163: Chapter 163 A Mother's Heart Leads to a Predestined Bond

The iron box opened a crack.

The sound of a baby crying came from inside.

It was very faint.

Very thin.

But this single cry instantly silenced everyone in the delivery room.

Jiang Jianguo's face was grim; the energy he had just used for cursing hadn't dissipated yet.

On the seal, the three characters for Liu Cuilan gradually turned red.

The woman's voice inside the iron box rang out again.

"Liu Cuilan, do you admit that what you gave birth to back then was human?"

Li Yan exploded on the spot.

"No, how can you even ask that?"

Zhang Changlin's expression was ugly.

Xiao Zhenjiang didn't speak, he just looked at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng stood before the iron box.

Six earth keys slowly heated up in his palm.

There was no expression on his face.

But the floor of the delivery room sank half an inch by sheer force.

Zero Seven's throat tightened.

She knew.

This wasn't pressure spinning out of control.

This was Jiang Feng holding back.

The voice in the iron box continued.

"Eighteen years ago, Dongjiang City Old People's Hospital, Delivery Room No. 3."

"Subject Liu Cuilan gave birth to a male infant."

"The male infant lacks a complete native fate."

"Blood samples cannot be classified."

"Heart rate does not conform to Blue Star infant standards."

"Preliminary determination."

"Non-human."

In a corner of the delivery room, a piece of old glass lit up on its own.

An image unfolded.

A young Liu Cuilan lay on the delivery bed, her hair soaked with sweat.

Nurses were rushing back and forth.

Someone was passing scissors.

Someone was shouting for oxygen.

When the baby's cry rang out, the young Liu Cuilan could barely keep her eyes open, yet she was still asking.

"Where's the baby?"

"Is the baby okay?"

"Let me see..."

The image froze.

The voice in the iron box grew colder.

"The subject did not confirm the infant's essence back then."

"Supplementary confirmation now in progress."

"If the infant is admitted to be non-human, the mother-child relationship will be nullified."

"If confirmation is refused, subject record error correction will be initiated."

Li Yan laughed from anger.

"A makeup exam? Is your First Blue Star running some high-dimensional exam hall here?"

Zero Seven whispered, "It's not a makeup exam, it's a forced confession."

She stared at the iron box, her voice tight.

"First Blue Star wants to start with Auntie Liu."

"As long as she admits even once that 'Jiang Feng isn't like a normal child,' even just in passing, it can be turned into evidence."

"At that time, the mother-son relationship between Mr. Jiang and Auntie Liu will be forcibly defined as—adoption of an anomalous entity."

Jiang Jianguo gripped the ruyi heaven-breaking staff.

"Let it try."

Jiang Feng raised his hand.

"Dad, don't worry."

He looked at the iron box, his voice very calm.

"Let my mom speak."

The next second.

An image of Tianshu Dragon Garden was projected onto the delivery room wall.

Liu Cuilan stood in the living room.

She had already heard everything.

Dragon Girl stood beside her, so angry her tail was almost popping out.

"Grandma, it's calling Master non-human!"

Liu Cuilan didn't say a word.

She simply took off her apron and hung it over the back of a chair.

Then she looked up at the projected iron box.

"You're asking me if what I gave birth to is human?"

The voice in the iron box was steady, without a hint of humanity.

"Subject, please answer."

Liu Cuilan gave a small smile.

There was no fear in that smile.

Only anger.

"When my son was born, he could cry."

"He cried when he was hungry, he cried when he wet himself, and he cried when he was cold."

"When he was little, he was afraid of the dark and insisted on having a nightlight."

"The first time he messed up a test in elementary school, he hid under the covers and didn't dare come out."

"When he was having growth spurts in middle school, his legs hurt in the middle of the night, and I massaged them for him until dawn."

She listed them one by one.

Her tone wasn't loud.

But no one in the delivery room dared to interrupt.

"You say he's not human?"

"Then tell me, which non-human child would have a fever of thirty-nine degrees and still hold my hand, calling me 'Mom'?"

The iron box went silent for a moment.

Soon, the voice continued.

"Emotional records are invalid."

"Please provide a biological definition."

Liu Cuilan's face darkened instantly.

"I don't understand your rubbish definitions."

"I only know that I carried him for ten months and gave birth to him."

"I raised him spoonful by spoonful of rice and soup."

"I stayed up late watching over him as he grew up."

"You take a broken box and ask me if I acknowledge him?"

"Acknowledge my foot!"

Li Yan slapped his thigh.

"Auntie is mighty!"

Jiang Jianguo nodded.

"She swears more elegantly than I do."

Dragon Girl corrected him seriously: "Grandma is more impressive."

The iron box vibrated violently.

[Subject refuses to cooperate.]

[Initiating blood sample re-examination.]

The iron box opened completely.

There was no umbilical cord blood inside.

Only a small section of withered red thread.

One end of the red thread was wrapped around Liu Cuilan's name.

The other end was wrapped around Jiang Feng's old serial number.

[Jiachen Seventeen.]

Zero Seven's expression changed drastically.

"It tied Mr. Jiang's birth record with a First Blue Star serial number!"

"This is the shell of the seventh key."

"We can't just smash it."

"If we do, Auntie Liu's birth record from back then will also be damaged."

Li Yan couldn't help but curse, "This thing is more disgusting than a hospital queue."

Jiang Feng looked at that section of red thread.

A System prompt popped up.

[Original subject record detected.]

[Seventh blue star earth key fragment detected.]

[Current status: Encapsulated by blood sample procedures.]

[Plunderable, but requires confirmation of the subject's true will.]

Jiang Feng looked up.

"Mom."

Liu Cuilan responded immediately.

"Yes?"

Jiang Feng asked, "Eighteen years ago, did you ever regret it?"

Liu Cuilan was stunned for a moment.

Then she scolded, "You child, what nonsense are you talking?"

Jiang Feng didn't speak.

Liu Cuilan looked at him, her voice softening slightly.

"When I gave birth to you, it really, really hurt."

"When you were a fussy baby, you were really, really fussy."

"The family was poor, your dad's salary was low, and I really did worry."

"But regret?"

She shook her head.

"No."

"I, Liu Cuilan, haven't achieved much in this life."

"But I gave birth to you and raised you."

"I don't regret that."

In the delivery room, that section of red thread suddenly stopped.

The blue light originally wrapped around Jiang Feng's old serial number began to loosen.

For the first time, the voice in the iron box grew frantic.

"Subject's will is abnormal."

"Initiating error correction!"

The red thread suddenly snapped taut, like a living blood vessel, charging straight at Liu Cuilan in the Tianshu Dragon Garden projection.

Dragon Girl opened her mouth on the spot.

"I'll bite it to death!"

Jiang Feng moved first.

He reached out and grabbed the red thread directly.

[Warning.]

[Subject records are untouchable.]

[The toucher will bear the denial of birth.]

Jiang Feng calmly uttered one word.

"Denied."

His fingers closed tight.

The red thread let out a piercing scream.

Countless infant files floated up around the delivery room.

Names lit up one by one.

Some were marked "Abnormal."

Some were marked "Replaceable."

Some were marked "Recycling Recommended."

Xiao Zhenjiang's gaze darkened.

"So many?"

Zero Seven looked at those files, her voice dry.

"It's not just Mr. Jiang."

"First Blue Star has screened many children."

"Those with abnormal talents, abnormal fates, or abnormal growth rates might have all been recorded by it."

Zhang Changlin said solemnly, "This is no longer just Jiang Feng's family matter."

Jiang Feng looked at the files.

"It never was."

He pressed the six earth keys onto the red thread.

"Mom, I'll ask you one last thing."

"Who am I?"

Liu Cuilan didn't hesitate for a second.

"Jiang Feng."

"My son."

Boom!

The six earth keys lit up simultaneously.

The blue light on the red thread was forcibly stripped away.

The voice in the iron box began to scream.

[Subject relationship fixed.]

[Unable to overwrite.]

[Unable to transfer.]

[Unable to archive.]

Jiang Feng flipped his palm.

"Then scrap it."

[Triggered Profound Truth · Pangu Plunder.]

[Plundering original subject record core.]

[Liberating anomalous infant files.]

[Obtained seventh blue star earth key fragment.]

The red thread exploded into a rain of light.

A blue fragment fell into Jiang Feng's palm.

Seven earth keys merged.

Blue light spread from his palm, instantly sweeping across Dongjiang City.

In countless homes, people woke up startled from their dreams.

Some suddenly hugged the children beside them.

Some pulled out old medical records, staring at a blank line for a long time in silence.

Some looked at the small characters that had mysteriously vanished from birth certificates, their eyes suddenly reddening.

That wasn't just a record.

It was a net.

Now, a corner of it had been torn open by Jiang Feng's own hands.

System prompts continued to pop up.

[blue star earth key fragments: 7/9.]

[Thirteenth-turn prerequisite progress significantly increased.]

[Obtained attribute increase for all stats: 35 Ji.]

[Current basic six-dimensional attributes: 312 Ji.]

[Extra Plunder: Subject Anchoring Right.]

[Effect: No external rule may tamper with the mother-son relationship between the host and Liu Cuilan.]

Li Yan grinned at the sight.

"Does this count as an official seal of approval?"

Jiang Feng put away the earth keys.

"I'm the one who sealed it."

Li Yan gave a thumbs up.

"Harder than official."

Liu Cuilan also breathed a sigh of relief.

But looking at Jiang Feng, she suddenly frowned.

"Xiao Feng, did you forget to wear your jacket again?"

Jiang Feng looked down at his grey T-shirt.

"It's fine, I'm not cold."

Liu Cuilan immediately said, "You have to wear it even if you're not cold; the Yin Qi in hospitals is heavy."

Jiang Feng, who had just been forced by First Blue Star to verify if he was human, was silent for a second.

"Okay."

Dragon Girl nodded frantically beside him.

"Master must listen to Grandma."

Jiang Jianguo's mouth twitched.

"So you have days like this too."

Jiang Feng glanced at his father.

Jiang Jianguo immediately coughed.

"I'll go check the door."

The iron box in the delivery room had already shattered.

But from the deepest part of the cabinet, another soft sound came.

Click.

Click.

Like an old-fashioned clock ticking.

Zero Seven's face, which had just relaxed, turned pale again.

"There's more?"

From the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet, a yellowed booklet slid out.

Four characters were written on the cover.

[Child Health Manual]

Below it was Jiang Feng's name from when he was little.

The first page flipped open on its own.

A baby photo was pasted on it.

Little Jiang Feng in the photo lay in swaddling clothes, his eyes open.

Behind the photo, a line of blue characters slowly seeped through.

[Eighth Key Custody Record.]

[Time: Age three.]

[Location: Dongjiang City Hongxing Kindergarten.]

[Event: First time leaving mother's sight.]

[Executor: Preschool Teacher, Code Name—Qingni.]