"Good morning, Colt, what treasures did you get today?" The first thing Timothy did upon waking up was ask about the contents of the Dream Treasure Chest, his tone as excited as if he were asking his wife whether she was having a boy or a girl.
Colt, carrying a faint aura of death, didn't even bother to wash his hands; he opened the chest, dragged out the treasure, slammed it down in front of Timothy with a loud thud, all in one fluid motion.
Hmph, it was clearly his golden finger, yet it turned into a wishing machine for Timothy!
Wait..
Colt's eye roll was halfway through, his eyeball getting stuck mid-way before slowly sliding back into place.
Today's treasure wasn't a file, nor was it anything related to coffee, but a box of seedlings. In the long planting box, a ring of lush green onions grew around the perimeter, with about thirty heads of lettuce crowded together in the center.
Colt poked at the lettuce, which had grown as large as flowers; at this size, the outer leaves were already ready to be plucked and eaten. Colt asked cautiously, "Are they clues for a case? Is it a case related to Chinatown?"
No, these are the vegetables you planted in your dream." Timothy crouched beside Colt, snapped off two lettuce leaves, handed one to Colt, recommended enthusiastically, "They taste just as good as they did in the dream.
Colt watched Timothy stuff the unwashed lettuce leaves into his mouth and couldn't help but feel pity for Timothy's stomach. He cautiously scanned the lettuce leaves to confirm there were no insect eggs on them, then used his Spiritual Power to rinse the surface once more before taking a small bite.
Wow! It's fragrant and slightly sweet! The lettuce has a great texture, it actually has a hint of sweetness to it; it's better than any lettuce I've ever eaten before!
Colt stuffed the entire leaf into his mouth, picked up the Planting Box, declared, "Since I grew it in my dream, then it's mine."
Timothy had no objection.
Colt grew the vegetables on the terrace, using flowerpots to transplant the crowded lettuce into separate containers, then surrounding them with bird netting. Birdie also liked the taste of lettuce, having pecked through three heads of baby lettuce in a single day, making it a primary target for protection.
Colt felt a renewed sense of anticipation for the Dream Treasure Chest, sent Timothy a concept video of a vertical farm. "Sugarcane can be intercropped with watermelon, tomatoes can be planted with chives to prevent pests, cherries, plums, peach trees can also be planted together.."
Timothy didn't find it annoying; he only felt that Colt's voice was very pleasant to the ear, though there was still room for improvement—perhaps he could build a new voice source himself.
Colt asked, "Are you listening?"
Timothy shot back, "Have you finished the homework Stark gave you?"
"Goodnight!" Colt stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
He didn't walk through walls; instead, he walked through the door like an ordinary person, his action of slamming the door was incredibly cute.
Timothy liked to tease Colt, making Colt's emotions fluctuate and revealing the joys and anger of an ordinary person. Of course, he couldn't tease him too harshly; a balance of tension and relaxation was the key to a long-term relationship.
Timothy began to think about what he wanted to dream about tonight. According to the laws of dreams, the questions thought about three minutes before sleep can influence the content of the dream.
Dreams are lucid dreams, controlled by him within a certain range, he won't forget them upon waking, but the items produced by the Dream Treasure Chest are completely random. Whatever he feels is good in the dream, or anything he carries with him, will be included in the Dream Treasure Chest's prize pool.
Take today's Planting Box, for example.
Timothy originally wanted to make Colt happy by meticulously crafting a dream of being colleagues at the High-Tech Base. As a result, despite all those high-end instruments and technologies, the Dream Treasure Chest chose a basket of vegetables instead. In the dream, this Planting Box occupied a very small portion, Timothy only caught a fleeting glimpse of it when the base was being relocated. Because the new base was on Mars, Colt gave the Planting Box to a nearby resident who had Alfred's face.
Perhaps the food on Mars was too poor, the nutrient solution always had a taste of low-quality essence, which caused Timothy to think of that first crate of green lettuce whenever he saw Colt; the lettuce did indeed taste similar to what he had imagined.
Therefore, anything that leaves a deep impression will also be included in the Dream Treasure Chest's prize pool.
Timothy recorded the rules into the "Dream Treasure Chest Observation Report." He planned to create a magic-themed dream tonight to see if the Dream Treasure Chest could yield magical items.
Colt was startled by the sound of the door closing.
Timothy asked whether the homework was finished, theoretically, the question wasn't worth getting angry about. Yet, he was easily provoked, his rationality cast to the winds, which was highly irrational.
Colt laid out a mind map, thinking deeply about the reasons for his anger.
Timothy wasn't asking about the homework, but rather the underlying meaning behind the question: "You should leave." He was angry because of the rejection and the dismissal, or perhaps he felt wronged: 'Aren't we friends? How can you reject me? What right do you have to reject me? You were clearly the one who first.. '
Colt's intuition sounded an alarm; thinking any further would be dangerous. He decisively interrupted his deep thought; after all, there was no use in figuring it out, as Timothy was special. Even if Timothy were like a pathogen, just being near him would cause his heart to skip beats and his emotions to fluctuate, yet he still wouldn't be able to stay away.
Colt put on the Virtual Helmet and began today's compensatory learning.
At school, he had to be busy guarding against Timothy's sudden ambushes, tracking online public opinion, promptly filtering news about Ghost. After returning home, he still had to play games, cook, spend time with Birdie, practice fine spiritual power control, brainwash Timothy, reply to his father's messages.. Even if Timothy went to work, Colt wouldn't be idle. He had to observe Mr. Freeze's weather weapon research data, keep an eye on Dr. Hugo's New Human Project, as well as Luthor Tech's extra-corporeal cultivation and male pregnancy cloning experiments..
Colt felt a sense of guilt in his heart; the happier he was when he was with Timothy, the stronger the guilt became. It was just like the countdown to the college entrance examination had already begun, yet he was still sneaking glances at manga. It was as if someone were questioning him in his mind: There isn't much time left; if you don't focus on your studies and only care about playing, are you planning to go home with an empty head?
To suppress this sense of guilt, Colt used a 1:1000 speed-up in the Virtual Laboratory to catch up on his studies.
After one or two hours of high-intensity input, he would let his super-brain run ten processes once finished, using his Spiritual Power to drive ten pens simultaneously to write ten notebooks, consolidating the content he had learned in the Virtual Laboratory.
The thick notebook gave Colt a sufficient sense of security, its dense rows of formulas as if saying: I am studying, I am working hard, I am not wasting my life.
In this world where accidents and tomorrow are unpredictable, Colt cherishes every single minute and second of the present.
"Good morning, Colt, today's treasure chest will have a surprise." Timothy returned from morning exercises with Birdie and gave a sweaty hug to Colt.
"Can't you go take a shower first?" Colt showed a look of disgust.
"I'm helping you develop the habit of showering in the morning, no need to thank me." Timothy spoke with righteous indignation, even going as far as to rub Colt's hair just like he would rub Birdie.
My lifestyle is much more normal than yours." Colt also rubbed against Timothy's palm just like Birdie did, then pulled a remote control from his pocket and tossed it to Timothy. "Here, it's your surprise.
Birdie's eyes lit up when he saw the remote, he flapped his wings, lunging to snatch it.
Timothy was surprised: "Why this one? Wait, Robin Bird, this can't control the TV!"
The war of the two birds ended with Red Robin hiding the remote control. Timothy was not exactly a victor, because his neck had been scratched by the bird.
It seems exercise is quite useful; even a spherical bird can wound Red Robin." Colt cleaned Timothy's wound; although it wasn't long, it was somewhat deep and bleeding. "Just to be safe, I suggest you get a shot of the avian flu vaccine.
Birdie crouched on the basketball hoop, peering down at Tim's wound before shrinking his neck in guilt and pretending to sleep.
"No need, it was an accident." Timothy hadn't expected that Birdie had actually learned ambush ninjutsu from Damian, leaving him caught off guard and injured.
The Demon Brat absolutely counters him! But a tiny scratch only a few centimeters long was worth it, especially since Colt personally disinfected and applied medicine to it, even gave him a whistle when he was finished!
It was so worth it!
Timothy cleared his throat: "My research on the Dream Treasure Chest is still incomplete; I thought it would yield a candy house."
"Do you think I'm only nine years old?" Colt tossed aside the cotton swab and carefully applied the medicine.
Only a nine-year-old would like a candy house, whereas an eighteen-year-old would only like a golden house.
Timothy explained, "It's not an ordinary candy house, it's a magical candy house. A chocolate roof, biscuit walls, fruit candy floors, the taps pour out milk tea when it's cold and coffee when it's hot.."
It sounds like a fairy tale.
Colt applied a waterproof bandage to the wound: "The fruit candies at home are almost gone, I'll restock them. What flavor do you want?"
I didn't want to eat candy.
Timothy's thoughts were completely different from what he said: "Orange flavored would be quite good."
Colt patted Timothy's head, just like he would Birdie, but ended up with a sweaty palm; so he patted Timothy's shoulder instead, using it to wipe his palm dry. "Breakfast is ready. You have an early class today."
Timothy grabbed his hand.
Colt struggled for a moment but couldn't break free, then turned his face away. "I was just reminding you to go take a shower. I didn't wipe my sweat on your clothes. If the bandage gets wet, you need to change it in time."
Timothy froze for a moment, then shook his head with a smile. Then, as if performing a magic trick, he flipped his hand and produced a pinecone, placing it in Colt's hand. "Here, the first ripe pinecone of the year, also the largest pinecone in the entire botanical garden."
It was a giant pinecone, even larger than Colt's hand, measuring an estimated 30 centimeters in height and 8 centimeters in diameter.
Timothy said proudly, "I had to defeat three squirrels just to pick it. Does that count as a surprise?"
Of course it does!
Colt had been craving those wild nuts in the botanical garden for a long time—chestnuts, walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, acorns.. It was a pity Joseph had no time, so he could only watch.
Now, there was a BUG by his side.
Colt's eyes lit up: "Tim."
"No problem, let's switch today's exercise to mountain climbing. I also ran into a large chestnut tree that required two people to encircle, the chestnuts were ripe." Timothy knew what Colt wanted, so he waved his hand and headed upstairs to take a shower.
The money young master Wayne earns in a single hour is enough to buy an entire mountain, but emotional value cannot be measured with money.
Life is just that wonderful.
Timothy's development of dreams has reached a new level. Although the treasure chests do not contain mountains of gold, seas of money, or alien spaceships, they occasionally yield some pleasant surprises.
Like the photo.
In all his life, aside from AI-generated images, Colt has only one real photograph. That childhood group photo came from a Dream Treasure Chest, hidden behind the children's drawings in the picture frame by his bedside.
The second photo also came from the Dream Treasure Chest, it was also a group photo.
Everyone in the photo was dressed in formal attire, appearing to be attending someone's wedding, with flower petals drifting through the air against the backdrop of the lawns and lake at Wayne.
The image was exquisite, with a composition of perfect proportions and sunlight that looked so beautiful. As the wind blew, it tousled Colt's hair, Timothy smiled as he caught a strand of the ends. It was unclear whether he was trying to help or just being mischievous. It probably wasn't mischief, because as their eyes met, they both looked very happy. There was no hand-holding, no hugging, the only point of contact was even just a single strand of hair, yet the photo still gave off a sense of sweetness and beauty.
Colt flipped the photo face down, letting his heart settle.
Why would Timothy dream about taking a group photo and then treat the photo like a precious treasure?
Colt's mind was in a mess. He carefully hid the photo, splashed some cold water on his face, stepped out with a calm expression.
Timothy was not there.
Colt was dazed for a second before remembering that Red Robin started his night patrol last night and returned directly to Wayne after he finished. Colt had only received his message before opening the treasure chest, saying that he couldn't go to school because he had to attend a meeting at the company.
Birdie was outside fighting with other birds, acting all high and mighty after winning, then challenging a passing crow, only to be chased back into the house by a flock of crows with its head down. Birdie crouched on the windowsill to shake out its messy feathers, then paced over to the feeder to drink and eat, no longer complaining that the healthy bird food tasted bad.
“Tim, do you feel like Red Robin's strength has increased?”
As soon as the voice faded, Colt realized that Timothy was not there and no one would answer him. He looked at the seat where Timothy usually sat, then at the breakfast he had habitually made a double portion of on the plate, suddenly felt that the house was so empty, it was terrifyingly quiet.
Quack
A message notification suddenly chimed on the phone.
Colt's phone contacts only contained two people, the incoming call notification for his father was set to vibrate. In the Encrypted Chat Group named 【Cole Duck】, Timothy sent a photo of the breakfast Alfred had prepared.
Colt sent over a 3-second short video of Birdie greedily eating healthy bird food.
[185, 205, 246: Did the bird lose a fight? Was it a one-on-one or a group brawl?]
Duck Detective sees through everything.
After a few lines of idle small talk, Timothy finally asked the most important thing.
[185, 205, 246: Today's surprise?]
Although they had not signed a formal agreement, they tacitly accepted that Timothy had the right to know about the products from the Dream Treasure Chest; all intelligence, documents, Red Robin's specialized equipment belonged to Timothy.
And there was also coffee; the coffee also belonged to Timothy by default.
Of course, when Timothy asked this, it wasn't to demand treasures from Colt, but to record and archive the information to study the patterns of the treasure chest prize pool.
Colt wanted to ask Timothy why he had dreamed of a photo of the two of them together, but his hands moved even faster than a supercomputer.
【139, 0, 255: Cherry. 】
【139, 0, 255: There was only one, I've already eaten it, it tasted great. 】