Chapter Summaries

Lou Yu bought toys and clothes for Tao Qiu and the children while keeping his relationship with them private. At the research institute, he learned that Zhao Tao’s ability had begun to stabilize and go dormant, suggesting Zhao Tao might survive and become a successful ability user.

• Lou Yu asked Xiao Cong about popular toys and learned that building blocks were a favorite among children.
• Lou Yu bought toys, clothes, shoes, and matching outfits for Tao Qiu and the three children.
• Lou Yu returned with the gifts, but declined to explain their purpose when Chen Lin asked.
• Lou Yu visited Old Doctor Li to ask about Zhao Tao’s ability and learned that Zhao Tao’s physical condition and ability control had improved rapidly.
• Old Doctor Li reported that Zhao Tao’s ability had stopped rampaging through his body and gone dormant, indicating his human genes might suppress the mutated monster genes.

Zhao Tao’s ability stabilized after he combined Lou Yu’s fruit with the doctors’ training program, and he eagerly thanked Lou Yu while promising to keep working hard. Lou Yu then drove to Tao Qiu’s territory with supplies, where Black Rabbit watched him warily, while Tao Qiu and the cubs waited for his arrival.

• The doctor told Lou Yu that Zhao Tao’s ability had stabilized, likely through the combination of the training programs and another unknown factor.
• Zhao Tao called Lou Yu his big brother, thanked him for the fruit, and promised to train diligently and keep its effects secret.
• Lou Quan rewarded the research team and Zhao Tao, while Lou Yu continued shopping for Tao Qiu and the cubs before heading out to collect materials.
• Black Rabbit watched Lou Yu pass through his territory and wondered whether the human threatened Snow Bird and the cubs, but he let him go.
• Tao Qiu told the cubs that Lou Yu would bring presents, and they guessed what he might bring while privately suspecting he was trying to win their father’s affection.
• Tao Qiu flew out to meet Lou Yu as the cubs lamented that their father was blinded by love.

Lou Yu reunited with Tao Qiu and told him Zhao Tao had gained an ability from the crops, then they looked through recordings of the cubs and prepared to bring them Lou Yu’s gifts. Tao Qiu gave the cubs their presents, and they excitedly tried on clothes and explored their toys.

• Lou Yu welcomed Tao Qiu, told him the crops had worked on Zhao Tao, and asked him to find out why Black Rabbit disliked him.
• Lou Yu and Tao Qiu watched videos of the cubs and discussed how much they had grown and the gifts Lou Yu had bought for them.
• Tao Qiu brought the supplies to the cave and told the cubs that Lou Yu had sent them presents.
• The cubs recognized their name labels, opened their clothes, and happily tried on their new outfits.
• The cubs admired their toy weapons and asked Tao Qiu about using building blocks to make a bird, a cave, a table, and a basket.

Tao Qiu gave the cubs Lou Yu’s generous gifts and brought their handmade gifts back to Lou Yu, who was deeply moved by their affection. After the couple visited the foxes and said goodbye, Tao Qiu and the cubs washed the new clothes together.

• Tao Qiu showed the cubs Lou Yu’s toys, accessories, necessities, and snacks, and the cubs thanked Lou Yu for choosing gifts they liked.
• The cubs gave Tao Qiu baskets of crops and handmade keepsakes for Lou Yu, and Tao Qiu took the keepsakes and one crop from each basket to protect their secret.
• Lou Yu guessed the bag held return gifts, watched a video of the cubs in their new clothes, and cried as he ate tomatoes and heard how much the cubs treasured their presents.
• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu visited the foxes, collected materials, and hugged and kissed before parting.
• The next morning, Tao Qiu helped the cubs wash Lou Yu’s clothes, and the soaked cubs ended up needing another swimming lesson.

Tao Qiu defended his trust in Lou Yu while Lou Yu faced a looming grain shortage and the Central Base's demand to exchange him for aid. During their last visit before winter, Tao Qiu comforted Lou Yu and authorized him to reveal the crops if doing so would protect him.

• Black Rabbit warned Tao Qiu that mutated monsters knew about Lou Yu's ability and questioned his trust in humans, but Tao Qiu insisted Lou Yu would not harm him or the chicks.
• Lou Yu learned that another reduced grain harvest threatened the base's winter supplies and refused his teammates' suggestion to stockpile grain.
• Lou Quan reported that the Central Base demanded Lou Yu in exchange for grain, leaving only limited assistance from the Yongkang Base.
• Lou Yu visited Tao Qiu with winter supplies and clothing for the little ones, and Tao Qiu let him sleep on his shoulder after noticing his exhaustion.
• Tao Qiu fed Lou Yu crops, helped him transport large prey, and told him to use the crops as a bargaining chip if necessary to protect himself.
• Lou Yu promised to meet Tao Qiu alive the following year, kept twice his usual share of meat, and sold the rest to the military logistics department and residents.

Tao Qiu comforted Xiao Cong after neighbors blamed his mother for keeping quiet about the poor grain harvest, while Lou Yu’s teammates speculated about his future family. At home, Tao Qiu shared dinner and affection with the cubs, then showed them photos of Lou Yu and asked whether they recognized him.

• Lou Quan’s purchase limits and the poor harvest fueled rumors that the next year’s grain would fail, prompting people to buy overpriced black-market grain despite the authorities’ denials.
• Xiao Cong told Lou Yu that neighbors had blamed his mother for not revealing the harvest news, and Lou Yu reassured him that she had done nothing wrong.
• Lou Yu’s teammates teased Chen Lin after he hinted that the captain might soon have a partner and children.
• Tao Qiu and the cubs ate dinner, cleaned up, walked around the cave, and exchanged kisses before bed.
• Tao Qiu showed the cubs photos of Lou Yu, and Eldest Cub pretended not to recognize him when Tao Qiu asked who he was.

A rapidly growing white spider devastated the mountain forest before luring a gathering of mutated monsters into a standoff. When Tao Qiu arrived, the spider sensed his scent and prepared to attack, leaving him facing a dangerous new threat.

• Tao Qiu and the three cubs stayed in their cave through a week of snow, while a white spider grew rapidly by eating grubs and destroying trees.
• Black Rabbit warned Tao Qiu that a mutated monster had gone mad, and Tao Qiu flew out after telling the cubs to stay safe.
• Tao Qiu reached Green Python's territory and saw Green Python, Red Fox, and many other mutated monsters confronting a giant white spider.
• The spider released a powerful pressure that terrified the weaker monsters, then fixed on Tao Qiu and said it wanted to eat him.

Tao Qiu and the other mutated monsters confronted a giant spider whose abnormal growth threatened their territories and whose instincts drove it to eat Tao Qiu. Their coordinated attack began, but the spider’s silk disabled Black Rabbit and caught Green Python, leaving the fight unresolved.

• Green Python told Tao Qiu that the spider had rapidly grown by eating tree-dwelling insects and had destroyed several territories.
• The spider fixated on Tao Qiu and could not communicate, so the mutated monsters decided they had to kill it.
• Tao Qiu offered to draw the spider away, and the group attacked after it chased him toward the fallen trees.
• Green Python knocked the spider down, and Red Fox restrained it, but its hard shell resisted his attempts to crush it.
• The spider shot silk over Black Rabbit’s head and paws, then escaped Red Fox’s grip and evaded Green Python’s next strike.
• The spider fired repeated silk shots at Green Python, eventually sticking her to a large tree.

Tao Qiu tried to exhaust the spider’s silk before attacking, but it trapped and badly wounded him, then grew even larger after eating his flesh. The spider’s madness flared up, and Black Rabbit, Red Fox, Green Python, and Tao Qiu realized they had to flee.

• The spider trapped Green Python and the other pursuing monsters in webbing, then turned its attacks on Tao Qiu.
• Tao Qiu lured the spider into using its silk until it stopped, then dived toward its eyes, but the spider caught him in a web and bit into his chest and abdomen.
• Black Rabbit charged in and kicked the spider through several trees while Tao Qiu escaped into the air, bleeding and blinded by webbing.
• The spider grew larger again, threw off the trees, and showed signs of the madness Green Python and Red Fox recognized from their elders.
• Black Rabbit warned Tao Qiu to fly higher, while Red Fox shouted for everyone to run as the spider turned its violent gaze toward them.

Tao Qiu and the mutant monsters fought the giant spider as a blizzard forced him down, and the spider suddenly exploded after Black Rabbit, Green Python, and Red Fox attacked it. Tao Qiu returned to the valley badly injured, while the chapter ended with agonized cries coming from a Shen Family research institute at the Central Base.

• The mutant monsters returned to help Tao Qiu when they realized the spider might kill them all if it grew stronger.
• Green Python and Red Fox restrained the spider while Black Rabbit slammed into its back, cracking its shell.
• As the spider thrashed and Tao Qiu was forced down by the wind, the spider suddenly stopped, suffered intense pain, and exploded.
• Green Python led the injured mutant monsters away from the approaching blizzard, and Tao Qiu carried a severed spider limb back to the valley.
• Tao Qiu collapsed at the cave, reassured the crying cubs, and fell asleep beside the fire with his wound reopened.
• At the Central Base, agonized wails rang through a Shen Family research institute where people carried out extrajudicial punishment.

An investigation revealed that Xiao Wang, an opposition member inside the research institute, had sabotaged the Shen Family’s white spider project and escaped with the help of an accomplice. After learning the accomplice had vanished, Second Young Master Shen was left angry and under pressure to recover the stolen samples.

• A military officer confronted the institute head over Xiao Wang’s sabotage, and the head accepted blame before the officer left him to face his fate.
• The chapter explained how the Shen Family had bred giant white spiders as potential weapons and Awakening Reagent material, while Xiao Wang took over the project and destroyed its samples and research data.
• The officer secretly reported that Xiao Wang had confessed an accomplice, a cleaner who had removed the samples from the institute before resigning.
• Second Young Master Shen learned that the accomplice had disappeared and cursed the officer after showing him out courteously.
• The chapter revealed that Second Young Master Shen was a son of a mistress who had gained control of the research institute after Lou Yu assassinated Fourth Young Master Shen.

Second Young Master Shen resented Lou Yu’s rapid rise and the Shen Family’s failed attempts to capture him, while Lou Yu worried that something had happened to Tao Qiu and the cubs. Tao Qiu recovered from his wound and returned to life in the wild with the cubs, but a half spider leg left him wondering whether other unusually fast-growing mutant monsters existed nearby.

• Second Young Master Shen blamed Lou Yu for the Shen Family’s setbacks and worried about explaining the latest incident to his father.
• Lou Yu felt uneasy about Tao Qiu and the cubs but could not leave the base during the winter.
• Tao Qiu’s cubs cared for his injury, and Tao Qiu comforted them with a joke before telling them a bedtime story.
• A week later, Tao Qiu’s wound had healed completely, and he patrolled his territory to discourage creatures from challenging him.
• Tao Qiu filmed the cubs skiing and later wondered whether other mutant monsters could grow as rapidly as the creature that had left behind a spider leg.

Tao Qiu wondered whether the spider’s transformation had been caused by eating his flesh or by its unusual constitution, then stored a leg for human researchers to study. As spring brought renewed battles and food shortages, Zhao Tao helped defend Yong'an Base while Lou Yu resolved to stay despite pressure from the Central Base.

• Tao Qiu stored the spider leg somewhere cold and planned to give it to Lou Yu for research when spring came.
• Black Rabbit visited the cubs, who pressed him to explain Dad’s joke about a lamb jumping into a lake, so he made up an answer while Tao Qiu hid.
• The cubs told Black Rabbit that Tao Qiu had not eaten the spider leg and often examined it because he could not understand it.
• Lou Quan allowed Zhao Tao to join the battle after doctors confirmed his ability had stabilized, and Zhao Tao used his sharpened senses to help defend the base while keeping his ability-user identity secret.
• Zhao Tao told Lou Yu that he wanted him to stay at Yong'an Base, and Lou Yu vowed to do everything he could to remain there.
• News spread that disease had damaged several crops, threatening the harvest and raising the risk of unrest amid food shortages.

Lou Quan traded valuable mutant-monster materials to Central Base for grain, while Lou Yu traveled to see Tao Qiu and learned how Tao Qiu had nearly died fighting a giant white spider. The chapter left Lou Yu overwhelmed with gratitude as Tao Qiu comforted him.

• Lou Quan agreed to trade fox hair and blood brought back by Lou Yu for grain from Central Base, despite the risk that they would investigate Yong'an Base.
• Lou Yu set out for the wilderness in mid-April and encountered the black rabbit again, which watched him without attacking.
• Tao Qiu left the cubs with lunch and crops to bring Lou Yu food, while the cubs secretly flew out to evaluate him.
• Tao Qiu and Lou Yu discussed the cubs, and Lou Yu said he was content that they were already kind to him.
• Tao Qiu gave Lou Yu part of a giant white spider's remains and explained how the spider had injured him the previous winter.
• Lou Yu cried as he realized how badly Tao Qiu had been hurt, and Tao Qiu reassured him that he had recovered.

Tao Qiu comforted Lou Yu over his guilt and anxiety about his duties at Yong'an Base, and Lou Yu finally opened up about the pressures he faced. After they reconciled, they went up the mountain to collect materials, while the cubs watched and mistook Lou Yu’s tears for a sign he had been bullied.

• Tao Qiu reassured Lou Yu that he loved him and would not abandon him or the kids, and Lou Yu admitted he feared losing their happiness.
• Lou Yu told Tao Qiu that protecting the base, the possible food shortage, and the Central Base’s designs on him were weighing on him.
• Tao Qiu eased Lou Yu’s guilt about bringing fewer supplies, reminding him that their family did not need to keep score of what each person gave.
• The cubs secretly watched Tao Qiu carry Lou Yu up the mountain and guessed that Lou Yu had been bullied at the human base.
• A little fox gave Lou Yu a bouquet after sensing his sadness, and Tao Qiu and Lou Yu collected materials before returning to the car.

Tao Qiu and the cubs learned that Lou Yu was struggling with the human base’s food shortage and arranged to share fruit and prey with him. Lou Yu brought a mutated spider fragment to the research institute with a warning against using it in an Awakening Reagent, then agreed to sell his team’s prey to the army at a discount.

• Tao Qiu told the cubs that Lou Yu would bring fewer supplies because the human base was short on food, and the cubs offered to share their food with him.
• Tao Qiu passed the cubs’ concern to Lou Yu, then gave him fruit and two prey animals before they parted at the base’s safe zone.
• Lou Yu gave Zhao Tao a box of strawberries, which Zhao Tao eagerly ate and praised.
• Lou Yu delivered a fragment of a high-level mutated spider to Elder Li and the researchers, warning them not to use it to make an Awakening Reagent because of the spider’s unusual death.
• Lou Yu agreed to sell the team’s prey to the army’s logistics department at a thirty-percent discount.

Lou Quan faced public panic over Yong'an Base’s declining grain production and promised the harvest would recover, while Central Base operatives turned their attention to Lou Yu. They arranged a theft at his home, where a burglar opened a box of feathers, photos, and gifts from the cubs.

• Lou Quan reassured Yong’an Base’s residents that grain production would return to normal in the second half of the year, staking his position on the promise.
• Central Base operatives decided to investigate Lou Yu for evidence connected to the mutated fox materials and hired thieves to search his room.
• The operatives arranged for a mutated mantis attack to draw Lou Yu’s team away from home.
• The thieves triggered an alarm while breaking into the courtyard, but their employers threatened them into continuing.
• A thief broke the lock on Lou Yu’s drawer and opened a box containing feathers, photos, and gifts from the cubs.

After thieves ransacked Lou Yu’s home, Lou Quan discovered the photograph of Lou Yu and Tao Qiu and confronted Lou Yu about their secret. The two agreed to cooperate, while a false rumor spread that Lou Yu had once dated a foreign partner.

• Lou Quan’s guards caught the thieves who broke into Lou Yu’s home, and Lou Yu found that his photograph with Tao Qiu had been opened and seen.
• Lou Yu and Chen Lin suspected Lou Quan had learned the truth from the photograph, and Lou Yu later confronted him about it.
• Lou Quan admitted he understood Lou Yu’s relationship with Tao Qiu and proposed that they cooperate to protect their shared secrets and interests.
• Lou Yu accepted the agreement but shocked Lou Quan as a warning not to exploit his secret.
• People spread a rumor that Lou Yu had a foreign ex-partner, prompting flirtatious attention and teasing from his teammates.

Lou Yu drove off Central Base’s agents who tried to follow him, while the Lou Family leaders discussed how to lure him back. At the valley, Tao Qiu prepared to welcome Lou Yu, and the cubs resigned themselves to sharing their dad with him again.

• Lou Yu ambushed three men who followed him into an alley, leaving them badly burned but alive.
• The men reported Lou Yu’s strength and precise ability control to the Lou Family, whose leaders considered finding his partner to draw him back to Central Base.
• Tao Qiu woke from an intimate dream about Lou Yu, cooled himself in the pool, and decided he would satisfy their needs when Lou Yu visited.
• Lou Yu’s watchers arranged to search his car when he returned from the wilderness, hoping to discover what he was hiding.
• Lou Yu drove to the valley to see Tao Qiu, and the cubs told their dad to give him food and cool water.

Tao Qiu and Lou Yu passionately reunited in Lou Yu’s car while the cubs secretly watched and nearly got caught. Lou Yu explained that he had spread false stories about Tao Qiu to protect them from suspicion, and the chapter ended with the couple resuming their intimacy.

• Tao Qiu told Lou Yu about his embarrassing dream and teased him until they began kissing and undressing in the car.
• Tao Qiu checked the valley for the cubs, while the cubs hid behind a rock and fled home, terrified he had seen them.
• Afterward, Tao Qiu and Lou Yu embraced and decided Tao Qiu would not go collect materials that day.
• Lou Yu explained that the people at the base would search him, so he could not take back the prey, and admitted he had portrayed Tao Qiu as temperamental to protect them.
• Tao Qiu reassured Lou Yu, and Lou Yu invited him to continue their encounter before returning to the base.