Chapter 217: The Bigger the Territory, the Flashier the Dog

"Bai Bai? Is that Bai Bai? How did it get like this?"

Yu Xueqing stared in shock at Qiu Lingling, then turned her gaze to the steps, where the little fox and Tu Song Bai Bai were cuddling closely, radiating warmth and harmony.

"Although I really don't want to admit it, it really is Bai Bai. Someone's white dog must've been idle enough to lay down rodent glue at the seafood market—Bai Bai's entire coat got stuck to it."

Qiu Lingling, lagging a few steps behind Bai Bai, heard Yu Xueqing's shocked question the moment she arrived. Her small face darkened, and she explained the whole incident clearly to Yu Xueqing and the others.

When she first saw Bai Bai covered in over thirty sheets of rodent glue, Qiu Lingling was stunned speechless.

Later, Qiu Lingling consulted Chen Zhi about whether there was any way to remove the rodent glue.

There were methods, of course—but those chemical products would severely damage the dog's skin.

The simplest and healthiest solution was to shave off all its fur at a pet grooming salon.

Qiu Lingling took Bai Bai to the salon, where the three groomers were worn out to the point of collapse.

And Qiu Lingling received a bill for over sixteen hundred yuan.

"One bath cost sixteen hundred?" Yu Xueqing couldn't understand the price.

"It wasn't Bai Bai's bath that cost sixteen hundred—it was the groomers removing the glue until they developed tendonitis. Six hundred of it was compensation to the salon because the groomer took three days off." Qiu Lingling covered her face.

Bai Bai's bath cost could be broken down into multiple dimensions.

But did the salon owner make money?

When Qiu Lingling left, the salon owner was squatting outside the door, smoking cigarette after cigarette in despair—Bai Bai alone had shut down the salon for three days.

They had no choice—the groomers were all collapsed. Two of them took two days off; the one with tendonitis said he needed three days to recover. Of the sixteen hundred, the two groomers split five hundred, and the one with tendonitis took six hundred alone.

After adding up all the costs, the salon owner's profit from cleaning Bai Bai was exactly three days of lost business.

He was nearly driven mad by the loss.

"."

After hearing Qiu Lingling's full account, Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing both wore expressions of utter disbelief.

Fine!

We really shouldn't have held such rigid stereotypes and immediately accused the owner of running a scam shop.

And in the livestream chat, the comments flooded rapidly with hands-clasped prayer emojis directed at the salon owner.

"Yu Xueqing, Yu Xueqing, I'm going to mark territory with Bai Bai—we should be back for lunch."

"By the way, do you like turtle soup? I just spotted a fat grass turtle by my feet."

Meanwhile, An Sheng, after learning Bai Bai's purpose, asked Yu Xueqing for leave and prepared to see what Bai Bai had brought over.

On a whim, An Sheng reached into the water, exerted force with both paws, lifted a grass turtle onto the shore, then carried it to Yu Xueqing's feet.

"Turtle?"

Yu Xueqing looked at the grass turtle before her, then at the Arctic fox from another species, her expression peculiar.

The Xia Guo turtle stared blankly at Yu Xueqing, poking its head out to survey its surroundings.

…………

"Wang wang wang—"

An Sheng and Bai Bai left the shore and ran to the village entrance where Qiu Lingling had parked.

Bai Bai scanned the surroundings, confirmed no people or cameras were nearby, then barked.

"Wang!"

Upon hearing Bai Bai's command, the German Shepherd and Malinois, secretly hiding in the truck, leapt down.

Both dogs carried backpacks, landed with agile grace, and exuded an air of seasoned, battle-hardened valor.

"Ao wu!"

Bai Bai looked at Fu Li Lao Ye and nudged the backpack on the German Shepherd's back with its nose.

An Sheng stood upright, stepped forward, opened the German Shepherd's pack, and inside saw a shotgun, a classic AK-47 skin, and a large quantity of ammunition.

Even more surprising to An Sheng was the presence of what appeared to be a rapid-loader device.

"Bai Bai… you're insane! Where did you even get these things?!" An Sheng stared blankly at Bai Bai, who sat on the ground, tongue lolling out.

"Borrowed from a deceased elderly man's house." Bai Bai's answer was the same as before—it had come from the home of a deceased, solitary old man.

"What kind of arms-dealer grandpa?!"

An Sheng muttered a sarcastic remark, then turned to the Malinois's backpack.

The Malinois's pack held nothing too outrageous—just four stick grenades, a clearly men's beach outfit, and sunglasses.

"Japanese text?"

An Sheng raised an eyebrow as he read the writing on the stick grenades, feeling he was beginning to guess something.

Xia Guo had once allowed civilian firearm ownership, but no one had ever heard of civilians buying hand grenades—let alone Japanese ones.

Yet Bai Bai had found these items, and from the ancestral home of a deceased, solitary old man.

An Sheng's lip twitched—he dared not continue imagining who this "solitary old man" might have been.

That so-called solitary old man was probably someone whose chest bore military medals thick enough to serve as body armor.

"Ao wu—"

After confirming no one was around, Bai Bai stealthily barked around the area, summoning all the dogs of Changping Village. As the dogs gathered, Bai Bai's form began to shift, transforming once again into a white wolf.

Bai Bai crawled out from under the truck and, imitating Fu Li Lao Ye's upright stance, opened the Malinois's pack, pulled out the beach shorts and Hawaiian-style short-sleeved shirt, and changed into them.

"Wang!"

Bai Bai beamed with delight, slipped on the sunglasses, raised a paw to grip the truck's tailgate, and called out to Fu Li Lao Ye.

"Yes, yes, yes—not just handsome, there's probably not a single dog in the whole village as flashy as you."

Seeing Bai Bai ask for his opinion on its outfit, An Sheng rolled his eyes, face darkening.

Before the shave, Bai Bai was normal.

But for some reason, after being shaved, An Sheng felt Bai Bai now radiated a certain… flair.

Like Stallone in First Blood, carrying a machine gun but wearing nothing but a SpongeBob swimsuit.

"Wang wang wang—"

Just as An Sheng was about to depart, a nondescript Chihuahua squeezed through the dog crowd, barked at Fu Li Lao Ye, and spat a car key onto the ground.

The key bore a GMC logo.

The Chihuahua bounced excitedly, barking to offer to guide Fu Li Lao Ye.

"You're… a car thief?"

An Sheng stared at the Chihuahua, stunned.

The Chihuahua tilted its head, clearly not understanding what Fu Li Lao Ye meant.

Every time its owner went out, it would randomly pick a key from the drawer.

Now that it was going out alone, it was copying its owner and picking a key from the drawer.

Under the Chihuahua's guidance, An Sheng and Bai Bai, the two dominant spirit beasts, arrived before a black-painted pickup truck emblazoned with American police markings.

The truck's cab towered higher than a person, front-mounted with a heavy American-style bumper, and its roof spotlight was several times the diameter of An Sheng's head.

"."

An Sheng stared at the massive pickup, then at the dusty supercar parked inside the garage, then turned his head to the bouncing Chihuahua and pressed the key.

"Doo doo—"

The GMC pickup unlocked with a beep.

"Damn! Your owner must be the richest person in this village—bought the truck, modified it to hell, never even registered it, just left it here to collect dust."

An Sheng admitted he was stunned, then unleashed his three tails, curled around a stick on the ground, bounced up, pried open the door, and scrambled into the driver's seat.

"Come on, dogs—help me step on the gas and brake! Bai Bai, ride shotgun! Today, Old Master will teach you how to drive a big rig!"

An Sheng exclaimed excitedly, slapping the steering wheel.

The dogs crowded onto any available seat; those who couldn't fit jumped into the truck bed.

Bai Bai stared at the dashboard, paused, then turned the knob that looked like a speedboat's music button.

Amid a blast of thumping music, An Sheng stood upright, gripped the steering wheel, and drove off.

(End of Chapter)