Chapter 15: The Real Beast!
Chu Yansen caught on instantly. “I see! You’re going to hijack all of their traffic. Once their hype hits its absolute peak, we drop the ironclad evidence of their fraud. It’ll destroy them in one fell swoop!” He couldn’t help but laugh. “They’re going to be furious. They spent all that money to buy traffic, only to hand it to you on a silver platter!”
But he quickly realized a potential flaw. “Though, for this to work, your explanation video has to be completely undeniable. It needs to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Snow Crystal Cat is a real pet. If you just release another standard clip of them, I’m afraid it won’t have the same impact as the first one.” He pondered for a moment. “Unless…”
Unless there’s even more powerful evidence!
Su Wudeng smiled. “I’m not just going to show daily clips of these little guys. I’m going to release the full unedited footage of how I acquired the Snow Crystal Cats in the first place!”
Chu Yansen bolted upright, nearly knocking over the coffee on his desk. “What?!”
Footage of how she found them? He had never dared to ask about their origin, terrified of prying into Su Wudeng’s secrets. He never expected her to offer it up herself.
“Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?” he asked cautiously. “It’s going to cause a massive uproar.”
A real, living pet—and she was just going to show the world how she got it? Forget about the netizens; even he was dying of curiosity to see how she had pulled it off.
Su Wudeng chuckled. “Aren’t they questioning whether the Snow Crystal Cats are real? Fine, let’s show them exactly how they came to be! Let’s see them try to claim the actual retrieval process is fake.”
Chu Yansen took a deep breath, trying to steady his racing heart. “If you’re going that far, then I’m not worried at all. We will completely dominate the algorithm. Our metrics are going to hit unprecedented heights!”
“Furthermore,” Su Wudeng added, “alongside the rescue footage, I’m also going to drop a teaser for a brand-new pet.”
“A new pet?” Chu Yansen was utterly flabbergasted. Who exactly was this shop owner? She had just introduced the Snow Crystal Cats, and now she already had another species lined up? He couldn’t suppress his curiosity. “Can I ask what it is?”
A few seconds later, a brief video clip pinged onto his screen. In the footage, a slightly blurry silhouette was enthusiastically devouring a feast off a wooden table in front of a rustic cabin. Though the clip was only a few seconds long, the thick, plush coat and those iconic ears were unmistakable.
He recognized the breed instantly. “This is… a Husky?!”
Cats and dogs had been the two most common companion animals in human civilization before the Great Cataclysm. But when the global ecosystem collapsed, both species had vanished entirely from the face of the earth. Yet right here on his screen, alongside the Snow Crystal Cats, she had a Husky!
Before Chu Yansen could even process the shock, a sudden yell echoed from beside him. It was Shu Can.
He snapped his head up, his eyes wide and burning with excitement, his voice trembling. “Did… did I hear that right? Did you just say a Husky? Shopkeeper Su’s next pet is a Husky?!” He scrambled over to stare at the video. “It is a Husky! And look at the stance—it’s a Sword Heart Husky!”
Shu Can would know that outline anywhere. He burst into a wild, ecstatic laugh. “My Canine Cult is finally making a comeback!”
Chu Yansen: “…” Someone drag him out. He’s a goner.
Since Shu Can also had Su Wudeng’s direct contact info, he immediately initiated a video call. The moment the screen connected, Shu Can’s jaw dropped.
What he saw on the screen made his heart skip a beat—a litter of husky puppies tumbling and running happily across the floor! Their plush, thick, triangular ears flopped rhythmically with every step. The bright lights of the breeding room gleamed off their silver-blue coats like smooth flowing moonlight. He wished he could dive straight through the screen.
The cubs were still incredibly tiny, bouncing toward the camera on chubby stubby legs and tilting their little heads. The sheer, concentrated cuteness nearly made Shu Can’s heart burst out of his chest.
“So cute! Oh my god, they’re so cute!” He gripped his phone so tightly his hands shook. He finally understood the unhinged euphoria Chu Yansen felt when looking at the kittens. It was a primal, uncontrollable human instinct.
He couldn’t sit still for another second. “Shopkeeper, wait right there! I’m coming over immediately!” He needed to get to those puppies right now.
In less than an hour, Shu Can slammed open the door of Pet Love Home. Even though he had already watched them on his phone, seeing the litter of puppies in person struck him completely dumb.
A clumsy little husky tripped over its own paws, rolled across the floor a few times, and plonked down right in front of Shu Can. The tiny pup tilted its head, studying this strange new human with pure innocence in its bright blue eyes. It opened its mouth, about to let out a baby bark, when another puppy barreled into it from the side. Within seconds, the two little huskies were locked in a fierce wrestling match, kicking their stubby legs into the air and biting chunks of each other’s fluff.
Shu Can’s eyes shone. “Puppies! Real, authentic puppies! Look at those round heads, those round eyes… that beautifully vacant, intelligent stare. It’s definitely a Husky!”
Right then, Uncle Lan pushed the door open, calling out, “Shopkeeper Su?” He hadn’t seen the online video yet; he had simply noticed that the storefront across the street had opened for business, and it happened to be run by Su Wudeng’s former friend, Xiaowei.
But before he could finish his sentence, his eyes locked onto the breeding room floor. Uncle Lan felt like he had been struck by lightning.
Puppies! Who on earth could ever say no to puppies?
The two wrestling huskies suddenly paused their match, rolling over to sit up obediently when they noticed the newcomer. Treating him like a fascinating new toy, they stared up at the massive man with wide, watery eyes, their little tails thumping happily against the floor.
Even a hardened, burly man like Uncle Lan couldn’t help but break into a massive, sweeping grin. He instinctively opened his arms to welcome them. Delighted by the gesture, the puppies tried to mimic him by reaching out their front paws, but they instantly lost their balance, falling over backward with all four paws flailing in the air.
Then, they let out a chorus of tiny, high-pitched “Awoo~ Awoo~” cries.
Shu Can and Uncle Lan felt their souls entirely melt, their vision completely consumed by the tiny, tumbling cubs. For the first time in his life, Uncle Lan understood the profound emotional connection of locking eyes with an animal you loved. It made you want to hand over your entire heart. It was pure love at first sight, triggering an instant, fierce desire to protect them forever.
He had loved dogs since childhood, which was the sole reason he had chosen a heavy War Hound as his mechanical pet. But now, standing before the real thing, he finally understood why his daughter was so utterly obsessed with her Snow Crystal Cat. This was a deep, involuntary pull from the heart that logic couldn’t touch.
Su Wudeng walked out from the back, carrying a freshly mixed blend of premium food. When she stepped into the breeding room, she found two grown men hovering over a pile of puppies, cooing and babbling in high-pitched, gentle voices that were completely out of character.
She smiled warmly. “Oh, what a coincidence to see you both here today.” It was blindingly obvious that they were entirely smitten with the pups. “It seems you two are definitely dog people.”
Shu Can whirled around, his eyes flashing with desperate intensity. He cleared the distance between them in two massive strides, his voice trembling with sheer panic. “Shopkeeper! Please, I beg you, sell one of these little guys to me!” He loved them so much it was a physical ache; if he couldn’t secure one, he knew he wouldn’t sleep a wink for the rest of his life. If he had never seen them in person, he might have survived, but now that he had physically laid eyes on them, walked away was out of the question.
Su Wudeng looked at his frantic expression and let out a soft, heavy sigh.
Shu Can’s chest tightened, a wave of panic crashing over him. What did that sigh mean? “What’s wrong? Is it a no?” he blurted out rapidly. “I am completely fine with the mandatory one-month probation period! Trust me, I can sign the papers and start training right this second!”
Uncle Lan also fixed a highly tense, expectant gaze on Su Wudeng. Though he didn’t speak, his eyes pleaded for a chance. He desperately wanted a husky, too.
Su Wudeng shook her head. “It’s not that.” She paused, throwing a meaningful look at the two men. “Don’t worry. If you still want to take one home after watching this, I won’t stop you.”
Shu Can and Uncle Lan exchanged an uneasy glance. What did she mean by that? Was there something wrong with the dogs? A sudden wave of anxiety hit them.
Su Wudeng reached behind her and dragged out the feeding bucket she had just prepped. It was a massive industrial container that stood half a person’s height!
The two men stared at the bucket, entirely stunned.
Shu Can swallowed hard. “This… is all of this for the puppies?” That was insane. Could five tiny cubs realistically devour a portion that massive?
“Yep,” Su Wudeng nodded. She began scooping the food, filling several oversized bowls to the brim. “Alright, little rascals, lunchtime!”
The moment the words left her mouth, the puppies’ ears snapped up, and they charged the bowls like a tidal wave. They buried their faces in the food, their tails wagging frantically in pure joy as they let out rhythmic, snorting “huhuhuhu” eating noises.
Within seconds, the bowls were completely spotless.
Without a word, Su Wudeng filled them up for a second round. Then a third.
Shu Can and Uncle Lan watched the chaotic “mukbang” in sheer, unadulterated horror. The cubs ate at a terrifying speed, looking like creatures that hadn’t seen food in months.
Ten minutes passed. Then twenty.
By the time the last little husky contentedly licked its jowls and trotted away from the bowl, Su Wudeng cleared her throat. “Just to be clear, they aren’t starved. They ate a massive breakfast this morning. This is just a standard, ordinary meal.”
Shu Can and Uncle Lan stood frozen. They looked down at the empty, half-person-tall feeding bucket, then stared at the small, chubby puppies, their minds completely shattered by the absolute impossibility of what they had just witnessed.
Shu Can swallowed hard, his throat feeling bone-dry. “That… that much food?” Was this really the companion pet breed he had read about in history books?
Uncle Lan’s tactical experience quickly kicked in, and he hazarded a guess. “Are they currently going through a specific physiological mutation or growth phase?” Demanding that much caloric energy usually meant an organism was rapidly synthesizing power.
Su Wudeng looked at Uncle Lan in surprise, deeply impressed by his sharp intuition. He really was an experienced tamer.
She nodded firmly. “Exactly. These aren’t standard, ordinary huskies. They are Sword Heart Huskies. Don’t let their stubby puppy looks fool you,” she paused for emphasis. “They are currently entering their prime evolutionary transition period. Over the course of the next week, the skeletal structure along their shoulders will mutate, and they will grow literal blades out of their backs to become fully matured Sword Heart Huskies. That’s why their bodies are crying out for a massive influx of pure energy.”
Absolute awe washed over the two men as the words settled in.
The Sword Heart Husky line! The legendary breed capable of establishing combat links as top-tier battlefield partners!
These weren’t just cute pets—they were authentic, high-tier mythical beasts!
