Chapter 381: What’s Wrong with My Fur?

Why were there two?

Xiao Yu crouched down, staring at the twitching grassland wolf in front of him with a frown.

He had personally killed one not long ago, but now two more had appeared. That made three. 

Something wasn’t right. He recalled interrogating the employees at Fierce Dogs kennel, where they had mentioned that the farm owner, Fang Hongding’s brother, had once obtained four wolf cubs. According to them, two of those cubs had died during training.

Had they really?

A cold glint flashed in Xiao Yu’s eyes. If those two wolves had never died, then it meant Fang Hongding had been raising all four grassland wolves this entire time.

Taking a slow breath, he sharpened his focus. His nose told him something else—neither of the wolves that had just attacked them were the ones responsible for the previous murders. 

Looking around the basement, he was certain that this was the place where the wolves had been trained. The deep bite marks on the five dummies’ necks made that much clear.

As he stood up, he noticed that Guo Qiang and the others were giving him strange looks. He had only killed two wolves. Was that enough for them to start looking at him like he was some kind of monster again? 

Xiao Yu sighed internally. He had gotten used to these reactions.

Life was full of unexpected surprises, just like a keyboard. At first glance, the letters on it seemed ordinary, but if you looked closer, some of them hid strange messages. Take the second row of letters on a standard keyboard—Cry after falling in love with each other. But read it backward, and you got—Pull apart the chrysanthemums, attack and defend—it’s love.

Surprising, wasn’t it?

Right now, Guo Qiang and the others were looking at him like they had just discovered some hidden message that completely changed their perception of reality. 

But did Xiao Yu care? 

Not at all. If they wanted to worship him as an idol, he’d accept it. 

Feeling amused, he turned his attention back to the dummies. He needed to figure out how Fang Hongding had trained these wolves.

The moment he stepped closer, his expression froze. He smelled something familiar—poison.

Why did the dummies smell like poison?

Leaning in, he focused on the fabric around their necks. There was no mistake, the scent was unmistakable. It was the same toxin that had been found in the bodies of Cao Xude, Lu Shun, Xing Chuyang, Gan Yuzhen, and Fang Jie. The exact same drug.

Xiao Yu’s mind spun. 

Why did Fang Hongding have this poison? Was he using it too?

No—that didn’t make sense. 

The question in his mind shattered, replaced by a new realization. 

Why did these dummies, which were labeled with each Brotherhood member’s photo, carry the exact scent of the drug? And more importantly, why had all five Brotherhood members been taking it?

His thoughts raced, piecing everything together. 

Then it clicked. The wolves hadn’t been trained to recognize faces. They had been trained to recognize scent, the scent of the drug.

His expression shifted. He finally understood why this specific drug had never circulated in Bincheng City. It was never meant for the public. It was meant for only five people.

Fang Hongding had given the poison to Xing Chuyang and Gan Yuzhen. They, in turn, had passed it on to Cao Xude, Lu Shun, and Fang Jie. 

But why? Xing Chuyang and Gan Yuzhen had clearly wanted to harm the other three, but was it possible that they had been forced into it? Had Fang Hongding threatened them? And if so, how?

Then it hit him—the murder case from 23 years ago.

That was the leverage.

Fang Hongding’s real plan was to make sure all five Brotherhood members got addicted to the drug, training the wolves to recognize its scent. That way, when the wolves were released, they would only attack those carrying that specific smell. 

It explained everything—why the wolves had been able to track their targets over long distances, why they hadn’t killed anyone by mistake, and why the poison had never spread beyond those five people.

The method was terrifyingly simple. Just release the wolves in the areas the victims frequented, let them hide, and wait. As soon as a wolf picked up the scent—wolf kill.

Every doubt in Xiao Yu’s mind was now resolved.

Suddenly, his nose twitched again. There was another scent in the air—gasoline.

His expression darkened.

Just as the realization hit him, there was a loud boom.

The heavy iron entrance to the basement slammed shut.

Xiao Yu and the three criminal investigators spun around and rushed toward it, but when they reached the exit, it was completely sealed off. Worse, gasoline was pouring down from above.

From outside, they could hear the sound of heavy objects being stacked on top of the metal plate.

Xiao Yu’s face turned ice-cold.

Someone was trying to burn them alive.

For a moment, the basement fell into eerie silence. The four officers exchanged looks, grim but calm. Then—

Flames erupted.

The gasoline ignited, and in an instant, fire engulfed the area beneath the entrance. The heat spread rapidly, licking at the walls, consuming the oxygen.

“Find another way out!” Xiao Yu barked, his voice cutting through the rising smoke.

Guo Qiang and the others immediately began searching.

“Nothing here!”

“Same!”

“Now what?!”

Staring at the roaring flames, Xiao Yu clenched his fists. There was no time to hesitate. If they didn’t act now, they would all die here.

He took a deep breath, activating every skill he had—Kodiak Bear’s Strength, Rhino’s Defense, everything. His muscles tensed as he bent his knees, ready to launch himself upward.

The floor beneath him shook violently.

Then—

Boom!

Like a human cannonball, Xiao Yu shot into the air, his body slamming into the iron plate above with immense force. The heavy objects stacked on top were blasted away as the plate buckled under his sheer power. In the midst of the flames, Xiao Yu burst through the exit, landing on solid ground.

But he didn’t stop.

Without missing a beat, he leaped back down into the basement, grabbed Guo Qiang and the others, and threw them out one by one. After making sure they were all safe, he made his final jump, escaping the inferno.

As he landed, something felt… off.

His vision seemed different. He reached up and touched his face.

His eyelashes were gone.

Blinking in confusion, he rubbed his forehead. His eyebrows were gone too.

‘Ah, this…’

What the hell happened to my fur?

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. He turned toward the road and sniffed. A van was speeding away in the distance.

Xiao Yu’s lips curled into a smirk.

“How do you think you can outrun me?”