[Host defeated a stronger opponent, subduing and driving back a tier-three fire deity. Survival points: 2,000.]
Zeng Shen's eyes lit up at the system notification. He immediately thought that Master Ma might be a repeatable source of points!
He promptly called out warmly to Master Ma, who was running toward the park gates.
"Master Ma, when can we spar again? Would tomorrow work?"
Hearing Zeng Shen's words as he ran, Master Ma stumbled and nearly landed face-first.
After Master Ma ran off, the elderly people around them gave Zeng Shen no trouble. They simply supported the unconscious young streamer and dispersed.
It was as though nothing had happened, yet also as though something had.
Zeng Shen turned and continued toward the shopping street.
[Warning! Warning! You are about to enter an abandoned and dangerous shopping street. A group of terrifying, exceptionally vicious mutant beasts occupies this area. Some fallen and dangerous deities are hunting here with their slaves. Please move away as soon as possible.]
Ignoring the warning in his ears, he kept going.
Zeng Shen arrived at a supermarket that sold pet supplies.
Seeing Zeng Shen come in, the owner immediately approached him with a friendly greeting. "Young man, you're back! Looking for some toys for your cats and dogs this time?"
Zeng Shen thought for a moment, then nodded.
"Any recommendations?"
"These Mint Cat Balls are a well-known brand and a very popular pet toy. Just squeeze or press one, and it releases a scent that attracts cats. It's harmless, too." The owner pointed to a row of colorful balls on the shelf, each the size of an adult's fist and resembling gummy candy.
"How much for ten of these Mint Cat Balls?"
"One hundred each. A thousand for ten."
Zeng Shen's face darkened.
These lousy balls were way too expensive.
Ten balls cost as much as a month's rent.
No, I needed to get home and use that jade gemstone card, then send mining carts to extract some jade so I could sell it for cash.
After a long bout of bargaining with the owner, Zeng Shen finally paid five hundred yuan, bought just fifty Mint Cat Balls, and left the supermarket.
As for cat houses?
He decided not to buy them here.
It definitely, absolutely wasn't because he couldn't afford them anymore.
He simply needed so many that carrying them would be inconvenient.
In the end, Zeng Shen decided to check the general merchandise section of Pinxixi Grocery and order cat beds there. They could be delivered to his door by noon tomorrow.
He left the supermarket.
Zeng Shen hadn't earned any survival points from the owner.
That didn't surprise him.
After all, when he used the Eye of Observation to check the owner's information, the result was the same as for most people or animals on the shopping street: nothing more than remains left by someone who had died in the cataclysm.
[Warning! Warning! This apartment building is extremely dangerous. It is occupied by a tier-three curse deity and their followers. With the host's and the host's believers' current strength, you are no match for them whatsoever. Please lead your followers and mount away from this place immediately to avoid capture and enslavement by curses.]
Good Fortune Residential Complex.
Amid another warning notification, Zeng Shen returned to his apartment.
With a creak, the door moved.
The apartment door opened, and a cheerful bark rang out.
"Woof, woof!"
Xiao Bai, who had sat by the door for hours, wagged his tail and barked at Zeng Shen with extraordinary joy, as though he had recovered something he thought he had lost.
Then, a moment later-
Tiny specks of milky-white light, visible only to Zeng Shen, rose from Xiao Bai and flowed into his body.
[Congratulations, host. Your Hellhound has developed intense faith in you and become your fanatical believer. Survival points +1,000, faith +100.]
"Huh?"
Zeng Shen was stunned.
He couldn't quite understand.
How had Xiao Bai become a fanatical believer just because he had left him at home for a few hours and then returned?
Puzzled, Zeng Shen watched the little white dog rubbing incessantly against his feet and barking ingratiatingly. Even when he went to the bathroom, Xiao Bai insisted on staying right beside him.
At that moment, he thought of the lost-cat effect.
Supposedly, after a cat got lost and returned to its owner's arms, it would become especially obedient and clingy.
Xiao Bai had originally been a stray he had taken in. No, perhaps he was a puppy someone had somehow lost. Being left home alone for several hours might have triggered something similar to the lost-cat effect.
After using the bathroom, Zeng Shen settled onto the sofa with Xiao Bai in his arms. "Xiao Bai, how about I take you somewhere to play in a bit?"
"Woof, woof."
The little chow seemed to understand him. A hint of curiosity and happiness appeared in his large, moist, almond-shaped eyes.
"Haha, I'll take you over once I've bought a few things."
Smiling, Zeng Shen opened Pinxixi on his phone and selected a batch of cat beds, litter trays, and other supplies. He paid a thousand yuan using Pinxixi's monthly credit service, then prepared to open the Divine Realm Gate.
Just then, a notification suddenly buzzed on his WeChat.
Zeng Shen opened it and saw a message from his beloved girlfriend, Li Yuqing.
"Hubby, I've been busy until now, and my phone ran out of battery earlier. I didn't know you'd messaged me. Sorry."
"Don't say sorry from now on. Say 'I love you' instead," Zeng Shen replied.
"Hehe, got it. I love you, hubby. I'm so sleepy now I can barely keep my eyes open while eating. I really want to sleep."
Smiling, Zeng Shen sent a concerned voice message. "Haha, then finish dinner, take a shower, and get some sleep."
"Yes, sir, hubby. I'm putting my phone aside to charge and eating quickly," Li Yuqing replied in a voice message of her own.
"Wait, wifey, do you know anywhere that buys jade?"
"Buys jade? I have an uncle in Jinhai City who's in the jade business. Do you have some jade you want to sell, hubby?"
"That's right, sweetheart. I have a jade mine at home, so your hubby has loads of jade now. I'd like to find a reliable buyer and sell some."
Zeng Shen told her the truth.
But he knew Li Yuqing wouldn't believe him.
She would only take it as bragging.
Sure enough.
It was just as he had expected.
Li Yuqing sent back a voice message with a laugh.
"You really do love bragging, hubby."
Another voice message followed immediately.
"But since you have jade you want to sell and don't want to say where it came from, I won't ask. When I get back on Monday, I'll take you to my uncle's shop. We'll definitely get a good price."
Zeng Shen smiled to himself without explaining much.
"All right, go eat, wifey."
"As you command, my husband."
Li Yuqing sent that slightly playful voice message along with a sticker.
After replying with a sticker, Zeng Shen put his phone aside to charge, focused his consciousness, and opened the Divine Realm Gate.
The instant the Divine Realm Gate opened in the living room-
Xiao Bai, who was lying beside him, was awestruck by the divine palace visible through the gate. He slowly rose and edged forward, walking toward the Divine Realm Gate.
Or rather, he walked toward the enormous statue at the palace entrance, which resembled both a wolf and a dog and held a ball of blazing fire in its mouth.