Chapter 119

Cats and Dogs Render Meritorious Service

With Jinghua students' safety at stake, the police arrived quickly. When they discovered that the armed intruders had no domestic identity documents whatsoever, the situation became considerably more serious.

"The four who forced their way into Kunlun Tower this afternoon also had no registered identity." The lead officer's expression was grave. "I believe this is an organized criminal matter — the Kunlun and Jinghua intruders are probably from the same group."

"Who would have the nerve to pull something like this on home soil?"

"File a report with the higher-ups immediately. Request all relevant departments to increase patrol intensity."

"And notify the residential communities — any suspicious individuals are to be reported on sight."

At any time, nothing is more powerful than the people.

"Tonight—"

"Tonight I'm going home." He looked at Xu Chenzhu. "I'll come to the office tomorrow."

A brief silence, and then a nod. "I'll drive you."

*

"Wife." Chao Dad stood inside the residential compound gate, studying a silhouette outside that seemed familiar. "The person getting out of that car — doesn't he look a bit like our son?"

"Not a bit like him — that is Shengsheng." She watched her son bend toward the car window and exchange a few words with whoever was inside, then come through the gate looking very happy. She already knew who was in the car.

"Mum, Dad?" He stopped. His parents were standing under the compound's lamp post staring at him with unnerving intensity.

"Look who decided to come home. I was beginning to think you'd forgotten which direction the door faced." She raised an eyebrow toward the street. "You're already at the building — why didn't you invite them up?"

"He came empty-handed — he'd feel awkward coming up." He turned, saw the car was still there, leaned out and waved. It drove off slowly.

"Are your father and I the kind of people who care about gifts?" She tapped his arm. "Next time he drops you off, bring him upstairs."

"I know you don't care — but that's his personality." He linked his left arm through his mother's, his right through his father's, and walked them home. "If I'd brought him up tonight with no preparation, he'd spend the next long stretch wondering whether he'd dressed formally enough, prepared adequately, left a good impression."

His father laughed at this. "Your partner must care about you very much — to be this careful about the relationships around you. Rather than waiting for a better moment, bring him for a simple dinner tomorrow evening."

"Tomorrow evening won't work — we have a social gathering to attend." He shook his head. "I'm planning to take him to Grandmother's for National Day — are you both going back?"

"I still have some things to sort out at work. We may be a few days late." She considered for a moment. "Tomorrow evening — is it the top-tier annual business gathering? You're going to that one?"

He nodded. "That's probably it."

"I seem to remember Xu Chenzhu doesn't generally enjoy that sort of event." She looked him over slowly. Was he attending specifically to announce the relationship publicly?

"Mum — you'd already worked it out?"

She rarely saw him go pink. "Shengsheng, you've had a strong sense of boundaries your whole life. When have you ever accepted something that valuable from someone else?" A mother knows her child. She'd noticed something was off back in Linhai.

"You're not opposed?"

"He likes you, you like him. That's what matters." The three of them stepped into the lift. She pressed the floor button. "In my heart, your health and happiness come first."

"Wait — what are you two talking about?" He processed it as the lift arrived at their floor. He turned to her. "You know Shengsheng's partner?"

"Not just me — you know them too." She unlocked the door. "When Shengsheng was in hospital and you went to look after him — you'd already met."

"I met them..." His mind moved rapidly through every face he'd encountered at the hospital — men, women, young, old, not one left unexamined.

Watching his father's brow furrow and relax and furrow again with more energy than a first-year military drill, he gave up and sighed. "Dad, stop guessing. My partner is the Kunlun CEO — Xu Chenzhu."

Chao Dad stood frozen in the doorway. A long moment passed before he drifted to the sofa and sat down blankly.

"Here, Dad — drink some water." He wedged himself in beside him and held out a glass. "Any questions, just ask."

"Well." He accepted it and exhaled slowly. "Your partner is outstanding — the gender is a little surprising, but everything else is genuinely flawless."

"It's just — time goes so fast." He took another drink of water. "When you were born you were so small and soft, my hands were trembling when I held you. And now, in the blink of an eye — you have someone you love."

"Stop being melancholy — Shengsheng is just in a relationship, not leaving on a space rocket." She brought out a plate of cut fruit. "The day after tomorrow, then. Bring him to dinner. Once he's met us properly, it's also more fitting for him to travel back to the countryside with you."

"Thank you, Mum, Dad." He hugged them both. "I love you."

She gave him two light pats on the back. "Enough with the sweetness — you've been doing this since you were small."

*

[Players successfully transmitted!]

The chosen players had no time to prepare before the system pulled them in. When they opened their eyes, they were standing under a lamp post.

[Congratulations on successfully entering the Assassination Game. Instance duration: 10 hours. Wishing players a successful clear.]

Three players surveyed their surroundings. A residential compound.

The compound's security guard cycled past on a patrol cart without stopping. They reflexively stepped back.

"The landscaping here is really something." One of them turned, looking around. "This is the first time I've ever seen a compound this nice in an instance."

A smile spread. "I wonder if people who live somewhere like this have sweeter blood."

[Ding! Players, complete your mission promptly. Successful completion earns a supreme-grade weapon item.]

They refocused — and noticed a faintly flickering red arrow at the edge of their vision. Barely visible; they'd almost missed it entirely.

The direction it pointed was their target's location.

[Distance to target: two hundred metres.]

The three felt their energy sharpen. Right, then.

"Woof woof woof!"

"Meow meow meow!"

Just past eight in the evening — prime time for evening walks. People with children to one side, people with pets to the other, maintaining their respective lanes with unspoken coordination.

Gege Lou had come home from the university exhausted — and hadn't even sat down before his golden retriever was dragging him back out for a walk.

"Your Majesty — please don't run off tonight." He held the lead and talked at the dog. "Or I'm docking you a week of marrow bones."

"Woof woof woof!"

The dog lunged before the words were out of his mouth. He had no choice but to run.

Every cat and dog in the compound seemed to have lost their minds at the same moment — all surging toward the same point.

"My target is in this building?" The player looked at the keypad entry system on the building door and turned to the other two. "Does anyone have an entry item?"

In the instance worlds, a barred door should never be pushed or broken outright. That was a lesson written in other players' blood.

"I've got one." The most heavily muscled of the three threw a master keycard at the one who'd asked. "You do it."

He swiped it repeatedly. "Brother — I think you grabbed the wrong one. This thing won't open the door."

"Impossible. I used that card last instance to open a fortified base." He shoved the other player aside. "Useless."

The one who'd been shoved didn't take offense — he looked at the muscle calmly, and thought: that build, the texture when you cut through it would probably be satisfying.

"You two—" The third player's voice had begun to shake, his teeth chattering slightly. "Look behind you."

"Look at what?" The muscled one turned — and found their group surrounded on all sides by cats and dogs, fifteen or more, teeth bared, staring at them with the flat cold eyes of animals that had decided something was prey.

Foreign monsters. Drive them out.

The owners who'd been left behind finally caught up, only to discover their pets were in full alarm at three strangers. Their blood ran cold. The muzzle — how had the muzzle come off?

Then they noticed: every cat and dog in the entire compound had apparently come here to surround these three men.

"Lord have mercy — what did these three do to deserve this?"

The other owners also understood that something was off. When had the compound ever seen anything like this?

"Call the police." Gege Lou was the first to put it together. These three looked unfamiliar — and there was something about them that reminded him of the four at the school tonight.

Ten minutes into the instance, the mission was declared officially failed.

"That fast?" Tiger Ge had barely seen the transmission confirmation before the red X appeared on the instance screen.

The entire hall went silent. Everyone stared at the flickering Assassination Game display, quietly dreading the Main God throwing another wave of players in to be destroyed.

The instance flickered several more times — and then faded to a dull, dim grey.

Grey meant closed. No more forced player matches.

For the other players, it was simply news. For the ones accustomed to killing, there was a quiet, private exhale of relief.

*

The next morning, Chao Musheng came downstairs to learn that something significant had occurred in the compound the night before.

Cats and dogs had rendered meritorious service — three armed, unidentified intruders apprehended.

Armed intruders again...

He walked to the executive elevator, thought for a moment, then turned around and walked out. He went to the security department.

The main security office was on the ground floor. When he came in, a few guards were having breakfast, and in the corner, a middle-aged man in civilian clothes was playing a mobile game with his head down.

Something about the man felt familiar.

"Old Ma — coming to slack off in our office again." The guards hadn't noticed Chao Musheng in the doorway. "How come you're barely driving the boss around lately?"

"The boss has other arrangements." He looked up with a grin. "What do you lot know about anything — I..."

He caught sight of the person in the doorway. The words evaporated. He put his hand over his face and lay face-down on the desk, pretending to be asleep.

The guards looked at the door, puzzled. Assistant Chao was standing in the entrance.

"Consultant Chao — what brings you here?" The security captain came forward warmly. "Please, have a seat."

He'd heard — Consultant Chao was the boss's boyfriend.

"I wanted to ask about the three people police took away last night." He walked in, his gaze landing on Old Ma. "What did the police say?"

"No registered identity — police think they're agents sent by a hostile external organization."

Old Ma, face-down on the desk, did not move a single muscle.

"You don't need to hide." He took in the rigid back and the performative sleeping posture and smiled slightly. "I know you're the driver who talked to me so warmly at the school."

Strange behavior always has a cause. He'd thought it odd at the time — he'd just helped point out a direction, and the man's gratitude had been excessive.

"The day you asked me for directions — and the day you thanked me outside the campus snack street — Xu Chenzhu was in the car both times?"

Old Ma still wouldn't look up.

"I don't mean anything by it." He couldn't help a small laugh. "Relax."

The security captain was sharp enough to read the room. "Consultant Chao — let me take the team out for assembly. We'll be back in ten minutes."

"No need — I was just leaving. Everyone carry on." He turned and walked out.

The moment he was gone, Old Ma grabbed his phone.

Boss. Consultant Chao knows you were secretly watching him from the car.