2153 Being Eaten! “How could it have vanished?” Han Sen mumbled in confusion. The Sun Raven was a baby, but it was a deified creature from the geno universe. Its deified genes were so stable that Han Sen was unable to absorb them. It would be pointless for a creature in the Alliance to steal it. On top of that, that entire place belonged to Han Sen. Many scary creatures lived there, and they could take over the entire Alliance if he wanted them to. Who would dare to steal anything from him? Han Sen wouldn’t make the mistake of forgetting where he had put the body, but he didn’t think it had been stolen, either. It was too large to move easily anyway. When Han Sen first got the Sun Raven body, he had been unable to absorb it. So, he had kept it inside the warehouse for safekeeping. Over the past two years, he hadn’t looked at it once. With so much time having gone by, he didn’t even know when it had gone missing. Han Sen used his Dongxuan Aura to scan the area, but there was no trace of the bird’s body. Its body was very solid, and by all accounts, it should have left behind some sort of sign. Fortunately, the warehouse was equipped with cameras. Han Sen headed for a control room where he could view the camera feeds, but suddenly, Bao’er leaped off of Han Sen’s shoulders and ran to a specific corner of the warehouse. Han Sen quickly understood that Bao’er had found something, and so he followed after her. Bao’er had gone to a wooden crate. She climbed atop it and looked inside. Han Sen recalled that the crate had been used to store barrels of wine that Ji Yanran had bought. They had been produced on a famous vineyard planet, but since the wine required a rare ingredient that the makers could no longer obtain, the wine’s production had ceased. Ji Yanran had taken the crates there to collect what she could. They did not drink together very often, and so they were just kept in storage when not needed. The open crate was evidence that someone had been there. And on top of that, a few other crates were open as well. “There really has been a theft?” Han Sen moved over to Bao’er and inspected the crates. Han Sen saw a tall black barrel that had also been opened. It had been drained of the wine it previously contained, but when Han Sen looked inside, he saw the last thing he expected to see. There was not a single drop of alcohol remaining, but at the bottom of the container was a fist-sized egg. Its shell was red, and it looked very beautiful. Han Sen used his Dongxuan Aura to scan the item, and from the red egg, he could discern something that felt very familiar. He could tell that it belonged to the little red bird that used to follow Bao’er around. After thinking about this, Han Sen realized he hadn’t seen or heard much about the little bird over the past couple of years. He had been too busy, and the bird tended to follow Bao’er anyway, so he hadn’t spared it much attention. Han Sen picked up the egg from the empty keg, and after a keener inspection, he was able to tell that it did indeed contain a presence that belonged to the little red bird. “Weird. Why would it be here? And why would it become an egg?” Han Sen wondered about this, and then he looked at Bao’er. Bao’er shook her head, indicating that she had no clue, either. The little red bird had a strange history. When they first found it, it was in the Phoenix Nirvana. It had been in its Sunfish form at the time, but when it left the water of the pool, it transformed into a little red bird. It was certainly a strange creature. Because the little red bird did not have attacking power, Han Sen quickly stopped paying attention to it. He allowed Bao’er to keep the thing as a pet. Now that the little red bird had come to the warehouse, and it had apparently drained an entire barrel of wine and turned into an egg, it all seemed rather strange. Han Sen brought the egg that the little red bird had become to the security room. He had three years of footage to peruse, and so he started watching them on fast forward. After a while, Han Sen saw motion on the monitor. Around two years ago, not long after he brought the Sun Raven’s body to the warehouse, the little red bird flew in and began eating it. Although Han Sen had been unable to refine the Sun Raven’s body, the little red bird munched on it with no problem. But it had only been able to eat a small amount of it each time. The little bird was like a woodpecker, and after a whole year of nibbling, the entire body was consumed. As it ate the Sun Raven’s body, the little red bird underwent a metamorphosis that changed its body continually over the course of the year. Eventually, its body became a red crystal that burned with a constant flame. After the little red bird ate the entire Sun Raven’s body, it flew towards one of the crates and opened it, then pulled the top off a barrel. The little guy splashed down into the alcohol and became a little red fish. The fire that enveloped it was extinguished, but the heat must have vaporized the alcohol inside. Within a few minutes, the barrel was as dry as a bone. And then, the little red bird came out of the egg. It went into each and every barrel and did the same, ruining the whole supply of alcohol. After the little red bird reached the final barrel, it hadn’t emerged again until Han Sen came along and took it. “D*mn! What is this thing? It ate the sun Sun Raven and evolved.” Han Sen looked at the egg in his hand in shock. Han Sen was unable to refine the deified body, so it was difficult to imagine how the little red bird had done so. “Whatever. I couldn’t refine the body, anyway. I just hope that whatever it becomes will be something of moderate usefulness.” Ultimately, Han Sen decided to put the red egg back. Han Sen did not know what it might take for the creature to successfully incubate, but if it had selected that place by its own volition, then that was probably the best bet. Han Sen rested at home for the next few days. He didn’t return to the Metal World just yet. He did, however, worry about Yuya. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about that right now. He only hoped that the others had found safety after escaping the giant metal city. Han Sen held Han Ling’er while Bao’er sat next to him. The three of them watched movies and ate snacks. Han Ling’er was holding a milk bottle which she drank from, just like Bao’er used to do when she was younger. Ji Yanran returned from the company and its business, and there, she saw Han Sen and Bao’er asleep on the couch. Han Ling’er was asleep atop Han Sen with a pacifier in her mouth. There were snacks and toys everywhere. “Seriously? This is how you choose to be a father?” Ji Yanran complained, but she did so with a light-hearted smile. She didn’t wake them up, either. She draped a blanket across them and tidied up. Four days later, Han Sen went back to the warehouse where Metal Eater resided. He planned on taking Metal Eater with him now, in the hopes that he could negotiate with the Metal Beast if he encountered it again. Just in case, Han Sen summoned the dragon wings on his back and the dragon wings attached to his ears. If something went wrong, he could teleport away with Metal Eater and gain enough space to escape back to the sanctuaries again. Being alive was more important than anything else.