Chapter 113 (continued)

He glared at Lou Yu with a sinister grin, then reached into the pocket he was carrying.

Lou Yu was startled and rushed over, but unfortunately he was too slow, allowing Lou Yu to pull out the item and scatter it among the crowd.

Thinking it was something dangerous, everyone screamed and backed away.

Lou Yu rushed to the man and quickly pinned his hands behind his back to the ground.

The man let out a cry of pain, but then immediately laughed, raising his head and shouting, "Look carefully at what's in the photo! Lou Yu's girlfriend and child are mutated monsters! He brought mutated monsters into the base!"

Before the man shouted, someone had already noticed that what he had scattered wasn't something meant to injure someone, but rather a series of color photographs.

After he shouted, Lou Yu Tao Qiu, and the children's expressions changed, and the crowd erupted in uproar. Many people picked up the photos and began to look at them.

"My God, this... this really looks like Mr. Tao! How come he has wings on his back?"

"Why are Mr. Tao and the children standing with the mutated monster? No, no, no, they look like... mutated monsters!"

"The three children too, look, they've all turned into birds, they're mutated Snow Bird!"

Several photos also fell in front of Tao Qiu. He picked them up and looked at them. There were photos of him flying into the cave as a winged half-human, half-human, one of him and his cubs in the same frame as the Black Rabbit and the Green Python, and another of him and his cubs transforming from human form into Snow Bird...

It must have been taken in the last few months when he took the children to the countryside; the photos were taken without their knowledge.

What on earth is it that has been following him so silently for so long without him noticing?

Tao Qiu clutched the photo tightly, her knuckles turning white.

"They are mutated monsters! They are mutated monsters!"

The passersby looked terrified and staggered backward.

But the commotion attracted people from further away, and more and more people gathered to watch. Some asked questions, some answered, some exclaimed, and some shouted, forming a circle and creating a noisy scene.

"Dad..."

The three children nervously huddled around Tao Qiu's legs. Tao Qiu dropped the photo and reached out to embrace the children.

Tao Qiu's expression turned cold. She said to Lou Yu, who was trying to get up, "Suppress him. Don't let him escape. Find out who ordered him."

After losing her gentle demeanor, Tao Qiu's voice became indifferent and cold, abruptly silencing the noisy crowd for a few seconds.

Seeing that Tao Qiu wasn't as panicked as he had imagined, the man's smile froze for a moment, and then he shouted even louder.

"What are you, a mutated monster, so arrogant about! I'm telling you! I'm not running away! I'm here today to expose you bunch of liars!"

He strained to turn his head to look at Lou Yu, chuckling menacingly as he panted, "Lou Yu, you've been hanging out with mutated monsters? Fine, but you even brought them into the base? What are you up to? Do you want these monsters to eat everyone in the base?!"

"Ah!" Upon hearing the man's words, the innermost crowd of onlookers once again pushed back in terror, trying to escape the crowd.

There were just too many people; not a single one could squeeze through.

Lou Yu, his face grim, grabbed the man's hair and slammed his head against the ground with a thud, cursing, "Bullshit! You eat people? I would never eat my girlfriend or children!"

The man, his forehead bleeding and nose spurting, howled in pain, "Murder to silence him! Murder to silence him!"

The more pitiful his cries, the greater the panic he caused, and the scene was on the verge of chaos, with the possibility of a stampede.

Tao Qiu frowned deeply, and for the first time in front of a person, she used her bird-like advantage, shouting sternly, "Shut up, all of you—"

That sound, carrying the natural pressure of a mutated monster, drowned out all other sounds, making one's eardrums ache.

However, the deterrent effect was indeed quite good. Everyone, including the men, not only shut up, but the chaos also stopped. They all stood there, looking at Tao Qiu with helplessness and unease.

Tao Qiu looked around at everyone, put his hands on his hips, and shouted, "What are you yelling about! What are you running for! I am Snow Bird! I've lived in this area for over twenty years, and who among you has ever seen me eat a human? A few years ago, didn't quite a few humans come to my territory pretending to be unconscious, hoping I would take them in! I wasn't afraid then, but now you know how to be afraid!"

This was the first time the couple had shown such a fierce side in front of others; they were genuinely enraged.

On one hand, they were worried about who was behind the man's actions, as his exposure would likely attract the attention of the central base. On the other hand, they were also concerned that with so many people gathered here, chaos could easily ensue.

It's not like there haven't been precedents. That stampede incident caused Lou Quan to be taken back and tortured by the central base. It's only been a few years, and people have already forgotten about it.

At times like these, speaking politely won't get you anywhere; you have to be fierce and intimidating to keep them in check.

The security team hasn't arrived yet? They must stabilize the situation and prevent an accident from happening.

Tao Qiu continued, "You may be highly sought after by mutated monsters, but I don't care. Your crops and vegetables aren't as fragrant as mine, and you're bigger than those mutated monsters outside. Even eating you would be too much for me. I'm not the kind of person who invites trouble."

After being scolded by Tao Qiu, most people calmed down, and rustling sounds came from the crowd.

"He... he's Snow Bird? You mean... the Snow Bird that lives in the valley?"

"I? I don't know. I only heard that there were mutated monsters here, and I thought they had sneaked in. It almost scared me to death."

"I was just here. Someone identified Mr. Tao and his three children as mutated monsters and even provided photos. They don't look fake to me."

"What photo? Show it to me."

"Me too! Me too!"

"Hey, don't push."

Tao Qiu clicked her tongue. "Here we go again, huh? What are you looking at photos for! I'll show you the real thing!"

After saying that, Tao Qiu's white shirt was torn open, and huge snow-white wings were released. After flapping twice, they carried Tao Qiu into the air.

The crowd gasped in surprise, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

"Those wings... they really are those of Snow Bird!"

"Green eyes, white hair, oh dear, isn't that the Snow Bird? What foreigner? We've all mistaken it for something else!"

"My goodness, those wings are huge!"

"When he's in bird form, he's even bigger!"

"Wow, that's so cool!" That's a kid.

"I always thought Mr. Tao was a skinny guy, but I never expected him to have such nice muscles under his clothes." That's a lecher.

"Um, he's a mutated monster, should we be scared or not?" This is a fence-sitter.

The man lying on the ground with a pool of blood from his nose was dumbfounded; this was completely different from what he had imagined.

They're all hurling insults and attacks at Lou Yu and Tao Qiu, what are they standing there like idiots for?

He tried to sow discord again, but Lou Yu saw through his plan and slammed him to the ground.

After Tao Qiu up, he stopped talking. With no danger, and no longer thinking of escaping, people stayed, partly reluctantly and partly out of curiosity to watch the spectacle.

The atmosphere at the scene became awkwardly silent, with the onlookers unsure of what to do next.

One person commented, "It feels like a dream..."

Fortunately, Tao Qiu, who was flying in mid-air, saw Lou Quan rushing over with a group of people.

Tao Qiu landed, folded its wings, and a few feathers drifted out, only to be caught precisely by several people before hitting the ground.

Tao Qiu at them, and they gave her a silly grin.

These are Snow Bird feathers! Not only are they beautiful, but you can also brag about them. Not everyone has seen what we've seen today!

Tao Qiu, who vaguely guessed what they were thinking from their expressions, said, "..."

Lou Quan ordered his men to evacuate the crowd from the perimeter, and after clearing a path, he led his men inside.

Two people took over Lou Yu's job of pressing people down. Lou Yu quickly returned to Tao Qiu's side. The children rushed to him, checking if he was injured. He also asked the children if they were frightened.

Lou Quan's eyes were full of worry, "Are you and the child alright?"

Tao Qiu shook her head, looked at the man who was being forced to stand up, and said, "It's nothing. I suspect this man is being directed by something, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to get these photos. What's directing him is very likely the one who spied on us."

Upon hearing this, Lou Quan immediately turned his head to look around. Exposing Tao Qiu's identity was such an important matter; there was no way that guy wouldn't come. He kept an eye on him.

Tao Qiu said, "I just flew up and looked, but I didn't see it, nor could I sense its presence."

The man over there, hearing their words, laughed triumphantly, "Of course you won't find me, because there's no one behind it all, it was all my doing!"

Tao Qiu and the others looked at him like he was an idiot. Tao Qiu said speechlessly, "You??"

Lou Quan, also looking displeased, said to his subordinates, "Take him away. Intensify the interrogation. Send someone to check his residence."

Surely there must be someone in the entire base who knows him; even if he doesn't speak, an investigation can still uncover the truth.

As the man was dragged away, he struggled and shouted, "It was all my doing! I'm that smart! Why don't you believe me?!"

But nobody had time to pay attention to him right now, not even the passersby who were busy watching the drama unfold.

The people who hadn't dispersed watched as Tao Qiu, Lou Yu, and Lou Yu Lou Quan stood together discussing matters. Tao Qiu's wings weren't even fully folded back, and Lou Quan and the arriving soldiers didn't seem surprised at all.

They immediately understood that Lou Quan and the other high-ranking officials had known all along that Tao Qiu and the three children were mutated monsters.

No wonder Tao Qiu dared to openly admit he was Snow Bird; all the humans who could threaten him militarily were his allies.