Being the Wife of a Fluffy Creature [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The First World (17)

 

There were simply too many people at the dog-fighting arena, and the police station was severely understaffed. Officer Xiao Liu brought Wu Yao to a breakroom and told him to sleep for a while.

 

After being high-strung all night, Wu Yao was indeed feeling a bit sleepy now that he had suddenly relaxed, but he couldn’t sleep; the police station wasn’t safe.

 

The contact period had not yet ended. The “dog man” slung his arm around Wu Yao’s shoulder and raised a hand to cover his eyes. Just as Wu Yao was about to sit up, he was gently pressed back into the embrace by Wu Shiyi.

 

He patted Wu Yao’s back rhythmically, as if saying, “It’s okay, I’m here, you can sleep.”

 

The woman sitting not far away watched the whole scene. She pulled up the large Golden Retriever rolling at her feet and prepared to sleep leaning against the dog as well.

 

A large-sized dog can give a person a sense of security, and the same goes for a large-sized human. Wu Yao’s gaze gradually went blank, and his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

 

The little puppy lullaby Wu Shiyi was humming somehow turned into noisy shouting.

 

They were all men’s voices; some young, some old, and every single one was familiar to Wu Yao.

 

“Didn’t I tell you to silence him? Why didn’t you listen to me? A kid? You just let a kid go? Do you even understand the concept of pulling up weeds by the roots!”

 

“What is this? The corpse of that copper? You can’t recognize him just because he’s charred? Until the moment he died, he firmly believed you were a good person. Xiao Yao, you’re really amazing at lying. You didn’t lie to me too, did you? Hahahaha!”

 

“If you can scheme against him now, you’ll scheme against me sooner or later. Killing you is for everyone’s own good.”

 

“How long do you plan to keep talking about that life-saving debt? Talking about ‘brotherly loyalty’… does a liar like you even deserve to speak of loyalty?”

 

“You lied to me? You fucking dared to lie to me!”

 

“Someone has to die eventually. Wu Yao, you’ve followed me loyally for a lifetime; can you do one last thing for me?”

 

A gunshot exploded, and a bullet pierced through Wu Yao’s skull. His body jerked violently for a moment, and he snapped his eyes open.

 

Everyone else had left; the breakroom was silent, leaving only Wu Yao lying on the bench.

 

Wu Shiyi, who could barely still be seen in human form, was sitting beside him looking at him worriedly. He held a tissue in his hand, as if he wanted to wipe away Wu Yao’s sweat.

 

The system patted its chest, “You suddenly started twitching halfway through your sleep. If it weren’t for the fact that Wu Shiyi didn’t react, I would have thought you were having a seizure.”

 

Wu Yao didn’t respond.

 

He dazed for a while, then sat up and looked at Wu Shiyi. “Do you like sugarcane?”

 

The dog man tilted his head blankly.

 

“Forgot you can’t speak.”

 

Wu Yao pointed at himself. “Do you think I look like sugarcane?”

 

Looking at the long-haired man’s tall and slender body, Wu Shiyi nodded.

 

He did look like it; both were tall and thin, and very sweet.

 

Wu Yao gave a self-mocking laugh, his expression exceptionally grim.

 

He cupped Wu Shiyi’s head and shook it side to side. “In the future, if I ask you again, say I don’t look like it. Did you get that? If you dare to nod again, no one will want you.”

 

“Wang-wu?”

 

“Silly dog.”

 

Wu Yao entered the police station in the middle of the night and only came out the following evening. Van after van drove away from the entrance of the station, filled with spectators from the dog-fighting arena.

 

When they first arrived at the station, the spectators were clamoring and shouting to find Wu Yao, but after drinking the “Amnesia Black Tea,” they became much more subdued. Once they left the isolation ward, they would completely forget about the dog-fighting arena and Wu Yao.

 

Officer Xiao Liu changed out of his police uniform and prepared to get off work and go home. He opened his car door and waved at Wu Yao. “Mr. Wu, our homes are on the way, I’ll give you a lift.”

 

The apple he ate last night had lost its effect. Now that Wu Yao couldn’t touch the other world, Wu Shiyi had turned back into a big black dog in his eyes. He was currently limping over to the car and hopping into the back seat.

 

Officer Xiao Liu was winking at him, clearly having something he wanted to say.

 

Just as Wu Yao was about to sit in the passenger seat, a soft female voice suddenly came from behind him. “Mr. Wu, wait a moment. You helped us a lot last night; this is a gift I’m giving you in my personal capacity.”

 

Officer Qin jogged over and handed a black plastic bag into his hand. The middle-aged female officer had a kind smile on her face. The mouth of the bag was tied very tightly, making it impossible to see what was inside.

 

Wu Yao exchanged a few polite words with her and casually placed the bag in the back seat. If there were dangerous goods inside, Wu Shiyi would find a way to deal with it.

 

Officer Qin reached out her hand toward Wu Yao.

 

The moment the two shook hands, Wu Yao heard her voice, which was almost a whisper, “Something is about to happen on the island. Get as far away as you can, the faster the better.”

 

Wu Yao gripped her hand back. “What is it?”

 

“Something big. Not many people staying on the island will survive. I can’t say too much, so don’t ask.”

 

“Then what about you? You guys aren’t leaving?”

 

Officer Qin didn’t answer. She pulled her hand away from Wu Yao’s, gave him a meaningful look, and turned to walk back into the station.

 

The system gave a “tsk,” “Everyone is speaking in riddles. I think she’s being all secretive for no good reason. Xiao Yao, could she be a lobbyist for the Mayor? The Mayor can’t handle you, so he sent her to scare you so you’ll leave Paradise Island voluntarily.”

 

“I’m not sure if the Mayor sent her, but what she said is likely true.”

 

“Huh? What part is true?”

 

Wu Yao didn’t say anything, turning to chat with Officer Xiao Liu.

 

In his years of work, he had learned a principle: do not easily voice your deductions until you have enough certainty; otherwise, it is easy to bring trouble upon yourself.

 

Officer Xiao Liu hadn’t heard Officer Qin’s words. He chatted with Wu Yao about all sorts of things throughout the drive.

 

At first, Wu Yao thought he had some intel to reveal, but after listening for a while, he realized that Officer Xiao Liu simply suspected he was sick.

 

He had been having constant hallucinations while working these past few days—hearing crying, seeing injured people crawling on the ground. When he rushed over to save them, he would find nothing on the ground, and surrounding pedestrians would look at him with bizarre expressions.

 

This morning, the condition became even more severe. While writing a report, he felt the earth vibrating and everything before his eyes shaking. In the end, he was so unsteady that he fell to the ground; his body wouldn’t follow his commands, as if a heavy object was pressing down on his back, making it impossible to crawl up for a long time.

 

The mental infectious disease known by netizens as the “Red Apple Disease” was rapidly spreading across the island. The police station came into contact with a large number of infected people every day, and Officer Xiao Liu suspected he had been infected as well.

 

The C-District where they were located had nearly twenty thousand residents, yet there were only about a dozen police officers. They were already understaffed, and now that they were desperate for people, he didn’t want to leave his post.

 

Officer Xiao Liu’s parents didn’t understand these things, and his friends were all police officers who would immediately send him to the isolation ward.

 

Normally, such things shouldn’t be told to the public, but Wu Yao really didn’t seem like an ordinary person. He had no one to consult with, so he could only try asking him.

 

The young officer didn’t say these things explicitly; Wu Yao guessed them himself.

 

He pondered slightly, not following the other’s topic. “I’ve never understood why there are so few police in this district. If real chaos breaks out, can you guys handle it?”

 

Officer Xiao Liu let out a long sigh. “If we could handle it and I could be spared, I would have taken sick leave long ago. I wouldn’t be this conflicted.”

 

“The police in the other districts aren’t enough either?”

 

“No matter how many, it’s not enough. B-District is okay, but A-District is especially…”

 

Officer Xiao Liu stopped abruptly. “Are you baiting me for information?”

 

Wu Yao looked innocent. “I’m just curious. After all, I was assigned to C-District as soon as I got on the island, and one can’t just enter A or B-District casually. I still don’t know what it’s like over there. Officer Liu, why can’t I find any news about A and B-District online?”

 

The young policeman didn’t answer, a trace of confusion on his young and delicate face. After a few minutes, he shook his head hesitantly.

 

“I don’t know either. It’s really strange. Memory confusion is also a symptom of the Red Apple Disease. There are many things I feel I should know, but I can’t remember them no matter what. I probably really am sick, you…”

 

He paused, then suddenly jerked the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the ground, and a series of car horns blared on the street.

 

Caught off guard, Wu Yao’s head slammed hard against the car window.

 

Wu Shiyi wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. Wu Yao didn’t have time to check his own injury before turning toward the back seat, “Shiyi!”

 

The big black dog might look unintelligent, but he was actually very shrewd; he had already shrunk down between the seats. Not only was he not thrown, but a dog paw was tugging at the hem of Wu Yao’s clothes, seemingly trying to pull him back.

 

Even though he knew Wu Shiyi only looked like a dog and was actually a man, Wu Yao couldn’t help but rub his dog head.

 

Officer Xiao Liu leaned over the steering wheel, panting. “Mr. Wu, what do you think of this road?”

 

The car was transverse across the road, and other cars were honking incessantly.

 

While wiping the cold sweat from the young officer’s face, Wu Yao looked out the window. “It’s very flat and wide, the road conditions are good, and there are no stray cats or dogs.”

 

“It didn’t collapse?”

 

“What? What collapsed?”

 

Officer Xiao Liu didn’t speak again. He struggled to drive the car to the side of the road and yielded the driver’s seat to Wu Yao. He only left the words “Please drive me home” and didn’t say another half-sentence.

 

As the car started, the young officer was visibly more nervous.

 

Wu Yao looked at him thoughtfully, then looked at Wu Shiyi through the rearview mirror. The big black dog was tensed up, staring at the road ahead.

 

The atmosphere was too heavy; the system didn’t dare speak loudly. “He probably ate an apple product too and became a ‘contactor.’ The world in their eyes has some problems. Should we find a way to get some apples to eat? Seeing nothing feels so uncomfortable.”

 

“Xiao Yao? Wu Yao? What are you thinking?”

 

“I’m thinking… there were no speed bumps just now, so why did the car jolt?”

 

“?”

 

After dropping Officer Liu off at home, Wu Yao took a taxi back to the apartment.

 

On the way, the taxi driver complained to him that more and more people were getting sick lately, and people often suddenly rushed onto the road acting crazy, so one had to be extra careful while driving.

 

Back at the apartment, after closing the door, Wu Yao immediately opened the black plastic bag Officer Qin had given him. Inside were some bananas, coconut water, and a folder.

 

Wu Shiyi lunged onto the bed, his big dog head squeezing into Wu Yao’s embrace as they looked through it together.

 

There were only two things in the folder: a plane ticket and a handwritten note.

 

“The island isn’t safe, leave quickly. This is for the 8:00 AM seaplane tomorrow; it can take you off Paradise Island. If you want, you can bring the dog along too. You helped the police a lot, I hope you can survive — Qin.”

 

Wu Shiyi looked up at Wu Yao, its dog eyes wide and round. It let out two whimpers, though no one knew what it was saying.

 

In the next second, a translucent screen popped up before Wu Yao’s eyes.

 

“Ding—”

 

“Congratulations to the host for obtaining the item: ‘Officer Qin’s Letter,’ opening the special mission: ‘Goodwill? Lie?'”

 

“Please choose whether to leave Paradise Island before 8:00 AM tomorrow.”

 

“Yes/No”