Dispelling the Vicious Hound Mission

"Old Ge, working out here?"

Passing by the residential fitness area, Li Ran spotted Grandpa Ge performing exercises on the pull-up bar.

Good heavens, a giant windmill followed by a 360-degree flip, then another mid-air rotation, a backflip, and a clean landing.

This seamless sequence of gymnastic moves left Li Ran dumbfounded.

"Xiao Ran, you're here?" Grandpa Ge greeted him, thumping his lower back. "I'm getting old; a few small moves and I'm already worn out."

"Old Ge, those weren't 'small moves.' I feel like you could compete in the Olympics."

Li Ran grinned and pulled a bag of Pu'er tea from his storage space.

He had picked up some tea after leaving Happiness Supermarket because there were things he wanted to learn from Old Ge.

"Xiao Ran, why are you bringing tea again? I haven't even finished the last batch you gave me."

Li Ran shoved it directly into Old Ge's hands and said, "It's a new blend. You'll definitely like it, Old Ge."

"Well... then I won't stand on ceremony. My, what a good lad."

After some polite small talk, Li Ran got straight to the point.

"Old Ge, you know this residential area well. Could you tell me about the rules I need to watch out for?"

Li Ran felt that some things needed to be clarified; he couldn't just keep fumbling in the dark.

"I think you're a decent kid, so I'll tell you."

Old Ge nodded. "There's a clinic on the east side of the complex. Even if you're injured, don't go there. Once you enter, they'll find every way possible to make sure you don't make it home at night."

"Don't provoke the stray dogs in the complex; they are extremely vicious."

"They?" Li Ran asked, surprised.

"Yes, them!" Old Ge nodded firmly.

"A female resident in Building Six brings a man home every few days, but I've never seen any of those men leave. If your kidneys are in good shape, you can give it a try."

"There's a madman living on the rooftop of Building No. 4. It's best not to go up there, or you'll be in great danger."

"The Back Street area is too chaotic..."

"Finally, there is one thing you new residents must know."

Grandpa Ge looked at Li Ran with an agitated expression.

"Ten days from now is the Night of Madness for the complex's tenth anniversary!"

The previous information provided by Old Ge was vital to Li Ran, but this last piece made him feel as if the apocalypse were approaching.

"What is the Night of Madness?" Li Ran asked, feeling a sense of unease.

"When that day comes, every household must keep their doors open and lights on until dawn. The complex will hold activities like dragon lantern dances, sky lanterns, river lanterns, and lantern riddles. Every resident will participate, and it will be a night of madness."

"Boom!"

Hearing this, Li Ran froze as if struck by lightning, unable to speak for a long time.

"Good lad, come over for tea when you have time."

"Ri... right."

Li Ran stood rooted to the spot, his mind flashing back to the footage he had first seen at Yulan Academy.

A night of revelry for monsters so dense it made one's scalp crawl?

"The fifteenth day!"

He drew a sharp, cold breath.

"On the final day, even sleeping isn't safe!"

There was a bug in the Happy Home instance: players could use it to safely survive every night.

As long as you went to sleep before midnight, you were fine.

On the final day, this bug would be forcibly broken.

Nobody sleeps; forget about sleeping, it's time to party!

The fifteenth day, the Night of Madness!

Once it arrives, it becomes a nightmare for all players!

Near the residential trash station.

Xiao Yi, Chen Jiabin, and Huang Wentao were hiding in the bushes not far away.

"Everything ready?"

Xiao Yi looked at the two of them and asked with a serious expression.

"I bought dog food and scattered it all the way here," Chen Jiabin said.

"The beast trap is ready," Huang Wentao said.

"Good, now we just wait for that vicious dog to take the bait," Xiao Yi said.

The three of them stared intently in the direction of the garbage station.

If nothing unexpected happened, the vicious dog would appear from there.

Xiao Yi had accepted a team quest from the property management. The quest recommended a four-person team.

The quest required them to drive away the vicious dogs in the residential area.

He hadn't wanted to find Li Ran initially, but thinking it was a four-person team quest, and Li Ran was the strongest among their batch of players, perhaps with his help, the quest would be much easier.

He hadn't expected Li Ran to be so uncooperative.

Oh well, it was just a team quest, three people could still do it. Plus, there would be one less person to split the reward with.

After doing quests for days, his Mysterious Power had reached 200. He had also obtained a finely crafted hunting rifle and a skill for escaping.

With offense and self-preservation, even if the situation turned dire, he could escape immediately.

As for Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao, he didn't expect them to be of much help. As long as they didn't drag him down, that would be enough.

"It's here," Chen Jiabin said, his eyes fixed on the garbage station.

Xiao Yi and Huang Wentao looked over. A stray dog squeezed through a small hole under the wall.

"A vicious dog? Isn't that just a village dog?" Chen Jiabin said dismissively.

The vicious dog looked very similar to a rural village dog. It wasn't large, had yellow fur, and a fierce expression, with sharp teeth bared.

"Village dog? Then you go first later," Xiao Yi glared at Chen Jiabin and said.

"Let's all go together," Chen Jiabin immediately backed down.

"Yeah, this is a team quest," Huang Wentao added.

Xiao Yi took out the finely crafted hunting rifle and said to the two of them, "Chen Jiabin goes first, Huang Wentao second, and I'll be last."

"You have such good equipment, shouldn't you go first?" Huang Wentao questioned.

"I have a ranged weapon, you want me to go into melee?" Xiao Yi said righteously.

Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao thought about it seriously, and it made sense.

After the three of them had discussed their strategy, the stray dog wandered around the garbage station for a while before sniffing the scent of dog food on the path.

"It took the bait," Chen Jiabin said excitedly.

The stray dog ate the dog food along the way, heading towards the beast trap set by Huang Wentao. Suddenly, one of its paws stepped right into the center of the trap.

"Woof! Woof woof!!"

The stray dog let out a pained yelp.

"You two, hurry up!" Xiao Yi shouted.

Chen Jiabin took out a baseball bat, and Huang Wentao took out an iron sword.

Both of their weapons were ordinary equipment.

"Xiao Yi, you need to keep up. We still need your damage output," Huang Wentao said nervously.

"Don't worry, I know Brother Xiao's character. You can rest assured leaving your back to him," Chen Jiabin said.

Xiao Yi heard this and forced an awkward smile. "Stop joking. You two just control it, and I'll blow its dog head off with one shot!"

With that, the three of them approached the stray dog.

The stray dog was crying and sobbing uncontrollably. Its leg was clamped tightly by the beast trap, the wound deep enough to see bone.

"Go!" Xiao Yi shouted upon seeing this.

Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao swung their weapons and charged forward.

Xiao Yi directly pulled the trigger, firing a shot at the stray dog from a distance.

"Bang!"

The hunting rifle let out a loud bang, hitting the stray dog precisely.

"Haha, I hit it!"

The stray dog was a bloody mess, its entire body sent flying backward.

Seeing this, Chen Jiabin and Huang Wentao swung their weapons, ready to finish off the stray dog.

"Ugh!!"

But just then, the fallen stray dog let out a ferocious roar.

Before the two could get close, the stray dog's body underwent a massive transformation.

Its originally small body suddenly became incredibly large, transforming into a giant demonic dog over three meters tall!

The giant demonic dog was enveloped in black flames, its body covered in rotting flesh, with countless earthworm-like worms crawling out of the rotten meat. Even one of its eyes contained a terrifying insect...

"H-how... how could it be like this?" Huang Wentao was so terrified that he collapsed onto the ground.

The expressions on Xiao Yi and Chen Jiabin's faces also turned incredibly grim.

A vicious dog?

This was no mere vicious dog; it was clearly a Cursed Demon Dog from hell.

Only now did Xiao Yi understand the significance of the team mission.

A single person could never complete it!

Xiao Yi felt the urge to retreat, his feet already beginning to shuffle, while cold sweat seeped from the palms gripping his shotgun.

At this moment, none of the three had any heart left for the mission; only one word filled their minds: "Run!"

The three turned to flee, but the Cursed Demon Dog, now enraged to the extreme, would not let them off so easily.

"ROAR!"

The Cursed Demon Dog let out an angry bellow.

It charged straight at Huang Wentao, snapping its blood-red maw down; before Huang Wentao could even let out a scream, his entire upper body had vanished.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Yi's face turned deathly pale.

He began to sprint, clutching his shotgun.

Chen Jiabin was not slow either, running right behind Xiao Yi.

The Cursed Demon Dog was incredibly fast; Huang Wentao's sacrifice was nowhere near enough to satiate it.

As the two were about to be overtaken, a sinister white glint flashed across the lenses of Xiao Yi's glasses.

"Jiabin, you block that thing, I'll provide cover from behind."

With that, Xiao Yi fired a shot directly at Chen Jiabin's ankle.

Chen Jiabin collapsed to the ground instantly, clutching his foot in agony, and roared in fury:

"Screw your mother!"

"Xiao Yi, I curse you to a miserable death!"

He never imagined that Xiao Yi would push a teammate into the jaws of death just to buy time for his own escape.

"Sorry, Jiabin, just die," Xiao Yi said coldly.

As long as the Cursed Demon Dog devoured Chen Jiabin, he would gain more time to escape.

"If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being too naive."

As Xiao Yi ran, he looked back at the ashen-faced Chen Jiabin. The Cursed Demon Dog had caught up to him, its blood-red maw ready to tear Chen Jiabin to shreds with ease.

Xiao Yi turned back with a sinister grin; at this moment, the look of despair on Chen Jiabin's face seemed so beautiful to him.

"ROAR!"

The Cursed Demon Dog roared in fury, but it suddenly stopped behind Chen Jiabin, nudging his back with its head...

Chen Jiabin slowly stood up, his gaze fixed sharply ahead.

The sinister grin on Xiao Yi's face froze instantly; his expression was as bizarre as it could possibly be.

Man and demon dog stood there, both wearing eerie smiles!

It's quite frustrating; the novel was posted in the wrong category, which caused me to miss the trial promotion. I only found out after asking the editor today. Fortunately, the editor was very communicative and helped me transfer it to the Fantasy category. The trial promotion might not come until next week, which is a bit late, but it doesn't matter. As long as I can advance through the PK, a little delay is fine...

To all the big shots, please add to your library, keep up with the chapters, vote, and support in any way you can.