IBO – Chapter 28 A Strange Dream

This novel contains sensitive and taboo content like R*pe, Mu**er etc. Read only if you are comfortable.

[Normal Timeline] (Interstellar Baby Orphanage)

Song Yiran sneezed and muttered softly, “That’s strange… is someone talking about me?”

In any case, it was almost time for dinner, so he should go prepare tonight’s meal first. After all, he now had four cubs plus one system to support.

Thinking of the fourth cub who was still lying in the medical pod, Song Yiran couldn’t help but sigh. He wondered when Little Four would finally be able to come out.

“Ah—if only this society could…”

“…forget it. No point thinking about it. I’d better go cook.”

Song Yiran first went to the cubs’ room to make sure every cub was present, then went to his own room to check on Little Four, who was still undergoing treatment in the medical pod.

After confirming that all four cubs were accounted for—not one more, not one less—Song Yiran finally relaxed. He put on his apron and began preparing dinner.

Today, he planned to make crucian carp tofu soup, tomato-and-egg noodles, and braised pork.

If you wanted crucian carp tofu soup with a milky-white broth, you had to first pan-fry the fish until both sides were golden, then add it to the pot to simmer. That way, the soup would turn a rich milky white.

When Song Yiran was little, he loved this kind of fish soup most. He used to pester the adults to make it for him every day. This little secret for cooking fish soup was taught to him by his dad.

Tomato-and-egg noodles were very easy to make. First, boil the noodles, then take them out and set them aside. After that, stir-fry a pan of tomatoes and eggs, and once done, pour it directly over the noodles. Simple as that.

And just like that, the Song family’s secret tomato-and-egg noodles were complete.

Braised pork was today’s main attraction. He planned to make extra, since they had taken in two more cubs today. This progress was truly worth celebrating—if things kept going at this pace, it wouldn’t be long before all the cubs of the orphanage were finally gathered.

Besides, Xiao Zhong’er had worked hard too and deserved to eat more.

Song Buli was awakened by the aroma of dinner.

He groggily climbed out of bed, then, with his eyes closed, wobbled unsteadily toward the kitchen, following the scent. “Mmm… so sleepy… smells so good… food, I want food…”

At this point, Song Buli’s brain hadn’t fully woken up yet. While fighting off his drowsiness, he followed the smell purely by instinct.

Because his mind wasn’t awake and his eyes were still shut, all four of his limbs went in different directions as he walked, and he nearly tied himself into a knot.

Song Xiuhu and Song Fu were no better. They also crawled out of bed in a daze and stumbled toward the kitchen along the smell, tripping left foot over right foot.

All three cubs looked like their limbs had been borrowed and were due back urgently—tripping over themselves while still moving quickly toward the kitchen.

Still half-asleep and with their limbs extremely uncoordinated, the cubs bumped into one another.

And so, inevitably, they ended up tangled together.

Yet even after turning into a ball, they did not give up their obsession with food.

So when Song Yiran finished cooking and turned around to take off his apron, what he saw was exactly this scene—

Three cubs with their limbs hopelessly tangled together, forming a single ball.

That ball was slowly rolling toward him, and one mouth opened wide, letting out a desperate cry for food: “Food, I want food, food…”

Song Yiran sucked in a sharp breath. What in the world was this indescribable thing?

The scene before him was far too bizarre. He couldn’t accept it—he felt his SAN value plummeting.

Taking a deep breath, Song Yiran forced himself to calm down. These were his own cubs. There was nothing to be afraid of. They were just… tangled into a ball, that’s all.

He rubbed his temples and carefully tried to distinguish which part of the ball was a head and which was a tail.

At this exact moment, the three cubs finally woke up—but they still hadn’t realized their current situation. So they all spoke at the same time, each saying their own thing.

Song Fu: “Food, food!”

Song Buli: “Brother! What are we eating today?”

Song Xiuhu: “Brother, I’m hungry~”

And so Song Yiran witnessed the following scene—

That indescribable ball suddenly opened six eyes and then opened two more mouths. Three mouths were talking at once, and every single one of them was demanding food.

His head hurt so much.

Song Yiran kept reminding himself over and over in his heart: They’re my own cubs. My own cubs. Endure it.

At this moment, the three cubs also realized their predicament. They tried to pull their limbs free, but not only could they not find the right way, they ended up getting even more tightly tangled.

So they all turned for help to the reliable big brother in their hearts.

Song Buli: “Brother! My paws won’t come out~”

Song Xiuhu: “Me too, me too! My paws are stuck too!”

Song Fu’s eyes once again started drawing pie charts. With three parts panic, four parts fear, and three parts pitifulness in his gaze, he said, “And… me as well…”

Thus, Song Yiran watched as that indescribable fluffy ball-shaped thing kept wriggling and rolling back and forth around the kitchen, with all six eyes on it staring at him pitifully.

His stomach started to hurt.

But in the end, they were still his own cubs. It was fine. They were just wriggling around in the kitchen.

It was fine—who didn’t have some dark history as a kid? It was fine. Once he pried these cubs apart, they’d still be good cubs.

Song Yiran was doing mental preparation for himself, trying to muster the courage to rescue the three cubs from that constantly wriggling, indescribable fluffy ball.

But when he finally finished his mental preparation and was about to save them, that indescribable fluffy ball had already wriggled its way to his pant leg.

Goosebumps erupted all over Song Yiran’s body. He hurriedly said, “Wait, wait—don’t rush, don’t come over yet! Stop there for a moment, brother will separate you right away—”

It was already too late.

That indescribable fluffy ball had impatiently rolled onto him, and he was knocked down onto the floor along with it.

Song Yiran could feel that bizarre sensation coming from his body. A mass of fluffy ball-shaped… something that simply couldn’t be described in human language was continuously wriggling and rolling over him.

He could even see the three mouths on that indescribable fluffy ball opening and closing as they asked him for help. All six eyes were looking at him expectantly.

Song Yiran let out a sigh. “You guys…”

Then he reached out and dismantled that indescribable fluffy ball into three separate cubs.

The three cubs finally regained their freedom. The sudden joy made them release their instincts completely.

Song Buli happily rolled around on Song Yiran’s stomach, rolling back and forth to express his delight at being rescued.

Song Xiuhu joined in as well, rolling back and forth together with Song Buli.

Song Fu hesitated a bit at first, but seeing that he was the only one left out, he finally joined the rolling-on-the-belly army too—with four parts reserve, three parts shyness, and three parts excitement in his eyes.

As for Song Yiran, he was now in a strangely mixed state of sweetness and suffering.

Each cub on its own was very small, but all three together put a bit of a burden on a belly that hadn’t been trained much.

And with all three cubs rolling back and forth on his stomach, the impact on his abdomen became even greater.

But—these were three fluffy ones! Genuine, authentic fluffies! That wonderful texture, the sensation of their warm fur rolling over his body, made it impossible for him to stop.

If the world didn’t have fluffies anymore, what meaning would there be left?

This world can’t exist without fluffies!

Song Yiran was already completely immersed in the gentle embrace of all that fluffiness, wearing a blissful expression as he enjoyed it. His hands kept moving nonstop—petting this one for a bit, then that one.

When it was time for dinner, Song Yiran felt that this was a good opportunity and said, “Little ones, tonight our courtyard is going to be renovated.”

Song Fu was still burying his head in his food. Song Buli and Song Xiuhu looked up, and Song Buli asked, “Brother, what does ‘renovation’ mean?”

Song Xiuhu echoed him, “Yeah, what does ‘renovation’ mean?”

Song Yiran explained in a way that children could understand: “It means replacing some things in the courtyard with new ones. For example, changing to a new gate—a gate that looks nicer and is sturdier.”

“For example, rebuilding the surrounding wall a bit taller and painting it with pretty colors, so it looks nicer overall.”

Song Buli and Song Xiuhu more or less understood what “renovation” meant and nodded one after another.

Song Buli: “‘Renovation’ means a pretty gate!”

Song Xiuhu: “There’ll be a pretty wall!”

Song Fu was still burying his head in his food.

Song Yiran continued, “But renovation means a lot of workers will come over. If you’re scared, you can go back to your rooms early after dinner.”

Hearing that many people would be coming, Song Buli and Song Xiuhu both stiffened for a moment.

Wuwuwu, they didn’t want to see strangers.

So the two little ones exchanged a look, then nodded firmly and started eating with their heads down, determined to finish early and get back to their rooms as soon as possible.

After dinner, the two little ones flew off, dragging along Song Fu—who had missed the whole conversation—and went back to their room.

Song Yiran looked at the three little ones’ retreating backs with amusement. “These kids…”

He suddenly thought of how, when he was little and his mom and dad weren’t home, whenever someone came knocking at the door, he would also pretend that no one was home and be too scared to open it.

Seeing that the little ones had all left, Xiao Zhong’er also slipped out of the system space and began to dig in heartily to the dinner Song Yiran had specially saved for him.

“Man, don’t think you can buy me off with just one meal. I still remember you saying my name was Zhong’er!”

Xiao Zhong’er chewed on a piece of braised pork while angrily bringing up old scores. “You were the one who gave me that name, and then you turn around and say it’s Xiao Zhong’er. You’re really too much!”

Song Yiran guiltily rubbed his nose. “I don’t know why either—there’s still a small part of my memories that haven’t recovered. Maybe that’s the reason.”

“I’m sorry~~ my dear, wonderful system. Please forgive me this once~”

Song Yiran shamelessly launched into full-on cutesy mode. “I was wrong. I won’t call you Xiao Zhong’er anymore~ Please be magnanimous and forgive me~”

Watching Song Yiran wriggle around like a giant fuzzy caterpillar, pinching his voice into something strange while acting cute at him, Xiao Zhong’er felt that his eyes had suffered a serious assault—if electronic eyes could even be considered eyes.

“Help, you’ve already blinded me. Compared to me, you’re the real idiot, aren’t you?!”

Xiao Zhong’er felt like he’d aged ten years all at once and completely gave up resisting. “Forget it, I’m begging you—I forgive you. Just stop wriggling around!”

“You can keep calling me ‘Xiao Zhong’er.’ I’m already used to it anyway.”

After returning to their room, the three little ones began to find things to do. Song Buli lay prone on the floor, playing with his little pinwheel, having a great time.

At such a young age, Song Xiuhu was already showing the traits of a top student. He sat at his desk, silently reciting in his mind the vocabulary he had learned that day.

As for Song Fu, he lay on his small bed, touching the little bell around his neck as he fell asleep.

He dreamed of that place again.

On a hillside stood a towering tree, its branches and leaves luxuriant. Beneath the tree was an enormous beast-form being. Just one of its claws was bigger than five of him put together.

“Who are you?” Song Fu asked.

“I am the king of the beast-form beings,” said the beast-form being, lowering its head to look at the tiny figure before it.