The silent threat successfully forced the tiger to retreat. In an instant, it recalled the python that had once beaten it so badly it had to retreat into its cage.
“Roar—”
The tiger, feeling aggrieved, shifted its gaze away and instead swept its eyes over the other humans behind Su Su.
The first ones to come into view were Wei Yan and Guan Zixuan, the two tallest figures. Their aura carried a strong sense of righteousness—something even animals could perceive. However… after experiencing the torment of its previous owner, He Heng, facing such powerful humans again made the cowardly tiger instinctively want to keep its distance.
Wei Yan and Guan Zixuan, out!
Next were Pang Cancan and Le Rui. The former carried a scent of insects that the tiger found unpleasant, while the latter—was simply too weak. It could swallow him whole in a single bite.
Pang Cancan and Le Rui, out!
The tiger didn’t want to choose anyone. It approached the iron net and let out a low growl toward Su Su.
Su Su immediately understood its meaning: “You want to leave the base?”
“Roar!”
At this moment, the other surviving battle pets had already gathered around the tiger, their gazes conveying the same message.
Su Su comprehended, “You all want to leave the base.”
“Roar!”
“Awwoo!”
“Squeak!”
The battle pets responded one after another, their voices rising and falling in succession. Their intentions were crystal clear—
They no longer wished to be driven by humans. They didn’t want to be trapped in the base, losing their freedom. They would rather return to the wild and live without constraints.
Su Su turned to the others.
Pang Cancan was the first to agree, “Then let them go!”
Wei Yan also nodded, “I was worrying about where to place them.”
These battle pets had very limited intelligence. Unlike Su Su’s python, which knew what it could and could not do, these creatures had no one to restrain them. If they were allowed to roam freely within the base, they would likely cause widespread panic.
Not to mention, they could easily stir up trouble, big or small.
It would be better to return them to nature.
Since the decision had been made, Wei Yan, who was in charge of logistics and infrastructure, immediately arranged for a large truck to be driven over. All the battle pets were loaded into the cargo compartment.
The rest of the group followed in off-road vehicles, trailing behind the truck.
When they reached a mountain range dozens of kilometers away, the truck’s rear compartment was opened once again, and fresh air rushed into the animals’ nostrils.
They eagerly leaped out one after another, disappearing into the forest without a single glance back, showing no attachment whatsoever.
The tiger was the last to jump out of the truck.
At this moment, its companions had long since vanished, afraid that these humans might change their minds.
The tiger naturally followed closely behind.
But just before dashing into the forest, it turned its head to glance at Su Su.
This was the human who had accompanied it for more than half a month. It was also her who had cleansed all the residual energy impurities from its body.
“Roar—”
Wei Yan seemed to sense something. “It’s calling you.”
“Roar!”
The tiger’s roar confirmed his words.
Su Su stepped forward.
The fluffy tiger head took the initiative to nuzzle against her. To avoid being resented by a certain petty cold-blooded creature, it only lightly rubbed against the human’s leg.
Although this tiger was timid, its nature was wary and distant.
This was the most affectionate it had ever been since Su Su had been treating it.
Feeling touched, Su Su hugged the tiger’s head.
The familiar white light once again seeped into its body, carefully scanning every corner to check if there were any remaining energy impurities.
“Roar!”
The tiger shook its head comfortably, cleverly slipping out of the human’s embrace.
It wasn’t that it was impatient, but if it stayed in her arms any longer, the snake in her backpack—who was already stretching its head out and shooting a deadly glare—would most certainly spit out a mouthful of blue flames and burn its fur bald.
A wise tiger knew when to retreat. The spot beside this human had long been taken. It was better off relying on itself.
“Go on.” Su Su sensed its reluctance and waved her hand. “Be careful in the future. Don’t get caught again.”
The tiger took a few steps, glancing back three times before finally picking up speed and dashing into the forest.
“Roar!!!”
Its powerful roar startled a flock of birds into flight. The brown-and-yellow figure completely vanished into the vast wilderness.
Su Su stood there watching for a long time.
Long enough for the black snake to hiss in jealousy.
Only then did Su Su snap out of it. “Let’s go.”
By the time their off-road vehicle returned to the base, the sky had completely darkened.
Wei Yan, Guan Zixuan, and Zheng Wenxiu still lived together.
Su Su, Pang Cancan, and Le Rui, now with Granny Niu—who had been brought out of the southern base long ago—all stayed in another place.
However, the two residences were close enough to be considered neighbors.
Seeing Su Su’s graceful figure walking back, Wei Yan called out, “Su Su, the things you asked me to bring for you have arrived.”
“I’ll come get them right away!”
Considering the size of those items, Su Su first consulted the Xiao Hei snake in her backpack. “Xiao Hei, why don’t you go home with Cancan and the others first? I’ll be back soon!”
The black snake stared at her for a few seconds, then cast a suspicious glance at Wei Yan, who was waiting nearby.
Letting his female be alone with a human male—if it were in the past, he would have never agreed to it.
All he had to do was play dumb and pretend not to understand. After all, his female doted on him and couldn’t bear to chase him away.
But things were different now.
The black snake was well aware that the female he had claimed was beginning to develop a sense of wariness toward him. If he continued acting willfully, it might only worsen her impression of him.
To please her, the always-unruly black snake decided to yield.
Obediently, it slithered out of the backpack and, glancing back three times, slid toward the neighboring villa.
Seeing Xiao Hei behave for once, Su Su let out a breath of relief.
She followed Wei Yan inside their house. “Where are the things?”
“There!”
Guan Zixuan squeezed past Wei Yan, eagerly approaching her and pointing toward the corner of the hall, where three large packages were stacked.
“Su Su, I’ll carry them over to your villa for you…”
Before he could finish, Zheng Wenxiu grabbed him by the back of his collar, grinding her teeth. “Go pack your own luggage first!”
“Ah, ah, ah! Wenxiu, we can talk about that later—later!”
Guan Zixuan’s voice faded as he was dragged up the stairs.
Wei Yan withdrew his gaze, feeling a bit grateful for Zheng Wenxiu’s timely intervention—she had created an opportunity for him to be alone with Su Su.
“I’ll help you carry them over.”
Su Su looked at the three large packages, pondered for a few seconds, then nodded. “I’ll trouble you then.”
“It’s no trouble.”
As a physically strong ability user, Wei Yan easily shouldered two of the large packages, leaving Su Su behind with only the lightest and smallest one.
The distance between the two villas wasn’t far.
Wei Yan quickly carried the packages to her doorstep. “Where should I put them?”
Su Su stepped inside, instinctively scanning the entire hall.
No sign of Xiao Hei.
“Put them in the room next to mine.”
“Alright.”
Wei Yan swiftly placed the packages in the adjacent room.
With the task done, it seemed he no longer had a reason to stay.
Wei Yan stood in place for a few seconds. “Then… I’ll head back first?”
“Mm.” Su Su tilted her head up and smiled at him. “Thank you for helping me carry them in.”
For a brief moment, Wei Yan was lost in that smile.
In that instant, countless memories surged to the surface—
The heart-stopping moment when he was rescued from an imminent explosion;
The pain he felt when he saw her swallowed by an avalanche;
The overwhelming joy and disbelief when they reunited…
Before, when the situation was unstable, he had buried all his thoughts deep inside. But now, the dust had settled. The southern base was under their control, and no unexpected changes would happen anymore.
For the first time in his steady, cautious twenty-plus years of life, Wei Yan had the urge to be impulsive.
“Su Su, actually, I…”
“Brother Wei.” Su Su suddenly interrupted him. “I think I heard someone next door calling you for dinner.”
The words he had been about to say were forcefully stuck in his throat.
As intelligent as he was, he could already see the unspoken answer in her clear, bright eyes.
She was gently stopping him from continuing.
“Is that so?” Wei Yan tried to conceal the disappointment in his heart. “That’s probably Wenxiu calling me.”
He turned and walked toward the door.
Just before stepping out, perhaps unwilling to give up completely, he stopped with his back to her and asked in a low voice, “Did I do something wrong?”
No answer came from behind him.
Only when he finally stepped away did Su Su softly say, “I just don’t want to think about these things.”
Her words drifted into Wei Yan’s ears, and for the first time, the dazed look in his eyes was impossible to hide. He left the villa, looking utterly lost.
The room was left with only Su Su.
Before long, Pang Cancan peeked her head in through the doorway. “Sister Su Su, I swear! I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to run into it!”
“Mm.”
Su Su’s reaction was too calm.
Pang Cancan clicked her tongue twice, feeling a little sympathetic for Wei Yan.
So Sister Su Su really had no feelings for Wei Yan at all?
All that time she had spent betting between Wei Yan and Guan Zixuan was for nothing!
Not wanting to meddle too much, Pang Cancan was about to withdraw her head when Su Su suddenly looked up. “Where’s Xiao Hei?”
“He went straight into your room after we got back. He hasn’t come out since.”
Xiao Hei had never been this obedient.
Su Su paused for two seconds before finally nodding. “Got it.”
Even after learning where Xiao Hei was, she didn’t go to him immediately. Instead, she remained in the adjacent room, busying herself with the packages for a long time.
Two hours later.
The sound of the female’s footsteps had just reached the doorway.
The black snake, which had been lying on the sofa, immediately lifted its head, expectantly waiting for Su Su to enter.
It had been very obedient lately.
When the female refused to hold it, it had obediently accepted it.
When the female wanted to hold the big tiger, it hadn’t protested.
When the female wanted to be alone with Wei Yan, it had pretended to leave—though in reality, it had hidden in the shadows, secretly watching. And no one had noticed.
…In short, it had gone against its own nature and behaved.
Ever since the snow disaster, the black snake could no longer conceal its desire for the female.
It couldn’t simply obey her wishes, nor could it return to being an ignorant, emotionless beast. Maybe that was what she wanted, but it wasn’t what it wanted.
At its core, the black snake was still domineering.
It hoped that, by being obedient and well-behaved, it could coax the female into gradually accepting it.
The doorknob turned.
The once-feral python slithered down from the sofa, its tail hooking onto the drool cloth from the backpack.
If the female liked it, it could wear this ugly thing to please her.
When Su Su opened the door, Xiao Hei was already “waiting” at the entrance, its tail raised high, proudly holding the drool cloth embroidered with Pikachu.
“Hiss~~~”
But Su Su, who had secretly made a decision behind its back, was feeling guilty. She didn’t even look at it.
“Xiao Hei, I got you a gift.”
A gift?
A flicker of joy flashed through those deep, emerald-green vertical pupils.
It temporarily discarded the drool cloth and happily slithered after the female, following her into the adjacent room.
Su Su walked quickly and was already standing beside a warm, cozy little bed.
At this point, she didn’t dare look at Xiao Hei. Forcing a cheerful tone, she said, “I had Wei Yan find this small bed for you at the second-hand market. Now, you can sleep here on your own. Aren’t you happy?”
Are—You—Happy?
The black snake had happily followed her in, but the moment it saw the bed and heard those words—its fury exploded.
What did she mean by this? Was she throwing it out?!
In the blink of an eye, scorching blue flames devoured the small wooden bed that Su Su had spent two painstaking hours assembling, reducing the softest, coziest bedding to ashes.
The black snake’s rage and resentment surged skyward.
It had never been the obedient type. After pretending to be good for so many days, only to be “thrown out” in the end—what was the point of pretending any longer?!
“Hiss!”
The massive snake tail smashed everything in the room into pieces.
Su Su hadn’t expected Xiao Hei to be this angry. “Xiao Hei, listen to me—”
It refused to listen.
The female’s words never even had the chance to leave her lips. Even if she said them, it wouldn’t listen. It refused to accept them!
“Xiao Hei!”
Amidst Su Su’s urgent cries, the cold-blooded python had already climbed onto the window ledge.
Those deep emerald-green vertical pupils locked onto her, staring coldly for a few seconds—
The next moment, without hesitation, it leaped off the windowsill and vanished into the darkness.
“Xiao Hei!!!”