I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 333 When the System Has a Last Glimmer of Hope

The little sand cat excitedly stomped its feet on the sand, then, as if suddenly remembering something, it started digging in the sand—swish, swish, swish!

The little claws dug even more efficiently than usual, sand flying everywhere, and in the blink of an eye, a small pit was dug.

[Wow, amazing!] It was stunned. It looked up at Qi Xiao, then at its own masterpiece, its round eyes shining like stars.

The next second, it suddenly pounced and jumped directly into Qi Xiao's arms, its fluffy little head rubbing against his chin, [Qi Xiao, I love you~]
Before Qi Xiao could react, the little sand cat had already given him a "smack" kiss on the cheek, its wet little nose brushing against his skin, and its soft tongue even licking him twice, showing an extremely affectionate gesture.

Qi Xiao froze.

His usually cold and stern face showed a rare hint of panic, his ears turned red at a visible speed, and even his neck felt slightly hot.

He instinctively tried to dodge, but the little sand cat was very clingy, clinging to his collar and refusing to let go, and even wanting to kiss him again.

"Ahem..." He coughed softly, trying to hide his discomfort, but his slightly turned face and stiff shoulders completely betrayed his shyness.

Xu Ying watched from the side and laughed, teasing him on purpose: "Boss Qi, so you're so popular with animals?"

Qi Xiao pursed his lips and remained silent, only reaching out to gently rub the little sand cat's head, his movements gentle yet tinged with helplessness.

The little guy, taking advantage of the situation, snuggled up in his arms, purring contentedly and swishing his tail as if declaring victory.

The flickering firelight illuminated Qi Xiao's reddened earlobes, Xu Ying's laughter, and the little sand cat's smug purring. The desert night suddenly became exceptionally gentle.

Xu Ying watched the little sand cat affectionately rubbing against Qi Xiao and couldn't help but pout, "Little sand cat, you haven't kissed me in so long~"

The little sand cat immediately hopped over and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

The little guy tilted his head and thought for a moment, "[Brother Qi Xiao's face is hard, like a stone! Sister Stationmaster's face is soft, like cotton~ They're both so cute!]"
Qi Xiao has excellent bone structure, with sharp and smooth facial lines. Moreover, because he often exercises and goes on missions, his body fat percentage is very low, and the flesh on his cheeks is also very firm.

After saying that, the little sand cat winked mischievously, "[Want a kiss too?]"
Xu Ying's face immediately turned bright red: "No, no~ You can't just kiss me like that!"

"What did it say?" Qi Xiao asked curiously as he leaned closer.

Xu Ying was speechless for a moment, and the tips of her ears turned red at a visible speed. "N-nothing..."

She stammered, lowered her head, and swiped through her phone, pretending to be busy, "It's just... just some meowing."

The little sand cat, however, stubbornly jumped between the two, [The stationmaster is lying!]
It pointed at the two of them alternately with its little paws, saying, "[I said Brother Qi Xiao's face is tough, and Sister's face is soft!]"
"What exactly did they say?"

Seeing Xu Ying's face growing increasingly red, Qi Xiao couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Really, it's nothing!" Xu Ying suddenly stood up, almost tripping over her own foot.
"I...I'll go check on the seedling trays!"

After saying that, he fled in panic, not even bothering to pick up the water bottle that had been knocked over.

Qi Xiao watched Xu Ying's hasty departure, then looked down at the little sand cat sitting on the sand, its tail wagging proudly. A hint of confusion appeared between his handsome brows.

He crouched down, put his hands through the little sand cat's front paws, and lifted it high to eye level.

"What exactly did you say, Little Meow Meow?" Qi Xiao narrowed his eyes slightly, his deep voice carrying a hint of danger. "Were you talking badly about me to the stationmaster?"

[Of course not!] The little guy immediately began a vivid "performance." First, it gently patted its left cheek with its furry right paw, making a kissing motion, and then suddenly switched to slapping its right cheek hard with its left paw, its little head tilting back exaggeratedly in sync.

"This is..." Qi Xiao frowned slightly.

The little sand cat was so anxious that it kept wagging its tail. Then, it had a sudden idea. First, it pointed with its paw at Xu Ying's back in the distance, and then its whole body suddenly became soft and fluffy, like a puddle of water, and collapsed into a ball of fur on his palm.

Then she touched Qi Xiao's face with her paw pads, and immediately straightened her body exaggeratedly, stiff as a board.

"Soft and hard?" Qi Xiao guessed hesitantly.

The little sand cat meowed excitedly, then suddenly leaned close to Qi Xiao's face, pouting its little mouth as if to kiss him, before quickly turning its head to blow a kiss in Xu Ying's direction.

Finally, it squatted in Qi Xiao's palm, its two front paws cupping its face, its eyes blinking expectantly.

Qi Xiao's ears suddenly turned red. He coughed lightly and put the little sand cat back on the ground: "I think I understand..."

The sound of a seedling box overturning came from afar, and Xu Ying's flustered figure was particularly clear in the moonlight.

Qi Xiao unconsciously touched his face, then blushed and went over to help Xu Ying tidy up the seedling box.

*
The next morning, as dawn broke, Xu Ying lifted the tent flap and stepped out. She stretched, and the morning breeze, carrying the dry scent unique to the desert, rushed towards her.

Standing on the desert bordering the Dragon Kingdom and the Northern Desert Kingdom, she gazed at the endless yellow sand before her, her thoughts drifting far away.

Suddenly, a long-lost mechanical voice rang in his mind: [Ding! Congratulations, host, your Desert Rescue level has reached the maximum level, and the Points Shop is now unlocked!]

Xu Ying suddenly opened her eyes wide, her sleepiness instantly vanishing.

She had been waiting for this notification sound for far too long. Ever since she bound herself to the "Desert Guardian" system a year ago, she had been working hard every day to improve her rescue level.

In the points shop, the host can use points earned from protecting wildlife and planting trees to redeem various items.

The system's voice continued to explain.

Xu Ying couldn't wait to bring up the system interface, where the previously grayed-out store icon was now flashing with golden light.

She took a deep breath and used her mind to open the virtual store, where a dazzling array of goods immediately appeared before her eyes.

"This is..." Her gaze was instantly drawn to the first item—the magical nutrient soil she had once obtained! This special soil allows plants to grow rapidly in extreme environments, and the small packet that the system had previously rewarded her with allowed her to successfully cultivate a vegetable garden in the desert.

Now, the store shows that 1 point can be redeemed for 1 cubic meter!
Xu Ying excitedly checked her points balance: 7000 points! These were accumulated little by little over the years through rescuing wild animals such as fennec foxes and sand cats, and planting drought-resistant trees.

Animals rescued will be rewarded with 1 to 100 points depending on the number of animals rescued and the scale of the rescue.

Each tree earns 1 point; I never imagined I'd accumulated so many.

As she continued browsing, she discovered that the store also had various special saplings: poplar, sea buckthorn, and saxaul, but all of them were labeled with the words "enhanced version".

"System, what does 'enhanced version' mean?" Xu Ying asked curiously.

(End of this chapter)