Fire and Ice
In the following months, under the arrangement of the Shen Family Head, the entire Shen Family obediently lay low, quiet and docile like harmless little rabbits.
The Lou Family sold grain and seeds, and other families bought them, including the Shen Family.
Seeing the Lou Family making a fortune after the autumn harvest, with even their breath smelling of money, the Shen Family Head remained calm and unperturbed, showing none of the exasperation he had felt before when he felt surpassed by the Lou Family.
His composure surprised even the Shen Family.
Upon seeing this, Eldest Young Master Shen and Seventh Young Lady Shen remembered what the Banyan Tree had said before: that the substance inside the seed could allow the Shen Family to control the world.
They hold the whole world in their hands? In their hearts? What does a mere Lou Family matter? What?
In late autumn, Tao Qiu and Lou Yu led their children to the valley to harvest the last batch of crops. After distributing most of the crops to their mutated monster friends, they drove back to base with the remaining crop.
The car drove out of the valley, past Tao Qiu and Black Rabbit's territory, and then headed straight towards the base.
"Hmm?" Tao Qiu, sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly glanced out the window, her brows furrowing slightly.
Lou Yu, driving, asked, "What's wrong?"
Tao Qiu said warily, "I just sensed a gaze spying on us, but when I looked over, it suddenly disappeared."
Lou Yu said, "It might be a mutated monster attracted by my scent or the smell of the crops. But since it didn't attack, it's probably afraid of you, Qiuqiu, and ran away."
"Perhaps?" Lou Yu's guess was highly probable, but Tao Qiu felt inexplicably uneasy.
Upon hearing this, the three kids all crowded to the car window, wanting to help check if the mutated monster was still there.
Eldest Cub: "Report, report, I didn't find anything."
Second Cub: "It runs too fast!"
Third Cub: "It runs fast, could it be... a rabbit?"
Second Cub drooled, "Rabbit, hehe, spicy rabbit head is so delicious."
Third Cub: "Roasted rabbit is delicious too."
Eldest Cub: "I like both."
As we talked, the topic veered off to the food that the kids all like.
Tao Qiu and Lou Yu exchanged a glance, then smiled with a mixture of indulgence and helplessness.
After the car disappeared into the distance, a clump of Root emerged from the soil, "gazing" in the direction Tao Qiu and the others had left, remaining motionless for a long time.
Night fell, Root crept from the ground into the valley.
After it arrived, it discovered that even when the Snow Bird wasn't around, powerful mutated monsters often roamed near its territory. At first, it didn't understand, but when it saw the Snow Bird sharing crops with them, it realized that these mutated monsters were the Snow Bird's friends, wandering around to help the Snow Bird patrol its territory.
After the three superhumans brought it here, they left. It can conceal its presence and has methods to protect itself. Moreover, it hides underground most of the time, so even mutated monsters that can detect it cannot harm it.
The Snow Bird's mutated monster friends only patrol the surface, while the Root move underground, so they can freely enter and exit the valley as long as the Snow Bird is not around.
A few months ago, when it arrived here and first saw the crops covering the valley, it was certain that Tao Qiu was Snow Bird. The air here was filled with the scent of that thing.
The Snow Bird is Tao Qiu, and Tao Qiu is the Snow Bird. After confirming this result, its mood was surprisingly calm, with only a sense of "so this is really true."
Even though the crops have all been harvested, it still feels exceptionally comfortable rooted in the soil nourished by that substance for many years, like a long-awaited rain after a drought.
It could feel that the Snow Bird's entire body was filled with this thing, or rather, the Snow Bird was this thing itself, so "fragrant" that it couldn't help but tremble all over.
It thought, "If only this power were mine!"
Chapter 110 A Tale of Two Extremes
Winter is almost here, and the school at the base will soon be on winter break. Tao Qiu and Lou Yu want to enroll their three kids before the break so they can go to school next spring.
Having been at the base for several years, Tao Qiu and Lou Yu both had their own jobs, and the three kids either stayed at home or followed the two of them, living a very leisurely life.
The two elderly fathers weren't against their children being idle; they just felt it wasn't right to always have them around. They thought it was time for them to go out and interact with other children, building their own social circles.
Where are the most children? In schools, of course.
The couple asked the children for their opinions and said that they could go to school for a few days, and if they really didn't like it, they could stop going altogether.
The three kids weren't opposed to going to school, and since their fathers suggested it, they agreed to give it a try.
The children are bright; without any deliberate effort, they've already developed a certain foundation in literacy and arithmetic through watching TV dramas and casual instruction from adults.
Lou Yu contacted the school teacher, explained the situation, and the teacher prepared several upper elementary school test papers for the three boys to complete.
Not everyone got a perfect score, but the average was over 90, which is enough to get directly into a higher grade.
Then came the class selection. If Congcong hadn't already entered middle school, the kids would have really wanted to go to school with him.
At this moment, Tao Bai Huan remembered Bai Tao Qiu. After asking the teacher who was receiving them, she learned that Bai Huan was the homeroom teacher of one of the upper-grade classes. She then called Bai Huan to ask if she would be willing to take the three children as transfer students. After Bai Huan agreed, the matter was settled.
The three kids have met Bai Huan a few times over the past few years and have a very good impression of this handsome uncle. They are also very happy to hear from their two fathers that they will be attending his class in the future.
The first snow of winter fell, the base closed its gates, and began a winter break that would last for several months.
The mutated monsters in the wild have also retreated into their lairs, with only a small number venturing out to forage in the icy and snowy conditions.
Root that Tao Qiu's mutated monster friends wouldn't enter the valley, the roots freely took hold in the soil at the bottom of the valley, where energy remained, to recuperate and thrive.
In the months since its arrival, Tao Qiu has frequently traveled between the valleys of the base, giving it many more opportunities to observe him.
In addition, through the interrogation of the low-level mutated monsters in Tao Qiu's territory, Root has gained a certain understanding of Tao Qiu's abilities.
As a high-level mutated monster, Root witnessed Tao Qiu's hunting scenes, so his formidable combat strength was beyond doubt, and his intelligence was also a major advantage.
The Root also inadvertently witnessed its ability to grow and shrink at will, and it had to admit that it was comparable to its own ability to store consciousness and power within a clump of Root.
Tao Qiu may have other abilities, but Root haven't been discovered yet.
It estimated that in a one-on-one fight, it might be able to slightly outmaneuver Tao Qiu.
But if it wants to devour Tao Qiu, it's not as simple as just being able to defeat it.
In its current state, even if it catches Tao Qiu, it might not be able to control him and make him obediently be eaten.
Moreover, if it wants to take action, it can only choose between its base and the wild.
Given Tao Qiu's importance to that group of humans at the base, if it captures Tao Qiu, neither Lou Yu nor anyone else will let it go.
Even if it manages to escape the base, those people will still come after it, and the consequences will be too troublesome.
In the wild, Tao Qiu's mutated monster friends would definitely help; it might not be able to handle it.
Therefore, considering all factors, direct confrontation is not the best option; the only remaining choice is to outsmart the enemy.
Tao Qiu's high-level mutated monster friends are facing a difficult situation if they try to use strategy to deal with them.
Several high-level mutated monsters would exchange items with Tao Qiu for crops, clearly having experienced the benefits of these crops. Therefore, their relationship with Tao Qiu was not only one of friendship but also one of entanglement with interests.
Trying to sow discord between them and Tao Qiu, so that they wouldn't lend a helping hand when Tao Qiu is in trouble, is extremely difficult.
In comparison, things are much simpler for humans.
Firstly, there are many humans, and with so many people, there will be distinctions of rank, love and hate, and narrow-mindedness. With so many people in the Yong'an Base, it doesn't believe that everyone likes Tao Qiu and Lou Yu.
Furthermore, the human faction is complex, with each leader pursuing their own interests. It would be incredibly easy to exploit their hostility and selfishness to create chaos.
Finally, Root decided to infiltrate the Yong'an Base before proceeding with the next step.
Winter was bitterly cold, and Tao Qiu didn't have to go to work, so he was getting lazy. He spent most of his day eating, drinking, playing, and sleeping. Sleeping alone took up more than half of his day.
The kids are full of energy, getting up and going to bed early every day, and even the cold weather can't stop them from going out to play.
In winter, their usual destination is the ice rink. However, for safety reasons, they are always accompanied by adults, not Tao Qiu and Lou Yu, but also a few uncles and aunts that Huo Lan and the others can completely trust.
After a day of play, the kids came home in the evening, ate dinner, and had just finished washing up when they were already sleepy. Tao Qiu hadn't even finished her bedtime story before the three kids were already nestled in their fathers' arms, fast asleep.
After settling the children back into their rooms, the couple felt it was still early and they weren't sleepy, so they snuggled up on the sofa together to watch a movie.
This is a foreign horror movie that uses gore and grotesque scenes as its selling point, but for two people who are used to killing, these plot points are really not scary.
The progress bar was halfway there when Tao Qiu yawned, a little bored, and leaned back. Then he felt something warm and sticky against him.
Tao Qiu was being held by Lou Yu, and the only thing that could hurt him was that thing.
"You've been working all day, aren't you tired?"
"Not tired at all, I'm in great spirits." Lou Yu rested his chin on Tao Qiu's shoulder, looking a little aggrieved. "Qiuqiu has been sleepy every day since winter started, and I've been too embarrassed to bother you at night. It's been almost a month, hasn't it?"