ACIFITFDB – Chapter 6

Chapter 6: This Dog Has a Problem

From its birth, an eldritch entity will possess at least one weakness, sometimes an object, and other times a person with whom it shares a strong causal connection.

The eldritch entity lying on the hospital bed before them was not very powerful, and it had an abundance of weaknesses. An Baixin was one of them.

If others were to attack it, it would only be ordinary damage.

However, if it were attacked by someone with a strong causal connection, such as the old man’s son or daughter-in-law, it would be critical damage.

It was a pity that the other three people had successfully been assimilated and contaminated, increasing the eldritch’s power. Only An Baixin remained conscious.

Therefore, when she raised her scalpel to resist, the small surgical knife directly severed the entire tongue.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!” The eldritch clutched its mouth and wailed. The speed at which it merged with the other three accelerated.

Within seconds, the three lost all semblance of humanity, with only their arms and legs dangling outside. As the monster howled, its detached limbs twitched like ornaments.

After merging with the three, the eldritch’s strength greatly increased, and its tongue instantly grew back. It then lashed out, sending An Baixin flying into a nearby hospital bed, where she fell to the floor.

An Baixin gritted her teeth and struggled to get up, only to find the monster before her had grown to the height of the hospital ceiling.

The hospital room door began to bang violently, as those who had mutated were battering it down like zombies.

Qin Xian kicked over a cabinet, wedging it against the back of the door to hold it shut.

Although these things weren’t strong, if they were allowed in and merged with the large monster, the situation would become even more troublesome.

Qin Xian held a femur bone in one hand and took out three more surgical knives with the other. He placed his index finger against the handle and flicked his wrist, sending the surgical knives flying like darts, directly piercing the eldritch’s eyes.

The next one, its heart.

The next one, its throat.

The eldritch, its vocal cords ruptured, made “gurgling” sounds, its several legs kicking wildly in pain. It looked a bit like a grasshopper being held by someone.

Without the surgical knives, Qin Xian picked up the femur bone again, stepped onto the hospital bed, and leaped up, aiming to smash it against the eldritch’s forehead.

“Crack.”

The femur bone broke.

“Ah, what a shame.” The dog’s treat was gone.

Qin Xian reacted quickly, reversing his grip and thrusting the broken end of the femur bone fiercely into the eldritch’s other eyeball.

The sharp bone easily pierced the fragile crystal, even sinking in five to six centimeters deep. It was stable enough for Qin Xian to grab it for leverage, and he kicked off the surgical knife in its throat.

With this, the surgical knife, along with its handle, was entirely submerged in its throat.

An Baixin, huddled in the corner, gasped.

Just imagining it made her throat ache.

This eldritch was a tangible, humanoid monster that could be killed by physical attacks, and its weaknesses were much like a human’s.

Having pierced its throat and both eyes was a severe blow, but more importantly, its heart needed to be protected.

The eldritch struggled and desperately reached out to pull out the surgical knife slightly embedded in its heart, but Qin Xian was faster. Upon landing, he grabbed a nearby thermos flask and smashed it down onto the surgical knife’s handle.

With this, the last fatal weakness was pierced by the surgical knife.

“Boom boom boom!”

The eldritch roared in pain, unleashing its final resistance, wildly flailing its tongue, hands, and legs, smashing everything in the room that could be overturned or broken towards Qin Xian.

It even began to tear down the ceiling.

Fragments flying around the room cut Qin Xian’s face and arms, narrowly missing his eyes.

“Tsk. Let’s go.” Qin Xian quickly jumped off the bed, grabbed An Baixin’s clothes, and dragged her out of the room.

An Baixin gasped and stumbled out, following Qin Xian through several more rooms before they stopped.

She leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, listening as the struggling sounds in the distance gradually faded until they disappeared completely.

The dim lights in the corridor flickered and gradually began to brighten.

Qin Xian stood in the flickering light, calmly brushing the dirt off his clothes.

“Congratulations on surviving. What are your plans now?”

An Baixin was somewhat bewildered. “I don’t know. I haven’t even figured out what happened. What will happen to them?”

Qin Xian replied calmly, “They’re dead. Congratulations, if your father-in-law has no wife or other children, you might inherit his estate.”

An Baixin hadn’t expected such a topic to come up and replied blankly, “It seems… it seems he doesn’t have any other relatives.”

“So what do you plan to do?”

“Uh, if I can really get the money. I want to open a dessert shop… I want to have my own life. I don’t want to think about marriage for a while, maybe I’ll really get a dog.”

Qin Xian chuckled. “Indeed, dogs don’t betray their owners. I wish you success. Your life can have a new beginning. Of course, if you still care about the people in that house, then forget I said anything.”

His words were very direct.

An Baixin quickly waved her hands and shook her head. “No, I won’t be like before. That… thank you for saving me, I’m really so grateful. May I ask your name?”

Qin Xian replied, “My surname is Qin. If you want to thank me, buy me a bag of dog food.”

“Huh? Oh, no problem, I can buy ten bags. Mr. Qin, do you also have a dog?”

“No, I just found one. Do you want it? Didn’t you want to get a dog?” Qin Xian asked.

An Baixin was stunned. “Huh? What breed is it? I’d be very happy if I could adopt it.”

Qin Xian gestured. “A black dog, about this big. It should be a medium to large breed. Probably a mixed breed.”

An Baixin hesitated. “Ah… I think I’d prefer a small dog, like a Bichon Frise.”

Qin Xian decisively gave up. The dog at home seemed not to be very friendly with people.

“That dog doesn’t seem to match you, forget it. I need to go back and check on it.”

An Baixin nodded. “Then let’s go find a pet store nearby. I’ll buy you some pet supplies!”

More than an hour later, Qin Xian got out of a taxi with several bags. An Baixin was very enthusiastic and bought a large pile of things at the pet store, stuffing them into his hands.

Seeing that he couldn’t refuse, Qin Xian accepted them. He got into the taxi she had called and returned home.

He opened the door, and the house was silent, not a sound. Even after turning on the lights, there was no noise.

“It’s not dead, is it…” Qin Xian quickly crossed the living room and saw through the glass that the dog on the balcony had sat up and was turning its head towards him, staring intently without barking.

This dog was indeed a bit unlikable.

Qin Xian frowned.

However, it might just be wariness towards a stranger. After being injured, this state should be normal.

Qin Xian was too lazy to be cautious or coddle it, and he wasn’t afraid of the dog suddenly rushing to attack him.

He reached out and pushed open the balcony door.

The thick, aged glass door creaked unpleasantly, making the dog’s ears twitch.

Qin Xian placed two ceramic bowls on the floor, one filled with water and the other with some dog food.

However, the injured dog seemed completely uninterested in the dog food, not even lowering its head, continuously staring at Qin Xian.

Qin Xian squatted on the ground, engaging in a boring stare-off with it.

The dog remained silent, not making a sound.

Qin Xian asked, “Are you a mute dog? Woof woof, bark once, let me hear.”

Dog: “…”

“Weren’t you howling a few hours ago… Never mind, I brought you food, eat up.” After speaking, he stood up and left, closing the balcony door.

The dog seemed to have regained its energy; it wouldn’t die. He decided not to bother with it for now and let it stay quiet by itself.

Qin Xian took a bath first. Feeling refreshed, he returned to the living room and lay directly on the sofa.

The soft sponge tightly enveloped his back, and his tense nerves finally relaxed.

Qin Xian looked at the ceiling, his black pupils shifting slightly in the light.

He was sorting through the day’s information.

According to the rules, only the ultimate victor among those drawn into the Infinite Flow World could return to reality.

For that position, everyone fought to the death.

When Qin Xian won, he was immediately besieged by other players.

The Main God opened the door for him to return, but the other players cast hateful, jealous, and frenzied gazes at him.

Those people lunged at him like madmen, their expressions contorted, shouting, “Why?!”

“Why should we die when only you can live? Why can you go home?!”

Under such psychological conditions, even if the Main God offered to sever their limbs in exchange for returning, they would readily agree.

Let alone just bringing back a Guǐyì Seed.

In fact, such a condition even fit the already twisted psychology of some people.

“Why was only I dragged into this terrifying world? Why are others living peacefully and happily?”

Qin Xian rolled over slightly, recalling the anomaly when Xun Dawei evaded the police pursuit.

A normal person couldn’t dodge bullets continuously. Did Xun Dawei retain his abilities from the Infinite Flow World, or did he gain power from an eldritch?

Qin Xian looked at his palm, silent for a moment. There was nothing unusual.

He couldn’t summon his weapons again. However, the “Insight” ability had recovered not long ago.

Could it be that abilities would slowly recover after returning? Why was that? Was the erosion from that world worsening?

Regardless, the peaceful life he had envisioned would not come to pass.

“…This is messed up.”

Qin Xian cursed.

But no matter what, he would survive. Although he didn’t want to be a savior, he would definitely stop the eldritch. Also, he needed to earn some living expenses.

Qin Xian thought for a moment, opened his phone, entered a part-time job forum, and posted a strange message.

[Location A City, have you encountered any eldritch incidents recently? Find me, I can help you solve it – Poster: Q]

Staring at the post for a moment, Qin Xian couldn’t help but laugh.

He hadn’t expected that after returning, he would end up on the path of a con artist just to earn money.

Putting down his phone, he sat up from the sofa… Suddenly, Qin Xian looked towards the balcony with a neurotic vigilance.

Through the glass door, the dog on the balcony was still watching him.

Its fur was almost black, blending into the night, only its eyes reflecting light in the dimness.

For some reason, the color of the light was slightly reddish.

This dog had a problem.

Qin Xian frowned and stood up. The light shifted, and the dog across the glass tilted its head, its ears also tilting to one side.

It seemed like mere wariness and curiosity.

Qin Xian strode over and pushed open the balcony door, looking down at the dog.

The dog also looked up to meet his gaze.

Qin Xian’s eyes began to glow gold, but then red bloodshot veins spread across his eyeballs.

After his eyes ached so much that two tears welled up, he covered his face and breathed slowly, enduring the sharp pain.

Using the “Insight” ability, he looked at the dog. Its appearance hadn’t changed at all. This basically meant the dog wasn’t an eldritch in disguise, but there was another possibility…

Its current appearance was its original form.

Author’s Note:

———————-

The dog now: Mute dog

The dog later: Woof woof, don’t you want me anymore woof woof [pitiful]

Ah, I really like these little emoticons on Jinjiang now!