Chapter 28

Faith from the Bandasia continent continued to surge toward the cub. The little one, who had previously been starving, was finally able to eat his fill in one go.

However, as these waves of faith poured in relentlessly, System 001, which possessed Main God-level perception, suddenly began to doubt whether it had been the right choice to have the cub pick up that scepter to receive the offerings.

Because... the sheer volume of this faith energy was simply too vast!

One must understand that earlier, the faith offered by just the lone half-orc, Salvador, had been enough to briefly fill Su You’s stomach. And now, the faith energy from the entire Bandasia continent was converging toward a single target like a ceaseless river!

Everyone knows that starvation leads to death. But then... what happens when one overeats?

Feeling the continuous, pulsing waves of power from across the entire continent—a flow that seemed as though it would never end—System 001, which a moment ago had been worried about whether the cub could successfully feed, now began to feel a sense of regret.

The tiny cub had no idea his system was troubled. After feeling full, the little one poked the branch-scepter in his hand, curious as to why this item, which didn't look tasty at all, could actually make him feel full.

For a child, curiosity often leads to putting things in one’s mouth. And so, little Su You took another nibble of the branch.

This scepter, revered in Bandasia as the symbol of the Beast God’s power, had likely never experienced being treated as food, yet in the short time since the cub had taken hold of it, he had already stuffed it into his mouth twice.

...And both times, it made the cub wrinkle his little bun-like face and spit it out.

Looking at the branch-scepter in his hand, the little one furrowed his brow in confusion. "System, the scepter isn't yummy at all!"

System 001 watched the cub’s earnest, frowning expression, remaining silent for a long time, unsure how to explain the relationship between a scepter and food to a three-and-a-half-year-old.

Before the system could even formulate an answer, the cub suddenly patted his own belly. "Eh? Is Youyou full again?"

The tiny cub frowned, his little face bunched up as he tried to reconcile the scepter with the concept of food. But since this 'food' tasted so bad, the cub, who had now tasted it twice, was filled with hesitation and conflict.

The scepter wasn't tasty, but it could make Youyou’s tummy full!

The three-and-a-half-year-old felt he was facing the greatest dilemma of his 'life' so far.

Just as the cub was struggling with the scepter in his hand, System 001 sensed the enormous danger lurking behind it. It had heard its cub host say, "Youyou is full again."

System 001 knew clearly that its host was too young to accurately describe his own condition. When the first wave of faith energy arrived earlier, the cub had already ceased to be hungry. Now, with a new wave pouring in, the cub could not possibly be hungry again.

At this stage, the cub’s so-called "full again" was likely a state of being "stuffed." However, judging by the cramped space the cub had lived in previously, which contained no food or edible contents, he could never have experienced the sensation of being "stuffed." Therefore, Su You could not possibly know that he was not "full again," but rather "too full."

At this thought, System 001’s nerves tightened instantly. Looking at the cub, it cautiously advised, "Youyou, don't eat the scepter anymore... don't eat it until your tummy is hungry again."

Although the little one didn't understand why, he didn't like the taste of the scepter anyway, so he nodded earnestly at the system. "Youyou knows now!"

Saying this, the little one wanted to simply toss the branch-scepter away, but the long-term hunger had created a sense of urgency regarding the existence of 'food.' His little hand, which was about to let go, grabbed the branch again, and he said solemnly, "Food that can make me full! Very important, must hide it!"

System 001 had not realized what the cub was doing until the next second, when it saw the cub shove the branch-scepter—which was clearly larger than the volume of his pocket—into the small pouch on his chest...

System 001, a military commander system with Main God-level strength and supposedly vast knowledge: "..."

In the current era of Great Universe Entertainment, since technology had developed to the point of creating Main God-level systems and super-intelligent lifeforms like the Black Universe Group's St. Hilberg Omniscient Brain, space-folding technology was no longer a novelty. Yet, even though it was common, smaller space-folding devices remained expensive and rare.

For a system with Main God-level strength, it would be impossible to be unaware of any spatial device in its vicinity. Yet, until the cub actually stuffed the branch into his pocket—or even while he was doing it—System 001 had not detected any escaping spatial fluctuations.

There were only two possibilities for this: either this spatial device was at least three levels higher than System 001—which, as a Main God-level system, would mean it reached or surpassed the level of the St. Hilberg Omniscient Brain—or, the second possibility...

This was not a man-made space-folding device at all, but rather... the cub's own innate spatial ability.

System 001 watched as the cub tucked the branch-scepter bit by bit into his little pocket. After a long silence, it asked a question: "Youyou, can you tell me what’s in your pocket?"

The tiny cub looked up, blinked his large, cyan eyes, and nodded easily. "Yes, I can!"

He then tried hard to rummage through his little pocket. The next second, something the system had never expected appeared before its eyes: it was the teddy bear the cub had been clutching from the beginning.

"Look! It's Bear-bear!"

The tiny cub looked at the system excitedly. "Youyou was afraid Bear-bear would disappear, so I put him in my pocket!"

The powerful and gentle military commander System 001 stared at the doll for ten seconds in silence, then asked in a voice that was uncharacteristically hoarse: "And... besides Bear-bear?"

"Besides Bear-bear?"

The little one blinked, then shook his head like a bobblehead. "Nothing else! Only Bear-bear and the scepter are in the pocket!"

With that, the little one pouted sadly. "Because everything else in the pocket was eaten up by Youyou..."

The system finally realized that whether this pocket was an innate spatial ability or something else, it was truly empty now.

The little cub could never explain the origin of the space, and after a moment of silence, System 001 realized there was no need to pursue the matter of Su You's space.

It was attempting to sense the surrounding surge of faith energy—after the branch-scepter was tucked away into his space, the speed of the surge did indeed seem to slow down.

However... the flow of this power had still not ceased.

What to do?

System 001 did not believe these faith energies possessed autonomous consciousness; they would simply continue to pour toward their target. As long as the faith itself did not cease, the influx of energy would not stop.

This was the complete faith energy of the vast Bandasia continent... such a quantity was not only enough to feed the cub, but with the continuous influx... it was enough to 'burst' him.

Now that the scepter was tucked away, the influx had slowed, but this was merely treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

Sure enough.

The little cub had only just taken out his teddy bear to play happily for a while when he suddenly touched his belly and wrinkled his little bun-face. "...Why is Youyou full again?"

As he spoke, the little one let out a burp out of thin air. He looked utterly adorable in his dazed state, but at this moment, System 001 felt increasingly anxious.

After a brief and rapid calculation, System 001 immediately said to the little one: "Youyou, stand up and tell the beast-kin kneeling toward you—stop kneeling!"

"Oh...?"

Although the little one didn't understand why, he stood up with effort, walked to the edge of the Beast God statue's palm, and said in his milky voice toward the twelve Holy Beasts on the surrounding tall pillars: "Stop kneeling?"

When the cub's voice reached the twelve Holy Beasts, they raised their heads and let out a long howl. Thus, the command to 'stop kneeling' issued by the cub was transmitted throughout the Bandasia continent through the mouths of the twelve Holy Beasts.

Upon sensing this, System 001 finally felt a sense of relief.

But at that very moment, as if to confirm the cub's command, a new round of surging faith energy, led by the twelve Holy Beasts, began to roll toward the cub...!

Even System 001, with its Main God-level strength, had not expected such a bizarre turn of events.

A new, frenzied wave of faith energy, almost tangible in its density, swept toward the cub, wrapping around him!

At this moment, the cub standing on the palm of the Beast God statue was dazed, being washed over by the frenzied faith energy, and a hint of pain gradually appeared on his face.

"...Youyou is already full!"

The little one wrinkled his bun-face and shook his head vigorously, as if trying to refuse the excessive food at this moment...

System 001, which had always been gentle and calm, could not help but fall into a panic. It began to use its powerful Main God-level computing ability to rapidly simulate how to solve the problem at hand...