The Cubs Can’t Possibly Be This Well-Behaved! – CH78

Chapter 78

When Su Ci walked away, A-Yan didn’t lose focus.

He felt that what he was doing was important—though, more than anything, he enjoyed it. He liked the feel of soil against his fingers; it gave him a sense of familiarity and warmth.

There were over thirty seeds in the spirit water canister.

Jade Snow, Lush Green Beans, and Golden Taro—these three types of ordinary seeds from Zhuang Shisong each had only three seeds. The rest were Star-chain Fruit seeds.

The Star-chain Fruit seeds had been collected from the fruit they previously ate. After soaking in the spirit water, they had softened, sprouted, and turned into vibrant, tender green shoots full of life.

A-Yan carefully left walking paths and planted the seeds in neat rows around the two small spiritual sprouts.

When he finished planting the last seed and stood up, his clothes were dirtied, but he felt a profound sense of satisfaction.

He then returned to the dormitory to fetch fresh spirit water and watered each seed with an appropriate amount.

A-Yan didn’t need to measure. A single glance at the green shoots was enough to tell him how much water and fertilizer each needed, just as instinctively as he knew how to use a food processor at first sight.

It was a fascinating sensation.

A-Yan realized this must be his innate ability, just as Number Two’s was summoning flames and Number Three’s was controlling machinery. He had his own unique power.

Although his ability didn’t seem particularly strong, he was content that it could help Su Su. For him, it felt just right.

After watering the two small spiritual sprouts with nourishing liquid, A-Yan finally finished his planting tasks. As he came back to his senses, he noticed that Su Ci was no longer around.

Unperturbed, he extended his spiritual awareness.

A moment later, he appeared by Su Ci’s side, at a position slightly to the left of the building’s front.

Su Ci stood before the giant spider’s remains, deep in thought.

The giant spider truly lived up to its name. Its body alone was five or six meters tall, and if its eight legs had been fully extended, it would have towered to the height of a two- or three-story building.

The spider had been climbing the perimeter wall when it encountered several wind blades head-on. These blades, unleashed in Su Ci’s fury, had been sharp enough to kill it instantly. The severed leg stumps alone were taller than A-Yan.

The wind blades Su Ci released in his rage were extraordinarily sharp, leaving the spider’s legs with clean and smooth cuts. The thick spider meat shimmered under the sunlight, exuding a crystalline, translucent beauty.

Of course, the aesthetic was slightly marred by the faint reddish hue that permeated the transparent leg meat. Whether this was due to the giant spider’s natural composition or the effects of the Scarlet Frost’s freezing last night was unclear.

A-Yan glanced briefly at the spider’s remains, then turned his head toward Su Ci.

He seemed to have a sense of what the caretaker was pondering.

Noticing his gaze, Su Ci lowered his head to meet the boy’s black-and-red eyes. With a faintly tentative expression, he said, “A-Yan, what do you think roasted spider meat would taste like?”

A-Yan thought for a moment, then pulled out paper and a pen from his space button.

“It’s worth a try,” he wrote.

Even though Su Ci expected the boy to support him, seeing the words written out made him smile. He reached out to ruffle A-Yan’s hair.

“A-Yan is the best,” he said warmly.

A-Yan blinked, then broke into a joyful smile. His gaze toward the giant spider now brimmed with determination.

He would do his best to make the spider meat taste delicious!

Seeing A-Yan’s expression, Su Ci couldn’t help but chuckle, though the corners of his lips still lifted higher.

Although he had never eaten spider meat and wasn’t sure of the taste, giving it a try didn’t seem like a bad idea. After all, being willing to experiment was a very valuable trait.

Of course, Su Ci didn’t intend to leave all the work to A-Yan. He patted the boy’s head and said, “If you need my help with anything, just let me know.”

When it came to cooking, Su Ci had no talent whatsoever. Among all the human technological devices he had encountered so far, the food processor was perhaps his favorite.

“Okay!” A-Yan nodded energetically, then carefully approached the giant spider to begin his research.

Su Ci watched the boy’s back and suddenly thought of something.

“Xiao Zhi,” he called out.

The next moment, a translucent light screen appeared in front of Su Ci, and the base AI’s voice rang out: “Hello, Nursery Trainee Caretaker Su Ci. How can I assist you?”

That’s right—Su Ci had given the base AI a nickname, and it seemed to have accepted it quite well.

“Is there a tool that can convert text into speech?” Su Ci asked.

A-Yan couldn’t speak and had to rely on writing, which was inconvenient. If there were a tool to convert text into voice, communication would become much easier.

“Communicators and optical brains both have such functionality,” the AI replied.

Su Ci opened his communicator and, under the AI’s guidance, successfully converted a piece of text into speech.

Although it couldn’t achieve real-time communication, it was still much more efficient than writing alone. Once A-Yan became proficient with it, the speed would likely improve further.

“Does the logistics department have extra communicators?” Su Ci asked.

“The logistics department currently has 58 communicators available. Redemption costs are as follows: 100 points for a basic communicator, 200 points for an intermediate communicator…”

Listening to the points required, Su Ci’s lips twitched slightly, feeling a pinch in his metaphorical wallet.

“As the holder of the highest authority, I should be able to requisition materials directly, correct?”

“In emergencies, the highest authority holder may directly requisition base materials,” the AI replied flatly. “Please state the name of the emergency material you wish to requisition.”

Su Ci opened his mouth slightly, hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “Forget it. I’ll use points to redeem a basic communicator and have a robot deliver it to me.”

“Understood.”

“Points successfully deducted. Remaining points: 152. A robot has been dispatched for delivery. Please wait.”

Although robot delivery usually required additional points, as the highest authority holder, Su Ci was granted this small convenience—especially since he had used points to redeem the communicator.

Once it confirmed Su Ci had no further questions, the base AI’s voice faded into silence.

Su Ci glanced at his remaining points and sighed lightly.

Since he had decided to stay at the nursery for now, he felt compelled to follow the rules. This wasn’t just a matter of personal ethics—there was a more important reason:

Rules only grow stronger when more lives adhere to them.

The world was in a state of disarray, almost chaotic. In such circumstances, it was best for him to avoid breaking the rules unless absolutely necessary.

Of course, in an emergency, exceptions would have to be made.

A-Yan was unaware that Su Ci had prepared a gift for him. After conducting a thorough examination of the giant spider, he returned and gestured energetically to express his thoughts to Su Ci.

Based on A-Yan’s observations, the giant spider’s meat was edible, but it contained high concentrations of pollutants and would require purification.

At A-Yan’s request, Su Ci dug another pit next to the cultivated soil and inscribed several medium-sized purification arrays on the bottom of the pit.

After filling the pit with clean water, they carried one of the giant spider’s legs over.

Rather than tossing the spider leg directly into the pool, Su Ci followed A-Yan’s suggestion and first removed the leg’s outer shell.

The shell of the giant spider was incredibly tough, capable of withstanding laser gunfire, making it an excellent material.

Ordinarily, cutting through such a durable shell would have been an extremely challenging task, likely requiring the use of mechs. But this posed no difficulty for Su Ci.

With a light touch of his finger, the spider leg’s hard shell shattered, revealing the crystalline, plump, and tender meat inside.

The spider meat, encased within the shell, also shimmered faintly with a reddish glow.

Su Ci snapped his fingers, and the spider meat gently separated from the shell, floating into the pool of water. The pollutants released from the meat quickly dyed the water red, but the purification arrays on the bottom and walls of the pool began to cleanse it immediately.

The legs of the giant spider were exceptionally long, several times the length of its body. Although the exact length was difficult to estimate, just the first three segments of this one leg produced enough meat to fill the entire pool.

The rest would have to wait for another time.

Gazing at the spider leg meat soaking in the pool, Su Ci’s eyes practically sparkled with excitement. It had been a long time since he had felt this thrilled!

He crouched by the pool, staring longingly at the meat in the water, occasionally glancing at A-Yan with his expressive black eyes as if urging him:

“Is it ready to eat? When will it be ready? Will it taste good like this?”

Faced with such a gaze, A-Yan remained calm.

While keeping an eye on the pool, he would occasionally pat Su Ci’s head reassuringly and even handed him some potato chips to stave off his craving temporarily.

After about half an hour of soaking, A-Yan finally sensed that the outer part of the spider meat was fully purified. He had Su Ci remove a portion of the leg meat from the water while the rest, still not entirely cleansed, remained soaking in the pool.

“Splash!”

The spider meat rose from the water and landed neatly on the picnic cloth A-Yan had spread out on the ground.

After purification and soaking in the spirit water, the previously faint reddish hue was completely gone. The spider meat was now translucent white, with a jelly-like soft texture that gleamed in the sunlight.

This chunk of meat, approximately one meter long and half a meter thick, lay atop the deep blue picnic cloth. After the cleaning and processing, it was nearly impossible to tell it was once spider meat.

Looking at the semi-processed meat, Su Ci could hardly contain his excitement for the final product.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have charcoal or firewood on this barren planet, so they had no choice but to return to the dormitory.

Coincidentally, it was already lunchtime. A-Yan took the meat to the dormitory kitchen for cooking, while Su Ci stayed outside for a while longer.

Waiting was too excruciating for Su Ci, so he decided to find something else to do.

If the spider meat proved edible, the next issue would be storage. Both he and A-Yan had space buttons, but their capacity was limited, and they were already packed with supplies. It wasn’t feasible to clear out space for all the meat.

Luckily, after some exploration, he discovered that the nursery’s cold storage still had space. Storing the spider meat there wouldn’t be a problem.

With that in mind, Su Ci dug another pool and extracted the remaining meat from the spider leg, then brought over a second leg and repeated the process.

In no time, another pool was filled to the brim. Su Ci nodded with satisfaction.

The spider had eight legs. Just the meat from these legs alone would be enough to last a while—of course, assuming the dishes made from it were tasty.

As the second pool was filled, the meat soaking in the first pool had finished purifying.

With a wave of his hand, the purified spider meat vanished, transported directly to the cold storage. After draining the pool water and refilling it with fresh water, he prepared to continue the purification process.

Just then, a faint aroma wafted over from the direction of the nursery building.

In the next instant, Su Ci dropped everything he was doing and flashed back to the dormitory.

As soon as he entered Room 303, he was greeted by the rich, savory smell of meat. It was unlike the beef or lamb he had eaten before—a uniquely spiced and tantalizing aroma.

And just as he had hoped, when he reached the dining room, the table was already laden with steaming dishes.

In addition to grilled spider meat prepared with seasoning packets from the space button—including barbecue, black pepper, and spicy flavors—A-Yan had also used garlic sprouts and cloves brought back from the plantation to make stir-fried meat with garlic sprouts and garlic-flavored roasted spider meat.

In addition, there was a large pot of juice freshly squeezed from the Star-chain Fruit. The leftover pulp and peels were steamed together with spider meat, seasoned with salt and pepper, creating an exceptionally unique dish.

The one-meter-long dining table was packed full, with several extra plates temporarily placed on the kitchen stove due to lack of space.

Su Ci couldn’t wait to take his seat.

A-Yan sat across from him, watching nervously as Su Ci picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece of garlic-flavored roasted meat, and placed it in his mouth, chewing it carefully.

When he saw Su Ci close his eyes slightly and reveal an expression of pure enjoyment, A-Yan knew he had succeeded with this meal!

He let out a slow, relieved breath.

As for Su Ci, he was at a loss for words to describe his feelings at that moment.

Fresh meat, finally!

Once roasted, the spider meat had transformed from its jelly-like texture into a creamy white flesh. It had a faint umami flavor that was crisp on the outside and tender inside, with no strange aftertaste. It reminded Su Ci of crab meat from his memories.

Moreover, the giant spider had been heavily exposed to the red mist over time, which, in essence, was a type of spiritual energy. Thus, the giant spider could be considered a spiritual beast of sorts.

After purifying the pollutants, the spider meat retained a faint trace of spiritual energy. This not only enhanced its flavor but also gave it nourishing properties, aiding Su Ci in recovering his soul power.

The thought of having so much more spider meat made Su Ci feel overjoyed. He didn’t hold back his appetite, devouring the entire spread of dishes with unrestrained enthusiasm.

Watching the speed at which Su Ci cleaned the table, A-Yan couldn’t help but wonder if he should prepare more. It seemed like this whole table of meat might not be enough for Su Su!

Just as he was about to dart outside for more spider meat, Su Ci finally stopped.

He gulped down an entire glass of Star-chain Fruit juice, setting the cup down with a satisfied sigh and an unrestrained burp of contentment.

This was the first truly satisfying meal Su Ci had enjoyed since waking up!

It wasn’t easy to come by!

Feeling full and content, Su Ci looked at the boy sitting across from him. The more he looked, the more pleased he felt, and the more fondness swelled in his heart. Unable to hold back, he said, “A-Yan, you must cultivate diligently.”

You must grow up well. You must live a long, long life. Don’t… disappear so quickly.

A-Yan stared at Su Ci and nodded vigorously.

At this moment, Su Ci flipped his palm, revealing a bracelet-like device resembling a communicator in his hand. During the meal, the delivery robot had already brought the communicator over.

To avoid interruptions, Su Ci had used remote retrieval to take the package directly and sent the delivery robot away.

He gently took A-Yan’s small hand and personally fastened the communication bracelet onto his wrist, then exchanged communication codes with him.

“You should know how to use this,” Su Ci said to him. “It can convert text into voice. When you want to speak, you can use it to express yourself.”

A-Yan was momentarily stunned.

He stared at the communicator on his wrist. With just a glance, he understood all of its functions, including the one Su Ci had just mentioned.

He activated the interface of the communicator and began experimenting with its operations.

When setting up the voice configuration, he paused briefly before continuing.

Finally, he input a piece of text.

A-Yan pressed confirm, enabling voice conversion.

“Su Su.”

A voice unfamiliar yet clear and youthful echoed in Room 303.

The male voice from the communicator had a cheerful tone with a hint of lingering boyishness. It carried an air of joy, sounding like it belonged to someone around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Su Ci froze for a moment before hearing the voice continue, “Is this a gift for me?”

He couldn’t help but lower his gaze to the boy in front of him.

Though the voice was pleasant to hear, it was somewhat incongruous coming from a child who appeared to be no older than four or five.

“Yes, this communicator is for you,” Su Ci confirmed, nodding. After a moment’s hesitation, he couldn’t help but add, “A-Yan, do you want to choose a different voice? This tone seems a bit too mature for you…”

He didn’t finish the thought because he noticed the hint of disappointment on A-Yan’s face.

A-Yan… must really like this voice, didn’t he?

“It’s not necessarily about matching your age,” Su Ci quickly rephrased. “This can also serve as a form of disguise. If others can’t guess your real circumstances, it adds an extra layer of protection for you.”

Hearing this, A-Yan’s face lit up with a smile once again.

A gentle male voice sounded again from the communicator as A-Yan operated it: “Mm, Su Su, you’re so kind.”

Listening to the voice, Su Ci still felt something was off.

He had originally assumed the communicator would produce an emotionless robotic tone like the base AI, but instead, it was a voice rich with emotion, similar to the ones from units like 4586.

Looking into A-Yan’s sparkling eyes, Su Ci ultimately decided to ignore the odd feeling.

No matter what, A-Yan was A-Yan, and that wouldn’t change regardless of the form his voice took.

A-Yan continued using the communicator.

“Su Su, thank you for the gift. I really like it.”

Unlike the space button, which had only been lent to him, the communicator was truly his own! And it allowed him to speak… A-Yan was overjoyed by such a precious gift.

Su Su was so kind to him! He resolved to make even more delicious food for Su Su in the future!

“Ah, as long as you like it.”

Even though Su Ci had convinced himself that A-Yan’s voice wouldn’t alter who he was, the disparity between this tone and what he had imagined was a little jarring. He needed some time to adjust.

Afterward, Su Ci took A-Yan outside the nursery building to continue processing the remaining spider meat.

Although he felt like napping after eating so much, Su Ci wasn’t sure how long the spider meat could stay fresh in this environment. It was better to finish processing it while they could.

He removed the remaining spider legs and carried them to the purification pools.

*

Second-floor Dining Hall

Thanks to the stabilized emotions of the young ones and Su Ci’s policy of no longer restricting their movements within the nursery, when Lang Ze suggested eating in the dining hall, 4586 readily agreed.

Initially surprised by the ease of approval, the Lang Ze was briefly stunned but quickly recovered. He grabbed Zheng Xing and Lu Jiao and rushed toward the dining hall.

Even Number Six, who usually stayed withdrawn in a corner, followed after hearing the commotion.

The dining hall, which had been damaged during the last incident, had since been repaired, though scorch marks from red flames still marred the walls.

Although only a few days had passed, returning to eat in the dining hall felt like a long-awaited moment. During this time, both their relationships and their mental states had undergone noticeable changes.

The most striking transformations were in the Lang Ze and the little white deer.

Under 4586’s guidance, they obediently took their seats without making noise, speaking only in hushed tones.

When lunch arrived, Lang Ze carried his portion and squeezed into the seat beside Zheng Xing, motioning for Lu Jiao to join them.

“Hey, hey, did you figure out the answer to the homework Su Su gave us?” Lang Ze asked as he ate, looking troubled. “If we can’t solve it, Su Su won’t teach us the flute!”

Lu Jiao looked equally distressed.

No matter how clever he was, he was still a child under six. There were many things he couldn’t fully understand on his own.

He pulled out the leftover Star-chain Fruit from yesterday, nibbling on it as he thought. Meanwhile, Zheng Xing, seated on the other side of the Lang Ze, also wore a contemplative expression.

The three of them huddled together, eating and brainstorming, presenting a harmonious scene.

Sitting two tables away, Number Six was also eating, but his gaze kept drifting toward them.

Finally, he let out a loud huff.

Glaring at his plate, an impulsive urge to throw it struck him. Just as he lifted it, Number Six’s hand paused midair. Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch sight of something…

Number Six tilted his head.

Next to him was a glass window that looked out onto the nursery building.

Then, he saw——

The frail caretaker lifted up a huge spider leg with one hand and shook it in his hand.

Number Six: “…”

He swallowed and gently put the raised plate back on the table.