Chapter 872 - 872: Little Xiangzhu Is Missing

"Does it feel like something's missing?" the little girl suddenly said.

After saying this, she walked towards the very cartoonish little nest in the corner and called out, "Xiao Fragrance, come out! I haven't forgotten you, and I even brought you something tasty."

Ever since Xiao Fragrance "bravely fought off the vicious dog," the little girl's attitude towards it dramatically changed.

Along with her hostility towards Hua Ling, the little girl treated Xiao Fragrance even better, determined to make it forget its original owner, Hua Ling.

The effect was clear, most directly shown by Xiao Fragrance greeting her every time she entered or exited the house, sometimes even accompanying her for a walk.

However, after waiting for a long time, the little nest remained quiet with no movement at all.

The little girl squatted down to have a look inside and found no trace of Xiao Fragrance.

She suddenly stood up, in a panic, and said, "Brother Xiao Feng, Xiao Fragrance is missing!"

"Serves it right!" Xiao Feng said somewhat smugly, "Its original owner was a piece of work; losing it is for the best."

"Its original owner had poor character, but I'm its new owner. Now that it's gone missing, if I don't look for it, wouldn't I be the same as that original owner?" the little girl said, her face full of anxiety.

Xiao Feng thought about it and agreed with the logic, so he said, "Get Lu Yao over here to check the surveillance."

The little girl agreed and dashed out like the wind to drag Lu Yao over.

"Do you think the Devil's Concentration Camp people could have taken Xiao Fragrance?" the little girl worriedly asked, "The last time I saw it was just before then."

Xiao Feng shook his head, comforting her, "That's unlikely. The Devil's Concentration Camp people aren't weasels; grabbing a chicken wouldn't serve them much purpose."

But that said, the assumption was based on the Devil's Concentration Camp people not knowing about Xiao Fragrance's special qualities.

Could it be, taking advantage of an unguarded moment to steal, hoping to snatch the treasure in the basement was just a ruse?

Was the true purpose for... a chicken?

Xiao Feng pondered over and over but still felt this possibility was almost nil.

"Found it," Hua Ling pointed at the timestamp on the laptop screen and said, "Xiao Fragrance left at three in the morning. As for whether it left the neighborhood, we'll need to check other cameras."

"It's all my fault!" the little girl blamed herself, patting her head in frustration, "If I had tied it or closed the nest's door properly, it wouldn't have run off."

Xiao Feng patted her shoulder and spoke softly, "Even if you tied it up and closed the door tightly, if it wanted to run, it could have. The main thing is to find it first.

Don't worry too much; at least we know it wasn't taken by the Devil's Concentration Camp, right?"

The little girl nodded, but she still looked worried.

She knew in her heart that Xiao Feng was just trying to comfort her.

Because, in terms of danger, Xiao Fragrance falling into ordinary people's hands was much worse than into the hands of the Devil's Concentration Camp.

The reasoning was simple; even if the people from the Devil's Concentration Camp didn't know about Xiao Fragrance's abilities, they would certainly study it well since it was caught from Xiao Feng's house.

But the same couldn't be said for ordinary people. What's the first thought when average folks catch a chicken?

Undoubtedly, it would be that there's an extra dish today, with the most likely outcome being a pot of chicken soup.

So, the task now was to run against time to rescue Xiao Fragrance before it was turned into chicken soup.

"Could Xiao Fragrance have gone to find Hua Ling?" Lu Yao suddenly guessed.

One must admit, there's a real possibility.

In the past, Xiao Fragrance found its way quite a few times, whether by scent or method, it's conceivable it could really find Hua Ling.

"This ungrateful thing! I treat it so well, yet it still thinks of its previous owner with such poor character!" the little girl said indignantly.

Lu Yao was instantly dumbfounded: "I just said maybe, I didn't say Xiao Fragrance definitely went to Hua Ling."

"Let's call to check then." Xiao Feng picked up the phone, found Hua Ling's number, thinking he'd ask about Xiao Fragrance and his subsidy.

...

In the suburban villa's underground base.

Hua Ling sat on a high stool, her two smooth, white legs swinging back and forth, her small fists under her chin, elbows on the table, looking absent-minded.

Wasn't it said he loved money the most?

Why hasn't he responded for so long?

Looking at the watch on her wrist, Hua Ling tapped the table twice and shouted, "Gong Kaishan!"

"Here!"

The table-cleaning Gong Kaishan immediately ran over.

"I want to ask you something." Hua Ling frowned, "Is Xiao Feng particularly fond of money?"

Gong Kaishan was taken aback, apparently not expecting such a question, but still replied, "Yes, at least before you came, he was."

Hua Ling flipped through the files on the table and said, "According to this, he even claims taxi fares. The subsidies for peripheral members aren't small, so why hasn't he made a move?"

"Maybe he doesn't care about such small amounts anymore," Gong Kaishan analyzed, "Xiao Feng is quite wealthy now; this money is nothing to him, barely a drop in the ocean."

From this statement, it's clear Gong Kaishan's understanding of Xiao Feng is quite superficial.

Is Xiao Feng really someone who only sees big money and not small money?

Obviously not!

Moments later, Gong Kaishan seemed to ponder something, "However..."

"However what?" Hua Ling quickly asked.

"There's also a possibility he doesn't know peripheral members have allowances," Gong Kaishan replied.

"I see." Hua Ling slowly nodded, waved her hand, and said, "Alright, nothing else, go ahead with what you were doing."

Driving Gong Kaishan away, Hua Ling murmured to herself, "If he didn't know about the subsidies, then no wonder there's been no action.

I need to call and let him know."

However, just as she picked up her phone and was about to unlock it, she saw Xiao Feng's call coming in.

Surprise flashed in Hua Ling's eyes, and after a few deep breaths, she answered the call, calmly asking, "What's up?"

"Did your 'life-saving chicken' come to you?" Xiao Feng got straight to the point.

"What life-saving chicken?" Hua Ling asked, puzzled.

"Let me ask you this, if I saved your life, what would I be to you?"

"A life-saver!"

"Exactly!" Xiao Feng replied irritably, "Xiao Fragrance also saved your life, so when I say it's your life-saving chicken, there's no problem, right?"

Hua Ling's face was full of black lines: "If you had just mentioned Xiao Fragrance, there wouldn't be so many misunderstandings.

Wait!

You just asked if Xiao Fragrance came to me, but it hasn't. Did something happen to Xiao Fragrance?"

At that thought, Hua Ling could no longer focus on jokes; her heart was filled with worry.

However, Xiao Feng didn't respond for a long time.

This made her even more anxious, prompting her to ask, "Say something, what exactly happened to Xiao Fragrance?"

"Want to know?" Xiao Feng teased, "Then let's talk about the subsidy first."