Unedited chapter
71. Shu Shu Turns Into a Hamster
Chestnuts, dried meats, dried fruits, fruits . . . .
A big pile of snacks appeared in front of Shu Shu. The types were many and varied, and the quant.i.ty was also a lot. The only thing in common was that the size was not big.
Seeing these things, Ian was dumbfounded. How the h.e.l.l did these things get here?
While pondering about how the h.e.l.l these things got here, Ian suddenly thought of the egg in his arms . . . . Shu Shu’s body had been bare and had nothing at all, but Shu Shu had suddenly come up with this egg. Where the h.e.l.l had this egg been hidden?
The Beastman Empire had developed s.p.a.ce b.u.t.tons, but s.p.a.ce b.u.t.tons could not be loaded with living animals. In addition, whether it was Shu Shu or Edgar, they both had not worn any s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton.
"Shu Shu, did you take these things out of your mouth?" Jones, who was a little more attentive, always felt strange.
He felt it was really hard to accept that a sub-beastman’s tiny mouth could suddenly spat out loads of food and what not . . . .
"Yeah! My innate ability is a particularly large food pouch." Shu Shu replied. "It leads to a subs.p.a.ce! "
“No wonder you eat snacks so fast and so many . . . ." Ian stared at the food in front of him. A good deal of them were the ones he had bought for Shu Shu.
"Yeah." Shu Shu nodded and then asked, "Do you want to eat? If you think the food that I took out of my mouth is dirty, you can eat the ones with sh.e.l.ls." Speaking, Shu Shu handed out the fresh chestnuts that he had picked himself on Ga.s.s Planet.
After arriving at the capital star and tasting all kinds of delicious snacks, he somewhat had overlooked these chestnuts . . . .
Although Ian and Jones had been fed a bit of food by Shu Shu while in the lifepod, but that bit was far from enough. Having long been very hungry, they also realized that only if they ate some food would they have the strength to do other things, so they no longer declined the food. They took the proffered chestnuts, cut them open, and eat them.
Shu Shu straightened out the clothes on his body and glanced sideways at Jones, whose arms were bare because his clothes were given to him. He couldn’t help but frown. "Unfortunately, I didn"t bring the s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton . . . . Now they don"t have clothes to wear."
s.p.a.ce b.u.t.tons were expensive, but many beastmen would buy one, and they would always equipped it with a variety of clothes. In addition, when they became beasts, they would use it to store their clothes.
When the beastmen were in their human forms, the s.p.a.ce b.u.t.tons were generally worn on their wrists as wrist watches. When they turned into their beast forms, the s.p.a.ce b.u.t.tons would still be worn on their beast legs—as tight wristbands that could stretch a lot.
But Shu Shu and Edgar’s previous situation was different. They became very small.
They became so small, smaller than the s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton itself. How could they still wear the s.p.a.ce b.u.t.ton?
"It’s already pretty good that we’re able to survive." Ian ate a few sweet fresh chestnuts, and his face looked a bit better. Then he turned toward Shu Shu, "Did you bring water?" In this rock desert, besides having no food, they also had another huge trouble, which was having no water.
"There’re fruits and a little drink, but no water." Shu Shu somewhat regretted that he had not had a little more consideration before. Him storing food in his food pouches was purely to h.o.a.rd snacks, so he could eat anytime and anywhere. Oftentimes, he only started to feel like storing food when he ate something delicious. Why would he purposefully store water inside?
Moreover, something like water was not so easy to store . . . . The drinks he stored were all in individual small bottles, but generally, the water he drank was not packaged like this.
Ian already felt better knowing that Shu Shu could store food and immediately said, "It’s good that we have something to eat. Tomorrow we’ll look around. We should be able to find a water source."
"I think this planet most likely has living things. As long as there’s life, you’ll definitely be able to find a water source." Jones continued, "I’ll go and take a look around later."
If it was possible, their best choice was to leave this desert together, but Edgar"s current condition was very bad, and they could not move him at will. Also, they, three sub-beastmen, were naturally unable to move Edgar, who was very big and motionless.
Thinking like this, Jones turned toward Edgar again.
Edgar"s physical condition was very poor, and his breath was weak . . . . If they were in the capital star, he could definitely get medical treatment, but here . . . . They had nothing now.
As Jones secretly sighed, Shu Shu came near Edgar"s head.
He had always been a little afraid of Edgar"s big head, but this time, in a very rare moment, he approached the huge snake head of his own accord. Then he took a bottle of nutrient fluid from his food pouch and slowly poured it into Edgar"s mouth.
This nutrient fluid was bought by Edgar on the day when his pregnancy was known by others. As a result, he gave birth on that very night and didn’t manage to drink any of it. However, he had tasted a bottle and thought it tasted very good. So he simply stored all the nutrient fluids, each in a thumb-sized bottle, in his food pouches.
This thing was nutritious, but now he could not bear to eat it and directly fed it to Edgar.
After feeding a bottle and looking on Edgar"s huge body, Shu Shu thought about it and fed Edgar with a second bottle and then a third bottle . . . .
Shu Shu fed Edgar nutrient fluid for pregnant sub-beastmen, and this scene was seen by both Ian and Jones. The nutrition necessary for pregnant sub-beastmen and the nutrition necessary for injured beastmen were different. If it was before, they would definitely stop Shu Shu, but now . . . . In any case, it was also a nutrient fluid.
"Edgar, you quickly get better. Our child grows so fast. If you don"t quickly get better, you might miss seeing him breaking the sh.e.l.l." Shu Shu stroked Edgar"s head and said in a low voice.
He liked Edgar very much, but he had always been simple-minded and never thought deeply about anything. Until this moment when Edgar was seriously injured.
He suddenly discovered that he could not stand the possibility that Edgar might leave him.
He wanted Edgar to accompany him to sleep, to prepare all kinds of food for him, to cradle him in his arms, and to dote on him . . . . In short, he just wanted Edgar.
The nutrient fluid flowed into Edgar"s throat, but Edgar did not make any movement or sound at all . . . . Stroking Edgar"s head again, Shu Shu began to examine Edgar"s wounds carefully while picking off each and every stone that got embedded in Edgar"s skin and flesh after Edgar fell to the ground.
The sun was setting, little by little, and the night was approaching.
The temperature difference between day and night in the desert was extremely great. They felt blazing hot during the day but were getting colder and colder at night.
Shu Shu and Edgar, in order to blend in to board the s.p.a.ceship, did not bring anything at all and were stark naked. Although Jones and Ian were wearing clothes, but they were wearing thin clothes and only one layer at that—the temperature inside the imperial palace was always constant; was there any need for them to wear so much?
As the temperature got lower and lower, Jones and Ian were terribly frozen, especially Jones. He had given his own clothes to Shu Shu, and now he had nothing to cover his body with.
Jones had always lived in the barracks, and his physical fitness was very good, but now he also found the temperature a little unbearable. Seeing him like this, Ian hurriedly said, "I’ll give my clothes to you."
Saying so, Ian was going to undress, but Jones stopped him. "No need. Let"s hold each other to warm ourselves." Ian"s body was originally not so good, and when he was talking now, his jaw even chattered. How could he let Ian take off his only clothes?
"My clothes’re for you." Shu Shu abruptly stood up. He grabbed their only possession, a thin blanket found in the lifepod, and handed it over to Ian and Jones. Then he began to take off his clothes.
"No need. Shu Shu, you’re still injured. Also, you and your child can"t be frozen." Jones quickly said. Before, Shu Shu was lying down beside Edgar, hugging the egg and bundled up in a blanket. Without the blanket and the clothes, wouldn’t Shu Shu get frozen?
"I"m fine." Shu Shu said. After pondering for a while, he did not take off his clothes. Instead, he put the egg into Jones" arms and then, in front of Ian and Jones, turned into a little hamster .
"Shu Shu!" Ian cried out in fear—how did Shu Shu suddenly disappear in front of him?
Jones was also quite puzzled. Where was Shu Shu? Why did he leave his clothes and pants behind?
While the two of them were astonished, a little hamster suddenly crawled out from inside the clothes and pants that Shu Shu left behind.
What was this all about? How could a little hamster suddenly appear here?
Both Ian and Jones were stunned, and then, something that shocked them further happened again—the little hamster in front of them suddenly became Shu Shu.
"So long as I turn into a hamster, I won’t be afraid of the cold." Shu Shu smiled at Ian and Jones.
Ian and Jones’ faces were stiff and expressionless. Wasn’t Shu Shu a sub-beastman? How could he suddenly turn into a hamster?
So, was Shu Shu actually a beastman? A hamster beastman?
But if that was the case, where did the egg in their arms come from? Beastmen basically could not give birth to a child, ah!
Previously, the blowing wind had made Ian and Jones shiver all over and almost frozen them to death. But at this moment, they already paid no notice to the cold and no longer had time to think about it.
"You put on these clothes and hold each other." Shu Shu spoke and then said another sentence, "You hold the egg." He had no spiritual power now, and after he turned into a hamster, he could not become smaller or bigger anymore and could only keep his original state.
And his original build was of course smaller than the egg. Since his size had become this small, it was impossible for him to hold the egg even if he wanted to.
Done talking, Shu Shu once again turned into a little hamster and then ran to Edgar’s side to find a place to nest.
Ian, stupefied, gave a nod, and Jones, also stupefied, put on the clothes. Then the two men held the egg in the middle and bundled up in a blanket.
Although the blanket was rather thin, but it was made of special materials nonetheless. Not only it protected them against the cold, but it also blocked them from the wind. After bundling up in a blanket, they were not so cold anymore.
"No wonder! Edgar originally gave his beast bead to Shu Shu, so after Shu Shu accidentally lost it, he would consider himself as having no beast bead . . . ." Ian couldn"t help but exclaim. He had really blamed his own son wrongly. At any rate, his son’s physiology course should have been pretty good. But at that time, this unlucky child most likely always thought that Shu Shu was a beastman and unable to give birth.
"Yeah." Jones replied. No wonder Edgar and Shu Shu could not have thought that Shu Shu would be pregnant or even believed that Shu Shu could be pregnant . . . . Shu Shu, he was a beastman, ah!
"I suppose Shu Shu’s different than the average beastman." Ian said again.
Jones nodded and added a sentence, "We can"t let others know about this."
Ian also thought so. He nodded and then, rather helpless, said, "Edgar, this child, he’s given his beast bead to Shu Shu beforehand and then tell us that . . ." He did not continue to speak and just sighed ruefully. His son actually gave his beast bead to a beastman; this was to recognize Shu Shu?
He felt upset somewhat. But then he thought of what he had seen under the moonlight, a little hamster with a few bald spots on its body as well as a wound on its head, and felt that it did not matter.
No matter what Shu Shu was in the end, he was Edgar"s partner and already gave birth to a child for Edgar.
Thinking this way, Ian gently stroked the egg in his arms.
Having just experienced a life and death situation and, prior to this, been bombarded by all sorts of news—the son died, the son became a fallen beast, the son lost the beast bead—, Ian was very calm and collected right now. He readily accepted the fact that his own beastman son’s partner might be a beastman too and quickly entered the land of dreams.
Jones also accepted this matter right away, but he was nevertheless unable to constrain the feeling of excitement in his heart, to the extent that he had some difficulty to fall asleep.
Shu Shu had many magical properties on his body. Maybe he could really make the fallen beasts have the beast core again.
It was just that he did not know whether Reynolds was still alive or not . . . .
Thinking of Reynolds, Jones, after calculating the time, suddenly realized that this year’s supplies delivery day to the Fallen Beast Planet had pa.s.sed.
Although it was unknown whether Reynolds was still alive or not, but when the Beastman Empire did its yearly delivery of the newly-emerging fallen beasts and some supplies to the Fallen Beast Planet, Jones would also send some things to Reynolds. He would even send along some of his own image data every year, absurdly hoping that Reynolds would be able to see it.
For this year’s supplies delivery, he had already prepared some while in Ga.s.s Planet, but then he suddenly ran into Edgar and discovered that a fallen beast could still recover. He followed Edgar to return to the capital star and had no time to attend to the delivery. Later, he planned to go to the Fallen Beast Planet in person but then forgot about it altogether.
Thirty years had pa.s.sed by; Reynolds was probably dead already, and the image data he had sent was also meaningless. Not to mention that because Edgar had almost become a fallen beast, the imperial family sent a lot of supplies to the Fallen Beast Planet this year. Even if he did not send anything, it also did not matter . . . .
He did not know if this place was far from the Fallen Beast Planet or not . . . .
Jones, thinking about his past with Reynolds, slowly closed his eyes.
Shu Shu was curling up beside Edgar at this moment. At the same time, he discovered that although the environment on this planet was not so good, but the spiritual influence of this place was actually quite abundant, allowing the speed of his spiritual power recovery to become faster.
Every time Shu Shu recovered a little spiritual power, he would immediately send it into Edgar"s body, leaving nothing at all for himself.
Nested in Edgar’s arms, close to Edgar’s heart, Shu Shu slowly fell asleep.
Shu Shu did not sleep well, and he was awakened by his painful stomach at night.
When he had overdrawn his spiritual power in the lifepod, his stomach had also hurt, but it had not been this serious. At that time, although he had hurt all over, but he had managed to ignore it. But this time . . . .
The little hamster covered its own belly with its tiny paws, tossing and turning in discomfort. A tiny bit of spiritual power that had just been recovered was drained away.
Shu Shu"s situation was not known to the other two. He also did not go and bother them, always thinking that the pain would be better after a while. And after suffering for a while, he indeed didn’t hurt so much anymore and finally fell asleep in a daze.
The next day, early in the morning, Shu Shu’s spiritual power had recovered a little. He initially wanted to transfer it to Edgar right away, but he suddenly remembered about his painful stomach. He immediately used this bit of spiritual power to examine his own condition.
As soon as this examination was done, Shu Shu was rooted to the spot—he actually grew another tumor!
"The tumor in my stomach is big again. How did that come about?" Shu Shu was shocked. After he had given birth to the egg, he had not been intimate with Edgar, and then the kidnapping had happened. How could he conceive a child?
"What?" Ian and Jones were also stunned. It was only one day after Shu Shu had given birth when Jonathan had come to kidnap them . . . . Edgar would not be such a beast, would he?
The three people looked at each other and remained silent. At this moment, there was a sound coming out from the side—Edgar, who had not made any movement or sound since falling to this planet, finally opened his eyes.
TL"s note: next updates will be every Wednesday as usual