TCPUAAV Chapter 143

 

Ruan Shiqing finished getting ready and then headed to Garland’s lab, with Ruan Jiao accompanying him.

 

The slightly taller cub was dressed in a matching set of a little shirt and vest. His dark green hair had just been trimmed, falling neatly to his chin. Under his tousled bangs, his bright red eyes sparkled, already bearing a hint of the youth he would grow into.

 

Ruan Shiqing gently ruffled his hair with infinite tenderness, then held his hand as they left the house together.

 

Ever since he had seen what happened to the cubs in the previous world through the crystal sphere, Ruan Shiqing had found it hard to truly calm down. Although the cruel memories of that world had faded, his heart still felt tightly clenched. Especially when the cub stood in front of him—he couldn’t help but look at him again and again, making sure that in this world, the cubs were safe and well.

 

Ruan Jiao didn’t know what his father was thinking. He only felt that today, Dad seemed even gentler than usual. Holding his father’s hand, his forehead antennae swayed with delight—he was clearly in a very good mood.

 

09 piloted the land shuttle and took them to the lab.

 

Only then did Ruan Shiqing learn why Garland had hastily summoned him—Garland had discovered a weakness in the artificial Zerg.

 

Though these artificial Zerg resembled their naturally-bred counterparts in appearance and abilities, they were fundamentally different. The completely cloned genes had long concealed fatal flaws. In the previous world, even without any external targeting, the artificial Zerg had ultimately reached their demise, even triggering a cosmic imbalance and explosion—clear evidence of their instability.

 

This time, they would not sit back and allow the Zerg to grow unchecked and devour the Empire’s star territories.

 

After nearly a year of research, Garland had finally identified the weakness in these artificial Zerg and developed a targeted countermeasure.

 

“The genes of these artificial Zerg are actually extremely unstable,” Garland explained as he carefully retrieved a vial of cryogenically frozen reagent and had a robot bring over one of the artificial Zerg specimens. “According to current data, they appear to differ little from naturally-bred Zerg aside from having a shorter lifespan. But after prolonged study, I discovered something critical: the ‘Celestial Stone,’ which greatly benefits naturally-bred Zerg, is actually a lethal poison to the artificial ones. A single milligram injection is enough to cause them to collapse internally and die within seconds—the fastest recorded time is just five seconds.”

 

According to the inherited memories Ruan Shiqing possessed, the “Celestial Stones” were crucial for the evolution of the Zerg. That was why the Zerg were so desperate to invade the Empire—several planets within its domain were rich in the H2H element, which the Zerg regarded as their “Celestial Stone.”

 

But for some reason—whether due to genetic flaws during mass production or the over-accelerated growth of their bodies—these artificial Zerg could not withstand the catalytic properties of the H2H element. What could promote evolution in natural Zerg was a death sentence to their artificial counterparts.

 

He even suspected that the reason artificial Zerg had significantly shorter lifespans was because their hatching grounds were saturated with Celestial Stones.

 

Generations of searching for Celestial Stones had etched reverence for them into Zerg genetics. When building their nests, Zerg would always incorporate Celestial Stones—a behavior that benefited natural Zerg, but spelled disaster for the artificial ones.

 

From the embryonic stage, the artificial Zerg lived in an environment full of H2H elements. Though the unrefined elements weren’t concentrated enough to be immediately lethal, their presence still negatively affected lifespan—an inevitable outcome.

 

It was likely that even the higher-order Zerg who had created these artificial types hadn’t realized that the very Celestial Stones they craved were also their Achilles’ heel.

 

“If we add H2H extract to our weapons, wouldn’t we be able to completely suppress them?” Ruan Shiqing’s eyes lit up as he immediately thought of applying this discovery to the battlefield.

 

Even though they no longer feared the Zerg, their numbers were still overwhelming, and they reproduced rapidly. Every confrontation cost dearly in resources and lives, not to mention how difficult it was to wipe them out entirely…

 

But if H2H extract was truly lethal, then these troublesome creatures might no longer be a threat.

 

After receiving the inherited memories, they had already learned that the Queen Zerg had long ceased laying eggs frequently. Even though the naturally-bred Zerg had once been vast in number, after over a decade of warfare and attrition, their population likely wasn’t what it used to be. Otherwise, the Zerg wouldn’t have needed to cooperate with the Holy Legion to create artificial Zerg in the first place.

 

“I called you here precisely for this,” Garland said as he stored the reagent carefully. “B3024 doesn’t have a rich deposit of H2H elements. I was only able to extract a small amount for testing. We need to send a team to locate planets with high H2H concentrations as soon as possible. As for weapon development—I’m no expert in that. You’re the one who knows how to incorporate the H2H extract into weapons.”

 

Detecting H2H elements wasn’t difficult. All they had to do was check the planets that had previously been attacked by the Zerg. The Zerg’s instinctual pursuit of “Celestial Stones” meant that following their trail would save them a lot of effort in detection.

 

As for weapon development… that was Ruan Shiqing’s specialty. He already had a rough idea in mind. After discussing it with Garland, he added it to his project schedule.

 

After wrapping up his discussion with Garland, he was just about to head back and start sketching out the designs when he saw Ruan Jiao quietly waiting off to the side.

 

Since Ruan Shiqing had fallen into a coma, Ruan Jiao had been coming to the lab every day. Garland’s lab was near the underground prison where the Zerg were held, and in order to strengthen his mental control, Ruan Jiao had been asking Garland to bring him down there daily.

 

He was experimenting with ways to subdue the Zerg, to make them obey his commands. Garland recorded their responses and compiled them to guide Ruan Jiao’s improvement.

 

Ruan Shiqing hadn’t yet had the chance to see how Ruan Jiao trained since waking up.

 

Ruan Jiao was different from him. Unlike Ruan Shiqing, who had inherited the Queen Zerg’s complete legacy and gained instinctive dominance over both high-level humanoid Zerg and mass-produced artificial Zerg, Ruan Jiao had to figure it all out by himself, step by step.

 

Control over the Zerg seemed to come naturally to Ruan Shiqing, but Ruan Jiao had to learn it through hard effort.

 

Thinking of this, Ruan Shiqing couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt. He should have been the one teaching Ruan Jiao this.

 

Even if he was still only scratching the surface himself, he could have explored it alongside Ruan Jiao. Garland, after all, wasn’t a Zerg—his understanding was purely academic. Though he could offer guidance, his help had its limits.

 

But Ruan Shiqing was different. With the inherited memories awakened, much of the knowledge had come to him instinctively. And yet, after waking up, he’d been caught up in one task after another, and with Ruan Jiao being so obedient and sensible, he had inadvertently overlooked him.

 

Looking at the surprised expression on the cub’s face, Ruan Shiqing paused, then smiled as he reached out to ruffle his hair. “How about Daddy keeps you company today?”

 

The little one’s eyes widened slightly, then curved into a radiant smile. He nodded vigorously, the antennae on his forehead swaying faster with delight.

 

And so, their trip to the underground prison that day became a party of three.

 

Having realized his neglect, Ruan Shiqing adjusted his schedule. No matter how busy he was, he made time to spend at least one hour each day helping Ruan Jiao train. Though he couldn’t provide theoretical instruction, his demonstrations were enough—Ruan Jiao would watch a few times and then imitate the moves with surprising accuracy.

 

Half a month later, Ruan Jiao was already able to mentally suppress high-level humanoid Zerg. While the duration wasn’t as long as Ruan Shiqing’s, it was a huge step forward.

 

The little cub was so thrilled his antennae wouldn’t stop swaying. He wanted to protect his daddy too.

 

Back when they encountered the Zerg swarm, the Zerg had feared him, but only in a reactive way. When he tried to drive them away, they wouldn’t obey his commands.

 

But now, they would listen to him!

 

With this enormous progress, the cub earned himself a three-day vacation—because Rong Heng and the other cubs were coming home.

 

Ruan Shiqing had contacted Rong Heng in advance, and early that day, he took Ruan Jiao and 09 to the landing pad to wait for the ship’s arrival.

 

The Eastern descended slowly, and Ruan Shiqing’s gaze was fixed intently on the gradually opening hatch.

 

The ramp dropped down, and the three cubs dashed out, racing into their daddy’s arms.

 

Ruan Shiqing bent down to embrace them, his eyes shifting to the last figure walking out.

 

Rong Heng met his gaze. Whatever calm composure he had been trying to maintain immediately crumbled. He pressed his lips together and took long strides forward, quickly closing the distance. “I’m back.”

 

“Welcome home,” Ruan Shiqing replied, opening his arms to pull him into the hug as well.

 

The Rong Heng of this world was far gentler than the one from the previous world.

 

Perhaps because he hadn’t suffered the same brutal betrayals and bloodshed, his golden eyes still held light. Though war had sharpened his edges, he remained calm and righteous—unlike the last world, where rage and cruelty clung to him like a shroud.

 

Ruan Shiqing tightened his hold ever so slightly, silently conveying his longing.

 

Rong Heng sensed it instantly. Though he didn’t yet know the reason, it didn’t stop him from playing along.

 

After their bathroom “conversation” not long ago, the crown prince was no longer the naive, pure-hearted magic prodigy he once was. Casting a sidelong glance at the cubs wedged between them, he leaned in while no one was looking and brushed his lips lightly and quickly against Ruan Shiqing’s ear, whispering, “I missed you.”

 

His voice was low, almost inaudible, like a midnight murmur—he didn’t want the sharp-eared cubs to overhear.

 

A shiver ran through Ruan Shiqing’s ear. He took a step back, still holding the cubs, and gave Rong Heng a sidelong glance, smiling.

 

His gaze shimmered with a message only Rong Heng could read: I missed you too.

 

An invisible current of intimacy passed between them.

 

Rong Heng narrowed his eyes, stepped up beside him, and plucked the two clingy cubs out of Ruan Shiqing’s arms. Holding them tightly, he said with a taut voice, “Let’s go home.”

 

He glanced at the terminal on his wrist—only three in the afternoon. At least four hours till nightfall.

 

The crown prince was feeling impatient. He wanted to go to bed.

 

Unfortunately, the little dragon and little fox couldn’t sense his urgent desire to become their second dad. They clung to his arms, loudly demanding to be held by Daddy.

 

Rong Heng held the noisy cubs tightly and refused to let go.

 

He hadn’t gotten his hug yet—no one else was allowed to!

 

The little dragon and fox squirmed all the way home before they were finally set down.

 

They hopped out of his arms and threw him fierce glares before scampering off.

 

Ruan Shiqing went to the kitchen with 09 to help prepare dinner, while the cubs headed upstairs to bathe and change. During wartime, hygiene and appearance had to take a backseat, but now that they were home, they needed to be clean and soft to win Daddy’s favor.

 

The little dragon and little mermaid shared a bathtub, while the little fox lounged on a stool nearby, and Ruan Jiao gently blow-dried her fluffy, damp fur.

 

All four cubs were gathered in one room, and for a moment, they shared the same solemn look in their eyes.

 

—Just moments ago, the little mermaid had told them something shocking:

 

Snowball might be dating Daddy!!!

 

The cubs were stunned.

 

 

 

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I’m genuinely dying they’re so cute hahaha (also our dear Yuebai, always so perceptive unlike his silly siblings)

 

(Rong Rong so shameless. He had ONE singular taste and look how he behaves, lol)

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~