Chapter 196: Catch one
“Two hours of volunteer work?”
Huai Yu felt conflicted: “That sounds difficult, doesn’t it?”
The功勋所 (Merit Institution) was so remote, the transportation alone would take up a lot of time. Not to mention having to go there every day… everyone still has to work, so it would be hard to keep up with it.
“Yeah.” Zhou Qian nodded. “This is intentional by the government.”
“Just like your big and little cubs, once a pet animal mutates, in the early stages, it not only protects the family, but after they can communicate with humans to some extent, if they are willing to go to the wilds, whether for exploration or cooperation with the Guard Army, they can bring more benefits.”
“Correspondingly, after their mutation value surpasses a critical point, they become more difficult to handle. If one case appears, the government has to invest more human, material, and financial resources.”
“In such a situation, if a private individual wants to raise a mutated animal, they are taking on high risk and high reward, and they must also contribute something in return.”
Such as contribution points, or their time and labor.
“The filtration system at the Merit Institution is equivalent to that of a hospital. As long as they are there and don’t go on more than three months of tasks per year, mutated animals generally won’t surpass the critical value.”
“So… Xiao Yu, you need to be careful. After your big and little cubs grow up, unless you never let them fight, they will eventually need to be sent there.”
The air, the rain, the soil… everything around them was filled with pollution. Even a simple breath could silently increase the mutation value.
So far, mutated creatures could only be owned by a few people, and without financial backing, they couldn’t afford to support them.
Huai Yu frowned, thinking about it, and finally concluded: “I still need to improve my abilities—”
She held out her palm and looked at it repeatedly. Her skin was fair and soft, her fingers slender, and there wasn’t much flesh: “I wonder if my purification ability could be used on people and animals?”
If she had known earlier, she could have tested it on the serious criminal that Lin Xuefeng had captured.
But now—
Zhou Qian thought about the appearance of big and little cubs, the barnacle-like tree, the filter-absorbing reeds, and the talking ginseng. He looked at her warily:
“Don’t use your ability on humans!”
Huai Yu puffed out her cheeks: “Got it, got it.”
She wouldn’t be so reckless.
But then she looked at Zhou Qian expectantly: “Brother Zhou Qian, are there still any heavy criminals on the run? The kind that could be sentenced to death at any moment?”
“If it’s convenient, could you catch one for me?”
The delicate girl raised her head, sincerely pleading with him.
Zhou Qian inhaled sharply, then gritted his teeth and threw the blame elsewhere: “It’s all Lin General’s fault! What did he teach you? You’re saying such things!”
“That dead heavy criminal from before, you—”
“I didn’t do anything! I didn’t do anything!” Huai Yu waved her hands frantically. “I’m so kind and don’t have any abilities. What could I do?”
Zhou Qian stared at her, no longer believing a word: “A truly kind and weak person wouldn’t talk about capturing a heavy criminal.”
Listen to the tone—if someone didn’t know, they would think she was talking about catching a wild chicken.
Hmph.
Huai Yu thought to herself: “Old fossil! As expected, his thinking isn’t as flexible as Lin Xuefeng’s!”
“Got it, Uncle Zhou Qian—”
She dragged out the words.
The next moment, Zhou Qian curled his fingers and knocked her head hard.
…
“Xiao Yu, are you really unable to remember what you used to do? I don’t think you were a proper person.”
Huai Yu recalled Zhou Qian’s words just before bed and couldn’t help but feel upset, curling up in her blanket.
Recently, her bones often hurt at night, so she had to add a packet of nutrient solution before bed. After getting used to regular meals, drinking this made her feel unpleasant, and brushing her teeth and lying down left her in a bad mood.
Thinking about his words only made her feel worse.
But perhaps it was due to growing, this small frustration disappeared after a couple of tosses in bed, replaced by drowsiness.
And in her sleep, it felt as though she fell off an endless cliff, her body shaking abruptly. All around her, rose branches supported her. It didn’t hurt, but she saw blood flowing…
“…Are you alright?”
Huai Yu stood under a tree with a backpack.
Surrounding her was a dense forest, but the trees weren’t tall. The mountain was a bit steep, quiet and deep, with only the distant sound of birds chirping.
She stood there, staring at the ground.
There used to be a cluster of mushrooms, tightly packed together, but they had been forcefully dug up and now lay in pieces, scattered all around.
Following the trace, she looked down and saw a young man lying on the sloped ground, unconscious.
Instinctively, she rushed forward, first cautiously checking his breath, then gently shaking him. Hearing a groan, she carefully asked:
“Are you alright?”
She often went into the mountains, so just by looking at his clothes and condition, she could tell that he was likely out hiking and accidentally slipped and fell.
But this mountain didn’t have many rocks, and there weren’t many shrubs either. Based on her experience, even if he fell from the mountain, the injury shouldn’t be serious.
Now that she saw he was reacting, she relaxed and smiled at him: “Did you fall?”
The young man looked up, revealing a youthful and handsome face. Huai Yu, in her dream, suddenly realized—
It was him!
He was her [underline: former]扶贫 (poverty alleviation) subject, her super ex-boyfriend!
Even though she knew who he was, the scene before her still continued.
A faint, bitter smile appeared on his refined, fair face. His brow slightly furrowed, and a subtle sadness emanated from him, making her feel a pang of pity.
“Yeah, I was climbing the mountain and accidentally slipped. Did you save me?”
The young girl with slightly tanned skin and bright eyes laughed openly: “No, I didn’t do anything. The mountain isn’t high, you probably just got a little dizzy from the fall.”
His face reddened, likely embarrassed. He struggled to push himself off the ground, but his body was clearly in pain, as he grimaced and hissed.
The young Huai Yu stood up, and although the forest light wasn’t very good, Huai Yu could almost see through his eyes and sense her own appearance—
Delicate brows, lively phoenix eyes, a slightly thin face, slightly tanned skin with a bit of roughness, a few sunspots on her cheekbones.
Although she was thin, when she extended her arm, the muscles in her forearm were clearly tensed.
“Here, let me help you up. Can you get up?”
He hesitated for a moment: “I’m afraid I’ll pull you down.”
The girl smiled: “I run up the mountain every day, I’m stronger than you. Hurry up, there are bugs on the ground, get up quickly!”
The word “bugs” seemed to trigger his nerves, and the next moment, his warm hand grasped her arm.
Update 1! Yay! We’re really close to the top five! Please, please, if all the top five are my acquaintances (including myself), it would be such an honor!
I’m now telling everyone what the old Huai Yu used to be like… From dying and being reborn in the rose, to the cold Lin Xuefeng, they all fulfilled her dreams.
