Chapter 13

Tao Shushu had been shopping for over six hours, while for the cub, twelve hours had passed, half a day.
When Tao Shushu logged in, it was another early morning.
She checked in and found that this time, the cub had been very obedient, proactively turning the passenger seat into a makeshift small bed.
the cub seemed to have hurriedly gotten up from the simple bed, with a stray strand of hair sticking up on his head.
Tao Shushu gently brushed aside the cub's stray hair.
As soon as she let go, the strand of hair instantly sprang back up.
While ruffling the cub's hair, Tao Shushu reviewed the events of his day.
Driving, driving, driving,
Casually ate some wolf meat and fruit,
Driving, driving, driving.
Casually ate some more wolf meat and fruit, then rested, waited for her for a while, didn't see her, fell asleep alone, and woke up upon hearing noises.
Nothing major had happened, yet Tao Shushu found it all quite entertaining.
Nan Yuan was momentarily surprised when his hair was ruffled but soon resigned himself to it.
Nan Yuan remained standing straight, his eyes fixed intently ahead.
After playing for a while, Tao Shushu followed the cub's gaze and saw only distant trees shaking, unsure what animals were fighting.
Nan Yuan said, "A lion accidentally wandered into the territory of the Bloodsucking Grass."
Tao Shushu could still only see a string of encrypted characters.
She switched the camera and rushed to the source of the commotion.
It was a patch of Bloodsucking Grass entangled with a large lion.
The lion was injured, blood seeping from its hind leg.
The stems and leaves of the Bloodsucking Grass clung tightly to the wound, burrowing inside to suck its blood.
The lion quickly collapsed, and within minutes, only a skeleton remained.
Tao Shushu was horrified by the sight.
It had been a long time since she had witnessed such a brutal scene; the lion was utterly defenseless against the Bloodsucking Grass, which had evolved a collective consciousness.
Tao Shushu silently returned to the cub's side.
Nan Yuan also wore a grave expression.
He had battled the Bloodsucking Grass just a few days prior.
In such a short time, the combat effectiveness of the Bloodsucking Grass had increased, not only had they learned tactical encirclement, but they could also inject toxins into their prey through their stems and leaves.
The tidal forces had brought about evolution; he had to move faster and find a safe zone before the full moon.
Nan Yuan lost all desire to sleep. He packed his things and prepared to drive.
Just then, he heard the cry of a young animal.
He rolled down the car window and looked toward the area where the Bloodsucking Grass and the lion had fought.
A small golden-furred lion cub was wailing outside the Bloodsucking Grass patch, wanting to charge in but repeatedly frightened away by the poised Bloodsucking Grass.
Nan Yuan fell silent for a moment.
A young lion without the protection of adult companions was destined not to survive long.
Tao Shushu thought the cub had witnessed the earlier fight and sensed the danger, so they needed to hurry despite her heartache that he had only slept for a little over two hours.
But survival was the most important thing in the apocalypse, and hardship was unavoidable. She was checking the system shop to see if there was anything she could buy for the cub.
Then she saw the cub pick up the particle gun.
He was about to push the car door open but paused and sat back down. He took a specially designed bottle from his backpack and drew a patch of weeds on a leaf, with the outermost grass separated from the inner ones.
He held up the leaf.
Tao Shushu twisted her body and finally saw what was on the leaf.
Combined with the familiar bottle, she understood, the cub was planning to collect the corrosive sap of the Bloodsucking Grass and was asking for her help.
The cub was so sensible, knowing to come to his mom when he had a problem.
Tao Shushu happily ruffled Nan Yuan's head.
She followed him out of the car.
Tao Shushu immediately spotted the young lion circling near the patch of Bloodsucking Grass.
The cub paused and looked at the young lion.
Having just seen the death of the big lion and now charmed by the cub, Tao Shushu kept one eye on the cub and the other on the lion.
When a series of Bloodsucking Grass lashed out at the lion, Tao Shushu flicked her fingers and yanked those strands out by the roots.
Beside her, Nan Yuan stiffened for a moment.
She was saving the young lion.
He had long known she had a kind heart.
He had also wanted to save the young lion.
But seeing her protect something else gave him a strange feeling.
Nan Yuan shook off the odd sensation and took out the bottle.
The sap from the roots of the Bloodsucking Grass was highly toxic, just a few drops could kill a wolf.
But the roots ran extremely deep and grew in tight clusters, making it very difficult to collect the sap. Even Nan Yuan had only managed to get a little last time.
Nan Yuan walked around the patch of Bloodsucking Grass.
He glanced over and saw the young lion trying to charge into the center of the grass to reach the big lion.
And she was helping the young lion fend off the attacking Bloodsucking Grass.
Nan Yuan loaded an energy ball into the particle gun and took a few steps closer to the young lion.
The young lion stopped and growled twice at Nan Yuan.
Tao Shushu helped the young lion fight off the Bloodsucking Grass for a while until her fingers grew tired.
She patted the lion's fluffy fur and then smoothed down the unruly strand of hair on Nan Yuan's head.
Tao Shushu wanted Nan Yuan to take the young lion with him.
She had observed it earlier, the young lion was clever, quick to react, and had good speed and strength. It wouldn’t be a burden as a companion.
Besides, if the cub took the young lion along, he would have company.
He wouldn’t just drive, drive, drive, eat, and drive every day.
She couldn’t always be with the cub; he was too lonely.
Under Tao Shushu’s soothing, the young lion calmed down and quietly watched Nan Yuan.
Nan Yuan pursed his lips, feeling as if someone was pushing him forward.
He followed that person’s intention and gently patted the young lion’s head.
Tao Shushu happily took a screenshot.
Nan Yuan stood up. Petting another species’ head wasn’t particularly special, he didn’t understand why that person liked ruffling his hair so much.
Tao Shushu carefully observed Nan Yuan’s expression.
Nan Yuan lowered his gaze, looking at his open palm.
It seemed promising!
Tao Shushu marked off a small patch of Bloodsucking Grass, directly separating it from the larger expanse.
The little lion cast a longing glance at the adult lion gradually being obscured by the grass but remained in place, staying with Nan Yuan to deal with the Bloodsucking Grass.
Nan Yuan set down his particle gun as he heard rustling in the grass. Soon, the wildly growing vegetation parted, and the person pulled out the lion's skeleton.
He put away his gun and began dealing with the small, isolated patch of Bloodsucking Grass before him.
She was even more capable than he had imagined.
Working together with the little lion and assisted by Tao Shushu, the two humans and the lion quickly eradicated the Bloodsucking Grass within a dozen square meters.
They also collected three full bottles of viscous fluid.
The little lion leaned against the adult lion's skeleton, whimpering softly.
Nan Yuan paused in handling the viscous fluid and glanced over.
By the time he finished processing all the fluid, the little lion was still clinging sorrowfully to the skeleton.
After a moment's hesitation, Nan Yuan dug a pit.
Though reluctant, he checked the sky and walked over to the little lion. Crouching down, he awkwardly patted the lion's head.
Tao Shushu watched quietly as Nan Yuan buried the adult lion's skeleton in the pit.
On the way back, Nan Yuan silently carried the little lion which had an injured leg.
Nan Yuan bandaged the wound and gazed silently at it.
As dawn approached, Nan Yuan opened the car door and looked at the little lion.
The little lion glanced at the car, then at the jungle outside, before finally jumping into the vehicle.
Nan Yuan sat down and placed a few pieces of wolf meat in front of the little lion.
The cub is actually very gentle and attentive. I hadn't even noticed the injured leg, but the cub saw it.
The cub started driving again.
Tao Shushu reached out and patted both the cub and the little lion's heads.
She put down her phone, planning to study a bit more.
[Player, you've matured.] the system remarked with emotion.
Tao Shushu paused her hand. [I want the cub to have a better life.]
Having experienced the apocalypse herself, she knew just how brutal that environment could be.
Though it was just a game, she was increasingly treating the cub as a real person, wanting to do everything possible to ensure the cub could live a little better.
Tao Shushu opened her physics competition workbook.
She excelled in physics, chemistry, and biology. In two days, she would begin physics competition training with Su Momo.
Every competition could deal a blow to the female lead's Academic Genius System.
Tao Shushu collected her thoughts and began working on the problems.
In three hours, she completed two sets of questions.
[Perfect score, excellent,] the system said.
Tao Shushu put down her pen. [That's enough.]
She needed to prepare the surprise for Su Momo at tomorrow's banquet.


Author's Note:
Rounding it up, the cub and Shushu are raising a pet together.