Forced To Adopt Retired Military Dog ​​Orc Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen: Those Who Are Not Enthusiastic About Eating Have Ideological Problems…

Si Jiu quickly planned the remaining ingredients in the refrigerator. Then, with practiced ease, he chopped vegetables on the cutting board, his knife skills swift and precise, before setting the pot on the stove and lighting the fire.

The meat slices were cut as thin as paper, and the artificial meat sausages were shaped like octopuses—Si Jiu’s knife skills were always excellent.

The cleaned vegetables went into the wok, stir-fried until flavorful. The sizzling sound of the roasting meat mixed with the aroma of the homemade sauce. The scent of rice from the electric cooker, combined with several plates of steaming, freshly cooked dishes, caused the large dog—who was temporarily banned from the kitchen to avoid disrupting the cooking process—to lie by the kitchen door. He peeked his head in, sniffing deeply, trying hard not to let tears of joy stream from the corners of his mouth, thus maintaining the almost non-existent dignity he held as a Beastman soldier in front of Si Jiu.

Midway through, he still didn’t forget to try and assert his presence.

“Xiao Jiu!”

“Almost ready.” Just one more dish, about five minutes.

“Xiao Jiu, Si Jiu, hey!”

“Wait a little longer, it’ll be quick.” Tossing the wok, stir-frying, sweat beaded on Si Jiu’s forehead. He felt that even though Ran Lie was speaking human language now, the guy still acted like a dog.

“Si Jiu, let me in!”

“It’s fine, it’ll be out of the pot soon. Go sit on the sofa in the living room for a bit.” Si Jiu began to wonder what kind of special forces unit Ran Lie belonged to in the Beastman military, and secretly marveled at how inclusive that unit must be. Regardless of combat strength, this guy’s mental age was no more than eight.

“Woof woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof!”

—”What’s the point of sitting there! You won’t keep me company!” The translation software was back online. Alright, his mental age shouldn’t be more than five. Definitely not more.

At the same time, Si Jiu also keenly noticed that Ran Lie had to resort to Beast Speech when speaking complex, long sentences.

It seemed the time since he recovered his human language function was not long.

Which meant he hadn’t been deceiving him from the start.

Si Jiu couldn’t help but breathe a slight sigh of relief, although he had grown accustomed to betrayal.

On the decaying Yalan Star, betrayal was an almost constant occurrence. After arriving on the Beastman Planet, he mostly faced indifference and cold shoulders. As for deception and betrayal—

He was just a down-and-out human caregiver with no power, no influence, no money, and no property. He didn’t seem worth the effort of a dedicated betrayal.

Si Jiu gave a self-deprecating smile, plating the last dish. He then noticed that the large dog by the kitchen door had unexpectedly vanished.

Slightly puzzled, Si Jiu immediately became alert. He gently carried a plate of steaming hot food out of the kitchen, his other hand close to his clothing pocket…

In the living room, Ran Lie was actually obediently squatting on the sofa—

Si Jiu was surprised. Had the little brother, whose mental age was at most five, finally grown up?

Si Jiu then quietly approached and saw the leather suitcase Ran Lie had retrieved from the sanatorium sitting next to the sofa. It looked like it had been opened, and Ran Lie’s expression seemed slightly serious.

But the moment Si Jiu set down the fragrant hot food, the large dog’s eyes immediately cleared up.

“You worked hard today. Thank you for saving us.” Si Jiu instinctively rubbed the dog’s head; it was getting smoother and easier to pet.

“You weren’t bad yourself.” Ran Lie grinned widely, making Si Jiu see a hint of a Husky in the Malinois Dog.

“Mhm, I learned a bit of self-defense back on Yalan Star.” Si Jiu glossed over it lightly. He went back into the kitchen and brought out Ran Lie’s ceramic bowl, filled with octopus sausages and green vegetables.

Si Jiu had prepared a host of excuses in case Ran Lie pressed him for details, but Ran Lie seemed to take everything as a matter of course and didn’t question his past.

Si Jiu watched the large dog jump onto a chair, waiting to start eating. He couldn’t help but glance briefly at the small leather suitcase beside the sofa before slowly withdrawing his gaze.

If it were Si Jiu, he would maintain vigilance and look for opportunities to probe, even with the slightest clue.

He had long sensed that Ran Lie held an unusual status in the Beastman military. Because of this, although he initially sympathized with the difficulties Ran Lie would face after retirement, the attitude of the other Beastmen toward Ran Lie made him realize that some things, as a human caregiver, he truly couldn’t refuse.

Since he couldn’t refuse, he might as well accept it openly—besides, Ran Lie was quite adorable as a large dog.

However, Si Jiu sometimes wondered what the reason was for Ran Lie’s exceptional treatment of him, even his obvious favor.

Just like today, Ran Lie completely accepted everything that happened in the woods. Whether it was Si Jiu’s decisive strike or the whispers hidden in the forest, Ran Lie didn’t question it too much. He consistently showed no wariness or suspicion toward Si Jiu, displaying an almost baseless closeness and trust. Why was this?

Was it merely because he could heal him? In Si Jiu’s view, that was just his job.

Or was everything about Ran Lie a pretense?

If so, as a Canine Beastman, he was succeeding too well at the disguise! Si Jiu pondered whether he was prejudiced against canines. Military Dogs on Yalan Star, like German Shepherds or Dobermans, if they were Beastmen, should be the type who were meticulous and kept their thoughts hidden—aloof, taciturn, showing no emotion, and even after retirement, they would be mature and steady…

He turned to look at Ran Lie. The large dog’s mouth was slightly open, staring intently at the food on the table, his eyes shining—a completely undisguised craving for food.

He was clearly not that type.

Perhaps it was because he resembled a Malinois Dog. Malinois Dogs were simply too energetic. He remembered the puppy he raised as a child was a mixed-breed Malinois, and he had even searched for information about the breed… Maybe it was just a breed issue—Si Jiu gently curved his lips.

“Woof?” Ran Lie tilted his head, seemingly asking why he was smiling and urging him to eat quickly!

The moment Si Jiu picked up his chopsticks, Ran Lie immediately started, as impolite and ravenous as ever—he was genuinely hungry.

Watching Ran Lie devour his food like a whirlwind, Si Jiu couldn’t help but sigh again. What bad intentions could a greedy dog have?

Perhaps he was simply being deceived by appearances. Or perhaps, he had been too lonely for too long…

“Ah, mmm (munching wildly), smack—” The large dog’s bowl was quickly empty.

“By the way, tomorrow and the day after are holidays.” Watching the large dog eat could lift one’s spirits. In truth, even if tomorrow and the day after weren’t public holidays, after today’s events, Si Jiu was planning to take time off to rest at home.

“After dinner, I’ll give you a bath. It’s okay if we sleep a little late tonight. Tomorrow, I want to go to the supermarket, but the police might also call us in.” Si Jiu said this while continuously putting food into Ran Lie’s bowl.

Ran Lie was covered in dust and bloodstains, and there were small muddy paw prints all over the apartment floor. A bath was essential.

“The police? They won’t—and, I want more!” Ran Lie said without any hesitation, his gaze as firm as when he stared at the octopus sausages.

Si Jiu poured the remaining sausages from the plate into his bowl.

“We only finished the initial statement today,” Si Jiu said. What he didn’t say was that after the autopsy of the wild beasts, when the Beastman forensic doctor discovered the fatal wounds caused by a surgical knife, it was highly likely they would summon him again.

He had to be prepared. Si Jiu had already planned ahead.

Before the police arrived, he had retrieved the surgical knife he threw in the woods. While Ran Lie was gathering the bodies, providing cover, Si Jiu quickly used the surgical knife in the shadows to inflict several more irregular wounds on the throat-slit beast. When questioned, he would say he was attacked by the wild beast, and the instinct for survival drove him to use whatever tool he had on hand for self-defense and resistance, accidentally hitting a vital spot…

Most of what he would say was the truth anyway.

In short, he was the victim. Jun Qi would definitely side with him, and the Nurse Manager was still unconscious and wouldn’t say anything. The police wouldn’t believe a human had the ability to fight a rabid wild beast, so he should be able to fool them.

“Do you want to come to the supermarket with me tomorrow?” In less than five minutes, the bowls and plates on the dining table were spotless.

Ran Lie’s erect ears twitched: “Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof woof?”

—“Of course! You wouldn’t think of leaving me alone at home, would you?” The phone lit up, displaying the translation.

He seemed to be a little moody about being left in the Director’s office at the sanatorium today.

To be honest, if he could, Si Jiu really wanted to go out alone and keep a low profile, but it seemed there was no room for negotiation.

After dinner, Si Jiu put on the second-hand tablet to watch the news for a while.

Sure enough, the news mentioned their attack—

“[Beastman Planet Imperial News Express] This afternoon, a terrifying incident unfolded again in the Southern District. Three medical staff from the Military Logistics Sanatorium were unexpectedly ambushed by highly aggressive green-eyed carnivorous Beastmen in the woods beside a suburban road.

In the critical moment, Imperial patrol police rushed to the scene upon hearing the news. The violent Beastman perpetrator was shot dead on the spot, and the crisis was resolved. Fortunately, although the three medical staff were frightened, they successfully avoided danger through calm handling and were not injured in the incident.”

The news report was skillfully handled. The police arrived, and the perpetrator was shot dead—these were facts, regardless of the sequence of events.

Furthermore, the news deliberately didn’t specify how many perpetrators there were, likely to cover up the previous report’s oversight that one was still at large.

The Imperial Government had invested significant police resources into the green-eyed attack cases in the Southern District. Even the Marshal and the Royal Family were alarmed. It would be unacceptable not to show some results.

But this was also good. Just as Ran Lie was certain, since the Beastman police wanted to claim the credit, they wouldn’t dwell on the true cause of death of the wild beasts or excessively question Si Jiu.

Si Jiu rubbed his nose. He couldn’t relax his vigilance yet; after all, he was now being targeted.

Should he go to the general store again tomorrow?

Si Jiu glanced at the large dog beside him, who had settled onto the sofa after dinner.

There was so much space on the sofa, yet he insisted on squeezing next to Si Jiu, resting his head and massive forequarters unreservedly on Si Jiu’s lap while they listened to the news together.

“Ran Lie.” Si Jiu gently patted the back of his neck.

“Xiao Jiu, my neck, here, scratch…” The large dog flipped over, exposing his belly. The dust and leaves stuck to his back immediately transferred to Si Jiu’s un-changed pants.

“You need a bath.”