After hearing this, Chu Tianqiu glanced at Qian Wu, whose condition was clearly not good.
After all, he didn’t possess a dwarf’s body, and had likely used “Twin Blossoms” multiple times already.
“I heard that ‘Cat’ has successively killed Xuanwu and Zhuque—is that true?” Chu Tianqiu asked.
“Luck,” Qian Wu replied. He reached for a cigarette but found nothing on him. A few seconds later, he finally remembered that the remaining half-pack had already been given to Officer Li.
He patted his pockets, then helplessly turned his head toward a ground hound standing aside in the corridor—a large bulldog with a fat head and big ears.
Qian Wu simply stared at that bulldog, never uttering a word throughout, but this gaze made the hound extremely uneasy. The hound evaded his eyes for a while before finally forcing out a bitter smile.
“Ah… what is it…?” the hound asked, “Boss Qian, I…”
Qian Wu still didn’t speak, silently watching him.
The hound awkwardly forced another laugh, then wisely walked over, reaching into the inner pocket of his suit to pull out a roughly rolled cigarette. He respectfully placed it in Qian Wu’s mouth and took out a lighter.
“Click.”
The lighter flared once, illuminating Qian Wu’s cold face and igniting the cigarette in his mouth.
Beside them, Qiao Jiajin and the others were left completely confused by this scene, staring at Qian Wu for a long time without knowing where to begin asking questions.
“Boss Qian…” the hound put away the lighter and handed over several more rolled cigarettes from his jacket, “Don’t look at me like that… You know, we only made a deal, not a contract…”
Qian Wu grabbed the hound’s hand and smoothly took the lighter, stuffing it into his pocket.
“Dog,” Qian Wu said, “Anyone who owes Qian Wu a favor in ‘The End Land’ and doesn’t repay it—no matter if they’re a ‘Zodiac’—won’t have an easy time. You know that, right?”
“I know… I know…” the hound nodded, “I’ve done business with your Master Song. I understand your rules.”
“You dare mention Old Seven?” Qian Wu exhaled smoke, “Old Seven handled things steadily, giving everyone face—he was ‘Cat’s’ diplomat. But I’m different—I only remember grudges.”
Qian Wu turned his cold gaze back to the hound, “I asked you to cause some trouble for Zhuque, but I feel like you did nothing at all.”
“Boss Qian…” the hound’s brows twisted into a fawning frown, “You’re really making things hard for me… You came before us ‘Zodiacs’ threatening to take our bodies if we didn’t repay a favor—we didn’t dare refuse, did we? If we had refused back then, you’d have taken our bodies right then and there…”
“Isn’t ‘Dog’ supposed to represent loyalty?” Qian Wu flicked ash from his cigarette, “Your attitude surprises me.”
“What does ‘Dog’s’ loyalty have to do with me?” the hound smiled, “Come on, my game type is ‘Loyal,’ but my game name is ‘Messenger.’ At most, I can help deliver messages or pass on words. If you want me to risk my life… I definitely need to think carefully.”
A ground rat in the distance couldn’t help but laugh at the bulldog’s expression.
“Traitorous dog…” the rat muttered, “I’ve never seen you groveling like this before. This time, my eyes must really have underestimated a dog.”
“Laugh all you want—how much better are you?” the hound frowned at the rat, “Have you done any less ass-kissing? I’m dying laughing.”
Qin Dingdong found the hound’s way of speaking extremely strange, as she rarely saw someone who mixed so many internet slang terms into daily conversation.
“‘Ass-kissing’? Well, hard to say,” the rat shook his head, “At least I treat everyone the same way. You’re the one who’s two-faced.”
“Can you stop with those ghost idioms?” the hound said, “We’re discussing serious matters here. Don’t interrupt.”
The rat naturally had no interest in engaging with such a two-faced person. In his eyes, people like this were even more like fence-sitters—hypocrites who were always terrifying in any situation.
“Boss Qian…” the hound turned back to Qian Wu, “I really didn’t expect you to come aboard this ‘Train’… Fine, you win. Whatever you say now, I’ll listen.”
Upon hearing this, Qian Wu’s lips slightly lifted, “Good. That’s your own words.”
Seeing Qian Wu’s expression, the hound immediately realized his mistake.
What kind of person was Qian Wu? Didn’t he know his personality well?
Putting it nicely, he hadn’t repaid Qian Wu’s favor, leaving him no choice but to comply now. But looking at it now, everything had been within Qian Wu’s expectations from the start.
Even without his interference, they still killed Zhuque. So this entire plan had never actually needed his participation.
And he, as a mere pawn, was destined to help Qian Wu aboard the “Train.”
“Boss Qian… Are you setting a trap for me to fall into…?” the hound’s facial muscles twitched, his expression turning displeased.
“Setting a trap?” Qian Wu shook his head, “You can’t exactly say that. If you had chosen ‘Desertion’ back then to cause Zhuque trouble, you wouldn’t be here now, under my command.”
The bulldog’s face showed no expression, but his mouth remained downturned, clearly unhappy.
Although Qian Wu was being so aggressive, the hound had no way to retaliate—he knew that trying to kill him would require touching him, which might result in being forcibly taken over.
“You…” after thinking for a while, the hound grumbled, “What do you want me to do? Let me make this clear—I won’t do anything that risks my life.”
“I need time,” Qian Wu said, “Starting now, I and these several people will rest in your room for a while, and you’ll be responsible for our safety.”
The hound slowly narrowed his eyes, then extended his tongue to lick his nose.
“Boss Qian… This is really strange…” the hound looked at the many ‘Participants’ standing before him, “Was all this planned long ago by you guys?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“This all feels too coincidental,” the hound frowned, “Like you’ve calculated everything in advance, step by step leading me into a trap. This kind of strategy where you plan three steps ahead while taking just one is truly baffling to me…”
“Then consider it a spur-of-the-moment decision,” Qian Wu said, “Don’t think too hard about things you can’t understand.”
Chu Tianqiu slowly nodded after hearing this—Qian Wu’s tactics indeed seemed like another brilliant move.
No one would expect that next, they’d hide inside the room of a ground hound they’d barely interacted with before. Even if the Azure Dragon Society investigated all possible rebellious ‘Zodiacs,’ they’d hardly suspect this hound.
“Follow me,” Qian Wu tossed away his cigarette butt, looking at Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan, “We need a quiet place to prepare you for battle.”
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