Chapter 202
Lu Jiao was immersed in his emotions. He felt like crying but thought it would be far too embarrassing to do so, so he lowered his head slightly, desperately holding back his tears.
At that moment, the young man’s slender, pale hand reached over and gently ruffled his soft, silver hair.
“Do you want to see them?” Su Ci’s gentle voice reached his ears.
Lu Jiao blinked and suddenly looked up at Su Ci. Realizing what he meant, his eyes filled with hope as he nodded eagerly.
“Yes!”
His voice was soft, carrying a slight nasal tone, as if it carried the purest longing for his friends.
Su Ci withdrew his hand and tilted his head slightly, gazing at the sky. After calculating something with his fingers, he stood up, stretched lazily, and said, “Then let’s go see them.”
Lu Jiao froze for a moment, and it took him a long time to process what Su Ci had just said.
“Really? Can we really go?” His face lit up with excitement.
“Mm. The weather’s nice—it’s a good day for a trip,” Su Ci replied, calling out softly for A-Yan.
The young man, who had been busy somewhere else, appeared beside him with a joyful smile. “Su Su?”
Before he could ask anything, the little boy rushed over, hugging his leg and exclaiming happily, “Brother A-Yan! Su Su just said we can go see Lang Ze and the others!”
A-Yan was a bit surprised. He patted Lu Jiao’s head and then looked at Su Ci.
Su Ci stretched his neck lazily. “It’s been a while since I’ve gone out. Want to join?”
Thinking he would be left behind to watch over things, A-Yan was visibly delighted by the offer. His platinum eyes sparkled as he patted Lu Jiao’s head again, suppressing his excitement. “I’ll go get ready.”
Su Ci watched A-Yan’s figure gradually disappear, then glanced down to see Lu Jiao looking up at him, clearly wanting to say something.
“Hmm?” Su Ci tilted his head.
Lu Jiao fiddled with his fingers, looking a little embarrassed. “Am I the only one going? Can we bring Lu Li and the others too?”
Su Ci’s gaze shifted to Lu Li, who was still practicing his body techniques on the greenfield.
After weeks of training every day, Lu Li’s physique had noticeably improved. His demeanor had also changed, becoming healthier and more cheerful compared to before.
At the moment, he was helping the panda cub correct its movements, while even the giant panda, Lai Ze, was mimicking the training nearby.
“You can ask them,” Su Ci said.
“Okay!” Lu Jiao replied with a bright smile. He stowed his flute back into his spiritual storage bag and ran off to share the good news with his friends.
After all, Lu Jiao wasn’t the only one who missed Lang Ze, Xing Xing, and the others.
By the time A-Yan returned with everything prepared, a group of younglings had already gathered around Su Ci.
Even Rong Heng, who had been training in the sword intent space, had been called over by Lu Jiao, who had enlisted the help of the little water spirit.
Speaking of which, the little water spirit, after undergoing continuous purification, was now almost entirely free of its red hue. However, its temperament hadn’t changed much.
Perhaps because Lu Jiao cultivated the path of water, the two had grown closer over time due to their similar affinities.
For the other younglings, especially Lang Ze, the little water spirit often had a foul temper. But when it came to Lu Jiao, it was much more agreeable. Helping him open a teleportation array to the riverbank was a small favor it was happy to oblige.
As soon as Lu Jiao mentioned going to find Lang Ze and the others, Rong Heng immediately ran out of the sword intent space and joined him on the greenfield.
All the younglings who remained at the nursery gathered around Su Ci without exception.
They surrounded Su Ci with eager anticipation, bringing a rare moment of liveliness to the nursery since Lang Ze and the other two had left.
Feeling the cheerful atmosphere, the little white deer’s lips curved into a soft, shy smile, full of quiet joy. His demeanor became even more pure and lively, the aura around him glowing with clarity and vitality.
Under Lang Ze’s influence, the once solitary and sensitive deer had begun to enjoy sharing moments with others.
“Su Su, we all want to go. Can we?” Lu Li asked.
After he spoke, the other younglings all tilted their heads, looking at Su Ci with wide, expectant eyes. It was impossible to look at them and even consider leaving anyone behind.
“Yes, you can,” Su Ci replied.
As soon as he gave his answer, the younglings erupted into cheers, jumping with excitement.
Yay! Su Su is willing to take us out!
And so, Su Ci and A-Yan led all the younglings up to the rooftop of the nursery building. There, they disappeared into the teleportation array on the rooftop.
Chasing after her friends, Qian Qian happily trotted along behind Lu Li and joined them in the teleportation array.
The giant panda, Lai Ze, wanted to follow as well but was left behind by Su Ci to watch over the nursery.
Since reuniting with his wife and daughter and regaining his memories, Lai Ze’s condition had been improving day by day. His speech had fully returned to normal, though his body still needed time to recover its human form.
After all, Lai Ze had spent far too long in his fully beastified form, and the blood mist’s corrosion had severely damaged him. Recovery wasn’t something that could happen overnight.
Of course, with Su Ci’s abilities, it wouldn’t be impossible to forcibly purify and heal Lai Ze’s body, but Lai Ze himself had refused such a shortcut.
He was deeply content with his current life. Being able to spend every day with his wife and daughter, watching the nursery’s children grow up, was the most healing and fulfilling thing for him.
As for regaining his human form and returning to a normal human life, he felt he needed time to readjust.
Watching his daughter disappear into the teleportation array, Lai Ze couldn’t hide his worry but ultimately chose to follow Su Ci’s orders.
Caretaker Su was his savior, and their time together had built a profound trust. Lai Ze believed that no matter what Su Ci planned to do with the children, they would all return safely in the end.
Still, he would have to think of a way to reassure Wen Yan and Yan Ya.
*
Base 24 Hangar
Su Ci and the younglings appeared aboard the 244H spaceship. The younglings were no strangers to this vessel; it was one of their favorite places to visit.
“Su Su, are we taking the 244H out?” Lu Jiao asked, raising his hand.
“Yes,” Su Ci replied.
Hearing his confirmation, the younglings erupted in excitement, their faces lighting up with joy.
“Yay! Let’s go on the spaceship and find Lang Ze!” Little Pear Blossom cheered, raising her arms and spinning in a happy circle.
“Su Su, can you fly the ship?” Xue Wei asked curiously.
Su Ci didn’t answer but glanced over at A-Yan.
A-Yan’s lips curved into a slight smile. “Things like this—once you’ve seen it, you know how to do it.”
Besides, it wasn’t like he’d need to pilot it himself.
“Brother A-Yan, you’re amazing!” Xue Wei and Lu Jiao looked at him with stars in their eyes, while the other younglings, who didn’t quite understand, were already exploring the ship.
About a minute later, the hangar’s dome slowly opened. The old, dusty spaceship, which had been parked there for who knows how many years, shook off its layers of grime and began to ascend into the clouds.
Before leaving, however, Su Ci made sure to notify Zhang Mi, the highest-ranking officer of Base 24.
When Zhang Mi received the message, she was stunned.
Taking the younglings out—she could understand that. But why, of all things, choose the 244h? That antique was so outdated that even a mild turbulence, let alone extreme weather, could shake it to pieces!
Yet, when she couldn’t contact Su Ci and urgently dispatched personnel to track them down, she discovered… they couldn’t catch up at all.
Even the base’s most advanced spaceship failed to find the faintest trace of the 244H after it left the base.
Was Su Ci really flying the 244H? How was it moving so fast?!
In truth, the 244h wasn’t moving particularly fast—it was simply… cloaked. And not just partially, but completely invisible, even to the naked eye.
When the Base 24 ships sent to pursue it flew past the 244h twice without noticing, a slightly naive voice echoed in the control room.
“Master, should I reveal myself?”
The voice wasn’t the mechanical, synthesized sound typical of AIs. Instead, it carried a certain innocent and sincere tone.
This difference wasn’t because Xiao Zhi, having achieved a higher level of evolution, had developed a new personality. Rather, after Su Ci reforged the spaceship from top to bottom, it became a treasure vessel—and birthed a spirit of the vessel.
A-Yan even gave it a name: Qing Yue.
When the nascent book spirit, affectionately nicknamed “Xiao Gong,” heard that the ship spirit had been given such a beautiful name, it sulked for three whole days and nights, completely ignoring A-Yan.
Xiao Zhi’s response? “…Ha. Funny.”
When Su Ci shook his head and said there was no need, Qing Yue fell silent, continuing to fly forward at its original steady pace.
Once they were a good distance away from Base 24, Su Ci retrieved the spiritual grass seeds he had collected over the past few days and, as he had instructed Li Sinian earlier, began sowing them mid-air.
With Su Ci and A-Yan’s enhancements, the seeds sprouted successfully, taking root and beginning to grow.
A-Yan also adjusted the environmental rules along the way, tidying up the climate within the grass seeds’ growth range. While it wasn’t as detailed as the optimized conditions around Base 24, it was enough to ensure the weather wouldn’t be as extreme as before.
The younglings, experiencing their first trip outside, pressed their faces to the windows, trying to see the outside world.
Unfortunately, the dense blood mist blocked their view, making it difficult to see anything clearly.
Noticing this, Su Ci snapped his fingers lightly. The scenes he observed with his spiritual senses appeared within the cabin.
The younglings watched in awe as the seeds were scattered, sprouted, and broke through their protective shells to grow. They saw how, even in harsh and barren conditions, the seeds took root and painted a touch of green onto the desolate land.
Every child watched, completely captivated.
They saw the vast, barren desert—and also saw “hope.” Those scenes were like tiny seeds planted in their hearts, rooting deeply and giving them a clearer understanding of their future mission.
This planet wasn’t entirely like the nursery or Base 24, beautiful and prosperous. But that didn’t matter—they would slowly transform it into the world they envisioned.
Lu Li thought of the heroic spirits that had merged with the earth. Even for their sake alone, he resolved to work hard to change this world.
The spaceship continued forward, heading toward Base 16.
*
Base 16
After a two-hour flight, Lang Ze and his team finally arrived and began a new round of battles.
However, this time, they encountered unexpected trouble.
