thenovelthief Chapter 133: Savanna Upgrade: Patch 1.5
Chapter 133: Savanna Upgrade: Patch 1.5
[Fifteen Days Later]
The Golden Mane camp was completely unrecognizable.
Gone were the days of lions sleeping in dirt pits and tearing into bloody, raw carcasses. In just over two weeks, under the terrifyingly efficient iron fist of Xin Yi and her glowing Bone of Discipline, the savanna had been thoroughly domesticated.
There were properly constructed stone fire pits. There were neat, woven grass sleeping mats arranged under the shade of the baobab trees. There was a designated, highly enforced latrine area, which Wan Ning had dug herself, and most importantly, there was the smell of actual, seasoned, cooked food wafting through the air.
Xin Yi was currently sitting on her favorite woven blanket, living the absolute dream.
"Is the temperature acceptable, Boss?" Gou Sheng asked, his spotted ears twitching nervously.
The hyena beastman was holding a giant palm leaf, delicately and precisely fanning a steaming clay bowl of roasted antelope stew so that it wouldn’t burn Xin Yi’s tongue.
"Perfect, Gou Sheng, thank you," Xin Yi smiled, accepting the bowl.
"Boss is the best! Boss should be the new Chief!" Da Sha cheered, happily eating a perfectly cooked warthog rib from a clean stone.
"Yes! The tiny pink Boss for Chief!" Er Gou agreed, wagging his scruffy tail.
"I completely agree!" Jin Xuan beamed, sitting a few feet away. The Lion Prince was actually wearing a properly tied linen tunic today. "If the tiny female becomes the Chief, then I will be the Chief’s favorite mate! We can put our sleeping mats together!"
"Over my dead body," two incredibly dangerous voices said in perfect unison.
Hei Yan and Sha Chen were sitting on either side of Xin Yi’s blanket, looking surprisingly relaxed.
Over the past two weeks, the dynamic between Xin Yi and the Panther Alpha had been incredibly sweet. Hei Yan was attentive, fiercely protective, but much more gentle. He would bring her the best cuts of meat and quietly sit by her side.
Surprisingly, her relationship with Sha Chen had also smoothed out. The Arctic Wolf had stopped constantly threatening the lions and instead spent his time helping Xin Yi draw out architectural plans for the savanna in the dirt.
He was intelligent, dangerously witty, and his arrogant smirks were starting to become more charming than annoying.
The only one who was absolutely, fundamentally miserable was Qing Lin.
Xin Yi looked across the fire pit and had to physically bite her lip to stop from laughing out loud.
The Azure Snake King was sitting rigidly on a carved stool. He looked like a tragic, captured prince.
Mao Mao, the chubby golden lion cub, was currently sitting on Qing Lin’s shoulders, happily chewing on the Snake King’s dark green silk collar. Qiu Qiu, his twin brother, was sitting in Qing Lin’s lap, aggressively trying to braid the snake’s beautiful, flowing dark hair using pieces of dry, sticky savanna grass.
"Stop that, you feral rodents," Qing Lin hissed, his voice trembling with rage. He weakly batted Mao Mao’s paw away from his face. "I am venomous. I am a monster. I will eat you."
"Pretty snake!" Mao Mao giggled, patting Qing Lin’s pale cheek.
"String bean!" Qiu Qiu cheered, tying a knot in Qing Lin’s hair.
Qing Lin shot a look of absolute, soul-crushing despair at Xin Yi. He had spent the last fifteen days trying to be petty and sulk about Hei Yan, but his dramatic brooding had completely backfired.
The lion cubs thought his quiet, unmoving sulking made him the best climbing tree in the camp. And because Xin Yi had explicitly forbidden the Alphas from hurting anyone, Qing Lin was trapped.
"You look beautiful, Qing Lin," Xin Yi teased, her brown eyes sparkling with amusement.
"I hate this place" Qing Lin whispered tragically, closing his eyes as Mao Mao started chewing on his ear.
Xin Yi laughed. She looked around the camp.
She saw Wan Ning politely carrying a bucket of water from the river. She saw Chief Jin Hai laughing with his warriors around the fire, eating cooked meat.
[Ding!]
[( ꈍᴗꈍ) System Notice: Civilization Progress Update!]
[Golden Mane Tribe Status: Domesticated House Cats!]
[Host is doing an amazing job! The Goddess Mán Shū sends a virtual thumbs-up! (She is still napping.)]
"Whatever," Xin Yi muttered fondly, taking a bite of her stew.
The delicious smell of the food finally distracted the toddlers. Mao Mao and Qiu Qiu stopped terrorizing the Snake King. Their little lion noses twitched, and they immediately scrambled off Qing Lin’s lap, tumbling over each other as they sprinted toward Xin Yi’s blanket.
"I want! I want!" Mao Mao cheered, his little golden tail wagging as he reached his chubby hands up to her bowl.
"Me too! Meat! Meat!" Qiu Qiu giggled, practically climbing onto Hei Yan’s knee to get closer to Xin Yi.
"Alright, alright, little ones," Xin Yi chuckled warmly. She scooped out a tender, perfectly cooled piece of antelope meat with her wooden spoon. "Here you go. Open wide!"
She fed the cubs, their little faces lighting up with joy as they chewed the soft meat.
Hei Yan smiled, gently stabilizing Qiu Qiu so the cub wouldn’t fall into the fire, while Sha Chen casually tossed Mao Mao a roasted berry.
Suddenly...
Grrrrr...
The wholesome atmosphere vanished in a microsecond.
"What is that?" Xin Yi asked, her heart suddenly spiking.
SWISH.
A blur of motion ripped through the tall elephant grass at the edge of the camp. It was so fast that Xin Yi’s eyes could barely track it.
The blur skidded to a halt right at the edge of the firelight, kicking up a massive cloud of yellow dust.
As the dust settled, a new beastman stood before them.
He was incredibly lean, with a lithe, runner’s physique. His skin was deeply tanned, covered in striking, beautiful black spots. He had wild, messy blonde hair, and two distinct, dark "tear marks" running down from the inner corners of his golden-brown eyes to the edges of his mouth.
He was panting heavily, his chest heaving, his spotted tail flicking nervously behind him.
Xin Yi stared at the new arrival, her jaw dropping slightly.
"Uh..." Xin Yi blinked. "Is that... a cheetah?"
[Ding!]
[BEEP! BEEP!]
[(⊙_⊙) System Warning! New Character Detected!]
[Name: Su Ye]
[Species: Cheetah Beastman]
[Current Status: Running for his absolute life!]
"Help!" the cheetah beastman gasped, his voice raspy and panicked. He looked wildly at the massive, terrifying Alphas surrounding the fire, then locked eyes with Xin Yi.
Before anyone could react, Su Ye collapsed to his knees in the dirt, pointing a trembling finger back toward the dark savanna.
"It’s coming!" the cheetah cried out. "The monster! It’s right behind me!"