I'll Help You!

"Get on."

Chen Yuan walked to the farm entrance, lifted the tarp covering the red-painted tricycle, and beckoned to Spark and Cola.

Thanks to the infrastructure development of recent years, even remote Xuanhe Village had roads passable by vehicles. With a grand wave of his hand, the old man had bought this tricycle as a commuting vehicle.

Every fifteenth day of the month, he would drive it to the market in Nanhe Town, ten kilometers away.

Cola leaped up and, very consciously, jumped into the cargo bed. The bottom of the bed immediately rang with a series of thumps.

Chen Yuan sat in the driver's seat, took a deep breath, inserted the key, turned on the ignition, then released the handbrake. His eyes gleamed as he asked in a deep voice, "Are you ready?"

"Chirp~" Spark curiously examined the crude interior and nodded slightly.

"Awroo!"

Cola's two paws gripped the metal railing behind Chen Yuan's seat tightly. It crouched down, widened its eyes, and stared ahead.

It looked a little nervous.

"Here we go." Chen Yuan put on his helmet and slowly twisted the throttle. The tricycle immediately began to hum as it slowly moved forward.

Under Cola's watchful gaze, the tricycle smoothly drove out through the gates, then rolled onto the bumpy country road. It picked up speed, and the scenery on both sides rapidly fell away behind them.

"Awroo, awroo, awroo!"

The fierce wind tossed Cola's fur, while the roar of the wind filled its ears. Cola narrowed its eyes, parted its mouth slightly, and cried out in excitement.

"Chirp~"

Spark stood unmoving on Chen Yuan's shoulder. The gale swept past, yet it seemed to have no effect on it whatsoever.

The Flame Cloud Falcon was a bird pet beast born to spread its wings and soar through the skies. This sort of speed was already nothing out of the ordinary to it.

Cola in the back, however, grew more and more excited. It no longer paid attention to the scenery flashing by on either side. Instead, it stared without blinking at Chen Yuan as he drove, a thoughtful glint flashing through its eyes.

So this is driving?

It doesn't seem that hard, awroo.

It actually seems pretty simple, awroo.

A while later, Chen Yuan picked up Zhang Hao on the eastern side of the village.

Zhang Hao looked at Spark, then at Cola in the back, envy practically spilling from his face. "You bastard, you've got two Extraordinary Creatures."

"You really deserve to die."

Chen Yuan smiled. "What about you? What Extraordinary Creature are you planning to contract?"

Zhang Hao shrugged, his tone casual. "We'll see. I'm heading into the mountains with my dad tomorrow to see if we can find something mighty and imposing, like a tiger or lion."

"If you can find a tiger or lion in the Qinling Mountains, I'll give you five million."

"There are no tigers or lions in the Qinling Mountains, and my friend, you don't actually have five million either." Zhang Hao chuckled.

Chen Yuan: "."

"Seriously though, I kind of want to contract a giant panda too." Zhang Hao said solemnly.

"I think that'll get you sentenced." Chen Yuan nodded.

Zhang Hao leaned against the rock-hard seat and looked ahead. "If worse comes to worst, I'll just contract that old sow at home. She evolved into an Extraordinary Creature anyway."

"So you want to be a piggy knight for once?" Chen Yuan burst out laughing.

The two chatted all the way. Around half an hour later, the tricycle came to a steady stop by the roadside.

There was no road ahead, so they had to continue on foot.

The two took their gear and crossed the uneven dirt path toward Mingyue Lake.

There were no great rivers near Xuanhe Village, only several small streams quietly flowing, nourishing this vast stretch of land for tens of thousands of years.

Yet the Qinling Mountains were dotted with countless lakes, and Mingyu Lake near Xuanhe Village was one of them.

A few years ago, fishing enthusiasts would still trek over mountains and rivers to reach Mingyu Lake. In recent years, however, with the mountain closure policy in effect, no tourists could be seen apart from locals.

Chen Yuan was not a real fishing enthusiast. Zhang Hao had only dragged him out fishing a few times, all his equipment was borrowed, and his fishing skills were practically nonexistent.

He merely regarded fishing as a small hobby for passing boring hours.

But the moment he heard there were strange fish here, he got fired up.

After walking for nearly half an hour, the two arrived at Mingyu Lake.

As far as the eye could see, Mingyu Lake was cradled by green mountains. Gentle ripples stirred across its surface, and sunlight scattered over the water, forming a breathtaking scene of shimmering waves.

"Whoa, someone's already started fishing." Zhang Hao looked around and laughed.

It was already past nine in the morning. Several people were scattered around Mingyu Lake, their fishing rods floating over the lake's surface.

Clearly, they were all fishing enthusiasts lured here by Uncle Niu's account.

The two greeted those people, found a secluded spot, set down their gear, and got ready.

Chen Yuan watched helplessly as Zhang Hao chose bait, adjusted the float, and prepared the fishing spot, busying himself for ages before finally saying, "Alright, cast the line."

Chen Yuan obediently cast a line, then sat beneath the sunshade and quietly waited.

"Alright, go play on your own." Chen Yuan waved at the two little ones.

Fishing required patience, and they clearly could not stay here guarding the lines for long.

"Awroo, awroo, awroo!"

At those words, Cola's eyes immediately lit up. Like a wild horse breaking free of its reins, it charged headlong into the woods behind them and vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Chirp."

Spark did not move. It remained quietly standing on Chen Yuan's shoulder, its deep blue eyes gazing at the faintly glimmering lake surface, seemingly lost in thought.

"Alright, keep me company, then." Chen Yuan smiled in relief.

"Chirp~"

Spark gave a soft cry and rubbed its little head against Chen Yuan's cheek. Chen Yuan immediately scratched beneath its chin.

"You really deserve to die."

Watching the intimate interaction between man and pet, Zhang Hao's right hand clenched hard around his fishing rod, nearly grinding his back teeth to dust.

Once I've contracted one, I'm going to show off every day too! He secretly made up his mind.

Who knew how much time had passed when—

Zhang Hao suddenly jerked up his fishing rod, bringing up a small fish. "A bitterling?"

"Congratulations, you're free."

After casually glancing at the bitterling, Zhang Hao released it.

Time gradually passed, and before they knew it, two hours had gone by.

The sun grew increasingly dazzling.

Zhang Hao had already caught several fish, but they were all common bitterlings, crucian carp, and the like. He had no interest in them at all and released them all.

He only wanted to catch the strange fish Uncle Niu had described.

Just then, Chen Yuan turned to look at him and said, "Come help me. I think I've hooked something big."

!!!

Zhang Hao glanced at the suddenly churning lake surface. His eyes widened, and without hesitation, he tossed aside his own fishing rod and shouted, "I'll help you!"

With Zhang Hao's help, Chen Yuan quickly handed him the fishing rod and switched to a large landing net.

"Whoa, it really is a big one."

The moment he took hold of the rod, Zhang Hao could tell its weight from the intensity and frequency of its trembling. He immediately steadied his footing and tensed his body.

After dozens of minutes of arduous tugging, combined with Chen Yuan's landing net, the shape of a large fish gradually emerged.

"A crucian carp?"

"No! A Golden Carp!" Zhang Hao, who had been utterly exhausted moments ago, instantly widened his eyes, his face full of shock.

This fish looked no different in shape from an ordinary crucian carp, but every scale on its body was an especially eye-catching golden yellow!

Beneath the sunlight, it gleamed so brilliantly that it practically blinded them both.

"Shriek!"

Yet at that very moment, an intensely piercing cry rang out from the sky. Immediately afterward, a black shadow dove down from above!

In that instant, Spark, who had been resting with its eyes closed, suddenly snapped its eyes open!