The Photo Is Discovered (The Gong's Storyline)

In the valley at night, after dinner, the children played on the grass to digest their food. Tao Qiu stood beside the field, staring intently at the sweet potatoes in the ground, her eyes deep and unfathomable.

He recalled what Lou Yu had said: the human base had experienced three consecutive seasons of reduced food production, forcing them to risk using fox materials to exchange for a chance to borrow food from the Central Base.

Tao Qiu raised his hand, and he could feel the active energy flowing through his body.

The decay within his body has been largely cleared away; barring any unforeseen circumstances, living to be a hundred years old should not be a problem.

He has the ability to resolve the food crisis at the Yong'an Base, but the time is not yet right for him to take action.

A barber's stall? A business that's all one-sided and driven by greed won't get much attention.

Lou Yu kept Tao Qiu and the children's instructions in mind. When he went to the valley again two months later, he didn't bring any food supplies, but he increased the quantity of other daily necessities. After calculating the prices, they were actually about the same as before.

After collecting the materials, Tao Qiu said that the prey was all fattened up and offered to catch two for him to take back, but Lou Yu refused.

Lou Yu grasped Tao Qiu's hand, as if afraid he might misunderstand, and quickly explained, "No, it's not that I don't want to accept your kindness, Qiuqiu, but I can't take the prey and fruit back this time, and I certainly can't ask you to help me send the prey back to the base. Recently, there have been quite a few strangers at the base, all targeting me and Lou Quan. We both want to keep a low profile and get through this period first."

Tao Qiu raised an eyebrow. "People sent by the Central Base?"

"Right?" Lou Yu said, "The new grain will be on the market soon, and the grain we borrowed from the Central Base will arrive in the next couple of days. The superficial peace at the base won't last long."

Tao Qiu asked worriedly, "Won't you be in danger?"

Lou Yu shook his head. "Since the Central Base hasn't found any evidence, they won't immediately break ties with us. There's still room for negotiation."

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu held hands tightly. "If—and I mean if—you can't stay in the human base anymore, come find me. The cave is very spacious; it can comfortably house dozens of you."

Lou Yu laughed and said, "Alright, I can't stay in the human base anymore, so I've come to beg Qiuqiu and the children to take me in."

Tao Qiu leaned in and kissed his cheek. "We'll always be your backup plan and your support."

Lou Yu's return to the base empty-handed this time indeed attracted a lot of attention. Lou Yu's explanation to outsiders was that the Snow Bird was in a bad mood and didn't want to see him, let alone catch prey for him.

As Lou Yu had predicted, those who were already sour grapes immediately began to gloat and spread rumors about him.

"A beast is a beast. Brainless, acting only on a whim. They might spoil someone a moment ago, but today they'll discard them like trash."

"He's just befriending a beast. Look at how smug he was before! Anyone who didn't know better would think he'd gotten on the good side of a god. I've disliked him for a long time."

"That's it? That's it? Just a few prey, and they're bragging about it so the whole base knows. Tch, that's all some people are capable of."

The news that Lou Yu has fallen out of favor again has become the hottest gossip recently, making it difficult for those who secretly wanted to create chaos by spreading rumors that the new season's grain production had decreased again to carry out their work.

"Tsk, a bird and a person, what's there to discuss? Ah, their stomachs? They're starving, and they're still gossiping."

"That's true. But I heard someone say the other day that Lou Yu is going to fall out of favor. Actually, there were signs of it all along."

"... What do you mean there are clues? Tell me."

"Don't you dislike gossiping?"

"Things have already come to this point, what else can I do but talk to them? What else can I do?"

"..."

Chapter 78 The Photo Was Discovered (The Male Lead's Story)

The grain produced in the base's planting area, plus the grain borrowed from the Central Base, is sufficient to last until the next new grain harvest.

The only wish of everyone at the base's top management right now is that even if the grain yield isn't high in the second half of the year, they absolutely mustn't experience a further reduction in production.

Otherwise, they would have to risk their lives to fill this hole.

With the new grain harvest in abundance, the ordinary people at the base breathed a sigh of relief; they could finally have enough to eat.

But before they could even celebrate for a week, news broke that most of the new grain currently on the market was actually borrowed by Lou Quan from the Central Base. The planting area at the Yong'an Base was basically ruined, with three consecutive seasons of reduced production, and the next season was probably in jeopardy as well.

These remarks indeed caused panic. Food is the material basis for sustaining human life; one must have enough to live on with peace of mind. Borrowing from others is tantamount to handing one's life over to them.

Moreover, everyone already knows the arrogant attitude of those people at the Central Base. Trying to borrow anything from them without being skinned alive is impossible.

Nobody wants to be sucked alive by leeches, so many people hope Lou Quan can come forward and give everyone an explanation: is the planting area at the Yong'an Base even viable?

Lou Quan understood that the information was deliberately leaked by those people at the Central Base. Because he had protected his most important secrets too well, they couldn't find out, so they wanted to create chaos for him. Only when there were internal problems could they create an opportunity for them to take advantage of the situation.

This whole situation was like being forced into a corner; Lou Quan had no choice but to respond, unless he wanted to quit.

Lou Quan stepped forward and promised the public that grain production in the planting area would return to normal in the second half of the year, and that the base would no longer be held hostage by others.

Out of gratitude for Lou Quan's outstanding contributions to the base, and in addition to the steady and reliable image he had always cultivated, most people chose to believe him. As for the remaining small group, even if they made a fuss, they wouldn't be able to cause much trouble.

But this is a promise that Lou Quan made by overdrawing his own credibility. If he fulfills his promise in the second half of the year, his image in the public eye will rise to a new height. But if the opposite happens, he will suffer a backlash many times over, and in the end, he may not even be able to keep his position.

The main force behind this underhanded scheme was the Lou Family from the Central Base, with the other families adding fuel to the fire and fanning the flames, eager to stir up trouble.

Before and after the new grain came to market, the group from the Central Base, together with their informants who had long been based at the Yong'an Base, created two public opinion traps.

But the previous buzz was dampened by the gossip about Lou Yu falling out of favor, and the subsequent buzz was resolved by Lou Quan's statement. These two cousins are simply natural nemesis to each other.

"Lou Quan? This kid is as cautious as ever. The spies we planted at the research institute haven't found a single useful clue?"

"Those researchers are so tight-lipped; they never bring anything work-related home, nor do they tell their families about their work. They're all secretly protected; it's impossible to catch them for interrogation."

"The higher-ups are already urging us. If we still haven't gotten anything by the deadline, we're afraid we'll be in big trouble."

"Since we can't find a way to deal with Lou Quan, why don't we investigate Lou Yu instead?"

How so?

"You've all heard about the fact that there's a mutated Snow Bird that doesn't eat people but really likes Lou Yu and often sends him prey."

"Didn't we already know about this when we were at the Central Base? There were even rumors a few days ago that he'd fallen out of favor. Is that related to what we're investigating?"

"How can it not be related! You forgot what that spy from the research institute said? Every time Lou Yu goes out and comes back, he basically goes to the research institute. The materials on the mutated fox were very likely found by him. And he's considered a high-ranking official in the base, so do you think there might be any traces left in his house?"

"You make a good point. So, what should we do next?"

"There are so many people in this base who are jealous of Lou Yu. It's not surprising that a few bold ones might come and steal something."

After they finished discussing their plan, they quickly devised a scheme. Instead of doing it themselves, they hired a few shady characters from the black market to do the work for them.

Their demand to the scapegoat thieves was that they pack up everything in Lou Yu's room except for personal belongings, leaving nothing behind.

The secret that Lou Quan is so desperate to protect must be extremely important. If Lou Yu had anything related to these secrets, he would most likely choose to hide it in his own room, which is only human nature.

However, to avoid suspicion, they reminded the scapegoats to also mess up the rooms of the other members of the team.

Once they were prepared, they began to create opportunities.

Three days later, a group of mutated mantises infiltrated the safe zone and were discovered by a patrol team. Because of their overwhelming numbers, the patrol team was no match for them and requested assistance from the base.

Lou Yu's entire team was mobilized; at home? Not a single person remained.

The squad had barely left when the scapegoats sneaked into the courtyard.

But what the scapegoats didn't expect was that Lou Yu and his group had set up traps in their own home. Any place that could be entered, whether it was a door or a window, would trigger the traps and sound the alarm if opened improperly.

Just as a scapegoat pried open the window and peered inside, a gentle push was made, followed by a loud crack, and then a piercing alarm blared, so loud that it could be heard throughout half the residential area.

The scapegoat was so frightened he almost tumbled off the window.

Several scapegoats tried to escape, but their employer warned them through their earpieces to hurry in and loot as much as they could. Anyone who dared to leave empty-handed would be dead.

The scapegoats were nearly driven mad with anger, but for the sake of their own lives, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and rush in.

If caught by the base security, even a serious theft conviction might only result in imprisonment. But a heartless employer could really kill someone.

A quick-witted, habitual offender ransacked the place, taking out all of Lou Yu's belongings.

This includes boxes containing feathers, photos, and small gifts from the kids.

The box was placed in a locked drawer, but the drawer lock was broken by the scapegoat, and the box was opened.