The old man led Red Hare away, humming as he slowly walked into the distance.
Chen Mo glanced back at Old Zhang, exchanged a look with Lin Lu, and nodded lightly.
Lin Lu understood at once and called everyone into the vehicles.
"Everyone, pick up speed! Move!"
Su Qian and the others were about to question Chen Mo, but Lin Lu hurried them into the vehicles.
"Whatever it is, we can talk later. Let's go first!"
Big Niu was utterly confused. His hulking body was crammed inside the off-road vehicle as he scratched hard at his bald head.
"Why?"
Out of trust in Lin Lu, everyone followed his orders for the time being, climbed into their vehicles, and sped away.
Night fell.
At the Starfire Convoy's campsite.
By the campfire in front of the blue Dump Truck.
Chen Mo pulled his clothes tighter around himself. The farther north they went, the colder it got.
He picked up his freshly soaked Old Tan Pickled Cabbage noodles and wolfed them down.
"Chen Mo!"
Chen Mo hadn't even had time to swallow his noodles.
Su Qian's voluptuous figure was already standing in front of him.
Her full breasts filled his view.
"You actually still have the nerve to eat instant noodles?"
Su Qian's chest rose and fell sharply. She was clearly furious.
Xiao Ya hid behind Su Qian, her cheeks puffed out and her eyes brimming with tears.
She was clearly upset that Chen Mo had sold her playmate.
Chen Mo leisurely swallowed the noodles in his mouth, raised the cup, and took a long drink of broth.
"Burp~"
Big Niu came over too, scratching his bald head.
"Chen Mo, why did you hide it from us?"
"That donkey... no, Red Hare. He's a second-tier variant."
"I actually fed a second-tier variant out of a dog bowl."
Even Old Yang, Chen Mo's closest friend, started lecturing him.
"Why were you so impulsive this time? That's nothing like you."
"Was there... something wrong with Red Hare?"
That was the only excuse Old Yang could think of for Chen Mo.
Just then, Lin Lu came over as well.
His white cloth strips fluttered without a breeze.
"No problems, right?"
Chen Mo finished the last mouthful of broth and flashed Lin Lu an okay sign.
"Heh heh."
Lin Lu visibly relaxed. He turned his back to the others.
"Heh heh heh..."
"What the hell is going on?" Su Qian felt as if these two cryptic fools were going to drive her insane.
"What exactly are you two up to?"
Big Niu scratched his bald head, pacing anxiously in circles.
"Yeah, Captain Lin! He's a second-tier variant!"
Meanwhile, on another deserted highway.
"Little sister, you sit at the bow, while your big brother walks along the shore..."
Old Zhang slowly climbed down from the donkey's back.
"My little darling, my precious sweetheart."
"Why did you suddenly run so fast? You must be worn out."
"Take a break, little darling."
Old Zhang couldn't have been happier with his newly acquired donkey.
Along the way, the donkey named Red Hare had fully demonstrated intelligence that rivaled a husky's.
He could imitate a dog's bark to amuse him.
He could even use his hooves to give him a surprisingly convincing back massage.
And just now, he had carried him a long way at an astonishing speed.
For Old Zhang, who had traveled alone for far too long, this brought back a happiness he hadn't felt in ages.
Red Hare affectionately nuzzled Old Zhang's thin, bony hand.
Then he raised a forehoof and pointed at the black cloth bundle on the old man's back.
He let out a few ingratiating brays.
"Oh, my darling, are you worried about Grandpa? Do you want to help Grandpa carry his things?"
Old Zhang beamed. Even his own son had never been this dutiful.
As he spoke, he reached out and lovingly stroked the hair on Red Hare's head.
A flicker of wariness passed through his eyes, and he discreetly took a ring from the bundle and slipped it onto his finger.
Nothing should go wrong, right? This donkey seems pretty devoted to me.
He slowly placed the small cloth bundle on the donkey's back.
"You're such a thoughtful little sweetheart."
With the bundle settled,
Old Zhang felt his bladder swell.
He turned, walked to the roadside, undid his belt, and began relieving himself.
The donkey looked up at the sky.
Carrying the bundle, he slowly walked in front of the old man.
"Hahaha, little darling, are you curious about Grandpa peeing too?"
"Let Grandpa tell you, I'm not bragging, but when I was young, I could go seven times a ni-"
Before he could finish, the donkey's hind leg shot up. His hoof flew like a cannonball, trailing afterimages.
It kicked straight at the thing Old Zhang was holding.
"Aaah-!"
A piercing scream tore through the night sky.
Halfway through peeing, Old Zhang felt an immense force slam into him.
The agony made his vision go black. The tremendous kick sent his feet off the ground and hurled him backward, leaving him sprawled face-first.
A deafening ringing filled his head.
Then he felt someone frantically tugging at his clothes and pants.
In the few seconds his vision went black, Red Hare stripped everything off Old Zhang.
Old Zhang looked back in disbelief, only to witness the most unforgettable sight of his life.
"Little darling, why did you..."
His thoughtful little sweetheart had reared up like a human.
He was crouching behind him, tugging at his half-removed pants with his hooves.
Seeing that the old man had come to his senses, Red Hare yanked hard and stuffed the pants into the bundle.
He backed away a few steps.
Ominous black vapor began rising from his body, and his scarlet donkey eyes fixed on Old Zhang.
Old Zhang struggled to get up, wearing nothing but his underwear.
Why?
He couldn't understand.
Why had Red Hare, who had been so docile the whole way, suddenly gone berserk?
Before Old Zhang could work it out, the eerie power within Red Hare erupted, and gray-black currents enveloped his entire body.
His hind hooves scraped the ground as a massive mouth, big enough to swallow Old Zhang's head, slowly grew larger in the old man's eyes.
Ignoring the excruciating pain in his groin, Old Zhang instinctively turned the ring on his finger.
He took out an antique bronze mirror.
Without thinking, he fired a curtain of red light at Red Hare.
Red Hare made no attempt to dodge.
Instead, he thrust his enormous donkey head forward, as if impatient to meet the beam.
"No!"
Old Zhang tried to stop, but it was already too late.
The beam struck Red Hare squarely in the head.
Boom!
Dust and smoke filled the air.
Old Zhang stood in the cold night wearing only his underwear.
He clutched his groin in agony.
His eyes stayed fixed on the dust.
As the dust slowly cleared, Red Hare's body was still standing there, but his head was gone.
Strangely, not a single drop of blood flowed from the headless Red Hare.
The headless body swayed a few times before finally collapsing with a splat into a puddle of foul, sour-smelling sludge.
How could Old Zhang not realize he had been played?
That donkey had run off!
His bundle! Everything he owned!
"Aaaaaah-!"
"I! Fucking! Fuck! Your! Mother!!!!"
Old Zhang jumped up and down in fury, then raced like a madman down the road they had come from.
Behind a dirt slope several kilometers away.
A donkey wearing a flashy pair of pink boxer shorts crouched in the grass, struggling to push the pants farther into the black cloth bundle with his hooves.
His mouth stretched into a huge grin, revealing a row of big front teeth.
"Heh heh, you old bastard. What did you think your daddy was running so fast with you on his back for?"
"That old bastard was pretty cautious. He actually kept a trick up his sleeve. I almost screwed that up."
"No, I'd better hurry and find a few stupid beasts to give that old geezer some trouble and buy myself a little time."
Before you continue