The underground base beneath the pet funeral shop finally relaxed.
For the first time in days, the air no longer smelled like disinfectant and sweat from training drills.
Instead—
It smelled like pizza, fried chicken, and something Old Wu had proudly dragged out from his personal stash.
A so-called "aged specialty."
Which turned out to be… non-alcoholic pet beer.
Still, the rich malt scent filled the room.
The retired working dogs—heroes of the carnival battle—
were currently celebrating like champions.
The German Shepherd Ironfang, the Belgian Malinois Flash, the massive Rottweiler Boulder, and the Springer Spaniel Sharpnose—who had handled perimeter tracking during the operation—were gathered around a huge stainless steel feeding basin.
Old Wu had doubled their reward.
Premium canned meat.
Dried beef strips.
Extra portions.
The dogs devoured everything noisily, tails spinning like helicopter rotors.
Their handlers—now unofficial members of Chen Lin's team—sat nearby drinking real beer.
They talked quietly.
Laughed occasionally.
And every now and then, their eyes drifted toward the corner of the room.
Toward Er'gou.
With unmistakable respect.
But Er'gou himself didn't join the canine celebration.
He lay alone on his designated camp bed.
In front of him sat a stainless steel bowl.
Inside it was Lin Wan's carefully prepared victory dinner.
High-quality chicken breast.
Fresh salmon.
Boiled broccoli and carrots.
And a sprinkle of shredded seaweed.
He ate slowly.
Almost elegantly.
Every movement controlled.
Occasionally he lifted his head and glanced toward the noisy dogs and chatting humans.
His blue eyes remained calm.
Emotionless.
Only his ears moved slightly as he listened.
Across the room—
Inside the small lab section—
Chen Lin and Old Wu were still working.
Unlike the others, they didn't look relaxed.
A computer screen glowed in the dim room.
Endless streams of data rolled downward.
Graphs.
Waveforms.
Biometric charts.
All of them monitoring Er'gou's physical and neurological state.
Old Wu pointed at one of the graphs.
"His hormone levels spiked heavily during the carnival."
"Especially in combat."
"Adrenaline and neural transmitters went through the roof."
He frowned.
"But now they've dropped."
"Too smoothly."
"In fact… slightly below baseline."
Chen Lin folded his arms.
"What about the consciousness fusion index?"
Old Wu pulled up another chart.
"During the battle—his decision-making, command ability, and coordination with Lin Wan showed an extremely high combination of human logic and canine instinct."
"The fusion score reached the highest level since we started tracking it."
He paused.
Then switched screens.
"But after the fight… especially in the last few hours…"
"These indicators are slowly declining."
Chen Lin's eyes narrowed.
"Declining how?"
Old Wu tapped the screen.
"Not collapse."
"More like…"
He searched for the word.
"…dulling."
"Or a kind of inert regression."
Chen Lin's expression darkened.
"Li Wei'an mentioned side effects."
"The disguise agent."
"The fusion backlash."
He stared at the graph.
"You're saying intense stress and consciousness activation might accelerate…"
"…wear."
"Or degradation."
Old Wu exhaled.
"I don't know."
"We barely have any data."
"The science behind the agent is still a black box."
"We need more observation."
He opened another file.
"By the way, Zhao and Li Wei'an talked after interrogation."
"What Entropy wants from Shen Mo goes far beyond a dog with extraordinary smell."
Chen Lin looked up sharply.
Old Wu continued.
"According to fragments from their internal research…"
"The earliest version of the disguise agent was developed during extremely classified experiments."
"Experiments related to…"
He hesitated.
Then said quietly.
"Consciousness transfer."
"And the blurring of species boundaries."
Chen Lin's gaze turned cold.
"Shen Mo," Old Wu continued slowly, "might be one of the very few cases who actually survived such an experiment."
"Or… succeeded."
"In a twisted sense."
"They want him."
"Not just to study."
"But possibly to replicate the process."
"Or even reverse it."
"For other purposes."
Silence filled the lab.
Chen Lin spoke at last.
"So even if Shen Mo turns back into a human…"
"As long as Entropy exists…"
"He'll never be free of them."
Old Wu sighed.
Then looked through the glass toward Er'gou quietly eating his dinner.
"And turning him back…"
"That may be harder than we thought."
Chen Lin's eyes sharpened.
"What do you mean?"
Old Wu rubbed his temples.
"Based on the data we've collected…"
"And the fragments we extracted from Entropy…"
"The reversal process might be far more complex."
"And far more unstable."
He paused.
Then said softly—
"It's possible…"
"That a complete reversal may not exist."
The room grew heavy.
Outside the lab, laughter and celebration still echoed.
The contrast made the silence inside feel even colder.
Late that night—
The celebration ended.
The handlers returned to their bunks.
The working dogs slept soundly.
Soft snores rose and fell across the base.
Only the low hum of the ventilation system filled the underground facility.
A steady mechanical breathing in the dark.
And somewhere in the quiet—
The faint sound of claws shifting against metal.