The Cubs Furiously Peck the Thieves (continued)

News of Lou Yu and Lou Quan's argument spread quickly; at least those close to them knew about it.

Lou Yu began to deliberately avoid meeting Lou Quan. Whenever someone mentioned Lou Quan in front of him, he would turn pale. This further confirmed the rumors of their argument.

Even the doctoral students at the research institute noticed the icy relationship between the two and were usually very careful, not daring to talk about the other in front of either of them.

Lou Yu was expressing his stance, telling Lou Quan his resistance to using the Snow Bird.

Lou Quan might have realized that he and Snow Bird were acting, but even if he did, so what? This whole charade was meant to show Lou Quan that they had zero tolerance for his probing.

Snow Bird wasn't in a good mood either.

After receiving Lou Yu's signal, he pretended to be angry and left. His original plan to spend more time together was disrupted, so it was no wonder he couldn't be happy.

He likes Lou Yu, not anyone else in the base. That man named Lou Quan is trying to take advantage of him. If it weren't for the fact that he seems to be related to Lou Yu, he would have rushed over and given him a good whack.

Although Tao Qiu was unhappy, he did not let his anger affect his children. In front of them, he remained as gentle and tolerant as ever.

However, the kids still noticed Tao Qiu's emotional changes. Several times they secretly saw their father take something out of the book, and it looked like he would spend at least half an hour on it, and he always did it in secret from them.

If the kids hadn't stumbled upon it by chance, we'd still be completely in the dark.

While their father went hunting, the three chicks huddled together, chirping softly.

Eldest Cub: "Chirp, chirp, chirp?"

--After we came back that day, I often saw Dad sighing with a worried look on his face behind our backs. Did Dad and that human have a fight?

The Second Cub exclaimed excitedly, "Chirp! Chirp!"

--It's good that they argued! From now on, he won't fight us for Dad anymore!

The third child said, "Chirp chirp."

But... Daddy will be sad.

The Second Cub fell silent. Rather than having their father taken away by that human, they hoped their father would be happy, because that human seemed very good at pleasing their father.

The Second Cub thought for a moment and asked, "Chirp? Chirp?"

--What is that thing Dad was secretly looking at? Is it... or not? Is it related to that human?

The Eldest Cub shook its head. "Chirp, chirp, chirp."

--I don't know, it's too small. I've tried to peek several times but haven't been able to see it.

The Second Cub suggested, "Chirp..."

--or...

Does she mean to sneak a peek into a book while her father is away?

The Eldest Cub shook its head. "Chirp, chirp, chirp?"

--Or... should we hold off for now and wait and see? What if things aren't as we think?

The Second Cub sighed helplessly.

--Oh well.

And so, what was originally Tao Qiu's troubles turned into worries for the whole family. Tao Qiu and her children had to keep their true feelings a secret from each other, afraid that the other would discover their true feelings.

As the old saying goes, either you erupt in silence, or you become a monster in silence.

Tao Qiu goes out patrolling and hunting every day, which allows him to vent his frustrations. The kids stay in the valley all day, and Black Rabbit has gone to eat prey to replenish his energy for the upcoming winter, so he hasn't had time to come over recently. The kids can't relieve their frustration by sparring with him.

If the three of them competed against each other, it wouldn't be very effective because they couldn't use their full strength.

However, the kids didn't have to wait long before their chance to vent their frustrations came.

In late autumn, all the crops in the valley were ripe. Tao Qiu told his children that they would pick them together in a couple of days when he had some free time.

Tao Qiu has been busy stocking up on meat for winter and firewood for burning, spending most of her day working outside.

The cubs, on the other hand, could only stay in the valley and watch their families fatten up.

When the crops in the valley are fully ripe, they all smell incredibly tempting. Individually, each has its own fragrance, but when mixed together, they don't smell unpleasant; rather, they create a synergistic effect.

Especially the Black Pear, whose mother tree used the fragrance of its pears to attract prey for hunting. Later, after being purified by Tao Qiu's supernatural abilities, this fragrance became even purer and more attractive.

A few days ago, the Green Python and the Fox Clan came to exchange crops. Even standing outside the valley, the fragrance was irresistible. The baby birds that stayed in the valley every day found even breathing a pleasure.

Actually, if you're not near the valley, you won't be able to smell that fragrance. And Tao Qiu's territory is quite vast, so it's unlikely that mutated monsters from outside the territory would find it by smell.

However, some of the mutated monsters living in Tao Qiu's territory had already noticed the abnormality in the valley.

Normally, these mutated monsters would avoid Tao Qiu like the plague, so how could they possibly get close to his lair? The reason they knew there were good things inside was because of an accident.

In early summer, a mutated monster cub followed its parents out of the nest to forage for food. Unable to find its parents, it wandered all the way to the outside of Tao Qiu's valley.

Fortunately, it was too weak to be detected by Tao Qiu immediately.

Its parents came home and, finding it missing, followed the scent all the way here. As they found it, they also caught a peculiar fragrance wafting from the valley.

They told their own kind about it, and the discussion among them was overheard by mutated monsters of other races.

Therefore, many mutated monsters would sneak into the secluded spots in the valley to investigate when Tao Qiu was out, and without exception, they were all tempted by the fresh scent of the plants.

But the valley was the Snow Bird's nest, and for them to go in would be tantamount to delivering food to him. Therefore, despite their desire, considering their own lives, none of the mutated monsters initially dared to even consider stealing.

However, it just so happens that in late autumn, all the mutated monsters are making the most of their last moments to replenish their energy in preparation for the long winter. Resources are already scarce, and the competition among them makes them even more precious.

The crops in the valley ripen at this time, which is tantamount to extra free high-quality resources for the mutated monsters. Who wouldn't be envious?

I didn't dare go before because I was trying to survive; now I want to go, also because I'm trying to survive.

Driven by their desires, some mutated monsters, blinded by greed, prepared to take desperate risks.

They observed the snowbirds outside the valley for several days, figuring out the time periods when the Snow Bird went out and returned. Finally, after the Snow Bird went out again, they took action.

Fearing they would be easily spotted if they entered through the valley entrance, they chose to climb over the mountain.

The mountains surrounding the valley were quite steep, but fortunately not very high. The mutated monsters expended some effort but eventually managed to climb them.

Standing panting on the mountaintop, looking at the valley filled with abundant fruit—a stark contrast to the desolate landscape outside—and smelling the intense, irresistible aroma, the mutated monsters' eyes turned red.

The first three mutated monsters to lead the charge were a goat, a hedgehog, and a wild dog.

Suppressing the urge to howl wildly, they didn't even watch their step, tumbling and scrambling down the hillside, heading straight for the nearest wild berry field.

The ground was covered with red berries, which made the three mutated monsters stare wide-eyed, their mouths watering as saliva dripped down their lips and fell into the soil.

Their attention was entirely focused on the fruit; they showed no interest in observing their surroundings. After rushing into the berry field, they opened their mouths wide, biting off branches, leaves, and fruit alike, and chewing them with a crunching sound.

They had seen and tasted these berries in the meadows outside, but the fruit was so sour and bitter that no mutated monster would eat them unless they were starving.

But the berries here are different. They are large, sweet, and bursting with juice. They are so delicious that the berries are so good that they think it would be worth dying for them even if they were to die immediately.

And soon, their wishes will be fulfilled.

The children were playing at the cave entrance when they saw the three mutated monsters appear on the mountaintop.

At first, the kids didn't know they were there to steal crops, but whatever their purpose, the fact that they specifically chose to come in when their father wasn't home showed their true intentions were definitely not pure.

These mutated monsters with malicious intent definitely couldn't be allowed to live, so the kids immediately decided to kill them.

Otherwise, what if they leave and reveal what happened in the valley? Their family's secret would be completely exposed.

As for fear, the kids didn't seem to experience that emotion at all from beginning to end.

The Second Cub kept watch at the cave entrance, while the Eldest Cub and third cubs quickly ran back into the cave, poured the newly delivered chili powder into a bamboo tube filled with water, shook it well, and then ran out with it.

The TV series said that pepper spray splashed on the face would make it impossible to open one's eyes and breathe. Although the pepper spray they made is a low-end version, it should still have some effect.

Chili peppers are incredibly spicy. My dad used them to cook for them before, and they all cried from the spiciness.

Of the three offspring, only three can currently achieve what Tao Qiu did: grow wings and fly while in human form.

So she went to sprinkle the chili water, Eldest Cub Second Cub followed suit?

Three mutated monsters have wreaked havoc on a large patch of wild berry bushes. They're so engrossed in eating that they're almost possessed, and they didn't even notice three baby birds flying by.

Until the three little ones, holding bamboo tubes, hovered above them and shouted, "Hey! Look here!"

Hearing the sound, the three mutated monsters hadn't fully recovered, but they instinctively looked up.

The three of them were quite close together, so when the three little devils swung their weapons from left to right, chili water splashed all over the faces of the three mutated monsters, and even got into their eyes.

The stray dog that was closest to the splash was the one that got the worst water. Water in the eyes is already uncomfortable enough, but then there was chili powder added; the chili's effects were almost immediate.

The stray dog, eyes closed, violently shook its head, letting out a heart-wrenching howl.

The other two snowbirds didn't get as much pepper spray in their eyes as the wild dogs, and when they were suddenly attacked, they realized there were other Snow Bird in the valley.