The Little Flaming Firebird was playing as usual with the children in the square when someone came over to feed her. This was quite normal, as many adults liked the Little Flaming Firebird.

Shortly after eating the food given by this person, the Little Flaming Firebird, who was playing, suddenly collapsed to the ground. At first, the children thought the Little Flaming Firebird was teasing them, but no matter how they coaxed, called, or stroked her, the Little Flaming Firebird remained motionless.

This frightened the children.

They thought the Little Flaming Firebird had died.

At that moment, an adult came over and told the children that the Little Flaming Firebird was sick and he would take her to see a doctor.

Then, that person took out a bag and put the Little Flaming Firebird inside.

At this point, another adult came to stop his actions because it was clear that this was an alien. He was rarely seen in this square, so how could this alien possibly know the doctor's address?

The alien did not explain to this local person; instead, he swung a hand, knocking the local to the ground.

Then he pushed through the crowd and made his escape.

Finally, it was clear what was going on.

Guided by the townspeople, the person who took the Little Flaming Firebird headed towards the outskirts of the town.

Yanran started to chase, still carrying a bow and arrows on her back, a habit she formed on the nameless planet.

There, going out without carrying weapons was dangerous as the place was infested with monsters ready to attack her at any moment.

Due to long years of hunting, Yanran had developed skills in tracking, which was why she dared to chase the villain alone.

Outside the town, a wilderness stretched before her. Yanran slowed down to carefully look for any traces left behind.

After searching for a while, she found a Flaming Firebird feather. The red feather was striking even in the fading sunset.

She picked up that feather. Yes, it indeed belonged to the Little Flaming Firebird.

She continued to follow the trail.

Every so often, small feathers from the Little Flaming Firebird appeared on the ground, as if showing her the way to find the firebird.

Yanran understood this was a trap.

However, they hadn't been in this town long and had no known enemies besides the owner of the goods store.

Yet, even when conversing with them, the Little Flaming Firebird was never by their side. The firebird was always out from dawn till dusk, barely seen by the store owner.

Yanran was suspicious of whether the store owner even knew the relationship between her and the firebird, and whether he could use the firebird to threaten her.

Could it be the store owner wanted to use the Little Flaming Firebird to extort her?

Yanran didn't want to think any further. Even knowing it was a trap, she would step into it without hesitation to protect the Little Flaming Firebird.

If anyone wanted to harm the Little Flaming Firebird, they would first have to confront the bow in her hand.

Guided by the deliberately left traces, Yanran unwittingly found herself in the mountains.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked around as night slowly descended, enveloping everything.

By now, she had lost the trail.

Yanran felt a chill down her spine, frustration nearly bringing her to tears.

Who exactly wanted to set her up, and why not come directly for her?

Why target her beloved Little Flaming Firebird?

The captors were those relentless smugglers who came back after correctly judging the situation with another gunboat.

They suffered severe losses on the nameless planet, holding a grudge that would not abate without retribution.

Having witnessed Jiang Cheng's strength during the chase, they felt avenging seemed hopeless.

However, hatred or their penchant for revenge caused them to shadow Jiang Cheng and Yanran until they landed on Delmar.

Ever since then, they incessantly trailed Jiang Cheng and Yanran, searching for an opportunity.

Knowing the man was formidable, they targeted the alien girl for an attack.

Although they didn't know the exact relationship between the alien girl and the man, given how close they were, harming the alien girl would undoubtedly sadden the man.

That was enough for them.

Since they couldn't bring their fallen comrades back to life, inflicting pain on their enemy was something they relished.

But in the subsequent days, no matter where the alien girl went, the man that frightened them closely shielded her.

This frustrated them because they couldn't expose their identities; the darkness was their domain, while Delmar's town basked in sunshine.

They considered a sudden attack to kill the alien girl, and if they could also take out the man, it would be even better.

But doing so would alert Delmar's defense system, and once targeted, escaping would be nearly impossible.

In space, transport means everything. Riding a decommissioned gunboat, which while still serviceable, lacked many functions.

Their opponents used energy-powered crafts with superior speed, leaving no escape chance if discovered.

The smugglers, at length, decided to target Yanran. They came back, relentlessly pursued Jiang Cheng and Yanran, captured the Little Flaming Firebird, and baited Yanran into the trap they'd set.

In the darkness, Yanran lost her bearing. Just as frustration and anxiety set in, a familiar call echoed nearby, belonging to the Little Flaming Firebird.

Yanran restrained herself from impulsively rushing forward.

The Little Flaming Firebird was in their hands, so hearing her voice meant the enemies were close.

In a shadowy cave within a valley, the smuggler, who caught the Little Flaming Firebird, wanted to twist its neck. Believing the awful bird to still be in a daze, he took the Firebird from the bag and tossed it to the ground, only for it to squawk defiantly.