4: Chapter 4 Groundhog Explosion

The building's alarm blared.

A strong, pungent smell wafted up from downstairs.

Tang Ruan glanced down; she couldn't see anything, but she was certain something had exploded in the building.

She was just about to run down.

Her phone rang.

“Guest, this is the hotel front desk.”

“The kitchen of the restaurant on the sixth floor exploded. Please do not come out.”

“The fire department has already been notified.”

“Whatever you do, do not take the elevator!”

Tang Ruan's company was on the eighth floor. Once, unable to get on the elevator, she had taken the stairs down and seen that restaurant.

The fire escape was piled high with old cardboard boxes.

Tang Ruan hung up the phone, but she was still a bit nervous.

Even though the fire department would be there soon...

Fire spreads very quickly...

Suddenly, she thought—

Her boss seemed to still be on the eighth floor.

After Tang Ruan's boss got divorced, he had partitioned off a room in the office and moved in with his son.

His four-year-old son, Doudou, played in the office every day.

The little guy was very cute; sometimes when he had something tasty, he would take the initiative to share it with them.

It could be said that over the past year, Tang Ruan had watched Doudou grow up.

But with such a loud commotion, the boss should have heard it, right?

After thinking about it, Tang Ruan still didn't feel at ease.

She gave her boss a call.

Even if he wouldn't give her triple overtime pay, he didn't deserve to die!

The call was quickly connected.

“Xiao Tang, is something the matter?”

“Boss, where are you?”

Tang Ruan heard the sounds of cats and dogs on the other end; she guessed he had gone out after work again to talk about a partnership with a pet store.

“Discussing business. Is something up?”

“Where is Doudou?”

“My son?” the boss asked, puzzled.

“The restaurant downstairs exploded.”

There was a second of silence on the other end of the line.

It was as if he had only just understood her words.

“Holy sh*t!”

The boss cursed.

The sound of tables and chairs being overturned came through the phone.

“How did you know?”

“I'm staying at the hotel above our office today.”

“Xiao... Xiao Tang, the key to the company's front door is on top of the fire hydrant by the entrance... Could you please...”

The boss was so nervous he was incoherent; perhaps he felt this request was a bit too much.

“I'm heading over right now.”

Doudou was innocent, and she quite liked the child.

Tang Ruan ran down the fire escape from the top floor to the eighth floor.

The eighth floor was already like a furnace, steaming with the heat rising from the sixth floor.

She successfully found the key on the fire hydrant.

She opened the door.

Doudou was huddled against the door, crying his heart out.

Tang Ruan picked him up, preparing to return the way she came.

“Bang!”

A loud boom rang out.

The path she had just walked was instantly swallowed by fire.

Tang Ruan could only run toward the other end of the corridor.

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

At that moment, her phone rang.

But Tang Ruan didn't have time to listen.

She carried Doudou to the end of the corridor, where a window was open.

If the fire department had arrived, they could be saved.

But the fire department hadn't arrived yet.

In the panic, her phone fell to the ground.

The boss's frantic cries came through: “Tang Ruan, you must save Doudou. I'll give you triple your salary.”

“No! I'll give you the whole company, I'll give you a million!”

“You must save him!”

“I've found Doudou, but we're trapped!” Tang Ruan shouted.

Looking down, the boss had already appeared below the building.

He wanted to rush up, but the fire department happened to arrive as well and held him back.

The firefighters spotted Tang Ruan and quickly began inflating the rescue cushion.

Tang Ruan stepped one leg out the window, waiting only for the cushion to fill so she could jump.

Suddenly, another loud boom rang out.

A massive heat wave blasted her and Doudou straight out the window.

Tang Ruan instinctively pulled Doudou into her embrace.

She thought: She couldn't be this unlucky, could she...

Surely she wouldn't fall before the rescue cushion was fully inflated...

“Ah!”

...

---

Three years later.

Dongdong Valley, by the Creek.

“Tang Ruan! Tang Ruan, are you okay?”

Tang Ruan was flipped over on the ground by someone.

She raised her hand and haphazardly wiped away the black mud smeared on her face.

She met a pair of round little eyes.

“Tudou...”

“Yes! It's me.”

The chubby, dark-skinned girl with small eyes put her hands on her hips.

“There are wild beasts all over that Creek. Why did you run to such a dangerous place again?”

Tang Ruan sat up. “The chickens I'm raising disappeared; they seem to have ducked into the forest again.”

“Forget those suicidal chickens!”

“Do you remember what day it is today?”

“The Coming-of-age Ceremony?”

Tang Ruan asked, knowing the answer.

“Yes! Today is the Coming-of-age Ceremony. Are you making yourself look like this because you're afraid someone will take you as their Mistress?”

Tang Ruan slowly climbed up from the ground, grinning with a flash of white teeth.

Actually, that was—exactly her intention.

After Tang Ruan fell from the office building three years ago, she had completely transmigrated into the Beast World.

When she woke up, she was hunted by a One-eyed Wolf.

While fleeing, she fell into the Creek in Dongdong Valley and was rescued by one of the Beast Husbands of Tudou's mother.

Because its entrance was hidden, Dongdong Valley was far removed from the conflicts of the Beast World.

It had become a paradise for the Marmot Beastmen in the Beast World.

“Hurry up and wash yourself.”

Tudou had just finished speaking.

The sound of the Coming-of-age Ceremony starting came from the distance.

“No time! Hongshu is coming today too!”

“I'm heading over first; you come as soon as you're washed!”

Hongshu was a Male Beastman Tudou had her eye on.

He was dark-skinned, short, and stocky, which perfectly fit the Marmot Tribe's aesthetic.

As for Tang Ruan's fair and thin type, it was a sign of poor health to them.

In any case, she was just there to make up the numbers.

Covered in volcanic mud, Tang Ruan stood next to Tudou.

She could serve as a perfect foil for her best friend's beauty.

Tudou was so annoyed by her that... her small eyes almost rolled out of her head.

In reality, the Coming-of-age Ceremony wasn't some husband-selection ritual.

But beastmen who shared mutual feelings would take this opportunity to be together.

When Tang Ruan first fell here, considering her own safety, she lied and said she was fifteen.

As for anything else, she didn't remember.

Anyway, the lifespan of a beastman was around three hundred years, and their appearance wouldn't change much for a long time.

Furthermore, after she transmigrated, she did indeed look slightly younger than before.

Tudou's mother was the Chief of the Marmot Tribe.

She placed the Red Fruit, symbolizing maturity, on Tudou's head.

When it was Tang Ruan's turn, she gave her a slight smile.

She was a gentle-looking female beast who had taken great care of Tang Ruan over the years.

Tang Ruan also felt a long-lost maternal love from her.

“Mother! Mother!”

Tudou quietly tugged at her mother's skirt.

After receiving a white-eyed glare in return.

She asked impatiently, “Why haven't I seen Hongshu?”

“Hongshu is on sentry duty today; he'll be here soon.”

When Marmot Beastmen were on sentry duty, they would transform into their Beast Form and stand on a large rock to look around.

It was exactly like that meme that had been so popular before.

Even though Tang Ruan knew the sound they made wasn't actually “AHHHHH!!!!”—the marmot scream.

Every time she thought about it, she still couldn't help but provide the sound effect in her head.

Tang Ruan was right in the middle of her vivid imagination.

Suddenly, a massive object flew overhead.

Immediately after, a soaking wet marmot was tossed onto the ground.