Chapter 139: Daily Routine of Raising 17905

Qin Qing’s tears still clung to her lashes, but the shock of the scene before her forced them right back.

“Why is Cradle in human form? Weren’t you supposed to be a frame or something?” Qin Qing reached out with a trembling hand to pinch its tiny clothes and hands. “You’re just a mechanical response, right? You shouldn’t have self-awareness, should you?”

The Little Person was Cradle17905—simply referred to as 17905.

Now, it was a palm-sized Little Person glowing with blue light. It slapped away Qin Qing’s fingers in disdain, then pushed off the edge of the System Panel and leapt down. Its oversized sleeves puffed up midair like a tiny blue flower.

The flower-like Little Person landed squarely on Mumu’s back. With hands clasped behind its back, it walked to the flat top of the little dog’s head and sat cross-legged, casting a scornful glance at Qin Qing. Its tone was ancient and full of seniority: “What’s so strange about me having self-awareness? The Primordial Tree Seed formed my body, the Tribal Chief’s will granted me a soul, and your accumulated merit awakened my consciousness.”

It puffed out its chest proudly. “I am a fully-formed Cradle!”

!!!

Her heart raced, and her hands trembled.

Neither Elder Po Po nor Han Xiangzhen had ever mentioned that a fully-formed Cradle could take human shape!

Qin Qing struggled to resist the urge to poke at 17905’s tiny arms and legs.

Sneaky and cautious, she tugged Mumu into a narrow path and tucked herself, the dog, and 17905 into a corner between two walls.

“Can other people see you?”

17905 rolled its eyes (though they were so small they were barely visible), then raised a finger and said seriously, “I’m your symbiotic Cradle. We’re bound together. Whether I can appear in front of others depends entirely on you. Once you grow stronger, you can even change my form at will.”

“At will?” Qin Qing’s mind instantly flooded with images. “So if I wanted to turn you into a Pikachu, I could?”

She had dreamed of owning a Pikachu when she was little.

17905’s eyes widened (though even at their widest, they were only the size of mung beans), and it asked with curiosity, “What’s a Pikachu?”

Qin Qing pulled out her phone and showed it the image of that yellow lightning creature.

17905’s cheeks puffed up, and it raised its blueberry-sized fists in protest. “I told you, I’m your symbiotic Cradle! My form represents your image. Do you really want to look like a round, blushing ball of fluff?”

“Don’t be mad, don’t be mad, it was just an example.” She held back the urge to say how cute it actually was.

17905 crossed its arms behind its back. “I’m not mad. I’m reasoning with you.”

Qin Qing nodded rapidly like a bobblehead. “Right, right, reasoning. I’m all about reason.”

Mumu, disturbed by the movement on its head, shook its ears vigorously. 17905 nearly fell off and had to grab a tuft of fur to steady itself.

Qin Qing lowered her head, pretending not to notice, and mentally revisited all her past sorrows.

Only when she figured 17905 had settled back into position did she look up. Sure enough, the Little Person was not only sitting upright but also holding onto a tuft of fur for support.

“Is it just you who can take human form, or can the others do it too?”

She was curious what the other little cuties might look like.

17905 suddenly became alert.

“If I’m not the only one, does that make me less special?”

“I was just asking.”

17905 didn’t answer the question directly.

“One last question,” Qin Qing crouched down to meet its eyes, “do you need to eat? How do I take care of you?”

17905 tucked its hands into its sleeves, its tiny mouth chattering as it scolded her like a disappointed teacher. “Merit! I need merit to function! Our home planet was destroyed, the Primordial Tree has withered. Until we find a new habitat and grow a new Primordial Tree, we must rely on the merit transferred from these natives as our energy source!”

Qin Qing gave an “OK” hand gesture.

“Got it. From now on, my life will be dedicated to doing good deeds and heading toward good deeds.”

“Life? No…” 17905 gave her a sideways glance and muttered, “Strictly speaking, you weren’t human to begin with.”

“…” Qin Qing’s face went blank. “Thanks. I get it. But with over twenty years of human memories, hearing that just feels like an insult.”

17905 huffed, still with hands behind its back, and burrowed into Mumu’s fluffy fur. “This four-legged creature you raised feels pretty nice. It’s mine now.”

Qin Qing looked at Mumu, who didn’t seem to mind at all, and had no objections.

“Go ahead. Also, this four-legged creature is called a dog.”

17905 lay nestled in the dog’s fur, silent.

Qin Qing’s heart softened. She couldn’t help herself—she reached out and gently touched its silvery-blue hair.

Oh, she could actually touch it!

“I haven’t said this yet, but I’m really glad to meet you. That night, thank you for protecting me.”

17905 gave a couple of humphs. “Protecting the baby is what a Cradle is supposed to do. It’s the highest mission the Tribal Chief gave us. You don’t need to thank me.”

“Even so, I still want to thank you.” She picked up the dog leash and, making sure no one else could see 17905, headed out. “Don’t just stay in this corner. Let’s go.”

The Little Person climbed up from Mumu’s head. “Where are we going?”

“Hmm… to find you some merit to snack on.”

The Little Person immediately sat up straight, trying to look cool.

Qin Qing glanced at its pose and said, “You know, like this, you actually look kind of…”

17905 stared at her with its tiny bean-like eyes.

Qin Qing’s words spun around in her head before she cautiously ventured, “Kind of… scholarly… heroic… and dignified?”

17905 nodded in satisfaction. “You’re pretty sharp. As a Cradle tasked with protecting a baby, it’s only natural to have such qualities. No big deal. You don’t need to keep bringing it up.”

As it spoke, its tiny feet swung back and forth.

Qin Qing informed the studio that she couldn’t make it in today. She planned to take the little one out to earn some merit.

She assumed that now that Cradle had evolved into its complete form and even had a super-intelligent Little Person, it would naturally be more efficient and convenient to use than before.

And it was, in terms of efficiency.

Her perception range had expanded, almost enough to cover the entire city.

But 17905 reminded her, “Your perception radius is directly tied to your energy consumption. Processing too much data at once will overwhelm your current capabilities. If you push it too far, your mental sea will suffer.”

“Aren’t you already a fully matured Cradle? Why are there still so many limitations?”

Little Person, clearly displeased by the question, pouted and gave her a frosty look.

“I’m the completed form of Cradle, not the completed form of your abilities. My evolution was to better raise you and protect you!”

Qin Qing’s face twitched. She reached up and rubbed it repeatedly, trying to keep her expression from completely falling apart.

This bean sprout-sized Little Person was claiming to raise her?

Little Person had to tilt its head way back just to see Qin Qing’s face, its chin nearly parallel to the ground.

“What are you doing? Did you understand what I said?”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. You’re just a temporary reward. I still have light-years to go before I’m anywhere near as powerful as the Tribal Chief.”

Little Person let out a huff.

It rubbed its neck, then suddenly crouched and leapt!

“Whoosh!” In a flash, it landed on Qin Qing’s shoulder.

It spun around a bit, then settled just below her earlobe, grabbing a strand of her hair for support.

Once it was comfortably situated, Little Person patted her neck. “Let’s go.”

Qin Qing felt a tickle on her neck, like being brushed by a feather.

Sigh. Little Person was so small, she worried that if she walked too fast, it might fall off and get stepped on.

Later, she realized that 17905’s presence didn’t necessarily make investigations easier.

Sometimes, it was like dealing with a clueless toddler.

It just stood there and watched as a girl walking ahead of them had her bag slightly open, and a guy in a black hoodie casually lifted her phone.

Little Person stayed completely silent.

Qin Qing stared at it. “…Why didn’t you warn me?”

Little Person blinked its beady eyes, utterly confused. “He wasn’t a threat to you.”

Qin Qing looked up at the sky.

Right. She now fully understood that 17905 was just a glorified nanny.

Its existence wasn’t meant to fight crime.

All her previous uses of it had just been creative extensions of its babysitting functions.

So she went back to her old method: setting tags and instructing it on what situations to alert her about.

After that, things went more smoothly.

Together, they stopped a drunk driver who would’ve caused a massive pile-up, foiled a scam at a liquor store where a customer tried to swap fake cigarettes for real ones, and saved a young man attempting to take his own life in silence…

Marching forward with pride and purpose.

After all that effort, they earned 4.5 points of merit.

Qin Qing sighed. “…How about you just make do with this for now?”

As dusk fell, they were walking down a fragrant alleyway. Mumu was practically drooling onto the pavement.

17905 tugged on Qin Qing’s hair to get her attention, pointing at a shop that was radiating an intense, mouthwatering aroma. “What’s that?”

Qin Qing didn’t even need to look. She sniffed and replied casually, “Cumin-grilled lamb skewers.”

Little Person tugged her hair again. “Do you want to try that?”

Qin Qing: Since when does the nanny care about meals?

Still, seeing Mumu’s longing expression, she bought a handful of skewers—half without seasoning for Mumu, and the rest for herself.

17905’s eyes were locked onto the skewers like magnets.

Qin Qing teased it by holding a skewer up to Little Person’s tiny mouth. “Want a bite?”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Little Person leaned forward and chomped down on the sizzling, juicy meat.

The chunk of meat was bigger than its entire face.

Qin Qing quickly pulled the skewer back, but it was too late. Little Person had already torn off a piece and was chewing it contentedly before swallowing.

Watching that oversized bite go down, Qin Qing couldn’t resist poking Little Person’s belly… but there was no bulge at all.

The whole incident left her stunned. By the time she snapped out of it, 17905 had slid off her shoulder and climbed down her arm to her wrist.

Another bite—gone. One more chunk of meat disappeared.

Qin Qing was on the verge of a breakdown.

“You said you’re the embodiment of a Primordial Tree Seed. That’s a plant! Shouldn’t you be drinking dew and photosynthesizing in the sun?”

Little Person gave her a look like she was hopelessly ignorant. “Haven’t you ever heard of composting?”

Qin Qing: “…That actually makes a weird kind of sense.”

Then, indignantly, “You just told me I need to feed you with merit!”

“I never said I could only eat merit,” it replied, then added warily, “Don’t even think about slacking off. Merit is what actually nourishes me. This stuff is just snacks.”

Qin Qing: “…”

Then maybe don’t eat it?

She didn’t dare say that out loud, afraid Little Person might throw a tantrum.

There weren’t many major events on the street that could earn merit, so Qin Qing brought Little Person to the Wuning Sub-Bureau, hoping to help out with some difficult cases.

But none of the people with clearance to show her the case files were around.

She once again brought 17905 up to Baiyun Temple.

Before she even stepped through the gate, a loud “meow” rang out, and a ball of orange fluff came flying down from above.

Its landing target was Qin Qing’s arms. She quickly reached out and caught Feifei just in time to prevent a catastrophe.

The 17905 on her shoulder instantly flared up. “Danger source detected!”

Well, it was dangerous in a way. Cats had a way of making people lose themselves, of luring them into sweet surrender.

Qin Qing cradled the purring, affectionate Feifei in her arms and walked inside, while the Little Person on her shoulder tugged her hair and stomped in protest. “Why are you still entertaining this lump of danger that keeps attacking you?”

Uh… how was she supposed to explain this?

Could a human possibly resist a cat that willingly throws itself into your arms?

Absolutely not!

Not even someone from the Void Sea Tribe who had been human for over twenty years!

Qin Qing didn’t respond.

17905 stood up on her neck for support. “I’ll help you get rid of it.”

Before the words had even finished, the Little Person leapt from her shoulder and landed right on the fluffy belly of the cat.

Feifei’s stomach rose and fell with each breath, and the Little Person couldn’t keep their balance, tumbling onto the soft surface.

Qin Qing watched as the Little Person froze in a half-kneeling position, hands braced against the cat’s belly. Their round bean-like eyes were wide open, unmoving for a long moment.

“What’s wrong?”

“Grrrrrrr…”

“Why… why is it making that sound nonstop…” the Little Person stammered.

Qin Qing was puzzled. “Cats just do that.”

17905’s tiny hand brushed over the soft fur on the cat’s belly, then pressed it against their face in disbelief.

“This… this… what is this? Why does it feel even better than your four-legged plush beast…?”

They seemed at a loss for the right words.

“This… this doesn’t make sense!” The Little Person frowned. “I don’t sense any danger at all, but…” They clutched their chest. “My heart feels like it’s melting. And the parts of me touching this thing feel the same.”

The Little Person patted the softness beneath them. “So, what exactly is this?”

Qin Qing was starting to get what they meant, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold back laughter. With great interest, she said, “Probably the cat’s belly?”

The Little Person looked deadly serious, hugging the mass of fur tightly as they declared with absolute dominance, “This cat belly is mine!”

With that, their body acted on its own, flopping forward and burying their tiny face into the warm, fluffy fur. The soft fuzz gently swayed with each of their breaths.

Poor 17905.

At that moment, they were like a complete bumpkin who had never seen the world, utterly overwhelmed by the cat belly’s charm, completely forgetting about any so-called danger source.

The Void Sea Tribe’s home planet probably didn’t have anything fluffy like this.