Li Chen flicked a hand, and a line of fire erupted across the floor, cutting the giant golden retriever off.
The enormous dog immediately grew frantic. It tried to force its way across the flames, yelping when the heat singed its fur before stumbling back a few steps with a wounded whine.
Separated by the wall of fire, it stared at Mo Chu with eyes full of shock and grievance.
Mo Chu had never known it was possible to see something so pitiful in a dog’s eyes.
But she didn’t know this dog at all.
On the other side, Li Chen eyed the golden retriever coldly. The dog was huge, clearly dangerous, and he looked ready to attack at any moment.
Mo Chu quickly stopped him and said softly, “Let me go take a look.”
Li Chen frowned slightly. “But—”
“It’s fine.” She shook her head.
After a brief hesitation, he finally withdrew the line of fire between them.
The instant the flames vanished, the golden retriever lunged forward excitedly. Before Mo Chu could react, Li Chen wrapped an arm around her waist and whisked her aside.
The dog crashed into empty air.
And to stop it from pouncing again, Li Chen casually traced another ring of fire around it. The golden retriever spun anxiously in circles inside the flaming boundary.
Meanwhile, Li Chen released Mo Chu almost immediately and stepped forward, crouching in front of the dog.
“I don’t know whether you can understand me,” he said calmly, “but if you want her to come closer, behave yourself.”
Sensing the threat in his tone, the golden retriever bared its teeth viciously, lowering its body into an attack stance.
Li Chen’s voice turned colder. “If you won’t behave, then stay inside the circle.”
The dog looked at him, then at Mo Chu, who was completely shielded behind him. It scratched helplessly at the ground in agitation before finally lowering itself halfway onto the floor in reluctant surrender.
Thus, a strange agreement was reached between one man and one dog.
Li Chen’s expression remained stern and serious. In those deep black eyes, Mo Chu could almost glimpse a trace of the Demon King he had once been in her previous life.
And yet, for some reason, watching him solemnly threaten a golden retriever was inexplicably funny.
Before she realized it, she laughed out loud.
Li Chen looked over in surprise.
Mo Chu instantly swallowed the laugh, coughed lightly, and put on an innocent, serious expression.
He kept staring at her.
The longer he looked, the guiltier she felt. For a fleeting moment, she thought she saw the faintest hint of a smile at the corner of his lips—but maybe she imagined it.
Just as she was wondering, Li Chen nodded toward her.
“Go ahead.”
Mo Chu hurried past him, and he withdrew the ring of fire as well.
This time, the golden retriever behaved much better.
Half-lying on the ground, its tail wagged furiously as it gazed at her with eager anticipation.
Even before approaching it, Mo Chu had already formed a rough judgment. The dog was far larger than an ordinary golden retriever. Even mutated ability-beasts shouldn’t have grown this huge unless their power was related to strength.
Which also explained why the supermarket remained so clean, and why the supplies inside were preserved so well.
This dog had probably protected the place.
It was likely either the supermarket owner’s dog or a customer’s pet. After the apocalypse began, it must have awakened an ability and instinctively started guarding its territory.
The last time Mo Chu came here, she hadn’t encountered the dog at all. The fact that her group had managed to haul supplies out safely was probably pure luck.
Lost in thought, she cautiously approached the retriever and copied Li Chen’s posture, crouching down until their eyes were nearly level.
The dog stared at her eagerly.
After a moment’s hesitation, Mo Chu reached out and gently patted its head.
The golden retriever immediately became excited. It licked her palm enthusiastically, then buried its head against her leg, rubbing against her over and over in obvious delight.
Mo Chu nearly laughed.
“Little guy,” she asked softly, “do I know you?”
The dog let out two soft whines.
It acted as if it knew her, but she was certain she had never seen it before.
Suddenly remembering something, Mo Chu tested cautiously, “Did you mistake me for your owner?”
“Wuuu…”
The retriever rubbed against her even harder.
At that point, Mo Chu more or less understood.
This dog truly believed she was its owner.
That left her in a difficult position.
She didn’t know where the dog’s real owner had gone, but judging from the state of the supermarket, the chances were slim that they were still alive.
But she really wasn’t its owner.
Mo Chu rubbed its head gently and said, “You’ve got the wrong person, little guy.”
As she spoke, she stood up, intending to discuss the situation with Li Chen.
But the moment she moved, the golden retriever panicked, hooking its paw into her clothes to stop her.
When Mo Chu turned back, she froze.
Tears were slowly gathering in the dog’s crimson eyes.
The faint smile lingering on her lips gradually disappeared.
Looking at it seriously, she said softly, “Little guy… you really have the wrong person. I’m not your owner.”
The dog clung stubbornly to her clothes, refusing to let go.
Mo Chu stared at it for a long moment before suddenly asking,
“Do you want to come with me?”
This time, the retriever seemed to understand instantly. It released her at once, sprang to its feet, and began circling around her excitedly, tail wagging so hard it almost became a blur.
Then it eagerly picked up the half-filled backpack Mo Chu had set aside and carried it over for her like an attentive porter.
The dog genuinely wanted to follow her.
Mo Chu patted its head and said seriously, “Even if you mistook me for someone else, if you decide to follow me, then I’ll be your new owner.”
Her voice softened.
“But if you abandon me and run away one day… then I won’t want you anymore. Ever again.”
The golden retriever rubbed hard against her leg.
Only then did Mo Chu relax slightly.
And that was when she realized something—
Li Chen hadn’t said a single word this entire time.
Only now did it occur to her that she wasn’t alone anymore. She’d decided on her own to take the dog with them without asking his opinion first.
A little guilty, she turned toward him and asked quietly,
“Li Chen… can I bring it with us?”
His expression revealed nothing. She couldn’t tell whether he was upset or not.
Li Chen glanced down at the golden retriever currently orbiting around her and shamelessly currying favor.
“Sure.”
Mo Chu finally let out a breath of relief.
She rubbed the dog’s head again before continuing to gather supplies.
There were only two of them—well, two people and one dog now. Even if they wanted to take everything in the supermarket, it would be impossible. They could only prioritize the most useful supplies.
As she mentally sorted through what they should carry more of and what they could leave behind, Li Chen suddenly asked,
“When you said earlier that if someone abandoned you, you’d never want them again… were you serious?”
Mo Chu glanced at him and nodded.
“I was.”
Anything that abandoned her—whether person or animal—she would never take back.
Then she watched Li Chen nod thoughtfully.
“I understand.”
Mo Chu: “…?”
I was talking to the dog. What exactly did you understand?
After quickly packing what they could carry, the three of them left the supermarket together.
The golden retriever showed absolutely no reluctance about leaving its territory behind. It trotted around Mo Chu happily, even snatching her backpack and tossing it onto its own back, looking absurdly pleased with itself.
Watching it, Mo Chu couldn’t help laughing.
“Little guy, I don’t know what your old name was, so how about I give you a new one?”
“Woof!”
Somehow, she could even hear the excitement in that bark.
So Mo Chu seriously began trying to think of a name.
Unfortunately, she was terrible at naming things. After agonizing over it for ages, every name she came up with sounded unbearably cliché.
In the end, she turned for help to the one person between them who looked remotely reliable.
Li Chen lowered his eyes toward the dog.
The giant mutated beast was acting like a tiny lapdog, bouncing around Mo Chu, rubbing against her legs every chance it got while shamelessly seeking affection.
After a moment, Li Chen said,
“Then call it Xiao Jin. Easy to say. Easy to remember.”
Xiao Jin?
Mo Chu blinked uncertainly.
So this was Li Chen’s naming taste… unexpectedly down-to-earth.
But…
Seeing her hesitate, Li Chen asked, “You don’t like it?”
Mo Chu fell silent.
Then, after thinking about it again…
It actually wasn’t bad.
Sometimes the simplest names were the best. A name was for the people close to you anyway, not for strangers. As long as it felt natural to say, that was enough.
And somehow, maybe because it came from Li Chen, she even felt that “Xiao Jin” sounded oddly charming in a simple, rustic sort of way.
So she nodded seriously.
“I think it’s pretty good.”
Both of them lowered their heads to look at the dog.
Completely unaware that its future had just been decided, the golden retriever continued circling around Mo Chu excitedly.
Mo Chu smiled.
“Then from now on, your name is Xiao Jin.”
The dog barked happily in agreement.
Halfway down the road, Mo Chu ran into the group of students she’d met at the supermarket the day before.
They were probably trying to gather supplies before leaving as well.
Unfortunately, this time they had run into trouble.
Seven or eight zombies had cornered them inside a narrow alley, and the situation looked grim.
Mo Chu immediately dropped her backpack and pulled the dagger from her boot, ready to rush in.
Before she could move, Li Chen asked, “People you know?”
“Just met them once,” Mo Chu answered casually. “There’s a girl among them who’s pretty likable.”
Li Chen nodded thoughtfully.
“I understand.”
Mo Chu: What do you understand this time?!
Before she could react further, Li Chen had already rushed forward.
With a flick of his fingers, a ring of fire descended from above, instantly trapping the zombies outside and shielding the students inside the alley.
Xiao Jin charged out right after him.
Probably wanting to impress Mo Chu, the golden retriever unleashed a ferocity more fitting for a wolf than a dog.
Ironically, Mo Chu—the one who originally wanted to save them—ended up lagging behind.
Competitive spirit flared inside her immediately. Gripping her dagger tightly, she rushed forward as well.
This time, her still-unfamiliar body didn’t drag her down. Her movements flowed more smoothly than before, almost instinctive.
But by the time she finished off two zombies and turned around—
There were no zombies left standing.
Li Chen raised a hand and withdrew the ring of fire.
Beside him, Xiao Jin looked at her proudly, practically begging for praise.
Mo Chu sighed, unable to hide a trace of envy.
The advantage of offensive abilities…
Still, she didn’t dwell on it for long. Every ability had its strengths and weaknesses. Healing-type users lacked direct combat power early on, but after reaching Tier Three, they became far more terrifying than most offensive types.
She turned back toward the rescued group.
Ying Yi had clearly recognized her already.
“Big sister!”
Mo Chu nodded at her. Before she could say anything else, an elderly man suddenly stepped forward from the crowd and bowed deeply.
“My name is Xie Jinyuan,” he said solemnly. “On behalf of myself and my students, thank you.”
Mo Chu was startled.
How could she possibly accept such a formal bow from an elder? She hurried forward to help him straighten up.
Seeing her obvious discomfort, Li Chen spoke up smoothly from the side.
“Mo Chu, let’s go. We’re short on time.”
Mo Chu immediately seized the opportunity to excuse herself and leave.
Still…
Xie Jinyuan.
Why did that name sound so familiar?
As they watched Mo Chu’s departing figure, one of the boys immediately said,
“Teacher, she’s the one I mentioned—the person who told us about crystal cores.”
The old man looked thoughtful.
“If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t have realized so quickly that my condition counted as an awakened ability as well. ‘Super Cognition,’ hm? Quite fitting, really.”
He sighed softly.
“I owe that young lady a great debt.”
Ying Yi smiled brightly.
“It’s fine. Once the rescue teams arrive, we’ll definitely meet her again.”
