Interstellar Greening Master

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The atmosphere at the base was exceedingly complex, gloomy, heavy, and on the verge of tension.

Of course, the tension arose between the Gray Rats and the exploration team from Fei Luo Base. The members of the Fei Luo team stood there awkwardly, with no room to retreat, as they were completely surrounded by the Gray Rats.

Although the Gray Rats hadn’t attacked yet, they seemed ready to pounce at any moment. However, the leader of the Gray Rats still displayed some rationality and waited for Shu Shuishui to return. After all, in the minds of the Gray Rats, Shu Shuishui held a pivotal position. Moreover, they joined the Shui Jing Gong in the first place because Shu Shuishui was there, so their every move actually had an impact on Shu Shuishui.

The Shui Jing Gong exploration team had ventured deep into the unknown, making them the last group to return. 

“What happened?” Shu Shuishui realized that something was amiss.

Before the Gray Rats could speak, the Fei Luo Base team, who had been trapped in place for a while, couldn’t contain themselves any longer.

The one speaking was not Shi An’an, nor Fei Luo, but rather someone who appeared somewhat unfamiliar. However, since they could converse, it indicated they held a respectable position within Fei Luo Base.

The person’s tone carried a hint of complaint. “I hadn’t even found you folks from the Shui Jing Gong today. I finally managed to escape back here, but who’s going to compensate for our losses?”

As the words left their lips, the person also rubbed their shoulder. Shu Shuishui looked over and noticed that the individual had numerous injuries, mostly scrapes and scratches. Their clothes were also in a sorry state, suggesting they had gone through a harrowing escape.

It wasn’t just the one speaking; the members of the Fei Luo exploration team were all in a similar state, appearing rather grim.

The Gray Rats were fuming, but their leader, with a trusting gaze fixed on Shu Shuishui, restrained them and didn’t rush to defend themselves.

The person from Fei Luo Base, having gained control of the initial situation, began to explain what had happened. After setting out in the morning, the Fei Luo exploration team, like the others, had chosen a direction and embarked on their journey.

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According to their account, they had traveled a long distance, harboring suspicions about whether venturing too deep might attract mutated creatures. However, the lead Gray Rat kept marching forward, and the team followed.

While they hadn’t found a suitable place to settle, they had collected a fair amount of supplies along the way. The Gray Rat even carried a small bag that was bulging with provisions.

As they ventured further and further, the Fei Luo Base team decided it was time to turn back. But just then, the Gray Rat responsible for identifying the boundaries of mutated creature territories got distracted by a grasshopper, bouncing after it. They weren’t sure if they had accidentally entered another mutated creature’s territory, but suddenly, a group of red-eyed gray mutated wolves surged out.

During the Great Migration, they had encountered mutated creatures countless times, and they knew that red eyes were a sign of frenzy.

Although the exploration team had some weapons with them, they were still just six people, making it impossible to contend with a frenzied pack of forest wolves. The team instantly fell into chaos, and everyone scrambled for their lives.

According to what that person said, fortunately, in the midst of such chaos, Shi An’an managed to keep his composure and led the group to escape for a while before finally shaking off the pack of mutated wolves.

After their narrow escape, the exploration team was afraid of stumbling into the territory of other mutated creatures, so they had no choice but to retrace their steps.

As for the Gray Rat that had attracted the pack of mutated wolves due to chasing a grasshopper, no one had noticed it during the escape.

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However, that wolf pack consisted of at least thirteen or fourteen mutated wolves, which was a dire situation. When the Fei Luo exploration team returned to the base and briefly explained the situation to others, it sparked strong dissatisfaction among the Gray Rats. They began to gather one by one, seemingly ready to confront the team with force if they dared to leave.

Because no one could understand the Gray Rats’ language and the fixed-word flags were ineffective in this situation, the standoff persisted. Thankfully, the evening was approaching, and Shu Shuishui’s team, where he was located, was also about to return, preventing a major confrontation.

After explaining the sequence of events, the person’s head couldn’t help but tilt slightly, showing clear dissatisfaction with the Gray Rats’ actions. “Leading other teams to explore the mountains and ensuring avoidance of mutated creatures is the Gray Rats’ responsibility. Yet, due to their negligence and recklessness, we nearly lost our lives. How should we settle this deal?”

Immediately, sharp squeaks emanated from the Gray Rats, with one adult Gray Rat passionately refuting, but no one in the audience understood their words.

Shu Shuishui comprehended the message. “It says it’s impossible, the young one is not such an irresponsible rat!”

The person from Fei Luo Base remained unconvinced. “Whether it’s irresponsible or not, I do know that my injuries are really painful right now.”

Shu Shuishui scrutinized the person from head to toe, making them feel uneasy.

“You said you were attacked by over a dozen mutated forest wolves? Even in a frenzied state?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

Shu Shuishui gestured towards the Fei Luo Base group. “Yes, there is. Your injuries should mostly be from scrapes and falls during the escape, right? So, did you encounter a pack of picky forest wolves? They didn’t seem to bite any of you.”

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The person hesitated for a moment, then became angry.

Beside them, Shi An’an spoke in a calm tone. “Mr. Shu has a point, doesn’t he?”

Shu Shuishui nodded honestly. “Indeed.”

Shi An’an raised a corner of his mouth. “Unfortunately, we lost a comrade as well. We managed to survive, but it came at the cost of a comrade’s life. As for what the forest wolves were thinking, we have no way of knowing. After all, we are the victims here. As part of the Shui Jing Gong, the Gray Rats shouldn’t hesitate to compensate, especially now when human resources are incredibly precious, especially talented individuals.”

This statement was carefully crafted, positioning themselves as victims and subtly mentioning compensation.

The people from Fei Luo Base looked at Shi An’an with admiration and gratitude in their eyes. Shu Shuishui also finally saw some matching strength in Shi An’an.

After all, Shi An’an possessed a system and had successfully completed several missions. He couldn’t be entirely useless. Although his mindset might have significant issues, he still had the capability.

Recalling the things he had once seen in a dream-like state when he first entered Cang Zhan Star, where the system had malfunctioned, and considering how well he had survived on Cang Zhan Star, it was enough to prove that he had the ability and resourcefulness.

Everyone was waiting for Shu Shuishui’s stance and response, including the Gray Rats.

“Congratulations on finding a place to settle,” Shu Shuishui abruptly congratulated.

The people around him were puzzled by this sudden, disjointed congratulation, but the members of Fei Luo Base wore surprised expressions as if wondering how he knew. One of them even blurted out, “That’s something we found! Don’t forget your promise, you can’t take it from us!”

Now there was no need to explain further. Everyone understood that the Fei Luo Base exploration team hadn’t returned empty-handed but had found a suitable residential area. This cast doubt on the story they had just shared, especially when facing a pack of frenzied mutated wolves, they had seemingly suffered only one casualty, and none of the returning members had injuries from wolf attacks.

Shu Shuishui continued, “The residential area you found is within the territory of the mutated wolves, right? Did Shi An’an discover it while leading you in the escape?”

Now, the members of the Fei Luo Base team wore changed expressions, and the previously impulsive person became alert and angry. “You were tracking us!”

Shi An’an was clearly frustrated with such a reckless teammate but had no time to stop them.

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While their reactions and expressions had already revealed the answer to everyone, saying it out loud was different, akin to an admission. Shi An’an was annoyed; this person usually seemed quite clever, so why did they lose their composure at this critical moment? “Mr. Shu’s guesses are correct, but it can only prove that we went through hardships. After all, I’m not a deity; I couldn’t have known in advance about the residential area there, the pack of mutated wolves, and the ability to make the wolves frenzy and attack the Gray Rats immediately. It all sounds too incredible.”

Indeed, to others, this sounded incredibly improbable. Could the situation really be so coincidental?

Shu Shuishui didn’t show any signs of anger or frustration; he simply responded with a calm “Oh.” “So, Mr. Shi An’an, you have quite a few abilities.”

Shi An’an was left speechless.

Shu Shuishui, however, didn’t pay further attention to Shi An’an; instead, he turned to Liu Po, who had remained at the base today. “Did you send someone to find the little Gray Rat?”

Liu Po naturally nodded. “We dispatched people immediately, and some Gray Rats are searching as well.”

Shu Shuishui nodded and then looked back at Shi An’an. “Let’s detain this person for now.”

Shi An’an was puzzled and seemed not to understand. “What did you say?”

While Shi An’an didn’t grasp the situation, the Shui Jing Gong personnel understood and immediately moved forward to apprehend Shi An’an. Their actions were swift and automatic, following the orders they had heard.

Shi An’an frowned, looking utterly puzzled. “Do you have any evidence? Why are you arresting me?”

The crowd chimed in, making a reasonable point. “He’s right, without evidence, why are you detaining someone?”

Shu Shuishui also appeared baffled. “Do I need evidence to detain you?”

The crowd fell silent, trying to make sense of the situation.

Shi An’an was left speechless; perhaps after crossing through several worlds, he encountered someone who didn’t play by the rules of common sense for the first time. His mind hadn’t wrapped around this when Shu Shuishui turned to Gu Langu for help. “Gu Gu, what should I do if he wants evidence?”

Gu Langu replied, “Simple, fight me. If you can survive, it means you indeed have the ability to escape the mutated wolves. If you die, it means you are lying. Of course, for fairness, I’ll limit my combat power to that of ten frenzied mutated wolves.”

Shi An’an couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat as things were unfolding quite differently from what he had anticipated. It seemed to be slipping out of his control. Even with the system in normal operation, Shi An’an didn’t have the confidence to provoke Gu Langu. After spending a winter, he had learned enough about Gu Langu’s illustrious history. He regretted choosing the wrong target for his strategy initially but was also relieved that he hadn’t offended Gu Langu. Once he was done with Fei Luo, he could continue his efforts with Gu Langu.

It wasn’t just Shi An’an who was nervous; the members of the Fei Luo exploration team were also starting to feel uneasy. After all, when they had returned, they had realized to some extent that something was amiss. However, what could they do? It was just a mutated rat, and they had found their future place of residence.

“This isn’t fair,” the person who initially recounted the events gritted their teeth.

Gu Langu remained indifferent. “Fairness comes from the strong, unfairness comes from the weak. To me, this is fair.”

The person was a bit disoriented by Gu Langu’s response but understood the message: the weak had no right to discuss fairness.

Just when the atmosphere had reached an impasse, strange hooting sounds echoed from the sky above the distant jungle. Everyone instinctively looked in that direction and spotted a massive mutated owl.

Amid the bewildered gazes of the group, the owl circled overhead twice before descending slowly. Someone suddenly pointed at the owl and exclaimed, “Look, the little Gray Rat is over there!”

The owl landed, and the little gray rat that had been hanging from the owl’s talons jumped down with a thud. It then swiftly sprinted all the way back to its parents and rubbed against them vigorously.

After finishing this, the little gray rat ran over to Shu Shuishui, excitedly squeaking.

Shu Shuishui provided a truthful translation.

“It says riding on the owl was too thrilling!”

“It says this owl is its lifesaver.”

“It says it wants to become a bat in the future.”

The crowd: “…”

Translator’s corner:

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA A rat who dreams to be a bat…