Familiar Territory

"...That bad man never told San Zong his name, but once, someone contacted him, and San Zong heard him say, 'No one has ever escaped the palm of my Feng Qianzhan!'"

Xia Chujian thought to herself, So that assassin was called Feng Qianzhan.

Once she got back, she would look him up properly on the Star Net.

From that man's status and position, it should not be hard to deduce who would seek out someone like him to commission a Mission...

Xia Chujian was still deep in thought when Ping Qiong came out after her shower.

Xia Chujian said nothing more. She yawned and lay down on the Small Bed she had fashioned from her seat.

Ping Qiong was tired too. Full, warm, and freshly bathed, all she wanted was another good sleep. That was heaven on earth.

By a little after nine at night, Xia Chujian and Ping Qiong were both fast asleep.

But San Zong, the Pig-head Humanoid, opened his eyes.

San Zong looked at Small Dog curled up beside him and quietly nudged its head with a finger.

Small Dog swayed groggily, only waking after being nudged several times.

It opened its bright black little eyes and looked at San Zong in a daze, seemingly unable to understand why he had woken it.

San Zong slowly got up, gathered Small Dog into his arms, then hunched over and shuffled step by step toward the Flying Vehicle's cabin door.

He quietly glanced back at the dim Cabin, making sure both humans were asleep and would not wake, before gently pulling the cabin door open a crack. He squeezed out sideways, then hurriedly shut the door.

But in that instant, the frigid air outside spread into the Flying Vehicle.

Ping Qiong mumbled in her sleep and pulled the coat she was using as a blanket tighter around herself.

Xia Chujian, however, had already awakened the instant San Zong rose.

Because she constantly reminded herself that she was an Ordinary Person without Mental Strength, she was always more vigilant than others whenever she carried out Missions outside, worried that Gene Evolvers who had evolved Mental Strength would set her up.

That habit kept her alert even in her sleep.

Without making a sound, she got up, put on Ping Qiong's Helmet, casually grabbed the Destroyer 800 Fully Automatic Submachine Gun hanging beside her Small Bed, slung the Judicator No. 7 Sniper Rifle over her back, and followed San Zong out of the Flying Vehicle.

Nights in the Land of the Far North within the Exotic Beast Forest were far colder than daytime.

The temperature was still minus eighty degrees during the day, but at night, it dropped below minus one hundred.

Fortunately, she had self-heating gloves. Otherwise, she would not even have been able to hold her gun steady.

The moment she jumped out, the Griffon Sea Eagle sleeping beside the Flying Vehicle woke up.

Its amber-crystal eyes turned toward Xia Chujian. It tilted its head, seemingly unable to understand why she had come out.

Xia Chujian raised a finger to her lips, signaling for the Griffon Sea Eagle not to make any noise.

The Griffon Sea Eagle blinked, then lowered its head and buried it beneath the warm feathers under its wings, going back to sleep.

Xia Chujian gave it a meaningful glance, then followed San Zong and Small Dog's trail forward.

San Zong was carrying Small Dog, so he was not moving quickly.

The ground was covered in snow, and by nightfall, many places had frozen solid.

The gale still howled, letting out wave after wave of shrieks between heaven and earth.

Where San Zong could not walk upright, he dropped to the ground, placed Small Dog on his back, and crawled forward.

Xia Chujian did not have it easy following behind him either.

But unlike San Zong, she was not barefoot. She wore long boots made from Alien Beast fur issued by the Association.

The soles of those boots had special anti-slip measures.

Even in such harsh weather, she could still walk steadily, though not very quickly.

After walking through the night for about Twenty Minutes, San Zong, with Small Dog on his back, turned this way and that before reaching the nearby woods.

Xia Chujian narrowed her eyes.

Looking through her Helmet's Eyepiece, this appeared to be the patch of woods she had seen when she first arrived.

It was neither too close nor too far from the Flying Vehicle.

What was San Zong doing there? Xia Chujian did not want to think the worst of him, but she had no choice but to stay wary.

After all, she had known this Pig-head Humanoid for less than a day.

San Zong never imagined anyone was following him.

With Small Dog on his back, he finally crawled off the hard, slightly slippery snow and into the woods.

There was not as much snow here, and the ground was not frozen solid.

He stood up, let out a soft breath, took Small Dog off his back and into his arms, then continued forward.

After another thirty-odd minutes, they arrived before a moonlit clearing deep in the woods.

Following behind him, Xia Chujian was also Shocked by the sight.

The clearing looked to be about one mu in size.

Sky-scraping Trees surrounded the edge of the clearing like towering Enclosure Walls, sealing it tightly within.

Bright moonlight spilled down from the night sky, perfectly bathing the clearing.

The soil in this clearing was also different from elsewhere.

The earth exposed amid the scattered snow was pure black, an exceptionally fine and even black.

And right in the middle of that pure black soil grew several Blood Kirins!

"A nest" was truly the only way to describe them!

Xia Chujian was stunned.

She could not help quietly counting them.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine!

There were a full nine Blood Kirins!

Under the moonlight, the bluish-green plants stood out sharply against the pure black earth.

A gust of wind swept past, making the branches rustle, yet it did not affect the Blood Kirins at all.

They stretched their branches beneath the moonlight, growing with all their might.

San Zong looked at the Blood Kirins with satisfaction and sighed. He said to Small Dog, "Small Si Xi, in a little while, these Blood Kirins will all be mature. Let's dig them all up and take them back to Female Sire!"

Small Dog softly called, "Wu Er Fu! Wu Er Fu!"

It wagged its little tail in San Zong's arms and rubbed its head against him. But when it turned around, it saw Xia Chujian standing directly behind San Zong! Small Dog's eyes widened, and it cried even louder, "Wu Er Fu! Wu Er Fu!"

San Zong patted its back. "What's wrong? Are you too cold? Right, isn't Small Si Xi's nest nearby? Do you want Small Si Xi to go back to the nest and sleep for a while? Once San Zong has dug up all the Blood Kirins, I'll call Small Si Xi?"

Small Dog panicked and began struggling violently.

Xia Chujian felt a little embarrassed and softly coughed twice.

Those two coughs were like bombs exploding beside San Zong's ears.

San Zong's body went rigid at once.

After a moment, Xia Chujian had already walked to his side. Looking at the Blood Kirins in the center of the clearing, her eyes gleamed as she said, "These are all the Blood Kirins for this year, right?"

San Zong trembled and nodded, stammering, "Y-yes... yes... Blood Kirins only produce ten plants a year..."

He had already dug up one earlier, leaving nine here now.

"You knew all along?" Xia Chujian continued expressionlessly.

San Zong nodded. "San Zong smelled them..."

"You didn't tell Feng Qianzhan?"

Second Update. See you tomorrow!