Warden of the Beast World: Everyone is a Hakimi

"idiot."

The sound of the hunter drifted over from the lawn, its volume just loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly.

He remained lying on the grass, the sunlight warming his silvery-gray fur. He casually swept his tail, his gray-blue eyes reflecting the blazing firelight, his expression one of "I knew this would happen."

Chi Heng suddenly bowed at a ninety-degree angle, the movement so fast he almost threw himself off: "Little Warden, I was wrong! I'm sorry!" His attitude in admitting his mistakes was always proper, after all, he had caused too much trouble since he was a child, and the process of apologizing had been engraved in his muscle memory.

He bowed first, then admitted his mistake, and then waited for the other party to calm down—he had practiced this routine countless times in front of his grandfather, and it was as familiar as breathing.

Wild Tang slowly walked to the stove that had been burned to charcoal, looked down at the few scallions that had turned into black strips, then looked up with a gentle smile that sent chills down one's spine: "Little Firebird, what do you suggest we do?"

"I'll pay!" Chi Heng puffed out his chest, his tone resolute. "I'll pay whatever it costs! Double! No, ten times!"

"But—" Ye Tang drawled, glancing towards the corridor, "What are the Marshal and the others eating today? Burn all of their portions."

Chi Heng's chest visibly deflated. He opened his mouth, his mind racing—Jing Yao's roasted lamb chops were gone; Han Zhou's sweet and sour pork was gone; Cang Ming's garlic oysters were gone; Ling Shou's hard-won extra meal was gone; his own cake and ice cream had all turned to ash. He hadn't just burned the kitchen, he had burned the lunch of the empire's top warriors. This realization made the feathers on his tail stand on end.

"I..." Chi Heng stammered.

"The marshal and the others can only eat nutritional supplements today." Ye Tang said this in a light tone, as if announcing that the weather was nice today, and then took out a whole box of nutritional supplements distributed by the military from her space.

The colorful tubular packaging rattled in her hands, making a crisp plastic sound. She shoved the box into Chiheng's arms; it was quite heavy, and Chiheng felt a slight slump as he caught it.

"Little Firebird, you've caused trouble. Go deliver the food."

Chi Heng looked down at the box of nutrient solutions in his arms, a series of complex emotions flashing in his crimson eyes—from fear to resistance, from resistance to resignation, from resignation to heroic sacrifice.

Having spent so long in Prison Zero, he knew all too well what this meant. Giving Jing Yao a nutritional supplement was like sending a lion accustomed to Michelin-starred restaurants back to eating compressed biscuits; giving Han Zhou a nutritional supplement was like sending a child's chief taste commander to swallow colorless and tasteless paste.

Let Ling Shou eat the nutritional supplement—that free-range chicken hates nutritional supplements the most of all. Ling Shou and Ye Tang argued about this for more than half a month before finally winning the right to have extra food. And now, Chi Heng has to personally push the food cart, deliver the nutritional supplement to Ling Shou, and then face everyone's wrath.

"I'll go then!" Chi Heng hugged the box tightly to his chest, his heroic expression like someone heading to battle. "A true man dares to do what he does!"

Ye Tang watched Chi Heng's resolute figure disappear at the end of the corridor, dusted off her hands, took out another batch of ingredients from her spatial storage, and started setting up the pot again.

Youlie had somehow appeared beside her, transformed into human form, and silently helped her move the barbecue grill. Ye Tang turned to look at him, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Our big dog is still the smartest."

Youlie lowered his head, a slight smile playing on his lips, but said nothing.

Chi Heng pushed the food cart down the observation area corridor, his steps heavy as if lead weights were strapped to his feet. The cart didn't have the smoky aroma of roasted lamb chops, the sweet and sour flavor of sweet and sour pork, or the fresh scent of garlic oysters; only a lonely box of nutrient solutions, the plastic tubes rattling hollowly as the cart bounced. He had never felt so guilty in his entire life.

As the security door to Observation Zone One slid open, Jing Yao was lying on the stone platform, feigning sleep. Marshal Baihu heard the door open, his ears twitched, and the instant he opened his eyes, a barely perceptible glint of anticipation flashed in his amber pupils.

Then he saw Chi Heng, and the dark brown nutrient solution in Chi Heng's hand. Jing Yao's gaze swept past Chi Heng into the corridor, but he didn't see the figure in the dark blue uniform.

"Is the warden off today?" Jing Yao's voice was as deep and steady as ever.

"N-nothing..." Chi Heng placed the nutrient solution on the stone platform, his movements so light they were like dropping a bomb. He never dared to be presumptuous in front of Jing Yao, after all, this marshal could really beat him to a pulp.

Jing Yao glanced at the nutrient solution, then at Chi Heng's guilty face, and remained silent for a few seconds. He didn't ask any further questions, but simply picked up the nutrient solution and took it away. Chi Heng felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly pushed the food cart away.

Observation Zone Two. Han Zhou, as always, lay prone in the corner, his pale golden leopard eyes gleaming coldly in the darkness. Chi Heng's hands trembled as he pushed the nutrient solution into the delivery port. Han Zhou silently walked over, lowered his head to sniff the pale yellow nutrient solution, then raised his head to look at Chi Heng with his emotionless leopard eyes.

Right in front of Chiheng, he pushed the nutrient solution into the trash can. The movement was slow, so slow that Chiheng could see every detail—the pink paw pad pressed against the nutrient solution tube, and with a gentle nudge, the nutrient solution rolled into the trash can with a crisp clatter.

Then Han Zhou turned and walked back to the corner, not even bothering to question Chi Heng. His back clearly said, "You are not worthy to explain to me. Let Ye Tang do it."

Chi Heng pushed the food cart and fled in panic.

Before the door to Observation Zone Three was even fully open, Ling Shou's voice rang out like a knife. The peregrine falcon stood on its perch, its eagle eyes fixed on the food cart—no roast meat, no cake, not even a vegetable salad, just a lonely row of nutritional supplements.

He'd been looking forward to this extra meal all morning. Yesterday, Ye Tang promised to make him a chocolate cake, and he'd even cleaned his perch thoroughly in anticipation. And now you're telling him there's only a nutritional supplement?

"You coward! Did you hog all the food?" Ling Shou pointed at Chi Heng with the tip of his wing, his silver-gray falcon feathers standing on end.

"Free-range chicken, you're talking nonsense! I don't care about your meager food!" Chi Heng retorted instantly.

The two argued heatedly through the glass wall for a while, their faces flushed red. They went from "You hoarded it all" to "You're talking nonsense," from "You're guilty" to "You're the one who's guilty." As Ling Shou was arguing, he suddenly realized something was wrong—Chi Heng's behavior today was too abnormal.

Normally, Chi Heng would argue with a straight face, even if he was wrong, he would stick to his guns. But today, every word he said was full of bluster and cowardice.

Moreover, his eyes were darting around, his wings were trembling uneasily, and his tail—the Vermilion Bird's tail is the most revealing of emotions—was tightly tucked behind him, unable to even stand up. Ling Shou narrowed his eagle eyes and suddenly asked, "Did you burn Little Sprout's kitchen down?"

"You, you, you're talking nonsense!" Chi Heng's reaction was even more agitated than when he was called a coward earlier. His tail exploded into a red dandelion, and he almost bounced off the ground.

Seeing his guilty and flustered appearance, Ling Shou immediately understood everything. If Chi Heng could burn down the kitchen, he must have used the Vermilion Bird True Fire. The Vermilion Bird True Fire is not comparable to ordinary flames. That thing can melt alloys into water. If Little Bean Sprout's kitchen encountered such a fire, even the stove would probably be reduced to ashes.

"You burned down Little Sprout's kitchen! And you still dare to bring me nutrient solutions?!" Ling Shou slammed his hand on the glass wall, making the whole wall vibrate, and pointed at Chi Heng's nose, cursing, "Has your brain been burned by real fire?! Can't you use ordinary fire to start a fire? You used real fire? Has your Vermilion Bird clan's brain been eaten by feathers?!"

Ling Shou grew angrier the more he thought about it. He had finally escaped the sea of ​​nutrient supplements, had only eaten chocolate cake for a few days, hadn't had enough bubble tea, and his matcha ice cream was still waiting for him in Ye Tang's refrigerator.

Now it's all gone—all because that firebird burned down Little Sprout's kitchen with real fire. He tightened his grip on the perch, the metal creaking under his hand, and a rage burning in his silver-grey eyes that was even more intense than the true fire of the Red Jade.

"Fool! You've ruined the young master's chocolate cake!" Ling Shou's voice was so sharp it could crack the glass wall of the observation area.

"Fine, I'll pay! It's not like I can't afford it!" Chi Heng retorted, his voice louder than Ling Shou's, but his confidence was clearly lacking. He pushed the food cart and quickly fled from Observation Zone No. 3, Ling Shou's curses still echoing behind him.

Observation Zone Five. When Chi Heng pushed the food cart in, the pool was calm and still, and Cang Ming was leaning against the edge of the pool, dozing off.

Wild Tang didn't come; instead, this firebird delivered the food. Even from a distance, he could smell the faint, plasticky odor of the nutrient solution—there wasn't even a hint of seafood aroma. The garlic oysters, salt-grilled prawns, and seafood porridge he'd been waiting for all morning were gone.

Chi Heng carefully opened the food delivery slot, wanting to finish quickly.

The instant the food delivery opening popped open, a jet of water shot precisely from the pool, with the force of a high-pressure water gun, spraying solidly onto Chi Heng.

Chi Heng was drenched to the bone, water dripping from his hair to the hem of his robe, looking like a drowned rat pulled from a river. He opened his mouth to curse, but the moment he met Cang Ming's deep blue eyes, he swallowed his words.

He's an arsonist now. He ruined the entire prison's food supply; all five of his patrons will have to take supplements today. Besides, Cangming is SS-rank, while he's S+; he couldn't beat him in a fight. A fallen Vermilion Bird is worse than a chicken. Chiheng wiped the water from his face, his wet wings drooping, and slunk away pushing the empty food cart.