Su Su finally cried herself to exhaustion.
Her eyes were so swollen that they were barely recognizable. She could only pick up Xiao Hei’s icy snake tail to apply a cold compress to her throbbing eyelids.
The giant python curled up in the corner, silently watching the female who had been “lost and regained.”
She lay on its body without any defenses, her fingers brushing over its scales. The sensation was amplified dozens of times during this special period.
“Hiss~”
The snake’s tongue honestly flicked across the female’s cheek.
Su Su stared at it blankly and reached up to touch her damp right cheek.
She didn’t know when, but Xiao Hei had already calmed down. However, she could feel—it had only shifted from external agitation to internal suppression and endurance.
“Hiss!”
The giant python’s head moved closer again, persistently rubbing its smooth head against her cheek and neck.
“Xiao Hei…” Su Su hugged its head and asked softly, “Do you still feel uncomfortable?”
The giant python quietly nestled its head on the female’s shoulder: “Hiss—”
Of course, it was uncomfortable.
When it saw the female running up the stairs, that discomfort had peaked. However, the moment she reappeared, the emotions that had been in turmoil for days were unexpectedly soothed by her words and tears.
The giant python had already prepared itself to be despised and abandoned by her. The only thing it hadn’t expected was that after witnessing everything, she would still return.
“Hiss!”
The massive snake head nearly knocked Su Su over entirely.
She barely managed to steady herself and looked over in concern. “Xiao Hei?”
“Hiss!”
Once again, a flicking tongue greeted her.
The giant python was unexpectedly excited, its exhilaration far outweighing the discomfort of its body.
—Hold it in.
The biggest difference between humanity and beast instincts was learning restraint.
It had already gained the female’s compromise. It must not be too hasty, nor could it scare her away now.
As long as she was willing to accept its current form, it would hide its rough nature… as long as she was willing.
The thick snake tail quietly nudged the tattered clothing further into the corner, attempting to hide the evidence of its previous recklessness.
But Su Su still saw it.
Her gaze drifted for a moment, struggling internally for a long time. In the end, she held the tip of the snake’s tail, her slightly burning cheeks pressing against the cold scales.
“There should still be some in the space, right?”
What?
The giant python didn’t react immediately.
When it looked over, the female had buried her head, leaving only the top of her hair visible. Her soft, fair cheek was pressed tightly against the tip of its tail.
She was cooling down.
The giant python, however, was heating up.
“Hiss?”
Before the snake’s tongue could flick over again, Su Su mumbled, “There are still a lot of clothes.”
Before the snowstorm hit, she had taken Pang Cancan and Le Rui to raid various malls, stocking up on plenty of winter clothing. Her share had always been stored in Xiao Hei’s space.
The giant python was stunned for two seconds before suddenly understanding the female’s underlying message.
“Hiss!”
Its tail slipped out of Su Su’s arms. When it reappeared, a loose white T-shirt was hanging from it out of nowhere.
This was the female’s usual summer wear.
The opportunistic giant python even tried to nudge her head up, eager to hear her confirmation directly…
Su Su, flustered, pushed it away in exasperation. “Don’t come near me!”
She was already mortified enough.
Watching the cold-blooded creature she had raised enter a special phase while also witnessing its strange behaviors—it was practically overloading her brain.
But Su Su didn’t want to leave.
In just two days, it wasn’t only her who had suffered—Xiao Hei had suffered too.
If staying here could make it feel a little better, then she might as well stay.
Avoiding reality, Su Su closed her eyes.
She didn’t know how long she had kept them shut, but at some point, an icy tongue brushed lightly against the corner of her lips.
Drowsy with sleep, Su Su seemed to sense a hint of restraint and deep affection in that fleeting touch…
Her taut nerves suddenly relaxed, and her consciousness slipped into deep slumber.
It was as if she were making up for all the sleep she had lost the previous night—Su Su slept as if the world had turned dark and silent.
When she woke up, the stairwell was dim, and it was already the morning of the third day.
The giant python had just slithered down the stairs. Upon seeing the female awake, it proudly presented three Grade 5 crystals.
They rolled skillfully to Su Su’s legs.
“This is…” Su Su looked up in astonishment. “Did you go out and kill them yourself?”
Three Tier 5 zombies—how could Xiao Hei handle them? Had it grown even stronger?
That could only mean it had devoured more crystals again.
Realizing this, she quickly activated her ability.
A white light enveloped the giant python’s massive body, cleansing away the energy impurities that had accumulated from its reckless crystal consumption during this period.
“Hiss~”
The constant pain and agitation finally eased a little. The giant python affectionately coiled around the female, rubbing against her several times.
It then eagerly stuffed the three Grade 5 crystals into her hands, as if presenting its spoils from a hunt—unreservedly sharing them with its female.
Su Su turned her hand and stuffed the crystals back into Xiao Hei’s mouth. “I don’t need them. You eat them.”
Her voice was soft, sounding both like she was coaxing a pet and like she was playfully whining to someone close.
The giant python was overjoyed by the pampering. Its tail swayed even more vigorously, and its cold, vertical pupils melted into a pool of spring warmth.
“Hiss!”
It swallowed the three Grade 5 crystals in one gulp.
As Su Su helped Xiao Hei cleanse the residual energy, she propped her chin on her hand and gazed at it.
Her once chaotic thoughts had gradually straightened into a clear line ever since she returned to the stairwell.
She had probably already made up her mind.
If Xiao Hei’s feelings for her truly exceeded the normal companionship between partners, after all that had happened, she would neither distance herself nor attempt to correct it.
Human emotions were complex. Some were attached to people of the same or opposite sex, some to objects, and some to pets.
Since she had no intention of forming an intimate relationship with any man in the apocalypse, and since Xiao Hei was the only companion destined to stay by her side, then why not be a little bold and willful?
Her only concern now was—Su Su sincerely hoped that after consuming the crystals, Xiao Hei would grow even stronger and endure this special period through sheer willpower.
Otherwise… recalling that fleeting glimpse…
At this point, it wasn’t even about whether she could accept its feelings—it was simply too outrageous and terrifying.
Even before the apocalypse, during late-night dormitory chats, the “reference materials” she had seen weren’t this… If it was just a platonic mental connection, then…
She wrapped her arms around Xiao Hei’s large head again, coaxing it, “Xiao Hei, you can hold back, right?”
“You’re so strong—you can definitely do it, can’t you?”
One after another, the soothing words poured in. Even though the restlessness in its body lingered, the giant python obediently nodded.
The spring rain had already begun to subside.
Once it endured this turbulent period, it wouldn’t scare her anymore.
“Good boy!”
Su Su happily planted a light kiss on its head.
It had been a long time since it received this kind of reward, and the giant python was equally delighted. It immediately dragged its female and started heading outside.
It remembered that she hadn’t had dinner yet, and the food was still left in the car. As for how it knew this so clearly—last night, during the torrential downpour, it had slithered onto the roof of her vehicle and seen it.
The door of the stairwell was pushed open, and the coiled serpent slowly unwrapped itself from the nest it had built over time.
Su Su turned back for one last look.
The loose white T-shirt had already been crumpled beyond recognition, pitifully abandoned in the corner.
And there were also… a few… a few snake scales?!
“Wait a moment!”
Su Su struggled free from the snake’s tail and picked up a few dark scales that had been left in the corner.
The dim light made it hard to see clearly. She twisted on her flashlight, and the moment the corner was illuminated, she gasped sharply.
Scattered all around were scales of various sizes.
Some places even had a thick layer piled up.
She picked up a few at random and could clearly see that they had fallen off entirely, roots and all!
Su Su’s breath stalled for a few seconds before she abruptly grabbed Xiao Hei’s tail.
It didn’t budge.
The giant python deliberately increased its weight, its body practically glued to the ground.
Su Su anxiously scolded, “Xiao Hei! Let me see!”
Her tone was too stern, completely different from the soft, teasing voice from before. Afraid of making her angrier, the giant python hesitated but eventually flipped over its body.
She shone the flashlight over it.
The scales near its vital spot at seven inches had completely fallen off, leaving only weak, exposed flesh. Some areas had even developed mottled bloodstains from being dragged across the ground for too long.
Su Su’s heart ached so much that tears almost fell. “Is this normal?”
Perhaps sensing her worry, the snake’s tongue flicked out to comfortingly lick her eyelid.
“Hiss~”
It didn’t answer, but Su Su already knew—this was definitely not normal.
Her Xiao Hei wasn’t just going through a special period; it was also experiencing severe scale shedding.
“The rain has stopped.” Su Su gently stroked the area near its seven inches. “Come back to the base with me. Let’s find a healing-type ability user and get you treated.”
“If you still can’t control yourself, I can accompany you to the hunting zone every day.”
“Okay?”
Naturally, the giant python obeyed her words unconditionally.
The off-road vehicle drove out of the underground parking lot once again.
The sky that had been dark and gloomy when they arrived now showed signs of clearing. It was evident that the prolonged spring rain had finally ended.
Sunlight broke through the clouds, casting its glow upon the earth. By the time the first rays of light streamed through the car window, the vehicle had already reached the outskirts of the hunting zone.
Su Su glanced at the black snake napping in the passenger seat, and an unconscious, faint smile curled at her lips.
That was until another off-road vehicle appeared ahead—
Wei Yan, who had come looking for her, hadn’t expected to find Su Su so easily.
“I was just about to head in to look for you.”
“To look for me?”
Su Su was a little puzzled. She had only been in the hunting zone for a few days—what could have happened that required such urgency to find her?
Wei Yan looked past the car window at the woman in his heart, his complicated gaze finally settling on the python in the passenger seat.
“Su Su, you should know that the Southern Base has always maintained communication with the Northern Base.”
“Mm, I know.”
Although the apocalypse had caused large-scale failures in transportation and communication systems, major bases still managed to maintain brief exchanges.
The fragrance He Heng had used to knock her out back then had been a newly developed product obtained from the Northern Base.
“This morning, we received news from them—”
“The first case of a battle pet transforming into a human has appeared in the Northern Base.”