Chapter 82

"It's worse than my injury."

Tang Luo looked at the remnant soul of the Heavenly Hound and thought to himself, "Originally just a 'stupid dog,' I don't know how much 'wisdom' remains now."

He didn't really expect to get any important information from this wisp of remnant soul. Even if it recovered later, whether the Heavenly Hound could "remember" anything is debatable.

"Forget it, first I'll give you a body."

The remnant soul has been staying in the Merit Jade Lotus all along, naturally consuming merit power.

Tang Luo himself is barely "getting by," so he certainly can't end up in a situation where "what the dog eats, I eat."

Given the current strength of the remnant soul, it's already sufficient to "take over" an ordinary body, "wake up," and continue living.

Taking off the God-Demon suit, changing into casual clothes, turning the Light Spirit Shoes under his feet into a pair of casual shoes, Tang Luo walked out the door to give the Heavenly Hound a body.

Two days later.

A news report stated that a certain animal institution had just died, planning to make a specimen of the stolen black-footed cat kitten, which didn't attract much attention.

"Doggy, jump."

In the living room at home, Tang Luo looked at the kitten about the size of a palm and issued the command.

"Meow——"

"Woof?"

"Meow?"

The Heavenly Hound in front of him jumped, then kept making both woof and meow sounds; if the sound carried outside, neighbors would probably think Tang Luo's side was having a cat-dog war.

"Hand——" Tang Luo extended his hand.

The Heavenly Hound tilted its head in confusion, raised its paw, and placed it on Tang Luo's palm.

"Indeed, now it can only be considered a specially intelligent pet." Tang Luo's guess showed no deviation.

The remnant soul completely doesn't know who it is, only due to a bit of residual instinct, it has some fear and some closeness toward Tang Luo.

Grabbing the Heavenly Hound, placing it on his palm, Tang Luo extended his other hand toward its mouth.

"Bite." He said.

"Woof?" Gradually adapting to the new body, the current Heavenly Hound can "meow" and "woof," switching freely.

"Bite."

Tang Luo repeated it, his eyes suddenly turning dangerous.

The Heavenly Hound originally lying on his hand instantly exploded with fur, limbs standing upright, a mass of black mist erupting from its body.

The black mist surged, forming a huge wolf head image, lunging toward Tang Luo's bite.

However, the target wasn't Tang Luo's hand, but his head.

The massive wolf head opened its mouth like a black hole, capable of swallowing Tang Luo's head in one bite.

Tang Luo raised his right hand, horizontally blocking the wolf head.

The wolf head's jaws snapped shut, biting hard onto his arm, seeming to still intend to tear, as Tang Luo's arm trembled, it dissipated into nothing.

"Meow——"

The Heavenly Hound let out an "Evil Dragon Roar," its limbs twisted, it lay sprawled on Tang Luo's palm, eyes blinked, and soon fell asleep. Looking utterly exhausted.

"Barely counts as having one strike's power."

This bite, compared to the one in the mission world, is vastly weaker, let alone compared to the normal Heavenly Hound's bite, the Heavenly Hound's sudden bite—few "people" could take it lightly.

Of course, the evaluation of this bite is based on Tang Luo's perspective.

If a normal God-Demon Walker saw it, they would surely treasure the Heavenly Hound like a gem.

Casually putting the snoring Heavenly Hound on the sofa, Tang Luo went to cook for himself.

Anyway, being idle is being idle; you should know, Tang Luo is not only a landlord now, but also a specially appointed expert consultant in approaching science.

Lying around at home as a salted fish, he naturally has two "salaries," so he wants to do whatever he wants.

"Is there anyone breaking the law or committing crimes?"

"No? Then is there anything strange happening?"

"Also no. Well, do you have any enemies? I'll go help you take revenge?"

"How come nothing at all?"

"I love work, work makes me happy! You're letting me lie around at home as a salted fish?"

Tang Luo held his phone, sincere and earnest.

After returning from the last mission, he's been lying down for over a month.

Clearly, he attended another gathering and handed out a bunch of business cards, so why is there still no work to do?

Beside him, the black-footed cat version of the Heavenly Hound lazily twitched its tail, adjusted to a comfortable position, and continued sleeping.

"If you really want to punish evil and promote good, go do charity." Qin Menglan on the other end of the phone said weakly.

"No way, I'm broke." Tang Luo said righteously.

Doing charity is impossible to do charity, this lifetime I can't do charity, I can only rely on blowing up evil people's dog heads to gain merit power.

"If there's work, I'll definitely notify you right away." Qin Menglan said, "Also……many people already know you."

She subtly reminded Tang Luo.

Which God-Demon Walker goes around so high-profile, handing out business cards everywhere, wishing every God-Demon Walker in Huaxia knew him.

"Doing business, of course it's like this." Tang Luo said.

"Alright, that's it then." Afraid Tang Luo would bring up "work" again, Qin Menglan quickly hung up.

Innerly wondering what his fate is, why he's so obsessed with "punishing evil and promoting good" and such things.

Could it really be Tang Sanzang? But Tang Sanzang isn't good at seeking scriptures?

And in Journey to the West, he's a weakling; even if it's a Tang Sanzang fate, shouldn't he be taking the "animal tamer" path?

Wait, speaking of beast tamers...

Qin Menglan recalled that she had heard of someone whose fate was "Pokémon Trainer Ash."

There are no Pokémon.

But with immense strength, truly astonishing!

Once the train of thought diverges, it's hard to pull back.

After a long while, Qin Menglan came to her senses: "I forgot to tell him about some situations after the sixth mission."

After experiencing six missions, Shenmo Xingzou, aside from basic enhancements, will also see some changes in mission aspects.

Redialing the phone, Qin Menglan got straight to the point: "How many missions have you undergone?"

"Three, just about to be four." Tang Luo said.

"Only three? Regarding missions, after undergoing six, there will still be some changes. I have detailed information on this side; I'll tell you at the next gathering." Qin Menglan said.

"Oh, okay." Tang Luo said.

After hanging up again, Qin Menglan silently stared at the desk.

Then she slammed her head onto the desk—indeed, she really didn't want to talk to such a creature as the Son of Heaven.

She originally thought Tang Luo should be a Shenmo Xingzou who had undergone five or six missions, plus the status of a fate-holder, to have the strength he now displays.

Unexpectedly, he has only undergone three missions?

What does that mean?

It means that for each mission, Tang Luo gains benefits far exceeding those of a normal Shenmo Xingzou completing missions, allowing him to possess such strength after just three missions.

"But, if calculated by time, something still seems off." Qin Menglan raised her head again; her smooth forehead had not a single red mark.

Mission time intervals are not uniform, but in the early stage, some estimation is still possible.

Based on Tang Luo's data, time calculation suggests he should have undergone five or six Shenmo Xingzou missions.

Why does he say he's only undergone three...

Could it be that he's deliberately spreading false information?

As an intelligence worker, Qin Menglan can't help but overthink.

If Tang Luo knew, he would surely tell her—I really have only undergone three missions; monks don't tell lies.

At home.

Tang Luo put down his phone, casually rubbed the head of the Tiangou, walked into the bedroom, and put on a set of Shenmo gear.

He took the ominous item from the rack—something that hadn't even been taken out during the last mission—into his palm.

The other two pieces of gear were directly put on.

Yes, monks don't tell lies; saying he would immediately undertake the fourth mission means he will immediately undertake the fourth mission.

Following convention, sitting on the sofa, Tang Luo glanced at the time, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for the mission to begin.

Anyway, opening his eyes a few times revealed nothing.

"Woof!"

"Meow!"

"Woof!"

A chorus of dog barks and cat meows came from his ears.

Tang Luo opened his eyes; the surrounding scene had already changed.

"What's going on? No mission prompt?" Tang Luo stood up, "And why did the dog come in too?"

On the dirty floor before him, the Tiangou barked, carrying a hint of threat, fully expressing the unease of suddenly arriving in a strange environment.

Before he could carefully survey the surroundings, a gust of wind from nowhere blew a slip of paper to Tang Luo's feet.

He bent down, picked up the slip, which bore some words—

Survive, and keep your little things alive together.

The words entered his vision, and the mission's voice finally sounded.

On the next line of the text, a row of blood-red countdown appeared: 29 days 23 hours 60 minutes 60 seconds.

The countdown remains in a motionless state; it likely needs certain conditions to be met before activating.

From the countdown, Tang Luo and the Tiangou need to "survive" for a total of thirty days.

Clearly, this is a survival mission.

Still, it's a survival mission without companions participating—here, it's just Tang Luo alone.

And there's a creature that looks like a cat but is actually a dog—the Tiangou.

The mission boils down to—someone wants to kill me, and my dog too.

"Won't you also be considered one of the Shenmo Xingzou?" Tang Luo glanced at the Tiangou.

For a moment, his thoughts were many.

The "your little things" mentioned in the mission clearly refers to the Tiangou.

Is the Tiangou something Tang Luo brought out from the mission world, or was it produced through the Merit Jade Lotus?

Although the Merit Jade Lotus is not equipment obtained in the Shenmo game, since the first mission, it has been able to follow Tang Luo into the mission world.

Clearly, it has been taken for granted as Tang Luo's "part"; no matter how you put it, it is Tang Luo's "natal magic treasure."

Then, is the Tiangou produced through the "Merit Jade Lotus" also considered part of Tang Luo by default?

Therefore, it also entered the mission.

But the Tiangou is ultimately a living being, actually existing independently of Tang Luo, not his natal magic treasure.

So, this mission, completely different from the previous three, might be a test or punishment given by the Shenmo?

If he pulls through, afterward the Tiangou will successfully "clear its name," gain a legal status, become Tang Luo's aid, equivalent to equipment.

Can't hold out — lucky, the Howling Celestial Dog dies; unlucky, both of us die here?

Which guess is the correct one, Tang Luo couldn't determine.

He noticed that beneath the countdown, there was another line of small remark text —

Please note, your appearance has already changed in the eyes of others.

"Doggy, stop barking." Tang Luo spoke up.

The Howling Celestial Dog stopped, ran to Tang Luo's leg, and rubbed its head against him.

"Yang Jian would get jealous if he saw."

Tang Luo picked up the Howling Celestial Dog and placed it on the bed.

The place he was in was a rather cramped room.

It looked quite old, but all kinds of facilities were fully equipped; it should be inside some small inn.