Chapter 27 Pill
In any city, there were stray cats and dogs.
It was not the fault of these animals but of humans.
When many people were tired of stray cats and dogs, these were almost all pitiful lives that had been adopted and then abandoned by humans. Perhaps only they themselves understood their feelings toward humans.
But one thing was certain. When someone took care of them again, they would trust and be close to those who were nice to them.
Perhaps this was an instinct of life to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, but it couldn't be denied that they would remember kindness.
In this city, there were also many animals abandoned by humans.
Near the neighborhood where William lived, there were many stray dogs. Usually, when at home, both he and Heidi came downstairs every day to feed them.
They didn't have money to buy dog food, so they could only use some leftovers, but these stray dogs did not mind. They ate up every time and then wagged their tails at the couple holding hands.
The result of this exchange was that every day, when they went downstairs from home to go to class or came home from school, there would always be stray dogs running over to accompany them. Those dogs were very affectionate; they would keep the two company along the way home or to school and then happily run away.
William had already gotten used to such scenes before the apocalypse, but the ten years of his post-apocalyptic life had made these memory fragments somewhat blurry.
At this moment, when he saw this dog for the first time, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember it for a moment. After all, William was a reborn person. So, many things had been forgotten.
But when this dog came over and showed affection and flattery toward him, William finally remembered. This was a stray dog that he and Heidi often fed, often accompanying them to and from classes. The reason why William still remembered was that sometimes when he came back late, he could see it waiting at the street corner.
William asked, "Is it really you, Pill?"
This name was given by Heidi.
William squatted down, his big hand stroking the dog's head, revealing the first genuine smile since his rebirth.
Pill also seemed very happy, closing its eyes slightly to enjoy William's caress, then leaning over, exposing its belly with its limbs up in the air. William habitually scratched it gently with his fingers.
This was a sign of trust from a dog to him, exposing its softest spot to him.
The four people behind were very surprised by this situation. It was supposed to be a fight, but how did it turn into a pet recognizing its master?
The female police officer subconsciously aimed her gun at William's back as he squatted on the ground, showing her suspicion of the true relationship between the man and the dog.
Originally enjoying William's scratching, Pill suddenly jumped up and began to growl at the female police officer. If the bathroom door hadn't been too narrow and blocked by William, the big dog would have probably rushed up to protect its benefactor at that moment.
The change in the situation also surprised William. He turned his head to look at the female police officer and said in a calm voice, "I know this dog, I used to feed it. There's no danger, you can put the gun down."
After speaking, he walked toward the silver light in the corner, which was his purpose for today.
"Wait!"
The man with a nasal voice stopped him, taking a few quick steps to the bathroom door, where he stopped when he saw Pill with a fierce look. He took a half step back fearfully before saying, "What are you doing? This thing was found by us, it belongs to us."
The brother of the deceased also said on the side, "Yes, it's ours, you better take this dog and leave here."
Clearly, he was coveting the shining object.
Another man named Leon also stood next to the two men, sharing the same thoughts as them.
Only the female police officer frowned, but she didn't say anything.
William turned around and looked at the three people, saying in a deep voice, "If I hadn't come, could you have entered this door so easily? Some past interactions between me and this dog defused the danger. Now it has nothing to do with me?"
As he stood there with a machete like a mountain, William's questioning was imposing, which startled the three men.
The man with the heavy nasal voice spoke again, his words carrying a hint of threat, "Even without you, we can deal with this dog. Don't forget we have guns!"
The gun was enough to scare the vast majority of ordinary people.
William sneered. "Then why don't you object when I suggest I go ahead? If you really don't need me, why don't you walk in front?"
The man with the heavy nasal voice shook his head, looking at William with a look that seemed to show his contempt for William's ignorance. "Who knows if you and this dog are in cahoots? We haven't investigate if you set the dog to kill people!"
"Yes, officer, arrest him, he's a murderer."
The deceased's brother on the side sternly accused William, but his gaze kept shifting toward the shining object.
"Kill this dog first!" Leon pointed at Pill, wanting the female police officer to shoot.
William smiled coldly. The greed in the expressions and tones of these people was too common in the apocalypse. Now, at the beginning of the apocalypse, the situation was not too bad. However, when such people gradually became stronger in the future, this greed would not only be evident in their expressions and tones but also in their fists and weapons.
"There is no evidence to prove that all of this is related to him." The female police officer frowned, sticking to her professional ethics, which earned some goodwill for her from William.
But for William, who was determined to obtain the key to the secret realm, he would not rely on a female police officer he didn't know. With a light flick of his hand, the bathroom door beside him closed with a whoosh. William leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door at the same time, avoiding the angle of the female police officer's shot from outside.
Somewhat surprisingly, Pill also made the same move as William, except it hid on the other side of the door. This confirmed his suspicion that this dog was about to mutate.
The people outside the door were completely unprepared for William's sudden action. With the gun, they thought they had the upper hand, but no one expected resistance under the barrel.
William crouched down, grabbed the body, and blocked it under the bathroom door. Not hearing the gunshot, he quickly pounced forward, grabbing the long object under the silver light, then whistled at Pill and bent his right leg, gesturing toward the ceiling above.
There, there was a big hole made when the key to the secret realm fell.
Pill immediately understood. It stepped on William's leg and leaped up, hooking its two front paws onto the edge of the large hole.
William lightly jumped, lifting the dog, who was now becoming clever due to its imminent mutation.
With a bang, the bathroom door was pushed open, and the female police officer rushed in with the three men. However, a black shadow came whistling toward them, hitting the hand of the female police officer holding the gun with a snap. Now, the last hope of these four people was instantly thrown out.
