Being the Wife of a Fluffy Creature [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The First World (12)

Crazy things…

Looking at the man before it, Wu Shi Yi felt a complex swirl of emotions. Wu Yao talked to it almost every night about his life; his past was rugged and tragic, and whenever he mentioned it, the atmosphere would grow heavy.

Although Wu Yao never said it outright, Wu Shi Yi could tell that he had long since stopped wanting to live. Perhaps, just like it, he was only still alive because he hadn’t yet made up his mind to die.

Wu Shi Yi wanted Wu Yao to live. He was young, beautiful, and intelligent. Most importantly, he was a human with a bright future ahead of him. He should be like everyone else on this island, sipping coffee in the sea breeze, snorkeling by the shore, and enjoying his youth in bars, forever living in a beautiful, gilded illusion. But Wu Yao’s gaze was resolute, even if it could speak, it would be difficult to talk him out of his plans.

Wu Yao was still whispering his plan into Wu Shi Yi’s ear, his warm breath dusting its earlobe.

It felt as if that warmth were drilling into its skin, landing directly upon its frantically beating heart. After being by the gambler’s side for so long, it had never felt such a strange sensation. Wu Shi Yi couldn’t help but press a hand to its chest.

So, this is what it feels like to find a soulmate who shares your convictions, it makes your heart race, leaving you so excited that you can barely breathe.

The target’s life trajectory was simple; the external forces that could have caused such severe trauma to its spirit were only two, and both were in plain sight. One was the gambler it had considered family, only to be abandoned; the other was the dog-fighting arena that had left it disabled.

After several days of testing, Wu Yao could confirm that the problem did not lie with the gambler. Wu Shi Yi’s willpower far exceeded that of an ordinary person, loneliness, betrayal, and disability—these things could only make it despondent for a time, but they wouldn’t break it.

The hurdle hidden in Wu Shi Yi’s heart was buried right here in the dog-fighting arena. If the black dog seemed calm and low-key but was actually competitive and prideful, then losing the match on that stage was a hurdle it couldn’t cross. Letting it compete again to win fair and square would raise its mental stability.

If the black dog had been forced to kill other fighting dogs, the weight dragging it down was the guilt crushed into its soul.

Whether it was survivor’s guilt or a heavy sense of justice held deep in its heart, Wu Yao didn’t hold any particular opinion on such people; he just felt they were too stubborn. To carry someone else’s coffin home to weep over, to bear burdens that weren’t even their own, during his years as a lackey for villains, Wu Yao had seen too many people driven to their deaths by their own conscience.

They hadn’t done anything wrong, yet they lived their entire lives in agony. “Selfishness is the best protective barrier,” was the principle he had summarized after years of work.

He didn’t know what kind of story was hidden behind the “other side” of Paradise Island.

In the eyes of the audience who had eaten the apples, the dog-fighting arena was built amidst ruins. The roof had largely collapsed, and massive piles of debris separated the stands, with charred corpses buried beneath the stones. Whenever someone got near, the charred remains would come to life, clawing at passersby’s ankles while letting out agonizing, raspy pleas for help.

The central competition area was a dilapidated boxing ring covered in bloodstains, with a monster constantly roaring on the edge. It wore the clothes of a boxing coach, its lower half crushed by a fallen ceiling. On the ground near its hand, there was a row of blurry, blood-red scrawls:

“Wife…trapped…save”

It was likely a desperate plea for passersby to save someone, but no one could make out exactly what was written.

The layout of the venue was chaotic, and the thugs were scattered throughout the stands, posing little threat. The only variable was the members of the True Knowledge Society, dressed in plague doctor attire, sitting at the four corners of the ring.

Organizing the dog fights and handing out apples to the audience, there were no spies from the Mayor in the arena. Every sign pointed to the dog-fighting arena being the territory of the True Knowledge Society.

For the Society to jump around under the Mayor’s nose for so long, they had to possess hidden strength. If it weren’t to improve Wu Shi Yi’s mental stability, Wu Yao would never have chosen to come here to stir up trouble.

As the bell rang, the first round began. A scrawny man wearing a collar was dragged onto the stage, faced with a child only waist-high to him. The referee gave the child a knife and ordered them to kill each other.

Officer Xiao Liu sent a message: the police were rushing to the landfill. Officer Qin was also in the car, and upon hearing that the arena had imprisoned ordinary townspeople, she was being particularly proactive. The police’s attitude confirmed Wu Yao’s suspicions: the unique environment of Paradise Island had split the townspeople into two factions.

The Mayor and the police were of one mind, desperately trying to maintain the beautiful facade of the town. The True Knowledge Society believed that the bloody, brutal reality was the true face of Paradise Island and was constantly seeking ways to make more people see the “truth.” Both sides were hostile.

Wu Yao could use the police to destroy the entire arena, and the police could use the leads provided by Wu Yao to grab hold of the Society’s secrets. Officer Qin clearly shared Wu Yao’s line of thought, specifically having Xiao Liu message him to ensure he protected the imprisoned townspeople. Neither of them mentioned the fighting dogs. In the eyes of the police, fighting dogs were just dogs—whether they lived or died was irrelevant.

Wu Yao handed his phone to Wu Shi Yi and reached out to stroke its head: “They don’t care about the lives of the fighting dogs, but I do. Shi Yi, I’m going to set all the dogs here free, just like I did when I ran into the Hot Pot City to get you out.”

Wu Shi Yi fell silent for a moment, and when it looked back at Wu Yao, light ignited in its eyes. It leaned forward, affectionately rubbing its nose against his cheek: ‘Woof.’

Ding—

As the bell rang for the match, a deafening cheer exploded in Wu Yao’s ears. Wu Shi Yi stood before him, silhouetted against the lights, its dark eyes exceptionally bright. The “old deer” in Wu Yao’s heart, long dead from the weight of life, jolted back to life at this very moment. Wu Shi Yi went off to execute the plan, leaving Wu Yao standing there, momentarily stunned.

The System was completely enchanted by the close-up interaction, its voice trembling: “Why does it have a ‘modeling face’!”

It paused, looked at Wu Yao, and added: “Why do YOU have a modeling face too?! How come I’m the only one who looks like a child’s stick-figure drawing? This isn’t fair!!!”

The “old deer” lived fast and died fast; once Wu Shi Yi left, Wu Yao stopped blushing. He stood up, squeezed into the crowd, and quickly vanished from sight. When he emerged from the crowd again, he had two daggers and a beer bottle on his person.

The person in charge of the arena was sitting in a second-floor VIP room, introducing a new fighting dog to some guests. “This is a rare female fighting dog, good at fighting and also… if the boss has any ‘special hobbies,’ we have beautiful male fighting dogs too. Look at this brochure; these ones are all very popular.”

“You want a numbered fighting dog? Oh, that’s not a question of money. It’s not that I don’t want your business, but there were only twelve of those in total. Some died, some were sold—there aren’t any left.”

A few minutes later, the door opened, and two men stepped out. The manager saw them off with great politeness. Once they were gone, his expression darkened, and he slammed the door shut.

“Damn it, the Mayor’s secretary thinks he’s so great, just a dog relying on his master’s power! He wants to buy a fighting dog for 100,000? Why doesn’t he go rob a bank! Xiao Li, get me a beer!”

“Xiao Li! Do you want to keep your job or not!”

A sound came from behind him as the door opened. The manager stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking irritably at the stage: “Dragging your feet! Hurry up and strangle that brat!” Just as he picked up the walkie-talkie to urge the progress, a male voice suddenly came from beside him: “Sir, here is the beer you asked for.”

The manager reflexively turned his head, only to see the waiter, Xiao Li, and his bodyguards all collapsed at the door. A long-haired man was smiling pleasantly, wielding a wine bottle and swinging it toward his head.

The mission Wu Yao arranged for Wu Shi Yi was simple: cause chaos. Out of hundreds of spectators, there were always a few with short tempers who liked to stir up trouble. In the eyes of those who had eaten the apple, fighting dogs were indistinguishable from ordinary people, and even the thugs couldn’t tell them apart from the regular audience. Without their collars, Wu Shi Yi could weave through the crowd with ease.

A few minutes later, a furious roar erupted from the stands: “F***! Who the hell stole my wallet! Which dog-son did it!” A stout, middle-aged man stood up, staring at a purse near a woman not far away.

A corner of a wallet was poking out, the color and material looked just like his. “Give me the wallet in your pocket!” He reached out to grab the woman’s bag as he yelled.

Seeing his companion being bullied, the man beside her immediately stood up, and the situation escalated into chaos. Wu Yao stood before the window of the private room, glancing down at the stands. Wu Shi Yi had a good eye for people.

The stout man had come with his “drinking buddies”, with friends to back him up, he had the confidence to fight. The woman being framed was the mistress of a wealthy man; the man had money and men, and wouldn’t lose face in front of his mistress. The smell of alcohol in the air, the bloody performance on stage, the shouts of the crowd, everything stimulated their nerves, and the two factions were soon brawling.

The arena’s thugs rushed over, wanting to separate the crowd. Just then, the manager’s screams suddenly erupted over the broadcast system. The thugs hesitated for a fleeting moment between protecting their boss and protecting the audience, but decided that the person who paid their wages was more important, and turned to rush toward the second floor.

The broadcast sound soon cut off. Without the violent mediation of the thugs, the bunny girls couldn’t control the situation, and the already disorderly stands became even more chaotic.

Wu Shi Yi took advantage of the chaos and rushed toward the fighting stage. In the bewildered gaze of the other fighting dog, it pulled the little boy off the ring. The boy was only six or seven years old, an ordinary child kidnapped by the arena. He was scared out of his wits, trembling in Wu Shi Yi’s arms while clutching the knife. Wu Shi Yi picked the boy up, intending to take him to a safe place before going to save the others.

The warmth and sturdiness of the adult embrace brought the boy a sense of safety. He stopped being so afraid, and couldn’t help sobbing with grief: “Why…why does Mayor Grandpa hate me so much? Why did he sell us here…”

Wu Shi Yi paused in its tracks, looking down at him in astonishment.

Who? The Mayor?!