Chapter 37

Ayan raised his head and looked at the green plants full of fruits above his head. He

originally thought that the flowers all over the sky were the ultimate beauty, but he didn't expect that there would be something even more amazing.

This was the first time he saw the plants in the cultivation garden grow so fast and so well. It was also the first time he saw the round and big star chain fruit that he probably couldn't hold with one hand.

The fruits in the cultivation garden before were all small, green and yellow, with some wrinkles on the surface of the fruit skin. It was impossible for them to be so bright and beautiful red, and exude a faint fruity fragrance.

How magical!

Although these plants in the cultivation garden cannot speak, Ayan can still feel a sense of joy and happiness from the vines of plants that cover the wall.

Especially when the keeper reached out to pick a fruit.

Are these plants welcoming the keeper? Do they like the keeper as much as he does?

Then, he couldn't help but look at the bunch of the fullest fruits. It was clearly the red color that foreshadowed the unknown, but even after looking at it for a long time, A Yan didn't feel any discomfort in his heart.

Instead, he felt a sense of happiness, joy and satisfaction.

He stood on tiptoe and stretched out his little hand to touch it, wanting to see what it would feel like to touch the shiny fruit.

Unfortunately, before the child's fingertips touched the fruit, the change happened again -

the star chain fruit vines that had climbed the entire glass wall and were originally thriving suddenly began to turn yellow and wither and fall off, and then withered and fell down at the same speed as before.

In less than a minute or two, the green grass on the wall turned into rotten vines, leaving only bunches of bright red fruits. Because the vines could not hold on, they fell to the ground one by one under the action of gravity.

A Yan withdrew his hand at a loss, staring blankly at this scene, looking at the falling fruits, he kept backing away until his back accidentally hit something.

He raised his head and looked back, and then met a pair of dark and warm eyes.

Su Ci lowered his eyes and saw the obvious helplessness and sadness on the child's face. He reached out his hand, gently touched the child's soft hair, and then handed him the fruit.

Ah Yan took the red fruit foolishly, and couldn't help but look up at the keeper.

The young man's expression was still careless, but seeing him so calm, Ah Yan felt strangely calm again.

He lowered his head and looked at the red star chain fruit in his hands.

This was the first time he touched the fruit.

It was heavy, with a smooth surface, and the bright red color not only did not give people a terrifying feeling, but was full of vitality, making him want to take a bite.

Ah Yan moved closer, but was reluctant to bite it. He only touched the peel lightly with the tip of his nose and sniffed the sweet aroma, and he felt his mood become very good.

Su Ci stared at the child, and just as he was about to say something, he heard footsteps approaching quickly.

Zhuang Shisong and Wei Ming ran over.

Their footsteps were as rapid and chaotic as their heartbeats.

"Are you okay?"

Wei Ming spoke first. He looked at Su Ci and said in a bad tone: "It was so dangerous just now, why didn't I call you to move? You actually didn't take any measures and picked the fruit with your bare hands, do you want to live?"

Su Ci stood up straight and looked at him with an innocent face.

Zhuang Shisong tugged at Wei Ming's clothes. Wei Ming also knew that Su Ci was fine. He took a deep breath and tried to suppress his anger, but he couldn't help it in the end.

"He was lucky this time and encountered a non-aggressive mutant, but who can guarantee the same next time? His actions violated the base regulations!"

Wei Ming said to Zhuang Shisong, and then glared at Su Ci, "You are not from our cultivation garden, how did you get in?"

Obviously, Su Ci just handed the fruit to A Yan, and because of the angle, they did not see the disappearance of the Star Chain Fruit, and only thought that Su Ci threw the Star Chain Fruit back to the ground. Hearing

Wei Ming's question, Su Ci did not answer, but just turned sideways to look at the door.

The cargo robot was moving supplies into the open space closest to the gate in the cultivation garden. A strong man in an orange-red uniform noticed the movement here and was running over.

"Shisong, Ming, what happened?"

This was the person in charge of delivering supplies from the logistics department. He had just contacted Zhuang Shisong. The second time, because of a delay, Zhuang Shisong gave him permission to move the things in first.

It was at that time that Su Ci walked in from outside.

After running closer, he saw the view of the greenhouse and exclaimed repeatedly, then quickly took photos with the communicator, especially the close-ups of the fruits.

"A Ming, is this a new variety in the nursery? It's growing so well, isn't it? Although the vines and leaves are all dry, the quality of the fruit is really good, and it's better looking than the star chain fruit I eat at home!"

"Can I have one? I'll trade it with you for points, and you name a price!"

The nursery mainly provides fruits and vegetables to the soldiers on a daily basis, and staff in other positions can also eat fresh vegetables every three days.

However, he has never seen such good-looking fruits! Is this a special supply for the Operations Department?

Zhuang Han's eyes were full of envy and pleading, and he even pulled Wei Ming's sleeve to act coquettishly, which instantly made Wei Ming unable to do anything and he surrendered directly.

With their interruption, Zhuang Shisong's original suspicion of Su Ci was gradually dispelled.

He looked at the thin young man watching the excitement nearby and shook his head in his heart. He really thought too much. How could he connect the abnormality of the plant with the young man in front of him? Seeing

such a good fruit, even he, who has been dealing with crops for many years, couldn't help but want to pick one to see, not to mention other staff who are not in the cultivation garden and rarely eat fresh fruits and vegetables on weekdays.

It was normal for him to reach out to pick the fruit, and...

Zhuang Shisong finally noticed the color of the young man's uniform. He couldn't help but let out a sigh and blurted out, "Are you Su Ci? The new keeper of the nursery?"

Su Ci was a little surprised, "Do we know each other?"

Zhuang Shisong: "..."

Not really, but... I'm afraid there's no one in the base who doesn't know him, right? Even in other bases, I'm afraid many people have heard of his name.

If he is really the new trainee keeper, then it can explain why he stood there motionless without any fear when the plants mutated and grew wildly.

Zhuang Shisong has watched the video. This keeper Su was able to remain calm and composed when facing invading monsters, let alone ordinary plants.

Of course, this keeper Su was lucky that he did not encounter a highly aggressive mutant plant. Otherwise, it is hard to say what the situation would be like now.

"My colleague is right. If you encounter such a situation in the future, you still have to follow the instructions in the base safety manual." Zhuang Shisong did not answer the question of whether he knew Su Ci, but warned him seriously.

No matter how brave you are, you must have a clear understanding of your own strength. This is the valuable experience he gained after coming to Hell Star and actually coming into contact with mutants. The

reason why this Su keeper was not attacked by the giant spider is because the giant spider hunts by sensing sound. What if you encounter other monsters? If you don't run away when you encounter danger, something will happen sooner or later!

Su Ci nodded to show that he understood and thanked him for his kindness.

On the other side, Wei Ming had already called in a robot, and together with the strong man from the logistics department, they rescued the fruits that were about to fall to the ground from the glass wall.

Zhuang Shisong didn't have time to care about Su Ci for the time being, and quickly joined the ranks of the harvesters.

These fruits are really good in appearance. Of course, whether they are edible or not, and whether they are harmful or not, can only be known after testing. Anyway, it will not be wrong to collect them and preserve them first.

Su Ci watched them move, and then looked at the fruits that fell to the ground. Finally, he bent down and helped to pick up the fruits one by one and put them into the collection basket.

He didn't recognize this plant, and just now... he didn't perform any magic.

This is an ordinary plant born from the earth. When it senses the spirit of the earth that gave them life, it tries its best to present him with a gift.

Ordinary plants are much shorter than spiritual plants, both in terms of roots and lifespan.

It may consume all their vitality after bearing fruit once, not to mention the harsh environment now. It is difficult for them to obtain sufficient nutrients during the rapid growth process when they grow away from the land.

However, they still did it.

Silly, naive and stubborn, it has been 100,000 years, and after a trip to an alien planet, they still haven't changed this habit.

It's a headache, but unexpectedly... it makes Su Ci a little soft-hearted.

He had seen too many lives flourish and wither, so he shouldn't be emotionally involved in such things. However, looking at the dead vines on the wall and the red fruits scattered all over the ground, he was still moved by such pure dedication.

Several people worked together, and with the help of the harvesting robot, they quickly collected all the fruits. Even those that fell on the ground and were broken were carefully packed and prepared to be sent for testing.

While they were collecting, the door of the greenhouse had been closed again, and there were two robots guarding the door.

Although the building materials of the greenhouse are mainly glass, this kind of glass is stronger than metal. At least so far, no mutant plant has been able to successfully break through the glass wall of the greenhouse.

Zhuang Shisong had already notified the people at the guard post.

After collecting all the fruits, Zhuang Shisong could not wait to dispatch the robot to enter the greenhouse to investigate. At this time, the guards finally arrived.

However, with the robot there, they did not need to take risks in the greenhouse. After the robot initially confirmed that it was safe, Wei Ming prepared to enter with the guards to check the plants in the greenhouse.

While Wei Ming was wearing protective equipment, Gu Qingchen, who had an appointment with Su Ci, was late.

He was surprised when he saw the situation on the scene.

"What happened? Another plant mutation? Is no one injured?"

Zhuang Shisong and Gu Qingchen are good friends. The reason they asked him to come this time was mainly because there were some diseased plants that needed his purification ability to treat. Gu Qingchen himself was obsessed with planting, so he naturally did not refuse.

After briefly understanding the situation, he also watched with interest.

"Mutated star chain fruit? The direction of mutation is rapid growth, and it will also affect the surrounding plants?" Gu Qingchen looked at Wei Ming walking into the greenhouse, and couldn't help but analyze it with Zhuang Shisong.

Zhuang Shisong nodded, "According to the strange phenomenon just now, it should be about the same."

Su Ci listened to them talking silently.

The mutants they are talking about should be spiritual plants or magic plants, right? However, according to the environment of Hell Star, the probability of breeding magic plants should be higher.

Magic plants, as the name suggests, are not easy to mess with. They are often very aggressive and have very strong toxicity. For ordinary humans, just smelling them may kill them. Of

course, there are also human pharmacists who use magic plants to make medicine, which can be very effective in treating certain diseases.

As for spiritual plants, they are much gentler and friendlier in temperament. Generally, they rarely attack organisms actively. Their medicinal and edible value is also higher, and most importantly, spiritual plants can feed back spiritual power to the land.

The more spiritual plants there are, the more abundant the spiritual energy is.

And the greenhouse where Zhuang Shisong and his team are waiting in a serious manner is full of ordinary plants, but...

Su Ci raised his eyes and looked into the distance.

He could sense that there was a newly born spiritual plant in that direction. It was born just after he purified the water. The little guy was constantly calling him, and the voice was very urgent.

Ah Yan also heard the voice of the spiritual plant.

The small, very tender babbling sound was particularly clear in the quiet nursery, and it was hard not to notice it.

Such fluctuations were very similar to those released by the spiritual seeds, but much stronger and clearer.

So, is that a plant that can talk? Ah Yan listened curiously, but he didn't quite understand. He could only hear the eager emotion in the voice.

But this kind of eager desire didn't sound like hunger, but rather like expressing closeness, like calling someone over.

Ah Yan couldn't help but look up at the keeper.

There were no talking plants in the cultivation garden before. Did the talking plants appear because the keeper came?

So, was it calling the keeper?

The keeper should have discovered the talking plant, because Ah Yan saw that the keeper was also looking in that direction.

However, the keeper didn't react at all. In the end, he just withdrew his gaze coldly and continued to focus on Dr. Gu and the others.

Seeing this, A Yan ignored the voice and stayed quietly beside the keeper, then looked at the star chain fruit in his hand.

His hands were too small, and it would be terrible if he accidentally dropped the fruit on the ground -

the fruits that had just fallen to the ground were all smashed to pieces, and A Yan couldn't bear to see the fruit that the keeper had entrusted to him to keep suffer the same miserable fate.

A Yan fumbled and put the red fruit in his hand into the pocket of his cub suit. His cub suit was originally spacious, and hiding a round and big red star chain fruit did not look out of place.

Su Ci was just about to block out the sound of the spiritual plant when he noticed A Yan's little movement.

Seeing his bulging belly after hiding the fruit, he didn't even notice that the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Ah~ah! Ah~ah!"

Hearing the anxious call of the little spiritual plant again, Su Ci didn't think it was too noisy.

However, he didn't change his mind.

There are still two spiritual seeds that have not sprouted in the nursery. The spiritual plants need too much nutrients to grow. He can't afford it at the moment, so it's better to let this little spiritual plant stay in the plantation.

At least this breeder named Zhuang Shisong and that Wei Ming are people who really love plants, and they will take good care of it.

Moreover, according to the properties currently displayed by this little spiritual plant, it may also help the plants in the plantation grow better.

Su Ci is very self-aware. If he wants to manage the environment of Hell Star and restore the earth to its original state, he cannot rely on himself alone. He needs more help.

Perhaps, the human race in the plantation would be a good choice. After all, in his impression, this race is very good at taking care of the land.

They can cultivate green plants in such a harsh environment as Hell Star, which is enough to prove this point.

As for how to make these humans become his helpers... Su Ci has to think about it again.

-

Not long after, Wei Ming and several guards ended their exploration of the greenhouse. During this period, they did not encounter any accidents or attacks by alien plants.

This greenhouse is planted with star chain fruit. The leaves of this plant look like a pentagram. It is a vine plant, just like a chain that strings together stars, hence the name.

The flower of the star chain fruit is also in the shape of a pentagram, light yellow, with pink and orange stamens. The fruit will turn into pure red when ripe, with a sweet fruity fragrance and high nutritional value.

After the plants grew wildly, the greenhouse was already a mess.

It can be clearly seen that all the culture media have been penetrated and damaged by the strong plant roots. The dense star chain vines have climbed all over the roof, and there are almost no gaps.

However, only the three plants that grew outward near the door have borne fruit.

The three plants have completely withered, and as for the other star chain fruits, both the vines and leaves have begun to wilt and turn yellow, which is very different from the state when they just grew wildly.

However, they did not show any aggressiveness. Even when Wei Ming cut off the vines and leaves with a knife to observe, there was nothing abnormal.

They were like the most ordinary plants, and there was no abnormality at all when they just grew wildly.

Just as Su Ci observed, there were only ordinary plants in this greenhouse, and there were no mutants they expected.

As for the three star chain fruits that were flowering and bearing fruit, they had completely withered, and the roots in the culture medium were completely necrotized. Judging from the results of machine detection, there was really no possibility of keeping them alive.

Faced with such a result, Zhuang Shisong and Wei Ming were very frustrated, and even Gu Qingchen felt it was a pity.

If these three mutant plants were still alive, their crazy growth could also drive the characteristics of the surrounding plants, how much value would that create?

At least the future supply of fruits and vegetables for Base 24 would not have to worry about!

It's a pity that these three plants have died, and even the method of using cell tissue cultivation may not work.

Wu Yunqin, who hurried over after receiving the news, heard their report, and after watching the video of the crazy growth of the plants, he also showed a disappointed and heartbroken expression.

The surprise was dashed, and the mood was up and down. For this cultivation director, it was a big blow.

A Yan watched them from the side and couldn't help but look at the keeper. He felt that the plants suddenly grew wildly not because of mutation.

They were obviously happy to see the keeper. If he was also a plant, he would be happy to bloom and bear fruit when he saw the keeper.

He would also give the sweetest and most delicious fruit to the keeper!

Su Ci lowered his eyes and looked at A Yan. He felt that this child didn't know what he was thinking, but his eyes were bright and pleasing to look at.

As for the depressed mood of others, he didn't care.

It is true that he can make these ordinary plants grow quickly, but he doesn't intend to do so. Although he got the fruit, these plants also paid the price of withering and decay.

If they were planted in the ground, they would quickly absorb all the soil power and convert it into the energy they need for growth.

This approach will only do harm to the earth, which now needs to recuperate.

"No, we can't just give up like this!"

However, as the person in charge of the cultivation garden, Wu Yunqin was unwilling to miss such an excellent "mutant". She was determined to overcome this difficulty.

Conventional means cannot be used for breeding and cultivation, so can high technology be used to solve it at the genetic level? Although from past experience, the mutants of Hell Star cannot be explored and solved by current scientific means, but we have to try.

Therefore, this fierce person in charge immediately called on several other assistants to start a comprehensive inspection of the plants in the greenhouse, and the three withered star chain fruits were also taken away by them.

Judging from the situation, the plantation will definitely not let go of any chance of success. Although the final result may not be satisfactory, such a spirit is still worthy of admiration.

At least, Su Ci felt pretty good.

A group of people left in a hurry, and only Zhuang Shisong and Wei Ming were left behind because they had things to deal with.

When Wei Ming took the strong man from the logistics department to receive the supplies, Zhuang Shisong remembered something and looked to the side, but found that Su Ci was gone.

"Where is the Su breeder?" He looked at Gu Qingchen next to him and asked.

Gu Qingchen is studying the star chain fruit plants in the greenhouse. Although he can't figure it out, it doesn't stop him from enjoying it.

Looking at these lush green plants, I feel really good! Besides its high nutritional value and easy reproduction, the Star Chain Fruit is also very ornamental.

The star-like leaves are very suitable for bookmarks. Of course, on the Hell Star where resources are scarce, these vine leaves will eventually become dishes for the warriors to supplement their dietary fiber.

Hearing Zhuang Shisong's question, Gu Qingchen remembered what Su Ci had asked him to do. He looked up and looked around, looking for the trainee breeder.

But before he found Su Ci, Zhuang Shisong had already spotted him.

Su Ci walked out of the greenhouse slowly, not afraid of the plants that had just undergone a "mutation". In his hands, he held a handful of dead vines and dead roots.

The three withered star chain fruits had grown too big. Although Wu Yunqin had taken them away as intact as possible, some scraps were inevitably left behind.

These scraps were collected by Su Ci.

Zhuang Shisong walked over and heard the young man say, "There's not enough fertilizer in the culture medium. It's better to add some."

Hearing this, Zhuang Shisong was startled and nodded, "Okay, thank you for reminding me."

He just looked at the withered vines in Su Ci's hand, hesitated for a moment, and said softly, "Su, the breeder, what are you doing with these things?"

Su Ci did not explain. He looked at the withered vines in his hand and asked, "Can I take them away?"