Chapter 17

In the evening, Ji Fang returned. Upon entering, he only saw Ji Rong, not Yuan Ren.

"Where is my original self?" Ji Fang asked.

Ji Rong raised her chin and pointed to his bedroom: "It locked itself in your room."

Ji Fang went to open the door but found it wouldn't open. Then he heard a noise inside the room, and soon he saw the original person standing on a stool opening the door.

He opened the door and hugged Qiao Ye, who clung to his neck, remaining motionless.

Ji Fang sensed something was off about his original human, so he asked Ji Rong, who was sitting on the sofa, "What's wrong with it?"

Ji Rong crossed her legs, studying the news, and said without looking up, "How would I know? I just found it and this is how it turned out."

No one pays attention to a pet's mental state, and pets' little moods aren't really worth worrying about; they'll all be fine after a while, right?

Ji Fang carried Qiao Ye into the house, and then saw the unfinished spicy meat jerky snacks. He continued to ask Ji Rong, "Did you buy him spicy meat jerky? Eating this can easily upset his stomach."

As Ji Fang spoke, he threw the junk food into the trash can.

Joe wanted to salvage his snacks, but his owner wouldn't let him eat them.

How could his stomach upset so easily? He never had an upset stomach when he was homeless!

When the topic of snacks came up, Ji Rongcai said, "I don't have time to buy things for Yuanren. He won these this morning when he went out to the park to play chess with some old men!"

Ji Rong was still a little curious: "Hey, did you have your original human trained by the leader of your beast taming team? Today, that old man wouldn't let go of your original human and wanted to play a few more rounds. I've really seen something new; it's the first time I've ever seen a human-pet battle."

In the morning, Qiao Ye was forced to play another game by the old man, so Qiao Ye had no choice but to play another game. He deliberately lost to the old man. Although the old man was so dissatisfied that he jumped up and down, Ji Rong did not give the old man another chance and dragged Qiao Ye away.

Although Ji Fang was somewhat surprised to hear that the Primordial People could play chess for the first time, he had previously looked up information about them and found that some Primordial People could also do simple arithmetic, so it wasn't surprising.

Ji Fang objectively analyzed: "The intelligence of primitive humans can reach that of a five or six-year-old child, so it is not surprising that they can play simple chess."

Ji Rong hadn't seen Qiao Ye's true chess skills. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that he was just someone who knew how to play chess. Perhaps his older brother's original self was indeed very intelligent.

Ji Rong left the next day. Before she left, Qiao also heard her master give her an order. They were siblings, but also superiors and subordinates, making their relationship somewhat complicated.

After she left, Joe breathed a sigh of relief; he was really afraid of that woman.

Qiao hadn't relaxed for long when he saw Ji Fang bring over a leash, seemingly intending to restrain him.

Seeing that things were not going well, Qiao immediately retreated back into the room and quickly closed the door.

Ji Fang, holding the leash, knocked on the door and warned, "Come out! Don't make me say it a second time!"

Joe suddenly became somewhat rebellious. What's the point of living if you don't have freedom?

He shouted, "I don't want to!"

This sound startled Joe, because he used Cohen language, although the pronunciation was not very standard and was very unclear, sounding like a snake's head tied in a knot.

Hearing the indistinct, indignant voice, Ji Fang found it somewhat amusing; his pet had been forced to start speaking human language.

For a moment, I felt it was kind of cute.

Ji Fang stopped threatening him, thinking that even if they ran away, it wouldn't matter. He would just tell the security guard downstairs to make sure his family didn't leave.

Ji Fang stood at the door and compromised, saying, "Open the door, and I won't lock you in!"

Joe was unsure whether his master was tricking him into opening the door and then locking it up.

The thought of having to rely on its owner for care in the future makes it understandable for the owner to lock it up if they really want to harm it, since it is, after all, a pet.

It's true that "those who wander in the alleys are free, but have no home; those who live in comfort within the walls have a home, but have to bow their heads."

Qiao also compromised his status and position. After Ji Fang knocked on the door again, he opened it with a click, stared at the rope in his master's hand, and sighed.

Ji Fang patted his head and said, "I can leave you unlocked, but you have to behave and not go out on your own, understand?"

Joe looked up with some delight. "Don't lock him up?"

It seems the master kept his word. Qiao happily hugged the master's arm and shook it, then casually took the leash and tossed it far away, as if to tell Ji Fang that he didn't like it.

Ji left, and Qiao began another boring day. However, compared to being locked in the room and unable to move around, this relative freedom was already quite good.

Joe stared at the door; he wanted to go for a walk.

Even if it's just playing chess with an old man, pretending to lose to him and making him laugh out loud would be fine.

He learned Go and chess from his grandfather when he was a child, and he knows some of the strategies and techniques of playing chess, so he can easily beat his grandfather.

Thinking of his grandfather, he suddenly missed them, but his grandparents had already passed away, and he had no more attachments in that world.

Upon arriving in this world, he experienced wandering, hunger, being driven away, and almost becoming food on a dinner table.

Fortunately, Ji Fang took him in, giving him a place to stay in this unfamiliar world.

Qiao is actually easily satisfied and cherishes her current life.

Although he would occasionally complain and want more freedom, such as wanting to go out for some fresh air.

In the afternoon, it started raining heavily and the wind picked up. Qiao looked at the terrible weather outside and was worried about when Ji Fang would be able to come back.

They are usually rescued around 5 or 6 pm, but the weather is unusual today. Will they be rescued later?

Moreover, the weather was nice this morning; I wonder if the owner had rain gear when they returned.

With nothing else to do, Qiao searched around the house and found an umbrella on a shelf. He pressed the switch, and the umbrella opened with a bang, covering Qiao completely.

Joe also crawled out from under the umbrella, thinking that the umbrella was of really good quality.

A bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the evening sky, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, startling Qiao so much that her heart pounded.

That lightning is terrifying! If it struck him and sprinkled with cumin, he'd instantly become a delicious grilled human flesh dish.

The wind and rain had been blowing for an hour or two and showed no signs of stopping. Joe also noticed that the water on the ground was already quite deep.

Ji Fang hadn't returned yet, and Qiao was getting restless at home.

It was completely dark when another bolt of lightning struck, and all the lights in the neighborhood went out, plunging Qiao Ye into darkness.

Oh no, the power's out.

While searching, Joe also found a light source in the drawer, similar to a flashlight. This flashlight was a bit too big for him, and it was also a bit heavy to hold.

Joe turned on the flashlight, pressed the switch to adjust the brightness, and the room lit up again.

Just as Joe was about to close the drawer, he looked down and noticed several keys next to the flashlight.

He picked up the key and looked at it, wondering if it was a spare key for each of the doors in the house.

It was pitch black outside, and a strong wind was blowing. Qiao tentatively opened the door, and a gust of wind howled in, causing the door frame to crash against the wall.

The hallway was dark, with only the emergency lights on, but they weren't bright enough.

Joe found the largest key, opened the cover under the door's combination lock, saw the keyhole, took the key and turned it, and it opened!

Joe was overjoyed.

With a key, you can leave or return home anytime.

Joe heard someone coming up the stairs. He quickly closed the door, leaving only a crack. As the person passed by on that floor, Joe saw in the emergency light that the person coming up was probably without an umbrella. The person was walking with a faint light emanating from their wrist, completely soaked, and their steps were heavy.

Joe estimated the time and felt that his master should be back soon.

When he went for a walk yesterday, he noticed that their building was a bit far from the gate of the community. He wondered if Ji Fang would get soaked in the rain when he came back later.

Qiao hesitated whether or not to go and deliver an umbrella and a lamp to Ji Fang.

The elevator seems to be out of service due to a power outage, and its red warning light is flashing.

After thinking for a moment, Qiao gripped the keys in her hand, grabbed a flashlight and an umbrella, closed the door, and went out.

Qiao quickly went downstairs. The rain outside was pouring down. He opened his umbrella, which could be used as a tent, and waded through the rain that was up to his feet, heading towards the guard post.

They didn't encounter anyone along the way. Qiao used his flashlight, which gave him a clear view. When he got close to the gate, he could see the road clearly with the help of the gate's emergency lights, so he turned off his flashlight.

After thinking for a moment, Qiao didn't go into the guardhouse. He stood under the eaves on one side of the guardhouse, where he could see the situation outside and also take shelter from the rain.

The gatehouse was also within Qiao Ye's line of sight. Every time Qiao Ye was upstairs, she would see Ji Fang walk in through this gate.

The transportation in this area is much less advanced compared to the previous owner's villa area. There are almost no flying cars or airships; everything is either on land or close to the ground.

Occasionally, you can see old buses that drive themselves on the main road outside the community. When they stop at a station, the brakes make a screeching sound.

There is a side road outside the residential area, which is full of all kinds of ordinary vehicles. Qiao also saw that many people parked their cars outside.

Qiao wondered what Ji Fang's car would look like, or perhaps the same flying ship as before.

Just then, a Jeep with a noticeably higher chassis came into view. Qiao tried to make out the person in the driver's seat through the rain, but could only make out a blurry figure. Qiao instinctively recognized that it was Ji Fang.

He stepped out from under the eaves of the gatehouse, raising his umbrella to reveal more of the view, making it even clearer.

Then he saw a figure dressed in dark clothes stride towards the gate from the rain.

After Qiao saw clearly, he realized that Ji Fang had indeed not brought an umbrella. He was excited to have met someone and hurriedly ran towards Ji Fang.

Qiao was wearing a pet-themed top and pants, but no shoes. He waded barefoot through the water, which was up to his ankles.

Ji Fang looked up, and a picture flashed through his mind of whose child was out on a rainy evening. He was about to call out to them when he looked up and the words caught in his throat. He saw a familiar face.

Even when he encountered all sorts of bizarre and foul-smelling monsters in the Youyuan Forest, Ji Fang was never surprised. However, when he saw his own Yuanren carrying an energy lamp and holding an umbrella, trudging through the rain to pick him up, he was still a little stunned and incredulous.