Chapter 40
Number Two stared at Su Ci in a daze.
The young man squatting in front of him was very different from the adults he had come into contact with before.
First of all, he was very handsome, the kind of handsome that even though No. 2 had a natural hostility towards everyone in this base, he could not deny.
Besides his good looks, his almost lazy and casual posture is also remarkable.
Although he was a weakling without the power of bloodline or a strong physique, Number Two was keenly aware of the very special aura emanating from him.
It was as if what he said was an established fact that would definitely come true, and it was the temperament of a strong man.
However, Number Two’s daze did not last long. He quickly came out of that state and regained his senses.
He looked at the new breeder in front of him, felt the coldness of his body pressed against the floor, and the force pressing down on him. The confusion on his face faded, revealing a sharp sneer.
"Let them let me go first!"
The boy's voice was cold and a little hoarse, but it had indeed returned to a normal human voice, and was no longer roaring like a tiger as before.
The guards who joined forces to suppress No. 2 could not help but look at each other in bewilderment.
Although the boy had stopped struggling, they did not dare to relax due to their previous experience. However, when they heard the voice of No. 2, it seemed...
Are you really calm?
They looked at Su Ci in disbelief. This frail-looking handsome young man actually calmed down the nearly frantic Number Two with just a few words, without even needing a tranquilizer?!
How did he do it?
They were all staring at it just now, and the breeder clearly just said one sentence to No. 2?
To be honest, if this kind of reasoning was effective, they would never have laid hands on a child who was just over ten years old!
The guards were so shocked that they became distracted and relaxed their vigilance, and the strength they had been holding down on No. 2 naturally loosened.
However, No. 2, who had been calm and collected, attacked the guards again at this moment!
His strong tiger tail quickly wrapped around the waist of a guard and threw him away with force. The guard was caught off guard and was thrown onto the column in the hall.
The guard subconsciously held his head, but strangely, even after hitting the column hard and falling to the ground, he didn't feel much pain.
He was a little confused, and No. 2 had taken advantage of this gap, used his cleverness to flexibly break free from the restraints of others, rolled on the ground, and stood up in the open space next to him.
He looked at the guards and raised his chin defiantly.
The guards' faces suddenly became extremely ugly.
As expected, the little monster is a little monster, there is no way he can become obedient! He just pretended to relax them!
They helped up their companion who was thrown out and looked confused. Just as they were about to rush towards No. 2 to control him, they saw the young man in gray-blue uniform blocking their way again.
This breeder comes again?
He didn't think that without Number Two under their control, he would really listen to him, did he? If the mad Number Two escaped, this little monster would definitely cause chaos in the base!
The medical staff finally came to their senses and hurriedly shouted, "Keeper Su, get out of the way! If you're injured by the Red Flame Tiger's flames, you won't be able to fully recover in the medical cabin!"
This is also why Number Two becomes increasingly difficult to control as we age.
Everyone, including Gu Qingchen, who had arrived at the door to watch at some point, felt their hearts pounding.
Looking at the expressions on everyone's faces and listening to the trembling in the medical staff's voices, Su Ci tilted his head slightly. Should he show a frightened expression now?
but……
The violent young man with tiger ears who was not cute at all did not attack as everyone expected.
The boy just stood there, moving his wrists and ankles, looking at the people around him warily, and when the medical staff looked over, he bared his teeth fiercely at him.
The medical staff was so scared that he took a step back, but the boy did not rush towards him. Instead, the breeder Su came over and returned the unused tranquilizer to him.
He stupidly took the needle, and then he found that the tiger-eared boy stared at him more fiercely, as if he would pounce on him and bite his neck at any time.
Seeing the medical staff trembling with fear, the boy showed a mocking and pleased smile on his face, and his reddish-brown eyes were full of wildness.
The breeder Su seemed not to see it. After returning the needle, he looked at Gu Qingchen at the door.
"Doctor Gu, I'm taking No. 2 back. Do I need a signature?" Su Ci asked.
Gu Qingchen was a little confused when he was suddenly called out.
His eyes kept glancing at Number Two, whose expression was cold and grumpy, and whose long tiger tail, dragging on the ground, was swinging restlessly, as if it would hit someone at any time, which was frightening.
However, the boy did not hurt anyone again.
Gu Qingchen hesitated for a moment, pretending to be calm as he moved closer to Su Ci. He lowered his voice and asked, "Are you really going to take him back like this?"
To be honest, Gu Qingchen really has no way to deal with the current situation.
Although No. 2 does seem to have regained his sanity, even when he is not in a crazy state, No. 2 still has a bad temper.
However, the Medical Purification Department really cannot afford to support this little god.
Su Ci looked at Number Two and asked him, "You're going back to the nursery with me, right?"
Right now, Su Ci is probably the only one who can speak to Number Two in such a relaxed and casual tone.
Number Two was still adjusting his breathing—
The confrontation just now consumed a lot of his physical strength.
Hearing the keeper's question, the boy put on a cold face and didn't want to answer. However, when he looked up and met the pair of warm, dark eyes, he felt his heart skip a beat and the hair on his tiger's tail exploded.
The boy hummed subconsciously.
When he realized that he had actually answered, his eyes widened in disbelief.
Su Ci had already withdrawn his gaze with satisfaction. He looked at Gu Qingchen and gave a faint smile.
Gu Qingchen: "..."
Although it felt really unreliable, as a breeder, Su Ci did have the power to request to take the cubs back. When it came to raising the cubs, his will and authority absolutely took precedence over those of the Medical Purification Department.
Of course, as a breeder, if something goes wrong in the end, he also needs to bear all the responsibilities and consequences.
Gu Qingchen couldn't help but look at No. 2. The young man had restrained his incredible expression. He turned his face away, showing a disdainful and rebellious attitude.
But the tiger ear on his head that turned towards him had already betrayed him.
He was clearly paying attention to their conversation.
Since Gu Qingchen had no power to stop Su Ci procedurally, and No. 2 also expressed the same wish, he really had no reason to say no.
In the end, Gu Qingchen could only call up the panel and ask Su Ci to sign.
And when they were handing over, Xun Xiaoyu also rushed over with the action team.
"Doctor Gu, are you okay?" Xun Xiaoyu looked at the mess in the hall and knew that a fight must have just taken place.
What surprised her was that cub No. 2 was actually awake. He was neither frantic nor in a coma due to the anesthetic injection.
Did something happen to the other cubs?
Xun Xiaoyu was not surprised to see Su Ci here, and smiled at him friendly.
"It's okay. Sorry to have made you make a wasted trip." The action team was naturally contacted by Gu Qingchen. He said to Xun Xiaoyu and others with some apology.
"You're welcome. Please feel free to contact us if you need anything."
Seeing that there was indeed nothing for the action team to do at the scene, Xun Xiaoyu took the team members away.
After completing the handover, Su Ci glanced at the young man and said, "Let's go."
Then he took A Yan out of the building.
Number Two looked at his back, then looked at the unfriendly eyes around him, and pursed his lips into a straight line.
He was still thinking about what had just happened.
How could he have answered the breeder's question for some reason? He felt like he had lost!
"Bang!"
The tiger's tail behind the young man slammed down hard, creating another shallow dent in the floor, startling the medics and guards.
Seeing the panic-stricken expressions of these people, Number Two curled his lips and finally followed the breeder out of the hall.
No matter what, let’s go back to the nursery first.
The medical staff and guards watched them leave, and realized belatedly that the little devil No. 2 was finally gone!
Number Two, who walked to the door, heard deliberately suppressed cheers coming from behind him.
A hint of disdain appeared on the boy's face again.
He looked at the breeder walking in front of him and was about to say that he would not take the teleportation platform when he saw the figure walking straight to the hover bus stop.
“…”
Number Two shut up and reluctantly followed Su Ci to the station to wait.
The two people stood side by side, but there was still a distance of two or three body lengths between them.
A Yan was standing on the other side of Su Ci. He quietly leaned out and glanced in the direction of No. 2.
The young man had a gloomy face, and the tiger tail with black and red stripes behind him was swinging unconsciously. Although he was silent, one could tell that he was unhappy at the moment.
A Yan withdrew his gaze and moved closer to the breeder.
He still held the space button tightly in his palm. The breeder told him to practice more...
So, while waiting, A Yan recalled the scene when the breeder guided him and began to figure out how to use this space button.
Only Su Ci and the other two were waiting at this station, making it seem a bit deserted.
Su Ci put one hand in his trouser pocket, covered his mouth and yawned. The not-so-hot sunlight fell on him. His every move was sluggish and lazy, yet there was an indescribable elegance in him.
Number Two glanced at him and frowned.
In the past ten years of his life, he had never met anyone with this kind of temperament. Although he was so weak, he did not have the tension that others had when facing him.
"Hey." The boy suddenly spoke.
Su Ci put his hands back into his trouser pockets and then lazily tilted his head. His half-drooped eyelids made him look like he had not woken up yet.
"Are you the new breeder?" Number Two looked at him suspiciously.
Su Ci nodded.
“…”
“…”
A breeze blew by.
Seeing that the boy didn't seem to have anything else to say, Su Ci withdrew his gaze and yawned sleepily again.
Number Two: “…”
Feeling ignored, the boy snorted coldly and looked away coolly.
At this time, Gu Qingchen walked out of the purification building behind him again. He was originally standing at the door, and saw Su Ci and No. 2 waiting for the car from afar, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Generally, when taking the cubs back to the nursery, the keepers will choose to take the teleportation platform. After all, no one can guarantee that the cubs will not encounter any problems on the way, so they can only try to shorten the time on the road.
Gu Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then walked over.
"Zootrie Su." He greeted.
Su Ci looked over slowly, but before he could respond, he saw the red-haired boy standing far away suddenly take two steps towards him and said to Gu Qingchen:
"Hey, where's number four?"
Gu Qingchen was startled when he suddenly heard number two speak.
To be honest, he had worked at Base 24 for many years, and because of his job, he had come into contact with these cubs on a regular basis, but it was the first time he heard No. 2 speak to someone so calmly.
Although the tone wasn't very good, at least the words were spoken in a nice way. As he listened... he actually felt a little touched. Why was that?
Gu Qingchen turned his head to look at No. 2 and found that the boy was also looking at him with a serious look in his eyes.
The young boy had fierce eyes and sharp eyebrows. Although he was only a little over ten years old, his facial features were already firm and sharp. His wild red-brown eyes showed for the first time a hint of calm emotion besides mania and violence, which brought an indescribable impact.
Gu Qingchen was slightly stunned, then realized that the boy's question was directed at him.
Number four...
He paused, his gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the light, making it difficult to see his eyes behind the lenses. All that could be seen was a gentle smile on his face.
Gu Qingchen said: "Number Four has not fully recovered yet and needs to rest for a while before returning to the nursery."
His smile looked warm and gentle, but the boy stared at him with his sharp tiger eyes for a moment, then narrowed them slightly and pointed out directly, "You're feeling guilty."
Su Ci, who was originally a little bored, turned his head to look at Gu Qingchen after hearing their conversation. Being stared at by two pairs of eyes, the smile on Gu Qingchen's face froze.
"This...I have nothing to feel guilty about."
He shook his head, showing an expression that showed he didn't want to argue with a child, and then looked at Su Ci.
"Keeper Su, I'll go back to the nursery with you. The cubs need to be purified."
In the entire 24th Base, apart from the diseased plants in the cultivation garden, only the cubs in the nursery can be trained personally by Master Gu.
However, his change of subject was a bit abrupt.
Su Ci looked at the unnatural smile on Gu Qingchen's face, and the little boy with lion ears and tail appeared in his mind. So, is Number Four... really still recuperating in the medical purification room?
"Haha, then let's go take the teleportation platform, that's faster."
Gu Qingchen avoided the gazes of the two people - to be precise, three people, because next to Su Ci, A Yan was also looking up at him.
Doctor Gu pulled Su Ci and walked towards the teleportation platform. However, after taking two steps, he found that No. 2 was still standing there and had no intention of following them.
"Number two?" Gu Qingchen called him tentatively.
"I won't go!" the boy answered firmly.
Gu Qingchen couldn't help but be dumbfounded, "Aren't we going back to the nursery?"
Is this a regret?
At this time, the hover bus finally came from a distance and slowly stopped at the station.
When the car door opened, Gu Qingchen only felt something flash before his eyes. When he looked carefully, he saw that No. 2 was already in the car and had chosen a seat by the window.
So when he just said he didn't want to go, did he mean he didn't want to take the teleportation platform?
"Go up."
Behind him, Su Ci patted his shoulder, and Gu Qingchen had no choice but to walk forward resignedly.
He was walking in front and didn't notice Su Ci grabbing A Yan's baby clothes and lifting the child into the car.
The bus was empty, with only seat No. 2 sitting in the left seat in the middle of the bus. Gu Qingchen walked over and sat in the row on the right, and Su Ci... he ignored Gu Qingchen and went straight to the row behind him.
This time, Su Ci was a little more careful. He let the child in first, and then sat down in the aisle seat.
A Yan happily climbed onto the seat and sat down obediently.
The hover bus starts.
Seeing Su Ci closing his eyes and sleeping lightly again, Gu Qingchen breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he did not ask about number four, otherwise he really didn't know what to say.
Then, his gaze involuntarily turned to No. 2. Did this little guy know something?
However, Number Two paid no attention to the two adults, nor did he notice A-Yan who could not be seen.
All his attention was focused on the outside of the car window.
Under the influence of Su Ci's soul power, the blood power of No. 2 was temporarily suppressed, which also restored No. 2's chaotic brain to unprecedented clarity.
Number Two felt that he had never been in such a good condition.
He was sent to the nursery on Prison Star when he was four years old.
Because his bloodline power erupted out of control, he smashed the nanny robot that took care of him to pieces and was therefore returned by his adoptive family.
Because the power of his bloodline erupted too frequently, he was subsequently rejected by various welfare homes. After wandering around for several months, he was finally taken in by the nursery on Prison Star.
In fact, No. 2 could no longer remember anything before the age of four. He had no recollection of the time when he was first sent to Prison Star.
Ever since he was enlightened and gained memory, he has been suffering from the outburst of bloodline power.
The physical pain often makes him lose control of his emotions, and he can only vent through various extreme behaviors, so he has a bad temper and loves to fight.
At first, perhaps he was just a child who wanted to attract the attention of adults, but gradually, he became dependent on the frenzy state.
Because when he falls into frenzy, he is unconscious. Even if his body is hurt, he will no longer feel any pain. The burning sensation that torments him day and night will disappear as his consciousness becomes unconscious.
He likes that state of being free from pain.
However, as he grew older, Number Two slowly came to his senses. As his frenzy increased, his lucid time became less and less.
The power of blood is devouring him.
Number Two had eavesdropped on the medical staff's conversation.
He knew that when he completely lost himself, when he fell into a frenzy and could no longer regain consciousness, he would become a real beast, a beast that could not even control its own body and could only be slaughtered.
The little boy felt scared and helpless, but no one could help him.
They are the little monsters in Base 24. All the adults in the base are afraid of them, and even the breeders who take care of them, none of them treat them sincerely.
Number Two had no way of trusting these people, let alone revealing his weaknesses to them. In the end, he could only watch his situation get worse and worse, with no way to improve it.
He tried to struggle and resist, but to little avail.
And this time, waking up from the frenzy deepened No. 2's fear again. He could sense that he was on the verge of that point.
If he goes through one or two more berserker episodes, he'll completely lose his self-awareness and turn into a wild beast...
The car window reflected the boy's pale face. The tiger cub, who always appeared strong and fierce, rarely showed some fragility.
However, he quickly suppressed this expression.
Because at this moment, No. 2 felt clear-headed and the blood power that was burning in his body all the time suddenly calmed down.
Of course, it didn't completely disappear. He could still feel the power of the Red Flame Tiger bloodline in his body, but that power seemed to have been suddenly tamed and became very gentle.
The power of that bloodline was still emitting heat, but it no longer had the previous burning pain. Instead, it gave him a sense of power.
Number Two clenched his fists and felt that he was in incredibly good shape at the moment.
However, he did not relax because of this, nor was he optimistic enough to think that he had digested and mastered the power of his bloodline.
He knew very well that he was not capable of doing this.
This situation came very strangely, so No. 2 still felt heavy in his heart.
He knew that the next bout of frenzy would come, and by then, he might never regain consciousness.
The boy stared out the car window, firmly memorizing the scenery and route he saw along the way, and all the information his eyes could capture.
Number Two had almost never ridden a hoverbus, at least not in his memory. However, he had gathered relevant intelligence and knew that the hoverbus could reach every part of Base 24.
Including exports.
Now, No. 2 is trying hard to memorize the terrain so that he can find the way out of Base 24 in the future.
In the limited time he was awake, Number Two had already made a plan after careful consideration.
If he really cannot control the power of his bloodline, cannot retain his self-awareness, and eventually can only become a beast without wisdom, then he must escape from Base 24.
Although there was a strange red fog outside the base and there were scary and dangerous monsters, he would rather fight the monsters than be captured by the research institute for experiments.
Number Two believed that with the power of the Red Flame Tiger, even after he completely transformed into a beast, he might be able to fight for a place in the red fog - in the end, it was not certain whether the monster would eat him or he would eat the monster!
The boy's eyes were fierce, and there was a calm madness and an extreme desire for freedom in his tiger eyes.
Su Ci, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened his eyes at this moment. He tilted his head slightly and looked at the young man who was almost lying on the window with a furry tiger tail swinging behind him.
The hover bus just happened to stop at a station, next to the logistics building.
Several people who looked like maintenance workers came up.
They were originally chatting and laughing, but when they saw the three people in the car clearly, especially the tiger-eared boy in the left seat, they couldn't help but exclaim "Wow" and then fell silent.
The maintenance workers sat down on the seats on the right in tacit understanding. Although they didn't dare to speak anymore, judging from the way they lowered their heads and fiddled with the communicators, they must be chatting enthusiastically in the chat group.
When No. 2 sensed a strange presence, his body tensed up and he looked at the maintenance workers vigilantly.
Then, the young man sneered, looked away with disdain, and continued to look out the window.
Gu Qingchen was also paying attention to the boy's reaction. This was his first time accompanying a cub on a hover bus back to the nursery, so he was inevitably nervous.
As a result, when he turned around, he saw Su Ci, the serious trainee breeder, closing his eyes and taking a nap again. His calm and composed look really made Gu Qingchen admire him.
Anyway, he definitely couldn't sleep.
After a lot of effort, they arrived at the nursery and were finally able to get off the bus. No. 2 originally wanted to cheat, but after hesitating for a while, he finally obeyed for once.
If he wanted to leave Base 24, he would first have to leave the nursery, which would require him to avoid the breeder's surveillance.
Therefore, No. 2 cannot alert the enemy now. He chooses to endure temporarily, just to lie dormant for a short period of time for the sake of future freedom.
Su Ci stood up yawning. Just as he was about to get out of the car, he saw the red-haired boy on the left suddenly jump out and squeeze in front of him.
The young boy held his head high and chest out, with a pair of short, round, furry ears. He glanced at him coolly and walked straight to the car door.
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