The Cubs Can’t Possibly Be This Well-Behaved! – CH108

Chapter 108

Cen Liang froze as if struck by lightning. He stared at the green plants in the corner, his eyes widening to the size of coins. Then, in disbelief, he rubbed his eyes with both hands.

Looking again, he realized… he hadn’t been mistaken.

His heart was overwhelmed with shock. He took a few shaky steps closer, crouched down, and reached out to touch the nearest star chain fruit tree.

The texture beneath his fingers, coupled with the distinct aroma of star chain fruit leaves, left no doubt—this wasn’t a dream.

These were real, thriving star chain fruits!

Leaning in, he carefully examined the roots of the star chain fruit trees.

They were indeed growing out of the soil!

The scene was so unassuming, so ordinary, that it left Cen Liang feeling dazed. How many years had it been since he’d last seen plants growing from the earth?

Not to mention, the ground beneath his feet was no longer metal plating.

Turning to look back, Cen Liang belatedly realized that the entire area behind the nursery building had been cultivated into farmland. The exposed soil made him instinctively nervous.

After so many years on Infernal Star, where everything was metal and synthetic, he had almost forgotten what real soil looked like.

“You…”

Cen Liang looked at Su Ci, his mouth opening as if to speak, but words failed him.

It was too much to process.

The sight before him could leave him in awe for an entire year.

In all his time on Infernal Star, he had never seen anyone successfully grow anything in its soil. And not only had Su Ci succeeded, but he had also managed to cultivate so much.

Cen Liang suddenly recalled Zhuang Shisong’s earlier evaluation of Su Ci: keen eye, minor expertise in cultivation.

Minor expertise?! If this level of success was considered “minor,” then what were the rest of them at the cultivation center? Utter failures?

Taking a deep breath, Cen Liang noticed even the air here seemed fresher than anywhere else.

Looking down again at the patch of soil, the star-chain fruit trees, and—wait—there were also snow crystals, golden taros, and emerald beans!

With his sharp eye for plants and precise counting skills, Cen Liang quickly identified that there were three plants each of the latter three species. Recalling how many seeds Zhuang Shisong had said Su Ci took, Cen Liang couldn’t help but clutch his chest.

So… the germination rate really was 100%?

His gaze toward Su Ci grew increasingly fervent.

“Caretaker Su, how… how did you manage this?”

He had a flood of questions he wanted to ask.

For instance, how did he overcome the soil pollution on Infernal Star? How did he achieve such a high germination rate? And even more intriguingly…

As Cen Liang stared at the thriving plants—particularly the ten surrounding the small spiritual sprouts—he calculated the time in his head and found that none of it added up.

The day Su Ci went to the cultivation center for seeds coincided with the discovery of the mutated garlic sprouts, so the timeline was easy to track. Even if he counted from Su Ci’s very first day on the job, it had been less than half a month!

Yet these plants had grown far too quickly!

The ones in the corner looked like they had been growing for two months, and as for the ten special plants…

He could tell that the lush emerald beans were nearing their flowering stage, which indicated a growth period of three to four months at least!

No matter how he calculated, the timing didn’t make sense.

Cen Liang’s face was full of confusion.

Of course, it didn’t take long for him to notice a small patch of bare ground in the center of the cultivated area and, at its heart, two green sprouts that looked distinct from the surrounding plants.

The closer the plants were to these two sprouts, the faster they seemed to grow. A sudden realization dawned on Cen Liang.

Pointing at the two sprouts, he blurted out, “Those two green plants—do they promote the growth of other plants?”

Su Ci had expected that anyone seeing this cultivated plot would notice something unusual. But he hadn’t anticipated that Cen Liang would figure it out so quickly and accurately identify the role of the two spiritual sprouts.

Not bad—he clearly knew his stuff as a cultivation specialist.

Su Ci nodded. “The plants around them do grow faster.”

Cen Liang swallowed nervously and hesitated before asking, “So… are those two mutated plants?”

Su Ci glanced at him and replied calmly, “Probably.”

Cen Liang was momentarily speechless at Su Ci’s nonchalant response.

At the cultivation center, the discovery of just one mutated garlic sprout had sent everyone into a frenzy. The entire team was so excited they could barely sleep. Yet here was Su Ci, on Infernal Star for only a short time, having discovered two mutated plants with such exceptional properties—and he was completely unfazed?

To make matters worse, the mutated garlic sprout at the cultivation center seemed to have developed a problem. After its sudden glowing episode, its strong garlic aroma had diminished day by day.

The researchers at the cultivation center were at their wit’s end. Cen Liang himself was deeply concerned, but no one could identify the cause of the problem.

When he had told Su Ci during yesterday’s video call that he was busy, it hadn’t been an excuse—it was mostly due to the issues with the mutated garlic sprout.

If it hadn’t been for the glimpse of greenery in the corner of Su Ci’s video, which gnawed at his curiosity until he couldn’t resist coming over, he never would have personally delivered the items to Su Ci.

Now, standing before the two spiritual sprouts, Cen Liang’s thoughts were in turmoil.

But when he met Su Ci’s black eyes, which seemed to see straight through him, the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat once again.

These two precious green plants would clearly be better suited for cultivation at the plantation center—but could he say that?

Obviously not.

Cen Liang couldn’t understand why Su Ci had so openly brought him here and allowed him to see this miraculous patch of greenery behind the nursery building.

If it were him, he would never lead a near-stranger to such an important place. Unless…

Unless Su Ci was completely confident.

Under the overwhelming impact of this green oasis, Cen Liang’s racing thoughts finally cooled as he realized this critical point.

Yes, what exactly was Su Ci relying on?

Cen Liang looked at the recently cultivated soil and had an epiphany.

As a trainee caretaker who had just arrived at the nursery, how did Su Ci have the authority to clear such a large plot of land in Base 24?

The base’s ground was entirely covered in metal plating to mitigate the risks of Prison Star’s highly polluted soil. Yet here was this cultivated land, untouched and thriving. How had this been allowed to happen?

Judging by the state of the plants, the land had been cleared for some time. Were the patrol teams blind? Why hadn’t anyone stopped Su Ci? Or… had they tried to stop him but failed?

Moreover, dismantling the metal flooring wasn’t easy. How had Su Ci managed to do this without attracting attention?

Cen Liang turned to look at Su Ci, his gaze now cautious.

Forcing a smile to mask his unease, he asked tentatively, “Caretaker Su, by the way… how was this plot of land opened up? Removing the metal flooring must have been quite a task.”

Su Ci shrugged. “It wasn’t too hard with Luo Shengfei’s machines.”

Luo Shengfei?

Of course, Cen Liang recognized the team leader from the maintenance crew. Luo Shengfei had worked at Base 24 for a long time and was unlikely to risk breaking base regulations for a newly arrived trainee caretaker.

Unless… what Su Ci had requested was entirely aboveboard.

In other words, Su Ci’s cultivation project behind the nursery building had been approved and authorized by the base’s AI system.

This realization deepened Cen Liang’s confusion and unease.

Why would a mere trainee caretaker be granted such permissions?

Su Ci, however, showed no intention of explaining further. After speaking, he walked over to inspect the metal trellis sitting on the cleared ground. He nodded in satisfaction.

Gripping the trellis, Su Ci effortlessly moved it to the appropriate spot. Cen Liang, seeing this, initially wanted to offer his help, but Su Ci casually lifted the entire structure as though it weighed nothing.

Cen Liang closed his mouth, concluding that the trellis probably wasn’t as heavy as it looked.

After placing the trellis, Su Ci walked over to the greenery and gently patted Zheng Xing’s head. He decided to reward the child with an extra piece of roasted meat for lunch.

It was only then that Cen Liang noticed the small figure squatting beside the green patch.

Weren’t all the nursery’s young ones supposed to be confined to their rooms? But then he remembered the little wolf cub who had suddenly appeared in the video yesterday and felt less surprised.

Perhaps this was one of the changes Su Ci had implemented.

In matters of caring for the young, caretakers had the highest level of authority. While Su Ci was still in his trainee period, he was currently the only caretaker at the nursery.

Thus, Cen Liang chose not to comment further on the matter.

Cen Liang walked closer to the greenery, intending to examine the two mutated plants that could promote the growth of other vegetation. However, as he approached the metal trellis, he noticed by chance that one of its legs was pressing down on a vine of the snow crystal plant.

Without much thought, he grabbed one of the trellis legs to lift it and free the vine. However…

It wouldn’t budge.

Frowning, he exerted more force, and only with considerable effort did he manage to lift the trellis slightly and pull the vine free.

When he set the trellis back down, his palms were red from the strain.

Considering his regular work involved carrying cultivation substrates—despite having transport robots, not everything could be left to them—Cen Liang prided himself on his strength.

But now, staring at his reddened, slightly aching palms and recalling how effortlessly Su Ci had lifted the trellis moments earlier, he started to feel uncertain.

He glanced at Su Ci, his lean and seemingly delicate figure. No matter how he looked at him, he couldn’t reconcile Su Ci with someone possessing immense physical strength.

Watching Su Ci and the child wrapping the vines around the metal trellis, Cen Liang didn’t immediately step forward to help. Instead, he discreetly activated his communicator.

He needed external assistance to determine his next steps!

When Cen Liang’s message arrived, Yan Ping was stationed atop the metal walls at the base’s perimeter.

Even though he knew the water dragon incident was caused by Su Ci, he dared not lower his guard. The operations team members and guards, who had no knowledge of the situation’s true nature, were even more tense, maintaining strict vigilance.

Frowning, Yan Ping opened his communicator to check the message.

Although Cen Liang was a mid-level researcher, he also handled external liaison tasks, so they were somewhat acquainted. However, aside from official matters, the two rarely contacted each other.

So why was Cen Liang reaching out now?

[Cultivation Center – Cen Liang]: Captain Yan, are you aware that the new caretaker, Su Ci, has cleared a plot of land behind the nursery building?

Yan Ping’s brows furrowed deeper.

Of course, he knew about it—he had even been fortunate enough to witness it firsthand. But now the cultivation center was in the loop too?

Since learning of Su Ci’s abilities and suspecting that he might hold an extraordinarily high status within the Star Alliance, Yan Ping had been cautious. Concerned that his subordinates might inadvertently offend Su Ci, he had withdrawn the operations team from around the nursery.

He had also ceased sending personnel to monitor and patrol the nursery’s interior. In hindsight, it had been the right decision—at least, Su Ci’s attitude toward him so far remained friendly.

The operations team members, though puzzled by Yan Ping’s orders, followed their leader’s directives without question. As a result, whatever happened to the plot of land after it was cleared remained unknown to Yan Ping.

After reading Cen Liang’s message, Yan Ping carefully considered his response before replying cautiously: “Yes.”

Almost immediately after he sent his reply, Cen Liang’s next message arrived.

[Cultivation Center – Cen Liang]: So, do you know this caretaker Su’s… identity?

Yan Ping pressed his lips together tightly at this question.

On the other side, Cen Liang anxiously waited for a reply.

Seeing that Yan Ping wasn’t responding, he decided not to stand idle and moved over to help Su Ci and the child wrap the vines around the metal trellis.

The lush emerald bean vines were slender and didn’t grow as robustly as the vines of the star-chain fruit or snow crystal plants, which could climb much higher. Clearly, whoever had designed this metal trellis had taken this into account. Thin metal wires had been attached to the lower part of the trellis, providing support for the bean vines to climb.

Cen Liang carefully and meticulously wrapped the vines, admiring the quality of the metal trellis. He made a mental note to contact the procurement department later to custom-order one for himself.

As for the lush emerald bean vines, he treated them like rare treasures, handling them with the utmost care. From his years of experience in cultivation, he could already tell that once these two lush emerald bean plants matured, their quality would undoubtedly reach S-grade! In fact, not just the beans—all the other crops looked like they would achieve the same high standard.

Cen Liang felt as if he were in a dream, his mind spinning and unable to fully process what he was seeing.

Just then, the notification tone from his communicator jolted him awake. He quickly opened the message to check.

However, Yan Ping didn’t directly answer his earlier question.

[Captain Yan]: What are you doing at the nursery?

Cen Liang thought for a moment and answered truthfully. Then he continued typing: [Cultivation Center – Cen Liang]: I saw the greenery in the background during a video call with him yesterday, so I came to take a look. I didn’t expect…

He didn’t finish the sentence but quietly sent Yan Ping a photo of the green plot.

Unexpectedly, Yan Ping’s reply came almost instantly:

[Captain Yan]: Retract the message and delete the photo. Don’t let anyone else know about this.

Sensing Yan Ping’s seriousness, Cen Liang felt a wave of unease but quickly complied.

Then another message from Yan Ping followed:

[Captain Yan]: I can only tell you this—Su Ci’s identity is not simple. Do not offend him.

[Captain Yan]: If he makes any requests, accommodate them as much as possible.

Although Cen Liang was filled with confusion, he hastily replied in agreement. Shortly after, Yan Ping sent yet another message:

[Captain Yan]: Is Su Ci currently at the nursery?

[Cultivation Center – Cen Liang]: Yes, he is.

Standing atop the metal wall, Yan Ping took a deep breath after seeing Cen Liang’s reply.

He gazed off toward the riverbed, which had been quiet for a long time.

So, how had Su Ci managed to return to the nursery building without anyone noticing? With so many people keeping watch, how had there been no signs at all?

Cen Liang, unaware of Yan Ping’s frustration, shut off his communicator after realizing Yan Ping wasn’t planning to continue the conversation.

He looked again at the lush greenery spread across the ground, then at the two small green sprouts that he found utterly charming. Finally, his gaze settled on the young man who had brought this miracle to life.

The young man, dressed in the gray-blue uniform of a caretaker, stood by the metal trellis, carefully wrapping the vines around it one by one. Beside him, a young boy, though visually impaired, fumbled to help in his own way.

The scene was harmonious and heartwarming, exuding an inexplicable sense of tranquility.

Watching them, Cen Liang couldn’t help but feel a sense of calm wash over him.

But soon enough, Yan Ping’s words came back to his mind…

Truthfully, he couldn’t bear to let go of the two mutated plants that could promote growth. If they could be transplanted to the cultivation center, they would receive better care and could lead to countless new research opportunities.

More importantly, these plants could significantly increase crop yields. If their growth mechanisms were fully understood and effectively utilized, they might hold the key to solving the food crisis for all the bases on Infernal Star!

Of course, aiming to supply all the bases was an ambitious goal. But even if they could meet just the needs of Base 24, it would be a major achievement.

If food and vegetable supplies could keep up, the soldiers wouldn’t have to live frugally, and other base members could move away from relying on nutrient solutions.

With surplus food and vegetables, they could even establish a small livestock farm. Then, not only could everyone enjoy proper meals, but fresh meat would also be available!

Moreover, the budget currently allocated for purchasing off-world food could be redirected to other areas of the base. Local self-sufficiency would undoubtedly cost far less than transporting food across the stars.

Cen Liang couldn’t help but fantasize about this future. His gaze toward the two small sprouts grew increasingly fervent.

No matter what, those two little sprouts absolutely had to be brought to the cultivation center!

But… remembering Yan Ping’s warning, he forced himself to calm down.

If Su Ci’s identity was as significant as suggested, offending him was not an option. In that case, there was only one way to secure the two sprouts.

Cen Liang looked at Su Ci with a resolute and sincere expression.

He finally spoke up. “Caretaker Su, about the proposal I mentioned yesterday—are you sure you won’t reconsider?”

“What proposal?” Su Ci asked absentmindedly.

“About coming to work at the cultivation center,” Cen Liang said, his face lighting up with a warm and enthusiastic smile. “I may have understated things yesterday. When it comes to exceptional talent, the cultivation center spares no effort to provide the best opportunities!”

He launched into a series of persuasive arguments, emphasizing the benefits and welfare policies of the cultivation center. Beyond practical advantages, he didn’t forget to paint an enticing vision of the future.

“Caretaker Su, with your expertise, you must easily understand the value of these two mutated plants, right?”

Cen Liang continued his enthusiastic pitch. It was only when he brought up the idea of a livestock farm that Su Ci, who had been lazily disinterested, showed a hint of interest. However…

“I knew it! You’re up to no good, you bad grandpa!”

A voice suddenly shouted as a figure charged out from the side. It was the little wolf cub, who had been secretly observing nearby and could no longer hold back after hearing this much.

Behind him trailed the little white deer, who had tried to stop him but ultimately failed.

The wolf-eared boy looked far more ferocious than he had in the video call. Before Cen Liang could react, he was tackled to the ground by the boy, who promptly put an end to any further persuasion.

“Su Su isn’t going anywhere with you! Give up already!”

Cen Liang froze in terror, his body stiff as he lay on the ground. The boy sat on his chest, raising his fist as if to strike.

He shut his eyes and reflexively covered his face with his hands, bracing for impact. But the expected pain never came. Instead, the weight on his body suddenly vanished.

Opening his eyes, he witnessed a scene that would stay with him for the rest of his life—

The seemingly frail and slender caretaker, with just one hand, had lifted the furious wolf cub off the ground. No matter how much the boy struggled, he couldn’t free himself from Su Ci’s grip.

Finally, the wolf cub had no choice but to calm down, his limbs dangling helplessly as he stared pitifully at Su Ci.

Not only was Cen Liang stunned, but the little white deer was also wide-eyed. The scene felt eerily familiar.

It reminded him of when he had almost been bitten to death by Lang Ze. Before losing consciousness, he vaguely remembered seeing the caretaker holding the wolf cub in the exact same manner.

So it was real! He hadn’t been mistaken!

It was truly Su Su who had saved him!

The wolf cub, initially shocked at being lifted so effortlessly, quickly came to terms with it.

After all, Su Su was incredibly strong—he had killed a giant spider with ease. Lifting him with one hand? That wasn’t surprising at all.

He looked pitifully at Su Ci, but he didn’t feel he had done anything wrong.

Su Ci sighed, rubbing his temple as he looked at the wolf cub. “Didn’t I tell you to be polite?”

Hearing this, Lang Ze looked aggrieved and pointed at Cen Liang. “I called him grandpa!”

So calling someone grandpa counts as being polite?

Cen Liang, struggling to get up with the little white deer’s help while nursing his sore back: “…”

He glanced at the wolf cub, then at Su Ci, finally reconciling the image of this slender caretaker with that of a strongman. While astonished by his strength, Cen Liang wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

Attempting one last effort, he looked at Su Ci and said, “You wanted a greenhouse, didn’t you? I can make it happen…”

As long as you join the cultivation center, you can have as many greenhouses as you want!

Before he could finish, Su Ci released the wolf cub, looking at Cen Liang with an odd expression.

The boy, who had almost punched Cen Liang, nimbly jumped to the ground. After giving him a skeptical look, he scoffed and said, “Bad grandpa, even if you agree to let us tear down the greenhouse, I’m still not giving Su Su to you!”

???

Cen Liang was utterly bewildered. When had he agreed to let them tear down the greenhouse? He wanted Su Ci to come to the cultivation center to use the greenhouse, not destroy it!