Xin Yi woke up in a cold sweat.
Six days.
She had just six days before the Mating Heat Festival.
Six days before three Alphas—THREE—simultaneously went into aggressive mating mode.
Six days before everything exploded into chaos.
"What do I do?!" she whispered frantically to herself, pacing back and forth in her palace. "What do I DO?!"
[Calm down, Host! ☆]
"CALM DOWN?! System, did you NOT just tell me that in less than a week, I'm going to have three beastmen in HEAT fighting over me?!"
[Technically, yes! But look on the bright side—]
"There IS no bright side!"
[—you have SIX WHOLE DAYS to prepare! That's like... 144 hours! So much time! (◕‿◕)]
"That's NOT comforting!"
[Anyway! Stop panicking and focus on today's quest! Remember? IRRIGATION SYSTEM! ♪]
Xin Yi took a deep breath. Right. Irrigation. Water channels. Agriculture.
Normal things.
Not thinking about the impending disaster.
Definitely not thinking about it.
[First, Host needs to learn how it works! Pay attention!]
Suddenly, information flooded her brain. Images. Diagrams. Knowledge about water flow, gradient calculations, channel construction, soil drainage...
"Ow ow ow!" Xin Yi clutched her head. "That's too much information at once!"
[Sorry! Here, let me slow it down...]
The System walked her through it step by step. How to map the terrain. How to identify water sources. How to dig channels that would carry water to different areas without flooding. How to create simple gates to control flow.
It was actually pretty straightforward once she understood the basics.
"Okay," Xin Yi said, feeling more confident. "I can do this."
**[That's the spirit! Now go teach those primitive beastmen about AGRICULTURE! (*°▽°*)]
~
An hour later, both clans were gathered in the clearing, looking at Xin Yi with varying degrees of confusion.
"So," Hei Yan said slowly, his purple eyes narrowed. "You want us to.….dig ditches?"
"Not ditches! Channels!" Xin Yi gestured excitedly. "For water! See, right now you only hunt for food, right?"
"Yes?" several beastmen answered.
"But what if you could GROW food? Plant seeds, water them, and have food that just.…..keeps producing?"
Dead silence.
Then one of the younger Panthers raised his hand. "What is.….plant?"
Xin Yi blinked. "You... you don't know what plants are?"
"We know trees," a Tiger female offered helpfully. "And grass."
"Do you eat grass?" another asked, genuinely curious.
"NO! Not grass! I mean—" Xin Yi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay. Let me explain from the beginning."
She spent the next hour teaching them about seeds, crops, farming, and why having a stable food source was better than relying solely on hunting.
"So you're saying," Feng Huang said, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, "we do all this work.….and then we wait for food to grow?"
"Yes!"
"Why not just hunt?"
"Because hunted food runs out! But farmed food keeps coming back!"
Hei Yan tilted his head. "Hmm. This is... smart."
"Thank you!"
"But also sounds like a lot of work."
"IT IS! But it's WORTH IT!"
Feng Huang's golden eyes gleamed. "If we do this work.…will you reward us?"
Xin Yi's face heated. "The reward is FOOD!"
"Hmm. I was hoping for a different kind of reward." He smirked. Hei Yan glared at him.
"FENG HUANG!"
"What? I'm just saying—"
"NO! We're building irrigation channels! That's it! Now HELP ME!"
The work began.
Xin Yi directed them to dig channels from the nearby stream, creating a network that would distribute water across the clearing where they would plant crops.
And of course, it immediately became a competition.
"Panthers! Dig faster!" Hei Yan barked.
"Tigers! Show them how it's done!" Feng Huang countered.
"My channel is straighter!"
"Mine is deeper!"
"Depth doesn't matter if the angle is wrong!"
"YOUR FACE IS WRONG!"
Xin Yi sighed. Boys.
She noticed Feng Huang had somehow ended up waist-deep in water, his red hair slicked back, muscles rippling as he lifted heavy stones.
And he knew she was watching.
He caught her eye and winked at her. Xin Yi quickly looked away, her face burning.
On the other side, Hei Yan was lifting an absolutely massive boulder, one that probably required three beastmen to move, all by himself. Veins stood out on his arms, and his face was set in concentration.
He positioned the boulder precisely where she had indicated, then looked at her expectantly.
"Good?" he asked.
"Very good!" Xin Yi smiled.
His chest puffed up with pride. "Hmm. I am strong."
"Yes, you are."
"Stronger than that Tiger."
"HEI YAN—"
"I heard that, Panther!" Feng Huang called out. "Want to compare?"
"BOYS! FOCUS ON THE CHANNELS!"
~
As the day wore on, something started happening to Xin Yi.
A.….feeling.
A restlessness.
Her skin felt too tight. Too warm. Every time Hei Yan walked past, she caught his scent and her stomach clenched. Every time Feng Huang smiled at her, heat pooled low in her belly.
What is wrong with me?
[Ooh! Host is experiencing—]
"Don't say it!"
[—hormonal arousal! ☆]
"SYSTEM!"
[Host is horny! (◕‿◕)]
Xin Yi's face went nuclear. "I AM NOT!"
Several beastmen looked up at her outburst.
"Everything okay, little female?" Hei Yan asked, concerned.
"FINE! EVERYTHING IS FINE!"
She grabbed a large stone to move it and slammed it down with way more force than necessary.
CRACK.
The stone split in half.
A young Tiger beastman nearby jumped. "Eh?! Female, you are.…..very strong!"
"Sorry!" Xin Yi squeaked. "I didn't mean—I just—sorry!"
She tried to focus on the work. On the channels. On the irrigation system.
But she kept noticing things.
The way Hei Yan's muscles moved under his skin. The way Feng Huang's laugh rumbled deep in his chest.
The way they both kept looking at her with those intense, hungry eyes.
[Feng Huang's words are coming true, Host! Remember what he said? "I will make you CRAVE my touch"? Well... (^▽^)]
"Shut up," Xin Yi muttered.
[You're craving touch! Physical contact! Mating! ♪]
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
She threw herself into the work. Directing. Measuring. Double-checking angles.
By late afternoon, they had completed about half the irrigation system. The channels snaked across the clearing, ready to bring water to designated planting areas.
"Tomorrow," Xin Yi announced, "we finish the rest!"
Cheers erupted from both clans.
"Now I'm hungry!" a Panther cub declared.
"Me too!
"Food! Food! Food!"
Xin Yi smiled brightly. "Alright, alright. Let's cook."