The bathing pool was only an ordinary bathing pool and wasn’t deep. I sat in the pool as he pressed over my body, his cold legs gliding between my knees like a cold snake crawling past my leg. His skin had lost its usual warmth, but it was replaced with a stimulating coldness. It felt like a piece of soft ice gliding past my skin.

He looked deeply into my eyes while his cold hand slid under my…

“Lil’ Bing!” Suddenly, a shout interrupted us. The two of us immediately stood up in the water, looking at Raffles, who looked even more embarrassed than we were.

Raffles blushed, apologizing, “So, sorry. I, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Harry resumed his usual cool very quickly. He supported his body by the side of the bathing pool and rested one hand on his waist, smirking, “Raffles, are you becoming like Haggs? Enjoying some 3P.”

“No, no, no, no, not that!” Raffles stuttered nervously. He pointed outside, blushing. He said, “I, I, I didn’t know you are… Lucifer, he seems to be…”

“What’s wrong with Lucifer?” I became anxious. Judging from Raffles’s look, something must have happened.

Raffles looked at me anxiously, saying, “Lucifer doesn’t look right. He…”

Splash!

 I immediately stood up in the bathing pool, asking, “Is Lucifer sick? Why did he suddenly fall sick?” He seemed to be fine that afternoon, flying around with the lucid birds.

“The sky tribe should hardly fall sick. Why did it happen so suddenly?” Harry was worried too.

“No, not sick. He is… is going to mutate! In short, it is a complicated situation. Lucifer looks like he is having a hard time. He is calling for you. Xing Chuan is already there.” Raffles looked at me.

“What? Mutate? Lucifer is growing up!” I exclaimed in surprise. This happened too suddenly! There were no symptoms. But we hardly knew anything about the sky tribe. We only knew that they would mutate, but there was no system to study or speculate when.

Recalling the dinner earlier, Lucifer looked like he didn’t have a good appetite. It was his first time losing appetite! He ate so well all the time, so why would he suddenly lose his appetite?

I thought he had too much to eat and was bloated then.

The sky tribe had the habit, after all. They had two stomachs at the end of the world—one for storing food so that they could ruminate when there was no food.

But now, there was sufficient food, and Lucifer was eating all the time. Both his stomachs were full, so he naturally couldn’t eat more. Hence, I didn’t overthink it then. He thought the same himself. He even said that he was going to fly around with Jun and Zong Ben to digest the food in him.

Who would have guessed that he was going to mutate?

“Alright! I will go right now!” I immediately got out of the bathing pool.

“I am going too!” Harry walked out of his bathing pool, and the water dried off quickly. He put on his special suit and looked at me with a smile, “I’d like to see how the sky tribe looks.”

I looked at him angrily, muttering, “The sky tribe goes through extreme pain during mutation. How could you make fun of this?” He was simply joining the crowd.

Harry smiled, combing his hand through his imaginary hair, and said, “I’m worried that he might become too handsome and try to take away my wife.”

“Harry, don’t make such a joke at times like this,” Raffles said, looking at Harry, not sure if he should laugh or cry.

Harry looked at Raffles, chuckling. Raffles had no idea what to do.

The sky tribe’s growth and development were different from humans. Before they became adults, their growth rate was seven times faster compared to humans. They would be fully developed by the third year. Their metabolic rate would slow down to the rate of a normal human being afterward.

During their rapid growth, there would be a third sudden growth, which we called ‘mutation.’

The first growth spike was when he grew into a young child, looking about seven or eight years old. This remained for a period of time. It was then followed by a teenager’s body, which was the time when I had met Lucifer. He kept this up for quite some time too. Even then, I felt that he was growing taller every day.

Then, it was the third growth spike, turning into adulthood. Every single mutation wasn’t only limited to body size but also brain development.

Every single mutation was described as going through the pain of splitting muscles and dislocating bones. Their bones, muscles, and nerves would lengthen overnight. Such drastic growth was naturally hurtful.

When I rushed to Lucifer’s room, Xing Chuan was already there.

Lucifer’s room was designed like a nest. The balcony engulfed from above in a semi-circle, and the room was round-shaped. The furniture was clearly visible in a glance.

“Mm… Mm… Sister Bing… Brother Xing Chuan…” he muttered from his enormous grey bed.

Xing Chuan looked at me with a worried look, holding Lucifer’s hand.

Haggs was standing next to Lucifer’s bed too. He brought Little Carl with him, who was busy putting on various kinds of neural transmission cables all over Lucifer’s arms.

I immediately looked at Raffles, and he smiled awkwardly.

What can I do about them?

“This is for Lucifer’s own good. We can observe his symptoms at all times…” Raffles explained guiltily.

“Raffles, why are you feeling guilty?” Haggs said calmly, “We can’t miss such an opportunity. Lucifer’s data tonight might be the key to explain how humans evolved into the sky tribe. Plus, it would benefit our understanding of the sky tribe and help our medication research to strengthen their human genetics. Lil Bing knows us.” Haggs was perfectly honest.

“Sister Bing…” Lucifer called for me in pain.

“I’m here, Lucifer!” I quickly went forward. Little Carl removed most of Lucifer’s clothing, leaving only a pair of grey shorts on. He was shimmering from head to toe with neural transmission cables that looked like tentacles. He looked as pitiful as someone who was forced to be an experimental subject by a crazy scientist.

“Waifu, Raffles is right. He can monitor Lucifer’s well-being at all times. It would be safer,” Harry was finally comforting me.

“Lucifer, I’m here,” I reached him, and he opened his eyes slightly. His silver pupils were nowhere to be seen but were replaced with the complete whiteness of a flying corpse. He was drenched in sweat, and the sheets were soaked too. He creased his eyebrows and nodded in pain. He suddenly shut his eyes and let out a muffled groan, “Mm!”

“Ouch!” Xing Chuan suddenly groaned in pain. Lucifer had somehow flexed his sharp claws and cut Xing Chuan’s hand. He immediately bled and tainted the sheet in red.  

“I’m, I’m sorry…. Brother Xing Chuan…” Lucifer said with his eyes closed like he was sleep talking.

Xing Chuan held his hand and said, “It’s okay Lucifer. You’ll be fine. We are here with you.

“Tha-thank you…” Lucifer panted. His breathing was shallow. The situation wasn’t great but worrying.