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"Sure."

Lou Yu pulled out the video, and the four of them huddled together again.

Ten minutes later, Liu Qi'an lay peacefully on the sofa. "I must be dreaming. How could these be real things?"

Huo Lan and the others were also in a state of confusion, but perhaps because they had been shocked too many times and their brains had gone blank, they were not as hard to accept as Liu Qi'an. Instead, they felt that nothing seemed surprising in this magical world.

Lou Yu was afraid that if he said anything else, they would overload their brains and faint, so he said, "Let's stop here for today. If you have any questions, you can ask me later."

Before returning to his bedroom, Lou Yu made sure to take his phone with him; he now needed to look at Tao Qiu's and the others' photos every night before he could sleep peacefully.

Lou Yu had thought that Huo Lan and the others would need a few days to process all this information, but to his surprise, they were full of energy the very next day and their ability to process information was excellent.

While eating breakfast, Huo Lan asked with bright eyes, "Captain, three children? Are they viviparous or oviparous? Is it one boy and two girls?"

Lou Yu said, "They are oviparous, hatched by Snow Bird. The older brother hatches first, and the younger sister hatches later."

Chen Lin: "Captain, you didn't know at first that Snow Bird was pregnant with your child, because I saw that the supplies you initially sent to Snow Bird didn't include anything related to the child."

"Yes, me too. I only found out last year that I was pregnant with his child. There are too many barriers between humans and mutated monsters, so it's normal that he didn't trust me before."

Liu Qi'an smiled and said, "Fortunately, Captain, you passed the Snow Bird's test, otherwise he wouldn't be helping us grow crops now."

Huo Lan exclaimed excitedly, "What does this prove? It proves that you and Snow Bird are a match made in heaven. No matter what obstacles you encounter, you'll always end up together!"

Lou Yu smiled, brighter than the sun. "I think so too."

John asked curiously, "In the videos, they all seem to speak human languages. Do they have human names?"

"Yes?" Lou Yu told Tao Qiu and the three children's names, "Tao Qiu is very knowledgeable about human culture. When you meet him in the future, just treat him like an ordinary human."

Liu Qi'an exclaimed in surprise, "This is all? Did he teach himself? He's incredibly smart!"

Lou Yu smiled without saying a word. He had some guesses about Tao Qiu's human identity, but since Tao Qiu hadn't told him, he wouldn't ask.

Huo Lan suggested, "Captain, let us help you decorate your new home. As the only girl in the team, I think I have some ideas on how to decorate a young lady's room."

Chen Lin took a sip of porridge and said, "Captain, does your family live in a separate house? It must be more comfortable. But you can let the children come over to play here more often. I'll cook them something delicious."

Liu Qi'an: "I can play with them."

John: "I taught them kung fu."

Huo Lan: "Me too."

Breakfast ended in such a lively atmosphere. Not only Lou Yu, but everyone else in the team was also full of energy, with smiles never appearing on their faces.

When people asked them what happy event they had encountered, their unanimous answer was, "It's a secret for now."

With the addition of several teammates, the house-decorating process sped up considerably. Huo Lan basically took over Xuexue and Yuanyuan's rooms, always bringing large bags and small packages whenever she came over. Lou Yu often wondered if the rooms could hold all that stuff.

But every time Huo Lan finished decorating, he would go in and see how perfectly everything was arranged. Huo Lan said she had a knack for this, and she really wasn't exaggerating.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu were both busy with their own things, and time flew by. In the blink of an eye, it was late autumn, and there was only half a month left before early winter arrived.

The crops at the base were harvested well ahead of schedule, and as previously predicted, the yield was reduced.

The Lou Family was waiting for Lou Quan to borrow grain from them so they could take advantage of the situation to force Lou Yu back to the Central Base; the people of Yong'an Base were also watching, preferring to go hungry rather than have Lou Quan compromise with the people of the Central Base.

This time, with the absence of several powerful families secretly spreading rumors and stirring up trouble, the masses weren't too agitated upon receiving news of reduced grain production, as they had already made preparations.

Lou Quan even suggested repaying part of the grain borrowed from the Yongkang Base, and they had no objections. They believed that borrowing meant repayment, and as satellite bases, Yongkang was also facing difficulties.

The Central Base, having received no call for help from Lou Quan, assumed he was just being stubborn and suffering for it, and laughed at his naiveté.

Don't be fooled by the current arrogant demeanor of those people at the Yong'an Base, who seem to prefer starving to death rather than borrowing food from the Central Base. When they're truly on the verge of starvation, they'll be more than willing to borrow; they'd probably kneel down and beg for alms from the Central Base.

Being hungry is awful.

Lou Quan let them run wild, thinking that listening to the people was for their own good, without any sense of the bigger picture. When the backlash comes, he'll know what regret truly means.

The new grain from the Yong'an Base hasn't even hit the market yet, but the local people have already started dividing one meal into three, fearing they won't make it to next summer's harvest.

Lou Quan observed the reactions of both sides, but he didn't say much. He simply sent people to return some of the grain to the Yongkang Base according to plan.

However, what outsiders don't know is that returning the grain is just a pretext; the real business is the exchange of research data on Awakening Reagent and that set of identity documents.

On the day that group of people who went to the Yongkang Base returned, Tao Qiu and her three children would officially enter the human base. At that time, everyone would know that they were Lou Yu's lover and children.

Lou Yu was ostensibly in the grain-returning team, but he actually got off the vehicle as soon as he left the base. The one who really went with him was Zhao Tao. With him there, the team's safety shouldn't be a problem.

Lou Yu drove alone to the mouth of the valley. This time, he didn't honk the horn, but instead walked in as if he were going home.

As soon as Lou Yu stepped into the valley, he was immediately drawn to the golden wheat fields. Everywhere he looked, the plump ears of wheat swelled up as if they were about to burst, bending the stalks heavily, a bright sign of the impending harvest.

A breeze rustled through the wheat field, like whispers. Lou Yu smelled the fragrance of wheat, so strong that it brought tears to his eyes.

His Qiuqiu did not disappoint him; he truly produced a sufficient amount of grain.

"Lou Yu's father! You're here?!"

Lou Yu was still calming down when the three little devils ran up to him from the end of the road. If they weren't wearing clothes and it wouldn't be convenient for them to spread their wings, they would have flown over long ago.

Lou Yu squatted down, hugged the three little ones into his arms, and asked happily, "Long time no see! Did you miss your dad?"

"I've been thinking about it, I really have." Third Cub said, leaning over to give Lou Yu a quick kiss on the cheek to prove he wasn't lying.

Seeing this, the Second Cub Eldest Cub pounced on Lou Yu and showered him with kisses. They were so strong that they almost knocked Lou Yu to the ground.

Tao Qiu, who had followed behind, picked them up, one in each hand.

"Alright, alright, you all know perfectly well that you just miss your Lou Yu's father so much that anyone who didn't know better would think you were going to eat him up."

The Second Cub Eldest Cub n't afraid at all, even though they were being held in mid-air; instead, they happily kicked their legs a couple of times.

The Second Cub said, "Daddy, I'm not inferior to anyone, much less to Lou Yu, Daddy."

Tao Qiu didn't argue with her, but only asked, "So, your Lou Yu's father brought some delicious food, do you want some?"

Second Cub grinned foolishly. "This one? It's... the cheaper one."

Tao Qiu put the cubs on the ground, Lou Yu also stood up.

The kids moved aside on their own, leaving space for their two fathers.

Lou Yu opened his arms and said with a smile, "I want a hug, kind Qiuqiu, please grant my wish?"

"No way," Tao Qiu said, refusing, but her body betrayed her, and she threw herself into Lou Yu's arms, giggling, "No way!"

The two embraced tightly, feeling each other's warmth and smelling each other's scent. In that moment, their incomplete world was finally filled by the other.

If this hug temporarily eased Tao Qiu's lovesickness, then when Lou Yu said he could stay with them for a few days until the team delivering grain to the Yongkang Base returned, and they would then transport the grain from the valley back together, all of Tao Qiu's remaining bitterness had turned into honey-like sweetness.

The children cheered too.

"That's great, Lou Yu's father doesn't need to rush back anymore."

"Lou Yu's dad played here first, and then we went to the base with Lou Yu to play. Hehe, so great!"

When are we going to the base?

Lou Yu said, "The grain delivery team is coming? It will probably take about a week to return, it should be... a week from now."

Second Cub exclaimed excitedly, "Yay! Let's bring our phones! We want to take lots of pictures!"

The Third Cub were also looking forward to it. "Mmm, take lots of pictures, bring them back to see?"

The kids started discussing what they would do at the base, getting more and more excited as they talked, their little faces flushed, lively and adorable.

Since they would be going to the base soon, Lou Yu thought that he could buy whatever Tao Qiu and the others needed or wanted, and then deliver it to them on their return trip. So this time he only brought some food and his own supplies for the week.

It's getting colder lately, and the temperature has dropped, so it's not suitable to stay outside anymore. The family of five decided to go back into their cave.

This is Lou Yu's second time entering this place. Both times, Tao Qiu brought him up. Last time, he grabbed him with his claws, and this time, he was carried in a princess carry.

Lou Yu didn't feel embarrassed about being hugged like that by his partner. It only proved that they had a good relationship and that his Qiuqiu doted on him.

He's too proud to even be gloating.