Chapter 7: The Gift Ends

"You… who are you really? Why did you ruin my plans and still insist on killing me?" Chen Dong's voice carried a mix of despair and anger. He knew his only chance lay in figuring out this person's identity, hoping for some leverage.

Grayson leaned in close, a dark smile on his face. "Who am I? Come on, Dong-ge, we're old friends, aren't we? You sent Ding Lang to my place to search for something but came up empty, didn't you? Don't worry. From now on, you won't need to look for anything ever again."

Grayson whispered these words into Chen Dong's ear and then mimicked a throat-slitting motion with his hand.

Before Chen Dong could react, Wolfy leapt forward, its razor-sharp claws effortlessly tearing through the throat of the man who had ruled Still City for years.

Even in his final moments, Chen Dong's mind was unusually clear. With terror in his eyes, he stretched out a hand and tried to point at Grayson, as if to say something. But it was too late. The cut to his throat left him voiceless as his consciousness dimmed, and he crumpled to the ground.

"Take care of this mess, you two. I'll be leaving now," Grayson said to Wei Fengxia and her father. Though he felt a strong urge to reconnect with Fengxia, now wasn't the time. The elderly man accompanying Chen Dong earlier was clearly connected to a larger force. Grayson wasn't naive enough to think this was the end of the line.

To him, it was obvious that the old man was merely part of a larger network. He needed to stay hidden, uncover the rest, and eliminate them all to ensure his own safety.

He also needed time—time to raise the monsters under his control and quickly level up the Monster Master System.

Grayson believed that the system's locked abilities—Refine, Devour, and Extract—would make him even stronger once unlocked. He had to activate them as soon as possible.

Fengxia and her father seemed ready to ask him something, but before they could speak, Grayson vanished out of the villa window.

"Dad, what do we do now?" Fengxia asked hesitantly, looking at the bloody scene.

Wei Da Qiang, unfazed by the carnage, let out a cold laugh. As the northern underworld's overlord, his resolve was ironclad. He pulled out his phone and gave concise orders.

A moment later, several burly men arrived.

"Boss, what should we do with the bodies?" one of them asked. There were so many corpses that handling them poorly could easily cause problems. The ongoing unrest in the northern regions meant the authorities were on high alert. Any mistakes now could spell disaster.

Wei Da Qiang sneered. "Chop them up and feed them to the fish."

The men nodded and got to work immediately.

....

Meanwhile, Grayson returned home and excitedly opened his pet's stats page.

Monster Name: Wolfy

Quality: One-Star

Level: 1

Stamina: 17

Strength: 12

Speed: 12

Intelligence: 3

Talent: Tracking (LV2)

Skills: None

Potential: 1.6

Grayson was thrilled. He initially thought Chen Dong would only provide about 4 experience points, but to his surprise, Chen Dong counted as a mini-boss and granted a whopping 20 points. This pushed Wolfy up a level.

What pleased Grayson even more was Wolfy's combat prowess.

Although none of the people Wolfy fought that night were highly trained martial artists, it was still impressive. Based purely on stats, Wolfy wasn't significantly stronger than Chen Dong's bodyguards. Yet, for Wolfy, killing had become instinct—a natural-born fighter.

Grayson, however, felt a tinge of regret. Wolfy had no battle-oriented skills and only a basic talent for tracking. Still, he considered himself lucky. A mutant monster created after only a few fusions? That was excellent progress.

....

Three days later, dressed in a security guard's uniform, Grayson reported for duty at the Emperor's Garden complex.

"Not bad, you've got the right look. By the way, Grayson Hawk, with your skills, we've decided to make you a squad leader. You'll be in charge of night patrols. What do you think?" said a middle-aged man with an air of authority.

Though his position didn't require him to consult with Grayson, as a martial artist, he couldn't help but respect skilled individuals.

Grayson wasn't one to refuse. "No problem. When do I start?"

The man handed him a schedule. "You begin tomorrow. Arrive at 5 p.m. to take over the shift. Patrols start at 9 p.m., rotating every two hours."

Grayson nodded, familiarized himself with the patrol routes and blind spots, then left the complex.

Once home, he couldn't wait to fire up his computer. He captured two more wolf pups and fused them, increasing Wolfie's potential to 1.8.

After the fusion, the system spoke again.

"The five guaranteed-success fusions have been used. Fusion success rates are now back to normal."

Grayson's heart sank but quickly recovered.

He had always found it odd that every fusion had succeeded so far, despite the system's description saying failures would grant experience. Now it made sense—he had been given five guaranteed fusions as a bonus.

Sighing, Grayson acknowledged that the system was mysterious and required plenty of experimentation. He had his work cut out for him.

Another annoyance was that after each fusion, Wolfy's experience reset, dropping its level to zero and stats to base levels. Yet Wolfy didn't seem to mind, wagging its tail excitedly and barking at Grayson.

"Fine, I'll take things as they come," Grayson muttered, deciding to take a stroll.

Grayson wandered around Pinghu Lake, enjoying its scenic beauty. Although urban development had taken its toll, the area still retained much of its charm.

"Hey, young man, where did you get this pup? It's got great features," said a sophisticated-looking woman, eyeing Wolfy with delight.

Grayson chuckled. "Big sister, this isn't a dog—it's a wolf pup."

He ruffled Wolfy's head affectionately as it let out a soft growl.

"Awwooo…"

The woman looked skeptical. "Come on, who are you kidding? Wolves don't get this friendly."

Grayson shook his head and pointed to Wolfy's tail. "It really is a wolf. Look at its tail. Wolfy, wag your tail!"

Obediently, Wolfy wagged its tail, sweeping up a small cloud of dust like a makeshift broom.

Let me know if you'd like more refinements!