Chapter 44: 044 Willing Fish Bites the Hook

As Xie Gewen said, the Sanatorium Zone was subject to public supervision, and it would not hide major incidents from the populace.

The announcement first briefly explained the situation. It then stated that the situation was still within a controllable range and that emergency measures had already been taken, urging the public not to worry excessively.

The Sanatorium Zone had issued similar announcements before. Back then, in the discussion area beneath the announcement, the majority of comments were steeped in despair and numbness.

But this time was different.

[Quick, call Ruanruan!!]

[Everyone, rest assured!! Saw on the Inspection Livestream that Ming Ruan has already been urgently conscripted!]

[Don’t worry, don’t worry, don’t worry. The situation is definitely better than before.]

The crowd soothed one another, and the comment section was temporarily harmonious and happy-go-lucky.

Following this, the Sanatorium Zone attached the identity of the beastman involved in the incident.

It was first a simple photograph. The man in the photo had a slightly disheveled two-eighths side-part hairstyle, stray locks sweeping over his thick eyebrows. His eyes held a faint smile yet were extraordinarily deep. Below, a prominent Adam’s apple, and in the hollow of his exposed collarbone nestled a small mole. The black suit was paired with a wine-red dress shirt, the top two buttons of the shirt left undone.

Aside from that, there was only a name: Jin Qianyu.

Yet, those three characters sent the relatively calm crowd into a frenzy of question marks:

[???? Who?? Papa Jin???]

[??? Holy shit, he can’t afford to have anything happen to him!! My StarNet discount card!!]

[My StarNet Livestream! My StarNet Entertainment! My StarNet Shops! Someone, save him, ahhh!]

One reason the Alpha Galaxy had experienced turmoil in the preceding decades was the rise of certain emerging powers. Born of humble origins, they had relied on keen intuition to amass astronomical wealth in an incredibly short time, even constantly threatening the nobility and imperial power. Using this primitive capital, they controlled technology and talent, burying their tendrils deep into every facet of life. They were also responsible for communication and trade outside the domain.

The Jin Family was one of the most outstanding among them. They didn’t directly develop in any specific field, yet their shadow loomed, more or less, in every field. The Jin Family’s previous generation had carved out the empire, but the generation after them couldn’t quite hold it. Fortunately, it wasn’t until Jin Qianyu took over that the Jin Family was once again shouldered by a single capable force.

Over these years, they maneuvered among the nobility, the royal family, and other factions. It was under this balance of several powers that the Alpha Galaxy had enjoyed so many years of prosperity.

It was hard to imagine if anything happened to Jin Qianyu—

[Ming Ruan!! Ming Ruan!! (heart-rending scream)]

[The Executor’s free shopping channel was funded by the Jin Family!! Save the Sponsor Daddy!!]

On Ming Ruan’s side, he was also extremely anxious.

In the middle of the night, the flying sedan stopped on a patch of open ground in the Simulated Alpine Zone. The moment Ming Ruan got off, he pulled out his light brain to call his boss.

But this time, the call was transferred to the Research Institute.

“Hello, Mr. Ming Ruan, this is the Research Institute.”

Ming Ruan: “Hello, hello, I’ve already arrived. How should I search next? Is it the same as the usual Forest Patrol? Will there be enough time—”

“Oh, Mr. Ming Ruan, please don’t be too nervous.”

The operator on the Research Institute side calmed Ming Ruan’s emotions and said, “In fact, we hope that you…”

The more Ming Ruan listened, the wider his eyes grew, his little head full of big question marks.

Scratching his head, he repeatedly confirmed with the other party, all the while getting back into the flying sedan, which had its climate control system running.

“Okay, okay, I understand…” After the lengthy communication, Ming Ruan hung up the communicator, seemingly understanding yet not quite.

The white tiger shifted its body, and under the cover of movement, its thick paw secretly turned the flying sedan’s climate control even higher.

Inside the vehicle, the fluffballs all looked towards Ming Ruan.

Even knowing they couldn’t understand, under such gazes, Ming Ruan still explained: “It seems like things aren’t too urgent… Then, let’s just sleep first!”

Indeed, if an all-night search wasn’t necessary—and it was already around two in the morning—sleep couldn’t be skipped.

But… sleep?

Everyone paused simultaneously, their gazes meeting mid-air for a second.

The flying sedan, at Ming Ruan’s command, began to automatically reconfigure. In just a moment, it transformed into a portable hut, the kind that could accommodate 1-2 people for rest.

This hut was like an RV; its main structure was a bed, with some functional zones distributed around the bed’s perimeter. There was no extra room to stand.

Ming Ruan sat on the edge of the bed, face-to-face with the four fluffballs.

A space originally reasonably large for two normal adults, now occupied by one person and four fluffballs, was crammed to the brim.

Xie Gewen, Fuxi, Shi Huai, and Su Yuyun all quickly scanned the layout.

Clearly, they only had two choices.

Either sleep outside, or sleep inside the hut—on that big bed.

Together with Ming Ruan.

“…” How had things suddenly developed into this?

Standoff. Silence. Agitation.

Everyone knew that tonight’s sleep was crucial. Even if Jin Qianyu’s situation wasn’t critically urgent, starting tomorrow, Ming Ruan was bound to be working around the clock for several days. They couldn’t waste time on this choice!

Xie Gewen was the first to pull his gaze away and stand up to walk out. Regardless of what the others did, he would not take advantage of Ming Ruan proactively under such unclear circumstances.

Next was Fuxi. The nobility had their own set of principles.

Watching two competitors leave at once, Shi Huai flicked his tail, somewhat puzzled. Free of any inhibitions, he immediately jumped into Ming Ruan’s arms, wriggling around.

If they weren’t going to sleep with you, then I will—

Shi Huai didn’t see anything wrong with this. It was just sleeping in the same bed, right? Besides, as a fox, he couldn’t really do anything to Ming Ruan. And at most, Ming Ruan would just sniff and cuddle him—something they were all long used to by now, right?

Su Yuyun had also been about to follow them out, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the fox snuggling in Ming Ruan’s arms.

The white tiger’s mid-air paw veered off course as it turned back and sat down primly and squarely before them. Golden beastly pupils stared at the fox without emotion.

From the white tiger’s expression, Ming Ruan forcefully interpreted a sense that ‘the white tiger can forgo sleep, but the fox had better not sleep too soundly.’

“Alright, alright!” Ming Ruan placed Shi Huai on the bed, nudging the fox’s butt. “You curl up first.”

Then, by the barest of margins, Ming Ruan grabbed the lion’s tail just as it was about to vanish out the door. “Where are you going outside?”

A lion wasn’t supposed to be in a high alpine zone in the first place. How could Ming Ruan drive the lion out into the cold?

Fuxi was startled when a sensitive, vulnerable spot was grabbed. His tail instinctively struggled free, but no anger arose within him. He studied Ming Ruan’s expression; seeing Ming Ruan’s exceptional insistence, he hesitated slightly before walking back inside—there weren’t many things that could make Fuxi hesitate. Sharing a bed with Ming Ruan, sharing a pillow… definitely qualified as one.

After hauling the lion back, Ming Ruan also squeezed through the two large cats with difficulty and, partly pushing, partly pulling, brought the gray wolf back as well. Since he was playing impartial, he should do it properly. If any fluffball could stay inside the hut, then all the fluffballs would stay inside the hut!

Ming Ruan slapped the bed with an overbearing flair: “Everyone, up!”

His every gesture and move was exactly like those ancient emperors with three thousand beauties in their harems, always fond of playing new tricks.

And the ferocious beasts, usually noble, cold, stunning, and fierce with their oppressive presence, were now all meek and submissive, lowering their heads and obeying with timid compliance. They were deathly afraid that a single glance up would reveal the desire in their eyes beyond a doubt.

The soft mattress, covered with a short, white fleece sheet, dipped where it wrapped around a certain part of the young man’s body. The young man had already shed his outer trousers, his bare, smooth calves coiled on the snow-white bed, making it difficult to tell which was whiter.

For men like Xie Gewen and Fuxi, words like hesitation and embarrassment had long been cast outside the realm of their lives. At this moment, they felt those sensations again, profoundly.

Pairs of wild beasts’ eyes, each unique, had locked onto the young man.

And yet that young man remained oblivious, pure, innocent, even tilting his chin up and demanding constantly, uttering phrases that were exceptionally alluring.

Really, it was—

The gray wolf closed his eyes.

The lion turned his head away, exhaling a turbid breath.

Thankfully, the live broadcast room was already closed. Tragically, the live broadcast room was already closed.

The small, portable hut was hidden among the endless mountain ranges, as if everything happening inside was unknown to anyone else. It made one itch to act with reckless abandon.

Finally, as the bright moon hung high in the sky, a paw pressed down, and the mattress dipped deeply.

The space on the bed surface was indeed large; at least it allowed everyone to lie down, rather than just standing guard with four paws bunched together.

Everyone felt the breath in their nostrils was scorching hot—perhaps the climate control was turned up too high.

Even Shi Huai, who moments ago thought it was no big deal, now curled up by Ming Ruan’s pillow, looking at his slightly parted lips and the soft, pink tongue tip faintly visible within. He also felt an inexplicable restlessness throughout his body.

Can’t look anymore, can’t look! The fox buried his face fiercely into the mattress.

All those present lay on the surface, seemingly calm and unruffled, politely keeping some distance from the small, slight bulge at the center of the bed. Yet their rapid breathing refused to slow for a long time.

Was it feeling that the boundary had been crossed too suddenly? Or dissatisfaction? Or a desire for sole possession? The tumultuous waves churning in each person’s heart would be known to no one else.

Impossible to fall asleep.

Of course—

Except for Ming Ruan.

Ming Ruan felt nothing but joy! Pure joy! Even the persistently oppressive mood brought on by the snow leopard incident had lifted somewhat. Sleeping in a pile of fierce beasts! Truly the envy of others!

Half-dreaming, half-awake, he somehow scooped up something warm and fuzzy, hugging it to his chest contentedly. His feet kicked out, burrowing into another warm, soft place.

A night of peaceful sleep.

A new day.

Ming Ruan tidied himself, brought the flying sedan, restored to its original form, along with his small tools, and set off with the handful of fluffballs, walking the long path of fishing for leopards in the great mountains by human and beast power alone.

The Inspector Livestream Room also opened on time.

[How long will searching like this take? Doesn’t it look like just going through the motions?]

[Thanks for your hard work, Ruanruan!! It must be so inconvenient having to bring those four along.]

[Didn’t you all read the analysis thread last night? The Research Institute asked Ming Ruan precisely to go through the motions. Knowing they can’t force a capture, they need to set bait to make Jin Qianyu come to them willingly. Obviously, Ming Ruan is that bait.]

Yes, this was also what the Research Institute told Ming Ruan last night. For the next two days, Ming Ruan only needed to try his best to convey the message that he was searching for the snow leopard, while simultaneously displaying the beautiful daily life between himself and the animals in full view. The hook was straight and the bait plain, but a willing fish would still bite.

A small squad composed of one human and a group of animals slowly crept across the vast plateau.

At a certain moment, the instrument in Ming Ruan’s hand seemed to detect something. Yet he didn’t call out to the other fluffballs. Instead, he stopped right in place, maintaining his posture, even holding his breath.

Beside him, the white tiger and the gray wolf also stopped.