Chapter 86: Chapter 86: I’ve Understood Everything

After spending some time, once Lin Hao confirmed that his Residual Pill could only be a little black dog for the time being, he knew that for the foreseeable future, he’d have to take the dog with him whenever he went out.

So, making sure the little black dog acted like a normal dog was especially important.

Whose dog can send a door flying with one paw?

Whose dog likes to tear apart outlets and zap itself in the head?

When Lin Hao tried to communicate with the little black dog at first, the dog didn’t get what he meant; but after Lin Hao’s persistent chatter, the dog gradually caught on...

The little black dog hinted for Lin Hao to hand over his phone; then, skillfully typing, the dog used a web search to find Ke Chen City’s online library. After more searching, it found an ebook called "How to Train Dogs," and then...

Started reading it seriously.

Lin Hao: "What the hell? You can understand that?"

The little black dog nodded.

Lin Hao: "But I just talked to you for so long—you didn’t understand a word?"

The little black dog tilted its head, as if pondering, then switched screens and typed in the notes app:

"Sorry, I don’t really understand what you’re saying. I’m just a dog."

Lin Hao: ???

[Residual Pill Ancestor Lin Hao of Ke Chen’s Little World—looks like he needs more time to get used to his own Residual Pill]

[Doesn’t matter if getting used to it takes it slow—a few hundred years should be plenty]

Seeing Lin Hao had nothing more to say, the little black dog switched back to its reading screen and continued diligently reading that "How to Train Dogs" book it had found.

As it read, it nodded along, gradually comprehending what being a normal dog was all about.

The room was peaceful and quiet.

Just then, Lin Hao heard firecrackers going off outside the City Management Team HQ.

Lin Hao extended his Divine Thought, and "saw" the entrance of the City Management Team...

Drums pounding, firecrackers popping, colorful flags flying, crowds bustling.

With his Divine Thought, Lin Hao saw four people being carried in on stretchers at the City Management Team entrance.

Three of them were unconscious, and only one big bald guy sat cross-legged on the stretcher, eyes closed, clutching a string of prayer beads.

Judging by the posture...

A monk?

Since crossing over, this was the first time Lin Hao had seen someone dressed as a monk.

But why were all four of them covered in pitch-black soot?

Were they victims of an attack by the Extraordinary Universal School?

Doesn’t look like it...

If they’d really been attacked, the City Management Team wouldn’t put on such a spectacle.

Lin Hao swept his Divine Thought over the crowd and picked up the words he heard most: "City Joint Committee," "Special Commissioner," "plane crash."

Soon Lin Hao had pieced it together—this was...

The City Joint Management Committee’s special plane had hit a thunderstorm over Ke Chen City and crashed. Luckily, except for the captain and co-pilot, the remaining two special commissioners were both Extraordinary—they each used their powers, or else they might’ve died.

Uh...

Were these people the "targets" for the venting of the Thunder Tribulation?

Ah, really sorry about that.

But at least, according to Lin Hao’s Divine Thought, their injuries weren’t life-threatening.

With normal care, they’d recover.

And besides, they were in the City Management Team—the Logistics Team could patch them up fast.

Could’ve been much worse, honestly.

Then, looking at that big bald guy—he still looked so saintly and solemn, even though his skin was scorched black, still looping his prayer beads and muttering...

Lin Hao used his Divine Thought to listen in closer.

"Surviving a great catastrophe surely means fortune to come, Namo Amitabha Buddha. Lottery, welfare lottery, double-color ball, this humble monk here vows: if I win, I’ll split half with Buddha..."

Lin Hao: ???

These people really...

What a crew!

Lin Hao decided that before becoming Immortal, he’d just live as a normal human for now.

First things first, he had to find a rope for a leash.

After all, he had to take the little black dog out. Since the City Joint Committee’s special commissioners had arrived, Ke Chen City’s "civilization-building" campaign was going to get stricter.

If you own a dog but don’t leash it, you’re not walking a dog; you’re letting it walk you.

Lin Hao really didn’t want to run into some acquaintances from the City Management Team with his dog and get stopped and fined—how embarrassing would that be?

Once Lin Hao finished making the leash, the little black dog had already speed-read "How to Train Dogs" and felt it had a solid grasp on dog-ness now.

"Wanna try it on?" Lin Hao asked.

The little black dog nodded.

Once the leash was on, the little black dog took a couple test steps, then just went right back to lying in front of the phone, scrolling away.

With nothing else to do, Lin Hao decided to start cultivating.

The little black dog watched Lin Hao sit cross-legged in meditation, then got up, opened Lin Hao’s Storage Bag, fished out a few lower-grade Spirit Stones, munched them all down, belly nice and round, then lay in front of the phone again...

"Shake."

"High five."

"Spin."

"Bang~"

"Baby, Mom and Dad are home~"

"Puppy has to be good, don’t jump on people..."

"..."

All of this got the little black dog thinking.

So this is how a dog does "dog"—got it, got it.

Watching videos is so much more direct than reading.

And Lin Hao, deep in meditation, had no idea the little black dog was snacking on Spirit Stones. All he noticed was his cultivation speed seemed to tick up a bit.

Even if it was just a tiny bit compared to the magic power needed in the Residual Pill Stage, a little was still better than nothing—it’ll add up over time...

...

Soon it was 5:30 in the afternoon. With the alarm chiming, Lin Hao slowly opened his eyes.

He saw the little black dog, now curled up asleep by the bedside.

Looked kinda dumb in a cute way.

Lin Hao grinned and then summoned up his magical power—

"Unpredictable Overtime Skill!"

As soon as the magical power was invoked, the little black dog, as Lin Hao’s Residual Pill, snapped awake.

Seeing the black hole that had suddenly appeared in the room, it instinctively hid behind Lin Hao.

That black hole looked kind of scary...

Even Lin Hao himself thought it looked different from before.

To him, the black hole was no longer just a passage for the White Impermanence Avatar to manifest in the world—it also seemed to have gained the power to swallow souls.

If this was back when he was at the Qi Refining Stage, seeing this black hole, his Divine Soul would’ve likely been scared out of his body.

But he wasn’t that rookie anymore—his Divine Soul was steady now...

Lin Hao gazed at the black hole. Before long, the White Impermanence Avatar appeared at the edge of the hole like usual.

That face of laughing and crying at once somehow looked even more vivid.

[Lin Hao advanced to early Residual Pill Realm; the White Impermanence Avatar’s power has increased]

[White Impermanence Avatar has gained early Nascent Soul level power in the real world]

[The bond between White Impermanence Avatar and Lin Hao has grown even deeper]

This time, after landing, the White Impermanence Avatar didn’t just stand around blankly, but looked around the room before turning to Lin Hao.

Noticing White Impermanence looking around, Lin Hao carefully asked:

"White Impermanence, do you have consciousness now?"

To Lin Hao’s question, the White Impermanence Avatar shook its head.

Lin Hao: That’s not what "no consciousness" looks like...

But when Lin Hao tried to communicate, the Avatar really did seem unable to understand or respond.

Maybe, after breaking through one more major realm, he’d really be able to communicate with it.

After confirming there was no way to talk, Lin Hao carefully attuned himself to his connection with the White Impermanence Avatar.

After a long time in contemplation, he sensed something: every day when he summons White Impermanence, Lin Hao can now designate a target for the Avatar to possess!

No more totally random targets like before!

Even if it’s only once per day now, that’s still a big step forward!

...

Since the Food Week was over, Lin Hao did his usual shift at the shop.

But this time, unlike before, he had a little black dog on a leash.

"Wow! So cute!"

"Let me pet, let me pet."

"Here, let auntie have a hug."

"..."

Faced with everyone’s friendliness, the little black dog didn’t show any resistance.

It now truly understood dogs.

After entering, Li Chuchu saw Lin Hao’s black dog. Her eyes lit up and she ran over to scoop it up:

"Lin Hao, where’d this dog come from?"

"Picked it up."

"Wow, even for a stray, it’s way too adorable!"

"It’s alright."

Lin Hao then headed to the back to get ready.

The little black dog just acted like a normal dog, gazing up at the female human in front of it.

The female human looked familiar; as a Residual Pill, it didn’t have Lin Hao’s memories, but since Lin Hao interacted with some humans a lot, it recognized some scents.

So, when around acquaintances, the little black dog thought dogs should show friendliness—gotta have manners, after all.

"Hey, why’re you pulling at my phone?" 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"You sure have a weird dog..."

But mid-sentence, Li Chuchu stopped short, unable to speak.

What did she just see?

Li Chuchu rubbed her eyes, opened them, closed them, opened them, closed them...

No matter what, her phone’s notes app clearly had one sentence written:

"Hello, I am a dog. My name is Wangcai. I gave myself this name. Nice to meet you."

————

[Unused Monthly Pass Shelter Center]