Ding Yao’s thoughts were organized in a particular order: survival > safety ≥ interest > everything else. In his desperate situation, where he could barely survive on his own, he realized that this girl was his only support. He struggled to control himself, not wanting to become her “burden” or “trouble,” fearing that she might abandon him if he did.
Especially considering that the girl was clearly working hard to make a living. For Ding Yao, aside from his hunger, everything else should be within “tolerable” limits. For instance, the discomfort of a newborn dealing with dry stools due to improper feeding.
While the girl was busy mining and digging, he silently worked hard, using the willpower of a man, and after a considerable time, he was finally able to relieve himself.
He let out a long breath. In the midst of the clanging sounds, a small movement of an infant's mouth could be seen briefly.
There’s a characteristic to baby boys: they often urinate first before defecating, and after finishing, they tend to release a bit more urine after a few seconds. Ding Yao was no exception. Before the diaper could absorb this additional urine, it dribbled onto the fresh stool.
It was uncomfortable, but Ding Yao felt he could endure it. He didn’t want to disturb the girl, who was working so hard.
Hours passed, and when they returned to their cave, Han Yanyan finally remembered to change Ding Yao’s diaper and clean him up. She casually remarked, “So red…” as she lifted his little legs, exposing his rosy bottom, poking it a couple of times. This time, she overlooked the little cluster of purple grapes in between.
Ding Yao felt a sense of numbness inside.
Neither of them, with their lack of parenting experience, realized they were facing the intensely frustrating issue of a baby’s red bottom.
Back at their “home,” Ding Yao finally dared to voice his needs. He cried to attract Han Yanyan’s attention, but when she fed him rice soup, he pushed the nipple away with his tongue and lips—of course, it didn’t come out. Han Yanyan simply stuffed the nipple back into his mouth.
But Ding Yao was stubborn and refused to drink. When Han Yanyan finally pulled the bottle away, he sobbed again. This happened several times, and eventually, Han Yanyan understood that he wanted water and offered him some.
He gulped it down eagerly, making gulping noises as he swallowed. He was aware of his own bowel movements now and tried to regulate himself. The only solution was to drink plenty of water.
“I’m sorry, baby. Mommy is so silly. I thought drinking rice soup would be enough.” The girl expressed her apology.
Who are you, Mommy!
Ding Yao’s heart was filled with confusion.
Even amid the chaos of the apocalypse, facing the relentless pursuit of the corpse emperor and hordes of zombies, Ding Yao never lost his cool like this. At that time, he had dual powers and was strong enough to handle anything.
But now, he was so weak that he couldn’t even manage a bottle.
This weakness made him feel troubled.
Grow up faster, he silently urged himself, quickly!
With sufficient supplies secured, Han Yanyan hadn’t gone out in the past two days. After getting up, she would take Ding Yao down the mine for long stretches, sometimes lasting over ten hours. She would only change his diaper once at noon.
Resources were limited, and everything had to be used sparingly. Ding Yao, too, kept quiet even when he needed to relieve himself, leaving him simmering in discomfort until his tender bottom became raw.
After a tiring day, when the girl cleaned him up again, she exclaimed in surprise, “How did this happen?”
With a heavy hand, she accidentally caused Ding Yao’s bottom to quiver in pain, and for the first time, his eyes, which had remained tightly shut, opened wide.
Ding Yao was eager to understand the environment around him. Without powers or strength, he felt that gaining information was the only way to find some safety.
Unfortunately, a newborn's vision is only one-thirtieth that of an adult’s, with a mere forty-five-degree field of view. He could only see objects or faces about twenty to thirty centimeters away from him, unable to look up, down, or sideways.
In other words, although Ding Yao opened his eyes, everything was still a blur.
He heard the girl suddenly let out an “Oh,” and she set his little legs down. Then, a giant head appeared before him, featuring two eyes, one nose, and a mouth. The distorted view due to his limited eyesight made it look like a gigantic monster.
Having witnessed zombies in the apocalypse, Ding Yao’s heart skipped a beat! But soon he realized it was Han Yanyan leaning down to look at him.
It was quite normal; some newborns’ heads were not even as big as an adult's fist. In comparison, Ding Yao felt a strong sense of his own smallness.
The blurred and distorting head drew back. Han Yanyan exclaimed, “Wow, the baby opened his eyes!” Were you perhaps glued shut with eye boogers? After taking care of you for four days, you finally opened them.
Han Yanyan loosened her clothes and tucked the smooth Ding Yao into her embrace.
“Cold, poor thing,” she said.
Of course, it was chilly since she hadn’t wrapped him back up after cleaning him!
Ding Yao was too exhausted to complain. Since he couldn’t see anything clearly anyway, he simply pressed his face against her warm chest. Skin touching skin, warmth was transmitted. To his surprise, he felt an indescribable comfort.
Being so small, he couldn’t discern whether the person was beautiful or ugly. This warmth had nothing to do with gender; it was simply a feeling of … comfort and relaxation.
The girl gently supported his soft neck and softly patted him, whispering, “In the past, Dad told me that when I was little, Mama held me like this…”
Her voice faded away, and silence filled the cave, punctuated only by the faint sound of airflow through the tunnel.
“But I don’t remember her,” the girl suddenly said softly. “She died not long after I was born, just like your mother.”
That’s fine, Ding Yao thought. Perhaps her “father” had also died, leaving her alone. When she met him, it sparked her sympathy and compassion. Or perhaps it was loneliness that made her need company. Regardless of her reasons, they formed the foundation for his survival.
He wished he could think more, deeper, and further. But her warm body made his eyelids heavy, and his head began to feel fuzzy, fatigue overtaking him.
Drowsily, he heard her say, “Your mother discarded you with the garbage. She must have come from a faraway place. So, let's call you Xiaoyao.”
“Xiaoyao,” she gently patted him. “Now you have a name. Aren’t you happy?”
“It was Mommy who gave you the name!” she said while rubbing his little bottom.
Happy? That’s a joke. And… who are you, Mommy! Ding Yao protested with a soft “Mm mm” from his nose before drifting off to sleep.
Due to his sore bottom, both Ding Yao and Han Yanyan were just beginning to realize how fragile newborns could be.
Han Yanyan calculated in her heart, thinking it was necessary to be careful at this stage; she must not slip up. One careless move could cause Duke Kelin to perish in infancy, and that would spell disaster for the world. If that happened, they might have to restart everything, which would likely cause her attendants to lose faith in her.
The next day, she didn’t go down the tunnel to mine. She told Ding Yao, “Xiaoyao hasn’t seen the sun in two days. Daddy said babies should get more sunlight. Today, Mommy won’t work; let’s take Xiaoyao out to bask in the sun.”
Ding Yao thought to himself how cold it was outside, and what good was sunbathing? He was in no condition to be neglected; being cold and hot made him feel miserable. Plus, his bottom was still sore.
However, Han Yanyan didn’t put a diaper on him this time.
“Let’s wrap Xiaoyao in a cloth. That way, if you wet yourself, Mommy will know,” she said gently. “Don’t be afraid; it will get better soon. Mommy once had her face frozen and rotten, but then she got better.”
Although she said they would “bask in the sun,” she packed a bunch of things and took Ding Yao on the mine cart deeper underground.
The cart wove through the winding tunnel, and it was clear that Han Yanyan was very familiar with the area, not getting lost at all.
Finally, she led Ding Yao to a larger, natural cave, which was not only spacious but also bright with sunlight streaming in from an opening above.
Han Yanyan set up something in the sunlight and fiddled with it a bit until it inflated—an air mattress for camping. Next, she set a heater next to the mattress, and once it warmed up, she placed Ding Yao on it, bare as could be, to soak up the sun.
“Little bottom needs more sunlight,” she mumbled, flipping him over so he lay on his stomach, his little rear in the air like a little frog soaking up the sun.
Once she finished, she savored the sight. It truly looked beautiful.
“Oh, Xiaoyao is just too adorable! Mommy wants to record your cuteness to show you when you grow up!” Han Yanyan said with a smile, revealing her silly side to Ding Yao.
Stop it!
Ding Yao felt a surge of annoyance, but he was too weak to even turn over, let alone lift his neck. He could only clench his little fists tightly.
Leo and his attendant rushed in, directly transitioning from Han Yanyan’s bath to this scene.
Light streamed into their pupils, transmitted through the optic nerves to the brain, where it was processed and reconstructed. In both of their minds, they were now “standing” next to Ding Yao, witnessing Duke Kelin’s defiled little bottom with sore skin, while Han Yanyan gleefully recorded the moment…
Despite Ding Yao simply closing his eyes and clenching his fists, the attendant somehow read the feelings of “no longer caring about life” and “heart dead as ash” on the baby’s face. He silently turned to look at Han Yanyan, who was happily recording.
Just hours ago, she had been playing a thrilling game of deception with Leo, where truth and lies intertwined, keeping them on edge.
This woman, this woman…
The attendant sighed softly, rubbing his forehead in frustration, before finally addressing Leo. “Withdraw from monitoring.”
Leo looked displeased and asked, “What’s going on now?”
The attendant didn’t answer for a moment; then, a few knocks sounded on his operation cabin. Upon opening the hatch, he found the attendant had exited the operation cabin.
“Let’s stop monitoring for now,” the attendant said. “The duke is still a baby, and there’s no point in keeping watch. Are you sure she can’t harm the duke in the ‘world’?”
“Of course!” Leo replied impatiently. “How many times do you need to ask this? She can’t harm him. Even if she kills him in the world, it doesn't matter as long as it doesn't trigger his ‘true self’ connection. If he loses the link to the source of his mental power, the world will be severed.”
He paused, saying, “She’d only be able to harm his mental power source if she unleashed her own powers. Heh…”
The malice in his laughter was evident. Once awake, if the attendant hadn’t stopped him, he would have adjusted the suppressant in Han Yanyan’s stasis chamber to the highest level she could endure. It wouldn’t kill her, but it would definitely make her uncomfortable.
After dealing with him for so long, the attendant had grown accustomed to Leo’s dark side. He asked, “The duke won’t retain memory upon waking, are you sure about that?”
“Why are you so annoying!” Leo snapped, frustrated that he couldn’t observe what Han Yanyan was doing. He was even more irritable than Ding Yao. “I’ve said it several times! In the world, there’s only a remnant consciousness tied to the source of mental power! If he had been dead, he would remember, but since he only has residual awareness left, it’s different! Your master is dead; he still has a physical body! If he comes back to life, that residual awareness will merge with his subconscious, and he won’t know a lick about what transpired in the world!”
“Then that’s fine,” the attendant nodded and commanded, “Let him go back to rest.”
“Hey! Hey hey!” Leo was pulled out by a soldier and flailed wildly, “Rest my foot! I just woke up! Hey! Hey…”
The attendant ignored him. He lit a cigarette and leaned against the operation cabin, smoking.
Not being able to retain memories was a relief. That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about being silenced for witnessing Duke Kelin’s bottom exposed to the world.