Chapter 099: The Baby’s Personal Nanny

"However," she continued, "that's not what I wanted to say."

While the others once again cast covetous glances at the white jade seal, Su Xiaoke said, "It's about Xiaobai's new physiological data..."

"Is it good news and bad news again?" Without waiting for the brilliant girl to finish, Bai Yuxi took a deep breath to steady himself. "I choose to hear the good news first!"

"In fact, there isn't really a distinction between good and bad," Su Xiaoke replied. "But since you've decided, the good news is: absorbing the Abyssal Thunder Toad hasn't caused any deterioration in your condition!"

She held up her tablet for everyone to see, pointing at the displayed data. "Everything remains as it was, just scaled up proportionally."

"So, the bad news is my food and nutrition expenses are going to increase again?" Bai Yuxi scrutinized the numbers on the tablet, but apart from long strings of digits and characters, he couldn't make sense of it—only that the numbers seemed to have too many digits.

"An increase in nutrition expenses hardly counts as bad news at this point." Su Xiaoke shook her head and swiped her slender fingers across the screen, revealing another page. "The bad news is, after absorbing the Abyssal Thunder Toad, our physiological monitoring equipment can no longer detect your state at all!"

Everyone stared in disbelief at the rows of question marks on the display.

"Does this mean Xiaobai's physical status has already surpassed E-rank?" Luo Fei wondered, her eyes fixed in astonishment on Bai Yuxi's six-dimensional data, the super-activity level, X-energy level, and special abilities—all showing the symbol for 'unknown.'

"I don't know!" Su Xiaoke admitted. "To be honest, I can't figure out his current status anymore. I don't even know what level of dimensional lifeform that Abyssal Thunder Toad was."

She shrugged. "If Xiaobai still achieved a 100% lossless conversion this time, it means he may have reached a level corresponding to the Toad itself, having devoured all its extraordinary energy and source matter!"

"But as you all know, that's nearly impossible."

"The highest theoretical value for human physical status is ten times that of an ordinary person," she continued. "That's the limitation imposed by human physiology—anything beyond that is almost no longer considered human."

"After absorbing the source matter from that Level 6 humanoid MS-UMA, Xiaobai theoretically reached a 'non-human' level, with physical parameters fifteen times that of a normal person. But after absorbing the Abyssal Thunder Toad, twenty times, thirty times, even fifty times is possible!"

She glanced at Bai Yuxi. "But we mere ants can't even comprehend what such a level means!"

Everyone felt a bit dazed. Using the average strength of a 50kg adult male as a standard unit, the human body’s maximum limit is about 500kg—so-called '10 times physical capacity.' But at twenty times—about a ton—a human body simply can’t bear that, much less thirty or fifty.

"Uh... but isn't higher physical status better?" Jason, the foreign youth, was puzzled. "Why is that bad news?"

"High physical status isn’t bad in itself," Su Xiaoke replied. "For Xiaobai, the stronger his physique, the higher the level of extraordinary energy he can endure, which is good news for his condition."

"But you aren't considering the law of energy conservation—'the stronger the physique, the greater the consumption.' Just think: at twenty or fifty times human capacity, how much bioenergy and nutrition would he need daily just for basic activity?"

"Even supplying artificial bioenergy and nutrients is a minor issue compared to the potential environmental demands of such a magnified constitution."

"For example, his need for oxygen in the air, or the body's dependence on gravity for organ function... Otherwise, how do you think the dinosaurs, the former rulers of Earth, went extinct?"

Su Xiaoke sighed. "Don’t you think the oxygen level that suits us might suffocate him?"

"So, Xiaobai might suffocate because his body is too strong?" Willy, the black foreigner, asked, horrified. "Or, because Earth’s gravity isn’t enough, he might die from not being able to, uh, relieve himself?"

"..."

Everyone was speechless. Couldn’t he have used a better analogy?

"Most importantly, if I can't monitor his physiological data, I can't devise targeted treatment plans in real time."

"This kind of indeterminate 'unknown' state is what’s most frightening. Otherwise, we could provide him with high-oxygen inhalation devices or equipment to maintain his organ function according to his needs—that would keep him alive."

"But now, I can only infer what he needs from his own feedback, which puts much more pressure on me as the 'logistics officer.'"

Su Xiaoke nodded, sighing in distress, "I have to take care of him twenty-four hours a day. Doesn’t it feel like I’ve become a personal nanny for a baby?"

Everyone looked at Bai Yuxi, this nearly extinct 'dinosaur baby,' with a strange expression.

Bai Yuxi, for his part, looked at the brilliant girl with a hint of flattery in his eyes—this truly was a matter of life and death for him.

"But this is my responsibility as the logistics officer," she said. "However, for the foreseeable future, Xiaobai, you'll have to follow my arrangements at all times."

"Since I need to monitor your condition constantly, you'd best move into headquarters. Outside of field missions, you shouldn't leave my sight for study or daily life."

Su Xiaoke waved her hand, indicating Bai Yuxi needn't be so nervous. "After all, you're an 'enhanced brain' extraordinary individual. Why not adjust your studies at school to serve as my lab assistant?"

"Oh..." Bai Yuxi nodded obediently.

For the sake of his own life, he had no objections whatsoever.

But then he suddenly realized and asked, surprised, "Wait, do we still have to go to school?"

"Of course!" The members of Team Seven all looked at him with disdain. "Did you think we just laze around all day, fighting monsters across the world for fun?"