Chapter Four: The Path of the Tengu

After a while, unable to find the meat bone anywhere, Da Bai lay dejectedly at Fan Bei’s feet, looking pitiful, not even interested in playing with the iron ball. It simply couldn’t understand how a bone that should have lasted a month, a treat that had just been at its lips, could vanish in the blink of an eye. Surely its master wouldn’t steal from it… even if he had been watching all along.

As Da Bai’s mind spun with confused thoughts, a sudden voice echoed in its head.

“System ‘Heavenly Dog’ binding complete.”

“Now entering the novice quest tutorial.”

At this, Da Bai panicked, barking loudly.

“Hey, who are you? Are you the evil spirit Master warned me about? I’m telling you, I’m fierce! Get out of my body now!”

“Host, I am your system. I can help you reach the pinnacle of a dog’s life.”

“System? What’s that? Is it tasty? Can I play with it?”

“Please complete the novice quest and you will receive generous rewards.”

“I don’t care. What’s a quest? I don’t understand. Give me a reward first—ten cans of meat, and a ball of yarn, a teddy bear, a kitten…”

“Quest One automatically initiating.”

“Quest One: Eating.”

“Eating at regular intervals is good for your health. Three meals a day, on time, and be a good dog who isn’t a picky eater.”

“Reward: Eating itself is the reward.”

“Penalty: Skip meals or pick at your food, and you will receive a bio-electric shock.”

“The next quest: Washing dishes.”

“Washing dishes helps train precision grip, improves hand-eye coordination, and is an excellent exercise.”

Da Bai listened, utterly stunned, unable to make sense of any of it. It whimpered and circled Fan Bei, apparently trying to convey something.

At this moment, Fan Bei, who was reading the second page of the "Book of Systems," saw everything that had just happened recorded there. All operations of the “Heavenly Dog” system within Da Bai’s body were meticulously logged for his review. The current performance of the system was exactly as he’d anticipated. He’d personally written the novice guide tasks, tailoring them specifically for Da Bai, so the results could hardly be disappointing.

As long as these tasks were completed repeatedly, Da Bai would be able to improve itself, then, with the system’s assistance, defeat the hidden evil spirits within the shelter, gain experience, and level up, growing ever stronger.

With this thought, Fan Bei continued to examine the system log with anticipation. All these details appeared on the second page, which, though it seemed like only one page, could record an endless amount of information. Whenever Fan Bei finished reading a page, new content would overlay the old.

Just then, Da Bai suddenly stood up on its hind legs, trying to leap into his arms. It was clear this was a side effect of system fusion.

Fan Bei pressed down on Da Bai’s restless head, feeling quite helpless. Had it been someone his own age from his previous life, they’d be overjoyed, keeping such a system secret and profiting quietly, not seeking help from anyone. They’d wish nobody else in the world knew about their system.

“Master, I’m scared. Something strange keeps talking in my head.”

Fan Bei was taken aback, suddenly realizing he seemed to hear Da Bai speaking like a person.

“Hey, Da Bai, did you just talk?” he asked, puzzled.

Da Bai lifted its head, looking utterly innocent, only whimpering softly.

“No, Master, I can understand you, but I can’t talk.”

Fan Bei quickly understood: this must be another ability granted by the “Father of Systems”—no matter how silly the host, he could always comprehend what they wanted to express.

He patted Da Bai’s head and pretended to reassure it, “Da Bai, don’t be afraid. I’m here for everything. Don’t resist it just yet. Whatever it tells you to do, just follow along, and you’ll be fine.”

Comforted, Da Bai nodded repeatedly, the fear fading from its face. Clearly, its intelligence now rivaled that of many young children.

Less than a minute later, it had already forgotten the system prompts and ran off to play with its ball, carefree as ever…

Fan Bei returned to his study, sat down, and carefully studied the new system log to see if there was anything else that needed adjustment.

He worked until the alarm clock rang—11 a.m., time to make lunch.

Considering the first quest, he decided to improve Da Bai’s nutrition in the coming days, even if it meant eating less himself. Exercise must be built on adequate and balanced nutrition, otherwise it’s not training—it’s self-destruction.

Originally, there had been an abundance of food, but four years ago, another wave of evil spirits had erupted and three of them had invaded the food storage area. Perhaps the cold storage environment suited them, for they never left. Fan Bei was forced to seal off that area and gather supplies from elsewhere; canned meat, for example, was scarce, and now he and Da Bai relied mainly on the output from the agricultural sector.

There was plenty of grain and vegetables, but the agricultural sector had no livestock, making meat a rare treat. Da Bai had become a vegetarian dog, tasting meat only on rare holidays; no wonder it was so obsessed with the lost bone and only forgot about it when the terrifying system appeared.

This dog had always been a picky eater—only fond of watermelon and other sweet fruits. As for grains, without the flavor of meat, it would barely touch them.

Fan Bei went to the kitchen and reluctantly took out a single can of meat. He opened it, emptied it into the wok, and added hot water to mix it well. The can contained premium seasonings, and as the mixture heated, a rich aroma filled the air—this was not the cheap, mass-produced luncheon meat. As shelter rations, it had been made with the best ingredients; after all, with the evil tide raging, hoarding resources was pointless.

He then opened the sack of rice, scooped out nearly half a bucket, and washed it. The sack was still nearly full; only a third of last month’s quick-growing rice had been eaten, and in two months’ time, another harvest would come. It looked like he’d need to reduce the planting area again to save on electricity and nutrient solutions.

Previously, he would have used only a bowl and a half of rice; more would go uneaten, as neither he nor Da Bai would finish it. After rinsing, he poured the rice into the white pressure cooker, added water, switched on the electric stove, and started steaming.

Next, he placed the wok back on the stove, added a generous amount of vegetables, and stir-fried them.

After some time, both dishes were ready. Fan Bei combined them into a large pot of rice topped with meat and vegetables—a simple, time-saving meal.

By now, Da Bai had already caught the rare scent of meat, raced to the kitchen door, and flashed an ingratiating grin at Fan Bei, rolling over to expose its white belly and performing with all its might.

Fan Bei divided the rice and meat into a large and a small bowl, then took them to the dining room and set them on the table. Da Bai circled his legs excitedly.

He put on a stern act, “Da Bai, what’s wrong? Didn’t you just eat a big bone? Why are you hungry again so soon? You’re so picky with food, no wonder you’re so skinny and can’t stand a bit of hunger.”

Da Bai rolled over and nodded eagerly, completely shameless.

Fan Bei carried the large bowl to the dog room near the living room and poured the full bowl into Da Bai’s designated dog dish, then returned to eat his own small portion.

As usual, he finished quickly and returned to the living room.

Sure enough, Da Bai was picking through the dish, eating only the chunks of meat and ignoring the rice and vegetables.

In the past, Fan Bei had dealt with this by reducing Da Bai’s food, letting hunger force it to finish everything, as scolding had no effect; Da Bai would just pretend not to understand.

But now, there was finally someone else enforcing discipline.

Five minutes later, Da Bai had picked out all the meat, nibbled a bit of rice with meat juices, and ran off to play with the iron ball. As for washing dishes? It had no concept—wasn’t that always the master’s job?

Yet, after only a couple of minutes, Da Bai suddenly shuddered, let out a yelp, and every hair on its white body stood on end.

Seeing this, Fan Bei immediately checked the system log.

(Due to the host’s unhealthy eating habits, Quest One failed. Correction in progress: three electric shocks.)

Da Bai became a quivering bundle of fur and ran pathetically to Fan Bei, barking and pointing a paw at its own head.

“Master, that thing says if I don’t eat properly, it’ll shock me. Please do something!”

Fan Bei shook his head. “Didn’t I tell you? You have to listen to it. There’s nothing I can do. If you don’t want to suffer, eat all your rice and vegetables. Out there, this is all good food—many can’t even dream of eating it.”

Even now, just like in his past life, Fan Bei himself ate to this standard. To raise a picky dog in the wasteland—Da Bai was actually quite lucky.

Yet, thinking further, it was also cruel—this abundance was only possible because everyone else had been eliminated by the evil tide. Supplies meant for over three hundred people were now consumed by just one man and one dog. Naturally, there was plenty.

Da Bai clung to Fan Bei, but received three more bio-electrical shocks.

Clearly, for unruly children, the stick is more effective.

Only then did Da Bai obediently return to its bowl and lick it clean—something entirely unprecedented.

Seeing this, Fan Bei felt a deep sense of comfort: “Da Bai, eat well so you can grow strong, level up, and fight monsters. Whether I can rise above the rest depends on whether you can endure hardship. This is your destined path to becoming a Heavenly Dog.”