Become a Cheetah
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Where there is oppression, there is resistance.
If you don’t erupt in silence, you perish in silence.
Luo Qiao didn’t erupt or resist. He complied with Monty’s wish and rolled. Not only did Luo Qiao roll, but the two little cheetah cubs also curled up into fluffy balls and rolled with him. However, they rolled a bit too far. Before Monty could react, Luo Qiao flipped over, grabbed the two cubs, and tried to make a run for it.
But wishes are one thing, and reality is another.
The lack of a proper running start meant that even though Luo Qiao and the cubs accelerated to their maximum speed in an instant, Monty still managed to catch Luo Qiao by the tail. Monty didn’t bite the cubs—he aimed for Luo Qiao. He didn’t draw blood, but it sure hurt.
Luo Qiao gave up and stopped trying to run.
Monty pressed Luo Qiao down with his paw, looking down at him with a gaze that seemed to say: “Go on, run. Try it again. You’ll never escape my claws!”
Helpless, Luo Qiao looked at the two frightened cubs and could only ask in frustration,
“What do you want from me?”
“Nothing much. Like I said, I thought your rolling was cute, so I wanted you to do it again.”
Monty stepped on Luo Qiao’s belly with his paw, speaking in a gentle tone. “Be a good boy and roll. If you do it well, I’ll let you go.”
Luo Qiao seethed inwardly. Why are cheetahs so fragile? Fine, I’ll roll!
Why are cheetahs so bad at fighting? Fine, I’ll roll again!
Why do all these guys bully cheetahs? Fine, I’ll keep rolling!
Luo Qiao tucked in his paws and rolled on the ground like a housecat, covering himself in dirt. Monty was satisfied. He finally showed mercy and retracted his paw. However, before letting Luo Qiao go, he kept one of the guinea fowl as a “toll fee.”
“You hunted in my territory, so you have to leave something behind. Also, you’re welcome to come back anytime.”
Luo Qiao was furious but had no choice. He could only pick up the remaining two guinea fowl and flee with the cubs in tow. He swore that unless all the prey in other areas were wiped out, he would never set foot in this canyon again!
Monty kindly called after Luo Qiao, “Remember to pluck the feathers before eating the guinea fowl!”
Luo Qiao, who was running at full speed, stumbled and nearly fell.
Monty climbed up the fig tree with the guinea fowl in his mouth. Although he didn’t lack food, he found the cheetah’s reactions amusing.
Perhaps it was a feline instinct, whether big cats or small cats, once they caught something, they wouldn’t let go until they had their fill of fun.
As Monty dozed on the fig tree, a smaller female leopard strolled by below. She looked up at the tail dangling from the branches.
“Monty, you just let that cheetah go?”
She had been hiding behind a rock, expecting Monty to kill the three cheetahs that had intruded into his territory. Instead, she witnessed the earlier scene.
“Beatrice?” Monty peeked down from the tree, then lazily lay back on the branch. “Don’t you think that evolved one is interesting?”
Indeed. Beatrice couldn’t deny that. A male cheetah raising cubs was intriguing from every angle. But Monty’s behavior wasn’t just about that, was it?
Her light golden eyes, similar to Monty’s, studied the male leopard resting on the tree.
“Is that all?”
“That’s none of your business.”
Monty’s voice was flat. Then, he tossed a guinea fowl down to her.
“This is for you. Just pretend you didn’t see what happened earlier.”
Looking at the guinea fowl on the ground, Beatrice was certain that Monty had developed a strong interest in the evolved cheetah himself, not just because of his uniqueness.
Leopard territories differ from those of lions. A male leopard’s territory is vast, while most female leopards establish their territories within the male’s domain.
Typically, female leopards mate with the territory’s owner, and their female cubs inherit the mother’s territory or establish their own nearby. Male cubs are driven away. Of course, a male leopard’s reign over a territory is limited, he either dies naturally or is driven off or killed by newcomers.
Like lions, it is the females who truly own the territory.
Monty was strong. Two years ago, he had driven away the previous male leopard and claimed this territory. At the time, he had just reached adulthood. Originally, five female leopards lived here, all of them young.
Three had recently inherited their territories from their mothers. They were eager to mate and raise cubs, but the new lord of the territory was utterly uncooperative!
No matter how sleek and alluring the female leopards were, Monty remained unmoved. The females didn’t give up, taking turns to approach him, but Monty grew so annoyed that he started hiding. This infuriated the females.
They couldn’t drive him away, and no other male leopards would enter the area. With Monty acting this way, if circumstances allowed, the females might have considered forcing themselves on him. They couldn’t help but speculate, was this strong, majestic male leopard perhaps… impotent?
Fortunately, a year later, Monty finally agreed to mate with the female leopards. However, compared to the fleeting interest of other male leopards, Monty didn’t even last a minute. After the rainy season passed, only two leopard cubs were born in the territory! Whether they would survive the dry season was still uncertain.
The female leopards began to have another worry. Could this male leopard not be impotent, but rather frigid? Although they didn't mind the male leopard's cold attitude, truthfully, they were used to being alone.
Raising the cubs was also not the male leopard's business. Even if Monty wanted to, they wouldn't be happy. If they saw Monty appear within a few hundred meters of the cubs, they might even rush to fight him.
But that didn't mean they were willing to have their needs unmet when they needed it!
Three of the female leopards had already abandoned their territories here and moved elsewhere. Of the two remaining, one was planning to leave as well. Only Beatrice stayed, as she needed to raise her two cubs here.
It wasn’t until today that Beatrice realized Monty wasn’t what they had speculated at all. Forget impotence, forget low libido!
Even though she was fuming, Beatrice wouldn’t turn down food. She still had two cubs to feed. Picking up the guinea fowl, Beatrice strode away. Once her cubs were older, she would leave too! There were plenty of male leopards with four legs all over the savannah!
Monty remained perched on the fig tree, his eyes slightly narrowed. No one knew what he was thinking at that moment.
Luo Qiao and the two cubs ran all the way to a acacia tree before stopping. The two cubs were too exhausted to speak. Luo Qiao, heartbroken, gathered them in his arms, licking one and then the other. The two guinea fowl they had carried all the way here seemed to have been forgotten.
Just as Luo Qiao and the cubs thought they could finally catch their breath, a lioness suddenly appeared in their line of sight. Luo Qiao recognized her—she was the same lioness who had snatched the impala from the vultures not long ago. She looked even thinner now and somewhat disheveled. Her target was clearly the two guinea fowl.
The lioness walked toward Luo Qiao and the cubs without hesitation. The cubs, who had just run out of breath, had no strength left to escape.
Luo Qiao stepped in front of the cubs, lowering his head and raising the fur on the back of his neck, adopting a threatening posture toward the lioness.
The lioness seemed unfazed. It was just a cheetah, after all.
Luo Qiao finally lost his temper. The cubs had to eat today, or they might starve to death tomorrow! While the leopard had merely toyed with him, this lioness would take the lives of his children! The young cheetah father could no longer hold back. He charged at the lioness.
The lioness hadn’t expected the male cheetah to charge at her with such ferocity. She wasn’t as calm as she appeared. She was in unfamiliar lion territory, and if she attracted the attention of the local pride, she would be in serious trouble.
Seeing Luo Qiao’s reckless, desperate charge, the lioness grew fearful. She immediately turned and fled.
Luo Qiao’s gamble paid off. He had protected the food and his two cubs. But the young cheetah father wasn’t happy. In fact, he felt somewhat dejected. If he were stronger, would he still be bullied like this?
“Dad?”
Luo Sen nuzzled Luo Qiao’s front leg. Luo Qiao lowered his head and licked Luo Sen’s ear, then rallied his spirits and said to the cubs “Come on, let’s eat!”
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