Chapter 206: Mission Reward: 1 point

Chapter 206: Chapter 206: Mission Reward: 1 point

Renee took out her phone and checked the time. Ten minutes had passed since Fiona slipped into the river.

Director Quincy clenched his fists, pacing back and forth anxiously.

Faye Wyatt went to the car and grabbed a few bottles of mineral water to pass around. She handed the last one to Director Quincy. "Old Man Quincy, stop pacing. Aren’t you tired?"

"West," Director Quincy said in a low voice as he took the water. "I’m worried Fiona won’t come back."

"If she doesn’t come back, we’ll just keep looking. Haven’t we found so many already?" Faye Wyatt said, then raised an eyebrow. "But I have a feeling Fiona will definitely be back."

Director Quincy took a sip of water and asked, puzzled, "How can you be so sure?"

Faye Wyatt turned her head, her gaze landing on Renee. A gentle smile touched her eyes. "I have faith in Renee."

Director Quincy glanced over as well, the furrow in his brow relaxing slightly.

’That’s right. I need to have faith in Renee.’

’If it weren’t for her help today, we might not have found a single alligator.’

Director Quincy let out a sigh of relief, screwed the cap back on his water bottle, and waited patiently.

Time ticked by, second by second, but the river’s surface remained perfectly still.

Through the prop map, Renee saw that Fiona had already been with her companion for about ten minutes.

She pressed her lips together, her brow slowly furrowing.

’Did something unexpected happen?’

Another five minutes passed. Ripples suddenly spread across the river’s surface, and an alligator’s head quickly broke through.

Renee’s tense nerves relaxed slightly.

Assistant Lowe shouted in delight, "She’s back!"

Director Quincy excitedly grabbed Faye Wyatt’s hand.

However, only Fiona had returned.

Everyone except Renee craned their necks, waiting for the other alligator to appear.

"Jeez, I’m beat." Fiona began to complain as soon as she swam to the riverbank.

Renee asked, "Fiona Young, where’s your buddy?"

"Two-legger, you have to go save him!" Fiona said urgently. "Dawn’s tail is trapped! He can’t swim!"

Renee’s brow knitted instantly. She shot to her feet. "Trapped by what?"

Hearing this, the others all gathered around nervously.

Fiona: "It looked like a bunch of thin ropes all tangled together."

"Tangled together..." Renee murmured, a thought striking her. "Is it a fishing net?"

Fiona: "I don’t know what it is. You’ll need that weapon you used to cut the rope off my mouth."

"I get it." Renee turned and explained Dawn’s situation to the others. "We have to go save him."

Faye Wyatt asked, "Did Fiona tell him that we’re here to take him back to the zoo?"

Before Renee could even ask, Fiona answered, "I told him."

Hearing this, Renee looked at Faye Wyatt. "Fiona says she told him."

"Good." Faye Wyatt looked at Director Quincy. "Have one of your zoo’s staff go in the water."

A zoo employee standing nearby, King, spoke up, "Director Quincy, I’ll go."

He was the most suitable person for the job there. Director Quincy raised a hand and patted King’s shoulder. "We’re counting on you, King."

Renee squatted in front of Fiona again and reached out to pat her head. "Fiona Young, you’ll guide King. He’s going to rescue Dawn."

Fiona seemed embarrassed by the petting. She grumbled awkwardly, "Just talk, what’s with the head-patting? It’s not like I’m some fluffy thing."

Renee found this amusing. "What’s wrong with patting you? You’re so handsome."

The compliment nearly sent Fiona over the moon. She was stunned for a long moment before letting out a haughty snort. "Hmph. Guess you’ve got good taste."

With that, she turned and dove back into the river.

King also waded slowly into the water.

About seven or eight minutes later, ripples spread across the center of the calm river. Two alligators surfaced at the same time, followed immediately by the dripping head of King.

Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Director Quincy quickly took off his suit jacket and handed it to King. "Put this on, quick. Don’t catch a cold."

"Thank you, Director, but you’ll get your jacket dirty," King said, hastily waving his hands.

"Put it on!" Director Quincy wouldn’t take no for an answer, draping the jacket directly over his shoulders. "You’ve worked hard."

"So? Pretty impressive, right?" Fiona swam up to Renee, looking for praise.

Renee said with a grin, "Very impressive. Fiona Young, you’re just too amazing."

"This two-legger..." A triumphant Fiona wanted to introduce Renee to Dawn, but then realized she didn’t know her name. "Two-legger, what’s your name?"

"Call me Renee."

"Dawn, I’m telling you, this two-legger Renee is into me." Fiona turned her head and immediately started spreading rumors.

Renee: "..."

’Whatever. I can’t be bothered to argue with her.’

She suggested that the small animal transport vehicle head back to the zoo first, so the soaking wet King could go back and change his clothes.

The remaining two alligators could just squeeze into the trunk of the van.

By the time all eleven alligators were recovered, it was already midnight.

Renee, Sawyer, and Faye Wyatt were staying at the closest five-star hotel to the zoo.

She took a hot shower and lay down comfortably on the soft, king-sized bed.

[System 009: Congratulations on completing the hidden mission: Save the Chinese Alligators. Reward granted: Gecko Dictionary, 200 points, 1,000,000 Cash. The rewards are now being distributed. Please check for them shortly.]

Renee grinned until her eyes were just slits, rolling around excitedly on the bed.

A moment later, the system notification sounded again.

[System 009: Level 2 Mission Triggered: Save the Suspect. Mission Reward: Rabbit Dictionary, 100 points, 1,000,000 Cash. Mission Failure Penalty: Plot Manipulation. Time Limit: 72 hours.]

Renee lay flat on her back, staring at the retro chandelier on the ceiling, her slender eyebrows slowly knitting together. "009, you could at least be clear about where the suspect is. Are they in Lynfell or Zenvia?"

She waited for a while, but System 009 didn’t respond.

Renee: "..."

She gritted her teeth and cursed, "Stupid system."

[System 009: Why does Miss Jennings say that?]

Renee: "I just asked you a question. Why didn’t you answer?"

System 009 went silent again.

Renee: "Don’t play dead."

[System 009: Miss Jennings, the mission notification has been delivered. Please complete the mission on time.]

Renee: "Garbage system."

[System 009: If Miss Jennings does not like this system, she is free to self-destruct at any time.]

Renee: "...Psycho!"

She sulked for a while by herself, then turned off the light, ready to sleep.

Just as Renee was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly heard a system notification.

[System 009: Level 2 Mission Triggered: Collect Blessings from Two Pets. Mission Reward: 1 point. Mission Failure Penalty: A Thousand Needles to the Heart. Time Limit: 5 hours.]

Renee thought she must be dreaming. How could the mission reward possibly be only 1 point?

[System 009: Countdown beginning...]

Renee’s eyes flew open. She mentally pulled up the system interface, and sure enough, the task list showed two active missions.

"Fuck! This is revenge!"