Chapter 130 – One Human, One Ball, Walking Together
Tu Ran stood in place, arms crossed, watching its diligent figure.
Its back was rounder than the melons it was rolling.
Its fan-like tail was probably the only feature distinguishing it from the melons.
After rolling all the melons back to the cave, Pangpang leaned against the wall and began to devour them.
Tu Ran wasn’t hungry. She left Pangpang there and went out to survey the surroundings and fetch some water, as her portable water bottle was empty.
After walking a long distance, she finally came across a small, clear river. She cupped her hands to drink a few sips and filled her water bottle.
Standing up, she put the water bottle back in her bag and returned to the cave.
Pangpang was still in the same spot, in the same position, gnawing on the sixth melon.
It could really eat! Tu Ran marveled.
That fat didn’t come from nowhere.
“Do you know how to get out of this forest?” Tu Ran asked, leaning against the wall opposite Pangpang, one leg bent, nibbling on a protein biscuit.
Pangpang poked its head out of the melon rind, the pure white feathers around its beak soaked with green juice, looking rather comical.
“I don’t know, Pangpang has never left this forest,” it admitted.
“Aren’t you a wanderer? You’ve never even left the forest, what kind of wandering is that?”
Pangpang retorted, “This dense forest is vast. None of the birds in our entire Dang Hu tribe have ever flown out of it. I’ve seen many birds from other species, and they haven’t flown out of this dense forest either.”
Tu Ran bit her lip. “Do you know the rough map of this forest?”
She couldn’t keep wandering aimlessly like before.
“More or less,” Pangpang said.
Tu Ran’s eyes lit up. “Draw it for me, I need it.”
The two orange-yellow eyebrows above Pangpang’s eyes drooped. “Boss, are you going somewhere without taking Pangpang?”
Tu Ran was taken aback. “Why would I take you?”
Pangpang felt heartbroken! In the end, its loyalty had been for nothing.
Even the delicious red-skinned melon lost its appeal at that moment.
It said dejectedly, “Pangpang thought the boss would consider Pangpang a friend and travel with Pangpang, but it turns out, the boss never cared about Pangpang.”
Tu Ran replied seriously, “Pangpang, you should know that following me would put you in a lot of danger. I don’t have the ability or extra energy to protect you. You’re much safer staying here, just like before, going wherever you want and eating whatever you like.”
“Besides, to the Dang Hu tribe, you’ve already been eaten by the Pao Xiao. They won’t bother you anymore or force you to join their ranks. Shouldn’t you be free to do whatever you want?”
Pangpang responded gloomily, “But without the boss, I can’t pick red-skinned melons. I can only find the ones that fall to the ground, and sometimes there aren’t even any of those.”
It was trying to play the sympathy card, but Tu Ran had no evidence.
“You can eat other things. Before you met me, didn’t you keep yourself well-fed and chubby?”
Pangpang still looked extremely aggrieved, the red-skinned melon no longer appetizing, its eyes brimming with tears, remaining silent.
Tu Ran sighed, feeling like a scoundrel abandoning an innocent girl after leading her astray.
With a sigh, Tu Ran spread her hands. “Do as you wish.”
She was tired of it.
She must have gone mad to worry about the safety of a chicken.
In this place, she only needed to take care of herself and, under that premise, obtain as many inner cores as possible. Everything else didn’t matter.
If it wanted to follow, fine.
Upon hearing Tu Ran agree to let it follow, Pangpang brightened up, its tail wagging, as it continued leisurely munching on the melon.
Although Tu Ran didn’t want to interrupt its eating, she believed there were some things that needed to be clarified in advance.
“Since you’ve decided to follow me, I’ll take care of your food and drink, and you’ll be responsible for guiding me.”
Pangpang nodded without hesitation. It had lived in the forest for thirteen years, wandering for thirteen years, and had visited most places within it. Guiding wasn’t a problem.
“If we encounter danger, I’ll save you as long as I can ensure my own safety. This means that if we face a very powerful enemy, I might abandon you to save my life. You need to be mentally prepared for that,” Tu Ran emphasized.
Pangpang hesitated for a moment but then nodded. “Pangpang trusts the two-legged beast’s strength.”
Tu Ran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She herself was uncertain about her future, and here was this creature saying it trusted her. How ridiculous!
“Also, following me will be tough. You can’t just eat until you’re full and then sleep, and then sleep until you’re hungry again. If you waste my time like that, I’ll leave you behind.”
Tu Ran thought this condition would be too harsh for it and hoped it would back off.
But Pangpang nodded again, “Don’t worry, Pangpang can do it.”
Tu Ran was momentarily at a loss for words.
She couldn’t understand why it insisted on following her. Was it really just for food?
After a long silence, she sighed deeply, put away the half-eaten protein cookie, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall to rest with her eyes closed.
“Finish eating quickly. Once you’re done, we’ll set off.”
…
Half an hour later, the two of them, one person and one bird, headed deeper into the forest.
Pangpang explained that they had been operating in the outskirts of the forest. The inner areas of the forest were home to many more exotic creatures, most of which were smarter and stronger than those in the outer areas.
The outer creatures generally didn’t dare to venture inward.
The Pao Xiao they encountered the other day mostly lived in the inner forest.
The dangers inside were obvious, but after careful consideration, Tu Ran decided to venture in.
After wandering in the outskirts for several days, she had only encountered relatively weak creatures.
Consequently, she had only acquired auxiliary abilities.
So far, the only ability that enhanced her combat skills was [Teleportation].
This was far from sufficient for her.
The inner forest, with its higher-level creatures, must have more powerful abilities.
She needed to seize as many abilities as possible while there were no other humans competing with her.
Along the way, Pangpang took on the responsibility of guiding.
Its sense of direction was excellent, quickly finding the nearest water sources and easily locating delicious fruits and melons.
For Tu Ran, who had no sense of direction, Pangpang was like a mobile map.
When it found a fruit tree, Tu Ran would climb up to pick the fruit for it.
Once they were well-fed, the two of them continued on their way.
Pangpang was less troublesome than Tu Ran had imagined.
It moved quickly.
Despite its heavy body and short legs, it kept up the pace without slowing Tu Ran down.
It ate quite a lot, up to seven or eight times a day, but each meal didn’t take much time. Tu Ran was happy to feed it various foods.
Often, when she saw fruits along the way, she’d pick one to satiate Pangpang’s hunger.
Over these few days, Pangpang hadn’t slimmed down from the daily exercise; instead, it had become even rounder, resembling a ball.
Pangpang had many survival skills for the wild, and to Tu Ran’s delight, it also had many nests in the area.
