Chapter 78: Little Egg Broke His Shell
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The imperial palace entered a state of alert. The main reason was that the small white egg resting in the incubation box had recently become extremely restless.
The little white egg had been using his space esper frequently, constantly trying to run away. Every single time he initiated spatial movement, he would be seized at the very moment of transit by guards stationed throughout the palace and then promptly returned to the incubation box.
Little egg was caught again and again, not because his space esper was weak, but because he had been exhausted lately. Each use of his esper required a long period of rest afterward, which made sustained mischief impossible.
However— Most people in the palace had figured it out. Yun Yingzhi was gone. Little kit was gone. Even a tiny, unhatched egg with very little self-awareness wanted to go find Daddy and his brother.
After too many attempts, Emperor Jarren grew uneasy. He deliberately kept little egg within his sight at all times, bringing him along no matter what he did. Under Emperor Jarren’s supervision, the little egg was completely suppressed. Before, he could occasionally use his space ability several times. Now, the moment he activated it, he would be caught immediately.
What suffocated the little egg the most was that Emperor Jarren placed the incubation box beside his face even when he slept. The little egg was actually very tired and often had little energy.
While beside Emperor Jarren, he had no way to use his space ability. On the rare occasions when he felt alert, all he could do was send video calls to Yun Yingzhi or little kit to express his longing. If neither of them answered, he would retaliate by rolling back and forth across Emperor Jarren’s body to vent his frustration.
The Imperial Consort said warmly, “Seeing how energetic our Taotao is makes me feel relieved.”
The disco-ing little egg promptly shut down emotionally. Within minutes, he was sent back into the incubation box to store up energy. Little egg tapped his shell. It didn’t break. He tapped again stubbornly. Still nothing.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. As time went on, the frequency of little egg’s video calls to Yun Yingzhi increased. If Yun Yingzhi hadn’t had classes, the little egg would have wanted to stay connected with his father twenty-four hours a day. Through the video calls, the little egg noticed that the little kit seemed to be getting stronger.
Every time he contacted Yun Yingzhi while Yun Yingzhi was in the training hall, little kit would move in front of the camera, presenting a smug little face that never looked refined no matter how long one stared. Then he would proudly activate his esper, flames spreading across more than half the training field.
Little kit leaped lightly, stepping atop the flames as though performing a ritual dance.
Little egg, “…”
A subtle sense of urgency filled him. It was obvious that even if the little kit was dancing strangely, the chessboard flames made it clear that the little kit’s strength was increasing day by day.
In comparison… Little egg felt deeply dejected. The little egg bounced slightly and overheard a conversation between Yun Yingzhi and the Imperial Consort.
The Imperial Consort said, “Jiaojiao has been working really hard lately. His control over his fire-element ability is getting more and more natural.”
Hearing this, the little kit immediately spun several circles atop the flames, looking especially adorable. The Imperial Consort laughed softly. “Our Jiaojiao dances beautifully.”
Little kit spun once more, bounced off the flames, landed on Yun Yingzhi’s shoulder, and then clung to his cheek to give him a kiss. Yun Yingzhi took the bunny-pancake off his face and asked, “How has Taotao been lately?”
Upon hearing the little egg’s name, little kit’s dark eyes turned toward him. Speaking of little egg, Emperor Jarren said, “Jiaojiao has been using his esper diligently, and Taotao has been working just as hard. His control over his space esper has become much stronger. The guards I arranged used to catch him easily. Now, the difficulty has increased to the point that I have to personally keep watch.”
He did not mention that little egg would jump around on him whenever he found an opportunity, expressing his dissatisfaction. Little kit looked at the little egg in Emperor Jarren’s arms and thought that his brother must be trying very hard to come over, but wasn’t strong enough yet since he hadn’t succeeded.
In the end, it all came down to strength. Therefore, even for the sake of competing for Daddy’s affection, he had to grow stronger. Feeling both powerful and exceptional, the little kit lifted his chin proudly, crawled out from Yun Yingzhi’s hand, and once again climbed onto his face.
Yun Yingzhi patiently removed the bunny-pancake again, frowning slightly as he said, “Taotao actually tried to escape?” This was the first time he had heard about it.
The Imperial Consort took the little egg from Emperor Jarren’s arms and replied, “With you and Jiaojiao together, Taotao would naturally feel jealous.” Yun Yingzhi immediately comforted the little egg.
The Imperial Consort gently patted the eggshell. “Our Taotao really put in a lot of effort to find his father and brother. His space esper keeps improving. The last time he was caught, he even engaged in a brief fight.”
“Fight?” Yun Yingzhi asked.
“Da-da-da?” the little kit echoed.
Little egg bounced once and burrowed into the Imperial Consort’s collar to hide, though even while sulking, he didn’t end the video call.
The Imperial Consort’s smile deepened. “Zhizhi, Taotao, just like Jiaojiao, has simulated your source weapon esper.” Yun Yingzhi’s eyelid twitched. His mood became complicated.
Imperial Consort continued, “One of Jiaojiao’s favorite espers to use is your source weapon skill—Chessboard Flame. Taotao doesn’t have a fire-element esper, but he has a lightning-element esper. He simulated a similar ability using lightning. At the time, arcs of lightning covered a small area of airspace. Little egg rolled along a lightning slide to escape, occasionally striking the guards who chased him with lightning arcs.”
Little kit cast a wary glance at the little egg hidden in the Imperial Consort’s collar. The little egg poked his head out. On the surface, neither bun showed it, but in truth, both were itching to fight.
Yun Yingzhi thought that little egg was indeed Elvis’s Little Bun. Just like the little kit, he loved combat. Lacking paws and legs, he had figured out how to use lightning to form a slide to increase speed, greatly enhancing his mobility.
Little egg was incredibly clever. As for why he didn’t use his space esper, the reason was clear. Compared to other element espers, space espers consumed the most energy. Without sufficient source reserves, it was better to use them sparingly.
After some conversation, little kit once again condensed chessboard flames and spun atop them, gazing proudly at everyone on the other end of the call. Seeing little kit’s esper, little egg thought that his brother had truly grown much stronger. After a moment of thought, he realized that Emperor Jarren and the Imperial Consort had just praised him as well.
He could use his esper too! Little egg shook his shell to rouse himself, poked his head out of the Imperial Consort’s collar, and released source fluctuations, directly activating his lightning-element esper.
In an instant, a chessboard formed of lightning arcs enveloped the palace. On the other end of the video call, the little kit—standing atop flames—froze.The next moment, his small body went splat, crashing down from midair.
Catching this out of the corner of his eye, Yun Yingzhi rushed forward and caught the falling little kit in his arms. At the same time—Little egg had chosen the wrong location. He had chosen the inside of the palace.
Arc after arc of chessboard lightning crackled violently, instantly destroying more than half of the palace’s interior decorations. Emperor Jarren activated his space esper, scooped up the little egg, and blinked outside the palace, giving him a sufficiently large area to let loose.
Little egg wriggled free from Emperor Jarren’s grasp, condensed a lightning slide, and slid down it as a single egg. Although the little egg was merely an egg, at that moment everyone could somehow sense his pride.
Little kit stomped his tiny feet indignantly on Yun Yingzhi’s palm, then leaped back onto the chessboard flames. His learning ability was practically perfect. Imitating the little egg, little kit formed a fire slide and tumbled along it.
If the little egg had been able to make sounds, everyone felt certain he would have been howling triumphantly at the little kit. Little kit returned the look with pride. The two little buns competed for attention and competed with abilities.
In the end, the exhausted little egg was the first to admit defeat. He obediently burrowed into Emperor Jarren’s clothing and fell asleep once more. Emperor Jarren placed the little egg back into the incubation chamber.
Yun Yingzhi looked at the little egg with some worry. “Taotao has a space esper. It’s hard to stop him if he wants to escape. I think he needs to understand the dangers an egg would face if he ran off on his own.”
However, he could not carry an incubation chamber with him at all times. The Imperial Consort said, “Taotao understands.”
From earlier surveillance, it was clear that when the little kit went looking for Yun Yingzhi, little egg had not actually approved. Because he had experienced danger before, little egg knew there would likely be many unexpected difficulties.
After a brief pause, the Imperial Consort added, “He understands, but he still wants to find you right now. He misses you very much.” Then, after another pause, “Even though Taotao’s space esper is unusually special, and we might temporarily lose track of him, he carries a locator. We would be able to find him immediately.”
Yun Yingzhi thought that was true. His eyelid twitched again. “But what if Taotao happens to perform a spatial transfer… and then hatches?”
The Imperial Consort, “…”
Emperor Jarren, “…”
A locator was attached to the little egg’s shell. If he happened to hatch at that moment… The locator would inevitably lose its function.
After a moment of silence, the Imperial Consort said, “That is a possibility. Still, there are surveillance systems everywhere on the Imperial Star. We can locate Taotao through them.”
Emperor Jarren added, “Taotao’s second form will be very distinctive. As long as he transforms, even without surveillance, we will know it’s him.”
Yun Yingzhi looked at the motionless little egg inside the incubation chamber and felt somewhat relieved. He wondered when this little bun would finally hatch. Such a tiny creature, barely larger than a palm—what would his second form be like? If he could hatch before the trials and behave himself, could he secretly bring Taotao into the trial grounds as well?
He was already planning to bring the little kit along. Adding one more little egg should not be a problem, right? Thinking of this, Yun Yingzhi glanced at the little kit.
It had been quite a while since he started hiding the little kit at his side. This little bun was truly impressive. Whenever Yun Yingzhi took him to class, he was exceptionally quiet—never crying or fussing, either drinking milk in a pocket or sleeping, fully committed to avoiding attention.
Even if someone noticed something unusual, he could pretend to be nothing more than a fluffy little accessory. If the little kit could do this, Yun Yingzhi believed that the more mature little egg would certainly be able to as well.
The only question was what little egg’s second form would be. When little kit noticed Yun Yingzhi’s gaze shift from little egg to himself, he immediately began to perform enthusiastically.
Imitating Yun Yingzhi’s victorious pose at the Yaoming Battle Arena, joyful little bubbles popped around him as he lifted one foot high, spun, hopped, spun again, and perfectly displayed his ritual-dance routine.
Yun Yingzhi, “…” What kind of breed of little bun was this?
Sensing Yun Yingzhi’s shock, little kit danced even harder. “Da-da-da!” he chirped.
Yun Yingzhi silently covered his face with his hand.
In the blink of an eye, it was time for Fansa Academy’s monthly open day. During the open day, Yun Yingzhi brought the little kit into the imperial palace. Unfortunately, for the entire two days, the little egg was barely conscious, remaining quietly asleep inside the incubation chamber.
Little kit seemed a bit worried and repeatedly crawled into the chamber, clinging to the little egg’s shell in an attempt to wake him. Little egg weakly responded once, then continued sleeping.
Two days later, Yun Yingzhi put on his Fansa Academy uniform and prepared to return to school. He looked at the little kit, who was accompanying the little egg inside the incubation chamber, and tried to negotiate. “Jiaojiao, would you stay and keep Taotao company for a while?”
Little kit blinked his innocent eyes, wrapped his small paws around little egg, ran out of the incubation chamber, and with one hop stuffed him straight into Yun Yingzhi’s pocket.
Yun Yingzhi pulled little egg out and placed him back into the chamber, explaining, “Jiaojiao, Taotao is about to hatch. He can’t leave the incubation chamber right now, so he can’t go with Daddy.”
Little kit tilted his head as if thinking. Yun Yingzhi thought, good—these two little buns really did share strong brotherly affection.The next second, little kit heartlessly abandoned the little egg and climbed straight into Yun Yingzhi’s pocket, hiding himself away.
Yun Yingzhi gently stroked the little egg’s shell and whispered, “Taotao, Daddy loves you. During this time, you need to work hard to hatch. Once you do, as long as you behave like Jiaojiao, Daddy will secretly bring you to school too.”
Little egg bounced slightly in response. Yun Yingzhi touched the shell again, then left the palace with little kit and returned to Fansa Academy.
In the blink of an eye, early May arrived. There were seven days left until Fansa Academy’s team trials. With the trial date approaching, every major team had entered intensive training, working hard to strengthen their overall combat power.
Yun Yingzhi had originally planned to train along with them. However, he quickly realized that this was somewhat difficult. It was not that his teammates were unwilling to train with him, nor was it that he did not want to train. Rather, every time the group trained together, before long, one teammate or another would start worrying about his physical condition, urging him to rest a little—then rest some more—and then rest even more.
Yun Yingzhi found it hard to refuse such sincere concern. Under everyone’s worried gazes, he rested again and again, until eventually he realized that he was no longer training at all, but instead playing together with the little kit in his pocket.
He felt that this level of training efficiency was unacceptable, so he could only take the little kit aside and train separately.
On May 3rd, with four days remaining before the trials began, a piece of news reached Yun Yingzhi’s ears. The small white egg that had been quiet as a chicken inside the incubation chamber had suddenly disappeared.
This was not an accident. It could only have been inevitable—everything had been deliberately planned by little egg.
For nearly twenty days, little egg had not attempted to use his space esper to escape even once. By this point, everyone had subconsciously lowered their guard, assuming that he had recognized his own limitations.
However, on this day, while Emperor Jarren was in a meeting, the Imperial Consort was occupied with other matters, and multiple guards were watching over him, little egg bounced and hopped his way out of the palace.
Because little egg did not use his space esper, up until that very moment, none of the guards realized he intended to escape the palace. They merely assumed that the little bun had been cooped up in the incubation chamber for too long and wanted some fresh air.
Little egg hopped out of the palace and continued bouncing along, seemingly without any particular destination in mind. The guards contacted Emperor Jarren and the Imperial Consort to report little egg’s situation.
Immediately afterward, everything happened in an instant. Little egg, who possessed a space esper, was extremely sensitive to source fluctuations. At a relatively suitable location—more precisely, the area within the palace where restrictions on space espers were weakest—he directly activated his space esper and vanished before everyone’s eyes.
Some of the guards immediately followed the trail of spatial fluctuations, while others checked his locator.
According to the locator data, the little egg had performed multiple short-distance jumps. Then, suddenly, he stopped moving. The guards arrived at the scene at once, and what met their eyes was— A shattered eggshell. It was obvious that the little egg had finally hatched.
Upon receiving the news, Emperor Jarren and the Imperial Consort immediately pulled up surveillance feeds, attempting to see little egg’s hatching process.
Although they roughly knew what little egg’s second form would be, they could not confirm it without seeing it firsthand. While dispatching people to search for where the little egg had gone, they also hoped to learn his second form through the surveillance footage.
At that moment, Emperor Jarren and the Imperial Consort felt deep regret. Most of the time, they kept little egg at their side. Yet at the critical moment when he hatched, they had not been there with him.
What disappointed them greatly was that the place where the little egg hatched happened to be a blind spot in the surveillance system. That entire area, once checked, turned out to be full of blind spots, leaving no one able to see the little egg’s hatching process, let alone his second form.
Little egg had hatched. At the moment he broke free from his shell, he transformed from his second form into a human form. Judging by his appearance, he looked like a baby of around nine months. Little egg was completely naked, his body covered in the viscous fluid left behind from hatching.
He had black hair and black eyes, snow-white skin, and delicate features. His slightly curly, soft dark hair clung damply to him, giving him the overall appearance of a very beautiful human infant. He shook his head, blinked his dark, round eyes, and cautiously surveyed his surroundings. There was no one in sight.
After thinking for a moment, he attempted to open his personal terminal to contact Daddy—only to discover that he did not have one. Little egg’s beautiful eyes instantly transformed into cold, emotionless triangle eyes ▼_▼.
Unhappy, he slapped the ground with his small hand. Still, he did not panic. Not having a terminal was fine—he could still use his esper. Little kit had managed to find Daddy. He could do it too. Then… Little egg suffered the second blow since hatching.
After breaking out of his shell and transforming into a human form, his size had clearly increased—yet he discovered that he could not use his esper. That description was not entirely accurate.
Previously, he had already mastered his chessboard lightning arcs. But now… Little egg stared blankly with his triangle eyes at the tiny, trembling lightning arc he had just barely managed to condense. His small body swayed. Unable to withstand the blow, he collapsed onto the ground.
Whether he liked it or not, he had to admit that right now, he was a fragile baby—an even more delicate little bun than little kit. Little egg shut down for two whole seconds, then struggled back up and decided to search for Daddy by walking the human way. Even though he was currently a naked, fragile baby, he firmly believed that he could definitely find Daddy.
Little egg was blindly confident. Then… After hatching, little egg was struck by a third, devastating blow. His chubby little legs wobbled, and he fell over.
Little egg, “…” He fell down.
He discovered that he could not walk like Daddy at all. Just like little kit’s human form two months earlier, the only way he could move was by crawling. Angrily, little egg slapped the ground again. Still, he did not cry.He decided to make do. Walking on two feet was movement. Crawling was also movement. As long as he could find Daddy, it was fine. Little egg moved forward by crawling.
At last, he entered a densely populated area. Almost the instant little egg appeared, pedestrians along the street shifted their gazes toward him. After all, in broad daylight, a completely naked child crawling along with nothing hidden at all was practically unheard of. More than that, this human infant was clearly different from ordinary children.
Most toddlers, when left on their own, cried easily. This little one, however, looked remarkably calm. A cold aura surrounded him, his face utterly devoid of emotion, and his pitch-black eyes held a constant triangular ▼_▼ expression as he crawled forward.
The crowd was utterly stunned, their eyes fixed on the little bun without blinking.Even so, this little bun was breathtakingly beautiful—far too cute for comfort. A young woman in the crowd could not restrain herself. She rushed forward and scooped little egg into her arms.
Little egg did not panic. The chill around him deepened as he stared at the woman, his expression unchanged.
The woman said, “Oh my goodness, little baby, whose child are you? Auntie will take you to find your daddy and mommy, okay?”
When little egg heard the word “Daddy,” his spirit jolted awake. The cold aura vanished in an instant, and his emotionless triangular eyes transformed into large, round, sparkling ones. Little egg opened his rosy little mouth and said, “Da-da-da…?”
Little egg, “?” He was confused. Why was what he said not human language? Huh? Since hatching, little egg had just suffered the fourth enormous blow of his young life.
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