Love at First Sight, Mutual Confessions

Their mother was a large bird with black feathers and purple eyes.

But the cubs haven't seen her since they were born, which suggests that she might have left before they hatched, just as the Green Python said, or rather... died.

The chicks, who thought they had guessed the truth, fell silent.

If they leave, it's okay. Dad will take good care of them. They need their dad.

But what if you die...?

To be honest, they had only accepted the idea that they might have a mother a few days ago. To them, "mother" was just a symbol; they had never seen her and had no feelings for her.

The idea of asking my father before stemmed from my mother's relationship with him, but it was more of a curiosity and a desire to explore unknown secrets.

Now, suddenly learning that their mother might be dead, they didn't want to cry, but they felt a little lost and empty inside.

Like a snowflake falling from the sky, landing in your palm, it quickly melts into a drop of water, and finally evaporates and disappears.

You only had it briefly, and then you lost it completely.

The Little Snake, startled by their distressed expressions, circled around anxiously twice, awkwardly offering a comforting whisper, "Hiss..."

--Don't be like this. It's not confirmed that he's dead; he might just be gone.

The Eldest Cub snapped out of his reverie and said earnestly to his sisters, "Chirp chirp, chirp chirp chirp, chirp chirp."

--Whatever the reason, we should never mention this in front of Dad again, let's just pretend it never happened? I don't know.

The Second Cub and Third Cub nodded in unison.

Perhaps the reason Dad didn't tell them about Mom's existence was because Mom was gone or no longer alive. Since they couldn't see her anymore, telling them would only make them sad.

They firmly believe that their father always acted in their best interests.

The Second Cub said to the Little Snake, "Chirp chirp."

--You should forget about this too.

The Third Cub: "Chirp, chirp."

Thank you for asking around for us and for coming all this way to tell us.

"Hiss..." the Little Snake hissed earnestly.

--I'll forget about it, and you're welcome, we're friends.

Fearing that it would arouse Tao Qiu and the Green Python's suspicion, the cubs stayed behind the stone for a while longer, and only went out to play in front of them after they had composed themselves.

Before the Green Python and the Little Snake left, the baby birds asked Tao Qiu to give the Little Snake two sweet potatoes, saying that this wasn't an exchange, but a gift from them to the Little Snake, which could be deducted from their food allowance.

The chicks bonded, and the two parents were delighted. Before leaving, the Green Python invited the chicks to visit her home sometime.

The opportunity she was referring to was when the baby birds could openly and legitimately leave the valley.

Tao Qiu also said to the children, "There's no need to cut your food rations. You all contributed to planting the sweet potatoes, so you have the right to decide what to eat."

Hearing Tao Qiu say that, the children's previously depressed mood was instantly filled with warmth, and they all flew into his arms and rubbed against him.

"Chirp chirp!"

--Dad, we love you!

Tao Qiu was delighted and smiled broadly, "That's wonderful! My darlings are still so warm towards me. Just now, after you saw Little Snake come, you didn't pay much attention to me. I thought I had fallen out of favor."

"Chirp, chirp."

--No way, we love Dad the most.

Tao Qiu hugged her children tightly. "You are my favorites too."

Human base.

Today, Liu Qi'an was in charge of grocery shopping. When he got home, his expression was strange. After handing the groceries to Chen Lin, he sat down next to John, who was watching Lou Yu and Huo Lan play chess, and finally couldn't help but complain.

"While I support freedom of sex, shouldn't you at least try to avoid people when you're doing it? Just now, I passed by that alley not far from our house and heard two people screaming really loudly. I glanced over and could even see Huahua flesh. Seriously, even the mutated monsters outside aren't that rough."

John, with an expression of nonchalance, said, "Mutant monsters only have sex during one season, but humans can be in heat every day, regardless of the season. In this respect, humans are much more shameless."

Liu Qi'an sighed, "That's true. The mutated monsters breed in the spring, otherwise they wouldn't be attacking human bases. Sigh, once this spring is over, how many more monsters will want to eat us?"

"Captain, what's wrong?" Huo Lan asked, Lou Yu holding the chess piece without moving and his eyes looking somewhat unfocused.

Lou Yu blinked, regained his composure, and calmly placed his piece.

"It's nothing, I was just thinking about how to place my pieces."

Huo Lan chuckled, "I told you so, didn't I? I'm really good at chess. Look, I even stumped you, Captain."

John said, "If you win this round, how about I play? I'll play with you."

Huo Lan: "Okay? Oh."

Lou Yu appeared calm and collected, but in reality, he hadn't heard a word they were saying; his mind was completely occupied with Liu Qi'an's words from earlier.

In spring, mutated monsters need to reproduce, but what about the Snow Bird?

Without him this year, will he find another mutated monster to spend his mating season with?

Chapter 39 Love at First Sight, Mutual Confessions

Lou Yu had a nightmare that night.

In his dream, the Snow Bird had found another mate and even had many chicks. He went to find Snow Bird, but she didn't even glance at him.

Lou Yu was startled awake. Looking at the thick darkness outside the window, he knew he couldn't wait any longer.

The next morning, Lou Yu submitted an application to Lou Quan requesting to go to the wilderness alone.

Lou Quan looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Going out, and alone? What are you doing?"

Lou Yu remained calm, showing no sign of seeking favors, and said, "It's a private matter."

Lou Quan leaned back in his chair, twirling his pen in his fingers, his gaze sweeping over his cousin.

Having known each other for so many years, Lou Quan knew very well that Lou Yu's outward appearance often contradicted his true inner thoughts.

For example, when he was fourteen, he was the well-behaved son praised by all the adults in the Lou Family. But no one expected that he would meticulously plan for a year and successfully help his mother escape from the Lou Family. The mother and son even hid outside for two months.

Unfortunately, the Central Base was only so big, and in the end, both of them were captured and taken back.

Bai Yan was unharmed, but Lou Yu was nearly beaten to death by his father.

In the end, it was Bai Yan who compromised and begged for mercy, thus saving him from Lou's father.

Lou Quan had no doubt that even if he rejected Lou Yu now, Lou Yu wouldn't make another request.

He would leave the base in his own way if he wanted to.

Lou Quan ultimately signed his name on the application.

"You're a key combat force in our base, you absolutely must come back alive, otherwise all the money I spent on you will be wasted."

"Thank you, I will." Lou Yu took the application and left immediately without lingering for another second.

Lou Quan watched his retreating figure, stroked his chin, and thought to himself that his cousin seemed to be hiding a big secret.

Liu Qi'an and the others didn't go to work today; they all stayed home to rest. When they saw Lou Yu drive back in a car full of bags and packages, they were all shocked.

To be honest, there are only a few places to buy things in the Yong'an Base, and the goods are extremely scarce. Even if a real shopaholic came, they wouldn't be able to spend their money.

Moreover, Lou Yu is a very materialistic person. Apart from the necessities of life, he spends very little money on his hobbies.

The last time I saw him buy so much stuff was when they first arrived at the Yong'an Base and were preparing daily necessities.

John and the others went over to look, asking him what he was buying these for.

Lou Yu didn't hide anything from them, saying that they were all for sending Snow Bird.

"Huh? Captain, we're going to find the Snow Bird again?" Liu Qi'an was dumbfounded, feeling a bit surprised.

"No, it's not us, it's just me alone." Lou Yu said calmly to his teammates, "Sorry, I can't bring you guys this time."

"That won't do," John said urgently. "There are mutated monsters outside. What if we encounter danger, Captain? What if you've used up all your powers? We may not have powers, but at least we know how to use weapons and can coordinate with you."

Since the murder, none of Lou Yu's teammates have ever let him go on a mission alone; at least one person has to go with him.

Lou Yu said, "Thank you all. I know you're worried about me, but this time I really can only go alone."

They had been partners for many years and naturally knew Lou Yu well. Since he had said it a second time, it meant he was determined and would never change his mind, not even until his death.

The group exchanged glances, their eyes filled with helplessness and confusion.

"Alright, I feel like you're all about to cry. You know my current strength. Putting everything else aside, I can definitely protect myself. Don't worry."

"Alright then..." Liu Qi'an sighed.

There was nothing they could do now that things had come to this.

Chen Lin was the first to compose himself. He asked Lou Yu, "Captain, have you bought all the gifts you wanted to bring? Do you need our help to prepare them?"

Lou Yu smiled and said, "I was just about to tell you, can you buy those snacks you make outside? Could you please pack me a lot?"

"Okay, I'll go." Chen Lin said, pulling the sighing Huo Lan into the kitchen to help him pack.

Chen Lin is passionate about researching food, and their income is sufficient for him to unleash his creativity. Therefore, their kitchen is stocked with most of the more durable snacks such as kimchi, salted eggs, potato chips, dried meat, preserved fruit, and biscuits.

Lou Yu was outside organizing the gifts he had bought, Chen Lin and Huo Lan packed the snacks into boxes.

Huo Lan asked in a low voice, "Captain, you're in such a hurry! There wasn't a single sign. Could something have happened?"

Chen Lin said, "Even if it's something bad, it won't be too serious, otherwise, why would the captain be in the mood to prepare so many gifts?"

"Indeed," Huo Lan said. "I'm becoming more and more curious about Snow Bird. He's not only smarter than ordinary mutated monsters, but he also seems to have a certain charm. He's practically bewitched our captain."