Seven Cubs, Seven Fathers, Zero Days Off

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Mutated Animals

Hidden in the shadows, Bai Chaosi and Ye Lüqi were also surprised. To them, these low-level Crawling Crab Beasts were no better than bugs, yet Shen Yue wanted to eat them?

Shen Yue used the basket she’d brought along to gather all the crabs, and she even slipped a few into her Spiritual Spring.

After all, these green crabs and swimming crabs were quite large, much bigger than any she had seen before.

’The good thing about this Beast World is that everything grows a bit bigger. If I keep some in the Spiritual Spring, I’ll have something to eat wherever I go.’

On the way back, the cubs all ran happily ahead.

Shen Yue followed behind, planning the steps for mixing mud to plaster the walls when she got back.

Although the bamboo house was sturdy, it wasn’t insulated. She had to mix mud with dry grass and plaster a layer on the walls to make it windproof and cold-proof.

Her mind was busy, planning to build the perfect winter home for herself and the cubs.

But then—

Her vision suddenly went dark, and a scene instantly appeared in her mind’s eye.

In the vision, Er Bao and Dabao were hopping and skipping toward a massive tree, one so large it would probably take more than a dozen people to wrap their arms around it.

But just then, the ground beneath the tree suddenly cracked.

As if a sinkhole had opened, the ground gave way beneath the two little ones, and they fell.

Then the ground slammed shut again. She didn’t even have time to jump in and save them.

She desperately screamed for them from above.

The sounds of her children crying from below grew fainter and fainter.

She was heartbroken. No matter how frantically she dug at the earth with shovels and tools, she couldn’t get Dabao and Er Bao back.

The other cubs beside her were wailing in terror.

Her heart ached so much she couldn’t breathe, and she dropped to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

But it was all to no avail!

When the vision vanished and her sight cleared, Shen Yue’s face was pale. She whipped her head to look at Dabao and Er Bao, who were still hopping and skipping ahead.

The two little ones were running and playing with their other brothers, so lively and adorable.

But the next second.

She saw a sight that made her heart stop.

Just a few meters ahead of the cubs stood a colossal, towering tree.

It was the exact same tree from her vision.

Its lush, dark green branches crisscrossed and drooped downward, like the open arms of a giant beast waiting silently for the group of approaching little ones, ready to swallow them whole.

Shen Yue’s heartbeat stuttered.

She screamed in horror:

”Stop!! My babies.”

She sprinted frantically toward them:

”Don’t go over there, Dabao, Er Bao!”

”It’s dangerous!”

Hearing her voice, the cubs stopped their playing and turned to look back at her:

”Hurry up, female mother!”

”You’re so slow!”

Shen Yue’s pupils constricted. By a cruel twist of fate, all the cubs were now standing right under the tree.

Originally, it was just Dabao and Er Bao, but now all the cubs were standing there together.

Shen Yue shrieked in terror:

”Don’t stand under the tree, get away!!”

”All of you, get away! Get away from that tree!”

Hidden in the shadows, Mu Silin and the others frowned at Shen Yue’s sudden panic and looked toward the base of the tree.

At that moment, before Shen Yue’s words had even faded.

The ground beneath the cubs’ feet suddenly gave way, and a horrifying chasm split the earth.

The dark fissure was like the maw of an abyss, its bottom impossible to see.

The cubs all cried out at once.

And plunged downward.

”Female mother!!”

It all happened too fast, almost at the same instant as Shen Yue’s scream.

From the shadows, Ye Lüqi and the others watched with wide eyes, unable to react in time as the seven cubs fell.

Mu Silin was the fastest to react.

He flung out his spiritual power, wrapping vines around two of them.

But it was too late for the others.

In that split second, Shen Yue threw herself forward.

A large net appeared in her hands and instantly caught three of the falling cubs. With a powerful swing, she flung the three little ones in the net back onto solid ground.

But she lost her balance and tumbled over the edge, plunging into the chasm.

Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats.

At the same time, Liu Bao and Qibao, who were screaming in terror as they dangled at the edge of the fissure, were snatched back by two figures.

In the span of a few short breaths, all the cubs were safely back on the ground.

Only Shen Yue was still falling.

Looking up at the safe cubs, Shen Yue’s heart finally settled.

She watched the opening above her shrink, and in the silent, dark chasm, only the deafening cries of the cubs echoed from above:

”Female mother!”

”I want my female mother!”

The sounds grew fainter and fainter.

In the blink of an eye, the fissure sealed shut completely, so fast that no one could react.

But she still saw two figures leap down from above without a second thought.

Everything fell into silence, with only the sound of wind rushing past her ears.

She couldn’t see a thing, only knowing that she was falling endlessly.

It felt as if time itself had stopped.

’Based on how long I’ve been falling, the drop must be incredibly deep. If I free-fall at this speed, won’t I be smashed to a pulp?’

One could only imagine: if she hadn’t managed to save the cubs in time and they had fallen, how terrified would they have been, falling endlessly into this silent, pitch-black abyss where you couldn’t even see your own hand?

Shen Yue was thankful for her ability to foresee danger. Otherwise, Dabao and Er Bao would have already fallen into this bottomless chasm.

As she fell, Shen Yue felt the temperature dropping rapidly.

Before long, she felt like she was about to freeze solid.

Even the air she breathed was bone-chillingly cold.

Because the fall was lasting so long, even someone with her strong nerves began to feel tense.

She even started to imagine if it would hurt when she was splattered into a meat paste upon landing.

But just as she was thinking this.

Her arm slammed into something.

A sharp pain shot through her, making her gasp.

The next second, something grabbed her leg and yanked her down hard.

She was instantly terrified.

Her whole body slammed into something as hard and cold as armor, making her back ache.

Then.

Sharp claws seized her arm, accompanied by the sound of heavy breathing and a muddy, fishy stench.

Shen Yue’s heart skipped a beat.

’I’ve landed, but there’s something strange under me.’

Horrified, she instantly pulled a massive, five-foot-long wrench from her storage space and swung it with a BANG.

The thing seemed to cry out in pain and retreated a few steps.

Seizing the opportunity, she instantly took out a flashlight and flicked it on.

She drew in a sharp breath.

Countless pairs of glowing green, vertical pupils stared straight at her, radiating a chilling aura.

’Lizards?’

A dense swarm of Lizardmen, and what’s more, they were low-level Lizardmen who hadn’t fully transformed into their human forms.

Although they had something resembling human faces, they hadn’t completely metamorphosed. Their sharp fangs, dorsal fins, and beastly hides were bloodcurdling.

Shen Yue was shocked. It was like she had fallen into a meat grinder.

These low-level, half-transformed beastmen who hadn’t fully evolved had no humanity or intelligence. In their bones was only animal instinct—a craving for flesh, blood, and slaughter.

Worse, these were cold-blooded Lizardmen who lived in a lightless abyss.

To be precise, they couldn’t even be called people. They were just mutated animals and Fierce Beasts.

Fear and dread began to consume her.

The Lizardmen, startled by the bright light, seemed momentarily frightened and collectively recoiled.

But the fresh blood dripping from the scratch on her arm only made the cold-blooded Lizardmen pause for a second before they began to stir again, crawling toward her impatiently.

Cold sweat beaded on Shen Yue’s brow.

She forced herself to calm down, planting her feet on a rock behind her and backing away.