Chapter Twenty-Six: Shadows
Lokin squatted down in front of Anno, looking into her eyes across a cart.
"Baby, don't be afraid..."
Seeing that Anno did not show any resistance, Luo Jin cautiously reached out to her. As soon as her fingertips touched her hand, Anno's body trembled slightly and she shrank back.
Anno was brought back to her senses by Lokin's touch. She stared at the beautiful face in front of her. She recognized her. She was Hicks' mother, who had killed all those who attacked them and saved her and Tuka.
This face had just appeared in her dream as well. She called her mother, and the way she looked at her was just as tender as it was now, as if she really was her daughter.
Lokin tried reaching out to the little cub again, remembering how she had mumbled "Mommy" to him earlier, and said softly, "Baby, come to Mommy. With Mommy here, no one can hurt you."
Anno was stunned. Was she her mother?
However, after a moment, Anuo realized that she was probably just saying that to comfort him.
Anno stopped resisting and let Lokin's warm hand fall on her cold one, and her tense mind slowly relaxed.
Seeing that the cubs had calmed down a bit, and the flashing red light from the light strip hanging on his shoulders had dissipated, Luo Jin gently pulled aside the stroller blocking their way and slowly approached the cubs.
"It's okay, baby, it's okay."
Lokin gently took the medical instruments from Anno's hands, then gently pulled her into his arms, patting her back softly to soothe her.
Anno leaned her head on Lokin's shoulder, her hand unconsciously grasping her long hair that hung down by her side, gazing absently at the starry sky outside the porthole.
She had previously unleashed tremendous strength and aggression due to excessive emotional excitement. Now, she felt completely relaxed, weak and exhausted, and her body was covered in a dense, tingling pain.
Tang Ting breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Luo Jin had successfully calmed the cub. The two exchanged a glance, and Tang Ting picked up a medical kit and turned to walk outside. Luo Jin followed, carrying Anuo.
As soon as Tang Ting stepped out of the medical room, he said to the medical officers outside, "Change your clothes into everyday clothes."
After hearing this, the medical officers took off their white coats, realizing that the Fire Seed cubs were probably somewhat resistant to them as medical staff.
Tang Ting also took off his white coat. When he was holding the little cub, he observed her and she clearly had a fear of the environment in the medical room. When she woke up, she was very resistant to the medical staff.
This resistance and fear are not like a normal stress response, but more like a psychological shadow.
She has a psychological aversion to the medical environment and medical staff.
He didn't know what this little cub had gone through on Casa that could cause her such psychological trauma at such a young age, even though, according to Hicks's report, this little cub was born in a petri dish just four days ago, including today.
This was a point that puzzled him, but right now the most important thing was her health; he could only investigate the rest after the cubs were settled.
Tang Ting led Anuo to the nursery that had been prepared for her in advance. The nursery was decorated in a cute and cozy way, which helped her relax and become less wary and resistant.
Luo Jin carried Anuo to the sofa and took a soft blanket from the side to drape it over her body.
Although the room temperature was comfortable, she was only dressed in a tube top and shorts to make it easier to treat the cub. When Lokin held her, he could feel her body trembling slightly and feeling a little cold.
Tang Ting placed the medical kit in a corner where the cub couldn't see it, opened the medical kit, took out the medicine she had prepared in advance, walked up to her, and after making sure she wouldn't resist, gently took her hand, treating the still bleeding needle mark on her wrist while softly introducing herself to her.
“Hello little one, my name is Tang Ting, and I am Hicks’ father. Don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”
In the message Hicks sent to their cubs, she said that she could understand what they were saying and had even learned some simple words.
He previously didn't think that a cub that had only been born in a petri dish for four days could understand their language. He even said that even though the cub's bone age was already three years old, she had been born too short a time and had not had enough time to learn and understand language.
Apart from her age, she is not much different from a newborn baby.
But seeing how Logan interacted with her, and her babbling in her sleep, he couldn't help but believe that this little cub truly possessed an intelligence and sensitivity beyond her years.
When Anno heard that Tang Ting was Hicks's father, he looked up at him, and his fist, which had been clenched in tension, slowly relaxed.
Lokin sat down next to Anno, gently stroking her back as he softly said, "Baby will be able to come to our new home with us soon, and no one will hurt you anymore."
When Anno heard Luo Jin call her baby, she turned her head slightly and lowered her eyes, her other hand unconsciously gripping the sofa.
I hadn't thought much about it before because I was a bit stressed, but now that I'm more relaxed, I feel a little uncomfortable hearing Locke call me that.
After treating the needle marks on her arms and legs, Tang Ting took out a medicine and injected it into her arm.
The injection needle is hidden inside; it only pops out when the skin is touched. The injection is completed in an instant, and Anno felt like she had been bitten by a mosquito and it was gone.
After Tang Ting finished injecting Anuo, he turned on the computer to check her health data.
The little cub has a thumb-sized device attached to the back of her neck to monitor her health, including her emotions and physical sensations.
Tang Ting looked at the display on the computer screen and saw that the cub's emotions were stable. After the injection, its pain level had also decreased significantly.
He took out a testing pen to test Anno's physical reaction, and Anno cooperated with him quite well.
Although she was vigilant, she knew that the two people in front of her were Hicks' parents, and she had also seen how Locke saved her. She was not someone who couldn't distinguish between good and evil.
However, her past upbringing and experiences have prevented her from adapting to them quickly.
Seeing that the little cub no longer rejected Tang Ting, Luo Jin stroked the back of her head and said, "Baby must be hungry. I'll go get her something delicious."
Knowing that Anno could understand what they were saying, Lokin treated her like a normal three-year-old child, who at that age could generally understand everyday conversational language.
After Tang Ting finished testing Anuo, he retrieved a psychological test booklet from his personal computer. The test images were selected based on Anuo's reaction in the medical room, and each page contained different items.
He let Anuo choose freely, and fearing that Anuo might not understand at first, he even demonstrated with gestures.
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