"Ah Bai? Is that... Ah Bai? How did it end up like this?"
Ah Qing looked at Qiu Lingling with a face full of shock, then turned her gaze towards the steps, where the little fox and Tu Song Ah Bai were cuddling closely, radiating a warm and harmonious atmosphere.
"...Although I really don't want to admit it, it is indeed Ah Bai. I don't know which Bai Renzai from whose household had nothing better to do at the seafood market, laying Mouse Trap Glue everywhere, and it got stuck all over Ah Bai's fur."
Lagging a few steps behind Ah Bai, Qiu Lingling arrived only to hear Ah Qing's shocked inquiry, her face turned black, and she began explaining the whole situation to Ah Qing and the others.
At that time, upon seeing more than thirty Mouse Trap Glue strips stuck on Ah Bai's body, Qiu Lingling was dumbfounded.
Later, Qiu Lingling consulted with Chen Zhiyu on whether there was a way to clean off the Mouse Trap Glue.
Of course, there was a way, but those chemical products were incredibly harmful to the dog's skin.
The simplest and healthiest method was to go to a pet beauty salon and have its fur shaved off.
Qiu Lingling took Ah Bai to the beauty salon, exhausting the three groomers till they were limp.
And Qiu Lingling received a bill, costing over sixteen hundred.
"A bath costing sixteen hundred?" Ah Qing expressed disbelief at the price.
"It's not that Ah Bai's bath cost sixteen hundred, it's the groomers removing the glue, causing their tendonitis to flare up; six hundred of it was compensation to the beauty salon because the groomers took three days off," Qiu Lingling said, covering her face.
Ah Bai's bath costs could be split into multiple dimensions.
But did the beauty salon's owner make a profit?
As Qiu Lingling left the salon, the owner was squatting at the door, distressfully chain-smoking; a single Ah Bai had closed down their beauty salon for three days.
Not shutting down wasn't an option, the groomers were exhausted, directly asking the owner for two days off; the one with tendonitis said they needed three days for rehabilitation. Out of the sixteen hundred, two groomers shared five hundred, and the one with tendonitis took six hundred.
Calculating inside and outside, helping Ah Bai bathe, the beauty salon owner just earned a three-day closure.
They were about to lose their mind over the loss.
"......"
After hearing Qiu Lingling's account of the entire situation, both Ah Qing and Mo Yiqing showed expressions of disbelief on their cheeks.
Alright then!
We indeed shouldn't hold stereotypes, and immediately curse the owner as running a black shop...
Meanwhile, in the live broadcast room, people were swiftly spamming the screen, sending praying emojis with joined hands to the beauty salon owner.
"Ah Qing Ah Qing, I'll go to enclose the area with Ah Bai, and should be back by noon for lunch."
"By the way, do you want to have turtle soup? I've got a nice fat grass turtle on my foot."
Over at Ansheng's side, once he understood Ah Bai's intentions, he asked Ah Qing for some time off to check what Ah Bai had brought over.
Casually, Ansheng reached into the water, exerting force with his paws, he picked up a grass turtle at the shore, and brought it in front of Ah Qing.
"A turtle?"
Ah Qing looked at the national-level turtle in front of her, then turned her gaze towards the foreign Arctic Fox, showing her subtle expression.
The Xia Guogui looked at Ah Qing, bewildered, extending its head to survey the surroundings.
...
"Woof woof woof——"
Ansheng and Ah Bai left the shore, running towards the village entrance where Qiu Lingling had parked.
Ah Bai surveyed all around, making sure there was nobody and no cameras nearby, then barked out a dog command.
"Woof!"
Upon hearing Ah Bai's instruction, the German Shepherd and Malinois stashed on the cargo truck jumped out.
The German Shepherd and Malinois carried bundles on their backs, landing firmly on the ground, exuding a sense of seasoned bravery.
"Awooo!"
Ah Bai looked at Master Fox, using his nose to nudge the bundle on the German Shepherd's back.
Ansheng stood upright and went forward, opened the bundle on the German Shepherd's back, inside he saw a shotgun and a classic skinned old AK, with loads of ammunition.
What surprised Ansheng even more was that the bundle even contained something resembling a rapid loader.
"Ah Bai... you're absurd! Where on earth did you get all these things?" Ansheng asked with a face full of confusion, looking at Ah Bai squatting on the ground with its tongue hanging out.
"Borrowed from a deceased old man's house." Ah Bai's answer remained the same, borrowed from a deceased loner's house.
"What arms dealer grandpa!"
Ansheng retorted with black lines on his face, then turned to check the items in the Malinois's backpack.
Inside the backpack carried by the Malinois, there was nothing too absurd, just four long-handled grenades and a set of obviously men's beachwear, and sunglasses.
"Japanese text?"
Seeing the text on the long-handled grenades, Ansheng raised an eyebrow, feeling as though he grasped something vaguely.
Back when Xia Country could buy firearms, but never heard about buying grenades, especially not Japanese ones.
Yet Ah Bai managed to find these, and they were supposedly from an ancestral home of a deceased elderly.
Ansheng's mouth twitched, unwilling to further consider who the so-called solitary elder claimed by Ah Bai really was.
That so-called solitary elder was probably packing military honors on his chest, capable of serving as a bulletproof vest.
"Awooo——"
After ensuring no one was around, Ah Bai furtively barked into the surroundings, calling all the dogs in Changping Village to come out. As the dogs gathered, Ah Bai's form gradually underwent a change, once more transforming into a white wolf.
Ah Bai crawled out from under the truck, mimicking Master Fox's upright posture, opened the backpack on the Malinois, took out the beach shorts and a Hawaiian-style short-sleeve shirt to wear.
"Woof!"
Ah Bai joyfully took out the sunglasses from the backpack, put them on his head, raised a paw, and supported the truck bed's edge, shouting at Master Fox.
"Yes yes yes, not just stylish, I bet the entire village couldn't find a dog as flashy as you..."
Seeing Ah Bai asking about its fashion sense, Ansheng retorted with a face full of black lines, rolling his eyes.
Before shaving, Ah Bai was normal.
But after shaving, Ansheng couldn't help but feel that Ah Bai seemed to radiate a certain flamboyance.
Just like Stallone from First Blood, carrying a machine gun, yet wearing a pair of Patrick shorts really pops.
"Woof woof woof——"
As Ansheng was about to depart, an nondescript Chihuahua squeezed out from the dog crowd, barked at Master Fox, and spat the car keys it held in its mouth onto the ground.
The car keys had a GMC emblem printed on them.
The Chihuahua bounced up, yapping about guiding Master Fox.
"Are you... a car thief?"
Ansheng gawked at the Chihuahua.
The Chihuahua tilted its head, not quite understanding what Master Fox meant.
Its owner always picked a random key from the drawer before heading out.
Now, it also learned to yank a random key from the drawer whenever it left.
Led by the Chihuahua, Ansheng and Ah Bai, the two dominant Spirit Beasts, arrived in front of a black-painted pickup adorned with American police emblems.
The pickup truck was taller than a person, fitted with American-style intercepting crash beams at its front, with searchlights on top larger in diameter than Ansheng's head by several times.
"....."
Ansheng looked at the large pickup, then at the supercars covered in dust within the parking garage, finally turning to the bouncing Chihuahua, pressing the car keys.
"Toot toot——"
The GMC pickup made unlocking sounds.
"My goodness! Your master is probably the richest in this village, buying the car and modifying it, only to let it gather dust without even putting plates." Ansheng admitted being amazed, then, released his three tails, picked up a stick from the ground, jumped up to fiddle open the car door, and climbed into the driver's seat.
"Quick, dogs, help press the gas and brake! Ah Bai takes the passenger seat. Today, I'll teach you how to drive a big car!"
Ansheng excitedly opened his mouth, patting the steering wheel.
Upon hearing Master Fox's shout, the dogs squeezed into the available seats, those that couldn't jumped into the truck bed.
Ah Bai looked at the control dashboard, pondered, twisted open the music knob like the one on a speedboat.
Amidst a burst of intense music, Ansheng stood upright, grabbed the steering wheel, and drove away.