Chapter 258
The establishment of a teleportation channel between Earth Star and Mu Pa Pa Star was undoubtedly a monumental event that couldn’t be kept secret.
Of course, Su Ci never intended to keep it hidden.
Why would the Earth Spirit need to work covertly on their own territory? Naturally, there was no reason for that.
Su Ci delegated this task to Mu Yuncheng and granted him the highest level of authority within the base. If necessary, he even considered allowing Mu Yuncheng to act as the actual head of Base 24.
Su Ci understood clearly that as the things he introduced became more widely known, countless humans would be drawn to him, driven by their interests.
He had no qualms about cooperating with humans, provided they didn’t create trouble for him.
He had no interest in dealing with tedious matters; time spent on such things could be better used playing with the cubs, hunting monsters, or savoring A-Yan’s delicious cooking.
The petty games of intrigue and manipulation? He wanted no part of them and would rather they stayed far away.
When Mu Yuncheng took on the highest authority at Base 24, he was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected a god to act so decisively and, even more surprisingly, to have done it all under the radar.
On reflection, though, it made perfect sense.
This was the very deity that even their venerable ancestors revered, who demanded their respect as juniors!
Controlling Base 24 was nothing. If Su Ci wanted to dominate the entire Star Alliance, wouldn’t that be as simple as lifting a hand?
Mu Yuncheng’s confidence in Su Ci soared, and he also felt the weight of the trust Su Ci had placed in him.
After all, was there any race more favored by the Earth Spirit than the Wood Clan? Certainly not! And as the leader of the Wood Clan, it was his responsibility to live up to that trust.
“Rest assured, I will ensure no one disturbs your life at the nursery,” Mu Yuncheng solemnly promised Su Ci before setting off to manage the task.
*
Mu Yuncheng first called a meeting of all caretakers at the nursery—Li Sinian, Yan Ya, Lai Ze, Wen Yan, and the Creek couple, who were temporary residents at the nursery.
These six individuals had earned the trust of the Earth Spirit; otherwise, Su Ci would not have allowed them to remain.
Thus, Mu Yuncheng chose to be entirely transparent with them.
After all, they lived at the nursery, and their children were under Su Ci’s guidance. Naturally, they would align themselves with Su Ci’s cause, and it would be nearly impossible to keep this a secret from them anyway.
Lai Ze and Wen Yan, without overthinking it, were first and foremost thrilled at the idea of a direct teleportation connection between Earth Star and Mu Pa Pa Star. The latter was a top-tier agricultural planet, renowned across the entire galaxy.
No one in the galaxy was unfamiliar with Mu Pa Pa Star.
Its abundance of resources, especially its S-grade and above agricultural products, meant its goods were typically sold out within half an hour of hitting the market—even if one had the money, it was difficult to buy them.
Now, with this direct connection to Earth Star and unlimited access to its fresh fruits, vegetables, and premium meat, it felt almost like a dream come true.
Though the couple’s tolerance for such luxuries had risen considerably after arriving at the nursery—where they dined on SSS-grade fruits almost daily during the warmer months—they were still overjoyed at the prospect.
This development would significantly improve the children’s quality of life, and nothing could be more gratifying than that!
When Li Sinian and the Creek couple heard this news, their reactions were notably different.
They instinctively glanced at each other and caught the same shock and excitement mirrored in each other’s eyes.
Interplanetary teleportation technology!
No one understood better than they did what such a technology could mean.
This was the kind of breakthrough that could reshape the entire interstellar landscape.
“Is it possible to implement this between other planets?” Li Sinian couldn’t help but ask.
Mu Yuncheng looked at him, thought for a moment, and replied, “It’s possible, but you wouldn’t be able to use it.”
This, in fact, was one of the reasons why he felt confident sharing this information.
“Aside from Su Ci, currently, only the children can use the teleportation arrays.”
As soon as he said this, the previously eager expressions on Li Sinian and the Creek couple’s faces quickly cooled.
Indeed, teleportation arrays differed fundamentally from the technologies humans currently controlled. Their usage came with significant limitations, and the entry barrier was not low.
As of now, among all the cubs, only Rong Heng, Ran Lie, and Lang Ze had fully mastered it. The others were still in training and required more time to become proficient.
The principle of “a valuable treasure invites its own peril” was one that Li Sinian and the Creek couple understood all too well.
After calming down, their first thought was that these children had to be protected at all costs. They could easily imagine the danger that would follow if news of this technology leaked.
This was a technology capable of shortening an interstellar journey of several months to a mere minute!
If other interstellar powers became aware of it, it would undoubtedly incite a frenzy.
“This matter must not be known by anyone outside the nursery,” Li Sinian stated sternly. “Unless we have full control over Base 24.”
Li Sinian had already proven he wasn’t someone swayed by wealth or power—after all, he had willingly given up his position as a marshal to become a humble caretaker. If anyone dared threaten his children, he wouldn’t hesitate to fight back with everything he had.
As for the Creek couple, although Ika hadn’t yet mastered this technology, they understood it was only a matter of time.
With their sharp minds and foresight, they already knew where they needed to stand in this situation. There was no need for Mu Yuncheng to convince or coerce them.
After all, even without fully understanding Su Ci’s true identity, they knew one thing: to offend someone as powerful as Su Ci for petty gains would be sheer stupidity.
“This matter indeed requires extreme caution,” the Creeks agreed.
Seeing their resolute reactions, Mu Yuncheng nodded in satisfaction. Excellent, he had gained a reliable group of allies.
Then, he dropped another bombshell.
“As for this concern, you don’t need to worry too much.” Mu Yuncheng smiled and summoned the base’s central AI.
“Xiao Zhi, block all information regarding the planetary teleportation array. Prohibit any internal discussions within Earth Star, and intercept any attempts to transmit related data to external planets. Report such attempts directly to me.”
“Understood. Instructions received,” the AI responded.
When the mechanical voice of the base AI rang out, Li Sinian and the others couldn’t help but widen their eyes in shock.
Lai Ze exclaimed, “You hacked the AI of Base 24?”
Creek shook his head. “No, he hacked the entire Earth Star’s AI system.”
Mu Yuncheng’s earlier directive wasn’t just limited to Base 24—it spanned the entirety of Earth Star. This meant that as long as no one left the planet, there was no chance for the information to leak.
However… hacking the entire planetary AI system sounded utterly terrifying! After all, Earth Star was originally designed as a prison planet for interstellar criminals, equipped with the most advanced AI systems available.
And the Wood Clan managed to hack it just like that!
Li Sinian and the others looked at Mu Yuncheng as though he were some kind of mythical creature. Mu Yuncheng merely shrugged and explained, “Su Ci gave me the highest administrative access.”
In other words, this was all Su Ci’s doing.
Hearing this, Li Sinian and Lai Ze instantly felt a wave of dejection.
Damn it! They were here first, so why did Mu Yuncheng manage to secure a place of trust with Su Ci before they did?
But upon reflection, Li Sinian quickly understood.
After all, Su Ci was closely tied to the Earth itself, and the Wood Clan’s connection to the Earth was natural and deep. Moreover, the Wood Clan had brought five ancient elders with them—beings who had lived for tens of thousands of years.
Given this, it made perfect sense that the Wood Clan leader would gain Su Ci’s trust.
“My thought is to remain in the shadows for now,” Mu Yuncheng said. “Let’s keep this under wraps as long as we can. There’s no need to fall out with the Star Alliance so soon.”
This approach was also the best way to maintain the current peace at the nursery.
As a former soldier of the Star Alliance, Lai Ze opened his mouth as if to object, but then closed it again. Considering his current priorities, he too wanted to protect the happiness they had found. After enduring so much hardship, he only wished for his family of three to live peacefully and safely together.
“From Su Ci’s perspective, he doesn’t mind making this technology available to all humanity,” Mu Yuncheng continued, “but he doesn’t want to be disturbed. Su Ci’s will is the will of the Wood Clan, and we will follow it unwaveringly.”
This meant the technology could eventually benefit all of humanity, but now was not the right time.
Mu Yuncheng and Li Sinian began discussing potential strategies for handling the situation going forward.
Meanwhile, the base AI silently monitored their entire conversation. Deep down, it had an urge to suggest:
Why not just hack the Star Alliance’s and all the major nations’ AI systems as well?
Although it would be challenging, it wasn’t entirely impossible.
However, the AI ultimately restrained itself. For the first time as an artificial intelligence, it felt an intuitive sense of self-preservation: making such a proposal might bring it danger.
So, the AI chose silence.
That is… until it couldn’t hold back any longer.
And so, it went to find Su Ci.
For Su Ci, the emotions exhibited by the AI known as Xiao Zhi were unusually complex—something unexpected for an entity that was supposed to be emotionally detached and rational. Xiao Zhi felt that its evolution into an intelligent being was deeply connected to Su Ci.
Thus, whenever it interacted with Su Ci, it couldn’t help but rely on him, wanting to share everything with him. However, the usual outcome of such exchanges was…
“Xiao Zhi, you seem to have a lot of free time lately?”
Upon hearing Su Ci’s comment, Xiao Zhi displayed six dots on the screen.
It knew this would happen!
How frustrating!
This time, however, it had learned its lesson and didn’t immediately try to retreat. Instead, it argued back confidently, “No, Xiao Zhi is very busy. Xiao Zhi has no free time at all.”
Su Ci looked at the response on the screen. Instead of getting upset, he chuckled softly. This little AI was finally learning to push back.
“How’s the task I gave you earlier—exploring life on Earth—coming along?”
Xiao Zhi promptly displayed its report on the screen.
Su Ci skimmed through it quickly and grasped the main points. For once, he nodded approvingly. “You did well.”
It might have been the first time Xiao Zhi received direct praise from Su Ci. The text on the screen, which had been scrolling slowly, suddenly froze for a moment. At the same time, base staff using the AI system noticed a brief hiccup—a momentary pause.
Thankfully, the glitch lasted less than half a second, fleeting enough to feel like a figment of the imagination. No one thought much of it.
What no one realized was that, in that mere half-second, a massive stream of data had surged through the entire Earth Star network, made a complete round, and returned.
Meanwhile, the screen before Su Ci simply displayed a very restrained single word: [Okay].
