Chapter 61

When the little monkey appeared on the awning, A Yan also raised his head as if he sensed something.

A little monkey, only the size of a one or two-year-old human baby, lay on the awning, poking out its furry round head and looking at them with a pair of black grape-like eyes with a hint of curiosity.

A Yan couldn't help but look at the keeper, and when he found that the young man was also looking at the little monkey, he looked away.

At this moment, he noticed something again and couldn't help but look down at the ground.

The afternoon sun was not very warm. It slanted down from above the awning, casting a large shadow on the ground. However, the top of the shadow did not reflect the figure of the little monkey peeking out.

A Yan was slightly stunned, and then he realized something——

This little monkey, like him, has no shadow! So is this little monkey also a spirit? Why hasn't he seen it at the base before?

Su Ci naturally saw at a glance what A Yan had just discovered. He looked at the young monkey with a bit more interest in his eyes.

Contrary to Ayan's guess, this little monkey is not a spirit.

Su Ci looked at the little monkey and gently stretched out his hand towards it.

The little monkey tilted its head, and its golden hair looked even brighter under the sunlight.

It seemed to be observing Su Ci. After a while, it retracted its head, and then very faint footsteps were heard on the awning.

Following the direction of the footsteps, A Yan soon saw a small tip of the tail sticking out from the edge of the awning. The little monkey climbed up the pillars of the awning and nimbly climbed down from the top of the awning.

It jumped on the ground, half-crouched, with its two furry little hands tucked in front of its body, and its big round eyes looked around alertly.

After making sure there was no danger, the little monkey hopped step by step and nimbly approached them, finally stopping one step away.

A Yan looked at the little monkey curiously.

Its ears and tail are very similar to those of No. 6, but its temperament is much gentler and more well-behaved than No. 6. At least he has never seen No. 6 so quiet.

Number Six is ​​a monkey, so is this little creature also a monkey? How did it end up here? Was it raised by someone else at the base? But it has no shadow...

A Yan was confused, but that didn't stop him from thinking the little monkey was cute.

This was the first time he'd seen a cub even smaller than him! It looked so cute! But if it was a spirit... could it see him?

Thinking of this, A Yan also followed the keeper's example and reached out to the little monkey.

The little monkey squatting one meter away tilted its head slightly, then moved forward and placed its furry little hand on A Yan's palm.

A Yan couldn't help but blink and subconsciously looked back at Su Ci.

The child's dark red eyes lit up slightly, sparkling with a little surprise, and he immediately shared his joy with Su Ci.

This little monkey can see him!

Su Ci felt Ayana's pure joy, and slightly curled the corners of his lips, reaching out to touch the top of his head.

The little monkey plucked A Yan's hand and looked at it. Seeing that there was nothing there, he quickly let go and turned his gaze to Su Ci.

It didn't bark, but its round black eyes sparkled with light, and it looked pitiful, as if saying: Do you have any food?

Su Ci crossed his arms, thought for a while, and took out a Star Chain Fruit from the fruit box on the space button and handed it to it.

The little monkey took the fruit with both hands.

The bright red fruit was almost as big as its head. It cried out with joy, then hugged the fruit, somersaulted and jumped onto the bench on the platform.

Then he squatted on the side of the bench, curled his two furry little feet together, held the star chain fruit, opened his mouth and bit open the peel, sucked a sip of the rich and sweet juice, and then began to eat it in small bites.

Seeing the little monkey eating the Star Chain Fruit seriously, A Yan couldn't help himself and tiptoed over.

Although the little monkey noticed his approach, it did not run away. Instead, it just kept eating the fruit. It ate very politely, without even a drop of juice dripping onto the ground.

It ate the fruit seriously, glancing at A Yan from time to time.

Noticing its gaze, A Yan felt somewhat surprised. This was the third creature besides the breeder and the book spirit that noticed him... Oh, no, if it was just a notice, then Number Two was the third one.

A Yan came to the bench and felt that the chair was a bit high, so he dodged and appeared on the other side of the chair.

The little monkey was obviously stunned for a moment, but was not scared. It looked at A Yan, then continued to lower its head and eat the fruit sweetly.

A Yan looked at it and saw that when it was squatting, it was not even as tall as him when it was sitting down. For the first time, he felt touched by its cuteness.

He turned his head to look at Su Ci, with a questioning look in his eyes.

Su Ci understood what he meant and nodded, "If it agrees to you touching it, of course you can."

After getting the nod, A Yan looked at the little monkey. He couldn't speak, so he could only stretch out his hand and approach it carefully while observing the little monkey's reaction.

Seeing that the little monkey did not dodge, he finally put his hand on its furry ears.

A soft touch was felt, but unlike the warmth imagined, the little monkey's fur felt a little cold, not as soft and warm as the wolf cub's.

A Yan reached out and touched the little monkey's head again, and found that he still felt the same. He couldn't help but retract his hand and looked at the keeper in confusion.

"It's not a spirit like you or me."

Seeing that the floating bus had not arrived yet, Su Ci picked up the child and sat on the bench, while A Yan was held in his arms.

A Yan's face flushed slightly, but he still obediently served as a pillow for the breeder.

The little monkey didn't have any special reaction to Su Ci's approach. After just looking at him twice, he continued to eat the fruit.

As for A Yan, he couldn't help but have many questions in his mind.

If it wasn't a spirit, then what was this little monkey? Why could it see him? And...just now, outside the greenhouse at the plantation, it had suddenly disappeared.

A Yan couldn't help but stretch out his finger and gently poked the little monkey's shoulder.

Soft and plush, but still not warm.

When he was about to poke him for the second time, the little monkey finally got unhappy. It held A Yan's fingers and pushed him away. It glanced at A Yan with its smart round eyes, making A Yan feel ignorant for the first time.

All right……

A Yan withdrew his hand and decided not to disturb the little monkey from eating the fruit.

Su Ci did not give A Yan an answer immediately. He observed the little golden monkey and felt a little unsure.

After waking up this time, there really were many new things he had never seen before.

At this time, the unmanned hover bus finally arrived.

Su Ci stood up and walked towards the bus with A Yan in his arms. A Yan leaned on his shoulder shyly. When he looked at the little monkey again, he found that the little monkey was no longer on the bench.

Where did this little monkey go again?

Although he was curious, A Yan didn't pay much attention to it. He glanced in the direction of the cultivation garden and thought that the little monkey might have gone back to the garden.

They quickly got on the bus, and after they were seated, the hover bus started to move.

Su Ci raised his eyes to glance at the top of the bus, flicked his fingertips, and a golden light flew out. The little monkey squatting on the top of the bus, still gnawing on the remaining half of the starship fruit, was enveloped by a layer of light.

The little monkey was unaware of anything until the light turned into a mark that appeared between its eyebrows and ate the fruit very seriously.

He looks quiet and docile, and his personality is completely different from that of No. 6.

The hover bus left the area where the nursery garden was located and took a route that was somewhat different from the previous one.

The scenery along the way is similar.

Because planting is not allowed on Prison Star, there is no greenery on both sides of the road. There are two rows of street lights and constantly rotating surveillance cameras, which monitor the situation inside the base at all times and feed the data back to the intelligent computer.

Su Ci, who was originally dozing with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and looked out the window.

What appeared in his field of vision were several buildings built within high walls. The towering walls were made of the same material as the nursery, but were obviously taller.

The defensive measures of these buildings are also very good. Judging from the number of guards patrolling around and the level of their equipment, this should be the most heavily guarded area in the entire nursery.

At this time, the hover bus stopped at the station.

A gentle robotic female voice announced, "We've arrived at the research institute. Passengers arriving at their destinations, please disembark in an orderly manner, first come first served. Thank you for your cooperation."

It turns out that this is the research institute.

Su Ci had an average impression of the research institute. It was a place that researched and produced tranquilizers. Judging from what Xia Jingming had said before, it seemed that quite high requirements were required to get a job there.

In terms of defense level, the research institute does indeed have a superior position among the 24 bases.

Su Ci would notice the research institute mainly because...

He heard Gu Qingchen's voice.

However, he was not interested in what Gu Qingchen was doing in the research institute. After a casual glance, Su Ci was ready to look away.

However, Gu Qingchen's next words still caught his attention.

"When will Four be able to return to the brooding area?"

This sentence contains a lot of information.

At this time, the suspension bus's stop time came, and the bus started moving again, gradually moving away along the road outside the research institute.

Number four...

Thinking of the little girl hiding in the room and crying, Su Ci sighed in his heart and finally closed his eyes.

He certainly didn't do this to sleep.

Su Ci's spirit floated up. He glanced at A Yan beside him, leaving a trace of consciousness in his body. Then he looked towards the research institute, and the illusory spirit disappeared on the spot.

By the time Su Ci's spirit body solidified again, he had already arrived inside the research institute.

This is a laboratory that continues the base's cold metallic style. Various sophisticated instruments are placed in the laboratory, and data are jumping on several electronic screens.

Su Ci couldn't understand these things, and no relevant knowledge emerged in his mind. Perhaps... these were not within the scope of common sense.

And number four, the child with lion ears and a lion tail, was lying in a glass container filled with solution, with discs connected to data cables stuck all over his body.

The child, with his eyes closed, was suspended unconsciously in the solution.

Gu Qingchen and another man in a white robe were standing outside the glass container. The man was staring at the child in the container, his gray-brown eyes filled with joy and obsession.

Su Ci saw that the nameplate on the man’s chest read “Ren Yufei”.

As for Gu Qingchen, he didn't look too good, and he called out to the man in a low voice, "Dr. Ren."

"oh."

Dr. Ren seemed to have just come back to his senses. He said with relief, "Qingchen, according to the test results, No. 4 really has some ability to manipulate objects."

"This is something the Red-Tailed Lion's bloodline doesn't possess!"

Ren Yufei said excitedly, "In other words, if we allow youngsters with powerful bloodlines to live on Prison Star, there's a high chance that their potential will be unleashed and they'll acquire new abilities before they reach adulthood!"

Just as Xia Jingming and Shi Yjiang said before, long-term exposure to pollutants will increase tolerance to pollutants, and there is a certain chance of gaining superpowers.

This naturally became one of the reasons why the Star Alliance was always unwilling to give up this planet.

Today's Interstellar Alliance is composed of dozens of member states, large and small. These member states are strong and weak, and all originated from the split of two major human kingdoms thousands of years ago.

Although there are conflicts of interest among the various countries, political intrigues and struggles are common, and each country has top beast-blood warriors with different abilities, all member states recognize one historical fact, that is -

They share the same bloodline and ancestor.

This became the premise and foundation for the establishment of the Interstellar Alliance.

As for the original intention of the Interstellar Alliance, it was to unite various human countries to fight against the various alien creatures encountered by humans in the process of exploring the interstellar space.

The member states of the Star Alliance need strong warriors. The more countries contribute in the war, the more resources they will receive. This will not only contribute to the survival of mankind, but also help them achieve better development for their own countries.

Therefore, the Prison Star, which can stimulate the potential of warriors and allow ordinary warriors to gain superpowers, naturally cannot be abandoned.

This has been confirmed by research institutes in experiments over the past twenty years.

Warriors with ordinary bloodlines have a much higher chance of gaining superpowers than warriors with special bloodlines and strong strength.

This is because warriors with special bloodlines, when overly polluted by the red fog, can easily suffer a backlash of their bloodline power and lose control, even if they have already built up tolerance to the pollutants, eventually turning into ferocious beasts that have lost their minds.

On the contrary, warriors with ordinary bloodlines or weak bloodline power do not have to worry about the problems caused by the loss of control of bloodline power. Therefore, their probability of acquiring superpowers is increased.

After the loss of a group of powerful beast-blood warriors on the Prison Star, the Star Alliance systematically reduced the proportion of beast-blood warriors and chose to increase the number of ordinary warriors stationed on the Prison Star.

Because they had to fight against the monsters in the red fog, the ordinary soldiers were not capable enough at the beginning, and some sacrifices occurred as a result.

Fortunately, as more warriors gained superpowers, this situation gradually improved. Although their overall quality was still lower than that of the warriors who could transform into beasts, their combat effectiveness was undoubtedly greatly improved after awakening their superpowers.

Of course, the awakening of superpowers is random. Not all warriors can awaken, and not all awakened superpowers can play a role in battle.

Adapting to newly awakened abilities requires research and lengthy adaptive training.

During long-term observation, the Prison Star Research Institute discovered that the younger the warriors, the easier it is for them to stimulate their potential and acquire superpowers.

Because of this, the various bases on the Prison Star recruit new soldiers every year, and at the same time transfer those veterans who are unable to obtain superpowers to other planets or the front lines. The member states of the Star Alliance are also willing to continuously send outstanding recruits to the Prison Star base.

Once these new recruits who have just graduated from military academies awaken their special abilities, there will be more time to develop training plans for them, shortening the training cycle. In any way, the cost-effectiveness is higher.

After all, in the past twenty years, Prison Star has established a mature system. As long as protective measures are taken in extreme weather, there will not be many casualties.

Some bases even organize soldiers to actively fight monsters, making this part of their daily training - after all, when they go to the battlefield in the future, they will still have to face all kinds of strange alien creatures with diverse abilities.

Of course, the Prison Star Research Institute has never given up exploring how to effectively increase the probability of Beast Blood Warriors safely obtaining superpowers.

There are beast warriors on Prison Star who have acquired superpowers. Although their number is small, these warriors eventually become the best in the army and have achieved outstanding results in the war between humans and interstellar aliens.

They already possess powerful bloodline power, and after obtaining superpowers, they are naturally even more powerful, and their combat effectiveness is further improved.

The institute calls such warriors "super warriors."

The birth of "super soldiers" is not impossible, but it is extremely dangerous. They need to find ways to effectively reduce the risk of them losing control and increase the probability of them acquiring super powers.

However, due to the previous losses, the Star Alliance no longer allows the research institute to use the beast-blood warriors for experiments - these warriors are the best elites of the Star Alliance, and among them are even members of royal families and aristocratic families of various countries.

If something happens to them again, it will greatly affect the harmony and stability of interstellar society and cause unrest.

So, are the researchers on Prison Star helpless?

Of course not.

Prison Star is where interstellar criminals from various countries are imprisoned. If soldiers are not allowed to be used, then these serious criminals with serious crimes cannot be used either? The answer is...

Of course not.

Although these interstellar criminals deserved no death, if the experiment succeeded and they gained superpowers, or if the experiment failed and they completely transformed into beasts, their already powerful strength would be multiplied.

This would still pose a huge threat to the safety of Prison Planet and all mankind. Even if the Covenant was attracted by the "super soldier" plan, it would not support such an experiment.

Finally, the scientists of Prison Star, unwilling to give up, turned their attention to the nursery.

The original purpose of the Nursery Project was indeed to house the offspring of criminals, but because red fog and monsters suddenly appeared on the Prison Star, the danger factor increased infinitely, so the plan was aborted halfway.

In order to give birth to the "super soldier", with the support of some caring people, the nursery plan was finally restarted.

At this time, the original intention of taking in the cubs completely changed.

The cubs that can be applied to be sent to the nursery for shelter are those whose bloodline power has awakened and are beyond the reach of ordinary welfare institutions. They all possess powerful bloodline power.

As for the offspring of these criminals, their parents have basically been executed, and they have no immediate relatives to take them in. In this case, even if something happens to these cubs on the Prison Star, the impact can be infinitely reduced.

As a cub, the strength it can exert is limited. Even if it really loses control and turns into a complete beast, it is easier to control than an adult.

Moreover, as previous data showed, it has been confirmed that the younger one is, the easier it is to acquire superpowers.

No matter how you look at it, these cubs are the most suitable experimental subjects.

Of course, because of the cub protection law, the institute did not dare to take overly radical experimental methods. The application they submitted was merely to restart the nursery plan and allow Prison Star to continue to accommodate the cubs.

What the institute does is to record and observe the data of the cubs on a daily basis.

Although the living environment on Prison Star is depressing, safety has been significantly improved, and there seems to be nothing wrong with restarting the nursery plan.

Therefore, with the push from all parties, the application was quickly approved.

Ren Yufei is the direct person in charge of this project.

Since the admission of cub No. 2 seven years ago, more and more cubs have been sent to the Prison Star Nursery. However, these cubs have not developed as expected.

Not only did they fail to gain superpowers, but under the influence of the environment and pollutants, their mental state became increasingly worse, and they often caused trouble, causing the personnel in charge of related affairs at the 24th Base to become extremely anxious.

Among them, No. 2 and No. 4 have even become unable to suppress the power of their bloodlines as they grow older, and are in danger of completely transforming into beasts.

Originally, Ren Yufei had already despaired. However, when he saw that the plan was about to face its first failure, he unexpectedly encountered a turning point at this time.

Number Four gained the ability to manipulate objects!

How could this not make Ren Yufei ecstatic?

Among these cubs, Ren Yufei was originally most optimistic about No. 3. Although this child was blind, he was emotionally indifferent and was the most likely to resist the erosion of pollutants.

Unexpectedly, it was the always-underappreciated number four who gave him a surprise! He looked at the little boy in the nutrition chamber, as if he had found a treasure.

"Our super soldier project has hope of success!"

However, Gu Qingchen poured cold water on him: "Maybe Number Four is not a purebred red-tailed lion?"

Modern interstellar transportation is convenient, and people of different races can marry freely. Except for some ancient families that still value pure blood, there are very few completely pure-blooded races in the interstellar space.

Hearing this, Ren Yufei nodded.

"You are right. Therefore, the analysis of Number Four's bloodline is already underway. However, even if he truly possesses another powerful bloodline, this is still of great significance."

Because the blood of powerful beasts is generally exclusive.

Even if the bloodlines are mixed, when the power of one bloodline is manifested, the other bloodlines will be infinitely suppressed. As a result, they may even be absorbed and transformed into a single beast blood.

This phenomenon is usually called atavism.

So far, no one has ever appeared who can manifest two bloodlines at the same time, master the power of two bloodlines, and survive at the same time.

To date, there are trillions of people in the interstellar countries, but there are only dozens of cases recorded in history, and all of these cases died in their infancy due to the mutual repulsion of bloodline power.

As for Number Four, according to previous data records, he has already manifested the strength and speed of a red-tailed lion. At the age of less than nine, he already possesses a physique that exceeds that of an ordinary warrior.

According to estimates, he will have at least two more periods of rapid growth before reaching adulthood, which is completely consistent with the growth characteristics of the red-tailed lion bloodline. And most importantly, after transforming into a beast, Number Four indeed possesses the ears and tail of a red-tailed lion.

Therefore, Number Four is indeed a red-tailed lion cub. Not only has his bloodline been manifested, he has also mastered some of the power of his bloodline.

And now, he has demonstrated a second special ability.

Whether it is the newly awakened superpowers or the fact that this child has mastered two bloodline powers at the same time, they are both very valuable for research.

"I know what you're thinking."

Ren Yufei restrained his expression and patted Gu Qingchen's shoulder. "Don't worry, all the operations of the institute are in compliance with interstellar law, and there is no way I would harm this child."

He looked at Number Four, his eyes focused and full of tenderness. "After waiting for so many years, the results are finally coming. How can I bear to let this child get hurt?"

Next, they will retrieve all the past monitoring data on No. 4 for analysis and comparison. Due to various constraints, it is impossible to control the variables, and the conclusions drawn will definitely have errors, but they are also of reference value.

As for the "experimental subject" No. 4, the focus is still on observation.

After all, no one knows whether he will suddenly experience repulsion from his bloodline.

"We will give him a comprehensive physical examination and, after comprehensive consideration, decide whether to allow him to continue living in the nursery."

Ren Yufei said, "After all, the next period is his critical period. The power of his blood repel each other. Generally, from the time of appearance to death, it will not exceed half a month at most."

"During this period, it's best to let him stay here. If anything goes wrong, we can always take care of him, right?"

Gu Qingchen really wanted to say that you were talking nonsense. Blood repulsion is a terminal illness and there is no medical treatment for it so far. At most, drugs can be used to alleviate the patient's pain.

But this is Prison Star, and it’s the extremely poor 24th Base. How could the logistics department possibly prepare such expensive medicines?

As a doctor in the Medical Purification Department, he is well aware of this matter.

So, what kind of care would Number Four receive if he stayed at the institute? If the bloodline repulsion really did occur, it would simply make it easier for them to collect and record data.

Gu Qingchen said with a dark face, "You should know the latest intelligence about yesterday's bloody rain, right? The base building was damaged by monsters in the red fog, and a maintenance worker who hid in the logistics building was preyed upon by a giant spider."

Hearing this, Ren Yufei restrained his expression and stared at Gu Qingchen gloomily.

Gu Qingchen stared at him without showing any weakness, his eyes behind the lenses sharp as a knife, "Dr. Ren, you can't possibly not know what this means, right?"

Ren Yufei remained silent and even avoided Gu Qingchen's gaze.

But Gu Qingchen gave a direct answer, "The current Prison Star can no longer meet the most basic safety needs of the cubs!"

"Even if Number Four really did gain superpowers, or even if he really became the first cub to master the power of two bloodlines simultaneously and still survive, so what?"

"Prison Planet is no longer suitable for the minimum living standards of the cubs. Research in this direction must stop here!"

Ren Yufei listened carefully to all of Gu Qingchen's speeches. Although his eyes were gloomy, he remained very calm.

"It's too early to say that now," he said. "Perhaps yesterday's incident was just an accident? And if Prison Star is really dangerous as you said, then Number Four's safety will at least be guaranteed if he stays at the research institute."

Seeing him so stubborn, Gu Qingchen couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"The cub's emotional stability is crucial to suppressing and alleviating the backlash of his bloodline power. I hope you will consider this carefully. It would be best to return him to a familiar environment. This will be beneficial to both his physical and mental health."

Ren Yufei took a deep breath and said, "I will consider your proposal. Now, please ask Doctor Gu to return to the purification department. You are needed there more."

Gu Qingchen glared at Ren Yufei, knowing that there was no way to convince him, and finally he could only turn away.

Ren Yufei watched him leave with a gloomy expression, and at that moment - the young man floating in the transparent solution behind him suddenly opened his eyes.