Dog Dependence Syndrome

Beyond the hole behind the opened iron gate was a passage leading toward the basement of the small building. There were no steps, so they had to jump straight down.

The passage was just over a meter high, so anyone going through had to crouch. Above it, however, there was another meter or so of space.

With no stairs, anyone entering the hole had to jump down.

It was more than two meters high and not very wide, so it wasn't easy for an ordinary person to get down.

Lu Xi'an guessed that the basement must have been dug out from somewhere else when it was built.

After Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei jumped in, they crouched and squeezed through the passage for about two meters. Then the space before them suddenly opened up.

They stepped down from a one-meter-high ledge into a square room. Desks and chairs, computers, beds, and cabinets lining the walls came into view.

There was also a toilet and a sink against the corner. A metal ladder lay beside the sink, and it looked just the right size to fit sideways at the passage entrance.

Lu Xi'an understood. The ladder must have been for people to climb down from the entrance, after which they could pull it away.

If someone discovered the basement and tried to enter, they would have to jump down through the hole, making a noise that would alert the people inside.

After climbing down, they would still have to crouch through a passage. That would give anyone in the basement enough time to react and attack intruders in the passage with weapons.

There were no signs of a struggle here, though. It was clear that this setup had never been put to use.

There were no traces of people here at all—not even skeletons or hair. The shelves lining the walls were completely empty, too.

Lu Xi'an seriously doubted whether the basement had ever been used after it was built.

He took a look around. The bed did have a mattress, and it was softer than the one at the Fengcheng County, Tan Village Entrance shelter. It should be quite comfortable to sleep on.

There were creases in the bedsheet, so someone must have sat or even lain on it. But perhaps someone had simply tested it after everything had been set up, then left without staying there.

"Did you find anything?"

Lu Xi'an asked Yao Wei.

Yao Wei shook her head to show that she hadn't.

"What about you, Dog?"

Lu Xi'an asked the Mechanical Dog.

The dog's eyes flashed twice, indicating that it hadn't found anything either.

It seemed there really was nothing here. It was also possible that the basement had never been used.

Lu Xi'an looked around once more, still unwilling to give up. His gaze fell on the computer on the desk, and he had the dog connect it to the power supply.

The computer still turned on, but the case buzzed loudly. The fan inside was clearly struggling under years of accumulated dust.

It took the computer a while to start up. Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei waited several minutes before the screen finally loaded the last page that had been open.

Unfortunately, the computer had a desktop password. Lu Xi'an tried 1234567890, as well as six ones, six sixes, eight eights, and the like, but none of them worked.

He didn't dare keep trying at random in case the computer locked itself.

"Ah, if only Dog could crack the password while it was powering the computer."

Lu Xi'an sighed.

The dog always went dormant while supplying power. Otherwise, it could crack the password.

Yao Wei nodded, but then felt that it was a little greedy of her to think that way.

The dog was already so capable. What more could she ask of it?

She didn't voice that thought to Lu Xi'an, though. The dog belonged to him, and she couldn't use her own standards to make demands of him.

Besides, no matter how much Lu Xi'an hoped for it, the dog really couldn't do it.

Just then, Lu Xi'an suddenly thought of something and turned to Yao Wei.

"Why don't we look for the building's electrical box? We can use your Power Bank to turn on the power, then have Dog try cracking the password again."

He'd suddenly remembered that Yao Wei had a tool that could send power through a circuit via an electrical box.

Before they had the dog, Yao Wei had always used it to power the pumps when she went to gas stations. Now that they were both relying on the dog, they'd completely forgotten about the tool.

Yao Wei realized it too and nodded. "All right."

She immediately turned and went to look for the electrical box.

She was a little annoyed with herself. How had she forgotten about a tool she already had?

Lately, she seemed to have been relying too much on Lu Xi'an...

And relying on Dog even more...

She couldn't keep going on like this!

But Dog really was so useful...

Lost in thought, she found the electrical box in one of the rooms.

Compared to the basement, the rooms in the small building were in complete disarray. They were empty and looked as if countless people had passed through. Even the doors and windows had been removed.

Those that hadn't been removed had been smashed to pieces.

Yao Wei found the electrical box on the wall at the turn of the staircase in the two-story building.

She'd carried her backpack with her when she got out of the car. The tool for supplying power was inside, so she took it out and connected it to the wires in the electrical box. That did the trick.

She tested the lights in the room, and they still worked. The circuit was fine, too.

After closing the electrical box and concealing it, Yao Wei retraced her steps to the basement. She couldn't help thinking again:

She was always worried that the power stored in the power supply tool would run out, but Dog didn't have to worry about that. Could she have Dog recharge it?

The power supply tool had a charging port, and Dog could charge the drone. Charging the tool shouldn't be a problem either.

After jumping back into the hole and passing through the passage, she found the basement lit up. The incandescent light flickered, though, as if it might fail at any moment.

Lu Xi'an had already unplugged the computer tower and monitor from the dog's back and connected them to the basement's own power supply.

The dog extended a data cable and connected it to the computer. Red light flashed in its eyes as it worked on cracking the password.

This was no difficult task for it. When Yao Wei walked up to the screen, the locked desktop had just changed, and a row of application icons appeared.

The password had been cracked.

Dog really was so useful!

Yao Wei couldn't help thinking.

Then she suddenly felt confused.

That sounded like something Lu Xi'an would say.

She'd never used to think that way...

Had she caught it from him?

Yao Wei couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

But Dog really was useful.

There were only five applications on the desktop: "This PC," "Control Panel," "Recycle Bin," "Video," and "Audio."

The Control Panel was useless to Lu Xi'an, and the Recycle Bin was completely empty. He opened "This PC" to take a look. It seemed to be the equivalent of "My Computer."

But it was almost completely empty, too. When he opened it, all he found were folders of program files.

There was nothing else.

Lu Xi'an had no choice but to check the Video and Audio folders. The Video folder contained a list packed with video files. He took a look; they were all movies and TV shows, apparently meant to entertain whoever had stayed here.

He had no idea where the movies and shows were stored, though. He couldn't find them anywhere in "This PC."

Lu Xi'an checked "Audio" next. Instead of songs or anything like that, it contained files named with timestamps.

2100/5/1

2100/5/2

2100/5/3

Up to 2100/5/7.

Seven days of fun?

Lu Xi'an frowned and opened the first timestamp file. A voice came through the computer's built-in speakers:

There's no signal here anymore. I can only go to another shelter, but it's too cold there to rest.

Starting today, I'll have to go there every day to receive the signal, then come back here to rest. Also, I've run out of paper. From now on, after I get a message, I'll do my best to remember it and write it down here.

Sigh, I should've been keeping records on the computer from the start. Then I'd still have paper to use, and it'd be more convenient at that shelter...

Happy New Year, everyone!

If you like this book and think it's worth reading, I hope you'll set aside a little time to keep up with it over the New Year holiday. It's only two chapters a day, not much, and you'll finish them in no time.

Thank you all for your support!