Chapter 5

The little baby, with its tender and delicate skin, was smooth and translucent, like jelly, and the blood vessels beneath the skin were faintly visible.

He had his eyes closed, but his black hair and long eyelashes had already grown. His two small hands were holding the eggshell, constantly bringing it to his mouth and crunching it with a "crunch, crunch" sound.

He had teeth, white and milky like those of an ordinary child. But how could a newborn baby have a full set of neat, white baby teeth?

Lan Xiao touched the surface of the egg for the first time. It felt slightly warm. Apart from that, he could sense nothing, as if there was no energy within it.

"Heavens! There's only the life energy of a hundred-year-old soul beast left. What should we do?" Nan Cheng asked Lan Xiao anxiously.

Lan Xiao smiled bitterly and said, "What else can we do? It's too bizarre. We'll continue to observe. The child inside the egg is a baby born from an egg. Can you believe it?"

Another researcher beside him said, "Boss, could it be a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast that has reincarnated?"

Lan Xiao opened his mouth to speak, but Nan Cheng reported again, "Ten years, only the energy level of a ten-year-old soul beast is left."

Lan Xiao smiled bitterly and said, "According to the records of ancient soul beasts by the Federation and the data provided by the divine-level soul beasts, after a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast reincarnates, it can at least maintain the energy level of a hundred-year-old soul beast, and it retains its original memory and intelligence. It would never become a baby-sized being, helpless and vulnerable. Generally, it would transform into a child with some self-defense capabilities."

"Crunch!" Another piece, and he continued eating!

"We should take a piece of the eggshell back for research. Nan Cheng, come over and take the baby out. We need to keep the eggshell as proof of our scientific expedition's success." Lan Xiao said to Nan Cheng.

Nan Cheng walked over, and when she saw the baby in the eggshell, her eyes couldn't look away.

The baby was white and tender, slightly chubby, with a round face that was so soft it seemed to burst at the touch. There were two small dimples on his cheeks. He was incredibly adorable. Instantly, her maternal instincts overflowed, and her eyes softened.

Afraid of hurting the baby, she slowly reached out and gently lifted him from the broken eggshell. He wasn't heavy, about six or seven pounds, with a soft, warm body and a faint, sweet fragrance.

Nan Cheng held him carefully in her arms and couldn't help but say softly, "He's so beautiful!"

The other team members also saw him. Wasn't he? The baby was indeed incredibly beautiful and handsome.

Suddenly, the baby's hand paused, reaching out to the surroundings but grabbing nothing. He had finished eating the piece of eggshell in his hand.

"Wah, wah!" He started crying, his loud cries echoing throughout the cabin.

Nan Cheng, who wasn't married and had no children, was startled, and the others were also at a loss.

Lan Xiao, who was about to take the eggshell away, was also stunned.

"Why is he crying?"

Nan Cheng was also flustered, "I didn't hurt him! Ah! It's the eggshell, he must want more. Quickly, give him another piece."

As she spoke, she brought the baby to Lan Xiao. The moment the baby's hand touched the eggshell, his wrist flexed skillfully, grabbed the edge, broke off another piece, and put it in his mouth, crunching away. He stopped crying.

"Wouldn't he cry if you took away his food?" Nan Cheng said, a bit heartbroken.

"This... but we need to do research!" Lan Xiao said helplessly.

Nan Cheng hesitated. She knew the importance of research, and this child, born from an egg, was truly extraordinary, especially since the egg had previously emitted an extremely powerful life energy.

Lan Xiao, who was decisive, thought for a moment and said, "Examine the baby's body, let him continue eating. When he's done, we'll keep a small piece for research."

"Understood!"

The reconnaissance aircraft was equipped with a wide range of experimental devices, especially for testing vital signs, which were as comprehensive as those in a laboratory.

The baby continued to eat "crunch, crunch" happily. In a short while, he had eaten most of the eggshell, and the basic vital sign tests were completed.

Lan Xiao, Nan Cheng, and the researchers looked at all the test data in front of them and were stunned.

It wasn't because the test data was bizarre, but because it was too normal. Just like a normal person.

The data for a normal newborn baby was exactly what he had. And the data was generally in the middle of the normal range. His life energy was also the same as a normal baby, and no soul beast aura was detected. But the baby was very resilient; he didn't even cry when they took a blood sample. Of course, it might also be because he was still eating the eggshell. When his skin was pricked, he just frowned slightly and continued his "crunch, crunch."

"Is this really just a normal child?" Lan Xiao couldn't believe it, and neither could any of the researchers on the aircraft!

A child found in the super-cold ice beneath the extreme north, born from an egg, could be normal? Without any soul beast bloodline, any special energy, or any abnormalities, everything was as normal as it could be. How was this possible?

A normal embryo would have frozen to death in the ice long ago!

But the data couldn't be faked, all the equipment was state-of-the-art. Perhaps the only thing different about this child was that he was too normal. Some normal babies might have slightly lower or higher indicators, but he didn't. He was completely normal.

In summary, this was a healthy, extremely normal human baby.

"Crunch, crunch, crunch!" The baby continued to eat the eggshell, unaware of what was happening.

"What should we do?" Nan Cheng looked at Lan Xiao.

Lan Xiao was also a bit dazed. Originally, everyone, including him, thought this would be a rare discovery, perhaps even a significant achievement that would play a crucial role in the research of ancient soul beasts. But the current situation meant they might face a strange predicament.

"Boss, this is a bit of a problem!" Researcher Chen Wei smiled bitterly, "Not long ago, the Federation severely punished a case of scientific fraud. Even if we had a hundred mouths, we couldn't explain this clearly!"

Scientific fraud was one of the most serious crimes in the Douluo Federation. The reason was simple: a single case of scientific fraud could bring catastrophic disaster to the Federation, or even to humanity. The punishment for scientific fraud varied depending on the severity, and it was one of the few crimes in the Federation that could be punishable by death. This was a constant reminder to researchers not to be overly ambitious for the sake of rich rewards. Before having absolute confidence, they should never hastily report research results, or they would face serious trouble if accused of fraud.

Another researcher, Li Tingyin, said, "It's not that bad, we still have the eggshell, right?"

Chen Wei smiled bitterly, "That's our only hope. We hope to find something special on the eggshell. Otherwise..."

Lan Xiao understood his meaning. Otherwise, today's discovery would be a false joy.