Chapter 28
Logistics Department Employee Dormitory
Luo Shengfei had just returned to his room. The injuries he sustained were completely healed by the medical pod, leaving no aftereffects aside from some uneven skin tone.
The contamination he suffered during the blood rain and giant spider attack had also been purified to a low level. Another round of purification tomorrow would resolve it completely.
He placed his heavy toolbox down and opened it. Seeing the tools and parts jumbled together from all the running and collisions, his expression turned pained.
Luckily, the sturdy toolbox had kept everything inside intact. After spending some time organizing the contents, he pulled out two cans of beef, carefully opening one.
The fragrant aroma of beef quickly filled the room. Inhaling the savory scent, he prepared to enjoy the meal when his communicator rang.
Nursery Department—Su Ci.
Luo Shengfei casually tapped to answer, cheerfully saying, “Caretaker Su, good evening! I’m fine now, thank you for your concern!”
Su Ci, who hadn’t yet said a word: “…”
Should he have started with a show of concern?
Before Su Ci could respond, Luo Shengfei continued, “I’m eating the canned beef I got from you this morning. What brand is it? It’s not only filling but also chewier and tastier than what the base supplies!”
Talking with his mouth full of beef, his words came out slightly muffled. “Can you send me the shopping link? I’ll buy it during my next vacation.”
“… I’ll look for it when I get back,” Su Ci replied.
“Hehe, much appreciated!” Luo Shengfei chuckled.
Su Ci then explained the purpose of his call.
“That’s doable,” Luo Shengfei mused. “But… could you throw in another can? It’s a bit tricky…”
Su Ci: “… Fine.”
“Hahaha, great. I’ll figure it out as soon as possible. You wait!” Luo Shengfei said enthusiastically.
After receiving confirmation, Su Ci ended the call. Just then, Nanny Robot 4586 flew out of Room 3.
“Su Su, today’s tasks are done! You can take a break now!”
Before Su Ci left, the nanny robot reminded him, “Don’t forget to write the growth records for the babies today, Su Su.”
Growth records?
Su Ci tilted his head slightly as it continued, “Great job today! Please be ready in the kitchen at 5 a.m. tomorrow to prepare breakfast for the cubs with me.
“A nutritious and hearty breakfast is crucial to replenish the energy they used during sleep and to start their day full of vitality!”
After repeating yesterday’s encouragement almost verbatim, it added, “Su Su, you can’t be late tomorrow, okay?”
Su Ci’s thoughts remained the same—if he could wake up in time, he’d help for sure.
*
Nursery Room 303
Left alone in the room, A-Yan obediently stayed in the living room. He lay on the coffee table, holding a pen slightly too large for his small hands as he diligently practiced heavenly script.
Next to him was a dirt canister that had been chanting slogans all morning but had now gone completely quiet, seemingly asleep.
Hearing movement at the door, the child, previously focused, immediately looked up towards the entrance.
When he saw the caretaker’s figure appear, his eyes lit up.
This afternoon, the caretaker hadn’t let him follow along, so he poured all his energy into learning heavenly script. Still, he kept glancing at the door, hoping the caretaker would return early.
He waited until now.
Seeing Su Ci finally return, the boy’s face lit up with uncontainable joy. All thoughts of study evaporated.
A-Yan set down his pen, turned slightly, and appeared at the entrance in a flash.
He retrieved a pair of indoor slippers from the shoe cabinet, placing them neatly in front of the caretaker. Then, he tilted his little face upward, looking at Su Ci expectantly.
Originally planning to walk straight into the dormitory, Su Ci noticed the spotless floor and raised an eyebrow. As he removed his work shoes, he asked, “Did you mop the floor?”
A-Yan shook his head and pointed to the robot vacuum stationed under the shoe cabinet.
Not long after the caretaker left, the robot vacuum had automatically started cleaning. A-Yan took off his shoes, put them in the cabinet, and replaced them with clean socks.
As for slippers… the caretaker’s slippers were far too large. Wearing them made him trip easily.
Su Ci patted the top of his head, slipped on the slippers, and stepped inside. “Did you have dinner?”
A-Yan nodded vigorously.
Not only had he prepared and consumed his own nutrient solution, but he also placed the cup in the dishwasher for cleaning and drying before putting it back on the shelf.
His little face beamed with hope for praise, but Su Ci didn’t notice.
“Good,” Su Ci responded absentmindedly as he walked into the living room.
A-Yan wasn’t disappointed; he happily trailed behind Su Ci like a shadow.
Su Ci first inspected the dirt canister on the table. Noticing that the spirit seed inside, despite chanting all day, still hadn’t broken through its seed coat, he disdainfully pushed the canister aside.
Next, he picked up the notebook the child had left on the coffee table and sat on the sofa, casually flipping through its pages.
Seeing the caretaker reviewing his work, Ah Yan’s playful expression immediately tightened, replaced by a touch of nervousness. He sidled up to Su Ci, watching him anxiously.
The notebook was filled with page after page of crooked handwriting scrawled across blank sheets.
The first page was a complete mess, resembling incomprehensible symbols, with each character a tangle of distorted lines.
It wasn’t hard to understand—A-Yan was still at the stage where he couldn’t even remember what a heavenly script character looked like, let alone replicate it properly.
However, by the second page, there was a marked improvement.
When Su Ci reached the final page, his usual relaxed expression had vanished. Staring at the nascent yet legible divine script that faintly radiated a hint of spiritual energy, he looked up at A-Yan.
The boy’s face was a mixture of confusion and worry, as if afraid he hadn’t done well. A trace of unease glimmered in his eyes.
“Not bad,” Su Ci remarked as he set the notebook down, sincerely praising him.
Hearing this, A-Yan blinked in surprise. Then, a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his eyes sparkled brightly with joy, making him look adorably radiant.
Unable to resist, Su Ci reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair again. Remembering what 4586 had said earlier, he pulled his hand back and retrieved another notebook from his spatial ring.
A-Yan accepted the new notebook with a puzzled look, listening as Su Ci said, “Growth journal. You know how to write it, right?”
Growth journal?
The boy hesitated, nodding slowly. He had seen the previous caretaker write one before. Even if he hadn’t, it didn’t seem too complicated.
“Go ahead, then,” Su Ci instructed.
At this, A-Yan obediently carried the notebook back to the coffee table, picked up the pen, and began writing with great focus, pausing occasionally to think.
Watching the boy’s earnest and obedient demeanor, Su Ci nodded in satisfaction. Noticing that A-Yan was standing as he wrote because of the lack of a proper desk, Su Ci contacted 4586 through his communicator.
Not long after, the doorbell rang.
Su Ci went to answer it, and A-Yan couldn’t help but peek curiously toward the door. He saw the caretaker return with 4586, which was pushing a floating trolley.
When A-Yan saw what was on the trolley, he froze in surprise.
A set of children’s furniture—a desk and chair!
“Place it here,” Su Ci said, pointing to an empty spot near the coffee table.
Since furniture was one of the most frequently damaged items, the nursery’s warehouse had a substantial reserve of it. As a caretaker, Su Ci had access to these materials. The system logged every item he took, and as long as he could justify his usage to inspectors, there would be no issues.
“Understood, Su Su,” the nanny robot replied, positioning the desk and chair as instructed.
A-Yan watched its movements intently, unconsciously setting his pen down on the coffee table.
Noticing this, 4586 scanned the suddenly reappeared pen, then examined the edge of the coffee table, which seemed to have a missing corner.
Its electronic eye blinked in confusion.
Realizing the robot’s scrutiny, A-Yan quickly stepped away from the coffee table and straightened his posture.
4586: “…”
It alternated its gaze between the coffee table’s damaged corner and the pen, rapidly analyzing the data it collected. However, the conclusion was clear:
This was just an ordinary pen, a classic model from an interstellar stationery chain, with almost zero contamination.
The conditions for raising an alarm were either a cub going berserk or the contamination level in the nursery exceeding the safety threshold.
“No anomalies detected. End of report,” the robot’s mechanical voice announced before switching to its soft, cutesy tone.
“Su Su, I’ll head back now!”
“Mm.”
With that, the nanny robot pushed the floating trolley and left Room 303.
After it left, Su Ci turned his attention to A-Yan. The boy’s focus had already shifted entirely toward Su Ci, but after the recent episode, he didn’t dare touch the pen again.
Looking at Su Ci with a timid expression, he worried the caretaker might reprimand him for being careless and almost exposing himself to 4586.
However, Su Ci didn’t seem concerned about the earlier incident.
A-Yan, being one of the nursery’s cubs, was naturally supposed to be there. Su Ci’s earlier instructions had merely been out of concern for the safety of this nascent being, encouraging him to be cautious.
“Come here and try it out,” Su Ci beckoned.
Overjoyed, A-Yan grabbed his paper and pen and hurried over. He carefully climbed onto the small chair and placed his supplies on the desk. Then, unable to resist, he pressed his palms against the smooth, shiny tabletop, gently stroking it.
He finally had his own desk and chair!
This child-sized furniture was height-adjustable. With a simple button press, it automatically adjusted to the most suitable height.
“Good?” Su Ci crouched beside him and asked.
A-Yan nodded enthusiastically.
“Then keep writing,” Su Ci instructed.
“Okay!” Ah Yan responded brightly.
The child sat upright, picked up his pen again, and continued working diligently on his growth journal.
He had seen the previous caretaker writing such journals. All he needed to do was write down everything he had done that day in detail.
Since the journal required ordinary script instead of heavenly script, his handwriting instantly became legible. Though clumsy and lacking strength, it was still neat and endearing.
While A-Yan focused on his writing, Su Ci went to prepare his own meal. Thanks to the food stored in his two spatial buttons, he didn’t need to worry about his immediate needs and could eat enough to be satisfied for the evening.
By around 9 p.m., A-Yan finally finished his journal. He obediently handed it over to Su Ci for inspection.
Su Ci skimmed through it line by line, noting that the boy knew quite a lot of characters. A-Yan had written down everything that had happened since he woke up that morning in painstaking detail.
The journal was filled with innocent and naive observations, which Su Ci found unexpectedly endearing—especially the boy’s strong desire to protect him. It stirred something in Su Ci.
He had little experience with cubs this age, not even with newly formed spirits. When he took in A-Yan, it had been out of compassion for a fellow being. After discovering the boy’s innate talent, Su Ci had considered nurturing him into a capable assistant.
But he hadn’t expected to develop any emotional attachment to the child.
Setting the journal down, Su Ci paused before saying, “You’re still young; there’s no need to rush to grow up.”
Even if A-Yan might already be hundreds of years old, to Su Ci, who had lived for tens of millions of years, he was merely a child.
A-Yan looked at him, his usual obedient demeanor intact. This time, however, he didn’t nod. Instead, he silently lowered his head, staring at his toes.
Su Ci didn’t try to change the boy’s mind. After all, whether or not someone grows up isn’t something a child’s will alone can decide.
“It’s late. Go take a bath.”
A-Yan responded with a soft “Mm,” turning toward the bathroom. But then…
Thud!
Somehow, he tripped over his own feet and fell flat on the ground with a dramatic crash.
Su Ci quickly scooped him up with one hand, holding him close as he checked him over. “You okay?”
A-Yan’s cheeks, initially just faintly red, now burned a bright crimson. He covered his bumped nose, shook his head, and instinctively wrapped his arms around Su Ci’s neck. He buried his face in the caretaker’s shoulder, discreetly inhaling the comforting scent he carried.
Falling flat on the floor was embarrassing, but it had earned him this rare moment of closeness with Su Ci. Maybe it was worth it after all…
A-Yan’s ears burned as the thought crossed his mind.
Su Ci felt the boy’s affection and hesitated for a moment but didn’t push him away.
Instead, he carried the child into the bathroom.
Once inside, A-Yan obediently released his grip. He took off his cub uniform, placed it in the laundry basket, and slipped into the tub, waiting for Su Ci to fill it with water for his bath.
The sound of running water filled the room.
The spirit-infused water sprayed from the showerhead, cascading over him in a soothing rush.
Compared to the previous night, A-Yan was already much cleaner, making the task easier. Su Ci lathered shampoo onto the boy’s head, creating a thick, luxurious foam.
While washing his body, Su Ci’s hands emitted a faint golden glow, blending with the water’s spiritual energy to nourish the boy’s spiritual form.
In just one day and night, A-Yan’s body had undergone noticeable changes.
Although A-Yan was still skin and bones, with his ribs easily palpable to the touch, he now had a slight layer of flesh, and his skin had become smoother and more refined, finally resembling a normal child.
This transformation was thanks not only to regular meals, proper clothing, and Su Ci’s spiritual power nurturing but also because A-Yan had practiced heavenly script that day.
Learning heavenly script brought many benefits, but it also consumed tremendous energy, especially for cubs with no foundational training.
And A-Yan’s constitution was particularly weak.
Under the current harsh conditions—with no spiritual medicine or rare treasures to nurture him—it was only through Su Ci’s daily care and adjustments that A-Yan’s fragile spirit body could withstand the backlash of practicing heavenly script.
A-Yan was unaware of Su Ci’s efforts to nourish his body. With his eyes closed, he felt a sense of weightlessness as if he were floating, his entire being slipping into a blissful state. Gradually, his consciousness grew fuzzy.
Eventually, his head lolled to the side, and he once again dozed off, leaning against Su Ci’s arm.
Su Ci withdrew his spiritual power, rinsed the child clean with the spirit-infused water, and carried him into the drying room. Afterward, he dressed A-Yan in the same shirt as the day before and tucked him into bed.
Throughout the process, A-Yan remained fast asleep, undisturbed by Su Ci’s movements, his breathing deep and even.
Su Ci ruffled the boy’s dry, fluffy hair and nodded in satisfaction.
Turning to leave the bedroom, he didn’t head to the bathroom to wash up immediately. Instead, his gaze fell on the dirt canister containing the spirit seed. He then moved to the window, allowing his spirit form to emerge once more.
Su Ci descended lightly into the courtyard, landing near the protective spiritual barrier.
Rain had fallen during the day, leaving puddles across the courtyard ground. These puddles contained high concentrations of pollutants, which evaporated and spread into the air under the night breeze.
The red mist was always denser at night than during the day. Now, it was thick enough to be visible to the naked eye.
For an ordinary person, staying in such an environment would quickly lead to emotional instability, a loss of rationality, and even madness.
Thankfully, the spiritual barrier protected this exposed patch of land from the blood rain’s corrosion. However, the spirit seed in the ground seemed listless, its energy weak.
Su Ci watered it with spirit water and infused the soil with some of his spiritual power, promoting the seed’s growth.
Then, extending his spiritual senses, he delved deep underground until he reached the subterranean river that supplied water to Base 24.
The underground river was much less polluted than surface sources, thanks to filtration and purification methods developed by scientists. This allowed Base 24’s water needs to be met.
Su Ci inspected the area, then approached the pumping device beneath the nursery, setting up several palm-sized purification arrays around the intake points.
The pumping system operated around the clock, and the purification arrays worked tirelessly. However, relying solely on Su Ci’s spiritual power to maintain them was unsustainable.
Fortunately, purification produced spiritual energy.
After establishing the purification arrays, Su Ci added a small spirit-gathering array to connect them, forming a self-sustaining cycle. With this system in place, the purification arrays would continue functioning even without his direct input.
While it wouldn’t completely prevent pollutants from re-entering the water during transport, the nursery’s water quality would still improve significantly.
Su Ci repeated this process at the intake point beneath the plantation. Once finished, he withdrew his spiritual senses.
Back at the spiritual barrier, he laid down the final spirit-gathering array before vanishing from the courtyard, returning to his dormitory.
*
After a quick shower and drying off, Su Ci tossed his dirty clothes into the washing machine. He returned to the bedroom, slid into bed, and pulled the sleeping boy into his arms.
Warm and soft, A-Yan made for an excellent pillow.
Tonight, the nursery was unusually quiet. Numbers Two and Four were still in medical purification. The noisy Numbers Six, Seven, and Eight were subdued either by tranquilizers or Su Ci’s calming presence, already deep in slumber. Number Three never caused any trouble, and Number Five had cried herself to sleep under the covers.
The peaceful night was a rare occurrence in the nursery.
Su Ci sighed contentedly, resting his head on the soft pillow. Allowing his thoughts to drift, he soon fell into a deep sleep.
Room 303 was completely dark, every light extinguished.
In the quiet darkness, the notebook Su Ci had casually placed on the coffee table began to emit a faint red glow. At first, the light was dim, blinking sporadically. With each flash, it grew brighter and steadier until…
The wall clock ticked to 5:00 a.m.
The silent notebook suddenly floated into the air, disappearing from the room. When it reappeared, it was in the bedroom.
Opening on its own, the notebook revealed a line of faint red text on its pages:
“Caretaker’s Handbook, Dietary Section, Rule #1: The caretaker must wake at 5:00 a.m. to prepare breakfast for the cubs.”
As the final period appeared, the entire notebook glowed brightly, casting a soft red light over the sleeping figures in the bed.
Dam. AI is really advanced nowadays