Chapter 5 - 3: Vicious Dog
Granny Li became even more smug at the sight.
She shifted, leaning even more languidly against the doorframe. Her mocking eyes swept over Aunt Wang, who was trembling with rage, as she slowly delivered her final barbs, each word like a poison-tipped needle:
"Xiaowang, let me give you some advice. If you have so much free time to meddle in other people’s business, you’d be better off doing some square dancing to get some exercise. Then maybe climbing six flights of stairs wouldn’t feel like it’s killing you. Or, you could go to the temple and pray. Ask a Bodhisattva to make sure you’re reincarnated into some fancy, high-class community with no dogs. Oh, but I doubt that would work. With you pinching pennies all the time, unable to stand the slightest smell, looking so pathetic... even a Bodhisattva would probably get sick of you. I’m keeping this spot in the hallway, and I’m keeping the dog. If you’ve got what it takes, why don’t you make him disappear?"
Having said her piece, she slammed the door shut.
Faced with Granny Li’s brazenly unreasonable attitude, Aunt Wang, filled with an anger she couldn’t vent, had no choice but to leave resentfully.
Once Aunt Wang’s figure disappeared around the bend in the staircase, a brief silence returned to the hallway.
Only then did Lin Yi emerge from the stairwell, following her at a leisurely pace.
His steps were light, making almost no sound.
As he passed the enormous dog cage on the stair landing, the massive black shape lying inside abruptly shot to its feet!
The Tibetan Mastiff, as if it had scented a stranger, erupted in a terrifying frenzy. It slammed its heavy body violently against the sturdy bars of the cage, producing a thunderous CLANG! CLANG! that made the entire structure shudder.
With each impact, it opened its cavernous jaws, baring ghastly white fangs and unleashing a deafening volley of barks in Lin Yi’s direction.
"WOOF! WOOF WOOF WOOF!"
The roar, which had incredible Penetration Power, echoed madly through the narrow hallway, nearly shattering eardrums and reeking of threat and savagery.
Had an ordinary person been met with such a sudden, violent assault, they would have likely been terrified into a hasty retreat.
Lin Yi, however, stopped short.
He wasn’t flustered. Instead, he turned his body slightly, his gaze sharp as a blade, and met the mastiff’s rage-reddened eyes directly.
After a moment of locking eyes, a faint but meaningful smile slowly spread across his face.
’Interesting!’
A thrill of excitement, an eagerness to test his new abilities, quietly surfaced in his mind.
He had just acquired the Mosquito Avatar and was lamenting the lack of a suitable test subject to test its power.
’And wasn’t this incredibly ferocious beast the perfect target, delivering itself right to his door?’
’Alright then. Let’s have some fun.’
The thought flashed through his mind.
The smile on Lin Yi’s face deepened.
He wasted no more time provoking or responding to the frenzied animal. Decisively retracting his gaze, he moved nimbly, accelerating up the stairs. With a few large, light-footed strides, he reached the upper floors, quickly leaving the continuous, crazed barking and the clatter of the cage far behind.
Moments later, he was standing steadily before the familiar green iron door of Apartment 802 on the eighth floor.
He deftly took out his key. With a soft CLICK, the lock sprang open.
He pushed the door open and stepped inside, gently closing it behind him and cutting off the clamor from the hallway.
The scene inside was as cold and spartan as ever.
In the center of the living room, a single, time-worn sofa sat alone, its fabric worn and faded to a pale white.
Beyond that, there was no other decent furniture, leaving the room looking spacious and bare.
Lin Yi walked straight to the sofa, casually shrugged the backpack from his shoulder, and set it down beside him.
He didn’t even have time to sit down and catch his breath before he impatiently, yet carefully, retrieved the Mosquito Avatar from deep within his pocket.
He gently cradled it in his palm, holding his breath. With a near-reverent curiosity and an irrepressible excitement, he stared intently at this minuscule creation, which held infinite possibilities.
The System had been awakened for some time now, but only now did he finally have the chance to carefully study his avatar.