The first place the couple went after stepping into the nurturing station was Ashton’s room.

Ever since he received the remains of the three mindless, he had been wanting to go to his lab more and more.

Kain knew the children were intelligent; there was no way to deny that. But sometimes he wanted to see them act like children. Run wild, be chaotic, but that wasn’t them.

Ashton and Avery had relatively cheerful personalities, but when it comes to pursuing the things they love, they have a single-minded focus that children their age don’t.

Dominic is normally quiet. He could be in a room full of people and find ways to make himself invisible. He is always observing.

Because of this, he tends to treat the three children more like adults than children. He will give them as much time as they need in the station to do whatever they want.

The station would feed them when necessary. They could bathe and go to the bathroom on their own. Amelia and Kain, as parents, were very hands-off.

It was why Kain had insisted he come in to see them today. He wanted to include them in base decisions. He wanted to hear their input. He wanted them not to be wrapped up in their own thing so often.

They do have playdates with the other three children, but their parents have been less willing to bring them up. According to the surveillance, Ashton has been teaching them about parts of the body.

The problem...he gives the scientific names and shows the bloodiest scenes.

While he can look at them normally, it’s not the same for other children. They have been having nightmares.

Another question is where he got the pictures.

Apparently, the system lent him a camera, and he was resourceful enough to use it.

Kain still wondered from time to time if he was the system owner or if the system owned him. It took better care of his children than he did.

Arriving at Ashton’s door, they knocked. The door wasn’t closed, but manners make the man. At least, he taught the three children that much.

They walked in. The door to the lab was also ajar.

Stepping in, the faint smell of antiseptic lingered in the air.

"Ash," Kain called out.

He walked through, scanning all the odds and ends.

This room really isn’t like anything a five-year-old should have.

Bright light illuminated every corner of the room. Things were organized and visibly labelled.

On one wall, there was a set of transparent preservation cylinders. Blue liquid filled the containers.

In one was an elongated leg. Another held a bloated torso. It had been opened, and the chest cavity was empty. Two jars contained half a cat. One part with the cat’s distorted upper half and the other with its lower half.

There were smaller jars with eyes, teeth, organs, and bone fragments.

Child-like writing was scrawled across the jars, while charts were laid flat on the table.

Kain had to admit, the child was brilliant. Their time in the lab had proven to be very beneficial to them. He didn’t need to teach them to write. The knowledge they had surpassed what an ordinary child would know.

He felt a pang in his heart. Because they were so capable, he ignored them.

They finally found him in a corner of his lab. It could be considered a workstation. He had a guinea pig in his hand. One of the animals Kain had brought into the nurturing station.

These animals were still in stasis.

There was a glowing ball of light in Ashton’s hand. Holding the guinea pig in one hand, he extended his other hand, forcing the ball into the guinea pig’s body.

They watched it disappear.

Ashton quickly put it back in its cage, grabbed a face shield, and waited.

Amelia and Kain watched in fascination. They never normally see the child doing experiments. For some reason, he refused to let them come when he was. Even on ordinary days, he didn’t want them to come in.

The last time they entered was when the nurturing station was Tier 1. And the only thing it had was the ’gift’ Kain had given him.

The guinea pig walked around, eating his food, doing guinea pig things. A full fifteen minutes passed, and Ashton’s shoulders were no longer tense.

He reached up to take off the face shield when the guinea pig suddenly began twitching. Kain watched Ashton frown and put his hand back down. His little hands balled into fists.

The guinea pig kept twitching until it suddenly froze. Kain thought it had died. Just as he was about to move forward, a loud bang echoed through the lab.

The two adults watching the scene became statues, their jaws dropped. They glanced at each other in disbelief.

Amelia couldn’t help whispering, "Did it just explode?"

Though it was a whisper, the lab was eerily quiet, so Ashton heard it.

He jumped, the face shield full of blood splatter, tissue, and fur.

Ashton removed the face shield and stared at the two people in front of him. He lowered his head quickly. His body began to shake.

"Ash? Ash, what’s wrong?" Amelia moved forward. Kain’s long stride caused him to reach the child first.

Not caring about the blood on his clothes. Kain picked him up and hugged him.

The tears he was holding back turned into loud sobs that wracked his body. Kain and Amelia looked at each other, helpless. They couldn’t understand why he was crying like this. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Was it because of the guinea pig? That couldn’t be it. He knew it would explode, or he wouldn’t have worn the face shield. So what was the problem?

With Ashton in his arms, he walked out of the lab. He made his way to the bathroom. He could lay the child on the bed when he was covered in blood.

"Ash, it’s me, Dad. You need to take a bath. How about I bathe you, then you can go back to crying?"

Amelia hit him, and he shrugged. He had no idea what to say to the child who was still crying on his shoulder, so he didn’t say anything.

Ashton didn’t struggle. He allowed Kain to bathe and dress him. He gave him to Amelia so he could take a quick shower.

Through it all, the child didn’t stop crying, but the heart-wrenching sobs turned into stubborn sniffles.

Kain stepped out of the bathroom, clothed and ready to see if he could talk to the tiny tot without him crying.