Back at the Predator faction's headquarters.
The members had just returned, faces full of frustration and emptiness.
But the moment they stepped in, they froze—Snow Sniper was already there, casually sipping tea like nothing had happened.
Snowy Owl blinked in disbelief. "Huh? You're drinking tea?"
Snow Sniper let out a small laugh. "Is it really that shocking if I drink tea?"
Cold Orca stepped closer with his usual cynical expression. "Didn't you always say—" He mimicked her cold tone perfectly, making a deadpan face. "'Sorry, I don't drink anything sweet. Just plain water for me.'"
"I still don't drink sweet stuff. This is just unsweetened tea… try it." Snow Sniper handed the cup to Cold Orca.
He took it, sipped, and immediately spat it out. "Peh! What kind of tea is this?!" He wiped his mouth in disgust.
Everyone else just stared, baffled.
"Wait—this isn't about the tea! Why the hell are you back all of a sudden? Weren't you done with us? Different goals and all that?" Cold Orca snapped, angry now.
White Bear chimed in. "Yeah, you look way too relaxed… mission accomplished or something?"
Snow Falcon sat down beside Snow Sniper, staring seriously. "And your words aren't as sharp as usual."
Snow Leopard appeared behind her. "Explain. Everything."
Snow Sniper finished her tea in one slow sip, then spoke quietly. "You sure you want to hear what I went through?"
They all leaned in, curiosity piqued.
She hesitated for a second. Nic had told her to act like nothing happened… but her sharp instincts told her this might actually help in the long run.
"I just passed out and had a nightmare," she said flatly.
Silence. Total disbelief.
White Wolf stepped forward and grabbed both her cheeks. "Hey, don't bullshit us. I know you 100%. Your personality, your attitude, the way you talk—everything's different now. And you're telling me you passed out and had a nightmare? The Snow Sniper I know never passes out and sure as hell doesn't care about dreams. You don't care about anything—not even my original goal or anyone else's."
Snow Leopard gaped at how long their usually quiet leader was talking. "Oh wow… turns out our leader secretly cares about Snow Sniper."
White Wolf ignored the comment and waited for her answer.
"I dreamed I was killed by every single victim I ever took out. Shot in the legs, riddled across my body, and finally my head blown apart by all of them at once. Exactly the way I killed them." She still remembered how real it felt.
"Bullshit! You sure you had a dream like that? That's just fate!" Orca yelled.
White Wolf sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I was so sure you wouldn't be affected by crap like that. Orca's right—that's our fate now. Just like in the wild: predators hunt to eat, prey fights to survive and eat another day. The only difference is now we're the predators. It's not wrong. We're just doing what fate set for us. The ones who died? They failed. That's their fate."
Snow Sniper stood up and showed them the shattered fragments of her sniper rifle. "I know. But do you really think the ones who survive will keep surviving forever?"
White Wolf frowned, confused.
"Fragments of your sniper? What happened?" he asked.
"My sniper got smashed to pieces by the prey I was hunting. I almost died." She tossed the broken pieces aside.
Then she pointed straight at White Wolf. "I'm just saying… it's possible those prey could rise up and strike back. So I'm swallowing my ego and fighting alongside you guys from now on."
Snowy Owl immediately pulled up her laptop and opened the high-caste secret site.
"Everyone, look at this."
She turned the screen toward them. They all crowded around.
On the display: images of the bandits who'd tried to mess with Iskarn—all dead, wiped out completely.
"Isn't that normal? Those idiots attacked Iskarn of all places. There are two ex-Defense faction members there," Snow Leopard said.
"No, not that—look below!" Snowy Owl pointed more clearly.
The report stated that a high-caste spy in Iskarn had witnessed a raven-like figure defeat both ex-Defense members in a single attack.
"Raven…? New Predator faction member?" Snow Falcon wondered.
Snowy Owl actually knew who it was—at least the raven part—but she wasn't sure about the real identity. Snow Sniper still had no clue it was Death Raven.
"What the hell? We haven't even beaten Golden Eagle yet and now there's a new one? Snowy Owl, dig deeper—is this guy low-caste or high-caste?" White Wolf ordered firmly.
After searching, nothing came up. Even the high castes had no info. That meant high chance it was low-caste.
"So what now? Mark the raven as an enemy? Or ignore it and focus on Golden Eagle?" White Bear asked, already looking bored and hungry.
White Wolf answered decisively. "For now, we ignore it. If it shows up and interferes, we kill it on sight."
Everyone nodded in agreement. But Snowy Owl and Snow Sniper both raised their hands at the same time, then glanced at each other—perfect timing.
"Uh… you first, Snow Sniper," Snowy Owl said with a small smile, gesturing for her to go.
Snow Sniper nodded. "We should keep ignoring threats that don't benefit us…"
"Yeah, I know," White Wolf cut in. "But Lady Golden Eagle does benefit us. We ignore the raven… and you're still not helping against Golden Eagle?"
Snow Sniper thought for a moment, then finally agreed to join the attack.
White Wolf smiled, relieved. Everyone relaxed—now that Snow Sniper was in, Snowy Owl's prepared strategy could actually work.
Meanwhile, Cold Orca looked pissed. "Tch, typical fickle woman," he muttered and walked off.
"Hey, where you going? We're about to discuss the plan," White Bear called.
"Getting some fresh air. Just summarize my part later—keep it simple." Cold Orca left without another word.
Snow Falcon laughed. "Haha, let her be. He catches on quick—he'll get it when the time comes."
After that, they dove into planning how to take down Lady Golden Eagle.
---
Meanwhile, Nic had arrived back at the small barricaded village called Vintireg—where Fang and Bunny lived.
He approached the main gate and saw Bunny leaning against it, casually munching on meat, her eyes sharp and scanning the outside.
"I'm back," Nic said, waving.
Bunny ignored him and kept eating. "Is this your house or something? Whatever—welcome back, I guess. Poor you."
Nic raised an eyebrow, muttering to himself. "Why's this arctic hare suddenly so snappy?"
Then Fang showed up and walked over.
"So you're back? What'd you do out there?" Fang asked.
"Yeah, I recruited all your old Defense faction members. They should be willing to gather when you call," Nic said.
"Seriously? Even that stubborn arctic fox?" Fang grabbed both of Nic's shoulders.
"Uh, the arctic fox named Felicia? Yeah, she's super stubborn and wouldn't listen to me… but she'd probably come if you called her," Nic said, scratching his cheek with a small laugh.
Bunny overheard from a distance. "No way Felicia would join. She's the most annoying member—always so damn stubborn."
"Ah, sorry about that. Bunny and Felicia never got along… even though they're both equally stubborn," Fang whispered to Nic.
"I HEARD THAT!" Bunny marched over and kicked Fang.
"Ugh—haha, okay okay, sorry! Just kidding," Fang laughed.
They moved inside to talk. Nic was about to head out to pick everyone up, but Fang stopped him.
"No need. Actually, all the small low-caste villages and towns are connected by secret underground tunnels built decades ago by our predecessors."
Bunny continued. "But these tunnels aren't for just anyone. If they get discovered, it's over. Only we use them—and only people who can take responsibility. If the timing's off, we could end up walking right under predators and they'd hear us."
"Oh, I see… so they connect to the hidden city Vintervirk too?" Nic asked.
Fang nodded. "Exactly. Vintervirk is the central hub for the whole network. We usually gather there."
"Then should we just meet up there?" Nic stood.
"Probably. I'll head over and contact everyone to come. You don't have to pick them up," Fang said.
After that, Bunny and Fang headed toward the hidden underground entrance. But Nic didn't follow.
Bunny noticed. "Hey, come on—why're you just standing there?"
"I think I forgot something. Do you guys know Fino?" Nic asked.
Fang turned, the name sounding familiar. "I think I tried recruiting him once… but he refused. You invited him too?"
"Yeah, but he's still thinking about it. I'll go see him and meet you guys at the gathering spot later," Nic said, already turning to leave.
Nic headed toward Fino's location, while Fang and Bunny went on to the hidden city Vintervirk.
To be continued…