Forced To Adopt Retired Military Dog Orc Chapter 1
byChapter 1 The Military Dog Beastman in the Sanatorium Woof…
Si Jiu remembered the first time he stood outside the ward of the Military Logistics Sanatorium, catching a glimpse of the injured Canine Beastman from afar. The beastman was leaning impatiently on the sickbed, letting out terrifying, low growls.
Si Jiu knew about him—a special patient sent from the interstellar front lines. Upon arrival, he had caused quite a stir in the sanatorium. Due to his severe injuries, he had been unable to maintain his Human Form Transformation.
He heard that the patient had recently refused to eat and his temper had grown increasingly volatile, scaring young Beastman nurses more than once.
The Nurse Manager (Hamster), twitching her large hamster ears, was carrying a tray of untouched, elaborate dishes out of the luxurious VIP ward. The food was cold.
“What are we going to do? If he keeps refusing to eat, his wounds might…” The Nurse Manager shook her head as she walked out, noticing Si Jiu by the door, and paused slightly.
“What are you doing here?!” The Nurse Manager frowned, her large ears alertly twitching. Her gaze toward Si Jiu, as always, held suppressed displeasure and slight aversion.
The Beastmen’s natural aversion to humans was subtly diffused in the air.
Si Jiu was used to it.
When he and a small remnant of humanity fled the decaying human planet Yalan Star to the Beastman Planet, that racial aversion, whether overt or subtle, had constantly surrounded him, becoming a numb normalcy.
Si Jiu saluted the Nurse Manager, maintaining a distance that kept both of them comfortable, as he always did.
“Did the Director send you?” The Nurse Manager glanced at Si Jiu. Only after the ward door was completely closed did she lower her voice, unwilling to disturb the distinguished patient inside.
Si Jiu nodded.
“…We’ve already gone through six caregivers. Can you handle it?” The Nurse Manager hesitated.
Si Jiu didn’t speak. Even though he didn’t seek out gossip, he had heard some of the recent rumors in the facility. The day after this Beastman, who couldn’t transform into human form, was admitted, he bit the attending physician and scared away the professional comfort dog Beastman specially assigned by the military. Right after his surgery, he started refusing food without reason. His temper was stubborn and bad, making the Director (Elephant) so angry that his nose seemed to grow longer. Flapping his large ears, the Director had complained to Si Jiu about his headache.
The Nurse Manager narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing Si Jiu.
He looked like an ordinary human male, always seeming out of place among the Beastman community, yet the Director seemed to value him highly…
“Give it a try,” the Nurse Manager sighed, withdrawing her gaze. Her voice dropped even lower. “If there’s an emergency, remember to call for help.”
On Si Jiu’s right wrist was the Alert Band specially issued to all medical staff at the sanatorium.
Subconsciously running his finger over the edge of the band, Si Jiu nodded his thanks for the Nurse Manager’s kind reminder.
Si Jiu had kept a dog when he was young on Yalan Star and knew canine habits. Unfortunately, that puppy suddenly bit Si Jiu, its owner, one day and never returned. This saddened young Si Jiu for a long time, and his once strong affection for canines slowly turned into resistance. Thinking back to those years of owning a dog, Yalan Star was still an incredibly prosperous and rich human planet. The planet only had ordinary plants and animals—but an Interstellar Great Explosion more than ten years ago changed everything.
Steadying himself, Si Jiu pressed the doorbell of the VIP ward. A deep, beast-like growl immediately came from inside.
Si Jiu’s body instinctively took a step back.
Was that a dog? Or a wolf? Perhaps he could just stand outside the ward for about five minutes, pretend he went in and was immediately chased out, and then report back to the Director…
“Hey, he’s telling you to go in.” The Nurse Manager’s voice came from behind him.
Si Jiu didn’t understand Beast Speech. To him, judging by the tone, that low growl probably meant for him to go away.
It didn’t matter. Going in for two minutes, getting chased out, and then reporting to the Director would be the same.
Si Jiu pushed the door open. Lying on the pristine white bed was a massive, robust canine in Beast Form. Up close, he was agile, with long, resilient limbs. His short, dense fur was a clear, deep brown. Sterile gauze was wrapped around his abdomen. He must have had surgery a few days ago and, having refused to eat, the entire dog looked slightly fatigued. His face was dark, with distinct contours, and his pair of long, upright ears, which stood alertly, couldn’t hide his sharp handsomeness. At the moment, he was lying down with his head resting on his legs, eyes closed, but the slight movement of his ear tips indicated he had sensed Si Jiu’s arrival.
Si Jiu tried to stand as far away as possible. Although the Beast Form of this Canine Beastman resembled a Malinois Dog from the former Yalan Star, he was twice the size of an average adult Malinois or German Shepherd. If he were to attack—Si Jiu swallowed, instinctively reaching into the pocket of his nursing uniform…
After a slight hesitation, the large dog resting on the bed made no further move. Si Jiu lowered his hand, slightly relieved.
He bravely took a step forward, but the large dog suddenly opened his dark brown eyes.
The black, deep gaze in the amber-brown eyes looked straight at Si Jiu.
“Uh…” Si Jiu was startled but quickly regained his composure.
He straightened his body and, following protocol, bowed to the Beastman on the bed. He began his usual self-introduction unhurriedly: “Hello, I am Si Jiu, caregiver FX09 from the Military Logistics Sanatorium. I am responsible for your post-operative wound recovery and physical therapy. Would now be a convenient time to begin?”
The large dog gave Si Jiu a faint look and let out a soft “Awoo.”
Huh? What did that mean?
Was he telling him to leave? Great, it seemed everything was going as expected, and he might even get off work early today.
Si Jiu offered a professionally gentle and bright smile and began backing toward the door, saying, “It’s alright if it’s not convenient, or if you prefer to switch to another caregiver…”
“Woof, woof!” These two standard barks made Si Jiu, who had lived on Yalan Star, feel a long-lost familiarity, and confirmed that the creature on the bed was a dog, not a wolf.
Unfortunately, Si Jiu didn’t understand Beast Speech. When he first arrived on the Beastman Planet, he found it quite incredible that even different species of Beastmen could communicate and converse indiscriminately through their calls. To human ears, however, these were still just the sounds of ordinary animals.
Some Beastmen had learned human language, such as most of the medical staff at the sanatorium and the Beastman soldiers in the military. They had all received basic training in human language.
This was one of the reasons Si Jiu chose to work at the military sanatorium.
“Excuse me, please wait a moment—” Si Jiu said, skillfully pulling out his phone from the other pocket of his nursing uniform. In the interstellar age, language was no longer a barrier, but translating in daily life could still be a bit troublesome if one’s equipment was limited.
Therefore, it was not easy for ordinary humans to find stable work on the Beastman Planet.
Si Jiu quickly selected the “Canine Language” option in his translation software, then approached the bed and politely handed over the phone: “Please, could you say that again?”
The large dog on the bed slightly raised his head, his dark brown eyes looking deeply at Si Jiu.
Si Jiu maintained a slightly apologetic smile, without offering too much explanation—if the Beastman found communicating with a human who didn’t understand Beast Speech troublesome, he could request a replacement. That way, Si Jiu could report back to the Director.
“Woof—Awoo.”
Si Jiu had expected to be immediately chased out, but the mechanical voice of the translation software from the phone said: “Care, as you wish.”
It was an old phone with free software, so the translation quality was predictable. But no matter how he listened, it didn’t sound like he was being told to leave.
Suppressing the slight disappointment that his hope for an early departure was dashed, Si Jiu offered his usual gentle, professional smile to the patient: “Alright, then let’s begin now.”
The large dog on the bed didn’t speak again. He must have understood human language, as he slowly turned to lie on his side, partially exposing the wound on his abdomen. The gauze wrapped around it already showed distinct bloodstains.
Si Jiu approached. The large dog tucked in his two front legs, exposing his furry belly in a submissive posture. He seemed quite obedient, not as irritable and difficult to deal with as the nurses had described.
Si Jiu’s attention was currently focused entirely on observing the wound, completely unaware that the large dog’s pair of sharp, deep eyes were watching his every move.
The abdominal wound was deep, preliminarily judged to be caused by a special firearm. Si Jiu reached out and gently touched the gauze. Immediately after—
“Awoo Woof—Woof!” A fierce roar shook the ward, half from pain, half as a warning.
The massive canine bared his incredibly sharp teeth, his tail slightly raised, and swiftly lifted his front half to meet Si Jiu’s gaze.
“Yes, I know, it hurts, but you need to bear with it. You need a gauze change.” Before the terrifying beast, suddenly agitated on the sickbed, could make any further move, Si Jiu was quicker. He raised his left hand and placed it above the wound on the dog’s abdomen.
A faint green light emanated from Si Jiu’s palm.
This was Si Jiu’s unique Healing Power.
Slowly, the large dog, who had been baring his fangs, gradually closed his mouth. His ferocious expression returned to calm. He turned his head to look at Si Jiu, who was seriously working on his wound. He remained still for a long time, seemingly contemplating something.
About five minutes later, beads of sweat appeared on Si Jiu’s forehead. He had skillfully removed the old gauze and professionally treated the wound. During this time, his left hand continuously emitted a soft green light that enveloped the wound. Miraculously, under that faint green light, the bleeding quickly stopped, and the large dog’s gigantic body, which had been tense from pain, slowly relaxed.
While applying new medical gauze, Si Jiu looked up and smiled at him: “It shouldn’t hurt now, right?”
The large dog, now calm, twitched his pair of handsome, upright ears. His round eyes watched him, tilting his head slightly, surprisingly showing a hint of cuteness.
Si Jiu was now certain that the dog could understand his language but couldn’t speak. This was likely due to the inability to maintain Human Form Transformation, which also obstructed his language function.
Si Jiu couldn’t help but ponder. He heard that the attending physician hadn’t been able to determine the cause of his inability to transform. Although the wounds on his body were deep, he should fully recover three to four months after surgery. As for why he couldn’t transform like other Beastmen…
Si Jiu shook his head. That was outside the scope of his work.
He rarely invested too much emotion in his job; completing his tasks smoothly and clocking out on time was more important. After all, going home after dark, when the Nocturnal Beastmen were out, was somewhat dangerous for a human.
After changing the gauze, Si Jiu followed protocol and stood aside. He picked up the patient’s medical electronic tablet from the bedside cabinet, quickly filling out the report while saying, “Today’s nursing work is complete. Please sign here—”
Before he finished speaking, Si Jiu paused. Something was tugging at his uniform.
Looking down, the large patient dog was actually biting the hem of his nursing uniform.
He bit the hem, gently tugged it toward the bed, released it, and bit again, seemingly… just playing.
Sighing, Si Jiu tried to pull his uniform back, but the large dog held onto a corner of the fabric, pulling it left and right, refusing to let go.
Hey, stop biting. Even a Military Dog born into the military should be disciplined and possess strong self-control. Moreover, Si Jiu had heard that Beastman military training was extremely rigorous, and the front-line troops were all top-tier elites and strong generals. Yet, this giant dog, despite his majestic and heroic Beast Form, was overly willful, like a military rogue. It reminded him of the disobedient dog he had raised on Yalan Star in his childhood.
Instinctively, Si Jiu raised his hand and stroked the large dog’s head, just as he used to comfort his troublesome dog when he was young.
The moment his forehead was touched, the large dog suddenly froze, releasing the corner of his uniform. His dark brown eyes suddenly shone terrifyingly bright, a rare spark of vitality surfacing in his gaze.
At the time, Si Jiu didn’t notice this. Once the large dog pressed his paw print onto the tablet, Si Jiu’s work was complete.
The next day, the Nurse Manager happily informed Si Jiu that the Canine Beastman in the VIP ward had started eating.
At the same time, Si Jiu received news that did not make him happy.
Effective immediately, he was appointed as the exclusive caregiver for this Canine Beastman—an order personally issued by the Director.