Chapter 10: Little Goldy
Li Chen waved his hand, and a line of fire ignited on the ground, blocking the golden-haired dog.
The enormous golden-haired dog immediately became anxious, forcibly crossing the fire line, its fur scorched by the searing flames. It let out a pitiful “awoo” and quickly retreated two steps.
It stared at Mo Chu from across the fire line, its gaze filled with shock and grievance.
Mo Chu had never imagined she could see grievance in a dog’s eyes.
But then again, she didn’t recognize this golden-haired dog either.
On the other side, Li Chen looked unkindly at the golden-haired dog, seemingly ready to act due to its threatening demeanor.
Mo Chu quickly stood in front of him and whispered, “Let me go over and take a look.”
Li Chen furrowed his brows slightly, “But…”
Mo Chu shook her head, “It’s okay.”
After hesitating for a moment, Li Chen removed the fire line in front of them.
As soon as the fire line was removed, the huge golden-haired dog immediately excitedly pounced forward. Before Mo Chu could react, Li Chen swiftly grabbed her waist and moved away.
The golden-haired dog pounced in vain.
To prevent the golden-haired dog from leaping again, Li Chen drew a circle around it with the fire line, making the dog spin anxiously inside the circle.
Meanwhile, Li Chen quickly released his hold on Mo Chu, stepped forward, and squatted in front of the golden-haired dog. He calmly said, “I don’t know if you can understand me, but if you want her to come over, it’s best to behave.”
The golden-haired dog felt the threat and viciously bared its teeth, crouching down and gathering energy as if preparing to attack.
Li Chen coldly remarked, “If you don’t behave, stay inside the circle.”
The golden-haired dog glanced at Li Chen, then at Mo Chu, who was firmly protected by him. Anxiously scratching the ground with its paws, it eventually half-lowered its body in a sign of submission.
Thus, an agreement was reached between this man and dog.
Li Chen’s expression turned serious and solemn. In his deep black eyes, there even seemed to be a hint of the Demon King from Mo Chu’s past life. However, for some reason, when she looked at him seriously threatening a golden-haired dog, Mo Chu found it somewhat amusing.
Then, she burst into laughter.
Li Chen looked over in surprise, and Mo Chu quickly swallowed her laughter, coughing once and looking at him seriously.
As he looked at her, she grew increasingly guilty. She seemed to see him barely suppressing a smile, but then again, maybe not. Just as she was feeling puzzled, Li Chen nodded at her and said, “Go ahead.”
Mo Chu hurriedly walked past him, and Li Chen withdrew the fire circle.
This time, the golden-haired dog behaved much better.
It half-lay on the ground, wagging its tail rapidly, looking at her eagerly.
Before Mo Chu even approached the golden-haired dog, she had already made a rough judgment about it. Its size was much larger than an ordinary golden-haired dog, and even an evolved dog wouldn’t have such a massive build. So, she speculated that its ability should be related to strength or something similar. The reason why this supermarket was so clean, with everything well-preserved, was likely thanks to this golden-haired dog.
It should be either the owner’s dog or a customer’s dog that awakened its abilities after the apocalypse and instinctively guarded its territory.
Last time she came here, she didn’t encounter this golden-haired dog, and their group successfully took everything from the supermarket. It was probably just a stroke of luck.
Mo Chu pondered in her mind and cautiously approached the golden-haired dog. Imitating Li Chen, she squatted down halfway, and her eyes were almost level with the dog’s.
The golden-haired dog looked at her eagerly.
After a moment of hesitation, Mo Chu reached out and touched its head.
The golden-haired dog immediately got excited, sticking out its tongue to lick her palm and rubbing its head against her leg non-stop, appearing very joyful.
Mo Chu was almost amused and whispered, “Little guy, do I know you?”
The golden-haired dog let out a couple of “awoo” sounds.
Its behavior seemed like it recognized her, but she really didn’t know it.
Mo Chu thought of something and tentatively said, “Little guy, do you think of me as your owner?”
The golden-haired dog responded with a couple of “woos,” rubbing against Mo Chu more vigorously.
Mo Chu almost understood. This golden-haired dog had indeed considered her its owner.
Mo Chu was a bit confused.
She didn’t know where this golden-haired dog’s actual owner had gone, but considering the situation in the supermarket, the odds were not in their favor.
However, Mo Chu wasn’t truly its owner either.
Mo Chu rubbed the golden-haired dog’s head and said, “You’ve got the wrong person, little guy.”
Saying that, she stood up, intending to discuss with Li Chen how to handle the situation.
However, the golden-haired dog seemed to think she was leaving. It immediately grabbed her clothes with its front paws. When Mo Chu turned to look at it, she was shocked to see tears slowly welling up in its red eyes.
The smile that had been lingering at the corner of Mo Chu’s mouth gradually faded. She looked at the dog seriously and said, “Little guy, you’ve mistaken me for someone else. I really am not your owner.”
The golden-haired dog clung tightly to her clothes, looking at her with determination, refusing to let go.
Mo Chu watched it for a moment and suddenly asked, “Little guy, do you want to come with me?”
This time, the golden-haired dog seemed to understand. It immediately let go of Mo Chu, stood up from the ground, and started running around her in circles, wagging its tail joyfully.
It even dutifully picked up Mo Chu’s half-packed backpack from the side and held it in its mouth, offering to carry her belongings.
The golden-haired dog truly wanted to go with her.
Mo Chu patted its head and said seriously, “Although you mistook your owner, since you’ve decided to follow me, then I am your new owner. If you ever abandon me and run away, I won’t want you anymore, not ever again.”
The golden-haired dog rubbed against her leg with force.
Mo Chu felt a bit relieved, but then she realized that Li Chen hadn’t said a word throughout the whole process.
It was only then that she remembered she was with Li Chen now. She had decided to bring the golden-haired dog along without asking for Li Chen’s opinion.
Feeling guilty, she turned to look at him and asked softly, “Li Chen, can I take it with me?”
Li Chen’s expression didn’t show any signs of pleasure or anger; it was hard to tell if he was upset or not. He glanced at the golden-haired dog, which was still attentively doting on Mo Chu, and said, “Sure.”
Mo Chu sighed with relief, rubbed the golden-haired dog’s head again, and then resumed packing up their supplies.
With just the two of them and the golden-haired dog, they couldn’t take all the supplies in the supermarket. They could only choose the most useful items to carry.
While she was contemplating what to take and what to leave behind, she suddenly heard Li Chen ask, “You said that if someone abandons you, you won’t want them anymore. Is that true?”
Mo Chu looked at him and nodded, “Yes.” She meant it. Whether it was a person or an animal, if they had abandoned her, she wouldn’t want them back.
Then she saw Li Chen nod at her and say, “I understand.”
Mo Chu: ???
What did he understand from her conversation with the golden-haired dog?
The two of them quickly packed up the supplies they could take and left the supermarket.
The golden-haired dog showed no signs of reluctance in leaving its territory. It kept circling around Mo Chu, wagging its tail happily, and even picked up Mo Chu’s backpack and slung it over its own back, looking very excited.
Mo Chu found it amusing and casually asked, “Little guy, I don’t know what your name was before. How about I give you a name?”
The golden-haired dog barked in response.
Surprisingly, Mo Chu could sense the joy in its bark.
So, Mo Chu attempted to come up with a name for it.
However, Mo Chu was terrible at coming up with names. After thinking for a while, she felt that every name she came up with sounded quite common. So, to save them both from this dilemma, she turned to the reliable Li Chen.
Li Chen glanced at the golden-haired dog.
Despite its enormous size after mutation, the dog behaved as if it were a small breed, circling around Mo Chu, rubbing and jumping, occasionally brushing against her legs, and being very attentive.
Thus, Li Chen suggested, “Let’s call it Xiao Jin (Little Gold), it’s easy to say and easy to remember.”
Xiao Jin?
Mo Chu hesitated for a moment, blinking her eyes.
Li Chen’s sense of naming… was it really so grounded?
But…
Just as she was hesitating, Li Chen asked her, “Is this name okay?”
Mo Chu: …
After thinking about it for a while, she surprisingly found it quite suitable!
Sometimes simplicity is elegance. A name is meant for your own people to call, not for others. So, whatever rolls off the tongue is the way to go.
Moreover, perhaps influenced by Li Chen’s judgment, she suddenly felt that the name Xiao Jin was rustic and had a sense of elegance.
So she said, “I think it’s good.”
Both of them looked down at Xiao Jin at the same time.
The golden-haired dog had no idea about its future destiny and was still happily circling around Mo Chu.
Mo Chu said, “From now on, your name will be Xiao Jin!”
Xiao Jin happily responded with a bark.
As they were walking, Mo Chu encountered the group of students she had met in the supermarket the day before. They seemed to be trying to gather supplies from the supermarket before leaving, but this time, they ran into trouble.
They were surrounded by a group of seven or eight zombies in a narrow alley, and the situation was dire.
Mo Chu immediately put down her backpack, pulled out the dagger from her boots, and was about to intervene to help them.
Before she could act, Li Chen asked her, “Do you know them?”
Mo Chu casually replied, “Just met once. There’s a little girl among them, quite likable.”
Li Chen nodded, “I understand.”
Mo Chu: What do you understand now?
But before she could react further, Li Chen was the first to rush out. His five fingers drew a circle in the air, and a fire circle immediately descended from the sky, protecting the people trapped in the alley.
Xiao Jin was the second to rush out, probably trying to show off in front of Mo Chu. The golden-haired dog erupted with a fierceness akin to a wolf.
Mo Chu, who initially intended to rescue them, ended up being the last one to act.
Her competitive spirit was also ignited, and she immediately rushed forward with her dagger. Surprisingly, her still uncontrolled strength didn’t hold her back this time, and her combat was even smoother than before.
But when she finished dealing with two zombies and turned around, there were no more standing zombies. Li Chen raised his hand and retracted the fire circle, while Xiao Jin looked at her as if seeking praise.
Mo Chu sighed, feeling a bit envious.
The advantage of an offensive ability was evident.
However, she didn’t dwell on it. Everything had its trade-offs. Healing ability users might lack offensive means, but beyond the third rank, they became far more formidable than offensive ability users.
She turned to look at those people.
Ying Yi clearly recognized her and shouted excitedly, “Sister!”
Mo Chu nodded at her, but before she could say anything, an elder among the group stepped forward, bowed to her, and said solemnly, “I am Xie Jinyuan. On behalf of my students, thank you.”
Mo Chu couldn’t possibly accept such a gesture from an elder and hurriedly went up to support him.
Li Chen, noticing her discomfort, said to her, “Mo Chu, let’s go. We’re running out of time.”
Mo Chu didn’t want to be held back by their gratitude and immediately took the opportunity to bid farewell.
But the name Xie Jinyuan sounded so familiar…
Meanwhile, Ying Yi and her group watched Mo Chu as she walked away. One of the boys immediately said, “Teacher, that’s the person I mentioned, the one who told us about the crystal nucleus.”
The old man looked at her, deep in thought.
“If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have discovered my own situation so quickly. Awakening an ability like super intelligence at this time is quite appropriate. I owe that young girl a big favor.”
Ying Yi said with a smile, “It’s alright. Once the rescue team comes, we’ll definitely see her again.”
