TTAETSC Chapter 38.3 - Transform! Pink-haired Child

"These two little brats! They made me search all day, and now I'm getting an earful from the boss!"

The sentinels, filled with resentment, watched as their leader placed the little boy on his thigh and gave him a few slaps on the buttocks.

"I'm asking you a question! Where's the other one?!"

The little boy wailed loudly, pointing toward the grove to the east.

"She... she left me and ran that way."

"You take this guy back. The rest, come with me to search that place!"

The little octopus watched them disappear into the distance, then planned to blend into the shadows and continue searching around the sentinel tower.

However, at that moment, he suddenly heard an exceptionally young voice.

"Hello... little jellyfish brother?"

"!!!"

The little octopus immediately turned his head toward the source of the sound, but saw nothing at first glance. He stared intently for a long time before finally noticing a little girl, about seven or eight years old, crouching in a corner.

The little girl was huddled in the corner. She had long, curly chestnut hair like a doll, a round, apple-like face, and was very cute.

The little octopus was instantly surprised.

The girl wasn't hiding at all. She was just crouching there, yet neither he nor the group of sentinels had noticed her just now.

She was like a blind spot for everyone.

The little girl cautiously walked a little closer, and said, "You can understand me, right?"

"..."

The little octopus hesitated.

Although he had shown Yuan Ye and the others that he could understand human language, he had never seen this little girl before. Yet, she had immediately pointed this out, which was very strange.

Being cautious, the little octopus didn't nod. Instead, he pretended to blankly stare at her with a confused look.

But the little girl didn't seem to mind the silence of the pink little dumpling in front of her. She stared straight at the little octopus for a few seconds, then spoke again.

"You're human."

The little octopus's pupils widened in shock: "...???"

What?!

How did his vest fall off so suddenly?

The little octopus tilted his head, attempting to muddle through with it. But the next second, the little girl's tone became even more certain.

"You definitely are."

"...???"

Ye Yunfan was shocked.

What?!

Where did he give himself away?

How could he fall off the horse so quickly?!

At this point, the little girl seemed to want to convince him, so she gestured as she said.

"I can see what you look like. You're very tall, much taller than Teacher Alva, probably over six feet. And you have a small mole at the end of your eyebrow..."

"!!!"

Ye Yunfan was shaken.

The girl's description matched his human appearance.

"Can you help me, little jellyfish brother?"

The little girl was very anxious. She glanced in the direction the sentinels had left, then took a few steps closer, her voice on the brink of sobbing.

"I beg you, I beg you! Allen can't fool them for long. I don't want them to take me back."

The little octopus hesitated for a moment before taking a few quick steps toward her. Then, an invisible mental tentacle brushed against the little girl's cheek.

The next second, a deep, gentle male voice echoed in the girl's mind—

[I can help you, but I have three conditions. First, you must tell me the real reason you're running away. Second, you have to keep my secret that I'm human. Finally, you can't tell anyone about any of our conversations.]

"Okay! I promise!"

Almost without hesitation, the little girl immediately agreed. Her eyes sparkled, and she nodded vigorously. Then she looked around, and in a very, very small voice, she said.

"I, I'm Heidi. I'm a gifted individual, and Allen is too, but we..."

Before she could finish speaking, the group of sentinels from earlier came back, grumbling and cursing.

"Fuck! That kid actually dared to lie. They're taking me as a fool. I searched the whole place and there was no trace of any child leaving. She must be hiding here somewhere."

It's dark, and they're searching with flashlights, doing a carpet-like search. They're only about thirty meters away.

Heidi's expression instantly became panicked.

"Allen, Allen's ability can't hide me for long. What should we do?"

Originally, Ye Yunfan wanted to use his camouflage skill to take her away, but his camouflage skill level was too low. If someone looked closely, they would be discovered at once.

Just like how Yuan Ye had discovered him back then.

Ye Yunfan pondered, then said.

[Take off your coat and give it to me.]

Little Heidi blinked in confusion, but still quickly took off her coat.

The temperature would drop at night, so she had specially brought a big, long coat.

The little octopus quickly burrowed into the coat.

Heidi's eyes widened in shock because a few seconds later, a little boy with pink hair appeared in front of her.

Ye Yunfan zipped up the coat and pulled up the hood, patted his steamed bun cheeks, and then tested the flexibility of his hands and feet.

Throughout this process, Heidi couldn't help keeping her eyes on him. She had never seen such a handsome boy before.

He's like a painting.

Pink hair and blue eyes, a color combination that perfectly captures the immature aesthetic of a little girl.

Ye Yunfan didn't notice these details. He and the little girl crouched in the corner of the abandoned box, observing the approaching sentinels from a distance.

In fact, the best approach would be to transform into Heidi's appearance, but he wasn't yet skilled enough to perfectly mimic others' appearance. He couldn't guarantee a flawless transformation, but since it was dark now, and he was wearing the little girl's clothes, there wouldn't be too much of a problem.

"I'll go lure them away. You wait here for me."

Ye Yunfan's originally mature and deep voice became young and tender, sounding like a seven or eight-year-old boy.

"Okay!"

Little Heidi nodded.

The next second, Ye Yunfan sprinted out.

He deliberately made his footsteps loud, and sure enough, it immediately caught the attention of all the sentinels.

"There! There, there!"

"Fuck! You dare to run!"

So a group of sentinels immediately started cursing and chasing.

While a child couldn't outrun adults, Ye Yunfan always darted into dark corners, using Shadow Stealth to make a turn, successfully leaving a group of well-trained sentinels behind.

He led them away for about two to three hundred meters, then immediately used his skill to turn back. Returning to the original spot, he focused on that one corner for two or three minutes before finding Heidi.

This ability is akin to reducing a human's existence or making them a blind spot in someone's vision.

Ye Yunfan thought to himself—

No wonder the two little guys could hide for a whole day while so many sentinels were searching.

"How long can Allen's ability hide you?"

Heidi calculated the time.

"About three minutes."

That's enough.

Ye Yunfan told her Yuan Ye's room number.

"You run up, and I'll open the door for you then."

The sentinels guarding the sentinel tower couldn't see Heidi, so Ye Yunfan could climb through the window from the shadows behind using his skill.

"Mm, mm!"

Little Heidi nodded eagerly.

Three minutes later, as the ability faded in the last second, the door opened, and Ye Yunfan pulled the little girl inside.

Click.

The door closed softly.

Phew—

Ye Yunfan finally let out a sigh of relief. Since Yuan Ye wouldn't be back for a while, he didn't immediately change into his octopus form.

Anyway, he had already fallen off the horse in front of Heidi.

This little girl's ability was quite extraordinary. She could actually see his original appearance.

However, the other reason was that he could communicate better in human form. After so long using tentacles to gesture for communication, Ye Yunfan was feeling a little stifled.

He washed his feet in the bathroom and then, without any psychological pressure, slipped on Yuan Ye's slippers.

Ye Yunfan looked at the little girl, who was still a bit frightened and didn't rush to ask why she ran away. Instead, he started with some ordinary, trivial things.

"Hmm... are there any foods you don't like?"

"I... I don't like milk, I don't like fish, I don't like onions, oh right, I absolutely hate cilantro!"

Ye Yunfan was pleasantly surprised. This world actually still had cilantro!!!

That's really amazing!

Cough...

He quickly pulled back his train of thought.

"The owner of this room will be back soon. Mm, you can call him Brother Yuan Ye. He has this habit of disliking others touching him. When someone touches him, it's like when someone forces you to eat cilantro."

Ye Yunfan patted little Heidi's head, guiding her patiently.

"So, when you see him later, be careful not to touch him, okay?"

Heidi imagined herself being forced to eat cilantro and couldn't help but rub her arms. With a solemn expression, she nodded, clenched her fist, tapped her chest, and said in a serious tone.

"Mm! I promise."

Ye Yunfan was somewhat caught between laughter and tears.

After this conversation, little Heidi was noticeably more relaxed. It was at this point that Ye Yunfan finally got to the main point.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

Little Heidi gathered her thoughts.

"I-I'm from the Main City's Paradise. Last year, I awakened my gifted ability–I can see people's soul shadows. But I don't know why, when I was tested, my ability disappeared. As a result, I was classified as a normal child and entered the adoption system."

"What is this Paradise?"

Ye Yunfan asked. Heidi's eyes suddenly showed a hint of surprise, but she went ahead to explain.

"It's like the Main City's Flower House that can nurture many, many children. When they grow up a little, they're sent to learn in Paradise. Children who become gifted or excel in other areas can stay while the rest enter the adoption system."

Heidi spoke in a mature tone beyond her years.

"As long as a family's application is approved, they can adopt a child."

Ye Yunfan gradually understood.

"What is Flower House nurturing?"

"The Flower House gives birth to children."

In the end, Heidi was still just a child and unable to fully explain.

Ye Yunfan guessed that perhaps the Main City had mastered the technology of artificial wombs to compensate for population deficiencies.

After all, monsters ran rampant, and the mortality rate of investigators was extremely high. Just like the Supply Station, nearly a thousand people died in a single night.

"Why were you looking at me for help?"

Ye Yunfan didn't understand. Even if the other party had seen through his disguise, it was impossible for her to trust him so much.

Heidi stepped past Ye Yunfan and looked up behind him.

"Actually, the shadows of the people I saw all had colors. Most people were a dull gray. Some bad people were black. But you're different. Yours is a mix of pink and blue, very pretty."

That's why Heidi looked for Ye Yunfan.

As she said that, her eyes lowered, seemingly filled with disappointment.

"But my ability is useless most of the time, and the Main City can't detect it. So those children all say I'm sick and crazy about becoming a gifted individual. They said what I'm seeing are all illusions."

"Not long ago, the teacher said we were going to a new home, a home with a father and mother. But a few days ago, on the way, my ability suddenly got better. I saw the two teachers who were escorting us... their shadows were terrifying."

Heidi's expression showed fear, and her eyes glistened with tears.

"They're bad people. They're definitely going to take us to a bad place. I want to go back to the Main City. I want to tell Paradise that I'm really a gifted person. I'm not lying."

"It's okay, it's okay. Everything's gonna be alright."

Ye Yunfan patted her back, comforting the little girl. He also gave her canned fruit to eat.

Heidi finally calmed down. She sat obediently by the table, taking small bites of the sweet canned fruit.

At that time, Ye Yunfan suddenly looked up at the small clock hanging on the wall and realized that two hours were almost up.

His heart skipped a beat, and he rushed to the window and looked down.

A familiar figure instantly caught his eye.

At the same time, Yuan Ye, as if sensing something, raised his head toward the window of his room.

A small head peered out from the window, seemingly belonging to a child. The moment Yuan Ye saw the other person's face clearly, he froze.

—It was too similar.