Saving the Boss From a ‘Dog Blood’ Novel - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Birth of the Dog-God

If he didn’t have the surname Ye, the things he made wouldn’t even interest a dog.

That was his grandfather’s wise verdict.

But could an eighteen-year-old Ye Li believe that?

Inevitably not. Thus, holding his breath in defiance, he spent a month sending out his constructed data models everywhere under the identity of an ordinary university student, only for them to sink into the ocean without a trace.

Young people don’t believe in ill omens. He personally clutched his hard drive and showed up at the doors of several companies he favored, using the oldest method available: cornering people.

The results weren’t ideal. He was removed by security five times. On the sixth attempt, he finally managed to see a CEO. He was full of self-satisfaction, but who would have thought the man’s interests lay elsewhere? Upon meeting, the man began criticizing and nitpicking his appearance. When those “salty pig hands” grabbed his arm, Ye Li’s disgust reached its peak.

In this stupid and superficial world, was there really anyone who could understand his great vision?

Ye Li grew tired of hitting walls. For the first time, he began to reflect and examine whether his grandfather’s words actually held a grain of truth.

Just as he was about to define this month’s encounters as his “Life’s Waterloo,” things—f*cking miraculously, took a turn for the better.

Although the one who came knocking was only a startup company—something he wouldn’t have spared a glance for before, at that moment, he underwent a profound self-reflection. He had thought wrongly before; the helmsmen of leading enterprises were all a bunch of old fossils. Emerging enterprises were his true “Blue Ocean.”

Therefore, his attitude was solemn. Even before the two parties met, he had placed the other side in a position of “dear friend.”

Lu Mingtang was indeed good-looking: sword-like brows, starry eyes, and a handsome, sharp silhouette. If he hadn’t become a “night watchman” of the smart-tech circle, he could have flourished in the entertainment industry.

Thus, at their first meeting, Ye Li secretly regarded him as a blood brother from another mother.

If Lu Mingtang hadn’t kept a stiff face while nitpicking his work later, that day would have been even more pleasant than imagined.

He said: “AI training simulation is the trend of the future. Why do you want to pursue Biological Coordination?”

Ye Li practically rolled his eyes. Big Boss, don’t you want to do it too? Otherwise, why are you looking for me?

But after enduring a round of social “toxic beatings,” Ye Li had learned not to let his inner thoughts show on his face. He revealed a smile that could be described as “honest”:

“This type of technology will first be used in future deep-space navigation projects. In the vastness of the universe, is it really appropriate for humans to entrust their lives entirely to machines?”

“Previous experiments in this area all failed.” He spoke with casual ease, but the word “failed” was quite a euphemism here. Over the years, from schools and research institutes to the market, it had reached the point where merely mentioning “Biological Coordination” would cause people to call the police to report a scam.

It couldn’t be said that there were no people who continued to persist in this direction, but they generally had labels like “idiot,” “liar,” or “madman” hanging over their heads.

“And what about the ethical issues? Have you considered them?” Lu Mingtang propped his elbows on the desk, leaning forward. His beautiful eyes held a deep pool of mystery, fixed squarely on this excessively young challenger, full of scrutiny.

Ye Li had never been scrutinized like this. Even if he intended to step into a field full of ruins, during his first eighteen years as the future star of the Ye family, he had only received countless flowers and applause. During this past month as an ordinary university student, let alone scrutiny, he hadn’t even received many direct looks.

Technology had made “mechanical ascension” no longer a wild fantasy. The vast majority of people accepted that the human shell could not adapt to the space environment; the supreme mission of surging into the universe was thus handed over to digital humans: AI bionic guides, consciousness uploads, digital life… it had become a wave. In such an environment, there were a few contrarians, and Ye Li was one of them.

What kind of roaming is it to have robots roam? Humans should leave footprints on every conquered planet. If the flesh is weak, let the flesh ascend. Life science is the true way out. However, on this path, the weight of ethics far outweighs everything else.

He felt a spark of unprecedented excitement. An inexplicable rage suppressed in his bones was also triggered. He sneered with veiled sarcasm:

“Domesticating AI has no ethical issues? Putting bionics into production has no ethical issues? The indigenous people in the Sub-Belt are nearly being wiped out by those robots—where the f*ck has ‘ethics’ blocked a single gun barrel?”

As he finished, he saw a glimmer of genuine laughter leak from those eyes. He was momentarily dazed and instinctively took the hand the man reached out, hearing a deep, magnetic voice that seemed very gentle:

“In that case, happy collaborating.”

It turned out the scene of their first meeting wasn’t so bad after all.

Ye Li opened his eyes groggily, feeling as if he were sleeping next to a furnace. In his half-awake state, his brain reached a conclusion: A dog is a creature that is very afraid of heat. Thus, he was jolted fully awake.

He soon realized the dire state of the heat source.

After being in the rain for so long and then taking a cold bath, even a robust young man full of vigor might not pull through, let alone Lu Mingtang, who could no longer be called “young.”

Thanks to the puppy’s excellent night vision, the sparse strands of silver hidden at the man’s temples pricked his eyes. The lines between his brows and at the corners of his eyes all told the story of his experiences over these years.

He hadn’t had a good life these past few years. Ye Li used to not care at all.

But right now, he couldn’t. Ye Li reached out a puppy paw and touched the man’s forehead—it was scalding. Combined with his strained, burning breaths, if the fever continued, his temperature would hit 40°C.

What would follow—febrile seizures, dehydration, lung inflammation, heart strain…even brain damage—none of these were things a small puppy could handle.

Regardless of how much he had disliked him before, his conscience would not allow him to watch the man burn to death here, especially since he was in this state because he had performed a “good deed.”

Ye Li bolted out—he had to find someone.

The heavy rain had diluted most scents. Following a faint trace, he struggled to navigate the muddy streets. A light night rain fell from the sky, and his snow-white fur became filthy once again. Cold invaded the puppy’s body, but he finally found his destination. Using every ounce of his strength, he began to bark loudly.

Ah Feng was sleeping soundly when his mother reached out and pinched his ear. His brain wasn’t awake yet, but his body instinctively sat up:

“Mom, does your waist hurt again?”

“Is there a dog barking at the door?” His mother applied a bit more force; the pain in his ear successfully woke him up a bit more.

Ah Feng yawned: “Don’t know whose it is…why is it barking in the middle of the night? Tomorrow I’ll report them for disturbing the peace.”

“It seems to be right at our door, and it’s scratching…No, I have to go look.”

For some reason, his mother felt uneasy. She draped a coat over her shoulders and headed downstairs. Ah Feng hurriedly chased after her:

“Hey, wait! What if it’s a rabid dog!?”

“Even if it’s rabid, it’s just a puppy. What are you so afraid of?”

“…Brother Lu seemed to have a puppy there.” Ah Feng was now fully awake. He suddenly leaped past his mother to get ahead and pulled open the door. A filthy, soaking-wet puppy squeezed through the gap, bit the hem of his pants, and pulled outward.

“Is it? Is it from Ah Tang’s place?”

Ah Feng couldn’t be sure; during the day, it had been like a ball of snow… His mother kicked his backside:

“Dogs are highly sentient! Something must have happened to Ah Tang. Hurry up!”

His mother shoved him aside. Ye Li immediately identified who was the boss here, gave a bark, and ran outside.

Seeing its urgency, “Feng-Ma” didn’t dawdle at all, stepping into her slippers and wading straight into the muddy water.

“Is it sentient or uncanny? It’s practically becoming a spirit…” Ah Feng muttered as he chased after them.

Lu Mingtang woke up amidst a cacophony of noise.

A burning pain radiated from his throat to his chest. He opened his mouth, but his weak, raspy breath was drowned out by the loud voices by the bed.

“Awooo~”

Only then did he notice the soft, fluffy lump next to his arm—the puppy he had picked up… The voices nearby quieted for a second, then resumed at an even higher decibel:

“I told you it’s a ‘God-Dog’! It was the first one to notice Ah Tang wake up again!”

Thank you, Auntie, but whether it’s a God-Dog or a Dog-God, it’s not in my life plan. Ye Li instinctively squeezed further into the crook of Lu Mingtang’s arm.

As a “God-Dog” that had saved its master, he had also been handled properly the moment the master was rescued. His coat of mud had been washed clean, and no one cared that he was occupying a small portion of the patient’s bed. Anyway, whatever he did now, everyone felt it contained some mysterious significance.

Ye Li pawed at Lu Mingtang’s dry, cracked lips with a trace of sympathy; only then did a “two-legged beast” with eyes realize and bring water over.

However, bringing water didn’t stop her from talking excitedly:

“Dogs are the most sentient creatures; they know how to choose their masters. Otherwise, why would such a small pup bypass everyone else just to pester Ah Tang! And it knows how to protect its master—it’s a natural talent! With such heavy rain outside, this little thing had only seen my Ah Feng once, yet it actually found us. If it hadn’t led us to find Ah Tang, god knows what disaster would have happened by tomorrow. If this isn’t ‘sentience,’ what is? It’s practically ‘divine’!

But in the end, it’s still Ah Tang who is impressive. Even his dog-raising is top-tier. He’s been like this since he was a kid; there’s nothing he can’t do…”

“Fourth Aunt…”

Lu Mingtang had a splitting headache. He forced himself to listen to her ramble starting from the time he took first place in primary school. Through the fragmented narrative, he managed to piece together the events of the night. He looked with surprise at the puppy on the bed, then toward the woman who was currently creating a whirlwind of gossip among the neighbors.

Fourth Aunt—Ah Feng’s mom—now held absolute control over the conversation in the clinic. Her speech was so dense the doctor couldn’t even get a word in:

“Even in school, the teachers doted on him like he was their own eye. He’s been sensible since he was small; who’s ever seen a three-year-old starting to help out the family?”

As “supporting evidence” for Lu Mingtang being a good, studious child, Ye Li began to empathize with his embarrassment. It wasn’t because he had such a blunt elder on his own growth path, but because this aunt, who clearly didn’t know the meaning of “subtlety,” was fabricating rumors right in front of the involved dog.

The dog was indeed a dog, and its intelligence was real, but saying he had sprinted five hundred meters in ten seconds to save his master was quite ridiculous. Fourth Aunt didn’t seem to realize that the Olympics didn’t have a sprinting event for dogs.

“Look, look! He’s embarrassed! He understands!”

At this moment, one could see just how lacking the entertainment life of the elderly was. A single incident repeated three or four times within an hour could still draw a house full of followers. The uncles listened intently, Fourth Aunt was able to continue adding “oil and vinegar” to the story, and Ah Feng had fallen into a daze…

What happened? What occurred? What detail did I miss?

The clinic was very noisy, not at all suitable for a patient’s recovery. Because of the heavy rain, many people’s houses were flooded; even in the middle of the night, they were busy working, and since they couldn’t sleep well anyway, they all came to join the commotion.

They had watched Lu Mingtang grow up. When Fourth Aunt spoke, they could all chip in a few words, making the person on the bed feel as though he had traveled back to the past—back when his parents hadn’t passed away and the house was constantly noisy.

The soundproofing of the old house was poor. The adults would play mahjong in the shop; he would do his homework in the room through the thin door panel. The door would be pushed open every so often, and an aunt with zero sense of boundaries would push an utterly reluctant child over to “learn from him.”

Among the circle of children, someone like him should have been quite annoying, but he was actually the “King of the Kids” in this area.

Once a top student collects the traits of being good-looking, having a stable personality, and being loyal, they can walk sideways in any circle of men, women, young, or old.

Anyone could see how much his parents took pride in him.

So they worked themselves to death, trying to pave a wealthy path for him. It seemed the only “imperfect” part of the perfect Lu Mingtang was this pair of parents.

But in the end, they only left him a single, dilapidated old shop.

Lu Mingtang declined the uncles’ requests to stay up and watch over him, insisting on going home as soon as he finished this bottle of IV fluids. The doctor said there was noise in his lungs and that the fever had only just subsided—he should go to the hospital for a thorough checkup—but it was treated as “wind passing by the ear.”

He had been strong-minded since he was small. Plus, having become successful later, he had helped almost every elderly person, orphan, or vulnerable resident in the village. Consequently, his word carried absolute weight here.

If he was determined not to do something, no one could force him.

Ye Li had discovered his nearly dictatorial nature years ago. They would agree to seek “democratic opinions,” but the result would always be entirely his opinion—it had made Ye Li laugh with anger.

He already had a father at home, and his father had another father above him. He had come out on his own specifically because he didn’t want to be anyone’s “son”, he wanted to be the “boss.”

But now it was fine. The species had changed. He didn’t even get to be a grandson.

Ye Li, reduced to a pet, could only follow him home step-by-step. Watching his swaying back, the puppy began to wonder who he should find to save the man next time.