Axolotl Translations

After an hour of non-stop hustling—packing up Liang Zhao’s things and getting the new arrivals settled into their rooms—Gu Mengran finally returned to his own room, dragging Zheng Yijie along.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Gu Mengran began pulling out items one by one: bedding, sheets, towels, extra clothes, toothbrushes… anything the Xu siblings might possibly need, he had it covered.

After a moment of thought, Gu Mengran decided not to mention his spatial ability just yet. It wasn’t that he was deliberately hiding it—life would simply carry on as usual. If they eventually caught on, so be it.

Sure, it didn’t actually change anything. But not outright stating it made him feel a bit more comfortable.

Supplies of all kinds were soon piled up on the floor. Once everything was out, Gu Mengran dusted off his hands and strolled away. Meanwhile, poor Zheng Yijie tirelessly made trip after trip delivering things, buzzing happily like a little worker bee.

He’d just cleverly reassigned Liang Zhao’s room, so Gu Mengran was in a great mood. After using the intercom to locate Liang Zhao, he whistled a cheerful tune and sauntered downstairs to the main deck.

Unfortunately, his good mood lasted exactly until the second he opened the door.

The moment he lifted the curtain, his smile vanished. The once lush and vibrant vegetable garden was gone—replaced by a bleak, lifeless gray. Dirt was scattered everywhere, with shriveled vines sagging off the frames and dead leaves carpeting the foam boxes…

It had gotten too cold. Windwing had run out of fuel, and the ship was without heat or running water. All the crops they had so painstakingly cultivated were gone—either frozen to death or dried out from lack of water.

The side near the entrance had taken the worst hit—almost everything was wiped out. The piles of dead vines and leaves that Liang Zhao had already cleared were starting to look like small mountains. But interestingly, the farthest section of the greenhouse—though suffering from the same lack of water and warmth—was in visibly better shape.

The potato plants were shrunken and yellowed, with only a hint of green clinging to the center. The bean vines had lost their leaves, looking bare and frail, but they were still stubbornly alive.

Was it because these particular crops were hardier? Not quite. It was because the soil they were planted in had come from the space.

After over a year of experiments, Gu Mengran had confirmed it: the soil from the space had special properties that remained even outside. Crops grown in it were easier to keep alive, required no weeding or fertilizing, and were more resistant to temperature extremes. Not to mention, the yield was better.

The strangest thing? No matter how much soil he took out, the space never seemed to run low. The holes they dug would refill and flatten overnight, as if… the soil was regenerating itself.

It was like the dirt grew more dirt.

With enough of it, they could theoretically build an entire landmass from scratch. Gu Mengran had considered it before.

The problem? They didn’t have the tools.

What were they supposed to do, dig with their bare hands? Build a homeland for future generations?

He and Liang Zhao weren’t even going to have a next generation!

Instead of playing the saint and trying to fill the sea with dirt, it was probably more realistic to wait for the weather to improve and keep using the special soil to grow vegetables.

Yesterday, while chatting with his grandfather about “value,” the first thing that popped into Gu Mengran’s mind was this soil. Sure, fuel was precious, but this dirt—capable of supporting crops even in harsh environments—was just as valuable.

They had seeds and plenty of this soil. There was no reason they couldn’t share some with the Yongyue and Giant ships, help them start growing food on board, and become self-sufficient.

The only problem was, Gu Mengran hadn’t quite figured out what story to tell yet. After all, they were deep in the open sea—this much soil couldn’t just appear out of nowhere. And they definitely hadn’t dredged it up from the ocean floor.

His head ached just thinking about it. He rubbed the center of his brow and looked toward the man busy working in the main hall. A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

“Liang Zhao.”

Liang Zhao, focused on cleaning out the foam boxes, didn’t notice him at first. Not until Gu Mengran softly called out did he poke his head up from behind a mini mountain of dead vines and leaves. His eyes lit up.

“You’re awake? Have you had lunch yet?”

“What do you mean ‘just woke up’?” Gu Mengran circled the pile and came up behind Liang Zhao, wrapping his arms around his neck and lazily draping himself over his back. “I’ve been up for ages—I’ve already done a bunch of stuff.”

“Oh yeah?” Liang Zhao chuckled. “And what exactly have you been up to?”

Gu Mengran rubbed his face into the crook of Liang Zhao’s neck and mumbled like a spoiled child, “But promise you won’t get mad.”

“You did something behind my back? Okay, I won’t get mad.”

Well, there was no hiding it forever. Gu Mengran hemmed and hawed for a while, then finally came clean.

“So, you know the Xu siblings? Their ship, the Heng Rong Sheng, went down to save us.”

“At lunch, Zheng Yijie came to talk to me—he suggested letting them move over to Windwing. And I thought, well, they did risk everything to help us. We owe them, and they seem like good people. So…”

“So you agreed,” Liang Zhao finished for him. Then he sighed deeply as a weight settled on his shoulders. “Was this even up for discussion? Could I have said no?”

Instead of answering, Gu Mengran asked, “Why not? Their ship sank because of us. They’re homeless because they helped us. I know it’s hard to keep the space secret with them living under the same roof—but I really believe the Xu siblings will stand with us and keep it quiet.”

“I get it,” Liang Zhao said, his brows furrowed, his eyes full of worry. “They helped us. We owe them. But there are a lot of ways to repay a debt—why choose the one that puts us at risk?”

His tone was a little sharp, and that made Gu Mengran pout. He sniffed. “Are you scolding me? You promised you wouldn’t get mad…”

Liang Zhao froze. “I wasn’t… I didn’t scold you. And I’m not mad.”

“Heh, just messing with you.”

Gu Mengran pressed his chest against Liang Zhao’s back, hugging him tightly. “I know you’re just worried about me. But don’t worry, I trust them. And if anything ever goes wrong, you’ll grab me and run, right? You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

He was clearly set on this. Liang Zhao gave a soft “mm” and didn’t push back anymore.

“You’re the best.” Gu Mengran stretched his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Alright, now onto the real news. Actually, it’s too late to change anything—because it’s already done. The Xu siblings have moved in.”

“So fast?” Liang Zhao gently bumped his head against his.

“Yup, I was just busy helping them get settled, handing out their toiletries and stuff..” Gu Mengran leaned in close and whispered mysteriously, “Wanna know how I arranged the rooms?.”

The fact that he was even asking made it obvious there was something to it. Liang Zhao smirked, playing along. “Hmm? Tell me.”

Gu Mengran replied innocently, “Xu Xingran and Xu Yuan each got their own room.”

“Okay. And?”

“You don’t think that’s weird?” Gu Mengran said. “We only have two spare rooms.”

“That is weird,” Liang Zhao chuckled. “So where’s Xu Xinghe sleeping?.”

Feeling like he’d been caught, Gu Mengran puffed out his cheeks. “I cleared your room for him.”

“And where am I sleeping?”

“Living room. Floor.”

“Alright. Floor it is,” Liang Zhao said, clearly amused.

“You’re not mad?” Gu Mengran blinked.

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

“Because I know you’d never let me actually sleep on the floor.”

“Ugh, you’re such a sneak!” Gu Mengran gave his ear a playful nibble and muttered, “So jealous of you… you’re about to move in with your boyfriend.”

Liang Zhao turned his head and kissed him. “No need to be jealous—your boyfriend’s moving in too.”

One crouched, one draped over the other, their noses brushed as they shared a long, tender kiss.

There was no heat behind it—just simple, quiet intimacy.

When it ended, Liang Zhao gently nudged Gu Mengran away with his forehead. His lips were still damp, voice husky. “Alright, go play somewhere else. I’ve got work to do. Gotta finish clearing out these foam boxes today so we can replant later.”

Gu Mengran finally let go and climbed off Liang Zhao’s back. He rolled up his sleeves and crouched down in front of another foam planter box. “What are you saying? Of course, it’s faster with two people working.”

“You just got back. You should be resting.”

“Oh? Then why aren’t you resting?”

Liang Zhao replied, “I can’t sit still.”

“Well, what a coincidence. Neither can I,” Gu Mengran grinned.

He really did mean to help. As soon as he squatted down, he got to work yanking out the dead plants. But his mouth, as usual, couldn’t stay idle. Not long after, his mind circled back to the problem he’d been worrying about earlier, and he laid out his idea to Liang Zhao, hoping he could help brainstorm a solution.

The issue was a tough one. Liang Zhao didn’t have an immediate answer. He stood there rubbing a handful of dried leaves over and over in his palm before finally speaking. “It’s a solid plan, but now’s not the time to deliver soil. There’s no land in sight—ahead or behind—we don’t have a good enough excuse to offer it.”

“We’ll just have to wait a bit longer. Fuel isn’t an issue right now, and we won’t be stuck here forever. Sooner or later, we’ll move on. Once things settle down, we can look for a chance. Don’t worry—there’s always more solutions than problems.”

Liang Zhao couldn’t think of a better plan either. Waiting seemed like the only choice for now.

Gu Mengran drooped his head with a sigh. “Sigh… but who knows how long it’ll take for things to settle down. If we’re constantly on the move, we’ll have to keep asking the Giant for fuel. I’m just afraid if we don’t prove our worth in time, they’ll toss us off like dead weight.”

“It won’t come to that,” Liang Zhao said calmly. “If we’re going to be traveling for a while, we don’t have to use the soil to prove our value.”

His gaze dropped slightly, fingers tapping lightly on the edge of a foam box. “We could just grow some vegetables as quickly as possible and give them a batch to eat.”

“We don’t need a huge yield—just enough to show what we can do. It’s all about perception. Besides, we’ve got quality seeds, a trained agricultural student, and the potential for high output. So what if we talk it up a bit?”

“Damn, Liang Zhao, you’re a genius!” Gu Mengran stared at him, stunned, then gave him a thumbs up. “You’re even selling dreams now—‘drawing them a pie’ and everything. You’ve got way more tricks than I thought!”

Liang Zhao chuckled. “All shady tricks. I wouldn’t dare let you find out before.” He stood and clapped his hands. “Alright, enough of that. Let’s get back to it. If we drag our feet any longer, it’ll be dark.”

“Yep yep, the sooner we finish, the sooner we plant, and the sooner they can eat that dream pie!”

Clearing out the dead leaves and vines was the easy part—just pull and toss. But the soil in the boxes had dried out into hard bricks. After removing the withered plants, they needed to add water to loosen the dirt for future planting.

Poor Liang Zhao was still running around dragging the hose, while Gu Mengran—who had the space ability—had already transformed into a human-powered irrigation system. While picking leaves with one hand, he used the other to water and loosen the soil with pinpoint precision. His efficiency was off the charts.

Still, no matter how fast they worked, they couldn’t beat the sheer amount. There were just too many boxes. The two of them kept at it nonstop, working all the way until sunset to finally finish cleaning up the garden.

All the dried vines and leaves were packed into the space—they’d make good firewood if fuel ever ran low. The foam boxes were neatly lined up with clear walkways between them, and after mopping the muddy ground twice over, the garden was reborn. Clean, tidy, and waiting.

All that was left was to drop in the seeds and bring back a lush, vibrant green.

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