Become a Cheetah
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Night fell, and Luo Qiao and the two cheetah cubs by the pond were still hungry.
Most animals came to the pond to drink water at noon. By the time Luo Qiao found the two cheetah cubs, most animals had already left the pond, and the remaining ones fled as soon as they saw Luo Qiao.
Ever since the big-eared fox and serval gossiped about the Luo Qiao family's unique eating habits, cheetahs were suddenly listed as unwelcome dangerous individuals by most grassland residents.
Even Hida and Shamu from across the Ganga River were affected.
Now, whether it was ground squirrels or hyraxes, these small animals that cheetahs usually didn't hunt, would turn and run at the first sight of a cheetah.
Even the catfish in the river, when they encountered a cheetah coming to drink, would sink to the bottom regardless of anything else.
Cheetahs were fierce and needed to be avoided.
As for how the catfish spread the news of Luo Qiao and his son eating fish, Heaven knows.
If Shamu and Hida knew that the root of these changes lay with Luo Qiao, the mother and daughter would definitely rush across the Ganga River immediately and let Luo Qiao, that unlucky child, experience the powerful force of a women's tag team.
Luo Qiao was completely unaware of all the changes he had caused. Just like the first person to walk upright didn't care what impact this behavior would have on humans, Luo Qiao merely added a few categories to the cheetah's usual diet.
It seemed like no big deal, right?
What's more, what he ate had nothing to do with anyone else.
As a human, Luo Qiao often said to walk his own path and let others talk. As a cheetah, Luo Qiao believed in eating his own meat and making others drool!
The prerequisite was, there was meat to eat.
"Dad, I'm so hungry."
Luo Rui rolled over on the grass, tucking in his paws and rubbing his back. Luo Sen leaned against his brother, lying quietly to conserve energy.
The grassland at night was very dangerous. Unless necessary, Luo Qiao, with two small cheetahs and having left his own territory, wouldn't choose to hunt at night.
"Dad will figure something out..."
After dark, the pond was out of the question. The lion's territory was off-limits, and there was still a giant python dead in his own territory...
The night grew deeper, and the roars of male lions alternated with the calls of hyenas. Compared to the lion's majestic roar, the hyena's long howls and short yelps made Luo Qiao more irritable.
The black long-tailed monkey Luo Qiao encountered in the afternoon had been staying in the marula fruit tree. He wasn't resting here, but the presence of the three cheetahs made him dare not easily come down from the tree.
Perhaps he should be grateful that it was a cheetah below the tree. If it were the leopard, the owner of this territory, neither the tree nor the ground would be safe.
Luo Qiao was hungry and desperately needed food to replenish his strength. The black long-tailed monkey was right in front of him, but Luo Qiao knew he couldn't easily catch it.
Firstly, the tree was too tall for him to climb. Secondly, even if he climbed up, he wouldn't be able to catch that agile monkey.
Cheetahs weren't leopards; they couldn't walk on branches as if on flat ground. Whether he could catch the monkey was one thing; if he accidentally fell from the tree, not only would it be embarrassing, but if he got injured, he'd just starve to death.
It was the dry season now, and there weren't as many cubs stepping into his clumsy traps.
As for letting Monty feed them, Luo Qiao hadn't even considered it. Was the prey given by a leopard that delicious? If he owed too many meat debts, wouldn't he have to pay with meat?
The thought of Monty, with his beautiful face, beckoning him like a master and demanding to cash in on the "benefits", made Luo Qiao shiver.
"Dad, why are you shaking?"
Luo Rui, who had finished rolling and snuggled up to Luo Qiao, felt Luo Qiao's trembling and curiously wiggled his ears.
"Is it very cold?" He felt fine.
"Uh..."
He couldn't possibly say that he was scared by what he had imagined, could he? Luo Qiao simply gathered Luo Rui and Luo Sen into his arms and said, "Yes, Dad is a bit cold. Let Dad hug you."
The two small cheetahs had grown much larger, and Luo Qiao couldn't knead them into fur balls and hold them in his arms as he used to. But the three of them huddled together was still both comfortable and warm.
The only fly in the ointment was that they were all hungry.
Luo Qiao sighed and licked Luo Sen's and Luo Rui's ears, "Why don't you hide first, and Dad will go find prey and bring it back for you."
"No!" Luo Sen shook his head firmly, "It's very dangerous at night. My brother and I can hold on, right?"
"Yes, if we fall asleep, we won't be hungry. Dad, don't leave."
Hearing the two small cheetahs, Luo Qiao raised his head, tears streaming down his face in the wind.
What sensible children! No, he absolutely couldn't let them go to sleep hungry! At least catch a wild rabbit or something to fill their stomachs.
Luo Qiao made up his mind; even if Luo Sen and Luo Rui pouted and acted cute, it wouldn't change his decision. Besides, he had lived on this grassland for several months and was no longer an ignorant fool.
Even if he encountered danger, he was confident he could escape. The key was that he had to find food for his children! He couldn't help but look up at the tree canopy.
How wonderful it would be if he could catch that monkey...
The black long-tailed monkey in the tree saw Luo Qiao suddenly stand up, his glowing eyes looking at him, and immediately became alert.
He knew that cheetahs weren't good at climbing trees, but who knew if this family below the tree, when starving, would try to attack monkeys?
The ground squirrel had told him to be careful of an evolved male cheetah with cubs! Because that cheetah's diet was starting to resemble that of a leopard.
Luo Qiao looked up at the tree, wondering if there was a way to get this long-tailed monkey down from the tree. The black long-tailed monkey looked down at the tree, hoping he could survive this night and see tomorrow's sun.
The two gazed at each other silently. Even though the black long-tailed monkey's night vision wasn't too good, he still stared unblinkingly at the threat below the tree.
When Monty tracked Luo Qiao's scent and trail, this was the scene he saw.
The cheetah under the tree and the black long-tailed monkey on the tree "affectionately" gazing at each other...
Monty lowered his tail and head, and using the cover of darkness and tall grass, he circled around to the marula fruit tree and climbed it with lightning speed.
His sharp claws gripped the trunk firmly, leaving behind streaks of marks, and wood chips peeled off with his movements. The black long-tailed monkey on the tree sensed the danger and shrieked as it scrambled wildly on the branches.
Monty wasn't worried about misstepping or falling from the tree; this was his territory, and he was familiar with every inch of its land, every rock, and every tree!
After continuously dodging several attacks, the black long-tailed monkey was finally cornered, standing on the treetop almost despairingly, screaming loudly.
Monty pounced without hesitation and bit its neck. Everything was over.
Luo Qiao hadn't reacted yet when Monty came down from the tree with the black long-tailed monkey in his mouth. After a few steps, he placed the prey in front of Luo Qiao.
The black long-tailed monkey was severely injured and still breathing.
"Eat."
Huh?!
"You've been looking at him; didn't you want to eat him?"
Well, he did think that, but it was just a thought, and then it was suddenly put into practice by someone else.
Should he be glad that he finally had something to eat, or should he be envious, jealous, and resentful of Monty, who easily caught the monkey?
Monty saw that Luo Qiao was slow to react, turned his head, licked Luo Qiao's neck, and then licked Luo Qiao's ear.
"I didn't kill him. He's still fresh; you can eat with confidence. The cubs you brought can eat too."
Although Luo Qiao was a bit silly, he wasn't stupid. He noticed the change in Monty's attitude, wiggled his ears in confusion, and looked at Monty.
"Why are you suddenly so good to me?" Although Monty had taken care of him before, he had never mentioned Luo Sen and Luo Rui!
Monty saw Luo Qiao's confusion, licked Luo Qiao's ear again, changed form, held Luo Qiao entirely in his arms, buried his face in Luo Qiao's nape, opened his mouth, bit him, and his voice flowed between his lips and teeth.
"You're very good. I'll be good to you, very, very good..."
Luo Qiao was almost tied up in Monty's arms. He pondered Monty's words and attitude and vaguely got the answer:
This guy misunderstood him as self-sacrificing, a hero saving a beauty, didn't he?
Should he explain to Monty? After all, deceiving someone's pure heart like this made Luo Qiao feel uneasy. But how should he explain? Should he say, "Beauty, although I like you, I was actually forced at the time. I originally wanted to take a detour and run away?"
If he said that, would Monty just bite him to death?
However, he was already biting now... Ugh, it hurt! Also, where were his claws touching?! The children were still here, hey!
Luo Qiao struggled a bit, but it was ineffective. Monty held him with one hand and grabbed the fur on the back of his neck with the other, forcing him to look up and kissing him directly on the mouth.
Effortlessly, a mouthful of fur.
Monty left Luo Qiao's mouth, spat out the fur in his mouth, and pinched Luo Qiao's ear, "Change back."
"...That..." Luo Qiao wanted to say something, but being stared at by Monty's light golden eyes, he was still very spineless and compromised.
Monty was satisfied, lowered his head, and muffled his mouth.
Luo Sen and Luo Rui, who had been ignored from the start, looked at each other and chose to likewise ignore their father and the leopard who were currently kissing. The two small cheetahs walked over to the black long-tailed monkey. This monkey, who had mocked them during the day, was now barely breathing.
"Brother," Luo Rui swallowed his saliva as he asked Luo Sen for his opinion, "That leopard just said this is for us, right?"
Luo Sen poked the prey with his paw, then looked up at the leopard. The other party was currently busy kissing their dad. Seeing him and his brother approach the prey, he didn't object.
"Mm, we should be able to eat."
"Great!" Luo Rui cheered, then ran over and hugged Luo Qiao's calf, "Dad, let's eat!"
Luo Qiao, who was busy expanding his lung capacity, instantly sobered up, pulled Monty's hair hard, and finally pushed him away a little.
"My son wants to eat!"
Monty looked down at Luo Rui, who was hugging Luo Qiao's calf, then looked at Luo Sen, who ran over nervously. He bent down and picked up Luo Rui by the nape of his neck, held Luo Qiao with one arm, and directly threw both father and son next to the black long-tailed monkey.
"Eat. I'll go hunt. Stay here and don't run around after you've eaten."
With that, he transformed back into a leopard and disappeared into the darkness.
Luo Qiao looked in the direction Monty disappeared, then looked at the prey and his sons. Finally, the desire to fill his stomach won out.
"Never mind, let's eat."
The two small cheetahs tore at the prey while whispering, "Did you intentionally hug Dad's leg just now?"
"Yeah!"
"Aren't you afraid the leopard will bite you?"
"It's okay with Dad here," Luo Rui said as he licked the blood from his mouth, "He's fighting with us for Dad; I hate him! But Dad likes him, hmph!"
Luo Sen tilted his head, looking at Luo Rui, who seemed so certain. Okay, he chose to believe his brother. He also hated that guy! Very much!
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Chapter 77