For a moment, a strange standoff formed between the man and the wolf.
The live room was already in an uproar.
【He’s! Angry! Why won’t he let him eat?!】
【I don’t get what new madness has seized Ming Ruan. Just yesterday, when he took such good care of the Council Speaker, I was about to see him in a new light.】
【I think Ming Ruan’s mental state is pretty unstable too. He’s not about to undergo Therianthropy himself, is he?】
【Is it really okay for Ming Ruan to be this Executor?】
Those watching this live-stream weren’t just ordinary citizens.
Regarding Xie Gewen’s Rampage and injury yesterday, the Beastman Research Institute had swiftly formed a dedicated Investigation Team to follow up on subsequent developments.
But from Ming Ruan’s live-stream, one could see that Xie Gewen’s mental state over the past two days had been anything but ordinary. It was remarkably good.
This deserved everyone’s attention.
At this very moment, behind countless Light Brain screens: the Prince, sitting at his desk in the Imperial Palace, tapped his fingers on the table; the Research Group Leader of the Beastman Research Institute fell into deep thought; the Madam of a top Chaebol furrowed her brow… each harboring their own thoughts and judgments on the scene unfolding before them.
And deep within a certain forest in the Outdoor Zone, a Light Brain vibrating incessantly with incoming complaint reports was silenced by a paw pad pressing down on it. A pair of golden eyes calmly watched the live-stream footage.
—
Ming Ruan and the Gray Wolf remained locked in their standoff for a very long time.
A sudden gust of cold wind swept through. Ming Ruan couldn’t help but turn his face away and sneeze, sniffling.
The Gray Wolf’s eyes flickered.
Its slightly lowered body straightened. It released its unrelenting grip on the prey.
Xie Gewen glanced at the live-stream camera from the corner of his eye, then somewhat helplessly flicked his tail, brushing past Ming Ruan as he headed for the Flying Sedan.
Fine.
“Yay!” Ming Ruan’s face lit up. He ran back to the vehicle to grab some tools, intending to collect the Fawn and bring it back.
“Awo—”
A soft wolf’s whine came from behind.
Xie Gewen, who had already reached the vehicle, trotted back and nudged Ming Ruan’s hand away.
Don’t take this one.
“Yes, take it!” Ming Ruan stubbornly stowed the Fawn in his Space Bag and loaded it onto the vehicle. “This was caught by our super-awesome wolf!”
Xie Gewen sighed from his black nose and pretended not to hear.
The base of his ears felt inexplicably warm. Probably because the Flying Sedan’s climate control was set too high.
The bond between the man and the wolf was now clearly seamless.
Back at the Base, Ming Ruan didn’t make any particularly fancy dish. He handed the Fawn over to the kitchen’s Food Processor, and prepared a platter for the Gray Wolf.
Deer meat chunks, deer blood, freeze-dried organs, plus two ribs for gnawing, and three or four Berries cut into little rabbit shapes, tossed into the platter.
As for himself, a pot of red-braised deer meat chunks with rice would do.
As usual, Ming Ruan sat beside the coffee table to accompany the Gray Wolf while eating.
Xie Gewen glanced at the rabbit-shaped Berries casually.
Then glanced again.
Pretending to go for a meat chunk, he nudged them with his nose.
Both of them ate like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.
Watching this scene, the raging comments in the live room, the ones clamoring to send complaint letters to the authorities, grew fewer and fewer.
Though the Gray Wolf’s dining movements remained elegant, the speed at which food vanished from its platter was nothing short of astonishing.
No one could plausibly claim that Ming Ruan was mistreating Xie Gewen anymore.
【…It must be because Xie Gewen has a good temper.】
【But the Council Speaker really does look like he’s enjoying the food.】
【Why do I feel like he prefers eating what Ming Ruan makes…?】
【But didn’t the Council Speaker really like that pure, wild outdoor lifestyle before? Wasn’t he the one who pushed that proposal?】
【No idea what Xie Gewen is thinking.】
【Still, pushing that proposal and what kind of lifestyle he personally prefers are two different things, aren’t they?】
Everyone argued about Xie Gewen’s preferences, but tacitly avoided mentioning Ming Ruan.
Perhaps this time, they simply had no face to bring him up.
After all, only Ming Ruan had truly catered to Xie Gewen’s preferences, while they had arrogantly assumed they had him figured out.
Comments with a different tone began appearing in the live room.
【I’ve wanted to say this for a while: Ming Ruan genuinely looks like a great cook. Both what he eats and what he makes for the wolf look amazing!】
【Coach, I want to learn how to make those little rabbits too!!】
【If Ming Ruan can’t hack it as an Executor, he could consider switching to a cooking stream.】
【Seems like he has some clever tricks for dealing with Beastmen. Maybe he can stick with this job for the long haul.】
In contrast to the live room, Ming Ruan and the Gray Wolf spent a quiet afternoon.
Xie Gewen lay near the window with his eyes closed in feigned sleep. Ming Ruan curled up on the sofa in the Living Room, seemingly diligently uploading his Forest Patrol report.
When the sun sank westward, in an instant, the orange-red afterglow of sunset spread across the entire sky.
The moment the clock hit 6 PM, Ming Ruan leaped to his feet as if he’d been starved for a year, theatrically announcing, “Time flies! It’s dinnertime!”
However, this time, Xie Gewen didn’t give Ming Ruan a chance for any back-and-forth. Before Ming Ruan could even scamper into the kitchen, he was already at the door.
The meaning was clear: he was going out to hunt.
Ming Ruan’s heart sank a little.
He looked into the Gray Wolf’s icy blue eyes, filled with resolve.
For a moment, he felt a pang of sadness.
He didn’t understand why the Gray Wolf insisted on doing something it clearly didn’t enjoy either.
It truly didn’t seem like an ordinary fierce beast.
And yet, it was just a wolf.
Xie Gewen averted his gaze from Ming Ruan.
Though the youth looked a bit dejected, he still walked over to open the door for him. “Come back early, okay?”
The youth added, “Little animals are hard to find in the winter. If you don’t catch anything, just come home and eat.”
Come home.
Xie Gewen felt as if something had struck him in the chest.
He didn’t linger any longer. He turned and dashed into the cold wind.
Leaving that warm little house, its windows glowing with lamplight, far, far behind.
The Alpha Galaxy hadn’t had “animals” before. When the Era of Beastmen arrived, people treated Therianthropy as a disease, a curse descending upon them. They locked their transformed relatives in their bedrooms and forced them to eat human meals.
Back then, Beastmen had no suitable habitats, no animals to hunt, and were forbidden from howling, marking scents, or eating raw meat… In those few years, countless Beastmen were literally trapped to death in their homes.
The belated research report from the Beastman Research Institute was furiously denounced by the terrified public as a ‘scam,’ ‘sensationalism,’ and a ‘virus-sympathizer theory.’
And Xie Gewen, precisely under these circumstances, traveled from planet to planet, campaigning, persuading, slowly but surely winning people over.
Then, after organizing countless meetings large and small, and convincing the majority of the seats in the Council, he was finally able to present the Beastman Beastification Legal Draft, seeking to negotiate with the Royal Family and the Adjudicator…
It was this very bill that led to the establishment of large and small Simulated Outdoor Zones across the Alpha Galaxy; the creation of Artificial Animals for Beastmen to hunt. Beastmen could finally howl freely, run, and release their instincts, no longer viewed as ‘cruel, cold-blooded, inhuman Aberrant Species.’
And Xie Gewen, like a shooting star that tore through the dark curtain of the Beastmen Era, after successfully pushing this bill, shortly thereafter turned into a wolf himself.
While countless people lamented his fate, Xie Gewen voluntarily resigned as Council Speaker.
But he knew his mission was far from over.
The eyes of countless Beastmen across the star system, countless humans, and countless enemies were still focused on him.
Xie Gewen crouched behind a thicket of grass, his icy eyes fixed on a little White Rabbit hopping ahead in the distance.
He had to be the embodiment and beneficiary of that bill, to ensure its continued implementation.
He needed to be the most authentic wolf possible, demonstrating the most positive state of being to everyone. Best of all, best of all, he needed to successfully revert to human form.
To answer everyone’s expectations and become everyone’s hope.
Xie Gewen’s figure shot out like an arrow. As his fangs snapped shut, the White Rabbit’s neck was torn, blood spraying everywhere.
The familiar warmth of blood in his mouth, the familiar discomfort in his stomach.
He mechanically, expertly, stripped the rabbit’s fur, crushed its bones, and swallowed the flesh and organs into his belly.
Xie Gewen must have no personal desires.
Xie Gewen would act on behalf of all citizens of the Alpha Galaxy to fight for their interests.
From the moment he entered the Council.
Until death.
Having swallowed the rabbit like a task completed, Xie Gewen followed his memory to a small stream and carefully cleaned any part of himself that had been dirtied by dust or blood.
The youth was always so clean and neat; such bloodiness didn’t suit him.
Thinking of Ming Ruan, Xie Gewen’s somewhat heavy heart lifted considerably.
He had refused the youth’s dinner invitation so firmly tonight. The youth had looked quite sad at the time. He still needed to think about what to do when he got back.
With that thought, Xie Gewen’s pace shifted from a walk to a trot, and finally, he opened up into a full sprint, racing back to the Executor’s Base.
The little house with its warm yellow light came into view again.
Although within the Sanatorium Zone, a Beastman’s Light Brain could directly unlock the door of the Executor’s residence in emergency situations, Xie Gewen had no desire to be so rude.
Xie Gewen approached, intending to call for Ming Ruan to open the door.
But the entire wolf slowly turned to stone outside the window.
Inside, Ming Ruan was wearing a pair of soft, draping, pure white lounge pants. He stood barefoot on the floor, his toes round, smooth, and white, with clearly defined joints and a touch of adorable plumpness.
Up his slender legs, his flat stomach, the dimples of his lower back, the smooth curve of his spine, and his shoulder blades, poised like a butterfly about to take flight—all were clearly visible.
He had his hands raised high, his long, pale fingers hooked around the hem of his shirt, precisely in the posture of someone who had just taken their top off.
Perhaps sensing he was being watched.
Ming Ruan abruptly turned his head, catching Xie Gewen’s gaze dead-on.
