Chapter 192: Make Ten Thousand Custom Collars, Please!

"Bai Bai."

"The only thing I can help you with is these super-strong mouse glue traps—I simply can't get hold of any solvent to remove them."

An Sheng's expression softened with pity; he gestured for one of the golden-edged hedgehog's underlings to bring over the freshly delivered mouse glue traps to the sticky, glue-covered Bai Bai.

"Aowu."

Bai Bai looked at himself, then at the vintage clock hanging on the wall—it was already 2: 9 a. . His allowed time outside was only from midnight to 3: 0 a. .; Qiu Lingling usually woke up around 4 a. . and left for work at 4: 0.

The chemical glue coating Bai Bai's body clearly couldn't be removed in just a few days.

Bai Bai now faced a choice.

Either disappear for half a month, stay quietly at the golden-edged hedgehog's place, and let the underlings manually peel off the glue, strand by strand, from his white fur.

Or go straight home covered head to tail in mouse glue, beg and whine to his master, and report that someone in the seafood market had secretly scattered mouse glue everywhere—and he'd gotten stuck in it while going to relieve himself.

"Aowu!"

Bai Bai's face hardened—he knew that without his fur, he'd be utterly humiliated during the day.

Yet his paw still slammed down hard on An Sheng's ridiculous suggestion—he chose the mouse glue!

Between his own dignity and his little master, Bai Bai didn't even pause to think—he chose his little master.

He was the alpha of the wolf pack out there; after joining forces with Fox Brother, he'd become the nocturnal king of half the city. His life was glamorous beyond measure, but Bai Bai had never forgotten his original purpose.

He'd taken on the role of alpha only because his appetite had skyrocketed—he feared he'd bankrupt his little master's wallet.

If he couldn't go home for half a month,

then he might as well quit being the alpha.

"Sigh."

Seeing Bai Bai's grim, heroic, and utterly desolate expression, as if he'd just severed his own limb, An Sheng couldn't help but comfort him: "It's just shaving your fur—it's no big deal. In six months, you'll be a handsome dog again."

"Besides, it's summer—shaved fur means cooler weather. If you really can't stand it, we can just dress you up when we walk at night. Humans have plenty of nice clothes."

Facing Fox Brother's reassurance, Bai Bai's grim expression suddenly shifted—he seemed to remember something, and he moved closer to Fox Brother.

"Aowu? Aowuwu?"

Fox Brother, yesterday I saw my little master scrolling through the NotePad app and came across a video of a stray Chihuahua. It was so starved it barely looked like a dog anymore, but whenever it saw a person, it stood up on its hind legs, bowed, and begged for food.

People who saw it would scream with delight, calling it adorable, then immediately buy it something to eat.

We've got over three thousand brothers now, and another ten to twenty thousand on the seas—we can't keep feeding them all by just robbing Big Fly and petty theft, can we?

After Fox Elder crushed the golden lion, the central district's territory automatically fell under Fox Brother's control.

Now, all stray animals in the central district answer to Fox Elder—even pet dogs and cats must show him some respect, unless they plan to never leave home again and stop peeing on bushes, tree trunks, and fire hydrants.

With the sudden surge in brother numbers, Bai Bai had been lying awake during the day, racked with worry, desperately thinking of solutions.

Originally, tonight after his boat run, he'd planned to bring back a few roasted chickens and have a serious talk with Fox Elder about solving the brothers' food budget—but who knew he'd barely stepped out when someone blasted him with glue right across the mouth.

Oh! Those gray big fish also said they wanted us to get them some cups.

I don't really understand what they mean, but they said it's better if they're cheap, and the rough texture feels good.

"Holy shit!"

After hearing Bai Bai's report, Fox Brother's expression turned wildly startled, as if he'd been shocked.

When he first met Bai Bai, there were only about twenty or thirty dogs.

Later, as territory expanded, the dog count rose to a hundred; after defeating the golden lion, the dog and cat populations merged, and with control over the bustling central district, the number of stray cats and dogs had ballooned to over three thousand.

Of those, cats made up more than two thousand.

And eighty percent of those cats had terrible temperaments—the kind that, if you tried to pet them, would turn into a street brawl with you within three minutes.

If a cat didn't have a bad temperament, it wouldn't be stray in the first place.

"Your point is worth serious thought," An Sheng mused. "The idea of making dogs and cats beg for food… actually doesn't sound so bad."

"But… begging has drawbacks. Food spoils if left too long. If we could beg for…"

"Hmm? Why not beg for cash? Just attach a QR code to their collars."

As An Sheng spoke, his gaze slowly shifted toward the golden-edged hedgehog, who was negotiating with Lin Ying at the table.

Bai Bai also turned his puzzled eyes toward the hedgehog.

"Huh? Why are you two staring at Grandma?" The golden-edged hedgehog looked confused, glancing at Fox Elder.

The two canine creatures had been whispering furtively over there the whole time.

The hedgehog grandma had been talking mainly with Lin Ying, chatting casually while promoting her business—like how her Xin Hao Entertainment Group had banquet halls available for rent for year-end parties and celebrations.

She also owned luxury yachts, private jets with direct flights to casinos, and a large force of hired security personnel who valued money over their lives (death-seeking thugs).

She even handled extraction operations for Burma and the Philippines.

To secure a connection with Lin Ying, the golden-edged hedgehog had risked revealing sensitive information—and naturally expected proper compensation.

The hedgehog hadn't overheard the dogs' conversation, so she was puzzled by their sudden stares.

"Sis, help us out—don't you have overseas purchasing channels? Get us one ten thousand custom pet collars with QR codes. Oh, and write on them: 'Even a penny or two is love—brothers and sisters, give us something to eat! I'm hungry.'"

Golden-edged hedgehog: "…"

You little brat really isn't cute—you're always scheming about illegal stuff.

Why not join Grandma in running casinos, use your sea network to expand tax-free and gambling operations? Isn't that way more profitable than begging for scraps?

……………

An Sheng's pitiful suggestion had angered the hedgehog grandma, but out of respect for Fox Elder's imposing stature and beautiful fur, she agreed to help.

As an added convenience, she gave An Sheng a brand-new phone.

Seeing the new phone, An Sheng's face darkened.

Does he look like someone without a phone? Yu Xueqing and Lin Ying had both given him phones—but does it make sense for a fox to go out dragging a phone in his mouth? Is that practical?

The golden-edged hedgehog blinked, then slapped her forehead, ordering her maid to fetch from her wardrobe the LV horse saddle bag she'd picked up during a recent shipment, and gift it to Fox Elder.

The saddle bag resembled a waist pouch. An Sheng stood upright on the table while Lin Ying fastened it on him—it covered from his shoulders down to his belly. Tighten the straps, and it wouldn't hinder his movement.

"Tap-tap-tap—"

An Sheng felt something inside the bag. He reached in and pulled out a black box with a switch.

He flipped the switch—the black box immediately erupted in a crackling, bright white electric arc.

"?"

An Sheng stared blankly at the golden-edged hedgehog.

"Oh, earlier I ran into some rude weirdo who disrespected Grandma—I zapped him with this. You like it? Take it and play! Grandma's got plenty more."

(End of Chapter)