It was obvious that he had not eaten meat for over a month. The fish in front of him was roasted to perfection, golden and crispy, tender on the outside and tender on the inside. His stomach was rumbling and he was starving, but Brother Chen had no idea why he could not eat. His eyes were fixed on the little guy with a tuft of hair on his head not far away.
Is it because the little girl is too cute? No!
Is he so kind that he always worries about whether the little girl is hungry? No!
Because he was so jealous that tears were about to flow out of his nose!
Woohoo! Why?! Why?!!!!
Why had that little girl just turned around and whispered a few words to the dogs nearby, and then she tamed another one?! Seeing the little girl manipulating the dogs, and the dogs didn't resist at all, even wagging their tails with joy and panting with excitement, Brother Chen was almost unable to hold back the sour lemon juice tears in his heart.
Woo woo woo! What kind of human suffering is this?
For three years, he'd toiled to find a mutant beast, a companion, a pet. But the dried meat he'd been reluctant to eat had grown moldy in his backpack, and he'd never found one. Instead, he'd be chased around the city by countless mutants every day.
Look at the little girl in front of him. She obviously did nothing and even gave the fish he had grilled to other mutant dogs. But those mutant dogs, mutant cats, etc. all seemed to be possessed by an evil spirit and fell for it. They stared at the little girl with their eyes, as excited as if they had suddenly won five million.
Brother Chen: If I hadn’t seen with my own eyes this time that someone could tame mutant animals so easily, I would never have believed that there were such enviable little guys in the world.
Seeing the three dogs opposite falling into the hands of the little girl again, they were so excited that they wanted to follow the little girl home.
Brother Chen turned around in grief and anger, looking at the white snow forest behind him.
What he said is that God is fair to everyone. Bullshit!
Taking a hard bite of meat, Brother Chen told himself that it wasn't a loss. At least today he had eaten meat for the first time in a month, and tomorrow he could even carry a large fish back home. He was already much better off than many people in the shelter. A large fish brought back to the shelter could be exchanged for a lot of other supplies...
But……
Brother Chen looked at the fish that Dahei had given him before, which was about one meter long, and then looked at the seven or eight big fish that were three or four meters long and piled up next to the little girl.
Brother Chen: “…”
Brother Chen turned his head silently and continued to stare at the vast snow forest.
He doesn't believe in the concept of comrades-in-arms and love. He wants to continue to be a sourpuss!
"Uncle, what are you thinking about?..."
Just when Brother Chen was immersed in the sea of sour lemons, suddenly a little head popped out from the side. The little ball had chubby, white and tender cheeks. Probably because he had roasted himself by the fire before, his body was warm and there were two beautiful blushes on his face.
The little girl blinked and looked at Brother Chen curiously and asked, "Uncle, aren't you cold? Why don't you go over there and warm yourself by the fire?"
Xia Ruanruan pointed at the fire nearby. She had been searching for Brother Chen for quite a while. The mutant dogs were quite large, and there were quite a few of them around the campfire. Xia Ruanruan was short, barely one meter tall, so she searched around for several times before finding Brother Chen, hiding behind the shadow of a large tree.
Brother Chen looked down at the little girl and replied dryly, "It's not cold... because I'm full..." Sour lemon.
"?"
Xia Ruanruan scratched her head, not understanding the sour undertones behind Brother Chen's dry words. She smiled and got down to business. "Uncle, if you had a dog as a companion, would you make delicious dog food for it every day? ...The kind that's cooked!"
The little girl tilted her head back, her voice was soft and sweet, and she had a pure smile.
That cute look was like a sharp arrow, instantly hitting Brother Chen. Brother Chen turned his head away, not wanting to look at the little thing in front of him. He was still jealous! How could he casually think that this little girl was cute?
With a stern face and a hoarse voice, he said expressionlessly, "If there is one thing in this world that can be realized, how could I possibly sit here in the cold wind at night?"
Xia Ruanruan: “……?”
Xia Runrun blinked, her chubby little face full of confusion. She was a little suspicious whether she had chosen the wrong person. This person seemed fine before. I heard that he was a dog trainer working in the police station and a policeman. Logically, he should be a good person...but why did he always answer strangely?
Fortunately, after saying that, Brother Chen seemed to be back to normal and replied, "Of course... I dream of having a mutant animal as a companion. If there is a mutant dog willing to be my companion, I will definitely cook dog food for it every day."
"But... little girl, there aren't that many ifs in this world... and not that many people's dreams can actually come true..."
Brother Chen took a deep breath and decided that he no longer expected to own a mutant animal in his lifetime.
He reached out and touched the little girl's head. After a moment's thought, he earnestly advised, "You're lucky to have so many mutant animals like you. You must treat them well, like family. Mutated animals have the same lifespan as humans, and some even live much longer than humans... If you get along well with them, you can become lifelong friends."
The little girl looked at the man and said seriously, "Uncle, you must remember what you said... If there are mutant animals willing to be your companions in the future, you must treat them well!"
Xia Ruanruan tilted her head back, revealing two shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth. She said with a smile, "Uncle Chen... I think sometimes, we should just dream more... What if our dreams come true one day? Uncle, you must not give up!"
Looking at the little girl tilting her head and looking at him, her pair of black crystal-like eyes filled with bright stars, just staring at him quietly, as if he was all in those beautiful eyes, Brother Chen suddenly understood why Dahei and the other little animals liked the little girl in front of them so much.
Who wouldn’t like such a cute and warm-hearted little cutie who will encourage him that his dreams will come true?
Alas, Brother Chen sighed.
Although the child's childish words were cute, as an adult, he felt that he should face himself. He probably would never have a pet in his life. Brother Chen carefully packed the remaining fish into a lunch box and stuffed it into his backpack. Although he could no longer continue to dream, he could take a little extra fish back for his sister as food. Such a big fish was enough for him and his sister to survive this winter.
When putting the lunch box into the backpack, Brother Chen accidentally touched a small plastic package with his fingers. He reached into the backpack and found two small cakes without any cream. They were just the cheapest cakes in the convenience store and supermarket, but they were also extremely precious supplies in this day and age.
He originally planned to leave it all for his sister, but after looking at the little girl next to him, Brother Chen took out a piece of cake and handed it to her.
"It's fate that we met today... You can take this cake back and eat it... It's a gift from your uncle."
The man looked at the little girl's bright and serious eyes, thought for a moment, and added, "Don't worry, uncle will never give up his dream. I also hope that one day my dream can come true..."
Although it was just a small white lie, Brother Chen hoped that the little girl in front of him would be happier tonight.
"Uncle, give me a piece of cake... I will give uncle a chance to realize his dream..." Xia Ruanruan looked at the small piece of cake that was suddenly stuffed into the hand by the man, and a big smile immediately appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Although he looked a little unreliable, the man in front of him was indeed a kind-hearted person. Xia Ruanruan made up her mind and said nothing more. Looking at Brother Chen across from her, who was completely confused, she waved directly at the three large dogs beside the campfire.
The yellow and white Corgi was the first to be hit. It trotted over to Xia Ruanruan, wagged its tail and barked at her.
Brother Chen: “……?”
He clearly couldn't understand what the mutant corgi in front of him was barking, but looking at the bright smile on the little girl's face, and the corgi swishing its tail and tilting its head as it looked at him, Brother Chen felt as if something uncontrollable was about to happen, and this thing seemed to be related to his future...
"Bang bang bang bang!——"
My heart was beating so fast that it seemed like it was going to jump out of my throat in the next second, and even beads of sweat were oozing out of my back.
Brother Chen only heard the soft and crisp voice of the little girl in his ear at the right time.
"Uncle...are you willing to be Latiao's companion?...Latiao said he can give you a trial period of three months. You have to comb his fur every day and make him dog food...Latiao used to be a pet, so he's not used to eating raw food every meal...You have to prepare cooked food for him every day, just like the grilled fish today...Uncle, can you do that?"
"I can!"
Brother Chen's palms were sweating with excitement. Before Xia Ruanruan could finish her words, he had already stood up excitedly and shouted loudly: "I can do it!!!"
Not to mention a three-month probation period, he can even accept a three-year probation period!
And he can do things like dog food! He can do it! ! ! !
In an instant, excited blood rushed to his heart. He looked at the Corgi dog named Latiao opposite him, wagged its tail at him friendly, stretched out its front paw and gently touched it with his, like a handshake.
Brother Chen felt as if he was surrounded by happiness.
Nothing else could make Brother Chen more excited right now.
He has a dog, he has a dog, he has a dog, he has a dog!!!
Brother Chen wanted to run around the pine forest three times and roar at the sky. He was also a dog owner!
In just a few minutes, Brother Chen felt as if he had gone from hell to heaven, and from a sea of lemon trees to a forest of blooming flowers. Brother Chen excitedly hugged Xia Ruanruan and spun around twice.
"Thank you!! Thank you so much!" Brother Chen looked at the little girl excitedly and kept thanking her.
Although he didn't know how the little girl in front of him had managed to match him up and give him the opportunity to become a mutant dog companion, he was really very grateful to her! He was about to give up just now!
Brother Chen's eyes were red with excitement, and his expression of thanks was particularly solemn.
"No need... I told you, this is my brother's return gift for the cake he gave me..."
Xia Ruanruan smiled at the man, revealing two sweet dimples at the corners of her mouth. "And as I just said... Latiao's trial period for uncle is three months... Although Latiao will stay with uncle during these three months, if uncle doesn't keep his promise and doesn't treat Latiao well, Latiao will leave on his own. If uncle wants to find another dog as a companion after that, he probably won't have this opportunity again."
"Don't worry, I will treat it well!" Brother Chen patted his chest and promised solemnly.
"In that case, I'm relieved... Uncle Chen, Latiao is an adult dog. He needs two meals a day... Both meals must be cooked. His stomach hasn't been feeling well lately, so he's not feeling well... It would be best if he could drink some broth... I have eight big fish, all given to me by Dahei... You can give one to Latiao to nourish his body. Let him rest well in the shelter for the next few days, and don't go out hunting..."
"No, no, how can I take your fish? I have one here. I can boil it and make spicy noodles for two or three days..."
For a moment, under the big tree next to the campfire, two figures, one big and one small, were pushing each other.
Dahei shook his ears and lay beside the fire, tilting his head to look at everything in front of him and wagging his tail.
…
The two of them argued back and forth, but in the end Brother Chen was unable to defeat Xia Runrun. Xia Runrun simply asked another dog to take a fish from her pile of fish and give it to Brother Chen as food for spicy snacks for the next few days.
These fish were actually gifts from a group of stray dogs. She used the gifts given by the other party to send back to them as food. She was really just borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha.
Xia Ruanruan scratched her head and no longer cared about the emotional exchange between the man and the dog behind her. She turned around and returned to Dahei, Danhuang and the others. 666, who had already felt sleepy on the treetop, fell asleep on the treetop.
However, Xia Runrun had only sat down for two minutes.
“Snap!—”
With a crisp sound, the book "First Zootopia Infrastructure Picture Book" that she had ignored all afternoon fell directly from her head and landed at her feet.
Xia Ruanruan: "..."
Xia Runrun looked at the expressions of the other small animals around her. It was obvious that not only did they not see the animal encyclopedia, they also did not hear the sound of the encyclopedia falling.
never mind……
She knew this atlas wasn't reliable. It had been hanging in mid-air before, pressing shamefully against her head like a card. Now it was falling down on its own. Such a thick atlas had completely floored her. What was she supposed to do? Most importantly, she had no idea how to build a zootopia.
When I think about the possibility that my future will be just like what is described in the illustrated book, and I will be a child for the rest of my life, I feel really uncomfortable.
Xia Runrun's mood, which had just improved by a few points, collapsed again at this moment, and even her face became sour, as if someone owed her 8 million.
He reached out and unconsciously opened the damn illustrated book, subconsciously flipping through it.
On the previously blank sixth page of the illustration, images of a large group of squirrels took up three full pages. The leading squirrel, a large one with a tuft of red hair on its head, was even shown with a golden image—[Giant Squirrel Leader (Speed Level 2): Increases the speed of residents in the construction area by 4%.]
"Huh?"
Xia Runrun blinked. She didn't expect that the big squirrel with a tuft of red hair on its head was actually a golden two-star illustration... and it was a speed type.
But on second thought, it was perfectly normal. The squirrels had been moving very quickly, and the leader was the most agile of the bunch. Even Egg Yolk would have had a hard time catching it. Plus, squirrels are naturally adept at climbing and leaping through the jungle, so it's not surprising that they'd have a two-star speed rating according to the map.
After flipping through the remaining white squirrel illustrations, Xia Runrun saw an illustration of a large group of stray dogs behind the squirrel illustrations.
This time the atlas is much more detailed than the previous ones for the squirrel group. Many of the dogs in the stray dog group are of different breeds, and the atlas carefully groups the dogs of the same breed together.
Especially Dahei's scarred, recognizable face, reflected directly in the front of the dogs. The illustration shone with golden light, no less than the egg yolk in front - [German Shepherd (Strength Level 5 Stars): Increases the Strength of residents in the construction area by 10%.
Looking at the name note above the card and the numerical explanation below, Xia Ruanruan subconsciously reached out and touched the scar on Dahei's face in the illustration.
Just now, when Xia Runrun was communicating with other stray dogs, she realized that the scar on Dahei's face was actually caused by a ferocious beast when he was fighting with it two years ago and trying to save a wounded little boy.
"This is a hero's medal!" The little girl curled her lips and reached out to touch it again.
After looking at this picture, Xia Ruanruan subconsciously flipped through the pages and saw pictures of the dogs in the pack reflected in the illustrated book one by one...
Xia Ruanruan unconsciously curled the corners of her lips slightly.
Although she felt that she might not be able to build the animal city described in the illustrated book in her lifetime, she was still very happy to be loved by so many small animals...
Xia Ruanruan flipped through the pages until she reached the last page... Her fingers unconsciously touched the last page... Xia Ruanruan subconsciously reached out to flip back. She had thought that after the stray dogs in the group had flipped through the pages, there would be no other pictures and she would be unable to flip through the pages again, just like before.
However, Xia Runrun never expected it!
This time she actually flipped over!
Subconsciously flipping through the white image at the back, I saw a white image appear above the previously blank page—[Human (Normal Level, No Stars): Can become a resident of Zootopia.]
And what is reflected above this picture is Brother Chen’s face, which is slightly dark and thin, but has a bright smile!
In the upper right corner of the illustrated book, the two large characters "Chen Peng" appeared prominently.
Xia Ruanruan: “???????”
Xia Ruanruan: “!!!!”
What the hell is this?!
Wasn't it supposed to be the Zootopia illustrated guide? Why is Brother Chen's illustrated guide here?!
Xia Ruanruan's mind was a bit dazed at that moment. She had never expected to see human figures in the animal encyclopedia. The thick red encyclopedia seemed to sense Xia Ruanruan's resentment and doubt. On the paper that was originally blank except for the animal encyclopedia, a line of large characters appeared.
——Humans: also known as Homo sapiens, are the only existing species under the genus Homo, belonging to the genus Homo of the family Hominidae in the order Primates of the class Mammalia, and are a branch of animal species.
Xia Ruanruan: “!!!!”
so……
Actually, all humans can appear in this illustrated book, right?!
"Then why aren't photos of Brother Hanzhou, Sister Yahui, and Aunt Zhou in the illustrated guide?"
Could it be that these people's love for her was fake? Xia Ruanruan was stunned for a moment, but more than that, she subconsciously remembered why these people's illustrations did not appear in this book.
——Only animals that are willing to become residents of Zootopia and truly trust their hosts will appear in the illustrated guide.
This time, before Xia Ruanruan could ask in her heart, the illustrated book had already given her the answer she wanted most.
It turns out that only those animals that believe in her and are willing to become residents of the base city will appear in her illustrated book.
And whether it was Hanzhou Shi Yahui, Aunt Zhou, Huang Haichao and others, they all treated her as a real child, loving, pampering and caring for her.
But there will not be such emotions as conviction and admiration.
They would not help her build Zootopia just because she called for it.
However, Chen Peng admired her from the bottom of his heart because she helped the other party win the favor of the mutant animal and thought she was a capable person.
Xia Runrun frowned slightly. She felt as if she knew the real reason why this illustrated book was lit up.
but……
Even if we know this, we are still a long way from being able to build Zootopia!
Residents are like bricks that can build a city.
But how can we build a city with just bricks and tiles? We need to consider the venue, technology, various shops, materials and energy.
"Oh!——" Xia Runrun scratched her head, completely unsure of what to do next.
"If I shout to the atlas that I want to include the entire Xingyue City in my own city-building area, will this city really become mine? Ha! I'm not here to make fun of you." The little girl dragged her chubby little chin, her eyes wide as dead fish, and muttered.
However, at this moment...
Xia Ruanruan originally thought that the illustrated book would have no reaction, but it actually made a crisp "ding dong" sound!
Xia Ruanruan looked down and saw a string of black words appearing on the red illustrated book that was spread out on her lap.
——Ding Dong!
——Detect the host’s city-building map——Xingyue City!
——The total area of Xingyue City is 15,664 square kilometers.
——Ding Dong!
— City construction failed! Over 90% of the animals in this area do not wish to become residents of Zootopia! Please find another location for city construction.
——Note: City building tips: The area you choose to build a city in must have more than 90% animal licenses in that area. Otherwise, it will not be successful.
Xia Ruanruan: “??!!!!”
So this is a stupid illustration! Does it only move when she pushes?
This simply means they don't want her construction to succeed!
The little girl's cheeks puffed with anger, and she wanted to stare a hole through the illustrated book. Unfortunately, this time, the illustrated book didn't move at all, and there was no hint.
Xia Ruanruan: …………
Okay, she was sure. This illustrated book actually wanted her to be Conan for life, right?!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
