Chapter 141: Either Feeling Guilty or on the Way to Feeling Guilty

Chapter 141: Chapter 141: Either Feeling Guilty or on the Way to Feeling Guilty

"Brother Hao, where are you going?"

To avoid Liang He’s questioning, Huo An, having transformed into a Kunpeng, rapidly retreated just a second before the Federation Army arrived. No one had known of his arrival. When he left, he specifically ordered anyone who saw him to feign ignorance to avoid arousing Liang He’s suspicion.

To his surprise, Liang He already knew he had been here.

"...I’m not going anywhere. No, wait... I’m going to help Hoder."

Huo An felt a guilty conscience, completely unable to control his nervousness when facing Liang He.

"I didn’t see you just now. Did you go to the underground shelter to protect everyone?"

Since Liang He knew he was here, she would naturally pay attention to his whereabouts. Huo An couldn’t help but feel thankful that she hadn’t been around when he transformed into the Kunpeng. Later, he had deliberately forbidden anyone from revealing his identity, or else his cover would have been completely blown today.

"No, I had other matters to attend to."

Liang He’s casual inquiry could very well have been a subtle probe. By not following her train of thought and simply agreeing with her, Huo An made himself less suspicious. Sure enough, upon hearing his answer, Liang He merely nodded with a faint smile and didn’t press the matter further.

"Then I’ll get back to work. Shall we return to the reserve together later?"

"Alright."

The moment Liang He turned around, Huo An quietly breathed a sigh of relief. However, he failed to notice the peculiar gleam that flashed in her eyes as she turned her back to him.

"Liang He, Hoder said you figured out a way to incapacitate the Fierce Beasts! Is that true?"

"Yeah, yeah! How come I’ve never heard of this method before? How did you discover it?"

"I’ve participated in the Federation’s research on Fierce Beasts and tried all sorts of methods, but none could achieve the effect you did. What’s the underlying principle?"

As soon as she stepped out of the hotel and walked over to where the animals were lining up for food, she was instantly swarmed by the crowd. Amidst their chattering, Liang He only managed to catch one key word.

"Hoder!"

That guy! He was causing trouble for her again!

"Liang He, I know I was wrong! President Lucas and the others were just too curious, so I blabbed!"

Hoder’s instant groveling left Liang He not knowing whether to laugh or cry. In the end, she could only shoot him a glare. Facing so many senior experts and scholars, she couldn’t afford to be too unaccommodating.

"Um... how about everyone gives me some space, and we take our time discussing this?"

The crowd finally realized they were crowding her way past any normal social distance. Blushing furiously, they apologetically stepped back, only to accidentally step on each other’s toes. Yelps of pain rang out one after another until President Lucas finally stepped up to take control of the situation.

"Alright, let’s help Liang He finish her work first. Afterward, we can all listen to her explanation together. I’m sure others will be very interested as well, so let’s not make her repeat herself."

The most pressing matter was resolving the issue of the animals’ compensation. Everything else could be discussed slowly once things were settled, which would be far more practical than trying to digest half-baked information right now. Hearing President Lucas’s words, everyone agreed it made sense. After all, Liang He was right here and wasn’t going anywhere. There was no need to rush. Besides, she had been fighting all day, and they really ought to be considerate of her exhaustion.

"Thank you, President."

Seeing everyone calm down and return to their respective duties, Liang He breathed a sigh of relief while casting a grateful glance at President Lucas.

"You’ve worked hard today. Go get some rest."

Liang He gently shook her head. She wanted to rest too, but she had made a promise to the animals. She had to be someone who kept her word; otherwise, they wouldn’t trust her next time, let alone help her.

"I’m going to check on the injured animals first."

Older individuals who wanted to help, like President Lucas, usually held down the fort in the rear. Whenever anyone was unsure of what to do, they would come to consult them. During the battle, it was inevitable that some animals had been bitten by the Fierce Beasts. The Federation Army had immediately quarantined them, but it was still unknown how they would be handled.

"These animals will be sent to a planet specifically designated for detaining Fierce Beasts. Until the Federal Animal Research Institute comes up with a cure for the virus, we cannot allow them to roam free on other planets."

Seeing Liang He’s concern, the Federation Army soldiers in charge of transporting the Fierce Beasts took the time to explain. Fierce Beasts did not attack each other. When they lacked other targets, they were actually quite calm and docile. Because of this, the Federation had repurposed an abandoned planet as a containment zone, dropping food regularly while waiting for the day a cure could save them.

"Please treat them well. They’re heroes, too."

If they hadn’t come to help her, these animals wouldn’t have been bitten by the Fierce Beasts in the first place.

"Rest assured, we will."

Anyone with an ounce of common sense treated Liang He with exceptional patience and profound respect for her opinions.

"Thank you."

After confirming that both the injured animals and the surviving Fierce Beasts would be treated well, Liang He gathered her composure and went to check on the Breeders distributing food.

"Oh my god, where on earth did Liang He find so many animals? I’ve lived on Greenfield Star for years, and I’ve never seen anything like this."

The Beast Beast Legion that Liang He had brought numbered in the several thousands, if not tens of thousands. To ensure every Beast Beast received its share of food, the Federation Army had already applied to their superiors for an emergency requisition of supplies from neighboring planets. Otherwise, there simply wouldn’t be enough.

"Elephants, lions, tigers... there are even unruly kangaroos and monkeys? Miss Liang He is simply amazing!"

"Look at the pecs on that kangaroo. I feel like it’s been working out since the day it was born."

"It has a naturally built physique. Can you compare to that? But seriously, how did Liang He convince them?"

Faced with everyone’s bursting curiosity, Liang He guiltily rubbed the tip of her nose from the sidelines. In truth, she had only employed one tactic. Diplomacy before force. If that failed, she just beat them up. Once the leader was battered into submission, the rest of the underlings naturally fell in line. However, it was best not to share that detail with anyone else, lest she be accused of animal abuse—especially since President Lucas of the Animal Protection Association was still present.

"Hoder, I’m going to find Lanton and the others. I’ll leave this place to you."

She hadn’t seen her fluffy companions in so long, and when they finally reunited, they had been busy fighting the whole time. Liang He missed them dearly.

"Got it! Go ahead, leave everything here to me. Don’t worry!"

After briefing Hoder on what to look out for, Liang He walked toward the Mengji Snow Leopard and the rest of the group. To prevent others from disturbing them, they had been arranged to rest in the hotel terrace’s small garden, which was considered a special privilege. The prolonged battle had left even the Canglan Hunting Eagle so exhausted that it lay motionless on the ground, looking incredibly pitiful.

"My sweeties, you’ve worked hard today."

The moment they saw Liang He, the fluffy beasts instantly perked up and obediently crowded around her.

"MEOW~"

"SCREECH!"

"AWOO~"

The Mengji Snow Leopard, the Canglan Hunting Eagle, and the Platinum Giant Lion immediately surrounded her. Meanwhile, the Iron-eating Beast, having exhausted nearly a year’s worth of physical activity, was drowsily hugging a fresh bamboo shoot. Relentlessly rubbing the little heads of her fluffy companions, Liang He showered them with kisses and hugs until she had completely soothed her little cuties.

"Strange, where is Cedriel?"

Having not seen the Mojin King Tiger anywhere, Liang He couldn’t help but look around in concern, unable to figure out where he could have run off to.