Chapter 4

Doudou hesitated for a moment, as if inexplicably intimidated. Its head-tilted “ah-woo” was cut off, and the drawn-out howl grew quieter until it fell completely silent.

But… Bo Ting’s eyelid twitched.

Probably because the command had been too abrupt, just as the black dog had snapped its jaws shut, a big glob of drool had instinctively slipped from its fangs with a “plop” and landed straight on the floor.

Bo Ting: …

He had just mopped the floor last night!

As a single guy, he usually cherished the fruits of his labor. Even the floors in his home were spotless, without a single stray hair.

But now… there was a puddle of dog drool on the floor!

It was glaringly obvious.

He locked eyes with the dog—its gaze vacant yet fierce, the fierceness laced with grievance—for a moment.

Bo Ting sighed and forced a stiff smile onto his expressionless face.

He pulled out his phone.

The Netizens Exchange Forum from yesterday was still open. Bo Ting now desperately wanted to vent his frustrations, not even caring that his original post had been about something serious.

He switched to the camera, zoomed in for a close-up of the evil black dog’s mouth and the suspicious drool on the floor, then quickly typed and hit send with relish.

“Who gets it?”

“Woke up to find a dog bouncing around my house, drooling all over the floor—total meltdown!”

A tired cat holding a broom emoji popped up.

Thinking about the big cleaning job ahead, Bo Ting clenched his fists, glanced at the innocent-looking dog, and felt confirmed in his decision not to get a pet!

“You.”

“Never mind.”

“Just stand quietly on the balcony for now. Don’t move around.”

“Ah-woo?”

Doudou stared at the human for a long time. Under his serious gaze, it reluctantly shuffled its butt sideways a couple of steps and sneezed along the way.

Bo Ting lowered his head and caught a whiff of something odd in the air.

Damn, it stank!

What had Doudou been up to? Why did its mouth smell so bad?

Like it had eaten stinky tofu.

The other dogs in the neighborhood didn’t smell like this. Did this guy never brush its teeth?

As the stench in the air grew thicker, Bo Ting couldn’t take it anymore. He flung open the door and rushed into the bathroom for a thorough scrub.

After a while, once he felt his hands were clean, he mentally psyched himself up and grabbed a disposable toothbrush from nearby.

No way—he couldn’t even face it for a second until he brushed this thing’s teeth first.

As soon as he opened the bathroom door, Doudou turned its head to look.

Red veins faintly appeared in its black dog eyes, and its pupils briefly turned into serpentine slits. But when Bo Ting grabbed its muzzle, Doudou’s snarling expression froze, and the red veins in its eyes vanished.

“Don’t make a sound.”

Bo Ting was fully geared up, wearing a mask, with a small basin nearby. After watching a pet cleaning video on his phone, he set about giving Doudou a thorough teeth brushing.

One whiff as he opened its mouth, and that bizarre smell hit again.

This time, it was mixed with a sweet scent.

Bo Ting’s face twisted in disgust; it made him even more nauseous.

After blacking out his face and wiping its face with a face towel, Bo Ting couldn’t help muttering:

“I’m telling you, your owner is definitely going to thank me this time.”

“Not only did I find her dog by some rotten luck, but I even gave it free pet salon service—a full teeth and face clean.”

“Whoa, stay back!”

Seeing the dog’s head leaning in to rub against him, Bo Ting immediately stopped it!

Doudou flicked its thick tail and shot the overreacting human a sideways glance, huffing twice from its mouth.

Seeing this, Bo Ting quickly resumed brushing.

A few minutes later, the foul fangs were finally clean.

Bo Ting withdrew his hand and nodded in satisfaction.

Once released, Doudou awkwardly twitched the muscles around its muzzle, momentarily dazed by the weird minty sensation flooding its mouth as it adjusted.

Bo Ting collapsed on the floor, exhausted. After recovering for a bit, he looked down at his pajama pants and resignedly got up.

Half an hour later, he had scrubbed the floor again, hand-washed his pajamas, changed into a black hoodie, and finally led the black dog out with firm steps.

“Alright, let’s go. Sister Han should be done checking Building 3 by now. I’ll take you out to meet your owner.”

After dawdling for so long, Bo Ting figured he’d just pretend he didn’t know and sneak Doudou out the door. Then he’d message Sister Han in the group chat that he’d heard barking.

As long as he didn’t admit anything, she wouldn’t come inspect his place, right?

Yeah, that was the plan.

He explained the scheme to Doudou—though he didn’t expect it to understand—and unclipped the leash.

The big black dog gave him a look. The moment the security door opened, it vaulted over the shoe cabinet and bolted outside.

Mutual disdain, pretty much.

Bo Ting smiled in relief. He sent the message in the group just as he thought this chaotic day was finally wrapping up. He waited earnestly for Sister Han, who doted on her Doudou, to come claim it quickly. The next second, she @’d him.

“Little Bo, did you find Doudou?”

Having heard the pet news, Sister Han’s tone in the group had softened considerably.

While the black dog was still in the hallway, Bo Ting snapped a photo and sent it.

Sister Han, with her pear-blossom head, lit up with joy.

“Yes, yes! That’s our Doudou.”

“Finally found!”

Bo Ting relaxed, thinking he could finally offload it. Luckily, she didn’t ask how he’d found it.

“Sister Han, come over quick and take it away.”

“I’m worried Doudou might run off again.”

Sister Han paused for a few seconds: “Little Bo, sis has stuff to do. Can’t make it today.”

“Come pick it up tomorrow at dawn.”

“Doudou can stay at your place for a day.”

No way!

Caught off guard by this turn, Bo Ting was about to frown and refuse.

Then Sister Han sent a 5,000-yuan transfer—a bright red envelope labeled “Dog-Finding Reward.”

Bo Ting’s eyes darted around, his actions hesitant.

A minute later, she sent another 200 yuan.

“Boarding fee!”

Bo Ting: …

He didn’t like unhygienic dogs, sure, but Doudou’s teeth were clean now.

It even had its face washed. What was one day?

This was a dog with a 200-yuan boarding fee!

Bo Ting smoothly changed his mind. After claiming both red envelopes in the group, he replied righteously:

“Don’t worry, Sister Han. I’ve got Doudou. I’ll take good care of it—not a single hair missing.”

“Just knock on my door tomorrow at dawn!”

Sister Han hadn’t expected Little Bo to agree so readily. She paused, then praised the younger generation’s kindness in the group.

Bo Ting accepted the compliment shamelessly, feeling he was indeed that kind of person.

After chatting a bit more with Sister Han, he turned to the big black dog, which was boredly flopping its tail while waiting by the railing. His voice softened.

“Doudou?”

Doudou: ???

Hadn’t this human’s voice sounded different just now?

Bo Ting had the classic cool-guy look: straight nose bridge, pale skin, an overall stern and handsome face.

Even his voice had a cold, metallic quality.

Anyone seeing him for the first time wouldn’t dream of saying hi, unless they knew his salaried slacker personality underneath.

Doudou had already been intimidated by his icy demeanor. Hearing the sudden “cutesy” tone, it widened its dog eyes in terror, instinctively stepped back… and bolted the next second.

An ear-shattering “ah-woo” echoed through the building.

Bo Ting reacted first, grabbing the dog by the scruff and hauling the big black mutt back.

“Alright, Doudou.”

“Sister Han can’t come today. Stay at my place for a day.”

“Treat it like your own home.”

It felt weird talking to a dog in a coaxing tone for the first time. After two sentences, Bo Ting coughed and cleared his throat.

Subdued, Doudou had no choice but to be “kidnapped” back into the evil human’s lair.

Bo Ting slammed the door shut and sent Sister Han a photo of Doudou back inside.

She replied with a satisfied “OK.”

With the dog settled, Bo Ting relaxed. Fixing the unemployment insurance app bug didn’t feel so urgent anymore. After all, his account had just gotten an unexpected windfall—”dog-finding fee”—enough to live frugally for two more months.

He washed his hands, ordered takeout, and gestured for the dog to go sleep.

In Bo Ting’s mind, dogs ate, slept, and walked—that was it.

After wandering all night, napping in the morning was perfect, right?

But when he dragged an idle cardboard box to the balcony and indicated for the dog to lie in it, Doudou glanced at his phone, bent its front legs, and barked “Woof woof” twice.

Bo Ting: …

“Ancestral spirit, now what’s wrong?”

“I’m not giving you a bath right now, am I?”

Doudou lifted its ferocious head stubbornly, growling low at Bo Ting without backing down.

Bo Ting nearly called Sister Han on instinct to ask what was up with her dog. But remembering his recent guarantee, he hesitated, conflicted.

Xu Qinglai had just woken up that morning when he saw the message on the Ability Users Exchange Forum.

First, a baffling “?”, which he stared at for ages without understanding.

Then, as the page refreshed, he spotted the image posted under the original help thread.

It looked like a rant about a pet’s poor hygiene.

But… the synced photo wasn’t of any “normal” dog.

It was a creepy shot of half-exposed fangs on a skeletal jaw.

The bloody bone structure leaped out, and even through the screen, one could sense the “bone dog’s” danger.

A new anomaly?

Xu Qinglai raised an intrigued brow. He’d never seen an animal mutated in this skeletal direction in past cases.

From a human perspective, the white bones were downright chilling.

Xu Qinglai paused his fingertips, glanced at the bone dog, and typed calmly.

“Hello, is this your dog?”