Earth.
Lu Wanqing woke up in the middle of the night from hunger. Her stomach ached from prolonged emptiness.
She opened her light-screen device, using its glow to check on Cui Cui beside her.
But upon seeing her, Lu Wanqing's heart skipped a beat. She quickly got up and reached out to feel Cui Cui's forehead.
"So hot!" Lu Wanqing exclaimed, a sense of foreboding washing over her.
Lu Wanqing looked closely at Cui Cui's face, observing carefully. She realized then that something was terribly wrong with Cui Cui.
The child's face was flushed red, her entire body radiating heat as if she had been in a sauna.
"Cui Cui!"
"Cui Cui?"
"Wake up!"
Lu Wanqing frantically shook Cui Cui, trying desperately to wake her daughter.
Cui Cui, still asleep, furrowed her brow in discomfort.
Lu Wanqing was panicked. Holding Cui Cui, she anxiously scanned the live stream's bullet comments. Even though it was late at night, there were still people, or perhaps Zerg, remaining in the stream.
Bullet comments scrolled by.
"What's wrong with them?"
"That child's complexion looks off. Is she going to die?"
"Is she sick?"
Sick?
Was Cui Cui sick?
Lu Wanqing lowered her gaze to Cui Cui, then bowed her head, pressing her own forehead against Cui Cui's. It was burning hot!
"Cui Cui!"
"Cui Cui!!!"
Lu Wanqing called out loudly, trying to rouse Cui Cui.
But Cui Cui did not wake. Her brows were knitted even tighter.
Lu Wanqing panicked. She quickly looked at the large eyes of the live stream and said anxiously, "Zerg Empress, this game is between us two. It has nothing to do with Cui Cui. Cui Cui is just a child, and she's sick. Please... will you let her go? I'll bet with you alone. Whatever you want, I'll do it!"
Her trembling voice betrayed Lu Wanqing's fear.
At the same time, on the warship, Wei Xingzhou, having watched the live stream for too long, was overcome with exhaustion. Seeing Cui Cui and Lu Wanqing asleep, he too drifted off next to the live stream.
Zhong Li Feiyu had arranged for on-duty personnel to monitor the stream in shifts. If anything happened to Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui, the guards would be alerted.
At this moment, seeing that Lu Wanqing and Cui Cui seemed to be in trouble, the on-duty personnel rushed to wake Wei Xingzhou, and then to inform Zhong Li Feiyu.
"Mr. Wei!"
"Mr. Wei, something's wrong! Cui Cui seems to be in trouble!" the guard said anxiously to Wei Xingzhou.
"Ah?" Wei Xingzhou shouted, jolting awake from his sleep.
"Mr. Wei, something's happened, Miss Cui Cui seems to be sick!" the guard said worriedly.
Cui Cui?
Sick?
Wei Xingzhou's mind raced. He quickly looked at the live stream and saw Lu Wanqing holding Cui Cui, whose face was flushed with an abnormal redness, anxiously pleading with the Zerg Empress to let Cui Cui go.
Lu Wanqing was trembling, her anxiety palpable. Wei Xingzhou was equally anxious. He stood up abruptly, but as soon as he did, his legs gave out. His vision blackened, and he began to fall.
"Mr. Wei!" the guards quickly supported Wei Xingzhou.
Zhong Li Feiyu was also awakened. He rushed out anxiously and looked at the live stream.
Seeing Zhong Li Feiyu, Wei Xingzhou immediately went to him, grabbed his arm, and said in a trembling voice, "Zhong Li Feiyu, quickly send people to save Cui Cui, quickly..."
As he spoke, Wei Xingzhou's voice grew hoarse. He was so anxious that he lost his voice.
Wei Xingzhou's eyes were bloodshot. The man who was usually so strong, now found tears uncontrollably streaming down his face.
Zhong Li Feiyu was also anxious, but what could be done?
"I'll contact the Zerg Empress!" Zhong Li Feiyu said anxiously.
They could not give up. They had to find a way to persuade the Zerg Empress.
Earth.
Lu Wanqing held Cui Cui, calling out anxiously for a long time before Cui Cui finally woke up groggily.
The child's pale lips curved slightly. She opened her tired eyelids and looked at her mother, "Mommy~"
Lu Wanqing quickly lowered her gaze to Cui Cui. She touched Cui Cui's burning forehead and asked anxiously, "Cui Cui, how are you feeling? Are you very uncomfortable?"
"I..." Cui Cui spoke, her voice hoarse and weak. "Mommy, my head hurts so much."
Lu Wanqing's eyelids blinked, and tears suddenly fell.
"I'm sorry, I've harmed you. I've dragged you down. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been captured, sob." Lu Wanqing finally couldn't hold back and burst into tears. 138 Reading Network
Cui Cui weakly raised her hand and clasped her mother's. Her feeble voice comforted, "It's not Mommy's fault."
Lu Wanqing's heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand, making it impossible to breathe. Tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes, and a crystal tear fell, landing directly on Cui Cui's dry lips.
Cui Cui instinctively moved her lips, tasting her mother's tears. It felt faint and very clear.
Lu Wanqing looked down at Cui Cui and suddenly remembered. She said quickly, "Cui Cui, do you want to drink some water? Maybe it will feel better if you drink some water."
As she spoke, Lu Wanqing quickly raised her hand and conjured water for the child.
Cui Cui drank a little water.
Lu Wanqing also reacted. She quickly took off her coat, conjured water, wet the clothes, and then placed them on Cui Cui's burning forehead.
Cui Cui had not eaten for a long time. She was just a child. If this continued, her body would not be able to bear it.
Lu Wanqing thought uneasily, her gaze drifting to the peaches in the corner. But when she looked, she froze. The dark, lusterless peaches were now... normal colored?
Lu Wanqing suspected she was seeing things. She shifted her gaze, blinked hard, and tried to calm herself, then looked back.
It wasn't just Lu Wanqing who saw it; many viewers who had been watching the live stream also saw the tender pink color of the peaches.
For a moment, both the Zerg and the humans were silent. After a brief pause, they reacted, and everyone was shocked.
In the bullet comment section, some Zerg sent messages.
"Did anyone else see just now? Were those peaches in the corner turning pink?"
"Pink, I saw it too!"
"What's going on? Haven't things on Earth all mutated? Did Lu Wanqing bring peaches with her?"
On the human side, after reacting, they quickly opened the StarNet forums and excitedly posted messages on various platforms.
#Peaches are pink, normal color, the edible kind!!!#
#The peaches in Lu Wanqing's live stream turned color, am I seeing things?#
Many people excitedly posted messages. Meanwhile, inside the cave, after a moment of calm, Lu Wanqing quickly turned her head again. She stared intently at the peaches.
Pink!
It was truly a familiar color, the kind she remembered as edible!