pjbooks Chapter 175 Animal Companions, Dog Language Level
Chapter 175 Animal Companions, Dog Language Level
Chapter 175 Animal Companions, Level 10 Dog Language
Actually, this task wasn't as difficult as I imagined; it was mainly a matter of approach.
After all, besides terrestrial animals, birds, insects, and fish are also considered wild animals.
After chatting and laughing with Valentina as they moved through several wilderness areas, they successfully photographed eagles, groundhogs, raccoons, ladybugs, greylag geese, coyotes, and white-tailed deer.
With the progress now at 8/8, the two-and-a-half-star side quest is complete.
【Skill Enhancement (Consumable)】: Select an existing skill to enhance, including but not limited to increasing level, duration, reducing cooldown, and adding one or more traits.
【Car Driving Iv3】: Permanently improves your car driving ability; can be upgraded multiple times.
[Animal Companions]: You can now try to communicate with animals. The effectiveness of the communication depends on your level of intimacy with the animal.
Upon seeing these three skill rewards, Ma Jieke entered a rapid thinking mode.
First of all, skill enhancement is a versatile option, and I've encountered it more than once before. Its strength is undeniable. If there aren't any other more overpowered options, it's basically the best choice.
The car driving feature is also quite useful, essentially passively increasing your driving experience and transforming you from a novice to a seasoned driver. In terms of priority, it is second only to [American Iaijutsu].
Animal companions, a completely new skill that has never appeared before, is equivalent to passively learning animal and bird languages?
Putting aside whether it's easy to use, the key is that it's incredibly fun. As for the intimacy level, it shouldn't be hard to understand. Even among humans, there are acquaintances and strangers, let alone birds and beasts.
Damn it, never mind. It's just a skill worth two and a half stars. Why think so much? I'll just get it first.
Having successfully acquired the [Animal Companion], I glanced at the progress of the main quest; it's almost complete.
This feeling is very comfortable, like playing games while doing tasks, and having pretty girls by your side.
It was 4:30 p.m., and there was still some time before dark, so Ma Jie suggested that they take advantage of the good weather and go to the top of Hollywood Hills to take some photos.
As one of the most famous tourist destinations in Los Angeles, I've been here for so long but have never been up there before. Today, I'll consider it a pilgrimage to this holy site.
Valentina is the same; she's a good girl at heart. Besides studying and working, she rarely participates in extracurricular activities, so she has no time to relax and travel.
The two hit it off immediately and set off towards the top of the mountain along the winding Mulholland Drive.
The sun is already beginning to set, which is the perfect time for mountain photography. The soft natural light falls on the mountains, and you can see many luxurious buildings built according to the terrain. They are mostly private residences of big stars and top tycoons, with their own outdoor swimming pools and huge floor-to-ceiling windows. The prices are often in the tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.
However, the most common sights along the way were hikers cycling up the mountain and backpackers climbing solely by sheer willpower.
Of course, if money is no object, the nearby Sunset Ranch also offers horseback riding services for $70 or $80 per hour, which can take you all the way to the top of the mountain.
The most expensive option is the sightseeing helicopter, which costs $300 for a ten-minute ride, equivalent to more than 2,000 RMB. Only tourists get ripped off on these helicopter rides.
The two walked and stopped frequently, eventually arriving at a viewing platform with a wide view halfway up the mountain, where many tourists were taking photos.
Looking down at Los Angeles from this angle, you can only see a dozen or so lonely high-rise buildings, followed by an endless urban skyline.
After taking many landscape photos, Valentina suggested, "Jack, this place is so beautiful, shall we take some group photos?"
"Couple photos?" someone asked with a mischievous grin.
"Get lost! If you keep making jokes like that, I'm not talking to you anymore."
The girl laughed and playfully punched him, then walked confidently to a passerby: "Sir, could you do me a small favor? My friend and I are visiting here for the first time and would like to take some photos to remember the trip."
"No problem." The other person took the digital camera and said with a smile, "You've come to the right person, beautiful lady. I'm a professional photographer. Come on, strike a few of your favorite poses."
"Wow, thank you so much! You're such a kind person."
Upon learning that the other person was a professional gamer, Valentina was overjoyed and skipped back to MaJack's side.
"Hey beautiful, move a little to the left, yes, yes, tilt your head, flip your hair up, very good, look at the camera and don't blink."
Click! The moment the shutter clicked, she playfully pouted and made a kissing motion on Ma Jieke's face.
"Great, that works well. Let's try a different pose and take another one."
As a terminal case of "steel straight male cancer," Ma Jieke was like a wooden stake the whole time, only able to cross his arms and put his hands in his pockets to look cool, and couldn't strike any other poses.
Valentina, on the other hand, seemed to be letting loose, striking all sorts of difficult and funny poses with him as the center.
"Beautiful, this one's really good quality. Let's take a few more special ones." The photographer seemed to be enjoying taking pictures too, and suggested, "You guys step back a little, that's right, step back a bit more, right next to that green 'GG' sign, turn around so your backs are to me, and raise your right hand, good, index and ring fingers pointing upwards, time to shoot!"
Neither of them thought much of it and subconsciously followed his instructions. As a result, as soon as they struck a pose, something astonishing happened.
This guy first looked around furtively, then grabbed his camera and ran away.
Ma Jie immediately realized something was wrong, turned around and started chasing after him, only to find that this bastard had accomplices.
He nimbly jumped onto a heavily modified Tyrant series motorcycle and sped down the mountain at full throttle.
By the time he started his motorcycle to give chase, the other party had completely disappeared on the mountain road, vanishing without a trace.
Holy crap... I'm so pissed...
Aside from swearing, Ma Jie didn't know how to describe his feelings.
I've heard before that there are many criminals lurking in the tourist attractions of Los Angeles, targeting wealthy tourists and doing all sorts of despicable things like theft, robbery, and kidnapping.
But who could have imagined this? And looking at how well they worked together, they were clearly seasoned criminals.
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Valentina was so upset that she burst into tears, her good mood for the entire day easily ruined.
If it were just a digital camera, losing it wouldn't be a big deal. But the problem is that it contains many precious memories, including photos with Ma Jieke.
"Waaaaah, how could there be such a bad person? I'm so angry!"
"
Thinking about these things only made her feel worse, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Seeing Valentina's tearful face, Ma Jie felt sorry for her and took out a tissue to wipe her face. "Alright, alright, don't cry. It's just a camera. Give me some time, and I'll try to find it for you."
"How are we supposed to find them?" Valentina felt he was exaggerating; the person had vanished without a trace, where was she supposed to look for them?
In fact, a second before the other party escaped, Ma Jieke had already marked him with [Quantum Tracking].
[Quantum Tracking]: Mark any carbon-based life form within the field of view and permanently display its coordinates on the map. The current maximum number of markings is 0/1.
He had already practiced this many times before. Once the mark is placed, no matter who the marked person is, as long as that person is still on Earth, their hiding place can definitely be found.
However, judging from the situation, they are a gang, and the size of the gang is still unclear. If I rashly chase after them, I may not be able to gain any advantage.
Considering the real risks, Ma Jieke decided to test the waters first, at least to find out the identities and backgrounds of this group of people.
When you're out in the world, it's always good to be cautious.
"Don't worry about how to find it. I've already memorized their license plate number. If all else fails, I can ask my friends for help." Looking at the red marker receding into the distance on the map, Ma Jie patiently comforted him, "Anyway, I promise to find the camera for you, so can you please control your emotions and stop crying?"
Looking at the young man who had made a promise to her, Valentina finally stopped her grief and sobbed softly, "Then you have to be careful. If it's too dangerous, then forget it. Anyway, that camera is an old model and not worth much."
"But the photos inside are priceless, aren't they?"
Ma Jieke chuckled and playfully flicked her nose: "Where do we go next, or what do we need to do to make my angel lady happy?"
"I don't know." She shook her head shyly.
"How about I tell you a joke? Do you want to hear it?" Ma Jieke's lips curled up slightly, his smile looking rather eerie.
"What joke?" Valentina's curiosity was immediately piqued.
"Ahem..." He cleared his throat dramatically. "Why do deaf-mute women like to wear yoga pants?"
"I know, because she likes to do yoga!" Ma Jie replied confidently as soon as he finished speaking.
"What kind of answer is that?" Ma Jie frowned. "If I changed the question to 'Why do deaf-mute women like to wear running shoes?' your answer would be that she likes running?"
"Hmm..." The girl tilted her head and thought for a moment, "I don't know, why don't you just tell me the answer?"
.
"Listen carefully." He deliberately lowered his voice and leaned close to her ear: "Because it makes it easier for others to read your lips."
"Lip reading?" Valentina froze on the spot for a few seconds, then her delicate face turned bright red, and she made a move to chase after Ma Jack.
But the latter was prepared and cunningly slipped away from her.
The two chased each other on the lawn, and in the end, Ma Jieke chose to let her win and willingly let her teach him a lesson.
During their playful fight, Valentina was suddenly hugged, and the next second, her eyes met someone's, making her feel as if the whole world had frozen in time.
Without hesitation, she closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around Ma Jieke's neck, and frantically demanded more, completely immersed in the sweet, passionate kiss.
"Jack, I like you." She said this boldly, pressing her face against Jack's shoulder, her voice suddenly becoming very low: "But I made a promise to myself that I absolutely cannot date before graduation, because I have the hopes of my whole family on my shoulders, and I must survive in America. If my mother knew that I was messing around here, she would be very sad, and I don't want to make her sad."
"It's okay, my sweetheart." Ma Jie stroked Valentina's soft, long hair and the back of her head. "You're a good girl, so whatever you want to do, I'll support you unconditionally. Studying hard is right, not upsetting Mom is right, not dating is right, but if one day you encounter difficulties, if you face an insurmountable obstacle, remember that you still have me. I will always stand behind you, forever protecting my angel, understand?"
"Ugh!" Valentina looked at him with teary eyes as Majesty finished speaking, "Why are you saying such cheesy things to me? I'll remember it forever."
"Hehe, that's how I achieve my goal."
"Yeah, right, stop being so conceited."
After enjoying the beautiful sunset together for a while, Ma Jieke decided to end his trip for the day.
But after riding the motorcycle for only a short distance, a very strange shout suddenly came to my ears. It didn't sound like a human being at all, but it was definitely human language.
"Hey buddy, can you stop and give me a hand? My throat's practically burning from shouting."
"Look, Jack, there's a dog up ahead, barking really loudly." Valentina, sitting in the back, spotted a brown stray dog crouching at the damaged gap in the roadside barrier.
"Hey, don't go, buddy, stop the car."
Although he also heard barking at the same time, the barking entered Ma Jieke's mind and was immediately translated into human language by a mysterious force.
He then parked his motorcycle on the side of the road and walked towards the talking stray dog.
"Oh my god, thank goodness, finally someone parked their car!"
"Jack, this dog is so strange. Why does it keep barking? There's no one or any other animals around."
Without the blessing of "animal companions," Valentina naturally only hears "woof woof woof," instead of having a built-in translator like MaJack.
"What's wrong with you humans? After all these years, you're still so cold and heartless. Would it kill you to help someone out?"
"Okay, buddy, if you keep complaining, I'm turning around and leaving right now."
Ma Jie tried to communicate with it in human language, and it actually understood: "NONONO, don't go, don't go, please don't go, there's someone trapped in a tree over there, and he needs your help."
"Then what are you standing there for? Lead the way."
The stray dog hesitated for a moment, then barked again: "But I actually want to leave him there, because he's a stinky dreadlock."
Huh? What kind of weird move is this? You called me over to save someone, but then you don't want me to save them...
No wonder you can only be a stray dog on the street. Where is your basic logic? Has your brain gone awry?
"Jack... what are you doing?" Valentina exclaimed in disbelief as she heard Jack talking to a dog. "Can you understand it?"
"Wow, this busty girl is pretty good. Congratulations, buddy, you've struck gold! If I could find a girlfriend this beautiful, I'd even fight a coyote for her. (Woof woof woof)"
"Stop barking!" Valentina felt a headache coming on as she watched it bark and howl.
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