Chapter 157 Brother Jiong... This... This is...

"Doggy! Master is so sorry for you! Doggy! I never expected you wouldn't survive this ordeal! I am not worthy to be your master! Doggy! Ah!!!"

In Black's courtyard, amidst the scattered wreckage of the ZZ250, a purebred black-and-white Husky puppy lay flat on the ground, its tongue sticking out, with smoke still rising from its body. It looked thoroughly cooked.

Well... cooked to perfection...

"Brother Jiong, stop crying..."

Beside Jiang Lin, a MetalGarurumon extended a paw and patted Jiang Lin's shoulder, looking remarkably calm yet apologetic...

"No! I'm going to cry!"

Kneeling on the ground, Jiang Lin slapped the floor wildly, devastated and heartbroken...

"Doggy, Master is truly sorry. You finally made it through Donglin City with me and arrived at the Sun Moon Sect, why did you... It's all my fault... It's all my fault for forgetting you, it's entirely Master's fault..."

"No! Brother Jiong, it's all my fault. If it weren't for me giving the ZZ250 a steam bath, your dog wouldn't have died. It's all my fault..."

The MetalGarurumon fiercely wiped away tears (machine oil), its voice choked with emotion.

Just moments ago, when Jiang Lin realized his dog was still in the storage compartment of the ZZ250, he had rushed over to Black's courtyard.

Since Jiang Lin had previously drilled a ventilation hole into the ZZ250's storage compartment, he hadn't been too worried about the dog suffocating.

However, he never expected that Black would be conducting heat-resistance tests on the ZZ250 in the backyard.

When Jiang Lin arrived, the ZZ250 inside the "sauna room" was glowing bright red, looking as if it were about to melt.

Especially when he saw the temperature display on the sauna room spike to 1888, Jiang Lin's heart skipped a beat, turning instantly ice-cold. He had even prepared himself mentally for dog meat hot pot.

Sure enough, when Jiang Lin and Black hauled the ZZ250 out, Jiang Lin clenched his fists, channeled the chilling sword qi of First Snow to manually dismantle the mecha like a Gundam, and rescued the dog—only to find the puppy smoking all over, with a faint aroma of roasted meat drifting off it...

"Doggy..."

Jiang Lin wailed again, his voice agonizingly sorrowful...

"Brother Jiong... Death cannot be undone, please restrain your grief, Brother Jiong..."

This time, it was the MetalGarurumon version of Black hugging Jiang Lin.

Actually, Black felt quite guilty too.

While it wasn't really his fault—who would have thought there'd be a dog inside his ZZ250?—he was still the executioner, one way or another...

"Brother Jiong! A man takes responsibility for his actions! I killed your dog, so look—I'll give you this MetalGarurumon, how about that?!"

Jiang Lin paused his crying slightly and sized up Black's MetalGarurumon.

Damn it, it was dark and bulky. He poked it; it was just cold, hard sheets of iron, completely uncute, and it couldn't even roll over...

Without comparison, there was no gap; without a gap, there was no pain. For a moment, a deeper wave of sorrow washed over Jiang Lin, especially when he remembered that his dog had just been taught movement techniques by that old grandfather Cheng Huang.

He had been planning to ride the dog across the skies with little Niannian and have it guard the gate, but who would have thought...

Jiang Lin pushed the head of the MetalGarurumon away. "Doggy... Master is so sorry for you..."

After a long while, either Jiang Lin had cried himself out, or he was gradually accepting reality.

Jiang Lin wiped his tears and picked up the dog.

"Brother Jiong, are you going to bury your beloved dog? Let me do it."

"No..." Jiang Lin shook his head. "Since my dog is dead, we shouldn't let it go to waste. I'll go to the kitchen to boil some water, and we can have dog meat hot pot in a bit."

With a soft sigh, Jiang Lin stroked the meat-scented puppy and walked toward the kitchen with heavy, sorrowful steps.

"Brother Jiong..."

"Don't say anything." Jiang Lin shook his head, looking at the puppy in his arms. "Doggy, it's Master's fault. Once I turn you into hot pot, you and I will become one—you will be inside me!"

"Brother Jiong..."

"Black, you don't need to say anything. I don't blame you, it's all my fault."

"No, Brother Jiong." Black grabbed the hem of Jiang Lin's trousers in his jaws. "Look at Brother Xue!"

"Huh?"

Looking down, he saw that the puppy in his arms was actually emitting a bright glow!

After the light faded, the smoke stopped rising from the puppy, and Jiang Lin could clearly feel the texture of the meat in his arms becoming softer again.

It was as if... it wasn't quite as thoroughly cooked anymore...

"Woof-woof~~~"

In Jiang Lin's arms, the puppy raised its head, staring at its master who seemed to be drooling at the corners of his mouth. The two dogs and the human were all completely dumbfounded...

......

Half an hour later...

Sun Moon Sect Medical Clinic...

After Jiang Lin explained the situation to Granny Hua, she performed a full-body examination on Schrödinger!

"Woof-woof~~~~"

Watching the puppy lick happily at a teething stick it was holding, Granny Hua shook her head:

"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics. The only certain thing is that your puppy must have eaten something in the past, giving it an extremely powerful healing ability. Alternatively, your puppy might be some new species from the Demon Clan realm with special abilities."

"Extremely powerful healing ability? What kind of healing can bring something back from the dead?"

"It's not bringing the dead back to life. Rather, when it was on the verge of death, it entered a state of suspended animation, and simply woke up again once the danger passed. Just to be safe, leave it with me for observation for a while. I'm quite curious."

"Uh... Granny Hua, please make sure you don't dissect it. I'm counting on it to be the guardian beast of my mountain."

"Don't worry, I won't. It can just keep my Hua Hua company."

Hua Hua was a Chihuahua raised by Granny Hua. It had already been there when Jiang Lin first arrived at the Sun Moon Sect. Just in terms of canine age, Jiang Lin suspected the Chihuahua might be older than himself.

Since Granny Hua promised not to dissect it, there was no problem. Leaving Schrödinger at the clinic, Jiang Lin and Black returned to the courtyard together.

Black's courtyard was massive—he was basically a wealthy landlord—and filled with all sorts of laboratories.

Right in the middle of the courtyard stood a small black house made of cement (with the recipe provided by Jiang Lin), which was Black's room.

No one had ever entered Black's room, not even Jiang Lin.

Usually, Black operated armored mascots like Super Piglet, Pikachu, or MetalGarurumon to go out and interact with others.

Of course, Jiang Lin, Jiji Bo, and the others had certainly thought about barging in to catch a glimpse of Black's true appearance.

The result, however...

If Black hadn't held back, Jiang Lin and the others would have nearly lost their heads on the spot.

Ever since then, Jiang Lin and his companions never dared to entertain the thought of seeing Black again...

Anyway, judging by Black's accent, it was undoubtedly a burly, foot-scratching man. If it were a young maiden, would she hang out with a bunch of guys like them?

"Brother Jiong, I truly apologize."

"No, no, no. You don't need to blame yourself, Black. As long as everything is fine."

In Black's front courtyard, Jiang Lin took a sip of tea.

"Since Brother Xue is fine, what brings Brother Jiong here?"

"Oh, it's like this."

Jiang Lin put down his teacup and looked at Black with a serious expression.

"Ever since the incident in Donglin City, I've deeply realized my own weakness. To protect myself and the people I love, I need to have sufficient strength! Beauties can only be matched by the strong!"

"...... If Brother Jiong wants to raise his cultivation realm, why come to me? I'm not good at that."

"Ah, you are mistaken. Cultivation realm is certainly important! But who says strength only comes from realm?"

"Then what does Brother Jiong mean?"

Jiang Lin smiled wickedly, drew a blueprint from his robe, and spread it out before Black.

The moment the machinery-obsessed Black saw the blueprint, his eyes lit up instantly. Then, acting as if he were laying eyes on a bathing beauty, he pressed both paws onto the blueprint, the entire MetalGarurumon trembling with excitement.

"Brother... Brother Jiong... This... This is..."

Jiang Lin took a sip of tea and slowly uttered:

"I call it...

The AWM

Sniper Rifle."