32: Chapter 32 Two-way journey

"Ying-wu!"

The cool evening breeze instantly filled the fur of the Songsong Dog.

It landed lightly in the soft green belt downstairs, rolled to dissipate the force of the fall, and without caring about the grass and dirt covering its body, immediately lifted its head, its moist nose sniffing rapidly in the air.

In the air, a distinct, familiar scent lingered.

It lowered its head, its nose almost touching the ground, and began to follow the familiar scent, struggling to identify and track it on the busy streets.

Night slowly fell, the streetlights in Qingyang Town lit up one by one, and the neon lights began to flicker, rendering the night in the small town bizarre and colorful.

For a small beast accustomed to the quiet of the mountains and forests, this noisy, bright environment filled with unfamiliar scents and potential dangers made it instinctively feel uneasy and nervous.

The Songsong Dog clung tightly to the shadows at the base of the wall, avoiding the footsteps of pedestrians and dodging the occasional passing bicycles and electric scooters. Its small figure moved quickly through the interplay of light and shadow, its gaze vigilant yet determined.

It crossed Center Street, bypassed food stalls wafting with the aroma of food, avoided a few children chasing and playing, slipped into a narrow alley, and then ran onto the relatively quiet back street.

The scent became distinct near the intercity train station.

It did not see Lin Chen, only the bustling crowds, but it caught that familiar scent mixed within the throng, pointing deep into the platform where the gates were already closed.

However, it was politely stopped by staff outside the waiting hall.

"Pets are not allowed in here."

"Ying-wu..."

It paced anxiously at the station entrance, watching train after train, brightly lit, roar in and out, carrying countless people away.

Which one did Lin Chen get on?

Which direction did he go?

It forced itself to calm down and carefully distinguish the scent again.

Lin Chen's scent still lingered faintly in the air; although it was very, very faint, it tried for a long, long time and finally caught it.

The scent pointed in a distant direction.

Yet it did not hesitate at all, and began to run in the direction of the city, following the road alongside the railway line.

As the night deepened and it moved away from the town, the surroundings grew dim, with only the railway tracks gleaming with a cold, hard luster under the moonlight.

Occasionally, a train would roar past nearby, bringing with it a strong gust of air and deafening noise, which scared it into trembling and lying flat on the ground. As soon as the train passed, it would immediately scramble up and continue running.

Its physical strength was rapidly depleting; the roaring trains guided its direction, and the moonlight paved the road ahead.

It dared not stop.

Meanwhile, Lin Chen arrived home.

The aroma of home-cooked food filled the living room, and the evening news was playing on the television.

His mother, Liu Hui, was serving rice, and his father, Lin Jianjun, had rarely gotten off work on time and was holding the remote control to change channels.

Lin Chen washed his hands, walked to the table, and was still thinking about his weekend plans.

Tomorrow is Saturday; he isn't working and plans to go to the city's breeding material market to look around and see if there are any suitable breeding resources for the Flame Claw Beast.

The day after tomorrow is Sunday; he can take the Flame Claw Beast to a battle club or a public battle arena for some practical combat simulation training...

"If I don't visit that little guy for two days, it should be fine, right?"

Lin Chen did not plan to return to Qingyang Town for the weekend; he had many things to do, and his schedule was already packed.

The Songsong Dog was being cared for by nurses at the treatment center, and Uncle Wang would also find time to visit, so it should be fine.

He would visit again in two days to check on the Songsong Dog's attitude, and if possible, he would bring it home.

After all... after all, he had been paying for its nutritional supplements these past few days.

Just then, the phone on the coffee table suddenly vibrated, and the screen lit up.

Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat for no reason; he walked over, picked up the phone, and answered.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Is this Mr. Lin Chen? This is the Qingyang Town Pet Treatment Center!"

The voice of the on-duty nurse came anxiously from the other end of the line: "The Songsong Dog you brought in earlier is gone!"

"We checked the surveillance footage; about an hour ago, it jumped out of the ward window by itself. We've already searched the area, but we couldn't find it..."

The smile on Lin Chen's face froze instantly.

The Songsong Dog is gone?

What do you mean it jumped out of the window?

"What was the specific time, and which direction did it run?"

Chaotic thoughts and intense worry intertwined. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Around 6:10 PM, we saw from the surveillance that after it jumped out of the window, it ran along the street towards the west side of the town, very quickly."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chen's eyes flickered as he quickly recalled the map of Qingyang Town.

Going back to Uncle Wang's house?

No, the direction is wrong.

Uncle Wang's house is in the northern suburbs of the town, but it ran to the east. What's to the east?

The east is the direction leading to the city!

The moment this guess appeared, the voice on the phone spoke again: "Oh, by the way, the Songsong Dog jumped out the window the moment you left the treatment center."

Lin Chen's pupils constricted, and a thought instantly rose in his mind: Could it be looking for me?

That's not right. When I was there earlier, it didn't show anything. Why did it follow as soon as I left?

It's impossible for there to be a pet whose words and actions are completely inconsistent—not showing any intention to leave with oneself verbally, yet its body makes the most honest reaction.

No, that's impossible; there is no such pet.

Lin Chen shook his head, decisively denying this thought.

But the missing Songsong Dog still made him frown.

Even if the Songsong Dog was not a Digimon and had nothing to do with the mission, as a wild pet that had just recovered from its injuries, Lin Chen still felt it necessary to care about its whereabouts.

To be cautious, he first called Uncle Wang.

Soon, Lin Chen, his face grave, hung up the phone.

Uncle Wang said the Songsong Dog hadn't come to him, but he would immediately search for it along the road to the treatment center.

Immediately after, Lin Chen contacted Zhang Zhi, who lived in the town, and quickly explained the situation.

Over the phone, Zhang Zhi said he would immediately coordinate with the duty staff and patrol teams to focus on checking the road to the east.

If it were just an ordinary wild pet, there would certainly be no need to use public resources.

But the Songsong Dog's situation was relatively special. It was a victim in the Gale Weasel incident, and it had even contributed to that incident.

In terms of both emotion and reason, it must be found.

While Lin Chen was making constant phone calls, Liu Hui cast a worried glance, but Lin Jianjun remained as steady as a mountain and shook his head at Liu Hui.

The child has grown up; he can handle many things on his own.

All they need to do is simple: let go, and then lend a hand when the child is in trouble.

"Gagu~"

The Flame Claw Beast ignored Lin Chen, sitting alone on the sofa watching a pet TV show, occasionally reaching out its claw to grab a handful of small fruits and stuffing them into its mouth, emitting a contented purr from its throat.

What a pleasant weekend.

Lin Chen waited on the spot for a moment, and finally, Zhang Zhi called:

"There's news."

"What news?" Lin Chen stood up.

"The Songsong Dog appeared at the intercity train station half an hour ago and was chased away by the staff."

"Subsequent surveillance shows that it headed towards the city along the road next to the tracks."

Lin Chen was silent for a moment.

After confirming that the Songsong Dog was running towards the city along the intercity train route, Lin Chen's brows furrowed deeply.

With such a clear direction, it could be confirmed that it was coming to find him.

It only takes half an hour to get from Qingyang Town to the city by intercity train, but that is the speed of a train speeding on a dedicated track.

The actual distance between the two places is dozens of kilometers.

For a pet that is petite, just recovered from serious injury, and has long been malnourished, what do these dozens of kilometers mean?

It means it needs to run continuously for several hours in the night along a road filled with roaring vehicles, dust, and complex terrain!

And this is only the ideal situation, without considering the possibility of it getting lost, running out of energy, encountering danger, or its wounds reopening.

It is currently night, and that road connecting the town to the city has dim lighting, frequent night travel by large trucks, and complex road conditions.

A small figure running in the darkness could be pulled under the wheels by a speeding vehicle at any moment, or attacked by nocturnal stray pets, or even collapse in some unnoticed corner due to exhaustion...

Cannot wait any longer!

Lin Chen grabbed the Flame Claw Beast, which was watching TV, and left the house: "Mom, Dad, I'm going out; I'll be back later."

The voice-activated lights in the hallway lit up one by one with his hurried footsteps.

He quickly ran to the gate of the residential complex and stood by the roadside to hail a taxi, when he suddenly thought of a key question.

The two places are dozens of kilometers apart, with complex roads and numerous intersections.

The Songsong Dog is not a pet known for olfactory tracking; it absolutely could not track from Qingyang Town to the city accurately, let alone pinpoint his home.

If it lost the scent guidance at some intersection and got lost, wouldn't he be wasting time looking along the main road aimlessly like this?

Must determine its specific location now!

But is there any way to locate a lost pet?

Lin Chen's brain raced.

Suddenly, he remembered the vital sign monitoring collar hanging around the Songsong Dog's neck; this thing can monitor heart rate, body temperature, and other data in real-time. Once there are abnormal fluctuations, the system will automatically sound an alarm, facilitating timely intervention by medical staff.

In this highly technologically developed world, this thing should have a positioning function, right?

This thought was like a match struck in the darkness; although weak, it brought hope.

As soon as the thought arose, Lin Chen relayed this guess to Zhang Zhi.

A moment later, Zhang Zhi called: "Yes, I have obtained the real-time location sharing link; I'll send it to you right away!"

Lin Chen was overjoyed to hear this.

Soon, a location sharing link was sent over.

Lin Chen immediately clicked it and saw a flashing blue dot moving slowly.

Zoom in, then zoom in again.

Lin Chen quickly determined that the location of the blue dot was on the road next to the intercity train, and it was moving slowly towards the city.

It really is running towards the city!

Lin Chen pursed his lips and immediately hailed a taxi to head to the location of the blue dot.

The city lights outside the car window streamed backward rapidly, the neon colors outlining the noisy contour of the urban night.

But Lin Chen's gaze was tightly locked on the flashing blue dot on the phone screen, and at the same time, he could see the red dot representing himself moving quickly towards the blue dot.

He didn't know how much time had passed when the car turned off the main road and onto a much narrower and more dilapidated side road.

The streetlight illumination became dim and sparse; on both sides were vast tracts of undeveloped wasteland, abandoned factories, and mountains of construction waste, which looked like the shadows of crouching giant beasts in the night.

The number of vehicles decreased significantly, and the surroundings quickly quieted down, with only the roar of the engine and the sound of tires crushing gravel.

On the phone screen, the distance between the two light dots was already close at hand, almost overlapping.

"Driver, here, pull over!" Lin Chen said urgently, while already having scanned the payment code, and sprinted out of the car.

The night wind carried the earthy smell of the wasteland and the dampness of the wild grass; the surroundings were completely silent, with only the rustling of the wind through the wild grass and the faint chirping of unknown insects.

Lin Chen stood on the rough asphalt road, the light from the phone screen illuminating his anxious face.

He looked around, using the faint skylight to try to search for that small figure in the dim and messy environment.

"Songsong Dog? Songsong Dog!"

He raised his voice to call out; the sound carried very far in the empty field, accompanied by an echo.

No response.

But looking around, he soon discovered a small figure lying on the opposite side of the road. Without hesitation, he immediately sprinted towards it.

The Flame Claw Beast stood behind, holding its claws, staring tightly at Lin Chen's figure, feeling inexplicably restless.

"Gagu gagu..."

Arriving on the other side of the road, Lin Chen finally saw the Songsong Dog.

It was lying on its side on the ground; its originally white fur was now grey and dusty, covered in dirt, grass seeds, and stains picked up from who knows where, looking somewhat disheveled.

Its small chest heaved violently; every breath sounded like a rapid, wheezing bellows, and its tongue hung limply at the side of its mouth.

It was tired, extremely tired.

But when its ears heard the approaching footsteps, they still twitched extremely weakly.

"Songsong Dog!"

Lin Chen lowered his head and shouted loudly.

Hearing the familiar voice, the exhausted Songsong Dog opened its eyes.

Under the dim starlight and the residual light of the flashlight, Lin Chen's face was reflected in those obsidian-like eyes.

In an instant, its eyes lit up.

"Ying-wu..."

It let out a low whimper, subconsciously wanting to look away, and also wanting to extend its claws to cover its body, so as not to let Lin Chen see its disheveled appearance.

But a burst of courage from somewhere inside erupted, allowing it to lift its head, push hard with its four limbs, leap up, and land precisely in Lin Chen's arms.

The Flame Claw Beast behind them felt its pupils constrict, and its claws clenched: "Gagu..."

When that warm embrace wrapped around the Songsong Dog, and when those gentle yet firm arms supported its weak and limp body, the string that had been tightly wound in the Songsong Dog finally snapped.

The small body relaxed completely, lying softly in the crook of Lin Chen's arm, its head resting limply against his chest, its nose gently rubbing against the fabric that smelled of laundry detergent.

Beside its ear came a whisper with a magical, soothing power:

"It's okay, it's okay. Sleep, have a good sleep."

The darkness was like the warmest, most comfortable blanket, gently wrapping around it.

It fell into a deep sleep.

Lin Chen lowered his head, looking at the little guy in his arms who had instantly fallen into a deep sleep and was even snoring, and couldn't help but chuckle.

So there really are pets whose words and actions are inconsistent.

Since it wanted to go with him so much, why didn't it say so earlier? Why did it have to wait until he left to act?

Lin Chen couldn't figure out these questions, so he had to adjust his posture to let it sleep more comfortably in his arms.

Since he had found the Songsong Dog, it was time to go home.

He stood up and looked around.

Boundless night, desolate fields, the flowing car lights on the distant highway, the silent starry sky overhead.

Only the wailing of the wind blowing across the wilderness in his ears.

And he, holding the sleeping Songsong Dog, with the Flame Claw Beast standing beside him, stood in this wilderness, miles from anywhere, without even a streetlight.

A very realistic question surfaced in his mind belatedly:

"Uh..."

"Now, how does he get back?"