Chapter 36 – Dogs’s Hierarchy
After hearing Tang Yu’an’s plan, Zhou Qi nodded with a smile.
“But we still need to take it step by step, steadily and solidly,” he continued.
Although firing dissatisfied employees could wipe their memories, this approach didn’t work on the customers they’d interacted with. Therefore, it was necessary to vet new employees in advance, and ideally, they shouldn’t have social circles that overlapped with their personal lives. This was partly for safety and also to avoid conflicts.
“Chi Hao is a special case,” Zhou Qi said. “If we’re going to recruit more employees in the future, it’s best if they’re people we don’t know.”
“Even if we know them, at least make sure they don’t know that we’re employees of the ‘Mysterious Merchant.’”
“Yeah, yeah!” Tang Yu’an nodded vigorously, fully agreeing with Zhou Qi’s words.
Chi Hao, lying on the ground with his eyes shut, could hear nothing of their plotting due to the soundproofing of the shadow umbrella.
“So it seems that this guy actually meets our requirements quite well,” Tang Yu’an remarked thoughtfully.
He had come from the Fortress and was here in Wild City purely on a mission. Once he recovered, he’d definitely leave, meaning they’d likely not run into him again for a long time.
Tang Yu’an thought it over before asking, “So, how should we explain our identities?”
Zhou Qi considered. “If we say we’re from the Fortress, our cover would be blown as soon as he checks the information.”
They knew very little about the outside world and wanted to learn more from Chi Hao, so posing as people from the Fortress would prevent them from asking too many questions.
“Good point,” Tang Yu’an agreed.
Zhou Qi thought for a moment longer, then suggested, “Let’s say we were born outside the fortress and only gained our current lifestyle after catching the eye of the Mysterious Merchant.”
That would also explain why they seemed so “well-off.”
“Haha, good idea.”
Getting the favor of the Mysterious Merchant… Tang Yu’an couldn’t help feeling embarrassed when he heard it.
After briefly discussing how to trick Chi Hao, Tang Yu’an’s attention returned to the purchasing page. Finding no other issues, he clicked to exit.
“Should we appraise the crystal stone?” Tang Yu’an asked.
Although it cost 20 points per appraisal, and it was indeed pricey, they could afford it now. With money to spare, they might as well spend it when needed.
“Yeah,” Zhou Qi agreed.
This might help uncover the mystery of the parasite inside him.
Tang Yu’an took out a crystal stone and used a basic item appraisal on it. After deducting 20 points, the crystal stone’s information slowly appeared.
[Name: Water Element Spirit Stone, also known as Crystal Stone]
[Value: 200 points / 2 grams]
[Source: JM278, GM4568, GM49840, DM129834… MR176349 plane…]
[Discovered by: Unknown]
[Description: A crystal that forms in areas rich in water elemental energy. It’s a high-quality energy source, commonly found in magic-aligned worlds, and can be used for cultivation, crafting special items, contracts, and more.]
“That’s it?” Tang Yu’an frowned in disappointment, having had high expectations for the results.
Zhou Qi also looked at the appraisal book in his hands.
When the results appeared, the book synced with the details of the crystal stone, listing it as “Uncategorized” on page 2.
“It could be that our appraisal skill level is still too low,” Zhou Qi guessed.
While the information wasn’t extensive, it wasn’t entirely useless either.
Scanning through the list of origin planes, he realized that this kind of spirit stone was indeed widely available—hundreds or even thousands of planes produced it.
But…
“If this crystal stone is so common in magic-aligned worlds, why is it here in our world?” Zhou Qi wondered aloud.
“There’s probably some overlap,” Tang Yu’an analyzed. “Out of so many planes, some start with the same letters while others are different, so maybe this world… just has a high elemental concentration?”
Grandma Guo and Tie Jin’s supernatural abilities could probably be considered a form of magic too, right?
“True.”
After reading the appraisal information a few more times, Zhou Qi concluded, “Spirit stones are just a high-quality energy source. The main issue with the parasite is its control over me.”
Tang Yu’an nodded and mentioned that Chi Hao’s status was marked as “Symbiotic.”
“Do you think, given enough time, you could form a symbiotic relationship with the parasite too?” he asked.
Symbiosis with that parasite?
Zhou Qi frowned deeply. Judging by the parasite’s aggressiveness and hunger, he felt it wouldn’t be so simple.
But he didn’t want Tang Yu’an to worry, so he nodded. “Yes, it’s highly likely.”
He then closed the appraisal book and stored it in his personal warehouse.
At this point, Tang Yu’an had another idea. After putting the crystal stone away, he took out another crystal stone along with a fire crystal and immediately noticed—
Sure enough, only the water crystal displayed information; other types of crystals would require the same amount of points to unlock their details. Grumbling about the rip-off, Tang Yu’an reluctantly spent more points to identify the other crystals. When the results appeared, the only difference was the word “Water” being replaced by “Fire” and “Metal.” Everything else was identical!
But there was no other choice. After all, once an item was identified, information bubbles would appear anytime it entered his line of sight—ensuring he wouldn’t miss it if he encountered another in the wild.
“This is definitely a necessary investment. If we find another spirit stone, these 60 points will pay off,” Tang Yu’an rationalized.
“Brother Qi, how are you feeling?”
Tang Yu’an held the two spirit stones in his hands, watching Zhou Qi carefully, ready to put them away if anything went wrong.
Fortunately, Zhou Qi shook his head. “I can control it.”
Perhaps the burst of energy he had experienced earlier had weakened the parasite. Or maybe his body’s threshold had simply increased. In any case, facing two spirit stones now felt much easier, and with his heightened perception, he could even start sensing the energy field emanating from the stones.
He described these changes to Tang Yu’an in detail.
“That’s good.” Tang Yu’an looked at him with determination. “Brother Qi, you’re definitely going to defeat that parasite! Don’t worry—I’ll help you!”
Zhou Qi smiled gently. “Mm, I know.”
After Tang Yu’an put the spirit stones away, Zhou Qi added, “Did we forget the daily lottery draw?”
“Oh, right! Almost forgot!”
Tang Yu’an rubbed his hands together; he’d worked hard to earn this draw, so he hoped for something useful.
Seeing this, Zhou Qi chuckled. “Go ahead.”
However, he was skeptical. After all, An’an had already won skills and special items several days in a row. No one’s luck could be that consistently outrageous, right?
Sure enough, Tang Yu’an quickly announced, “Ah, it’s not a skill or item!”
Oddly enough, his expression and tone didn’t seem disappointed. Could it be…
“Brother Qi, I drew fuel!” Tang Yu’an exclaimed excitedly.
On his system panel, a line of text flashed brightly:
Congratulations! You’ve drawn the tech-side basic item “Fuel.” You can check the wholesale market for availability.
Tang Yu’an immediately opened the wholesale market, and indeed, fuel was listed among the available items.
[Fuel: 20 points per liter]
He shared the newly unlocked item with Zhou Qi, beaming. “Even though it’s not a skill or item, fuel is great! Now we don’t have to worry about power outages.”
Zhou Qi nodded with a complicated expression.
As someone who, since childhood, had only ever won a “try again next time,” he couldn’t help but envy An’an’s luck.
Of course, they were now inseparable partners, and An’an’s luck could be considered his as well. With that thought, Zhou Qi smiled too.
“Yeah, An’an, you’re amazing.” He patted the boy’s head, expressing his happiness.
“Hehe,” Tang Yu’an chuckled, then asked, “Brother Qi, how much electricity could a liter of fuel generate?”
“It depends on the type of fuel,” Zhou Qi explained. “Household generators typically use diesel, which provides around 10 kilowatt-hours per liter. For gasoline, it’s closer to 3 kilowatt-hours per liter.”
Hearing these numbers, Tang Yu’an was a bit taken aback by the fuel cost of 20 points per liter.
“Using electricity could be a significant expense in the future,” he noted. “We’ll have to be more careful with it.”
“Save when necessary, but don’t be too frugal when it’s needed,” Zhou Qi replied.
Overdoing it could be just as bad. Now that they had some surplus, they could live well without being wasteful.
“Got it, Brother Qi.”
Tang Yu’an then remembered something else. “Oh! There’s one last bonus!”
His special skill, Remote Item Retrieval, had leveled up along with his merchant rank!
[Remote Item Retrieval Lv2]
[Description: Within a 10-kilometer radius from the shop, the merchant can remotely retrieve or store any item from the general store with no cooldown time (this skill level cannot exceed merchant level and may be downgraded for staff).]
The range limit had increased tenfold! The previous 1-kilometer range was now 10 kilometers!
“So does that mean at Lv3, the range would expand to 100 kilometers?” Tang Yu’an mused, rubbing his chin. “That would cover most of Desolate City.”
“Probably,” Zhou Qi agreed, also pleased by the skill’s improvement. This would make their operations more flexible.
And with higher levels, who knew what unexpected uses they could develop for it?
Just then, Zhou Qi’s system panel flashed with a rare notification.
[Congratulations! For your excellent work performance, the Mysterious Merchant has granted you the special skill “Remote Item Retrieval Lv1.” Equip it in your skills panel.]
The original Lv0 skill was overwritten, and Zhou Qi’s range increased from 100 meters to 1 kilometer. However…
Tang Yu’an patted Zhou Qi on the shoulder, encouraging him, “Brother Qi, you need to work hard now and level up!”
According to the skill description, the level of Remote Item Retrieval couldn’t exceed the merchant level, so Zhou Qi would need to level up before Tang Yu’an could pass any future advanced skills to him.
It turned out the employee level had its uses after all.
Zhou Qi nodded and checked his experience bar.
[Employee Level: Lv1 (11/20)]
He was just 9 experience points away. As long as tomorrow’s trades with Grandma Guo, Old Li, and Tie Jin were all profitable, he should reach the next level smoothly.
“Alright, I’m on it.”
With that, they completed the day’s haul—a very productive day indeed!
“Shall we go to sleep?”
Zhou Qi glanced down at Chi Hao, who still hadn’t woken up. They couldn’t just stay up all night watching over him.
However, Tang Yu’an didn’t feel sleepy yet.
His gaze drifted over to the three little creatures who were resting on the floor, full and content. Yuan Bao was already asleep with eyes closed, Wang Cai was licking his own paws—he’d been a cat for so long that he seemed to have started adopting cat-like habits.
Meanwhile, Yin Bi lay on the ground, eyes fixed on Wang Cai’s swaying tail, following it back and forth.
When Yin Bi noticed Tang Yu’an looking over, it immediately rolled onto its back, curling its paws over its chest, giving him a silly, happy look as it showed off its soft belly.
Unable to resist, Tang Yu’an went over and stroked its fluffy fur.
Seeing its simple, happy face, he couldn’t help but wonder: Could Wang Cai’s inability to transform back to its original form be due to the “Lucky Cat” title? And what about Yin Bi?
Its timid behavior around the injured Chi Hao earlier had left a deep impression on Tang Yu’an. Both were transformed spirit dogs, so why couldn’t Yin Bi revert to its original form like Yuan Bao? Tang Yu’an felt it was worth experimenting.
The back door of the general store opened, letting the light spill out from inside. But as soon as they moved past the awning, the light abruptly faded away—the protective barrier extended two meters beyond the store’s rear, leaving a small patch of open space.
Tang Yu’an stepped out and waved to Yin Bi, who was standing by the door. Yin Bi, tongue out and tail wagging, cheerfully trotted over.
“Woof woof!”
It barked excitedly, but as soon as it realized they were now in the pitch-dark wilderness, it hurriedly covered its mouth and dropped down low to the ground. Yuan Bao, watching from the doorway, couldn’t help but look on in disdain.
Yin Bi, a Samoyed, stood about ten centimeters tall in its compact form, making it the largest of the three pets even after being miniaturized by the Dog Frisbee. Despite its size, it was the timidest of the bunch.
“Yin Bi, can you turn back to your original form?” Tang Yu’an asked.
Yin Bi tilted its head, staring up at him with innocent eyes, as if it had no idea what he was talking about.
Tang Yu’an had no choice but to turn to Yuan Bao. “Yuan Bao, can you show Yin Bi how it’s done?”
Yuan Bao understood and trotted over. In an instant, it transformed into its giant dog form, obediently standing still while Tang Yu’an reached up to pat its chest—he couldn’t reach its head.
“Yuan Bao, you’re so smart.” Tang Yu’an smiled and rewarded it with a sausage.
Yuan Bao puffed out its chest proudly as it enjoyed its snack, while Yin Bi watched with jealousy, drooling and whimpering in envy. Shrinking back down to its small form, Yuan Bao bit off half of the sausage and tossed it to Yin Bi in a gesture of reluctant generosity.
Yin Bi’s eyes lit up. It grinned as it nuzzled Yuan Bao happily, only stopping when Yuan Bao finally got fed up and let it eat the treat.
Now, it should know what to do, right?
But even with Tang Yu’an’s encouragement, Yin Bi remained rooted to the spot, seemingly clueless about how to change back. After a few trials, Tang Yu’an and Zhou Qi concluded that Yin Bi could only return to its original form when it was in real danger, like when someone attacked it directly.
As for Wang Cai, it did slightly better than Yin Bi. After a few more demonstrations by Yuan Bao, Wang Cai finally got the hang of shifting back to its original form. Interestingly, when they first encountered Wang Cai, its fur had been a dull grayish black. Now, thanks to a good wash, its true color was revealed—golden and fluffy, radiating an impressive and majestic aura.
Tang Yu’an couldn’t resist exclaiming, “Wang Cai, you look so handsome!”
Wang Cai, now a large golden dog, grinned and lowered itself to the ground, nudging its head towards Tang Yu’an so he could pet it. Tang Yu’an wrapped his arms around Wang Cai, delighting in the joy of being enveloped by soft fur.
“Awooo~” Yin Bi yipped happily beside them, entirely unbothered by the fact that it was the least skilled. It even scooted around under Wang Cai’s belly, happily playing.
Tang Yu’an, seeing Yin Bi’s carefree demeanor, couldn’t help but feel a twinge of concern. Yin Bi lacked control over its transformations and had a poor sense of danger—it only reverted to its original form when hit directly. Although its true form was strong and majestic like Wang Cai, it wasn’t exactly unbeatable.
Tang Yu’an stroked Yin Bi’s head and gently advised, “Yin Bi, you’d better stay home with Wang Cai from now on. Don’t go running off alone.”
Otherwise, he was really worried about how Yin Bi would survive out in the wild.
Yin Bi tilted its head, then wagged its tail, its face beaming without a care in the world. Wang Cai, who seemed to dislike staying in its original form, quickly shifted back to cat form and began licking its paws.
Seeing this, Tang Yu’an had an idea. He squatted down next to Yuan Bao, who was sitting at the doorway, and took out his trusty Invincible Cat Teaser Wand from his portable storage.
He had been meaning to try it out!
The moment he started waving the wand, all three pets perked up, with Yuan Bao—the farthest away—being the first to reach him. It pounced on the wand with its paw and instantly transformed into a white cat with orange stripes.
Yin Bi blinked in surprise, tilting its head as it looked back and forth between Yuan Bao and Tang Yu’an, eyes shining as if to say: Wow, it really turned into a cat!
This was the first time Tang Yu’an had used the Cat Teaser Wand on multiple animals at once, and he noticed something new: once it transformed one pet into a cat, the wand’s effect on the others was temporarily disabled.
Zhou Qi frowned thoughtfully. “We’ll need to remember this.”
They still had the task of clearing the giant lizard’s nest, and they might have to face multiple mutated creatures simultaneously. Forgetting this detail in battle could lead to trouble or even danger.
After discussing it for a moment, Tang Yu’an gave the wand another shake. He realized the Cat Teaser Wand seemed to have no cooldown time—or if it did, it was very short—because as soon as he waved it again, the lively Yin Bi was captivated once more.
Even Yuan Bao and Wang Cai, who had already turned into cats, stared at the wand with excitement. However, they seemed less frenzied—perhaps because cats usually observed and stalked their prey before pouncing.
In the end, Yin Bi also transformed into a little orange kitten. Its fur was a soft cream color, perfectly uniform without any stripes.
The three orange cats now sat in a row before Tang Yu’an, their colors and patterns slightly different, each with a unique expression, creating a scene that was oddly amusing.
The results of Tang Yu’an’s experiment appeared on his system screen:
[Congratulations! You have earned the special achievement title “All Cats.”]
[Description: Awarded when all your pets are feline and you reach your pet capacity. Wearing this title grants the “Cat Enthusiast” aura.]
[Cat Enthusiast: As a devoted cat lover, cats will tend to keep their distance. ]
[Gain increased favorability from all feline creatures, with lower-intelligence ones being more positively affected. Cats will not attack you unprovoked, though they may often choose to avoid you due to your “intense” fondness. Meanwhile, the likelihood of receiving gifts from cats will greatly increase. ]
[Note: This title conflicts with “All Dogs.” Only one can be equipped at a time.]
Tang Yu’an had been about to cheer, but after reading the full description, he was left momentarily speechless.
This was…not quite what he had imagined.
The favorability boost was nice, but would the cats really stay far away from him? What kind of strange aura was this?
Muttering to himself, he accepted the title. Though he couldn’t equip both at the same time, he still felt it was a decent prize.
As for “All Mice”…
Tang Yu’an glanced at his Super Mouse Trap, then at the three little pets, and decided to let it go.
The Cat Teaser Wand and Dog Frisbee were fun and harmless, but the Super Mouse Trap was more like a real trap, and he didn’t want to accidentally hurt them. Besides, Black Pearl was still at the abandoned parking lot. Even if he wanted to test it today, he couldn’t—and, honestly, if he turned Black Pearl into a mouse, she might end up resenting him and never acknowledge him as her master again.
He decided it was best to leave it alone.
Tang Yu’an put away the Cat Teaser Wand and took out the Dog Frisbee to turn Yuan Bao and Yin Bi back into dogs. But—
Yuan Bao tilted its head, seeming to consider something, and then, with Tang Yu’an watching, it turned back into a giant dog, then quickly shifted again into a puppy!
Apparently, it was enjoying itself, repeatedly shifting back and forth between its forms.
Tang Yu’an watched in amazement as Yuan Bao transformed from a giant dog to a puppy, then into an orange kitten, and back into a puppy once more.
Looking over at Yin Bi and Wang Cai, who were watching with wide-eyed astonishment, he couldn’t help but think: So, not all dogs are alike!
Zhou Qi, however, noticed something else.
The three pets clearly had a hierarchy, which explained their differences in power and intelligence.
Could it be that high-tier creatures like Yuan Bao and Black Pearl retained the ability to shift freely even after becoming cats or dogs? Or was this ability only granted to those whom An’an had taken in as pets?
As Zhou Qi pondered, Tang Yu’an, with Wang Cai in his arms, entered the store—just in time to see Chi Hao, who had been lying unconscious on the ground, raise a hand to clutch his head, groaning in pain as he started to wake up.
—
Author’s Note:
An’an: So, Yin Bi really isn’t the brightest…
Yin Bi (covering An’an’s mouth with a paw): Whimper, whimper! Don’t say things like that, little doggies have feelings too! *QwQ*
Haha, let’s all grow together, step by step~
