Chapter 379: "Can I Hug You?

However, it was already late, and the Crown Prince was back.

’It’s not a good time to summon the cubs.’

’I’ll wait until tomorrow.’

Yu Zhizhi waited in eager anticipation for the Big Tiger to leave again so she could try using the Seventh Level Array.

’She hadn’t had a chance to use it at all since she’d leveled up.’

After freshening up, Yu Zhizhi lay down on her bed, ready to sleep.

「The next day.」

Cang Lan left first thing in the morning.

As usual, he had an attendant deliver a note. The contents were much the same, instructing her to go care for the Ice Crystal Dragon.

Yu Zhizhi put the note away.

Before heading to the Dragon Cave, she wanted to first try using the Array to see if it would work.

Yu Zhizhi sat on her bed and carefully read through the user manual in her system.

[Details: Current Array Level is one star, three Transmission Positions unlocked. Only one summon can be used per week.]

[Each Summon will accumulate Experience Points.]

[When the Array reaches two stars, the fourth Transmission Position will be unlocked, and an additional summon will be granted.]

’So, just like her awakened talent, the Array she unlocked at the Seventh Level gains experience with each use and can be leveled up.’

Yu Zhizhi closed the floating, light-blue screen.

She recited softly, "Teleportation Array... activate!"

As she spoke, a circular blue Array appeared on the floor in front of her bed. It was inscribed with diamond-shaped Transmission Runes, and a pale blue light instantly filled the entire room.

Following the prompt, Yu Zhizhi selected the first position!

She remembered that the first one eligible for teleportation was the Wolf Clan cub!

The system had designated him [Wolf Cub 03] based on his birth order!

The silhouette of a Wolf Clan cub in its beast form soon appeared within the blue Teleportation Array. It stood in the center of the glowing circle. After the intense light faded, the Array beneath its feet vanished as well.

The wolf cub suddenly found himself in a strange place. His expression was calm, but a trace of vigilance lingered deep within his red, wolf-like eyes.

Soon, he smelled a familiar scent...

The wolf cub looked toward the Rabbit Clan female sitting on the bed and recognized her immediately.

"...Mother?"

A cub firmly memorizes its mother’s scent from birth.

Without any Disguise Technique in use, they would always sense their mother’s presence immediately.

Yu Zhizhi looked at the wolf cub before her. He was still in his full Beast Form and looked to be a few months old. His black fur was incredibly glossy, and his face retained a cub’s youthful softness, but his eyes were exceptionally calm.

He quickly adapted to the unexpected situation. Facing the mother he hadn’t seen in so long, he neither drew too close nor kept too much distance.

"Did you summon me here, Mother?"

The wolf cub quickly grasped the situation.

He gave a slight nod. "What are your instructions?"

’Mother summoned me from so far away,’ he thought. ’She must have something important to tell me.’

The wolf cub looked earnestly at the Rabbit Clan female before him.

Yu Zhizhi couldn’t resist getting off the bed. She went over to the little wolf cub, crouched down, and looked at him with a beaming smile. "What’s your name?"

’I still don’t know his name.’

The wolf cub replied, "Tang Mu Lei K."

"Mu Lei...?" Yu Zhizhi recalled the day they had hatched. The third wolf cub to emerge from its shell had been quieter than the first two; he had silently nibbled on his eggshell the entire time.

And the talent he had awakened was the Thunder Element.

’So that’s why his name has "Lei" in it!’

Yu Zhizhi couldn’t resist reaching out to pat his head. "Okay, I’ll remember that!"

The wolf cub was slightly taken aback.

He didn’t seem accustomed to being touched so affectionately.

His wolf ears twitched. Realizing it was his mother, he felt a strange flash of shyness for reasons he couldn’t understand.

’This feeling is completely foreign.’

He normally did nothing but train, concerning himself with little else. The Wolf Clan had a specialized training system, and he rarely had a chance to see anyone—let alone his father and mother, he didn’t even see the other cubs born on the same day.

Although such a life was monotonous, he was also growing stronger day by day.

What Mu Lei never expected was that one day, he would be summoned to the side of the mother who had left so long ago.

"Mother... have you run into some kind of trouble?" he asked.

’Trouble...’ Yu Zhizhi’s hand paused on his head. While it was true she was in a bit of a bind, she hadn’t summoned the little wolf cub for his help.

"Not at all." She smiled and withdrew her hand, not wanting him to worry. "I just missed you and wanted to see you."

The little wolf cub stared at her, stunned.

’She missed me?’

Mu Lei had never dared to hope that his mother would miss him.

For a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

Yu Zhizhi asked softly, "Can I give you a hug?"

’Little Mu Lei’s personality isn’t like Little Amon’s or Little Xue Yue’s,’ she thought. ’He seems a bit more "mature."’

The little wolf cub nodded.

Yu Zhizhi gathered the fluffy wolf cub into her arms.

’Wow, he’s a little heavier than I imagined!’

’He’s so much bigger than Little Snow Eagle, like a giant plushie. But his fur is softer, and he’s so comfortable to hug!’

Mu Lei wasn’t ready when his mother suddenly pulled him into a tight hug.

His head rested against his mother’s chest. As he breathed in her incredibly warm, familiar, and nostalgic scent, his red eyes slowly fluttered shut, and his tail began to wag uncontrollably behind him.

’Is this really happening?’

’Mother left so long ago. I thought she would never come back.’

’I never dared to hope for anything.’

’I just focused single-mindedly on my training. Maybe if I kept getting stronger, once I was as powerful as Father, I could go out and find Mother.’

’It’s been so long...’

’No one has ever held me like this before.’

The little wolf cub’s body gradually relaxed, as if his emotional walls were slowly coming down. The corners of his eyes grew moist, and an expression only a young cub could have—one full of attachment to its mother—appeared on his face. "Mother..."

he called out softly.

Yu Zhizhi seemed to sense something. She gently stroked the little wolf cub’s ears. "We’ll see each other often from now on."

’We won’t be separated for so long anymore!’

Mu Lei asked eagerly, "How often will we get to meet?"

"Once a week, or maybe every two weeks." Yu Zhizhi thought of the Array’s limitations. "I promise we can meet at least once a month. The time will be a little short, though. You can only stay for an hour..."

Yu Zhizhi placed him on her lap. "The time might get longer later on. As long as I have the chance, I’ll summon you, okay?"

A look of anticipation appeared on the little wolf cub’s face.

He tilted his head back to look at his mother, then suddenly thought of something. "Is it a teleportation-type Array? Does it have a limited number of uses?"

Yu Zhizhi nodded lightly.

’If that’s the case...’

The little wolf cub’s expression gradually turned grave. "Mother, please save this precious opportunity. Wait until you’re in danger, then summon me."

’Even though I want to be with Mother all the time...’

’...it’s more important that I can protect her in a moment of crisis!’