Little Sprout gasped, stunned for a long moment before snapping back to reality. "Ziye, this is bad, terrible! It swallowed the metallic fluid!"

The metallic fluid in the dropper contained tri-titanium alloy, isotopes, Van Crystals, and primary Ailoc metal... For such a tiny embryo, swallowing even a drop of that fluid meant certain death, guaranteed!

Ziye rushed to the incubation unit. The embryo still showed a faint, almost imperceptible movement, as if still alive. Without a word, she grabbed the rearing box, took the lift to the rooftop landing pad, and sped off in her shuttle.

Little Sprout flew frantically behind her, just managing to cling to the hatch a second before the shuttle ignited. It tumbled breathlessly into the cockpit. "Ziye, wait for me!"

Ziye had no time to pay it any mind. She barreled into the pet hospital, clutching the rearing box. "Quick, check this! It swallowed the metallic fluid!"

The young nurse, realizing the gravity of the situation, hastily took the box and handed it to the attending physician for immediate testing and screening. Ziye paced back and forth, as anxious as a child brought to the hospital, so restless she was nearly sweating through her forehead.

Even though she didn't know its species, she couldn't bear the thought of it being destroyed under her care.

Five minutes later, the young nurse returned with a blank expression, snapping, "It's perfectly fine, not a single issue."

Ziye looked at the rearing box—normal. She checked the test report—it stated that everything was fine, save for a slightly elevated metal content in the culture medium.

She couldn't help but direct a look of suspicion toward Little Sprout, who stared back mournfully. "I really watched it drip down!"

Ziye shook her head with exasperation. What an unruly creature.

The nurse added, "This embryo has an extremely high tolerance for metal; a tiny bit of metal doesn't affect it at all. However, the measurement this time is slightly different from last time. Last time, the optimal metal content in the nutrient fluid was 30; now it's 28.5. As long as the metal content doesn't exceed 70, it's within its tolerance range. There’s no need to rush here for a checkup."

Ziye sucked in a sharp breath. A metal content of 70 was astronomically high—it was practically eating metal!

Seeing her shocked expression, the nurse continued, "This is a first for our hospital. If you don't mind, you can leave it here; our hospital would like to conduct a comprehensive study on it."

Hmm? Ziye didn't reply immediately.

Just then, the attending physician approached. "Your pet is quite extraordinary. If you're amenable, I'd personally offer ten thousand credits to purchase this embryo."

Ziye shook her head. "I'm sorry, I won't sell." She decisively swiped her card to pay, grabbed the rearing box, and headed back to her apartment. A creature that could survive for two months nestled in Little Sprout's fluff without dying—how could she possibly sell it? She was intensely curious about it.

The real key, though, was that she despised having animals subjected to research for any purpose. She hadn't forgotten how Ilyia had forced experimental fluid into her, leading to that period of suffering that made life unbearable...

Perhaps she should switch pet hospitals in the future.

Ziye shoved the rearing box near Little Sprout's usual spot and snapped, "Watch your son from now on! If anything happens, I’m not responsible!"

Little Sprout looked pitiful. "Mama Ziye, you don't want me anymore?"

Ziye, feeling agitated, barked at it, "Don't call me Mama! I am not your mother!"

Little Sprout shrank behind the rearing box, falling silent, its expression so wounded it looked as if Ziye had cast it aside.

Ziye briefly closed her eyes, suppressing the irritation welling up inside her. She sat down and stroked its head. "There, there. I'll get you a couple of outfits. Stop crying."

Little Sprout immediately jumped up. "I want seamless ones!"

Ziye nodded. "Fine, seamless."

Little Sprout’s mood instantly brightened. It planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek and then settled down by the rearing box, diligently guarding the thumb-sized embryo.

Ziye genuinely had no idea how to procure seamless clothing for it. She ended up texting her friends at school, asking if any of them had experience in that area.

Unsurprisingly, none of that group had any relevant expertise. In the end, April volunteered to make a few outfits. They weren't truly seamless, but they utilized ultra-fine stitching, which resulted in a decent effect that wouldn't chafe its body.

When Ziye received the clothes, she swore to Little Sprout that once the holidays arrived, she would find an expert to cultivate some new, beautiful, fuzzy outfits for it. Only then did Little Sprout grudgingly accept.

The outfits were made of white fleece, thoughtfully fitted with a detachable hood. Wearing the hood counted as two layers. The hood was light brown and featured two ears, with white fabric lining the inner ear. At a glance, it looked like a round, cuddly little bear, incredibly cute.

Ziye couldn't help but deeply admire April's deft skill; these clothes were definitely much better looking than anything bought on the market. But Little Sprout was dissatisfied and stomped its feet in anger. "What looks good about this? This kind of effeminate clothing, what's good about it?"

Ziye chuckled. "Oh, my, you're already a mother, and you still care about being effeminate?"

Little Sprout sulkily pulled off the hood. "I don't want to be a mother!"

Ziye pointed at the rearing box. "Look, your son is in there."

Little Sprout nearly burst into tears.

Ziye grabbed the hood and put it back on, carefully pinning a dark brown bow just beneath the hood. She patted its head. "You need to be more composed from now on, don't corrupt your son." Then, she leisurely settled down to read, preparing for her exams.

Fortunately, Lingsi was quite accommodating regarding exams; they administered one subject every four days. This allowed one to cram for the next subject after finishing the current one.

The first subject was Scientific Principles, the unified exam for all first-year mecha academy students. It was held in a large lecture hall capable of seating five hundred people. The exam papers were deployed on the light-brain and completed there.

Ziye was highly confident in this subject.

In fact, she felt confident in all subjects that weren't humanities-focused. She was naturally inclined toward engineering, metalworking, and data analysis. Furthermore, Scientific Principles only covered basic theoretical science for the Interstellar Era; for Ziye, it was a piece of cake.

With five minutes left before the exam, she sat in her assigned seat, casually observing her classmates anxiously consulting their light-brains.

Little Sprout remained in the apartment, keeping the little embryo company.

She felt a bit bored. Just then, her Ultra-Com suddenly buzzed. Seeing it was Gemini, she felt a slight surprise. After connecting, Gemini spoke only a few curt words: "Be careful with your light-brain."

Ziye paused slightly, and Gemini immediately severed the communication.

The virtual screen of the light-brain in front of her hadn't even activated yet. To prevent cheating, the virtual screens were entirely controlled by the system and only booted up once the invigilating teacher arrived.

What kind of problem could a light-brain like that have?

Ziye reached out to touch the light-brain console housed on the desk. The main unit was only 3mm thick, integrated seamlessly with the desk surface. Seeing no one watching, she opened the Ultra-Com screen, converted the display of the examination light-brain's console to the Ultra-Com screen, and used that interface to see what was going on.

The moment the data linked, Ziye’s jaw dropped.

It was completely filled with the answers to the Scientific Principles exam!

Ziye hadn't yet seen the actual Scientific Principles paper and couldn't judge if these answers were genuine, but she instantly realized that whether true or false, this set of answers would certainly bring her trouble.

She made an instant decision: on the Ultra-Com interface, she crushed both the answers and the paper simultaneously, thoroughly wiping out anything similar from the light-brain. Her hand speed was fast, and since she was operating through the Ultra-Com, no one noticed anything amiss.

Once Ziye finished, she disconnected the light-brain from the Ultra-Com. Just as she closed the Ultra-Com's virtual screen, the invigilator walked in. He briefly explained the exam rules, activated the Ultra-Com jamming system, and then started the light-brain system.

The virtual screen flickered to life before Ziye. She looked at the test questions and narrowed her eyes slightly. The test questions were identical to the answer sheet she had just deleted.

This meant: that previous set was the correct answer key!

Cold sweat broke out on Ziye's back. If she hadn't deleted the answers, and if someone had discovered the correct solution inside this light-brain, she would never be able to escape suspicion of cheating.

She let out a quiet breath, adjusted the screen to her preferred settings, and began answering.

The examination hall was profoundly quiet; her fingertips glided across the screen, making almost no sound. Truthfully, she didn't need to cheat on Scientific Principles; the material was far too simple for her.

After all, she had spent two years at Silver Rune primarily studying this very book.

Tangshan had once said that Scientific Principles was the foundation of mecha piloting; this subject must be mastered regardless of anything else. She had been obedient, memorizing this book almost verbatim—it was the only subject she didn't need to review even for the exam.

She finished and double-checked. Seeing that the time display in the upper right corner still showed 40 minutes remaining, she gave a slight, wry smile and gently tapped the 'Submit Answer' option in the upper left corner with her fingertip.

Answer submitted successfully.

Ziye was just about to close the light-brain and pack up to leave when the invigilator approached. "You've completed it already?" Ziye nodded calmly.

"Someone has reported you for cheating during the exam," the invigilator said, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, just audible enough for Ziye to hear.

Ziye had anticipated this scenario. She responded coolly, "Does the person who reported me have any evidence? Teacher, if you have no proof that I cheated, then what?"

The invigilator smiled faintly. "I only need to check the light-brain to determine if you engaged in cheating. Since your paper has been submitted, checking the light-brain has no personal implication for you. However, if we find evidence of cheating, whatever score you achieved on your submission will be nullified to zero; if you are found innocent, everything proceeds as normal."

Ziye nodded and made a gesture inviting him to proceed.

The invigilator didn't act immediately. Instead, he used a simple communication device to summon the person in charge of the examination, and only after authentication from others did they search Ziye's examination light-brain.

As Ziye expected, the search yielded nothing.

The examination supervisor saw the nearby candidates watching and waved his hand, signaling the relevant personnel to exit the hall before speaking further.

Once outside the exam room, Ziye asked first, "Who reported me for cheating?"

The invigilator looked embarrassed. "Lingsi regulations prohibit disclosing the name or identity of the person making the report."

Ziye gave a cold smile. "He is currently committing slander." She shot the invigilator a sharp look. "You can refuse to disclose it, but I will appeal against that person for defamation, and you will bear joint responsibility!"

-(To be continued)

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