A young man from another world returned to his hometown.

The sound of cicadas rose from the stream outside the old house, and this small village in the south in May was like a blazing fire.

In the living room, the air conditioner was blowing cold air, and the television was playing the documentary "Animal World".

Miki lay on the carpet, enjoying the cool breeze, her hands cupping her cheeks, her big eyes fixed on the screen.

A deep, resonant male voice began to narrate: "In the cruel world of nature, survival is always accompanied by cunning and deadly danger..."

In the video, a cuckoo is sneaking into the nest of another bird.

It tilted its head and looked around to make sure no one was around before laying its eggs in the nest.

However, just as the cuckoo was feeling smug, a snake was winding its way up the tree trunk, flicking its tongue, and had its sights set on the unsuspecting thief.

Meanwhile, outside the old house, another hunt was unfolding almost simultaneously.

On a tree branch, a grayish-brown cuckoo flew in at some unknown time, peeking out furtively and staring at a bird's nest the size of a fist on the branch.

A small pink head peeked out from the wall.

Nia crouched on the wall, locking onto the little bird.

Her breathing was extremely light and slow, and her two delicate white hands were raised high with her fingers slightly spread, like a kitten waiting for its chance to pounce, crawling slowly.

On the living room sofa, Lin Yan was lying down scrolling through his phone. Next to him sat Xier, who was wearing a cool, casual camisole, revealing her long, fair neck, and was flipping through a Blue Star cookbook.

"Why isn't the new house finished yet...?"

Lin Yan complained while snuggling up to his wife.

"Why has the weather suddenly become so hot? How about we just stay home today, enjoy the air conditioning and eat watermelon, and not go out?"

"Very good!"

Syl's eyes lit up instantly, and her pointed elven ears stood up straight.

She closed the recipe book, beaming with delight: "Then I won't prepare lunchboxes for going out! I'll bake you some cookies and make you some milk tea as snacks while watching TV!"

Lin Yan's lips twitched slightly.

Recently, Seale has become obsessed with baking, but for some reason, her superb culinary skills automatically fizzle out whenever she touches flour and an oven.

My brain instantly switched to dark magic alchemy...

"Hmm... isn't it too tiring for you, darling...?"

Lin Yan forced a smile.

On the television, the narrator's voice suddenly rose in volume.

"Attack!"

In the video, the small snake darted out like lightning, precisely coiling around the cuckoo to catch its prey.

Miki gasped in surprise, covered her eyes with her hands, and peeked through her fingers.

Outside the door, Nia kicked her legs wildly!

Her body shot out like an arrow. In mid-air, she raised her two delicate white hands high, her fingers spread wide, striking a perfect pose of a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.

The cuckoo finally sensed the danger and frantically flapped its wings, trying to take off.

Lin Yan glanced at the commotion outside the door and thought to himself that the little guy was catching birds to play with again.

Just as Nia's hands were about to touch the feathers, she suddenly pulled her little hands to the sides and poked her head forward.

Her pink little mouth was wide open.

"Ah~"

Nia landed steadily, her feet touching the open ground in front of the door, her knees slightly bent to cushion the impact, her posture perfect.

Two gray feathers drifted down from the corner of her mouth.

"..."

Nia patted her belly with a satisfied look on her face.

"Nia, Miki, breakfast is ready!"

Syl's voice came from the kitchen.

Nia darted back into the house, and Miki climbed up from the carpet. The two little ones obediently climbed onto the chairs next to the dining table.

Waving her little hands, she looked at Syl expectantly.

Then they saw what was on the plate.

Are those... mini cookies?

A pile of irregularly shaped, dark brown solids, covered with a hard outer shell, with no hint of the aroma of baking milk in the air.

With a serious yet expectant expression, Hill placed the cookies, milk, and fried eggs and ham in front of the two little ones, carrying a plate.

"Hehe~ I tried a new recipe today. I brushed it with honey and butter, so it should taste better than last time. I also learned from my mistake of not baking the cake properly in the middle last time."

Nia stared at the small cookie on the plate, which was harder than her fist, her brows furrowed.

She poked it with her index finger, and her survival instinct instantly took over.

Nia tilted her head back, quickly poured the rest of her breakfast into her mouth, and swallowed the food.

"Miki! Let's go!"

Nia grabbed Miki's wrist, jumped off the chair, and with her short legs kicking fast, dragged the still-unresponsive Miki towards the door.

"Let's go play in the village!!"

"Huh? Nia? You haven't eaten the cookies yet..."

The two small figures disappeared.

"Eh~"

The living room fell silent.

Siel stood by the dining table, blinked, and then turned around to look at Lin Yan on the sofa.

Her eyes were full of anticipation.

"Honey, would you like to try some?"

Lin Yan froze on the sofa.

Syl walked over.

"I think I controlled the heat better this time than last time."

He looked at the hard little cookies, not wanting to dampen his wife's rare enthusiasm.

Lin Yan stuffed it into his mouth as if facing death.

The sound of steel clashing...

A sound that should absolutely not come from food.

"How is it?"

Syl leaned closer.

"……tasty."

Lin Yan mumbled incoherently as he chewed the hard biscuit with difficulty.

Syl smiled happily.

"Really? Then I'll bake another batch!"

"No, no, no, no..."

Lin Yan reached out to stop her, but Xier had already skipped and hopped back to the kitchen.

As the sun climbed higher, the heat distorted distant scenery into wave-like shapes.

Nia and Miki jogged along the village's cement road, trying to find their little buddies to play with.

But the whole village seemed to have been put on pause, and even the big yellow dog was so hot that it lay panting in the shade of a tree.

"Where are they? They've all disappeared!"

Nia stood on a large rock by the stream, hands on her hips, looking around with dissatisfaction.

Because they can use the neighbor's WiFi here, Nia and her friends often gather here to watch videos and play on their phones.

Miki's fair face flushed slightly from the steam.

"Maybe...it's too hot, so everyone's staying home?"

"Tch, a bunch of people who hate the heat."

Nia refused to give up and continued searching, but there was no trace of her.

The two walked downstream along the stream, feeling utterly bored.

The stream flows among the pebbles, and occasionally a few small fish dart into the crevices.

As you walk, the cement road turns into a muddy path, and the bamboo and trees on both sides become denser and denser, gradually closing in overhead and blocking out the sunlight.

Before they knew it, they had reached the bamboo grove at the end of the stream.

This place is usually deserted.

Bamboo keeps the summer heat out, making the temperature several degrees lower than outside.

"Wow, it feels so cool."

Miki comfortably squinted her eyes.

Nia pricked up her ears.

Shh~ There's a sound.

Nia's eyes lit up, and she crouched down to squeeze inside.

Part the bamboo leaves.

"Found it!!"