Chapter 253
The cubs didn’t notice the movements of the big black bear. They were entirely focused on Ika and the snow fox.
The light surrounding the snow fox gradually faded, and the claw marks over its injured eye visibly healed, the wounds appearing far less severe and grotesque.
The ominous red glow in the snow fox’s remaining eye disappeared. While it still regarded the cubs with caution, it no longer assumed a threatening, aggressive stance.
Slowly, the snow fox retreated to the corner of its cage and lay down.
Gu Qingchen observed the scene, both surprised and confused.
The light sphere that Ika had released onto the snow fox carried the unmistakable energy of purification, but…
Purification energy doesn’t have healing properties.
It was designed to target the pollutants on Prison Star. Since becoming a purifier, Gu Qingchen had never seen it exhibit any restorative effects.
What’s going on?
Lost in thought, he glanced back at the cage and suddenly remembered why he had rushed over in the first place. He quickly ushered the cubs out of the enclosure.
“These beasts are incredibly strong and could attack anything around them at any moment. How could you take such a risk?” Gu Qingchen scolded as he locked the cage, his face stern.
“Dr. Gu, we just wanted to help,” Lu Jiao protested. “You saw it— Ika can heal!”
He argued confidently, while Ika, now seated back in his hover wheelchair, instinctively hid behind Rong Heng when Gu Qingchen turned to look at him.
Ika wasn’t used to interacting with many people, a common issue among beast-blooded cubs who had been forced into home education due to their bloodline surges.
But deep down, Ika enjoyed the lively atmosphere.
He loved playing with the cubs and felt happy knowing his abilities could be useful.
After his initial shyness, he couldn’t resist peeking out from behind Rong Heng, his curious gaze fixed on Gu Qingchen. He felt a comforting aura from the doctor, a sense of kinship.
Noticing Ika’s timid behavior, Gu Qingchen softened his expression into a gentle smile. Then, as realization dawned, he exclaimed, “You’re from the Merfolk clan, aren’t you?”
He recalled that the Merfolk had a natural ability for healing, and the technique Ika had just demonstrated matched their methods perfectly.
Ika nodded and, encouraged by Rong Heng’s reassuring look, introduced himself, “I’m Ika. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, Ika,” Gu Qingchen replied with a warm smile.
The boy’s blue hair and blue eyes were unmistakable trademarks of pure-blooded Merfolk. Gu Qingchen realized he should have figured it out earlier.
The Merfolk’s beast-blood warriors had played a crucial role in humanity’s battles against interstellar monsters, thanks to their unique healing abilities. However, as human medical technology advanced, their contributions became less critical, and they gradually disappeared from the military.
Aside from their healing talents, Merfolk lacked the overall capabilities of other beast-blooded warriors and had a significant dependency on water.
After leaving the military, the Merfolk leveraged their healing abilities to amass considerable wealth. Across the galaxy, the Merfolk families were renowned for their affluence and beauty.
However…
“Ika, the healing light sphere you used just now—did it also contain purification energy?” Gu Qingchen crouched in front of the boy, speaking gently.
Gu Qingchen’s sudden approach made Ika nervous. He instinctively turned his head to glance at Rong Heng. Only when Rong Heng comfortingly placed a hand on his did Ika gradually relax.
“I think… maybe,” Ika replied hesitantly.
Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely sure.
Since arriving at the Nursery center, he’d spent most of his days in the two water pools. Studying the mysterious formations carved into the pool floors had become his favorite pastime.
As he studied, his healing ability seemed to undergo some changes.
Speaking of which…
Ika, curious about the familiar energy emanating from Gu Qingchen, asked, “So, you can purify too?”
“Yes,” Gu Qingchen nodded. “I’m a purifier. What I used on the Thunderhorn Bear earlier was purification energy.”
He then began explaining the role of purifiers to Ika.
“These beasts are actually beast-blood warriors who once achieved great military feats. But after coming to Pri… Earth Star, they were corrupted by pollutants. This caused them to lose their sanity and fully beastify into wild animals.”
Gu Qingchen’s gaze turned sorrowful as he looked at the beasts in their cages.
“They ended up in the blood mist, living in inhuman conditions. How they survived in such a dangerous, food-scarce environment for up to ten years is a mystery.”
“But recently, we managed to find them and bring them back to the base. My job now is to help them regain their sanity and reintegrate into human society.”
The cubs listened intently. Looking at the poor condition of the beasts in the cages, their eyes filled with sympathy.
“The uncles and aunties are so pitiful…”
As Gu Qingchen spoke, Qian Qian’s thoughts drifted to her father. Her eyes reddened, and she turned around to hug Lai Ze tightly.
Lai Ze smiled as he picked her up, comforting her with words, though his own eyes grew moist.
Were those years in the blood mist hard?
Of course, they were. But the most painful part for him was the knowledge that his wife and daughter had suffered so much because of him.
He looked at the caged warriors, strangers to him, and thought: if they could regain their sanity and reunite with their families, they would probably feel the same way he did.
The cubs also knew that Uncle Lai Ze was someone Su Su had rescued from the wild. At first, he couldn’t remember anything and spent his days playing by the riverbank with them. Now, he was back to normal.
So, surely these beasts in the cages would recover too!
“Dr. Gu, you have to keep it up!” they cheered enthusiastically.
Gu Qingchen smiled and nodded in response before turning back to Ika and then glancing briefly at Su Ci, who remained detached.
After a moment’s hesitation, Gu Qingchen cautiously asked, “Ika, would you be interested in becoming a purifier?”
Ika didn’t answer immediately, but he also didn’t reject the idea outright.
Seeing this, Gu Qingchen pressed on, “The purification energy you released earlier wasn’t very strong, and I could sense that you don’t have full control over your abilities yet.”
He wasn’t sure how Ika had come to understand purification energy. Perhaps it was an ability that awakened after arriving on Earth Star—similar to his own, which had appeared out of nowhere one day.
“If you want to master this power, I can teach you,” Gu Qingchen offered, then paused. “Of course, it’s Caretaker Su who taught me. He’s our true teacher.”
Caretaker Su…
Ika turned to glance at Su Ci. The young man didn’t seem particularly interested in their conversation. Since arriving, he had been lazily observing the beasts. Meanwhile, A-Yan stayed close to him, occasionally sharing a joke or two.
“If I wanted to learn, what would I need to do?” Ika asked, returning his gaze to Gu Qingchen.
A bright smile spread across Gu Qingchen’s face as he rubbed his hands together. “Good kid, you wouldn’t need to do much. Just use these beasts as your practice targets.”
The request didn’t seem unreasonable to Ika, provided the beasts continued to behave as obediently as they had today.
After a moment of thought, he replied, “Alright. Let me think about it.”
Gu Qingchen eagerly agreed, nodding several times.
Su Ci and A-Yan lingered with the cubs for a while longer before preparing to leave. When the children heard they were leaving, they immediately flocked to follow, showing no signs of wanting to stay behind.
“Su Su, can we go explore somewhere else?”
“Let’s visit Uncle Camel!”
“I want to eat roasted sweet potatoes by the river…”
Gu Qingchen watched as Su Ci and the children boarded the hover bus and disappeared around the corner. He couldn’t quite figure out why Caretaker Su had come today.
From the moment he arrived, Su Ci had barely spoken to him and hadn’t made any significant moves. It was as if he had genuinely come just to take the children out for fun.
As Gu Qingchen replayed the events in his mind, trying to decipher Su Ci’s intentions, the stillness of the moment was abruptly shattered.
“ROAR!!!”
“AWOOOO!!!”
“HOWL!!!”
The beasts’ cries erupted in a deafening cacophony, filling the air after a brief period of silence. The noise was so overwhelming it felt like it could drive someone mad.
With practiced ease, Gu Qingchen stuffed earplugs into his ears and made his way back to the field behind the building, braving the persistent noise.
Even with earplugs to muffle the sounds, the sheer proximity made it impossible to block them out completely. In truth, ever since the beasts had arrived, Gu Qingchen hadn’t had a proper night’s sleep in over a week.
The staff at the Medical Department were also having a tough time, but since Gu Qingchen was clearly suffering even more, no one dared to complain too much.
After the beasts suddenly quieted earlier, many staff members had contacted Gu Qingchen out of curiosity, and now even more were approaching him to ask what had happened.
Gu Qingchen managed to brush off their questions and returned to the cages. Looking at the big black bear once again slumped in the corner with its “life has no meaning” expression, and then at the snow fox in the neighboring cage that had refrained from joining the commotion, a realization struck him.
He had a hunch about why Caretaker Su had visited.
Glancing at the other cages, where ferocious beasts continued roaring and growling at him, Gu Qingchen let out a cold chuckle.
Hmph, let’s see if you can keep making noise after this!
With a new plan in mind, Gu Qingchen’s mood brightened considerably, and he hurried off to set things in motion.
*
On the Hover Bus
“Su Su, can I learn purification from Dr. Gu?” After some hesitation, Ika finally approached Su Ci with his question.
“Do you want to learn?” Su Ci asked.
Ika thought for a moment and then asked, “Those interesting patterns under the water pools—are they related to purification?”
Su Ci nodded. “That’s a purification array.”
He studied the young merman thoughtfully. To be honest, Su Ci was surprised that Ika had managed to comprehend purification energy from the array.
This indicated that Ika had a natural talent, not just for purification but also for formations. However, at this point, his talent for purification seemed stronger.
“Then I’d like to learn. Is that okay?” Ika asked nervously.
“You can,” Su Ci replied without hesitation.
He had noticed subtle changes in Ika’s bloodline power. It was no longer purely the power of a sea merman. Perhaps it was due to the time he spent soaking in the purified water daily, or maybe he was just exceptionally gifted. Either way, learning purification could help Ika better control his bloodline power.
“Learn from Dr. Gu,” Su Ci suggested. “He’s competent when it comes to purification.”
Ika nodded happily but soon hesitated again.
If he studied with Dr. Gu, wouldn’t that mean he’d have to leave the Nursery center during the day? He didn’t want to be away from Rong Heng and the new friends he’d made.
However, by the next day, Ika realized his worries were unnecessary because… Dr. Gu had relocated all the beast cages to the Nursery center!
Not directly inside the Nursery center, of course. Gu Qingchen wasn’t that bold.
After filing a request, he set up a temporary facility on the open land west of the Nursery center and moved all the cages there.
This temporary facility was separated from the Nursery center by just one wall. Thanks to Wei Ming and Zhuang Shisong’s efforts, the area had been transformed into a lush space filled with plants. Although the winter season had sent the vegetation into dormancy, the groundwork remained.
Standing in front of the relocated cages, Gu Qingchen looked at the beasts, who had become inexplicably quiet and now gazed at him with pitiful, mournful eyes. He could hardly contain his urge to laugh out loud.
Ha! I’ve got backing now too!
