Recaps

Tao Qiu explored the supplies Lou Yu had brought, then introduced the bird cubs to a cell phone and its photos, videos, and cartoons. After the cubs eagerly watched a cartoon, they brought Tao Qiu food and water, and he finished his dinner.

• Tao Qiu found underpants among the cubs’ clothes and hurriedly explained that they were his, then showed the cubs the grooming items and gave each one a hair clip.
• Tao Qiu realized Lou Yu had not brought the rest of the ghost story anthology, so he promised to read the other books to the cubs instead.
• Tao Qiu switched on the cell phone and showed the cubs how its camera took photos and recorded videos of them together.
• Tao Qiu played a cartoon for the cubs and explained how pictures could be shown in sequence to look like they were moving.
• When Tao Qiu said he was hungry, Eldest Cub brought meat, Second Cub brought fruit, and Third Cub brought water, and Tao Qiu ate while they watched eagerly.

Tao Qiu set limits on the cubs’ phone watching and kept their bedtime-story punishment in place, while Lou Yu sold most of the prey to the base and thought fondly of Tao Qiu. The chapter ended with Lou Yu’s teammates asking whether Snow Bird had used his gifts, as Liu Qi’an began speculating about the exchange.

• Tao Qiu let the cubs watch five cartoon episodes, then limited them to two a day to protect their eyesight.
• Tao Qiu washed the cubs and refused to cancel their three-day bedtime-story punishment, even after they said they preferred his stories to cartoons.
• Lou Yu sold some of the prey to Lou Quan at market price and planned to save the money for gifts for Tao Qiu.
• Lou Yu’s teammates sat down to rest and asked Chen Lin to make beef noodles, while Lou Yu said he was not hungry after eating Tao Qiu’s tomatoes.
• John mistook Lou Yu’s affectionate smile for romantic interest, but Lou Yu said he had been thinking of something happy.
• Chen Lin guessed Lou Yu was thinking of Snow Bird, and Lou Yu said Snow Bird had accepted his gifts and given him prey in return; Liu Qi’an began speculating about what it meant.

Lou Yu passed off Snow Bird’s favor as pity and personal charm, giving the researchers a plausible explanation while discouraging them from relying on him as a go-between. Meanwhile, Tao Qiu settled into his new clothes and read the cubs a book about an ordinary family facing the early stages of the great catastrophe, which reached the point where a person vanished in floodwater.

• Liu Qi'an suggested that Snow Bird treated Lou Yu like a pitiful child, and Lou Yu’s teammates accepted the explanation.
• Lou Yu told the researchers that Snow Bird pitied him and liked his sensible, unafraid behavior and human-made gifts, while claiming he had a unique personal charm.
• Lou Yu refused to introduce the researchers to Snow Bird, warning that he might lose the creature’s favor, and Lou Quan let the researchers try their own approach with caution.
• Tao Qiu washed and wore his new bedding, clothes, and slippers, then took the cubs to bask in the sun and read to them.
• Tao Qiu read about a family whose ordinary life was disrupted by global disasters, rising prices, and relentless rain; the account ended with a person disappearing in waist-deep floodwater.

The protagonist endured decades of catastrophe and loss before dying as reports announced that the monsters had retreated. On the mountain, the fox clan feared the old leader’s worsening illness and discussed whether Snow Bird might know how to cure it.

• The protagonist lost his family members to mutant monsters, an epidemic, and a food crisis, then survived alone for many years until his death.
• As the protagonist’s consciousness faded, he heard people celebrating that the monsters had retreated and hoped the news was true.
• The old fox suffered another painful episode in the forest, alarming the fox cubs and reminding the adults of his declining condition.
• Older foxes recalled that Snow Bird had experienced a similar episode but had not suffered another, and wondered whether he could help the old fox.
• The foxes discussed how the green python had fought Snow Bird, recovered from the encounter, and later brought him prey.

The red fox struggled with the old patriarch’s approaching death and the fox clan’s suffering, until the injured gray fox returned with a fragment of fruit from Snow Bird that might save a dying cub. The brown fox parents fed it to their cub, while the red fox carried the gray fox aside to learn what had happened.

• The red fox told his mate that the old patriarch had about a year left and had asked him to kill him before he lost control.
• A brown fox couple’s sick cub appeared to be dying, and the white fox smelled the same decay that had afflicted other foxes who died young.
• The bloodied gray fox returned with a tiny fragment of tomato and urged the red fox to give it to the cub.
• The brown fox parents and the gathered foxes agreed to bear the consequences, and the red fox allowed them to feed the fruit to the cub.
• The red fox carried the gray fox aside, licked his wounds, and asked him to explain everything.

Gray Fox told Red Fox how he obtained a piece of the fragrant red fruit that had helped the sick fox cub, while Red Fox struggled with his fear of asking Snow Bird for more. The cub’s fever broke, but she remained unconscious, and Red Fox was left facing the need to seek Snow Bird’s help.

• Gray Fox explained that he had secretly followed Green Python, seen the little snake thriving after eating red fruit, and stolen a fallen piece at the cost of several injuries.
• Red Fox healed Gray Fox’s wounds and admitted he feared the fruit might save the foxes only to bring them greater danger, but circumstances were forcing him to ask Snow Bird for help.
• After the cub ate a small piece of fruit, her fever broke and her trembling stopped, though she remained unconscious.
• Foxes questioned Gray Fox about the fruit, but he refused to tell them and said he would share the information only with White Fox and Red Fox.
• The brown-furred fox’s family hoped that more fruit could save their own sick child after witnessing the cub’s improvement.

Red Fox planned to consult the old patriarch before deciding how to obtain the rare fruit that could help sickly fox cubs. Meanwhile, Tao Qiu drove humans away from his territory after they repeatedly pretended to be in danger to get his attention, and the attempts stopped after his warning and deadly monster attacks.

• Red Fox told the foxes he would discuss the fruit with the old patriarch before taking action, and the tribe hoped it could help the patriarch too.
• Tao Qiu realized that humans had been copying Lou Yu’s rescue to try to gain his favor, but decided to stop them after noticing mutated monsters gathering near his territory.
• Tao Qiu flew out with a boulder and dropped it beside a group of humans, warning them to leave his territory.
• The humans returned to the base and told others what happened, discouraging further attempts to win Snow Bird’s favor.
• Mutated monsters attacked several teams traveling between the base and Snow Bird’s territory, and both residents and researchers eventually gave up trying to approach him.

Tao Qiu faced Red Fox and the fox clan, who had gathered outside his valley to negotiate for his fruit, while Green Python arrived to back him up. Red Fox offered prey in exchange, but Tao Qiu said he already had enough and had not yet explained what he wanted instead.

• Tao Qiu sent the three chicks into hiding before flying out to meet Red Fox and the fox clan at the valley entrance.
• Red Fox proposed negotiating for Tao Qiu's fruit, but Tao Qiu distrusted the fox clan's threatening approach.
• Green Python arrived, blocked the valley entrance, and stood beside Tao Qiu as the foxes prepared for a fight.
• Red Fox took Tao Qiu aside and offered to trade as much prey as he wanted for the fruit.
• Tao Qiu said he had enough prey, and Red Fox asked whether he refused to trade.

Tao Qiu negotiated with Red Fox, who offered information about something humans desperately needed in exchange for fruit. Red Fox pressured Tao Qiu into lending the fox clan fruit for a night and told him to ask humans about a white fox from fifteen years ago.

• Tao Qiu told Red Fox he would trade only for something he actually needed, and Red Fox asked whether he had a special relationship with humans.
• Red Fox revealed that the fox clan possessed something humans might need to defeat mutated monsters, based on the old patriarch’s account of humans repeatedly collecting his blood and fur.
• Tao Qiu refused to negotiate on humanity’s behalf, while Red Fox argued that the item could help humans regain their former glory.
• Green Python and White Fox faced off as Red Fox warned that the foxes would raid Tao Qiu’s fruit if no deal was reached, since their cubs were near death.
• Tao Qiu agreed to lend the foxes a few fruits that night in exchange for prey the next day, and Red Fox told him to ask humans whether they remembered the white fox on the mountain fifteen years ago.

Tao Qiu gave Red Fox two tomatoes in exchange for information about humanity and received Green Python’s help in protecting the valley. Red Fox returned to the mountain and proposed saving one tomato for the ailing old chief, while Tao Qiu comforted his chicks and promised to ask the foxes about chickens.

• Tao Qiu traded Red Fox two tomatoes for information, and Red Fox promised to bring prey the next morning and help if other mutant monsters threatened him.
• Green Python apologized for not doing more, but Tao Qiu thanked her, gave her vegetables for Little Snake, and saw her off.
• Tao Qiu reassured his three chicks that he was unharmed and explained that the trade could bring valuable information to humanity.
• The chicks asked about trading for treats and finding chickens, and Tao Qiu recounted the foxes’ visit before the family went to bed.
• Red Fox told the foxes that one cub was in urgent need and proposed reserving one tomato for the ailing old chief.

Red Fox and White Fox brought the miraculous tomato to the old chief, but he felt no change after eating it. After learning that the cubs and other foxes had felt warmth from the fruit, they returned to the old chief, who admitted he had never sensed its special fragrance.

• Red Fox and White Fox brought the tomato to the old chief, who ate half but felt no effect even after waiting through the night.
• The old chief reflected on his abusive life on a fox farm, his mutation, and his years protecting the fox clan despite his painful illness.
• Red Fox and White Fox visited the brown-furred fox family and learned the cub had recovered enough to stand, and that it felt warm after eating the fruit.
• Red Fox and White Fox asked other foxes who had eaten the fruit and heard that they, too, had felt warmth soon afterward.
• Red Fox and White Fox returned to the old chief, who said he could not smell the fruit’s special fragrance and had thought it was ordinary.

Red Fox sought Tao Qiu’s help after learning the fruit had no effect on the sick old patriarch, and asked whether it might work on other illnesses. Green Python later explained that she did not share her mother’s illness and recalled how her mother’s final episode led to her death.

• The old patriarch sent Red Fox and White Fox to eat the remaining fruit, and both felt its restorative effects while the old patriarch felt nothing.
• Red Fox rushed to find Tao Qiu, then delivered prey in exchange for more fruit and asked him about its effects.
• Red Fox told Tao Qiu that the old patriarch suffered from the same illness that had killed Green Python’s mother, and Tao Qiu said Green Python had felt no special effect from eating the fruit.
• Red Fox asked to try Tao Qiu’s other fruits, and Tao Qiu gave him samples to take away.
• Green Python visited Tao Qiu and explained that she did not have her mother’s illness, then recounted her mother’s symptoms and death.

Tao Qiu and Green Python discussed why the glowing fruit affected some adult monsters but not others, while Red Fox confirmed that the fox clan's old chief could not benefit from it. As Lou Yu set out to visit Tao Qiu, Tao Qiu felt restless and hurried out of the valley to meet him.

• Green Python suggested that the glowing fruit failed to work on her and the fox clan's old chief because they belonged to an earlier generation of mutated monsters, and Tao Qiu decided not to test the theory and expose his secret.
• Red Fox reported that the fruit affected the other adult foxes but not the old chief, and promised to deliver the agreed prey and eggs.
• Tao Qiu and the bird cubs harvested crops, ate chicken and pheasant eggs, and watched cartoons until their snacks were gone and the power bank ran out.
• Lou Yu prepared supplies with Chen Lin's help and left the base the next morning to visit Tao Qiu.
• As noon approached, Tao Qiu grew restless, left the bird cubs to eat lunch, and hurried out of the valley while Second Cub wondered whether Lou Yu had arrived.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu shared their first kiss after Tao Qiu teased him in the car, then settled down to eat and talk. Tao Qiu stopped them from kissing again so they could discuss serious business, and Lou Yu brought out egg cakes to share.

• Second Cub tried to persuade Third Cub to sneak out and spy on Lou Yu, but Eldest Cub refused to go and told them not to go either.
• Tao Qiu met Lou Yu at his car, climbed onto his lap, and teased him until Lou Yu admitted he was shy because he liked him.
• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu shared a passionate first kiss, and Tao Qiu blushed afterward.
• Tao Qiu stopped Lou Yu from kissing him again and said they had serious business to discuss.
• Lou Yu brought out a box of egg cakes to share with Tao Qiu, who praised Chen Lin's cooking and made Lou Yu admit he could not cook well.

Tao Qiu asked Lou Yu about the Awakening Reagent and learned how mutated creatures’ materials could produce abilities, including the unusual circumstances of Lou Yu’s lightning power. Their discussion left Tao Qiu questioning whether the Shen Family’s research began with the white fox encountered fifteen years earlier.

• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu shared pastries and discussed a ghost-story collection whose author had died on a mission.
• Tao Qiu asked Lou Yu how the Awakening Reagent was made, and Lou Yu explained that its mutated animal and plant ingredients influenced the abilities people awakened.
• Lou Yu described how a reagent made with a lightning-attracting worm unexpectedly gave him lightning powers and nearly left him a research subject.
• Lou Yu said the Shen Family had publicly revealed the reagent six years earlier, while Tao Qiu wondered whether they had used materials taken from the white fox fifteen years ago.
• Lou Yu said the Shen Family had claimed to develop the reagent by accident, leaving Tao Qiu doubtful that nobody had noticed their earlier research.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu connected the white fox’s stolen samples to an abandoned research base and discussed how the Shen Family might have acquired its awakening-reagent research. Tao Qiu revealed that his tomatoes had healing and strengthening effects, and the chapter left Lou Yu eager to keep visiting and eating them.

• Lou Yu told Tao Qiu about a research team at an abandoned base that had developed an advanced early model of an awakening reagent before mutant monsters destroyed the base fifteen years earlier.
• Tao Qiu wondered whether the Shen Family had obtained the team’s research, but Lou Yu said the Shen Family had sent few rescuers and probably could not have kept the documents secret from the other families.
• Tao Qiu explained that Red Fox wanted to trade materials from the still-living White Fox for his tomatoes, and Lou Yu realized the tomatoes had improved his energy and ability use.
• Tao Qiu revealed that his tomatoes helped sick foxes and weak cubs survive, and admitted that he grew them himself along with other special crops.
• Lou Yu encouraged Tao Qiu to share more crops with him, promising to visit again and eat them over time.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu shared an affectionate visit, exchanged supplies and crops, and arranged to meet again so Lou Yu could gather materials for a reagent. After seeing Lou Yu off, Tao Qiu visited the Fox Clan to ask Red Fox about trading for materials from White Fox.

• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu reminisced about the dates they first met and shared a passionate kiss.
• Lou Yu gave Tao Qiu the requested supplies, and Tao Qiu learned that the author of the chicks’ ghost story had died.
• Tao Qiu returned home with the supplies, fed the chicks sponge cake, and prepared crops for Lou Yu.
• Tao Qiu took Lou Yu hunting, and they arranged to meet the next day so Tao Qiu could guide him up the mountain for materials.
• After Lou Yu left, Tao Qiu visited the Fox Clan and asked Red Fox whether he still wanted to trade for materials from White Fox.

Tao Qiu agreed to help Red Fox’s clan trade for the fruit and was brought to meet their ailing old chieftain, who questioned him about humans and the future. The old chieftain’s final question remained unanswered.

• Tao Qiu agreed to bring humans to collect materials in exchange for as much fruit as Red Fox could provide.
• Red Fox led Tao Qiu into the forest and explained the old chieftain’s long illness and his suspicions about Tao Qiu’s ability to communicate with humans.
• Red Fox said he regretted not taking the glowing fruit for the old chieftain, and Tao Qiu asked why the other monsters had hesitated during the fight for it.
• Red Fox introduced Tao Qiu to the old chieftain, who praised him and said he had heard Tao Qiu would bring humans to collect something from his body.
• The old chieftain asked Tao Qiu what humans were like and whether the future belonged to humans or mutated monsters.

Tao Qiu reassured the old fox that he would stay neutral between humans and mutant monsters, and the old fox invited him to bring Lou Yu to collect things from his body before he died. At home, Tao Qiu delighted his three cubs with toothbrushes, accessories, and fried meat patties, while their teasing made his fondness for Lou Yu apparent.

• The old fox questioned Tao Qiu about which side he would support in a conflict, and Tao Qiu said he would remain neutral and let the future belong to everyone.
• The old fox warned Tao Qiu to be careful around humans and told him he could bring Lou Yu to collect things from his body before he died.
• Red Fox escorted Tao Qiu out, then rushed back into the forest when the old fox cried out in pain as his illness flared up.
• Tao Qiu returned home to find the three cubs full of egg cakes, and they teased him for smiling whenever he mentioned Lou Yu.
• Tao Qiu gave the cubs toothbrushes and accessories, helped them dress up, and took photographs of them together.
• Tao Qiu showed the cubs cooking supplies and fried meat patties for them, which they ate after their afternoon feast of egg cakes.

Lou Yu arranged to collect blood and fur from a high-level mutated white fox for the research institute, keeping the reason for his access to the foxes secret. Tao Qiu brought him to the mountain, where Red Fox and the clan awaited them.

• Lou Yu offered the research institute materials from a living high-level mutated white fox, and Lou Quan agreed to pay him for collecting them.
• Lou Yu met Tao Qiu the next day, and they prepared the equipment and joked together before heading to the mountain.
• Tao Qiu carried Lou Yu on his back to the fox clan’s territory, where Red Fox waited with the other foxes.
• A little fox whined when the wind carried Lou Yu and Tao Qiu’s scents toward Red Fox and the clan.

Lou Yu accompanied Tao Qiu to the fox clan to collect blood and fur from the old fox, while Red Fox tested their resolve and Lou Yu’s strength. After seeing his photograph, the old fox reflected on his age and illness, and White Fox remarked that Lou Yu smelled different from other humans.

• Red Fox charged at Lou Yu, but Tao Qiu blocked him and insisted the foxes could search Lou Yu only for weapons.
• Gray Fox searched Lou Yu and his toolbox, found no weapons, and reported back to Red Fox.
• Lou Yu kept pace with Red Fox through the woods, impressing him with his speed and strength.
• At the tung blossom tree, the old fox let Lou Yu photograph him, draw his blood, and clip two tufts of fur.
• The old fox asked to see the photograph, thanked Lou Yu, and watched him and Tao Qiu leave with Red Fox.
• White Fox told the old fox that Lou Yu’s scent was different from other humans, and the old fox answered her.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu returned safely from trading crops for the old fox’s blood and fur, while Lou Yu learned more about the illness that afflicted mutated monsters. After the materials reached the research institute and Lou Yu collected his payment, the story moved to July, where Tao Qiu and Green Python rested by the pool during the heat.

• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu discussed the old fox’s illness and the researchers’ limited knowledge of the condition on their return to Tao Qiu’s territory.
• Lou Yu explained that the illness could make mutated monsters go berserk, though researchers had found too few cases to identify its cause or explain the retreat of the monster tide.
• Lou Yu delivered the fox’s blood and fur to Yong'an Base’s research institute, where tests confirmed the materials came from a high-level mutated fox.
• Lou Quan teased Lou Yu about his ability to gather materials from dangerous monsters, and Lou Yu demanded payment before heading home.
• Tao Qiu regretted giving the foxes half his recent harvest and resolved to have Lou Yu buy him good food to make up for it.
• In July, Tao Qiu and Green Python rested by the pool while the baby birds and little snake played in the water during the summer heat.

As the heat worsened, Tao Qiu helped the cubs cool off and prepared for their approaching first birthday, while Lou Yu brought strawberry seedlings and new supplies. Eldest Cub began eating far more and sleeping longer than his sisters, leaving Tao Qiu watchful but without any clear sign of illness.

• Tao Qiu persuaded the bird cubs to lie with Green Python and Little Snake, and the four soon fell asleep sprawled across Green Python.
• Tao Qiu prepared to make a special birthday cake for the cubs and looked forward to growing strawberries for them.
• Lou Yu brought strawberry seedlings and supplies, told Tao Qiu that the reagent made from the White Fox's blood and fur had not yet been successfully developed, and received food and affection from Tao Qiu.
• Eldest Cub ate all the fruit in the bamboo tube and told Tao Qiu he had become unusually hungry.
• Over the next few days, Eldest Cub ate more than his sisters and slept for long stretches, while Tao Qiu checked that he truly felt hungry and otherwise seemed energetic.

Eldest Cub’s hidden feverishness culminated in him breaking out of his bird form and turning into a human child. After waking and recognizing himself in a mirror, he joyfully embraced Tao Qiu, who celebrated the change with him.

• Tao Qiu sent the cubs to play while he prepared a birthday food platter for Eldest Cub.
• Eldest Cub, overwhelmed by heat, fell asleep in the pool and dreamed of struggling out of a suffocating cocoon.
• Second Cub and Third Cub discovered a little boy in the pool where Eldest Cub had been and rushed to get Tao Qiu.
• Tao Qiu realized the boy was Eldest Cub, brought him back to the cave, and cared for him while he slept.
• Eldest Cub woke the next day, saw his human form in a mirror, and realized he could transform like Tao Qiu.
• Tao Qiu praised Eldest Cub’s transformation, and Eldest Cub happily hugged him.

Tao Qiu helped Eldest Cub adjust to his new human form, celebrated his birthday, and granted his wish for extra cartoons. The chapter ended with Second Cub bargaining for birthday episodes and settling for five after Tao Qiu refused to honor her revised request for eight.

• Tao Qiu encouraged Eldest Cub to walk and use a spoon, and Eldest Cub learned both despite his initial struggles.
• Tao Qiu taught Eldest Cub how to try changing back into bird form, but Eldest Cub could not manage it and felt dejected.
• Tao Qiu told the cubs that hatching days counted as birthdays and celebrated Eldest Cub’s birthday with longevity noodles, a food platter, and a birthday song.
• Eldest Cub wished for two extra cartoon episodes, and Tao Qiu agreed to let him watch six episodes in total.
• Second Cub tried to bargain for eight extra episodes after first asking for ten, but Tao Qiu held her to five.