Chapter 148
Su Ci sat cross-legged on the ground, holding the soft little kitten in his palm. His other hand gently stroked its silky fur, a hint of contentment on his face.
Watching Su Ci’s relaxed demeanor, Zhou Yan inferred that Xing Xing was likely fine. He chose to stay on the periphery, keeping a protective watch while his gaze remained fixed on Su Ci.
Lang Ze, who was crouched beside Su Ci, couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer. “Su Su, how’s Xing Xing? Is he okay?”
The little white deer echoed his concern. “Yeah, why did Xing Xing fully beastify? Can he turn back?”
The other younglings gathered around didn’t voice their questions, but the worry was evident in their expressions.
Su Ci, who had been thoroughly enjoying petting the kitten, had to pause and address them. “Don’t worry, he’s fine.”
Xing Xing’s condition was simply due to overextending his spiritual energy and spending too much time in the blood mist, which triggered a complete beastification of his bloodline power.
It might be because Xing Xing had a uniquely calm personality, rarely experiencing intense emotional fluctuations. As a result, his beastification didn’t come with the extreme anger, aggression, or destructive tendencies seen in others.
Instead, he peacefully transitioned into full beast form. Although he was a bit more feisty than usual…
A hissing, scratching kitten was still incredibly adorable, wasn’t it?
Su Ci scratched the kitten’s chin with his fingertip. The little black cat, which had been squinting its eyes in apparent restraint, finally couldn’t hold back and bit down on Su Ci’s finger.
Its tiny teeth barely made a dent, though. The sensation was more ticklish than painful.
“When will Xing Xing be able to turn back?” Lang Ze asked, squatting nearby. He gazed at the palm-sized kitten with fascination.
Xing Xing’s beast form was so tiny… Lang Ze had always assumed beastification made one bigger, not smaller. It was almost too cute to believe!
“Once his bloodline power settles, he’ll return to normal.”
A faint light glimmered on Su Ci’s fingertip. The kitten, still gnawing on his finger, instinctively absorbed the purifying energy.
Slowly, the spirited little kitten’s eyes drooped shut, and it fell into a deep sleep.
Even as it slept, its tiny paws clung to Su Ci’s finger, its small head resting against his fingertip. The peaceful, harmless appearance tugged at everyone’s hearts.
The younglings around them couldn’t help but fall silent, their breathing unconsciously softening as they watched the scene unfold.
Perhaps because of their caretaker’s influence, the younglings had developed the habit of instinctively moving quietly whenever someone was asleep, trying their best not to make any noise.
Of course, with such an adorable little kitten, who could bear to wake it?
Su Ci gently handed the sleeping kitten back to Lang Ze.
“It should be back to normal by tomorrow. Until then, I’ll leave it in your care.”
It was obvious to anyone that among the younglings at the Nursery Facility, Xing Xing was closest to Lang Ze. Since Lang Ze had also been the one to find him in his beast form, he was naturally the best choice to look after him.
Lang Ze nodded eagerly, his grin wide as he murmured his agreement. Then, hugging the kitten tightly, he ran off to rest under the shade of a tree.
After Su Ci reassured everyone that Xing Xing was fine, Xue Wei sighed in relief. But her mind quickly turned back to the missing sparrow.
She looked over at Zhou Yan and hesitantly asked, “Brother A-Yan, have you seen Chirp Chirp? It’s gone…”
“Don’t worry,” Zhou Yan replied gently, “I know where it is.”
“Really?” Xue Wei’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“Yes, but it won’t be able to return for now,” Zhou Yan explained. “It left a recording for you with Su Su. You can ask him to play it for you later.”
Xue Wei was momentarily stunned. Although she trusted that neither Su Su nor Zhou Yan would ever harm Chirp Chirp, the thought of being apart from her beloved companion for even a day filled her with unease.
“Can you tell me why it can’t come back right now?” she asked cautiously.
Zhou Yan considered her question, then crouched slightly to meet her eyes. “Do you know that Chirp Chirp isn’t an ordinary animal? It can take human form.”
Xue Wei blinked in confusion.
She shook her head, and Zhou Yan, his voice warm and steady, dropped a startling truth. “Chirp Chirp is likely a fully beastified human youngling.”
Xue Wei’s eyes widened in shock.
“But… but we grew up together! When Dad brought Chirp Chirp home, it was still just an egg!”
She was only two years old at the time. Though her memories were a bit fuzzy, her space button contained a photo album—a growth record her mother had made for her.
The album had countless pictures of Chirp Chirp, from its time as an egg to when it first hatched.
Although Xue Wei had long considered Chirp Chirp part of her family, she had never imagined that Chirp Chirp wasn’t actually a sparrow but a human!
“Does that mean Chirp Chirp was born fully beastified?” Xue Wei murmured, her voice tinged with sadness.
If that were the case, her Chirp Chirp must have had such a difficult life…
Zhou Yan thought for a moment before replying, “It’s possible that its mother was in a fully beastified state while she was pregnant.”
That explanation made perfect sense.
Xue Wei hadn’t considered such a possibility. She opened her mouth slightly, but for a moment, she didn’t know what to say.
The truth of the matter, whatever it might be, had been lost with her parents’ passing, and no one would ever know for sure. But to Xue Wei, the truth didn’t really matter.
Chirp Chirp was her family, the being she shared the deepest bond with in this world.
Her expression grew resolute.
“Brother A-Yan, please, you and Su Su must help Chirp Chirp turn back into a human. I know this must be very difficult, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes!”
“Please, I’m begging you—help Chirp Chirp become human again!”
Xue Wei didn’t know where Chirp Chirp had gone, but since it had chosen this path, it meant it also wanted to become human. The only thing she could do now was support it unconditionally and be its strongest backing.
Unbeknownst to her, her conversation with Zhou Yan had been overheard by the other younglings.
Hearing this, Little Li Hua raised her hand. “Sister Wei Wei, then… why don’t you come help Su Su farm too!”
Xue Wei blinked. “Also?”
“Yep!” Little Li Hua nodded. “Brother was sick and would’ve died, but Su Su cured him.”
“Brother got sick and almost died?” Xue Wei turned to look at Rong Heng in shock. Even Ran Lie and Lu Jiao, hearing this for the first time, turned their eyes to the boy.
Rong Heng, however, appeared calm. As his mastery of object manipulation continued to improve, so did his control over its power. He could feel that not only was his body no longer breaking down, but it was also growing stronger by the day.
So, rather than fear, he felt only deep gratitude toward Caretaker Su.
“It was an issue with my bloodline power,” Rong Heng explained. “After Su Su taught me a method to cultivate properly, it’s gradually being resolved. In exchange, I help Su Su with farming.”
Xue Wei couldn’t help but look at Su Ci.
Having seen more of the world than the younglings at the Nursery Facility, she understood the significance of Rong Heng’s words.
Individual strength, no matter how great, was ultimately limited to the individual. But Su Su—he possessed methods that could help those with different bloodlines cultivate, even saving lives.
What’s more, he was so generous with this knowledge!
Even though there was a condition to help with farming, compared to what was gained, it was a trivial ask.
Xue Wei’s gaze became even more resolute. She performed a formal and respectful bow to Su Ci, speaking earnestly: “Su Su, please help Chirp Chirp return to being human! I am willing to farm for you, as long as it takes until you are satisfied!”
“This is a fair exchange—my foster father taught me that principle. Please, do not refuse.”
Su Ci raised an eyebrow slightly, amused by her seriousness. “In two or three weeks, your foster parents will arrive at the Nursery Facility to take you away. Helping me farm for only half a month wouldn’t even come close to being enough.”
Xue Wei froze at his response, a flicker of hesitation crossing her face. But it didn’t take long for her to resolve herself.
“Chirp Chirp is more important. I believe Madam will understand and support my decision.”
Su Ci looked at her for a moment and finally relented slightly. “I’ll give you some time to think about it. You can give me your answer once they arrive.”
After all, the sparrow’s issue was a complex one that wouldn’t be resolved anytime soon.
Xue Wei wanted to say something more, but Su Ci waved his hand and then started walking toward the Nursery Facility’s main entrance. “Stay here. Don’t go out again until I return.”
Watching the caretaker’s departing figure, Xue Wei swallowed her words and remained silent.
Beside her, Little Li Hua couldn’t help but throw herself into Xue Wei’s arms, clinging to her with affection. Of course, the idea that the older girl might stay and help with farming made Little Li Hua secretly pleased.
Meanwhile, Rong Heng observed Xue Wei thoughtfully.
Equivalent exchange…
When Xue Wei mentioned her foster father earlier, it stirred a faint memory within him. But no matter how hard he tried to recall, he couldn’t bring the scene into sharper focus.
Lu Jiao and Lu Li exchanged glances before quietly retreating to a corner. One, though physically drained, persisted in silently reciting the Water Refining Meditation. The other continued his daily body-tempering training.
Today’s battle had shown them just how weak their powers were. Only through relentless practice could they become stronger!
*
Su Ci left the Nursery Facility, with Zhou Yan naturally following at his side. Apart from his adult appearance, Zhou Yan seemed no different from before.
The two took a walk around the perimeter.
After Su Ci had purified over a hundred monsters earlier, four or five patches of purified land remained around the Nursery Facility. Though small in size, they provided temporary resting spots for the operations team.
When Su Ci appeared, the operations team members stationed nearby instinctively stood up. Their gazes carried a newfound reverence.
“Caretaker Su!”
They greeted him in unison, their expressions a mix of awe and curiosity toward the powerful figure before them.
Su Ci nodded in response, acknowledging them casually.
As he was about to leave, one of the team members hesitantly called out, “Caretaker Su, may I ask a question?”
Su Ci stopped and turned back to look at him.
Seeing the caretaker’s calm, slightly lazy demeanor, the soldier summoned his courage. “The power you used to fight the monsters… is it purification energy?”
Su Ci raised his hand, and a small orb of light appeared in his palm. “You mean this?”
“Yes, yes, exactly!”
Feeling the unmistakable energy of purification emanating from the light, the soldiers couldn’t hide their excitement.
What surprised them even more was when Su Ci casually tossed the orb toward them, enveloping the group in its radiant glow.
Bathed in the purification light, they felt an overwhelming sense of relief. The tension and irritation that had built up within them melted away, leaving both their bodies and minds feeling lighter and more at ease.
“This really is purification energy!” one of them exclaimed in astonishment.
Moreover, this purification power was far stronger than Dr. Gu’s! It didn’t even require physical contact to cleanse their bodies—it worked effortlessly.
And it could also be used against monsters! How had they not thought of this before?
Could it be that Caretaker Su had awakened as a Purification Master? If so, he might just be the most powerful one across all the bases!
By the time the soldiers snapped out of their euphoric state brought on by the purification energy, Su Ci was already gone. But that didn’t dampen their excitement in the slightest.
Unable to contain their emotions, they naturally turned to the group chat to share the news!
The chat was already abuzz with heated discussion about the earlier battle. The base had been invaded by over a hundred monsters, yet it had emerged unscathed—a miracle!
If not for the battle records as evidence, no one would believe it, not even those from their own base who hadn’t been directly involved.
Beyond the discussions about the younglings, the main focus was, unsurprisingly, Su Ci.
“So, is Caretaker Su the highest-ranking contributor in this battle?”
“According to the AI’s records, he eliminated 114 monsters in just half an hour! No one can top that, right?”
“Absolutely. The previous record was 11 monsters in a single day, and that was achieved through a team effort.”
“Wow! That doesn’t even come close to his score!”
“Here’s something even more embarrassing: Caretaker Su hasn’t even been made permanent staff yet…”
“What? Such an amazing Purification Master, and he’s not a full employee? What’s Admin doing?”
“Yep… He’s still just a trainee caretaker…”
As for the base-wide chatter about him, Su Ci couldn’t care less. He had anticipated such attention once he displayed his power.
He had only revealed his purification ability. While it might seem ridiculously strong to these humans, it should be enough to keep suspicion at bay.
As long as it didn’t interfere with his goal of reviving the vitality of the earth, he didn’t mind.
At that moment, Su Ci arrived at the hover bus station. Damaged during the battle, the station was now a charred ruin.
Still, it was functional.
Su Ci had the AI dispatch a hover bus. Despite the blood mist, the buses were autonomously operated on fixed routes and could still function properly.
The bus slowly arrived, its doors sliding open.
As Su Ci stepped forward, he instinctively reached out, intending to grab a child by the collar and lift them aboard, as he often did. Instead… he grabbed a hand.
Startled, he turned to see Zhou Yan standing behind him, his clear, gentle eyes slightly crinkled as he gazed at him warmly.
The youth’s presence was so subtle that Su Ci had nearly forgotten about him after returning.
But now, with Zhou Yan standing so close, once Su Ci’s gaze fell upon him, it seemed… impossible to look away.
