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Chapter 186: Chapter 186: The Name Was Criticized
"That mark, can you draw it out?" Han Jiaojiao asked her.
Liu Ling was slightly embarrassed and replied, "I was quite far away at the time, I could only make out the rough outline. It’s definitely impossible for me to draw it, but if I see it again, I think I should be able to recognize it."
After thinking for a moment, Han Jiaojiao said, "Once you’ve settled down in Lingchuan, can you give me your address? If there are any leads on this matter, we might need to get in touch with you for confirmation."
"Sure, that’s possible."
After finishing their conversation, Liu Ling returned to her tent. She sat on the mat, feeling somewhat surreal.
She had thought that Han Jiaojiao would berate her...
Even if she didn’t curse out loud, she should at least mock her with some sarcasm. But there was nothing at all.
Han Jiaojiao seemed to have already put the incident behind her, showing no signs of anger or irritation, but rather was very meticulous in asking her about Su Xue.
A bittersweet feeling arose in Liu Ling’s heart. She enviously thought that Han Jiaojiao and her brother really had a great relationship. Because of their mutual trust and love for each other, any third person would seem ridiculous in front of them, like a jumping clown.
And she felt like that ridiculous clown.
Liu Ling curled her knees up and buried her head, silently crying. She had messed everything up. Wei Jie would never accept her now, would he?
From now on, in this apocalyptic world, she would be alone again.
...
It was a calm night.
That was unusual. Wei Jie had bled from being shot, and with the overcast weather, by logic, it should have attracted some Alien Species, but until dawn the next day, none had appeared.
Regardless, it was a good thing. Everyone was in a good mood as they packed up and prepared to set off.
Han Jiaojiao opened the rear of the vehicle, urging Xiaogua, Xiaodou, and Cotton Candy to get in the car, and caught sight of Pepper’s flowerpot overturned, soil scattered all around, Pepper nowhere to be seen.
Searching the car, Han Jiaojiao finally found Pepper, sound asleep underneath the front passenger seat. She reached out her arm to fish Pepper out, flipping over the vines to inspect its abdomen, which was smooth and flat, covered in a layer of short dense fur. The root system had detached perfectly.
"Pepper, you’ve finally grown up," Han Jiaojiao lifted Pepper, affectionately rubbing it against her face.
"Gugu gugu." Pepper climbed along Han Jiaojiao’s face to her shoulder, then made its way to the top of her head and settled down without moving.
With her hand supporting Pepper on her head, Han Jiaojiao ran up to Han Yi and boasted, "Brother! Look, a purple hat!"
Han Yi was speaking with Lu Changyuan and couldn’t help but smile upon seeing Han Jiaojiao with Pepper on her head; he pinched her little cheek and said, "Hmm, very pretty."
Lu Changyuan also smiled, "This little guy has finally come out. Does it seem a bit low in spirit?"
"Maybe it used up too much energy detaching its root system. It should be better after feeding it a few times in Lingchuan," Han Jiaojiao speculated. She held the purple vine plant on top of her head, her spirits high.
"Get in the car, we’re about to leave," Lu Changyuan looked down at the time and said, "If the journey goes smoothly, we’ll arrive in Lingchuan in two hours."
"Okay!" Han Jiaojiao ran back to the car happily.
——The convoy soon set out.
Because of Pepper, Han Jiaojiao’s spirits were high the entire way. She turned her old sheepskin backpack, previously used to carry eggs, inside out so that she could carry Pepper on her back at all times.
The other creatures weren’t so lucky, as they had all grown too large to fit into the small backpack.
Han Jiaojiao then took a tool to the sheepskin backpack and started drilling holes in it; she was worried Pepper might feel stuffy inside. During her handiwork, Pepper lay on one shoulder the whole time, never leaving her side.
Sitting beside her, Lu Changyuan observed Pepper with interest, then looked back at the space-time beasts in the rear carriage and said, "This new one seems a bit out of place with the group?"
Han Jiaojiao, who was drilling holes in earnest, looked down and replied seriously, "Pepper is a bit shy."
Lu Changyuan ignored the childish response and analyzed with interest, "I feel like those three at the back are a bit scared of this purple one?"
"Huh?" Han Jiaojiao, upon hearing this, turned to look at the back of the vehicle. Cotton Candy was lying down lazily as usual, while Xiaogua and Xiaodou were frolicking, looking like two plants trying their best to weave braids.
She couldn’t see that they were afraid of Pepper.
In the past, Xiaogua and Xiaodou didn’t really play with Pepper much, but Han Jiaojiao had never given it much thought, believing that Pepper was more clingy to her and had a quieter disposition.
"They’ve fought and played with each other, but I’ve never seen them... uh, Pepper, I’ve never seen them fight with Pepper," Lu Changyuan said, stroking his chin. "Even though it is the smallest one, it has never been bullied. That doesn’t fit with the laws of nature."
Yan Xiao, seated in the co-pilot seat, snorted with laughter and said, "They’re from space; what do natural laws matter? Brother Lu, you’re talking about Earth’s natural laws, which won’t apply to alien creatures!"
Lu Changyuan’s gaze scorched as he stared at Pepper and joked, "I think its color is very peculiar. Generally, the more brightly colored a creature is, the more dangerous it is because they are so powerful they don’t need to camouflage."
Yan Xiao disagreed, "We got three different colors from four eggs; maybe being multicolored is just a trait of these alien creatures! I think Jiaojiao is just too biased. Look at the names she’s chosen... Xiaogua, Xiaodou, Cotton Candy, Pepper, tsk tsk tsk, she obviously didn’t put much effort when naming Xiaogua and Xiaodou!"
The driver Bai Kairui chimed in, "Right, why is it that only the purple one has an English name, and the others don’t?"
Han Jiaojiao blushed and stammered in response, "... I didn’t expect all the eggs to hatch at the start, or for them to turn out to be little green sprouts... Since they looked like plants, I thought of names related to plants..."
She really felt wrongly accused.
Back then, when she lived in the Gobi Desert, she had neither the leisure nor the desire to ponder on naming. Moreover, Pepper hatched much later than the others, so she casually named Xiaogua and Xiaodou, actually referring to melon seedlings and bean sprouts. Originally, she intended to call the third one Xiaocai, meaning a vegetable sprout, but then Pepper hatched with its stunning purple color, captivating her, which led her to choose an English name based on its color.
When Yan Xiao learned the origin of the names, he immediately mocked her without mercy, "Hahaha!... Melon sprouts, bean sprouts, veggie sprouts... Ah hahaha, how can you be so creative?!"
Han Jiaojiao glared at him, "When they first hatched, they were green sprouts. They really looked like melon and vegetable sprouts!"
"Then the purple one should be called Purple Cabbage! The white one called... hey, Kerry, what white vegetable is there?"
"... Cauliflower?"
"Yes, yes, exactly! Call it Cauliflower! Cucumber, Green Pea, Purple Cabbage, and Cauliflower! Hahaha!"
Han Jiaojiao puffed out her cheeks and yelled, "Hey! You two cut it out!"
Han Yi, who had remained silent with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and stated, "There’s someone ahead."
The laughter in the vehicle stopped, and everyone instinctively reached for their weapons.
Han Yi’s voice was cold and clear, "Six superpower users, blocked by an alien species. Notify the others to slow down as we go, and everyone is to stop at the upcoming intersection."
