Little Sprout truly regretted it. When it first came out, its fur was fluffy, beautiful, and soft, feeling wonderfully light when it flapped its wings; it was beside itself with joy.

Yet, this journey had coated it in dust and filth; its fur was matted into clumps, dull gray, making its entire body sticky and greasy, like a discarded doll—utterly hideous. It hadn't felt this terrible even when it was first displayed on a street stall, being sold as a figurine.

Little Sprout wished it had merely experienced a nightmare, that upon waking, it would be back in Ziye's warm nest… It tumbled off the railing while crying, accidentally landing squarely on someone’s head. That person’s hair was incredibly soft and smooth.

It slid down the strands, about to roll onto the ground, when suddenly a pair of slender, fair hands caught it. Soft and delicate, they prodded it gently—so warm and yielding.

Little Sprout contentedly nuzzled in the palm, silently begging Ziye for forgiveness in its mind, “I didn’t mean to, I’m just too tired.” It didn't need to look to know this was definitely not Ziye's hand. Ziye’s hands used to be fair before military training, but they had calluses, and her fingers were strong; these felt boneless, so yielding.

The owner of those hands had an extraordinary reaction time and exclaimed happily, “A little doll fell from the sky, how adorable.” As for why a doll would fall from the sky on a bright, clear day, she didn't consider it at all. Little Sprout tilted its head up.

Neatly cut bangs, pale red irises, an expression timid yet tinged with slight surprise—it was surprisingly familiar. Little Sprout’s eyes instantly lit up.

Chen Yin! Encountering Chen Yin was a blessing in disguise amidst misfortune.

She surely wouldn't be as rough as Ziye! Little Sprout immediately turned sorrow into joy, unable to resist imagining being cuddled and rubbed close in soft arms… Coming to the Angel Domain was definitely the right decision.

It knew Chen Yin, but Chen Yin didn't know it. Faced with its glittering eyes, she widened her own in confusion.

Little Sprout immediately deployed the cute-begging maneuvers it used in front of Ziye, blinking its eyes at her with an expression that pleaded, ‘Hurry and take me away,’ pitifully, as if its eyes were about to overflow with tears. “What’s wrong?” she asked with concern, as if what rested in her palm was a person, not a doll.

Little Sprout instantly felt a sense of equality. Chen Yin treated it like a human, not just a pet like Ziye did.

Little Sprout nuzzled her hand gratefully. She stood still, watching it quietly.

Seeing it respond with actions, she asked, “You understand what I’m saying, right?” Little Sprout bared its tiny teeth at her. She blinked.

“And you can talk.” Little Sprout recoiled in horror, nearly tumbling over. What a terrifying girl!

All of Little Sprout’s downy hairs shot straight up. It had always assumed Chen Yin was an ordinary girl, requiring no vigilance, but now it seemed Chen Yin was far more perceptive than most people.

At least, most people couldn’t tell it could speak. Little Sprout dared not let its guard down again; it immediately feigned being a doll, sitting perfectly still, its eyes unmoving, offering no response whatsoever.

Chen Yin seemed surprised by its sudden change and reached out to poke its eyeball. Little Sprout stared at her without blinking.

Frankly, the moment her hand lunged toward its eye, a flicker of panic went through it; anyone would feel fear when their eye is poked. It had always regarded itself as human, and seeing the stark white hand stabbing toward its eye, it instinctively wanted to dodge.

Fortunately, it wasn't truly human, so having its eyeball poked didn't bring the pain or tears humans would feel. Thus, it rigidly held still, though internally, hundreds of mythical beasts stampeded past; it longed to flee back to Lingsi immediately and dive into Ziye’s embrace.

Woe is me, there are so many bad people out here! Chen Yin dug at its eyeball—it was glass and didn't move—and she murmured in confusion, “Was I wrong?” While pondering, she seemed to see it close its eyes fleetingly, as if in fear.

She stopped puzzling over the issue, cradling it with both hands. “Don’t worry, I’ll take you home.” Chen Yin was piloting a mining vessel loaded with tritanium ore; it moved so slowly compared to the interstellar bus it had ridden, it was like a snail climbing a slope.

It was lucky they were on a high-speed track; otherwise, who knew how long the journey would take. Chen Yin settled Little Sprout into the co-pilot’s seat.

Little Sprout dared not relax, sitting obediently without moving, though it secretly examined the star charts. The Angel Domain was a quintessential fringe star region.

There were few stars in space, the surrounding dust was thick, and occasionally, fiercely bright stars flared. The architecture wasn't as orderly as in Kolai; the asteroid belt was messy, and straying even slightly meant taking a massive detour.

Furthermore, there were spacetime vortices that had to be carefully navigated around. In short, it was a dangerous area.

However, as the mining vessel ventured deeper into the Angel Domain, large sovereign facilities became more numerous, and high-speed tracks denser. One could often see glimpses of habitat pods and sprawling villa complexes flashing by.

The Angel Domain’s stargates and space station facilities were quite complete; the stargates were all Omega-shaped; the space stations had rounded domes and straight bases, orderly and grand, in no way inferior to the large space stations in the Interstellar Federation’s controlled territories. Little Sprout thought to itself, daring to settle in this place and living this well, An Junlie was truly remarkable!

The thought that it would soon see An Junlie slightly improved Little Sprout’s mood. Once it met An Junlie, it would definitely recount the hardships of this journey, telling him that Chen Yin was actually a terrifying girl who poked its eyeballs with her fingers.

It would also demand that he personally escort it back to Ziye, hmph. Little Sprout looked at Chen Yin beside it and gathered its courage.

Chen Yin turned her head to look at it, mistakenly believing Little Sprout was scared. “Little thing, don’t be afraid.

My daddy and mommy are very nice, and our Commander is great too; they won’t hurt you.” Little Sprout screamed inwardly: I am not a little thing! I am Little Sprout, Little Sprout!

That is the name my brilliant and mighty Master Ziye bestowed upon me! But outwardly, it remained placid, unmoving as a mountain.

If Ziye were here now, she would surely praise it for finally mastering Silver Rune’s ultimate technique: "the poker face." Too bad Ziye wasn't present. Little Sprout fidgeted, drawing circles in its seat.

It had never missed Ziye this intensely before. Half an hour later, Chen Yin arrived at Angel-7 Space Station, the main hub of the Angel Domain.

Chen Yin unloaded the ore, left the dock, and carried Little Sprout home. Little Sprout lay stiffly in her beautiful hands, recalling the incident of having its eyes poked, making it impossible to feel any fondness for her.

It desperately wanted to talk to Ziye, but the Angel Domain was too far from Kaga; the signal was constantly obstructed. What should it do?

It started to grow restless, wanting to break free from Chen Yin’s embrace and immediately seek out An Junlie. Chen Yin placed a hand on it.

“Be patient, we’ll be home soon.” Leaving the dock, the road was sparsely populated. The Angel Legion’s lights were white with a slight yellow tint, feeling quite warm.

However, when the road was empty except for her, her shadow stretching long, Little Sprout felt a pang of melancholy. Would Ziye perhaps be walking alone on the Lingsi University campus right now?

Little Sprout felt an unbidden surge of guilt. Was Ziye frantically searching for it?

Would she be heartbroken if she couldn't find it? It seemed that before running away, it had forgotten to tell Ziye it was leaving home!

What should it do? Little Sprout was conflicted.

Just then, a child’s cry ahead interrupted its thoughts. Chen Yin walked toward the sound of crying.

A moment later, at the corner of the road, she spotted a little girl—the youngest of the Ditar family, the nineteenth sister. She wore a pink dress and was crying miserably.

Chen Yin knelt before her, gently stroking her head, and asked softly, “What’s wrong?” Nineteenth Sister sobbed breathlessly, “Waaah, Daddy got a little brother, and he doesn’t want Nineteenth anymore, waaaah… No one wants Nineteenth anymore… Sister Chen Yin, what should I do?” Chen Yin fell silent for a long moment, her gaze shifting to Little Sprout. Little Sprout was instantly startled, thinking internally, Surely she isn’t going to give me to the child as a toy!

The next second, Chen Yin pushed it out, “Don't cry, be good, play with this.” Nineteenth Sister wiped away her tears, looked up, saw Little Sprout, and immediately declared, “I don’t want it, it’s ugly!” Little Sprout nearly spat up blood—it had been rejected by a five-year-old girl! Was it really that awful?

If Ziye were here, it promised it would jump straight into Ziye’s arms and cry. Children these days are so terrifying… Waaah… Chen Yin watched Little Sprout’s melon-shaped body deflate into an empty sack and was about to speak when Nineteenth Sister grabbed the tiny sprout on its head.

“These two little things are cute.” Little Sprout was on the verge of tears. It turned out the most terrifying things in the world weren't wormholes or spatial depressions, but children.

Chen Yin held Nineteenth Sister’s small hand, and Nineteenth Sister dragged Little Sprout by its little sprout, heading toward home. After walking for a few minutes, the fifth child of the Ditar family ran over.

Seeing Chen Yin with her, he breathed a sigh of relief and broadcasted on the group channel, “I found Nineteenth Sister; she’s with Sister Chen Yin, no need to search anymore.” Chen Yin stroked Nineteenth Sister’s head and handed her over to Fifth Brother. “You take her back; I’m leaving now.” Before leaving, she glanced at the shriveled Little Sprout, wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing, and departed.

She had a premonition that the Commander, or the Angel Legion, would undergo significant changes in the future, possibly stemming from this doll. But she couldn't foresee the exact connection.

Nineteenth Sister held Fifth Brother’s hand, whining pitifully, “Fifth Brother, does Daddy not want me anymore?” Fifth Brother picked her up and smiled, “How could Daddy not want you?” Nineteenth Sister pouted, “But I don’t like having a little brother; they only look at the little brother, not at me.” Fifth Brother comforted her, “Because the little brother is still small, you can also watch over him. Raising the little brother yourself is the best thing, because when he grows up, he will protect you.” Nineteenth Sister looked up.

“Do I have to raise both little brothers?” Fifth Brother nodded. “Of course, because they are twins.” Nineteenth Sister reluctantly agreed, “Fine.

Then Fifth Brother, you have to play with this with me.” She held up the deflated Little Sprout. Fifth Brother took it, glanced at it, and said, “Okay.

But it’s flat; we need to inflate it first.” Little Sprout was so terrified it wished it could bolt and run. But its little sprout was clutched in Nineteenth Sister’s hand, and its body was firmly squeezed by Fifth Brother—nowhere to escape!

It longed to let out a long sigh to the heavens: Ziye, come save me quickly!