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Chapter 149: Chapter 149: The Lazy Male Lion
Xiaogua and Xiaodou were each entangled with a Mutant Beast, rolling around together nonstop!
These Mutant Beasts looked similar to mutated dogs, but their faces were sharper, and their bellies bigger. It was uncertain whether they were originally foxes or jackals.
Xiaogua and Xiaodou seemed to have disturbed someone’s den, and a good number of Mutant Beasts scrambled out one after another. Growling low, they attempted to leap forward and bite but were constantly struck by vines! With every lash of the vines, a layer of skin and flesh was scraped off, leaving a gory, terrifying sight.
Yan Xiao was so excited his blood was boiling. One hand holding a telescope, the other clenched into a fist, he cheered, "Go for it! Whip them, whip them! Good job, Guazi! Good job, Douzi! Whoa! ——K——O!"
The two juvenile Space-Time Beasts dealing with seven or eight Mutant Beasts was like child’s play. The ones caught by them didn’t even have a chance to bite back, getting knocked around until they were dizzy!
Han Jiaojiao, however, was starting to panic—because of Cotton Candy! Would you please do something?
Cotton Candy was lying down lazily not far from the battlefield, looking exactly like... a passerby watching the commotion.
Really? Those are your siblings over there! Why don’t you go and give them a hand?!
Han Jiaojiao felt like crying without tears.
"Cotton Candy..."
When she called out Cotton Candy’s name weakly, Yan Xiao also shouted excitedly—
"Oh no! Tangzi is in danger!"
"What?!"
Han Jiaojiao was alarmed and quickly grabbed the telescope to look. Sure enough, three or four Mutant Beasts seemed to realize they were no match for Xiaogua and Xiaodou, slowly moving towards Cotton Candy—who remained motionless?!
Han Jiaojiao was so anxious she reached for the handgun at her waist, but then Cotton Candy moved! 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓅𝓊𝓫.𝒸ℴ𝓶
Its white fur began to tremble slightly at first, then abruptly bristled! A low, deep mooing sound then filled the countryside!
Han Jiaojiao couldn’t describe the magnificent spectacle.
It was like a white peacock suddenly spreading its tail, or a dandelion exploding without warning! The pure white silky fur instantly expanded several times in size, and a golden crown unfurled from its top! Reflecting rainbow-like brilliance in the sunlight!
——Absolutely stunning!
The approaching Mutant Beasts instantly fell to the ground, their limbs convulsing violently, and within moments, they stopped breathing.
Lu Changyuan "huh" in surprise.
Everyone glanced at each other and walked towards Cotton Candy to see what had happened.
By the time they got close, the fight between Xiaogua and Xiaodou was already over. Both had had their fill, and they were cleaning their vines by rubbing them against the grass roots and pebbles on the ground.
Cotton Candy was also feeding, wrapping around the corpses of the Mutant Beasts on the ground, making gurgling sounds.
Lu Changyuan came over for a closer look and said, "Their mouths and noses are bleeding... Looks like they were poisoned to death."
Yan Xiao quickly withdrew his hand that was ready to examine the corpses.
"That powerful?!" Han Jiaojiao couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
Lu Changyuan gave her a meaningful glance, and Han Jiaojiao chuckled awkwardly. Although she had always acted familiar with the habits of the Space-Time Beast, this one was really her first contact!
Han Yi seemed very interested in Cotton Candy, watching it eat with amusement and saying with a light smile, "Kind of like a male lion."
Everyone looked at him, puzzled.
Han Yi explained, "Within a pride, the laziest is the male lion. The hunting and rearing of cubs are all done by the lionesses. However, this does not mean that the male lion is incapable. When its territory is invaded, the male lion will fight for its domain."
Lu Changyuan then laughed, "That does sound similar, and a male lion is larger than a female and has a thick mane. Xiaogua and Xiaodou hatched before Cotton Candy, but look—they are much smaller than Cotton Candy, which hatched later, and they don’t have these white furs either."
Han Jiaojiao was dumbfounded, "So are you saying that Xiaogua and Xiaodou are females, while Cotton Candy is a male, and that’s why Cotton Candy... grew white fur?"
Yan Xiao burst into laughter, "Hahaha! Turns out it’s a male, and look at the name you gave it, Cotton, Candy! What kind of man has such a wimpy name! Hahaha..."
Han Jiaojiao pouted, defiantly saying, "That’s just your speculation! And how about Pepper? It’s purple!" Saying so, Han Jiaojiao raised the small flowerpot in her arms, with the purple Pepper being only the size of a child’s palm, its vines not yet grown, appearing like a small, soft bunch, very lovable.
Lu Changyuan had a sudden inspiration, "Could it be a similar species?"
He began to unleash his powerful imagination, musing, "Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a divine bird with two pupils in each eye, known as the Chongming Bird. This bird was formidable, capable of driving away fierce beasts and demons, and it was very rare, laying eggs only once every three hundred and thirty-three years. However, not all of these eggs hatched into Chongming Birds."
"Lu bro, what are you hinting at..." Yan Xiao gave a dry laugh.
Lu Changyuan tilted his head, staring at Pepper and continued, "After hatching, most Chongming Birds are just ordinary, only slightly fiercer than regular beasts and do not possess the abilities of divine birds. Only the Chongming Birds with two pupils in their eyes can drive away fierce beasts and demons. Therefore, a Chongming Bird may lay eggs several times without hatching a true divine Chongming Bird."
Han Jiaojiao seemed to understand, "So what you mean, Lu bro, is that although all the eggs hatched from the Space-Time Beast, only one inherits its characteristics? — Is Pepper that special one?"
Yan Xiao looked at Han Jiaojiao in surprise, "Space-Time Beast? Didn’t you say they were Mutant Plants before?"
Han Jiaojiao’s face turned slightly red as she countered, "Well, at the beginning... when they first hatched, I really thought they looked like Mutant Plants, who’d have guessed they’d be running around everywhere now..."
Reflecting on it, Yan Xiao thought Han Jiaojiao’s words had some merit. He recalled the group of people in the Gobi Desert finding nothing while searching for the Space-Time Beast, whereas Han Jiaojiao mysteriously ended up with a few eggs... The idea that these tentacled creatures were Space-Time Beasts seemed quite plausible.
Still, Yan Xiao muttered, "You’ve got some nerve, hatching them without even knowing what they are..."
Han Jiaojiao laughed and stuck out her tongue.
The corpses of the Mutant Beasts on the ground were not completely eaten; after all, they were much larger than the mice, rabbits, and chickens they were usually fed. Apart from Cotton Candy, which ate a Mutant Beast whole, Xiaogua and Xiaodou only ate half each, their consumed portions resembling deflated skins, limp and sprawling on the grass, very eerie to behold.
Yan Xiao tossed a few fireballs onto the leftover corpses, reflecting, "That group last time said the Space-Time Beasts are alien life forms, but it seems they adapt pretty well here, eating Earth’s food without any issues."
"It doesn’t seem like that," Han Jiaojiao thought and said, "They don’t eat ordinary animals. Once, I fed them two unmutated chickens, and they just chased them for fun until the chickens died, but they didn’t eat a single bite."
After Han Jiaojiao finished speaking, she concluded, "So I think they probably only eat mutant creatures infected by alien microbes."
Yan Xiao exclaimed, "Ah, so if the world returns to normal in the future, won’t they starve?"
Han Yi chuckled softly, "Will this world ever return to normal?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
—Will this world ever return to normal?
