"Boss..."

At that moment, in an underground research facility, two battered and bruised men stared fearfully at the man before them.

One had a bright green pot lid stuck on his head. It emitted an eerie glow impossible to ignore.

The light reflected off massive nutrient tanks filled with green fluid. It cast a sickly green hue on everyone’s faces.

"Is this your reward to me?" The man radiated icy fury. His murderous tone made them tremble, heads bowed low.

"Sorry... Boss... we had no choice..." The green-lid man sobbed. He recounted their mission world ordeal. When he described getting the item only to have it stolen by a dog that toyed with them, he wept bitterly. It was truly pitiful.

The man flew into a rage. He slapped the green-lid man so hard he spun 720 degrees mid-air. He crashed down screaming, half his face swollen.

"Worthless!"

"Both of you are worthless!"

"I spent so many exchange points training you. Beaten by a dog? Are you saying I’d be better off raising a dog?" His voice was glacial.

The other man dropped to his knees, terrified. "Boss, no! That dog was incredibly strong. It had a strange War Spirit!" He pointed at his fallen companion. "Look at Xiaodao—even his pot lid won’t come off now."

The man glanced at the lid, greener since they entered. His face darkened. Such subordinates were utterly humiliating.

But punishing them further was pointless. He suppressed his fury. "One last chance. Bring back that dog and my item. Three days. Fail, and don’t return."

His eyes swept over them with chilling intent. They shivered.

"Don’t worry, Boss. I planted a tracker on the dog. I’ll catch it within three days."

"I hope so. Hmph!"

His mood improved slightly. He glared. "Get out! Do I need to escort you?"

They scrambled out on all fours.

Watching them leave, he slightly furrowed his brow. "So even a dog can become an Awakened?" He recalled that famed entity in the Divine Realm—the gorilla called the Electrotherapy Expert.

Another non-human Awakened being.

"Perhaps that dog holds a research breakthrough secret." His expression turned fanatical. This might be an opportunity.

"Doctor."

Another man emerged from an automatic door. "The captured A-rank Beast is in the test chamber. Proceed with the experiment?"

"No. The critical phase isn’t breakthrough yet. Testing more Beasts is wasteful." The Doctor smiled. "Liuxing, perfect timing. Our B-rank Beast test subjects are successfully modified. Come see."

He pressed a desk button. A floor passage opened, revealing a lift platform.

"It succeeded? As expected of you, Doctor." Liuxing grinned. Others would be shocked to see him here.

"Haha! Once I crack the Hero World’s gene evolution serum, our research completes." The Doctor’s eyes gleamed. "We’ll become transcendent beings. By the next Divine Realm ranking war, we’ll claim our spots."

"I look forward to that day." Liuxing’s voice trembled with excitement.

...

"You stupid dog! How dare you throw me!"

Cornered by Coco, Rollroll resignedly covered his ears and lay flat. His tail tucked between his legs. He wore the shameless look of a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

Fuming, Coco kicked his fat butt. Rollroll not only felt no pain—he looked blissful. When he saw her glare, he switched to a pitiful, wronged expression.

After a few kicks, Coco panted. "Stupid Servant! I’m tired. Rub my feet!"

Feng Ye stood speechless at the door. "So the beaten one didn’t cry out, but the beater complains of tiredness?"

"Rollroll’s butt is thicker than his face," Coco huffed. "Brother, lend me your brick."

"Forget it. I don’t fancy dog meat hotpot today." Feng Ye refused. One smash would send Rollroll straight to meet the Buddha. Sensing this, Rollroll trembled. He spat out his Black Cauldron War Spirit and fawningly wagged his tail, offering it to Coco.

Bang!

Coco grabbed the cauldron and smashed it onto his head. Sparks flew. She stared, stunned. Rubbing her sore wrist, she fumed, "Stupid Servant! Help! This dog’s rebelled—he’s imitating the Stone Monkey wreaking havoc in Heaven!"

...

Feng Ye eyed Rollroll’s face—which looked like he’d seen his own shit eaten—with sympathy. He pulled the sulking Coco away. But before leaving, she slammed the Black Cauldron hard onto Rollroll’s head.

"Truly, adopting Rollroll was the right decision."

"Otherwise, if Coco smashed a brick on my face and sparks flew, she’d think her brother turned into a smelly monkey." Feng Ye thought with relief.

...