_They can proceed!_
That was Domi's order before stepping away.The show began; the machinery hummed as it powered up, and the air around Lowo N'air changed color as if it were a thin, fragile bubble that was condensing and solidifying into white, yellow, and finally, green. Done! Lowo N'air was connected to the cocoon, which was nothing more than a portal to an unknown world, or maybe not.
Initially, Lowo N'air felt uncomfortable and experienced severe pain, especially in his stomach. Then the pain moved to his feet, traveled up to his legs, arms, hands, and when it reached his head, he lost consciousness. But before he blacked out, he heard a voice: "Hello, my name is Sirou. Welcome to the Gold Reward Interactive System. Starting assimilation tutorial."
Little Joe opened his eyes and couldn't believe that, beside him, was his father, Dondinel, with tears in his eyes. Seeing Little Joe awake, he hugged him tightly.
_My little Joe! It's so good that you're alive. For a moment, I thought I would lose you forever._
Little Joe had no time to respond as his mother quickly advanced towards him, taking him from his father, hugging him, kissing him, and smiling through her tears, grateful that her son was among them.
_Mom, Dad, what happened? And why are you crying?_
Disguising and wiping the tears from his eyes, his father said:
_Son, your body had excess energy, and I had to use all my knowledge to prevent you from dying. So, I'm going to ask you one thing: please don't eat everything you see, or...
Little Joe's mother didn't let her husband finish the sentence and said loudly:
_I'm sure our son will never do something like this again. That he will never make us worry as much as he did today, right, my little Joe?_
Without any idea of what had happened, Little Joe simply agreed.
_Yes, Mom, it's true, I will never make you worry again._
His father was tempted to smile because he knew very well Little Joe's greed, and all he could do was stay alert about it. After all, how could someone prevent their child from eating something if they wanted to?
Once everything was back to normal and Little Joe had asked for a big plate of food along with his meatballs, the little broquito, a bit later, alone with his father, they began to talk:
_Son, I'm curious about something I want to show you. Can you tell me what this is?_
His father said as he handed him something.
_Is this a caringalinha egg?_
_No, son, this isn't a caringalinha egg. Although it looks like one, it isn't._
Caringalinha was a small chicken species that laid relatively small eggs. It was found easily since it was an animal from the region, mostly raised by poor people in the city. It had the characteristic of laying several eggs per day, and although they were small, they were a highly protein-rich and inexpensive food. There were more than 500 of these chickens on the farm where Little Joe and his family lived. And it was not uncommon for them to escape from where they were and come flying into their owners' house to eat whatever they saw. So, at the moment Little Joe woke up, half a dozen were nearby, wandering around the room he was in.
His father generally didn't care and wasn't bothered by the presence of these animals in the house, especially because he knew that if Little Joe was around, they would have fried or grilled caringalinha that night.
Carefully examining the object he had received from his father, Little Joe looked closely:
_Are you sure this isn't a caringalinha egg, Dad?_
_Yes, son, I'm sure this isn't a caringalinha egg._
_Because to me, it looks like a caringalinha egg. But if it isn't, where is it from?_
That was a very difficult question to answer, and much harder to believe. But, summoning courage, in one breath, his father replied:
_I can't believe what I'm about to tell you, but I need to say, my little Joe, that you laid this egg._
_??? What!!_
After hearing his father's entire explanation, Little Joe kept thinking, trying to find an answer to that absurdity, but his intelligence was limited, and he didn't have much imagination. He stared into space for a few moments, and as soon as one of those chickens near him started clucking, he suddenly moved in front of his father and innocently asked:
_Does this mean I'm going to be a father?_
His mother, who had just come out of the kitchen, upon hearing such nonsense, began to laugh uncontrollably. Meanwhile, his father quickly went outside; he also couldn't hold back with such a hilarious response. But not wanting his son to be upset by his reaction, he would only return to the house when he had stopped laughing.
_Did I say something wrong, Mom?_
Asked Little Joe while his mother, in vain, tried to cover her mouth with her hands to stop the uncontrollable laughter.
The boy then sat on the bed, carefully petting the head of a caringalinha he had easily captured, already thinking about how he would ask his mother to cook that caringalinha later so he could enjoy that delicacy with his father. If his mother wanted to laugh, let her laugh; it had been a long time since he had heard such intense and energetic laughter; she truly deserved those laughs.
For now, all he wanted to do was find out the reason he laid an egg. As for whether he was the father of the egg or not, that was something to be discussed with the family later, probably after dinner. Then, he would also find out if he could consider that egg as his child.
No sooner had he finished thinking about it, and suddenly, Little Joe felt dizzy and had the impression that his mind was racing much faster than he could comprehend. Then, clutching a caringalinha, he passed out.
---