Chapter 184: Rewarded with a Pair of Dark Circles

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Rewarded with a Pair of Dark Circles

Hello Poison’s message, combined with Xu Yi’s recent test results, gave Liang He a suspicion. If her guess was right, she probably needed to contact Blue Star about it.

For the first time, Liang He experienced a sleepless night fraught with anxiety. When she appeared the next day with dark circles under her eyes, she gave Silver Shuttle a fright.

"Liang He, are you all right? Did you not sleep well last night?"

In Silver Shuttle’s mind, Liang He had an incredibly resilient psyche. She gave off the impression that even if the sky were falling, she would go about her day without batting an eye. Seeing her so devastated over the Iron-eating Beast’s poisoning felt unusually out of character to him. However, her affection for the fluffy animals was unquestionable. This was likely one of the reasons the Holy Daughter had risked sending the Divine Son here.

"I’m fine." Liang He shook her head slightly and listlessly walked into the bathroom. After washing her face with cold water, she finally felt somewhat awake. Last night, she had closed her eyes only to plunge into deep thought. Her brain had been so overactive that sleep eluded her entirely, and before she knew it, she had opened her eyes to the morning light.

"All right. I’m going to the Main Service Area to fetch our meals. Is there anything in particular you’d like to eat?" Huo An had specifically instructed the cafeteria’s head chef to do his best to accommodate the needs of the Seventh Service Area. Silver Feather and Silver Shuttle were guests, and Liang He’s special status went without saying. Coupled with the camaraderie of being fellow Blue Star people, the head chef was naturally more than happy to give them preferential treatment.

"Anything is fine. I’m not a picky eater. Thanks for the trouble." Liang He knew that replying with "anything is fine" when asked what to eat was a bit of a buzzkill. But she had exhausted so much brainpower last night that she simply didn’t want to think about it anymore.

"Hey, no need to be polite with me. I’m practically your employee now, aren’t I?" To atone for his past mistakes, Silver Shuttle had agreed to stay and work at the service area. Because of this, he had absolutely no complaints about Liang He ordering him around. After all, if it hadn’t been for her, he would have been dragged back to the Temple by the Holy Daughter, where a wide variety of punishments would have awaited him.

"I’ll go find the Holy Daughter first, then we’ll go fetch the food together." For various safety and practical reasons, it was better for two people to get the meals. As a result, Silver Feather had been accompanying Silver Shuttle for the past two days. However, Silver Shuttle did most of the heavy lifting, while Silver Feather primarily acted as a monitor to prevent anyone from tampering with their food.

"Okay."

After watching Silver Shuttle leave, Hoder also got up. Seeing Liang He looking so exhausted, he assumed she was still fretting over the Iron-eating Beast’s condition.

"Xu Yi said the Animal Research Institute is working around the clock. I’m sure there will be results soon, so don’t worry too much," he comforted her.

"Yeah, I know." Liang He didn’t explain further, simply letting Hoder run with his assumption. In truth, with Chou the Pharmacist on the case, Liang He wasn’t particularly worried about the antidote; it was only a matter of time. What she cared more about was the person who had developed the poison in the first place.

"Where are Lanton and the others? I haven’t seen them since I woke up." For the past two days, the fluffy animals had stayed by Liang He’s side, barely stepping outside. So when Hoder woke up and found the animal dormitory empty save for a few cubs and the unconscious Iron-eating Beast, he was quite surprised.

"They went hunting," she replied. Liang He had made this a mandatory rule. It wasn’t that there was a lack of food at home, but rather that Xu Yi’s words last night had served as a wake-up call. She shouldn’t project her negative emotions onto the animals and disrupt their daily lives. Therefore, as soon as the sun rose, Liang He had instructed Lanton and Cedriel to take the Platinum Giant Lion and the Mengji Snow Leopard out for some exercise.

"But aren’t they..." Hoder trailed off. The issue of the poisoned water source hadn’t been resolved yet, and it was still unknown if there were any remaining moles in the reserve. He couldn’t help but worry about Cedriel and the others.

"Don’t worry. I explicitly told them not to eat anything or drink from any water sources outside." Once bitten, twice shy. There was no way Liang He would fail to mitigate potential risks.

"That’s good, then." Hearing this, Hoder finally felt relieved. The animals had always obeyed Liang He’s every word. With her explicit orders, they wouldn’t even sniff at food, let alone eat it, even if someone tried to force-feed them. Of course, given the unique nature of Evolutionary Beastmen, if anyone actually dared to force-feed Lanton and the others, they would likely be hunted down in retaliation.

"I’ll go wash up then. You get some rest." Hoder returned to his own room. He had been sleeping in the animal dormitory for the past few days, leaving his actual bedroom vacant.

Once he left, Liang He returned to the small single room where the Iron-eating Beast was staying. Nearby, the Silver Moon Wolf was playing with the two little wolf cubs and the panda baby.

"Xingbao, do you want to keep Jiao Jiao company?"

As soon as the panda baby spotted Liang He, he crawled to her feet and tugged at her pant leg, trying to climb up. His ultimate destination was clearly the bed where the Iron-eating Beast lay.

"Mhm!" Ever since he was born, the panda baby had depended entirely on the Iron-eating Beast for survival. Having not seen him for several days, the little cub missed him dearly.

"All right, then be a good boy and stay with Jiao Jiao." Xu Yi had already confirmed that the poisoned animals were not contagious, so there was no longer any need for isolation. Liang He scooped up the panda baby and placed him next to the Iron-eating Beast. The little cub instinctively found a warm, comfortable spot and nestled against him. The sight of the large beast and the tiny cub snuggled together was incredibly endearing.

"AWOO~"

Seeing Liang He distracted, the neglected Little Nian Gao and Little Sesame grew a bit displeased. They nipped at her pant legs, demanding her attention.

"AWOO!"

Before Liang He could react, the Silver Moon Wolf swiftly picked up one of her clueless, mischievous cubs by the scruff of its neck. However, keeping one in check meant the other ran free. The two little wolf cubs darted back and forth, turning it into a game. They began to deliberately torment their mother, frustrating the Silver Moon Wolf so much that she looked ready to pin the brats to the floor with a single paw. Well, when dealing with naughty children, she was no longer the reluctant, heartbroken mother who had once entrusted her orphaned cubs to another.

"Pfft." Liang He chuckled at their interaction. Just as she was about to soothe the exasperated wolf mother, a commotion echoed from the dormitory entrance. It turned out the fluffy animals had returned from their hunt.

"SCREECH!"

The Canglan Hunting Eagle and the Mojin King Tiger skillfully opened the door, then dragged their prey inch by inch to the entrance. This was a specific spot Liang He had designated for depositing prey to keep the rest of the dormitory clean.

"You’re back." Liang He walked briskly toward the fluffy animals and glanced at their haul. It was quite a bountiful harvest.

"ROAR~"

The Mojin King Tiger strode toward Liang He with a regal gait. However, just as he was about to step from the dusty entryway into the clean zone, he paused and silently retracted his paw.

"ROAR..." They hadn’t wiped their paws yet; they weren’t allowed inside.

"Cedriel is such a good boy. I’ll go get some water right away and wipe you all down." Every time they returned from hunting, Liang He would clean their faces and paws to prevent any bloodstains from the hunt or dirt from the road from dirtying the dormitory. It also allowed her to check them for any injuries. Gradually, the fluffy animals had developed an unspoken understanding and now cooperated with absolute obedience.

"MEOW!"

"ROAR~"

Seeing that Liang He’s mood seemed to have improved, the Mengji Snow Leopard and the Platinum Giant Lion refused to be outdone. They immediately began vying for her affection, acting exactly like the two little wolf cubs from moments ago.