Chapter 60 Who on Earth is the Repaying Fox Here!

"Ying?"

Crouched outside the sunroom, Ansheng, who was eavesdropping on the conversation between Lin Ying and the elder of the Lin family, raised its head, sensing something, and met Lin Ying's gaze.

"Ya haha..."

Flustered, Ansheng shifted from crawling on all fours to sitting on its haunches, and greeted Lin Ying awkwardly.

Well... I suppose I came at a rather bad time. Perhaps I should go and stand in line outside the door with the others right now?

While still outside, Ansheng had vaguely guessed what Lin Ying might be doing inside the room—something that probably could not be spoken of publicly. That was why so many people were standing in a neat row outside Lin Ying's house, effectively serving a form of punishment.

However, being a fox, how could there be so many taboos regarding suspicion? Ah Qing never even hid when changing clothes in front of me; what kind of gossip could possibly be forbidden for a cute little fox to hear?

"Grandniece?"

The Lin family elder on the other side of the video call seemed to notice something amiss with Lin Ying's gaze. Stopping all topics related to spirit beasts, he furrowed his brow and called out to Lin Ying.

"............"

Lin Ying withdrew her gaze, looked back at the elder on the screen, and gently shook her head, saying, "There is no problem at all. Outside the door are just the comfort animals I fed during my low period some time ago..."

"It sensed my low spirits and wanted to come inside to comfort me."

"Oh? A comfort dog?"

Hearing this, the Lin family elder chuckled and said, "Well, you had better snap out of it soon. Back when we were at the medical clinic in America, we once hosted a comfort dog for severe depression."

"Heh... The human's depression was cured, dammit, but the dog ended up depressed from being put through the wringer by its owner."

Lin Ying: ".........."

Ansheng, who was eavesdropping: "........."

The Lin family elder told a joke, then continued with a cheerful smile, "Let's leave it at that for now! It's almost time for your grandfa's breakfast. You should give some thought to those matters on your own."

Extraordinary creatures codenamed 'spirit beasts' were indeed sentient and understood human nature.

However, they remained fierce beasts at their core. Without heavy weaponry, humans facing such fierce beasts found themselves in an extremely dangerous and fatal situation.

Moreover, 'spirit beasts' were classified as strategic resources of the Xia State.

The stronghold of the Lin family clan was overseas, and their businesses included international maritime shipping.

Avoiding suspicion was a matter of utmost importance.

***

After the video call ended, Lin Ying rose from the sofa, unplugged all connected cords behind the television, and walked over to unlock and open the soundproof door of the sunroom.

From the very beginning, the construction of the entire sunroom had taken soundproofing and heat insulation into consideration.

Within the villa, the soundproofing in the sunroom was the most sophisticated. Normally, nothing discussed inside the sunroom could be heard from the outside.

However... the little fox clearly did not fall under normal circumstances.

"Please come in."

Lin Ying squatted down, picked up Ansheng in her arms, carried her into the sunroom, and placed the small white fox on the tabletop.

"You heard everything that was just said."

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Ying looked at Ansheng, remained silent for a moment, and then asked.

As she spoke, Lin Ying placed her smartphone in front of Ansheng and continued:

"To be honest, although I had guessed that the world might have gone mad long ago to have bred such a magical creature as Lord Fun Fox..."

"My imagination clearly wasn't wild enough; I never expected that we humans were the ones who had gone completely mad."

Lin Ying's slightly expressionless face revealed a bitter smile.

What the Lin family elder had said and thought tonight was an event that completely subverted Lin Ying's worldview.

The existence of Lord Fun Fox might not be an extremely rare exception, but rather something tied to strict confidentiality regulations.

"Ying ying ying..."

Ansheng wore a look of deep emotion and let out a few whimpers, though Lin Ying had no idea what the fox was saying.

If Lin Ying could understand, no matter how expressionless she usually was, her forehead would undoubtedly be covered in black lines.

Lin Ying was talking about the world, the grand strategy, and resources.

Meanwhile, Ansheng was inwardly complaining that it might have genuinely misunderstood old Chen's management of the tea mountain.

Turns out... that wild boar, which looked remarkably like a mammoth with a tuft of blue hair on its head, was an extraordinary creature.

If it had known earlier, it wouldn't have castrated it.

Ansheng now wore an expression of intense regret. Bringing a spirit beast to Chen之玉 for breeding would have been an absolute goldmine.

Even ordinary giant lizards cost tens of thousands per mating session; if a spirit beast were used instead, wouldn't they make hundreds of thousands per session?

"Lord Fun Fox..."

Just as Ansheng was mentally complaining about everything under the sun and thinking that small workshops really needed to use heavy ingredients, Lin Ying shook her head to clear away her cluttered thoughts, looked at the fox, and called out.

"Ying?"

What? Are you thinking of pairing me up for breeding? The little fox looked at Lin Ying with a guarded expression.

However, Lin Ying could not understand the fox's inner monologue; she only spoke with a solemn and earnest promise:

"Regarding your matters... I swear by the ancestors of the Lin Family Ancestral Hall and Mazu that I will never leak a single word."

"The Lin family built its fortune on ruthlessness and a sense of justice, and Lord Fun Fox has shown me great kindness..."

"Ying ying ying——"

Ansheng waved its paw dismissively, looking thoroughly unimpressed. I'm just an ordinary little fox, why are you telling me all this?

"No! Please listen to me..." Seeing Lord Fun Fox wave its paw to indicate she didn't need to continue, Lin Ying suddenly felt a warm current rise in her heart, and the lower abdomen that had been aching slightly instantly felt warm.

"The task I was given earlier—the elder told me not to push forward with it for now, and to wait for the right opportunity..."

"But on second thought, ending it in a fizzling out manner would only arouse more suspicion. It would be better to carry on, except instead of searching for spirit beasts, we will change the objective to building the finest zoo."

Prior to this, Lin Ying had been completely unaware of certain matters, yet she had already spoken certain words aloud.

Of course, because she was unaware beforehand, Lin Ying hadn't even given her newly established department a name, and her instructions had been extremely vague.

When the Lin family elder, who was in the know, saw the proposal for the newly established department, he grew suspicious and specifically called Lin Ying, who was on vacation, to inquire about it.

As a result, Lin Ying's starting point and process were entirely wrong, yet somehow, she had managed to guess the correct conclusion purely by accident.

"Right, one of my daughter's greatest wishes before she passed away was for me to take her to the Changlong Zoo. Now, we might as well build one right here in Jiule City."

Having finished speaking, Lin Ying looked at Ansheng and said:

"That way, should Lord Fun Fox's extraordinary nature ever be exposed one day, there will at least be a comfortable place for you to enjoy..."

Ansheng wore a look of utter exasperation and raised a paw to type a few characters on the phone screen:

[I'm just a small fox. Why are you telling me about such matters? Do I look like I can understand any of this?]

[Shoo, shoo, shoo. Stop saying such ominous things.]

Seeing the words on the screen, Lin Ying was momentarily struck silent by Lord Fun Fox.

That's right!

Lord Fun Fox was capable of deleting surveillance footage, browsing Baidu to binge-watch TV dramas, and demanding spicy pictures on QQ.

If not for his kindness in saving her, how could she have ever known of Lord Fun Fox's miraculous abilities?

While Lin Ying remained silent, Ansheng continued to type out another line of text:

[As for the spirit beasts your elder mentioned... if they happen to be creatures that look somewhat bizarre, I actually know where some are. However...]

"I understand!"

Lin Ying's expression darkened, and she said, "I will make good use of Lord Fun Fox's intelligence to go fishing!"

"I will definitely investigate their methods of utilizing and handling spirit beasts to ensure your safety, as a way to repay your saving grace..."

Ansheng: "..........."

What the hell I'm saying is that crocodile is huge, and you might be in danger if you get too close!

How did you pivot this into a spy thriller!

Just who among us is the fox repaying a life debt here?!