Chapter 10

Prison Star was discovered by the Covenant's exploration team in the 1220th year of the Covenant calendar, and it has a history of 110 years.

At that time, it had not yet been designated as a prison planet, but was just an ordinary planet named "Earth Star".

When it was first discovered, Earth was not filled with the dangerous and strange red fog like it is now, but the soil was also barren and desolate. After some testing, the Star Alliance exploration team classified the planet as a non-resource planet that is not suitable for habitation.

In the 1236th year of the Covenant calendar, at the suggestion of all member states, the Covenant launched the Prison Planet Project. Earth was included in the assessment scope and eventually stood out from several candidate planets, escaping the fate of becoming a garbage planet.

In the following seventy years, the Star Alliance built more than thirty bases on the prison planet to receive interstellar criminals from various member states of the Star Alliance, reaching a number of tens of thousands.

During those decades, the Alliance's research institutes never stopped transforming Earth's environment, attempting to build planting bases on Earth to reduce food transportation costs.

Unfortunately, the scientists worked hard but achieved little results.

In the end, except for the significant progress in soilless cultivation technology, all soil transformation efforts failed.

"Why?"

Su Ci felt that typing was too slow, so he sent a voice message directly.

Gu Qingchen hesitated for a moment, but still accepted his call request and began to explain.

"Because the soil of Prison Star contains an unknown blood-red component, known as a pollutant. This component makes the soil of Prison Star unsuitable for cultivation, and it also contaminates and assimilates ordinary soil transported from other planets."

Because of his interest, Gu Qingchen had done research in this area, so Su Ci asked the right person.

"Scientists have also tried greenhouse cultivation."

"They tried isolating ordinary soil indoors to avoid contact with the red soil on Prison Star. Although crops grow significantly slower than on other planets and are more susceptible to disease, at least they are effective."

Prison Star houses tens of thousands of interstellar criminals. These criminals are all extremely vicious and powerful. Some of them can even fight against ten thousand people at the same time.

Although their strength was weakened after being taken in, the Star Alliance did not dare to be careless, and the number of garrisons sent was naturally not small.

In this case, diet becomes a big problem - nutrient solution can indeed provide the nutrients and energy needed by the human body, but people cannot only eat nutrient solution, they need to combine it with normal food, otherwise in the long run, it will lead to degeneration of teeth and gastrointestinal function and cause other diseases.

Especially for soldiers who need to undergo high-intensity training every day, the food cannot be bad. And the food grown in greenhouses has indeed provided great help in solving this problem for a period of time.

However, the scientists' joy did not last long. About twenty years ago, in the year 1307 of the Star Alliance calendar, a mysterious red fog began to appear on Prison Star, covering the entire planet.

"The red mist also contains pollutants. Scientists suspect that the red mist is released from the land. After the red mist appeared, greenhouse cultivation methods also failed."

Su Ci nodded. He understood why.

Sure enough, Gu Qingchen said, "Don't think that there is no red mist around us, but in fact, the air we breathe every moment also contains those blood-red particles."

It's just that the concentration is very low, so it can't be seen with the naked eye.

"Once contaminated by these blood-red particles, the soil quickly deteriorates and is no longer able to produce crops."

What’s even worse is that these blood-red particles are also harmful to the human body...but later on, a way to control them was found.

Gu Qingchen sighed, "Even the soilless cultivation technology took several years of improvement by the leaders of the research institute before we can continue to grow vegetables."

Of course, it is only suitable for varieties with a short growth cycle and can be harvested quickly. As for the breeder Su wanting to plant flowers and grass... without the equipment and technology of soilless cultivation, this is simply impossible!

Hearing Gu Qingchen's euphemistic denial, Su Ci did not refute. He nodded and said, "I understand. Thank you, Doctor Gu, for your answer."

Gu Qingchen thought he had given up and was about to say something to comfort him, but then he heard him continue to ask: "Then can you tell me where I can get fertilizer?"

According to the knowledge he received, soilless cultivation should require more fertilizers.

"You still want to plant flowers?" Gu Qingchen took a deep breath. He had just said so much, but this new breeder still didn't understand?

"You don't have the soilless cultivation technology, and you just plant flowers in the dormitory. Even if you have fertilizer, they won't survive." He said with some forbearance, and this time he was very straightforward.

However, the breeder, despite his gentle and polite voice, was extremely stubborn: "How can we know if we don't try?"

He only knew it after trying it!

Gu Qingchen pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and said indifferently: "Then you can try it. Fertilizer can be exchanged for points at the logistics department. But don't blame me for not reminding you that fertilizer is very expensive and you may not be able to afford the points required."

Su Ci also remembered the points that Shi Yjiang had mentioned to him, so he asked him what points were.

Gu Qingchen explained to him casually.

Simply put, points are the hard currency of Prison Star.

In addition to receiving monthly wages and corresponding benefits as agreed in the contract, the staff on Prison Star will also be awarded a corresponding number of points based on their different job levels.

By using points, you can exchange supplies at the logistics department, use services and equipment open to base members at the base, etc., which can bring many conveniences to life at the base.

Of course, even if you don’t use points, basic living can still be guaranteed, but life will inevitably be tight.

"You're a trainee breeder, and you only get 100 points per month. It should be a bit more after you become a regular breeder." Gu Qingchen said earnestly, "Points are very valuable at the base, you must cherish them."

Although the higher-ups do not provide a service for exchanging points for cosmic currency, they do not prohibit base members from buying and selling points privately.

The market price is 1 point = 100 Universe Coins. It may fluctuate occasionally due to market conditions, but it will basically not be lower than this price. This is equivalent to an additional 10,000 Universe Coins per month on top of the trainee salary.

This salary level is considered high in the entire interstellar world.

Su Ci silently memorized this piece of knowledge, thanked Gu Qingchen, and ended the voice call.

He stared at the can of soil on the coffee table. With him in the dormitory, the red fog was isolated outside, so he was not worried that the soil would be eroded and assimilated and lose its fertility again.

Thinking of this, he poured some water into the can, stretched, put the laptop next to the can, stood up and walked slowly back to the bedroom.

Although there are still many problems that need to be solved, there is no need to rush. Moreover, a weak body also needs sleep to replenish the consumed spiritual energy.

Su Shi always understood the principle of combining work and rest.

He walked to the bed, took off the communicator on his wrist, put it casually on the bedside table, then lifted the quilt and lay down.

Beside him, the child curled up in a ball, his small body squeezed into the corner, breathing steadily, obviously not woken up by Su Ci's movement.

Su Ci glanced at him, reached out and hugged the child, holding him in his arms.

The little guy, who had just taken a bath, smelled sweet, with the fragrance of shampoo. He lay in the quilt for a while and felt warm.

Apart from being too thin and a bit uncomfortable to hold, it's a pretty good pillow.

I don’t know what the child was dreaming about, but his brows were tightly furrowed, and his face, which was already thin and sunken due to malnutrition, looked even uglier.

Su Ci thought for a moment, then gently pushed aside the child's bangs with his fingers. Then he lowered his head slightly and pressed his forehead against the child's warm skin. A faint golden light lit up where their eyebrows touched.

In the silent and dim room, there is only this little bit of light, like a weak firefly, but it is enough to illuminate the darkness.

When the light gradually dimmed, Su Ci stepped back, and the child's brows, which were tightly furrowed in pain, relaxed, revealing a bit of peace and tranquility. He instinctively snuggled into Su Ci's arms, and rubbed his little face gently against Su Ci's chest.

Su Ci blinked. He had lived for tens of millions of years, and this was the first time he was so close to another life. He felt a little strange and a little uncomfortable.

but……

Thinking that this was a newborn soul with the same life form as him, he felt good again.

Su Ci rubbed the little guy's furry head with his palm and closed his eyes.

But soon, he opened his eyes again.

“Bang, bang, bang—”

“Ahhhhhhhhh—”

"Ping-pong-pong—"

Although there was a floor above the rooftop and walls and floors with good sound insulation, when Su Ci closed his eyes, the noises from two rooms still reached his ears clearly.

In the entire nursery, only two connected rooms on the fifth floor had lights on, but they had no windows and could not be seen from the outside.

In one of the rooms, a child was standing on the bed, jumping vigorously, holding a stick that came from nowhere in his hand, and constantly hitting the metal edge of the bed, making a rhythmic sound.

In the next room, another child raised a table and banged it against the metal wall, making a shrill, sharp cry.

In bedroom 303 downstairs, Su Ci narrowed his eyes slightly, and a golden light flashed in his eyes.

The next moment, two muffled thuds came from rooms 501 and 502.

Number Six, who was smashing the table against the wall, suddenly lost control of his grip, causing it to fall to the ground, and he himself collapsed. Number Seven, who was jumping on the bed, suddenly closed his eyes and fell straight onto the bed.

After a while, their doors were opened one after another.

The nanny robot flew in and checked their condition. After confirming that there was no problem, the mechanical arm picked up the corner of the quilt and gently covered No. 6 with it, and then carried No. 7 to the bed.

After doing all this, the nanny robot left the room, and the nursery finally became completely quiet.

Su Ci closed his eyes contentedly, folded his arms slightly, and fell asleep peacefully while holding the little cub in his arms.

-

In the early morning, the thick red fog in the sky quietly dissipated, and the not-so-bright light penetrated the clouds and fell on the earth, dispelling the eerie and gloomy night.

"Buzz—buzz—"

The communicator on the bedside table suddenly lit up and made a buzzing sound.

Number One, who had just entered a light sleep from a deep sleep, was awakened by the noise. His eyelashes fluttered slightly as he slowly opened his eyes. When he regained consciousness, what he saw was the handsome face of the breeder Su, who was right next to him.

Feeling the warm breath of the young man wrapping around him, the child's dark red pupils suddenly contracted, and all his sleepiness disappeared in an instant, and he woke up completely.

The room was quiet.

The automatic heating system had stopped at night, and the air carried the chill of the early morning. However, Number One still felt warm because...

He was now huddled in his keeper's bed, his head resting on the same pillow as his.

The handsome and beautiful young man, with half of his face buried in the soft pillow, lay defenselessly on his side in front of him.

His thin, white hands, which were very large for him, gently embraced him, with his warm and soft palms pressed against his back, providing him with a constant supply of warmth in a protective posture.

Because of this warmth, the pain in his body that tormented him all the time seemed to be alleviated a lot.

Number One's body stiffened slightly, and his eyes involuntarily fell on the young man's face.

Ivory-white skin, thick, slightly curled eyelashes like a brush, a straight nose, rosy and plump lips...even the black hairpin with a red flower on the side of the hair is so beautiful.

Number One couldn't help but be attracted, and for the first time, the concept of "beauty" formed in his mind.

The child stared blankly at the breeder's peaceful sleeping face until the buzzing communicator on the bedside table became silent because no one answered. He didn't notice.

After staring at the breeder's face for a long time, Number One finally couldn't help it. He secretly stretched out a finger, placed it on the young man's cheek, and gently poked it in.

He didn't even use much force, but the soft flesh on the young man's cheek sank into a small pit.

The fingertips felt the soft and tender skin, and the child's dark red eyes widened slightly, sparkling with light in the morning light.

He couldn't help but raise his other hand and lightly touched his cheek with his index finger, but he felt the rough skin.

If you poke hard into it, you can only feel hard bones.

"Buzz—buzz—"

"Buzz—buzz—"

The communicator on the bedside table vibrated again, making an annoying noise in the quiet room.

The young man who was sleeping soundly frowned, then opened his eyes unhappily.

Number One, who was so close that they could even feel each other's breathing, faced directly those cold, light golden eyes that carried a dangerous and oppressive feeling.

The child's fingers, still on his cheek, froze.

Although he was in a warm bed, he suddenly felt the bone-chilling coldness he had felt when he was wandering alone in the corridor of the nursery on a snowy day in the past, surrounded by blood-red mist.

The child instinctively withdrew his hand and looked at the young man with a hint of fear. However, the keeper, who was emitting a chill, did not hurt him.

The young man turned his head and looked at the communicator on the bedside table that was still buzzing. He raised his hand and the small communicator fell into his hand, followed by a swing of his arm.

"Click!" The communicator hit the metal wall and then fell to the ground without any sound.

The world is pure.

Number One was silent.

He closed his eyes a little shudderingly, the scene of himself being thrown out by the breeder already appearing in his mind.

Thinking of the miserable scene of the nanny robot No. 4583 with its parts scattered all over the floor that afternoon, the image that suddenly emerged in his mind was him smashing against the wall and breaking into pieces...

The child's body trembled slightly.

However, Su Ci lay back in the bed again, stretched out his hand, dragged the stiff and trembling child over, stuffed him into his arms, and finally placed his palm on the back of his head.

Pressing the child's head against his chest, the young man whispered, "Stop making trouble and sleep well."

The voice was deep and contained an authority that could not be refused.

After saying this, the young man closed his eyes again, and the terrifying aura emanating from his body subsided as he fell asleep.

The child rested his head on Su Ci's chest and opened his eyes in a daze. He was not thrown out, but...

He was held in the arms of the breeder.

Listening to the young man's long and powerful heartbeat, the danger that had made him shudder had disappeared. Finally, his body relaxed and his breathing returned to normal.

He secretly raised his head and could only see the young man's delicate and graceful chin and a part of his neck exposed from his collar, which was white and slender, and looked so fragile.

However, those golden eyes flashed before his eyes again.

The coldness in those eyes made him feel even more frightened than the monster in the red fog.

So contradictory.

Number One withdrew his gaze and lay quietly on the young man's chest.

Listening to the rhythmic thumping of his heart, feeling the warmth coming from the young man, and the gentle breath that enveloped him, Number One discovered...

Even so, he liked the breeder.

No matter how fierce he was, he wanted to stay by his side and be held by him like this.

Slowly, sleepiness came over me.

Number One raised his little fist and rubbed his eyes. Finally, just as Su Ci said, he closed his eyes obediently and continued to sleep.

Anyway, he wasn't the one being bullied...

The bedroom of Room 303 of the nursery fell silent again. Only two shallow breathing sounds could be heard, indicating how sweetly and peacefully the owner was sleeping.

-

When Su Ci woke up, the light outside was already very bright.

He looked down at the "pillow" in his arms, loosened his hands, and slowly sat up. He looked at the strange yet familiar environment around him, his face still seeming a little dazed.

About ten minutes later, Su Ci's eyes finally regained clarity.

And Number One had already woken up.

He sat quietly beside Su Ci, observing him secretly. When he saw him turn his head to look at him, his beautiful eyes had returned to the warm and peaceful darkness of last night, and he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Su Ci was also looking at Number One.

After just one night, nourished by his spiritual power, the child's face had become a little rosy, no longer as pale as paper, and his sunken cheeks seemed fuller.

The most important thing is that those dead and empty black and red eyes finally had a lively glow, and the horrible red bloodshot veins also faded a lot due to sufficient sleep.

Su Ci nodded with satisfaction, reached out to touch the child's furry head, then stretched himself, lifted the quilt and got out of bed.

Seeing that the bedside table was empty, he blinked and glanced at the communicator that had fallen to the floor. He couldn't help but turn around and look at Number One and asked, "Did you throw it away?"

???

Number One's eyes widened in confusion, then he shook his head vigorously.

Su Ci just asked casually. He stood up and walked over to pick up the communicator.

The screen of the communicator had gone dark. He tried to restart it. After some operations, the light screen popped up from the communicator. There were no problems with the display and clicking.

At this time, Su Ci also saw the missed voice message from number 4586.

The times displayed were 5:10, 5:12, and 5:14. A total of three voice calls were made, but none of them were answered.

Su Ci frowned and thought about it, then he remembered that 4586 seemed to have said that he had to get up at five o'clock today and go to the kitchen to make breakfast for the cubs.

He looked at the time again.

8:10.

Two or three hours have passed since the agreed time.

Su Ci tilted his head. Since 4586 didn't come to him again, it meant that it could handle it on its own.

Thinking of this, he put the communicator back on his wrist without any burden. Turning around, he saw the child sitting on the bed, looking at him with bright eyes.

Su Ci then asked, "Aren't you going to sleep?"

The child quickly shook his head.

"Then let's come out together." After saying that, Su Ci turned and left the bedroom.

Number One looked at his back as he walked away, and couldn't help feeling a little anxious. He struggled to get up from the soft quilt, and just as he took a step, the next moment, his figure disappeared from the bed.

The child lunged forward and hugged Su Ci's leg as he was about to take a step forward.

Suddenly, there was a pendant on his leg. Su Ci stopped and looked down at No. 1 with a questioning look in his eyes.

Number One was also confused.

He looked back at the bedroom behind him, then looked at the breeder he was holding, with a hint of confusion in his round eyes.

Wasn't he still in bed? How did he get here so quickly?

Su Ci saw his slightly surprised expression, and after a moment's thought he understood what was going on. He curled the corners of his mouth and touched the top of the child's head with his palm.

"You're quick to catch on." He can teleport so quickly.

He said this with relief, and then reminded, "But you need to practice more and try to be able to control it independently."

Number One nodded ignorantly, then looked at the breeder's thigh which he was still holding. The pair of cold golden eyes flashed through his mind, and he subconsciously let go of his hand and stepped back.

He raised his head and secretly observed the breeder's reaction, but found that the young man was still gentle and calm, with a smile on his lips.

After he let go of his hand, the young man walked towards the bathroom.

Number One stood there, watching his back as he left, with a vague idea emerging in his mind - the reason why the breeder was so fierce just now was probably because he was unhappy about being woken up?

After that, he couldn't wake him up.

He wanted the breeder to smile at him and touch his head like he did just now...

-

Su Ci walked into the bathroom and took out the unopened toothbrush and toothpaste from the space button.

One hundred thousand years ago, he was not so particular, but the common sense that emerged in his mind still made him care a little. It wouldn't take much time anyway, so he might as well do it.

Just as I was about to start brushing my teeth, I caught a glimpse of a child peeking at the door out of the corner of my eye.

Su Ci paused, put down the toothbrush, then walked out the door, brought in a chair, and then carried the child to the chair and let him stand up.

"Here." The two stood side by side in front of the mirror. Su Ci coated another toothbrush with toothpaste and put it in the child's hand.

"brush teeth."

Number One held the adult toothbrush and watched the keeper rinse his mouth first, then hold up the toothbrush and start brushing his teeth carefully. He then imitated his steps and began to clean his mouth.

The toothpaste tastes very refreshing, cool and a little sweet.

Number One likes it very much.

When his mouth was filled with white foam, he found it very interesting. He watched the breeder spit out the foam and then start rinsing his mouth, and then he learned to do the same.

The child learns very quickly and can learn without Su Ci's teaching. He also doesn't get the foam on his body and dirty his clothes, which makes Su Ci very satisfied.

Who doesn’t like a smart and obedient child?

After washing up, he carried the child off the chair and started preparing his breakfast.

4586 is right about what he said - breakfast is a very important meal time, and you must eat enough and well.

He took out the nutrient solution powder from the space button, skillfully brewed a cup of berry flavor, and drank it in one gulp.

Then the second, the third... until he had finished four cups of nutrient solution, he let out a sigh of satisfaction.

He took out two cans of beef from the space button, and when he turned around, he saw the child standing not far from the dining table, staring at him eagerly.

Su Ci paused and asked tentatively, "Are you hungry?"

Seeing that the breeder didn't really want to take care of him, Number One lowered his eyes in disappointment and shook his head. But the next second...

"Gululu--Gululu--"

Hearing the sound, he was stunned and hurriedly covered his stomach.

Su Ci sighed, and picked out the last mixed vegetable flavor from the remaining nutrient solution powder. After brewing it, he placed it across from the dining table.

"Come and drink."

The child's eyes lit up, he took a step forward, and the next moment he appeared on the chair by the windowsill.

With the experience he had just had, he was no longer surprised. He picked up the glass with his little hands and took a sip impatiently.

Looking at the sparkling smile in the child's eyes, Su Ci nodded secretly.

Very good, cubs should not be picky eaters.