**Chapter Four: The Beginning (Part 1)**

  ...It hurts, it really hurts!

  "Ugh..." Lin Tao felt as though his entire body had been shattered. Even with his strong willpower, he couldn’t help but groan in pain.

  Slowly, he opened his eyes, which felt as heavy as if they weighed a thousand pounds. The first thing he saw wasn’t the sky or the trees, but a massive dog’s head. The dog’s head was covered in dried blood, and its long tongue was happily licking Lin Tao’s face, making loud, slobbery noises.

  "Get off me, Michael! Your breath stinks!" Lin Tao weakly pushed away the Hellhound, which now only had one head left. He struggled to sit up, his body wracked with pain. His head felt like it had thirty helicopters taking off inside, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

  "What time is it, Michael?" Lin Tao asked, rubbing his head. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his head injury, but he found himself asking the dog for the time.

  "Looks like it’s almost noon," the dog replied. Incredibly, the dog spoke in perfect English with a Texan accent. It licked the drool from its mouth and patted its belly in a very human-like manner. "Master, I’m starving. I need to go find something to eat."

  Lin Tao pulled a few crimson-colored capsules from his pocket and swallowed them. He grimaced. "Tastes awful... Are you okay with only one head now?"

  The red Hellhound, named Michael, lifted a hind leg as thick as a human arm and scratched where its other head used to be. It shook its head, looking somewhat confused but otherwise fine. "Seems like I’m okay. I’m doing great! I just might be at a bit of a disadvantage in fights now."

  "You’re doing great? I thought you were dead st night!" Lin Tao said, gently massaging his abdomen.

  "Haha! That was just a trick, wasn’t it? You taught me that! That damn skinwalker had me pinned, so I had to py dead. If I hadn’t sacrificed one of my heads and pretended to die, those little bastards would’ve finished me off!" Michael wagged his tail proudly, looking every bit like a smug human.

  Used to Michael’s arrogance, Lin Tao shook his head helplessly. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and frowned. "Where are we? Did the zombie horde pass?"

  "Roar~ Master, I almost forgot! Last night, those bastards led a massive zombie horde here. If I hadn’t carried you and run for our lives, we’d both be fertilizer in this jungle by now!" Michael wagged his tail proudly but then added curiously, "But Master, I don’t get it. Why didn’t those zombies attack the vampires? They just walked around them like they were avoiding dog poop!"

  "I don’t know either," Lin Tao said, shaking his head slowly. This was the one thing he couldn’t figure out. Last night, the vampires had walked calmly among the zombies, completely unharmed, while the horde had turned its fury on Lin Tao and his companions.

  "Oh, Master! I found something good on Grasso’s body. It should be the target of our mission!" Michael’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he happily spat out a shiny gold watch. But then his dog face turned red, and he added sheepishly, "Wait, no, not that. This is it! Hehe~ Grasso’s dead, so his watch shouldn’t go to waste!"

  With that, Michael spat out a shiny silver metal block. He picked it up with his mouth and handed it to Lin Tao with a fawning smile. Lin Tao frowned as he took the metal block. It was cube-shaped, about the size of a small Rubik’s Cube, but it had no seams. Instead, it was covered in intricate bck patterns that resembled tribal totems.

  Lin Tao studied the cube for a while but couldn’t make sense of it. Meanwhile, Michael was getting impatient. "Master, my stomach’s about to colpse from hunger. Can I go find something to eat?"

  "Go ahead. I need to rest and let the medicine take effect. But don’t go too far. I can’t defend myself right now," Lin Tao said, putting the cube in his pocket and leaning against a tree to rest.

  Michael dashed off excitedly, and soon the forest was filled with the sounds of chaos—birds squawking, animals roaring. Half an hour ter, Michael returned, dragging a brown bear that was at least two to three meters tall. Strangely, the bear seemed to be only knocked out, still breathing heavily.

  Lin Tao opened one eye and saw Michael dragging the entire bear. He immediately scolded, "You idiot! I told you to hunt, not bring back a whole bear! Can you even eat all that?"

  Michael let go of the bear’s paw, which he had been drooling over, and said defensively, "I thought you were injured and needed something nutritious to recover! Bear gallbdder can cure all kinds of illnesses. Otherwise, why would I go through all the trouble to catch this big guy? Master, you’ve got to understand me!"

  Lin Tao rolled his eyes, his face full of disdain. "Don’t act all righteous. I know you too well. You’ve been asking me if there are bears in Russia since before we got here. You just wanted to eat bear paws, didn’t you?"

  Michael, caught in his lie, grinned sheepishly. "Hehe, isn’t it the same? You eat the gallbdder, and I’ll eat the paws. We’ll share the bounty, Master!"

  "Stop acting so noble. Fine, fine. I’ll rest a bit longer. You handle the bear," Lin Tao said, closing his eyes again.

  "Haha, fresh roasted bear paws coming up!" Michael cheered, pouncing on the bear and biting through its neck in one swift motion. The bear, which had been unconscious, twitched a few times and died without a sound.

  With blood dripping from his mouth, Michael took a deep breath, and his slightly shrunken belly expanded several times. He opened his mouth and spewed a two-meter-long fme, instantly engulfing the bear’s body. Soon, the smell of roasting meat filled the air.

  An hour ter, both man and dog had eaten their fill. The pills Lin Tao had taken earlier were clearly medicinal, as he was now able to move freely, though he was still somewhat weak.

  Unable to bury his fallen comrades, Lin Tao lit three cigarettes and stuck them in the sand. He bowed deeply three times in the direction of st night’s battle, his heart heavy with grief.

  "Burp..." Michael let out a loud belch and wobbled over, using a shiny cw to pick his teeth. He zily asked, "What do we do now?"

  Lin Tao pulled out a military GPS device. Fortunately, it hadn’t been damaged in the fight. After checking their location, he said, "We’ll head west for about fifty kilometers. Someone should be there to meet us."

  "Oh, my dog! Fifty kilometers? Don’t you know my delicate legs hate walking?" Michael compined, though he had no choice but to follow Lin Tao, his belly swollen from eating half a bear. He didn’t want to stay in this damned forest and turn into a wild Hellhound, even if there were delicious bear paws here.

  ...

  "Master, when we get back, can we move out of that hellhole in Texas? We could get a big house and raise a few hundred female poodles. Hmm, actually, I like golden retrievers too. Their bloodline might not be as pure, but they don’t have that icy arrogance of poodles. But no Saint Bernards—I don’t like big, fat dogs. I prefer ones with hot bodies. Hehe~ How about you find me a few beauties instead..."

  Michael had been chattering nonstop for hours, following Lin Tao like a machine gun. Lin Tao, used to it, ignored him completely. But suddenly, Michael stopped talking and stood still, his ears twitching.

  "What’s wrong?" Lin Tao asked, stopping as well. He knew the only things that could shut Michael up were food, female dogs, or enemies.

  "A helicopter just nded about fifteen kilometers ahead. Not sure how many people are there," Michael said, tilting his head and speaking seriously.

  Lin Tao, whose watch had been broken in the fight, looked up at the sky and estimated the time. "Judging by the direction, it should be our backup. But why are they five hours early? Whatever. Michael, stop babbling and keep an eye on our surroundings."

  Michael nodded, grinning. "Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered. If even a fly passes by, I’ll tell you if it’s male or female!"