After an hour, Bai Zemin’s face had become as pale as a sheet and his vision blurred so he had no choice but to lean back and let his back rest on the back of the couch.
“… That little one is still swallowing your mana?” Shangguan Bing Xue asked in a low voice but with impossible to conceal astonishment as her blue eyes locked onto the metallic grey egg in Bai Zemin’s embrace.
“It looks like we underestimated her appetite.” Bai Zemin replied in an exhausted voice.
He had been giving his mana to the little life inside the egg, but Bai Zemin hadn’t expected something like what he was experiencing right now. His Mana reserves were high, monstrously high for a First Order existence. However, even with his 800+ total Mana points, it seemed like it wasn’t enough.
“It feels like a black hole wants to swallow me whole.” Bai Zemin forced a smile and gently shook his head as he said wearily, “At this rate, I will be forced to use Overlap Regeneration…”
If possible, Bai Zemin did not want to use Overlap Regeneratio in this situation. That second activation of his Regeneration skill was practically his main lifeline, and while everything was currently calm no one really knew what would happen within the next instant.
This was not the Earth of the past, everyone knew that from one second to the next a terrifying enemy could appear at the gates of the base and start a merciless massacre. Therefore, all the most powerful and 1+ hour cooldown skills of each soul evolver were reserved for moments of real crisis and no one used them casually.
“This…” Shangguan Bing Xue paused in thought for a moment to think of a solution.
Her eyes suddenly lit up and she immediately told Bai Zemin her idea.
“How about giving me the egg so that I can supply it with mana while you rest and allow your Mana to slowly recover? That way, if my Mana reserves turn out to be insufficient, you’ll already be quite recharged. Maybe you don’t need to use Overlap Regeneration then.”
Bai Zemin’s eyes lit up in the same manner as Shangguan Bing Xue’s and he quickly nodded: “That’s a good idea! Your Mana should be higher than mine so you should be able to resist longer than me. You should be able to recover at least a few hundred Mana points in the hypothetical case that you run out and this little glutton keeps asking for more.”
Without further delay, Bai Zemin passed the metallic gray egg to Shangguan Bing Xue, putting it carefully in her hands.
Neither of them had any kind of reaction when their hands touched, and when Bai Zemin cut off the mana supply, Shangguan Bing Xue immediately began to expend hers, using her mana as food this time and thus allowing him to recover a little.
Time passed quickly, occasionally the two would chat about different things but mostly they were silent with the accompanying sound being the wind blowing against the closed windows and the water of the pool located a couple of meters outside the living room.
When two people were alone inside a room and remained in silence for a long time, it was normal for both of them to start feeling a bit anxious and even uncomfortable with the silence. However, this was not the case for Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue.
To begin with, they were both people who valued words in their own ways and when there was not something important to say or something interesting to tell they preferred to be silent. In addition, the two were very comfortable sitting close to each other in silence, which was very rare between two individuals; especially since they were of opposite sexes.
In the eyes of many, the fact that two people did not speak and remained silent was a sign of a lack of trust. However, Bai Zemin did not see it that way.
To Bai Zemin, the fact that he and Shangguan Bing Xue could enjoy silence in each other’s presence meant that the trust between the two had reached such a high level that words were not necessary to understand each other.
If a person could not be comfortable with themselves in solitude, then that person would never be truly comfortable in the presence of others. If two people could be comfortable in silence together, then there was no doubt that the trust between those two people was as high as the heavens themselves.
After several minutes of silence, Shangguan Bing Xue opened her mouth and calmly said:
“Two days ago, while you were still in your workshop, I had a conversation with Chen He.”
“Oh?” Bai Zemin had been looking towards the window, but when he heard Shangguan Bing Xue’s words his interest immediately piqued so he turned to look at her and asked, “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?”
“… I probably am.” Shangguan Bing Xue nodded. Seeing that Bai Zemin wasn’t asking any more questions, she asked, “Aren’t you curious to know what happened?”
“Mm? I am curious, of course.” Bai Zemin replied in a voice that suggested obviousness.
Even during the time when they were all normal students, Bai Zemin had heard many things about Shangguan Bing Xue and Chen He, after all, the two of them were simply too popular. Putting aside their identities and status within the university, Shangguan Bing Xue was the number 1 beauty and Chen He was the most handsome guy on campus.
They were often seen together so naturally there were many rumors that the two were a couple, even Bai Zemin himself had seen them together a couple of times.
Although many things had changed, Bai Zemin was still curious about Shangguan Bing Xue and Chen He’s future in terms of romance. After all, regardless of all the changes of fate, Bai Zemin was only a young man in his 20s; he was also a bit gossipy about certain matters.
However…
“It’s just that despite my curiosity, I don’t think it’s right to ask questions about a subject that, if we’re honest, doesn’t really involve me.” He explained calmly as he looked into her eyes.
Shangguan Bing Xue closed her eyes slowly, remaining silent for a few seconds before opening them again. She sighed and couldn’t help but speak the words of her heart, “You know… Despite being born into an ordinary family and living your whole life in the middle class, your education and tact are much higher than most upper-class people who received tutelage from top professionals in various fields.”
Bai Zemin chuckled, knowing that Shangguan Bing Xue’s words were not meant to offend him but quite the opposite.
“The main education is provided at home, then it is up to the individual to accept what he or she has learned or not and modify it to form his or her own personality. My parents would have beaten me up if I had strayed from the path they showed me, so I learned from my mother’s flying slippers and my father’s kicks in the butt.”
Shangguan Bing Xue did not expect such words at all which was why her eyes widened for a moment before the inevitable finally happened.
“Hahahaha!”
Her laughter was clear and sweet, not loud but strong enough for those who heard it to know that she was laughing from the heart and not pretending.
“Hahaha….” She continued to laugh for almost a full minute before finally starting to calm down a bit. Looking at Bai Zemin on the verge of tears from laughing so hard, Shangguan Bing Xue said with a big smile that was as bright and beautiful as the summer sun, “If your subordinates knew that the all powerful god of war they worship so much actually got caught by flying slippers and kicked in the butt they would probably drop their jaw until they hit the ground!”
“Meh, this daddy is lord of the house now and I even sit at the head of the table during dinner. If that old man tries to kick my butt I’ll personally make him remember the spanking Grandpa used to give him.” Bai Zemin said with an air of smugness.
Shangguan Bing Xue’s eyes sparkled and the smile on her face grew more and more. She had just used some words that a polite and demure lady would never say, but far from pointing it out, Bai Zemin took it as if it was something normal.
Shangguan Bing Xue was used to being treated like a goddess, a flawless and perfect fairy. But little did the others know that she simply wanted to be treated as a normal person, not as something she was not.
“And what about the flying slippers?”
“This… Those attacks can’t be dodged.”
“Oh? For what reason?”
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“It’s because the mothers will get angrier if you do.”
“Hahahaha!”
…
Whatever Chen He and Shangguan Bing Xue had talked about, it was temporarily a secret to Bai Zemin. He didn’t ask and Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t say anything either, which meant that there were probably some things that were not so easy to say.
Be that as it may, the two of them were too weak to avoid being controlled by the threads of fate. If something was meant to happen then it would happen, if something was meant to come to light then someday it would see the light.
About two hours later, Shangguan Bing Xue’s face had finally turned 80% pale, which was a sign that it wouldn’t be long before all her Mana would drop to really critical low levels.
“What kind of little monster is growing in there.” She muttered in total shock.
Bai Zemin was as shocked as she was, “That little one has absorbed far more than 2000 Mana points from just the two of us but it also ate all the mana and records that the former ant queen left behind.”
Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue looked at each other and both noticed the wariness in each other’s eyes.
Although Bai Zemin wanted to take care of the life inside the egg as his daughter, it was unknown if that little newborn ant would identify him as her father. Considering the amounts of mana and records that the life inside the egg had absorbed so far, if at birth she became an enemy it could be no small problem.
Unfortunately, Shangguan Bing Xue’s Mana turned out to be insufficient as well, so Bai Zemin had to relieve her 10 minutes later.
“How much Mana did you manage to recover?”
“426 points.”
“… Let’s hope it’s enough…”
However, it wasn’t enough. Approximately 30 minutes later, Bai Zemin’s face had turned deathly pale and his lips had lost all color.
“… How much mana have you recovered?”
“… I think you’ll have to use Overlap Regeneration.”
Bai Zemin sighed upon hearing Shangguan Bing Xue’s words but finally nodded. He somehow was expecting such a thing to happen, now he could only pray that a single activation would be enough….
Under Shangguan Bing Xue’s shining eyes, Bai Zemin’s body was soon surrounded by that wonderful golden radiance and his entire being seemed to undergo a transcendental change. However, the duration was too short so she did not have time to appreciate this state for too long before it disappeared completely.
“That skill of yours, Overlap Regeneration, it really is a mystery. Bai Zemin, it really makes you look like an omnipotent being every time you use it.” She said with a sigh that contained emotions difficult to decipher.
Shangguan Bing Xue didn’t know that Overlap Rengeration was actually the second activation of a skill and Bai Zemin didn’t say it. Not because he didn’t trust her but because there was simply no need to since nothing would really change.
Bai Zemin said nothing and continued to give his now replenished Mana to the gluttonous egg in his hands. Even though Meng Qi was probably done with the chestplate, he could only focus on what he had on his hands at the moment for now.
Approximately 40 minutes later and just as the two people inside the room were beginning to feel their bodies about to break out in sweat due to nerves, a change finally occurred.
The metallic gray egg suddenly released a faint glow of four colors; there was red, there was silver, there was black, and there was gold.
“B- Bing Xue-” Bai Zemin stood up in fright, and as he looked at Shangguan Bing Xue with wide eyes, he said in shock, “I- It’s hatching!”
Shangguan Bing Xue was as nervous as he was so she also stammered as she pointed to the couch and said quickly, “B- By now, put the egg over there better!”
“O- Okay!” Bai Zemin hurriedly turned around and delicately set the egg down on the couch before backing away, bumping into the small table and breaking it into thousands of tiny pieces of glass.
The two were like two anxious children so they couldn’t worry about anything but the glowing egg that under their astonished eyes grew to twice its previous size in a matter of seconds.
The glow quickly grew, reaching a point that both Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue had no choice but to half-closed their eyes and partially cover their eyesight using a hand.
The sky had darkened considerably at this point, and the survivors who happened to be walking near Shangguan Bing Xue’s house stopped in amazement as a bright light of various colors broke beyond the windows.
They all looked at each other in shock before silently retreating from that area for fear of being caught up in some kind of mysterious explosion.
Inside the house, Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin finally began to see more clearly once the multicolored light began to dim and recede.
When the two were finally able to see everything normally again, what immediately attracted the attention of both of them was that lying on the couch was a silhouette curled up in a ball like a small kitten. However, the silhouette was still surrounded by that multicolored light so it was not possible to see its appearance clearly.
A few seconds passed but the small figure did not move and both Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue were too nervous to make any move.
Not only were they nervous because of happiness but they were also uneasy as they did not know whether the future queen of the ants would greet them with a kind smile or with cruel eyes.
The multicolored light was disappearing, but before it disappeared completely, the small figure that was curled into a ball suddenly moved. The figure that was at most one meter tall sat down with great difficulty on the couch, and even though its face was not visible, both Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin could feel that it was watching them intently.
“I can finally see your faces! Father, mother!”
The voice clearly belonging to a little girl coming from the figure was sweet and childish but very polite, and above all, excited as if she had been waiting for this moment for centuries long.
Shangguan Bing Xue and Bai Zemin froze before turning their faces like rusty robots to look at each other.
“Mother…?”
“… Mother?”
* * * * * * *
