Chapter 3: Keeping a Werewolf

Chapter 3: Keeping a Werewolf

After Jiang Yi left, Ke Lin stayed where he was, gazing at the door, his thick, fluffy wolf tail drooping low.

The sounds around him gradually faded. He was indeed tired and hungry, but the new environment and his new master kept him in a state of subtle tension. He had no appetite and didn't dare to close his eyes.

He hadn't been sold to an underground fighting pit or sent to a laboratory. He hadn't even become a bodyguard or laborer—the most common jobs for werewolves. Instead, he had become an Esper's pet.

Clearly, his new master was an Esper who could perceive his thoughts.

Perhaps this Esper had a peculiar hobby of keeping werewolves as pets.

At this thought, Ke Lin's heart tightened. He slowly sank down onto the carpet in front of the sofa, curling his long tail around himself in a circle, and continued to gaze at the door, quietly waiting for his master to return.

East District, Bar Street.

At the end of the street, there was a newly opened bar called "Midnight." This establishment lacked heart-pounding music or a dazzling dance floor. Under dim, intimate lighting, the resident singer passionately belted out classic songs from the last century.

Behind the bar stood a young bartender with neat, short hair that revealed handsome, clean-cut features. He wore a loose, dark green shirt with the top two buttons undone, looking both stylish and laid-back.

This bartender was Jiang Yi.

After settling in, Jiang Yi had contacted Pei Xiucheng using the card he'd been given and decided to work temporarily at the bar. After tasting the drinks Jiang Yi mixed, Pei Xiucheng immediately hired him as a bartender.

"Boss, your Penicillin." Jiang Yi slid a freshly mixed drink across the counter.

"Thank you." Pei Xiucheng took the glass, took a sip, and savored the classic peaty smokiness intertwined with spiciness, sweetness, and sourness—a rich, contradictory yet harmonious flavor profile.

"Your skills are getting better and better," Pei Xiucheng praised.

"Thank you. If you're willing to give me a raise, I'd be even more touched," Jiang Yi replied with a smile.

Pei Xiucheng was a wealthy second-generation heir who opened the bar not for profit but as a hobby. He spared no expense on the base spirits, so the cocktails naturally tasted better than the cheap ones elsewhere.

"Fair enough. Having some trouble lately?" Pei Xiucheng asked, as Jiang Yi had just asked for an advance on his salary that afternoon.

"No, I just got myself a pet," Jiang Yi answered.

"What kind of pet? A cat? A dog? Never figured you for the caring type," Pei Xiucheng said, looking somewhat interested.

Not obvious? Jiang Yi smiled inwardly. He had emptied his wallet at the secondhand market to buy a werewolf about to have its tail severed—that could be called exceptionally caring.

"It's a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Pei Xiucheng looked surprised. "Werewolves are savage and ferocious. There are often news reports about wild wolves attacking civilians. Who would buy a werewolf as a pet?"

Jiang Yi thought of Ke Lin, tense and stiff all over, yet obediently letting him blow-dry his fur.

Dangerous? Quite well-behaved.

"You seem quite afraid of werewolves," Jiang Yi remarked casually while wiping a glass.

"Alright, I was attacked by a wild wolf when I was young. But it's undeniable that werewolves are indeed dangerous. Their claws can tear off your arm, and their fangs can puncture your carotid artery," Pei Xiucheng said, deliberately using a terrifying tone.

Jiang Yi remained unmoved and stated objectively, "There's the Restraint Collar."

"By the way, I also keep a Minority Race as a pet—a Treeling," Pei Xiucheng said, pulling up a video on his communicator to show Jiang Yi.

In the video, the Treeling was less than half a meter tall, with branch-like limbs and a trunk. Its two short legs scurried around the living room. "When he's happy, little flowers bloom on his head. Cute, right?"

Jiang Yi looked at the green little creature in the video. Since people have different tastes in pets, there wasn't much point discussing it. He gave a slight smile, "Quite cute."

Jiang Yi noticed the Treeling constantly making sounds with its mouth, "What is it saying?"

"This is their own language. I've been studying it recently," Pei Xiucheng said.

"Does every Minority Race have its own language?"

"Generally, yes. But races like Treelings and Stone People are considered low-intelligence among minority races. It's difficult for them to learn human language. However, high-intelligence races like werewolves and mermaids not only have their own unique ways of communication but can also learn our language." As he spoke, Pei Xiucheng joked, "Are you living under a rock? Even elementary school students know such basic things."

"Sorry, I got hit in the head recently," Jiang Yi pointed to his head with a shrug.

At two in the morning, Jiang Yi returned to the apartment.

After a few hours, he was somewhat looking forward to seeing the werewolf.

Opening the door, the room was in total darkness. The werewolf's two eyes looked over, like a pair of searchlights, startling Jiang Yi.

Jiang Yi turned on a night light and saw the werewolf sitting on the carpet, "You're still up?"

Ke Lin nodded.

Jiang Yi wasn't sure if Ke Lin meant he hadn't slept at all or had been woken up. He walked over and touched Ke Lin's ear, trying to read his mind.

Ears and tails are sensitive areas for werewolves. Ke Lin instinctively dodged, but after noticing his master's hand missed, he controlled himself and moved his ear closer to Jiang Yi's hand.

Jiang Yi sensed the thought: "Welcome home, Master."

Jiang Yi took his hand away. Ke Lin looked up at him, his golden pupils particularly bright in the night, his vulnerable neck adorned with a black collar that could deliver a shock at any time.

His werewolf was really making an effort to be a good pet.

"What a good boy, Ke Lin," Jiang Yi smiled.

Hearing his master's praise, Ke Lin's brownish-yellow tail wagged gently.

Jiang Yi opened the refrigerator and glanced inside, "Just as I thought, you haven't eaten."

He took out two boxes of artificial nutritional meals and placed them on the dining table, "Come here, have a little something to tide you over."

After sitting down, Jiang Yi saw Ke Lin approach. Instead of sitting opposite him, Ke Lin hesitated and settled at his feet, his furry ears within reach.

Ke Lin wasn't sure how a pet should eat.

All he could do was try to be a good pet based on his limited understanding.

"Sit opposite me. From now on, eat at the table," Jiang Yi said.

With his master's instruction, Ke Lin dutifully sat opposite him.

Inside the containers were two white rice balls. Due to cosmic radiation, many crops grown outside protective shields were unsafe to eat, so the government began promoting artificial food. Artificial food is formulated to the most scientifically balanced nutritional ratios, is low-cost, and comes in various forms like liquid, solid, and semi-solid. The downside is its monotonous taste, which isn't very appetizing.

Of course, naturally grown ingredients still exist, but they must be cultivated under radiation-protected conditions, which drives up costs and makes them very expensive.

The next day, Jiang Yi slept until nine in the morning. Since arriving here, his biological clock had completely changed—sleeping late at night and waking up close to noon.

Today, because there was a new "roommate" at home, Jiang Yi woke up a bit earlier than usual.

He walked to the living room. Ke Lin was already awake, and the blanket was neatly folded on the sofa.

There was only one bedroom in the apartment. Last night, Jiang Yi had originally intended for Ke Lin to sleep on the sofa, but seeing the six-foot-tall werewolf curled up on the narrow couch seemed rather cramped. Since it was summer, sleeping on the floor wouldn’t cause a chill, so Jiang Yi brought over a pillow and a light summer blanket, letting the werewolf sleep on the carpet for the time being.

After a simple breakfast, Jiang Yi walked over to the computer in the bedroom and began looking up info on werewolves.

When he first arrived here, what caught his attention were the cosmic radiation and the ever-present protective shields. Now that he had a werewolf at home, he felt it necessary to learn more about it.

Online, there were indeed some news reports about werewolves threatening human society, but they weren’t as terrifying as Pei Xiucheng had described.

According to federal regulations, werewolves must wear a Restraint Collar when going outside. If found without one, they would be immediately arrested.

The information showed that wild wolves could freely transform between werewolf and full-wolf forms. Most attacks on humans occurred in the full-wolf form, where werewolves were virtually no different from wild beasts. However, most werewolves had lost their ability to transform due to genetic degradation.

Jiang Yi vaguely sensed that some among the wild wolves had already stood against the Federation.

"Ding dong."

The doorbell rang.

Jiang Yi opened the door to find the apartment manager, whom he had met when he moved in.

"Hello, sir. Security footage shows that you brought back a werewolf. According to the Minority Race Management Regulations, if a minority race wishes to reside in a residential area, someone must vouch for them and get them registered."

"Alright, do I do that with you?" Jiang Yi asked. He had indeed come across this regulation while researching earlier.

"Sir, you'll have to go to the Minority Race Management Office. The address is 299 Laifeng Street."

"Okay, thank you. I’ll take him there."

Jiang Yi closed the door and looked at Ke Lin. "Looks like we have to go out."

Ke Lin nodded, then glanced at his own backside.

Since there was no opening in the back of his pants, his tail was still stuck awkwardly outside, leaving his pants in a state of barely hanging on.

Jiang Yi patted his forehead; he'd forgotten all about that. He should've borrowed a pair of scissors from the bar.

"Otherwise... should I get you a jacket?"

Since his master’s words were phrased as a question, Ke Lin worked up the nerve to shake his head. He tugged the pants forward and gestured with his nails along the seam.

Werewolf nails were black, sharp, and pointed. Jiang Yi understood Ke Lin’s meaning and said, "Go ahead."

In the next moment, Ke Lin easily tore a fist-sized hole in the sweatpants with his nails, just large enough for his tail to pass through.

Finally able to pull up his pants properly, Ke Lin gave a happy wag of his tail.

Jiang Yi was speechless. The werewolf could have torn his pants open last night, but because he had told him to endure it, Ke Lin had remained uncomfortable until now.

Werewolves had innate advantages in physical strength and combat ability. No wonder the Federation, while accepting them, remained highly vigilant.

"Can you transform into your full-wolf form?" Jiang Yi placed his hand on Ke Lin’s arm and sensed his response: "No."

"Why not?"

"I don’t know."

Jiang Yi lowered his hand. Well, perhaps Ke Lin was one of those experiencing genetic degradation.

Since werewolf toenails were also quite long, wearing shoes or socks was impossible. However, Jiang Yi couldn’t accept Ke Lin walking barefoot outside, so he had him wear slippers when they left.

Author’s Note:

Jiang Yi: Sooner or later, I’ll trim his nails.

Ke Lin: Feels a chill down his spine.