After Being Transmigrated into a Cannon Fodder Scum Alpha - Chapter 26

“Where did you find it?” Wu Yuanyuan looked at the little snowy owl in Lin Chen’s arms, her heart swaying with longing.

She and Huang Yu hadn’t found any interesting plants or animals yet because of that fainting monster. Why did they have to run into a creature that was both ugly and bad-tempered, instead of the cute little fellow in Lin Chen’s arms? Wu Yuanyuan wailed internally, but it was merely the self-pity of having bad luck. Her envy of Lin Chen didn’t contain a single trace of jealousy toward her friend.

If it’s a bird, they usually come in clutches, right? Maybe I can go to the place my friend found it and try my luck.

“Mu Qi was the one who saw it. It was at the far south, near the restricted area.”

“There aren’t any more. I only saw one at the time, and there was no nest; it seemed to have been abandoned,” Yun Qi replied before Huang Yu could even ask.

She knew for a fact there wasn’t a second one in the Ross Forest, so she could only subtly dissuade them.

This world might have animals that looked similar to a snowy owl, but they certainly wouldn’t be the same as the one Little Scum gave her. After all, this owl was brought from the original world by a previous host of the system.

Speaking of which, she had been so happy after seeing the owl that she realized she hadn’t thanked Little Scum yet.

‘Thank you, our beautiful and kind-hearted Little Scum.’

[How sentimental! How fake! This is a one-time thing, consider it a benefit for becoming my host.] The system seemed a bit shy, even feeling a little “goosefleshy” from Yun Qi’s words of gratitude.

Huang Yu didn’t react much, as if she had expected this outcome, but Wu Yuanyuan and Huang Siting looked devastated. It was the first time Yun Qi had seen Lin Xi’s little Omega friend so quiet.

Lin Chen placed the little snowy owl into Wu Yuanyuan’s arms. The owl was a bit reluctant, fluttering its wings as if wanting to return to Lin Chen’s embrace, until Lin Chen tapped its head with her finger. Under Lin Chen’s gaze, its black beady eyes blinked cutely for favor; seeing that Lin Chen had no intention of changing her mind, it could only huddle piteously in the stranger’s arms. No matter how much Wu Yuanyuan poked it, it refused to stick its head out.

“Oh, is it throwing a tantrum?” Wu Yuanyuan laughed, not at all offended by the owl’s cold shoulder. She was very grateful for Lin Chen’s gesture and kept teasing the sulking little creature in her arms.

The Alphas’ focus was different. Huang Yu noticed that this creature was already loyal to its master at such a young age, and she was quite satisfied with that. In her mind, Yun Chen was her Beta’s friend, so Mu Qi was a friend she acknowledged as well.

“What’s its name?”

“Xue (Snow). You can call it Xiao Xue.”

Hearing its name, the little owl looked up at Lin Chen, thinking she was going to take it back. Seeing she had no such intention, it tucked its head back in again.

Lin Xi also handed the plant in her hand to her friend to play with, but Huang Siting didn’t seem interested in plants at all. She pestered her mother, wanting to hold the little cutie.

“Get lost. I haven’t even cooled off from what happened earlier,” Wu Yuanyuan was not moved by her daughter’s watery eyes. “You’re so clumsy; what if you hurt it?”

Hearing her mother mention the earlier incident, the girl scratched her head awkwardly and went back to play with Lin Xi.

Huang Yu was somewhat interested in the plant Lin Xi was holding, so she inquired with Yun Qi.

‘There’s no way she can pick it herself. Wouldn’t it be better to take her there and humiliate her to her face? We have nothing to do anyway, might as well go watch the fun.’ Yun Qi explained her reasoning to the system.

So, Yun Qi led them back toward that towering ancient tree.

Yun Qi noticed that a few more red plants on the tree were missing. Although they were the ones closer to the ground, it was still impressive; it seemed those parents she met earlier had decided to give it a try after all, and they had succeeded.

Wu Yuanyuan looked up at the tree that seemed to pierce the clouds. Her limited vision prevented her from seeing the red plants. Knowing that these plants were on the trunk of such a high tree, she was a bit reluctant to let her partner go up.

The Ross Forest wasn’t limited to just this one type of plant, was it? She didn’t want to see Huang Yu get hurt.

However, the Alpha seemed eager to try. She felt quite guilty for not having found a competition entry for her daughter until now. Without a word to her partner, she simply started climbing.

“She’s picked it.” Yun Qi saw Huang Yu climb to the level where the plants were and continue upward, only stopping once she reached the upper-middle region of the growth area to pluck one.

Only then did Wu Yuanyuan breathe a sigh of relief.

After a while, the Alpha came down with a blood-red plant, though the color wasn’t as deep as the one in Lin Xi’s hand. She handed the plant to her daughter and then quietly listened to her partner’s nagging without talking back.

Afterward, they picked a direction at random and continued their walk. Along the way, they harvested any potentially rare plants they could find. They encountered a few large animals, but fortunately, those creatures were sprawled lazily in their territories, showing no interest in the passing humans.

There were strange animals too; they spotted a little snow leopard, and only then did Yun Qi learn that there were no white leopards in this world. Of course, a snow leopard appearing in a forest was already quite magical.

Just as they were thinking of catching it, a large leopard appeared, leaping out from the grass behind them. It gave Yun Qi a look, picked up the cub in its mouth, and bolted away. After that, they didn’t run into many other animals.

As dusk fell, it was time to return to the camp. On the way back, Yun Qi ran into many parents heading back as well. They were carrying all sorts of bizarre organisms, the common thread being their massive size.

Yun Qi even saw a parent carrying a man-eating flower. It was much larger than the ones on Earth, and it was still lively even after being removed from the soil. Its open petals had been tied shut by that parent using some unknown grass.

Another parent was carrying a piglet-like creature the size of a rabbit. It looked like an adult; she just didn’t know why it was so small.

Professor Lu Nian was someone Yun Qi hadn’t met before; she wasn’t one of the school’s accompanying teachers during this trip. It seemed she had been invited just for tonight.

She was an Omega, a very beautiful woman—tall, wearing glasses, with a somewhat cold aura. She gave Yun Qi a similar feeling to Lin Chen’s friend, Nan Yue.

Would they feel like they’re looking in a mirror if they met? Yun Qi was amused by her own sudden thought, which prompted a glance from Lin Chen beside her.

She remembered in the plot that after Lin Chen met Mu Yu, she resumed the scientific research she had done in school and embarked on a path of academic research.

Yun Qi’s thoughts began to drift, imagining Lin Chen wearing a white lab coat, performing experiments rigorously in a laboratory. Her expression would likely be similar to Professor Lu Nian’s. She felt a bit hot.

Then, she felt a pain in her waist.

Lin Chen saw Yun Qi looking at Professor Lu Nian and suddenly emitting pheromones with the scent of Sea Lavender. She remembered that Yun Qi had also stared for a while when she met Nan Yue. Feeling angry, she pinched the soft flesh at the Alpha’s waist to make her behave.

There were so many people here, yet she was releasing her pheromones. Fortunately, the people around them didn’t seem to smell it.

“In 20 minutes, you may choose one plant or one animal to place at the front. Once everyone has placed theirs, I will examine them one by one.”

Yun Qi, of course, chose to put the little snowy owl forward. A creature from another world—she felt it ought to be the most bizarre.

Huang Yu’s family chose the blood-red plant they picked at the beginning. Although other parents had placed similar plants, none were as red or as large as theirs. Other parents gradually made their choices as well, placing what they felt was most fitting.

Once the little snowy owl was in the new spot and realized no one was restraining it, it entered “free-flight” mode.

It took a fancy to a succulent-looking plant, pitter-pattered over, and gave it a peck, leaving a small hole in the plant. Hearing the cry of the parent who had found that plant, Yun Qi realized her owl had caused trouble.

“Xiao Xue!”

She called the owl’s name and looked at it sternly, scaring it into stillness. Lin Chen went over to apologize to the parent. The parent smiled and said it was fine—they hadn’t held much hope anyway—though their eyes still betrayed a sense of heartache.

Once Yun Qi looked away, the owl tentatively moved its claws. Seeing she wasn’t looking back, it moved again. This time, it took a fancy to that plump, delicious-looking little wild pig.

Posturing with its claws and flapping its wings, it began to provoke the piglet. Sure enough, the piglet was drawn in and charged forward angrily.

It wasn’t the owl’s fault this time; this plump, delicious thing had provoked it first. Therefore, the master couldn’t scold it; it was just fighting back. Just as it used its wings to block the piglet and was preparing to use its claws to strike—

“Xiao Xue!”

This time it came from its other master. The voice was soft, but it scared the bird so much its feathers stood straight up. The claws, which had been full of sharp force, slowed down, pressing against the charging piglet without scratching it.

The piglet’s owner didn’t see the owl’s provocation and thought the animal he caught had started it. While catching it, he had fully realized how irritable and aggressive this creature was. He ran over to apologize to Lin Chen. Lin Chen shook her head, saying her own pet was also quite a handful.

Fortunately, the 20 minutes were up soon, and the owl didn’t cause any more trouble. Professor Lu Nian started from the left, naming each creature the parents found and giving a brief introduction.

The blood-red plant was called Red Dye. It only grows on the trunks of towering ancient trees and has health-promoting properties; the larger the size and deeper the color, the better the effects.

The little pig was called Wujin. Its meat is exceptionally delicious, but it loses its original flavor once domesticated and bred, hence the high price and the name “Wujin” (Dark Gold).

The large man-eating flower was called the Human-Face Flower, but it doesn’t actually eat people. It just looks fierce; its personality is actually very timid. In fact, that parent didn’t even need to tie its petals.

Yun Qi listened and realized these creatures only looked like those on Earth, but were very different internally.

When Professor Lu Nian saw the little snowy owl, she paused. She had never seen this avian creature before, nor had she studied it in books. Moreover, she recognized at a glance that it was a raptor chick, likely newly hatched, yet it strangely possessed sharp talons and full feathers.

You see, even for raptors, there is a “downy” period during infancy. She examined the owl closely and finally confirmed that she truly had never seen this organism before.

“Who found this creature?”

Yun Qi spoke up. It was the Alpha who had been staring at her earlier. Not only had Lin Chen noticed, but Professor Lu Nian herself had noticed being stared at.

“I haven’t seen this creature before either,” she admitted frankly, which left the surrounding teachers in awe. Unlike the parents, they knew Professor Lu Nian’s status and achievements regarding wildlife.

Professor Lu Nian continued looking at the remaining specimens; none were as rare as the snowy owl. The mysterious small gift rightfully belonged to Lin Xi—it was a beautiful small pendant. It emitted a deep blue light and was quite striking.

Except for Yun Qi, everyone treated it as an ordinary decoration. Yun Qi felt the pendant gave her a sense of familiarity, yet she was certain she had never seen such a thing before. It was just as strange as that altar.

Then the school organized the students and parents for the return journey. They left some time in the middle for parents to take commemorative photos.

Sitting in the vehicle on the way back, Yun Qi felt a gaze coming from behind. She looked back and saw the mysterious diviner she had seen at Grand Duke Yun Lan’s house standing on the altar, looking in her direction. She felt the diviner was looking specifically at her.

However, once she blinked, the diviner vanished, as if what she had seen was merely an illusion.