Chapter 111: Good News and Bad News

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: Good News and Bad News

The Federation basically hid nothing from its citizens, unless it involved highly impactful secrets like Evolutionary Beastmen.

As leaders, they unanimously agreed that blind protection would only leave citizens more panicked and helpless in the face of danger. It was better to prepare them mentally in advance to handle emergencies.

Therefore, whether it was the existence of SSS-level Beastmen or the Rebel Army’s Fierce Beast Army, the citizens had the right to know.

[Am I seeing things? Those look like Fierce Beasts?!]

[Good news: the Little Elephant has been found.]

[Bad news: the Little Elephant is being besieged by Fierce Beasts.]

[What should we do? Will the Little Elephant be bitten to death?]

Why would Fierce Beasts attack a Little Elephant?

Knowing the inside story, Hoder was somewhat puzzled. Fierce Beasts usually targeted Beastmen and rarely attacked ordinary animals on their own initiative. Could someone be commanding them from behind the scenes? But what would be the purpose of directing Fierce Beasts to attack a Little Elephant?

"ROAR!"

Just as Hoder was still engaging in his least favorite mental gymnastics, the Platinum Giant Lion instantly burst out of the encirclement of the Bear Bee Swarm and the Elephant Group, charging straight for the Fierce Beasts.

[Whoa, I almost forgot about this big shot.]

[Great! With the Platinum Giant Lion here, the Little Elephant is saved!]

[He just finished saving a person, and now he’s off to save the Little Elephant. He is so good, I could cry!]

Upon the Platinum Giant Lion’s appearance, the Fierce Beasts instinctively shifted their targets, locking their eyes onto Cyril. Meanwhile, the originally besieged Little Elephant began to respond to the calls of the Elephant Group.

"So it accidentally fell into a trap. No wonder the Elephant Group couldn’t find the Little Elephant anywhere." Liang He signaled the female elephant to stop moving forward, while having it put her and Hoder down, and then take the Elephant Group further away.

[Huh? Why doesn’t the Breeder just let the elephants pull the Little Elephant out directly? Or have an elephant go in and push the Little Elephant up?]

[It’s probably hard to pull, right? As for having an elephant go in, what if it can’t get back up on its own? Who would push it then?]

[But even a newborn Little Elephant weighs a few hundred pounds, and this Little Elephant probably weighs over a thousand! If the elephants aren’t allowed to pull it up themselves, what is the streamer going to do?]

The netizens, whose hearts were breaking for the Little Elephant, had already started brainstorming ideas on how to rescue it.

To answer their doubts, Liang He provided an explanation. "There is a trap here. A concentration of the Elephant Group might cause a collapse, which could end up burying the Little Elephant alive."

The trap was not particularly large. It seemed especially cramped now that the Platinum Giant Lion had leaped down without hesitation to grapple with the Fierce Beasts right next to the crouching Little Elephant. The hole created when the Little Elephant fell was wide enough for the Fierce Beasts and the Platinum Giant Lion to jump in. What puzzled Liang He was that the Little Elephant should have called for help immediately after falling into the trap—so why had the Elephant Group failed to find any trace of it?

"Liang He, look, is there something over there?" The sharp-eyed Hoder stood beside Liang He. While protecting her to prevent her from accidentally stepping on thin air and falling in, he pointed out an anomaly. "It looks like an infrasound shielding device?"

Shielding infrasound?

At those words, Liang He finally understood why the Elephant Group couldn’t find the Little Elephant, and why the Little Elephant had been unable to contact them.

[What’s going on? There’s actually an infrasound shielding device inside the trap? Was this specifically targeting the Little Elephant?]

[Hard to say. The trap was probably set by poachers, and ivory is also among their targets. Maybe it’s just in case?]

[I really can’t understand the existence of poachers. Ivory belongs to elephants. Poachers deserve a terrible death!]

The Light Brain, hovering in the air, displayed an unobstructed view of the pitiful Little Elephant huddled in the trap. The sight broke the netizens’ hearts, prompting them to furiously condemn the poachers who had set the trap. However, in the eyes of those who knew the inside story, this was likely not the work of poachers.

"No matter how well disguised it is, the appearance of the Fierce Beasts already explains everything." Huo An frowned deeply. This was only the first day of the training session, and Liang He had already encountered such a thorny situation. If this was not the handiwork of the Rebel Army behind the scenes, he would genuinely suspect that Liang He was cursed to be this unlucky.

"Perhaps we should give those rats some deterrence." At the very least, it would make them think twice before acting and use fewer underhanded tricks.

Elias’s existence made Huo An want to hide himself, serving as the ultimate trump card against him. But given the current situation, perhaps the Rebel Army had not reached an internal consensus.

Just as Huo An expected, upon learning that Liang He had encountered Fierce Beasts again, Valken—who knew full well it wasn’t his doing—immediately thought of his competitors.

"Damn it! They actually intend to step on me to climb up. Wishful thinking!" Sweeping everything off his desk, Valken furiously cursed, relying on the room’s good soundproofing and completely forgetting that he was still living under someone else’s roof.

"Ah, ah..." The mute subordinate began to "gesticulate" again, which only further infuriated the already raging Valken.

"What are you ’ah-ah-ing’ about?! To think that a dignified branch minister like myself is left with only a useless mute like you for a subordinate?!"

At this very moment, Valken had entirely forgotten the mute subordinate’s unwavering loyalty, solely focused on venting his resentment and dissatisfaction. Scolded for no reason, the mute subordinate fell silent. He quietly retreated into the corner, coldly watching his boss behave like a madman. It wasn’t until Valken calmed down and called him over that he lowered his head slightly, concealing the look in his eyes.

"Is the Bounty Hunter you found before actually reliable? Why is there no news at all?" With no capable subordinates available and facing covetous competitors, Valken lay back exhaustedly in his chair, rubbing his aching temples in an attempt to make himself feel a bit better.

"..."

Waiting for a response, Valken belatedly realized that the mute subordinate remained silent. He finally sat up straight and looked at him earnestly.

"Don’t hold a grudge against me. We’re in the same boat. If I’m finished, you won’t meet a good end either. I’m just anxious for the both of us!"

Valken’s attempt to gaslight his subordinate fell completely flat. The mute subordinate gave a perfunctory nod, then took out his Light Brain and started typing.

[He is currently earning Liang He’s trust. You should be very clear that given Liang He’s strength, along with the protection of Hoder and the Platinum Giant Lion, it’s impossible for him to forcibly take Liang He away on his own.]

When there was a massive disparity in strength, outsmarting the opponent was the only way to achieve their goal. That was the mute subordinate’s thought process.

Reminded by him, Valken finally recalled Liang He’s feat of single-handedly taking on half of the Fierce Beast Army. He let out a deep sigh.

"It seems we can only pin our hopes on Elias." Fortunately, he had kept his composure earlier and hadn’t directly fallen out with Elias; otherwise, he genuinely wouldn’t know how to turn the situation around now.

Meanwhile, Elias, upon whom high hopes were placed, had all his attention focused on Liang He. Especially when he saw Liang He suddenly jump down into the trap. His hands, which had been resting loosely on his knees, unconsciously clenched into fists, and his breathing grew unsteady.

"Everyone is very curious about how I’m going to save the Little Elephant. The answer, of course, is—"