Huo Lan

Biodata

Background / History

Military service and relocation

Huo Lan and the other members of Lou Yu’s squad were originally soldiers and accumulated extensive wilderness survival experience. After Lou Yu was declared a defective ability user at Central Base, he brought his teammates to Yong’an Base to seek refuge. Huo Lan and John also found work teaching at a martial arts school 56 128.

The squad’s shared survival depended on their skills, mutual support, and luck. Many of their former comrades had already died; during one recovery period after a monster tide, Huo Lan recuperated at home with an injured foot while Lou Yu remained hospitalized 64.

Rescuing Lou Yu

Huo Lan accompanied John and Liu Qi’an to retrieve the unconscious Lou Yu. Watching from the armored vehicle’s roof with her sniper rifle, she spotted Snow Bird pursuing them. Their weapons could not seriously injure him, so she tracked his movements without firing, following John’s order not to attack first 3 4.

Snow Bird instead escorted them toward safety. At the base entrance, Huo Lan pressed an obstructive soldier to finish his inspection so Lou Yu could receive treatment. Afterward, she helped analyze the deliberate use of mutated wolves against their captain and suggested seeking Lou Quan’s assistance 4 6.

Keeping Snow Bird’s secrets

On a research-institute mission with John, Huo Lan investigated reports of Snow Bird’s rampage. They saw him return to his valley looking healthy, and her report reassured Lou Yu 11.

Huo Lan later noticed that Lou Yu had given Snow Bird supplies beyond food, including items a bird seemingly could not use. Although she expected their captain to evade questions, she argued that he must have a reason and urged the team to keep the matter private 45 49.

When Lou Yu finally disclosed that Snow Bird was Tao Qiu, his partner and the father of their three children, Huo Lan eagerly requested the video of his plant-growing ability. By the following morning, she had accepted the revelation and volunteered to decorate the children’s new home 175 176.

Becoming a godmother

Huo Lan took charge of nearly everything in Second Cub and Third Cub’s bedrooms. When the team visited the valley, the girls recognized her as their decorator and brought her fruit in thanks. Their affectionate welcome prompted her to ask whether she could become their godmother 176 183.

Tao Qiu left the decision to the girls. Huo Lan explained that she would care for them as daughters despite their lack of a blood relationship, and both agreed. She promised them gifts when they returned to the base 183 184.

Her involvement continued beyond the visit: the girls shared her sleeping bag, she helped welcome the family into the team residence, and she later presented her goddaughters with handmade scarves. She also obtained winter skin balm for all three children 185 188 206 207.

Protecting Tao Qiu’s family

After Tao Qiu’s identity as Snow Bird became public, Huo Lan and Liu Qi’an went to guard him and the children. During the investigation, she questioned whether the hidden monster was acting directly for Central Base, then recognized that exposing Tao Qiu could be intended to provoke unrest and create an opportunity to attack him 232.

Huo Lan accompanied the family’s evacuation in the middle vehicle of a three-car convoy. She hugged the cubs before their anticipated separation and immediately pulled them into her arms when the convoy stopped unexpectedly 233.

Personality

Huo Lan is normally calm under pressure, though Snow Bird’s pursuit frightened her enough to leave her sweating. Even then, she continued reporting his movements and withheld fire rather than provoke a stronger opponent 4.

She trusts Lou Yu without demanding access to every secret. When his gifts to Snow Bird appeared inexplicable, she chose discretion over exposing him. She was also quick to support his relationship with Tao Qiu, calling them a “match made in heaven” after learning the truth 49 176.

Her humor is blunt and teasing. She jokes about Lou Yu’s admirers, openly admits to flirting with handsome men, and counters Liu Qi’an’s nostalgia for harmless wildlife by observing that humans have simply become another item on the animals’ menu 12 64 129.

Her patience with children varies sharply with the situation. Xiao Cong’s destructive behavior drove her to threaten a beating, though Chen Lin restrained her. With her goddaughters, she is openly tender and attentive: she spends her evenings making gifts and puts their comfort ahead of her wish to keep them beside her 56 188 206.

Abilities & Skills

Observation and sniping

Huo Lan’s stated mercenary specialties are observation and sniping 3.

• Watches for mutated monsters from the armored vehicle’s roof while carrying a sniper rifle 3.
• Tracks Snow Bird’s approach and distinguishes pursuit from an imminent attack 4.
• Recognizes that the squad’s available weapons are inadequate against Snow Bird’s defenses 3 4.

Martial arts and wilderness survival

Her military background and field experience support both mercenary work and teaching 56.

• Works alongside John at a martial arts school 56 189.
• Completes a mutant-plant retrieval mission for the research institute without injury 11.
• Offers to help teach Lou Yu’s children kung fu 176.

Decorating and handicrafts

Huo Lan puts substantial practical effort into caring for her goddaughters 176 206.

• Decorates Second Cub and Third Cub’s rooms with coordinated furnishings and accessories; Lou Yu acknowledges that the results justify her confidence 176.
• Learns from knitting tutorials and searches for suitable yarn to reproduce scarves she saw in a television drama 206.
• Knits two pink scarves with little brown bears dangling from their ends 206.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Sniper rifle — Used while providing lookout coverage during Lou Yu’s rescue; she keeps it trained on Snow Bird without firing 3 4.
• Handmade scarves — Gifts for Second Cub and Third Cub to mark her becoming their godmother 206.
• Scented winter balm — Obtained through a friend at Central Base for all three cubs; intended to protect their faces and hands from frostbite 207.

Relationships

• Lou Yu — Captain and longtime comrade. She protects his confidence, teases him about romance, and helps prepare his family’s home 49 57 176.
• Tao Qiu / Snow Bird — Initially a frightening mutated monster, later her captain’s partner and the father of her goddaughters. She accepts his family and helps guard them after his identity is exposed 4 175 232.
• Second Cub / Xuexue — Goddaughter. Second Cub welcomes her affection, thanks her for decorating, and enthusiastically reassures her that she is missed 183 184 206.
• Third Cub / Yuanyuan — Goddaughter. Third Cub accepts her proposal to become their godmother and later tells her that both girls love her 184 207.
• Eldest Cub — Included in her care and gifts, but not her godchild. She shows all three children around the team residence and gives each winter balm 188 207.
• John — Fellow mercenary and martial arts instructor; they undertake missions and investigate Snow Bird together 11 56.
• Chen Lin — Teammate who helps inventory supplies, restrains her during Xiao Cong’s tantrum, and explains the effort behind her knitted gifts 49 56 206.
• Liu Qi’an — Teammate and frequent banter partner. They recuperate together after injuries and later stand guard over Tao Qiu’s family 64 232.

Notable Quotes

“But I believe Captain wouldn't do this without reason. He must have his reasons. In any case, it doesn't do us any harm, so let's pretend we don't know and not tell anyone else.” 49

“They still eat, drink, have sex, and bask in the sun every day. It's just that we're another item on their menu now.” 64

“Your godmother loves you both super, super much too.” 207