Chapter 3: The First Night Spending Time with the Fluff

Liang He gently scratched the nose of the Ink-Gold King Tiger. Her doting and amused tone managed to calm him down once more, though his gaze remained hostile as he stared at Xu Yi.

"Roar!"

*Don't come near!*

"Alright, alright, alright, I won't come near you."

Xu Yi raised his hands in surrender, then turned to Liang He with a helpless look, pleading for assistance.

"Could you please take him into the treatment room? He'll need to stand on the scanner."

The specialized medical scanner could check Cedril's injuries with a single click; it was the most efficient and accurate method, provided Cedril was willing to cooperate.

"I'll try."

Liang He didn't give an immediate promise; instead, she attempted to guide Cedril toward the room.

Cedril, who had been highly resistant, saw her walk in first. Seeing that Xu Yi was still standing outside the door—and since Cedril had no desire to share a room with him—the great beast immediately followed Liang He on his four massive paws.

Having been thoroughly rejected once again, Xu Yi let out a helpless sigh. He was doomed; he had been blacklisted.

It was fine for now, but he feared that once Cedril regained his memories, if he was still on that blacklist, things would be truly disastrous!

"Awoo!"

As soon as Cedril entered the treatment room, he swung his massive tail around to patrol the area. After confirming it was safe, he gave Xu Yi a cold glance through the door before walking toward Liang He.

"Wow, Cedril, you're so good! You even know how to stand on the scanner by yourself!"

Following Xu Yi's instructions, Liang He walked to the scanner's control console. She had originally intended to coax him onto it slowly, but unexpectedly, Cedril jumped onto the scanner on his own just to see what she was doing.

In the central control room, Huo An and the others, who had been observing Service Area No. 7, remained silent.

Fine. Everyone knew the Marshal was a hypocrite; what exactly were they still expecting?

Just moments ago, they had been on edge while Cedril was hunting Xu Yi, yet in the blink of an eye, they saw Liang He embrace him, and he actually abandoned the hunt.

One had to realize that this went against the very nature of a predator!

"Cedril, I'm going to start the scan now. Stay still and be a good boy."

Taking advantage of the momentum—or rather, striking while the iron was hot—Liang He immediately began scanning Cedril's injuries.

With Liang He acting as bait, Cedril was indeed well-behaved and completed the scan obediently.

Watching this scene, the people in the control room wiped away bitter tears. *Marshal, you can't be like this! Your double standards have no bottom line!*

"Huh? Why do you have so many old injuries?"

Looking at the scan results, Liang He couldn't help but frown. Unexpectedly, aside from the few new wounds from today, Cedril actually had even more old injuries.

Seeing that Xu Yi didn't dare enter the room, Liang He simply took the results to the doorway, wanting to ask Cedril why he had so many old wounds.

"Those injuries were all left from Cedril's previous battles. He doesn't cooperate with treatment, so old injuries are compounded by new ones in a continuous cycle. There's nothing I can do."

As an SSS-class beastman, combat was a mission etched into their very bones; just as Cedril would immediately hunt the moment he caught the scent of a ferocious beast.

"He really needs proper treatment."

Liang He pondered, appearing to have made up her mind.

"Dr. Xu, please formulate a treatment plan, and I will help you implement it. During this period, I will stay by Cedril's side constantly."

Liang He was a keeper, not a veterinarian; expertise was specialized, so she could only assist Xu Yi.

Xu Yi had originally intended to use her help as an opportunity to treat Cedril, so since she brought it up herself, he naturally wouldn't object.

"No problem. I'll have to trouble you then."

The two reached an agreement instantly. Inside the room, Cedril kept a close eye on Liang He; seeing that she hadn't come in yet, he began to grow restless again.

"Roar!"

Cedril walked leisurely to Liang He's side, rubbing his massive head against her neck in a constant display of affection, yet his golden vertical pupils flashed with a dangerous light as he glared unpleasantly at Xu Yi.

"Ahem, it's getting late. I'll head back to prepare tomorrow's medicine. Get some rest!"

Sensing the danger, Xu Yi immediately bolted. As soon as he left, the atmosphere instantly returned to harmony.

"Why did Dr. Xu run off so fast?"

Liang He tilted her head, leaning against Cedril's large head and gently stroking his ears, looking puzzled at Xu Yi's rapidly disappearing figure.

Feeling his ears being tickled, Cedril reached out a paw to press down her mischievous hand, then retreated into the room, shaking his head incessantly.

"Pah, pah, pah."

Having a mouthful of fur, Liang He wiped her face in exasperation. When she looked at her hand, it was covered in hair.

"Is it time for you to groom yourself?"

Shedding this heavily was not okay!

Acting on impulse, Liang He went to fetch a basin of water and a new towel. She sat cross-legged beside Cedril and began wiping the dirt and blood from his body.

Fortunately, the Ink-Gold King Tiger naturally liked water and, as a "big cat," he also valued cleanliness, so he was very cooperative.

It wasn't until Liang He had changed three basins of water that he was completely clean, at which point she began to comb through his fur.

"You have way too much undercoat. Didn't the previous keepers help you groom?"

The criticized keepers: *Is it that we don't want to groom the Marshal? It's clearly that the Marshal won't let us touch him!*

"Awoo..."

Cedril lay down comfortably, exposing his belly to make it easier for Liang He to comb the fur there.

He stretched lazily, his paws splayed out, and his fluffy large tail swayed back and forth, making Liang He find him so cute that she kissed his forehead several times.

Once all the fur was combed, Liang He was exhausted. The human and the tiger both lay down directly in the treatment room and fell into a deep sleep.

"She just fell asleep like that?"

In the control room, the staff looked at each other in speechless silence as they watched Liang He using the tiger's belly as a pillow.

Huo An, however, frowned deeply upon seeing the petite and fragile Blue Star human sleeping without even a blanket.

"Remember to send more supplies to Liang He tomorrow. Also, install a bed in the treatment room for her, along with blankets and pillows."

From now on, as long as Cedril was in his evolutionary period, Liang He would be a key protected person. With her there, the probability of Cedril safely passing through his evolution was very high.

Clearly, the others had thought of this as well, and they all treated the matter with utmost seriousness.

"Understood."

To be honest, the floor was a bit hard. When she woke up, Liang He felt a sore back and aching waist, taking quite a while to recover.

The Ink-Gold King Tiger, who had woken up long ago and had been feigning sleep, immediately got up when he saw her rise. He lowered his body, stretched, and then walked toward the door.

"Roar!"

Fearing a chill last night, Liang He had closed the door. The people in the control room had been nervous for a while after seeing this; after all, ferocious beasts generally reject captivity, and closing the door was a dangerous move.

However, when Cedril saw Liang He close the door, he merely lazily lifted his eyelids and showed no reaction at all.

When Liang He lay back down on his belly, he even shifted into an even more comfortable position, leaving them utterly speechless.

Silence reigned in the control room tonight.

"I know, I'm opening it now."

Liang He tied her hair into a ponytail that swayed in the air and walked quickly toward the door. The moment she opened it, Cedril vanished without a trace.

*I love fluffy things so much! There will be even more fluffy things in the future. Keep going!*

(End of Chapter)