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Tao Qiu's nuzzling tickled them, and they chirped and giggled. They looked so adorable that Tao Qiu nearly passed out. He had to take several deep breaths before he recovered.

A few days after Tao Qiu and the others finished harvesting, the temperature plunged by more than ten degrees. Even the fluffy cubs occasionally complained of the cold.

But they ran around playing every day and were learning to fly, so they got plenty of exercise. The current cold had little effect on them.

That didn't stop the cubs from using it as an excuse to snuggle into Tao Qiu's arms whenever they could, insisting that he hold them tight.

Eldest Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

Daddy's arms are the warmest.

Second Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

We have to snuggle up to Daddy to stay warm.

Third Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

Daddy is our sunshine.

The cubs chimed in one after another, flattering Tao Qiu until the corners of his mouth nearly flew to the sky.

It rained that morning, and when Tao Qiu went out on patrol that afternoon, his breath came out in little clouds.

Tao Qiu didn't much like the damp air, which left his feathers half-dry and half-wet, so he planned to make a quick circuit and head back.

But when he reached the edge of his territory, he ran into a few people he hadn't expected to see.

That was right: people, not mutated monsters.

As Tao Qiu flew overhead, the man standing at the front looked up, revealing a face Tao Qiu knew well.

They hadn't seen each other for months, and the purple in the man's eyes had grown more pronounced, nearly overtaking the original black.

As he gazed at the Snow Bird circling overhead, his eyes seemed to be veiled in a thin mist by the day's weather. They were so tender they looked ready to bloom, making it clear just how happy he was.

Suddenly, Tao Qiu felt that the rainy, misty weather wasn't so unpleasant after all.

He gave a soft cry in greeting.

The man seemed to understand and raised a hand to wave at him.

The four teammates standing behind Lou Yu stared wide-eyed as though they were watching a spectacle. If they hadn't been afraid of upsetting the Snow Bird, they would have already shouted, "Holy shit!"

As the only person on the team who had previously seen the Snow Bird give Lou Yu prey, Liu Qi'an quietly exchanged meaningful looks with the other three.

You said I was exaggerating before. Now you've finally seen it for yourselves. Convinced?

The three: We're convinced, we're convinced.

They had long known that their captain got along well with the Snow Bird, and they themselves had once been escorted back to the base by him. But they were used to fighting mutated monsters, so seeing the two sides interact so harmoniously today felt a little surreal.

It was too unreal!

Neither Tao Qiu nor Lou Yu noticed the looks the others were exchanging. Tao Qiu assumed they were passing by chance again, so he greeted them and prepared to leave.

Although he and the man had three children together, and he himself had been human in his previous life, he was a mutated monster in this life. In the end, he and humans were on different paths.

Besides, judging by the man's state of mind, he had probably been doing well lately. That put Tao Qiu at ease.

That was probably as far as his relationship with the man would go. They weren't the same species to begin with, and humans and mutated monsters were also enemies. Most importantly, the man didn't feel that way about him.

Since there was no chance of them getting together, why grow too close and only cause unhappiness?

Lou Yu had actually taken a deliberate detour to the Snow Bird's territory. There was no need to come this way at all on their return to the base from the mission site.

But he rarely got a chance to leave the base, and a voice in his heart kept urging him: At least come and take a look.

He had given himself only ten minutes. If the Snow Bird didn't appear, he would leave.

They were out in the wild, after all, and he had teammates with him. He couldn't be too willful.

Fortunately, the Snow Bird appeared in the eighth minute.

Lou Yu suddenly grew superstitious. He felt that he and the Snow Bird were quite fated to meet.

When his life had hung in the balance, the Snow Bird had saved him. Last time, their car had broken down, and the Snow Bird had happened to pass by while they stopped to fix it. This time, he had only planned to stay for a short while, and the Snow Bird had appeared again.

It was like that thing they talked about in TV dramas—a match made in heaven!

All sorts of thoughts ran through Lou Yu's head, but he maintained his usual serious expression.

He was still basking in his happiness when he saw the Snow Bird give him another cry, then turn to fly away.

Lou Yu was startled and called out instinctively, "Wait!"

He had practically shouted it. Not only did the Snow Bird in midair hear him, but Liu Qi'an and the others behind him also jumped in fright.

The Snow Bird and the teammates looked at Lou Yu at the same time.

Only then did Lou Yu realize he had no reason to ask the Snow Bird to stay.

Seeing the man hesitate as though he wanted to say something, Tao Qiu assumed he had something to tell him. So he glided down to the ground and walked over to him.

"Chirp?"

Tao Qiu stretched his large head toward him.

The Snow Bird's size was simply too intimidating. Even though he was a beautiful bird, Huo Lan and the others instinctively backed away. Only Lou Yu remained where he was.

Partly, that was because he wasn't afraid of the Snow Bird. But his mind was also racing to find a reason, and he had no time even to think about running.

Finally, Lou Yu came up with an idea.

"I want to give you something. Wait a moment."

He turned and walked toward the car. He was so nervous that he nearly moved his arms and legs in step, but luckily he corrected himself in time. Otherwise, he would have embarrassed himself in front of the Snow Bird.

Lou Yu climbed into the car and rummaged around for who knew what. Huo Lan and the others exchanged bewildered looks.

Did the captain say he was going to give the Snow Bird something?

I don't think so. I didn't hear about it, and I didn't see him prepare anything. Didn't he decide to come here on the spur of the moment too?

Could the captain have prepared something in secret without us knowing?

Is it possible he only just decided to give him something?

The group: "..."

With Lou Yu gone, Tao Qiu's gaze naturally fell on Chen Lin and the others.

He still remembered the man's teammates. Even without knowing whether the man was alive or dead, they had dared to climb into his cave to rescue him. They really were a loyal bunch of friends.

Liu Qi'an was asking his teammates with his eyes what their captain was up to when he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck. He turned and found the Snow Bird staring straight at them.

Liu Qi'an remembered a joke his teammates had made before: mutated monsters were especially fond of him because he was so burly. Surely the Snow Bird didn't want to eat him too?

Liu Qi'an instinctively shielded himself.

A puzzled look appeared in Tao Qiu's clear eyes. Was this burly man afraid of him? He thought he had acted friendly and hadn't shown any killing intent.

Liu Qi'an was scared half to death.

Boo-hoo, why was the Snow Bird still looking at him? He wasn't tasty at all, really!

The other three were under plenty of pressure too. Even though they could also tell the Snow Bird meant no harm, their innate fear of mutated monsters still made their bodies tense up instinctively.

Their admiration for Lou Yu rose to another level.

Sure enough, not just anyone could be a friend of the Snow Bird. They couldn't face the Snow Bird without fear like Lou Yu did, let alone smile.

Just as his teammates were reaching their limits and were about to reflexively draw their guns, Lou Yu finally came out of the car.

He was carrying a backpack that looked stuffed full. There was no telling what was inside.

Under his teammates' gazes, Lou Yu handed the backpack to the Snow Bird and said somewhat awkwardly, "Thank you for the prey you gave me last time. There are some little human things in here. I hope you'll like them."

Afraid the Snow Bird would misunderstand, he immediately added, "This isn't a return gift for the prey. The prey was so valuable, naturally it's worth more than just this. I'll put proper thought into a return gift and give it to you later."

Tao Qiu looked at the backpack, then at the man. He wanted to tell him that he had given him the prey of his own accord as compensation for forcing himself on him, and that there was no need for a return gift.

But with other people present, he couldn't use human language. He also felt that the explanation might be rude to the man, so he chose to keep quiet.

As for the backpack...

Tao Qiu met the man's expectant purple eyes and suddenly thought of Third Cub, who depended on him the most. His heart softened, and he decided to accept the man's kind gesture.

John and the others, who had remained silent all this time, were dumbfounded.

They thought the Snow Bird was quite intelligent, but he was still a mutated monster. Humans and monsters were different. Their captain had rattled off so much, but could the Snow Bird understand him?

Besides, though they didn't know what the captain had put in the bag, could the Snow Bird even use human things?

Had the captain gone mad?

Ten thousand questions raced through the teammates' minds, but in the end, none of them spoke up.

Oh well. The captain really was under a lot of pressure. If he wanted to be crazy for once, let him, as long as he was happy.

As the teammates considered how to help their captain relieve his stress once they got back, lest he really go mad, the Snow Bird did something unexpected right before their eyes.

He picked up the backpack in his beak.

The teammates: "?"

And instead of grabbing the whole backpack in his mouth, he specifically picked it up by the straps, as though he knew how they were used.

The teammates: "!"

Once he had a firm grip on the backpack, the Snow Bird leaned his head toward Lou Yu, just as he had last time, as though showing affection.

Lou Yu reached out and gently stroked the top of his head.

The teammates sucked in a breath.

They felt that the first thing they needed to worry about wasn't the captain's stress, but their own survival.

The reason humans could still struggle to survive under siege by powerful mutated monsters was that they were clever enough to build walls and weapons for defense, making up for the disadvantage of being left behind by the great evolution.