Chapter 78: The Abandoned Beast-Form Panda Cub (Part 1)

The tiny glutinous rice dumpling lay sprawled in Xie Hui’s palm, only slightly larger than his hand. Its eyes weren’t even open yet, and it could only make soft, babyish noises.

Its little paws, not even as thick as Xie Hui’s fingers, occasionally paddled at his palm, as though it were trying to crawl elsewhere.

At that moment, a doctor in a white lab coat walked up to Xie Hui, offering him a polite smile before asking:

“Sir, are you sure you don’t want your son?”

This time, Xie Hui—who usually had time to receive the storyline—hadn’t yet begun to process the plot. But trusting his instincts, he felt certain that the glutinous rice dumpling in his palm was the target of his mission.

The tiny cub was whimpering softly, and Xie Hui didn’t immediately reply. But the man across from him, growing somewhat impatient, urged him again.

“Sir, if you’re sure you don’t want this child, then please come this way to complete the paperwork and sign. We’ll arrange to have your son sent to the orphanage. The procedures are numerous and time-sensitive. We hope you’ll cooperate.”

Xie Hui withdrew his gaze from the cub and looked at the staff member, smiling apologetically.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite hear what you said earlier. Since the paperwork hasn’t been processed yet, does that mean I can still change my mind?”

The staff member looked slightly surprised by this answer, but his professionalism allowed him to respond quickly.

“Yes, sir. You retain the right to change your mind until the agreement is signed.”

“Then may I take this child with me now?”

The little dumpling continued to whimper in his palm, apparently a little hungry, its mouth moving constantly.

“Yes, sir. You just need to complete a few formalities confirming your intention to keep the child, and then you may take your son home.”

“However, I am obligated to remind you: if you do take the child home, you will be legally forbidden to abandon him in the future. If you violate this promise, you will be imprisoned for a minimum of ten years.”

The staff member clearly explained all the potential consequences before pulling out the contract from the bottom of the stack and handing it to Xie Hui.

“Sir, if you’re sure about taking your son home, all you need to do is sign here.”

Giving up a child involved a complicated process, but claiming one only required a signature and a stamp.

Xie Hui placed the contract on the table, took the pen with his free hand, and signed his name in the signature field at the bottom.

Soon, a hospital staff member came over to help him gather his things. Xie Hui watched as the staff member stamped the agreement he had just signed.

While the others were busy, Xie Hui lowered his head to look at the tiny cub in his palm.

The fluffy little dumpling was unmistakably a panda, just like the ones in Xie Hui’s memory, though slightly different in some subtle ways.

He had once been obsessed with giant pandas—so much so that he’d even volunteered at a panda sanctuary. But even the newborn cubs he’d seen back then weren’t as cute as this one.

This cub’s fur was already fully grown, clean and fluffy. Its four tiny paws, not even as thick as his fingers, were a pale pink, shimmering faintly in the sunlight.

【Host, do you confirm receiving the client’s memory and mission details?】

The system’s voice echoed in his mind. Glancing at the hospital staff still tidying up, Xie Hui accepted.

This was a futuristic world where everyone could shift into beast form. Reproduction had evolved from traditional childbirth into a genetic fusion process: parents input their genes into a light sphere, and after ten months, it would produce an egg. The egg would then hatch after a one-month incubation period.

At first, this method seemed perfect. But over time, people discovered that more and more children hatched in beast form.

If a child was born in beast form, they wouldn’t be able to assume human form until they turned eighteen. They wouldn’t inherit any of their parents’ talents and would be ordinary in every way.

As beast-form births became more common, so did cases of abandonment. Eventually, the king issued a decree.

Parents who wished to abandon a beast-form child could sign an agreement immediately after hatching, relinquishing all rights. The child would be raised by the state, and upon reaching adulthood, they would consider the nation their parent, severing all ties with their biological ones.

Clearly, this time Xie Hui’s mission target was a poor little one born in beast form and subsequently abandoned.

The client had been a wealthy businessman. He and his then-partner had contributed their genes to the light sphere. But before the child was even born, they had broken up due to relationship issues.

The client believed their genetic combination would produce an exceptional heir to inherit his legacy. But to his disappointment, what emerged was a furry son.

Upon seeing the child, the client immediately decided to abandon him. Not only would the boy not inherit his talents, but the mother was also now just an ex.

Xie Hui had arrived just as the client was preparing to sign the abandonment agreement.

The hospital staff, hoping to soften the client’s heart, had placed the panda cub in his palm in a last-ditch attempt to change his mind.

After all, the empire’s orphanages were already overcrowded.

In the client’s memory, years later, his company faced a crisis, and he—already middle-aged—was powerless to turn things around. Just as he was about to accept bankruptcy, the child he had once abandoned stepped in to save the company.

But that child vanished soon afterward, never appearing again.

Later, the client heard that the child had gone on to support many others like him—beast-form children who were abandoned at birth.

The client had countless urges to go see the child, just to look at him once, but each time he was rejected.

Eventually, he saw how others were living harmoniously with their beast-form children, while his own son would rather spend time with the children he supported than look at him even once.

The client began to feel a vague sense of regret, realizing that he had indeed been wrong. He had brought this child into the world without the child’s permission, and when the child didn’t meet his expectations, he simply discarded him. Later, when his company was on the verge of bankruptcy and not a single friend he once trusted was willing to help, it was that very child—the one he had abandoned—who reached out and saved the company.

In his previous life, the client had been a doctor, saving countless lives.

He used that accumulated merit to exchange for a chance for Xie Hui to help make up for his regrets.

【Host, the client only has one request: please don’t abandon that child. Let him grow up safe and happy. There are no other requirements.】

“Mm, got it. By the way, about the mission reward from the last world?”

【Please rest assured, host. The system has already converted the reward into merit and bound it to the previous mission target’s soul.】

Just as Xie Hui finished speaking with the system, the hospital staff handed him the completed paperwork. One of them also picked up a red string with a small bell and tied it around the right paw of the baby panda cub.

“Sir, this is to distinguish between human infants and animal infants. Please be sure not to lose it—replacing it later would be extremely troublesome.”

“Alright, thank you.”

Xie Hui placed the panda cub into the baby stroller, lifted the whole thing effortlessly, and walked out.

The client had rejected the child because he wasn’t born in human form, but Xie Hui felt like he’d picked up a treasure.

Raising a panda? How could there be such a good thing?

This little panda wouldn’t be able to transform into a human until he turned eighteen. Until then, he would be in his juvenile phase.

Which meant that Xie Hui could raise this little guy from such a tiny cub all the way up for more than a decade!

When he got to the hospital entrance, he used the original body’s memory to navigate to the parking lot. He opened the car door, placed the cub in the backseat, then got in, inserted the key, and headed home.

Since this was the first child registered under Xie Hui’s name, the hospital staff had prepared everything thoroughly.

In the side pocket of the stroller was a manual, and just before he left, a young nurse came over to remind him that someone would visit in a few hours to deliver milk suitable for newborn cubs.

Once home, Xie Hui placed the stroller right in the middle of the living room. Before he could even sit down on the couch, the doorbell rang.

He walked over and opened the door. As expected, it was someone from the hospital.

“Hello, Mr. Xie. May I ask if you have a refrigeration unit at home? These supplies must be kept cold and heated before feeding.”

The staff member was polite. After Xie Hui pointed out the spot, they helped him arrange everything before leaving.

After they left, Xie Hui heard the little panda cub—who still hadn’t even opened his eyes—softly whimpering from inside the stroller, sounding slightly pitiful.

Instinctively, Xie Hui figured he must be hungry. He took a can of milk from the fridge, warmed it up, but couldn’t find a bottle anywhere, so he poured it into a bowl instead.

Holding the bowl in one hand and pushing the stroller with the other, he made his way to the tatami near the window and carefully picked up the cub.

The moment he was placed on the tatami, the cub lifted his head and froze for a second before slowly crawling toward the scent of the milk.

He stuck out his tongue and began lapping it up, just like a puppy.

In his eagerness, some of the milk splashed onto his face as he drank, effectively giving himself a little milk bath.

Seeing how hard he was trying, Xie Hui silently pulled his hands behind his back.

This cub was so cute—and yet just a moment ago, he’d actually considered shoving his head into the milk bowl! Absolutely unacceptable!