The Girl Next Door

That night, Xiao Xiao slept soundly.

It seemed that ever since he had realized he was an outsider in this world, the negative effects his panic had brought him were becoming increasingly mild.

It wasn't that he had completely recovered. Whenever he started to tense up, the symptoms of time stretching out and his mind operating like a Mind Burst would still appear, with no sign of easing.

It was just that he was becoming more and more accustomed to controlling his focus and thoughts in that state, and was gradually adapting to coexisting with this bizarre world in such a strange condition.

As a result, the pressure slowly lessened.

Seriously, in a world full of monsters, what need was there to keep himself so tightly wound?

He got up early the next morning to prepare for work at the docks. As he left with one of the fried flatbreads his mother had bought hanging from his mouth, he turned his head and saw the three adorable dogs from the neighboring house lying against the fence and wagging their tails at him.

His heart stirred slightly. Seeing that no one was watching, he pulled the sausage out of the flatbread and walked over to the fence.

As soon as the three adorable dogs saw him coming over, they became wildly excited, wagging their tails furiously. Then they noticed the sausage pinched in his hand and began drooling furiously as well.

It was a very strange feeling. The moment Xiao Xiao saw these three dogs, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He didn't know whether it was because they already belonged to him in the city's deeper logic, or because they had helped him during the previous incident involving the cleanup of experimental subjects. In any case, whenever Xiao Xiao saw them, he felt especially close to them—a world away from the instinctive terror he had felt whenever he saw them in his memories. It was as if, in some sense, they were now the beings closest to him.

Under the influence of some mysterious force, this sense of closeness even made Xiao Xiao feel that they were all very obedient to him.

No, it wasn't merely obedience. It was a level above that.

It was more like... understanding the spirit of his instructions?

He tossed a sausage into the fence and ordered them in a low voice, "Don't fight over it. Share."

The three dogs, which had already leaped half a meter into the air, immediately settled down. They obediently took one bite each. The black-and-white one seemed somewhat unwilling, but after the black dog growled at it, it instantly behaved.

"How amazing..."

The more Xiao Xiao watched, the more entertaining it became. He leaned against this side of the fence and kept issuing commands. "You, bite its tail..."

The yellow dog shot over and bit the black-and-white dog's tail. The latter let out a shriek as if it had been violated.

"Sing a song..."

The other two dogs were at a loss over the command, but the black-and-white dog immediately lifted its head and began belting out high notes at the top of its lungs, looking as if it was thoroughly enjoying itself.

Xiao Xiao felt an unexpected burst of happiness and ordered them again, "Go on, ride it!"

This time, the command went unfulfilled. The three dogs' expressions became uniformly solemn. They raised three tangled, aggrieved dog faces and looked at the excited Xiao Xiao.

They were all male, bro. How were they supposed to ride each other?

"So they aren't obedient machines. Even as dogs, they each have their own personalities and tempers..."

Xiao Xiao thought silently.

The one with the large head, thick neck, black muzzle, and yellow face was tall and powerful, with a brutal and ferocious fighting style. Whenever summoned, it charged in without a word.

The large yellow dog with its long fur was loyal and clever, clearly the strategist among the three.

As for the black-and-white one...

...Well, it was simply an idiot.

So, was enhancing them a necessity?

Come to think of it, could he leave the black-and-white one out when enhancing them?

"Hello..."

While Xiao Xiao stood by the fence, watching the three dogs romp around and pondering, he suddenly heard a timid girl's voice from the neighbor's yard.

He instinctively looked up and saw a girl in a white dress walking out with half a bag of dog food in her arms.

The girl was only sixteen or seventeen, right at the height of her carefree youth.

She wore a simple little white dress, a baseball cap, and white sneakers beneath her slender ankles. It naturally gave her an innocent, bright beauty.

Bathing in the morning sunlight, her skin was as fair and tender as a peeled egg. Seeing how close the three dogs were with Xiao Xiao, she looked slightly stunned.

These three guys had never been this close even with her...

"...Hello."

Xiao Xiao came to his senses and smiled as he greeted the girl. After all, she was the designated caretaker of his three dogs.

The girl's name was Nuo Nuo. She was seven or eight years younger than him, and the two of them could be considered childhood acquaintances. In his memories, she was just as she was now, always wearing a white dress.

She had a gentle temperament and always seemed to speak in that timid manner. It was difficult to imagine why she would raise three such vicious Big Dogs.

"They're so cute..."

The current situation was a little confusing. In the eyes of the City Will, these three dogs had already been bought by him, but in reality, they were still being raised by this young girl.

Xiao Xiao felt like someone caught cheating. He could only smile awkwardly and offer an explanation.

"Yes, they are..."

Nuo Nuo carried the dog food over and poured half a bag into the bowl. "They said these three were really fierce when we bought them, but they turned out to be nothing but big goofballs."

The three adorable dogs turned to look at the dog food, then turned back to look at Xiao Xiao.

Not one of them moved. They simply turned around again and wagged their tails frantically at Xiao Xiao.

The girl froze. Standing beside the bowl of dog food, she felt as if she had been abandoned. These three fools weren't fierce at all, and now they didn't even recognize their owner anymore?

"Dogs are better when they're goofy. It makes them more fun."

Xiao Xiao gave the three dogs a meaningful glance, ordering them to show some restraint in front of their original owner.

The three dogs understood Xiao Xiao's command. Only then did they reluctantly return to eat the dog food.

The girl lowered her head, stroked the dogs' heads, and nodded silently.

Xiao Xiao was just about to say something when he noticed a coin-sized bruise at the corner of the girl's mouth. There was also a bandage stuck to the slender wrist she had extended.

He was somewhat curious, but although he had known the girl for a long time, they had never been close, so he didn't feel comfortable asking.

He turned around and was about to continue on to the docks for work when Nuo Nuo suddenly raised her head and called out to him, "Brother Xiao..."

Xiao Xiao turned back and looked at her in surprise.

The girl's face had somehow flushed all the way to her ears. As if she had spent a long time gathering her courage, she asked softly, "D-do you have any money on you?"

Xiao Xiao was immediately surprised. "What do you need it for?"

Nuo Nuo was silent for a long time before saying, "I... Could I borrow two thousand yuan from you? I'll definitely pay you back."

Families living in their neighborhood shouldn't have been too badly off—except for his own.

Xiao Xiao also remembered that the girl's mother was a strong, capable businesswoman whose company was quite large. Even the car she drove was custom-made.

There was no reason for her to borrow money from him...

Could this be another manifestation of the City Will? Had she made this move under the influence of some other will?

Xiao Xiao couldn't figure it out for the moment. After the girl finished speaking, she silently lowered her head, seeming afraid to meet his eyes.

The three adorable dogs stood between them, looking at one, then the other, before lowering their heads to snatch another mouthful of dog food.

In the end, Xiao Xiao couldn't bring himself to refuse her. He nodded gently.

Nuo Nuo was unexpectedly touched. What moved her most was that Xiao Xiao had agreed to lend her the money without asking what she needed it for.

She immediately added him as a contact and promised that she would definitely pay him back.

Xiao Xiao smiled and agreed. Then he turned and left the neighborhood to take the subway to work at the docks. Before leaving, he glanced back and vaguely felt that his connection with the three adorable dogs had deepened on yet another level.

Should I really try enhancing them once?

Xiao Xiao had the thought again, but when he remembered that one enhancement cost one hundred points, he still felt reluctant.

He hadn't even repaid Yang Jia the one hundred points he owed her.

As he was thinking about this, he had only just boarded the subway when he received a message from the little designer Ruan Ruan. "Handsome big brother, have you checked your points?"

"I have."

Xiao Xiao had already seen them the previous night. The points had been credited: three hundred and three points. He hurriedly replied, "Are you sure you don't need me to give you some? Should I repay Yang Jia now?"

"No need..."

The little designer Ruan Ruan sent a cheerful string of messages. "Jiajia-jie doesn't lack that one hundred points. I didn't contribute much during this mission, so I won't take any of yours either."

"Besides, with these three hundred points, your enhancement has reached a crucial stage..."

"..."

Xiao Xiao was curious. "What do you mean? Do I need to exchange them for something?"

Ruan Ruan replied, "The situation is a little complicated. I just didn't expect you to gain so much all at once."

"In short, with these points, you can already choose to exchange them for one unit of an intermediate Enhancement Element to improve yourself. Three units still count as one complete set."

"Now you can choose to buy one first, or save up to six hundred points and buy three at once."

"Normally, as a newcomer, you buy one whenever you can. After all, once you've used an intermediate Enhancement Element, you'll count as an experienced user."

"But you only completed your beginner enhancement a few days ago, and you used three at once. If you immediately purchase an intermediate genetic enhancement agent, the interval will be too short. I'm worried the burden on your body will be too great."

"..."

"That's true..."

Xiao Xiao felt that he understood and nodded silently. "Medicine is toxic in three parts, after all..."

"..."

Ruan Ruan froze for a moment before replying, "That's not what I mean. At most, the burden on your body will exceed its limit, your genes will collapse, and you'll turn into a monster or a puddle of blood..."

Xiao Xiao: "...Isn't that even more toxic than medicine?"

"So, my advice is either to use these three hundred points to buy some powerful weapons."

"Or save them."

The little designer Ruan Ruan said, "Save up to six hundred points, directly complete the intermediate enhancement, and use this time to understand yourself and determine which enhancement path you want to specialize in later."

Xiao Xiao had no objections to a professional's advice and immediately agreed.

However, Xiao Xiao had once thought even one hundred points was too expensive. Now that he realized he had more than three hundred points sitting unused in his hands...

The enhancement of the Demolition Hounds, the Old Record Player, and the Butcher bound to the chainsaw...

Who was braising meat? Why did it smell so good?