Chapter 79: Chapter 77: True Form Revealed
Whitey glanced at her, then walked toward the dark canyon, swishing its tail.
Its enormous body moved with light steps, not making a single sound.
Jiang Si thought for a moment, then said to Lu Zhifeng, "I’m going to follow it and see. If there’s danger, fire a shot to call me."
Lu Zhifeng nodded. "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely watch over everyone."
Jiang Si put on her headlamp and hurried after it.
After running for about ten minutes, Whitey seemed to have vanished into thin air.
She called out anxiously, "Whitey—Whitey—where are you?"
If Whitey left without a word like last time, she didn’t know when she would see it again.
Jiang Si called for two minutes before she suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and froze at the foot of a towering, withered tree.
The blood moon in the sky dyed the thick white mist a ghastly red. In this bizarre environment, Whitey raised its head, its pair of deep, dark eyes glinting with a chilling light.
Gradually, as if her eyes were playing tricks on her, Whitey’s paws seemed to faintly transform into human hands. It was hard to see clearly through the red mist, which only made the sight more shocking.
In the instant Jiang Si held her breath, Whitey’s four limbs, body, and head rapidly shrank. With a flash of golden light, a completely naked man appeared in her line of sight.
The moment he transformed into his human form, he fainted.
Jiang Si had only ever seen Mutants and mutated beasts. She never imagined that a mutated beast could actually transform into a human.
’If my family weren’t nearby, I would’ve thought I’d transmigrated into a Cultivation World where demons and monsters coexist.’
The blood moon faded. The man’s perfect body lay silently on the ground, like a work of art sculpted by Nuwa.
Jiang Si walked over. As she covered him with a sheet, she got a clear look at his face and was once again stunned.
Whitey was actually Qin Shen.
’No wonder Qin Shen would disappear whenever Whitey appeared. And no wonder Qin Shen had given me a massage—he was actually trying to get close to the energy stone inside me!’
When she remembered how she had been sleeping while hugging Whitey all these days, cuddling and kissing it, her face couldn’t help but heat up as she looked at the unconscious Qin Shen.
’He knows my secret, and I know his. In a way, that makes things safer, right?’
Steeling herself, Jiang Si dressed him. Then she found some logs, took a few wheel frames out of her space, and fashioned a simple travois, onto which she lifted Qin Shen.
What should have been a ten-minute walk back took Jiang Si over half an hour of strenuous pulling before Jiang Linhai found her.
When Jiang Linhai saw Qin Shen on the stretcher, his face lit up with pleasant surprise. "Qin Shen! Where did you find him?"
They had flown so far, yet they still managed to run into Qin Shen. They were incredibly lucky.
Qin Shen hadn’t told her his true identity, probably because he didn’t want anyone to know his body had mutated into the White Tiger.
It was just like how she didn’t want others to know she had a space, for fear of being dragged away for experiments.
Jiang Si said casually, "I found him by chance while I was looking for Whitey. I don’t know how he got here. He was already unconscious when I found him."
Jiang Linhai quickly asked, "Then where did Whitey go? And how is Qin Shen?"
Jiang Si shook her head. "It probably went off to hide and heal, just like last time. I’m sure we’ll see it again once it’s recovered."
"Qin Shen doesn’t have any external injuries, but he looks pale. We can feed him some congee and see if he just fainted from hunger."
Jiang Linhai hurried off to call Shen Baoying, asking her to make a bowl of her most delicious and nutritious congee for Qin Shen.
Qin Shen was a strong fighter and had stepped up to save them several times. Everyone was happy to see him back. They all gathered around, speculating about how on earth he had gotten here.
Jiang Si stayed by his side, vigilant in case any other special changes happened to Qin Shen’s body that the others might notice.
Shen Baoying finished preparing the nutritious congee, and Jiang Si personally fed it to him.
As she fed him, Qin Shen’s long, fan-like lashes slowly fluttered open.
Everyone exclaimed in delight, "He’s awake! Qin Shen’s awake!"
Joy rose in Jiang Si’s eyes as well. "Are you still feeling unwell?"
Qin Shen looked at her, silent for several seconds, as if he were still booting up.
After a long moment, he sat up, took the bowl from Jiang Si’s hands, and said politely but distantly, "Thank you."
’He was so affectionate when he was Whitey.’
’Now that he’s human, he’s putting on an act.’ Jiang Si shot him a few glances, feeling a bit strange.
After finishing the congee, Qin Shen fell asleep again.
Jiang Si guessed that every transformation and every use of his Healing Power consumed a massive amount of energy, so even when dawn broke, she didn’t let anyone disturb him.
The helicopter was their only one. To get to the West Coast of the North Country now, they had only two choices: take a ship out to sea, or fix the helicopter.
If only the rotor blades were damaged, she could still try to fix them.
But if the engine had problems, she would be helpless.
Jiang Si walked around the helicopter, inspecting it carefully. The engine had indeed sustained some damage from the impact.
The issues could be minor, not affecting their flight across the Pacific Ocean. Or they could be major, causing the helicopter to fall out of the sky if they hit strong turbulence midway.
If the helicopter crashed at sea, there would be absolutely no way to salvage the situation.
Taking a boat would not only take a long time, but they could also encounter natural disasters at sea like storms, waterspouts, whirlpools, and sharks.
If she had a choice, Jiang Si would much rather fly across the Pacific Ocean as quickly as possible.
However, for safety’s sake, their only option was to take the helicopter to the coastline, pull a yacht out of her space, and set off for the West Coast of the North Country from there.
With her plan set, Jiang Si directed Jiang Linhai to help her repair the helicopter. Just as it was getting dark, Qin Shen finally woke up. Seeing everyone busy, he voluntarily picked up some tools and started helping Jiang Si fix the helicopter.
He wasn’t one for conversation, but he was a first-rate, diligent worker.
Jiang Linhai patted him on the back. "How are you feeling? Still unwell?"
Qin Shen shook his head. Jiang Linhai asked curiously, "How did you get here anyway? And to think Sisi was the one who found you!"
Qin Shen glanced at Jiang Si, a subtle, meaningful curve playing on his lips. "I don’t really remember. I think I hit my head and forgot."
"Oh, is that so? Well, it’s a blessing you’re safe and sound. We were worried about you for a long time."
"Mm, thank you."
Jiang Si pouted. ’He’s an even more convincing liar than I am. And to think Dad praised him for being honest. We’re just two of a kind.’
Even though the helicopter’s damage didn’t seem major, all the banging and clanging meant it would take at least two days to repair.
Shen Baoying and Zhang Qingfang searched the surrounding area for firewood and edible ingredients.
They would be thrilled for ages just from digging up a single edible wild yam.
Suddenly, the sound of thundering footsteps and trumpeting roars vibrated through the air.
Everyone stood up in confusion, only to see several elephants charging toward them. With their massive bodies and long, sharp tusks, they could destroy the helicopter in minutes.
Jiang Si decisively poked Qin Shen. "You have a way to deal with this, right?"
