"Don't worry, I'm quick and sharp-eyed, I would never harm your people. By the way, this planet is really beautiful. Although it's far inferior to my home planet, it's still quite nice. Wow, is this one of your little ones? He's so cute! Come here, let me hold him."
From then on, Earth Two had a happy tree. Most of the time, this tree was full of little babies, who would tug at the newly grown leaves, making the tree feel a pang of heartache.
Ninety-Seven seemed to have a particular fondness for Earthling children. At first, the children were quite afraid, but after a while, they started clamoring to climb up to Ninety-Seven whenever they saw it. Unfortunately, Ninety-Seven was nearly 50 meters tall, so how could the children possibly climb up? Ninety-Seven would gently wrap the children around its branches and help them sit on its canopy, carefully holding them up with thin branches to prevent them from falling, afraid of hurting them.
The adults were initially frightened by what they saw, but they gradually got used to it. Ninety-Seven took better care of their children than their parents did, and the adults were happy to have some free time. Some even left their children with Ninety-Seven until they got off work.
Ninety-Seven has fully integrated into human society. Apart from the academicians occasionally coming to inquire about the situation of the Wind Star Civilization, Ninety-Seven spends all his time with the Earth dolls. Sometimes, when the adults are too tired from work, they leave the dolls with Ninety-Seven at night, and Ninety-Seven always takes meticulous care of them. He has not only learned to use his agile branches to dress, feed, bathe, and change the dolls' diapers, but he can also teach the older children to study and help with their homework. Furthermore, he has learned many human food preparation methods and cooks delicious and healthy meals for each child.
Even Hu Yu couldn't understand why this Ninety-Seven was so fond of human dolls. In the eyes of humans, these were not a group of cute dolls, but more often a group of little devils.
More than half a year later, the people in the neighborhood noticed something was wrong again and began to protest against Ninety-Seven. It turned out that Ninety-Seven not only took good care of the children and fulfilled all their demands, but also started leading them to do bad things. Today they would steal chickens from one family, tomorrow they would pet geese from another, and the day after that someone's dog would be put on the grill. The other pranks they played on adults were countless. They would dig a small hole in the road, fill it with leaves to trip adults, stuff a fat worm into their food, put a toad in the refrigerator, and putting a basin of water on the door was considered polite. Those who were not polite would simply put excrement on it.
The neighbors, unable to bear it any longer, banded together to drive Ninety-Seven away. But it was no use; Ninety-Seven -Seven would simply move to another spot and start again. The adults were miserable, while the children seemed to enjoy it immensely. People argued with Ninety-Seven and criticized him, but Ninety-Seven wouldn't listen. Instead, he accused the adults of suppressing the children's nature and hindering their development, claiming that his actions were truly for the children's good and would lead to a brighter future for them.
The adults were furious and wanted to drive Ninety-Seven away again. After moving to a few different places, Ninety-Seven refused to leave. If the adults protested again, he would lie down on the ground and whistle like a human hooligan, showing an attitude of "I'm not afraid of boiling water, come and hit me if you dare." Anyway, the adults couldn't do anything about him.
"Shameless! Shameless!" the adults cursed.
"Tch," Ninety-Seven replied nonchalantly.
Once the adults' anger subsided, he started leading the children to do bad things again. Even the arrival of the Planetary Administration Council had no effect. Ninety-Seven still insisted that he was not wrong, that the adults were wrong, and that the Planetary Administration Council had no right to make any demands on this alien visitor. They were only ordered to satisfy all of the Tree Man's demands.
In the end, the management committee still reported the situation to Hu Yu. Normally, such a minor matter wouldn't have been reported to Hu Yu, but the situation was special. The Planetary Administration Council didn't have the authority to handle it. If it continued to escalate, the people would probably cut down the tree for firewood. Hu Yu was almost at a loss for words when he saw the report. It seemed that Ninety-Seven really cared about the human doll, but unfortunately, he had gone a little astray. If he had been guided a little, this big alien might actually be a good teacher.
" Ninety-Seven, not bad. You've caused quite a stir. My clansmen have already complained about you to me."
"General..."
" Ninety-Seven, I know you're good to our tribespeople, but you haven't considered the differences in civilization. Some things are not allowed in our Human Civilization, especially petty theft. If they get used to that, they'll commit serious mistakes."
"It can't be that bad, General. I know these things are wrong, but they'll naturally learn to discern things when they grow up. For now, just treat it as an exciting game; it's very beneficial for developing the children's natural instincts."
"Haha, Ninety-Seven, you know quite a lot, not bad. I admit it's exciting and can really develop their natural instincts. But there's another kind of human instinct: habit becomes second nature. We humans have an old saying, 'He who steals a needle when young will steal gold when old.' You only see the development of children's natural instincts, but you've overlooked the fact that they will also develop a habit of getting something for nothing. Over time, they will think that this is a way to get everything they want more easily, so what's the point of working hard? Don't you agree?"
"This... seems to be the case."
"Well, those pranks are fun, but adults are already tired after a long day at work. They just want to rest when they get home, and then you have to play pranks on them. I don't know if you have any conscience at all. If you do, how can you live with yourself? You could find other ways to play with the kids."
"General, you're so capable. I think I know where I went wrong. Don't worry, General, as long as you don't separate me from these children, I will definitely correct my mistakes and promise not to make them again."
"It's not that serious, really. You just don't understand our civilization very well. Ignorance is no excuse, so I forgive you on behalf of everyone. Actually, your idea isn't wrong. I will build a school here, and you will be fully responsible for educating the children. I hope you can nurture them into successful individuals. What do you think?"
"Really? General, thank you, thank you, this is wonderful. But I'm afraid I might still make a mistake."
"Don't worry, I'll arrange for several teachers to assist you. You can make the educational arrangements, but they must be reviewed by the teachers. As long as it's not a matter of principle, they won't interfere."
"Excellent, General, rest assured, I will definitely be able to raise these children to be successful."
" Ninety-Seven, why are you so concerned about our human dolls?"
"I don't know why, but when I see them, I feel a special connection and I like them so much. I can't control myself; even if it costs me my life, I don't want them to suffer any harm."
"You're not planning to go back to your home planet?"
"Let's talk about it later. Don't I still have to stay here and be under your supervision during this period?"
"If you want to come back, you can leave anytime. I believe you wouldn't betray your friends," Hu Yu said with a light laugh.
"No rush, no rush. Let's talk about it after you conquer the Wind Star Civilization. In the meantime, the talents I've trained might be of some help to you!"
"Then work hard, goodbye."