The night was deep and solemn.
A thin mist, like shattered delicate gauze, enveloped the quiet, secluded neighborhood.
The six-story buildings stood silently in the dense darkness of the night. It was late, and through the faint mist, only a few houses were lit with dim lights.
Xiao Jinyu adjusted his scarf, followed closely by the petite girl behind him.
Together, they entered the blue iron gate of Building 3 in Kangding Gardens.
Once inside the house, Xiao Jinyu checked his phone: “It’s 23:17 now.”
Now that she had been recognized as a girl, Doggy Hero somewhat relaxed her disguise. She carefully took off her large black sunglasses but stubbornly refused to remove her gloves and mask. “The Users’ Committee told me that in this task, the places where the cats and dogs barked the most were the kitchen and the bathroom.”
Xiao Jinyu turned to look at her, “There’s one thing in common between these two places.”
Doggy Hero also looked up at him. Their eyes met, and they simultaneously uttered the word —
“Water pipes.”
Indeed, whether it was the kitchen or the bathroom, both had something that other rooms didn’t possess.
That was the water pipes.
The fine pipes were silently buried in the old yellowed walls, invisible to the naked eye, but it was through these layers of walls that the water flowed, delivering tap water to thousands of households.
Doggy Hero suddenly thought, “Wait, could there also be natural gas pipes?”
Her reaction was quick, prompting Xiao Jinyu to take another look at this fully clothed second-level user.
In the past month, Xiao Jinyu had met three second-level users. Apart from Zhang Haixiang, who was full of lies and now suspected of theft and prison escape, this girl was smarter than Li Xiaotong but lacked the maturity and experience of Qi Simin due to her age.
Even as a second-level user, she should not be underestimated.
Xiao Jinyu shook his head, his handsome and calm face showing no emotion, and he calmly said, “This neighborhood was built over forty years ago, and it didn’t have natural gas pipelines installed. The residents use gas cylinders or induction cookers.”
“Oh, alright then.”
Xiao Jinyu and Doggy Hero first entered the kitchen.
The dusty stove was adorned with a few sets of bowls and chopsticks. Doggy Hero sniffed the air lightly.
Then they moved to the bathroom.
Doggy Hero’s nose twitched slightly again, and after a few seconds, she looked at Xiao Jinyu, “I didn’t smell anything too unusual, just mold and a scent from being long unventilated. No sounds either, it’s very quiet. Um… the couple upstairs on the fourth floor seems to be arguing, but that’s about it. What’s next?”
As a second-level user, it was reasonable for her to follow the arrangements of Xiao Jinyu, a third-level user. Moreover, this was originally Xiao Jinyu’s task.
Xiao Jinyu’s gaze lingered on her for a half second. Hesitating briefly about whether to inquire about her logic skill’s general usage and effects, Xiao Jinyu decided not to ask further. He said, “Among the twenty-nine households here, the pets visited the kitchen more often than the bathroom. So you stay in the kitchen, and I’ll be in the bathroom. For the next three days, we’ll wait in this house for any unusual activity.”
The girl nodded readily, “Okay.”
Both of them avoided unnecessary small talk. Xiao Jinyu pulled up a chair and sat at the bathroom door. Doggy Hero brought another chair and sat at the kitchen door.
The two were about three meters apart, with half a living room in between.
Xiao Jinyu crossed his arms and leaned back slightly on the chair, nodding towards the girl not far away.
Doggy Hero, wearing gloves, made an “OK” sign with her hand.
What followed was a long, silent wait.
Xiao Jinyu’s physical abilities had improved significantly since becoming a user, nearly surpassing human limits. But he still needed to sleep. Three days meant a full seventy-two hours, and Xiao Jinyu couldn’t stay awake the entire time, nor could the second-level user Doggy Hero. They agreed that Xiao Jinyu would rest every four hours for half an hour, and Doggy Hero every six hours for half an hour.
The physical abilities of a third-level user naturally exceeded those of a second-level user, but Doggy Hero was the core of this investigative task.
She had to remain vigilant for extended periods, as they might miss the truth if the animal barking occurred during her rest.
“Tick, tock, tick, tock—”
In the quiet and motionless house, the clock on the living room wall gently swayed.
Xiao Jinyu opened his eyes after another brief rest. He hadn’t been fully asleep; it was more of a moment of relaxation with closed eyes. His gaze swept over the girl in front of him, Doggy Hero, whose hands were crossed and placed on her knees, sitting up straight.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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— Vtf tjv wjlcajlcfv atlr qbrlalbc obg fluta tbegr ragjluta.
Obviously, this was due to her logic skill “Doggy Hero.”
The effects of the logic skill, as briefly explained to Xiao Jinyu by Li Xiaoxiao, allowed the user to possess a dog’s keen sense of hearing and smell, along with a powerful ability to track and pursue enemies.
As for how long the logic skill could last, Xiao Jinyu did not know yet. But when he suggested they stay in the house for seventy-two hours, Doggy Hero did not object. Thus, the logic skill could at least be maintained for seventy-two hours without interruption.
This was a remarkable logic skill.
Before being domesticated by humans, dogs were powerful predators in nature. This logic skill, when fully developed, could be extremely powerful. It could enable the user to hear enemies from a great distance and smell specific scents. Moreover, if its tracking ability was strong, then its offensive capabilities would undoubtedly be formidable.
However, Doggy Hero’s logic ranking was C4873.
Among over eight thousand second-level users in Huaxia, she was only in the middle range.
“Bang!”
A loud slamming noise came from outside the door.
Xiao Jinyu instantly snapped back to attention.
Doggy Hero, sitting at the kitchen door, was startled and began to breathe heavily in panic. After calming down for three minutes, she once again placed her hands on her knees.
Xiao Jinyu closed his eyes.
“Tick, tock, tick, tock—”
In the old and gloomy house, the sun rose from the east side of the living room window and slowly set into the earth.
Night fell once again.
“…If there’s still no result after three days, what do you plan to do?”
Xiao Jinyu raised his head.
“I’ll return the task to the Users Committee.”
Doggy Hero was taken aback, “Your method is to give up on the task?!”
Xiao Jinyu remained indifferent, “My giving up on this task doesn’t mean it will never be completed. In terms of logic skills, you are more suited to take on this task than I am, but you didn’t accept it.”
Doggy Hero muttered under her breath, “The Grow Some Brains APP refreshes with many tasks every day, I never saw this one.” Otherwise, she would have taken it…
So, normal users need to choose suitable tasks from a multitude of options…
Xiao Jinyu silently glanced at his phone.
As if sensing his gaze, the screen lit up in real-time, with two colorful and vibrant comments swiftly scrolling past, bright and eye-catching.
【Hehe (￣▽￣)!】
【Does Dad love me more now~~】
Xiao Jinyu: “……”
[When did you start using colorful comments??]
【Learned it from my good big bro!】
【Dad has been busy all day and didn’t pay attention to me, so I learned a little something from big bro.】
Xiao Jinyu: “???”
The ivy has been stuck underground at the school for so long and now it knows how to send colorful comments?!
Xiao Jinyu was puzzled, but now wasn’t the right time to inquire about 004. He turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.
Xiao Jinyu asked, “Do you want to take on this task alone?”
Doggy Hero replied without hesitation, “Of course!” Her voice paused, and she added with an awkward smile, “But since it’s your task now, I won’t snatch it. This task is quite suitable for me, otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked for my help.”
“No task is suitable for any user.”
“Huh?”
Xiao Jinyu calmly stated, “The one truly suited to complete it is the Logic Research Institute.” He paused and then explained, “Your logic skill is indeed well-suited for solving this task. If cats and dogs can detect something unusual, and you were there at the time, you would definitely notice something wrong. Unless it’s a strange logic skill that only affects animals and as a human, you would not sense it. But this possibility is not high. I personally lean more towards the cause being special sounds or scents.
“But after all, you’re human.”
Doggy Hero narrowed her eyes, staring at Xiao Jinyu, “What do you mean?”
“How long do you plan to stay in this neighborhood?”
Doggy Hero was taken aback.
“The first unusual phenomenon occurred on October 18th, the second on November 5th, and the third on November 12th. And today is already December 5th. The shortest interval was 6 days, but the longest was 25 days. No one knows if there will be another occurrence, or when it might happen. If it never reappears, are you planning to stay in Kangding Gardens indefinitely?”
“…” Doggy Hero said thoughtfully, “That makes sense. But you just said the Logic Research Institute should take this task, so you mean…”
Xiao Jinyu remained unflappable, “Have the Logic Research Institute develop and improve special detection devices, install them in the homes of these 29 affected families. If an anomaly occurs, it would automatically trigger an alarm and activate a source-tracking function…”
Let machines serve their purpose efficiently.
Doggy Hero’s eyes drooped, and her hands also slumped to the sides.
“Your hands are not positioned correctly.”
Doggy Hero, startled, immediately sat up straight.
The next second.
Doggy Hero: “…”
Xiao Jinyu: “?”
The girl lamented, “You not only figured out I’m a girl, but also that my logic skill ‘Doggy Hero’ can only be used when I sit like a dog, right? Right?!”
Xiao Jinyu: “……”
He had said a thousand times that he had no interest in her logic skill and had never thought of mocking it…
“Don’t speak!”
The sudden, serious female voice rang out, causing Xiao Jinyu to become alert. He looked up cautiously at Doggy Hero.
The slim girl quickly got up, her steps light. Her face, partly covered by the mask, only revealed a pair of cautious and earnest eyes. She tiptoed to the kitchen, not minding the thick layer of dust on the floor, and lay down, her ear pressed against the tile.
After a few seconds.
Doggy Hero hurried to the bathroom. She flung open the glass door of the shower and pressed her cheek against the cold floor.
“Here!”
Xiao Jinyu immediately stood up, “What sound?!”
Doggy Hero: “It’s strange, like ‘thud-thud,’ and ‘ah-ah.’ Very faint, too faint. How could cats and dogs hear this? It’s a decibel range that they shouldn’t be able to detect!”
Xiao Jinyu: “Is it still happening?”
“Yes!”
“Mark the time!”
“Got it!”
Both were very calm and worked methodically together.
Doggy Hero pressed her ear firmly against the ground, shifting her head from time to time to find a louder source of the sound. Xiao Jinyu, meanwhile, walked into the bedroom and locked the door to avoid disturbing Doggy Hero with his voice. He dialed a number, and as soon as the dial tone started, the call was answered.
“Mr. Xiao, what’s up? Any progress?”
Xiao Jinyu spoke, “Officer Wang, can you get access to the pets that were sent for centralized care?”
“I can.”
“Bring two of them here.”
“Eh?”
“Act quickly!”
“Alright, alright!”
Half an hour later, Officer Wang arrived, flustered, carrying a cat and leading a Golden Retriever, sweating profusely as he knocked on the door. Xiao Jinyu quickly opened it.
At this moment, Doggy Hero was still lying on the bathroom floor, her phone beside her with the timer still running.
The anomaly she detected had already lasted for half an hour!
Xiao Jinyu initially thought that by the time Officer Wang arrived with the pets, they would have missed the strange sounds Doggy Hero had found. However, to his surprise, the noise lasted much longer than expected. As soon as Officer Wang entered, Xiao Jinyu quickly scooped up the cat and dog and, to the young officer’s astonishment, single-handedly carried the nearly hundred-pound Golden Retriever into the bathroom.
Five seconds later.
Xiao Jinyu looked down.
The cat and dog raised their moist, black eyes, and for a moment, human and animals locked gazes.
Xiao Jinyu: “……”
“Miss Gu, the cats and dogs didn’t react.”
“But I did!” Doggy Hero didn’t even lift her head. “These aren’t sounds that cats and dogs should be able to hear, only I can! It’s coming from this sewer pipe, deep and far… There’s something calling out!”
Officer Wang hurried into the bathroom, “What’s happening?”
Xiao Jinyu handed the cat and dog back to him. His handsome face was serious, and he first asked Doggy Hero, “Is it a human voice?”
Doggy Hero paused for a long time, then listened carefully again, “I can’t be certain, but it doesn’t sound like it. But whatever i-it’s in pain.”
Xiao Jinyu turned to the puzzled young officer, “Officer Wang, we suspect that something unusual is stuck in the sewer pipe…”
“It’s not in the sewer pipe.”
Xiao Jinyu turned sharply back.
Doggy Hero kept tapping lightly on the sewer outlet. After a moment, she raised her head, “If it were in the pipe, the sound wouldn’t be this muffled. It’s not in the pipe, it’s… probably outside the pipe.”
Xiao Jinyu asked, “Outside the pipe? Where?”
“…In the walls?”
Xiao Jinyu’s expression darkened.
“Not in the walls.”
Xiao Jinyu’s declaration left Doggy Hero stunned.
Although the walls of all buildings appear to be solid with no gaps, in reality, many have spaces large enough for small animals to crawl into. However, the source of this mysterious sound couldn’t possibly be within the walls.
Twenty-nine households, thirteen buildings!
It was implausible for something inside a wall of these thirteen buildings to cause such a commotion.
“It’s underground…
“It’s in the soil.”
The author has something to say:
I need to update more tomorrow.
Finally, I am about to finish this segment! This entire part has been about laying the groundwork and tying up loose ends, so it might seem a bit excessive. It’s giving me a headache…
But at the beginning of this segment, I already gave a clue. In fact, the answer is in the initial task description~ You can guess what it is~~~
Ohhh I don’t know what is this that causing the phenomenon… It is related to piggy shampoo? He was also confined but then again it would not be possible as piggy shampoo just got kidnapped and this strange thing start in October….
Hhmmm.. I don’t know🤔🧑💻
Is it piggy shampoo? Or another victim of the guy who kidnapped piggy shampoo?
Thank you for the chapter! <3
What loose ends? What groundwork?Is it related to the missing ZH or the newly dug up ivy? 🤔
I got creeps