"Let's try it again." Seeing as the cub was a bit gentler, Xie Tao dared to stand up again and patiently taught the young cub how to snuggle him, he then opened his arms and prepared himself to once again being "snuggled" to the ground.
However he had chosen not to refuse, but to teach.
Xie Tao observed the Muka cub in front of him as it lowered its head again and slowly approached him. It touched his outstretched arms and Xie Tao circled them around the cub, then finally it carefully touched his chest and lightly stroked again it.
The youth had no fighting ability. Because it was a natural fighting race, the Muka cub could easily judge the strength of a living being.
Therefore, when the three people approached in the distance, Xie Tao saw the Muka cub move to stand directly in front of him. It then took a step forward and issued a low hiss, threatening them, the aggressiveness could especially be felt with the last person.
But despite threatening, the Muka cub did not make any offensive moves this time, instead he choose to hide the youth behind him.
Xie Tao suddenly realized that it was trying to protect him.
"I said that I didn't want to adopt the Muka cub. This kind of low-level cub doesn't even have the need for nursing... There is also a lot of trouble in raising them." Only now when the Muka cub did not take the initiative to attack, did the man, who was timid to the end, suddenly put on a dissatisfied expression.
This kind of low-level race with little intelligence can't even understand complex language. They only have their battle instinct and when they grow up, they generally accept employment on the battlefield in exchange for survival resources.
So what could be taken care of anyway? The nature of this race was so tenacious and the cubs had the fighting power from the moment they broke the shell. They didn't have to let it grow up here, special care was simply meaningless.
"President, as you can see. This Muka cub is very aggressive. It pose a danger for everyone in the club. This time there was no grave injuries, but we can not know what will happen next time. We should send this cub out early." Although he wanted to say "drive it out", he thought it through and changed the wording slightly.
However, the meaning was still clear, he wanted to send it way and he said it directly in front of the cub. Although the Muka cub who blocked the youth with its body could not understand what the other party was saying. He only kept moving and hiding the youth behind him. But Xie Tao understood, he therefore immediately touched it, making it stay, and walked in front of it.
Xie Tao did not like this person. In addition to being too lazy to take the time and effort to properly care for this Muka cub, what bothered him most was that this was the cub's caretaker, the person that was supposed to protect it.
"The cub will not show aggression for no reason." Xie Tao's lips were flat and his tone fixed. When he said this, he also deliberately glanced at the man in the overalls.
In the short time Xie Tao had spent with the cub, he had already discovered that when that person came close, the aggression of the Muka cub would become obvious, as if it was treating the other like an enemy.
To say that there was no reason for this, Xie Tao did not believe it.
The caretaker that Xie Tao felt was unprofessional was a young man named Zhao Chuan. He was also a Sevilla and had worked at the club for two years.
Hearing his words and seeing the cold eyes of the youth being directed towards him, Zhao Chuan closed his mouth and did not answer. He hadn't done anything that actually hurt the Muka cub, however he had thrown something at it. The Muka had a tough body , it should not be painful at all.
But who knew that this Muka cub would suddenly go mad for no reason at all!
At this time, Xia Qi, standing next to the old president, frowned. Although she was somewhat afraid of this Muka cub, she would never agree to abandon him. "What do you mean, 'send it out early'?! Since adoption, we have the responsibility to keep and care for this cub until adulthood. Do you really think-"
"Everyone thinks of the Mukas as only a low-ranking race." Zhao Chuan interrupted her words. "At that time, several other clubs in the association were not willing to accept the egg. It was left behind and we had no obligation to care for it. You still picked it up and took it in but officially, no one sent it here for adoption."
The economic situation of their club was not very good. Was it not better to reduce the economic burden by sending this Muka cub way? It would also save manpower, Zhao Chuan felt that it was a good thing.
The cub couldn't understand what the two of them were arguing about but he could feel the hostility in Zhao Chuan's voice. Emerging from behind Xie Tao, he hissed nervously. He wanted to hide the youth back again, so that he could protect the youth from potential attacks and not expose him to any danger.
However, Xie Tao did not return, and after constantly hearing his whining as well as having the large cub pace around him, he was too lazy to reason with Zhao Chuan. Xie Tao used his ridiculous skills that he had not used for many years. "You call him a low race, but who was it that earlier was crying and running away?"
Who was it that was just being chased, running fast and escaping, and shouting for help?
Obviously, it was a lightly floating sentence. There is not much expression on the face of the youth, but the tone was full of ridicule.
This sentence changed Zhao Chuan's face and after a bit of silence he opened his mouth and turned the topic: "This is our internal matter."
Xie Tao nodded as if it was obvious: "I forgot to introduce myself, I am Xie Tao, the new recruit."
Zhao Chuan's throat got blocked again.
Finally, the old president, who had kept quiet, turned to Zhao Chuan and said: "Xiao Tao is a new colleague and an insider. It is impossible to send away the cub. You don't have to say anything more."
The president had spoken and Zhao Chuan had to listen. However, he looked at the human youth who stood with the Muka cub. His voice was low and it was not a friendly tone. "Standing and speaking, no pain..."
The other party had never taken care of the Muka cub and certainly would not know how troublesome it was.
"Standing and talking back, pain is the symptom of kidney deficiency."[2] Xie Tao said with sincerity as he looked at him with concern.
Zhao Chuan blushed and turned his head away the next second. He couldn't fight back at all.
No longer bothering about him, Xie Tao turned his head and reached to pat the foreleg of the Muka cub next to him. When the young cub turned his head to look at him while giving him a low hiss, Xie Tao walked a few more steps and turned, waving to the large cub, he then said with a slow and clear voice: "Baby, come over."
To the others surprise, the Muka cub, which was a wild fierce creature, quickly followed. When called "baby" by the youth, he would unconsciously become more docile.
Lead by Xia Qi, Xie Tao took the Muka cub, who was no longer showing aggressiveness, back to the building that they had not yet had time to enter. Xie Tao took the opportunity to look at his future work place.
The decoration style was quite close to a kindergarten in Xie Tao impression. It was quite childlike and the whole building was warm and bright. The were many wall decorations and wall paintings on the wall, but the problem was... the walls had probably experienced time and various other things he could not imagine, several places of the wall had fallen off and the paintings on the walls looked quite old.
There was only one floor in this building. The space was separated into several areas, a place for feeding the cubs and one for sleep, various storage rooms, bathing rooms, etc. for the care of cubs.
"It's a bit simpler than other branches, but there are basically some things..." When Xia Qi said this, she had a bit of envy in her voice.
Their club did not set up special teaching places for the youngsters. They usually only taught the cubs Interstellar Lingua Franca[2] and so on, but they could not do anything else.
Xia Qi once visited the cub raising branch ranking 10 on the Interstellar Rankings. That club had even built a holographic simulation battle room for the cubs. Such expensive facilities are generally only available in first-class military academies. It was something that burns very much money.
Although she did not see it with her own eyes, Xia Qi heard that the instructor hired by that club to teach the basics of battle to the cubs was an active Major General in the Star Alliance.
If one day, their branch could also be so beautiful, Xia Qi thought that she wouldn't need to sleep at night, she would be living her dream during the day!
"Yeah." Xie Tao nodded. There was no reluctance in his voice, which helped soothe her emotions.
There were a total of 12 cubs in their branch, which were all adopted orphans. At present, no parents were willing to send their cubs to their club...
Before he could see the other cubs, Xie Tao got introduced to another caretaker. He would soon be taken to the staff quarter by Xia Qi so he had to leave the Muka cub here.
When Xie Tao entrusted the cub to his colleague, the large cub stared at him silently, as if he wanted to follow him. Xie Tao talked to it for a bit and told it to stay.
Seeing the Muka cub being so close to Xie Tao, the colleague couldn't help but watch for a while, not only because of the obedience that Muka cub showed at the moment, but also to admire the youth. He was a human being but was completely unafraid of the Muka.
...He, himself, usually didn't even dare to be too close to this Muka cub, let alone let it touch him.
"Stay here" as well as "Be good", came from the youth's lips and the Muka cub quietly stayed in place, his scarlet lined pupils reflecting the youth's back.
If the youth arched his lips you would be able to see the sparkle... It was a very beautiful thing. This sparkling thing that appeared in the eyes of youth was an unknown brilliance for this Muka cub, and it gave the same warmth as the youth's body, a temperature that made him want to be close.
"These rooms are all empty." Bringing the new colleague to the staff quarters, Xia Qi pointed to three empty rooms and let him choose.
"This one." Xie Tao chose the left one, which was the closest.
As soon as he opened the door, Xie Tao saw that it actually was empty, that is, totally empty, nothing on the four walls, no furniture, only dust.
"Cough, don't worry, I will help you clean it... After cleaning, you can put a mattress on the ground." She smiled with a bit of embarrassment, and afraid of being misunderstood by him, Xia Qi quickly said, "Other employees also have no beds in their rooms, the mattresses are thick and it won't be uncomfortable to fall asleep."
"Yeah." Xie Tao responded with a good attitude and thanked her. Although he had just been hired, he could see that Xia Qi was a relatively talkative and friendly person, and that she was quite experienced as a caretaker. (T/N: She certainly is much better than that Zhao guy, cub abuser, humph!)
When Xia Qi saw that there was no reluctance or distain on his face, she couldn't help but feel a bit more affectionate. She remembered that when she had brought the other two employees to their rooms, the two men had not bothered hiding the dislike on their faces.
"The financial situation of our club is not very good. After the situation is better, the president will definitely improve the staff's treatment." Xia Qi spoke as she helped him clean. She said this mainly to tell youth that it was not that the old president wants to treat his employees like this, but that their club did not have the money right now.
While cleaning the room together, Xie Tao took the opportunity to chat with the her and get to know more about the situation of this branch.
"This place is handled by the president personally." Xia Qi respects the old president and did not hide this in her tone. "The president's family used to be very famous aristocrats, but has now fallen. The land occupied by the association is a territory left by the president's family. It was originally an auction house, but the president changed it into the current club."
Xia Qi did not tell him that their club had been unable to make progress in these years. The old president told her that perhaps they would not be able to do it for another two or three years either..
The finance of this place... even if the old president did not say anything, she already knew... but even then, until that day came that they no longer could go on, Xia Qi still wanted to work hard and take care of the young children adopted in the association.
She herself was an orphan, so she hopes that the children who have no parents like her will can be taken care of. It was the reason she started to be a caretaker here.
The room was cleaned and a mattress was laid out. Although the room was empty, it was no problem to live in. When done, Xie Tao noticed that his colleague seemed to be a bit depressed. Xie Tao tried to comfort her: "It will become better in the future."
"Of course." Xia Qi nodded and then pulled out a big smile. "Our goal is to become the best club in the interstellar, to rank first! Other clubs can ask an active Star Alliance major general to become the combat instructor of the club, so why can't we! We can ask... Can you please, Lieutenant General, come and teach!"
Even if you know it is unrealistic, don't you have the right to daydream?
It's just that Xia Qi never imagined that the words she said today would not only come true in the future, but they would even have much more.
- True dreams come true.
All these changes would come from the human youth in front of her eyes.
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[1] - Kidney deficiency can be linked to these emotions: Fearful, weak willpower, insecure, aloof, isolated. MC means that the reason Zhao feels it painful to care for the cub is because he is fearful and has weak willpower, basically that he is a coward.
[2] - Lingua Franca is a language build from pieces of other languages and it acts as a universal language that might even make it possible for two people with different languages to communicate even if only one party can speak Lingua Franca.
[3] - Lieutenant general ranks one step above major general.
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Translator's note:
When Xi Qi was described by Xie Tao as a talkative and friendly person, he said that she had been it in this chapter... It literally said "in this chapter". (That's MTL for you...)
I was like, fourth wall! He broke the fourth wall! Does he know that he is in a story?!