As a symbiotic being, I raise children amidst the chaos.

"Impossible! Don't even think about it!" Upon hearing Chen Yuan's words, Cocolia slammed her hand on the table, startling Chen Yuan. "This experiment hasn't even been tested on humans, let alone you... this... little cutie?"

Halfway through her explanation, Cocolia didn't even know what species Chen Yuan should be classified as. You could say he was human, but he was only the size of a finger and could extend black tentacles at any time. You could say he wasn't human, but he looked almost human, and quite handsome at that.

"If you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all!!!" Chen Yuan's face flushed red, and he glared at Cocolia in annoyance. "This appearance of mine is only temporary. Sooner or later, I'll be just like a normal person!"

"Really!" Cocolia's eyes lit up immediately. She looked Chenyuan up and down, looking like someone who hadn't eaten for days had seen a fragrant plate.

"Why would I lie to you?" Chen Yuan spread his hands helplessly. "I don't know the exact time, maybe tomorrow or the day after, but it will definitely grow to the size of an average person."

"No, who told you that! Isn't the X-experiment the most important thing right now?"

"Yeah, it's all your fault for interrupting my thoughts!" Cocolia coughed twice, then immediately put on a serious face, making Chen Yuan wonder if this girl had multiple personalities.

"The biggest requirement for conducting X-10 is the ability to adapt to Honkai energy. The stronger the adaptability, the higher the success rate of the experiment. Currently, only Bronya and Anne in the orphanage meet this requirement."

“Although you don’t appear to have been corrupted by Honkai energy, you are, after all, a species we’ve never seen before. If something unexpected happens, I won’t even have any countermeasures.”

“If—and I mean if,” Cocolia lifted Chenyuan in her hands, gazing into the latter’s eyes, “if Bronya and Xing participated in the experiment, I might be 60% certain I could stop it, but if it were you…”

Cocolia didn't continue, but Chenyuan had already guessed the implication of what she meant. The room, which had been quite lively just moments before, was now extremely quiet.

"There's nothing we can do about it. That experiment was a mistake from the start. You walked right into someone else's trap from the beginning." Chen Yuan sighed helplessly and reached out a tentacle to pat Cocolia's head.

"You know my abilities; I can greatly amplify the strength of those I coexist with. My participation in the experiment might not be a bad thing; it could even be considered a form of protection."

“But…” Cocolia wanted to say something, but Chenyuan stopped her with a look. “Trust me, Cocolia. I won’t joke with my own life.”

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. Cocolia and Chenyuan gazed at each other, both hoping the other would take a step back. In the end, Cocolia couldn't withstand the pressure of Chenyuan's gaze and nodded helplessly.

"Fine, I'll do whatever you say. After all, you're the only man in the family. What can a weak woman like me do?"

'You call yourself a weak woman? I've never seen a weak woman as awesome as you.' Muttering to herself, Chen Yuan jumped off Cocolia's hand and onto the ground. 'If there's nothing else, I'll head back. Bronya's probably waiting for me to go back to sleep.'

"Wait a minute!" Upon hearing this, Cocolia grabbed Chenyuan and pulled him back. "Are you kidding me? I've waited for you for over ten years, and we just met today and you're already running off to Bronya and the others!"

"Can you please stop saying such misleading things?!"

"I don't care! I'm telling you right now, tonight you're not going to step out of this door!" She casually tossed Chen Yuan onto the bed.

"How old are you? Why are you still so childish? I don't remember you being like this before!" Chen Yuan lay on the bed, looking helplessly at Cocolia's back.

"I was just about to become like this when you disappeared. Whose fault is that?" Cocolia sighed after giving Chen Yuan a disapproving look.

Chen Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened instantly. Cocolia was wearing clothes he had never seen before, looking like a work of art.

"H-How is it? Is it pretty?" Feeling Chen Yuan's direct gaze, Cocolia blushed slightly, put her hands behind her back, and gently brought her long legs together.

"To be honest, it's really beautiful." Chen Yuan couldn't help but exclaim, his gaze drawn to Cocolia and unable to look away for even a moment.

"Hmph~ All you do is say nice things." Cocolia breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Chen Yuan's praise. She spun around once, then her delicate brows furrowed slightly. "It really is a bit tight. I bought it specifically for you to wear, who would have thought you'd disappear for over ten years before coming back."

"This..." Chen Yuan opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say. After all, it was just a matter of opening and closing her eyes for her, but for her, it was indeed more than ten years.

Cocolia didn't seem to expect Chen Yuan to say anything. She smiled softly, a smile that seemed bitter and helpless. "Don't feel guilty or anything. After all, you saved my life. And... waiting for you was my own choice."

At this point, Cocolia seemed to turn her head away to hide her embarrassment. "It's all thanks to me. Do you know how many men have been pursuing me over the years? They could line up all the way to Anti-Entropy headquarters!"

[This system couldn't stand it anymore. What a cheesy couple! And one of them is my host! This is even worse.]

[Congratulations, host, you have obtained Perfect Mimicry (limited time, one night). Here, go play with this yourself. I'm going into hibernation now. Being a system and having to eat dog food every day, I'm really fed up!]

After the system finished speaking, it disappeared. No matter how much Chen Yuan called out in his heart, it did not respond. Then he felt a warm current coming from his body. After trying it, his body grew rapidly and became the size of a normal person.

"So, I really am stuck with you..." Cocolia turned around at this moment, and when she saw Chen Yuan, she froze on the spot, her eyes wide open, just like Chen Yuan had been just now.

"Um... is it possible to reconcile?"

"The atmosphere has reached this point, you must be joking!"

The room lights were turned off, leaving only the dim light of the bedside lamp illuminating Chen Yuan's blank face. Cocolia put her hands behind her back, a strange glint in her eyes.

"I've been waiting for this day for over ten years, and I can't wait any longer!" Cocolia slowly approached, gently grasping Chenyuan's shoulders with both hands, her eyes revealing deep anticipation.

Chen Yuan could feel her body temperature and heartbeat; the two intertwined, creating an invisible attraction in this small space.

Their eyes met, and the distance between them instantly closed to the extreme, their breathing becoming rapid. "Hey, Chenyuan, I'm ready," Cocolia whispered, a strange emotion flickering in her eyes.

Chen Yuan's heart was also stirred; Cocolia's alluring appearance made him unable to control himself. Gently touching Cocolia's lips was like a flood breaking through a dam, all his emotions bursting forth at that moment.

------

Slightly earlier in the timeline, Bronya was alone in her room, looking at the clock with a worried expression on her face.

'Why hasn't Brother Chenyuan returned after so long? And what does Cocolia mean by "father"?' Bronya thought of this, and imagined Cocolia imprisoning and interrogating Chenyuan. She couldn't help but shudder.

Extinguishing herself from her fantasies, Bronya stepped out of the room and walked slowly towards Cocolia's room on the second floor without making a sound.

For Bronya, a former mercenary, this was incredibly easy. But the next moment, the opening of the door behind her nearly made her jump.

"Bronya? Where are you going so late?" Xing came out of her room, looking at the sneaky Bronya with a puzzled expression. "Where is God?"

"Xing? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"It's this guy again!" Hearing Bronya say this, Xing sighed, reached behind her, and pulled out the sleepy Seele.

"It's all because of this girl. She woke up in the middle of the night and insisted on going to see the gods. I had no choice but to put her in your room."

"So that's how it is..." Bronya breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. She had thought that her skills had deteriorated, that even a child like Xing could spot her.

"Let's not talk about that. Where is the deity?"

"Well... here's what happened." Bronya sighed softly and told Xing and Seele about what had happened that night and how Cocolia had taken Chenyuan away.

If it were Seele, Bronya could probably fool her with a lie. But if it were Xing, no amount of talking would work, especially when it came to matters of fate.

"Little Master is really a superhero! So amazing!" Seele's deep blue eyes revealed a look of deep admiration after hearing Bronya's explanation.

“After all, he is a god; this kind of thing should be nothing to him.” Having experienced symbiosis before, Xing had no doubt about the accuracy of the story. “I could tell from your expression tonight that you had something to say to the god, but I didn’t expect it to be something so dangerous.”