Chapter 206 - 203: Mysterious Gou Dandan

Chapter 206: Chapter 203: Mysterious Gou Dandan

The strange little bird vaguely showed human-like features in some places. This was clearly Gou Junbao’s genes at work.

Bits of egg yolk still clung to its body, probably because it had hatched prematurely.

It wobbled to its feet and flapped its tiny wings, ramming left and right in Su Su’s palm, trying to escape. But each time, it was repelled by the Magic Power shield.

After a few attempts, not only did it not stop, it began to struggle even more violently.

"Cheep! Cheep!"

"Cheep!"

Anyone could hear the panic in its cries.

It was as if it instinctively understood the terror of Magic Power. Being surrounded by it made the little one extremely anxious.

"Sister Su, maybe you should let up a little? It looks so pitiful..."

Seeing the little bird like this, Gou Junbao felt a pang of pity, remembering that it was, after all, his "own flesh and blood."

It seemed to recognize its parents. Hearing Gou Junbao’s voice, it immediately grew excited, flapping its tiny wings and charging toward him while chirping.

"Cheep, cheep..."

But a face suddenly appeared between Gou Junbao and the strange little bird.

Doudou stood on his tiptoes, his face full of curiosity as he stared at the little creature less than ten centimeters away. The combination of his innocent expression and the cute little bird in her hand made Su Su feel an overwhelming sense of cuteness.

"Hahaha, I think it’s calling for its daddy! Big Cousin, since they don’t want it anyway, just let me raise it! When it comes to taking care of small animals, no one here has more experience than me!"

’To be honest, Doudou really did want to raise this bird. Based on the little ball of light from earlier, it seemed pretty cool.’

’He wouldn’t necessarily eat his pets. Well, at least not before he got bored of them.’

The moment he said that, however, the little bird in Su Su’s hand reacted as if it had been shocked. It began to chirp frantically, desperately trying to leap out of the Magic Power enclosure in her palm.

"Alright, Doudou, don’t even think about it," Qin Xiaoxia said. "This is Brother Gou’s child. There should be a limit to what you’re willing to eat."

Hearing his big cousin’s words, Doudou looked indignant.

"Big Cousin, that’s an insult to my character! How do you know I’d raise it just to eat it? I can be caring sometimes, you know!"

Gou Junbao thought, ’Holy shit!’ and immediately pulled Doudou away from Su Su’s hand.

Xiao Lili, who was still lying down nearby, let out a soft sigh of relief when she saw Gou Junbao’s action.

’This feeling is so strange.’

’Before giving birth to it, I was nervous and panicked. But now that it’s here, even though it doesn’t look human, I feel a strange sense of attachment.’

Seeing the two of them act this way, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t help but smile.

"Why don’t you two take some time before deciding whether to abandon it or not?" he suggested. "For now, we’ll let Jiutian take care of it. He has a few days off."

Then he turned his gaze to the timid, chubby little bird.

"I’ll give you a nickname for now: Gou Dandan. If your parents really decide they don’t want you, then that will become your real name."

The Red Demoness covered her mouth and chuckled. Qin Xiaoxia’s naming style had always been this simple and crude.

Since the bird was still too young, with barely any feathers, and also bore a slight resemblance to Gou Junbao, no one present could identify its species or which world it came from. For now, they could only raise it.

Hearing that Huang Jiutian would be temporarily taking care of it, Su Su also breathed a sigh of relief. If Doudou ever tried to take over, she would volunteer to raise it herself. ’Even if we let Monkey raise it, we can’t give it to Doudou!’

’It was true. Doudou didn’t cook *every* pet he raised, but not a single one had ever survived his care!’

Qin Xiaoxia watched with a smile as Huang Jiutian, Doudou, and Su Su teased the terrified Gou Dandan. They tormented the little creature so much that it looked desperate to fly away on its two bald wings. It only calmed down when Gou Junbao couldn’t resist stepping closer. After that, even the still-weak Xiao Lili asked them to let her pet her "child."

In his left hand, however, he held the ball of radiant white vapor, carefully using his Magic Power to keep it from dissipating further.

Although it had no destructive power, it felt strangely substantial in his grasp.

The Red Demoness and Mumu also had their eyes fixed on the ball of white vapor.

This substance was definitely not Magic Power. In essence, it wasn’t a gas, nor was it fire or water. Afterward, Qin Xiaoxia kept a close eye on Gou Dandan, but aside from that first burp right after hatching, the little one never spat out anything like it again.

"By the way, Brother Gou, I’d like to borrow something from you for some research," Qin Xiaoxia said suddenly.

He was smiling as he glanced down at Gou Junbao’s crotch, sending a chill down the man’s spine.

’Some things are better left investigated and understood!’

...

「At that very moment, before a mountain cliff deep in Siberia, Russia.」

This area, normally untouched by human feet, was now a bustling construction site. Engineering vehicles drove in and out, and a large number of workers in military uniforms operated heavy machinery, all working urgently on the project.

However, aside from a few high-nosed Russians, the majority of the construction workers were surprisingly yellow-skinned, black-haired Huaguo people. The design team was composed almost entirely of personnel from Hua Country.

Joint construction projects between two countries carried certain risks. Besides communication issues, quality control problems could easily arise where the work of the two sides met. Factoring in experience and the urgent need for speed, it was better to give full authority to the Hua Country engineering corps.

General Rozov rode in a military SUV, circling the base construction project. His anxiety about the construction progress was etched into his furrowed brow.

In the vehicle with him, besides the driver, were a Huaguo engineer and a Huaguo military officer serving as a translator.

"What’s the current progress? How soon can we begin assembling the protective shell?"

The officer translated his words for the engineer, who responded with a look of resignation.

"We’re still a long way from assembling the shell. It’ll be at least another month."

"Why so slow? Weren’t we scheduled to start half a month ago?"

The engineer knew he would be called to account, but it couldn’t be helped. He had no choice but to repeat the same grievances he had already explained to his superiors countless times.

"General, this site is located deep in the Siberian wilderness. There are almost no roads leading in. Our materials are incredibly heavy, making transportation extremely difficult. Just clearing the paths took three times longer than planned. You also requested that we try to preserve the natural landscape and avoid building overly destructive roads. Frankly, achieving our current speed is already a great accomplishment."

"And the forested areas, in particular, are much denser and more extensive than your reports indicated!"

After hearing the translation, Rozov crossed his arms over his chest, his powerful muscles bulging against his military uniform. He frowned and asked another question.

"Weren’t we supposed to lay two temporary railway tracks?"

"The tracks haven’t reached that far yet. If they had, we could have advanced the schedule by half a month."

After getting a few more updates, Rozov wearily pinched the bridge of his nose.

’Including this one, all three of the joint bases with Hua Country were behind schedule. Still,’ he mused, ’compared to our own domestic projects that started much later, this pace was already quite fast.’

The construction delays were making him anxious.

Information exchanged with their allies in Hua Country indicated that it was no longer just isolated anomalous events that were causing concern.

Just as the engineer had complained, vegetation growth was, without anyone noticing, already exceeding normal rates. And this phenomenon wasn’t localized.

It meant that, just as they and Hua Country had discussed and predicted, a global transformation had begun.

’Under these circumstances, was it even necessary to build these bases in such desolate lands or so close to the wilderness?’

’Quite the opposite. Not only could they not be abandoned, but they had to accelerate their progress and complete construction before the wilderness became completely impassable!’

This wasn’t a death wish; it was a conclusion reached through the joint analysis of numerous scholars, researchers, and strategic elites.

It was a case of not putting all one’s eggs in one basket. No one could be absolutely certain that the changes happening in the wilderness were entirely for the worse.

Like the "Tenth Man Rule," they needed to increase their chances of a favorable outcome.

In several of the worst-case projections, where human urban centers fell to attacks from external anomalies, the dense, obstructive wilderness could serve as a form of protective camouflage.

The phone in his pocket rang. Rozov took it out and saw that the call was from Ivan.

They currently had four Evolvers, but the other three were still in the nascent stages of their development, with evolutions focused primarily on physical conditioning and stamina. Ivan remained the most unique among them.

He answered the call, and Ivan’s now much steadier voice came from the other end.

"General, we’ve found it. It’s cornered in a barn on a farm."

As Ivan spoke, he was squinting at the barn.

Several Siberian wolves and a few military dogs, completely unleashed, surrounded the barn from all sides, growling softly at whatever was inside.

On the outer perimeter stood a circle of heavily armed soldiers.

Inside the barn, huddled in a corner of a hay pile, a figure slightly smaller than Doudou, with humanoid limbs, trembled in fear.

’It’s over, it’s over, it’s over... What the hell is this place? And what are those things outside...?’

It had already experienced the power of firearms firsthand. The three bullet holes piercing its arm were still throbbing with pain.