Chapter 400: Entry-Level Scavenger! Zhang Jie Coaxed into an Embryo

This story, selected by the human female from countless childish tales, is the least childish of them.

This brief and not-so-childish story may be incomprehensible to younger children, who might even find its content overly dark.

But the human female believes her little Zhang Jie will surely find the profound meaning hidden within this seemingly dark story.

As for the story of the 'wingless bird,' it is actually short; it tells of a bird born without wings, innately envious of others who can fly freely.

To experience the sensation of flight, they usually seek an extremely high cliff, nailing tree after tree onto the cliff, although this consumes an entire lifetime.

When the cliff's rock face is covered with trees, forming a vertical 'forest,' the wingless bird then comes to the cliff's summit to accomplish its sole flight in life....

It will jump off the cliff and fly like a normal bird above the 'forest,' sparing no expense even if the ensuing cost is to be smashed to pieces.

It has already completed its flight....

It is a very simple story, devoid of any fairy‑tale semblance; originally, Zhang Jie was forced to listen to this fairy tale merely to make the human female happy a bit.

And when the human female finished telling it in full, Zhang Jie remained silent for a long, long time.

It wasn't that he felt anything; rather, he simply could not fully comprehend the wingless bird's behavior.

Although his intellect and thinking far surpass those of his peers, he is after all only an eight‑year‑old child, and his experience is too shallow.

So, this bird actually has the ability to secure large trees onto the cliff.

Why must it prove itself in such a stupid way?

You dead kid! No learning foul language!

The human female puffed her cheeks and gave Zhang Jie's head a hard smack; it didn't hurt much, but the suppressive force was extremely strong.

「..... 」

「Wrong. 」

「Hmm~」

「That's right. 」

The human female was quite pleased; this child, though stubborn, is not obstinately so, and at least he can distinguish right from wrong.

「It has such ability; it would be better to spend time catching two eagles to carry it flying... 」

「In my view, this method is completely a waste of life. 」

「How to put it, fairy tales always contain some elements that don't match reality. 」

「Besides, little Zhang Jie, there are things you should look at—their spiritual core; what he wishes to express may not be the superficial thing you imagine. 」

「Sometimes life presents many circumstances beyond one's control; perhaps.... this bird is just like that. 」

「The story is finished; although you still cannot fully grasp its philosophy, you have firmly imprinted it in your heart, and like a seed it will eventually bloom into a lush flower. 」

「However, the human female does love telling you stories; although you always feel she herself seems to be hiding some story, since she is unwilling to speak, you probably couldn't get it out of her. 」

「Nine years old: as your age increases, your ability to learn knowledge also rises daily; you are now an entry‑level scavenger! 」

「As an entry‑level scavenger, you can now easily produce powerful explosives and, using this scrap, hand‑craft many complex mechanical devices. 」

「And your talent is indeed terrifyingly strong; the human female has sighed more than once over your talent, and sometimes she even feels inferior to herself. 」

「In her words, you are an absolute genius, an absolute hands‑on master; your future will surely be that of a great inventor! 」

「Mother's praise makes you unable to help wagging your tail, and you become more eager to tinker with odd things, such as how to send (blow) something into the sky.... 」

「Compared to studying various precise devices, you now prefer violent explosives; the greater the power, the happier you are, and you seem to have discovered an aesthetic—a violence aesthetics called explosion! 」

【Life Talent "Violence Aesthetics" — Activated!】

「Such development leaves the human female somewhat speechless, yet she still has no intention of thwarting you; she always knows how to praise exactly what you care about, and always can precisely coax you into an embryo. 」

「For example, your act of blowing things up is essentially your preliminary exploration of how to enter space; how to send something to a high place is itself what you care about. 」

「But in her eyes, you are merely a kid who sets off firecrackers to blow up a dog basin; even if you blast the basin very high, you can still earn her sincerest praise. 」

「Facing you, she is never stingy with her praise, regardless of whether your behavior is childish; this attitude makes your fondness for her never cease to grow. 」

「You were born with a mission; this is not your chuunibyou fantasy, but stems from an instinct deep within your body, just as you have always called your nominal mother the human female. 」

「And your reliance on the human female began merely as a bodily instinct, a submission to the status quo, a main‑line task that must be continually carried out. 」

「But now, in the ongoing process of getting along with the human female, you seem to have acquired a different feeling—a natural, ordinary human emotion present from birth, namely familial affection. 」

「The term 'old ma' is becoming ever more natural on your tongue; perhaps deep down you are merely a tsundere child, and regardless of any main‑line task or human female, even if there truly is an instinct‑like explanation, you have long since regarded her as your closest person. 」

「In contrast to your materially deprived yet spiritually abundant life, the experiments being conducted on another planet are simply indescribable. 」

「The first batch of experiments can now be completely declared over. 」

「As expected, we got stuck on the integration of space‑folding technology, and all experimental samples were declared scrapped. 」

「...... 」

「Dispose of them. 」

「Hire a private warship, pack them up and dump them on Garbage Star—that's all that's needed. 」

「No special handling is needed; it's unnecessary, for they cannot possibly find evidence of the experiments on these damaged machines. 」

The person in a white coat merely waved a hand lightly, and thus decided the fate of this batch of test specimens.

Special handling? Absolutely unnecessary; the garbage shipped daily to Garbage Star is endless, and dumping these test specimens there will likely cause them to be lost among the waste.

Although it seems riddled with flaws, this is actually the most proper way to dispose of them.

After all, privately researching humanoid ship lifeforms is explicitly forbidden by higher civilizations, and there is no communication whatsoever between Garbage Star and the main star.

In a certain sense, that place.... is truly a land of exile....