Dogs Saving the World

Tanuki

"At 5:30 am, a shrill alarm clock woke the sleeping high school student.

Claude groaned and turned over, reaching around the nightstand before remembering that he didn't have an alarm clock.

"Dog toy? Stop singing, you're off-key," he grumbled, unable to reach the dog toy. Instead, he knocked on his own head and tried to shrink into the blankets. "Let me sleep for another five minutes; I'll get up soon."

He tightened his arms, hugged the fluffy little dog, and buried his face in its soft belly. After a while, he suddenly realized something was wrong and opened his eyes abruptly, staring in horror at the dog that had appeared in his arms.

"Where did this dog come from?!"

Seeing him getting ready to get up, the dog toy stopped singing and cleared its throat, happily answering him.

"This is the Chinese native breed dog body that I made out of the meat fragments you obtained yesterday. It will be your avatar as a Dog god messenger."

Curiously, Claude reached out and touched the Chinese native breed of dog, feeling its soft and smooth fur. Apart from being excessively well-behaved, it looked like a real sleeping puppy. "How do I operate it, like using a game controller and display to control it?"

"This is just a dog's body without a soul. If you inject your spiritual power into it, it's like transferring part of your soul to the Chinese native breed dog, just like how you control your own body."

Claude nodded in understanding and picked up the Chinese native breed dog, feeling quite eager to try it out. Unfortunately, it was already close to school time, and his parents were calling him from outside the door to come and eat breakfast. He quickly hid the dog in the closet and grabbed his school uniform to run outside while putting it on.

Without his ears and tail, he didn't need to wear a hat to hide them anymore, and the pressure of school life had suddenly decreased.

After several days of not allowing him to wear a hat, the head teacher in charge of hygiene and discipline specially came to their class during morning study time to check Claude's head. After not finding any dye in his hair or earrings, she left, ruffling his hair hard before leaving: "The color has been dyed back? That's right! You're a student, why bother with all that fancy stuff!"

Claude: "..."

He sighed in frustration and ignored the snickering from his group of friends behind him. He lowered his head and continued to work on the last problem in his physics paper.

The disciplinary rules at Suo Fang High School are very strict. Claude has already advanced to his second year of high school this year, so he has to go to night school from Monday to Saturday until after 9 pm. When classes are over, it's already nighttime with a bright moon hanging in the sky above the school gate where parents are waiting to pick up their children.

Claude lives close by and is separated from the school only by a street that is less than ten meters long, so he doesn't need his parents to pick him up. Usually, he chats with his classmates on the way home. However, today he has a different task.

"Hurry up! I've sensed the hell-cat again! We can't let them stay in the human world for too long!"

Perhaps because he had been busy making the dog shell all night and was tired, the dog toy was particularly quiet and didn't seem to be constantly chirping as it had been trying to persuade him to go out at night for several days. It even gave Claude an illusion that it didn't exist at all until it suddenly screamed in his mind and gave him a fright."

"Suddenly, a scream echoed in Claude's mind, leaving him genuinely shocked.

When the bell rang, Claude swiftly gathered his bag and dashed out, passing by the head teacher carrying her lesson plan, preparing to enter the classroom.

"[Hellcats are contagious,]" the dog toy's voice was solemn.

"[If they come into contact with ordinary cats, those cats will also become hellcats. Though not as strong as true hellcats, in large numbers, they pose a significant danger. Moreover, they cannot enter hell, leaving them trapped once infected.]"

After absorbing the warnings about Hellcats, Claude arrives home, perspiring heavily. Ignoring his parents, he rushed to his room and retrieved the raccoon dog from the closet.

"How do I inject my spiritual power?"

"[Close your eyes,]" instructed the dog toy.

Claude obeyed, closing his eyes. Suddenly, a cold wind swept over his head, as if a mist of cool wind oil had sprayed over him. His body went numb, and upon reopening his eyes, he couldn't help but yelp.

"Woof, woof, cough, cough, woof!" After several attempts, the raccoon dog spoke in human language, "This dog's form is so strange; I can't even walk anymore, woof."

"[The raccoon dog has a human form. If it's inconvenient, you can transform into a human,]" the dog toy explained.

With those words, the raccoon dog leaped forward, rapidly changing shape. Claude, gazing into the nearby mirror, was astonished at his new appearance.

His caramel-light brown skin complemented his pale blue dog-like eyes, casting a mysterious air. His black hair, slightly disheveled, displayed streaks of gray and white, creating the semblance of a rebellious, uniquely beautiful creature. His round, almond-shaped eyes softened his otherwise fierce countenance.

"This beauty could debut directly in the entertainment industry," Claude exclaimed, "It's so stunning, Wang."

"[Don't admire it, focus on the task!]" urged the dog toy.

Claude nodded, retrieving his black clothes and pants. He then directed his real body to lie down on the bed.

Controlling two bodies simultaneously felt a bit like multitasking, but he managed by concentrating on one at a time.

"Since I'm a raccoon dog, I'll name myself Li Hua from now on," he declared with enthusiasm, naming his form. He grabbed a small water gun from the cabinet, intending to jump out the window. "This will differentiate me from my main body, reducing the chances of exposure."

"Wait, don't take the holy water," the dog toy interjected. "[You need to rely on your own strength to fight the Hellcat now.]"

Claude hesitated momentarily, to inquire about the dog toy's powers. As the thought crossed his mind, ten sharp steel claws extended from his fingertips, glinting menacingly. He lightly scratched the table, leaving a deep groove several centimeters long.

"Wow," he retracted his hand, the steel claws disappearing instantly. Then, extending them again, resembling a dog's retractable nails, he mused, "Will airport security stop me for carrying dangerous goods when I fly in this way?"

These questions earned Claude a speechless reaction from the dog toy, who chose to ignore them altogether.

Although lacking the magical abilities of the god's soul fragments, this body, fused with the god of dogs' flesh fragments, possessed formidable combat strength. It sported golden claws, scaled walls and ceilings, and came with the inherent talents of the Chinese raccoon dog.

"Bouncing off walls, this dog can employ agility skill," Claude tested by leaping, accidentally bumping his head on the ceiling, prompting a yelp. "What's that skill?"

"[Talent Technique - Mouse catching skills. You'll successfully catch any mouse you encounter, 100% of the time,]" the dog toy stated seriously.

After this revelation, it fell silent, evidently expecting praise for this gifted skill.

Changing the subject, Claude inquired, "Shouldn't we go expel the Hellcat? Can you sense its location again?"

"The situation was urgent, prompting the dog toy to swiftly project a panoramic view of Suo fang city into Claude's mind. Four or five red dots marked the locations of Hellcats.

"So many?" Claude was startled and didn't linger for conversation. He opened the window and leaped down, gracefully landing on the air conditioning unit below the building's bottom. Hopping between floors, he swiftly vanished into the night.

Each leap covered tens of meters, and wherever he aimed, he landed with precision. The midnight breeze seemingly buoyed his body, allowing him to move unhindered through the air. Claude couldn't resist cheering.

"Dog-man, transform into a dog!"

A cat landed noiselessly, its claws ready to strike a passerby. With a swift stroke, Claude's metal claw cut the back of its neck, dispersing the cat into lead-gray mist before it could attack.

Claude tightened his metal claws, contemplating for a moment.

"These Hell Cats will return to Hell automatically if dispersed in their human forms; they only perish if their true forms are vanquished," clarified the dog toy.

"Not all Hell Cats are easily defeated. The Hell Gate permits only weak soldiers to infiltrate the world.

Strengthen yourself quickly; stronger Hell Cats will challenge your current abilities," warned the dog toy.

"Will my mission end when the Dog God destroys the true form of the Hell Cat?" Claude inquired curiously.

The dog toy remained silent.

It wasn't until Claude roamed the town, dispelling all the Hellcats, rescuing a near-victim, and returning to the streetlight that the dog toy spoke up slowly.

"While the chance of acquiring the Dog God fragment is slim, dispelling Hell Cats contaminated by the Dog God's power will gradually augment your strength."

Sensing the dog toy's reluctance to address his prior query, Claude let it be. He followed its lead and questioned, "Will my ionization power also amplify?"

"Not just ionization, but your mental prowess too. You've stayed up all night yet feel no fatigue. Isn't that peculiar?" the dog toy pointed out.

"Usually wide awake during my late-night phone sessions," Claude mused, comprehending the implication. Observing the sunrise, he leaped back onto his balcony and entered through the window. "This is convenient; at least I won't doze off in class."

Reverting to a puppy form, Claude's consciousness returned fully. After stowing the puppy in the closet, laundering his black clothes, and hanging them out to dry, he reclined to catch up on sleep.

He sensed this routine might become his new normal for a while.