Chapter 35: The Great Pre-Winter Bathing Operation!

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: The Great Pre-Winter Bathing Operation!

For animals, surviving the winter was a matter of life and death.

Migration, molting, hoarding food, or hibernation were all methods they chose to get through the freezing winter. Meanwhile, the fluffy little creatures, heavily spoiled by Liang He, obediently began to cooperate with her winter preparations.

"Little Nuomu! Little Sesame! Don’t even think about running away!"

"AWOO?!"

Grabbing the two little wolf cubs by the scruffs of their necks, she lifted them up and dropped them into a bathtub already filled with warm water. Liang He began giving them the first bath of their wolf lives—which would also be their only bath before winter.

"Awooo~"

SMACK.

Liang He mercilessly delivered a light slap to the forehead of the howling Little Sesame.

"Howling won’t help! You’re both filthy. I was almost electrocuted to death by you two today!"

Winter was dry. Let alone humans, even furry animals were prone to static electricity. Liang He had been caught off guard and shocked several times by these two fuzzy little rascals. The CRACKLE of static had startled both human and wolves alike. Therefore, to ensure safe contact in the future, Liang He evaluated the wolf cubs’ physical conditions and decided to give them a bath.

"Today is a rare sunny day before winter officially begins. You have to cooperate like good boys. There are other beasts waiting."

Pressed for time, Liang He had no choice but to handle both wolf cubs at once. She first let them get used to the water. After slowly wetting their fur, she applied body wash and began to scrub them down. It wasn’t until the pitch-black, murky water in the tub ran clear that she fished the cubs out. She wrapped them in quick-drying towels, gave their fur a rough rub until it stopped dripping, and then placed them into a pet drying box to finish the job.

"Thank goodness I applied to buy a drying box in advance. Otherwise, blow-drying their fur would have taken at least an hour."

With her hands on her hips, Liang He watched the drying box operate with satisfaction. She sighed in relief, thankful that her hometown was so reliable. The interstellar people had never even considered developing something like a pet drying box; the fluffy animals here truly lived rough lives. Before her arrival, even the reserve had never purchased pet supplies like drying boxes.

However, Liang He was wrongly blaming the reserve. The animals here generally followed the laws of nature, where life and death were left to fate. Even for rescues, they were released immediately after treatment. After all, the reserve’s most important task was to ensure that SSS-level Beastmen could safely survive their Evolutionary Stage.

"SCREECH?"

The Canglan Hunting Eagle hovered curiously at a low altitude above the drying box. It was a good thing the animal dormitory was spacious enough; otherwise, there really wouldn’t have been enough room for him to spread his wings and fly.

"Lanton, it’s your turn next!"

Strike when they are unprepared; attack their weak spot. Liang He grabbed the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s talon in one swift motion. Confident in the fact that she was favored, she wasn’t afraid of him scratching her at all.

"SCREECH!"

Just as Liang He expected, the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s first reaction upon having his talon caught was to break free. However, the second he realized it was Liang He, he could only helplessly flap his wings and gradually descend until he landed safely on the ground.

"Alright, alright. I know this isn’t right, but you really need a bath."

Facing his silent accusation, Liang He met the Canglan Hunting Eagle’s gaze with an innocent, fawning smile. Her expression finally forced the Canglan Hunting Eagle, who was constantly tilting his little head from side to side, to concede defeat and obediently submit to a bath.

"Screech..."

Even his cries became feeble and powerless, showing just how helpless the Canglan Hunting Eagle felt. Yet, he was completely at a loss on how to deal with the two-legged beast standing in front of him. He couldn’t bear to swat her with his wings, much less peck her with his sharp beak. In the end, he could only squat in the large tub prepared for them, sulking and burying his head deep in his feathers.

"I knew Lanton was the most well-behaved! How could there be such an obedient Falcon?"

"Wow, Lanton is so good at taking baths! Whose good boy is this? Oh, he’s mine!"

"After a bath, Lanton’s feathers are as smooth as silk!"

Under Liang He’s continuous, wildly exaggerated praises, the Canglan Hunting Eagle was forced out of his sulking and turned completely narcissistic. He gradually puffed out his chest and raised his head, actively cooperating with Liang He’s scrubbing. He even voluntarily lifted his wings so she could wash his armpits, refusing to let a single speck of dirt remain!

Since the wolf cubs had a drying box, Lanton and the others naturally had their own exclusive large-scale drying box, which was repurposed from an entire room.

"Liang He is amazing! And the Commander is way too susceptible to praise. He actually got coaxed into the drying room just like that?!"

"Whatever happened to the rule that Evolutionary Beastmen cannot be kept in captivity? Good heavens, he’s literally been thrown into solitary confinement, and he’s thoroughly enjoying it!"

"To be honest, if it weren’t for Liang He, I never would have imagined that one day I’d see Lord Lanton washed so spotlessly clean. His feathers are so smooth they’re practically reflecting light!"

The Seventh Service Area, where Liang He was stationed, served as a twenty-four-hour live-stream for the control room staff. Not only did it help them pass their boring work hours, but it also constantly provided them with new surprises and shocks. Especially when they saw Cedriel and the other beasts—who usually bullied them and refused to cooperate with treatments—being completely tamed by Liang He, a bizarre sense of satisfaction rippled through their hearts.

The surveillance footage continued. Lanton flew up to a fake tree set up for him in the drying room. Through the glass, he looked down at the next victim.

"Screech~"

Oh, so it was the newly arrived White Lotus Leopard!

"MEOW! MEOW!"

Compared to the Mojin King Tiger who loved playing in the water, the Mengji Snow Leopard obviously aligned more with typical feline traits: he hated water. When Liang He brought him from the treatment room to the bathhouse, he took one look at the large tub full of bathwater and immediately tried to bolt.

"MEOW!"

However, Liang He had anticipated the Mengji Snow Leopard’s reaction. With a backhand grab, she seized him right by the scruff of his neck. Paying no mind to his struggles, she simply dragged him toward the tub.

"Hehe, yelling is useless! No one can save you now!" Liang He wasn’t about to spoil a single Beast Beast. If they refused to bathe, they could forget about getting into her bed during the winter! "Leopard, you might as well just obediently give in to me!"

Getting into her roleplay, Liang He wore a wicked grin. She extended her "evil" hands and began scrubbing the Mengji Snow Leopard all over.

"MEOW! Meow...?"

The Mengji Snow Leopard’s tone took a sharp turn. As a skilled fluffy creature scrubber, Liang He’s technique was nothing to scoff at. The Mengji Snow Leopard, who had initially been extremely resistant, surprisingly started to enjoy it.

"How is it? Feels really good, doesn’t it?"

Liang He raised an eyebrow triumphantly, scrubbing with increasing vigor. The Mengji Snow Leopard’s external injuries had already healed, and he was even starting to grow a soft undercoat. However, surviving the harsh winter would probably still be tough for him.

Watching the Mengji Snow Leopard sprawled limply in the tub, resting his cute leopard head on the edge with a look of pure bliss, Liang He used a towel to fashion a little shower cap for him. He looked absolutely adorkable.

"Perfect! Leopard, don’t move."

Liang He snapped away with her camera, instantly acquiring dozens of photos of the Mengji Snow Leopard bathing from various angles. She immediately uploaded them to the Star Network.

[Fur Raising Officer: The Mengji Snow Leopard looks so cute taking a bath! What do you all think? [Images]]

Liang He had carefully selected a nine-image grid. The moment it was uploaded, her Light Brain began to BEEP continuously. The netizens had clearly been standing by, ready and waiting.