The underground chamber fell silent.
Only Lin Wan.
Only Er'gou.
Only the trembling oil lamp.
And the suffocating blend of rust, rotting fish, and that faint, fading trace of strange incense.
Lin Wan collapsed onto the edge of the icy metal bedframe, exhaustion crashing down like a physical weight. Her head buzzed. Her thoughts tangled.
Top idol.Entropy.Tracking.Transformation.
Nothing about her life made sense anymore.
Across the room, Er'gou sat within the lamp's amber halo.
Head lowered.
Eyes distant.
Lost in thoughts no dog should possess.
Lin Wan watched him for a long moment before finally speaking, her voice hoarse.
"Hey…"
A pause.
"Was he telling the truth?"
She hesitated.
"…Was your nose really that terrifying?"
Er'gou slowly lifted his head.
Those icy blue eyes met hers.
No arrogance.
No mockery.
Only something deep.
Measured.
He stood and padded toward the shaky wooden table.
Upon it rested an old enamel cup, thick with dust.
Er'gou raised a paw.
Pushed the cup gently toward Lin Wan.
Then—
He tapped it.
Once.
Lifted his paw again.
Pointed at his nose.
And nodded.
Firmly.
Lin Wan's breath caught.
Er'gou leaned closer to the cup.
Even from a distance.
Even though it looked completely empty—
He inhaled.
Deeply.
Slowly.
Then his head snapped sideways.
Eyes locking onto a shadowed corner of the room.
A pile of discarded burlap sacks.
Without hesitation, he trotted over.
Scratched.
Pulled.
Dragged them aside.
Beneath layers of dust—
A small iron tin.
Nearly buried.
Lin Wan stared, stunned. She walked over and picked it up.
The lid creaked open.
Inside—
Half of a compressed biscuit.
Hardened.
Mold-spotted.
Ancient.
Lin Wan blinked.
"What the…"
She looked at Er'gou.
The husky looked back calmly.
Then flicked his gaze toward the enamel cup.
Back to the biscuit.
Back to her.
And suddenly—
She understood.
The cup had once held water.
The person who drank from it had eaten this biscuit.
Crumbs had fallen.
Scent particles lingered.
Absorbed into dust.
Into fabric.
Into time itself.
And Er'gou—
Had reconstructed the invisible trail from nothing but ghosts.
Lin Wan felt a chill crawl down her spine.
This wasn't "smart dog behavior."
This was forensic-level perception.
Memory through molecules.
A gift.
Or a curse.
She slowly crouched until they were eye level.
"…Okay," she sighed, rubbing behind his fluffy ear.
"I officially believe it."
Then, with forced lightness:
"Guess I'll have to be extra careful sneaking snacks now, huh… Your Highness?"
Er'gou huffed through his nose.
Turned his head away.
But—
His tail tip twitched.
Just once.
The oil lamp cast their elongated shadows across the stained concrete wall.
One human.
One husky.
Bound by something far stranger than fate.
Outside, the Old Harbor night pressed heavy and endless.
Smelling of salt, rust, and danger.
Yet within that darkness—
A fragile alliance had taken root.
The Next Day
After the nightmare night of rust and revelations…
Life, absurdly, went on.
Contracts didn't care about conspiracies.
Bills didn't pause for existential crises.
And Chen Lin had been very clear:
Visibility was survival.
So Lin Wan stood once more beneath blinding studio lights—
At the filming site of "Cute Pets Showdown" – Episode Two.
An indoor theme set.
Flashy.
Colorful.
Artificially cheerful.
Lin Wan's dark circles stubbornly resisted even the most expensive concealer she owned. In her arms sat Er'gou, posture rigid, expression cold.
Dignified.
Unamused.
Today he wore a brand-new black leather collar—one of Chen Lin's "safehouse supplies."
Minimalist design.
Suspiciously high-tech.
Allegedly capable of disrupting specific tracking frequencies.
Lin Wan remained skeptical.
Er'gou, however, tolerated it.
Which already made it suspicious.
The other guests arrived one by one.
Jenny, the stylish office lady, cradled her corgi with a dazzling smile.
Ah Huang, the comedy vlogger, adjusted his action camera while his chubby orange cat dozed like royalty.
The elderly couple's golden retriever wagged with saintly enthusiasm.
The atmosphere seemed harmonious—
Until A stir erupted near the entrance.
Whispers.
Excited gasps.
A ripple of tension spreading across the set.
Lin Wan turned instinctively.
Er'gou's ears snapped upright.
His body stiffened.
Something—
Or someone—
Had just arrived.