Unable to Pull the Trigger (Second Update)

"...Don't!"

Xia Chujian couldn't help crying out.

Gritting her teeth, she thrust the barrel of the Destroyer 800 Fully Automatic Submachine Gun in her hand into Small Dog's little grass nest without a second thought, pressing it against its newly opened puppy mouth.

Small Dog's furry, plump, round little body suddenly trembled.

It clearly had never expected Xia Chujian to point something like that at it! It bit down on the gun barrel and stared blankly at Xia Chujian.

The headlamp on the Helmet Xia Chujian had set on the ground was so bright that its eyes were almost blinded by the glare.

Yet it continued staring fixedly at Xia Chujian, baring its tiny milk teeth and snarling at her.

In its own mind, it probably thought it had assumed its fiercest posture. But in Xia Chujian's eyes, it was still so adorable it made her want to cough up blood.

Was such an adorable, harmless little puppy really going to die beneath her gun like this?

This wasn't Xia Chujian's first time killing someone, and she had no psychological barrier against killing animals either.

Besides, she was doing this to save her Aunt.

Without this Kongsang, her Aunt would certainly die from severe genetic disease.

Her gaze gradually turned cold, and her grip on the trigger tightened.

With just a little more force, the Destroyer 800 Fully Automatic Submachine Gun, with its immense lethality, would turn this adorable little puppy into a cloud of blood mist.

Small Dog still did not retreat.

It lay on the ground, making low "Wu Er Fu, Wu Er Fu" sounds in its throat, yet it remained in front of that Kongsang plant without a trace of fear! One second passed, then two...

One minute passed. Five Minutes passed.

Xia Chujian still maintained that posture.

Her gun was pressed against Small Dog, but her finger simply could not pull the trigger.

She knew perfectly well that if she failed to obtain the Kongsang, her Aunt was doomed to die! For her own benefit, she had no choice but to take this little puppy's possession...

But Xia Chujian truly couldn't bring herself to do it.

Ten minutes later, she finally released the finger on the trigger and expressionlessly moved the gun barrel away.

Xia Chujian sat stiffly in that clearing, her hollow eyes staring ahead without focus.

Though she did not say a word, every inch of her posture spoke of extreme grief and indignation.

She was like a volcano on the verge of eruption, only for the crack at its summit to be suddenly sealed shut, leaving not a single flame able to burst forth.

At the peak of her rage, she instead became as still as an ancient well.

Small Dog looked at her helplessly, its earlier ferocity gradually fading away.

It wagged its little tail and circled Xia Chujian a few times, making soft cooing sounds in its throat. Finally, it lay down in front of her and rested its little head on the toe of her long boot, looking as though it were asking to make peace.

Xia Chujian did not Lowered Head. She simply reached out and stroked Small Dog's furry little head.

Small Dog lifted its head and studied her carefully, then climbed back to its feet and toddled toward its little grass nest that Xia Chujian had overturned.

It sniffed around the overturned grass nest with its little nose, then went to the plant and sniffed it again, looking deeply reluctant to part with it.

Then it began digging at the ground with its two front paws.

Because its little grass nest had covered that spot earlier, no snow had fallen there. The soil did not seem to have been frozen by the extreme cold and was still loose and soft.

So Small Dog dug with ease.

Before long, it had dug up the entire plant. Its leaves swayed weakly in the cold wind, while its roots remained wrapped in a clump of soil that protected every root fiber perfectly.

Small Dog used its nose to push the plant, its roots wrapped in soil, all the way over to Xia Chujian with little grunts.

Then it tugged at the hem of Xia Chujian's coat with its teeth.

Xia Chujian looked down and was stunned to see that the Kongsang Small Dog had refused to leave even at the cost of its life was now placed before her!

Small Dog must have just dug it out. It had dug very carefully; the roots of the Kongsang were still wrapped in a clump of earth, with not a single root fiber exposed.

It was clear that it treasured this plant dearly. Even after deciding to give it to Xia Chujian, it did not want it to suffer the slightest harm.

Xia Chujian's heart nearly stopped beating in An Instant!

Her fingers trembled as she wanted to touch the Kongsang, yet did not dare to, afraid it might be as delicate as the Blood Kirin—or even more delicate.

The slightest contamination would be enough to kill it.

In the end, she only dared to touch the clump of soil around the Kongsang's roots.

Looking at the tightly wrapped root ball, Xia Chujian suddenly had an inspiration. Even if she needed Kongsang to treat her Aunt, that did not mean she needed the entire plant, did it?! Couldn't she use its leaves? If she planted it and kept it alive, couldn't she harvest its leaves whenever she needed them?!

Her eyes flickered. She raised a hand to stroke Small Dog's furry head and said in a Low Voice, "...Thank you, Small Si Xi."

She wanted to raise this Kongsang.

As for how to keep it alive, that would depend on San Zong's skills.

Xia Chujian immediately felt far less depressed.

Looking at Small Dog, who was gazing reluctantly at the Kongsang, she softly said, "Small Si Xi, could you go bring San Zong here?"

Small Dog looked at her in confusion, clearly not understanding her words very well.

Xia Chujian had no choice but to gesture in San Zong's direction, then pushed at the tip of her own nose to make a pig snout expression.

Small Dog understood this time and immediately scampered off in that direction.

Only Xia Chujian was left in this place.

She was not afraid at all.

And as she looked at the Kongsang, hope rose within her once more.

Her Aunt should be saved now, right?! Just as her mood began to improve, two shadows suddenly closed in from her left and right.

Xia Chujian still wore a smile on her face, but her body had already risen on reflex, gun in hand.

Not far ahead of her stood two enormous animals.

On the left was a Crimson Great Bird, its feathers seeming to glow in the darkness like burning flames.

On the right was a white tiger whose two fleshy membrane-like wings had just folded away.

Weren't these the two enormous Alien Beasts she had seen on Radar surveillance before?!

They were not as huge now. They must have shrunk themselves down?

But they were still far larger than ordinary animals.

Xia Chujian estimated that both animals stood at least three or four meters tall.

At one meter seventy-five, even standing up, she was only half their height.

What were these two Alien Beasts doing?! Xia Chujian's first thought was whether they might be the Guardian Beasts of the Kongsang!

Even the Blood Kirin had its own Guardian Beast, the Griffon Sea Eagle. How much more so would the Kongsang, which was a million times more precious than the Blood Kirin!

Such a miraculous plant naturally needed Alien Beasts of this caliber to guard it!

Faced with Alien Beasts like these, Xia Chujian had none of the softness she had felt toward Small Dog.

She stood in front of the fragile Kongsang plant, coldly assessing the Alien Beasts to her left and right as she selected her angles.

Soon, she set the Destroyer 800 Fully Automatic Submachine Gun from her chest on the ground and aimed it at the white tiger with fleshy membrane wings.

At the same time, she held the Judicator No. 7 Sniper Rifle from her back in her hands and aimed it at the great bird whose feathers seemed to be ablaze.

One of her feet rested on the automatic button of the Destroyer Fully Automatic Submachine Gun.

As long as those two Alien Beasts dared attack her, she could use the sniper rifle to take down the Crimson Giant Bird while activating the submachine gun's automatic function and spraying the white tiger with bullets!

But although she was fully prepared, the two Alien Beasts showed no intention of attacking her.

They merely watched her silently, their gazes filled with lofty scrutiny and disdain.

Xia Chujian deeply disliked those looks.

Her finger tightened around the sniper rifle's trigger Once Again.

One human and two Alien Beasts faced off for around ten minutes before Small Dog's calls of "Wu Er Fu, Wu Er Fu," along with the chattering voice of San Zong, the Pig-head Humanoid, drifted over from the woods.

Xia Chujian grew even more tense.

Those two were both cowards...

If they saw these two Alien Beasts, wouldn't they be scared to their knees at once?! Killing Intent suddenly surged in her eyes as she shouted in a Low Voice, "...Get lost!"

The two Alien Beasts seemed greatly surprised and looked at each other.

Then, in the next moment, they rose into the air at the same time and vanished into the night sky in almost the blink of an eye.

By the time Small Dog came bouncing over with San Zong, the two Alien Beasts had already disappeared from the forest clearing.

San Zong looked up and saw Xia Chujian standing there with her Sniper Rifle in her arms, radiating Killing Intent. So frightened that he slid to his knees, he raised both hands and clasped them behind his head, saying tearfully, "Female Sire! San Zong won't dare do it again!"

Xia Chujian: "..."

She put away her gun and said calmly, "What won't you dare do again?"

San Zong: "..."

Trembling, he replied, "I don't know. Anyway, I won't dare do it again..."

Xia Chujian glanced at him, thinking that this instinctive confession was most likely a conditioned reflex formed from being beaten too often.

She did not even need to ask what sort of life San Zong had lived on that plantation. She could guess without thinking.

She slung the Judicator No. 7 Sniper Rifle onto her back, picked up the Destroyer 800 Fully Automatic Submachine Gun from the ground, and said evenly, "San Zong, come take a look. What kind of plant is this?"

Only then did San Zong let out a huge sigh of relief and scramble up from the ground on all fours.

Small Dog had no idea what had happened. It had already happily run over to Xia Chujian, repeatedly nuzzling the Kongsang by her feet with great affection.

San Zong saw it too. He jogged over to Xia Chujian's side, knelt down, and looked at the plant Small Dog was affectionately nuzzling.

He examined it carefully, then sniffed it for a long while with his pig snout before saying in surprise, "What kind of plant is this? Why can't San Zong smell anything at all?!"

"What do you mean, you can't smell anything at all?" Xia Chujian frowned. "Just tell me whether you've seen this kind of plant before."

"Of course not." San Zong shook his head like a rattle, making both pig ears flap. "But even if I haven't seen it before, it should still have a smell!"

"What do you mean?"

"Every plant has its own scent! For San Zong, rare plants have stronger scents. Common plants have lighter scents." San Zong carefully explained his special ability to Xia Chujian.

"But this plant is worse than even those wild grasses. It has no smell at all!"

Second update delivered. See you tomorrow!