"Yes, this is our baby." Luo Chuan was already crying uncontrollably.
Nina gazed at the child’s still wrinkled face and closed her eyes in contentment. What she did not know was that the child’s arrival would stir up significant unrest. With the birth of Luo’er, a conflict centered around the Otherworld was set into motion. On one hand was a civilization that had already completed its fourth industrial revolution, and on the other hand was a civilization still mired in the feudal ignorance era. With Luo’er’s arrival, the wheels of fate had already begun to turn.
After the baby’s birth, Nina rested for two days before regaining her strength. During this time, Luo Chuan was busy taking care of her and the baby, utterly unable to attend to anything else. Whenever he felt tired, he would look at his son next to Nina and instantly feel reenergized.
Suddenly, Luo Chuan coughed harshly while busy. He clutched his chest, feeling an inexplicable discomfort.
"What’s wrong?" Nina, sitting on the bed with the baby in her arms, asked, looking at him.
"Nothing, I might just be a bit tired." Luo Chuan smiled, not telling Nina about his current state.
"Come rest a bit, come look at our son." Nina said softly.
"Alright!" Upon hearing about their son, Luo Chuan dashed to Nina’s side in a split second, wrapping his arm around her.
"It seems like our baby’s eyes are open now." Nina lowered her head and said.
"Just like you, he has dark green eyes." Luo Chuan looked at the child and said with a goofy smile.
"He’s so cute," Nina gazed at the child, her smile gradually fading. She remembered her kingdom, where half-elves were not allowed. To return to the Elven Kingdom, she would have to abandon her child.
"In the past, my mother told me that half-elves were inferior beings. They carry the bloodline of foreigners and tarnish the noble lineage of wood elves. I used to believe that, until I saw this child, our child," Nina leaned gently against Luo Chuan’s shoulder as she spoke. She continued, "They’re not inferior at all. They are descendants of wood elves too—they should be recognized. But my mother told me that if a wood elf wants to return, she must abandon her child. Because of this rule, many wood elves never made it back to the kingdom. I used to think that they were foolish, now it appears, the foolish one was me."
"No mother would willingly abandon their child. The child carries the mother’s blood – who could willingly sever such a fundamental bond? If I can live together with my husband and my child, I wouldn’t care even if we cannot return to the kingdom."
"Don’t worry, both I and our child will protect you," Luo Chuan held her and said with a smile.
"Luo Chuan, when you grow old, I will leave with you," Nina looked up at him, her voice filled with affection.
"Don’t talk nonsense, what will happen to the child if you leave? He cannot be without a mother!" Luo Chuan patted her on the back and said.
"When the child grows up, he will fly away," Nina said.
"No, I will make him stay and protect you," Luo Chuan said.
"You’re so bossy. The child might not like you," Nina looked at him and said.
"Anyway, our child still doesn’t have a name," Luo Chuan scratched his head, diverting the conversation from the solemn topic.
"A name, what should we call him?" Nina asked.
"How do elves name their children?" Luo Chuan asked.
"In the kingdom, every child is named by the queen, as wood elves have a very low birth rate," Nina explained.
"I see." Luo Chuan nodded.
"And on Earth?" Nina looked at him and asked.
"In my country, children usually inherit their father’s surname. Of course, now it’s more open. Boys can inherit from the father, and girls from the mother," Luo Chuan explained.
"Inherit the father’s surname..." Nina lowered her head, unfamiliar with this concept.
"My name is Luo Chuan. My surname is Luo, so in line with our tradition, the child’s name should start with Luo!" Luo Chuan continued explaining.
"So the child’s name should start with Luo?" Nina asked.
"Uh," Luo Chuan was taken aback and hastened to wave and say, "Of course, letting the child inherit your surname is also fine!"
"Elves don’t have surnames," Nina looked down at the child and whispered, "also, you are my husband. It’s only natural for the child to take your surname."
"Ah..." Luo Chuan scratched his head, looking at Nina with a grateful face.
"So, what should the child’s name be?" Nina looked at him and asked.
"Hmm," Luo Chuan pondered for a moment, then suggested, "How about you name the child!"
"Me?" Nina asked a bit hesitantly.
"Yes, since the child’s surname is Luo, you can give him a name that starts with Luo. As for the Chinese character for the name, I will help you figure it out," Luo Chuan said.
"Well..." Nina lowered her head in thought for a moment and suddenly, as if a light bulb went off in her head, she pronounced two syllables, "lo...er".
"What?" Luo Chuan was taken aback.
"loer...is it okay?" Nina asked.
"Luo’er, what a great name!" Luo Chuan exclaimed joyously.
Then, he wrote the name Luo’er on the ground. ’Lo’ was his surname, and the syllable ’er’ was written using the character ’尔’.
"Is this... the child’s name?" Nina asked, looking down at the name on the ground.
"Yes, these two characters are our son’s name, pronounced Luo’er!" Luo Chuan explained.
"Luo’er," Nina tried reading the Chinese characters on the ground, then looked at the child in her arms, and said contentedly, "Our child’s name is Luo’er!"
"So, technically, it was your mother who named you!" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but interrupt.
"Yes!" Luo’er nodded.
"No wonder it rolls off the tongue so easily!" Cheng Ziang exclaimed, nodding in understanding.
"Whimper!!!" Hu Daoke made a dissatisfied whimpering sound from the side, apparently accusing Cheng Ziang of breaking the rules.
"Shut up, I only interrupted once, you, however, are a repeated offender!" Cheng Ziang glared at him.
"It’s okay, interrupting might be for the best, as the rest of the story is not so wonderful." Luo’er shook his head, a touch of sadness on his face.
"What happened next?" Seeing Luo’er’s expression, Tangmo couldn’t help but cautiously ask.
"Magic Power Erosion, my father..." Luo’er began, biting his lip, seemingly at a loss for words.
"Luo’er, if it’s something that hurts you, you don’t have to talk about it." Tangmo said with concern.
"It’s okay, since you all want to know, it doesn’t hurt to let it out. After all, suppressing it for so many years is quite hard." Luo’er shook his head, forcing a smile.
In Luo’er’s memory, since he became aware, his father had never been in good health. At first, he could play with him, but later, he was confined to bed. All the household affairs were managed by his mother.
Combining his understanding of the situation, Luo Chuan roughly figured out the cause of his illness. If he guessed correctly, it should have been a substance called ’magic power’ that is prevalent in the Otherworld’s atmosphere. After the first Otherworld war ended, the American army captured a vast number of soldiers from the Otherworld Allied Army and placed them in a military prison in Australia.
But soon, mass deaths started occurring in the prison. At first, the American army suspected it was a contagious disease, so they isolated the prison and held the Otherworld people in separate groups. However, the Otherworld people kept dying uncontrollably.
Combining the interrogation reports and autopsy reports, the American army finally concluded that these Otherworld people died from the depletion of a substance called Magic Power. This substance is prevalent in the atmosphere of the Otherworld, but not present on Earth, hence these Otherworld people found it hard to adapt to an environment without Magic Power, resulting in mass deaths.
Of course, after the second Otherworld war ended, the Earth people detained in the Otherworld also experienced the same discomfort, and many deaths. After researching these people, it was finally discovered that Magic Power eroded the bodies of Earth people, eventually leading to organ failure.
At this time, an outsider Luo Chuan was unaware of the results of the Earth people’s investigations. He was just recalling the past events, thinking of how Nina had once healed his wounds with magic. According to Nina, magic was summoned by spells, gathered from the Magic Power in the surrounding environment, and then transformed into a form needed by the caster.
This meant that his only hope to survive was to leave here and return to Earth.
"Nina..." Luo Chuan, lying on the bed, called his wife’s name. Hearing his call, Nina hurried to his side.
"Don’t worry, take a good rest, I will go find some medicine for you." At this point, Nina had lost the agility of an elf, appearing more like a countrywoman.
"Nina, listen to me," Luo Chuan said, panting heavily. "I’ve thought about this for a long time, if we keep staying here, I might not survive. The only hope is to leave here and go back to Earth."
"Why?" Upon hearing Luo Chuan mentioning leaving, Nina’s heart twisted in her chest.
"Listen to me, Nina," Luo Chuan took a few breaths, collected his energy and said, "I must go back to Earth for treatment, or I may not hold on. Once I’m cured, I promise to return and reunite with you."
"I understand," Nina turned away, gently wiped her tears, then turned back and said, "I will find a way to get out of here, then send you off. But, but, you have to promise me you will come back!"
"Rest assured, my wife and child are here, this is my home, how could I leave you behind." Luo Chuan said, caressing Luo’er, who was standing by the bed, a relieved smile on his face.
"Daddy, where are you going?" A five-year-old Luo’er, with a head of black hair, tilted his head and asked.
"Luo’er, Daddy is going home to take a look, then I’ll come back!" Luo Chuan replied comfortingly.
"Luo’er, watch Daddy. Mama’s going out for a bit!" Nina turned away, covering her face, left the room, and picked up the 03 rifle by the table. Soon, a deafening gunshot echoed from outside the door.