Call Me Daddy

In the original owner’s memory, only one person in the Su family awakened a special ability during this event, and that was the original owner’s daughter, Su Su, who was only a little over 3 years old.

And the special ability Su Su awakened was one of the rarest types; beast control.

The anomaly not only affected humans but also all animals on Earth. Domesticated livestock and poultry fled to the broader, freer forests. They seemed agitated by their confined living spaces, whether in large-scale farms or among ordinary rural households. Both kinds of poultry and livestock exhibited similar restlessness.

The large-scale poultry migration Su Aobai had just witnessed was one of the early signs of this agitation.

Of course, there was a way to address this; converting free-range animals to caged ones. Confined in cages, they couldn’t escape, and thus, the problem would be solved.

Initially, this method did temporarily alleviate the problem of runaway poultry and livestock. However, over time, these caged animals became increasingly agitated. Unable to escape from the cages, they continually crashed into them. Even when injured, they didn’t stop as long as there was an opening. Consequently, a large number of farm animals died in this process.

Many farms went bankrupt as a result. At the same time, with the disappearance of commonly consumed animals such as chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, sheep, and cattle, humanity had to find new sources of meat.

Most people needed to eat meat, especially in the future where physical labor would be intense. Without sufficient meat to replenish energy, many might not be able to endure. But what if these poultry and livestock could no longer be raised and had fled to deep mountains or roamed freely in the countryside and cities?

Thus, humanity’s way of obtaining meat resources reverted to ancient times. Since raising livestock was no longer feasible, hunting became necessary. If hunters could catch the animals, there would be meat to eat; if not, they would have to trade other resources with those who could catch these small creatures. The profession of hunter re-emerged.

For a long period, people walking on roads might accidentally step on traps set by others to capture animals until individuals with abilities similar to Su Su’s appeared.

Those with beast control abilities could calm the agitated emotions of animals. The once-lost livestock industry reappeared because people discovered that as long as a beast controller was within a certain range, these animals seemed to return to their pre-anomaly behavior. They would recognize their nests, respond to commands to gather for feeding, and mostly stay within their own territories, no longer attempting to escape.

However, the beast control ability still had many limitations. For instance, they could only control animals within a certain range. In the future, most animals had retreated to deep forests. To restore livestock farming, it was necessary to first capture live animals, preferably both males and females, to ensure breeding. Additionally, the number of animals captured couldn’t be too small; otherwise, expanding the scale through just a few pairs of poultry would become a slow process.

Nevertheless, as long as livestock could be farmed again, it was a good start.

Thus, beast controllers quickly became highly sought after. In the Su family, with only Su Su possessing a special ability, it was enough to ensure that her entire family would never worry about basic needs.

If things were only like that, Su Aobai wouldn’t have come into the picture.

***

From Su Su’s current perspective, her father was a good father who often prepared snacks, clothes, and toys for her. At such a young age, it was hard for her to distinguish between genuine affection and mere superficial liking.

The original owner appeared to be a competent father to outsiders solely because Deng Caihua, while alive, constantly advised him. For a mama’s boy, a mother’s words were always the most correct. To put it bluntly, the original owner’s personality resembled a wooden puppet, merely following orders. Without his mother around to control him, his life became chaotic.

Whose words should he listen to? Whose advice should he follow?

What should he do? How should he do things?

The original owner was completely confused.

He didn’t have a deep emotional connection with his daughter, Su Su. Firstly, because he divorced Su Su’s mother shortly after her birth. The old lady took Su Su back to the countryside for better care when she was very young. The original owner, busy with work, was home only a few days each month. During those few days, much of his time was spent listening to his mother’s arrangements for the following month’s trivial matters. How deep a bond could he develop with a child he rarely saw?

Moreover, Su Su’s biological mother had abandoned her husband and child for a better future, subjecting the original owner to considerable public criticism. Although this seemingly quiet and honest man harbored some resentment, he had to direct some of his frustration towards the child after his ex-wife left.

However, his most dutiful mother liked Su Su. The original owner dared not show his true feelings and had to play the role of a competent father as his mother wished.

Children’s perceptions are sensitive. Faced with the fact that her beloved grandmother spoke of her father working hard outside to support her, and that her father always brought back snacks, clothes, and toys when he came home, even such a young child simply believed that her father truly cared for her.

After Deng Caihua’s unexpected death, Su Su, the child raised solely by her grandmother, was the most distressed. During this time, she noticed that her father, who had once “cared” for her, had become increasingly indifferent. Terrified that she must have done something wrong to provoke her father’s dislike, Su Su, in her pain and anxiety, tried desperately to please this closest blood relative. The colder her father became, the more obedient she tried to be, as if she believed that if she was sufficiently well-behaved, the loving father she once knew would return.

When Su Su’s special ability was discovered, her father began to treat her better than ever before, which led Su Su to believe that the father she had once known had come back. She mistakenly thought that as long as she was obedient and excellent, her father would like her as he used to.

Her father did indeed treat her much better, but not out of paternal love. Instead, it was more like a fascination with a newfound treasure.

***

After Deng Caihua’s death, with no one to control him, the original owner exhibited another flaw; he was easily swayed.

The original owner had many relatives on his father’s side. When his father was killed by bandits during a transport, it was considered a work-related death, and the company provided a significant amount of compensation. This compensation, which was substantial at the time, caused significant discord with Deng Caihua and her relatives, leading to a complete fallout.

During Deng Caihua’s lifetime, those relatives who had been intimidated by her didn’t dare to visit. However, after the anomaly and Su Su’s rare ability emerged, and with Deng Caihua no longer around, those scheming relatives returned one by one.

They acted as if they were elders, showing concern and affection for the original owner. At first, Su Yiqing, the elder brother, intervened. After the old lady’s death, the original owner most listened to this elder brother’s advice.

But the good times didn’t last. One day, Su Yiqing accidentally fell into a man-made trap set for hunting, with his chest pierced by a sharp stake in the pit. By the time they discovered him, it was too late to save him.

Sister-in-law Kong Yao, while enduring her grief, held a funeral for her husband. After the funeral, she returned to her parental home with her son, Su Yuan.

She didn’t want to rely on her niece Su Su to support her and her son. Returning to her parents’ home, life was hard but stable.

Kong Yao thought that as an adult, the original owner should manage his life on his own. She didn’t want to be a widow constantly under the same roof with her brother-in-law, as it would not look good to others.

However, she didn’t expect that once she left, the Su family relatives would immediately swarm around like flies. Without anyone to discourage them, they quickly won over the original owner, making him view them as family.

What if family members were short of food?

He would provide!

What if family members wanted meat?

He would supply!

But the original owner had no real abilities. His former skills had become useless after the anomaly, and he was dependent on his daughter Su Su for survival.

If it was just to support himself, relying on Su Su’s abilities, he could have easily secured a job at a breeding farm, which would have been enough for them to live comfortably. However, supporting such a large group of people obviously required something more than a regular job.

Under these circumstances, Su Su was forced to overextend her abilities. Although the resources she gathered far exceeded the needs of their small family and her own capacity as a child, if her father said it wasn’t enough, she would comply with his demands. She would join a group of adults to venture into deep mountains and forests, using her special ability to capture large wild beasts.

Perhaps due to the chaotic times, former poachers and hunters had become increasingly reckless. While legitimate hunters were targeting small livestock with high reproductive capabilities, such as the poultry that had escaped into the forests, these poachers and hunters continued to pursue rare large animals like tigers, lions, and bears. The emergence of beast control users made their hunting efforts even more successful.

At such a young age, Su Su, unaware of right and wrong, became a member of the poachers.

***

The chaos didn’t signify the collapse of the national government.

Moreover, the government and the people of the country had always been united, working together to maintain social order. While many countries’ governments had collapsed in later times, China’s government continued to exist and strive to uphold societal order.

Hunting rare animals was undoubtedly illegal, especially after the anomaly. No one knew whether the disappearance of a certain rare animal might trigger another significant upheaval. Therefore, the government remained strict in its crackdown on poachers targeting endangered animals.

During one such crackdown, Su Su’s poaching team was discovered. Due to her young age, Su Su was overlooked by the soldiers and managed to escape by chance.

After this incident, instead of realizing the danger, the original owner simply found another poaching team for Su Su because only poaching could bring immense wealth.

At that time, seeing soldiers in uniform surrounding them, Su Su began to sense that what she was doing might be wrong. It was her first moment of courage to resist her father. However, the original owner shattered Su Su’s courage with a single sentence.

“It’s your fault your grandmother died!”

3-year-old Su Su didn’t understand, but at 6 or 7, after experiencing so many upheavals, Su Su understood the meaning of the statement.

When her grandmother fell ill, Su Su was the only one by her side. She had thought that her grandmother, lying on the ground, was merely asleep, and she continued to play with the ladybugs she had caught beside her. Exhausted from playing, she had even fallen asleep next to her grandmother.

The original owner said that if she had run out to seek help at that time, her grandmother might not have died.

What did such a small child understand? But Su Su felt that, as her father said, her grandmother’s death was her fault.

If she had sought help in time, her beloved grandmother might have survived, and her once-loving father would not have grown to despise and ignore her for her role in her grandmother’s death.

What she was doing now might be wrong, but if it made her father happy, it was atonement, it was right.

Thus, the once lively and adorable little girl bore the heavy burden of guilt and became increasingly silent. She fully integrated into the poacher’s ranks, evolving from a hired child into a grown-up who gathered a team and became a key figure behind a large poaching organization.