ACIFITFDB – Chapter 7

Chapter 7: To be my dog, you must follow the rules…

What kind of grotesque prototype is a normal black dog?

Qin Xian rummaged through his memories.

During his time surviving in Infinite Stream worlds, he had encountered many animal-type grotesques, but 95% were the lowest-level mobs in dungeons. They were simply ordinary animals mutated after being polluted, only more ferocious and fearless than normal animals. Mid-sized mutated animals could be eliminated by an adult with a few blows.

Of course, there were also the terrifying 5% of grotesques, the most powerful of which happened to be canine.

It was named Calamity Hound, its body wrapped in red and black flames, capable of devouring enemies’ luck. Its enormous size could easily destroy a building, and it could also absorb the enemy’s luck, making the opponent constantly unlucky.

It could be said to be an extremely troublesome creature.

But the prototype of this dog couldn’t possibly be this small, and besides, he had already killed the Calamity Hound.

Perhaps this dog in front of him was just an ordinary animal infected in the Real World?

Qin Xian raised his foot and approached the black dog with his toe.

The black dog’s pointed, long ears perked up alertly. It lowered its head to examine Qin Xian’s shoetip, but made no other move.

“Hey.” Qin Xian gently nudged the black dog’s thigh meat with his toe.

The black dog finally moved, retracting its leg and tucking it under its belly. Its two pointed ears stood high, facing Qin Xian, appearing to be in a state of vigilance.

Seeing this, Qin Xian bent down and extended his hand towards the dog’s black nose.

The black dog sniffed it, showing no fear or aggression. Qin Xian remembered some pet bloggers saying that this was how they collected human scent, and if they didn’t attack or run away, one could try to pet them.

So, Qin Xian placed his hand directly on the dog’s head and petted it a couple of times.

The fur on its head was short and a bit rough, prickling the hand, but it felt good when stroked against the grain. With each stroke, the dog’s pointed ears would flatten to the sides, which looked quite amusing.

Alright, he couldn’t see any major problems. Animals like this, potentially polluted by grotesques, could cause adverse effects if released. He’d keep it at home for observation.

Thinking this, Qin Xian patted the dog’s head and turned to go back inside to cook.

He had been up half the night and was starving. He simply boiled two eggs and some Tangyuan he found in the refrigerator, making do with a meal as if he hadn’t experienced the Infinite Stream worlds before.

He carried his bowl, pulled out the only stool by the dining table, and just as he raised his chopsticks, he saw the dog on the balcony twitch its nose, push open the door gap, and hobble over to him.

The dog’s black eyes stared directly at the eggs and Tangyuan on the table.

Qin Xian remembered he hadn’t offered any dog food. “You don’t eat dog food, but you want to eat my meal?”

Back in his grandmother’s old house, she had a yellow village dog. The village dog naturally never had the chance to eat dog food. When people ate, it would sit by their feet, looking expectantly at the family’s chopsticks.

Qin Xian picked up a peeled egg, intending to place it on the ground, but as his hand neared the black dog, it suddenly lunged forward and snatched the boiled egg right out of Qin Xian’s hand.

Its red tongue licked his fingertip, feeling wet. He brought his hand closer and saw it was covered in glistening dog saliva.

Qin Xian frowned, got up to wash his hands, and upon returning, saw the black dog had already eaten the egg and was staring at the other one in his bowl.

Qin Xian returned to his seat, first patted the dog’s head, pointed at its nose, and said, “If you want to stay at my house, you must follow the rules. You’re not allowed to eat from my hand. Also, is your tail injured? You haven’t wagged it for me at all yet, ha, suspicious.”

He narrowed his eyes and observed.

The black dog tilted its head, its tail still motionless. This was understandable, as dogs don’t understand human speech.

Qin Xian ignored it, slowly finished his bowl of Tangyuan. He then peeled the remaining eggs, paused for a moment, and still threw them into the dog’s mouth.

Watching the black dog swallow the eggs in two bites, he said, “I suppose I need to give you a name…”

The dog blinked its eyes, listening attentively.

Qin Xian glanced at the empty bowl and said, “Then I’ll call you Tangyuan.”

Tangyuan: “…”

Qin Xian inexplicably saw a hint of displeasure on the dog’s face.

But what was wrong with this name? It was quite cute.

“Be grateful I wasn’t eating steamed buns just now,” Qin Xian said, reaching out to pat the dog’s head, then pointing to the balcony. “Now, go back to the balcony and sleep.”

“Hmph.” Tangyuan shook its head unhappily and let out a low growl.

Qin Xian expressionlessly raised his foot and pushed against its leg. “Go, to the balcony.”

“Mm!” Tangyuan whined softly again, hopped a step away on its lame leg, and stopped.

Qin Xian stood up, bent down, and intended to pick the dog up.

But as his hand went down, Tangyuan suddenly barked, staring fiercely at the person in front of it, its fangs bared from its taut lips.

Qin Xian frowned, grabbed the dog’s snout, and forcibly retracted its exposed teeth. He sat on the chair, looking down at the dog, narrowing his eyes threateningly, lowering his voice, and asked slowly, “What? I saved you and you’re going to bite me? Don’t force me to slap you.”

Tangyuan’s growl weakened slightly, its eyes seemed to clear a bit. After staring up at Qin Xian for a few seconds, its tail, which had been drooping, gave a slight wag. It let out a “mm” sound, turned around, and slowly returned to the balcony.

On the balcony, Qin Xian piled up some old clothes to make a temporary dog bed. It crawled onto it with its tail drooping and lay down.

Raising a dog is also about training it. If its status isn’t confirmed from the beginning, it might develop bad habits or even become aggressive.

Qin Xian didn’t want to spoil the dog like a son. If it wanted to stay in this home, it had to first understand its position.

He glanced from afar through the glass door. The dog on the pile of old clothes had already curled up into a ball and closed its eyes.

So far, it was still obedient, just too indifferent to people.

He then looked up at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed to three in the morning. Fortunately, the boss was thoroughly dead, so he wouldn’t have to go to work tomorrow.

Qin Xian changed into his pajamas and lay on the bed, playing on his phone until almost five o’clock before turning off the light to sleep.

As his breathing gradually steadied, Tangyuan on the balcony stood up, pushed open the balcony sliding glass door, and walked into the living room.

Its steps were steady; its leg wasn’t limping at all.

Qin Xian’s bedroom door wasn’t fully closed, leaving a small gap.

Through the gap, one could see the person on the bed with medium-length black hair spread on the pillow. His skin, having been out of the sun for a long time, was a bit too pale. Even in the darkness, his outline and expression could be discerned.

His thin lips were slightly pursed, and the downward curve of his eyes made him appear less sharp.

The sound of canine breathing gradually became clearer. If someone were looking from across the window at this moment, they would be horrified to see a pair of blood-red beastly eyes burning in the darkness.

An unsettling aura made Qin Xian frown, his breathing no longer even. He suddenly opened his eyes.

But there was nothing outside the door gap, and it was quiet all around, with no abnormalities occurring.

The next day, Qin Xian woke up with discomfort around ten o’clock. He hadn’t slept well since entering the Infinite Stream worlds, and he had been startled awake again yesterday, making him feel a bit irritable.

Frustrated, he scratched his messy hair and simply lay on the bed, playing on his phone.

Seeing the red “99” bubble in the corner of WeChat, he knew there would be some interesting news to read after waking up.

The messages were exploding in the company WeChat group. Everyone already knew that the boss had died in his own company, and his death had been gruesome.

Flipping through the records, he even saw an uncensored corpse photo posted in the group.

Qin Xian clicked on it and looked. He remained calm even when faced with the bloody and terrifying scene.

[A: Ahhh, I’m so scared! Take it back! Don’t disrespect the deceased, or he might find you tonight!]

[B: Sigh, I heard he died from eating money and bank cards. What’s going on? Was he sick? Why would he eat money?]

[C: It’s true! My wallet was eaten by him, and the police took it away. But even if they returned it to me, I wouldn’t want it, it’s covered in stuff…]

[A: I had nightmares all night yesterday, I was truly terrified, Amitabha.]

[D: I don’t dare to click on the picture… My friend saw the body with his own eyes and is now mentally unstable, not eating or drinking.]

[E: Don’t you think this kind of thing is too bizarre? It hasn’t been peaceful in the city lately. It feels like a lot of people have died, and I heard some have gone missing.]

[B: I’m planning to go to the temple to pray today.]

Qin Xian ignored the mass of screaming and arguing and picked out a few key pieces of information.

People returning from Infinite Stream worlds brought “seeds”? Given this name, it’s likely they need to be planted somewhere and nurtured slowly.

Could A City be hiding a seed? What does it look like? Where is it? How to eliminate it?

Qin Xian pondered, then clicked on the job forum. His post had actually received a reply.

[Anonymous 2684: OP, I really feel like I’m being haunted by ghosts lately. Really, there are ghosts. But I don’t know if you’re a real expert or a scammer. I request an offline meeting.]

Qin Xian replied: [Okay, meet at McDonald’s on Guanglu Road, two o’clock in the afternoon.]

[Anonymous 2684: Okay, see you this afternoon.]

With new developments, Qin Xian’s mood finally recovered from his poor sleep. He got up, changed, pushed open the door, and ran into Tangyuan, who was standing in the living room, peeking at him.

Qin Xian was stunned for a moment. He then remembered that there was now an extra living creature in his house. He had forgotten about the dog here all morning and hadn’t fed it. No, he should have put dog food on the balcony.

Qin Xian went to the balcony and checked. The dog food in the bowl had indeed not been touched at all.

It wouldn’t eat a single kibble. Would he have to cook dog food for it every day from now on? That wouldn’t do.

He brought the dog food to Tangyuan and ordered, “Eat quickly.”

However, Tangyuan remained unmoved, sitting in place and staring at Qin Xian.

Qin Xian, whose mood was already average, became even more serious. “Eat.”

Tangyuan turned its head away, not eating.

“Tsk.” Qin Xian put down the bowl, grabbed a handful of dog food, and with his other hand, held the dog’s mouth open, forcing a gap to stuff the kibble in.

Tangyuan let out a low growl in its throat and turned its head, wanting to spit out the food. But before it could spit, its eyes rolled upwards. It saw Qin Xian’s cold gaze and realized he was in a bad mood.

It obediently stretched its neck and swallowed all the kibble.

“Good boy.” Qin Xian’s expression immediately warmed, and he even smiled for 0.1 second.

“As a reward, I’ll cook you some eggs. Hmm? There’s also a piece of chicken breast here…”

Qin Xian rummaged through the refrigerator and finally found a hard piece of chicken breast in a corner. He didn’t know how long it had been there.

But it was so frozen solid, it should be fine, right?

He found a small pot, put the frozen chicken breast in directly to steam, and added three eggs.

While waiting, he took out a packet of biscuits and made himself a cup of milk.

“Woof.” Tangyuan stood by the dining table and suddenly barked.

Qin Xian looked down at what he was holding and replied, “No, dogs can’t drink milk. Don’t ask me for it. Forget it… I’ll give you a biscuit.”

He had indeed starved the dog all morning, so Qin Xian reluctantly took out a biscuit and threw it over. Tangyuan easily caught it in its mouth, chewed and swallowed it in a couple of crunches.

Qin Xian looked down and asked, “Is it tasty? If it’s tasty, wag your tail for me.”

Tangyuan tilted its head, not moving.

Qin Xian snorted, “I’ll throw you away tomorrow.”

The dog’s tail wagged slightly.

Author’s Note:

———————-

Qin Xian’s naming method – naming your dog after what you just ate.

If it were me, the dog would be named Yangmei (Bayberry), because I just ate one [doge]

I have revised some words in the synopsis (covered in blood and stepping on the dog) because when I tried to promote my work on XHS, it was flagged for vulgar content. I’m surprised, it’s more sensitive than Jinjiang.