Chapter 283

"You can't expect a chaotic creature with a brain full of Jianghu to have any correct understanding of the human body during transmutation—had it not been for the embryo from which that monster was born, she might have manifested six legs instead…"

Bruce carefully observed the girl's face and noticed that not only were her teeth abnormal, but her eyes, though blue like his own, had vertical pupils—just like the original Parallax.

Bruce took another deep breath; he felt his worldview had been shaken.

But as Shi Ler said, it was done now—he had to find a solution. "If she's going to live in human society, what do we do about those fangs?"

"They're natural—she's just too young for correction. Find a dentist with proven ethics and get her a diagnosis for malocclusion. Is that really so hard?"

"Alright, then what about her eyes?"

"Heterochromia iridum. Find a dentist with proven ethics…"

"Enough," Bruce interrupted Shi Ler. He looked at the girl. Beyond the shock to his worldview, he felt something strangely peculiar.

When people see a child who looks nearly identical to themselves, the instinct for progeny protection embedded in human genes rises up—and Bruce was no exception.

"Cheer up. Even if she creates a mountain of new problems later, at least right now she solves one urgent one: Alfred's mental state."

"You've mentioned more than once that Alfred's been emotionally low from obsessing over your condition. We've discussed how to redirect his focus. Clearly, an illegitimate daughter with no mother would be a perfect choice…"

"Even if I raise her, she'll be an adopted daughter."

"Fine, no problem—an adopted daughter who looks eighty percent like you."

Bruce clenched his lips. At least on the issue of appearance, he was doomed to be misunderstood.

Bruce recalled Alfred's overly excited state that morning. He knew this couldn't go on.

With the mindset of trying anything, even desperate measures, Bruce brought the girl home.

When Alfred saw the girl who looked nearly identical to Bruce, he dropped and shattered the plate in his hand.

As Bruce prepared a long explanation to convince Alfred, Alfred instead snatched the girl from his arms and said: "Have the legal matters been settled, Master? If custody is difficult to obtain, perhaps we could…"

"Wait, Alfred, this isn't…"

"I understand, I understand, Master—a youthful passion, an accident, a heartbroken mother, an innocent illegitimate daughter…"

"But it's fine—we can pay this great mother a sum and claim she was your late former wife. That way, the child won't suffer any stigma…"

"I…" Bruce was speechless. In mere seconds, Alfred had constructed the entire story—and already prepared the cover-up.

"What's her name?" Alfred looked into Bruce's eyes.

Bruce saw in them a long-absent hope and longing. He fell silent for a long time, then finally didn't speak the truth. Instead, his voice grew low: "Elsa… her name is Elsa."

"Elsa… a good name…" Alfred's Adam's apple moved. Bruce saw his eyes redden. Alfred lowered his head, voice hoarse: "Master… no… Lord… I never imagined you'd bring her home. I thought you…"

Bruce took a deep breath. In that instant, he saw Alfred had aged further—his once-straight back now slightly stooped. Bruce lowered his head too.

"Aaaaaaah!!"

Elsa suddenly screamed in Alfred's arms. The old butler looked down at her teeth: "Good heavens! Her teeth are malformed? Oh right—she's too young for correction. But no matter, we can see a dentist in a few years…"

At the same time, Alfred noticed Elsa's unusual eyes. "Is this heterochromia? Inherited from her mother? What a poor little thing…"

Bruce's attempt to explain was stifled. Alfred cooed at Elsa, puzzled: "She must be nearly four, right? Why can't she speak yet? And her expression seems…"

"Could it be autism? That needs early correction. I'll look through the phone book for a reliable psychiatrist…"

"I know a good doctor…" Bruce said stiffly to Alfred. "My university psychology professor—Shi Ler Rodriguez…"

"Really? That's wonderful! When can we invite him over? Oh—tomorrow? Should I call now? Is he not in his do-not-disturb hours?"

Bruce mechanically shook his head. "No."

Alfred gently placed Elsa back into Bruce's arms. "Lord, companionship is vital in parent-child bonds—especially since the girl may have autism. Parents need patience to guide her. I'm certain you'll do well…"

Bruce looked down at Elsa. She grinned at him again, her mouth full of sharp teeth. He sighed, closed his eyes, and said: "I'll try."

An hour later, Bruce held the phone to his ear: "Selina! Come quickly! I need your help—get over here now…"

Half an hour later, Selina stared at the girl who looked eighty percent like Bruce, eyes wide. Then she walked up to Bruce and slapped him hard across the face before turning and storming off.

Bruce grabbed her arm: "Selina, it's not what you think—let me explain…"

Half an hour later, Selina crossed her arms, skeptical, and said: "Bruce, if I didn't know you better—if I didn't know you'd never fabricate such an elaborate story for an illegitimate child—I'd slap you again. You should write fantasy novels…"

Suddenly, Selina's face twisted into a strange expression. "So… does that mean she's your child?"

Her beautiful eyes dropped, fixing on Bruce's abdomen. She smirked.

Bruce turned to Elsa, exasperated: "Now is not the time to discuss her origins. I never thought raising a child would be this…"

Selina heard the deep exhaustion in his voice, yet replied cheerfully: "Maggie says children are the most adorable things in the world. Her lifelong dream is to marry the one she loves and have a child. It can't be that hard, right?"

Half an hour later, Selina and Bruce sat on the edge of the bed, sighing. Selina's once-smooth hair was now a bird's nest; Bruce's bangs stood on end.

Meanwhile, Elsa was gnawing on the bedpost, refusing to let go. Bruce tugged her arm: "Come down, let go, please! Why are you biting it?"

Selina pushed her hair back, glancing at the tooth marks on her arm. "You might as well have told me she's your pet dog turned spirit…"

Her hair fell forward, obscuring her face—she looked like a madwoman who'd left home without combing.

In the past half-hour, this young couple—both still children themselves—had fully understood why human infants were ranked among the most terrifying creatures.

First, Elsa couldn't speak. She expressed all emotion through screaming.

You couldn't call it crying—she didn't shed a single tear. Instead, she emitted screams of varying frequencies. And because she wasn't purely human, the piercing power of those screams was terrifying—even when Bruce carried her into another room, Selina could still hear her from across several doors.

Second, Elsa shoved everything within her line of sight into her mouth. It seemed her way of identifying objects was to taste them.

And because she wasn't purely human, her bite force was astonishing. In short: she bit anyone or anything she saw—and once she bit, she never let go.

Those sharp teeth made her even more dangerous. With a single "crunch," she bit off a large chunk of solid wood. Had she retained even a shred of restraint and avoided biting people, Bruce and Selina would already be in the hospital.

Most frustrating of all, this girl born from a chaotic being seemed utterly unable to understand human speech. Bruce even suspected she didn't know English. Every command he gave, she ignored completely. She went wherever she pleased.

Whenever Bruce tried to stop her, she began screaming again. When he let her go, she immediately locked onto the nearest object within view, bit down with a "crunch," and Bruce and Selina had to frantically pat her back to make her spit out the shards.

Bruce was under twenty. Selina was too. Both were still children themselves. Trying to raise another child? It was chaos incarnate.

And clearly, this chaos had only just begun.

————Extra Notes————

Just to clarify: because there's a big update event on the 15th, more updates mean a chance to win prizes. So on the 15th, there'll be ten thousand characters at midnight, and another ten thousand before 24: 0. No update on the 16th.

I've moved the 16th's update to the 15th.

The author has zero saved drafts. Writing twenty thousand characters in one day is impossible—so this is the only way. Sad.