Chapter 22 Chapter 22 The Magic Boy Becomes a Kindergarten Teacher...

This Nakfuji lifeform no longer has follicles inside it, but otherwise appears to be in excellent health. Apparently, it took care of everything on its own while you two little brats were gone.

The report and explanation of No. 666 arrived in time.

"That's why I told you all along that you're worrying too much. What did I say? The Nakfuji and the Omnitrix aren't as fragile as you think."

"But if the Ice Ghost Cub escapes into the universe, that's not certain, especially an unfamiliar universe."

Li Hua sorted the things he brought back and briefly told Jason about the situation of the Ice Ghost.

The host and the system can have a private conversation in a small private window through soul communication. Li Hua did the same in previous missions, but since Li Hua knew that Benjamin could also hear, his communication method with No. 666 has almost all switched to oral communication so that Benjamin can also know what he said in this conversation.

Number 666 had told Li Hua via intrapersonal communication: "I don't hate Jason, but our system's initial skills don't include socializing with people outside the organization. I'm not good at it."

Li Hua didn't even need to substitute the system text he had read in his previous life to quickly understand the situation.

Most of the systems only connect to the host, and at most colleagues from the same organization. It is not difficult to understand that they do not have many system-point social attributes. They can participate in communication and assist the host's work at critical moments, but letting them socialize with irrelevant people is indeed beyond their job scope.

Even for ordinary people, being suddenly pulled out of their familiar environment and work area and having to socialize and communicate with a group of strangers or even people from different fields would make some people feel nervous, uncomfortable, and insecure, let alone a system that is born this way.

Li Hua wasn't sure if this situation existed in other systems in the organization, but since No. 666 had already expressed his discomfort with using the microphone on the public screen, he certainly wouldn't force it.

But it would not be good to completely exclude Jason from the conversation, so Li Hua, like before, allowed Jason to participate in part through oral communication without affecting key information.

"Yes, and the universe here is definitely not peaceful, especially around Earth. I can remember no less than five alien invasions just from my head, which has been shut down for a year."

Jason began to assemble the bits and pieces he had bought. His fingers flew up and down, weaving the plastic nylon rope into a large net, which he would use later to catch the ice elf cubs that might be attracted to the stars and the sea.

"Judging from how long Ben's transformation lasts, the baby alien hawkmoths might be hatching soon. Otherwise, this mother wouldn't be watching over them all this time... Of course, we can't rule out the possibility that he's just waiting until he can't hold on any longer and transforms back into Ben, then transforms again to continue watching over them. But no matter when they hatch, we have to be prepared. I don't want my godchildren's life experience cards to be as short as mine, or even shorter."

"Alright, I'll take care of this. Go to sleep and get your mana back. If there's an emergency, we might need your help, the young magician. So, change into your pajamas and go to sleep."

As he spoke, Jason brought over the clothes that Li Hua had changed out of. After choosing the colorful cake dress for Li Hua at the children's clothing store, Jason asked the clerk for a bag to pack Li Hua's original clothes and took them away.

"Don't get your clothes dirty. We don't have a second set of high-strength clothes right now. Keep your clothes and staff handy. If there's an emergency, you can wake up, put on a new set of clothes, pick up your staff, and rush in."

Li Hua: "What about you, Jason? Are you okay?"

From the time he and Benjamin dug Jason out until now, Li Hua and Benjamin needed to sleep and eat to replenish their physical strength and magic power because their physical strength and magic power had been exhausted many times. During this period, Jason had always been by their side. The food and clothes were all brought by Jason, and it was Jason who kept watch when they slept. Looking back, Li Hua had never seen Jason close his eyes in these two days.

...The part where you close your eyes and restart after drinking the healing potion in the graveyard doesn't count.

"I've been asleep for too long. I want to experience the world after I open my eyes." Jason couldn't help but chuckle when he saw Li Hua's worry written all over his face. "Don't forget what I used to do. Staying up late is commonplace for a superhero. I know the limits of my body very well. Go back to sleep. When your mana is fully restored, you can switch shifts with me!"

"Okay, if you're sleepy, be sure to call me and we'll take turns."

Li Hua agreed verbally, but had a private chat with No. 666. After confirming that Jason was indeed in good health, he asked it to wake him up and take over from Jason after its mana was fully restored. Then he slept in his clothes, leaning against the pit.

However, Li Hua didn't expect that what woke him up in the end was not the personal alarm clock No. 666 or Jason, but the morning light of sunrise.

"Have I slept that long? It's morning so soon?"

Jason bit off the last section of nylon rope, and his nylon fishing net was finally completed.

"Considering we made three trips tonight to move iron and build a lair, then sneaked into an iron foundry to take down a group of gunmen, then had a long conversation next to the tall steel lair, then went to Blüdhaven to practice physical and magical dual cultivation with a staff, and finally went to Metropolis to infiltrate Luther's laboratory... after such an exciting night out, I think you should be more surprised by 'it's only morning yet.'"

Under the sunrise, the ice ghost on the steel nest suddenly straightened its back, stood up from the nest, and spread out the wings that wrapped around its body.

Just as the Ice Ghost moved away, under the iron nest that he had been staring at, translucent ice-blue small figures with flapping wings emerged from the airtight interior of the nest one after another, but did not damage the nest at all.

There were more than a dozen of them, and against the backlight, Li Hua and Jason couldn't see them clearly. They could only barely make out that they were the same dark blue hue as their parents. The cubs spontaneously flew to the Ice Ghosts, surrounding them affectionately and making the tender cries of young cubs.

The voice reminded Jason of a litter of kittens he had seen in a pet store. Although they were two completely different species, their baby voices were very similar.

But while they sound similar, the sounds of these kits now are much stronger and louder than those of kittens, and they sound more varied.

Behind this scene of loving mother and filial piety, a completely transparent 360-degree magic shield covers the nest, resolutely preventing any cub from releasing itself.

Li Hua immediately put on her skirt when the Ice Ghost started to move. Seeing that the eggs had hatched, he immediately covered the entire hatchery with a [Shield]. Jason squinted his eyes and barely determined the size of the Ice Ghost cubs in the morning light. He then replaced the butterfly net in his hand with a fish net and tied the braided nylon rope cub net around his waist.

They didn't make any sound, and even their movements were very small, for fear of arousing the Ice Ghost's desire to attack and the cubs' fear.

Normally, the innate instinct of the Ice Ghost cubs will point them to a path to their home planet. From this, it can be inferred that they will rely on some kind of cosmic energy field similar to a magnetic field to help themselves locate in the universe, just like any creature that migrates to a specific location.

But "changing the universe" is obviously not a normal situation.

What Li Hua and Jason saw as a joyful scene of loving parents and filial children was actually these newly born Ice Ghost cubs realizing they couldn't sense the way back to their home planet. The cosmic energy field they actually perceived was far different from what they'd inherited instinctively. Not far from their nest, two strange, upright bipedal creatures were gazing covetously at them...

Faced with this situation, the newborn cubs are understandably frightened and anxious, wanting to hide under their parents' wings and seek shelter from them.

Just as they wished, their parents gently held them all in their arms with their wings and arms, and gently sprayed icy mist to comfort them.

Then, he held them in his arms and lightly jumped down from the iron nest. He brought them closer to the two wingless and strange-looking creatures, opened their wings, and sent two of them into the hands of the two creatures.

"Thank you."

After their parents finished speaking to the two strange creatures, they lowered their heads and said to them, "They can be trusted."

The creature's limbs were stiff, and it carefully, almost holding one of them, said: "Oh, oh... Hello, I am your godfather."

Another creature, holding one of them, said more expertly, "I'm your godfather. It's okay if you don't understand what that means. You can call me uncle."

Before the cubs could use their brand new brains to comprehend the current situation, a dazzling green light burst out from the parents they were holding. The thick wings covering them melted away in the light. The cubs were surprised to find that their parents had turned into the same species as the two strange creatures, and were on the verge of collapse.

The cubs, confused about the situation, tried to pull their fallen parents in fear, but they were too weak. Fortunately, the two creatures supported their parents in time.

"Ben!... Well, honestly, I'm a bit used to it." Li Hua skillfully lifted Benjamin's arm from behind and dragged the temporarily unconscious Benjamin to sit in the shadow of the Iron Nest. He also tried to comfort the anxious Ice Ghost cubs that were circling around Benjamin and chirping. "Okay, okay, your mommy is fine."

Perhaps because of their mother's personal instructions, these ice ghost cubs did not show any inclination to travel the sea of ​​stars, so Jason put away the net bag, took out a bottle of Coke from the convenience store bag, and skillfully poured it into Benjamin's mouth just like giving sugar to a fainted hypoglycemic patient, and also talked to Li Hua.

"How long do you think he'll sleep this time?"

Thanks to Benjamin's dedication in building the Iron Nest, he exhausted himself several times in the few hours after dark, and just as he recovered a little strength, he transformed into an Ice Ghost and worked overtime to build the delivery room. Otherwise, their movements would not be so skillful.

Li Hua plucked off a young Ice Ghost that had crawled onto Benjamin's face to prevent it from unconsciously suffocating its parents. "I don't know. His strength hasn't fully recovered to begin with, and the Ice Ghost... I wouldn't be surprised if he slept until the next day. You might as well sleep too. It's my turn to watch over him now."

"Okay, call me if you need anything."

Finally able to rest safely, Jason naturally did not refuse. He found a place next to Benjamin that could block the light and closed his eyes surrounded by the ice ghost cubs.

Both parents fell to the ground and could not be awakened. All 14 pairs of light green compound eyes immediately focused their attention on the one who was still awake.

A few of them even looked at the staff in Li Hua's hand and opened their mouths slightly, as if they thought it was a very good teething biscuit.

Li Hua: “…”

Li Hua silently released the magic wand from its state, restoring it to a key necklace the size of two finger joints. He slowly put it into the small card bag on his waist at a speed that would not arouse the cub's interest and immediately pounce on it to check it out.

[No. 666, save me! ]

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The author has something to say: The Ice Ghost Race: "Nakfuji" and "Nakfuji" are both transliterations (Necrofriggian, literally translated as undead ice), similar to Robinson and Robinson, so it is possible to see two different translation versions.

The English name of the Ice Ghost is Big Chill (literally translated as Big Chill. By the way, I found a refrigerator of the same brand when I was looking up information). The Nakfugi people of the planet Kelmis are able to adapt to most harsh climates (because their hometown is bad enough). Although they will follow their instinct to fly back when they are young, they may not necessarily stay on their home planet when they grow up. Benjamin has met several of them in the animation, and one of them makes a living by acting on Earth.

It's worth noting that Kylmys doesn't actually appear in the Ben 10 anime. The planet in the anime that's half ice and half fire and inhabited by a group of white ice ghosts isn't Kylmys (which means "cold" in Finnish). Those white ice ghosts are from outside (someone else says it's a colonized planet), and the native inhabitants are the two-headed, icy, lizard-like creature. Kylmys is completely covered in ice and snow.

PPS: Regarding the Ice Ghost cubs' recognition and address of Benjamin as "parent" - there should be no need to explain this, as he is both father and mother in many senses.

【Catch the bug three times】