Chapter 65
Chapter 65
[Nutrient Solution Bonus Update]
Silence. After a long pause, the red-footed falcon let out a soft “chirp.”
Lin Qianyu was taken aback. “You want to take me there?”
The thylacine-like creature, biting the hem of her clothes, emerged from the bushes and let out a low response before turning and running to the right.
“Chasing Wind!” Lin Qianyu quickly mounted her horse. “Follow it and see!”
“Neigh——!”
Lin Qianyu had already guessed that there were likely other thylacine-like creatures living at this one’s dwelling.
A mature, full-grown thylacine-like creature—an animal that doesn’t hoard food and lives alone—usually eats its prey immediately after catching it. If there's danger nearby, it might carry the food away, but it would still choose a nearby safe spot to finish eating before leaving.
But this particular thylacine-like creature always brought food back with it.
Starting from that first chicken.
It was clearly bringing it home for others.
Thylacine-like creatures were highly wary of humans and naturally cautious in temperament, and the places they hid were particularly difficult to reach.
Luckily, she had brought Chasing Wind with her on the way out—otherwise, just following behind the thylacine-like creature, there would have been many paths she couldn’t pass through.
No wonder it was able to avoid the monitoring of the rescue station. In places like this, even installing surveillance cameras would be a huge challenge.
Thorny bushes unknowingly scraped across her sleeves.
At last, the thylacine-like creature stopped not far ahead. As Lin Qianyu dismounted, she casually brushed off the leaves clinging to her body. Her fingertip accidentally caught on a tear in her clothes, the largest rip still had loose threads fluttering outside.
She didn’t pay it any mind and stepped onto the relatively smoother and softer grass beneath her feet. “Crap, I forgot to bring the lamb leg.”
The thylacine-like creature turned and led the way. Lin Qianyu had been so focused on catching up, she’d completely forgotten the leg of lamb left on the ground.
“Woo…” The thylacine-like creature pawed at a pile of grass in front of it, slowly uncovering it bit by bit.
“Here?” Lin Qianyu stepped up to help dig.
From a distance, this place just looked like a messy pile of grass leaning against a wooded thicket, full of fallen leaves and weeds.
Halfway through digging, Lin Qianyu heard a muffled, faint sound from within.
【Is this the thylacine-like creature’s home? How could anyone possibly find this?】
【It really is well-hidden. Even poachers would get turned around here.】
【Dig faster, dig faster—there’s no ventilation in there, right? Could the hiding spot have collapsed, and it’s looking for Sister Lin to help?】
Lin Qianyu continued digging along a certain spot, her fingertip reaching into the opening and touching empty air. Clearing more aside, she uncovered a hidden interior behind the messy pile of dead grass.
Something inside seemed to be supporting the space. Her fingertips traced upward and touched the edge of a stone—it wasn’t a complete stone cave, more like a pile of rocks.
The grass and leaves outside were all camouflage, and the inner space was quite roomy.
There was no foul smell in the enclosed space, only a trace of heat mixed with a faint metallic scent of blood.
Inside, a thylacine-like creature lay quietly on the grass. When it looked up, its gaze seemed lazy—not relaxed, but so weak that it lacked strength.Not far from that thylacine-like creature, the leaves used to wrap the rabbits were spread open, with a few unfinished rabbits still left on them.
The interior environment actually looked quite clean.
The thylacine-like creature from outside entered through the opening, lowered its head to nuzzle the other one, then nervously glanced at Lin Qianyu.
“Is it injured?” The lighting inside was poor, so Lin Qianyu tried to reach her hand out, wanting to bring the thylacine-like creature out.
The yellow thylacine-like creature gently rubbed its muzzle against its companion.
The moment Lin Qianyu's fingertips touched the thylacine-like creature, the abnormal warmth immediately raised her alertness. “It has a fever?”
Being in a constantly high-temperature environment could also affect the body temperature of a thylacine-like creature.
Lin Qianyu only had a suspicion and didn’t jump to conclusions. She gently patted its head. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll take you to see a doctor.”
The thylacine-like creature lying down didn’t move—apart from blinking, it showed no other reaction. It might be too weak from discomfort to move at all.
Lin Qianyu carried the thylacine-like creature out, and the yellow one watched her movements intently.
With better light outside, Lin Qianyu did a simple check—no visible external injuries, but the body temperature was clearly abnormally high.
Whatever the issue was, it wasn’t visible to the naked eye. Lin Qianyu wrapped the sick creature in her jacket and said, “Its condition isn’t good. I’m taking you both to the hospital, okay?”
The yellow thylacine-like creature tilted its head up. Lin Qianyu leaned down and passed over the sick companion. It sniffed the other, then let out a low whimper: “Woo…”
The sick thylacine-like creature opened its mouth and gave the yellow one a small lick. That simple action seemed to use up all its remaining strength.
Then, Lin Qianyu picked it up again and turned to leave, while watching the yellow one’s reaction out of the corner of her eye.
Although she had explained that she was taking it to the hospital, if the yellow thylacine-like creature didn’t believe her, it might mistake her actions as an attempt to steal its companion.
To avoid any misunderstanding, Lin Qianyu moved cautiously with every step.
The yellow thylacine-like creature just followed closely, showing no sign of trying to snatch it away. Only then did Lin Qianyu mount the horse. “Chasing Wind, to the rescue station.”
Leaping out of the tangled bushes, Lin Qianyu, riding the zebra, pulled her coat tighter around the thylacine-like creature. The grassland wolf and the yellow thylacine-like creature ran behind them.
At the same time, she sent a message to Bo Zhao using her watch.
Considering the temperament of the thylacine-like creatures, Lin Qianyu made a special note at the end of the chat:
[Keep the number of people present to a minimum.]
Bo Zhao: [I’ll take care of it.]
—The rescue station on Grassland Island wasn’t far.
Because of the wide-open plains, two rescue stations had been set up for easy observation.
Bo Zhao’s station was located near the lower reaches of the river. Lin Qianyu didn’t dare slow down the whole way. The zebra galloped nonstop, and when she finally saw the rescue station up ahead, she instinctively slowed down.
To the zebra, human-built structures marked human territory, and it was hesitant to approach.
Lin Qianyu looked up—no one was visible, not even in the security booth at the gate, but the door was open. She patted the zebra’s neck. “Charge in.”
Torn between its fear of human territory and its trust in Lin Qianyu, Chasing Wind chose the latter without hesitation. It raised its head and let out a long cry, then accelerated again.
It leapt over the steps at the entrance and rushed straight into the main hall.
Bo Zhao and a doctor in a white lab coat were already waiting there.Lin Qianyu dismounted. Bo Zhao was still on the phone arranging something. When he saw her come in, he tilted his head to hold the phone with his shoulder and hurriedly pushed a hospital bed forward. “Come, come, quickly put it on here.”
Since she’d asked for as few people as possible, Bo Zhao had only kept himself and the doctor present.
Even so, when the sick thylacine-like creature saw the two strangers, it still shrank back, struggling to bury its head in Lin Qianyu’s arms, as if trying to escape human contact.
“There, there. It’s alright.” Lin Qianyu gently patted its trembling body. “You’ll be okay soon, don’t be afraid.”
【The thylacine-like creature didn’t seem this scared around Lin Lin earlier, what’s going on now?】
【Could it be that its companion told it about Lin-jie while taking care of it?】
【Like… ‘I found a human who can understand me. I want to bring her to help you. She gave me food. She’s a good human.’】
【Stop it! You’re making my eyes tear up just saying that!】
Lin Qianyu gently reassured it while placing the thylacine-like creature on the hospital bed. It was still trembling and looked at her with pleading eyes.
“I’m here. Don’t be afraid, I’m not going anywhere.” Lin Qianyu kept her hand on its body, lightly patting it now and then, and subtly raised her eyes to signal the doctor.
The biggest fear when treating animals was their struggle.
Some animals, especially those with intense personalities, would rather hurt themselves than allow a doctor to approach.
Because of that, the doctor hadn’t dared make any sudden moves earlier, though he was already gripping his medical instruments.
Now, he stepped into position behind the thylacine-like creature.
The thylacine-like creature weakly turned its head. Before it could clearly see the doctor’s face, Lin Qianyu gently covered its eyes with her hand.
She crouched beside the hospital bed, resting her chin on its edge and turning her head to meet its gaze. “She won’t hurt you. Trust me. She’s here to help you.”
The thylacine-like creature slowly closed its eyes and didn’t resist.
Lin Qianyu’s hand moved slowly, stroking over its eyes, its brow.
The grassland wolf had once lived at a rescue station during the rainforest period. After transferring here, it had also gone through an adaptation process before being released. So, this place was very familiar to the little wolf.
Especially with Lin Qianyu inside, it had no reservations and followed the zebra right in.
In contrast, the yellow thylacine-like creature hesitated at the steps, peeking inside cautiously. It also hesitated because of the two humans present. But after some inner struggle, it still ran in and slowly walked to the hospital bed.
Lin Qianyu noticed and moved aside a bit to make space.
This time, the yellow thylacine-like creature didn’t hesitate. It stood up and placed its paws on the edge of the bed.
After the doctor finished examining the patient, he lowered his stethoscope and said, “There’s no wet crackles in the lungs yet, but its overall condition doesn’t look good. Let’s take it to the emergency room first.”
Upon hearing this, Bo Zhao stepped forward. His movement caught the thylacine-like creature’s attention, and it immediately lifted its head warily to watch him.
Worried about alarming it, Bo Zhao froze mid-step.
“I’ll push it,” Lin Qianyu quickly offered.
“This way,” the doctor nodded, then turned to Bo Zhao and said, “Go notify Xiao Song’s team to gather in Room 6. Xiao Wu’s group can stand down.”
Bo Zhao responded, “Got it.”Before the thylacine-like creature arrived at the rescue station, the doctors had already divided into specialized teams based on the livestream footage. Once the creature was brought in and examined, they could directly deploy the appropriate team for treatment, which saved time.
As soon as the thylacine-like creature was sent into the emergency room, the prepared medical staff immediately moved in.
Lin Qianyu pressed her hand down a little further over the creature’s eyes and reached out to pat the yellow thylacine-like creature beside her in reassurance.
Seeing the doctors grab the creature’s paw, Lin Qianyu brought her arm across to guard it. Even though the thylacine-like creature didn’t currently appear aggressive, she had to be prepared in case it suddenly lashed out.
She asked, “Are you going to sedate it?”
The doctor shook his head. “We can’t sedate it in this condition. We suspect it has a lower respiratory tract infection with signs of developing pneumonia. Its airway shows a high-reactivity state.”
In this state, using anesthesia would be extremely risky.
It could easily cause laryngospasm and, in severe cases, lead to respiratory cardiac arrest.
The doctor said, “We’ll need your help to… keep it under control.”
“Alright.” Lin Qianyu freed one hand to help hold the creature’s paw while they drew blood.
When the oxygen mask was put on, she quietly lifted her hand a little, just enough to see that the thylacine-like creature had closed its eyes. Only then did she breathe a small sigh of relief—but she still didn’t let go of its paw.
By the time the full checkup was done, Lin Qianyu’s wrist was stiff and her arm numb. Even moving her fingers felt difficult.
She didn’t know when the grassland wolf had entered, but it came over and sat beside her.
While waiting for the results, the doctors gradually left the room.
The first doctor went to retrieve the scans, leaving just Lin Qianyu and the three furry creatures in the room.
Now, she could finally lower her hand and rest for a bit.
As soon as she moved her hand, the thylacine-like creature lying on the bed opened its eyes.
“Not sleeping?” Lin Qianyu had figured it hadn’t truly slept—probably wanted to, but kept forcing itself to stay awake.
The thylacine-like creature wasn’t comfortable with the oxygen mask. It licked its nose weakly, showing no other real reaction.
“If you don’t want to sleep, then don’t.” Lin Qianyu remembered what the doctor had said earlier. “You’ll probably have to stay here for a few days. Once you’re fully recovered, you can go home.”
【These two thylacine-like creatures have such a good bond. The healthy one really took good care of the sick one—its body was clean, no signs of dehydration. I’m so curious how it even brought water back.】
【Still a fluffy who knows how to seek help from humans!】
【But honestly… why did it wait until today to ask Lin-jie for help? They’ve clearly met before.】
【Maybe it was just being cautious. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but it definitely double-checked before coming.】
...
The results came back, and the thylacine-like creature’s condition wasn’t as bad as expected.
It didn’t need to be placed in the ICU and was transferred to a regular room.
The hospital arranged for nurses and doctors to work in shifts, ensuring no more than two people would be in the room with the creature at any one time.
After adjusting the IV drip rate, the doctor said, “Good thing it was brought in on time. A few days of rest and it’ll be fine. If it had been delayed longer, pneumonia would’ve become a real danger. Once this bottle finishes and it gets a good night’s sleep, it should be back to about 50–60% tomorrow. No need to worry.”
Lin Qianyu let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that and nodded. “Thank you, doctor.”The thylacine-like creature on the bed kept its eyes open, its tail lifting very slowly—only the tip moved a little.
After the doctor left, Lin Qianyu patted the yellow thylacine-like creature crouching nervously by the wall. “It’s okay now. You don’t need to worry anymore.”
“Woo…” The thylacine-like creature lifted its head and nuzzled her hand.
“Want to go home?” Lin Qianyu stroked its fur with her fingertips. “Let’s wait until tomorrow, okay?”
The doctor hadn’t insisted on hospitalization, but Lin Qianyu still felt it would be better to stay overnight and monitor the condition a bit longer.
“Woo!” Upon hearing that, the thylacine-like creature with the IV needle in its paw made a motion as if it wanted to step on the mattress and stand up.
“Eh? Wait, don’t move.” Lin Qianyu quickly pressed it back down, carefully avoiding the paw with the needle. “Alright, alright, be good… Let’s finish the IV first, and then I’ll take you back.”
It might’ve disliked humans so much that it didn’t want to stay in a human environment any longer than necessary.
From the checkup until now, it had probably already reached its limit.
Worried that it might move too much and dislodge the needle—having to reinsert it would be painful—Lin Qianyu said, “See? It’s not a full bottle. Just a little more and we’ll be done.”
As if it understood her, the thylacine-like creature cautiously stretched its neck forward and rested its chin in her palm, its dry nose gently rubbing against her skin.
The yellow thylacine-like creature had its paws on the edge of the bed, seemingly hesitating about jumping up, but didn’t move.
Lin Qianyu simply reached out and lifted it onto the bed. She patted the thylacine-like creature that was about to puff up, saying, “Get some rest.”
The yellow one still looked a little uncomfortable, but once it was standing on the bed, it stepped on the soft mattress a few times, then lay down beside its companion.
—By the time the IV bottle ran dry, it was already very late.
With the time spent on the road, bringing the thylacine-like creature back home was well into the middle of the night.
Since they’d have to return to the hospital tomorrow anyway, Lin Qianyu simply brought them back to her place.
Although their original den was quite safe, its lack of ventilation made it unsuitable for recovering from illness—especially a respiratory condition. Fresh airflow was more important.
“Let’s stay here for today.” Lin Qianyu patted a fur blanket and laid the thylacine-like creature down.
The medicine in the IV seemed to have a sleep-inducing effect. The thylacine-like creature looked extremely sleepy, its eyelids barely staying open. Even on the way home, it had kept its eyes open with effort, looking for the yellow thylacine-like creature.
The two thylacine-like creatures huddled together in the corner of the room. Fur blankets were spread everywhere, so lying down wouldn’t be cold.
Lin Qianyu yawned and took a sip of water to moisten her throat. She hadn’t drunk a drop while at the rescue station, and only now felt thirsty.
The waiting—from diagnosis to results—had been exhausting. She’d been so anxious she forgot to even feel thirsty.
Mainly, the thylacine-like creature had seemed in such bad shape it was hard not to worry.
Thankfully, things hadn’t taken a turn for the worse.
“You worked hard, Little Wolf.” Lin Qianyu hugged the grassland wolf’s neck and nuzzled it.
The grassland wolf, as always, was steady and reliable.
The thylacine-like creatures were worn out too. By the time Lin Qianyu turned around, they were already asleep.
She softened her steps, gently covered them with a blanket, then turned to find the grassland wolf had come over. She leaned over and kissed it on the head, saying softly, “Let’s sleep too.”
“Woo.”Lying down on the bed, the moment her taut nerves relaxed, a wave of exhaustion swept over her entire body.
As consciousness slipped away, she turned to her side and hugged the grassland wolf, gradually falling into sleep.
In the darkness, the grassland wolf opened its eyes. Its green beast-like pupils glowed in the dark, luminescent, as it stared expressionlessly at something floating above. It moved a paw, half-covering Lin Qianyu’s face.
【Did Little Wolf... Did Little Wolf just glare at me?】
【Wuwuwu won’t even give me a glance, that’s way too overbearing!】
【While I was still feeling sorry that Lin-jie forgot the stream was on and just went to sleep, Little Wolf was already plotting how to get rid of me.】
【There’s no saving me. I think Little Wolf is even cuter like this than when he's gentle. I want to keep one. I love it!!!】
It seemed to be hesitating between eliminating the thing flying around and pretending not to see it.
That device belonged to Lin Qianyu, but usually, when she slept, it was left outside, never brought into the room—even in the rainforest.
The timing of its appearance was off.
The grassland wolf silently weighed the situation. The live-streaming device, which had been adjusting its angle midair, now froze in place as if it could sense danger.
But...
The grassland wolf wriggled out from Lin Qianyu’s arms, bit the live-streaming device, opened the door a crack, and pushed it outside.
Bullet comments: 【……】
Now nothing inside could be seen.
But… though the interior was out of view, the camera happened to capture a cheetah in the yard, flicking its tail and playing with its cubs.
Also visible were grassland wolves curiously peeking near the wooden courtyard of Lin Qianyu’s house.
Not just one—multiple.
The wolf pack had arrived. The cubs were encircled in the middle by the adult wolves, looking like a bunch of chubby round dumplings.
The cheetah glanced around. Normally, they wouldn’t have conflicts with wolf packs, and wolves wouldn’t hunt cheetahs either.
Still, being surrounded by a pack of grassland wolves in the middle of the night, the creeping sense of pressure made the cheetah instinctively alert.
Locked in a silent standoff, the cheetah was just about to get up and shield its cub when it suddenly seemed to recall something. It looked back at the house, then lay back down.
The wolves also kept some distance as they approached, not surrounding the yard completely, instead scattering in twos and threes to find resting spots nearby.
【Aaaaah—! So many, so many wolves awoo!】
【I can’t even imagine it. If I were thrown in there, I’d become a much more outgoing person.】
【Coward. I can totally imagine it.】
【A pack of fierce savage grassland wolves ×, a group of chubby, soft, fluffy babies √】
【I’m okay not going in to pet the wolves, Lin-jie, but can you jump in there and pet them for me? I can’t move my hands, but let me at least watch! Don’t—fall—asleep!】
...
The zebra, feeling it didn’t quite belong in this setting, didn’t even dare eat the nearby grass. It shuffled a bit away… and then a little further.Because of the appearance of the grassland wolves—
The fans and viewers, who were about to mute the stream and go to sleep after the live-streaming device got kicked out of the room, suddenly perked up when so many grassland wolves appeared out of nowhere.
With the night vision effect in the livestream, the grassland wolves’ eyes glowed faintly, making their gazes look eerie and luminous.
Watching a wolf pack up close—no matter how you looked at them—they were just so cool.
And they gave off a strong impression of being organized and intelligent. They didn’t barge in, didn’t try to open the door—just obediently stayed outside.
You have to understand, the palm-leaf shelter nearby held a lot of prey. With the sense of smell grassland wolves have, there’s no way they didn’t catch the scent.
But they passed right by the shelter without even glancing at it, heading straight here instead.
Even dogs need to be trained with food motivation to behave like that. These wild grassland wolves managed to suppress their natural instinctual craving for meat—without even looking at it.
Viewers in the livestream were exclaiming in disbelief.
The grassland wolves lay scattered about doing nothing, and yet everyone could just stare at them for ages.
Eventually, when the night vision mode of the livestream automatically turned off, everyone realized—it was already morning.
Lin Qianyu had gone to bed late. Coupled with the mental strain and physical exhaustion, this sleep had been especially deep.
The grassland wolf rested its chin on top of Lin Qianyu’s head, obediently serving as a plush, furry pillow.
“Mmm…” Lin Qianyu tightened her arms, took a deep breath, and nuzzled into the little wolf. Her voice was muffled as she said, “Morning, Little Wolf.”
The grassland wolf let out a soft “woo” from its throat.
Lin Qianyu opened her eyes, feeling her eyelids heavy and sore.
She took a few slow breaths and reached around, trying to find her watch to check the time.
But when her hand came up empty, she froze. “Eh?”
She searched around the folded furs that she used as a pillow, even lifted them up, but the watch wasn’t underneath either.
Where was her watch?
Did she leave it at the rescue station last night?
Lin Qianyu rubbed her temples, realizing she had no memory of it at all.
As she pressed her hand to her forehead, she felt something cool on her wrist touch her skin. A chilly sensation spread across her forehead, making her squint.
Eh…
Still foggy-headed, Lin Qianyu lowered her hand and saw the watch was properly strapped to her wrist.
She must’ve gone to bed and forgotten all about it.
As usual, Lin Qianyu started her morning by rubbing the grassland wolf, hugging him and giving a few kisses, messing up his fur before finally getting up.
The grassland wolf rolled over on the bed, gave a shake of its fur, and hopped down.
In the corner, one of the thylacines was already awake.The sick one was still asleep, while the yellow thylacine tugged the slipped fur blanket back up with its mouth.
Lin Qianyu walked over to help straighten it out. “Just cover up to here.”
“Woo…”
“I’ll go make something to eat. You all keep sleeping.” As she spoke, she opened the door and raised her hand to greet the livestream fans—only to freeze when she saw that outside the yard, it was all—wolves!
She looked left and right; everywhere her eyes landed was furry bodies.
Some had already fallen asleep, lying on their backs with small patches of white fuzz under their necks exposed, dopey and harmless like a bunch of giant huskies.
“You’re here this early?” Lin Qianyu had assumed that, based on grassland wolves’ usual habits, they would only arrive tonight.
She hadn’t expected the wolf pack to come a whole night early.
But… since they were already here, might as well start breakfast early.
The cheetah hadn’t gone out hunting today. Although it was aware the grassland wolves followed the lead of the alpha inside the house, instinctively it still didn’t fully let down its guard.
So it chose to stay and watch over the cubs.
Lin Qianyu rolled up her sleeves, grabbed a compressed towel, and when she passed by the sunken courtyard in front, she noticed the drowsy cheetah and went over to give its fuzzy head a pet. “What’s wrong, Dou Dou? Didn’t sleep well last night?”
The cheetah rolled over, exposing its soft belly, its front paws curled up and resting loosely in front. “Myao—woo…”
“Don’t be afraid. They’re Little Wolf’s packmates.” Lin Qianyu stroked the fur on its belly. “Remember I told you? The ones moving in with us are them.”
She had mentioned it in advance, but animals can’t always connect your words with the actual thing—so the “grassland wolves” she spoke of, and the wolves in front of it now, didn’t quite match up in its mind.
“Relax.” Lin Qianyu kissed its forehead and gently rubbed behind its ears with her thumb. “They’re your backing too.”
In the future, if it ever runs into hyenas again while out and gets its food snatched, the wolf pack will avenge it.
The little cheetah didn’t seem to react to the outside danger—it just squished close to Lin Qianyu and let out a series of soft cries, likely hungry.
“You take care of them for a bit. I’ll go get food ready.” Lin Qianyu picked up the two cubs and placed them on the cheetah’s belly.
Then she turned and tore open the compressed towel, heading to the river to wash her face.
A few grassland wolves were already awake.
Some of the pups who’d met her before were toddling after Lin Qianyu, their short tails swaying as they ran.
“Careful…” Lin Qianyu started walking more cautiously as they charged up to her, afraid she might accidentally step on one.
Wolf pups were slightly bigger than cheetah cubs—they could drink milk on their own.
Strictly speaking, wolf pups at this age were already weaned and had started eating meat.
But since Lin Qianyu was boiling water to make milk anyway, the pups would each get a share—after all, they were still babies.
【I’ve only seen a scene like this when feeding chickens.】
【These little chubby balls—I could eat them up! I want to bite their tails!】
【While you're biting their tails, the grassland wolves are watching you.】
While the water was boiling, Lin Qianyu planned to head to the back and butcher the lamb.The sheepskin was gathered up, and the meat didn’t need to be chopped too finely—just clean out the organs, split it open, and let them eat it themselves.
As Lin Qianyu walked, one little wolf cub hung on each of her shoes, one on the left and one on the right.
Some wolf pups tried climbing up her pant legs, but their claws weren’t as sharp as a cheetah’s, so clawing their way up was basically impossible.
They stood beside her feet and jumped upward.
Cute as they were, they really made it hard to walk.
Adorably annoying, in fact.
When the grassland wolf came over, it saw Lin Qianyu surrounded by pups. It paused for a moment, then slowly walked over. “Rrr…”
Hearing the sound, all the wolf cubs turned their heads in unison.
Even the ones clinging to her shoes started flailing their short paws to get down, using their tails for extra effort.
Little Wolf called the cubs away and stood next to Lin Qianyu, circling around her.
Lin Qianyu’s eyes curved into a smile—she couldn’t help reaching out to rub its fuzzy little head again.
She fed a piece of freshly cut meat directly into the grassland wolf’s mouth.
Just as Little Wolf opened its mouth to lick Lin Qianyu, it got stuffed with a mouthful of meat. It chewed a bit, then lowered its head to eat.
The wolf cubs were still nearby—not as close as before, but not far either.
Lin Qianyu cut thin strips of meat and handed them over. The fuzzy pups crowded together, calling out “awoo awoo.”
Their voices were totally different from adult wolves—crisp and tender, just the kind of sound you’d expect from little fluffballs being doted on.
The internal organs she cleaned out were hard to carry, so Lin Qianyu pointed to the cleaned and split-open lamb laid out flat and said, “Little Wolf, take this meat out and share it with everyone.”
“Woo!” The grassland wolf lowered its head, bit into the lamb’s back, and effortlessly carried the whole lamb with bones outside.
The next few were the same—after Lin Qianyu finished preparing them, Little Wolf carried them out.
She kept aside separate meat for the pups and the sick one.
The pups needed small pieces since their teeth weren’t strong, and she also prepared a bowl of milk just for the thylacine.
After being in such a strong-smelling environment for a while, Lin Qianyu waved her hat to fan the air—she felt like even her own body carried the scent of blood.
The wolf pack and cheetah had already started eating. The grassland wolf cubs lined up to drink milk, while Lin Qianyu took a few bowls inside to feed the thylacine and the cheetah cubs.
All morning, Lin Qianyu stayed busy but organized.
【Whoa… that looks seriously exhausting. Are you sure you don’t want to hire an assistant (me)?】
【I love the feeling of personally feeding every single fluffy creature… sob sob sob… I could feed them piece by piece with my own hands.】
【Just watching makes me feel so accomplished—but also super tired.】
【Hahahaha, Little Wolf’s been so busy, it’s almost like it’s ready to grab a knife and help Lin-jie chop meat!】
While Lin Qianyu was cutting meat, Little Wolf had also been constantly running back and forth helping out. Only now did it finally find a spot near the prey to lie down and eat.
The room door was left ajar, with just a narrow gap letting in light.The thylacine peered through the crack in the door, able to see everything outside—including the grassland wolves gathered nearby.
“Do you like company?” Lin Qianyu noticed its unwavering gaze as she came in. “You can go out and eat with everyone. The wolf pack is very friendly.”
The thylacine’s name even had the character for “wolf” in it, and as long as there was no conflict, they should get along well.
Thinking about it carefully, most of the fluffballs at home didn’t really have clear-cut predator-prey dynamics.
In the rainforest, many of the animals were local dominators who’d naturally fight upon meeting. But here, the grassland wolves didn’t target the cheetah, and the cheetah didn’t proactively start conflicts with the wolf pack. As for the thylacines, even less so—they were like reclusive hermits, not getting involved at all.
With no obvious tension, Lin Qianyu didn’t even need to act as a peacemaker. Once everyone got familiar, things would be fine.
Looking at the piles of fluff, Lin Qianyu couldn’t help raising her eyebrows and teasing, “A family gathering, and Dabai didn’t show up? Too much!”
【???】
【What are you saying! I’m not there either, okay?】
【Hahaha, the orca is still digging canals and redirecting water to get there.】
【After hearing that, the orca flipped the whole island overnight and carried Lin-jie away.】
…
Lin Qianyu cleared her throat and joked, “I’ll send a lamb over to Dabai later.”
After a pause, she remembered the orca had recently eaten roasted lamb. Eat something too often, and no matter how tasty, you’d get sick of it.
“Let’s send the zebra.” The one Little Wolf caught yesterday still hadn’t been eaten.
The sick thylacine woke up from the smell of blood. It stared at the two small bowls in front of it with a bit of confusion in its eyes, tilting its head slightly as if unsure what these were.
Lin Qianyu pushed the meat and milk forward a bit, tapping the sick thylacine’s head with her fingertip. “Eat up. Make sure you finish all of this.”
“This is yours. If it’s not enough, there’s more outside.” Lin Qianyu set down the meat and opened the door all the way, so the thylacine could see more of the outside.
With so many wolves out there, a few sheep were nothing.
Having chopped meat for so long, Lin Qianyu wasn’t feeling particularly hungry. She just washed a wild fruit and said, “Is there cassava on the grassland? Feels like I haven’t eaten a proper staple food in a while.”
She’d been eating mostly wild fruits and meat.
To cook, she’d need a pot.
But the show’s rules didn’t allow material exchanges, so even dreaming about a pot was pointless.
Lin Qianyu pressed her lips together. The sweet fragrance of the jia mushroom fruit lingered in her mouth. It wasn’t that she couldn’t make a pot—it was just that she didn’t have the materials.
Even the most skilled cook can’t work without ingredients. Skill alone wasn’t enough—she couldn’t make a pot out of wood.
As she ate, Lin Qianyu suddenly remembered something. She took two bites of the fruit, then stood up and used a leaf to hold some cut meat. “Little bird?”
Standing under the jia mushroom fruit tree, Lin Qianyu looked up. “Are you there, little bird?”
“Litt—” “Chirp!”
A falcon!It was hard to imagine how a falcon could make such an ordinary-sounding response seem so flustered and furious.
“Mm, I know it’s you, Falcon.” Lin Qianyu’s eyes curved into a smile. “Come eat, little bird.”
“Chirp!” The red-footed falcon shook its feathers.
Lin Qianyu climbed up, found a stable branch to place the food on, then jumped back down. “I’m heading off now, little bird.”
Red-footed falcon: “……”
It stayed quiet for a while, then let out a soft “Chirp.”
Lin Qianyu, who had already walked out of the falcon’s line of sight, suddenly reappeared through a gap between branches. “I heard that.”
Red-footed falcon: “!!!”
Fuming, puffed up in anger.
“Hahaha…” After teasing the falcon for a bit, Lin Qianyu laughed and returned to the wooden hut.
The red-footed falcon stayed behind, eating meat and jia mushroom fruit with visible frustration, crouched in its nest.
Over by the fire, the water was nearly boiling.
Lin Qianyu put out the fire and leaned against a large tree. The sheep the grassland wolves had eaten was down to bones. No rush to clean up—she’d do it after a bit of rest.
Little Wolf came over and lay down beside her. The other grassland wolves looked around and chose to settle near the wolf king.
Lin Qianyu rested her hand on Little Wolf’s head, teasing it with some fruit tea. “Want a sip?”
Little Wolf turned its head away, clearly uninterested.
A loud bang startled Lin Qianyu.
Then someone shouted, “H-Help! Help me!”
“What?” Lin Qianyu didn’t even catch what it was. Just as she was about to get up, Little Wolf, sensing danger, suddenly stepped in front of her.
In the wolf pack, the other grassland wolves responded to the wolf king instantly, quickly surrounding her. The cubs even used their small bodies to shield her tightly.
“What? What’s going on—eh? W-Wait…”
Lin Qianyu was a bit confused and hadn’t gotten up yet. “Um…”
“Ahem…” She poked at one of the cubs and said, “I-I know what you’re doing, really. You’re being kind. You’re afraid whatever’s out there might hurt me.”
Surrounded by so many fluffballs, Lin Qianyu was practically pinned down and couldn’t even stand properly, her words coming out in broken bits. “But if this keeps up, I might not even make it to when that thing actually gets here to hurt me.”
【Hahaha, drowned in wolves. You can’t even tell where Lin-jie is.】
【Lin Qianyu: Reporting in advance, I’ll be taking my leave first.】
Author’s note: Extra updates~ Please feed me some nutrient solution~