Chapter 41: The First Snow of Early Winter, Just for Fun!

Chapter 41: Chapter 41: The First Snow of Early Winter, Just for Fun!

The leader of the Rebel Army was named Drover, an overlord notorious for using Dark Power to carry out revenge and conquest.

Drover commanded many individuals with extraordinary talents and unique skills. The one he favored most, naturally, was Dr. Sol—codenamed Black Wizard—who had engineered the Fierce Beast Army.

According to Hoder, Black Wizard had defected from the Federation Research Institute. He had been conducting illegal research, though the exact nature of his experiments remained unknown.

"Illegal research..." Liang He murmured, a cold glint in her eyes. Looking at the still-unconscious Silver Moon Wolf, her disgust for Black Wizard and the Rebel Army reached its absolute peak.

Perhaps out of concern for her pups, the Silver Moon Wolf had been highly cooperative with Xu Yi’s treatments. Liang He frequently brought Little Nian Gao and Little Sesame to visit her. However, because she was still in recovery, the mother wolf spent most of her time in a deep slumber, only occasionally letting out a few soft howls to communicate with her babies.

"Liang He! Come out and look! It’s snowing!"

Liang He, who was playing catch with her fluffy companions in the dorm, initially had no intention of entertaining Xu Yi’s yelling. But when her gaze landed on the vast expanse of white outside, she couldn’t help the itch of excitement in her heart. It was the first snow of early winter.

"MEOW!"

The Mengji Snow Leopard was visibly thrilled at the sight of the icy world. After all, a snow leopard’s absolute favorite pastime was rolling around and playing in the snow.

"I know, I know. I’m opening the door right now," Liang He said, letting the impatient Mengji Snow Leopard out.

Although his fur hadn’t fully grown back yet, he was wearing a custom-knitted snow leopard sweater she had made for him, so there was no fear of him catching a cold.

"MEOOOW!"

The moment he saw the snow, the Mengji Snow Leopard immediately pounced onto a snowbank, leaving behind a massive leopard-shaped imprint. After rolling around several times, he shook his robust body vigorously to fling off the clinging snow. Then, with elegant strides, he left a trail of plum blossom-shaped footprints across the untouched powder.

"Cedriel, aren’t you going to play?"

While the Mengji Snow Leopard was having the time of his life, the Mojin King Tiger seemed rather unenthusiastic. He just lay by Liang He’s feet, flicking his tail in boredom.

"AWOOO."

He believed he wasn’t that childish.

"Cedriel, I really want to try playing catch in the snow. Will you keep me company?"

Knowing the Mojin King Tiger so well, Liang He took one look at his big eyes darting after the Mengji Snow Leopard and knew he was simply too embarrassed to join in. Thoughtfully, she picked up the bell-laced embroidered ball she had made for Cedriel and led him over to the Mengji Snow Leopard.

"AWOOO!"

With Liang He giving him a perfect excuse, the Mojin King Tiger had no reason to refuse. He immediately trotted after her, his tail wagging with sheer joy, leaving the Canglan Hunting Eagle behind him utterly speechless.

"Lanton! You come too!"

"SCREECH!"

The Canglan Hunting Eagle, who had just been silently judging the Mojin King Tiger’s lack of dignity a second ago, instantly took his position at Liang He’s command.

Since the two little wolf pups were still too young and the Silver Moon Wolf happened to be awake, Liang He simply carried them over to their mother.

"Three people and three beasts. How about we have a point-based competition?" Liang He suggested, figuring that simply playing catch would eventually get boring. With Xu Yi and Hoder around, they could easily split into three teams.

"I have no objections, but you’ll have to negotiate with them first." Xu Yi curled his lips and shrugged, having not forgotten that he was still on Cedriel and the others’ blacklist.

"Then the Mengji Snow Leopard will team up with Hoder, and you’ll be with Lanton."

Due to being locked up while injured previously, the Mengji Snow Leopard had no fondness for Xu Yi either. Meanwhile, Cedriel and Xu Yi were clearly mortal enemies. That left only the relatively even-tempered Lanton to pair up with the doctor.

"MEOW..."

Though he was rather disgusted by Hoder, the Mengji Snow Leopard decided that compared to Xu Yi, Hoder was somewhat acceptable. As for the Canglan Hunting Eagle, who currently had no bad blood with Xu Yi, he was perfectly willing to obey Liang He’s arrangement.

"Alright! Lanton, let’s do our best together!"

"...SCREECH."

Lanton instantly regretted it. He really didn’t want to team up with this idiotic two-legged beast.

Everyone took their positions. The rules were simple: the human would throw the ball, and the beast would catch it. The team with the most catches within the time limit would win.

"Just a competition? Isn’t there a prize?" Hoder asked, craving something delicious.

Lately, due to the situation with the Silver Moon Wolf, Liang He hadn’t been very enthusiastic about cooking. She had mostly been making do with quick bites or downing nutrient solutions, forcing Hoder to eat at the cafeteria. But cafeteria food was mass-produced; it lacked the exquisite care of Liang He’s cooking, and it certainly didn’t taste nearly as good.

"What kind of prize do you want?"

"A whole roasted sheep!"

The moment Liang He relented, Hoder immediately seized the opportunity. He had heard the head chef at the cafeteria mention whole roasted sheep before and had been salivating over the idea for a long time. It just so happened that the supplies delivered over the past two days included an entire sheep. It was the perfect coincidence!

"Hoder, do you have any ambition at all? All you know is eating." Xu Yi was speechless, having expected Hoder to ask for something much more demanding.

"Fine, I have no ambition! Just make sure you don’t eat any of it later!"

"Why shouldn’t I? I’m going to eat it!"

"Ha! I won’t let you! Only the winner gets to eat it. Liang He is the chef, so she doesn’t count."

"We don’t even know who will win or lose yet!"

Watching Hoder and Xu Yi bicker like two elementary schoolers, Liang He shook her head between tears and laughter, ultimately agreeing to Hoder’s proposal.

"Alright, stop arguing. A whole roasted sheep takes a lot of time to prepare."

The underlying message was clear: stop squabbling and wasting time. With Liang He stepping in to call a truce, Hoder and Xu Yi finally stopped arguing. Both holding their breath with determination, they began practicing catches with their respective partners, striving for the championship title to crush the other.

"Then Cedriel and I will give a demonstration first?" Since Liang He was the one who proposed the game, it was only right for her to show them how it was done.

"Sure! You go first!"

"I have no objections. We’ll follow your lead."

Because she needed to buy a lot of supplies for the winter, and apart from what could be reimbursed, she had to pay for some out of her own pocket, Liang He once again remembered her generous online "sponsors." So, after seeking permission from Hoder and Xu Yi, she turned on her camera’s recording mode.

"Cedriel, you can do it!"

"AWOOO!"

He could definitely do it!

The human and the beast stood over five meters apart. Liang He tossed the embroidered ball high toward the Mojin King Tiger. As the cold wind blew, the bells inside the ball let out a crisp JINGLE.

Locking his eyes on the target, the Mojin King Tiger stretched his limbs and leaped with all his might, successfully catching the airborne ball in his mouth.

"Great job, Cedriel!"

Thrilled by the flawless coordination of their very first toss, Liang He happily hugged the Mojin King Tiger’s large head and planted a firm kiss on his forehead. She then took the ball from his mouth, and they returned to their positions.

In the span of a three-minute timer, Liang He and the Mojin King Tiger completed a total of twenty-eight successful catches. As they progressed, their synergy grew so seamless that it almost became a conditioned reflex. The display left Xu Yi and Hoder utterly dumbfounded and breaking a sweat.

Good heavens, they had been shamelessly boasting about competing for the top spot, but looking at it now, they were clearly going to be completely crushed by Liang He!

"How about we just compare the scores between our two teams?"

"Good idea. I’m in favor."

For the very first time, Xu Yi and Hoder reached an unprecedented level of mutual understanding.

"Alright!" Liang He called out. "Who’s up next?!"