Loyal Dog

Fidelis Hound.

This was the largest dog Ye Yan had ever seen.

With a coat of tawny fur, its frame was broad enough to block half an adult man.

Its appearance looked much like an ordinary Great Dane, but in reality, just like the Light-Phosphor Moth he had seen before, the Fidelis Hound was a product created by the Royal Research Institute, possessing something special in its bloodline.

Seemingly sensing Ye Yan's gaze, the big yellow dog's ear tips twitched, and its moist black nose stopped twitching.

It lifted its head in alert.

The moment its eyes met Ye Yan's, those tense muscle lines relaxed once again.

It tilted its large, furry head, and its tail began to wag left and right involuntarily, causing those amber eyes—which should have been sharp—to reveal a touch of childlike, naive innocence.

"Parker seems to like you."

Watson said with a smile.

"The Fidelis Hound possesses both the ferocity of a lion and the loyalty of a devoted dog; it rarely shows closeness to strangers other than its own master."

"Perhaps I'm just popular with small animals?"

Ye Yan replied.

Being liked by a dog was certainly better than being chased and bitten by one.

The combat prowess of a Fidelis Hound was no joke; even an adult male lion might not be able to defeat it.

Ye Yan had originally intended to follow Uncle Jules's suggestion and borrow a dog from the Administration. Before he could act, Watson, who had come to visit, learned of the matter and took the initiative to bring over Parker, whom he raised himself.

This saved him the trouble of filing a report.

Ye Yan squatted down and tentatively reached out a hand.

Parker immediately stepped forward, sniffing his palm with its wet nose, then extended its tongue to lick his fingers; the rough sensation made him chuckle softly.

"It seems you two will get along very well." Watson nodded with satisfaction and pulled out a leather notebook: "This is a record of Parker's habits and training commands. It is very intelligent and can understand most commands issued by humans."

Ye Yan took the notebook and froze upon opening the first page, which detailed Parker's daily menu:

Breakfast was medium-rare steak with fresh milk, lunch was mackerel sashimi mixed with egg yolk, and dinner even included luxurious dishes like canned sardines and potato stewed chicken.

"This..." Ye Yan looked up, just in time to see Dr. Watson rubbing his beard with a hint of embarrassment.

"Parker is a failed experimental subject from the Royal Research Institute. I met a researcher from the Sanctuary during a surgery. He knew I liked dogs, so he gave Parker to me."

Watson paused and continued: "To be honest, its food doesn't actually need to be that good; usually, feeding it some canned ham and milk is fine.

It's just that I always want to treat it a little better. You don't know, when Parker first arrived, it was such a pitiful little thing..."

Alright then.

It was clear that the doctor really loved dogs.

Ye Yan had reason to suspect that the reason Watson, as a lead surgeon in this world, was still not wealthy was partly because he was raising Parker.

It was said that the Fidelis Hound had three treasures.

The first treasure was its coat, which never shed; it was waterproof and fireproof, and some pure-blooded Fidelis Hounds could even harden their fur to resist blades.

The second treasure was its sharp teeth; their astonishing bite force allowed them to crush a skull in one go.

The third treasure was its loyal heart, which would firmly execute any command given by its master.

Even though Parker was a failed experiment, it did not affect its loyal heart. At this moment, it was gently rubbing its nose against the back of Watson's hand, seemingly expressing its affection and reluctance to part with its master.

"For these three days, I'll leave Parker in your care."

Watson put on his round hat and handed Ye Yan a bag filled with various meat cans: "Remember, don't let it steal any chocolate. Last time it stole the chocolate I prepared for the head nurse, and then it shed fur all over the room."

Ye Yan turned to look at Parker's innocent, wide eyes and suddenly felt that this dog didn't seem so well-behaved after all.

Watson gave a few more instructions before leaving.

Ye Yan was left staring at Parker.

"So... would you like some milk?" Ye Yan cleared his throat and asked.

Parker understood his words and nodded repeatedly.

Ye Yan went back to the kitchen, took out a small bowl, and poured some milk. He watched as Parker impatiently buried its entire face into the bowl, its tail beating a happy rhythm against the floor.

After Parker finished drinking, it licked its milk-stained paws, still wanting more.

Ye Yan squatted down and patted Parker's head.

"For these three days, help me keep an eye on that woman. If she makes any suspicious moves, just bark."

He pointed to the unconscious witch in the living room.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Ye Yan kept the witch named Julie in a state of unconsciousness, only waking her briefly when she needed to be fed.

"But before that, Parker..." He narrowed his eyes: "You wouldn't happen to be planning on stealing chocolate to shed your fur for fun, just because you won't be poisoned by theobromine, would you?"

Parker's ears twitched subtly, and the frequency of its tail wagging suddenly became unnatural. It turned its head away, pretending to be very interested in a landscape painting on the wall.

"Are you feeling guilty?"

Parker's movements froze, and it slowly raised its head.

Suddenly, it rolled over to expose its furry belly, letting out a fawning whimper.

Ye Yan couldn't help but reach out to rub its soft abdomen, saying with a smile, "It seems I'll have to eat all the chocolate in the house, hmm?"

Parker's ears immediately drooped.

"Parker, how about we make a deal?"

Ye Yan extended a finger with a beaming smile: "I give you a can of ham, and you give me one of your hairs?"

Parker stuck out its tongue and nodded immediately. It even raised a front paw, patting Ye Yan's palm in a proper manner, as if stamping a seal to confirm the transaction.

Ye Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

The metal pull-tab was lifted, and the rich aroma of meat immediately permeated the room. Parker's nose twitched frantically, its tail wagged so hard it was almost taking flight, and saliva dripped uncontrollably from the corner of its mouth, splashing into tiny droplets on the floor.

"Don't rush, let me get a hair first."

Ye Yan fished a pair of small silver scissors from a drawer and gently parted the thick fur on Parker's neck.

Although Parker was whining with greed, it sat obediently, though the tip of its tail couldn't stop thumping against the floor.

Click.

A hair was snipped off. Ye Yan held it up to the sunlight to observe, discovering that the hair shimmered with a faint, dark earthy luster, and its texture was tough yet flexible, not at all like the fur of an ordinary dog.

"Alright, the deal is done."

Ye Yan placed the can in front of Parker.

Before he could even finish speaking, Parker had already rushed forward impatiently, the smacking sounds of its eating accompanied by satisfied purrs, sounding exceptionally loud in the quiet living room.

Ye Yan stored Parker's hair into his consciousness space.

[Fidelis Hound Hair]
[Category: Tier 1 Material]
[A can of ham in exchange for a single hair; for both parties, this is undoubtedly a very cost-effective trade.]
[Aspect: Heart, Scale]

Ye Yan's eyes lit up.

As expected.

Parker's hair was also a Tier 1 material.

When he first heard the description of the three treasures of the Fidelis Hound, Ye Yan had a premonition that the fur and teeth of a Fidelis Hound were materials for crafting tools.

He certainly wouldn't pull out Parker's teeth just to verify his hypothesis, but taking a few insignificant hairs from Parker was perfectly fine.

Unfortunately, he didn't have any recipes on hand that could utilize this material.

As for the newly appeared Principle of Scale.

This was a complete surprise.

"Firm on the surface, solid within; difficult to awaken, even harder to suppress."

Looking at the description of the Principle of Scale, Ye Yan sighed. So, the descriptions for principles like Lamp, Forge, and Heart could be so clear and straightforward, while the descriptions for principles like Honey, Guidance, and Scale were so obscure and difficult to understand.

Could there be some secret hidden within this?

Ye Yan suddenly sat up straight, a thought flashing through his mind like lightning.

Could the principles themselves be divided into two categories?

One category being widely circulated universal principles, and the other being special principles that were deliberately hidden?

But the special principles of this world seemed quite common.

He looked thoughtfully at Parker, who was wolfing down its food, and thinking of the source of Parker's secret bloodline, he became increasingly interested in the New Continent of this world.

Interesting.

Ye Yan stood up and walked to the bookshelf, pulling out a Fan-English Dictionary; after a moment of contemplation, he took a Nautical Astronomical Almanac from the shelf next to it.

Regardless.

The sooner he started preparing to go to sea, the better.