[edited]

This dog is so humanlike. Just looking at the way it stares at them sends shivers down their spine.

“We’re all dog lovers here and were against eating dog meat,” Zhang Chao was the first to relent. “Anning, make it stop looking at me like that.” It’s so scary!”

Zheng Weili understood her friend’s feelings, but as a friend, she advised, “Anning, under normal circumstances, I would fully support you, but now is a special time, and most of the food has gone bad because of the flood. We were just quick to react and stocked up a bit, but your supply will only last six or seven months at most. We don’t know what the future holds, and the crucial point is that large dogs like this consume a lot of food. You really need to think it through.” 

Don’t regret it when you run out of food one day. By then, it’ll be too late to complain and no one will save you. 

“For me, it’s not just a dog, it’s family.” 

Jiang Ning gently comforted the uneasy Coke. “If we run out of supplies, we can find more. I won’t abandon him.” 

Zheng Weili was not one to meddle unnecessarily, as long as she thought it through. 

Bringing Coke into the house, Jiang Ning fetched some dog food from the storage space and soaked it in a goat milk. 

She got the goat milk from the supermarket. The smell was too strong for her own liking, but it suited Coke well. 

After preparing a large bowl of dog food, Coke’s shrunken belly finally expanded. 

Standing in front of the sofa, it stared fixedly at Jiang Ning without moving, tears suddenly streaming from it’s eyes. 

Without any guard up, there was only a hint of anticipation. 

With one cry, Coke broke through Jiang Ning’s defenses, who was sitting on the sofa. 

She held Coke tightly, tears were streaming down from her face as she cried out the fear, unwillingness, loneliness, and despair that had haunted her in her past life. 

The dog’s head rested on her shoulder and it’s making some whimpering sounds. 

Coke was crying too. It was as if she understood that Jiang Ning hadn’t discarded her like the previous owner had. Not only did she allow herself to be hugged, but she also provided some delicious food… 

Would it trust humans one more time?  

One person and one dog embraced and cried for a long time. 

After shedding tears, Jiang Ning no longer felt the previous confusion and fear. 

Returning to this life and stocking up on supplies, she initially just wanted to live, to live a little longer. But now things were different, not only did she want to live well and live longer, but she also wanted to protect Coke. 

Calming down, she began to examine Coke’s body. 

There were horrifying old and new wounds all over and a severe skin disease with dense patches of various skin conditions. Coke’s head was even black and it looks extremely ugly. 

Jiang Ning fed it with antibiotics, then shaved off all it’s fur with a trimmer. 

She disinfected the wounds with iodine and sprinkled Yunnan Baiyao on them. 

Without any pet medications stocked up, Jiang Ning rummaged through her medicine box and found some similar ointment. Which she gently applied to Coke. 

Coke didn’t resist but he kept on wanting to stick out his tongue to lick. 

It was so thin and now completely bald, Jiang Ning fetched her own No. 7 jersey and put it on Coke, patting its head and saying, “Once you’re fattened up, you’ll look handsome.” 

Jiang Ning wasn’t worried about her supplies. She had enough in her storage space for her and Coke to eat until they die, not to mention that there’s still the black soil garden for planting. 

The ground was damp and she doesn’t have a doghouse, so she laid down a few pieces of cardboard and fetched a sturdy, dirt resistant lazy sofa from her storage space. 

Coke understood it was its own doghouse and didn’t need to be taught. 

So soft, so comfortable, he finally had a home. 

It collapsed onto his new bed and soon fell asleep. 

Jiang Ning carried a large backpack, knocked on the door of 1801 and then gathered everyone in 1803. 

In front of everyone, she opened the heavy backpack. 

Zhang Chao and Lu Yu were shocked, counting the stack repeatedly. “One million?” 

Jiang Ning nodded. “I went out today and found it in the cashier’s room of an office building.” 

If this were before the disaster. They would have been ecstatic, but facing a thick stack of money now, they felt incredibly frustrated. “Even with money, there’s nothing to spend it on.” 

Rice had gone up to 500 yuan per catty and there was a limit of one catty per person per day and it was dried and salvaged from the water. 

It’s edible but there’s no guarantee that it won’t kill you. 

How can they spend so much money?  It’s like watching their money grow moss if they don’t use it. 

Jiang Ning gave some advice, “It’s already good that we can still buy food now, it might not be available in the future.” 

“But we can’t buy anything now,” Lu Yu asked out for information. “It’s called limited purchase, but in reality, the amount released each day is very small and many people who queue up at night still can’t buy any.” 

However, there were people selling food outside. It’s also salvaged from the water and dried but they’re already selling for 2,000 yuan per catty. 

How ironic that one million can only buy 500 catties of grain. 

“Any ideas?” 

The government is catching speculators, and they will confiscate their money if they get caught and not everyone has connections. 

“Money will only become less valuable. More and more transactions are being done through bartering. Who knows, one day money might become worthless. We need to figure out how to spend it tomorrow.” 

“If we can’t buy food, how do we spend it?” 

“We can buy whatever the department stores are selling,” Jiang Ning guided them towards reality. “It’s already October. We’re used to wear short sleeves, but now we need blankets to sleep. If this rain continues until winter, how are we going to survive?” 

The trio who are still unaware replied. “Okay, let’s go to the department store tomorrow and buy whatever we can get our hands on.” 

However, 1801 remained silent, his deep eyes revealed no emotion. 

Though he appeared to be part of the group, he was actually cold and vigilant. 

His eyes were sharp as an eagle seemingly capable of piercing through one’s heart, which made Jiang Ning uneasy. 

Leaving 1803, Jiang Ning was about to enter her home when Huo Yishen suddenly spoke up, “Jiang Ning, can I discuss something with you?” 

“Please go ahead.” 

“I used to be a special police officer, but I moved here after retiring due to injury.” 

Huo Yishen explained, “When I was on duty, I often worked with police dogs, so I have some experience in dog training. The mastiff you brought back belongs to a new breed of police dog. They not only have excellent physical fitness but also have better obedience and combat capabilities. If we can train it properly, it’s combat capabilities could rival several adults, which would benefit the 18th floor immensely.” 

Jiang Ning was surprised. She had initially speculated that he had a military or police background but witnessing him killing without hesitation dispelled that thought. He was either a professional killer or a mercenary paid to eliminate threats. 

She hadn’t expected him to be a special police officer. 

Given his explanation, he must have only retired recently. How did he manage to kill without blinking an eye? 

Her suspicions were warranted but everyone had secrets. As long as he doesn’t do anything harmful, Jiang Ning won’t pry. 

She regained her focus and asked, “What are your conditions?”