Thirteen years after the SHASI virus apocalypse, three-year-old Zhao Xiaoxiu lives in Hope Base, an unfinished high-rise building where survivors scavenge and rely on nutrient solution. Her biological father, Zhao Gang, is irresponsible and neglectful, often abandoning her for months at a time. After Zhao Gang is beaten and left for dead in the Gladiator Arena, a tentacled monster inhabits his body. The creature, which Zhao Xiaoxiu names Living Dad, cooks and feeds her roasted tentacle meat, providing the first full meal she has ever experienced. Although terrified by his grotesque appearance, she accepts his care because he ensures her survival in a world where starvation is constant.
Living Dad mimics Zhao Gang’s mannerisms perfectly, allowing them to pass as human. He is obsessed with feeding Xiaoxiu and protecting her, viewing her as the only colorful entity in his gray world. When Granny Meng and her sons, the Meng brothers, invite Zhao Gang to join a hunting team to capture mutated hyenas for credits, he agrees. Xiaoxiu insists on accompanying him, fearing that without her father figure, she will lose her guardian and return to starvation. Living Dad agrees, carrying her in a makeshift carrier as they travel to Mount Yi with the Meng brothers.
During the hunt, Xiaoxiu discovers that eating Living Dad’s meat has granted her rapid healing abilities and enhanced strength. She effortlessly wields a firewood knife and cuts through mutated weeds that would normally injure her. Living Dad uses his tentacles to capture a live mutated hyena, which the Meng brothers believe is the result of Evolution Serum. To maintain his cover, Living Dad allows Xiaoxiu to claim he took the serum. The group successfully returns to the base, earning credits and securing food for the month.
Back in the unfinished building, tensions rise when a neighbor turns into a Ghoul after taking counterfeit Evolution Serum. The base evicts the woman and her surviving child, highlighting the brutal social hierarchy and lack of mercy in the settlement. Xiaoxiu witnesses this injustice and realizes how vulnerable she would be without Living Dad. Despite her fear of his monstrous nature, she recognizes that he is the only one who provides for her. Living Dad continues to balance his predatory instincts with paternal care, teaching Xiaoxiu to hunt and survive while hiding his true identity from the other residents. The story establishes a fragile alliance between the child and the monster, driven by mutual dependence in a hostile post-apocalyptic environment.
