CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 55 PEST DISASTER_2

"Dead people?" Si Yan looked at the open mountain caves, which were unable to defend against the locust attack.

She had a fairly good understanding now. Caves without doors meant the pests could pour in, unstoppable.

"Seven days, that should be enough," Si Yan said. "Can you take me to see the City Lord?"

"Let’s go, quickly."

Ming Yan evidently already knew about the locusts; he was waiting for Si Yan when she arrived.

In Black Tiger City, Ming Yan held a prestigious status. He sat in his seat with such authority that he inspired fear.

During their last encounter, Si Yan had only glanced at him briefly, intimidated by powerful beings.

This time, she gathered her courage and took a longer look at him.

With two diagonal scars slashing across his face, he looked fearsome and fierce—he would surely be considered an ugly male in the Beast World.

But Si Yan, possessing modern aesthetics, obviously had a more diversified appreciation of beauty.

The male before her was noble and commanding. Beneath the scars, his features were exceptionally handsome, and the scars themselves added a rare masculine charm.

It was a different kind of rugged, mature handsomeness.

"Do you have a solution?" the male’s gaze bore into her.

Si Yan flashed a smile, her youthful spirit shining through. "I have a solution, but I also have conditions."

The scar-faced male’s expression visibly soured when he heard the word ’conditions’, and the atmosphere tensed. "You want to negotiate terms with me?"

Si Yan added with a smile, "They aren’t difficult conditions."

The tall male cat stared at her, his gaze stern and cool, his lips parting slightly. "Speak."

Knowing she had to face him, and having dealt with life-and-death situations before, Si Yan still felt nervous facing this imposing, fierce male.

It was the oppressive force unique to domineering males.

Si Yan took a moment to calm her racing heart and said, "The first condition is what I mentioned before: safely escort us to Dark Sun Lake."

The male’s large hand caressed the stone armrest. "Agreed."

Seeing his agreement, Si Yan continued, "The second condition is, don’t have anyone surveil us."

"Surveillance?" The old Beastman, Hu Yong, standing aside, seemed puzzled. He quickly explained, "Oh, you mean Hu Li? I asked him to protect you. You defeated him yesterday, so he’s quite fond of you. He volunteered to guard you and the little cubs."

Fondness? Could those eyes, which looked like they wanted to stare her to death, really show fondness?

Si Yan didn’t respond, but kept her gaze fixed on Ming Yan.

"Anything else?" the robust male asked in his magnetic voice.

Feeling overwhelmed by his presence, Si Yan shook her head. "No, that’s all."

Ming Yan’s eyes were dark and fathomless, as deep as the universe. He fixated on her. "I can agree to this."

He stood up. The handsome, tall, and powerful male slowly moved to her side, tilting his head slightly, his strong, masculine face turned towards Si Yan.

Si Yan felt the pressure intensify.

"Tell me your solution."

Si Yan, battling the male’s intimidation, asked, "How did you deal with pest invasions in the past?"

Ming Yan eyed her, his voice cold. "We blocked the caves with our bodies."

Si Yan, puzzled, inquired, "I’ve also noticed that none of your caves have doors. Why not build them?"

"Doors?" Ming Yan asked. "What are doors?"

Si Yan was slightly surprised. Then, she picked up a stick and started drawing on the ground. "A door is something like this. We can put a bolt here, and a hinge here, to create a door. Doors can stop locusts from entering the caves."

"Usually, wooden doors are more useful. But I recommend stone doors. They are much sturdier. Remember to leave air holes—we need to breathe."

The large black cat male pondered for a moment and then nodded in agreement.

After Si Yan clearly explained the concept of doors, she stood up with a smile and said, "Making doors is the first step. The second step is to catch birds."

"Birds?" Hu Yong exclaimed, clearly not having considered this. "Why catch birds?"

As Si Yan drew casually, she explained, "Birds feed on insects. We can catch some of the forest’s creatures, like the Coo-Coo Beasts and Caw-Caw Beasts, and various other birds. We’ll keep them enclosed and starve them for a few days, but not to death. When the locusts attack, we let them eat the locusts."

With her stick, Si Yan pointed to her drawing of the birds. "That’s how the food chain works."

"Food chain?" Hu Yong chewed over Si Yan’s words, feeling that whenever she spoke, it was remarkable.

These were all very advanced concepts. Food chain, birds, doors...

Ming Yan was no foolish male. On the contrary, he had come from White Tiger City, pioneered a new city, and attracted so many Beastmen to follow him. This proved his wisdom and vision.

The male quickly grasped the series of strategies Si Yan proposed, and upon understanding them, he was internally shaken.

Then, Ming Yan looked at Si Yan several more times.

The slender male cub, of an unidentifiable Beastman species, appeared physically weak yet could devise ideas beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Interesting.

Si Yan continued thoughtfully, "There’s also a third step..."

The third step was to use fire. But then she remembered the Yanxiang Tribe’s reaction when she’d shown them she could use fire. Beastmen feared fire; they revered it. If the Beastmen of Black Tiger City learned she planned to use fire, it probably wouldn’t be good. Yet, the first and second steps should be sufficient. Using fire near the forest wasn’t safe, as burning locusts might set the entire forest ablaze.

"There is no third step," Si Yan corrected herself hastily.

The male’s probing eyes remained fixed on Si Yan.

His gaze made Si Yan somewhat uneasy.

However, just then, a commotion broke the deadlock.

The young Tiger Beastman, Hu Que, accompanied by a small, snow-white female fox Beastman, came rushing over.

And just with that glance, that one look... Si Yan didn’t understand why, but her heart naturally linked this little white female fox, who seemed no older than about ten, with an extremely important character from the original story. She was the orphan living in Black Tiger City, the one who, in the original story, used Bei Ji to kill him and then took more than a dozen Beast Husbands—the original story’s female protagonist... the White Fox female, Jie Ling.