sure enough, Xu Dan didn't seem to notice the heat. It swallowed the braised pork in two bites as if it had tasted something miraculously delicious, its eyes moist with what looked like moved-to-tears emotion. It even savored the flavor for a few seconds before diving headfirst into the meal without looking up.
Xu Rongchuan found himself infected by its earnestness, inexplicably feeling that tonight's meal was exceptionally delicious.
In Pangu's only two S+ Anomalous Object files, perhaps a note would be added in a few days—Special Note: This Anomalous Object exhibits extreme enthusiasm for human food. When it loses control, braised pork can be used as bait to lure it.
He chuckled at his own imagination. After finishing a bowl of rice, he set down his chopsticks and focused on observing Xu Dan's eating habits.
Xu Dan quickly devoured a bowl of rice. He refilled it, and it finished that too. He kept refilling until not a single grain remained in the rice cooker, and the dishes on the table were completely wiped out—even the fish bones were gnawed clean.
Xu Rongchuan coughed. "Was it good?"
Xu Dan let out a burp—its human stomach clearly limited its capacity. With sparkling eyes full of admiration, it murmured, "Mom, I want to stay by your side forever."
Xu Rongchuan: "..." Touching, but entirely unnecessary.
He led the little monster to the bathroom, filled the tub with warm water, and told it to take a proper bath while he went to prepare the guest room. Half an hour later, there was still no movement from the bathroom. Frowning, he pushed the door open—only to find the entire space filled with bubbles. The well-fed little monster was submerged in the water and happily blowing bubbles with contented gurgles.
His blood pressure spiked.
"Xu Dan!"
The little monster shot out of the water, flustered, and looked at the person at the door in panic. "Brother, I'm sorry."
Xu Rongchuan stared at it for two seconds—utterly defenseless against that face—and sighed helplessly. He turned on the shower, rinsed it off, wrapped it in a bathrobe, and dismissed it perfunctorily. "Go watch TV."
Xu Dan obediently said, "Oh," but didn’t move. Instead, it trailed behind him like a lost puppy as he cleaned up the bathroom, cautiously adding, "Brother, bubbles are so fun. Human things are really interesting."
Xu Rongchuan inexplicably felt the frustration of dealing with a mischievous child and repeated, "Stop following me. Go watch TV."
Xu Dan didn’t dare disobey. With another "Oh," it reluctantly shuffled to the living room.
Xu Rongchuan quickly cleaned himself up—taking no more than five minutes—thinking he could finally rest. But the moment he stepped into the living room and looked up, his scalp prickled in shock, and he nearly reached for his gun on instinct.
A strange, naked adult man was sitting on his couch!
Seeing Xu Rongchuan go for his gun, the naked man immediately stood up, looking both shy and flustered. "Brother, you don’t like this either?"
It remembered their agreement and had transformed into an adult form—sporting a face of flawless, handsome perfection, identical to the male lead in the movie playing on TV.
The face was copied from a celebrity, while the body mirrored Xu Rongchuan’s—broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and eight-pack abs, with not an ounce of excess fat. It was as if it had been precision-engineered by the gods, a sight that would make anyone’s heart race. Unfortunately, Xu Rongchuan himself looked like he couldn’t bear to see it, suppressing the urge to roar as he said, "Change into someone else!"
Xu Dan was dejected. It thought its brother was beautiful, so it wanted to become the most beautiful human. Why didn’t he like it?
"Fine," it pouted. "Then what kind do you like?"
Xu Rongchuan didn’t answer. So it stared at his expression and began adjusting its face and body bit by bit.
This was a bizarre enough scene. Xu Dan's body began to grow taller, soon surpassing Xu Rongchuan and stopping at 183 centimeters. His frame became more upright and toned, every muscle adjusted to a state more perfect and precise than the most flawless work of art.
Then, observing Xu Rongchuan's gaze, his skin turned fairer and smoother, reflecting a faint honeyed glow under the fluorescent lights. Next came his face—this task seemed the most challenging. What his brother liked was... a more defined nose bridge, amber-colored eyes with a hint of innocence, longer and curlier lashes, lips... full and sensual, a pale rose hue being ideal, with contours just handsome enough—a fraction more would be too harsh, a fraction less too soft. Hmm... this time, his brother clearly approved.
Xu Dan smiled at Xu Rongchuan, looking utterly delighted.
Xu Rongchuan was momentarily speechless.
He had reshaped himself into a perfect human—one that ticked every single box of his aesthetic preferences.
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