Free Web NovelChapter 280: Chapter 188: Loyalty and Righteousness
Seeing Ben’s actions and thinking back, it all clicked for Paige Summers. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
’So all this time, his grim expression and preoccupation had nothing to do with the supplies I was so fixated on. He must have smelled this mutated dog!’
’Is it that strong? Strong enough to actually catch Ben’s attention?’
Of course, "attention" just meant it had a Crystal Core in its head. Ben wasn’t enlightened enough to care about anything else.
Paige Summers let out a sigh of relief, finally putting the matter of the supplies aside.
’Oh well. It was just bad luck that I didn’t get them. No use dwelling on it. I’ll find another chance later.’
She had no immediate plans to join Ben’s fight. In fact, she never got the chance. Ben took care of everything himself in just two or three minutes.
The corner of Paige Summers’s mouth twitched as she watched Ben holding the mutated dog by the neck. It was clearly on the verge of death. She was at a loss for words, but she spoke anyway. "Are you that hungry? You just ate a Crystal Core. This thing is so weak, and you’re still interested?"
Ben tilted his head, his attention quickly returning to the dog. He looked eager, as if he wanted to dig out the Crystal Core that very instant.
Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Paige Summers stopped paying attention to him and walked directly toward the corpse.
But just then, the dog suddenly let out a howl. With its throat constricted, the sound was incredibly sharp—less like a dog and more like a shrieking chicken.
The sound was ear-piercing. Paige Summers gestured for Ben to ease up.
Ben was clearly reluctant, but he loosened his grip and set the dog on the ground.
As soon as it was free, the mutated dog scrambled in front of the corpse, its gaze fixed on Paige Summers with a mixture of wariness and despair.
At this point, Paige Summers felt like she was bullying a dog. She sighed, planted her knife in the ground, and squatted down to look the creature in the eye. "Hey, little guy," she said earnestly. "I’m not going to do anything to him. His condition just seems a little strange, and I want to take a look. Can you understand me?"
The mutated dog quieted down, looking as if it were deep in thought.
A jolt of shock went through Paige Summers.
’Don’t tell me this dog has evolved intelligence?’
Before she could make sense of it, the mutated dog suddenly took two steps to the side. It kept its eyes on Paige Summers, but it began pawing forcefully at the ground, kicking loose dirt onto the man’s body.
"Is this...?" Paige Summers hesitated, then asked tentatively, "You want me to bury him?"
"WOOF!"
"To lay him to rest? Alright, I promise. As for the place... you want him buried right here?"
"WOOF!"
"I see. We’ll seal this place up when we leave. That should be enough, right? But... what about you?" ’Does it want to be buried here with him?’ Paige Summers couldn’t bear the thought of such an intelligent dog dying.
"WOOF WOOF!"
"Two barks? What does that mean?" Paige Summers muttered to herself before deciding to just ask, "Do you want to leave this place with us?"
This time, the mutated dog didn’t answer. It just nuzzled its head against the man’s face. Then, as Paige Summers watched, it used one paw to gently pry open the man’s mouth. With its other paw, it extended a sharp claw and viciously sliced open its own leg... Blood dripped down, trickling into the man’s mouth...
Paige Summers was stunned by the sight.
’To go this far... Its loyalty is unbelievable!’
’With its intelligence, doesn’t it know the man is already dead? And yet it still... Wait a minute. Right! Could it be... the reason the man’s corpse is in such a strange state is because of this dog’s blood?!’
’But no amount of blood can bring a man back to life. What it’s doing is futile.’
While she stood there in a daze, the flow of blood intensified, pouring into the man’s mouth in a nearly steady stream.
"Hey! Stop! You’ll die if you keep this up!"
Paige Summers instinctively moved to stop it, but the mutated dog shot her a glare. Paige Summers raised an eyebrow and said no more.
Before long, the mutated dog’s body began to sway. It had clearly lost too much blood.
Paige Summers let out a soft sigh.
’It wants to join its master even before the burial. It’s a shame, but you can’t force someone to change their mind. I’ll have to let it be.’
She took two steps back and watched the scene with a solemn expression, not uttering another word.
After the stream of blood slowed to a trickle, the mutated dog finally stopped. It collapsed to the ground, tongue lolling out as it panted heavily. After a moment, as if it had regained a sliver of strength, it raised its paw and plunged it violently into its own head.
Paige Summers’s eyes flew wide. Her mouth opened, but not a single word came out.
The mutated dog’s paw paused inside its skull for a moment before pulling free. It sent a hard object rolling to Paige Summers’s feet.
This act exhausted the last of its strength. It then gently rested its head on its folded front paws, let out a fond whimper in the man’s direction, and closed its eyes, quiet and content.
Paige Summers felt a sting in her nose, and her eyes instantly grew moist.
She lowered her head to hide her expression.
After a long moment, she took a bottle of water from her storage space and rinsed off the object at her feet.
It was the mutated dog’s Crystal Core.
’Is this... payment?’
’Was it afraid I wouldn’t bury it and its master, so it paid me in advance?’
Paige Summers bit her lip hard, finally letting out the heavy, sorrowful breath that had been caught in her throat.
’Stupid dog!’
’Am I that kind of person?’
’Even without the Crystal Core, without anything, I made a promise! I would never go back on my word!’
’Besides... I’ve never met such a foolish dog.’
’How could I possibly be at ease if I don’t give it a proper burial!’
She stood there, composing herself. Ben had also been silent for a while, but when he saw Paige Summers just clutching the Crystal Core in her hand, he grew anxious again. He took a step forward, grabbed her hand, and tried to guide it to her mouth.
"Hey!"
Paige Summers pulled her hand back in protest.
Ben just stared at her, as if insisting that she consume the Crystal Core.
Paige Summers gave a wry smile. "You want me to absorb it? I’d rather not. It’s a good one, but it’s not like I can’t find another Crystal Core of this quality. I’ll just keep this one as a memento."
Ben neither spoke nor moved, continuing to stare fixedly at her.
Paige Summers frowned slightly, her gaze shifting to the Crystal Core in her hand.
’Ben rarely insists on something like this. Is there something different about this Crystal Core?’
She hesitated for a moment. Seeing that Ben clearly had no intention of backing down, she finally decided to give in.
"Alright, fine. I’ll use it. But let’s go outside first." The smell of blood in here was so thick it was suffocating. Before they left, however, she couldn’t resist checking the man’s corpse.
Sure enough, a vibrant energy was circulating through his body. While it wasn’t enough to make his heart beat, it was maintaining the basic functions of his other tissues.
’Perhaps this was the dead mutated dog’s evolutionary path.’
Paige Summers thought with no small amount of wonder, ’If this man hadn’t died, this blood could have kept him alive for a very long time. He probably could have survived even without eating anything!’
