When Fannie heard this, she immediately blinked her big watery eyes and said sweetly: "Sister Batuya, you are so kind! Don't worry, when the leader returns from his patrol, I'll tell him that Sister Batuya likes him. You are so outstanding, I'm sure the leader will like you too!"
Batuya had always been proud and relied on her own strength to fight for what she wanted.
Besides, she really was outstanding!
Her body was perfect for raising children. As long as this stray didn't get in the way, she was certain she would become the leader's mate!
"I'm so beautiful and excellent. Even without your help, the leader will definitely fall in love with me!" Batuya said with great confidence.
Before leaving, she glared at Fannie with hatred and warned: "If I ever find out that you're two-faced, pretending on the surface but betraying me behind my back, don't blame me for being ruthless. You'll regret it!"
Fannie quickly shook her head. "No, no, I won't!"
"You'd better not!" Batuya snapped.
When Batuya left, her mood was clearly different, full of energy and pride.
Fannie didn't receive any points from the system yet.
That only meant she hadn't succeeded in the mission.
Batuya no longer attacked her, but she hadn't accepted her as a friend either.
When Batuya's figure finally disappeared from sight, Saning frowned and asked softly: "Madam, were you serious just now? Do you really want to share the leader with Miss Batuya? Was that your true intention?"
Fannie helplessly shrugged and sighed: "If I didn't say that, would Miss Batuya have let me off so easily?"
But there was one thing Batuya said that Fannie actually agreed with.
Alessio's stamina was too strong. If no other female shared the burden, how was she supposed to survive in the future?
Even though Alessio was very handsome, they weren't the same kind.
She came here to earn points, not to fall in love with Alessio.
No matter how many mates he had, it wouldn't affect her.
No one and nothing could shake her determination to return to Blue Star!
Saning's face was full of worry. "Miss Batuya is famous for being hard to deal with. If she finds out you're lying to her, she will never let you go!"
Compared to Saning's fear, Fannie was calm. She wasn't worried at all about Batuya causing trouble.
Whether Batuya became Alessio's mate or not was entirely his own decision. What did it have to do with her?
She wouldn't interfere or give any opinions.
And if Batuya wanted her help, she would gladly support her. She was already helping Batuya so much, how could Batuya still have the heart to make trouble for her?
"I didn't lie to her," Fannie said, her lips curving into a light smile, showing no trace of jealousy or bitterness.
She walked slowly and said softly: "As the tribe's leader, Alessio has the right to choose whomever he likes. He may like me today, but tomorrow he could fall for another female. Since I can't change that, why not just go with the flow? Why make enemies for no reason?"
If Batuya turned into a big leopard, she could slap her to death with one paw!
A two-legged beast's life was still a life!
As they walked, Fannie bumped Saning lightly with her shoulder and lowered her voice curiously: "Do you like Alessio? If you do, I can help match you two. If you become Alessio's mate, no beastman would ever dare to look down on you again!"
Hearing this, Saning's heart immediately began to beat much faster.
Handsome, strong males—what female wouldn't feel drawn to one?
Especially when he was also her lifesaver.
But Saning knew clearly she could see the deep feelings the lord had for his wife. She would never try to steal his love or cause him trouble.
For her, just being able to stay in this tribe and have a safe place to live was already enough.
"I don't like him."
Saning forced herself to hide her true feelings and said something opposite to her heart, firm and decisive.
Every beast had their own goals and ambitions.
Hearing Saning say this, Fannie had no doubts. Then, as if remembering something important, she asked, "You don't like Miliano, do you?"
Saning quickly shook her head, so fast it was like a wildly shaking rattle.
Seeing this, Fannie finally relaxed but still warned seriously, "You can like whoever, but never like Miliano. He's not a good leopard!"
Then Fannie asked, "Is it true that Miliano's left eye can't see?"
Saning nodded slightly. "Yes."
Fannie became curious and asked, "What happened?"
Saning didn't know the full story about Miliano's blind eye. "I heard Master Miliano was seriously injured as a child, but I don't know the details."
Fannie said, "A one-eyed beast..."
Saning was shocked. She quickly covered Fannie's mouth and nervously looked around to make sure no other beasts were listening before letting out a sigh and whispering, "Lady, be careful what you say."
Fannie pushed her hand away, confused. "What's wrong?"
Saning hurried to explain: "Lady, you don't know. Master Miliano hates hearing those three words. Once, a seventh-rank beast deliberately provoked him by saying those words. Miliano immediately cut him open and ate him alive!"
"Eaten alive?" Fannie was shocked.
"Yes." Saning nodded. "I didn't see it myself, but everyone in the tribe knows. If you don't believe me, you can ask the lord yourself."
"I believe you, I believe you!"
Fannie nodded repeatedly. Thinking about how Miliano had just come back and was already targeting her, she was sure he could really do something like that.
It was good that Saning told her. Otherwise, if one day she argued with Miliano and accidentally crossed him, she might be the next one.
Feeling tired, Fannie suggested visiting Saning's place.
Saning lived in a small, simple cave.
Inside, there was a stone bed for one, a small stone table with two stone stools, and some storage baskets made of vines.
The baskets had some slightly old fruit and dried meat.
The meat wasn't roasted but had been dried in the sun, so it was already cooked.
Fannie had only eaten one fruit today. After walking for so long, her stomach growled at the sight of the dried meat, so she shyly asked Saning for a piece.
The meat was hard, and just that small piece could keep Fannie chewing for a day. She looked at Saning with concern. "You eat this every day?"
Just like the "stray beast" brought back by Alessio, Saning wasn't as lucky as Fannie.
Slim Saning didn't attract the attention of the males in the tribe, and no one wanted to pair with her. Not only that, even the females in the tribe treated her coldly, often excluding or mocking her.
Although Alessio had told Saning she could get food every day, in reality it was very difficult. She often faced obstacles and sometimes could only get a portion of food after several days.
To avoid starving, Saning would dry some of the food after getting it to store for later. She did the same with fruits, even if they were starting to rot, because only this way could she survive.
When Fannie gave her a caring look, Saning just smiled lightly and explained, "I can get fresh food every day. Because I eat little, there's always some left. It's a waste to throw it away, so I thought I'd dry it."
At that moment, Saning looked calm, showing no sign of lying.
Fannie didn't doubt her.
Seeing Fannie struggling to chew the dried meat in her hand, Saning frowned slightly. Dried meat was just an emergency choice to fill the stomach. If there were enough fresh food, no one would choose to eat dry meat.
The lady leaves fresh deer meat untouched but eats hard dried meat. What's wrong with her?
"Lady, the dried meat is too hard. If you're hungry, why not go back and eat fresh deer meat?"
"I'm not hungry, I'm not hungry."
Hearing about eating raw meat, Fannie felt an indescribable resistance and quickly waved her hand. "I'm just curious how dried meat tastes. I'm not hungry, not hungry at all."
Saying that, Fannie put down the dried meat in her hand.
After visiting Saning's place, Fannie lingered, reluctant to leave. She even asked Saning if there were fun places nearby in the tribe and wanted Saning to take her around.
After being abandoned by her tribe, Saning had gone through a dark, terrifying, and hopeless life on the run.
She personally knew how dangerous the outside world was—full of violent stray beasts. Being caught by them usually meant a terrible end.
"Lady, it's dangerous outside. You shouldn't go out."
"Dangerous?"
"Yes!"
Saning nodded heavily, her expression serious. "There are many stray beasts outside. They are extremely violent. If they catch you, the results could be terrible!"
Fannie didn't understand. "The tribe's land covers hundreds of miles. If stray beasts do bad things in the tribe's territory, aren't they afraid of being caught and judged?"
Saning explained, "These stray beasts never stay in one place. Catching them isn't easy. The lord personally patrols every day to prevent them from entering the tribe and causing trouble. If you really want to go out, it's best to wait for the lord to return and go with him. That way, if danger comes, the lord can protect you."
Hearing this, Fannie gained a deeper understanding of Alessio.
The lord of the tribe personally patrolling his land with such care—it's no wonder this powerful leopard leader can handle his position. Truly admirable!
At that moment, she suddenly remembered the disgusting dead rats she saw yesterday and couldn't help asking, "Do you know about the rat-headed beasts?"
Saning replied softly, "Yes… of course I know. That kind of clan is truly disgusting and hateful."
Her face showed clear disgust.
"These vile rat beasts, in order to breed stronger and higher-level offspring, crazily capture females of other beast tribes. They try to use cross-species mating to alter their own genes!"
"Fortunately, their vile deeds still didn't succeed in the end!"
Recalling this unbearable experience, Saning felt both fear and relief.
When she was abandoned by her tribe and on the run, she had once been chased and blocked by these rat beasts.
Even though she was outnumbered, no matter how small she was, her beast body was a fierce third-rank leopard!
Although she couldn't match the larger beast tribes in size, dealing with a group of weak and useless rat beasts was more than enough for her—easy and effortless.
In that thrilling battle, those arrogant rat beasts not only failed to gain anything from her, several of them even lost their lives under her sharp claws.
Seeing no advantage and no profit, the remaining rat beasts fled in panic, utterly embarrassed!
Although it was Fannie's first time in the beast continent, she was not unfamiliar with the word "rank," and it was easy to understand.
In any situation, higher ranks were far stronger than lower ranks, and the beast continent was no exception.
Among the tribe, only Alessio and Miliano could take human form; if Fannie hadn't seen Alessio's beast body before, she would have thought Alessio and Miliano were the same as her!
She might even have hugged them like fellow villagers, tears in her eyes!
This showed that the higher the rank of a beast, the more perfect their human form, the closer to human shape.
The lower the rank, the more obvious the beast features they retained.
Alessio could sit as the tribe lord, so his rank must be high!
Fannie looked at Saning's two leopard ears and asked curiously, "What rank are you?"
Saning held up three long, slender fingers.
Most beasts in the continent were third or fourth rank. Saning's disadvantage was her physique; if she were stronger, like Batuya, she would surely attract many males!
"Third rank?"
"Mm."
"And Alessio?"
"The lord's rank is seventh."
"And Miliano?"
"Miliano's rank is eighth."
"Eighth rank?"
Fannie was shocked!
She had thought Alessio was the strongest in the tribe, but Miliano's rank was even higher. If so, why wasn't Miliano the tribe lord?
Saning seemed to notice Fannie's confusion and explained, "Although the beast continent respects strength, Miliano doesn't care about the lord position, so Alessio became the lord."
"I see!" Fannie said.
Saning looked at Fannie's perfectly human-like form and felt puzzled.
On the beast continent, few beasts could achieve perfect human form, and even fewer female beasts could.
Even if their physique was weak, they could still contribute to the tribe by producing high-rank offspring. Why would the tribe abandon them?