LUO YAN stared at the big black egg in front of him. Just what the heck happened? He was about to poke the egg when his hand was suddenly held by a wide palm. He inadvertently looked up and saw Shen Ji Yun as expected.

Shen Ji Yun suddenly forgot what he had to say because of the soft feel of Luo Yan's hand. It almost seemed like he was holding cotton. He shook his head. He really should have his priorities straight.

"Don't touch it yet. It might be dangerous," he said. "I'll contact someone and ask them if they have any idea regarding what just happened."

After saying that, he let go of the rabbit's hand as if burnt. He then opened his Status Window and contacted Brother Zhao. His game account, even this alt one, had a special privilege. He could directly contact the programming team – particularly Brother Zhao – from inside the game.

He didn't know that they put this kind of function in his account when he started. When he did, he was only told that his uncle was the one who ordered it. To make sure that he could immediately contact someone from the game department if something went wrong. Because he was too lazy to deal with it, he just let it be. And he found out sooner or later that it was quite useful, especially when he's doing beta testing. But if he's not doing that, he'd never used it for anything else.

Until now, that is.

He didn't like playing favorites. Or the fact that he was given special attention just because of who his uncle was. So he never thought of using that function unless it's something that could directly contribute to the game as a whole. Like sending data for doing some beta testing for example.

SHEN: [Brother Zhao, I have a situation here that I'm not familiar with. Could you clarify it, please?]

It took a couple of seconds before he received a reply.

Zhao (Head of Programming Department): [Am I imagining things? How come young master is sending me a message?]

SHEN: [I already said why.]

Zhao (Head of Programming Department): [You're still so not cute as ever.]

SHEN: [Please, just answer my question.]

Zhao (Head of Programming Department): [Tell me exactly what happened.]

And he proceeded on telling him the situation regarding the beast egg.

SHEN: [Is there something wrong with my friend's beast egg? Is it dangerous?]

Zhao (Head of Programming Department): [First, tell me, is this the same friend who you requested the land at the Goldcrest City for?]

Although confused why he had to ask that, Shen Ji Yun still answered honestly.

SHEN: [Yes.]

Zhao (Head of Programming Department): [Is young master actually wooing a girl?]

Shen Ji Yun's brows furrowed. Even if they were only talking via private chat, he could still feel the teasing tone from Brother Zhao's message. He was suddenly reminded of Bai Ze when he asked his opinion about an idea for a gift. Why did both of them just assumed that it was for a girl? For some reason, that simply annoyed him.

SHEN: [Just please tell me the answer.]

Luo Yan, on the other hand, was still staring intently at the egg that now turned all black. It was so black that it looked like ink would bleed out from it. He still couldn't think of a reason why this Little Ancestor of his just became like this.

Then he suddenly remembered where he found the egg. In a cave full of gold coins where a black dragon was sleeping. Could it be, this egg was really that dragon's egg?

Before he could ponder on that thought, Shen Ji Yun already spoke.

"How many percent was the egg's status of hatching?" he asked.

"95%," Luo Yan answered quickly. Looking at Shen Ji Yun's thoughtful expression, it seemed like he already got an answer to the egg's situation from whoever he just contacted. "Is something wrong with my Little Ancestor?"

The corner of Shen Ji Yun's lips twitched when he once again heard the rabbit's nickname for the egg. "None. According to the person I just asked, the incubator disappeared because the egg's Mana was too much for it to hold."

Okay. Luo Yan was a bit relieved when he heard that there was nothing wrong with the egg. "Then, why did it turn black all of a sudden?"

"Remember how you fed the egg with a huge amount of Mana using the [Ambrosia Pod]? The sudden surge of Mana triggered a mutation in the egg – more specifically, the beast inside the egg. The direction of the mutation depended on the Mana of the one who'd been feeding it. You."

Luo Yan digested Shen Ji Yun's explanation. "What does it have to do with my Mana?"

"Do you perhaps have an affinity with a certain element?"

It's something very uncommon. But there were some races that had affinity to certain elements. The Angels for example had extremely high affinity with the light element.

With that question, Luo Yan quickly understood what Shen Ji Yun was trying to say. "Shadow," he said.

He looked at the black egg. So his Little Ancestor mutated because of the sudden urge of Mana from being soaked in the [Ambrosia Pod]. And then it tried to complement his Mana and thus, turning completely black.

He lifted the egg. [So, Little Ancestor, what did you mutate into? You didn't became some deformed beast, right? Right?]

As if answering him, the egg trembled a little.

He raised one of his brows. Did this egg understood what he was just thinking?

"You can no longer put it in an incubator. Nor can you put it in your Items Tab. That means that you have to carry it around with you until it hatches. Which, based on the status of hatching, is not very far off," Shen Ji Yun said.

"But what shall I do once I log out of the game?"

"You don't have to worry about that. It will automatically enter a suspended state once you log out. Then return back to normal once you log in again. This way, you can be sure that you're around when it hatches," Shen Ji Yun explained. "I suggest you leave it at your room at the palace," he continued, referring to their team's headquarters.

When Luo Yan and Luo Jin joined the team, they were also given their own rooms in the palace. Luo Yan hadn't had the time to use his. He hadn't even bothered to decorate it or something. It seemed like it finally now had its used.

"Okay," Luo Yan. "Could Brother Ji Yun relay my thanks to the person you asked about this problem? Please tell him 'thank you for his fast response'."

Shen Ji Yun only nodded. "Do you plan to go back to the palace now?"

"No way," Luo Yan quickly answered. "Does Brother Ji Yun not see the cakes on our table? I still have to eat them all. And then line up again to eat some more."

After he said that, he put the big black egg on his lap and then started eating another slice of cake.

Shen Ji Yun watched Luo Yan stuffed himself with one cake after another. His white cheeks bulging like a pouch. He looked like a rabbit nibbling on his food. He suddenly had the urge to take a screenshot of this scene.

And so he did.