Snow had sealed the mountain, and we’d been eagerly waiting for the rescue team.
My boyfriend was about to open the door when the forest ranger stopped him.
“The satellite phone is broken. The distress signal couldn’t be sent out at all. Where could a rescue team come from?
“What’s knocking outside is probably not human.”
1
My boyfriend Zhang Yu and I were photojournalists. Recently, we saw online that an unknown creature had been discovered deep in the Qinling Mountains.
To get a big story, we came here on purpose.
But not long after we entered, heavy snow sealed the mountain, and we got trapped.
As our preparations were insufficient, the food was quickly used up.
We decided to take a gamble and walk out of the mountain.
But not long after we started walking, Zhang Yu’s face suddenly looked a bit strange.
“I always feel like there’s something following us all the time.”
Zhang Yu had rich experience in outdoor photography and was extremely sensitive to danger.
In a deep mountain like this, there were quite a few animals like tigers and bears.
I was a bit panicked by what he said.
“In this weather, bears should be hibernating, right? Could it be a tiger we’ve encountered?”
Zhang Yu shook his head.
“It definitely isn’t a tiger. If it were a tiger, we’d both be dead by now.”
But Zhang Yu couldn’t say for sure either. He guessed it might be an animal like a wolf.
“Let’s hurry up. If we encounter a pack of wolves, we’ll be done for here.”
I nodded and quickened my pace.
But Zhang Yu, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.
He pointed tremblingly at a spot not far away. “T – there seems to be a person over there.”
I looked up and saw that about ten meters away, there was a person standing there.
It looked like someone was wearing a coir raincoat with their back to us.
My heart was pounding wildly, not out of excitement, but out of deep fear.
Because we both knew that in such a deep mountain forest –
How could a person suddenly appear?
2
Zhang Yu and I exchanged a look and decided to check it out.
Zhang Yu took the lead and slowly approached the figure. He called out a couple of times from behind.
But the figure seemed not to hear and didn’t show any reaction.
Seeing that it didn’t work, Zhang Yu reached out and patted the person on the shoulder.
The figure trembled and slowly turned around.
I swallowed hard, my heart almost jumping out of my throat.
But when I saw the person’s face clearly, my hair stood on end, and I felt as if I’d fallen into an ice cave.
Because it wasn’t a human face at all!
It was a monster with a wide – long mouth and a face full of white hair.
If I had to describe it, it was like a large golden retriever dog standing on its hind legs, except its fur was brown – gray.
Its eyes were bulging, with more white than black, showing a crafty look.
The corners of its mouth were pulled up, and the extra skin wrinkled together, squeezing its eyes smaller.
Saliva kept dripping from the corners of its mouth.
It looked like a dog’s face with a forced smile.
Both Zhang Yu and I were shocked by what we saw. A chill ran from the soles of our feet to the top of our heads.
Fear instantly took over our brains, and our bodies frantically sent signals to run.
Running is the instinctive reaction of humans when facing unknown dangers.
Zhang Yu gave the order: “Run!”
Our body functions were instantly mobilized, adrenaline was secreted wildly, and we took off like runaway horses.
During the escape, I accidentally lost my backpack, which contained very important supplies.
I wanted to go back and look for it, but Zhang Yu forcefully pulled me away and didn’t stop until my mouth was full of the taste of blood.
I shivered and looked back at the place where we had run away. It was empty, with only a half – cut tree stump.
Zhang Yu was also surprised. “This is really strange. There was clearly a… a monster there just now.”
I had a guess. “Could it be that the altitude here is too high, and combined with oxygen deficiency, we had hallucinations?”
Zhang Yu nodded. “There’s definitely a possibility. We might have mistaken the tree stump for a monster.”
Although this explanation seemed reasonable, we both knew that things weren’t that simple.
Zhang Yu and I tacitly quickened our pace, but the snow was too thick, and we soon ran out of energy.
All that awaited us was to be frozen to death.
Just before we collapsed from exhaustion, an illusion appeared in front of us again.
A tall white figure appeared in front of us.
3
When Zhang Yu and I woke up again, we were lying in a wooden house.
There was a shotgun and a white robe hanging on the wall.
A burly man with sharp eyes was throwing firewood into the fireplace.
The man was called Xiong Qiang, a forest ranger in the mountains. He found Zhang Yu and me on his way out to collect firewood and brought us back to the sentry post.
The entire sentry post is not large. There is a simple living area and several shelves for storing supplies.
There was also a small locked door leading to Xiong Qiang’s private room.
Xiong Qiang was a man of few words. He just gave a few simple instructions and then ignored us.
Zhang Yu found an old – style satellite phone on the shelf.
Although it was old and worn – out, it seemed to still work. We quickly edited the content and sent out a distress signal.
Before long, we would be saved!
At night, it was Zhang Yu and my turn to add firewood to the fireplace, and Xiong Qiang went back to his room to rest.
The stove was steaming, making us drowsy.
Suddenly, a series of rapid “dong – dong – dong” knocks on the door woke us up.
I immediately got a shock. “It must be the rescue team!”
We hadn’t gone too deep into the mountain, and the rescue team would have enough time to find this place in half a day.
Zhang Yu stood up and was about to open the door.
But just as he was about to unlock it, a thick arm suddenly stopped him.
Xiong Qiang had woken up at some point, and his face was gloomy. “This door can’t be opened.”
I quickly explained to him that the people outside were the rescue team we had called using the satellite phone.
But unexpectedly, his face turned even darker.
“That phone is broken. The distress signal couldn’t be sent out at all. Where could a rescue team come from?
“What’s knocking outside is probably not human.”
4
At this time, we also noticed something strange. There was only the sound of knocking outside, but no human voices.
Zhang Yu tentatively shouted a few words towards the door, but there was no response at all.
Only the continuous “dong – dong – dong” echoed eerily in the room.
Zhang Yu seemed to think of something and quickly took out the satellite phone again.
After a careful check, he found that there was damage at the antenna connection, and it couldn’t send out a signal at all.
I suddenly felt a chill down my spine. If what Xiong Qiang said was true.
Then what was knocking outside?
I knew that some black bears would deliberately imitate humans knocking on the door, tricking people into opening it and then killing them.
But at this time of the year, bears were in hibernation and wouldn’t come out.
In an instant, a terrifying thought popped into my mind.
I looked at Zhang Yu. “Could it be… the thing we met before?!”
Xiong Qiang was attracted by my words, so I had to tell him about the experience of meeting the dog – faced monster before.
He looked at the doorframe with a complicated expression. “I didn’t expect that thing to be real. You might have encountered the ‘Shepherd Dog’.”
Zhang Yu and I looked at him in surprise. I knew what a shepherd dog was, but what was a “Shepherd Dog”?
Seeing our puzzled looks, Xiong Qiang continued to explain:
“This story was passed down from the older generation.
“It is said that more than two thousand years ago, during the era of the Hundred Kingdoms’ contention, there was constant war.
“There was an inconspicuous small country on this mountain range.
“At that time, in order to survive in the troubled times, the monarch had the witch – doctor conduct an experiment that went against human ethics.
“They combined humans and animals to create a kind of super – soldier.
“These soldiers had the appearance of dogs and the minds of humans, and they were fearless of death.
“Unfortunately, the experiment failed. The super – soldiers began to massacre humans, herding them and treating them as food.
“Later, when the First Emperor unified the chaotic world, they were forced to hide in the deep mountains.
“This legend has been passed down to this day, and people call those soldiers ‘Shepherd Dogs’.”
After hearing Xiong Qiang’s words, Zhang Yu and I looked at each other, filled with fear.
Suddenly, the knocking on the door stopped abruptly.
Instead, a harsh “zi – la” sound came, like someone scratching a blackboard with their nails.
I felt a creepy feeling in my heart and suddenly thought of a possibility.
Zhang Yu also realized this and exclaimed:
“No, it’s prying the lock!!”
5
I could already imagine that there was a one – person – tall dog standing outside the door, smiling and bending over to pick the lock.
I felt a chill down my back, and goosebumps covered my whole body.
Xiong Qiang reacted the fastest. Without saying a word, he picked up the shotgun on the wall and pointed it firmly at the door.
Xiong Qiang held the gun, with his muscular body. He didn’t look like a forest ranger, but more like a fierce bandit.
I felt a bit more at ease. Even if the Shepherd Dog was strange, it was still made of flesh and blood.
The monster outside seemed to sense something and suddenly stopped. The room was deathly quiet.
After a long stand – off, Xiong Qiang said:
“This monster is very cunning. It must still be nearby. I have a gun, so I’ll go out and take a look.
“You two stay here and seal the windows tightly, lest it climb in in the middle of the night.”
We originally wanted Xiong Qiang to stay, but then we thought that what he said made sense.
Xiong Qiang was burly, and with the shotgun, the monster was no match for him.
If he could take the opportunity to shoot the Shepherd Dog, the crisis would be completely resolved.
Before leaving, Xiong Qiang specifically told us:
“You must hear me say ‘open the door’ before you open the door.
“This thing is very cunning. Don’t be deceived.”
After Xiong Qiang left, Zhang Yu and I got busy, looking around for tools to seal the windows.
But just then, the “dong – dong” knocking on the door sounded again.
Xiong Qiang’s voice also came: “Open the door, open the door!”
I calculated the time. He had been gone for less than three minutes.
I thought maybe he had forgotten something, or he had already driven the monster away, so I quickly went to open the door for him.
But Zhang Yu stepped in front of me, his expression complicated.
“Don’t you think his voice sounds a bit strange?”
His reminder made me take a sharp breath.
Although it was Xiong Qiang’s voice outside the door, there was no trace of humanity!
It was as cold as a parrot imitating human speech, without any emotion.
I felt goosebumps all over my body. The thing outside the door wasn’t human!
6
I tentatively asked: “Brother Xiong, has the monster left?”
But the response I got was still just the mechanical two words: “Open the door, open the door.”
My heart sank to the bottom. This once again confirmed my guess.
Just thinking that the voice of a human was coming from the throat of the Shepherd Dog outside made me feel creepy.
Zhang Yu also noticed something was wrong. He quickly picked up a firewood knife, smashed the doorframe twice, and then roared loudly at the door.
This was a way to deal with black bears in the wild. Making noise and roaring could potentially scare them away.
Unexpectedly, it worked surprisingly well. The voice outside the door disappeared.
But we weren’t sure if the monster had really been scared away.
Zhang Yu and I bravely and carefully came to the window to check, for fear that it was still hiding nearby.
I shone a flashlight around. All I could see was a vast expanse of white snow.
The next moment, Zhang Yu tugged at my sleeve and pointed tremblingly in a direction.
I shone the light over, and instantly, my back felt cold.
A large gray – haired dog standing on its hind legs was staring at me with green eyes, smiling.
But the smile on its face was as stiff as if it were sewn with needles. Its right front paw kept stretching out and then retracting.
Zhang Yu seemed to have discovered something. “It seems to be making gestures to us?”
His words made me realize that the monster was actually waving to us.
Just like a waiter trying to attract customers, as if saying: “Come here! Come here!”
Its eyes kept rolling, showing a kind of human shrewdness and cunning, which made me very uncomfortable.
I suggested to Zhang Yu: “Let’s seal the window quickly. This thing is a bit strange.”
Zhang Yu looked at the monster with a complicated expression and then turned around to help me find tools.
We wanted to use long wooden boards to seal the window, but unfortunately, we didn’t have enough materials. We were short of one piece.
So, we had to take down the wooden board rack with the forest ranger’s coat from the wall.
“Click”, the wooden board fell down along with the coat.
And a blood – stained forest ranger’s work permit also fell out.
In an instant, I felt like my head had been hit hard. It was buzzing.
The name of the forest ranger on it was clearly written as “Li Hou”.
In the ID photo next to it, there was a thin and dry man in his fifties.
The marked patrol area was exactly the area where we were.
I couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Xiong Qiang had told us that he was the only forest ranger here!
But if this “Li Hou” was the real forest ranger, then who was Xiong Qiang?
7
I stared at the bloodstains on the work permit, and a terrifying guess came to my mind.
The real forest ranger Li Hou might have been killed!
Zhang Yu and I exchanged a look, and he said with a complicated expression:
“That Xiong Qiang is suspicious.
“I suspect he’s been lying to us.
“And I found that the monster just now wasn’t waving to us.
“What it really wanted to express was actually…”
Zhang Yu’s words were interrupted halfway. Suddenly, a series of rapid “dong – dong – dong” sounds came, and Xiong Qiang’s rough voice came from outside the door.
“Open the door quickly! I’m back!”
I immediately got a shock, quickly stuffed the work permit into my coat, and became extremely cautious.
“Brother Xiong, has the monster left?” I asked carefully.
Xiong Qiang’s rough answer came from outside the door again:
“That thing ran too fast. I chased it all the way, but didn’t even see a shadow.
“I caught a few rabbits on the way back to eat. Open the door quickly.”
The voice was strong and full of emotion. This was the real Xiong Qiang.
I looked at Zhang Yu, and he nodded, indicating that I should let Xiong Qiang in.
Although his identity was suspicious, he hadn’t hurt us.
Moreover, with the monster wandering outside, we could only survive by cooperating with each other.
I quickly opened the door, and Xiong Qiang entered the room with two rabbits.
Zhang Yu and I didn’t mention what had happened just now, and Xiong Qiang started handling the rabbits with a knife.
Xiong Qiang was good at cooking. The rabbits were roasted tender and juicy. Then he took two bottles of wine from the shelf for us.
As soon as the wine went down, my body instantly became hot, and I took off my coat and held it in my arms.
Xiong Qiang got drunk and stared at me from time to time, as if he had something to say to me.
I couldn’t help asking him: “Brother Xiong, is there something dirty on my face?”
Xiong Qiang was startled, looked embarrassed, and forced a smile.
“Your eyes are very similar to my deceased daughter’s.”
His gaze was very tender, in sharp contrast to his burly figure.
I was about to comfort him when my coat suddenly burst into flames, scaring me.
It turned out that the coat was too close to the furnace mouth and was accidentally ignited by the high temperature.
Xiong Qiang reacted quickly. He grabbed the coat in an instant, slapped it on the ground twice, and extinguished the fire.
Suddenly, a blood – stained work permit fell out of the coat and landed on the ground.
I saw Xiong Qiang’s face turn deathly pale, his eyes widen, and a fierce look in his eyes!
8
I stared at the work permit on the ground, my heart pounding violently, and I was so nervous that I didn’t know what to do.
But the next second, Zhang Yu bent down first, quickly picked up the work permit along with a piece of firewood, and threw them into the furnace.
His movements were fast, and with the dim light, the work permit looked like a withered leaf.
After Zhang Yu finished all this, he said casually: “It will be colder in the second half of the night. We need to add more firewood.”
I looked at Xiong Qiang. He seemed to not care about what had just happened, and I finally felt relieved.
But the next moment, he picked up the shotgun and re – arranged his equipment.
“The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and there’s less and less food available.
“We must call for outside help now, or we’ll surely die.
“Did you mention that there was another satellite phone in the lost backpack?”
I had told him about losing the backpack before, and there was indeed a satellite phone in it.
I immediately understood what he meant. He wanted to go out and find the backpack.
Xiong Qiang then threw a hand – axe to Zhang Yu.
“The two of us will go out. You lead the way in front.
“If it gets any later, the snow will accumulate even thicker, and we won’t be able to find it.”
What he said was right. Once the snow buried the backpack, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack, and our last chance of survival would be gone.
But the thought of being left alone made me shiver.
“Brother Xiong, I’ll go with you too. I was the one who lost the backpack, and I’m more familiar with the route.”
Xiong Qiang didn’t say much. He nodded and threw a firewood knife to me for self – defense.
Before leaving, we locked the wooden house and wedged a red cloth strip in the door crack.
If the door was opened, the cloth strip would fall to the ground, and we could notice it in advance.
The snow outside was calf – deep, and the cold wind made it hard to open our eyes.
Xiong Qiang led the way in front. I don’t know how long we walked, but suddenly, a whimpering sound came from all around.
Xiong Qiang immediately became alert, raised his shotgun, and said, “Don’t move. There’s something ahead!”
He seemed to have found something, fired a shot suddenly, and then chased after it. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared into the snowstorm.
Zhang Yu and I were at a loss and could only stay where we were.
Suddenly, a figure rushed out, scaring me so much that I quickly clung to Zhang Yu.
The next moment, a pine tree fell towards me without warning.
I was so frightened that I was at a loss. Fortunately, Zhang Yu reacted quickly and pushed me away immediately.
But unfortunately, one of Zhang Yu’s legs was pinned down firmly by the tree trunk.
And the next moment, the dense sound of “creaking” footsteps on the snow came from all around.
Suddenly, a group of upright – walking Shepherd Dogs surrounded us from afar.
My heart sank to the bottom. This was a trap they had set!
9
Seeing the Shepherd Dogs getting closer, Zhang Yu looked desperate and said, “A – Ruan, you go quickly!”
But I couldn’t listen to anything. I just wanted to desperately pull Zhang Yu out.
But the tree trunk was too heavy, and his leg was stuck and couldn’t be pulled out.
Suddenly, the group of Shepherd Dogs suddenly accelerated and rushed towards us.
Xiong Qiang had said that these monsters were irrational and bloodthirsty.
The pores on my body suddenly contracted, and the threat of death made me tremble uncontrollably.
The next moment, a “bang” gunshot came from behind, and a Shepherd Dog fell to the ground.
Xiong Qiang, holding a still – smoking shotgun, rushed over quickly.
“They deliberately led me away just now. By the time I realized it, you had already fallen into the trap.”
Xiong Qiang gasped, explaining as he pulled the trigger, and one Shepherd Dog after another fell.
But soon I realized something was wrong. Those fallen Shepherd Dogs didn’t bleed. It was as if they had an immortal body and quickly stood up again.
The shotgun ammunition was almost used up, and we were pushed into a desperate situation again.
Zhang Yu, who was pinned under the tree, suddenly said, “Brother Xiong, I’ll cover you. Please save Ruan Hong.”
Xiong Qiang was silent for a while. The next moment, he handed the shotgun to Zhang Yu.
Zhang Yu picked up the shotgun and continued shooting, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave.
Seeing the Shepherd Dogs getting closer, Xiong Qiang had no choice but to pick me up and run towards the wooden house.
I saw from afar that the Shepherd Dogs surrounded Zhang Yu, and the gunshots completely stopped.
After that, I was like a soulless person, letting Xiong Qiang carry me away.
I don’t know how long it took, but we finally returned to the wooden house. However, Xiong Qiang stared at the wooden door, his face gloomy.
I came to my senses a little and looked over in confusion.
I saw a red cloth strip lying on the ground.
Instantly, the hairs on my whole body stood on end, and a chill ran down my spine.
This cloth strip was wedged in the door crack before we left. If the door has been opened, the strip will fall down.
Xiong Qiang took out a hand – axe from behind his back, his face solemn.
“Something has broken into this house.”
10
My heart rose to my throat, and fear filled my whole body.
Xiong Qiang pushed the door open carefully, and I followed him in bravely.
But the next second, I was so scared by the scene in the house that I didn’t dare to breathe.
I saw a strong leopard pacing back and forth in the house, its two claws constantly scratching at a locked wooden door.
That was Xiong Qiang’s private room, and the originally shabby wooden door was about to be scratched open.
However, what surprised me the most was that a little girl’s crying came from the room:
“Daddy, where are you? Daddy, I’m so scared!”
The corner of Xiong Qiang’s eye twitched violently. He spoke in a highly nervous tone to offer comfort:”Xin’er, Daddy is here. Don’t be afraid.”
In an instant, my mind was in a turmoil. His previous words came back to my mind again:
“Your eyes are very similar to my deceased daughter’s.”
Xiong Qiang had clearly said that his daughter had died.
So, who was the girl in the room?
But I didn’t have time to think now. The leopard was staring at us viciously.
The next moment, Xiong Qiang’s burly body took a step forward. He raised the hand – axe high and roared furiously at the leopard.
The leopard hunched its body and shrank back, growling threateningly.
But Xiong Qiang didn’t show any weakness. He raised the axe and was about to chop down.
The leopard sensed the danger, dodged suddenly, and then fled towards the door.
I quickly locked the door to prevent any more wild animals from breaking in.
Xiong Qiang suddenly slumped to the ground, his forehead covered with beads of sweat the size of soybeans.
My back was also soaked with sweat. Fortunately, it was just a false alarm.
The next moment, Xiong Qiang rushed into the room, and the vague conversation between father and daughter came from inside.
After Xiong Qiang came out, he tearfully explained to me:
“My daughter has a terminal illness and won’t live through this year. She’s a dying person.
“Her body is too weak, so I’ve always let her rest in the room.”
I felt sorry for him and offered to visit his daughter.
Xiong Qiang flatly refused and locked the door again.
The flames in the wooden house’s fireplace gradually became smaller, the temperature dropped sharply, and the firewood was used up.
Xiong Qiang asked me to guard the wooden house well while he went out alone with an axe to find firewood.
I stared at the iron lock on the door, lost in thought. I always felt that he was hiding something.
The next moment, a voice that made my spine tingle suddenly came from outside the house.
“Ruan Hong, open the door quickly. It’s Zhang Yu!”
11
In an instant, the hairs on my body stood on end. Zhang Yu was clearly dead!
I saw with my own eyes that he was surrounded by those monsters.
It must be the Shepherd Dog imitating Zhang Yu’s voice, trying to trick me into opening the door.
I picked up a firewood knife and guarded the door tightly. I mustn’t let it in!
Seeing that I didn’t open the door, the monster outside suddenly became quiet.
But the next second, there was a sudden loud “boom” from the window of the wooden house.
At that time, because Zhang Yu and I found the forest ranger’s work permit, we forgot to completely seal and fix the window.
The monster outside slammed into it, and the wooden board sealing the window fell off directly.
I couldn’t help but shiver and forced myself to guard the window.
But then, I saw Zhang Yu’s embarrassed face.
I was completely stunned. Zhang Yu wasn’t dead. He was still alive!
I quickly opened the door to let Zhang Yu in and burst into tears in his arms.
Zhang Yu comforted me while explaining what had happened just now.
It turned out that after the group of Shepherd Dogs surrounded him, they didn’t attack him.
Instead, they helped him lift the tree trunk that was pressing on him, saving his life!
Zhang Yu continued with a complicated expression:
“The break surface of that tree was extremely smooth, clearly cut by a chainsaw.
“The one who wanted to harm us wasn’t those Shepherd Dogs at all.”
Zhang Yu’s words made my scalp tingle. The only one in this forest with a chainsaw was the forest ranger.
And the person who had the tools and the time to prepare, apart from Xiong Qiang, who went out to collect firewood, I really couldn’t think of anyone else.
And what Zhang Yu said next left me speechless for a long time.
“Those monsters aren’t ferocious. They’re as smart as humans.
“And they seem to be looking for something.
“Remember the Shepherd Dog that kept waving to us outside the window before?
“That action wasn’t waving at all!”
I remembered that Zhang Yu had told me about this before.
He said he suspected that it wasn’t waving but meant something else.
But at that time, Xiong Qiang happened to come back and interrupted what he was going to say.
Zhang Yu continued, “It wasn’t waving but was guiding us to look behind!”
I couldn’t help but shiver and looked behind the window. I couldn’t help but take a deep breath.
There was only a locked wooden door there, leading to Xiong Qiang’s daughter’s room.
Zhang Yu said coldly:
“What the Shepherd Dogs are looking for is behind this door!”
I was a bit stunned. Could it be that what they were looking for was Xiong Qiang’s daughter?
I quickly told Zhang Yu that Xiong Qiang’s daughter wasn’t dead but had a terminal illness.
Zhang Yu stared at the door and asked me thoughtfully:
“How can you be sure that the one inside the door is definitely Xiong Qiang’s daughter?”
12
Zhang Yu’s words were like a wake – up call to me.
He was right. Xiong Qiang never let anyone in, and I hadn’t seen his daughter with my own eyes.
And what Zhang Yu said next gave me goosebumps all over:
“I just remembered that I once heard a field photographer mention the story of the Shepherd Dogs.
“But it was so long ago that I didn’t recall it at once.
“Xiong Qiang lied to us. Those Shepherd Dogs didn’t massacre humans back then.
“They fled into the deep mountains just to resist the persecution of humans.
“Because the original purpose of creating them wasn’t to make’super – soldiers’.
“It was, in fact, to make humans achieve immortality!”
What Zhang Yu said left me shocked and speechless.
What could these monsters have to do with human immortality?
But thinking about the Shepherd Dogs that had fallen under the shotgun before and then got up again, regaining their vitality.
Maybe what Zhang Yu said was the truth!
Then, Zhang Yu continued:
“At that time, the monarch, in order to survive in the troubled times, desired immortality.
“The witch – doctors, through secret techniques, combined humans with different species and finally created this kind of monster that transcended life and death.
“They discovered that as long as the organs of the monster were transplanted into a human body.
“Humans could inherit that eternal life!
“However, these are all just legends after all.”
At this moment, I felt cold sweat on my forehead, and it felt like thousands of small insects were crawling on my back. A terrifying guess suddenly popped into my mind.
I was just about to speak when, the next moment, the crying of Xiong Qiang’s daughter suddenly came from the locked room.
“Daddy, where are you? Xin’er’s whole body hurts so much, as if something is biting me.
“Daddy, why am I feeling so bad? Daddy, I don’t want to die!”
The little girl was crying heart – rendingly, and it made me feel extremely distressed.
Maybe she was having an illness attack and needed someone to give her medicine and take care of her.
I couldn’t care less now. No matter what was in this room, I had to go in.
Zhang Yu immediately understood what I was thinking and picked up the hand – axe to smash at the lock.
But when the door was opened, I felt my hair stand on end and my scalp go numb.
There was no little girl behind the door, but a monster that was completely indescribable.
13
The scene in front of me made me unable to stop getting goosebumps.
A creature that was neither completely a dog nor completely human was wailing on the ground. Its torso was human, but its limbs were dog legs.
On its head was a delicate girl’s face, but with a long and narrow dog’s mouth, which was very abrupt.
There were black bristles growing on its spine, and the exposed skin was covered with shocking sutures.
It was like a synthetic beast made by disassembling and reassembling humans and dogs!
Next to it, there was also half a body, wearing a forest ranger’s clothes.
My heart sank to the bottom. This should be the previous forest ranger, Li Hou.
Suddenly, the synthetic beast in front of me made the little girl’s voice again:
“Big brother, big sister, have you seen my daddy?”
Maybe because of the extreme pain, after saying this, it fainted.
This made me extremely terrified. The thing in front of me wasn’t human!
I wanted to speak, but my throat was so dry that I couldn’t make a sound.
Zhang Yu was the same as me, his face deathly pale.
“Those legends are true. Xiong Qiang is conducting an immortality experiment.
“He transplanted the organs of the Shepherd Dog onto his daughter.”
Even without Zhang Yu’s explanation, I could understand Xiong Qiang’s intention.
He must have wanted to use this method to let his terminally – ill daughter continue to live.
And the thing that those Shepherd Dogs had been looking for also had an answer.
The organs Xiong Qiang transplanted were obviously from a young Shepherd Dog.
They just wanted to get back their captured child!
I felt a sense of sadness in my heart. Everything in front of me shocked me.
I reached out my hand, unable to resist the urge to stroke Xiong Qiang’s daughter.
But the next moment, the “click” sound of a shotgun being cocked suddenly came from behind.
Xiong Qiang’s cold voice came:
“With the addition of your two bodies, Xin’er’s immortal body can finally be completed!”
14
I turned around in horror. Xiong Qiang was holding a shotgun, looking at us coldly. He actually had another shotgun hidden.
“I didn’t want to hurt you at first, but you picked up something you shouldn’t have seen.
“Since you’ve discovered my secret, then become part of the secret.”
I immediately understood why the tree trunk had fallen towards us before.
It turned out that from the moment we picked up the blood – stained forest ranger’s work permit, Xiong Qiang had wanted to kill us.
At that time, the work permit fell out accidentally. Although Zhang Yu threw it into the furnace in time, it still didn’t escape Xiong Qiang’s eyes!
We were forced into a corner by Xiong Qiang’s shotgun and let him tie us up.
I glared at him. “Look at your daughter carefully. She’s neither human nor dog now.
“Even if she lives, society will hardly accept her!”
Xiong Qiang was stunned, and a sad look appeared on his face, but it disappeared quickly.
“I’m her father. I can’t just watch my child die.
“Since you already know the real use of the Shepherd Dog, I won’t hide it anymore.
“I found in ancient books a way not only to make people immortal but also to return them to normal.”
Xiong Qiang took out a small knife and placed a red wooden basin on my chest.
A strong smell of blood hit my nose. The red in the basin was actually all blood!
Xiong Qiang pressed the knife against my neck and continued:
“The reason Xin’er has become like this is that the Shepherd Dog’s organs have been resisting, that is, the so – called rejection reaction.
“But according to the ancient books, as long as the body is soaked in human blood, the organs can be assimilated.
“At that time, the Shepherd Dog characteristics on Xin’er will completely disappear!
“Unfortunately, the blood of the previous forest ranger was too little to be enough.”
After saying that, Xiong Qiang pressed the blade against my neck.
But just as he was about to slit my throat, a sudden loud “boom” came from outside the house.
15
A group of tall Shepherd Dogs suddenly rushed in and surrounded us.
There was still a strange smile on their faces, but after learning their story, I wasn’t as scared as before.
At this time, Zhang Yu said slowly: “I pulled out the nails on the window – sealing wooden board as soon as I came in.”
I immediately understood. Zhang Yu guessed that Xiong Qiang would do something to us, so he had reached an agreement with the Shepherd Dogs and let them in.
Xiong Qiang also showed a look of despair at this moment. He was powerless to change the situation.
But he suddenly put the blade on my neck again, his tone urgent.
“Don’t come any closer, or I’ll kill her!
“Today, no matter what, I’m going to save my daughter. I want her to live!”
Xiong Qiang took me as a hostage, forcing Zhang Yu and the Shepherd Dogs to back off. He held me with one hand and picked up his unconscious daughter with the other. In a blink of an eye, he retreated outside the wooden house. Then, he pushed me away violently and turned to flee into the vast snow – covered area with his daughter.
Several large Shepherd Dogs chased after him immediately, while some others stayed behind. One of the Shepherd Dogs, which seemed to be the leader, kept sniffing around the room, its nose twitching. Suddenly, it walked into the room of Xiong Qiang’s daughter and lifted one of the floorboards. The next moment, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes. There was a hidden compartment under the floor. A small Shepherd Dog was curled up and sleeping inside. Except for being very thin, it didn’t seem to have any other injuries.
Zhang Yu said slowly, “The regeneration ability of Shepherd Dogs is extremely strong. The organs that were taken away have already healed on their own.”
As soon as the small Shepherd Dog saw its clansmen, it immediately pounced on them, making a whining sound of grievance. At this time, the Shepherd Dogs that had chased Xiong Qiang came back and started communicating with the leader non – stop. Then all the Shepherd Dogs left the room and walked towards the snowy ground outside. Zhang Yu and I quickly followed them. They must have found Xiong Qiang and his daughter!
But when I saw the two of them again, I couldn’t help but gasp. Xiong Qiang was leaning his head against a pine tree. Blood was gushing out from his neck. In his arms was a little girl covered in blood, and the snow on the ground had already been dyed red. The girl in Xiong Qiang’s arms had delicate features and complete limbs, and there was no sign of the Shepherd Dog’s characteristics at all. I couldn’t help but feel my eyes moisten. Xiong Qiang had succeeded. The girl had returned to normal. He had used his own blood and life to save his daughter!
16
The snowstorm stopped. A helicopter hovered above the small house. The rescue team finally arrived. Three days ago, we found Xiong Qiang and his daughter under the pine tree. He had used his own blood to complete the final treatment for his daughter. The Shepherd Dogs had also rescued their child and returned to the depths of the mountains. Before leaving, they handed us a red backpack. It was the supply backpack we had lost before. Zhang Yu immediately found the satellite phone in it and sent out a distress signal.
After they left, Xiong Qiang’s daughter suddenly woke up and cried bitterly while hugging her father. At this time, a small Shepherd Dog suddenly emerged from somewhere. It blinked its eyes, slowly walked to Xiong Qiang’s side, and bit through its front paw with its mouth. Then, it smeared the blood from its paw on the wound on Xiong Qiang’s neck. Miraculously, the wound began to heal, and Xiong Qiang also coughed suddenly and regained his vitality.Subsequently, the little shepherd dog disappeared into the snowstorm, hopping along. Zhang Yu quickly took out the camera from the backpack and pressed the shutter towards its back.
17
Finally, the rescue team successfully brought us out of the mountains. Although Xiong Qiang had regained his life under the treatment of the Shepherd Dog’s blood, because of the serious crimes he had committed before, he accepted legal sanctions. Zhang Yu and I discussed and decided to raise Xiong Qiang’s daughter, Xin’er, together. Finally, Zhang Yu printed out the photo of the small Shepherd Dog’s back taken by the camera and placed it by the bedside. We both tacitly never mentioned the experience in the snow – capped mountains. We only hoped that those Shepherd Dogs, who were more human – like than humans, could live a peaceful life and no longer be disturbed by the outside world.
– The End –
