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To be honest, in this respect, Second Young Master Shen is quite grateful to Lou Yu.

If he hadn't killed Fourth Young Master Shen, I don't know how much longer I would have had to wait to take this position.

However, nowadays, Second Young Master Shen feels no gratitude towards Lou Yu, only hatred.

He never expected that Lou Yu, a defective superhuman, would not only become the only defective individual to survive after leaving the Central Base, but his stabilized superhuman abilities would also grow at an almost rapid pace.

When he first received this news, he had already persuaded his father to bring him back from the Yong'an Base for research.

But the Lou Family intervened and thwarted their plans.

Later, he heard that the Lou Family had obtained many valuable items from Lou Yu through a deal with Lou Quan.

It was because Lou Yu caused trouble that the Shen Family had no choice but to share the development method of the Awakening Reagent with several other companies.

The Shen Family hated him to the core and wished he would die soon. They had repeatedly signaled to their spies at the Yong'an Base to kill him, but all their attempts failed.

The Lou Family has publicly severed ties with Lou Yu, but when it comes to crucial moments, they will still jump out to protect him.

Furthermore, the Lou Family is unwilling to hand over the method for stabilizing supernatural abilities obtained from Lou Yu, and they also obstruct other families from making deals with the Lou Family Lou Quan to obtain it.

Those guys with the surname Lou are all infuriating.

Second Young Master Shen patted his head in distress. How was he supposed to explain this accident to his father? His wife's children with his other mistresses would definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble again.

Damn the opposition! What? They're all like Lou Yu, always causing trouble!

Achoo!

Lou Yu couldn't help but sneeze as he stepped into the warm room from outside.

Liu Qi'an happened to be passing by and, upon seeing this, quickly took two steps back, looking very wary.

"Captain, you don't... have caught a cold, do you? You looked so listless yesterday, and you're sneezing again today. Don't let it infect me."

Lou Yu was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't bother with his antics. He said, "If you're so bored, go shovel snow in the yard. Look how thick the snow is piled up on the road!"

Liu Qi'an chickened out. "It's so cold outside, and I just swept yesterday, it's John's turn today."

Fearing he might anger Lou Yu again, Liu Qi'an quickly slipped away.

Lou Yu went to the kitchen to pour a glass of hot water, then returned to the sofa in the living room and sat down, his expression somewhat gloomy.

It's not that anything major happened at the base, it's just that he's in a bad mood.

Yesterday, for some reason, he felt uneasy, as if something bad had happened that he didn't know about but that was related to him.

Considering the peaceful atmosphere at the base, his first thought was of Tao Qiu and his cubs in the wild, wondering if they had encountered some kind of accident.

However, leaving the base in winter is too difficult. Putting aside how he could possibly wade through snow up to his waist to reach Tao Qiu's territory, even Lou Quan couldn't easily open the base's gates unless it was an extremely urgent situation.

Besides, what? The idea that something went wrong is just Lou Yu's own speculation, without any actual evidence. Even if he and Snow Bird have a close relationship, Lou Quan will not grant his request.

Lou Yu sighed, staring at the wisps of steam rising from his cup, his eyes filled with worry.

"The TV series said that drinking more hot water is good for your health."

Inside the cave, Third Cub held a bamboo cup filled with hot water and placed it into Tao Qiu's hands.

After a night of rest, Tao Qiu's chest and abdominal wounds had scabbed over and would be fully healed in a couple more days at most.

Sleeping on the ground was definitely uncomfortable, so Tao Qiu transformed into human form, intending to use the snow to wash away the grime on her body before going back to bed.

But the boy disagreed with him using cold snow to scrub his body, forcefully pressing him down onto a stool and saying he would boil water for him to wash.

The Third Cub poured hot water, the Second Cub brought over the sweet potatoes and meat they had cooked themselves, and the Eldest Cub heated bathwater on another stove.

Tao Qiu was eating and drinking when Second Cub and Third Cub stood in front of him, staring at the new scar on his chest and abdomen that was bigger than a large bowl.

The two children's eyes filled with tears again.

They practice hunting, and even the slightest injury hurts them terribly. Dad's wound is so big, it must hurt him many, many times more than they did.

Last night, the three of them didn't go back to bed to sleep, but instead snuggled close to Tao Qiu, waking up several times in the middle of the night.

Although I don't believe my father would die, subconsciously I still have a little worry, so I'm afraid that his heart will stop beating while he's sleeping and his body will gradually get cold.

Fortunately, when Tao Qiu woke up at dawn, his heartbeat remained strong, his body was very warm, and his wounds gradually healed.

The kids were initially quite happy, but seeing Tao Qiu's injuries, they couldn't help but feel heartbroken.

Tao Qiu put down the bowl, pulled the two little crybabies into her arms, and gently wiped away their tears with tissues. Children's skin is delicate, and their skin was already red from wiping it themselves. If she wiped it a few more times, their skin would probably break.

Tao Qiu gently coaxed, "Sweetie, don't cry, don't cry. Your eyes are all swollen from crying, it makes Daddy feel bad."

The Second Cub sobbed, "I'm sorry, Dad, I can't control it, my tears just won't stop falling."

The Third Cub added, "Looking up at the sky doesn't help either? She'll still cry."

"Yes, yes, Daddy knows. You're both good, obedient children." Tao Qiu patted their heads and said with a smile, "Then let's talk about something happy. If we're in a good mood, we won't want to cry."

The Third Cub sniffed. "What? Something happy?"

Tao Qiu said, "Dad, would you like to tell me a joke?"

Even the Eldest Cub, who was tending the fire, looked over. "What? A joke?"

Tao Qiu coughed twice, then began to speak earnestly, "One day, a Black Rabbit was passing by a lake when it saw a lamb about to jump in. The Black Rabbit went to stop it and said something. After hearing this, the lamb not only didn't change its mind, but immediately jumped into the lake and drowned itself."

The three cubs looked completely bewildered. The Eldest Cub asked, "What did the Black Rabbit say?"

Tao Qiu shrugged. "Dad doesn't know either."

"Ah..." Second Cub pouted, tugging at Tao Qiu's hand and pleading, "Daddy, you must know, please tell us~ Baby begs you~"

Tao Qiu said, "I really don't know."

The Third Cub seemed to be thinking deeply, "Black Rabbit, does this Black Rabbit refer to Uncle Black Rabbit?"

This joke was made up by Tao Qiu to distract the children from being sad because of him; there was no real answer to it.

However, to stop the kids from pestering him with questions, Tao Qiu thought to himself, "Brother, I'm sorry, I have to sacrifice you."

"Yes, it's your Uncle Black Rabbit."

Second Cub exclaimed in surprise, "Then Uncle Black Rabbit must know what I said!"

Tao Qiu suppressed a laugh, "He definitely knows. When he comes, you can ask him."

Tao Qiu thought that it would be several more months before Black Rabbit came again, and in time, the kids would probably forget about it.

After the little incident, the kids were in a much better mood. After boiling the water and diluting it to lukewarm, each of them took a small handkerchief and carefully washed Tao Qiu's body.

Tao Qiu originally wanted to come by herself, but the kids disagreed.

"Dad used to bathe us, but now that he's injured, it's our turn to bathe you."

Tao Qiu was deeply moved by these words, feeling a warm glow in her heart even in the dead of winter, and accepted the boys' kindness.

The children were very careful; they wrung out the handkerchiefs thoroughly before wiping away the blood and grime, making sure not to get water on the wounds.

After a long day of work, the kids were covered in sweat, while Tao Qiu was all clean.

Tao Qiu washed their faces and then helped them into bed.

Tao Qiu could tell that the boys all looked tired; they probably hadn't slept well last night because they were worried about him.

"How about Daddy tells you a bedtime story, and then we can take a nap together?"

The children consciously slept beside Tao Qiu, afraid of pressing on his wound, and didn't dare to lean against him.

Upon hearing this, the Second Cub excitedly replied, "Great! I love listening to Daddy tell stories."

The children loved listening to Tao Qiu tell stories, not only because Tao Qiu told them well, but also because if Tao Qiu could tell stories, it meant that they were in a relatively stable environment, like now, instead of the thrilling situation of yesterday.

This unintentionally gave the children a strong sense of security.

Half an hour later, the children, having finished listening to the story, had already fallen asleep. Looking at their peaceful sleeping faces, Tao Qiu's drowsiness gradually rose, and enveloped by the children's scent, she drifted off to sleep.

His self-healing abilities seem to work better when he's sleeping.

A week later, Tao Qiu's injury had completely healed, leaving no trace of the scar, as if she had never been injured at all.

After the wind died down, he took a stroll around his territory, intending to tell those lurking in the shadows that he was still alive and well, and they should give up on their plans to kill him and seize his land.

This year, the kids, who have grown a bit taller, are playing skiing more freely. They not only often ski alone while sitting, but they also dare to do what Tao Qiu did: step on two bamboo strips and rush down the slope.

While Tao Qiu was recording them, she also kept a close eye on their safety, making sure that each child could have fun without getting hurt or frightened.

That evening, the three kids huddled around the phone watching skiing videos from earlier in the day, chattering excitedly about their mistakes and highlights.

Tao Qiu sat to the side, staring at the half-spider leg in front of him, his eyes full of thought.

This mutated monster is undoubtedly a very strange existence. Its growth is as if it has been accelerated, and it can almost instantly complete the changes that other mutated monsters take months or even years to achieve.

Is it a product of nature? Are there other mutated monsters like it in this world, or in this vicinity?