Chapter 170
It wasn’t until the three little cubs ran back into the teleportation array that the water demon finally stopped chasing them.
But just as Lang Ze turned to glance back—
“Plop!”
Another water jet hit the little wolf cub square on the face. While it didn’t cause any real harm, it definitely stung!
Lang Ze was utterly exasperated.
“I’m already here! Why are you still spraying me?!”
The answer, of course, was simple: personal vendetta.
With another “Plop!” the water demon fired again, sending the wolf cub scrambling to cover his face. This time, however, no water jet came. The little water blob simply duang-duang-ed off, hopping away to find a new target.
It didn’t take long for it to reach the little tiger.
“Plop!”
A water jet shot out, and Ran Lie tried to dodge, but to his surprise, the jet curved mid-air, striking him squarely on the back of the head. The powerful impact forced him to bow his head slightly.
The Crimson Flame Tiger shook his head vigorously, droplets flying everywhere, but in the end, he begrudgingly walked toward the teleportation array.
Water could extinguish fire, and fire could evaporate water—but at present, his flames were no match for the water demon. After suffering a crushing defeat in their first encounter, Ran Lie had learned his lesson.
Seeing the tiger enter the teleportation array, the water demon didn’t pursue him further as it had with the wolf cub. Instead, it turned its attention to Rong Heng.
Before the water demon could attack, Rong Heng decisively stepped into the teleportation array. As the light surrounded him, he turned to Lang Ze and asked, “Where’s my sister?”
“Su Su took her,” Lang Ze replied.
He had taken off his soaked clothes and was wringing them out. Of all the cubs, he had endured the most water jet attacks and was drenched from head to toe. The cool breeze left him shivering slightly.
Pouting, he glared resentfully at the distant water blob.
Since Rong Heng and Ran Lie had learned how to use the teleportation array, Su Su had not restricted their trips to the riverbank. However, he had assigned them a supervisor—the water blob, nicknamed Plop Plop.
No one really knew what kind of creature it was. It couldn’t speak but had a knack for using water as a weapon. None of the cubs at the nursery were a match for it.
Most of the time, it stayed in the nursery’s pool or occasionally traveled to the riverbank to create rain. Its other key responsibility was ensuring all the cubs returned to the nursery by 6 p.m. each evening.
Now that it was time, the water blob resumed its task.
For some reason, it seemed to particularly target Lang Ze. Among all the cubs, aside from Ran Lie—who had actually fought it before—Lang Ze received the most water sprays.
To avoid its attacks, Lang Ze’s reaction speed had improved noticeably in recent days.
After hearing Lang Ze’s explanation, Rong Heng nodded. He glanced coldly at Yan Ya before withdrawing his gaze and using his object-control powers to activate the teleportation array, returning to the nursery.
Yan Ya watched as Rong Heng and the other cubs vanished before her eyes, her heart aching beyond words.
“Don’t be sad. Xiang Yang and Little Li Hua just didn’t know about your existence before… They always believed their parents were gone,” Xue Wei said softly, holding Yan Ya’s hand to comfort her.
“Yes, I understand.”
Yan Ya wiped her tears and took a deep breath. “At least now I can see them, speak to them. I should be happy.”
Even if the two children never accepted her in the end, it was something she had to endure. She blamed herself for not protecting them back then, forcing them to suffer so much at such a young age.
Seeing Yan Ya pull herself together, Xue Wei finally felt a little relieved.
At that moment, the giant panda family of three, under the water demon’s direction, approached.
The water demon’s job was to ensure no cubs were left behind on the riverbank, and the newly arrived panda cub, Lai Qiqi, was no exception.
Naturally, this meant that Lai Ze, now with his memories restored, also had to accompany them.
Thankfully, the other cubs had already returned to the nursery, so with Wen Yan holding her daughter and sitting on the panda’s back, the teleportation array just barely had enough room.
As the light glowed, they disappeared from the riverbank.
That evening, the nursery’s dining hall was livelier than usual.
In addition to the usual two tables, a third was added for Wen Yan and the Li Sinian couple. Meanwhile, the two pandas—one large and one small—sat in a corner munching on bamboo.
Clearly, despite Lai Ze regaining his memories, his diet hadn’t changed.
Lang Ze winced slightly as he handled a hot roasted sweet rice taro, peeling off the skin before placing it into Zheng Xing’s bowl. Then he picked up another to peel for himself.
The roasted sweet rice taros gave off a delightful caramelized aroma. Soft, sweet, and filling, they had quickly become one of the cubs’ favorite staple foods.
As Lang Ze peeled, he remarked, “Why’d they bring in a new caretaker?”
And not just any caretaker—this one was a woman.
In the year Lang Ze had been at the nursery, all the caretakers he’d seen had been male. So when he learned that Wen Yan was the new caretaker, he’d been quite surprised.
Not only that, but she was eating with them!
On top of that, part of tonight’s meal had been prepared by her, which instantly earned the cubs’ favor—though, of course, she couldn’t compare to Su Su.
“Were there ever multiple caretakers at the same time before?”
Could this mean they were planning to transfer Su Su elsewhere and brought in someone to replace him? Lang Ze felt a surge of wariness.
However, Zheng Xing quickly dispelled his concerns.
Holding a small spoon, he scooped up a bite of sweet rice tuber and stuffed it into his mouth, his cheeks puffing out as he mumbled softly, “Yes…”
Aside from Ran Lie, Zheng Xing had been at the nursery the longest, so his input carried weight.
Lang Ze finally relaxed and turned his attention to the Li Sinian couple seated beside Wen Yan. Although he and the other cubs had been busy playing earlier, they had overheard plenty of gossip.
He looked over at Rong Heng and said, “Xiang Yang…”
The little wolf cub hadn’t even finished his sentence when Rong Heng looked up at him. The usually calm and gentle lion boy seemed unusually sharp today.
Although Rong Heng hadn’t said anything, Lang Ze could feel his displeasure. Instinct told him it was best not to provoke him right now.
Reluctantly, Lang Ze fell silent and focused on his meal.
As for why Xue Wei’s adoptive parents suddenly turned out to be the lion siblings’ biological parents, that question would have to wait for another time to investigate.
When Su Ci and A-Yan returned to the nursery with the two younglings, most of the other cubs had already finished their meal.
Little Li Hua was taken back to her room by Rong Heng to eat, while Lu Li also returned to his room. The dining hall quickly quieted down, leaving only the panda family and the Li Sinian couple.
As soon as Su Ci walked in, they hurried to greet him.
“Caretaker Su,” the giant panda said in a deep, mellow voice. However, after not speaking for so long, his words came out a bit clumsy.
Lai Ze still remembered fragments of his time in full beast form—the closer to the present, the clearer the memories, while those from further back were hazier. But he vividly recalled everything after meeting Su Ci.
Naturally, Lai Ze was deeply grateful to Su Ci. Despite Su Ci’s seemingly delicate appearance, Lai Ze dared not underestimate him in the slightest. As a result, he appeared slightly uneasy in Su Ci’s presence.
“Mm.”
Su Ci nodded, not saying much. Instead, he reached out to rub the panda cub’s head. The little one let out a couple of soft whimpers and burrowed deeper into his father’s embrace.
The tiny black-and-white cub was irresistibly endearing.
“Go back to your room. This little cub needs you,” Su Ci said, withdrawing his hand and leaving Wen Yan and the two pandas in the care of the nanny robot.
Under 4586’s guidance, Wen Yan and her family moved into dormitory 301.
Lai Ze, the giant panda, barely squeezed into the room to reunite with his wife and daughter. After years of separation, they naturally had countless things to say to each other.
As for the Li Sinian couple, Su Ci invited them into dormitory 303.
The primary reason for this was simple—he was hungry.
Watching A-Yan skillfully head into the kitchen to prepare a meal, the Li Sinian couple didn’t find it odd. They knew little about this caretaker Zhou, but the apparent closeness between him and Su Ci suggested they’d known each other for some time.
At Su Ci’s invitation, the couple sat down on the sofa.
“There’s tea and juice. Help yourselves,” Su Ci said.
A-Yan acted like the host, offering drinks and snacks to the Li Sinian couple.
Seeing his smug smile and the invisible tail wagging excitedly behind him, Su Ci felt an itch in his hand but settled for picking up his juice and taking a sip instead.
Once Ayan left to prepare the meal, Li Sinian finally spoke. “Caretaker Su, regarding Rong Heng and Little Li Hua…”
“I know what you want to ask,” Su Ci replied straightforwardly. “Here’s their file. Take a look.”
Su Ci had the base’s AI transmit the siblings’ files to the couple. As they read that Rong Heng and his sister had been rescued from a human cryogenic experiment, their emotions shifted between rage and regret.
No wonder they had been unable to find the two children all these years! The trail had led them astray from the start…
If they had thought of this sooner, could they have found their children earlier? Could they have spared them all this suffering?
“Caretaker Su, thank you.” Li Sinian barely managed to steady his voice. “Now that we’re almost certain, we must take them home no matter what!”
He was determined to give his children the very best, to make up for everything they had endured, and to give them the happy childhood they deserved.
Thankfully, it wasn’t too late!
Su Ci remained silent, but Yan Ya reached out to stop her husband. She had spent more time with the children than he had, and she had also learned some things from Xue Wei.
“Caretaker Su, does Rong Heng possess two types of bloodline powers?” Yan Ya asked.
Li Sinian froze, only now recalling this critical issue.
His son not only had his object-controlling ability but also displayed the traits of a Red-Tail Lion. The implications of this were all too clear.
This… this…
Had he just found his son, only to lose him again?
“Do you have a way to save him?” Yan Ya pressed on, and Li Sinian quickly turned his gaze to Su Ci, full of hope.
Faced with their expectant looks, Su Ci paused with his cup in hand but eventually gave a slight nod. “I do have a way, and I’ve already taught it to him.”
“Really?”
The couple was about to thank him, but Su Ci raised a hand to stop them.
“There’s no need to thank me. This is a deal between Rong Heng and me—it has nothing to do with you,” Su Ci said calmly.
The Li Sinian couple exchanged glances, their hearts tightening with unease.
“May we ask… what kind of deal it is?” they asked cautiously.
“I taught him a cultivation technique, and he helps me farm,” Su Ci replied.
Hearing this, the couple immediately relaxed.
Although the idea of “farming” as a condition seemed bizarre, at least it wasn’t anything too harmful.
“Where exactly is the farming?” Li Sinian asked. “We’d like to help.”
“This planet,” Su Ci replied.
“Uh… specifically, which part of the planet?”
Su Ci looked at the couple, smiling faintly. “The entire planet.”
Haha! Rope them in to help farm~