In an instant, the entire Sheep Village began to tremble violently. Right at its center, where the Big Fat Sheep Academy stood, a circular opening split open. From it, a super cannonball immediately flew out, heading straight toward Night Wolf.
"Face your sentence!"
"Do you really think you can kill me?"
Faced with the incoming cannonball, Night Wolf might have normally backed down, but right now, he was holding a smartphone in one hand, playing *SPL II: A Time for Consequences*.
Instantly, Night Wolf felt his whole body surging with strength. He raised his hand, intending to catch the cannonball barehanded just like in the movies.
The result, naturally, came as no surprise. The cannonball slammed directly into Night Wolf, the rest of the Seven Evil Wolves, and Hui Tailang—who had been turned into a dog—exploding instantly and launching all of them right back to the top of Wolf Castle.
Seeing this, and knowing the protective barrier was still up, General Wolf had no intention of wearing himself out in a prolonged stalemate. He directly ordered the remaining soldiers to retreat.
"Do you guys ever plan on using the front door?!"
Red Wolf's eyes were filled with fury, wrinkles etched across her face as she brandished her frying pan. She glared at the Seven Evil Wolves before her, and then at the smashed roof right beside them.
Just then, the main gate was suddenly pushed open. General Wolf strode in wearing sunglasses, while a Little Wolf Soldier dutifully trailed beside him with a mini blowdryer, blowing back the general's cape to add a bit of dramatic flair.
"Even though this place is a dump, it'll do nicely as a temporary command center!"
"What? What do you mean by a dump?! Whose place is a dump?!"
Red Wolf's anger had hardly cooled. Hearing someone waltz right into her home and call it a dump, she instantly raised her frying pan and charged forward. Hui Tailang wanted to cry but had no tears—that was the boss! You couldn't hit the boss! Powerless to stop her, poor Hui Tailang had been turned into a dog.
Unflustered, General Wolf calmly snapped his fingers, and a large purple gemstone suddenly materialized right in front of Red Wolf.
"Rent!"
Seeing how generous General Wolf was being, Red Wolf talked tough, but her hands were already reaching out honestly toward the large gemstone.
"Red-red!"
Hui Tailang bounded over. Having been turned into a dog, he could only bark, "Woof woof!" To Red Wolf, he actually looked kind of cute. Unfortunately, Red Wolf was allergic to dog hair; she sneezed, and Hui Tailang was sent flying instantly into the sky.
"This weapon is..."
"This is a weapon forged by my senior brother, Yang Guoguo!"
"Hold on, why isn't he called Guo Yangyang instead of Yang Guoguo?"
Never too proud to ask when he didn't understand, Lan Yangyang raised his hand. Why didn't Yang Guoguo's name follow their naming pattern? Was it because he was a new character?
"Don't worry about minor details like that. Back in the day, Dao Yang, Yang Guoguo, and I..."
"I get it! Senior Uncle Master Yang Guoguo must be a master weapon smith!"
"How did you know?"
"Do I even need to ask? Didn't the principal say so? This weapon was made by Senior Uncle Master Yang Guoguo. If he wasn't a master at forging weapons, how could he possibly make something this powerful?"
Fei Yangyang asked doubtfully, while Lan Yangyang answered his question in a matter-of-fact tone.
Still, hearing Lan Yangyang give such a logical, well-reasoned answer made Fei Yangyang genuinely suspect he had read the script in advance.
"What are you staring at?"
Lan Yangyang expressed his disdain, tossed a booklet titled *The Script* into the bushes nearby, and muttered that there was no script—just people worrying over nothing.
"If that's the case, why can it only fire one shot?"
"I know!"
"What is it? Lan Yangyang, how come you know everything again?!"
Fei Yangyang was once again shocked. Seriously, Lan Yangyang, when did you get so smart? Did you actually read the script?!
Lan Yangyang rolled his eyes, refusing to elaborate. He simply handed the instruction manual over to Xi Yangyang and turned away to keep Meng Xiaoyang company.
"Oh, it can only be used once a day. So that's how it is."
While Xi Yangyang figured out the weapon in his hands, General Wolf gave a new order on the other side, dispatching Huier Taitailang to take the chip and stand guard at Sheep Village.
"Why do I feel like this protective shield isn't going to hold much longer?"
That afternoon, Lan Yangyang sat cross-legged, munching on a piece of watermelon as he looked at the protective barrier, which was spiderwebbed with cracks from the fierce attacks.
Seeing this, everyone except Lan Yangyang—who sat nearby with Meng Xiaoyang, eating watermelon while watching the attacks hit from outside—gathered together to brainstorm a solution. Then Xi Yangyang suggested a somewhat risky plan.
Night fell quickly. Once the wolf soldiers had retired to rest, Xi Yangyang and the others said goodbye to Little Airplane and the rest in Sheep Village, then searched for a gap in the perimeter—though it looked suspiciously like a doggy door.
No matter. Everyone wriggled through the doggy door and slipped out of Sheep Village.
"What's going on? Who's making all that noise?!"
Among the wolf soldiers, one wearing a black hat stamped with a white wolf paw print stood up and looked back, catching sight of Xi Yangyang and the other sheep sprinting off into the distance.
"Oh no, the sheep are escaping!"
Spotting them, he let out a loud shout, rallying the rest of the wolf soldiers to give chase.
*Sheep Village Guardian: Full Moon Night*
"Hmph, you can't run away now, can you?"
The Little Wolf Soldier leader glared at the exhausted sheep collapsed on the ground, then lunged forward and began tearing into them.
"Wait a minute, something's wrong. No, these are fake sheep."
After taking a closer look, the Little Wolf Soldier leader realized that all the sheep here were merely stuffed dolls, not real at all.
"It's a decoy! Go find them!"
Seeing through Xi Yangyang's trick, the Little Wolf Soldier leader waved his hand, ordering all the wolf soldiers to search the surrounding area for Xi Yangyang and his companions.
"Is Xi Yangyang really going to be okay going off alone to lure away all those wolf soldiers?!"
Nuan Yangyang asked in the woods beside Sheep Village. In truth, the commotion earlier had been entirely intentional.
From the very beginning, Xi Yangyang had taken the stuffed dolls and gone off by himself specifically to draw them away.
"Don't worry, Xi Yangyang will definitely be fine. Let's head to the rendezvous point first and hurry up and find Senior Uncle Master Yang Guoguo. Meng Xiaoyang and the others are still waiting for us back in Sheep Village!"
Lan Yangyang waved a hand dismissively; there was zero chance Xi Yangyang would get caught by those dunderheaded wolf soldiers.
Present here were Lan Yangyang, Fei Yangyang, Mei Yangyang, Nuan Yangyang, and Principal Slow Goat. Xi Yangyang had gone off to draw away the enemies, while Meng Xiaoyang stayed behind in Sheep Village with Little Airplane and the rest, primarily because it was simply too dangerous outside. After resting for a moment, everyone got back to their feet, ready to set off for the rendezvous point.
Nearby, however, Principal Slow Goat was in the middle of releasing a carrier pigeon. It wasn't until Fei Yangyang called out a reminder that Principal Slow Goat snapped back to attention and hurried along with the others toward their destination.
Meanwhile, living up to everyone's expectations, Xi Yangyang was making his way steadily toward the rendezvous point.
Along the path, however, Xi Yangyang spotted a familiar face: Huier Taitailang.
Hiding behind a tree, Xi Yangyang peered out nervously, though a second later, his expression shifted from tension to utter speechlessness.
Huier Taitailang was wearing an eyepatch and dozing off on his feet. Seeing this, Xi Yangyang took a deep breath and prepared to sneak past quietly.
Naturally, as fate would have it, Xi Yangyang stepped directly on a fallen branch, instantly waking Huier Taitailang.
"Xi Yangyang, don't run!"
Huier Taitailang ripped off his eyepatch, spotted Xi Yangyang right in front of him, and gave immediate chase.
He pursued Xi Yangyang in a mad dash through the forest, then pinched a chip between two fingers and held it up proudly in front of his chest.
"Good thing I have General Wolf's chip! Xi Yangyang, you can't escape this time. I'm the one who's going to catch you!"
He tossed the chip high into the air, planted his feet, leaped into the sky, and slapped the chip directly against his chest. In an instant, his muscles ballooned, transforming him from a greasy middle-aged man into a shredded muscle hunk.
Feeling the immense power surging through his body, he let out a furious roar and began beating his chest repeatedly.
Yet, because he had his back turned to Xi Yangyang, the latter simply stared at the spectacle with a speech-free expression. Not even bothering to acknowledge him, Xi Yangyang turned around and vanished into the forest like a gust of wind.
Taking deep breaths, Xi Yangyang used his opponent's bulky size as a disadvantage, dodging rapidly through the dense woods and using the trees as cover.
"We can't keep going like this!"
Running hard, Xi Yangyang glanced back. Huier Taitailang wasn't even bothering to dodge the trees in his path; he simply swung his arms and smashed every trunk clean in two.
Left with no other choice, Xi Yangyang pulled the gun back out of his pocket and tossed it into the air.
Leaping off a tree trunk into mid-air, Xi Yangyang caught the grip, flicked his wrist to aim straight at Huier Taitailang, and pulled the trigger.
The next second, Xi Yangyang's body locked up tight as his heart skipped a beat.
"What's going on? I can't move!"
Feeling every muscle in his body turn as rigid as a board, Xi Yangyang couldn't even force words past his lips.
With a thud, Xi Yangyang plummeted from the air, crashing down into a mountain cave atop a bed of wild grass.
Beneath the moonlight, Huier Taitailang stood at the cave entrance with an evil grin, raising both fists to pound relentlessly against the cave wall.
"Why isn't Xi Yangyang here yet?"
Meanwhile, Principal Slow Goat and the others had arrived at the destination. Seeing no sign of Xi Yangyang, they couldn't help but grow anxious about his safety.
"He'll definitely be fine, don't worry everyone!"
Lan Yangyang waved dismissively. How could anything possibly happen to Xi Yangyang? After all, he was holding this season's first equipment drop!
Back in Wolf Castle under the moonlight, Hui Tailang transformed back once more, returning to his wolf form.
Standing tall in the moonlight streaming through the window, Hui Tailang met General Wolf's gaze eye-to-eye in a rather awkward atmosphere.
Rewinding three minutes: Hui Tailang had been trotting along with a picture frame in his jaws, hoping to let General Wolf know he was Hui Tailang and have the chip removed.
As he passed the window and was bathed in moonlight, his body had suddenly reverted to a wolf.
He had then run into General Wolf and explained the situation. Once he finished, assuming everything was fine, Hui Tailang had prepared to go straight in search of Red Wolf.
"Once the full moon night passes, you'll turn right back into a dog!"
General Wolf ruthlessly shattered Hui Tailang's hopes. Confronted with the reality that he would turn back into a dog, Hui Tailang leaned his back against the wall under the moonlight, his eyes completely lifeless as he sank into a profound emo state.
"What? The sheep escaped?!"
Just then, General Wolf received a phone call bearing the sudden news that the sheep had broken out.
"Useless. Hmph... well, how about this? You can turn back into a dog and infiltrate their ranks. Once the sheep are successfully captured, I'll let you become a wolf again!"
General Wolf pondered for a moment before speaking to the thoroughly depressed Hui Tailang.
Staring at General Wolf with eyes full of adoration, Hui Tailang snapped into a textbook military posture, delivered a crisp salute, and turned to stride out of Wolf Castle.
Elsewhere, Lan Yangyang and the others had the misfortune of being surrounded by the pack of wolves. Just as the wolf soldiers lunged forward, a flash of blade light—or more accurately, a flash of scallion green—cut through the air.
Dao Yang stood before Lan Yangyang and the others, holding a scallion in one hand with a resolute gaze. As Dao Yang calmly lowered and tucked away the scallion, the helmets of every single wolf soldier in front of him were sliced cleanly in two halves.
For one second, absolute silence hung in the air. Then the wolf soldiers grabbed their severed helmets and fled in a panic.
"It's Grandpa Dao Yang!"
"Grandpa Dao Yang, why are you here?"
"Of course it's because I got the message!"
Principal Slow Goat rewound the plot slightly to show that the carrier pigeon they had released earlier carried a plea for help written by Principal Slow Goat tied securely to its left foot.
"Are you all alright?"
"We're fine, but Xi Yangyang..."
Everyone worried anxiously. Meanwhile, back inside Sheep Village, after Little Airplane and the others had settled down to rest, Meng Xiaoyang flashed a mischievous grin and tiptoed forward.
"I'm not staying here! I'm going on an adventure too, I'm going to find my older brother!"
Meng Xiaoyang peeked around to check her surroundings, then vaulted nimbly over the wall. As for why she was so practiced at it? Probably because she'd been led astray by Lan Yangyang.
Meng Xiaoyang's movements were clumsy and made her very easy to spot, but perhaps her luck stat was simply maxed out, because not a single soul noticed her the entire way.
"Isn't that Uncle Huier Taitailang? What's he doing?"
Peeking out from behind a tree, Meng Xiaoyang spotted the powerfully built Huier Taitailang furiously digging a hole.
*Sheep Village Guardian: Cute Doggie*
"I'd better go find Big Brother Lan Yangyang first!"
After watching from behind a tree for a moment, Meng Xiaoyang decided to seek out Lan Yangyang first and tiptoed away.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Meng Xiaoyang's feet gave way, and she went sliding down as the earth collapsed. She tumbled all the way down a tunnel straight to where Xi Yangyang was.
"Ouch."
Landing right next to Xi Yangyang, Meng Xiaoyang tilted her head to the side and passed out cold.
"So boring... why isn't Xi Yangyang back yet? I'm starving."
Lan Yangyang had just woken up from a nap among the group, letting out a big yawn as he looked around. Standing up and tiptoing away from the others, he set off to find some fruit to fill his stomach.
As Lan Yangyang strolled through the forest, his foot suddenly caught on a stray branch, sending him skidding head over heels.
"Yikes!"
The tumbling Lan Yangyang crashed straight into a patch of bushes. Strangely enough, alongside his own yelp of surprise, there was another squeak.
"What's going on? Why is the ground underneath me so soft and squishy?"
Rubbing his head, Lan Yangyang stood up and felt around beneath him, suddenly pulling up a little doggy.
The doggy had gray and white fur, and as it was held up by the scruff, it looked rather cute.
"Wait a minute, what am I calling cute?! That wretched Lan Yangyang actually sat on me!"
For three seconds, dead silence reigned. The doggy before him was none other than Hui Tailang, who was flailing his little paws wildly in the air.
Just moments earlier, Hui Tailang had been sprinting madly through the forest under the full moon in search of the little sheep.
He had just barreled through the bushes when dawn suddenly broke, instantly reverting Hui Tailang into his dog form. And right at that exact moment, Lan Yangyang had slid in with a flying shovel kick and landed right on top of him.
"A doggy!"
Lan Yangyang stared at the creature in his hands, deciding it looked quite adorable, and reached out to pet it.
"Its cheeks are so soft!"
Lan Yangyang pinched the doggy's cheeks with both hands and gave its head an occasional pat.
"Wretched Lan Yangyang! If you don't show some respect, you really think I, Hui Tailang, am just a dog?!"
Hui Tailang was furious.
He swung his little paws to strike back, but his arms were instantly intercepted and pinned by Lan Yangyang.
"Wait a minute, didn't I come out to look for food? How did I end up playing instead?"
Belatedly realizing what he was doing, Lan Yangyang snapped back to reality. He released the little paws, gave Hui Tailang's head one last lingering pat of reluctance, and turned to walk away.
"What?! You pet me and then just run off?! That is so unreasonable! Wait... a dog? Oh yeah, I'm a dog right now, they don't know I'm Hui Tailang!"
The doggy immediately bounced to its feet, trotted over, and rubbed its head affectionately against Lan Yangyang's leg as if begging not to be left behind.
"So cute."
"Well, even though I'm already this cute, generous, and charming, carrying a cute little dog around shouldn't hurt!"
Thinking this, Lan Yangyang picked the doggy up, cradled it in his arms, and continued on his way.
As for worrying that the doggy might run into danger—wasn't Xi Yangyang around? What was there to be afraid of? Besides, he was the protagonist this season.
"Oh no, am I lost?!"
Lan Yangyang scratched his head, then suddenly spun around and bumped right into Huier Taitailang.
"A wolf!"
"Second Uncle!"
Lan Yangyang and the doggy shrieked in unison, then bolted away without looking back.
"Hmph! Xi Yangyang and that little sheep might have slipped away before, but I won't miss this time!"
Growling, Huier Taitailang brandished his claws and charged forward. One sheep, one dog, and one wolf began a frantic chase through the forest.
"Stop chasing us!"
Lan Yangyang screamed at the top of his lungs while clutching the doggy in his arms. Suddenly, his foot tripped over a stone shaped like a human face, freezing him in place for a fraction of a second before he tumbled forward into a rolling ball of wool.
Ahead lay a downward slope, and the sheep-ball rolled straight down it at breakneck speed. Seeing this, Huier Taitailang simply ripped a large slab of bark straight off a nearby tree with his bare hands, sat on it, and rocketed down the grassy slope after them.
"Ahhh, what is happening?!"
Screaming, Lan Yangyang rolled endlessly into the distance with the doggy clutched tightly to his chest.
Right in the path of Lan Yangyang and Huier Taitailang, a small town happened to be holding a "Sword in the Stone"-style shovel festival.
"I'm gonna crash! Get out of the way!"
He couldn't stop—there was no stopping at all! Lan Yangyang rolled all the way down, roaring at the gathered crowd ahead to scatter.
The crowd scrambled out of the way just as Lan Yangyang came barrelling in, spinning around and accidentally knocking a shovel free in the process.
"Ugh, what is this thing?"
Crash-landing on the ground, Lan Yangyang stared blankly at the shovel in his hands, completely clueless. What on earth was this junk?
"Well, nowhere left to run now, eh?"
Huier Taitailang strode up, reaching out to fish for the chip, only to discover with a start that the chip was gone.
"Where's the chip?! The chip General Wolf gave me, where did it go?!"
Huier Taitailang rummaged frantically through his pockets. Seizing the moment, Lan Yangyang let out a war cry, shoved the shovel straight into his fleece, hoisted the doggy onto his head, and turned tail to run without looking back.
"Xi Yangyang, you're finally back!"
After waking up and spotting Xi Yangyang's return, the others rushed over anxiously to ask how things went.
"I'm fine. Also..."
Xi Yangyang awkwardly scratched the back of his head. At that moment, Meng Xiaoyang suddenly popped out from behind Xi Yangyang's back.
In her hands, Meng Xiaoyang was holding a purple object that looked suspiciously like a chip.
"Why is Meng Xiaoyang here?!"
Mei Yangyang asked in confusion. Shouldn't she still be back in Sheep Village? It was far too dangerous out here.
"It's way too dangerous here. Should we head back first and drop Meng Xiaoyang off?"
Fei Yangyang suggested, considering that Meng Xiaoyang was still too young and tagging along with them posed way too many risks.
"No way! I want to come on the adventure with everyone!"
Hearing her older brothers and sisters discussing sending her back to Sheep Village, Meng Xiaoyang raised her hand in vehement protest. She wanted to join the adventure too, and more importantly, she didn't want to leave her brother's side.
"Fine, fine, fine! We won't send you back!"