Chapter 86
After Number Four finished asking, he could clearly feel that Number Five's body froze slightly.
"No... nothing."
The little girl rolled her eyes and continued to put the small spoon into her mouth. After eating a mouthful of jelly, she scooped up another spoonful and stretched it to Number Four.
"Brother, you eat too!"
The little girl put the spoon into Number Four's mouth and opened her mouth slightly to demonstrate. She said softly, "I... I think my brother has lost weight."
Number Four raised his eyebrows slightly. Although he knew she was changing the subject, he couldn't bear to refuse her feeding.
So, he opened his mouth to hold the spoon and ate the jelly fed by Number Five. Just as he swallowed it, Number Five scooped another spoonful and put it against his mouth.
Number Four took a sip and continued to open his mouth to eat.
When the little girl was about to scoop him the third time, he said, "Okay, just concentrate on eating first. I'll help you braid your hair before you eat."
"Yeah!"
Seeing that his brother didn't ask any more questions, No. 5 secretly breathed a sigh of relief, gave him a sweet smile, then lowered his head, grabbed the small spoon, and started eating.
No. 4 took the comb and combed her tangled hair bit by bit.
The little girl had a lot of hair and it was curly, which was particularly troublesome to take care of. But she loved beauty very much, and always asked him to help her braid her hair. At first, he didn't know how to do it at all. In the end, he asked Sister Xun from the action team to learn it.
Now, he already knows how to comb so that he can both untie these knots and not hurt the little girl.
Combing and braiding his sister's hair has become a part of No. 4's daily routine. When doing this, he can always feel calm inside. No matter how irritable and upset he is, he will slowly calm down in the process of combing No. 5
's hair. It's as if he is not combing No. 5's hair, but his mood.
Finally, No. 4 skillfully braided the little girl's messy hair into a beautiful fishbone braid, and then nodded with satisfaction.
Just thinking of something, No. 4 patted his sister's head and said, "You have to learn to comb your hair by yourself in the future, understand?"
"Why?"
"What if I'm not here..."
No. 4 couldn't say the rest, because he saw that the little girl's eyes, which were already a little red and swollen, turned slightly red again.
"I don't want to learn, I don't want my brother to leave me..." The little girl threw herself into his arms, her small voice filled with tears, which made No. 4 feel sad.
No. 5, who used to speak not very fluently, seemed to have grown a lot in just a few days. This time he was away for such a long time, it seemed that the little girl was really scared.
"Okay, don't cry, brother is back, and he won't leave again."
No. 4 had to hug her and coax her in a low voice, "Look, you have dark circles under your eyes because of crying, it won't look good if you cry again."
No. 5 pursed her lips, but still couldn't help shedding tears.
After a while, she stopped crying, and said in a twitching voice: "Brother, you eat, I... I'm going to wash my face..."
After that, she got off the chair by herself and ran to the bathroom with her short legs.
Number Four looked at her from behind. Although he was a little worried, he didn't follow her after all, because this incident made him realize that in the future, he and his sister might still be separated because of various things.
He couldn't do everything for her, and she had to be independent. When they were forced to separate, she had to take care of and protect herself.
Only in this way could he wait for him to find her and reunite with her.
Number Four thought about letting his sister learn to be independent. He knew that this would be difficult for both Number Five and him - he was used to taking care of her. He
could only take it slowly...
Thinking of this, Number Four opened his breakfast and ate it attentively.
In the past, I didn't think raising cubs was good, and I always thought that I must take my sister away from this broken place in the future. However, it was not until yesterday, when I carried my sister back to this small room, that No. 4 realized that
this room actually gave him an indescribable sense of security, just like... his and his sister's home.
Or, for them who have no home to return to, this place where they grew up is indeed their home.
But how long can they live here?
When he grows up, he will no longer be a cub, and he will have to leave here. Whether he can grow up is still an unknown...
Thinking of this frenzy, No. 4's hand holding the spoon tightened slightly.
This time, the keeper successfully brought him back, but what about next time? Since those people took him away, it proves that he has what they want.
Would they just give up if they failed?
Number Four pursed his lips, his heart filled with confusion and anxiety about the future, but...
when he thought of Number Five and his sister who still needed his protection, he cheered up. No matter what, he had to take care of his body first, so that he would have the strength to escape.
Number Four gathered his thoughts and continued to eat with concentration.
After a while, Number Five ran out of the bathroom. She did not make a noise, but moved a chair to her brother's side and accompanied him obediently, with her eyes fixed on him.
It seemed that only in this way could she be sure that her brother had returned to her and that all this was not a dream.
Number Four would scoop up a mouthful of jelly from time to time and feed her.
After the two finished breakfast, he simply tidied up the room. Seeing this, Number Five also followed his example and packed up her things.
When No. 5 was tidying up her small cabinet, she heard her brother say, "The new keeper..."
She paused, and happened to see the red hairpin she had put back in the cabinet. The little girl thought for a moment, took out the hairpin, and put it in her pocket. She
looked up at her brother, and then heard him say, "I think he... seems a little special."
At least when No. 4 was taken to the research institute, whether he was confronting Dr. Ren or being locked up in the room alone, he never thought that the keeper would come to save him.
And he brought No. 5 and No. 8 with him...
Forget about Number Five, as Number Four knows that his sister rarely goes berserk, but Number Eight... doesn't the keeper worry that he will suddenly go berserk and lose control when he's out there?
Is it because of ignorance, or because...
he's fearless?
Number Four recalled the feeling that the young man gave him, but found that... he couldn't understand it.
This new keeper Su gave him a different feeling than all the other keepers in the past.
Number Four had never seen his lazy and relaxed demeanor in any of the keepers in the nursery or other adults in the base.
"Yesterday, you and No. 8..."
No. 4 hadn't finished talking when No. 5 said, "No. 8 now has a new name, Langze."
No. 4 was startled, "Langze?"
"Yeah!" No. 5 nodded and said with some envy, "Isn't it nice? It seems that the new keeper gave it to him. And No. 3 and No. 7, they also have new names."
"Oh? What are their names?" No. 4 asked curiously. "
No. 3 is Xingxing, and No. 7 is Yoyo."
No. 5 didn't remember the two people's full names, but their nicknames, she remembered them very clearly, after all, the little wolf cub kept mentioning them, and they were also easy to remember.
"Xingxing... Yoyo..."
No. 4 nodded, and inevitably felt some strange emotions in her heart.
He actually knew that Number Four and Number Five were not their names. They were just numbers, just like the nanny robots. As for their names before coming to the brooding center...
Number Four could no longer remember them.
When he was sent to the brooding center, he was only three years old. But in a trance, a vague picture appeared in his mind again -
it was on a green meadow, and the little boy was running on the grass. There were men and women in front of him, smiling and calling him.
They called... probably his name, but he could no longer remember the specific pronunciation.
It was their identity...
Number Four knew that the man and woman were most likely his and his sister's parents. Even if they were not, they should be blood relatives. It was a natural induction. Even if the memory was already blurred, this feeling would not change.
However... so what?
They had not appeared since he could remember, and from the moment they left him and his sister behind, they had no relationship at all. Number Four thought indifferently.
Although the cub breeding center had many shortcomings, it did at least one thing well, that is - it never let the cubs know that they were actually the children of criminals.
The cubs also didn't know that the planet they were on was actually a hell planet where criminals were imprisoned, and they didn't know that they would need to pass an assessment in the future to be qualified to leave the hell planet.
Therefore, Number Four always believed that he and his sister were abandoned, and he had deep hatred for his parents in his heart.
"Brother?"
At this time, Number Five's call brought Number Four back to his senses.
He lowered his head and saw Number Five's caring eyes. He couldn't help but reach out and touch her head, shaking his head to show that he was fine.
Number Five then started talking to him again about the topic just now.
Number Five had come to the nursery since she was a baby, so her perception of the world was different from theirs. She felt that "Number Five" was her name.
Similarly, she also regarded the nanny robot as her peer, because since she was a child, apart from her brother, only the nanny robot had taken care of her, so she had such a deep affection for 4583 and 4586.
This might be the reason why her emotions have been relatively stable, because she has adapted to the environment better than other cubs.
"Do you want a new name?" Number Four asked.
Number Five thought for a moment and said, "That depends on whether the new name sounds good or not."
Number Four couldn't help but curl her lips and reached out to rub her little head, causing the little girl to mutter in dissatisfaction, "You messed up my hair..."
However, despite her dissatisfaction, Number Five did not hide away, but obediently let her brother pat her head. As long as her brother could stay with her, he could pat her as long as he wanted.
Number Four just patted her lightly, and then remembered what he really wanted to ask just now -
"So, why did you and Langze go to pick me up?"
"The breeder said that we can go together." Number Five said as a matter of course.
In fact, it was indeed the case.
"Is it really that simple?" Number Four said in disbelief, "Didn't he do anything to you before leaving the brooding house?"
For example, did he inject some new drug that could suppress their frenzy or something like that...
Number Five shook her head, "No, we went to find him, hoping that he would save you, and then the keeper told us to go with him."
She recalled, "Then... Then we left the brooding house, got on the suspended vehicle together, went to the place called the research institute, and then... Then after waiting for a while, you came out."
Number Four couldn't help but be suspicious. Was it because Number Five was too young to express clearly, or was it because... Was it really that simple?
"Didn't you encounter anything else along the way?"
Number Five shook her head.
This is too smooth... Number Four thought to himself, and then he realized something was wrong -
"How did you know I was in trouble?" And you even knew to ask the keeper to save him?
Facing this question, the little girl who had answered every question just now became evasive, and she stammered: "Then...then you haven't been back for so many days...of course...of course something must have happened..."
That's right, but looking at the little girl's expression, Number Four knew that his sister was hiding something from him.
Knowing that the little girl was stubborn and could not get the answer even if he pressed her, No. 4 kept the question in mind and nodded, "Well, you are very smart, thank you for saving me."
He touched the top of the little girl's head, "I'm sorry to have worried you, it's my fault."
No. 5 was feeling guilty at first, she didn't want her brother to know that she had a connection with the monster, but after hearing the following words, her eyes turned red again.
"It's those bad guys! My brother is not wrong!"
Hearing her defense, No. 4's heart softened, but seeing that she was about to cry again, he changed the subject and said, "Do you want to stay in the room or go out to play?"
It was not time for the activity yet, so they could still go to the activity room. He didn't know...whether the new keeper had gone to the activity room.
Hearing this, No. 5 said without thinking, "I want to go to the activity room. Langze said he would teach me to play the flute."
Play the flute?
What is this?
No. 4 was a little confused. How could he have been away for only a few days, and so many things that he couldn't understand had happened? Playing the flute...was this also a new change brought by the keeper Su?
He nodded, glanced at the closed door, and said, "Call the base computer."
"Hello, how can I help you?" A light curtain unfolded in front of him, and at the same time, the mechanical sound of the computer rang in the room.
This was something that No. 4 secretly learned from the adults. However, although the base computer would respond to his calls, as a cub, its authority was very low, so basically no request could be passed.
However...
"Can you help me call 4586 over?" No. 4 said.
Calling the nanny robot and the breeder, this basic request can still be met.
However, the base's AI did not agree directly this time, but asked: "What do you need to call nanny robot No. 4586 to handle?"
"I want to go to the activity room." No. 4 answered truthfully, "It's still activity time. According to the regulations, No. 5 and I can go to the activity room."
As soon as he finished speaking, in front of him and No. 5's surprised eyes, the tightly closed door actually
opened automatically.
The explanation from the base's AI also sounded at the right time.
"According to the latest regulations of the nursery, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., during this period, the cubs can move freely in the nursery without disturbing others or destroying property. There are no restrictions on their movements." "
Therefore, you can go to the activity room on your own. You don't need to call the nanny robot No. 4586 to accompany you. Please know."
No. 4 & No. 5: "..."
Although the base's intelligent computer has explained it, No. 4 always feels that something is wrong when looking at the open door.
He asked No. 5 to stay in the room first, and then he tentatively came to the door, looked out, and made sure that nothing happened before stepping out.
The boy stood at the door and found that nothing had happened after a while.
Could it be that what the base's intelligent computer said was true?
He turned around and looked at No. 5 who ran to his side, and asked: "Do you know about this new rule?"
No. 5 shook her head. She also knew it for the first time!
No. 4 frowned and thought for a while, and still asked: "Intelligent computer, when was this new rule issued?"
Words appeared on the screen, and at the same time, the intelligent computer replied: "Yesterday."
"Why is there such a new rule?" No. 4 was puzzled.
Although he also longed for freedom, he actually knew why the adults would restrict them like this-because their blood power could erupt at any time and could hurt others and themselves at any time.
Just like this time, the reason why he clashed with No. 2 was because he suddenly spit fire and almost hurt his sister. Fortunately, with the protection of 4583, his sister was not burned.
However, 4583, the nanny robot that was very important to No. 5, was unfortunately destroyed.
Although No. 4 tried his best to calm himself, his anger, regret and fear made him lose control of his emotions. He went berserk and started fighting with No. 2...
They couldn't control the berserk. To ensure each other's safety, they could only reduce going out.
But now, there is such a new rule... No. 4 couldn't understand it. Isn't the base worried that they would cause damage after going berserk?
"Insufficient authority, unable to query."
However, facing his question, the base's intelligent computer did not give an answer.
Number Four couldn't help but clench his fists, while Number Five, who was standing next to him, pulled at his clothes and asked him with his head tilted up: "Brother, are we still going to the activity room?"
After hesitating for a few seconds, Number Four nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Although he was a little uneasy, he was still worried about leaving Number Five alone in the room - now that they had the right to come and go freely, who knew if the little girl would run out of the room by herself?
Before Number Five had enough power to protect herself, Number Four would never dare to let her go out alone.
So, he took his sister's hand and walked towards the elevator with her.
At first, he walked very carefully, because the feeling of being without an adult or a nanny robot was too unfamiliar, but he soon adapted and felt very comfortable.
For some reason, No. 4 suddenly remembered that yesterday, the keeper let the wolf cub go to the activity room alone...
So, did the keeper do this because of the new rules, or... is the new rule itself related to the new keeper?
With such doubts, No. 4 went to the second floor with his sister. As soon as he got out of the elevator and prepared to go to the activity room, he saw a lazy figure walking out of the activity room.
"It's the keeper!" No. 5 said.
"Well..."
No. 4 kept walking, and finally came in front of Su Ci and blocked his way.
Su Ci looked at the two children, took a look at their physical and mental conditions, then nodded as a greeting, and then prepared to leave.
However, just as he started to move, two children stood in front of him again.
Su Ci had no choice but to stop and ask, "What's the matter?"
Number Four looked at him and said seriously, "Thank you for rescuing me from that place."
"You already thanked me yesterday."
Su Ci shrugged and didn't take it seriously. After all, it was just a piece of cake for him.
Number Four opened his mouth slightly. He had too many doubts in his mind, but when he really came to the keeper, he found that he couldn't ask.
In fact, even if he asked, he might not get an answer, just like when he asked the intelligent computer, he didn't get an answer most of the time. He didn't think the keeper would answer him truthfully.
Therefore, you still have to rely on your own observation and conclusion.
When No. 4 was hesitant, No. 5 rolled her eyes, and she was thinking about something in her mind. She asked Su Ci, "Where... where are you going?"
"To take a look outside the building." Su Ci said.
"Then... can I go with you?" No. 5 asked.
She obviously had something to say, but for some reason, she didn't say it immediately.
"Yeah."
Su Ci didn't mind having two little tails behind him. After nodding, he continued to walk towards the elevator.
Seeing this, No. 5 hurriedly took his brother's hand and followed him. It happened that No. 4 also wanted to observe this keeper more, and the brother and sister hit it off and followed Su Ci into the elevator.
Although the base's AI had said that they could now move freely in the nursery, when No. 4 actually came outside the nursery building and saw the bright sky outside, he was still a little stunned.
No. 5 didn't react much because she had already gone out once yesterday. Seeing the keeper walking to the back of the building, she hurriedly followed in small steps.
Glancing at her brother who was slowing down behind her, she turned her head and lowered her voice, wanting to say something to Su Ci, but...
when she looked forward inadvertently and saw the scene behind the building, the little girl couldn't help but be stunned.
I saw that on the bare, brown, yellow and black land yesterday, a green corner appeared, covering a small piece of land next to the building, making it hard for people not to notice it.
"Grow! Together! Grow and grow!"
"Grow! Together! Grow and grow!"
The little spirit bud waved its only leaves. Beside it, its companion who was originally sleeping soundly seemed to be mobilized as well, and its small leaves were shaking gently.
They continuously absorbed nutrients from the soil and released spiritual energy to the surroundings.
And around them, the star chain fruit seedlings that had originally only sprouted leaves had actually grown vines after just one morning of growth. The
newly grown vines were tender green, spreading all around, forming a small piece, and directly dyeing this corner green.
Number Five stared blankly at the growing plants, and his young heart felt an unprecedented shock. That kind of vibrant green... was too beautiful!
She couldn't help but murmur, "Is this a plant? Will they...will they bloom?"
Then, No. 5 heard the gentle voice of the keeper, which sounded softly.
"Of course."
These two simple words gave birth to infinite expectations in her heart!