Chapter 205
Sword energy streaked like a rainbow, splitting the one-eyed monster in half while the surrounding blood mist parted to both sides like a receding tide.
The monster’s body crashed to the ground. Standing at the end of the street was a lion-eared boy, holding a small sword, who appeared in Lang Ze’s dazed gaze.
The boy gripped his sword with both hands, his thick eyebrows furrowed deeply, and his breaths were labored. It was clear that the astonishingly powerful strike just now had not been easy for him.
Lang Ze stared blankly at him, finally processing what had just happened. He exclaimed with delight, “Xiang Yang!”
Was he still dreaming? How could Xiang Yang appear here?
Besides him, behind the boy stood a small flying ship with its hatch open. Little Li Hua and Xue Wei poked their heads out, looking toward Lang Ze, with a pair of antlers faintly visible behind them.
“Lang Ze! Lie Lie! Xing Xing!”
“Daddy!”
Rong Heng, holding his sword, quickly ran over. Behind him, the flying ship moved forward automatically, bringing the young cubs inside swiftly to Lang Ze.
“Lang Ze, are you all right?”
Carefully avoiding the monster’s remains, Rong Heng approached Lang Ze and helped him up from the ground.
“I’m fine. How are you all here?” Lang Ze beamed brightly, finally certain this wasn’t just a beautiful dream.
After all, in that nightmare space, such a wonderful scene was impossible to imagine!
“Lang Ze! Xing Xing!”
A step behind, Lu Jiao jumped off the flying ship.
The little boy, with his short legs, trotted to Lang Ze. When he saw the little kitten curled up in Lang Ze’s hands, it opened its eyes and looked up at him. He exclaimed joyfully, “You’re okay! That’s such a relief!”
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes turned red.
Youyou really was a little crybaby. But Lang Ze didn’t tease him. After all, he had just narrowly escaped death. And that nightmare without the nursery or everyone else still left him trembling in fear when he thought about it.
How wonderful—his friends had come to save him. He was no longer alone.
Lang Ze took a step forward and gave Lu Jiao a big hug.
Lu Jiao sniffled. He didn’t want to cry, but the sight of Lang Ze in danger on the flying ship had terrified him.
Fortunately, they had arrived in time.
He grinned, revealing a wide smile, and hugged Lang Ze back tightly. Then he let go, picked up the little kitten, and happily rubbed his cheek against it. “Xing Xing, I missed you so much.”
The kitten returned his nuzzles for a moment before lifting a paw, its small pink pad pressing lightly against the boy’s face.
Enough rubbing—any more would be impolite.
Lu Jiao set the kitten down. Despite his words, his mood had completely improved, and his delicate face now carried a soft, cheerful smile.
Meanwhile, Ran Lie and Li Sinian, who had been lying on the ground, also slowly regained consciousness after the monster was killed.
Lu Li helped Ran Lie up, and Little Li Hua and Xue Wei went to check on Li Sinian.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Li Sinian assured them.
Although surprised to see the cubs here, he prioritized reassuring them first. His mental strength was greater than that of the cubs. While he couldn’t immediately pinpoint the monster’s weaknesses and counterattack like Zheng Xing, the creature still found it challenging to harm him.
Ran Lie also shook his head, though his gaze was fixed on the one-eyed monster that had been sliced in half.
The remains, which were rapidly decaying and breaking down, still exuded an unfamiliar power. His eyes shifted to Rong Heng, who stood with his small sword at the ready, his lips pressing slightly together.
Noticing his gaze, Rong Heng sheathed his sword and asked, “Should we head back? Su Su and Brother A-Yan are also here.”
Ran Lie paused but shook his head. “I’ll take care of the monster first.”
His expression didn’t reveal much, but perhaps due to his battlefield experience, Rong Heng felt the young tiger seemed calmer and more composed than before, exuding an air of confidence.
Rong Heng couldn’t help but tighten his grip on his sword. A stronger sense of urgency swelled in his heart—just two or three days had passed, and it felt like Ran Lie had left him behind…
Under Rong Heng’s watchful gaze, Ran Lie released several clusters of flames, tossing them onto the one-eyed monster’s remains.
The remains, initially motionless, let out a heart-wrenching scream the moment the crimson flames roared to life. The severed body began crawling on the ground, startling the cubs into stepping back.
Li Sinian, however, stepped forward, releasing his control over objects. With practiced ease, he restrained the struggling, agonized creature.
Rong Heng, seeing the situation, also put away his small sword and, standing beside his father, used his telekinetic powers to immobilize the remains of the one-eyed monster completely.
“Damn! This monster isn’t dead yet!”
Lang Ze protected Youyou and the others as they retreated, then took out a garlic-scented spray he carried with him, generously dousing them all in the strong-smelling garlic “perfume.”
Meanwhile, Ran Lie sat cross-legged and took out his small wooden fish again, rhythmically tapping it while softly chanting a Buddhist sutra to guide the lingering souls trapped within the monster’s remains to peace.
Xue Wei, who had felt uneasy ever since entering the blood mist, suddenly found herself feeling much calmer as she listened to the sound of the wooden fish and the low chanting of the sutra.
She exhaled slowly, then imitated Ran Lie by sitting cross-legged and quietly reciting the Buddhist heart mantra with him.
Ran Lie glanced at her briefly from the corner of his eye before refocusing on his task.
“What’s he doing?” Lu Li asked curiously.
“Purifying the blood mist,” Lang Ze explained.
Over the past few days, Lang Ze had observed Ran Lie striking the wooden fish. Although he didn’t fully understand that it was a ritual for guiding lost souls, he was well aware of its effects.
The young cubs were amazed. Ran Lie was so skilled now—he could even purify the blood mist like Su Su!
They stood guard nearby and soon noticed the thick blood mist around them beginning to fade, little by little. In the sky above, the silhouettes of flying vehicles gradually came into view.
At the same time, the guards of Base 16 began to appear on the horizon.
The one-eyed monster, having been sliced in half and burned to ashes by crimson flames, had finally released its grip on the guards it had been controlling. Freed from the nightmare realm, the guards began to awaken.
Fortunately, the monster had only recently seized control of the situation before the cubs arrived. It hadn’t yet had time to harm the guards, as it had been distracted by the scent of the cubs and Li Sinian’s beast blood.
Moreover, since the monster had taken over the base, no other creatures had invaded. As a result, aside from injuries sustained from falling during their unconscious state, none of the guards had died.
The personnel in the command center, who had fallen unconscious after requesting reinforcements from Base 26, regained consciousness and quickly assessed the situation through the base’s AI and surveillance footage.
Frankly, everyone was astounded.
Particularly when they learned that these cubs had first gone to Base 21, resolved the battle within an hour, and then rushed to Base 16 to assist. Their combat prowess was simply unbelievable!
However…
There seemed to be more cubs than expected. Weren’t there supposed to be only three? Where had the others come from?
Surveillance footage showed no other cubs disembarking from the spaceship. It was as though the small ship had appeared out of nowhere.
The guards gradually approached the scene, and the one-eyed monster’s remains were nearly burned away.
Li Sinian withdrew his telekinetic powers and left the rest to Rong Heng, while he went to speak with the leader of the guards. Although the battle was over and they were about to leave, some formalities couldn’t be skipped.
The officer speaking with Li Sinian expressed heartfelt gratitude to the cubs. However, when his gaze fell upon the monster’s charred remains, he couldn’t help but look slightly dazed.
At that moment, Yun Zixu rushed over from the spaceship.
He had accompanied the young cub squad as ordered by He Qirui, who instructed him to bring the cubs back to Base 26 once the battle here was resolved.
At Base 21, he had disembarked to accompany them, but it turned out there was nothing for him to do. The fight ended before he even arrived at the scene.
Without Zheng Xing navigating the flight, he found it impossible to orient himself in the blood mist and would easily get lost.
This time, at Base 16, he decided to stay aboard the spaceship and wait for the battle to finish before heading out. Fortunately, this meant he avoided getting caught up in anything.
When Yun Zixu saw Rong Heng and the others, his face was full of surprise.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked.
“Su Su brought us,” Lu Jiao replied.
“Caretaker Su is here too?” Yun Zixu exclaimed in delight. “Where is he?”
The cubs all looked up toward the sky simultaneously. Yun Zixu and the gathered guards followed suit, but apart from the red clouds, they saw nothing.
Wait…
Everyone’s expressions changed.
In their gaze, a massive spaceship slowly came into view. Its hull bore the prominent identifier “244H,” impossible to miss.
Such a large spacecraft had entered the base’s airspace, and they only noticed it now!
Could this ship… turn invisible? Judging by the prefix of its identifier, it was likely from Base 24. Could this be the latest advancement in technology?
Yun Zixu looked utterly incredulous.
Wasn’t this the nearly defunct antique ship from Base 24? How could it be here, and with such advanced capabilities?
*
244H.
Inside the cabin, Su Ci glanced out the window while A-Yan sat across from him, peeling grapes.
The grapes were cultivated by Zhuang Shisong and Wei Ming. Ever since those two took over the greenery, neither Su Ci nor A-Yan had much to do with the plants.
Though they weren’t like A-Yan or Zheng Xing, who could instantly assess what plants needed to grow, they certainly had their own expertise.
The nursery and the riverside greenery were well-maintained under their care. The plants thrived, their condition consistently excellent, and the variety only continued to expand.
A-Yan placed the peeled grapes on a small plate, glanced out the window, and chuckled softly. “You must have known they’d run into trouble; that’s why you agreed to come, isn’t it?”
Su Ci didn’t respond. He speared one of the peeled grapes with a bamboo skewer and popped it into his mouth.
There was no need to explain too much—A-Yan always understood, as if he were a mind-reader. This kind of connection… wasn’t half bad.
During this time, Su Ci had been living comfortably.
He couldn’t quite describe the feeling—it was as if a heart that had wandered aimlessly for tens of millions of years had finally found its home. Those emotions of his, never particularly intense, now had a place where they could be gently and securely settled.
Life remained as calm as ever, yet it felt somehow different.
Su Ci slowly savored the flavor of the grapes, a perfect balance of sweet and tart with the refreshing chill of being served cold.
Suddenly, he raised his eyes to look at A-Yan and asked, “Why didn’t you take human form earlier?”
A-Yan was momentarily stunned. He stared at Su Ci, his mouth opening as if to reply, but before he could say anything, the young man had already shifted his gaze back toward the window.
“The children are back,” he said, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.
