Being the Wife of a Fluffy Creature [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The First World (19)

Compared to mission targets he had dealt with before, Wu Shiyi was exceptionally easy to please. As long as you found the right direction, various stats would soar upward.

Wu Yao took him along to bust several human trafficking rings and dog farms, rescuing over a dozen missing children and fighting dogs.

Wu Shiyi remained in a state of excitement for three whole days, his large tail wagging like a propeller; his mental value jumped to 60 in the blink of an eye.

Wu Yao squatted by the roadside scrolling through his phone, waiting for Officer Xiao Liu to come and pick up the newly caught traffickers.

Among the police in C-District, Xiao Liu had the best relationship with him; they were on the same side. Whenever Wu Yao caught a criminal, he would call him. Given the frequency with which he delivered achievements, the young officer would be promoted in no time.

Wu Yao didn’t know the contact information for the children’s parents, nor could he be bothered to check.

In any case, he had already secured the mental value and side mission rewards; everything else was left for the police to handle.

Wu Shiyi was coaxing the children. The kids, who had been so terrified they didn’t even dare to cry, were now gathered around the big black dog seeking comfort. They were vividly describing to a dog how they had been kidnapped and what those bad people had done to them.

Two of the children were traumatized, their expressions looking grim. The black dog would nuzzle the two of them from time to time, letting them pull at his body and yank out clumps of dog fur.

Wu Yao’s legs went numb from squatting. He stood up by leaning against a utility pole and chatted with the system, “That silly dog really has a good temper. If anyone dared to yank my hair like that, I’d break their fingers.”

“Didn’t those villains yank it before?”

“Often. As a lackey, I couldn’t hit them back, so back then I liked wearing a buzz cut. I only grew it out after I changed jobs.”

The system expressed deep sympathy, “I used to work for an Infinite Flow company and ran into a dumbass colleague. Systems all look like jelly; that dumbass colleague brought their kid to the office, and that dead brat chased me around every day trying to bite me. I tried to reason with the colleague, but the idiot told me not to hold a grudge against a child.”

“How tragic. What happened later?”

“What else could I do? I just had to swallow the insult.”

Wu Yao suddenly realized the system was not only stupid but also too honest; just like that “Saint Father” dog, neither of them was easy to worry about.

The system was busy grilling, roasting the kidneys it had just finished making.

It used edible meat paste; if the human kidney props it made didn’t sell, it would consume them itself, stuffing them all into its stomach.

The two of them settled their accounts; rounding off, Wu Yao owed the system a total of eight hundred kidneys, three human heads, and several small props.

Since they had a good relationship, they’d let the debt sit for now and pay it back once he got his salary.

Seeing him get up, the big black dog immediately ran over wagging its tail, biting his pant leg to drag him into the group of children.

Wu Shiyi had been charging at the front the whole time and was the main force in the rescue; Wu Yao was responsible for reasoning, leading the way, and playing support. In the eyes of the children, he was mostly just going through the motions.

He didn’t know what Wu Shiyi had done, but all dozen or so children were scrambling to thank Wu Yao. They even gave him little wild flowers, small stones, and little bits of trash they had picked up by the roadside as gifts.

Wu Yao frowned; he didn’t like impractical things or meaningless, time-wasting ceremonies.

For instance, birthdays, various anniversaries, weddings, and useless social interactions.

In his eyes, every minute spent with these children and every word spoken was meaningless. It could neither bring him spiritual happiness nor material benefits.

He was very tired and had no energy to deal with things outside of work.

Unless they gave him money.

His parents’ teachings and years of work experience came in handy at this moment. Facing such a situation, regardless of whether Wu Yao liked it or not, he had to pretend to be very happy.

Afterward, he would have to organize and store all the little gifts properly so as not to give people a reason to talk. That way, if he were ever abandoned or betrayed to the point where “everyone pushes the falling wall,” he would have one less crime to his name and endure less verbal abuse.

Wu Yao put on a flawless smile, wondering how to dispose of these items.

The big black dog tilted its head while watching. Suddenly, it squeezed in front of Wu Yao and nudged him out of the crowd, drawing the children’s attention away again. Those little wild flowers that were originally meant to be shoved at Wu Yao fell onto the dog instead.

Wu Shiyi let out a couple of whimpers at him. Wu Yao could see an apology on the dog’s face.

There was no need to apologize for such a small thing; the silly dog’s intentions were good.

It enjoyed the process of saving people; a single “thank you” could make its tail wag for half a day. It wanted to share this joy with its best friend, only to realize after sharing that its companion didn’t care for this sort of thing.

Wu Yao rubbed the dog’s head and continued scrolling through his phone by the roadside, trying to figure out what secrets the other two urban areas were hiding.

The Mayor controlled Paradise Island’s network, and not a shred of useful information could be found online.

While the system was brushing oil onto the kidneys, it watched Wu Shiyi amuse the children.

“Xiao Yao, since Wu Shiyi was originally human, what do you think he did before he turned into a dog?”

“Judging by his aura and skills, most likely a soldier or a policeman.”

Wu Yao checked the background data. “This is the first time I’ve seen such a strange mission target. I always feel like it’s odd in every way.”

The system let out a blank “ah.”

“What’s already certain is that betrayal, abandonment, disability, and violence—none of the suffering the Gambler inflicted upon it—can shake its heart. Even back when it misunderstood that I was going to take it to fight in matches, its mental value didn’t drop.”

Wu Yao looked at the big black dog inquiringly. “Since its will is indestructible, why did its mental value become so low?”

“Ah… if an ordinary person were forcibly turned into a dog, even if they forgot they were once human, they’d feel uncomfortable in their heart, right?”

“I thought about that, which is why I initially treated it as an equal. But its mental value only rose a bit when it got a new name, and it hasn’t moved since.”

The system stopped discussing and felt around in its prop box, pulling out a brain.

You are what you eat; it planned to make some roasted brain flowers.

Wu Yao pondered internally. There was a layer of fog in his mind, obscuring the most important piece of information.

Wu Shiyi loved saving people way too much; the suffering seen in ordinary people’s eyes could hardly affect it.

It was as if “saving” was its everything, and all its joys and sorrows had to be triggered by saving others.

Wu Yao had saved its life and given it a home. In Wu Shiyi’s heart, his status was roughly equal to that of the former Gambler. It wouldn’t proactively get close to him and would avoid his touch.

Polite and restrained, as if it were staying only to repay a debt.

After Wu Yao took it to the dog-fighting arena to save others, Wu Shiyi’s attitude changed instantly.

It no longer avoided his touch and began to proactively get close to him, willing to share everything it liked with him.

Wu Shiyi was odd in every way, which was not a good omen.

The new job offered little money but much trouble. Wu Yao would finish this gig and then jump ship with the system.

Unless he got a raise.

The police car arrived very late. Two middle-aged policemen got out of the car.

Wu Yao had seen them at the station before; one was surnamed Wang and the other was also surnamed Wang. Neither had ever spoken to him.

Officer Wang handed an insulated lunch box to him. “Officer Liu contracted the Apple Disease and was urgently sent to the isolation ward this afternoon. You’ve been helping him lately; this is some soup his mother made for you. Xiao Liu brought it this morning intending to give it to you, but since he can’t make it, I’m helping to hand it over.”

Unlike Officer Qin and Officer Xiao Liu, these two were like emotionless robots. After relaying the situation, they didn’t say another word.

When Wu Yao took the initiative to speak, their answers were also very brief.

Several police cars arrived one after another to take the traffickers and children away.

Seeing that he was about to be left by the roadside, Wu Yao pointed to himself. “I don’t need to go along?”

Officer Wang shook his head.

“Then can you give me a lift? This place is too remote, and it’s hard to get a taxi now.”

Officer Wang remained expressionless, staring up at Wu Yao. His eyes were very hollow, making one feel quite uncomfortable.

After a moment, he nodded and pulled open the car door.

There were only the two Officers Wang in this car. Wu Yao sat in the back row, and Wu Shiyi leaped in beside him, pressing against his leg in a protective stance.

Wu Yao didn’t talk to them anymore, leaning his cheek on his hand as he looked at the pedestrians on the street.

Every time the two Officers Wang answered a question, they would pause for about two seconds, yet they didn’t have this habit before.

Why was their reaction so slow?

The big dog in his arms suddenly let out a couple of whimpers. Wu Yao looked down to see Wu Shiyi shaking his head; the little wild flowers on his dog head were swaying back and forth, ready to tumble off at any moment.

He felt somewhat helpless. “I know, I know. These are gifts from the children, the little dog’s medals. I’ll turn them into a real flower pendant when we get back so you can wear them every day.”

Wu Shiyi froze, shook the little flowers a few times, and then bared his teeth at the police in the front row.

Wu Yao frowned at him, the smile on his lips gradually vanishing. “Are you serious?”

“Wang.”

A chill crawled up his spine. Wu Yao licked his lower lip, fussing with the little wild flowers with a complex expression.

The system put down the brain flowers. “What kind of riddles are you guys playing?”

“He noticed that the children we rescued and these two policemen both have a fixed two-second reaction time.”

“I don’t get it.”

“There’s a high probability they aren’t human.”

“Holy sh!t?”

Wu Yao had held those children earlier; the weight and feel were no different from a person. He didn’t know what they actually were.

Work finished early on Paradise Island. When Wu Yao returned home, many residents were taking strolls near the apartment.

Wu Yao specifically looked around; most people were quite normal, but the old man selling roasted sweet potatoes was half a beat slow in his reactions.

Something seemed to have happened in the inner world. Wu Shiyi kept pressing close to his shin and growling at the surroundings.

Locking the room door, Wu Yao opened the insulated lunch box.

He searched around with chopsticks for a long time, thinking Officer Xiao Liu wanted to pass him a clue, but inside were just ordinary home-cooked dishes.

The top layer contained dumplings with large fillings, and the bottom layer was a thick fishball soup.

Wu Shiyi leaned over the dumplings and sniffed them one by one, then picked one up in his mouth and brought it to Wu Yao.

Looking at the big dog wagging its tail, Wu Yao felt somewhat conflicted. “Tong, do you think I should trust my eyes? Is Shiyi holding the dumpling with his hand or picking it up with his mouth?”

“I’m not sure. The movements of the two worlds aren’t synchronized. Last time, I even saw Wu Shiyi holding a spoon and feeding himself porridge. In a game, that would be a bug, and you’d need at least a thousand gold coins in compensation.”

A dog couldn’t pick up a dumpling with one paw. Even if the man was pinching it with his hand, in Wu Yao’s eyes, it was being picked up by a dog’s mouth.

He would rather rummage through his own trash can than eat food that had been in a mouth.

The big black dog slowly blinked its clear eyes and suddenly smiled at him. The dog’s mouth pulled open, and the dumpling was suspended between the dog’s teeth.

It raised its right paw and stroked Wu Yao’s head over and over, just like how he usually stroked the dog.

Being stroked on the head by a dog felt very strange to Wu Yao.

Remembering the dog was actually a man made it feel even stranger.

The system said his train of thought was bizarre; he usually walked around naked in front of Wu Shiyi without feeling shy, yet being stroked on the head made the tips of his ears turn red with embarrassment.

This was just being stubborn.

Back when Wu Yao was a lackey for the “Big Boss,” he had followed him to bathhouses many times and was long used to it. Although everyone was “letting their birds fly,” their hands were honest, touching shoulders or waist at most.

There was no note hidden in the dumplings strictly selected by Shiyi. Wu Yao tried taking a few bites; the dumpling filling was very strange, with a fruity sweetness. He fished around in the fishball soup again and pulled out an apple core.

The flesh on it had already been sliced off, mixed with the fishballs and hidden in the soup.

It seemed Officer Xiao Liu had already sensed the existence of the inner world and found a way to make contact. He now trusted no one but Wu Yao.

Perhaps in the young officer’s eyes, Wu Yao was much more reliable than the oddly-behaving Officer Qin.

After eating, Wu Yao got up and went to the bathroom.

He had to wash quickly today. Once the apple took effect, he would see blood and filth all over the bathroom and wouldn’t be in the mood to shower.

Officer Xiao Liu was completely unreachable, and no one else called Wu Yao.

No one thanked him, as if he had never rescued over a dozen children from the hands of human traffickers.

When Wu Yao came out wearing a bathrobe, Wu Shiyi was leaning against the window looking out.

“What’s there to see outside?”

Wu Yao walked over, and the black dog habitually nuzzled him before letting out two barks.

“I don’t understand your barking. If only you could speak human language. I trust you most on this entire Paradise Island. You’re upright, loyal, and your brain isn’t stupid; there are many things I want to discuss with you.”

The wagging dog tail suddenly drooped. The black dog leaned its head against Wu Yao, comfortingly licking his palm.

A faint, strange smell was added to the fresh air. As time passed, the scent became increasingly thick, and the scene before Wu Yao’s eyes began to change.

The sky was a blood-red expanse. Raging fires swallowed the building opposite. Heatwaves blew toward Wu Yao with the sea breeze, and rolling thick smoke made breathing difficult.

Distant houses collapsed, and cracks continuously appeared on the roads. A deep pit collapsed in the ground, and cars drove out from the thick smoke one after another, plunging headlong into the pit.

In previous contacts, Wu Yao had only seen Paradise Island after the disaster.

The city was in ruins, and the injured were buried under the buildings; one could hear screams but couldn’t see a single living person.

What he saw this time was the world currently in the midst of the disaster.

Residents of the outer world were still strolling the streets enjoying their time, while burning people ran past them, some burning to death halfway and hitting the ground with a thud. Others rolled on the ground in front of the residents, crying out and groaning in pain.

Several girls were picking out flowers in front of a flower shop. In Wu Yao’s eyes, the flower shop had long since turned into a sea of fire.

The ceiling had collapsed, pinning the shop owner down. His mouth was wide open, his skin was almost carbonized, and one hand was reaching out desperately. The exquisitely dressed girls stood in front of him, tilting their heads to discuss with their companions whether to buy roses.

They couldn’t see each other and wouldn’t affect one another; one side was heaven, the other was hell.

The scene of the two worlds merging was truly too eerie. No wonder Wu Shiyi was so abnormal today, growling the whole way home.

The entire world was shaking. Just as Wu Yao was about to grab the windowsill to steady himself, he saw cobweb-like cracks rapidly spreading across the wall.

He immediately let go, but his movements were a step too slow. The glass shattered and the windowsill collapsed; Wu Yao fell forward uncontrollably.

In the next second, a pair of large hands gripped his waist tightly and pulled him back. Wu Yao’s body leaned back, crashing into a warm and solid embrace.

He panted and looked back. The dark-skinned man with dog ears was looking down at him worriedly, “Wu?”

“We need to go, this place is collapsing!”

The man shook his head.

Wu Yao took a few deep breaths and regained his composure. “Sorry, I forgot the other world won’t affect me. If you hadn’t pulled me just now, would I have slammed my head into the glass?”

Wu Shiyi didn’t answer, leaning down to comfortingly lick his cheek. The tip of his tongue slid bit by bit from his forehead to the corner of his eye.

After not licking for long, Wu Shiyi realized the man in his arms had stiffened. He tilted his head and licked twice more.

Like a cat that had its tail stepped on, Wu Yao pushed him away and backed up with wide eyes, “What are you doing!”

“Wang-wu?”

Wu Yao covered the spot that had been licked, his brain a tangled mess.

He had tried it before; Wu Shiyi’s thought process was similar to a human’s and he wouldn’t actually lick people back and forth like a dog.

Wait, ever since they took down the dog-fighting arena, he had started licking him. It was just that the dog-like appearance was too deceptive, so he hadn’t paid much attention to it.

So Wu Shiyi not only looked like a dog but also had a few dog-like habits. It wasn’t that he didn’t lick people; it was just that he only licked important people.

Just now, the man’s tongue had even touched his eyelid. Wu Yao had never had such intimate contact with anyone!

His heart was beating at an abnormal speed; all of this was so foreign to Wu Yao.

Amidst the system’s teasing noises, Wu Yao pointed at Wu Shiyi’s nose and commanded him to back up, forbidding him from following.

His face was not only dirty but also burning; he had to wash it clean as soon as possible.

Wu Yao turned to head toward the bathroom. As he passed the kitchen, he caught something in his peripheral vision and stopped abruptly.

In the kitchen, three monsters had appeared from somewhere and were sneakily surrounding Officer Xiao Liu’s insulated lunch box.

Wu Yao didn’t know what was hidden in the lunch box, but the monsters were controlled by the Mayor.

Whatever the Mayor didn’t want him to have, he definitely had to get.

Wu Yao was no longer in a hurry to wash his face. He picked up a beer bottle from beside the bed and gave a meaningful look to Wu Shiyi on the side.

“What are you standing around for? Go!”