Chapter 1043 - 1043: Stepping on the Trap

As soon as Xiao Xiangzhu saw Hua Ling, it flapped its wings and flew into her arms.

This scene, if the little girl saw it, she would definitely get angry again.

Hua Ling felt the weight of Xiao Xiangzhu and smiled with satisfaction: "You've gained weight, it seems you've been living quite well lately, haven't you?"

Indeed, ever since Sun Shijie discovered the effects of Xiao Xiangzhu's droppings by chance, Xiao Xiangzhu's living conditions had improved dramatically.

Every day it simply ate and laid waste, laid waste and ate, then nestled in to hatch its chicks, living a very delightful and carefree life!

After staying in Hua Ling's arms for a moment, Xiao Xiangzhu jumped down and ran back to its little castle.

Xiao Feng, standing by, felt his heart skip a beat because just now, Xiao Xiangzhu almost stepped on the trigger zone of the mechanism.

Although with Xiao Xiangzhu's weight, whether it would really trigger the mechanism was uncertain, if it did start, well, that would be quite interesting.

After much consideration, Xiao Feng decided to walk into the villa and temporarily turn off the mechanism in the bedroom to prevent any potential tragedy.

Returning to the courtyard, Xiao Xiangzhu was carefully using its head to "prop" the egg out of its nest, looking at Hua Ling with a sense of pride.

Its expression seemed to say: Look, I finally have a chicken too, I can finally lay eggs!

Hua Ling squatted down, picked up the egg from the ground, held it in her palm, and laughed: "It's so warm, nice and cozy."

Just then, Xiao Feng suddenly shouted from behind: "Put it down!"

Hua Ling turned her head, displeased: "I'm not even burping anymore, why are you still startling me?

What if my hand shakes and I drop the egg and it breaks?"

Xiao Feng urged: "You better put the egg back in the nest. You mentioned your hands are cold and the egg is warm. If the temperature fluctuates too much, it may not hatch.

Or if it hatches with missing limbs, can you take responsibility?"

Hua Ling was taken aback, placed the egg back in the nest, and suspiciously said: "Why do I feel something is off with your attitude?"

"Really?" Xiao Feng retorted with an unchanged expression: "I'm just reminding you so that Xiao Xiangzhu's offspring can hatch smoothly."

"No way!" Hua Ling narrowed her eyes, seemingly noticing something odd: "You're a bit too worried about Xiao Xiangzhu's egg.

Spill it, what's your ulterior motive?"

"You've already predetermined it as 'ulterior,' so is there really a need for me to say?"

"Yes, you must say it!" Hua Ling demanded firmly: "Are you planning to harm the unborn babies of Xiao Xiangzhu?"

"How could I harm them?" Xiao Feng replied speechlessly.

Hua Ling snorted coldly and said: "I've heard many stories about using newly-hatched chicks as dishes or medicinal materials. Just tell me what you plan to do."

Xiao Feng replied impatiently: "I don't even want to bother with you!"

"If you put it that way, I think I should take Xiao Xiangzhu away." Hua Ling took two steps forward, and before she could continue speaking, she heard a "click" sound.

Li Ying's eyelids twitched, her face changed drastically: "Did you step on the mechanism?"

Seeing Hua Ling's position, Xiao Feng suddenly realized how wise it was to preemptively disable the mechanism.

Hua Ling stood motionless and asked: "Is your courtyard's mechanism like an old landmine, where lifting the foot truly triggers it?"

"Smart!" Xiao Feng struggled to suppress his laughter as he replied.

"Then quickly stop the mechanism."

"You can't stop it. Once it's stepped on, there's no way to stop it."

Li Ying frowned and said: "What if someone under you accidentally triggers it?"

"The method is simple, stand still for half an hour and don't move, then lift your foot and nothing will happen."

"There's such a mechanism?"

Xiao Feng nodded seriously, "It's to teach them a lesson so they won't trigger it next time.

Oh, and don't press something heavy on it and then lift your foot.

Even a momentary weight difference can trigger the mechanism.

My suggestion is for you to stand still and also keep in mind the pressure on your feet."

Li Ying sighed. She had thought about placing a big stone or something on it to free her team leader.

But now it seems that route is blocked.

However, this might be for the best, to teach the team leader a lesson.

Knowing there's a mechanism and stepping on it anyway is just reckless behavior.

...

After half an hour, with legs somewhat numb, Hua Ling was assisted by Li Ying and walked toward the villa where Lao Ha and others were staying.

When lifting her foot, Hua Ling saw a twig under her foot.

Naturally, she questioned whether Xiao Feng deliberately tricked her into standing there blankly for half an hour.

Xiao Feng stubbornly insisted the twig was part of the mechanism and, without giving Hua Ling and Li Ying a chance to react, led the way out of his villa.

"Goo! Goo! Goo!"

Xiao Xiangzhu stood outside the castle, gazing at Hua Ling with longing eyes.

Hua Ling crouched down to comfort it, saying, "Be good Xiao Xiangzhu, I'll come visit you again in a couple of days. What you need to do now is hatch your babies as soon as possible, understand?"

Whether Xiao Xiangzhu truly understood or not was unclear, but it nodded and slowly walked back into the castle, looking back every few steps.

The trio returned to Lao Ha and the others' villa, finding Gong Kaishan sitting on the ground, sweating and looking somewhat distressed.

"What's going on?" Li Ying walked over to ask.

Gong Kaishan shook his head: "Nothing, just not as skilled, nothing to fuss about."

With that, he propped himself up and walked over to Lao Ha and the others: "I lost fair and square, so I owe you an apology."

Lao Ha stopped him: "Hold on, give me a minute, I have to make some arrangements first."

"What arrangements?" Gong Kaishan asked puzzledly.

Lao Ha didn't reply and instead turned to everyone and said: "What are you all standing around for? Get inside and change into some neat clothes, set up the cameras, and record the whole process;

such a historic moment, how could we not treat it seriously?"

What was originally a simple matter, Lao Ha made it feel like a "surrender ceremony".

Lone Wolf and the others acknowledged and ran inside to change clothes.

Aspergillus oryzae looked at Lao Ha with a serious expression and said: "Lao Ha, I have to admit, you're trickier than me."

"Stop talking and hurry to change your clothes," Lao Ha responded impatiently.

A minute later, everyone had changed into their formal attire, set up the chairs, and sat down. A camera was set up beside them, already recording.

Gong Kaishan's face flushed red, as this was truly humiliating for him.

But there was no choice, he had said it himself, lose gracefully; not admitting to the bet would be even more disgraceful.

Besides, there was no prior rule against filming.