Chapter 146: Chapter 132: I’m Afraid Its Nutrition Won’t Keep Up

"Look, the moment you show up, the other female alpacas gang up on you. How are you supposed to live like this?"

"I’m not afraid of them."

Dabing retorted stubbornly, even lifting his head, trying to reclaim a bit of his leader’s dignity.

"Let them come at me."

"Next time... next time I definitely won’t hold back."

’Such a stubborn one... He’s already been beaten so badly he’s hiding in the quarantine area having an existential crisis, and he’s still talking tough.’

Yang Qi was speechless, but he patiently continued to persuade him. "I believe that you’re not afraid of them. But, Dabing, think about it. What if... and I’m just saying what if... what if the female alpacas realize that tough tactics don’t work on you, so they decide to attack Aili instead?"

"They’d dare!"

Hearing this, Dabing immediately became agitated. His tone was filled with fury, and he even unconsciously pawed at the ground with his hooves.

"If anyone dares to touch Aili, I’ll fight them to the death!"

"You think they wouldn’t dare?"

Yang Qi didn’t coddle him, analyzing calmly, "They aren’t even afraid of you—they dare to surround and attack you together. You think they wouldn’t dare to attack Aili together?"

"Can you stay by Aili’s side all the time to protect her? Even if we grant that you really could stay by Aili’s side constantly..."

"Of course that would work!"

Dabing retorted instinctively.

"Heh..."

Yang Qi chuckled and burst his bubble directly. "Look at the pathetic state you’re in. You can’t even protect yourself—they’re chasing you around and beating you. How are you supposed to keep Aili completely safe?"

"When the time comes, not only will you fail to protect Aili, but you’ll get another beating yourself. Wouldn’t that be even more embarrassing?"

"..."

Dabing was instantly speechless. He opened his mouth but found he had no rebuttal.

Yang Qi’s words were like cold stones, shattering his flimsy fantasy of being a ’hero protecting his fair maiden’.

He shook his head in frustration, a distressed gurgle rumbling in his throat. He began to pace anxiously in place.

"We Two-legged Beasts have a saying, ’impotent rage.’ It pretty much describes what you’re like right now."

Yang Qi continued, "Just being angry and frustrated is useless. You need to find a way to solve the problem."

Dabing’s large frame clearly stiffened for a moment. The anger swirling in his round eyes was like a punctured balloon, deflating rapidly.

The next moment, he stared at Yang Qi for a few seconds, and then, as if his entire skeleton had collapsed, he let out a long sigh filled with exhaustion and helplessness. His whole body flopped weakly onto the straw bedding with a THUMP, and he laid his long neck on the ground, looking like he had completely given up the struggle.

"Then what do you think I should do?"

Dabing asked with the dejection of someone who’s given up, but also with a final sliver of hope.

"You’re a Two-legged Beast. You’re smart. You tell me what to do."

"It’s simple."

Yang Qi took two steps closer, crouched down in front of him, and said softly, "Why don’t you just ’get friendly’ with the other female alpacas, too?"

Dabing lifted his eyelids but didn’t make a sound, though his gaze revealed his confusion.

"I understand you like Aili the most. That’s fine. Being faithful is a good thing."

Yang Qi continued his "earnest and heartfelt" persuasion. "But, Dabing, you’re the leader of this herd, the only adult male alpaca. You have a responsibility to ’take care of’ the feelings of every member, right?"

"Look, the other female alpacas aren’t bad, are they? Their fleece is beautiful, and their personalities... well, they’re quite lively and healthy."

"You just need to ’spread the love’ a little. For example, every day or two, you ’get friendly’ with one of them. The rest of the time, you can still be with Aili."

"That way, everyone gets a ’chance,’ their feelings are balanced, and naturally, they won’t gang up on you anymore. Problem solved, right?"

Dabing listened blankly.

His big eyes blinked, as if he were trying hard to digest this concept of "spreading the love," along with the "leader’s responsibility" and "art of harem management" that it implied.

After a few seconds, he asked hesitantly.

"Will... will that work?"

"Will they really be satisfied? They won’t hit me anymore?"

"Definitely!"

Yang Qi nodded emphatically. "If they’re still not satisfied and keep causing trouble, I’ll get other Two-legged Beasts to ’teach them a lesson’ and back you up!"

At these words, Dabing’s eyes brightened a little, and his back seemed to straighten a bit.

Changing his tune, Yang Qi added, "Actually, there’s an even better method, one that will solve the problem once and for all, so you’ll never have to worry about this again."

"What method?"

"Quick, tell me, tell me!"

Dabing immediately perked up, urging him on eagerly and even lifting his head.

"It’s simple!"

Yang Qi smiled slightly. "You just have to work a little harder and get every single one of them pregnant. Once they all have babies to take care of, all their attention will naturally be on their children. What time would they have to pester and attack you then?"

"And then, won’t you be able to be with Aili in peace and quiet?"

"Oh, right!"

Dabing’s eyes instantly became incredibly bright, as if a door to a new world had been opened. His earlier dejection was swept away, replaced by the excitement of sudden enlightenment and an eagerness to get started.

"This method is good! It’s great! Let’s do it this way!"

"I’ll get them all pregnant!"

Yang Qi barely suppressed his laughter, sighing to himself.

’See? The same task, described from a different angle—going from ’forced compromise’ to ’actively fulfilling the great mission of procreation’—completely changes one’s mood and motivation.’

’As expected, dangling a carrot works on any species.’ 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Alright then, we have a deal."

Yang Qi gave a final confirmation and instruction. "Remember, every single female alpaca. You have to be fair, and you have to work hard. Strive to get them all pregnant as soon as possible."

"Don’t worry."

"You can count on me."

Dabing was now bursting with confidence. He got up from the ground, shook his fleece, and held his head high, puffing out his chest.

"I promise I’ll get every single one of them pregnant with my babies!"

Watching him transform in an instant from a dejected ’decadent ruler’ to an ambitious ’stud,’ Yang Qi held back his laughter and gave him a thumbs-up, not caring whether an alpaca could even understand the gesture.

He turned to leave, opened the small gate of the quarantine area, and walked out.

"So? Brother Qi, how did it go?"

The zookeeper, who had been waiting outside, hurried over to ask the moment he saw Yang Qi emerge, his face a mix of anticipation and apprehension.

"It’s handled."

Yang Qi made an OK sign and said concisely, "Dabing has agreed to ’take care of’ the other female alpacas’ feelings from now on. He won’t be doting exclusively on Aili anymore."

"Huh? That’s it?"

The zookeeper was stunned for a moment, unable to process it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yang Qi’s abilities; it was just that the process sounded a bit too fast and too "out there."

’He mediated a "harem dispute" in just a few minutes, despite the species barrier?’

But since Yang Qi had said so, and his past track record was brilliant, the zookeeper could only choose to believe him for now.

"That’s great, that’s great. Thank you so much, Brother Qi. You’ve finally solved a huge problem for us."

The zookeeper snapped out of it and thanked him profusely.

"You’re welcome."

Yang Qi waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something. He stopped, turned back to the zookeeper, and added, "Oh, right. For the next few days, pay close attention to Dabing’s condition."

"His condition? What’s wrong? Is he feeling unwell?" the zookeeper immediately grew nervous.

"Ahem, not exactly."

Yang Qi cleared his throat, organized his thoughts, and tried to be tactful yet suggestive. "What I mean is... the feed you prepare for him, make sure it’s nutritious enough. Especially the concentrate feed that supplements protein and trace elements—you can add a bit more of that."

"Huh? Why?"

The zookeeper still didn’t fully understand, a look of confusion on his face.

’An alpaca’s diet is relatively fixed. There has to be a reason to suddenly increase the proportion of concentrate, right?’

Yang Qi looked at the zookeeper, then thought about the "stud" Dabing inside the quarantine area, who was probably rubbing his hooves together, getting ready to ’go big.’ He decided to be a little more direct.

He leaned in closer and lowered his voice.

"I’m worried Dabing’s upcoming ’duties’ will be quite heavy. He might get ’overworked,’ and his nutrition won’t be able to keep up."