Chapter 7: Dogs Can Be Players Too?!

Facing two zombie dogs at once, Song Yu remained cautious, carefully surveying her surroundings. She knew that only a single, lethal strike would give her a chance to survive.

As she pondered her next move, the two zombie dogs suddenly emitted low, eerie growls and lunged at her simultaneously.

Their speed was formidable, but Song Yu’s reflexes were swift. A crossbow appeared instantly in her hands; she drew it taut and fired directly at the dog charging ahead.

The arrow pierced the creature’s waist. Without hesitation, Song Yu sprinted forward, the two zombie dogs hot on her heels.

Their razor-sharp teeth, coated with an unknown virus, seemed moments away from sinking into her flesh.

Quickly, she climbed the iron sheet fence surrounding the construction site. The edges were sharp, pricking her palms with pain.

The zombie dogs missed their mark and began furiously battering the fence, which creaked ominously under their assault.

Supporting herself against the fence, Song Yu leapt onto a crooked tree still standing at the edge.

Unexpectedly, the tree was already occupied.

Raising her knife, Song Yu prepared to strike the figure perched there, only to have it open its blood-filled jaws and bite toward her.

But then—

“Hey?”

“Woof?”

Both dog and human froze, exchanging bewildered glances.

Song Yu stared at the large yellow dog before her; the familiarity was undeniable. Tentatively, she called out a name.

“Xiao Hei?”

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Song Yu gasped. The yellow dog immediately bounded into her arms, wagging its tail wildly.

“Wait, wait—stop!”

Hurriedly pushing the dog away, Song Yu aimed her crossbow at the zombie dog attempting to climb the tree.

Two bolts flew, and the zombie dogs collapsed instantly, lifeless, leaving behind two vials of second-tier blood.

With the zombie dogs dispatched, Song Yu finally had a moment to study the yellow dog that had inexplicably appeared within the game world.

Xiao Hei was the dog she and her grandmother had raised, clever from a young age.

Yet, she never expected him to be intelligent enough to manifest as a player within the game.

“Xiao Hei, you...” Song Yu was about to ask more when she noticed the dog panting heavily, unnaturally so.

Pulling back his fur, she saw a massive tear across his belly, organs partially exposed.

Clearly, the two zombie dogs had inflicted the wound, driving Xiao Hei to seek refuge in the crooked tree.

Without delay, Song Yu retrieved bandages from her backpack, wrapping his wound with care.

Once the injury stabilized, Song Yu began her questioning.

“Xiao Hei, are you a player too?”

“Woof?” Xiao Hei cocked his head, eyes fixed intently on her, oblivious to the concept.

Changing her approach, Song Yu tried again.

“Xiao Hei, is this about money?”

She recalled the moments before entering the game—preparing to gather items to sell for medical expenses. Xiao Hei had been present, and the system’s dialogue had included him.

Damn this game system!

At the mention of money, Xiao Hei’s tail wagged furiously.

The dog understood nothing except that his owner needed money.

If the game gave money, he would accept.

He would earn plenty for his master.

“Good boy!” Song Yu pressed her lips together. What else was there to understand?

This game truly lacked any sense of morality—how could a dog comprehend such things?

She had no idea how she’d manage future stages after this dungeon.

For now, she would take it one step at a time.

Sighing, she stroked Xiao Hei’s head and applied another roll of disinfecting bandage before helping him down from the tree.

In just one day, Xiao Hei had noticeably lost weight, now seemingly only around eighty pounds.

Picking up the mutated blood vial from the ground, Xiao Hei, now out of immediate danger, led the way, signaling Song Yu to follow.

Soon, they arrived at a sand pile. Xiao Hei dug through it eagerly, then looked up at Song Yu expectantly.

Beneath the sand lay a novice’s supply pack, eight vials of second-tier blood, and a stash of bread and bottled water.

He had hidden all these supplies here.

“You’re amazing, Xiao Hei,” Song Yu said, crouching to embrace him gently.

Her gaze then fell upon a vial beside the water that looked entirely different.

[Fifth-Tier Activated Mutated Blood]

“!!!”

Fifth-tier blood! Where on earth had Xiao Hei found this?

Shocked, Song Yu stared at him while Xiao Hei licked his tongue, beaming brightly.

With lively gestures, he reenacted how he had obtained the vial.

From the central zone, beside two high-level zombies locked in battle, he snatched it and ran.

He fled to this area and caught her scent.

Just as he was about to find Song Yu, the zombie dogs attacked.

He fought back fiercely, killing many of them.

Watching Xiao Hei mimic the zombie dog with a cocked tail, Song Yu suddenly felt the game system wasn’t quite so infuriating after all.

She sorted through the supplies Xiao Hei had hidden. The novice’s pack contained a special inventory slot.

[Dog’s Magical Treasure Den: 1 cubic meter]

Dogs certainly received different treatment than humans.

Without hesitation, Song Yu allocated this space to Xiao Hei.

Besides, she couldn’t use it herself.

In addition, there were seven bottles of water, three loaves of buttered bread (+21 satiety), and two cans of luncheon meat (+32 satiety).

The luncheon meat cans bore clear teeth marks.

After organizing the supplies, Song Yu and Xiao Hei scoured the construction site once more.

Finally, they discovered a nail gun (+10 attack damage) with ten nails.

Though its power was slightly less than her crossbow, it suited Song Yu well.

It allowed her to inflict damage on zombies at close range—not quite melee but not long-range either.

Armed with the nail gun, Song Yu immediately headed back to Chen Su’s camp with Xiao Hei.

She needed to convert that fifth-tier blood into money and supplies as soon as possible.

She wondered if Xiao Hei had side quests related to collecting blood.

As fellow players, Xiao Hei surely did.

Returning to camp, they found several new players had arrived, all seeking refuge here.

Their arrival quickly drew attention, especially to Xiao Hei.

Song Yu stepped forward swiftly, handing the fifth-tier blood vial to Chen Su.

“This is our joint mission,” she whispered, her voice low enough that others nearby didn’t hear.

Chen Su glanced at Song Yu and the dog but said nothing. Soon, the mutated blood triggered new missions for them.

The joint side quest for human and dog rapidly reached tier five, boosting Chen Su’s favorability rating to 21 points!

Song Yu’s accumulated clearance bonus now totaled 960,000!

Including Xiao Hei’s bonus... Wait, how would Xiao Hei’s rewards be distributed?!