In the year 3333 of the New Era, Earth was destroyed by one natural disaster after another. Humanity had long since crossed the Milky Way and found new habitable planets, where people continued to multiply and thrive with technology beyond imagination.
The new generation of humans had never lived on Earth, yet they knew everything about it by heart.
It all began fifty years ago, when scientists developed the first Super AI.
The Super AI controlled the Empire’s data and the operation of every system involved in people’s daily lives. Its greatest strength lay in its ability to calculate everything independently.
Its emergence accelerated scientific progress. Before long, building on the scientists’ research, it completed the technology for traversing space and time on its own.
Transmigration technology caused a sensation for a time. As the years passed, it developed from sending Taskers to various parallel planes to collect historical data and scientific samples into the specialized entertainment Taskers that existed today.
Livestreams such as “Dating Historical Figures” and “How to Cultivate Ten Thousand Li of Fertile Farmland for the First Emperor” were common themes. The Taskers had enough time to learn everything they wanted to know.
In all the years since the Super AI came into existence, it had never malfunctioned.
But today, a livestream room that clearly did not belong in its assigned category broke that record.
A male streamer who had always used his livestreams to fight the forces of darkness spent a huge sum to post on the public screen, accusing an unknown force of stealing his livestream room. The Super AI was actually unable to forcibly shut it down and could only let it shamelessly remain in the livestream listings.
Large numbers of netizens were drawn in by this novelty and noticed the strange livestream room. The staff monitoring the broadcasts also discovered it immediately and submitted it to the Super AI for analysis.
A moment later, the Super AI gave its answer.
【No viruses or signs of human interference detected. Everything is normal.】
Unwilling to give up, the staff personally used the backend detection function. The result matched the Super AI’s conclusion; they could not find anything wrong.
Puzzled, he asked, “How could this happen for no reason? Apply to have the livestream device recalled immediately.”
【Application denied. According to Article Eight of the Empire’s Personal Protection Act, because it cannot be determined whether the person involved is suspected of fraud or other improper conduct, the AI is not authorized to punish her on its own.】
The staff member frowned. Changing the Super AI’s permissions required the Emperor’s fingerprints, irises, blood, a verbal passphrase, and a whole series of other instructions.
There was no need to escalate such a minor matter to that level.
He looked at the livestream still playing on the public screen, then at Huahua’s innocent little face, and decided to report the matter first.
If the other party had some ulterior motive, she would eventually reveal a flaw. Besides, he had reported it, so he would have an explanation if anything went wrong.
And so, the masses of viewers waiting for an answer received an official reply:
Due to magnetic interference, the livestream device was accidentally bound to a native child from Earth. According to the law, the livestream device could not be forcibly reclaimed while the native child had committed no offense. Therefore, the livestream room would remain active.
【This kind of accident is incredibly rare. Huahua really is one lucky little cub.】
【Exactly! The first cub streamer in the livestream room! I’m so excited, so excited! I’m going to raise this cub online and teach her to become the best person she can be.】
【Me too! From today onward, I’m Huahua’s mommy!】
【I just finished watching the recording, and that old woman nearly made me furious! I hope cute little Huahua is all right.】
【We’ll know tonight.】
***
The hospital.
Mu Qingrou stared at the doctor in disbelief for a long while before asking through trembling lips, “Doctor, did you take the wrong scan? How could my daughter have a tumor?”
The elderly doctor, whose hair was thinning in a Mediterranean style, told Mu Qingrou to calm down. Then he pointed to the area of the brain on the CT scan.
“I wish it were a mistake too. I specifically went to confirm it, and this is indeed your child’s scan. Do you see these densely packed white spots, each about the size of an insect egg? Those are the tumors.”
Mu Qingrou covered her mouth with both hands. Her heart raced, her hands and feet went weak, and her face turned as pale as a ghost.
The medical assistant beside her stepped forward with practiced ease and pressed the acupressure point between her thumb and forefinger to help her relax.
“Miss Mu, take a deep breath!”
Mu Qingrou finally managed to catch her breath. With tears clouding her eyes, she grabbed the elderly doctor’s hand and spoke incoherently.
“How could this happen? My Huahua is still so young. Doctor, please save her. We’ll treat her—we’ll treat her no matter how difficult it is.”
The doctor sighed and told her to calm down again. He spoke frankly, but tactfully.
“This is the first case of this kind of tumor distribution our hospital has ever seen. We can’t determine the symptoms yet; we need time to observe her.”
“There are too many tumors, and each one is too small. With our hospital’s current technology, we can’t perform an operation like this. I suggest that you take your child to a major hospital in the capital. They may have a doctor capable of performing the surgery.”
Mu Qingrou had no idea how she left the office. Like a walking corpse, she followed the stairs to the deserted top floor of the hospital. No longer able to withstand the devastating blow, she covered her mouth and began to sob uncontrollably.
“Why did it have to be Huahua? Heaven, why are you so cruel? Sob, sob… What am I supposed to do?”
“My Huahua, how are you going to live? What is Mommy supposed to do? Sob, sob… What is Mommy supposed to do?”
The woman’s muffled sobs carried far. Those who heard them were already accustomed to it. Hospitals were places that witnessed suffering every day, so everyone merely quickened their steps as they left.
***
Huahua had already woken up in the hospital room. She was not afraid even though she could not see Mommy. She was gazing up at the light screen that had been following her the whole time.
She had already confirmed that she was the only one who could see the light screen. On the way to the hospital, the moment she woke up, she had asked Mommy to look at it, but Mommy could not see anything at all.
At that moment, strings of text began scrolling across the light screen again.
【Are there any medical students here? Quickly tell me what illness the cumbersome machine showed when Huahua was being examined!】
【You may not believe this, but Huahua has tumors in her brain. With this world’s medical technology, they certainly can’t determine the illness, but I just asked my mentor. Its scientific name is Tosomofel tumor[1]a fictional medical condition created for the story. It is not a recognized real-world disease or tumor jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3510528_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3510528_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, an extremely rare disease.
The tumors, each about the size of an insect egg, press on certain mysterious cranial nerves. As a result, everyone with this disease develops an extraordinary talent, such as being a musical prodigy, a great artist, or having eyes that can see through things. So Huahua has a superpower!】
【Ahhh, I know about this! It’s the disease I want more than anything! No wonder Huahua gets headaches. That happens when her emotions become unstable. We have to provide Huahua with an even better environment to grow up in, or her headaches might make her irritable and prone to anger.】
【Jealousy has made me ugly inside and out. So what’s Huahua’s superpower?】
【We still need to observe her for a while.】
【Huahua really is such a quiet little cub.】
Huahua could understand every word, but with the mind of a three-year-old, she still could not understand what a superpower was. It seemed that it was not a serious illness, and she did not need to take medicine, at least.
She had never considered asking about it. Her subconscious strongly rejected this method of communication, so she simply pretended she could not understand.
She silently looked away. A little bored, she climbed off the hospital bed and sat up properly, her large eyes sweeping around the room.
It was a three-person hospital room, but the other two patients were not there. Huahua withdrew her gaze, feeling somewhat bored.
Then her little ears suddenly twitched. Following the direction the sound came from, she looked toward the neighboring bed.
There was clearly nothing there, yet she kept hearing a voice speaking.
She listened more carefully, and the childish voice sounded again.
“So~ hun~gry~”
Huahua’s eyes widened slightly. As if she had discovered something fun, she excitedly climbed out of bed barefoot and ran over. Her large eyes locked onto a palm-sized little turtle lying still inside a small water container.
“Little Turtle, are you the one speaking?”
The little turtle poked its head a little farther out of its shell and continued speaking slowly.
“So~ hun~gry~”
“It really is you!”
Huahua’s mouth opened into a round shape in delight. She thought the talking little turtle was incredibly interesting.
She hurriedly used the fish food beside it to feed the turtle a little. The little turtle happily paddled its short limbs after the food and ate it.
Huahua watched without blinking, paying even less attention to the light screen. As a result, she had no idea that the viewers were even more excited than she was.
【Ahhh! So Huahua’s superpower is animal telepathy? No wonder those chickens, ducks, and geese attacked that hateful old woman earlier!】
【I’m so jealous! I want to know what all those cute furry creatures are saying too. If I had this skill, I’d be so popular on Beastman Planet!】
The viewers were envious and jealous, laughing as they imagined what they would do if they had superpowers. Then, all of a sudden, a dazzling golden ID appeared abruptly on the light screen.
【Oh my god! I know who Huahua is!】
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