Playing the Foolish Beauty in a Deadly Game - Chapter 41
The leader of the church clapped her hands, and the others immediately began moving things into Lin Qiao’s house—pet supplies that a dog would need, such as food and toys.
The leader was a girl wearing a hat: “According to the law, if multiple pets choose you, you cannot refuse.”
“Owning pets comes with a national subsidy; you don’t have to worry about the cost of upkeep. Moreover, having multiple pets ensures your safety even more, something others would kill for.”
With that, she suddenly leaned in and sniffed under Lin Qiao’s chin, like a puppy. Lin Qiao, embarrassed, took a half-step back. The girl mused, “You smell really nice, just like those sacrifices…”
“Ahem, in any case, even the Meow Meow Religion can’t stop us from moving in with the Woof Woof Religion.”
“I hope you can properly soothe your cat’s emotions. We won’t disturb you further. Good luck.”
The people from the Woof Woof Religion came and left in a hurry. The villa was now left with only Lin Qiao and his cat and dog. Even knowing that the pets in this world were not ordinary, who could resist the fluffiness?
So far, the two pets just seemed smarter than average. Humans generally don’t guard against pets, and Lin Qiao was no exception. He squatted down, reached up, and rubbed the Doberman’s head: “Hello, I’m Lin Qiao. Nice to meet you.”
The Doberman had a high and cold appearance, fierce and cool, with an exceptional temperament. Its ears were erect, and the sharp, upright ears made the Doberman look even more majestic and spirited. Unfortunately, such ears were not natural but required ear cropping and pinning, equivalent to a surgical procedure. This was not only for aesthetic reasons but also to enhance the Doberman’s hearing, at least eightfold. Additionally, under normal circumstances, Dobermans have large ears that are prone to illness, and ear cropping and pinning would reduce the risk of disease.
Lin Qiao couldn’t help but pinch the Doberman’s ears, whispering to himself, “I wonder if it hurts…”
The Doberman seemed to have heard Lin Qiao’s words and turned its head to gently lick Lin Qiao’s cheek. Lin Qiao laughed and dodged. The black cat nearby was not pleased and deliberately meowed, jumping onto the sofa and turning its back to Lin Qiao.
Lin Qiao coaxed the cat: “Are you mad?”
The cat remained still, ignoring him completely. Lin Qiao was charmed by the cat’s proud and precious demeanor: “How about I give you an extra meal today?”
The black cat glanced at Lin Qiao and continued to maintain its aloofness. Lin Qiao couldn’t resist pinching the cat’s ears and whispered, “How about I reward you by letting you sleep with me tonight?”
The black cat disdainfully pushed Lin Qiao with its paw, but in reality, it wrapped its tail around Lin Qiao’s wrist. Such a contradictory little cat deserved to be kissed bald. So Lin Qiao boldly planted a kiss. The black cat didn’t expect this move from Lin Qiao and meowed discontentedly, but it didn’t push Lin Qiao away.
Captivated by the fluffiness, Lin Qiao forgot that he was still in the dungeon. He glanced at the time and went to prepare food for the cat and dog. It had to be said that the pets in this world were truly pampered, with a wide variety of pet food available.
Lin Qiao prepared different portions of food according to the recipes he had looked up, while he simply boiled some noodles for himself. During mealtime, the pet food bowls were in the respective rooms of the cat and dog. Lin Qiao thought for a moment and placed them all on the dining table.
He carried the black cat to the table. The cat didn’t expect to eat there and, after understanding Lin Qiao’s intention, haughtily raised its chin. Lin Qiao immediately understood and put a pink bib around the cat’s neck.
The black cat stiffened instantly, pawing at the bib a bit but not resisting. When it was the Doberman’s turn, the big dog climbed onto the chair and obediently squatted, allowing Lin Qiao to put a silver bib around its neck.
“Meow,” the black cat expressed its displeasure. Lin Qiao explained, “That one was given by the church; I personally picked the one for the cat.”
The black cat was satisfied, and Lin Qiao placed his own bowl on the table as well. The three of them enjoyed their meal happily. Suddenly, the Doberman barked, “Woof.” Lin Qiao looked up. The Doberman had a serious and aloof expression, staring at Lin Qiao’s bowl and then barking at its own food dish.
Lin Qiao became nervous. Could it be that there was a ghost in the bowl? A noodle ghost?
Seeing Lin Qiao’s wide, puzzled eyes, the black cat pushed its food over with its paw. The cat and dog’s food was rich in meat, accompanied by vegetables, while Lin Qiao’s noodles were plain, at best with an egg.
Lin Qiao explained, “I like to eat lightly in the evening.”
After a few more explanations, the cat and dog finally ate their meals obediently.
After dinner, Lin Qiao cleaned up and wanted to go out again to learn more about this world. However, it was already getting dark outside. It was only seven o’clock. In the real world, going for a walk at this time would be a good choice. But this dungeon had evil spirits, so Lin Qiao decided it was better to stay at home. As for learning about the world, well, there was the internet.
Lin Qiao cheerfully went upstairs to take a bath. He lathered his hair with shampoo, closed his eyes, and rinsed. The color of the showerhead’s water gradually turned red, and it seemed like something in the bathtub wanted to come out. Lin Qiao was unaware, but he heard the anxious meows and barks of the cat and dog at the bathroom door. In reality, Lin Qiao had been informed by pet-owning friends that cats are afraid of water and might mistakenly think that humans are in danger when bathing, often guarding the bathroom door. As for dogs, they are very clingy and will stay there motionless if they can’t see their owner.
What Lin Qiao didn’t know was that his phone, left on the bed, kept dinging with notifications: “Protection value increased by 50, protection value increased by 10, protection value increased by 60…” As the protection value increased, the bathroom quickly returned to normal. By the time Lin Qiao had rinsed off the foam, the bathroom was calm and peaceful.
Lin Qiao, not wanting the cat and dog to worry, didn’t even bother to wrap a towel around himself and opened the bathroom door. After all, there was no one else at home. Little did he know that his sudden appearance would make the black cat and Doberman freeze in surprise before dashing far away.
Lin Qiao laughed heartily, “Haha, are you guys that afraid of water?”
“Come on, let’s bathe together. Only after bathing can you sleep with me.”
“If you don’t like to bathe, you’re not a good cat or a good dog. Then I’ll go find a little cat and dog that love to bathe.”
The black cat narrowed its eyes, while the Doberman took the initiative to walk towards Lin Qiao.
Black cat: “?!”
The black cat hissed at the Doberman in a threatening tone, but the Doberman barked at Lin Qiao instead. The Doberman was scolding Lin Qiao for coming out of the bathroom naked, after all, it was cold outside. Lin Qiao had no idea and, shivering from the cold, still tried to coax the cat over.
In the end, what made the black cat compromise was Lin Qiao’s remark, “Then I’ll sleep with the dog tonight, not with the cat.”
The villa’s bathtub was large enough to accommodate two or three people at the same time. After the Doberman got in, it obediently let Lin Qiao scrub its fur, always keeping its back to Lin Qiao. The black cat, on the other hand, floated on the water’s surface, with Lin Qiao placing a handful of white foam on its head.
Lin Qiao also got into the tub and held up his newly bought tablet to search for information.
“Hmm, a guide to buying a house.”
“Don’t choose the house yourself before buying; let the pets choose first. After purchasing, don’t move in right away. Instead, take the pets to inspect the new house.”
“You can only move in with the pets after three days. It’s best to have the bedroom close to the pet’s room. Don’t close the doors to the pet’s room or your own at night to allow the pets to come and go freely…”
Lin Qiao pondered thoughtfully and decided to sleep with the cat and dog for the next few days.
He continued to browse other content, which was similar to the news and gossip in the real world. The only difference was that people here particularly enjoyed sharing stories about themselves and their pets. There were many accounts of pets saving their owners, such as being led out of a haunted area by a dog, being rescued from an elevator ghost by a cat, or being awakened from a nightmare by a cat. There were also many complaints about ghosts and tips on how to avoid them in daily life.
Apart from these, Lin Qiao came across a strange piece of news. The news was quite prominent; it was about a live-streaming website recruiting hosts. However, the comments below were very odd.
[Evening Yu]: “Is anyone thinking of signing up? Sign-ups start at 3 p.m. tomorrow. I heard that someone from our group signed up last year and received a substantial subsidy afterward. It came with money and protection value.”
[Civilized Lianlian]: “This live-streaming thing is a scam. Whoever wants to go can. I’m not going. How much protection value could there be? It wouldn’t even last a month of live-streaming!”
[Ci Shi Yi]: “Only those who are really short of money would go, right? Anyway, quite a few people from our group died last year.”
[Shang Qi]: “What if those people figure it out? Which live-streaming website only has 200 hosts?”
Lin Qiao suddenly sat up in the bathtub. Tomorrow at 3 p.m. was exactly when the dungeon would start, and there were 200 players as well. The game task was also related to live-streaming. Lin Qiao entered the term “Best Streamer Competition” into the search bar, but the results were just a bunch of promotional ads with no useful information.
Lin Qiao switched back to the comments below the news and saw a netizen named [It’s Shi Shi, Not Lion] commenting, “While we can still talk about it, let’s discuss for a bit. After midnight, all related searches will be cleared.”
[Flower Linglong]: “They’ve already been cleared. I guess these comments will be deleted soon too.”
[11.26]: “Do you think we can sneak in as audience members if we don’t apply to be hosts?”
[Little Tomato]: “How could we? We can’t be audience members.”
Lin Qiao pursed his lips and, under the name [Brother Qiao], asked, “How can we become hosts? Is there anything we should be aware of? I’m short of money lately and want to give it a try.”
The comment section below the news turned blank for a moment, followed by a flood of replies.
[Zhi Ming Qing Dang Zhi Yi]: “Are you crazy? If you’re short of money, think of other ways. Why participate in this live-streaming?”
[Tough Student]: “What should I pay attention to? Pay attention to not dying, right? What else is there?”
Before Lin Qiao could gather more information, the comments below the news were collectively deleted and could no longer be refreshed.
Lin Qiao tried to ask elsewhere, but each time he was banned, and his phone received a warning message.
At this moment, the Doberman in the bathtub stood up and barked at Lin Qiao.
The cat also climbed out, its fur wet and dripping, wanting to lick Lin Qiao but trying hard to control itself.
Lin Qiao had been soaked for so long that his face was flushed and his speech had become soft and tender: “Wait a moment, brother, I’ll dry you off.”
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