Little Bun Chapter 56: The End of the Semifinals

Chapter 56: The End of the Semifinals

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

On the ninth day of the semifinals, Yun Yingzhi consumed more source materials than ever before. That was also the day he successfully created a level-seven main source weapon that finally satisfied him.

Starting from the tenth day, Yun Yingzhi began mass-producing subsidiary source weapons in an assembly-line fashion. At first, the little egg had been eager to help. But lately, he had started pretending to be a lazy salted-egg whenever he got the chance. A few times, he even obediently crawled into the incubator he despised, curled up, and pretended to be asleep.

However, once he realized Yun Yingzhi wasn’t coming to drag him into unpaid labor—and was fully absorbed in his source weapon work— the little egg would sneak back out of the incubator, join the little kit on the recliner, put on a pair of sunglasses, and sunbathe under the artificial sunlight. The two of them looked exactly like lazy employees slacking off behind their boss’s back.

By the twelfth day, Yun Yingzhi had already produced seventy subsidiary source weapons. Many people didn’t understand what kind of source weapon he was making—why they all looked exactly the same, both in structure and in engraved markings.

Some even went through the replay footage to evaluate his recent work. One self-proclaimed “senior source weapon craftsman” commented that, based on over ten days of livestreaming, it was clear Yun Yingzhi had suffered heavy losses.

Even with the competition organizers providing materials at below-market cost, Yun Yingzhi’s expenses were still catastrophic. Of course, compared to him, the organizers themselves were even worse off.

In all the history of the Starshine Competition, every participant had always earned the organizers a massive profit. Yun Yingzhi was quite possibly the first contestant ever to put them into the red.

On the thirteenth day, when Yun Yingzhi went to settle the new batch of source materials, he discovered something truly terrifying. He stared at the empty balance in his account. His pupils trembled. The shock hit him so hard his body swayed, and he almost collapsed on the spot.

The little kit and little egg, who had been happily building sandcastles on their small sandbox, immediately noticed something was wrong. The two Little Buns rushed toward Yun Yingzhi, trying with their tiny, fragile bodies to hold him up.

The sight made the livestream audience burst with concern. Nobody knew what was happening to Yun Yingzhi or why he suddenly looked like that. Some viewers even began to speculate that Yun Yingzhi might be suffering from some incurable illness.

Master Tang and Master Ted hurried over, asking if there was anything they could do to help. Little kit clung to Yun Yingzhi’s leg and began climbing up, while little egg used spatial teleportation to press his cheek against Yun Yingzhi’s, then rolled onto his shoulder.

Tears streamed down the little kit’s fluffy face. His furry little expression was filled with worry. Standing on Yun Yingzhi’s shoulder, he tugged at the elastic of his father’s mask, trying to pull it off so he could lick Yun Yingzhi’s cheek.

Snapped out of his daze, Yun Yingzhi nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly caught the little kit and rehooked the loosened mask strap before the mask could fall off completely. His heart pounded wildly. Just one more tug, and his entire disguise would’ve been blown. Yun Yingzhi’s soul was still trembling from the fright. Meanwhile, the livestream chat exploded.

“Aaaaah! Just a little more and his mask would’ve come off!
“What’s he hiding under there?! I wanna know who he really is!
“Come on, little bunny! One more try! Take off Daddy’s mask! Uncle will send you a gift!
“Wait, but seriously… what if the big strong guy actually is sick? No wonder the buns are so worried.

Perhaps it was the contagious worry in the comments, or maybe everyone was affected by how young the Little Buns were—two tiny babies who might be about to lose their father. Either way, concern for Yun Yingzhi spread like wildfire through the entire audience.

Little kit blinked his big eyes, tears still dripping down his cheeks as he stared anxiously at his troublesome dad. Yun Yingzhi gently wiped away his tears. After a moment, he realized that if the little kit was this worried, then the little egg must be just as anxious.

He lifted both buns into his arms and said softly, “Jiaojiao, Taotao, don’t worry. Daddy’s not… not, not… it’s okay…”

He barely managed to finish the sentence. But anyone with eyes could see—Yun Yingzhi was not okay. He was very much not okay. Because of his reaction, the viewers who had once believed that the strong and capable Yun Yingzhi couldn’t possibly have any hidden health issues now started to doubt that assumption.

“You know, it’s true—normal people don’t just suddenly feel dizzy and almost faint.
“The little bunny’s crying so hard… my heart’s breaking.

Masters Tang and Ted both watched Yun Yingzhi with deep concern. Every talented person was a precious asset of the Empire. And there was no doubt—judging from the source weapons Yun Yingzhi had crafted in the last two rounds—his creativity was extraordinary.

Master Tang frowned. “Contestant A13167, if you’re not feeling well, perhaps you should take a day or two to rest.”

Master Ted added, “There are still a few days left before the competition ends.”

The two men stopped themselves just in time, swallowing the words they had been about to say: You’re still young. The Starshine Competition happens every year. There’s no need to rush your profits. A healthy body is the real foundation for long-term success.

They held their tongues—but the livestream chat did not. The comment section was already flooded with similar sentiments. Many people wrote that Yun Yingzhi wasn’t alone; he had the two most adorable children in the entire Empire. Even if he didn’t think of himself, he should think of them.

Yun Yingzhi shook his head. “I’m really fine.”

After a pause, he added, “Master Tang, Master Ted, may I make a small—rather shameless—request?”

The two masters exchanged a glance. Master Tang softened his voice. “Go ahead.”

Yun Yingzhi hesitated for a moment, feeling mortified. But there was truly no other way out of his situation. “It’s like this…” he stammered, forcing himself to speak despite the shame. “My account balance is… empty.”

Master Tang: “…”

Master Ted: “…”

Not only the two masters, but also many others present at the venue who cared deeply about Yun Yingzhi all froze when they heard his words. Their hearts collectively skipped a beat, and for a long moment, nobody knew what to say. Meanwhile, the livestream chat was instantly filled with rows upon rows of ellipses.

Yun Yingzhi gave a light cough. Every bit of skin on his cheeks and neck turned crimson, and a cloud of shameful white steam practically puffed from his head. He went on, his voice hopeful, “I received quite a few tips during the semifinals. But I can’t withdraw that money until the round officially ends. So… could I maybe, um, borrow from that amount in advance?” The already-silent arena somehow grew even quieter. In the livestream, the ellipses doubled.

Even the little kit and little egg, who had no idea what was going on, sensed that the atmosphere had suddenly become strange. The two Little Buns reacted in the exact same way— They both decided that the safest place in the whole world was inside their dad’s clothes. In a flash, they scrambled into the front of Yun Yingzhi’s jacket. At the same time, the little egg wiggled into little kit’s arms.

The little kit wrapped his tiny paws around the little egg and patted his smooth eggshell softly. Their tiny synchronized movements drew everyone’s attention.

When the two masters still didn’t respond, Yun Yingzhi quickly added, “Also… about the source weapons I’ve made…”

There were two complete sets of them. One set—a level-six main control unit with twelve sub-weapons—could be submitted to the competition. The other—a level-seven main control unit with many subsidiary weapons—he planned to send straight to Shaluo Star. “That set can be auctioned off,” he said. “I think it should fetch a decent price?”

The two masters instinctively turned to look at the densely packed pile of finished source weapons on his workbench. Both of them swallowed hard.

In both the preliminaries and the semifinals, Yun Yingzhi had stunned them again and again. They couldn’t quite understand what type of source weapon he was making this time, but even if these were just the most ordinary kind, there were so many that the total value would still be considerable.

The two masters even thought to themselves: Yun Yingzhi must really be broke right now. He probably had to sell everything he’d made just to afford more materials for the next round.

No—wait. Master Tang suddenly realized what he’d overlooked. His expression twisted with complexity as he turned toward Yun Yingzhi. “So… that look you had earlier, like you’d been struck by lightning—was it just because your account balance hit zero?”

At that, the memories rushed back to Yun Yingzhi all at once— All the tips he’d received during the preliminaries and semifinals, the source weapons he’d auctioned off, the so-called “reward” Emperor Jarren had supposedly granted through Yun Yinghui, and even the down payment Wei Yuanqing had given him for the level-eight source weapon order…

All gone. Every bit of it. His entire account had been drained dry in just a few days. Yun Yingzhi swayed again and caught himself on the edge of the workbench. The people nearby just stared in silence. Everyone thought the same thing: So it’s true. He’s not sick—he’s just too poor to live.

Still, it wasn’t really that surprising. After all, this was the man who’d mass-produced source weapons in an assembly-line just to milk the competition for every last credit. He’d even drafted an unhatched baby into child labor. It was only natural that suddenly being penniless would hit him like a freight train.

After a long flood of ellipses, the livestream finally stirred to life again.

“Even the mighty can’t bear the pain of poverty.
“If—and I mean if—the big guy lets me pet the little bunny, I’ll pay him myself!
“Ahhh! I want to touch the little egg! I’ll pay any price!

The chat exploded in chaos. Under countless awkward stares, Yun Yingzhi slowly regained his composure. He swallowed the ache in his chest and shook his head. “No, I’m not upset. As long as I can keep earning… I’ll be fine.”

After all—he needed money for milk powder, for diapers, and once the Little Buns could take human form, he’d need to buy them clothes too. If they didn’t do well in their studies later, he’d have to earn even more to send them to tutoring. He was so poor. Master Tang looked at him with a complicated expression and finally said, “All right. You can.”

Yun Yingzhi blinked. “Huh?”

Master Tang sighed. “We’ll let you buy the materials on credit for now.”

Yun Yingzhi thanked them from the bottom of his heart. After that small interlude, he resumed his work—buying materials on credit and continuing his assembly-line production of subsidiary source weapons.

On the thirteenth day of the semifinals, Yun Yingzhi decided that with only three days left until the end of the competition, he wouldn’t bring the Little Buns to the venue anymore. He wanted to give these last days everything he had. So he went to the arena alone.

People occasionally came over to ask why he hadn’t brought the two Little Buns along that day. Yun Yingzhi brushed off the questions with vague replies.

Masters Tang and Ted, however, were oddly persistent. They asked several times why he hadn’t brought them and whether he would bring them tomorrow. Yun Yingzhi shook his head firmly. “No.”

As expected, without the two buns around, Yun Yingzhi’s focus that day was unmatched. However, before he left that evening, the two masters called him over.

Master Tang informed him, “Your tips today were very low.”

Yun Yingzhi felt a twinge of disappointment but told himself it wasn’t something he could control.

Master Ted added, “A lot of viewers said that if you don’t bring Jiaojiao and Taotao tomorrow, they’re not sending any more tips.”

Yun Yingzhi froze. “…Huh?”

Master Tang delivered the finishing blow. “They also said that if you do bring Jiaojiao and Taotao tomorrow, they’ll tip you ten times as much.”

Yun Yingzhi was very tempted. He went home that night feeling heavy-hearted. After just one day apart, the moment he stepped through the door, both Little Buns clung to him like magnets. Little kit’s big eyes filled with tears, which fell in soft, pitiful drops.

The next morning—the fourteenth day of the semifinals—after a long moment of silent thought, Yun Yingzhi still ended up taking the Little Buns with him to the arena. After one day apart, the two greeted Masters Tang and Ted sweetly before settling back into their miniature recliners, donning their sunglasses, and basking under the artificial sunlight. Especially the little kit—he lay sprawled out with all four paws in the air, holding a milk bottle in his tiny paws.

On the fifteenth and final day of the semifinals, at exactly 8:50 p.m., Yun Yingzhi finally stopped working. One main control source weapon, one hundred ninety-eight subsidiary weapons—one hundred ninety-nine pieces in total. He grabbed the large bag he’d prepared earlier and tossed everything inside. Metal clinked and clattered loudly against metal.

A few people glanced curiously in his direction, but quickly went back to their own work.

At nine o’clock sharp, the notification tone sounded. All contestants stopped what they were doing. Staff members stepped forward to collect each craftsman’s finished works. One staffer couldn’t help glancing repeatedly at the two Little Buns nestled inside Yun Yingzhi’s jacket.

Little kit caught his gaze and waved a tiny paw at him. The staffer’s heart melted on the spot. They were just too cute. Yun Yingzhi handed over one level-six main control unit and twelve subsidiary source weapons—a complete set of thirteen pieces.

The staffer blinked in confusion. “Among these thirteen source weapons, which one are you submitting as your semifinal entry?”

“This entire set of thirteen is my semifinal entry,” Yun Yingzhi replied. The staffer almost couldn’t believe his ears. He had never once heard of anyone submitting source weapons measured by sets.

Yun Yingzhi asked, “Do I still need to write out the abilities of the source weapons, like in the preliminary round?”

Inside his jacket, the little kit rubbed his sleepy eyes with his tiny paw. He was clearly ready for bed. The staffer nearly shouted so cute in his head before nodding quickly. “Yes, that’s right.”

Once everything was ready, Yun Yingzhi hurriedly left with the two Little Buns. His steps were rushed—he mainly wanted to send the entire set of source weapons to Shaluo Star as soon as possible.

In the parking lot, Yun Yinghui had already been waiting for quite a while. Before heading home, Yun Yingzhi had Yun Yinghui park the hovercar near a 24-hour convenience store. Then he handed the two Little Buns in his arms to Yun Yinghui, got out of the car, and went into the store.

Inside, the self-service delivery terminal displayed a notice: shipments to Shaluo Star were prohibited unless special authorization was granted. Yun Yingzhi froze. Elvis had clearly told him before that it was possible.

After a moment’s thought, Yun Yingzhi sent a message to Yun Yinghui, asking why he wasn’t allowed to ship anything to Shaluo Star.

The next moment, Yun Yinghui called him. When Yun Yingzhi answered, Yun Yinghui explained the reason. Shaluo Star was a trial planet, riddled with danger. Most parcels sent there were destroyed before they ever arrived. Because of that, no courier companies accepted deliveries to high-risk zones.

“But His Highness Elvis said I could send things there,” Yun Yingzhi said.

Yun Yinghui frowned. “You’re still in contact with His Highness Elvis?”

Yun Yingzhi suddenly realized—Elvis had contacted him every day before, but lately, he hadn’t heard from him at all.His eyelids twitched. Has something happened on Shaluo Star?

“Zhizhi,” Yun Yinghui said again, “have you been in touch with His Highness this whole time?”

Snapping back to himself, Yun Yingzhi denied it. “No, I haven’t spoken with His Highness in a long while.” Then he added, “But I remember him saying that shipping to Shaluo Star should be possible.”

“His Highness’s identity is different,” Yun Yinghui replied.

Yun Yingzhi thought for a moment. “So I can’t send it to anyone else?”

“Right now, Shaluo Star is under General Huai’s jurisdiction.”

Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids gave a hard twitch, and he suddenly felt uneasy. The last thing he wanted was any connection with the Huai family.

After a bit of thought, he decided it would be better to send the source weapons straight to His Highness Elvis. “Then, big brother,” he asked, “could you send the package to His Highness Elvis for me?”

Yun Yinghui’s gaze turned sharp.

“Don’t misunderstand,” Yun Yingzhi quickly explained. “I’m just lending the whole set of source weapons to A’Yao.”

Yun Yinghui was speechless. That word “lend” was certainly flexible, he thought. As expected of his resourceful little brother.

“All right,” Yun Yinghui agreed at last. He moved fast. That same night, he sent out the source weapons.

Priority service—express delivery. Packages sent through the spatial pathways of a space esper could reach their destination quickly, as long as one paid enough. From the Imperial Capital to Shaluo Star, the fastest deliveries arrived within thirty-six hours.

Yun Yinghui didn’t hesitate to spend a fortune for the fastest possible transfer. Once everything was handled, the two of them returned to the villa with the two Little Buns. The villa was already occupied by many staff members.

All of them had signed confidentiality agreements with Yun Yinghui, promising never to reveal the secrets of this place—including anything about the two Little Buns. Yun Yingzhi rubbed his sleepy eyes and went upstairs with the Little Buns. Suddenly, his steps paused. He glanced around before continuing up the stairs.

As a military academy student, his senses were sharp enough. He felt… something. The new butler, servants, even the driver and the gardener—none of them seemed ordinary. He couldn’t shake the feeling that, regardless of gender, every single one of them was a powerful fighter. Then again, it made sense.

He guessed that Yun Yinghui might have hired so many strong people to protect him—or perhaps to protect the Little Buns—from being bullied. Still… Their salaries must be outrageous. Could his brother really afford to pay them all? He really needed to make more money.

With a heavy sigh, Yun Yingzhi decided to sleep first and worry later. During the entire semifinals, he hadn’t slept properly once. Whether his eyes were open or closed, his mind had been filled with thoughts of how to better copy His Highness Elvis’s esper. His Highness’s ability was simply too powerful. He couldn’t help feeling envious.

Before bed that night, Yun Yingzhi opened his personal terminal. After some hesitation, he sent a single question mark to both Yun Yingyao and His Highness Elvis.

No replies came. That was normal—signal issues on Shaluo Star were constant. Yes, that had to be it.

 

The semifinals ran from January 1st to 15th, lasting a full fifteen days. Afterward, all source weapons entered the appraisal phase. The weapons crafted during the semifinals were far superior in quality to those from the preliminaries or qualifiers, requiring much more detailed evaluations.

First, the competition organizers would spend three days on appraisals. Then, beginning January 19th, they would conduct live-broadcast evaluations according to the serial numbers.

On the day the competition ended, Yun Yingzhi collapsed onto his bed. He didn’t wake again until the afternoon of the 16th. The two Little Buns occasionally patted him—or even bounced on top of him like they were dancing at a party—trying to wake him up, but he kept right on sleeping.

Worried, the Little Buns went to find Yun Yinghui. Yun Yinghui called in a family doctor, who concluded that Yun Yingzhi was perfectly healthy—just catching up on sleep.

That night, January 16th, Yun Yingzhi woke from hunger. After eating, he opened his personal terminal again, only to find that his messages to both Elvis and Yun Yingyao still had no replies.

Once more, he told himself that Shaluo Star’s signal towers were often under attack. There shouldn’t be any problem… right? He sincerely hoped nothing was wrong. After dinner, Yun Yingzhi drifted back into deep sleep.

On January 17th, he was still half-asleep, continuing to catch up on rest. The two Little Buns had already learned that he was especially good at sleeping, so they weren’t worried anymore—but they still went to complain to Yun Yinghui. When they couldn’t wake Yun Yingzhi themselves, they hoped their uncle could.

They dragged Yun Yinghui into his room; the little egg hopped impatiently on his hand, urging him to wake their dad up. Meanwhile, the little kit sprawled across Yun Yingzhi’s cheek, trying to wake him.Yun Yingzhi simply reached out, tucked the little kit inside his shirt, pulled the blanket over, and kept sleeping.

The little kit wriggled free from the blanket, shook out his fur, and after a moment’s thought, climbed right back onto Yun Yingzhi’s face again. 

Yun Yinghui held the little egg in one hand and grabbed the little kit by the scruff of his neck with the other. “Your dad hasn’t had a proper night’s sleep in a long time,” he said quietly. “Don’t bother him, understand?”

The little kit flailed his tiny paws and feet in protest, refusing to give up. “Da!” he squeaked defiantly. The little egg, unwilling to accept defeat, used spatial teleportation to blink straight onto Yun Yingzhi’s chest, clearly determined to wake him up. Lowering his voice, Yun Yinghui coaxed, “Be good. I’ll show you the Cute Little Battle Rabbit.”

Strangely, both Little Buns froze at once. Then, cheerful bubbles floated around the little kit, and he let out a soft, drawn-out “Da~,” his tone lilting like a spoiled child’s.The little egg used his space esper again, blinking back into Yun Yinghui’s hand. On the bed, Yun Yingzhi’s eyelids twitched heavily in his sleep. Moving quietly, Yun Yinghui tiptoed out of the room with the two Little Buns in tow.

 

January 18th. After three straight days of sleep, Yun Yingzhi finally woke up. That evening, he received an official notice from the Starshine Competition committee: his crafted source weapon had successfully advanced to the next stage. The appraisal was scheduled for 11 a.m. on January 20th—the day after tomorrow—and the tester was advised to arrive at the site before nine.

 

January 19th, night. Yun Yingzhi still hadn’t received any reply from Yun Yingyao or His Highness Elvis. However, that night brought a bit of good news.

At 10 p.m., according to the logistics update, the parcel Yun Yingzhi had sent to Shaluo Star was marked “Delivered.”

Whoever was on the other end had apparently received it. But… Yun Yingzhi frowned, puzzled. Since he couldn’t get in touch with His Highness Elvis, would the prince think…the package was meant for him? Hmm?

 

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