Fox looked at Zoey, who had her eyes tightly closed. He couldn't wait to confess his feelings.
Because of his sharp nose and strong senses, he already knew she was awake.
"I don't care about my rank, and I don't care if you get pregnant or not. I just like you."
Even though Zoey didn't answer, Fox felt lucky and satisfied.
He thought heaven had blessed him, because this time he met a rare female in his tribe.
He didn't want to be like the other males who only used females to get them pregnant so they could level up. He just purely liked this white fox. Whether she got pregnant or not didn't matter to him.
Zoey was so tired she didn't even want to open her eyes. She lazily told him what the system had just detected,
"You're no longer at the middle level. Your talent hasn't changed, but because I'm pregnant, you're already a high-level fox, and you can transform anytime."
"What?"
Fox was shocked, his sunken eyes bulging.
She was already pregnant with his child?
He looked at Zoey with confusion. How could she get pregnant so quickly?
Normally, testing talent and rank had to be done by the tribe elders. But Zoey could tell him directly. That meant she wasn't just a high-level fox.
His father once said that when he was chosen, he never even saw the female fox's face. He stayed blindfolded for two days, and afterward the elder only told him that the female was already pregnant. Then he was told to come back later to pick up the child.
But now, he could not only see the female fox clearly, she could even tell him his talent and rank.
That made him luckier than his father, and luckier than all the other middle and high-level foxes in the tribe.
Thinking about this, Fox hugged Zoey tightly, unwilling to let go.
Zoey thought he didn't believe her words, so she added,
"If you don't believe me, try it yourself."
Fox immediately tried to transform. When he saw his changed form, he shouted,
"This is me?"
Zoey slowly opened her eyes, a little stunned.
The thin, small fox with sunken eyes and sharp mouth had transformed into a figure she never expected.
But she knew very well that a pretty face meant nothing. Looks were only for glancing at. She couldn't let her feelings get too deep. Her teammates were still waiting for her to revive.
His skin was smooth, even better than her own transformed body. Under his yellow-brown fur, his brown eyes shone brightly with a gentle look. His brown hair draped over his shoulders. And further down…
He was completely naked.
Zoey didn't have spare clothes. The rough cloth she wore was already needed for herself. She was about to go find some leaves for him, but then Fox suddenly turned back into his original form.
Zoey stared at the small fox in front of her. Of course, he wasn't really small. Not in any way. And that included his age.
Fox also stared at Zoey. Neither of them spoke, and the air felt awkward until Fox finally said in a low voice,
"I can't bear to leave you. I don't want to go."
Thinking about how he would soon have to leave made him sad. That was the rule of the beast world. After a female became pregnant, the male had to leave and couldn't stay with her.
Zoey guessed what he was thinking, so she explained. Since he was the first male she met here, she spoke to him a little more than usual.
"I'm not a female from your tribe, and I'm not from this beast world either. I came from outside. In the future, if you want to see me, you can. And besides, this child is yours, you have to take responsibility."
Even if she had to leave this place, she at least had to wait until the child was born.
After hearing this, Fuks sat on the side and silently cried.
Zoey checked again and again. The little fox was really male. She herself hadn't cried yet, but this 132-year-old fox was crying?
"In the tribe, low-ranked male foxes cannot mate with females. Only mid- and high-ranked males can. But most of them have never seen their real mothers in their whole lives, and even more, they've never seen the true face of a female."
After hearing Fuks's explanation, Zoey understood. Females were rare treasures, one only appearing every ten years or more, and they were always taken away by beast leaders to raise. Of course not just anyone could see them.
"Alright, alright, I'm already pregnant. I have to be careful with my emotions. You're a male, yet crying like this—what am I supposed to think?"
She was annoyed by his endless crying. Where was the strength of a male in that?
She remembered the upgrade gift pack the system gave her earlier. Inside was a Pregnancy Protection Pill. Obviously, that was meant for her.
"What's that?"
Fuks saw her swallow a purple pill, remembering the one she had given him earlier.
"Pregnancy Protection Pill. It makes sure I can give birth safely to a healthy baby."
"Sigh." Zoey thought about giving birth to a litter of foxes and sighed.
No matter what came out, the most important thing was to give birth safely.
Fuks thought she was hungry. He quickly wiped his tears and said, "I'll find you something to eat!" Without waiting for her reply, he ran out.
Left alone in the cave, Zoey asked the system: How long does a fox pregnancy last?
[A female fox will give birth naturally after two to three months. The system detects that the host still needs 67 days before giving birth.]
Fast compared to humans, but also slow—she had to stay here two or three months.
Could she not downgrade during this time? She was anxious to return to her world to revive her teammates.
[System friendly reminder: Anything is possible!]
Zoey was straightforward and hated vague answers.
"You stupid system, why are you hiding things from me?"
[System warning: Because the host insulted, the storage function will be delayed!]
"…" Storage function? There must be good things inside!
She wanted to curse loudly, but in the end, held it in.
Before long, Fuks came back. He had changed into human form, covering his main parts with a grass skirt. He also carried a straw mat from somewhere. He laid it over a big rock, and Zoey went over to lie on it.
Fuks carefully placed down some red berries, some greenish-yellow fruits, and then shook out a pile of ants from leaves.
"Ah!"
Zoey looked at the crawling ants and her skin broke out in goosebumps. She forgot that she was also a fox who could eat ants and all kinds of live things.
She screamed, jumped off the rock, and in doing so scared Fuks too.
"Careful!"
She had just gotten pregnant, what if she jumped and lost the baby? As he spoke, Fuks's eyes turned watery again.
Such a sentimental fox!
Zoey quickly realized what was happening. She pointed at the ants crawling around the leaves.
"I'm pregnant. I can't stand these little creatures. Get rid of them!"
Fox hurried to scoop up the ants, then directly swallowed them himself.
Remembering that scene, Zoey thought she should teach this fox how to cook food with fire. He might not need it, but she had to eat cooked food.
After eating, Fox turned back to her and pushed some sweet berries toward her.
"Eat this! These sweet berries only grow on this mountain. Try them!"
The old chief of his tribe once said that females especially loved these berries. Whenever the berries ripened, the high-ranked males would collect and save them, offering them to females later.
Zoey picked one up, looked at its bright red color, and tasted it. It was sweet and delicious. She ate a few more, and before she knew it, she had finished all of them.
Seeing her eat all the berries, Fox was happy. He decided he must collect more later.
"Next time, roast the meat with fire. That way, I can eat a lot too."
As soon as Zoey said that, Fox's face filled with panic. "Fire?"
"Yes!" She didn't understand why he was scared, so she quickly explained, "Start a fire and put raw meat over it to cook. I'll teach you later."
"No, no, no!" Fox refused immediately, looking terrified. Zoey was puzzled. Could roasting meat with fire be forbidden here?
"You don't know?" Fox stared at her in shock, as if she was some strange outsider, even though she was clearly his kind.
"What?" Zoey shook her head.
Still surprised, Fox explained, "Fire is a danger to us. Everyone in the tribe fears it. When lightning struck trees and caused fires, many of our kind died, even other species too. On this beast continent, fire is the most feared thing."
"To us, fire means death and fear…"
His eyes turned red as he spoke. Several of his uncles had died in that great fire.
Zoey fell silent. This was nothing like she had imagined. She didn't expect that males and females here would both be so afraid of fire.
"Actually, fire isn't as scary as you think. We should learn to control it and use it. If we control it, we can make it start or stop whenever we want, and then use it freely."
Fox looked at her in disbelief.
"You can use fire where you come from? You can control it?"
He knew she came from outside this beast continent, but he never thought something as terrifying as fire could be spoken of so casually.
"Of course! Where I come from, every male and female can control fire well. We use it not just for warmth, but also to cook all kinds of food. Cooked food tastes much better than raw, and it won't make you sick."
Fox was so amazed he forgot what he wanted to say. It wasn't that he didn't believe her. It was just hard to imagine.
"Later I'll teach you how to start a fire and roast meat and fish. I'll also tell you how to use fire safely. Then you'll be able to handle it too."
After saying this, Zoey burped, then lay down to rest. But suddenly, she felt something was wrong. Her whole body was burning hot, almost like she had a fever.
Lying on the grass mat made her feel even hotter. It wasn't as comfortable as lying on the rock earlier.
"Where are you going?"
Zoey was about to get off the grass mat to lie on the ground, but Fox quickly pulled her back.
Not only did he put her in the same spot again, but he also gently stroked the fur on her body.
What the heck! Even she never had the chance to touch this fluffy white fur herself…
"Huff… huff…"
She felt her breath like steam from a steamer. She moved aside, but his hand still didn't leave her.
"So hot! I'm dying from the heat!"
She moved further, her movements slowing, but Fox directly picked her up and held her in his arms. With a worried look, he asked,
"The weather isn't supposed to be this hot. How can you feel like this?"
He placed his hand on her forehead. Could it be because of pregnancy?
The coolness from his palm made Zoey unconsciously lean closer, finally feeling some relief.
Sensing her reaction, Fox just kept holding her, his hand still on her forehead. So, she liked being held by him.
But the burning sensation inside her grew stronger. Even her breathing became hard to control. Suddenly, she realized what was happening and asked him, trying to endure it,
"The red berries… what are they?"
"Sweet berries!" Fox answered honestly, still not noticing her unusual state.
Annoyed, she shouted, "I mean their effect!"
"Uh?"
Seeing her fur bristling, Fox froze, feeling wronged. He really didn't know the effect, only that the females in the tribe liked them.
"I also don't rea—"
Before he could finish, she cut him off.
"Change back now!"
Hearing her unsteady breathing, he suddenly understood something. He quickly returned to his original form. Before he could ask, Zoey pulled him onto the grass mat…
After struggling for a long while, the burning finally went away. Half-asleep, she drifted off.
When she woke up, she heard the system's voice:
[System detected: pregnancy time shortened by 15 days. Please prepare in advance.]
[Reward: 5 Primary Fetal-Nurturing Pills. Can be taken anytime depending on host's condition.]
[Effect: No hunger, no thirst, no fatigue. Mother's energy boosted, baby develops quickly!]
67 - 15, that left 52 days.
So eating those red sweet berries shortened pregnancy. But the physical reaction was hard for her to accept.
Thinking of what just happened with the fox beside her, every image replayed clearly in her head.
Her shame rose again. She cursed in her heart:
Damn it! I'm not some character out of a French novel! Even if the system rushes me, there has to be a limit!
She had to be more careful with those berries. Yes, they could shorten pregnancy, but she couldn't eat them often. Her body and her mind couldn't take it…