The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 1535: Chapter 1535: Pursuing the Reason

With one paw print, the Little Golden Dragon finished signing, still a bit jittery and uneasy. It didn’t know why, but it kept feeling a little restless. It worked hard to shake its pee pouch, shook off that unease, then sprang up onto Ji You’s head, its little feet treading on her strands of hair as a toy, and said, ”D‑... damned woman, since the day I, Heavenly Dog, was born, I have never signed a contract with any species. You... you actually pulled it off!”

Listening to this tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside act, Ji You was amused inside, but kept her face stern and said, ”You damned Mecha, again and again you don’t trust me. Even a clear-as-day contract in black and white, you still don’t trust it? Then...”

Ji You paused slightly, her whole aura flipping, her dark eyes sinking a little: ”You’re getting off my head. Now.”

The Little Golden Dragon jumped down at once, its paw still fondly pinching a strand of Ji You’s hair. It deliberately tugged on it, straightened its expression, and said, ”W‑...woman... I only signed the contract because I trust you, okay? Don’t scam such an ignorant, kind, innocent, fragile Little Mecha like me.”

”Ahem...” Ji You kept a straight face and said, ”What nonsense are you spouting, you’re my Mecha, how could I ever scam you?” If I don’t scam you, who would I scam?

She swiftly scooped up the contract off the coffee table, and the pen along with it, stuffed them into the Space Button, and put them away nice and secure.

Ahem...

As for that one teeny line hidden in the contract—the right of final interpretation belongs to Party A; Party A reserves the right to alter the contract terms... That sentence, let’s just make sure this ignorant, pure Little Mecha never finds out.

Ahem...

After Ji You put away the contract and confirmed it was safely stored, she straightened her face and suddenly asked seriously, ”You can talk now, right?”

The Little Golden Dragon tilted its head: ”Talk what?”

Ji You narrowed her eyes: ”Don’t play dumb. Speak.”

The Little Golden Dragon was wagging its tail, its head chasing the tip of its own tail as it spun circles on the coffee table, looking all innocent and clueless: ”I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ji You lifted her brows and said, dead serious, ”Clause 2 of the contract: Party B must not harbor any intention of concealing anything from Party A. Otherwise, Party A has the right to pursue liability from Party B, and Party B must compensate Party A a breach penalty starting at 10 trillion and up.”

Little Golden Dragon: ”...”

The Little Golden Dragon puffed up with anger: ”Damned woman, don’t go too far!”

Ji You: ”Talk.”

Faced with this overbearing, bossy ”Party A,” the Little Golden Dragon had no choice but to temporarily bow to Party A’s threat. It lowered its head, a bit awkward, and said, ”I want to investigate the truth behind the repairman’s death.”

When Ji You heard that, she wasn’t surprised. Or rather, she’d already mentally prepared herself a little, but hearing the Little Golden Dragon actually say it out loud still made her heart give a little jolt.

She didn’t know why, but she kept feeling that, at her current level, she really shouldn’t actively go poking into topics this secret, or that shadowy side hidden in the dark.

But!

Thinking of the Little Golden Dragon... sleeping for 50 years, then waking up and still not forgetting to look for its previous Master... Even knowing there was danger ahead, that it might be a hopeless dead end, yet still charging forward without looking back... This kind of Little Golden Dragon made Ji You feel ashamed, and also really ache for it.

In her previous life she’d heard a story: A Master raised a dog. Every day after work, the dog would stand at the door to greet the Master home.

Later, the Master died in a car accident, but the dog kept standing at the door, waiting for the Master.

After that, the Master’s house was demolished. The world changed; the original low house became a tall building; the whole area turned into an apartment complex with security guards on duty. But that dog still stubbornly guarded the original spot, waiting every day for its Master to get off work. The security guards would chase it away every day, yet it would still take advantage of when the guards weren’t looking to sneak back and lie at the same spot...

Later, some residents complained that this dirty, skin-and-bones dog kept suddenly showing up and scaring the children in the complex, so the property office sent several guards to put the dog down.

...

Ji You’s brows knitted slightly as she looked at the Little Golden Dragon.

The Little Golden Dragon was so much like that dog, even the light in its eyes was the same.

Ji You pressed her lips together.

The Little Golden Dragon realized something and suddenly lifted its head, locking eyes with Ji You.

Looking at that earnest, expectant gaze in the Little Golden Dragon’s eyes, Ji You’s heart hardened just a little, then inexplicably softened again. She thought for a bit, cleared her throat and said sternly, ”If you want to investigate, I won’t stop you. But whatever you do, you have to discuss it with me. Whatever you’re doing, I have to have the right to know, and I need to know in real time.”

When the Little Golden Dragon heard that, it instantly burst into happiness, leaped up to Ji You’s face, gave her a lightning-quick peck, then scampered off in a couple of steps.

Ji You: ”...”

Ji You wiped the drool off her cheek in one swipe, disgusted: ”You damned Little Mecha, who gave you permission to kiss me?”

Little Golden Dragon: ”...”

The Little Golden Dragon had finally deigned to open its golden mouth, originally thinking it’d see Ji You utterly thrilled, and yet this guy acted so disgusted...

D‑... does she really think I’m such a casual Mecha?

Even the repairman never enjoyed this kind of treatment, okay?

The more the Little Golden Dragon thought about it, the angrier it got. It snapped, ”Y‑...you damned woman, don’t be so ungrateful. If you’re trying to deliberately piss me off, I’m telling you, you succeeded.”

”You...”

”I warn you, I can give you one chance to take back what you just said. This is the last time. If you’re still that ungrateful, you’ll learn what it costs to offend Lord Heavenly Dog.”

Ji You slanted it a look: ”The cost of offending Lord Heavenly Dog is getting kissed once? I’ll pass.” As she spoke, Ji You kept scrubbing at her cheek.

Little Golden Dragon: ”...”

Ji You said, ”One kiss worth 10 trillion—such a great deal, why wouldn’t I do it myself? You come here, I can give you ten kisses, and then you can sign a hundred-trillion contract with me.”

Little Golden Dragon: ”...”

The Little Golden Dragon was absolutely stunned.

Ji You crooked her finger at it: ”Come here.”

The Little Golden Dragon, sulking, hopped into her palm. As it jumped up, it even deliberately tilted off to the side, its tail ’accidentally’ whipping across Ji You’s face.

Ji You didn’t bother with that little move and asked, ”So, the repairman died inside a Space Rift?”

The Little Golden Dragon had been feeling all kinds of awkward, but when it suddenly heard that, it went quiet. It was silent for a while, then nodded. ”That’s right, the repairman had his accident inside the Space Rift.”

Ji You said, ”You were the repairman’s Mecha. Weren’t you by his side at the time? How come you don’t know the truth of the repairman’s death?”

At that, the aura around the Little Golden Dragon grew increasingly still. It lowered its eyes and said, ”At the time, the repairman forcibly shut me down. I don’t know what happened then. When I woke up, the repairman was already dead, and I myself had almost died in there too.”

In other words—

The repairman had actually foreseen the danger ahead of time, which was why he turned off the Little Golden Dragon?

But—