Chapter 8
Su Ci studied the child, puzzled.
“Only newly born spirits, without a solid form, are invisible and untouchable. But your body has normal physiological signs… how strange.”
He murmured to himself but didn’t dwell on it.
After all, the world was full of things he hadn’t encountered before. And having been asleep for ten thousand years, it was only natural for new and unfamiliar phenomena to have emerged during his absence.
When the child finished the nutritional liquid, he carefully placed the glass back on the coffee table. Then he stood there, reserved and obedient, gazing at Su Ci.
“You’ve gone too long without eating. You can’t overdo it all at once.”
Su Ci glanced at the glass, intending to take it to the sink, when his gaze caught the black handprint left on it.
He paused, looking at the child’s hands, then at his body, which looked as if it hadn’t been washed in centuries. Suppressing a grimace, he held his breath.
“Come with me.”
Su Ci rose and headed toward the bathroom.
During his initial inspection of the room, he had only glanced briefly at the layout. Now, he took a closer look at the “bathroom” of this future world.
The walls retained a somewhat cold metallic tone.
The floor was a smooth, tile-like material. With the heater running at night, the flooring was warm, making it comfortable to walk on barefoot.
Following the instructions that surfaced in his mind, Su Ci approached the bathtub and adjusted settings on a virtual panel that appeared. Warm water began to flow automatically through the pipes, filling the tub.
“Splash, splash—”
The child trailed behind Su Ci, peeking into the bathroom from the doorway.
Hearing the sound of running water, he couldn’t help but fidget with his fingers. The sight of the dirty handprint he had left on the glass flashed through his mind. His dull, black-red eyes finally showed a flicker of emotion.
He was so dirty.
The child lowered his head, noticing the black grime on his hands. Hastily, he hid them behind his back.
Despite bowing his head, the single visible eye beneath his thick bangs cautiously peeked at Su Ci. A faint trace of confusion lingered in his gaze.
Previously, he couldn’t touch anything, let alone leave marks behind. So why could he now?
From the moment he first gained awareness, he had been in this fostering center.
He had been here the longest, but few ever acknowledged his existence. Only during extreme weather events, when the red specks around him multiplied significantly, did anyone from the base notice or hear him.
On such occasions, he would hear them refer to him as—Number One.
He was the first child taken in by the fostering center and thus assigned the designation “1.” But most of the time, no one thought of him.
Neither the caretakers, inspectors, operatives, nor the logistical staff—none of them. Even the nanny robots, which were meticulous in caring for the other children, paid him no mind.
He had a room of his own, but the panel on the door didn’t recognize him and wouldn’t open for him. Although he could pass through walls to enter, he disliked the feeling of being enclosed in such a space and didn’t enjoy passing through walls either.
He lived alone in the fostering center.
In the beginning, the nanny robots prepared meals for him, but he couldn’t touch them. Each time, he could only watch the food sit there until it was eventually discarded.
Over time, the new nanny robots stopped preparing food for him.
He watched as caretakers came and went, as more and more children were taken in, wreaking havoc on the center. He observed the operatives and maintenance teams coming and going, complaining while dutifully performing their tasks.
Yet everything that unfolded before him was unrelated to him. He was like a ghost, existing alone in the corners of the fostering center.
Though he wasn’t quite sure what a “ghost” was.
He had only overheard people at the base occasionally refer to him as, “That ghost-like Number One.”
So, he figured that’s what he must be—a ghost who could survive without eating or drinking.
But today felt… different.
Number One looked at the new caretaker in the bathroom.
He had called himself a “spirit,” but he wasn’t just that. This man could touch him, carry him from the cold corridor to a warm, red-speck-free dormitory, and even give him food.
For the first time since gaining awareness, he had learned how comfortable it felt to have his stomach warm and full.
Su Ci checked the water level in the tub, tested the temperature with his hand, and then turned back to see the child still standing in the doorway.
He was waiting quietly, without making a fuss.
That was good. Su Ci liked quiet, well-behaved children.
Su Ci felt a growing sense of satisfaction. He gestured for the child to come over. When the boy hesitantly shuffled closer, Su Ci was about to lift him into the tub when something caught his eye, and he froze.
On the pale gray tiles of the bathroom floor, a trail of small black footprints stood out. The marks weren’t deep, but under the bright lights, they were unmistakable.
Number One followed Su Ci’s gaze and noticed the smudges he’d left behind. He glanced between the caretaker and his own dirty feet, then lowered his head in shame.
Seeing the boy practically bury his head in his chest, Su Ci realized he had misunderstood. He wasn’t upset with him at all.
“You’ve noticed, haven’t you?” Su Ci said.
The boy raised his head slightly, his black-red eyes staring at Su Ci in confusion.
“You can touch things now,” Su Ci explained, pointing to the footprints. “You’re able to interact with objects and leave traces in the world. That means you need to be careful.”
Newly born spirits were usually naïve but instinctively had some ability to protect themselves. However, it was clear that this boy was an exception.
For practitioners, spirits were incredibly valuable—although Su Ci doubted any practitioners still existed in this era. Regardless, caution was never a bad thing, especially now, with the planet in such a state. Su Ci was still uncertain about what the future held.
Number One nodded but then looked at Su Ci in surprise.
How did he know that I couldn’t touch things before?
Sensing the boy’s confusion, Su Ci didn’t elaborate. Instead, he reached out and gently patted the boy’s head.
Newly born spirits were highly imitative. When exposed to a mature spirit, they could absorb experience and emulate the other’s state, accelerating their own development.
Of course, the process of maturing still required time, but it was significantly faster than growing on their own.
The boy before him had exceptional potential. When he touched Su Ci, he had instantly entered a state of synchronization. The moment had been so brief that Su Ci hadn’t noticed it at first.
Still, it wasn’t a problem.
The boy, having never been patted on the head before, froze. He felt the warmth and softness of Su Ci’s hand and stood rooted to the spot, unsure how to react.
Su Ci quickly withdrew his hand and began undressing the child.
If anyone else were present, they would have seen something peculiar—Su Ci made a pulling motion toward the air, and suddenly, he was holding a piece of clothing as though by magic.
The garment was ancient and tattered beyond recognition. Its original color was impossible to discern, and it emitted an unpleasant odor. Su Ci casually tossed it into the automatic waste disposal bin. Then he reached out to brush aside the boy’s long, thick bangs.
The sudden brightness startled the child, who looked up at Su Ci in surprise. However, he restrained himself, shrinking his hands close to his chest and staying obediently still, like a small, timid animal.
The boy’s eyes were large and round—naturally lovely in shape. But on his gaunt, malnourished face, coupled with the bloodshot veins filling his eyeballs, they appeared unnervingly out of place.
His neck was so thin it seemed like only a thin layer of skin covered the bones, with his blood vessels clearly visible beneath.
His body was even worse—skin and bones. His ribs were sharply defined, and his arms and legs were so spindly they looked as though they might snap with a touch.
His emaciated frame made it almost comical that, after just one glass of nutritional liquid, his stomach was now round and bulging. Su Ci couldn’t help but worry whether the boy’s belly would burst any second.
Staring at the distended belly, Su Ci’s expression grew contemplative.
He glanced at the boy’s face and, seeing no signs of pain or discomfort, placed a hand on the child’s stomach and gently rubbed.
The boy opened his mouth slightly and let out a soft burp.
Startled by the sound, his eyes widened, and he quickly covered his mouth with his small hands.
Su Ci’s lips curved into a smile. His gaze shifted to the boy’s hair.
Looking at the child’s greasy, matted locks, Su Ci’s brows furrowed once again. Thankfully, the boy hadn’t been able to interact with physical objects before, or he would likely have been infested with lice.
“Your hair is too long. It needs to be cut,” Su Ci said.
Number One blinked at him in confusion but nodded.
“Good.” Su Ci patted his head in approval.
The dormitory didn’t have scissors, but Su Ci wasn’t one to be easily stumped.
Su Ci brought his index and middle fingers together, then made a slight snipping motion toward Number One’s bangs. With that, the ends of the hair neatly severed and drifted to the tiled floor below.
Number One didn’t seem to mind losing his hair.
As he watched the caretaker up close, his fully exposed eyes reflected the young man’s focused and serious expression. The once-empty and lifeless gaze now held a faint glimmer of light, as though a spark had ignited his soul.
Su Ci didn’t notice, too engrossed in trimming the boy’s hair.
It was his first time doing such a task, and the novelty intrigued him. After a few tentative cuts, his movements became quicker and more confident.
Before long, clusters of black hair lay scattered on the floor. Soon, they dissipated into wisps of blue smoke and vanished as if they had never existed.
Finally, Su Ci stopped.
He hadn’t cut all of the boy’s hair, leaving it just at jaw length. Then he took the showerhead, turned on the water, and tested the temperature with his hand.
Once the boy nodded in approval, Su Ci began rinsing the dirt off his body.
“Splash, splash—”
Warm water poured over him from above. Number One instinctively closed his eyes, feeling the stream wash away the accumulated grime from his skin, as though it was cleansing his very soul.
His pores opened slightly under the heat, welcoming the fresh air like a long-lost friend.
A sigh escaped his lips, and his small hands, previously clutched tightly to his chest, lifted on their own to catch the water.
So this is what water feels like when it falls on my body.
The boy was utterly captivated by the sensation of his first shower, wishing the moment could stretch on forever. But soon, the water flow ceased.
Just as regret began to bloom in his heart, he felt the caretaker’s hands again.
Those hands gently lifted him and placed him in the filled bathtub. The warm water enveloped him, driving away every trace of chill.
Number One opened his eyes underwater.
There was no panic or discomfort. His black-red eyes curiously observed the world beneath the surface, and time seemed to slow in that moment.
The next instant, Su Ci pulled him out of the water.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
As the boy leaned against the edge of the tub, coughing from accidentally swallowing water, Su Ci tilted his head, glancing at the almost-overflowing bathtub.
He waved a hand, and the water level in the tub receded by more than half. Then he carefully placed the boy back inside.
This time, the water only reached the boy’s thighs. Even when he sat down in the tub, the level barely rose to his chest.
Satisfied, Su Ci nodded. Following the knowledge that surfaced in his mind, he squeezed shampoo into the boy’s hair and worked it into a rich, fine lather.
Seeing the boy close his eyes and show an expression of enjoyment, Su Ci couldn’t help but nod internally. Spirits, even with a physical form, can’t drown, especially when they’re still in a semi-ethereal state like this little one.
Cute bonding time :3