Apocalyptic Rebirth: With a repairman system space, she rises again.-Chapter 697: Baby White.

As she approached the dining room, she heard a high-pitched, toddler-like voice complaining.

"The milk... it is not sweet. It is sad milk. I am going to report this to Mommy. Mommy makes the milk happy! Which of you two-legged humans did this?"

Sunshine froze. That definitely wasn’t Castiel. Castiel loved his milk, even if it was plain. She rounded the corner and blinked.

Sitting on a reinforced, oversized chair was White. The massive alien bear was holding a giant bowl of milk between his paws. His powerful growls were still there, but through the translator, the voice coming out of the speakers sounded exactly like a grumpy three-year-old.

Sunshine realized in that moment that White might be the size of a small van, but in his own world, he was just a baby. A very, very large baby with a sweet tooth.

"No more sugar, White," Sunshine said, taking her seat at the table. "You’ll get a tummy ache and then you’ll vomit on the sofa. I told you this last week, you are on a sugar free diet. Only honey allowed."

Hades was leaning back in his chair, clutching his stomach from laughing so hard. "I can’t believe it," he gasped. "The animal translators actually work. White just called us two-legged humans! And he called you mommy." He wiped the corners of his eyes with a napkin. "It feels great to know he loves us. He just said I am the best father in the world."

"That is not what I said." White grumbled. "I said dad forgot to put honey in my milk."

Ariel looked up from his breakfast, grinning. "This is awesome. Now we don’t need Earl to tell us what White wants. We can just listen to him complain about his snacks ourselves."

"Or Zulu," Sunshine added, her face turning serious. "We can hear what the Watchers are saying if we get close enough."

Hades stopped laughing. He leaned forward. "Can they hear us, too? I mean, if we can listen to the birds, can the birds_ or the people controlling them_ listen to us?"

Sunshine winced. A memory flashed in her mind. "The Pink Watcher... she called my name once. Directly to me. I’m almost certain they can hear us when we are outside the house. I put sound blockers all over the house recently."

Ariel and Hades looked at her like she’d just said she was a lizard from Mars. "Pink called your name." Earl repeated skeptically.

"I’m serious!" Sunshine swore, putting her hand on her heart. "It happened."

She quickly communicated to the System. "System, is it possible? Can they eavesdrop on us outside?"

[Yes, Host,] the System chimed. [The Xylas possess technology superior to current Fortress Four levels. If they are using gadgets like sound amplifiers, it is highly likely they are monitoring audio frequencies.]

It all clicked into place for Sunshine. "It makes sense," she said to the table. "How else would they know the perfect time to attack? We’re planning a carnival for the people_ a way to boost morale, to celebrate Fortress four becoming a city_ and suddenly the Watchers are ’planning something’? It’s not a coincidence. They want a stampede. They want chaos when we’re at our happiest."

"How do we stop them?" Hades asked, his voice dropping into ’Commander Mode.’ "If those things really can understand our language, then we have a big problem. They won’t sit around while we make plans to..." he made signs for a sewing needle moving with his right hand.

"System," Sunshine asked aloud. "How do we block them fully?"

[To block them, you must first activate the full network of animal translators. Once they are active, I can detect any ’parasitic’ frequencies being used to broadcast your audio. Once identified, I can jam the signal or feed them fake data, depending on what you need.]

"Perfect," Sunshine said, her eyes flashing.

"What’s perfect?" Hades asked. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"They are listening through some frequency, it can be jammed and above all we can feed them fake intel," Sunshine explained.

Hades nodded, his mind already moving to logistics. "Good. Do it. Also, I brought back a literal mountain of gorilla mutant meat from New Eden."

Sunshine thanked him, "Bjorn has been breathing down my neck for weeks about meat supplies. She’s going to be thrilled. Not just her but other traders I am dealing with. At this rate, I will soon be the biggest supplier of mutant meat in the galaxy."

"At least we have one thing to be grateful to those holes in the sky for." Hades mumbled.

White squeaked, "Mommy...." he pushed the milk bowl forward.

With an eye roll, Hades rose and brought the honey. "It wouldn’t kill you to go to the kitchen and get it for yourself White."

"Yes, it would. I am just a baby. Mommy said babies should not be in the kitchen because it’s dangerous." The bear replied impishly.

Everyone laughed.

The rest of breakfast was filled with laughter from start to finish. Finally, feeling the rush of a busy day ahead. Sunshine leaned over and kissed the children, one by one. "Be on your best behavior today, okay? No using White as a trampoline it is dangerous."

"We promise!" the boys shouted in unison, though White just let out a huff and muttered, "I like the trampoline game."

Sunshine and Hades grabbed the bag of translators and rushed toward the Command Center. The elevator ride was short, but the expectation was building.

"If this works, Hades," Sunshine said, looking at the bag of devices, "we aren’t just surviving anymore. We’re finally playing on their level."

Hades squeezed her hand. "They think they’re the ones watching us. They’re about to find out that we don’t like being watched."

As the doors to the Command Center hissed open, the air inside felt electric. The giant holographic screens were buzzing with activity, showing split-screen feeds of the various sectors of Fortress Four. Residents were hauling colorful banners, testing makeshift game booths, and setting up food stalls. The most excited faces belonged to the traders; they were scurrying around like ants with clipboards, calculating exactly how much profit they could squeeze out of a population that hadn’t seen a real party since Ariel Quinn banned birthdays and other celebrations.

Lisha, standing by the main console, let out a long, dramatic sigh when she spotted Sunshine. "You know, Sunshine, looking at those kids trying to inflate balloons with hand pumps... it almost makes me forget we’re living in the literal end of the world."

Hades stepped up beside them, his heavy boots clunking on the metal floor. "That’s the point, Lisha. You can’t fight a war 24/7. People need to remember what they’re fighting for, or they just become shells. Sanity is a luxury we have to manufacture."

Just then, Carson and his elite group of drone pilots marched in. They looked sharp, though one of them was trying to secretly rub a coffee stain off his sleeve.

"Ma’am," Carson said, snapping to attention. "The birds are ready. What do you need?"