She thought for a moment, then decided to carry a bamboo basket and follow her neighbor to the city market to see what was happening. Sure enough, a lot of people came out, and the entire White Tiger City was bustling with activity again.

There was no need for any special instructions; the orcs spontaneously began clearing the snow, leaving very little on the road. Even though the chill hadn't completely dissipated, many people were still smiling and interacting warmly with those around them.

More than a month of harsh winter has passed, and while everyone is eager to make transactions, they have also chatted quite a bit.

Along the way, CatDodo successfully overheard quite a few people grumbling about how some of their cooking was weird...

In particular, when Maoduo learned that someone had cooked a lot of potatoes and ginger slices and ended up with a sore throat and lungs, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

You have to admire them; ordinary people can be reckless, but orcs can be quite terrifying when they do it.

Amidst the bustling crowd, Maoduo stretched and decided to get some good food so that the snake cubs could wake up and have some fun.

Following her neighbor's lead, she entered "battle mode," trading items frequently. When it was time to leave the trading area, CatDodo prepared to hurry back.

To my utter surprise, a group of people walked towards us from directly in front of us. They looked rather unwell, walking slowly and stopping frequently, each carrying a load on their backs.

But CatDodo only glanced at them and felt that the figures were somewhat familiar...

Then someone spoke first, "Cat Duoduo, what are you doing here?"

"That voice...it's Valina!" CatDodo immediately ran over. Only then did he realize that Valina's hair was disheveled and she looked somewhat disheveled, but her body was still intact.

Beside them were some orcs limping, but some others looked very familiar... Chieftain Xili, Yuli's cub Aina, Valina and her mate, Hu Feng'er, Tu Ling'er, Bao Lie, and others carrying cubs and carrying old people on their backs.

Upon closer inspection, many of them looked almost exactly like when Maoduoduo left. Aside from a few missing figures, there were surprisingly many.

CatDodo was shocked. Just then, Chief Xili walked up to her and said with utmost sincerity, "CatDodo, please save us."

He was about to kneel down when he said that. CatDodo would never allow someone to kneel like that, so she quickly helped him up, saying, "Please tell me what happened. There's no need to be so formal. After all, we were from the same village before."

Besides, even if we don't care about the monk, we should at least consider the Buddha's feelings. Chief Xili was impartial and helped her a lot before, and Cat Duoduo would never forget such kindness.

Siri breathed a sigh of relief, told the others to sit down and rest, and then carefully recounted to Mao Duoduo what had happened to them after Mao Duoduo left...

At first, the village was peaceful and the people lived a stable and happy life. Their village had an advantage in terms of location; the land was flat, making it relatively easy to grow anything.

The only problem is that there's nothing to hide here, and if you want to hide, you'll have to travel a long way.

It's not easy to hide in the village; if you run into anything, trouble could easily happen.

This is exactly what happened this time. It was the dead of winter, but the temperature was still manageable where they were, not as extreme as it seemed. However, they never expected that a crazed rootless beast would come and attack them here.

They want more than just food; they also want females and everything edible.

Normally, orcs only eat wild beasts that haven't evolved and become uncivilized; they wouldn't prey on orcs who also possess intelligence.

The problem is that the rootless beast doesn't consider all that, and it doesn't care even if someone says that eating its own kind will drive it crazy.

As a result, the danger posed by the Rootless Beast to everyone increased significantly. Upon realizing the Rootless Beast's first arrival, Siri quickly urged everyone to abandon many belongings and embark on a journey of escape.

Given the Rootless Beast's fighting power and frenzy, the village simply has no chance of fighting back. Furthermore, many of the elderly, weak, and females are too exhausted to resist and will only become targets for the Rootless Beast's rage.

That alone was enough to convince the others to follow Siri. There were a few setbacks along the way, but everyone continued on despite the pain.

As long as they live, the sacrifices made by those who gave their lives are worthwhile.

However, with almost the entire village seeking refuge, the sheer number of them meant that not just any place would be willing to accept them.

Seeing this, Maoduo was a little worried about his fellow countrymen, but seeing the reactions of others, he offered to help Xili.

Then, she hugged Valina and Aina tightly.

This time, she noticed that Valina was much closer to Aina, and there was a subtle feeling that she was treating Aina as her own...

Putting all this together, the fact that Yuri, who had always doted on Aina, had never appeared at all makes the answer clear.

Cat Duoduo felt pity and left some food before leaving.

This time, she had a clear goal and went to the city lord's mansion on her own initiative. She didn't beat around the bush and told everyone that she wanted to seek refuge in the village and ask for a way to survive.

Even after so much time has passed, Gal still has a deep impression of everyone.

He looked thoughtful, and Maoduoduo, somewhat worried, asked, "Even if we give it to the outskirts of White Tiger City, it doesn't matter. They will work hard to earn money and make a living, and they will definitely not cause us any worry."

"Do I really look like such an unreasonable person?" Gal suddenly laughed.

"No, no, I didn't." Cat Duoduo couldn't very well say that she was just confused because she was concerned.

She touched her nose, looking embarrassed, and whispered, "So your conclusion is—"

Gal chuckled lightly and said calmly, "Agree to let them stay."

"Oh my, that's wonderful!" Cat Duoduo was so excited she almost jumped up.

It was at this moment that Gal coughed, and after gaining CatDodo's attention, he spoke of his most important clause: "They can't stay in White Tiger City for nothing. They must work to support themselves."

"Of course. I can't possibly support so many people all at once," Mao Duoduo said matter-of-factly.

Gal burst out laughing.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious, and anyone would feel genuinely comfortable and relieved by such gentleness.

Soon, this news was relayed to Xili by those close to the city lord.

Almost simultaneously, everyone except Siri was busy celebrating, finally relieved that they no longer needed to run around. They finally had a way to survive!

The escape of almost the entire village, the sheer scale and effort involved, was enough to deter many from even attempting it.