Chapter 361 - Meeting the newest one

Chapter 361: Chapter 361 - Meeting the newest one

The next morning, Muchen woke to something cool bumping gently against his forehead.

He opened one eye.

The transparent sphere was hovering directly above his pillow. Inside, their son was wide awake, tiny white hair floating around his head as he stared down at Muchen with bright blue eyes.

Muchen smiled sleepily and touched the membrane with one finger. "Morning, troublemaker."

Beside him, Yunfeng stirred and immediately reached across the bed. His hand found Muchen first, then the sphere, checking both almost instinctively before his eyes even opened properly.

Their son kicked at the sight of him.

After yesterday’s terror, waking like this felt almost ridiculously peaceful.

They cleaned up and headed downstairs together, Yunfeng carrying the sphere while Muchen stayed close beside him. Qiu Yue had already examined the baby early that morning and, after another round of tests, finally declared that the membrane was much stronger and more stable than he’d initially feared. As long as nobody deliberately tried to puncture it, normal handling appeared safe.

Jinju had apparently been waiting for exactly that permission.

The moment she saw them coming down the stairs, she abandoned whatever she had been doing and hurried over.

"Give him to me."

Yunfeng instinctively pulled the sphere closer.

Jinju stared at him.

Muchen immediately laughed. "Give her the baby before she disowns you."

Yunfeng reluctantly surrendered his son.

The moment Jinju had the sphere in her hands, her entire expression changed. She cradled it carefully against her chest, looking through the clear membrane at the tiny boy inside. Yesterday she had only been able to watch from a distance while Qiu Yue monitored him. Now that she could finally hold her grandson herself, her eyes quickly became wet.

"My little grandson."

The baby stared up at her.

Jinju smiled and touched the membrane beside his tiny hand. "Look at you. So small, but you’ve already frightened everyone half to death."

The little boy kicked happily.

Jinju’s smile widened.

"You know, your father was troublesome too." She glanced toward Yunfeng. "When he was little, he climbed everything he could find. Chairs, tables, shelves. Once I found him sitting on top of a cupboard, and he refused to tell me how he got there."

Yunfeng frowned.

He didn’t remember that.

The small realization pinched somewhere inside him, but he pushed it aside before anyone noticed.

Muchen, meanwhile, looked delighted. "Really?"

"Don’t encourage her."

Jinju ignored him. "He also hated vegetables. I used to hide them in his food, and somehow he would still find every single piece and leave them neatly on the side of his plate."

Muchen burst out laughing.

Yunfeng rubbed his forehead. "Mom."

"What? Your son should know what kind of father he has."

The baby suddenly rolled inside his sphere, kicking both feet as though he agreed.

"See?" Muchen grinned. "Even he wants to hear."

Hana came running in before Yunfeng could defend himself further. She had apparently heard that Qiu Yue had lifted the restrictions because she immediately crowded beside Jinju.

"Let me see him!"

"You saw him yesterday."

"I wasn’t allowed to touch him yesterday."

Hana carefully placed both hands around the sphere when Jinju passed it over. Her face brightened instantly.

"He really does look exactly like you, brother."

"Thank you."

"That wasn’t a compliment."

Yunfeng gave her a flat look.

The baby, however, seemed fascinated by Hana. The sphere rose from her hands and floated around her head, making Hana turn in circles trying to follow him.

"He likes me!"

"Or he’s inspecting you," Muchen said.

"I choose likes me."

By breakfast, news that the newest member of the base was officially allowed visitors had apparently spread.

Jai arrived first with Shao, followed shortly by Zei. Kailun came more slowly behind them, complaining that everyone had left without waiting for him. Even Shinju eventually abandoned his work long enough to come see what all the commotion was about.

The baby became the center of the house almost immediately.

Jai stared into the sphere with open fascination when it floated toward him. "He’s ridiculously tiny."

"Don’t say that in front of him," Muchen warned. "He might remember."

Jai glanced at the palm-sized child. "He’s three months old."

"He also escaped from a locked observation room yesterday."

Jai considered that and nodded. "Fair."

He offered a finger against the membrane. The baby pressed his tiny palm toward it.

Jai’s expression softened immediately.

Shao stood behind him, watching with a faint smile. "You like him."

"Obviously. Look at his hands."

Zei leaned over Jai’s shoulder. "Move. Some of us would also like to meet the miracle floating baby."

The sphere promptly floated away from him.

Everyone laughed.

Zei looked offended. "I haven’t even done anything."

"He has good instincts," Yunfeng said.

Even Kailun was fascinated. The old man carefully studied the child before smiling. "Born during the end of the world and already refusing to follow ordinary rules. He’ll be troublesome."

Muchen glanced at Yunfeng.

Yunfeng caught the look. "Why is everyone blaming me?"

Nobody answered.

That somehow made it worse.

For most of the morning, their son seemed to enjoy the attention. He floated between people freely, occasionally returning to Muchen or Yunfeng before wandering off again. Jinju followed him around with the anxious devotion of a grandmother convinced that a floating baby could somehow fall.

For the first time in months, the mansion felt almost normal.

There was laughter around the table. Hana and Zei argued over who the baby liked more. Jai tried to lure him closer with exaggerated faces until Shao told him he looked ridiculous. Yuki arrived with her little monkey, and the baby became so fascinated with the animal that his sphere followed it halfway across the room.

Even Qiu Yue eventually appeared, although he spent more time observing than socializing.

It was Qiu Yue who first noticed something was wrong.

By afternoon, most of the others had returned to their work. Muchen was sitting on the sofa with the sphere resting against him when the baby suddenly stopped kicking.

At first, Muchen thought he had fallen asleep.

Then he noticed how limp his little arms looked.

His smile disappeared.

"Yunfeng."

The tone of his voice brought Yunfeng over immediately.

Their son was curled weakly inside the sphere. His eyes were half-open, but the bright alertness from that morning was gone.

Worse, the sphere itself had changed.

It was smaller.

Muchen lifted it carefully. "Wasn’t there more water before?"

Yunfeng’s stomach tightened.

There definitely had been.

"Qiu Yue!"

The doctor came running at the shout. One glance at the baby wiped every trace of irritation from his face.

He took the sphere carefully and examined it beneath the light.

The liquid level had visibly decreased.

Qiu Yue checked the baby’s movements, color and breathing before his gaze settled on the shrinking membrane.

"He’s running out of something."

Muchen’s face paled. "What?"

"Think about it." Qiu Yue’s mind was already racing. "Until yesterday, his body was receiving everything it needed from you. Now he’s completely separated. Whatever is sustaining him inside this sphere isn’t unlimited."

Yunfeng looked down at his son.

"He’s hungry?"

"In simple terms, yes."

Muchen immediately stood. "Then feed him."

Qiu Yue looked at him.

Muchen’s expression changed.

None of them knew how.

Their child was inside a sealed membrane filled with liquid. He couldn’t drink from a bottle. He couldn’t eat. They didn’t even know whether opening the sphere was possible without destroying the environment keeping him alive.

Jinju came closer, worry replacing all the happiness from that morning. Hana stood silently beside her.

The baby moved weakly and curled tighter.

Muchen pressed both hands around the sphere.

"What does he need?"

Qiu Yue stared at the tiny child, then at the strange membrane surrounding him.

"I don’t know yet."

For the first time that morning, the room became completely quiet.

Their son was hungry.

And none of them knew how to feed him.