Chapter 44
Although the rabbit in Yu An’s arms was also entirely white, with two large, long ears, and made the characteristic “Ying ying ying” sounds, the moment Yu An got close to it, he acutely noticed the difference between the two.
Yu An leaned close to the rabbit, sniffing with his small nose, and pondered for a moment. The scent seemed different.
Klold stood on his shoulder, observing Yu An’s every move. As if seeing the confusion in his eyes, He spoke up to explain:
[This is not your friend’s rabbit.]
“I know.” Yu An nodded, tightening his grip with both hands to firmly hold the rabbit that was desperately trying to break free. “I can still recognize this much.”
Although he often had trouble remembering people, his ability to distinguish Xenogenics was quite good.
But this large rabbit was truly too restless. Coupled with being surrounded by the aura of its natural predator, the rabbit whimpered exceptionally pitifully, its two paws pressing against Yu An’s arm as it desperately tried to escape his embrace.
Being held by a natural predator was sheer torture for a bunny every single second.
Yu An didn’t have much strength and exerted a great deal of effort just to hold onto this large rabbit. At this moment, Monday let out a fierce low growl to back him up, threatening the rabbit to stop moving.
The rabbit shuddered and trembled twice.
“Ying ying…”
It finally settled down.
Yu An felt much more relaxed. He looked at the puppy cheering him on, his eyes curving into smiles. “Thank you, Monday. Our Monday is so amazing.”
He used all the words adults used to praise him on Monday. Monday proudly puffed out its chest, its fluffy tail wagging back and forth, expressing its joyful mood.
Klold cast a few extra glances at Monday. All along, His impression of Monday had been that of Yu An’s useless, silly-happy playmate. He had forgotten that Monday was directly mutated by Chausier, and its true strength was actually higher than the vast majority of Xenogenics in this world.
Although in Klold’s eyes, they were all equally weak. Monday could barely be considered the tallest among the dwarves.
Yu An held the rabbit, looking left and right, but didn’t see any sign of other rabbits. He hefted the rabbit in his arms, “Are you the only bunny here?”
[Ying ying ying… Lao Yao lied to a rabbit, ying ying ying.]
The Great-eared Rabbit’s red eyes misted over. It looked at Yu An pleadingly, pressing its two paws together to beg for mercy.
[Great Ushatos, please, I beg you, don’t eat me. I don’t have much meat on me.]
Yu An didn’t get the answer he wanted. His lake-blue eyes stared intently at this terrified rabbit, his rosy small mouth pursing slightly.
[I won’t eat you, but tell me, are there other bunnies here?]
The Great-eared Rabbit twitched its large ears, hesitating whether to sell out its companions. If it were facing an adult Ushatos, it would definitely tell the truth without a second thought.
No Xenogenic dared to deceive Them; otherwise, the outcome would only be more tragic. It was better to sacrifice a few companions in exchange for the safety of the entire race.
But this was clearly a little cub. Maybe it could fool him?
[Ying ying, no…]
The Great-eared Rabbit guiltily twitched its large ears, sneaking glances at Yu An’s reaction. Seeing him nod silently, a flash of joy crossed its eyes.
But in the next second, the Great-eared Rabbit met a pair of calm lake-blue eyes. Unlike the clear innocence of a little cub, these eyes contained infinite majesty. Just one look was enough to make every hair on this rabbit’s body stand on end.
Yu An was just considering whether he should go check the junior high school building when the rabbit in his arms suddenly began to tremble violently, puffing up into a large, fluffy ball, and crying “ying ying ying” constantly, as if it had suffered a massive shock.
Yu An patted its head, confused. “What’s wrong with you?”
Saying that, he instinctively glanced at Monday, but Monday was standing obediently to the side, acting as good as could be, absolutely not scaring it.
Then why did this rabbit look as if its soul had been frightened away?
[Ying ying, Great Ushatos ying, I shouldn’t have lied to you. It’s all my fault ying ying.]
The Great-eared Rabbit’s soft voice trembled. It lightly nudged Yu An’s arm with its front paw, looking as if it were about to cry.
[Don’t be angry. I’ll take you to find my clansmen. How many do you want to eat?]
Saying that, this timid rabbit secretly cast a glance at the Ushatos, its red eyes filled with sincerity. It had to be known that this Ushatos cub had an adult elder accompanying him. It absolutely didn’t dare to lie to this cub.
Now, it had no choice but to sacrifice its clansmen to make amends.
Yu An fell silent for a moment. The tone this rabbit used to ask how many rabbits he wanted to eat was exactly like when his Papa asked him how many chicken drumsticks he wanted for dinner. This couldn’t help but remind him of a poem he had recently learned.
Born of the same root, why such eagerness to fry each other?
The Great-eared Rabbit eagerly spilled all the information about its clansmen in exhaustive detail, not daring to hide half a word.
[Lao Yao called us here to eat. It said this world had no natural predators and was very safe, so we came.]
But who would have thought there would actually be an Ushatos here? The Great-eared Rabbit spoke with bitter tears, looking at Yu An with teary eyes.
[We have a hundred and fifty rabbits in total. How many do you want to eat every day? If it’s not enough, could you go eat something else? I know where the Moque are.]
Like the Great-eared Rabbit, the Moque were also snacks on the Ushatos’ menu. The Moque were much larger than the Great-eared Rabbit, with adults generally exceeding ten meters in size, and they wouldn’t leave a mouth full of fur when eaten. Many Ushatos preferred eating Moque.
However, the Great-eared Rabbit had miscalculated. Yu An had never eaten these Xenogenics, nor did he want to try. Right now, he only cared about one thing:
[Where is Zhou Xia gege?]
The Great-eared Rabbit froze, its fluffy face full of bewilderment.
[Who is Zhou Xia… what a strange name.]
Names in their clan all contained the word “Tu” (Rabbit), like its name, Tu Jiu. But the name “Zhou Xia” seemed completely out of place and exceptionally weird.
Tu Jiu stopped its wandering thoughts and cast another glance at Klold. It hurriedly answered Yu An’s question, terrified that this elder would think it was giving His child the cold shoulder.
[How big are the ears of this rabbit you’re asking about? What color is its fur?]
Yu An quickly shook his head.
[Zhou Xia gege is not a rabbit. He is a human, and he doesn’t have large ears.]
Tu Jiu suddenly realized.
[I know now. You’re talking about the human beside Lao Yao, right? They should still be in that tall stone house. There are lots of humans there that can be eaten.]
Tu Jiu swallowed its saliva. They had come here to hunt, but Lao Yao was domineering and wouldn’t allow them to snatch its prey. Left with no choice, it had to come out to search for other food.
Who knew it would be so unlucky as to be caught by an Ushatos? Tu Jiu’s long, large ears drooped as it lay dejectedly on Yu An’s arm, ready at any moment to become this little cub’s snack.
The bunny’s life ends today.
Yu An ignored Tu Jiu’s despondency. He stared straight in the direction of the junior high section, his heart filled with unease. From Tu Jiu’s words, Yu An knew that Zhou Xia must have done something to lure these Great-eared Rabbits here.
And since Great-eared Rabbits were carnivorous Xenogenics, it didn’t take much thought to guess what they would eat. Several bloody images flashed through Yu An’s mind, and his face suddenly turned pale.
“Then… are they eating people?” Yu An asked in panic. “What about the other people in Zhou Xia gege‘s class?”
Tu Jiu was listless:
[I don’t know. Lao Yao is very territorial with its food. Those are all its prey. Hmph! A domineering rabbit that eats alone is bound to attract an Ushatos.]
Although the Lao Yao beside Zhou Xia was the youngest, its strength was very high. Tu Jiu only ever took a beating in front of it, which was why it had scurried out to forage.
Yu An’s face was slightly pale. He started jogging towards the junior high school building. Monday followed closely behind him, and Little White also flew out, circling above Yu An.
Suddenly, the school’s alarm went off, followed by a wave of commotion. From Yu An’s perspective, he could see the corridors of the school building were packed with students, but only on the first and second floors. The third-floor corridor was completely empty, as if no students existed there at all.
Yu An stared intently at the third-floor corridor. Zhou Xia and the others’ classroom was on that floor. A few seconds later, he plunged headfirst into the crowd, pinning his hopes on Fu Yunshu and the others as he ran.
If Zhou Xia had really done something bad, Fu Yunshu and Gu Yixing would definitely step in to stop him. A Snow Snake’s rank was higher than a Great-eared Rabbit’s, but there were too many rabbits. Yu An was worried the Snow Snake would get ganged up on.
Along the way, Yu An brushed past many students. The school administration had already noticed the anomaly, and broadcasts announced that dangerous venomous snakes had been spotted on campus. Teachers were urgently evacuating all students.
Students who had already run downstairs looked bewildered. “There are snakes in the school? Venomous ones? How come I’ve never seen one?”
“Someone must have gotten bitten, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a big deal.”
“That’s really unlucky.”
“Hahahahaha school’s dismissed, school’s dismissed…”
“…”
Yu An walked against the flow of the crowd, carefully dodging the students charging around blindly. Little White chattered in his ear, “Little Master, don’t go. We can go find Master Wen and the others first. You’re just a child; this is too dangerous for you.”
“But it will take a long time for Papa and the others to get here.” Yu An didn’t stop, silently encouraging himself. “It’s fine. And I’m not a child, I’ve already grown up.”
Little White offered a friendly reminder: “Eight years old doesn’t count as grown up.”
Yu An didn’t want to hear it. He grabbed Little White and stuffed it into his pocket. His ears finally found some peace. He glanced at Monday and Klold; these two Xenogenics were very tactful and didn’t mention making Yu An leave.
Klold: [Go if you want to. I’m here.]
Yu An’s anxious heart settled upon hearing this. He gazed at the empty third-floor corridor and took a deep breath. “Mhm, I’m not afraid. It’s just a bunch of little bunnies, nothing to be afraid of…”
There were many fierce-looking Xenogenics at the Base, and Yu An had seen them all without fear. This time, it was just a few more meat-eating rabbits—no big deal.
Yu An comforted himself, his pace quickening, determination flashing in his eyes. He was going to save Yunshu gege and the others!
In the next second, someone grabbed the back collar of Yu An’s shirt. The little guy’s mind went blank as he stared dazedly at the teacher in front of him.
A teacher who had noticed Yu An earlier looked serious, picking up this child who didn’t know the severity of the situation. “What’s wrong with you, primary schooler? The evacuation notice has already been issued, why are you still running towards this area? Leave quickly.”
An adult’s strength was much greater than that of an elementary school student like Yu An. Unable to break free, Yu An looked anxiously towards the third floor of the school building. “My… my gege hasn’t come out yet. I have to wait for him.”
“The teachers will handle it. Go home first.” The teacher pulled Yu An away with an undeniable tone, simultaneously glancing at the rabbit in his arms and the puppy. “Bringing pets to school is also against school rules. Little student, you are too bold. Just this once, don’t do it again.”
Currently, the situation was urgent. The teacher was busy evacuating the students and had no time to deal with Yu An breaking school rules. After bringing Yu An to the primary school section, he told him, “Be a good boy and leave.”
Yu An nodded obediently. The teacher looked at him suspiciously for a moment. This exquisitely delicate little guy holding a harmless little rabbit, his small brows slightly furrowed in worry for his brother’s safety, looked truly pitiable.
The teacher sighed and patted Yu An’s small head. “Go home and wait. Your brother will return soon.”
In reality, the teacher didn’t know what exactly had happened either. He was only following orders from the higher-ups to evacuate students from the junior high section. However, very few students from the upper floors had come down. Perhaps because the stairwells were narrow, it would take some time for everyone to fully evacuate.
Having convinced himself, the teacher continued to direct the orderly evacuation of students.
Yu An watched the teacher turn and run into the crowd. His lake-blue eyes flickered slightly. He stood obediently in place for a few seconds, then seized an opportunity and broke into a run back.
This time he had learned his lesson, deliberately avoiding the teachers. After dawdling for a while, he finally reached the stairwell. Most of the students in the school building had already left. Occasionally, a few who saw Yu An heading upstairs wanted to call out and stop him, but Yu An quickly disappeared from their sight.
Yu An ran in one breath all the way to the third floor, panting heavily from exhaustion, his dark hair sticking to his forehead. He didn’t dare to linger and immediately ran towards the classroom.
Contrary to his expectations, several people were standing at the classroom door, among them prominently Xu Yening.
Xu Yening stood behind a man fiddling with equipment, looking at the data on the computer. Suddenly, as if sensing something, he turned his head, accurately zeroing in on Yu An, and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Yu An instinctively took two steps back. He was both afraid of and disliked Xu Yening, terrified that this person would use his public office to exact personal revenge and find an excuse to mess with him again.
Xu Yening put on the facade of a good uncle, waving to Yu An. “Yo, isn’t this our family’s precious An-an? Came specifically to find your uncle? Uncle is very happy.”
Xu Yening seemed to have completely embraced his identity as an uncle, tirelessly bringing up this title in front of Yu An, taking the opportunity to boss him around as an elder.
Yu An didn’t want to go over. He turned to run, but how could his short little legs outrun Xu Yening? Xu Yening grabbed him directly by the collar, one hand pinching his soft cheek. “Why is our precious baby so disobedient? Uncle is very sad.”
Yu An glared at his smile and muttered, “You’re not sad at all, you’re clearly very happy.”
Xu Yening’s smile deepened. He ruffled Yu An’s hair until it was a mess. “You got it right, but unfortunately, there’s no prize.”
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