Chapter 7

Ling Yue: "I seem to hear someone calling for help?"

The crow shook its head: "I didn't notice; maybe the master misheard?"

Ling Yue frowned, and the voice became clearer: "Wuu wuu wuu wuu I don't want to die……Who will come save me……"

The faint voice, like a dying candle in the wind, barely alive, also revealed that the speaker's condition was poor, on the verge of despair, perhaps merely clinging to life.

At that moment, Ling Yue felt a chill down her back—kidnapping? imprisonment?

Originally planning to buy a car and look at a house, Ling Yue suddenly changed her mind; the voice was too miserable, she tried to search, but the street was full of bright, lively pedestrians—where could he be?

"Tap-tap-tap——"

The light brown, curly-haired little Teddy eagerly pulled its owner Xiao Sui along, while the female owner behind them painfully hurried in quick steps, her high heels striking the pavement, producing a crisp tap-tap sound.

Such high heels—how beautiful they look, yet how painful they are to wear; even moving a little faster will chafe the skin. And the female owner of the little Teddy, pursuing sexiness, has heels five centimeters high.

Within a few seconds, the female owner couldn't help but plead: "Beautiful darling, slow down, Mom can't keep up! Slow down, my beautiful darling."

The little Teddy tucked its tail in fright: "Ahhh, I don't want to slow down! I'm about to die of fright—what on earth is this place?!"

"What is wailing? Help! Help!"

"Wuu wuu wuu we need to get out of here fast—there's a strange sound, it's scared the dog in me to death!" Even some large dogs, like Alaskans, tucked their tails and ran out.

Only then did Ling Yue notice that many pets on the street were hurrying to and fro, as if frightened by something, and dared not linger.

The cries for help she heard grew ever weaker; the speaker seemed to realize they were dying, yet even so, they only sobbed softly: "Save me……I really want to live……I'll eat less……don't throw me away……Wuu wuu wuu……"

Ling Yue thought it was quite stupid.

If it were the former Ling Yue, she might truly have been helpless, but now, with the help of those crows, Ling Yue effectively had countless bright eyes and keen ears.

"I heard the master; it's not far from here at all." The little crow led her all the way out of the commercial street. Who could have known that just beyond a wall lay such a shabby, filthy alley—Ling Yue could still hear the bustling voices outside the wall, but here――

Several large green trash cans stood crookedly in the corner of the wall, flies buzzing around the garbage, the ground covered in sour-smelling sewage that almost pooled into a deep-green "little stream".

It makes one want to retreat and keep one's distance!

Ling Yue stood still, the most agile crow flapping its wings: "It smells awful, but I heard it—the voice is right here, master."

Ling Yue: "I heard it too."

"Is anyone there?" she tried calling out, while calmly putting on a mask; the faint plea suddenly steadied, as if infused with endless energy: "Save me, save me, save me! I don't want to die—Wuu wuu wuu……"

The trash cans emitted a banging impact sound that made one's teeth ache, and being buried under piles of garbage, nothing could be seen; the violence of the sound reverberated in the secluded alley, as if a ferocious beast were hidden inside!

Ling Yue is no hotheaded novice; having rescued people at the zoo, she also had a detailed plan, rather than charging about like a reckless rookie.

"Crows, in a moment I'll kick over the trash cans; you and the little sisters up there keep watch, and if anything seems off, give me a shout."

She grabbed an iron rod from the side, kicked it over, and the clattering trash cans collapsed with a crash; piles of various garbage spilled out, and the stench of who-knows-how-long-fermented waste surged forth, virtually a poison-gas bomb!

Ling Yue herself was momentarily dazed.

His eyes were red, and people were almost smoked to tears.

At this moment, something caught her attention.

That was a crude burlap sack, bound tightly with wide tape, more thorough than a courier guy at a delivery station, wrapped so tight and ruthless! Only could see that the contents inside were large, as tall as her knee, knowing that Ling Yue is over 1.7 meters tall, quite tall and slender.

A tear appeared in the corner of the gray sack, which was exactly the source of the cries for help—it was actually—a light yellowish‑black dog's mouth!

The crow saw more clearly from above: "Master, it looks like a dog in there!" Even seeing it made it feel pitiful; though the size was still considerable, it was tossed into the trash can wrapped in a sack, not even qualifying as a stray dog.

Ling Yue lowered her gaze; if she hadn't discovered it, it would die—not today, then tomorrow.

Perhaps after landing, the big dog's condition improved slightly, huffing and puffing, this is its interface with the outside world.

From the gap between the interlocking canine teeth, one can see that this was originally supposed to be sealed shut, but it gnawed a hole through it.

"What a tenacious and lucky dog."

She didn't approach right away; instead, she took a few bills and sent the crow to the nearby convenience store to buy something.

Ling Yue squatted in front of the dog: "What's your name? Are you hungry? Do you want water? But you'll have to wait a moment; the crow went to buy food.

The dog was shocked: "You can understand my speech? Woo‑woo‑woo, I'm Stupid Dog, I don't bite people.

Pap—

That was the sound of its tail thrashing inside the sack; the excitement of surviving the ordeal made the big dog overly agitated.

Ling Yue frowned, seeing it suddenly curl up again, obviously traumatized, yet it foolishly chose to trust her; Ling Yue sighed, rubbed the dog's head—probably the right spot.

Stupid Dog blinked, then whined‑whined‑whined like a just‑boiled kettle: "Woo‑woo‑woo, thank you for saving me; can you be my master? I eat little, I'm super strong, I can pull a cart for you like Sweetie does… I… I'm easy to keep alive.

"Master? Master?"

Ling Yue held the scissors: "Be good, don't move; I'll help cut open the sack.

Even the king of beasts in the zoo has been taken down by her; Ling Yue wouldn't fear this, especially since Stupid Dog wouldn't resist.

She held the scissors against the sack and cut it open bit by bit; the tape was sealed tight and dense, the midsummer heat almost equivalent to an airtight little armor—not just a dog, but a person wearing this would be suffocated to death.

How could there be such a vicious person!

Even if abandoning it, there was no need to wrap it like this; deliberately dumped in a desolate, uninhabited trash bag, yet right across the wall was a bustling avenue.

The dog asked her: "Did you hear my cry for help, Master? You're amazing, Master! I've been calling for days, but none of them wanted to pay attention to me.

Ling Yue's heart jumped; Stupid Dog, the footsteps you heard were close, but actually there's a wall in between—people don't have dogs' keen senses, and even if they heard it, they wouldn't go out of their way over an occasional strange sound.

What did the previous owner dump it here for? To give it hope then despair? Stupid Dog isn't stupid at all—quite clever, otherwise it wouldn't have lasted until Ling Yue arrived.

Soon after, a mighty big dog appeared before her.

It turned out to be a handsome, tall black‑back!

Its light yellow‑black mouth, upright ears, level shoulders, and slightly bent hind legs are typical traits of a black‑back.

Ling Yue stared in shock at the big dog that had seen the light again, its fur soaked with sweat, its four legs spindly, a thin layer of skin over its waist and abdomen clearly showing its ribs; without experience, one might even mistake it for a spirit dog or a small dog.

Because it was simply too thin.

Even a black‑back is abandoned? What a cruel method! Ling Yue choked back anger: "I'll take you to the hospital for a check‑up.

Whining like a kettle, the dog perked its ears, its light‑brown big eyes like a clear spring pool, it excitedly stuck out its tongue, about to lunge forward, then suddenly stopped; under Ling Yue's doubtful gaze, the dog curled its tail: "I… I'm dirty.

Ling Yue: "It's fine, it'll be better soon, I'll take you to the pet hospital for a check-up, and we'll wash you up as well."

The dog tilted its head, the kettle's whistle grew louder and louder, the owner rubbed its head and ears, how comfortable.

Jing Shi Pet Hospital.

When Ling Yue led the black-backed dog in, the waiting customers were all startled, and she involuntarily said in a low voice: "How did this dog get so skinny? It's too pitiful, looks dirty, like it was just pulled out of a trash can."

"Why did you only come to the hospital now?"

In an instant, the gazes of the customers in the waiting room all gathered on Ling Yue.

The doctor came in, took a look, instantly understood the situation, and told the nurse: "First examine the dog."

The doctor looked at Ling Yue and said in one sentence: "This must be a stray you picked up, right? The situation looks okay, you're kind-hearted, you saved it."

Ling Yue nodded, the customers looked at her in surprise, suddenly a few dog barks sounded, breaking the awkward atmosphere in the room.

"Woof woof woof!"

The big dog stepped forward, tail tucked, facing the nurse, it also wanted to protect its owner: "Don't come over, no one, no one can bully the smelly dog's owner!"

Ling Yue's motion paused, she lowered her head to look at the dog, tail tucked, obviously the smell in the air frightened it, yet it still bravely jumped out to protect her.

Ling Yue patted its head: "Good dog."

She only needed one action to make the black-backed dog let down its guard.

The doctor conducted a comprehensive examination of the black-backed dog's body; logically, the black-backed might have contracted some serious illness, the owner abandoned it because they couldn't afford to keep it, but after the examination the doctor told it that aside from malnutrition and some parasites, the black-backed is actually healthy, with no external injuries or illness.

After being washed, the renovated dog was led out by the nurse, its dry fur cut short, its body still weak, but one could see it was spirited, especially upon seeing its owner, its two eyes were shining.

"Owner, are you here to take the smelly dog home?"

"Mm."

Ling Yue smiled as she took the leash, she was even planning to open a pet store, raising a dog posed no problem, but the Ya Ya on her shoulder was unhappy, chirping from the side: "Owner, look at this smelly dog, it's huge, just judging by its age it's old, you'd better send it away for adoption quickly! Otherwise keeping it for a few years will only make you sad."

Ling Yue rubbed the dog's ears: "It does look quite big, but the ears feel soft when rubbed, so it probably isn't that old?"

The black-backed dog froze in fright.

The doctor heard this, laughed and said: "It's only been a few months since birth, still a minor youngster!"

Saying this, he swiftly pried open the black-backed's mouth: "Look, its teeth haven't fully grown in yet."

The black-backed yelped and burst into tears, startling the doctor.

"Wuu wuu wuu I'm still a baby, owner don't abandon my nest wuu wuu wuu..."

Still a little crybaby.

Ling Yue: "..."

Such a clingy little monster, though also very cute.

She thought, and called up Da Hei's attribute panel.

【Name: Kunming black-backed】

【Gender: Male】

【Personality: Loyal and brave, intelligent and tenacious】

【Age: Three months and ten days】

【Skills: Sense of smell talent far surpassing 99.9% of peers, innate police dog combat technique】

【Wish:???】

Why is the wish column a question mark?

Ling Yue couldn't figure it out and stopped thinking, her gaze fell on Da Hei, and for the former owner who abandoned it, Ling Yue grew even more angry: how could one bear to let such a good dog die alive?

Da Hei, that is the renamed black-backed dog, obediently followed behind her; the doctor prescribed internal and external deworming medicine, plus some medical advice: "The dog's poor development is fortunately based on a good foundation, you can buy more meat, pork, chicken, best is beef, the higher quality and fresher the better, of course, within your means. But once the diet improves, the youngster can keep up, huh, it's still just a Kunming black-backed, a good dog!"

Ling Yue was not surprised, she had recognized it from the start.

Da Hei, however, was terrified to the point of seeming like a conditioned reflex: "Owner, I don't eat, I don't eat meat! I'll just eat dog food, no, I'll just eat steamed buns!"

Ling Yue instantly sensed its oddity.

After leaving the hospital, she remained silent, Da Hei grew increasingly fearful, and finally said: "Owner, I'll pick up trash, I can eat trash to support myself!"

Ling Yue swore for the first time, "Damn, what did the previous owner do!"

Finally she learned the truth from Da Hei's mouth: it was bought by the former owner at a pet store, they originally bought it to raise a foreign dog, who knew Da Hei would grow bigger and bigger and become less cute, eating even more, later they thought Da Hei was a German black-backed and reluctantly accepted it.

But later examination revealed it was actually a domestic Kunming black-backed, not a foreign breed at all, and in anger the owner tied it up and threw it into a trash can.

Before leaving, his last words were: "You mongrel, I spent several hundred bucks on you, it pisses me off!"

"He's just a bastard!" Ling Yue was so angry her hands were shaking.

The Kunming black-backed is a domestic breed, although it looks similar to the German black-backed, the two kinds of dogs are completely different.

Kunming black-backs are generally used for criminal investigation and explosives, very intelligent and many serve as police dogs. Meanwhile the German black-backed is a close relative of the German Shepherd, has genetic defects, its temperament is actually gentle as well, but in Ling Yue's eyes, she believes the nationally bred Kunming black-backed is superior to the German black-backed!

She gave Da Hei a little science lecture, the little crybaby was moved to tears, looking at her gentle and beautiful owner, she secretly made a firm resolution in her heart.

In an instant, Ling Yue noticed the wish column had changed.

Da Hei's wet eyes looked at her: "Owner, I also want to become a police dog in the future, Da Hei will protect you!"

【Ding! Completed Da Hei's wish, reward obtained: dog's sense of smell, top-tier combat technique complete version!】

The system emitted a mechanical sound, Ling Yue looked at Da Hei's panel where the wish column now read police dog, she laughed and rubbed Da Hei's ears: "Great, owner will wait for you to protect me in the future."

"Me too, me too!" Ya Ya puffed its chest and raised its head, wings flapping with a papapa sound: "The airspace over the eastern part of the city is covered by me, Ya Ya, protecting the owner!"

Ling Yue clicked to accept the order.

Suddenly her face stiffened, various complex smells surged into her nostrils, as if struck by a blunt blow to the head, after a while she adapted, and this was first-level sense of smell, proficient combat technique.

Da Hei's wish is a growth-type task; now, under Ling Yue's encouragement, it has gained a determined and brave heart.

Only when Da Hei becomes a police dog and obtains an official position will the rewards be fully issued.

At the same time, Ling Yue saw the attribute panel before her, no longer Da Hei's, but her own!