I, Valon, am frantically searching for my mother.

Wayne had known for a long time that not every life is blessed and cherished at birth.

When he was in high school in his previous life, there was a quiet and reserved female classmate in his class.

She comes to school almost every day, and new, unnatural bruises or marks appear on her face and arms.

Although everyone tacitly agreed and never asked too many questions, everyone knew in their hearts that these were actually done by her parents.

Compared to being directly sold into such a hellish place, having one's limbs broken, or being used as material or tools, perhaps being beaten is actually a kind of luck?

Sofia's experience, or rather, her unrealistic fantasies about her mother, are in some ways similar to Daphne's little white dragon.

Wayne still remembers the first time he heard Daphne speak in that innocent yet sorrowful tone about how she and her older brothers and sisters had been abandoned, and her fear that she herself might also be abandoned by her mother.

At that time, besides feeling sorry for that innocent little white figure, he felt a more absurd, bittersweet urge to laugh.

Because the truth is likely far simpler and more cruel than Daphne's whimsical and childlike story.

Where are there so many epic tales of family love, full of helplessness and sacrifice?

For the vast majority of five-colored dragons, the motivations for procreation may be complex and varied, but deep maternal love is definitely not among the top reasons.

More often than not, it's driven by instinct, or by the desire to expand the group, increase power, or simply by taking a liking to another male dragon.

The truth is often cold and direct: there is no love, or the love is so weak that it can be ignored.

Therefore, in the cold winds of the snowy plains, little Daphne conjured up those complex inner monologues for herself and her abandoned older brothers and sisters—

The idea that "Mom and Dad had to leave to lure away the terrible Frost Giants" or "They must be watching over us somewhere" seems both cute and extremely... ridiculous.

The truth is, once the CCB was done, they had their fun and left.

You mean the egg in the crack?

Oh, is that so?

I've long forgotten about it.

Anyway, Bailong has gotten used to giving birth to babies wherever he wants.

That's how we Five-Colored Dragons are. If you're not happy, then don't be one!

Besides, if you, as a five-colored dragon cub, don't go out and wander on your own, struggling to survive in the cruel nature and competition with your own kind, are you going to wait for your mother to call you back for dinner?

funny!

Go ask around, how many five-colored dragons would it take to make up one mother?

If Black Dragon Bella knew about Daphne's melancholy and longing for family, she would only think that this idiot was going crazy again.

But humans... are different.

Human infants are extremely vulnerable and require long-term, meticulous care and emotional nurturing to survive.

For human infants, the absence of love is, to some extent, a death of spirit and even body.

Wayne's gaze swept over the small figures huddled together in the yard, gradually coming to life, before he looked down at the ledger in his hand that recorded the cold transactions.

It's better if these children don't know this secret.

With a gentle breath of dragon's breath, the ledger in the box, along with that ugly secret, was burned to ashes.

At this moment, Vivian, who had been beaten so badly that she was crying and screaming, and who had symmetrical dark circles under her eyes, carefully stood up again.

She covered her still throbbing cheek, moved closer to Wayne, and looked with him at the gradually coming to life scene in the courtyard outside the door.

Led by Sofia, the children helped each other clean themselves of dirt, and some of the bolder ones began to try to push open the heavy wooden door that led from the courtyard to the alley outside.

Although still thin and scarred, the numbness and despair on their little faces were no longer there; instead, a sense of hope and bewilderment emerged from the ordeal.

Vivi watched quietly, her body beneath the purple robe seeming to relax somewhat. Unconsciously, she raised her hand to wipe the dried blood from the corner of her mouth, her voice soft, carrying a complex emotion, as she involuntarily sighed:

"It's so good... these children, to be able to survive, to be like this... it's truly wonderful."

Wayne's massive dragon head tilted slightly, its red vertical pupils looking at her, its gaze still devoid of warmth.

Vivian immediately shuddered and instinctively shrank her neck.

"Master Jinlong, please don't look at me like this, I... I really am a good person! At least... my conscience isn't completely rotten!"

"Although... I do some flesh-and-blood transmutation stuff... it sounds pretty evil, and... I did use some... um, materials..."

Vivian lowered her voice, a hint of embarrassment and shame appearing on her face.

"But... but I was also lured here with a high salary! If I had other ways to make money, to earn it honestly, who would want to get involved in this? Not only would my reputation be ruined, but I'd be living in constant fear..."

She paused, as if remembering something, and something else appeared in her eyes:

"And... I've secretly helped the little ones before."

"When no one is looking, I will secretly share some of my normal food with the little guy who looks particularly weak."

"When Old Scarface is in a bad mood and wants to take it out on them, and he hits them particularly hard, I will find a way to send him away and make him go to buy things further away."

"After all, these things can be delayed as long as possible. Sometimes he finds it troublesome or forgets, and then the matter is just forgotten."

"Then why did you stop doing it?"

Wayne's voice rang out calmly, making it impossible to tell whether it was a question or a simple inquiry.

"It's no use, Lord Golden Dragon!"

Vivian shook her head bitterly, a deep sense of helplessness and exhaustion showing in her swollen eyes.

"There are actually loss indicators here. As long as we deliver the required results, it doesn't matter if one or two escape."

"I once...tried it. I secretly let out a clever little guy who I was on good terms with, gave him a few coins, and told him which direction to run in to be safer."

"I originally thought... if we let them out, they could escape."

Vivian forced a smile, a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"And guess what happened?"

"There's absolutely no need to send anyone specifically to catch them."

"Six or seven days later... the little guy was found by someone and brought to my materials table intact."

"His body... has many new wounds. He... is gone."

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and her shoulders trembled slightly.

"Later I learned that... children like them, without identity, without background, with no mother coming to find them... in this lower street, in these maze-like alleys, letting them go is not much different from killing them outright."

"There will always be other scarred faces, other old women, or simply starving homeless people who will do anything, dragging them back, or even... maybe worse."

"Children without mothers... in this godforsaken place, even if we let them go, they won't be able to get out, and they won't live long."