Chapter 29 Mad Dog Hotel

Lu Qi and Lulu returned to 2602, while Lü Shian, Tian Miaoying, and Huang Zhenyi were still inside.

Seeing that Lu Qi looked unwell, the two became anxious: "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Lu Qi shook his head, "The food was fine, but I ran into Zhao Feipeng at the restaurant."

The two were startled: "What's going on?"

She shared her findings from the trip with Lü Shi'an and Tian Miaoying, including her guesses about the food, Zhao Feipeng's situation, and how they went to 6013 on their way back to pick up Professor Meng and bring him back to the next room.

"Professor Meng is back?" Tian Miaoying asked with concern. "Is she alright?"

“She’s fine. She was in room 6013 with two colleagues and three students.” Lu Qi looked at Lulu. “It’s past six o’clock, and curfew is in four hours. Just to be safe, we persuaded her to come back. She’s packing her things in her room now.”

Tian Miaoying immediately said, "Then I'll go and keep her company."

She took two steps, then stopped, looking at Huang Zhenyi, who was attached to her neck, with a troubled expression. "The rules require him to stay in his own room, so how is he going to get to 0218?"

“We asked at the front desk too,” Lu Qi said, her brows furrowing slightly.

"The front desk said they couldn't find a guest named Huang Zhenyi. The system showed that he checked out automatically at 3:42 PM today."

All eyes turned to Huang Zhenyi.

It stuck out its tongue and happily reached out to pounce on Lu Qi's shoulder.

Lulu stepped aside and stared at it with icy eyes.

"Waaah..." The Samoyed let out a pitiful whimper and went to Lu Shi'an for comfort.

Lu Shi'an helplessly stroked its fluffy head, and Huang Zhenyi regained his confidence.

“We also asked Huang Zhenyi at the front desk where he was going to sleep that night, and they said that as long as the owner takes good care of the pet, it’s fine.”

"The first dog-headed man—Mr. Poodle—was born yesterday. This morning at breakfast, he appeared with the lady in the red down jacket; they successfully passed the curfew last night," Lu Shi'an judged. "It seems that curfews are only for humans; dog-headed men already fall into the category of pets."

His analysis was correct, and Lu Qi recalled the rule in his room—

A person is a person, and a dog is a dog.

If this rule is correct, the behavior patterns of those strange dogs guarding the exit are clearly different from those of ordinary dogs;

If the rules are wrong, then the kobolds are hardly human, as they can leave their "previous" room and stay in someone else's room.

This rule is ambiguous and doesn't seem to have much practical use; at most, it's just a reminder to be more careful when encountering dogs that have turned from humans.

"Also," Lu Qi said, "I was too flustered yesterday and didn't have time to think about it. I just went to the front desk and asked for the internal number."

She looked towards the bedroom. "Although the cell phone signal was lost, we were still able to call the front desk, which means the internal phone system is working. The front desk said 088 + room number, and they were able to call the corresponding room."

Upon hearing this news, Lü Shi'an and Tian Miaoying were greatly encouraged.

"You truly are worthy of being called Sister Lu!"

“Great, let’s call the remaining tenants first and ask them to meet to confirm the number of survivors.”

Lu Qi nodded, "But when I asked the front desk which rooms were occupied, she said it involved customer privacy and she was unwilling to provide that information."

The group exchanged glances, understanding what their next task was.

“The 26th floor is the highest floor for guests, and the 1st floor is a restaurant and shops, so only floors 2-26 are occupied, some of which are also meeting rooms,” Lu Shi’an said. “Let’s contact Professor Meng’s people first. There are six of them in total, plus the four of us here. Each of us can be responsible for two floors and that will be fine.”

Lu Qi glanced at the time and nodded in agreement, "We need to hurry."

They went next door to find Professor Meng, and the two sides hit it off immediately and began to take action.

The layout and number of rooms on each floor are different, but fortunately, there are safety escape routes posted behind each room door, indicating all the room numbers on that floor.

Lu Qi and Lulu stayed in their own room, two bedrooms, two landlines, all operating simultaneously.

Lulu held the phone cord, listening to Lu Qi's voice on the phone in the opposite bedroom, and felt a little worried.

He did not disconnect the phone line so that Lu Qi could use room service and make phone calls to his friends.

After the initial rules were set, modifying existing rules required a lot of time and effort. He spent a lot of effort adjusting the broadcast search permissions, making it difficult to intercept communications.

Humans are intelligent beings, and Lulu wasn't sure if they could find a way to destroy or escape the ghost stories if they joined forces.

The black mist in his palm had solidified slightly compared to the morning, but it was still faint.

With everyone staying in the room, the negative emotions generated are ultimately limited.

Lu Qi's voice came through the phone: "Yes, please come to the conference room on the 15th floor at 8:30."

Perhaps bringing people together is not necessarily a bad thing.

Lu Qi stared at the notebook in his hand.

It took them an hour and a half to finally compile information on all the hotel guests.

There are 79 people, half men and half women, not many children or the elderly, mostly young adults.

Not everyone was willing to believe the phone call; when the appointed time arrived, five guests did not show up.

Most others were also skeptical.

More than seventy people huddled anxiously in the conference room where a dog training session had been held just two days prior, discussing the strange events that had occurred in the past two days with those around them.

They contacted the woman in the red down jacket and Zhao Feipeng's grandfather, but to avoid alarming everyone, Tian Miaoying arranged to meet them alone downstairs.

At 8:40, seeing that most of the guests had arrived, Lü Shi'an clapped four times to signal everyone to be quiet.

"Everyone, thank you for your trust in coming to the appointment after receiving the call." Lu Shi'an said solemnly, "Thank you for your cooperation, but please 'do not easily trust the phone' in the future, and do not easily agree to go to unfamiliar places with someone."

In this situation, some people become tense, question everything they see and hear, and refuse to attend the gathering;

Some people panicked to the point of losing their ability to think, and rushed over as soon as they received the invitation.

Lu Shi'an's words made some people feel terrified, but at the same time, they also began to trust him.

Lu Qi sat in the corner of the first row, next to Professor Meng and his group.

A veterinarian who earns money may not necessarily have outstanding medical skills, but they will definitely be eloquent and excellent at communication.

Lü Shi'an was exactly that kind of person.

When Lu Qi first entered the hospital, she was not used to being in contact with a large number of men. During that time, it was Lü Shi'an who helped her smooth things over.

Regardless of their relationship, Lu Qi is grateful to him for this alone.

Lu Shi'an gave a brief self-introduction: "The curfew is at 10:30. Time is limited, so we won't let you introduce yourselves today. We will just project everyone's name and room number onto the screen. We suggest you take a picture and save it."

The network is unavailable, but the projector is still working normally.

The charging facilities throughout the hotel were all in good working order, but I was pressed for time and didn't have time to find a printer.

The conference room was suddenly filled with flashes as everyone took photos. Lu Shi'an hurriedly explained, "The reason I invited everyone here is self-evident; we've been drawn into a non-real world. According to fictional works, this can be called a 'ghost story.'"

Before he could finish speaking, someone impatiently asked, "This is absurd! Is it possible that we, or just I, have gone mad?"

Living in the new century, and with most of the people present being educated young people, they were more inclined to believe they were going crazy than to believe in some kind of "ghost story".

“My colleagues and I have also considered this issue,” Lu Shi’an said. “We are just veterinarians and don’t know the human body that well, but as far as I know, hallucinations usually occur in two situations: functional mental disorders and organic mental disorders.”

"The former can occur in people with a genetic history or when they are subjected to strong stimuli."

"None of my colleagues have a family history of this condition, and ordinary hallucinations are brief and intermittent. Although the experience of the past two days is unbelievable, there is no strong enough stimulus to make us fall into such a long and vivid hallucination."

"As for the latter, it is caused by brain diseases, such as viral encephalitis, Parkinson's disease, or damage to the frontal or temporal lobes. The possibility of this is even lower. It is a low-probability disease, and it is unlikely that dozens of us would get sick at the same time."

“As for what you said, whether it’s just you who has a mental disorder and we are all just figments of your imagination—” Lu Shi’an pondered, “I think it’s unlikely, because if your behavior becomes abnormal, the people around you will definitely take you to the hospital immediately. If that’s the case, if you hold on for two more days, someone will definitely find you, and then we will all be saved.”

The atmosphere at the scene eased a little due to this relatively authoritative explanation. The situation did not improve, but the fact that someone took the initiative to stand up reassured many people.

"If it's not a hallucination, then what is it?"

"Dr. Lü, what rules did you just mention? What are those?"

Without Lü Shi'an needing to explain, the college students below answered: "It's a theme from horror novels; if you don't follow the rules, you die."

"What rules?!" This question immediately triggered panic. "Where are the rules? Where can we find them?"

"Please be patient, everyone. We invited you here today to understand the rules." Lu Shi'an took out his room's check-in manual. "We mentioned on the phone that you should bring all the notebooks from your room."

Words like "manual" and "rules" cannot be conveyed over the phone. This hotel seems to be extremely secretive about its manuals.

The staff at Anxin Hospital simply asked the guests to bring all the paper items from their rooms.

"Now, please read aloud the contents of your handbooks in turn. I will project them onto the screen. If all goes well, these will be the rules we need to follow."

Lu Shi'an had everyone read the contents of the manual aloud one by one. While taking notes on the computer, he reminded everyone to take photos to keep them. He also presciently emphasized, "In order to improve the efficiency of the meeting, whatever ideas you have in the middle, please keep them for now. We will discuss them one by one after all the rules are released."

There were 74 people present, and a total of 41 rooms.

Unfortunately, the rules are not unique to each room. In addition to the rules that Lu Qi and his group already knew, there were only three new rules.

It was Lu Qi's turn to share the rules. She opened the manual and found that she had added the three rules shared by other guests to her original five rules.

The first three were the initial results:

[1. A person is a person, and a dog is a dog. Dogs with owners have collars; dogs without collars are stray or wild dogs.]

[II. Please stay in your room as much as possible. From 22:30 to 05:00 the next day, please do not enter other people's rooms or leave the hotel.]

[Third, pet dogs are loyal companions to humans. If you have a pet dog in your car, please do not scold or chase them away.]

Then came the results after the experiment:

[IV. Hotel announcements are for disseminating important notices and are controlled and managed by the central system. Guests are not permitted to use the hotel announcement system except to locate people.]

It was exchanged from the room next door:

[5. Pet dogs are friendly; please do not harm them excessively. Stray dogs and wild dogs are dangerous; please be extremely careful.]

The last three points were obtained at this meeting:

[VII. Guests are free to use the hotel's water and electricity during their stay.]

[8. Pets are allowed at this hotel. Please keep your pets under control during your stay.]

[9. The landline in the room can be used for internal communication; Front desk number: 08812; Room service number: 08813; Room service number: 08814; If you need to contact other guests, please dial 088 + room number. Our staff is available 24 hours a day. To ensure guests' rest, inter-room communication services are suspended from 22:30 to 05:00.]

Lu Qi has basically figured out the three new rules, and now that they have been confirmed and refined, he can't say whether he's happy or not, but he's relieved to some extent.

Strangely, there is a blank page between the fifth and seventh pages.

That page was left there abruptly, skipped by the newly introduced rules.

Lu Qi borrowed Professor Meng's handbook from the side and found that it wasn't just her handbook that was like this; the sixth page of both Professor Meng's and Tian Miaoying's handbooks was also blank.

The sixth number was also skipped.

Lu Qi suspected that Rule Six was about wearing a necklace.

After Tian Miaoying and Huang Zhenyi returned, the handbook was not updated.

At the time, she almost thought that the Samoyed's cessation of attacking Tian Miaoying was just a coincidence. Now it seems that perhaps they hadn't explored the rules enough, which is why they hadn't shown any specific text.

Thinking about it this way, Xiao Lu also realized this.

After returning to her room from the exit, Xiao Lu immediately went to look through their own manual;

When she was taking Professor Meng back to 2603, she was talking to Professor Meng while Lulu was flipping through the 2603 manual.

He must have noticed blank pages in the manual, which is why he flipped through two copies to verify it.

In addition to these nine rules, Lu Qi added another rule to her handbook after returning from the cafeteria.

When it was Lu Qi's turn, she stood up and read the last new rule in her handbook:

"...[10. This hotel aims to create a paradise where 'humans and dogs live together.' To prevent dogs from accidentally ingesting food, the hotel only provides food that is harmless to both humans and dogs.]"

After reporting, she added, "There shouldn't be any problem with this rule. My friend and I went to the restaurant and ate something last night. There haven't been any issues so far."

Everyone stared at her in astonishment, unsure whether they were looking at a warrior or a madwoman.

Lulu looked at her in astonishment, not understanding why she had gone from being her "boyfriend" to a "friend".

“We used strawberry and peach juice, chicken legs, sausages, corn ribs, and rice. These things are generally harmless to dogs, although there are toxic ingredients in the seasonings. However, neither of us has felt any discomfort so far,” Lu Qi said. “We tend to believe that the dosage of the toxic ingredients is too low to cause harm to humans. Just like how onions, ginger, and garlic are toxic to dogs, people still usually feed their dogs leftovers cooked with onions, ginger, and garlic.”

Out of caution, Lu Qi cautioned: "The experimental time and sample size are limited, and this is currently only our speculation. Please consider it at your own discretion."

"Onions, ginger, and garlic are poisonous to dogs?" Lu Qi had barely finished speaking when someone asked in shock, "Is that so? I've never heard of that before!"

"In the past, when people kept dogs in the countryside, they ate whatever the people ate. And when cooking, you always needed scallions, ginger, and garlic, right?"

"What else is poisonous to dogs? How do we know what's poisonous and what's not?"

Professor Meng looked at Lu Qi in surprise, "You told me not to eat here this morning, so why did you go and eat it yourself tonight?"

Lu Qi didn't know how to answer, but Lulu smiled at her and said, "Eating is very important; you can't go a day without eating."

“This is a minor issue,” Lu Shi’an said on stage. “In a moment, I will project my veterinary certificate and a list of foods that dogs cannot eat onto the screen. Everyone can take a picture and refer to it while eating.”

With a nationally certified veterinarian present, everyone felt much more at ease.

"These are the ten rules we know so far. If anyone has any additional information, please stand up and share it."

Lu Shi'an spoke first, "Let me start: there are dozens of strange dogs guarding the hotel exit, making it impossible to pass. We initially suspect they are guests who left the hotel earlier."

"They will attack people who try to leave and turn them into kobolds. The kobolds will immediately seek out a host—for convenience, let's call them 'masters'."

"But the strange dog will not attack humans who wear necklaces around their necks. According to rule one [dogs with owners have collars], perhaps in the strange dog's eyes, people wearing collars or similar items are [pet dogs], and are of the same kind."

The audience gasped: "So you told us on the phone to find a necklace or a rope and carry it with us?"

“That’s right,” Lu Shi’an nodded, “but I can’t say for sure that wearing the necklace will make you safe. It’s also possible that if you wear the necklace for a long time, you will slowly be assimilated into [a pet dog].

He has always been a qualified doctor and never makes definitive statements. Lu Shi'an only provides professional analysis and lets the client make the final decision.

“Dr. Lü, the information you’ve provided is very valuable.” A bespectacled, refined-looking man stood up. “But this is a matter of life and death. Can you provide factual evidence to support this rule?”

“No problem, that’s what I’m going to tell you next.” Lu Shi’an didn’t feel offended by his questioning. On the contrary, he was glad that most of the people present were young and middle-aged people with higher education, and that everyone had the ability to reflect and question, which greatly increased their chances of successfully leaving this place.

"Miaoying!" he called out, raising his voice as he added a warning, "Two of our colleagues turned into a dog-headed man and his master while trying to leave. I will call them in. They mean no harm, so please don't be afraid."

The door was gently pushed open, and a gasp of alarm immediately filled the conference room.

Tian Miaoying led the elderly man and the woman in the red down jacket in, and smiled shyly at the conference room.

Even though Lu Shi'an assured that the dog-headed man and its owner were harmless, everyone had witnessed the dog biting off a human's neck that morning, so how could they not be afraid?

A growing sense of panic filled the meeting room, accompanied by several low shouts: "It's a monster!" "A man-eating monster!"

"Everyone, don't panic!" Lu Shi'an raised his voice, "Sound will upset them, please keep quiet!"

The room fell silent immediately after those words were spoken.

Lu Shi'an was able to continue: "Miaoying, please explain your current state to everyone."

"Hello everyone." Tian Miaoying had just opened her mouth when someone whispered, "She can talk!"

"..." She was somewhat speechless, but still continued, "Please rest assured, the two people next to me and I can think and speak normally, and everyone doesn't need to worry about these three... kobolds. They have been included in the category of [pet dogs]. They are not only under our control, but also different from other strange dogs. They will not attack humans on their own initiative. Look, they are standing here now, without any abnormalities."

But there was some restlessness.

Lu Qi observed the dog-headed man's body language and realized it was just normal dog excitement in a crowded environment, with no intention of aggression.

"It bit someone to death!" Tian Miaoying's words were immediately met with fierce rebuttal.

Someone pointed to the poodle next to the woman in the red down jacket, "This morning, it bit someone's neck off! Blood splattered all over me!"

"Yes, someone died! We saw it with our own eyes!"

The woman in the red down jacket immediately frowned. "He pushed me first! What's wrong with me defending myself!"

"No, no!" Tian Miaoying hurriedly said, "Listen to me, everyone, it's true that people have died. Yes, these kobolds are very fierce. On the contrary, if we cooperate with them, it's like having a weapon to fight against the monsters here."

"To put it simply, can we think of them as Rottweilers or Tibetan Mastiffs? Dogs originally attacked people, but we humans domesticated them, and now they've become our best companions, haven't they?"

Her words were hard to believe, but some people understood what she was trying to say.

“It’s pointless to hold anyone accountable now.” The man with glasses was the first to clarify his thoughts and pointed out the core idea to Tian Miaoying: “This place is extremely dangerous. If we continue to split apart, it will only cause greater damage.”

“I know everyone is scared, and that’s precisely why we can’t afford to be enemies with these kobolds, right? We already have enough enemies; do we really want to create new ones for ourselves?”

Everyone fell silent.

“But it…it killed people…” a voice protested tremulously, “What if they think people are food?”

"What are you saying!" the woman in the red down jacket said unhappily. "Whose dog eats people?! We didn't eat that man either!"

The owner, whose blood vessels were connected to the dog-headed man, seemed to take it for granted that the dog-headed man was his dog.

Not only her, but also the old man and Tian Miaoying.

Tian Miaoying's memories hadn't disappeared; she still remembered that Huang Zhenyi was originally human. But she never mentioned separating Huang Zhenyi from her; she was simply saddened that Huang Zhenyi had turned into a dog.

Why are they so calm? It's as if they've been soothed by these dogs...

appease--

Lu Qi suddenly remembered his time with Lulu.

Working dogs have specialized therapeutic breeds. Apart from those outstanding comfort angels, ordinary dogs also release certain hormones when they come into contact with people.

These canine hormones can stimulate the production of dopamine and oxytocin in both humans and dogs, leading to a positive, calm, and happy state of mind.

Could that be the reason?

Lu Qi looked at the person and the kobold connected by the blood vessel. After the connection was established, neither of them was panicked anymore.

"What's the difference between that and eating it? Your neck's practically broken!"

"I already said we were acting in self-defense! Who told him to provoke me? Am I just supposed to be pushed? Is it okay for others to hit me?"

As the host grew displeased, the VIP barked twice, causing another wave of panic.

"We can accept people, but can we separate these monsters from people?" Some people were still afraid.

“We’ve considered it,” Lu Shi’an said. “First, if we remove that blood vessel, the dog-headed man might look for another owner; second, that blood vessel is connected to the carotid artery, and it would be too dangerous to cut it off rashly.”

"Alright, what are you afraid of? I won't let my dog ​​hurt anyone," the old man who had been silent snorted. "If it bites anyone, I'll break its legs."

Upon hearing his voice, Zhao Feipeng shrank back a step.

"Even if these kobolds obey, can they handle so many strange dogs at the exit?" The bolder young men had already moved on from their concerns and were focused on the most important thing: "Even if we manage to defeat them, will we be able to get out safely?"

"According to Dr. Lü, those strange dogs are the transformed tenants who left earlier. Why did they turn into dogs? What if we unite and rush out together, only to end up turning into dogs ourselves?"

“We haven’t found a way to leave yet, and we certainly can’t easily cross the exit,” Lu Shi’an frowned. “I’m not very familiar with the strange rules and superstitions. Is there anyone here who knows about this kind of culture who can offer some insights?”

"Ah!" As soon as he finished speaking, Tian Miaoying suddenly let out a soft cry, and everyone immediately stared at her nervously.

She smiled sheepishly, "Huang Zhenyi spoke up..."

"What did he say?" Lu Shi'an asked immediately.

After his initial few exclamations, Huang Zhenyi fell into a deep sleep and never spoke again.

Just now, Tian Miaoying suddenly heard his voice: "He said that in the novels he has read, there are generally two ways to break away from the rules in strange tales."

"What's the plan?!" "Tell me quickly!"

"One way is to find the key props, some called 'sources of contamination' and others called 'cores.' In short, these props are like the 'heart' or 'brain' that support the ghost stories. Destroy them and we can leave."

"Props? What props?" Everyone was both anxious and confused. "What do they look like?"

“Not necessarily,” another college student who also enjoys reading supernatural fiction adds. “The key props in supernatural fiction vary widely. It could be a telephone, a lamp, a screw, or more than one, requiring the destruction of multiple items. The only thing they have in common is that they are either inconspicuous or hard to find.”

"What?! How are we supposed to find this?!"

"There's more than one?"

"This hotel is so big, do we have to tear it all down?"

"If it really is just a screw, even dismantling the hotel wouldn't be enough to fix it; it would take forever."

Tian Miaoying swallowed hard. "There's an even more direct way: kill the biggest boss in the ghost stories. Without the boss's power, the ghost stories will naturally fall apart."

The room fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, the bespectacled man whispered, "It's dangerous, but it's more feasible."

His words were a wake-up call, and people began to chime in: "Yes, even draining the ocean is easier than finding a needle in a haystack."

"If the dogs at night are so scary, who knows how terrifying the final boss will be."

What is a BOSS?

"Hey, there are seventy or eighty of us. Even if Godzilla came, we could kill him with a single sword each."

"No matter what, it's easier than finding a screw, right?"

The discussion found a breakthrough, people's emotions rose, and they chatted on and on.

Lulu's gaze darkened slightly.

He looked at Lu Qi, who was deep in thought beside him, and asked softly, "Lu Qi, what do you think?"

"Me?" Lu Qi pondered. "We don't know what the key item is, or even if there is such a thing as a key item. It's difficult to search blindly. If we're going to try, we can only start with the second option."

She looked at Lulu: "Or we could combine the two: vandalize the hotel, the BOSS would be angry, right? As long as we keep provoking Him, we might be able to see Him."

This is easier than finding props that don't make sense.

Lulu lowered her eyelids slightly. "Yeah, he'll be angry if I ruin the hotel."

He then asked, "If he shows up, what are you going to do?"

Lu Qi shook his head. "I don't know if humans can kill monsters, but there are so many rules here that are benevolent to humans. I think it must be bound by some restrictions and cannot kill people indiscriminately. We'd better collect more rules first, and maybe we'll have a chance to severely damage it."

Lulu's golden eyelashes trembled.

He murmured, "But he didn't hurt you."

A death occurred on the very first day, and Lu Qi couldn't understand why Lulu was so nonchalant: "Do you think He is good?"

Her strong rhetorical question made Lulu's breath catch in her throat.

Is he good?

Isn't he good?

So far, the worst comment Lulu has heard from Lu Qi is nothing more than, "Are you going to become a bad dog?"

He looked up at her, but instead of answering her question, he asked, "Lu Qi, will you choose the second method like them?"

Lu Qi nodded: "That sounds like the most feasible method."

Lulu remained silent.

"What's wrong?" Lu Qi noticed that his expression was a little off, as if he were depressed or something else...

"Are you worried about failure?" She held Lulu's hand. "Don't be afraid, we won't act immediately. Everyone's talking a lot now, but facing an unknown monster isn't so easy. Let's collect the rules first; maybe one of the hidden rules contains a way to leave safely."

Lulu smiled.

He squeezed Lu Qi's hand back, his eyes crinkling with a smile, "You care about me, you're so kind. My good baby, you're such a kind little cotton ball."

Lu Qi choked a little, looked away, and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear to cover up her discomfort.

She couldn't figure out Lulu's tricks at all; this person always said these things regardless of the occasion...

“That man with glasses looks rather intelligent.” He seemed utterly shameless. While Lu Qi was still fidgeting, Lulu’s gaze had already drifted to the other side of the crowd.

“Xie Yun?” Lu Qi also remembered the man. “When he was on the phone, his thinking was very clear.”

“I’ll go talk to him.” Lulu walked towards him and said to Lu Qi, “You stay here and don’t wander off.”

Lu Qi was surprised that Lulu would actually take the initiative to talk to a man.

She also discerned a bit about Xiao Lu's personality; he possessed a sense of superiority typical of elites, and he always scrutinized people—especially men—from a top-down perspective.

Xie Yun does seem very intelligent and calm, and has a good overall perspective. Perhaps only someone as intelligent as him could catch Xiao Lu's eye.

She watched as Lulu walked through the crowd to the other side of the conference room and started chatting with Xie Yun.

A sigh came from beside her. Lu Qi turned around and saw Professor Meng talking to two colleagues.

Noticing Lu Qi's gaze, Professor Meng asked with concern, "Are you alright, child?"

Lu Qi nodded. "I'm fine. How about you and the two teachers?"

She was worried that the three elderly people had underlying health conditions and could not withstand any stress.

Lulu caught a glimpse of Lu Qi turning to Professor Meng out of the corner of her eye.

Her attention had shifted, so he saw no need to waste any more words with the man in front of him.

"You've thought of everything." Xie Yun was still thinking about what Lulu had told him. "Going out at this time of year is dangerous. We should go to the commercial area on the first floor and buy some food to keep in the room."

“That’s right, food is very important.” Lulu turned to the side, her fingers against the wall twitching almost imperceptibly.

A bright yellow ball rolled silently past people's feet.

It rolls quickly past, gliding lightly under people's feet.

No one noticed the light, flimsy plastic ball except for the three-headed dog-man at the door.

The bright yellow color rolled around, instantly triggering the instinct to chase fast-moving objects.

"Woof!" Huang Zhenyi barked excitedly, and the VIP next to him pounced on him.

Almost simultaneously, the three "masters" felt a restlessness that prompted them to run and jump as well.

Driven by this emotion, the woman in the red down jacket took a few steps forward. In an instant, the VIP rushed into the crowd, barking at the ball at people's feet.

"Ah!" The first man who was pounced on was startled. He was anxiously discussing countermeasures with his wife when he turned around and was met with a dog's head.

The dog's mouth was open, revealing its tongue and teeth, and a putrid stench wafted out. He immediately shouted and jumped aside, squeezing into the two young men next door.

The two young people were pushed down by the man and instinctively grabbed onto something nearby to steady themselves. The girl next to them was pulled to the ground by the two men.

The man whose neck was bitten off this morning, his wife screamed in terror, "Get away! Monster, get away!"

The scream immediately exploded in the crowd.

The scene was in complete chaos. People were falling and yelling. Those behind couldn't see anything but the barking of dogs. Three dogs barked at the same time and charged towards the crowd.

The balance established by Lü Shi'an and Xie Yun's analysis of the pros and cons and Tian Miaoying's repeated assurances was instantly shattered.

Rather than empty talk, the existence of the monster and the fact that people have died there are as unshakeable as Mount Tai.

The fear of the unknown and death shattered the already fragile trust immediately.

"Get away! Get out of here!"

"Monster! The monster is going to eat people again! Everyone be careful!"

In the chaos, a burly middle-aged man shouted, "Protect the elderly and children! Let them go to the back!"

"A chair! Use a chair to block the way!"

Their positions suddenly became clear.

When faced with something different, humans quickly unite and develop a sense of community.

"Don't panic, don't panic, grab a chair and smash it!"

Bang!

The chair leg slammed into the VIP's head, eliciting a short, sharp wail.

The woman in the red down jacket was furious, her eyes red with anger: "Are you all crazy? Why are you hitting my dog! It didn't bite anyone!"

"Ahhh! Help!" A woman's scream came from the other side. A mother was desperately trying to push her child back, but she was blocked by the people behind her.

Zhao Feipeng rushed ahead of the child, who lowered its head and saw the ball behind its mother's high heels. Its mouth opened wide, drooling with excitement.

"Get away! Get away!" The mother kicked the dog's head that was pressed against the child's calf. Zhao Feipeng screamed in agony as his brain was throbbing with excruciating pain.

"Damn it!" The man standing behind the mother grabbed the child, pulling the woman and the crying child behind him. He picked up a chair and smashed it down on Zhao Feipeng, his eyes flashing with malice. "Cannibalism? What the hell! I'll eat you first!"

Professor Meng frowned and looked ahead, but couldn't see anything because the tall, strong young men were blocking his view.

After being pushed by the crowd, they couldn't find a chair to stand on. After looking around for a while without success, Meng Feiqin looked away and suddenly noticed a bright yellow speck on the brown carpet.

The ball stopped rolling, stopped at the feet of the crowd, wobbled slightly, and gradually came to a stop.

Lu Qi saw it too, "Professor!"

Professor Meng shouted, "Calm down, everyone calm down!"

No one listened to her. Even though Professor Meng's voice was clear, in this chaotic situation, no one cared about her pale call to stop.

Lu Qi escorted the three professors to a corner to prevent them from being jostled.

Someone approached her, and she turned her head to see Lulu parting the crowd and moving towards her.

"What happened up ahead?" Lu Qi asked hurriedly.

Lulu said with a stern face, "The VIP pounced on someone again, and the guy surnamed Zhao also bit a child's leg."

"How could this be?" Professor Meng frowned. "Are they really attacking people?"

Lulu hugged Lu Qi and leaned down to press her cheek against hers. "Don't worry, it's almost under control."

"Where are Zhenyi and Miaoying?"

“Huang Zhenyi is relatively stable. I saw Tian Miaoying holding onto him,” Lulu said. “But he has become a monster after all, so Miaoying can’t hold on for long.”

Lu Qi quickly patted Lulu, "Quick, lift me up!"

Lulu paused, and Lu Qi urged her repeatedly, "Hurry up!"

Lulu had no choice but to grab her waist and lift her up.

Pushing through the crowd, Lu Qi indeed saw Huang Zhenyi wagging his tail and lunging forward, while Tian Miaoying gripped the vein on his neck, leaning back and pulling it tightly.

She was being dragged from side to side by the excited Huang Zhenyi. Not to mention Huang Zhenyi's weight of 150 or 160 pounds, even a large dog weighing 50 or 60 pounds would be difficult for an adult to hold back if it suddenly lunged forward.

She can't hold on much longer.

The woman in the red down jacket made no attempt to stop them; she stomped her feet in anger, cursing, and directly ordered the VIPs to attack the humans.

The old man couldn't hold Zhao Feipeng back at all, and was pulled down to the ground when Zhao Feipeng lunged, groaning and clutching his lumbar spine.

Several men, holding chairs, joined forces to resist the VIPs;

Zhao Feipeng fell to the ground and was repeatedly struck by the burly middle-aged man with a chair and his feet.

Lu Qi saw several streams of dark blood flowing from the VIP's woolly brown curls. Its eyes were covered in blood, and in pain, it became even more ferocious, lunging at and attacking the chair.

Just as Lulu said, humans have taken control of the situation, so they don't need to worry.

Everyone was united; no one pulled the elderly or weak in front of them to shield themselves from the bullet, and no one thought of pushing others aside to escape. They worked together with one heart and one mind to fight against the sudden danger.

But seeing the screaming and rolling Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the bloodied poodle, and Tian Miaoying struggling to pull Huang Zhenyi along, Lu Qi felt a pang of sadness for no reason.

She understood that she was projecting herself onto Lulu from that winter night.

But they are not Lulu, they are monsters, monsters that have killed people.

"Miaoying!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, pushing through the crowd, "Kick Zhenyi's ass and take him back to his room!"

Pulling the leash backward will only reinforce the dog's current behavior.

There is no benefit to tug-of-war with a large dog.

Tian Miaoying was struggling against the surging Huang Zhenyi, her veins bulging. She was sweating profusely with anxiety when she suddenly heard Lu Qi's voice. She looked up sharply and met Lu Qi's eyes, who was being lifted up by Lulu.

"Quick!" Lu Qi shouted at her, "Kick her once, then run!"

Tian Miaoying was completely disoriented and, following Lu Qi's instructions, kicked Huang Zhenyi in the buttocks.

The slight pain brought Huang Zhenyi back to his senses. He turned his head and roared twice, realizing that the person who touched him was not an enemy. He was puzzled as to why Tian Miaoying had done this.

It turned around, and Tian Miaoying immediately grabbed it and ran outside.

Seeing them run far away, Lu Qi breathed a huge sigh of relief.

She looked away and caught a glimpse of Zhao Feipeng to her side.

It no longer rolls around or howls.

The obese, bloated man lay motionless on the ground with the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel's head still attached, enduring the punches and kicks of the stressed-out middle-aged man.