The news reports spread everywhere and quickly occupied the public’s attention.
Some people suddenly understood and said optimistically, “I knew something had to be going on. No wonder things have been so chaotic lately. Once they clear out all the crazed animals, everything should return to normal, right?”
Others reread the articles several times and frowned thoughtfully.
“Terrorists are releasing newly developed animal breeds everywhere to deliberately create chaos? But chickens, birds, and fish suddenly started behaving strangely. No one seemed to be controlling them.”
Some merely skimmed the reports before scoffing.
“Even the Shiba Inu I’ve raised at home is different from before. Are they saying terrorists secretly entered my house and replaced my dog? Something has clearly happened, yet they’re hiding it and refusing to tell us!”
…
Different people interpreted the same incident in completely different ways.
After the media published the reports, the residents’ frantic purchasing visibly decreased.
However, some people understood perfectly well that although everything appeared peaceful on the surface, violent waves had already begun surging beneath it.
…
The Zhang family residence, inside the study.
The fat young man stood obediently to one side, waiting for his father to lecture him.
His father was named Zhang Yunye. At that moment, he leaned back against his chair with a thoughtful expression and remained silent.
The fat young man’s actual name was Zhang Jiahao.
Knowing that his father was thinking, he did not dare breathe too loudly. He lowered his head and studied the patterns on the floor.
After a long while, Zhang Yunye finally spoke.
“I thought it was strange before. Gu Xinghang isn’t the kind of person who neglects serious work for pleasure, so why would he suddenly start raising dogs?”
“Looking at the situation now, he must have received advance information and secretly begun taking action.”
He sighed emotionally.
“That fellow truly knows how to keep calm. He didn’t leak even the slightest hint.”
Zhang Jiahao raised his head, his eyes filled with shock.
*Dad, that isn’t what you said a few days ago.*
“What are you looking at?” Zhang Yunye glared at his son.
Zhang Jiahao listlessly lowered his head again.
“Nothing.”
The sight of his son’s cowardly appearance immediately angered Zhang Yunye.
“Look at him, then look at yourself! You’re both the same age, so why is the difference between you so enormous?”
“A few days ago, you praised me for being honest and well behaved,” Zhang Jiahao quietly muttered.
“You said that although I didn’t have much ability, I at least knew my limitations and wouldn’t cause a major disaster.”
Zhang Yunye fell silent.
Hadn’t he merely been deceived by appearances for a moment?
He coughed lightly and awkwardly changed the subject.
“Find some time to visit Gu Xinghang and buy two good dogs from him.”
Zhang Jiahao’s eyes widened.
What?
He was supposed to ask Gu Xinghang to sell him dogs?
Zhang Yunye earnestly explained, “Things have become unsafe recently. Dogs know how to protect their owners. We need two of them to guard the house so we can sleep peacefully at night.”
But Zhang Jiahao had only recently shown off in front of Gu Xinghang!
His complexion alternated between green and white before he finally squeezed out, “Dad, I don’t think I’m the right person for this job.”
Zhang Yunye widened his eyes and asked fiercely, “Apart from this, what else are you capable of doing?”
Zhang Jiahao desperately wanted to say that he could not handle this either.
However, fearing another scolding, he swallowed the words.
“The situation is changing unpredictably, so the company’s business strategy must change with it. Everyone else needs to attend meetings and has no time to spare. You’re the only person with nothing to do.”
Zhang Yunye glanced sideways at his son.
Zhang Jiahao grumbled for a long time but ultimately did not dare admit that he had offended Gu Xinghang.
He could only agree with a miserable expression.
“I’ll go.”
At the same time, he felt deeply sorrowful.
He had only casually thrown out a threat before.
Who could have expected his words to become a prophecy and that his family would genuinely begin raising dogs?
…
That afternoon, Zhang Jiahao contacted the seller and requested a meeting.
Gu Xinghang readily agreed, and they arranged a time.
Afterwards, Zhang Jiahao drove towards the villa in the suburbs, feeling increasingly uneasy.
Before long, he arrived at his destination.
He parked his car and walked towards the iron fence.
Just as he was about to press the doorbell, he caught sight of the scene inside the villa from the corner of his eye and immediately froze.
New willow trees had been planted in one corner, arranged in a naturally pleasing pattern.
Several budgerigars stood on the branches, playing together. Their feathers were bright and glossy, and their calls were crisp.
Not far away, a German Shepherd lay lazily beneath the sunlight.
For a moment, Zhang Jiahao wondered whether he had gone to the wrong place.
Before he could think further, one of the budgerigars noticed him and loudly shouted, “There’s a thief outside! Hurry and catch the thief!”
Zhang Jiahao stared in disbelief.
He was not a thief.
This was a misunderstanding!
In the blink of an eye, a flock of budgerigars flapped their wings and flew towards him like arrows, quickly surrounding him.
The German Shepherd that had been dozing sprang to its feet and began growling, its gaze extremely unfriendly.
Zhang Jiahao fell silent.
Good heavens!
When had Gu Xinghang’s home security system become so advanced?
“Speak! Why are you sneaking around here?” a plump budgerigar began interrogating the suspect.
Its waist and lower body were green, black spots covered its throat, and the feathers on its tail were blue-green.
It appeared completely ordinary.
However, its gaze was exceptionally sharp as it stared fixedly at its target.
It seemed that if his answer failed to satisfy it, it would immediately attack.
Zhang Jiahao swallowed and said with difficulty, “I’m here to see Gu Xinghang. We arranged beforehand to meet at the villa.”
The parrots began chattering among themselves.
“Is that true? Is he really Gu Xinghang’s guest?”
“I’ve lived here for a long time and have never seen him. He might be a liar.”
“If he came to visit someone, why didn’t he ring the doorbell? He must be a terrible villain!”
Surrounded by birds, Zhang Jiahao’s forehead became covered in cold sweat.
He felt that the world had become unbelievably fantastical.
Were parrots normally this intelligent?
Zhang Jiahao thought desperately for a long time before raising his head with a confused expression.
He had never raised one, so he had no idea.
He carefully shifted towards the doorbell.
Suddenly, one of the birds dived down and pecked his finger—not heavily, but not gently either.
It then solemnly announced, “Don’t move! You’re surrounded!”
The nearby parrots happily echoed it.
“Exactly! Confess and receive leniency. Resist and receive severity!”
“Everything you say will be used as evidence in court!”
Zhang Jiahao held his aching finger, black lines appearing across his face.
What nonsense were they talking about?
Before long, footsteps sounded.
Gu Xinghang approached from a distance and leisurely walked to the entrance.
“Disperse. He’s someone I know.”
He waved his hand, and the parrots circled through the air before returning to the willow branches.
Zhang Jiahao watched in complete astonishment.
“Follow me inside.”
Gu Xinghang opened the outer iron gate.
Zhang Jiahao’s calves trembled as he complained, “If you’d arrived any later, I might have been beaten up.”
Gu Xinghang looked back at him strangely.
“You should have given them your name. Once they heard it, they would have ignored you.”
They could do that?
Zhang Jiahao was utterly shocked.
Not far away, the German Shepherd bared its teeth with a vicious expression.
Gu Xinghang rubbed the dog’s head to soothe it.
Only then did the German Shepherd calm down and lie beneath the sun again.
Zhang Jiahao could not help wondering whether his father had made the wrong decision.
Was it truly safe to bring such a vicious dog home?
What if they invited a wolf into the house?
Gu Xinghang led his guest into the living room.
After preparing tea, he sat on the sofa and casually asked, “Why did you want to see me?”
Zhang Jiahao sat stiffly.
After struggling for a long time, he finally managed to say, “I want to buy two good dogs.”
“Didn’t you look down on them before?” Gu Xinghang raised an eyebrow.
Zhang Jiahao smiled more miserably than if he were crying and righteously declared, “After returning home, I seriously reflected upon my actions.”
“Dogs are humanity’s most loyal friends. You shouldn’t casually slander your friends!”
“Give me an opportunity to correct my mistakes and become a better person.”
Gu Xinghang took a sip of tea without commenting.
“What price are you offering?”
Zhang Jiahao immediately became energetic.
“I’m extremely sincere. Thirty thousand yuan for each dog!”
Under normal circumstances, a German Shepherd could be purchased for around three thousand yuan.
An offer of thirty thousand per dog was certainly not low.
“You call that sincere?” Gu Xinghang laughed.
“It’s only a dog, and it isn’t even competition grade. Surely you aren’t planning to charge more than a hundred thousand?” Zhang Jiahao’s expression stiffened.
Was this fellow treating him like a foolish rich man?
“After some time, you’ll discover that what you’re purchasing isn’t a dog, but your own life,” Gu Xinghang said seriously.
“The next time you want to discuss business, have Zhang Yunye come and speak to me personally.”
“Additionally, my dogs are only available for hire. They are not for sale.”
This man was insane!
Zhang Jiahao remained silent before standing and leaving directly.
Only after exiting the villa did he complain furiously, “So what if you raise dogs? What’s so impressive about that?”
“If you refuse to sell them, someone else naturally will!”
After saying that, he drove away.
Gu Xinghang sat leisurely on the sofa and drank coffee.
Before long, a budgerigar flew into the living room and landed on its perch.
“So what if you raise dogs? What’s so impressive about that? If you refuse to sell them, someone else naturally will!”
Not only did it repeat Zhang Jiahao’s words, but it imitated nearly ninety per cent of his tone.
“Good bird.”
Gu Xinghang casually fed it some crushed peanuts as a reward.
The parrot immediately began eating delightedly.
“During the apocalypse, owning dogs will be far more impressive than you can imagine,” Gu Xinghang murmured.
**
That evening, Zhang Jiahao excitedly brought two dogs home.
“I bought the dogs! One is a Rough Collie puppy, and the other is an adult Samoyed!”
What on earth were these?
Zhang Yunye barely suppressed his anger and asked solemnly, “Where did you get them?”
If he remembered correctly, Gu Xinghang only raised German Shepherds, not any other breeds.
Zhang Jiahao puffed out his chest and proudly claimed credit.
“Gu Xinghang said he wouldn’t sell his dogs and would only allow people to hire them, so I contacted someone else.”
“I spent a great deal of money and went through considerable effort to obtain these two!”
The veins on Zhang Yunye’s forehead throbbed.
He could no longer restrain himself and slammed the table before standing.
“Idiot!”
“Rough Collies have gentle temperaments and aren’t fierce enough. Furthermore, this one is still a puppy!”
“By the time it becomes useful, it’ll be far too late!”
“And the Samoyed is even worse. It’s naturally a companion dog and is friendly towards everyone. Do you genuinely expect it to guard the house?”
“Didn’t you stop and wonder why those people were willing to sell these dogs to you?”
“It’s because the animals are useless for protection, so they were willing to give them up!”
“If you couldn’t complete the task, you should have said so. What’s the meaning of randomly purchasing two dogs merely to hand something over?”
Zhang Jiahao was completely dumbfounded.
He stood there foolishly, unable to recover for a long time.
“You fail at everything you do. You never give anyone peace of mind.”
Zhang Yunye sat back down, but his anger had not faded.
“All the dogs Gu Xinghang raises are German Shepherds. They’re the breed most commonly used by the military and police. Those are genuinely good dogs!”
“How was I supposed to know any of this? You never explained it properly,” Zhang Jiahao complained resentfully.
Zhang Yunye glared furiously.
“You completely ruined the task, yet you still think you’re in the right?”
“If I need to explain every tiny detail, I might as well do it myself.”
“Then go and do it,” Zhang Jiahao urged.
Zhang Yunye was utterly speechless.
Only after a long while did he helplessly say, “Forget it. Go and do whatever you like. In a few days, I’ll arrange to meet him personally.”
Zhang Jiahao complained inwardly.
*Why didn’t you arrange that from the beginning? You just had to make me make an unnecessary trip.*
**Nomad:**
Shiba Inu
Budgerigar
Rough Collie Puppy
Samoyed
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