Chapter 76
Seeing Ershun sticking his tongue out at her blankly, Jiangzhi said, "Ershun has been following me because he likes my brother. We've tried to chase him away several times, but we haven't been able to."
Jiang Shu knew this was an opportunity and quickly said, "Colonel Huang, Er Shun is very well-behaved. What happened before was a complete misunderstanding."
As he spoke, he used both his hands and feet to explain Er Shun's situation.
He would say anything that was good for Ershun, such as Ershun waiting for his master or that the gas station was Ershun's territory.
By this point, how could Luo Yonghui and his companions not understand what the brother and sister were thinking?
After Jiang Shu finished speaking, he, as the team leader, added, "What Jiang said is right. Er Shun followed us and we met. It didn't hurt anyone. It... listens to Jiang Shu very well."
Huang Xianming's expression was very gentle. He looked at Jiang Shu and said, "You are Comrade Jiang Zhi's brother? Your name is Jiang Shu, right?"
Jiang Shu nodded.
"Can you make this golden retriever...obey you?"
Jiang Shu scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said the truth: "Er Shun is not a pet, it's a partner, so it doesn't always listen to me."
Just like in this battle, Ershun actually has her own ideas.
But Jiang Shu didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Huang Xianming glanced at Jiang Shu in surprise, not expecting the kid to be so honest.
He couldn't help but look at Ershun, and the oppressive aura emanating from him made Ershun bar her teeth in protest. She instantly became like a lion with its mane bristling.
Jiang Shuxin tensed up and quickly patted its head: "Ershun, this is a leader in our base, be polite!"
Ershun's ears snapped back, his tail drooped immediately, and he looked at him with a pitiful expression, his neck hunched. "Woof woof woof!"
Jiang Shu immediately softened, "Er Shun, it's alright."
He said to Huang Xianming, "Colonel Huang, Ershun is very well-behaved. As long as you don't scare it, it definitely won't cause any trouble."
This kid, isn't he obviously bluffing the dog?
Huang Xianming smiled and said, "This dog is indeed obedient."
At this moment, Jiang Zhi said, "Colonel Huang, Er Shun deserves a lot of credit for our successful annihilation of these monkeys this time."
Jiang Shu nodded repeatedly. "Most of those monkeys were killed by Er Shun."
Huang Xianming laughed and said, "You silly girl, just say what you want to say. You two siblings really did a good job today. As long as it's not excessive, we will try our best to meet your requests."
Jiang Zhi chuckled, having been waiting for these words: "Brother, you say it."
Jiang Shu felt a little uneasy, but when it came to Er Shun, he mustered up his courage and said, "I want Er Shun to come with me."
As soon as he said that, the surroundings fell silent.
The mutants who had fought against Er Shun initially disagreed somewhat, but they remained silent out of respect for Jiang Zhi.
At this moment, Zhang He from Gu Kaizhi's team said, "Colonel Huang, this is, after all, a level 5 mutated beast. What if it suddenly attacks? Isn't the risk too great?"
Jiang Zhi looked over and saw that they were from Gu Kaizhi's team, and that she had had some disagreements with them before.
Looking at the others behind him, although they didn't speak, it was clear that they were also unwilling.
She remembered that those people had indeed been injured by Er Shun before.
Luo Yonghui chimed in, "Everyone has witnessed the strength of this golden retriever. Now it has helped us eliminate this group of monkeys. I think having it join us is actually a good thing for our mission."
Gu Kaizhi frowned: "Captain Luo, how can you guarantee that this golden retriever won't hurt anyone again?"
Luo Yonghui fell silent.
This is certainly not guaranteed.
Dogs aren't people, they can't write guarantees.
Jiang Zhi glanced at Gu Kaizhi.
She knew that there would definitely be opposition to Ershun's plan, so she said the suggestion she had thought of beforehand: "Ershun can shrink and only stay with us during our rest time. The rest of the time she will help scout ahead."
"Right, Ershun?"
As if in response to Jiang Zhi's words, Er Shun puffed out his chest and barked a few times.
Jiang Zhi had discussed this matter privately with her brother.
Er Shun followed them all the way, and even though they didn't ask him to scout the way, he did a lot of scouting work.
Many who were weaker than it were either scared away by Er Shun or bitten to death by it.
Therefore, this arrangement is most advantageous to Ershun.
Once the mission is over, Er Shun can return to their previous small camp; everything will be just right.
As soon as Jiang Zhi spoke, Wu Bing immediately agreed with both hands: "That's right, when Jinmao rests, he can rest in our squad. With us watching over him, you can rest assured, right?"
Those who had initially opposed the idea exchanged glances upon hearing this.
With Er Shun's strength, if he could help scout the way, it would be a tremendous benefit for them, guaranteeing both their safety and protection against potential damage.
The members of Gu Kaizhi's team said, "If that's the case, I have no objection."
"Me too."
"I also……"
Seeing this, Zhang He's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.
He wanted to say something more, but Gu Kaizhi stopped him, saying, "We'll follow the orders from above."
This made Jiang Zhi look at him in a new light.
I never expected Gu Kaizhi to be so patient.
My wariness of the other person has increased to a new level.
—A person who is brave, resourceful, and patient is much more difficult to deal with than someone like Feng Yan.
Huang Xianming was clearly pleased with Gu Kaizhi's tact and understanding.
"Since everyone has no objections, it's settled then."
These words made Jiang Shu extremely happy, and he childishly hugged Er Shun and bounced around a few times.
"Er Shun, you can follow me from now on!!" Finally, I don't have to worry about Er Shun being discovered.
"Woof woof woof!!" The golden retriever seemed even happier than him.
After hugging Ershun, Jiang Shu ran over to hug his sister, saying, "Sis, thanks to you, Ershun doesn't have to hide anymore!!"
Jiang Zhi smiled, pursing her lips.
Now her brother no longer has to worry about Er Shun's situation. Otherwise, seeing him sneaking around and being so cautious every day made her feel quite uncomfortable.
Huang Mingxian saw the smiles on the brother and sister's faces and couldn't help but smile back.
These two kids are truly siblings; they always manage to surprise people.
I thought the younger sister was already a pleasant surprise, but I didn't expect the older brother to be just as amazing.
That golden retriever clearly recognized Jiang Shu as the most important person to him.
Even at the Kyoto base, there has never been a case of humans and mutated beasts living in peace.
Now, Er Shun, who is now by Jiang Shu's side, will become a unique presence in their base.
Huang Xianming was not optimistic about the future of the base.
But the appearance of the brother and sister made him inexplicably feel that perhaps humanity could survive in this world a little longer...
But he still had to make things clear: "However, unless it's for research purposes, the base doesn't allow the private breeding of mutated creatures right now, you know that, right?"
Jiang Zhi and her brother exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "Colonel Huang, we have already thought about the follow-up arrangements for Er Shun."
Huang Xianming didn't ask any further questions: "That's fine then. I'll report to the professors. Don't worry."
Huang Xianming is blatantly biased.
"By the way, you should go and let the professors know you're safe. Professor Jiang must be worried sick."
Jiang Zhi and her brother exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.
Just then, the three professors behind them learned that the monkey issue had been resolved and insisted on getting out of the car to see Jiangzhi's condition for themselves.
This really worried Liu Haining, the logistics manager: "Professors, it's not safe here. You should stay in your cars."
"Professor Jiang, why don't you try to persuade them as well?"
Jiangshantou is also very large.
Now, in the eyes of the three professors, Jiang Zhi's safety is just as important as the space teleportation equipment.
Upon learning that Jiang Zhi had gone to catch monkeys, the group felt extremely uneasy in the car, fearing that Jiang Zhi might get hurt.
His posture was even more exaggerated than that of the father.
Professor Ning, in particular, got angry as soon as he saw Jiang Shan: "I told you a long time ago to let Xiao Jiang come into our car, but you didn't listen. Now look what's happened! If Xiao Jiang gets hurt, I'll never forgive you!"
Jiang Shan, despite his advanced age, was scolded and dared not utter a word.
Others might not understand, but he, as a father, knew his daughter all too well.
That girl is very ambitious; once she decides to do something, no one can stop her.
Professor Ning left Liu Haining aside and got out of the car.
Just as I was about to walk forward, I heard several short, powerful barks from outside: "Woof woof woof—!"
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Where did that dog barking come from?
The professors all instinctively looked toward the source of the sound.
Then they saw a golden-haired creature, about the size of a calf, steadily carrying Jiang Zhi and her brother on its back. Its golden fur bristled in the wind, and its limbs used the cliff face to leap over several car roofs, rushing towards them.
The soldiers and mutants waiting in the vehicles stared wide-eyed.
During the previous battles with the macaque troop, many soldiers did not actually see the golden retriever; they had only heard about it from a few people.
Seeing this with their own eyes, everyone straightened their bodies and craned their necks, thinking they were seeing things.
The professors, who had been sitting in the car the whole time and had no idea what had just happened, were completely stunned.
"Woof woof woof!!"
In the blink of an eye, Er Shun had arrived in front of everyone.
The soldiers in the following vehicles all erupted in chaos.
This golden retriever, a level 5 mutated dog with three superpowers—actually became a mount obediently?
"So I wasn't seeing things! They really did ride that golden retriever!"
"How did they do that? This golden retriever looks just like my old pet dog, it's so obedient!"
Fortunately, despite their curiosity and envy, everyone was tactful enough not to approach and ask questions.
After the brother and sister landed, they went to Jiang Shan.
Jiang Zhi: "Dad, professors, are you all alright?"
Seeing that the siblings had some minor injuries but could move freely, Jiang Shan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As his children grew up, he, as their father, had no reason to stop them from spreading their wings and soaring high.
He laughed and said, "We're fine, what's going on with you guys?"
Jiang Shu said proudly, "Er Shun just helped take down the two monkey leaders."
Upon hearing this, the professors thought they had misheard.
This mutant golden retriever—helps them kill monkeys?
Why does this sound so surreal?
Perhaps because the gazes of the professors were too intense, Er Shun felt provoked and barked at them a few times in annoyance.
The ginger tree quickly comforted it.
"Er Shun, we're all on the same side, don't be afraid."
Professor Shen, who was standing at the back, came to his senses and hurriedly took two steps forward: "Young comrade, is this...is this your dog?"
As an expert in mutant organisms, he had imagined this scenario countless times.
Unexpectedly, he would see a mutated beast that was friendly to humans in his lifetime...
He stared blankly, frozen in place, his Adam's apple bobbing several times. His clenched hands trembled slightly, and his lips moved but no word came out for a long time.
He always believed that even if Earth underwent earth-shattering changes, there would still be mutated creatures willing to live peacefully with humans.
This viewpoint was once ridiculed by countless people.
After a few years, even he himself felt it was a pipe dream.
Er Shun's appearance seemed to give him hope, reigniting his passion for the subject.
Professor Shen strode forward, asking expectantly, "Can I...can I touch it?"
Jiang Shu looked at Er Shun with some difficulty.
Er Shun didn't give him any face at all, and "whoosh" shrunk his head behind Jiang Shu, avoiding Professor Shen's gaze.
The golden retriever pressed its big head tightly against Jiang Shu's trouser leg, its wet eyes looking timid, and its paws kept tugging at Jiang Shu's clothes, as if it wanted to pretend it didn't exist.
Jiang Shu: "This..."
Professor Shen, fearing rejection, quickly said, "Comrade Jiang Shu, I just want to touch it—"
Before he could finish speaking, Ershun's ear snapped back, and he turned and darted off in the opposite direction.
This startled the onlookers.
"Hey, why did that golden retriever run away? Did it see too many of us?"
"It was perfectly fine just now, is it scared?"
Professor Shen felt as if the sky had fallen when he saw his beloved pet run away.
Jiang Shu secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Er Shun run away and hide two kilometers away.
He secretly thought Ershun was quite clever; if he wasn't willing, he knew to run away, which saved him the trouble of refusing.
He cleared his throat and said very tactfully, "Well, Professor Shen, you see... it doesn't seem too happy about it."
Professor Shen seemed not to hear, muttering to himself, "Why did it run away? Does it hate me? Am I too scary-looking?"
Well, he's completely immersed in his own world.
Having witnessed the shocking example of Jiang Zhi, the other two professors were relatively accepting of Jiang Shu's second chance.
But no matter what, the fact that humans can get close to a level 5 mutant dog is something that is enough to overturn their understanding.
Moreover, the people who shattered their expectations were actually members of the Jiang family.
Professor Yang and Professor Ning were now filled with envy and jealousy towards Jiang Shan. How come he was so good at having children?
As darkness fell and the scene was not yet fully cleaned up, even though the professors had many things to say and many questions to ask, they had to prioritize the overall situation and reluctantly allowed the brother and sister to pass.
Taking advantage of the break, Dong Mingyu ran straight over from the front: "Comrade Jiang Zhi, the colonel sent me to treat you."
Jiang Zhi was unaware that she had become Dong Mingyu's idol, and thought that Dong Mingyu was friendly and enthusiastic to everyone.
"Thank you so much, Dr. Dong." Jiang Zhi said a little shyly, "I wonder if you could also treat Er Shun?"
"sure."
Dong Mingyu couldn't be happier.
The well-behaved Golden Retriever looks the best to pet!
Jiang Shu then called Er Shun back.
Er Shun really disliked Professor Shen. When he came back, he kept sniffing the noise, as if afraid that Professor Shen was also there.
A moment later, the injuries on the two people and the dog disappeared without a trace under Dong Mingyu's treatment.
While everyone was distracted, Dong Mingyu secretly rubbed the golden retriever's head.
Er Shun blinked, not angry, and grinned at her, sticking out his tongue in a friendly manner.
Dong Mingyu suddenly felt so happy she was about to faint—
Good heavens!! How can there be such an adorable and amazing dog?!
Seeing this, Gou An was also itching to join in, but he was afraid of scaring the golden retriever if he went over, so he was really torn.
Seeing their hesitant expressions, Jiang Shu felt a pang of guilt. He scratched his head and said, "Ershun, they want to come and see you. If you agree, just say so."
Er Shun tilted his big head back, his ears perked up, and his amber eyes half-closed as he glanced at the soldiers, his tail slowly sweeping left and right twice.
Just as the soldiers were feeling anxious and uncertain, they heard Er Shun bark.
These soldiers had previously heard that a talent capable of curing mental pollution had emerged from the base, but they weren't there at the time, and they were all devastated.
The young soldiers were overjoyed to be able to get close to the mutated golden retriever, and they all rushed to surround it.
"Comrade Jiang Shu, is this dog named Er Shun?"
"Comrade Jiang Shu, what does it like to eat? Does the mutant pig eat it?"
...
The soldiers' questions were varied and numerous, and their faces were filled with excitement and curiosity, a stark contrast to their solemn composure at the start of the journey, revealing the vitality of youth.
At this moment, they are not soldiers defending their country, nor are they soldiers burdened with heavy responsibilities; they are simply vibrant young people in their early twenties.
Jiang Shu has always been a very outgoing person.
When a group of young people get together, it's practically endless.
In the end, they even came up with the question of whether Ershun was male or female.
It drew the attention of the other soldiers who were diligently cleaning up the site, making them all look this way.
Huang Xianming couldn't stand it anymore and laughed, scolding, "You little rascals, get to work! The others are still cleaning up the mess!"
Seeing their captain lose his temper, the soldiers scattered in all directions.
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but laugh as she watched Er Shun being coaxed into a great mood by everyone.
With many hands making light work, the group finished cleaning up the battlefield in just twenty minutes.
Just as the soldiers were about to count the macaque carcasses, Jiang Zhi remembered something and quickly said, "Colonel Huang, the macaque dens haven't been checked yet."
Huang Xianming never expected that the monkeys' nests were actually nearby.
"You suspect there are still some who have slipped through the net?"
Jiang Zhi shook her head: "No, if I'm not mistaken, there should be wooden guns in those macaques' burrows."
Although she had been fighting fiercely with the monkeys and hadn't had time to explore the cave, Jiang Zhi vaguely saw that there were many things hidden inside, including a wooden gun.
Upon hearing this, Huang Xianming's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
"gun?"
Jiang Zhi nodded and recounted how she had been ambushed by a level 5 mutated macaque with a gun.
Huang Xianming exchanged glances with the leaders of the exploration teams and asked, "Where are the macaques' nests?"
Jiang Zhi pointed ahead, and everyone looked over and indeed saw a hole that was mostly covered by vines.
Huang Xianming: "Li Qi, Gouzi, you guys go up and scout the situation. If there's anything, fire a signal flare immediately."
"yes!"
Although he knew that the macaques had been completely wiped out, Huang Xianming remained very cautious.
A moment later, the dog's excited voice came from above: "Captain, there are lots of guns inside! And lots of gold too."
Everyone was stunned.
What are these monkeys collecting gold for?
After Gouzi and his companions unloaded all the items, everyone began to guess what was going on—
Among the many miscellaneous items, besides gold, there were also many human belongings.
Clothing, books, watches, luxury bags, and even a considerable amount of cash.
Jiang Zhi felt a pang of sadness seeing this.
These are clearly humans who survived a cataclysmic event and were trying to escape with their belongings, only to have them intercepted by these mutated macaques.
These scattered items, which were considered valuable before the catastrophe, are now just old junk with some sentimental value, but at the time, they were clearly their last hope for survival in the disaster.
Standing next to her, Chen Shaoting noticed Jiang Zhi staring at the designer bags and asked softly, "Which bag do you like?"
Jiang Zhi didn't react for a moment.
"ah?"
Chen Shaoting said to herself, "I like the orange Hermes bag. I used to think it was ugly and bought all the other colors except orange. But now that I look at it, I suddenly think that orange is actually quite pretty. At least it looks very saturated even though it looks dirty now."
Jiang Zhi looked at her in surprise.
I never imagined that Chen Shaoting, who is as approachable as an older sister, came from such a wealthy family.
They can buy Hermès items without hesitation.
Wu Bing leaned closer and said ingratiatingly, "Shaoting, which one do you like? I'll ask Colonel Huang for it for you later."
Chen Shaoting rolled her eyes at him, "Mind your own business."
Jiang Zhi couldn't help but laugh.
Huang Xianming glanced briefly at the suitcases that Gouzi and his men had haphazardly piled up, then turned to look at the row of guns on the ground.
There were fourteen guns in total.
On the side is a pistol, its body severely worn, with anti-slip rubber wrapped around the grip. In the middle are five Type 95B short assault rifles and two damaged police flashlights.
The rest were all Type 09 police shotguns, with half a non-lethal rubber bullet still stuck in the magazine, and the bottom of the stock was marked with a conspicuous "police" character.
Although firearms are now largely ineffective against high-level mutated creatures, their allure to men is deeply ingrained.
They all stared with shining eyes.
They were practically ready to grab it.
Zou Minghua cleared his throat. "Colonel Huang, how should we divide the spoils this time?"
He has always insisted on fighting for his own interests, and he doesn't care if people say he's shameless or thick-skinned.
These are nowhere near as good quality as real goods.
Huang Xianming glanced at the crowd and found that not only Zou Minghua, but also the captains of the other two exploration teams were waiting for his reply.
Huang Xianming snorted: "Why are you asking me? Comrade Jiang Zhi found this."
Although the monkeys were hunted by a group of people, the unspoken rule for resource allocation during missions was that whoever found the monkeys got to keep them.
If Jiang Zhi hadn't reminded them, they definitely wouldn't have thought of this.
Everyone turned to look at Jiang Zhi again.
Jiang Zhi was having a bit of a headache; she hated getting involved in these kinds of things.
They had to choose a compromise – since there were more soldiers, they could contribute more, so half of the guns were given to them, and the rest were divided equally among the three exploration teams, with their teams having priority in choosing.
This method of distribution made everyone feel very comfortable, and Luo Yonghui was all smiles.
He'd wanted a Type 95B short assault rifle for a long time, and he was sure he'd get one this time.
Zou Minghua couldn't stand his smugness and couldn't help but say, "How about I trade you two Type 64 pistols for one rifle?"
Luo Yonghui: "No way! No way! You can't buy what I like, you know? If you like it, go find it yourself!"
Zou Minghua was so angry his nose was crooked: "It wasn't you who found them, what are you so smug about?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because this made Luo Yonghui even more smug. "If you're so capable, why don't you find a good team member for yourself?"
Chen Shaoting bluntly commented: "Immature."
After everything was inventoried, the soldiers in charge of cleaning gave a brief report to the captains and Huang Xianming.
Excluding the two level 5 macaques, there were a total of eighteen macaque carcasses at the scene, five of which were level 4 macaques.
After Jiang Zhi and her brother severely injured the level 5 mutated macaque with bloodline control, the macaque troop was no longer under control and became a disorganized mess. Huang Xianming and Luo Yonghui, along with several other team leaders, led the hunt and killed more than fifty macaques. Together with the ones that Jiang Zhi and her brother eliminated over there, there were more than eighty in total.
It was almost a total annihilation.
With nearly a hundred macaques, it can be considered a great harvest.
Moreover, no one died in this battle because the brother and sister and Ershun killed the level 5 mutated macaque in time.
This record is so impressive that even if they were to retake the base, they would still be considered top-tier.
Of course, many of their people were also injured.
In the most serious incident, a soldier was attacked by a swarm of macaques during a battle, and his head was ripped open.
Fortunately, Dong Mingyu was there and managed to snatch the person back from the jaws of death.
The most troublesome thing is the damage to the vehicles.
On the military side, the roofs of several pickup trucks' troop compartments were vandalized by monkeys, suffering varying degrees of damage. Even the rivets securing the protective netting were torn off.
The exploration team's vehicles had been damaged by rocks, with marks on the windows and roofs, and some even had their bulletproof glass broken. They all urgently needed to be repaired and placed in a suitable location.
Fortunately, the vehicle's important engine was not damaged, otherwise tonight would have been tough.
As for the spoils of war—the carcasses of these macaques—after testing them one by one, only a dozen or so contained moderate toxins; the rest were inedible.
Most of those present were mutants and showed little interest in the moderately toxic monkey carcasses.
However, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Huang Xianming used his spatial device to collect all the edible monkeys.
Apart from that, the rest of the spoils were distributed to each team according to the method Jiang Zhi had previously mentioned. In the end, it was discovered that there was an extra gun.
Thinking back to the time when she heard her brother activate his innate ability during the final hunt for those two macaques, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but ask, "Could my brother have this extra gun?"
Jiang Shu, confused, pointed foolishly at himself: "Give it to me? Ah Zhi, I—"
Jiang Zhi continued with a smile, "My brother has good eyesight, so he might even be a master gunner."
Upon hearing this, Huang Xianming said, "With some training, your brother could indeed make significant achievements in this area."
Jiang Zhi nodded repeatedly.
That's right.
The ability to hit targets with 100% accuracy within one's field of vision, combined with the "clairvoyance" buff...
Jiang Zhi dares to guarantee that, given time, in terms of long-range attacks, if her brother says he's second, no one will dare to say they're first.
In the end, Jiang Shu got a wooden gun, while Jiang Zhi asked for some gold.
She planned to take it back to make some jewelry for the older female members of her family.
Although gold isn't worth much these days, it doesn't diminish Jiangzhi's fondness for it.
Jiang Shu turned the gun in his hand over and over a few times: "Sis, although I like guns, I've never used one before."
Jiang Zhi looked at him with a smile: "You'll be able to use it soon."
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