Chapter 114: Sure, But It’ll Cost Extra
Chi Yanliu froze, the storm in his usually calm eyes breaking loose.
His outstretched hand closed on nothing but air.
Chi Qian’s falling figure shrank smaller and smaller in Chi Yanliu’s pupils.
Below the city wall, Chi Fengxiao and the others went pale with panic, even rushing forward as if to catch her with their own bodies.
The livestream fell into utter silence, terrified by the scene.
Chi Lisen, who had been idly watching the stream, shot to his feet and immediately ordered Secretary Zhong to contact the helicopter pilot.
He was going to fly to Country C himself.
Chi Muzhe and Chi Chaoshen did the same without hesitation.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
A sharp, familiar whistle rang out in the distance.
But near the castle, there wasn’t a single bird in sight—not even an animal.
Unless… unless a flock of eagles appeared, who else could possibly save her?
“Caw—!”
With a piercing cry, a dark shadow suddenly burst out from the castle, feathers scattering as it came.
Its colossal body blotted out the sun, the gale from its wings stinging people’s cheeks.
It was an eagle.
A giant eagle.
Its wingspan had to be at least seven or eight meters.
The drones couldn’t even fit it in a single frame—if a golden eagle saw it, it would have to call this one “grandpa.”
Its sharp eyes narrowed, locking on Chi Qian as it dove. At the very last second before she hit the ground, it caught her squarely on its back.
Then it soared upward.
Carrying her, it spiraled higher and higher, nearly breaking free of the Milky Way.
Chi Fengxiao and the others were almost knocked over by the force of its wings, barely managing to stay upright.
Shen Jiashu leapt up, thrilled. “Daddy, what kind of eagle is that? So cool, so cool!”
Shen Jing: “Son, Daddy doesn’t know either. We’ll have to ask Qian when she comes back.”
“Wait—what if the eagle just swallows her whole?!” Luo Fan went pale, his fear of massive creatures flaring up.
Luo Zichuan reassured him: “No, I saw it catch her on its back.”
Chi Fengxiao craned his neck, searching the sky. “Where’s my girl? Where’s that bird taking her?!”
The others managed to keep calm, but the livestream viewers were losing their minds.
[This is photoshopped, right?! Please tell me it’s P-ed!!!!]
[Where did this bird come from? There’s no way an eagle this big still exists!]
[She… I… the bird… HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?!]
[You guys okay??]
[Thanks for the invite, already in heaven, just got off the elevator, downed some poison, should last me another 500 years.]
Their mental state was visibly unraveling, yet many still grabbed screenshots and sent them to the Natural History Bird Museum’s bot: “This is an eagle, right? What species grows this big and can carry a human??”
Bird Museum bot: This is the Argentine giant eagle, extinct for tens of thousands of years.
Netizens: ?? No, I literally just saw it fly off with Chi Qian!
Bird Museum bot: LOL, you probably need a psychiatrist more than an ornithologist.
Netizens: ?
The bot quietly retracted its message.
The Chi family, who had all been holding their breath, finally relaxed and canceled their plans to fly to Country C.
Chi Lisen soon received a call from the head of the Animal Protection Bureau, who cautiously asked if Chi Qian truly possessed some special ability.
Chi Lisen: “My granddaughter is very ordinary. She just raises pigs, plays with dogs, and keeps turtles. Nothing special.”
Bureau chief: “But she’s tamed raptors and even ridden an orca…”
Chi Lisen: “Director Lin, don’t tell me you’ve been fooled by the show’s special effects too?”
“This…”
After hanging up, Chi Lisen looked down at his tablet and let out a long sigh.
That troublesome child never failed to cause him worry.
And what was Chi Qian, now the center of the world’s attention, doing at that very moment?
She was… being extorted by an eagle.
“Welcome to Eagle Airlines. You’re our first passenger and entitled to a 10% discount. How would you like to pay?” the giant eagle asked politely.
Chi Qian: “…I don’t have money.”
“Yes, you do. You gave the fat snake next door a ribbon and a silver bell, didn’t you?”
“I grew up poor…”
“Chased ten miles by a cow and broke your leg, right?”
Chi Qian rubbed her nose. “Since when do birds eavesdrop on people?”
The eagle puffed out its chest proudly. “I wasn’t eavesdropping—the fat snake next door told me.”
“You were supposed to be a statue, weren’t you?” Chi Qian stroked the warm feathers on its back, finding the texture pleasant.
She had expected maybe a golden eagle or a gyrfalcon to come when summoned. Never imagined something this fierce.
Even the giant eagle hidden in the castle had come out for her.
Somehow, that seemed just right.
The giant eagle explained, “I don’t know either. I was sleeping, half-dreaming that someone was calling me but couldn’t wake up. Then the fat snake next door slapped me awake. It said you were in danger, and I had to come help.”
Chi Qian thought of that pudgy Golden Noodle and figured the bow hadn’t been wasted.
“Can I pluck one of your feathers?” she asked.
The eagle nearly bristled. “Do you ask something like that? What for?”
“I want to make a quill pen.”
“…Fine, but it’ll cost extra.”
“Cheaper, please. I’m just a student.”
“Alright.”
Chi Qian sat cross-legged, sifting through its plumage before finally choosing one.
When she yanked it out, the eagle let out a shrill “Aooow!”
Honestly, it sounded almost indecent.
The eagle whined, “That hurt.”
Chi Qian blew gently over the spot. “There, blow on it and it won’t hurt anymore.”
The eagle froze, its head suddenly feeling hot.
Chi Qian glanced at the dizzying height below, then suddenly had an idea. “Can you do something for me?”
“Say it.”
The livestream audience was already numb.
The camera showed Chi Qian astride the giant eagle’s back, clutching its feathers, face lit with excitement as she waited.
Then the giant eagle soared into the sky— and suddenly dove.
A nose-diving plunge, then a sharp turn midair, climbing back up only to dive again!
It really felt like riding a roller coaster!
So, the entire livestream could hear Chi Qian’s loud, gleeful “goose goose goose goose” laughter.
[Wait… birds… birds can be ridden like this??]
[That laugh—no way you can laugh like that without years of terminal gremlin energy]
[At first I thought she was gonna die, turns out it’s my worldview that died hahahaha I can’t live anymore]
[Your Excellency Witch, please take me too! I want to ride the roller-eagle!]
Traffic exploded across every platform, and the Chi Group’s phones nearly rang off the hook.
The show crew looked like the losers in all this, smiling desperately to appease the bigwigs.
Only Chi Corporation even owned drones with such advanced filming tech, so the producers couldn’t afford to offend Chi Lisen. They had no choice but to insist that the live footage was just special effects.
But trouble brewed overseas.
The Kemiya Desert was located in Country C.
The appearance of the giant eagle drew military attention, and professional researchers had already been dispatched.
Someone uploaded the Escape: Everybody’s Darling livestream clips onto Country C’s local forums.
And just like that, the worldview of Country C’s citizens took a heavy blow.
[Is this a movie? The girl riding the eagle looks so cool]
[These giant eagles went extinct ages ago. Totally fake]
[I remember this girl—when I was in that cruise ship accident out on the open sea, she led a bunch of sea animals and rescued us all!!]
[So… does this country have magic?]
[Clearly CGI, just cheap crowd-pleasing gimmicks]
Most people refused to believe it was real, scoffing in disdain.
The C-country military sent people too, but like the rescue team, they couldn’t locate the golden castle at all.
It was like some alien artifact—undetectable even to scanners.
After Chi Qian had had her fill of the roller coaster ride, she suddenly remembered her teammates still waiting on the wall.
She had the eagle fly over and hover beside it, motioning to Chi Yanliu: “Get on.”
Chi Yanliu: “…” Is this supposed to be a plane?
