Recaps

Root studied Tao Qiu and decided to infiltrate Yong'an Base, believing it could exploit divisions among the humans to get close to him. Meanwhile, Tao Qiu and Lou Yu prepared the cubs for school, and the chapter ended with Lou Yu hinting that he wanted to be intimate after a month of Tao Qiu’s winter sleepiness.

• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu decided to enroll the three cubs in school, and the children agreed to try it.
• The cubs passed upper-elementary tests and joined Bai Huan’s class as transfer students.
• Root observed Tao Qiu, assessed his strength and allies, and concluded that a direct attack would be too risky.
• Root decided to infiltrate Yong'an Base and exploit possible conflicts among its humans.
• Tao Qiu spent winter days sleeping while the energetic cubs went skating with trusted adults.
• After the cubs fell asleep, Lou Yu cuddled Tao Qiu on the sofa and complained that they had gone nearly a month without intimacy.

Tao Qiu sensed the same mysterious watcher after the spring monster tide, prompting Lou Yu and Lou Quan to strengthen security around Yong'an Base. As the three cubs began school, the family settled into their new routine, unaware that Root had discovered the base’s hidden ability users and marked it as a source of chaos.

• Root infiltrated Yong'an Base during the spring battle, saw its ability users, and followed Lou Yu home to watch Tao Qiu and the cubs reunite with him.
• Tao Qiu sensed a watcher nearby, but it vanished before he could find it; Lou Yu reported the incident to Lou Quan, who increased searches and patrols.
• After the monster tide receded without the culprit being found, Lou Yu took a security post at the school while the three cubs started classes.
• Tao Qiu visited the cafeteria to check on the cubs and met Lou Yu, who was patrolling in disguise.
• At dinner, the cubs told Tao Qiu and Lou Yu they had recognized both of them at school and were enjoying their first day.

Tao Qiu investigated reports of mutant monsters fleeing into his territory and learned that the powerful mutant monster in the lake had gone mad and died. After checking that his valley and the base were safe, he returned to report the situation to Lou Quan, while the lake’s changed appearance left its future uncertain.

• Lou Yu told Tao Qiu that invading mutant monsters had clashed with local ones, and Tao Qiu went to investigate after Lou Quan asked him to assess the danger to humans.
• Green Python and Black Rabbit explained that the mutant monster in the lake had contracted the strange disease, killed the lake’s other monsters, and driven creatures across the region as it rampaged.
• Black Rabbit urged Tao Qiu not to approach the lake, so Tao Qiu checked on the mountain foxes and guarded his valley’s crops instead.
• Tao Qiu spent the night in the valley, drove away several thin, unfamiliar mutant monsters, and found fewer intruders the next day.
• Tao Qiu returned to the base after asking Green Python and Black Rabbit to watch the valley, then told Lou Quan about the situation and the murky lake.

The root tendrils planned to kill Tao Qiu and exploit Yong'an Base’s secrets to turn humans against him and the Snow Birds. They manipulated a disgruntled man into believing his second personality would help destroy Lou Yu’s reputation.

• Lou Quan agreed to trade Yongkang Base special crop seeds for the remains of the dead mutated monster, and Tao Qiu and the root tendrils saw its corpse in photos.
• The root tendrils remembered the lake monster’s death and resolved to kill Tao Qiu and devour him before their own illness overcame them.
• The root tendrils explored Yong'an Base, discovered the Awakening Reagent research and the awakening benefits of Tao Qiu’s crops, and identified ways to provoke conflict over the Snow Birds’ identities.
• A root tendril visited a vagrant who blamed Lou Yu for his misfortunes and had spread rumors about him, then knocked him unconscious and wrote in his notebook as his supposed second personality.

The man relied on his second personality, which secretly cared for him and supplied him with evidence that Tao Qiu and the children were mutant monsters in disguise. Lou Quan explained why he withheld special crops from Central Base’s ability users and defective products; the chapter ended as the man confronted Lou Yu’s family outside a restaurant.

• The man recalled how his second personality had treated his injuries, brought him supplies, and comforted him through notes in a notebook.
• A root entered the man’s room at night, left something on the table, and wrote that it was time.
• Lou Quan told Lou Yu that Central Base’s powerful families had hoarded the special crops, leaving ability users and defective products without their benefits.
• Tao Qiu treated Lou Yu and the children to a restaurant meal after receiving a bonus from Lou Quan.
• The man hurried to the restaurant, intending to expose Tao Qiu and the children as mutant monsters, and waited outside for Lou Yu’s family to emerge.
• The man shouted Lou Yu’s name in the street; Lou Yu moved to subdue him while Tao Qiu shielded the children, but the man stopped among the crowd without approaching.

A man exposed photos of Tao Qiu and the cubs in their mutated forms, provoking panic in the base, but Tao Qiu revealed himself as the snow bird and calmed the crowd. Lou Quan took the man away for interrogation, while Tao Qiu suspected someone unseen had been spying on them and arranged the exposure.

• A man scattered photos of Tao Qiu and the cubs as mutated snow birds and accused them of being dangerous monsters.
• Lou Yu restrained the man as the crowd panicked, and Tao Qiu used his avian pressure to silence everyone.
• Tao Qiu defended himself and the cubs, then unfurled his wings and flew to prove he was the snow bird.
• Lou Quan arrived with a security team, and Tao Qiu told him he suspected an unseen spy had supplied the photos.
• Lou Quan ordered the man taken for interrogation and sent people to investigate his home.

Root had prepared multiple schemes to target Tao Qiu, recruiting people in Yong'an Base and secretly digging a tunnel outside. After months of observing Tao Qiu, Root recognized how well he had blended into human society.

• Root had brainwashed several people who already harbored hatred toward Tao Qiu, Lou Yu, or the base.
• Root had investigated the base, taken photos while avoiding its detectors, and dug a tunnel to the outside.
• Root had concealed itself underground and placed a camera aboveground to photograph Tao Qiu without meeting his gaze.
• Root had observed Tao Qiu for months and concluded that he fit into human society exceptionally well.

Root exposed Tao Qiu’s identity and the benefits of his crops to the Central Base’s major families, then arranged an ambush as they closed in on Yong'an Base. Lou Yu’s family fled toward the side gate, where an attack flipped their car, but Tao Qiu shielded the children and their companions from harm.

• Root persuaded the Shen, Bai, Zheng, and Lou Families to come to Yong'an Base by promising them access to Tao Qiu and his special crops.
• Lou Quan learned that helicopters were approaching and the major families were on their way, so he stayed behind to stall them while Lou Yu and Tao Qiu escaped with the cubs.
• Huo Lan and soldiers escorted Tao Qiu’s family toward the side gate in a convoy, while Lou Yu rode with them.
• At an intersection, armed men blocked the convoy, and Lou Yu realized their attack was likely a distraction.
• A hidden force flipped the car carrying Tao Qiu’s family, but Tao Qiu transformed into a bird and shielded everyone beneath his wings.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu fought Root as the Central Base forces arrived, but Root abducted Third Cub and escaped underground. Tao Qiu learned Root had taken her to the Central Base and prepared to go there, while Lou Quan explained that the base had been forced to let the helicopters in.

• Tao Qiu sensed danger, ordered everyone out of the car, and then fought Root when it revealed itself and trapped him in a net of roots.
• Lou Yu and the soldiers attacked Root while Tao Qiu held it aboveground, but Root severed its roots and tried to retreat underground.
• After the Central Base helicopters arrived, Tao Qiu told Lou Yu to take the children and leave, but Root opened the ground beneath Third Cub and abducted her.
• Tao Qiu tried to chase Root, but Lou Yu restrained him, and Root announced that Tao Qiu must come to the Central Base if he wanted Third Cub to live.
• Lou Quan arrived with the Central Base forces and explained that they had threatened the base with bombs, while Tao Qiu transformed into a human and said they had to go to the Central Base.

Lou Quan, Lou Yu, Tao Qiu, and the cubs faced representatives of the Shen, Bai, and Zheng families in negotiations over Yong'an Base’s hidden research and resources. Lou Qing sided with them, but the meeting ended with the three families demanding control of Tao Qiu, the cubs, and the awakening research.

• Lou Qing arrived at Yong'an Base in place of the Lou Family elders and joined Lou Quan’s side after Bai Yan demanded that he protect Lou Yu, Tao Qiu, and the children.
• Lou Quan encouraged Eldest Cub and Second Cub to stay close to Lou Qing, and the cubs called him Grandpa, offered him candy, and sat beside him at the negotiating table.
• The three families, represented by the Zheng Family, accused Lou Quan of concealing the Awakening Reagent research, Tao Qiu’s identity, and the special crops.
• The three families demanded Lou Quan’s imprisonment or exile and claimed the awakening research, Tao Qiu, and the three cubs as public property to be controlled by the Central Base.

Tao Qiu and the Lou family confronted representatives of the Bai, Shen, and Zheng families, who had come to punish Lou Quan and claim Yong'an Base. Tao Qiu revealed that a mutated monster had abducted his daughter and warned the families not to obstruct his search at Central Base.

• Tao Qiu rejected the representatives' claim that they could dictate his family's fate, and Lou Yu attacked the Bai representative after he insulted Tao Qiu.
• Lou Qing asserted that the three families had no authority to punish his children or seize control of Yong'an Base, while Tao Qiu denounced their hypocrisy and warned them against threatening its residents.
• Tao Qiu asked which family had raised the mutated monster that abducted his third daughter and directed traitors to contact the families.
• The representatives denied knowing the monster, and Lou Quan and Lou Yu concluded from their reactions that they were not informed about it.
• Tao Qiu said he and his family would search for the monster at Central Base and warned the three families not to target his family or hinder their search.

Tao Qiu and Lou Qing pressured the three families to revise their terms and allow Tao Qiu to enter the Central Base to find the dangerous mutated monster and rescue Third Cub. The representatives left to consult their family heads, and Tao Qiu gave them until seven that evening to respond.

• The three representatives demanded Tao Qiu cooperate in experiments and supply special crops, but Tao Qiu threatened to bring high-level mutated monsters to the Central Base if they blocked his way.
• Lou Quan backed Tao Qiu, and Lou Qing argued that the Lou Family would escort him to investigate the mutated monster, raising suspicion that the three families were hiding it.
• The three representatives suspended negotiations to consult their family heads, and Tao Qiu required them to return with revised terms by seven that evening.
• Eldest Cub and Second Cub praised Tao Qiu, Lou Yu, and Lou Qing, then asked Lou Qing to help them rescue Third Cub; Lou Qing promised to take them to the Central Base.
• The family ate together in the military canteen, where the cubs shared black pears with Lou Qing and his subordinates, and Lou Qing later met with Tao Qiu, Lou Yu, and Lou Quan.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu negotiated support from the Lou Family and the three other families in exchange for special crops and future cooperation, then traveled with their children to the Central Base to rescue Yuanyuan. They reunited with Bai Yan, but she immediately asked why Yuanyuan was missing.

• Tao Qiu agreed to provide the Lou Family with special crops and cooperate with experiments led by Bai Yan, provided his life was not endangered.
• The three families agreed to buy special crops and seeds, with the agreement to be signed only after Yuanyuan was rescued and their loyalty confirmed.
• Tao Qiu, Lou Yu, the children, Lou Qing, and Lou Quan left Yong'an Base by helicopter and arrived safely at the Central Base.
• Lou Qing greeted the Lou Family's elders briefly before taking Eldest Cub and Second Cub to Bai Yan, who welcomed them warmly.
• Lou Yu introduced Tao Qiu and the children to Bai Yan, then reunited with her; Bai Yan asked where Yuanyuan was.

After returning to the Lou Family, Tao Qiu and Lou Yu searched for the mutated monster and Third Cub, but it stayed hidden. Lou Quan settled his dispute with the family elders and visited his mother’s grave, recalling the scandal surrounding his birth and the events that led him and Lou Hua to leave the family.

• Lou Yu moved Tao Qiu into his old room, and Lou Qing moved into the room beside Bai Yan’s after she chose a distant guest room.
• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu took the cubs through crowded parts of the base for a week to draw out the mutated monster, but it did not appear.
• Tao Qiu went out alone for two more days, while Lou Quan traded crops and laboratory data to have the charges against him withdrawn and remain commander of Yong'an Base.
• Lou Quan rejected an elder’s advice to reconcile with his father and threatened to kill his father and siblings, silencing the elders.
• Lou Quan visited Lou Hua’s grave and remembered how her affair with Lou Second, his birth, and the later exposure of the scandal led them to leave the Lou Family.

Lou Quan recalled how his half-siblings had orchestrated Lou Hua’s death and how he had poisoned them in revenge before leaving for Yong'an Base. At Lou Hua’s grave, he rejected Bai Huan, while Tao Qiu followed a mysterious note to a meeting arranged by the Shen Family.

• Lou Quan remembered Bai Huan’s betrayal, Lou Hua’s death, and his half-siblings’ role in the terrorist attack.
• After failing to secure legal justice, Lou Quan poisoned the second son of the Lou Family and his children, then transferred to Yong'an Base.
• At Lou Hua’s grave, Lou Quan told Bai Huan to leave and replaced the flowers he had brought.
• On his fifth day traveling alone, Tao Qiu found a note beneath his meal and followed its directions to a remote location.
• Two hooded ability users took Tao Qiu by car to a botanical garden and directed him into a domed building.
• Tao Qiu recognized the men’s connection to the Shen Family, startling them.

Tao Qiu confronted the banyan tree that had abducted Tao Yuan and learned why it wanted to eat him. The banyan tree revealed its history and explained why sick mutant monsters had abruptly retreated from hunting humans, leaving Tao Qiu with more questions about the illness and its effects.

• Tao Qiu deduced that the greenhouse and its human allies were in Shen Family territory, then found the banyan tree waiting for him.
• The banyan tree gave Tao Qiu a video showing Tao Yuan safe with Lou Yu, and said it planned to eat Tao Qiu because its illness had reached a late stage.
• Tao Qiu questioned why the banyan tree could still sense and absorb energy from his crops despite its illness.
• The banyan tree recounted how its unique ability had once made it the most powerful mutant monster in the Dark Forest, and said the Creator's gift had also brought it a fatal illness.
• The banyan tree explained that many high-level mutant monsters had fallen ill decades earlier and had retreated from humans because their illness made them feel instinctive aversion toward human beings.

The Banyan Tree revealed that it had developed the Awakening Reagent to drag humanity into the same deadly fate as mutated monsters, then attacked Tao Qiu to consume him and cure its illness. As Tao Qiu struggled to escape its greenhouse, the Shen Family Head arrived with soldiers and ability users, claiming he had planted listening devices in the botanical garden.

• The Banyan Tree explained that illness killed powerful mutated monsters and that eating humans accelerated their decline, then admitted it had created the Awakening Reagent to make humans suffer the same fate.
• The Banyan Tree tried to eat Tao Qiu, but he tore free, used his wings to evade its roots, and flew toward the greenhouse entrance.
• The Banyan Tree revealed that a potent floral scent in the greenhouse was sedating Tao Qiu, and its roots wounded him as he neared the exit.
• The glass doors exploded, bringing the Shen Family Head and a force of soldiers and ability users to the entrance.
• The Shen Family Head told the Banyan Tree that he had planted listening devices throughout the botanical garden after it left.

The banyan tree escaped the Shen Family’s attack while Central Base erupted into a rebellion it had helped orchestrate. As it fled with Tao Qiu, Lou Yu and Third Cub spotted them and pursued in a military vehicle.

• The Shen Family Head revealed that he had uncovered Tao Qiu and the banyan tree’s deception, but the banyan tree announced that it had anticipated his plans and explosions began across Central Base.
• Tao Qiu tried to flee, but the banyan tree’s roots caught him as the Shen Family Head ordered the greenhouse bombarded; the banyan tree then killed the Shen Family Head from underground.
• The banyan tree explained that it had secretly organized the opposition and arranged for the white spiders to be stolen, then fled with Tao Qiu through the chaos.
• Tao Qiu shouted to the arriving Shen Family members that the banyan tree was there, and Eldest Young Master Shen and Seventh Miss Shen shielded it while the family split over how to respond.
• The banyan tree escaped into the ruined city with Tao Qiu, where they heard Third Cub call out and saw Lou Yu and Third Cub pursuing them in a military vehicle.

Lou Yu wounded the Banyan Tree while it used Tao Qiu as a shield and escaped with him to the ruins of an old base. There, the Banyan Tree revealed how it had deceived researchers and destroyed the base, while Tao Qiu realized it was recovering its strength and prepared to exploit its ignorance of his self-healing ability.

• The Banyan Tree held the injured Tao Qiu in front of itself, forcing Lou Yu to hesitate until Tao Qiu shouted and Lou Yu struck with his ability; the Banyan Tree shielded Tao Qiu with its roots and fled into an alley.
• After Tao Qiu woke, the Banyan Tree carried him into the wilderness and stopped at the ruins of a small base where researchers had once developed the Awakening Reagent.
• The Banyan Tree confessed that it had infiltrated the research team, guided its work on the Awakening Reagent, and opened the gates to mutant monsters after its deception was discovered.
• The Banyan Tree explained that it had later helped the Shen Family and deceived the Central Base, then said it had brought Tao Qiu to the ruins to kill and eat him.
• Tao Qiu recognized that the injured Banyan Tree was using their conversation to recover, and revealed that it did not know he had a powerful self-healing ability.

Tao Qiu captured the weakened Banyan Tree and reunited with Lou Yu and their cubs. Tao Qiu and Lou Yu destroyed the Banyan Tree, then watched its remains scatter like fireworks.

• Tao Qiu caught the Banyan Tree before it could escape underground and subdued it among the city ruins.
• Tao Qiu wrapped the Banyan Tree in its own roots and flew back toward Yong'an Base.
• Lou Yu and the three cubs found Tao Qiu, and the cubs excitedly celebrated his safe return.
• Lou Yu hugged Tao Qiu, then learned that Tao Qiu had captured the Banyan Tree.
• Tao Qiu kicked the Banyan Tree into the air, and Lou Yu blasted it into sparks as the cubs watched.