Daddy!

It was a milky, childish cry, so sweet and charming it felt like the tip of a feather tickling one's heart, making you yearn to kiss her.

Du Chen smacked his lips, suddenly feeling an urge to drool.

Perched on the steps was a little girl, appearing to be no more than two or three years old. Her black hair was tied into two sky-pointing pigtails, and she wore a baggy red jacket, her small feet dangling as she twisted her body. Her tiny hands waved her sleeves at Du Chen as if presenting a treasure. On her cherubic face, sculpted from jade and powder, her features, like precious flesh-toned jewels, sparkled endearingly, embedded in her plump cheeks. At first glance, she was nothing short of a perfect work of art.

Most uniquely, her eyes were strikingly black, as clear as the night sky. Yet, every now and then, a hint of cunning would flash in those large black eyes, as if to warn everyone that this little imp was, in reality… a tiny troublemaker!

A little girl with black hair and black eyes. Heh heh! Du Chen immediately felt a surge of warmth and familiarity!

“Mama!” the little girl sweetly called out again. Then, she struggled to her feet and pounced into the arms of Du Chen, who was leaning over at the doorway.

“Hungry…”

With a ‘chomp!’ the little one bit Du Chen’s chest.

Du Chen was stunned, and not in jest — he was genuinely dumbfounded!

Heavens above! Does this count as getting close to a woman? I've been chest-assaulted! Will I be judged as having crippled my cultivation?

Flaying, standing nearby, was also baffled. “This… Francis, pick her up and let me see!”

Du Chen was still bent over; he carefully picked up the little one. The little one obediently nestled in Du Chen’s embrace, her two rows of tiny, silvery teeth in her tender pink mouth simply refused to let go.

Flaying couldn't help but burst into laughter. “Haha, this is too amusing, Francis! She thinks you’re her mother!” Flaying’s laughter was hearty and pleasant to the ear.

Du Chen shook his head with a bitter smile. His chest was bitten to an unbearable numb itch, and the little one would suckle occasionally. Every time her little cheeks tightened, Du Chen’s body would shiver as if struck by lightning! Yet, the little thing’s adorable appearance made Du Chen unable to forcibly pull her away—what if he damaged her teeth?

Du Chen could only shake his head and offer a bitter smile.

Flaying examined the little girl, then said, “She seems to be an ordinary person, with no abnormalities in her body. However, for her to appear on the nineteenth floor of Philip’s Alchemy Laboratory, there must be some secret! Francis, you watch her for a moment, I’ll go down and check!”

Flaying leaped into the nineteenth-floor laboratory. Du Chen… was still struggling under the little one’s ‘tyranny.’

A moment later, Flaying called out, “Come down!” His voice sounded disheartened.

The nineteenth-floor laboratory appeared to be a long corridor. On both walls hung nauseating live experiments from various races. Most were already dead; those who weren’t… well, judging by their state, they’d be better off dead.

There were no clues about Phil inside!

Du Chen walked to the end of the ‘corridor.’ Flaying was observing the innermost silver-white wall. In front of the wall was an altar, identical to the one Philip had built on Mount Tianshan. And on the altar, was a crib!

The little one in Du Chen’s arms finally released ‘Mama’s’ chest and stretched her small hand towards the crib!

Du Chen and Flaying exchanged glances, both feeling a strange sensation. They were both intelligent men, and judging by the setup of the nineteenth floor and the crib’s position, this little girl must have been Philip’s most prized experiment!

A sudden flash of insight struck Du Chen. He urgently asked, “Could she be a clone, or an embryo!?” Then, realizing he was using concepts from his past life, he patiently explained, “I mean, is it possible Philip killed my mother, but used her body to create a replica? This little girl?”

“How dare he!?” Flaying exploded in rage. But Philip’s corpse had already vanished from Mount Tianshan, making post-mortem vengeance impossible. He thought carefully, a profound fear gripping his heart that this situation might indeed be true, for with Philip’s alchemy talents, such a feat was entirely possible!

“Are you saying she’s your mother?” Flaying asked, very reluctantly uttering the words. Then, after a long hesitation, he said, “Blood test! Even if it’s what you call a clone, the bloodline won’t change!”

With that, he scooped up the little one from the crib, ignoring the little one’s protesting ‘Eek!’, and forcibly pricked her finger with his Flaying Blade.

“Mean!” the little one cried, staring pitifully at Flaying, tears glinting in her big eyes, a picture of profound grievance.

Du Chen also found a bowl of water and dripped a drop of his blood into it.

Flaying nervously watched as the two drops of blood remained distinct, not mixing. He let out a long sigh of relief. “Good, it’s not! What a blessing! Though your mother isn’t here, she must still be alive. As long as she lives, we have hope!”

Du Chen nodded as well.

Just then, the little one scrambled up Flaying’s chest and arm, reaching his shoulder, then deftly clambered onto his neck, and with a sweet smile, chirped, “You’re mean! Heh heh!”

Suddenly, Flaying’s mouth twitched uncontrollably. The little imp had peed on his neck!

“Heh heh, let’s put her on the bed first and search through Philip’s experimental data to see if we can find any news about my mother!” Du Chen began to busy himself.

“Oh, by the way, did you see an experimental subject named Arthur? He’s the Lionheart King’s grandson?” Du Chen described Arthur’s appearance as he rummaged.

“Didn’t see anyone like that. There are no survivors up here now!”

Philip’s data was extensive. Du Chen couldn’t sift through it page by page here. He released three Precious Lotuses, which expanded to their largest forms. He then tossed all the data onto them, concealing it close to his body, intending to examine it slowly later.

Looking at the empty laboratory, Flaying said, “Deboning was gravely injured, he can’t do anything to you. For now, you can slowly ‘play’ with him! I’ve been forcibly suppressing my internal injuries, but now…”

Du Chen’s expression changed. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I thought your injuries weren’t serious…”

“Heh heh, it’s nothing. I’ll be fine after a short period of secluded cultivation. However, I can’t protect you recently, so be extra careful yourself, and don’t let go of that necklace!” After a thought, he added, “Before I leave, can you tell me how you managed to restrain Philip’s self-detonation?”

“Damn it, I’d like to know too! First, take a feel of this!” Du Chen unleashed the Lotus Shield.

Deboning studied it carefully. He suddenly said, “This must be the most sacred power of light! I feel an incredibly pure, exceedingly sacred sensation from it. Even the Papal Curia’s temples, dedicated to hundreds of Titled Battle Gods, cannot compare to its aura! It… is like the most vast and holy primal force between heaven and earth… Forgive me, I don’t know how to describe it, nor do I understand what Roland meant by Water’s Embrace Holy Radiance!”

Du Chen rubbed his nose with his thumb, thinking to himself that Celestial Merit accumulated from countless good deeds by ‘Grape’ was naturally the most sacred; there was no doubt about that. But that didn’t explain how it could restrain Philip.

Flaying pondered for a long time, then hesitantly said, “Judging by my abilities, this invisible shield’s defensive power isn’t very strong right now. At most, it can defend against battle qi below level five, but you must never use it to challenge a Battle God above level six. It can’t defend against Battle Souls or high-level Divine Pet abilities!” He paused, then grinned wryly, “However, it possesses the most sacred aura between heaven and earth, making it the bane of all anti-plant primal forces!”

“Anti-plant primal force?”

“Oh, you haven’t learned about this yet. Everything in heaven and earth has two sides, positive and negative. Just like plant-type battle qi; its positive side represents life, but its negative side represents The Undead, or rather, death!”

Du Chen understood this explanation. To put it more plainly, what exactly was ‘Grape’ known for? He was very familiar with the Buddha. And what was the lotus? A symbol of Buddhism. This meant that the Precious Lotus Scripture contained a portion of supreme Buddhist dharma!

Naturally, the most proficient aspect of Buddhist teachings was the salvation of The Undead…

Thinking of this, Du Chen chuckled inwardly. But then he reconsidered: no, it wasn’t just that! Records from his past life indicated that ‘Grape’ wasn’t just skilled in Buddhist practices; he was also highly proficient in Daoist magic. Furthermore, the lotus was arranged in a ‘Bagua’ formation…

So, did the Precious Scroll possess Daoist ghost-catching and talismans, meaning the ability to control and restrain The Undead in the Battle God World!?

He’d have to try it sometime!

Du Chen then took out the small black stone Tyrone had given him. Unfortunately, Flaying also didn’t know what it was, even thinking it was an ordinary stone when he first saw it.

Finally, Flaying placed the little girl back into Du Chen’s arms. “You take care of her for now. After all, she’s the only anomaly on the nineteenth floor. Perhaps we’ll need her to find your mother later!” Du Chen was still hesitating—a man like him taking care of a little girl? Suddenly, Flaying gave Du Chen a forceful push. “You go first, I’ll set this place on fire! I’ll come find you after my secluded cultivation!”

Du Chen was sent out of the nineteenth floor by his palm. Then, he conjured a Precious Lotus, which shrunk in size, and carrying the adorable little one, he flew out of the laboratory.

Not long after, many people were drawn to the vicinity of the Water Pavilion teaching building. “Quick, put out the fire! The Vice Dean’s Alchemy Laboratory is ablaze! Damn it, that’s high-level fire-attributed battle qi!”

Meanwhile, Du Chen was in his own dorm room, looking at the little one in his arms with a worried frown.

Where could he even buy a pacifier?

“Mama!” the little one smiled sweetly at Du Chen, then suddenly buried her head in his chest again.

“How about calling me big brother?”

“Mama!”

“Or how about ‘Daddy’?”

“Mama? Daddy? Daddy!”

“Heavens, Shieb! Get out of the cellar! Go find your master a wet nurse!” Saying this, Du Chen really couldn’t stand the little one’s pestering anymore and promptly pulled her out of his embrace.

“Daddy, don’t want me! Waaah!” The little one burst into tears!

In the tent in front of Dorm Room 18, the Gambler Arges was frowning intently at Bovin, who lay slumped on the ground. “Old Charlatan, all I asked was for you to divine what happened on Mount Tianshan! Did you really have to exhaust yourself to the point of spitting blood?”

“Wine! Get me some wine first to suppress my internal injuries!” Healing injuries with wine? The Old Charlatan’s request was extremely odd. He guzzled a few mouthfuls of wine, then wiped his mouth and said, “Do you even *fucking* know what I divined? We… Listen, here it comes!”

That girl’s wailing was so loud, and the tent wasn’t far from Du Chen’s dorm, the two heard it clearly.

“It’s her!” Bovin said with a solemn expression.

“It’s her?” Jamis was startled. “Are you sure? You couldn’t divine her before!”

“How dare you doubt me!? Humph, I genuinely couldn’t divine her before. But when I was divining what happened on Mount Tianshan, even though my astrology was blocked by Mount Tianshan’s powerful aura, I suddenly discovered that the little girl’s previously vague Star Charts had actually aligned with Francis’s Star Charts! I don’t know why, but her destiny is now tied to Francis!”

Old Bovin smacked his lips mysteriously, baring his full set of large yellow teeth, and sinisterly chuckled, “What are we waiting for?”

Jamis gave a lewd chuckle. “Indeed, what are we waiting for? For art’s sake, let’s go bond with our little brother!”