Chapter 6

"Wow, wow, wow!" The deafening cries echoed continuously within the cabin.

It was truly deafening! Even noise-canceling headphones couldn't completely block it out.

At first, Lan Xiao planned to keep one-third of the eggshell, but the baby that hatched from the egg cried so hard, with a voice that was hoarse and desperate. Nan Cheng couldn't bear it and gave the baby more to eat. As long as it ate, it wouldn't cry.

When the eggshell was reduced to one-fifth, the baby started crying again. The cries were loud and clear, like those of a tenor opera singer.

One-sixth, one-seventh, one-eighth, ... one-tenth!

In the end, one-tenth of the eggshell was retained, which was the limit. This wasn't something Lan Xiao could decide alone; he had to be responsible for the entire team. So, he had to harden his heart and let the baby cry without giving it more to eat.

Nan Cheng understood his decision. After all, they were scientists. Although she often looked at Lan Xiao with her tearful, beautiful eyes, she didn't ask for the baby to continue eating.

Initially, they thought the baby would stop crying once it was tired. But who knew, it had a special talent! Despite crying until its voice was hoarse, it didn't stop. The cries were extremely piercing, and it cried for three days and three nights.

In three days, the reconnaissance aircraft had completed its mission in the far north, but the scientific team was extremely exhausted. No one could rest properly with the baby's cries, whether meditating or sleeping.

The reconnaissance aircraft had a dedicated rest room, but even the metal door couldn't block out the cries. So, when the plane started its return journey and entered automatic cruise mode, everyone was extremely tired.

Nan Cheng's mind was filled with the baby's cries. She took care of the baby every day, but it wouldn't drink water or eat anything, just cry. This left Nan Cheng both physically and mentally exhausted and helpless.

"Put him in the protective shield on the experimental table and get some sleep. The shield has better soundproofing, and it's safe inside; he can't get out," Lan Xiao said, looking at Nan Cheng's pale face with concern.

"Okay." Nan Cheng was also at her limit.

The protective shield did have some effect on soundproofing; the cries were reduced, and everyone felt a sense of relief. Except for the pilot who needed to stay alert to avoid any issues with the cruise, everyone else soon fell asleep.

They were extremely tired from the past few days, and with the main work completed, they naturally relaxed and easily entered a state of rest. Soon, including Lan Xiao, everyone was deeply asleep.

"Wow, wow, wow..." The baby continued to cry, its beautiful big eyes full of委屈 (grievance).

The remaining one-tenth of the eggshell was also placed in another protective shield on the experimental table. The shield was in a vacuum and low-temperature state to preserve its quality. They would conduct comprehensive analysis and research using large instruments upon returning to the ancient soul beast research institute.

Meditating with the cries was difficult and risky, so Lan Xiao, Nan Cheng, and the others chose to sleep. They slept deeply, and the cabin gradually became quiet, except for the baby's loud, intermittent cries.

The pilot was driving the plane, and the cruise system was working normally. After leaving the far north, the plane immediately ascended to the stratosphere at an altitude of ten thousand meters. At this speed, it would take about seven to eight hours to return to the base airport, marking the end of their expedition.

The pilot yawned; he had also been harassed by the cries and was extremely tired. After checking the cruise system and protective systems again and confirming there were no issues, he closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep.

Modern soul-guided reconnaissance aircraft were highly advanced. If the cruise system malfunctioned, it would immediately alarm. Besides, it was rare for any problems to occur.

The breathing sounds in the cabin became noticeably calmer, of course, except for the baby who continued to cry. On the remaining one-tenth of the eggshell, the gold and silver patterns flickered faintly. No one noticed that with the baby's cries, the frequency of the light on the eggshell began to change subtly.

Whenever the cries were loudest, the gold and silver patterns would shine the brightest, and when the cries weakened, the light would dim.

Gradually, the eggshell became transparent in response to the cries, and tiny cracks appeared on its surface, initially very fine but continuously developing.

With a "ding" sound, the eggshell quietly shattered, not into pieces but into a fine powder, a beam of light.

The gold and silver light easily penetrated the protective shield and entered the baby's mouth and nose, and the cries finally stopped.

The entire cabin finally became peaceful. The baby, after the gold and silver light entered, finally fell into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time...

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!" A low hum resonated within the cabin, gradually waking the sleeping passengers.

"Hmm, what a comfortable sleep! Is this the descent signal? Are we almost there?" Nan Cheng opened her eyes groggily, looking at the signal at the front of the cabin in surprise.

The pilot had already woken up and smiled, "Yes, we're almost there. We're descending now."

Nan Cheng suddenly felt something was different. Instinctively, she looked at the experimental table nearby.

The small baby was curled up, its tender skin glowing softly, looking small and a bit lonely.

Nan Cheng instinctively thought, "Where are his parents? They must miss him too."

"Hey!" She suddenly realized what was different; the baby wasn't crying anymore.

Nan Cheng quickly stood up and went to the baby. Its little chest rose and fell with each breath, and its pink face occasionally moved, even with a sweet smile.

Is it really sleeping? Nan Cheng felt relieved.

"Hmm, are we almost there?" Lan Xiao stretched and stood up.

"Lan Xiao, come here, look, he's not crying. He looks so cute when he's not crying!" Nan Cheng said with a smile.

"Not crying? Yes, that's why we could sleep so long." Lan Xiao smiled, then instinctively turned his head to the other side, and his gaze froze.

"Where's the eggshell? Where is it?" He suddenly turned around, staring at Nan Cheng.

"Ah?" Nan Cheng was taken aback and looked at the place where the eggshell was stored. Indeed, it was gone without a trace.

"It's not me, I didn't do it!" Nan Cheng quickly explained, panicking.

At this moment, the others also woke up, noticed the missing eggshell, and quickly gathered around.

Lan Xiao gestured to Nan Cheng, "Don't panic. If you say it's not you, it's not. Opening the protective shield leaves a record. Let's check if it was opened."

Nan Cheng finally relaxed. Yes! Opening the experimental table's protective shield would leave a record, and each person had a different password. However, she was pleased that Lan Xiao trusted her first, and she instinctively relaxed. But where was the eggshell?

The cabin's surveillance system quickly provided the answer.

When everyone looked at each other and finally focused their gaze on Lan Xiao, he smiled bitterly, "Don't look at me. I can't do anything about it. It's really gone without a trace."