Kaden woke up to two beaming smiling elderly faces staring down at him. In his opinion they were way too close. He tried to curse them out, but all he managed was to drool all over himself. This only seemed to encourage them more as they stuck their head closer, making encouraging sounds at him.
"Father, Mother, I need to feed Kaden." His mother walked over to the crib and picked him up.
"Right right, you should feed him." The elderly man nodded, "We'll give you some privacy. Someone from the military bureau will be by later to administer the gene agent. I've made sure it'll be first-rate quality, only the best for my grandson."
"Thank you father." The woman bowed with the baby in her arms.
"Don't stand on ceremony with me, you're our daughter-in-law and have born me the perfect grandson." The elderly man nodded and left the room along with the elderly woman.
In a good mood, the woman pulled down her blouse and started breastfeeding Kaden. This part he could get used to. While feeding he thought back to their conversation. His new family seemed to be quite well off. The grandfather seemed like he had some powerful position, able to commandeer resources from the military.
"Ahh baby you sure seem hungry. Mommy is happy, you're going to grow big and strong." His mother spoke happily to him, but to him it just felt condescending. Damn woman, your voice is annoying, be quiet already.
After being fed, he was put back in the crib to rest until the person from the military bureau arrived. He felt like he hadn't slept nearly enough when he was once again pulled out of his crib.
This time there was yet another new face in the room. A man clad in a dark black and blue uniform. The man unlocked a suitcase he had with him and took out a tube of purple liquid. It looked poisonous more than anything.
"Miss please hold him still for me." With a syringe he deftly sucked up the liquid in the tube before moving close to the woman and grabbing Kaden's arm.
"System, this isn't anything poisonous right?" Kaden asked in his head.
"No it's not. It's a type of gene agent created to stimulate the genes. It'll be beneficial to your body's development." The robotic voice replied.
"Right, if you say so." He felt reassured, yet it wasn't like he could've stopped them from injecting him with it in the first place. Luckily he didn't mind needles, or at least, had no memories of doing so.
With a quick movement the man pierced Kaden's arm and injected the liquid. There was a look of surprise on his face as he pulled the needle back after emptying it.
"Hm, what's wrong?" His mother got worried seeing the man's expression.
"Oh, don't worry it's nothing." The man hesitated but then spoke, "It's just, it's the first time I've seen a baby not cry after being injected. I was just surprised I guess."
Well fuck Kaden thought, he could've been given a warning that he was supposed to cry beforehand right? He would've made sure to do so then. It wasn't easy pretending to be a baby.
"I see, my baby is a strong boy." His mother fawned over him like only a new mother could.
"Yes Miss." The man said respectfully, "With that done I will take my leave."
With a nod from the woman, the man bowed and left through the door.
After the man left, his mother immediately started fawning over him again.
"Ohh who's mommy's favorite little boy? You are, yes you are!" She held him up and blew a raspberry on his stomach.
The worst part was that he had to act his role and smile while drooling all over himself. Just put me down already woman, this is demeaning.
She seemed to finally get her fill and put him back in the crib again. Yes, this was much better, free from that crazy lady's grasp. Like a repeating occurrence, exhaustion overpowered him and he drifted off to dreamland.
He dreamed that he could finally speak and tell that damned woman to shut her trap and get off of him. Oh how wonderful it would be.
For the remainder of the day, he managed to sleep through most of it in peace, except for being woken up a few times to eat. Luckily he wouldn't be bothered for too long.
…
During the night, he woke up. His mother was already asleep in her bed. Met with a situation like this, other babies would've cried, but he wasn't a normal baby. This was a chance to finally have some thinking time.
"So, almighty system, what can you actually do?" Kaden asked.
"Answering that question would be far too complex. I am capable of many things."
"What a boring answer." He would've shook his head if he could without looking like an idiot.
"Apologies. I have many functions. Among them, some are unlocked, while some are locked pending certain requirements. You are my host, my primary function is to assist you, whatever task you may have. Currently you should just wait. It is unwise to begin training before your body is strong enough."
"I suppose that's a good enough explanation for now." Kaden said, "You mentioned some features are locked? Why?"
"That depends on the feature. Most are locked due to having too low of a cultivation stage."
"Cultivation stage? What are you even on about?"
"My mistake, I forgot host's native planet was so backwards in terms of technology and individual strength. Cultivation is the form of strengthening the universe's inhabitants rely on. Drawing in the world's spirit energy and using it to strengthen their bodies. Due to your family, host will certainly have the opportunity to cultivate later."
"Arghh, everything is later later later. Isn't there anything I can do now?"
"Host is advised to drink lots of breast milk to get the necessary nutrients for developing a strong body."
"Right…" Kaden sighed.