Chapter 90: Chapter 82: Unexpected Harvest

It wasn’t that Tang Mo didn’t understand. The black Crystal Core was the Little Fox’s treasure, and the Little Fox clearly knew that it could save her life.

It was saving her to get her Crystal Cores. This was the trade the Little Fox wanted to make, and Tang Mo understood it all.

But there were two problems.

’Why does it want my Basic Crystal Cores when it has such a powerful Crystal Core of its own?’

’And why does that Crystal Core possess such potent restorative power instead of just overloading the body?’

Tang Mo thought about it carefully...

The first question seemed to have a clear answer. Just as the human body has its limits, that crystal probably exceeded the Little Fox’s tolerance.

To the Little Fox, that restorative power might as well be a lethal poison. It knew it couldn’t consume it.

That was why the Little Fox hadn’t absorbed the crystal, even though it knew it was a good thing, and instead carried it around as a precious treasure.

As for what the black Crystal Core was and where it came from, Tang Mo could rack her brains all day and still not figure it out from thin air.

She decided to just give up on it.

’I’ll run into these things sooner or later, as long as I live long enough,’ Tang Mo figured.

She looked down at the Little Fox, its cheeks puffed out in a pout because she had been ignoring it. Tang Mo patiently sat down.

She had now fully recovered and had even grown stronger. The forest was no longer a threat to her, but a vast and open space.

She had once again transformed from prey into a Hunter.

Tang Mo faced the Little Fox and took out a bag of Crystal Cores.

All the Intermediate Crystal Cores had already been taken out of the bags, and two-thirds of them had been used. Now, each bag only had thirty Basic Crystal Cores left.

"These are for you, as payment."

Tang Mo placed the bag in front of the Little Fox. She had a gut feeling that this fox could definitely understand her.

The Little Fox dragged the bag behind it with its paw, then held its paw out again.

’This is... not enough?’

Tang Mo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The fox actually knew how to bargain.

’Then again, trying to trade thirty Crystal Cores for that treasure is a bit much. I’m basically just taking advantage of a fox that doesn’t know market prices.’

But even if the Little Fox didn’t know market prices, it knew one bag wasn’t enough.

After a moment’s thought, Tang Mo took out ten more bags and piled them in front of the fox.

It was fair to say her life had been saved by this black Crystal Core. It was a blessing in disguise; not only had the chaotic energy in her body stabilized, but her physical constitution had improved even further.

Even if she gave the Little Fox all the Crystal Cores she had, it would still be more than worth it.

Seeing the ten bags, a look of delight reappeared on the Little Fox’s face. This time, it nodded in satisfaction.

With great effort, it began dragging the large pile of bags backward.

This seemed to indicate that its deal with Tang Mo was perfectly concluded, and it was ready to leave.

Watching the fox struggle backward with so many things, a bold idea suddenly popped into Tang Mo’s mind.

"Can you even carry that many Crystal Cores?" Tang Mo began her path of temptation.

The Little Fox was unmoved and continued dragging its Crystal Cores.

"If you hide them and other mutant beasts find them, they’ll all be gone, you know," Tang Mo continued her coaxing.

The Little Fox kept dragging the Crystal Cores, its steps gradually faltering from exhaustion.

"Why don’t you come with me?" Tang Mo threw out her suggestion.

The Little Fox turned a deaf ear, continuing its difficult trek forward.

"If you follow me, I guarantee you’ll have an endless supply of Crystal Cores to eat, okay?" Tang Mo played her trump card.

She knew that although the Little Fox was just a cub and didn’t show any obvious strength, its intelligence proved it was no ordinary mutant beast. Keeping it by her side would definitely be a great help.

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If her abilities weren’t enough to tame a mutant beast, then she might as well try a different approach and lure one back.

After all, Crystal Cores could always be earned through effort, but a good partner was hard to come by.

Hearing Tang Mo promise an endless supply of Crystal Cores, the Little Fox stopped in its tracks. It looked back at Tang Mo, its eyes filled with conflict.

On one side were Crystal Cores, on the other was freedom...

Even a beast had to face such a difficult choice.

"How about this one? Do you like it?"

The finishing blow!

Tang Mo dangled an Intermediate Crystal Core in her hand.

If it liked Basic Crystal Cores, there was no way it could resist the temptation of an Intermediate Crystal Core.

"Yip!"

’Screw this! To hell with freedom, I choose the Crystal Cores!’

The moment the Little Fox saw the Intermediate Crystal Core, it dropped everything it was holding without a second’s hesitation and ran toward Tang Mo.

Tang Mo held the Crystal Core in her hand just out of its reach.

"If you want the Crystal Core, you have to come with me, okay?"

"Whimper, whimper!"

The Little Fox nodded its head vigorously.

Tang Mo tossed the Crystal Core to the Little Fox. The fox sniffed it eagerly but, in the end, couldn’t bear to use it. Instead, it tucked it away somewhere on its body, completely hidden by its fur.

After hiding the Crystal Core, the Little Fox thought for a moment, then turned back. It pointed at the pile of Crystal Cores it had just been dragging, then at Tang Mo, then back at itself.

Finally, it crossed its front paws over its chest and stood there with the air of a little lord.

The gestures were bewildering, but Tang Mo surprisingly understood.

It meant that Tang Mo should hold onto that pile of Crystal Cores for now, and give them to it when it needed them.

’What a clever and mischievous little fellow, never willing to lose out.’

Smiling, Tang Mo gathered the pile of Crystal Cores and put them away.

"Alright, let’s go home now!"

She scooped up the Little Fox, and the two of them, one human and one beast, walked out of the forest and headed toward S Base.

When entering the base, Tang Mo hid the fox inside her clothes.

’It’s a good thing the little guy I lured back is a fox cub. If I’d brought back a wild boar or some other large animal, I probably couldn’t have even returned to the base. That would have been a real pain.’

By the time she returned to the villa, Wen Jianshu and Lin Yi were already asleep.

Tang Mo tiptoed back to her bedroom. The first thing she did was strip off her clothes, give herself a thorough bath, and change into clean pajamas.

Despite the Little Fox’s constant struggles, Tang Mo forced it to take a bath as well.

Finally, the clean human and clean beast sat at the table, eating instant noodles.

Originally, only Tang Mo was going to eat, but the Little Fox kicked up a fuss, demanding some too. So, Tang Mo simply made a bowl for it as well.

’Sigh, why do I feel like I got the short end of this deal?’

’I have to provide Crystal Cores *and* food. My life isn’t easy.’

"Since you love Crystal Cores so much, how about I call you Jingjing from now on?" Tang Mo decided to give her new partner a name.

The Little Fox lifted its head from the instant noodle cup and tilted it, looking at Tang Mo.

’Jingjing? Like a crystal?’

It liked it!

It nodded vigorously.

From that moment on, Tang Mo had her first partner, Jingjing.

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