At the first opportunity, Qin Ming thought of dogs, beluga whales, and dolphins — some of the smarter animals found in nature.
Conditions weren't right for beluga whales and dolphins, so he started with an experiment involving a dozen or so dogs.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
"Awoo, awoo, awoo!"
A dozen dogs barked non-stop at Qin Ming, but it was a unique howl from the pack that caught his attention. When he looked over, he saw a Husky.
It had a fiery spirit and looked like a wolf, with alternating black and white fur — somewhat handsome.
In the world of dogs, it was known for its silly pride.
The Husky was part of the notorious sled-pulling trio of fools. Qin Ming thought that even with NZT, this dog's intelligence might not improve by much.
At that moment, there was still some time before the effects of the drug would kick in.
Qin Ming chuckled and turned his gaze from the Husky, looking instead at Laru, who was beside Ross.
Ross noticed Qin Ming's scrutinizing look at Laru and couldn't help but speak up.
"Dr. Qin, Laru is trustworthy," he said.
Ross thought of Laru as a qualified teammate; although often unreliable, he surely posed no issue.
Qin Ming looked toward Laru and praised, "Hey Laru, I'm very interested in your hacking skills. I've heard you're quite good."
"Is that so, Dr. Qin? I'm delighted you think so," Laru replied.
His initial joy turned into dejection as Laru lowered his head and mumbled, "It's a pity I lost my computer."
"No problem, come with me; we have many computers here," Qin Ming reassured him.
Qin Ming took Laru to a room, handed him a new laptop, and then asked:
"Laru, could you teach me your hacking skills?"
Excited to have a new computer, Laru slapped his chest and promised confidently, "Of course, no problem!"
Qin Ming began learning from Laru, and with such a top hacker as a teacher, his learning speed was incredibly fast.
Two hours later, Qin Ming had already mastered the basics of computer language and how to hack into network systems.
"Dr. Qin, your learning speed is embarrassing for me; you're going to deplete all my knowledge," Laru said.
After a glance at the countdown, knowing the drug had started to work, Qin Ming couldn't deny a smile:
"You're quite good at flattering, but for now, Laru, go take a walk with Ross. I still have things to do."
With that, he went downstairs.
Qin Ming's gaze shifted to the dog cages on the floor; at the moment, all the dozen dogs inside were lying motionless, causing Qin Ming to frown slightly as he asked Jerry, "What happened?"
"Dr. Qin, it seems they couldn't tolerate the properties of NZT; they are all dead," Jerry answered sorrowfully.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. I checked; none of the dogs are breathing."
Hearing the confirmation, Qin Ming stood in front of the dog cages, using his Telekinetic Field to examine their brains. He found that the dogs' brains had atrophied, their blood slowly coagulating in their vessels and losing vitality — they had obviously suffered brain death.
Hmm? There's one still alive.
A surge of excitement filled Qin Ming as he detected a fresh brain still coursing with blood, full of life and energy.
At a glance, it was the Husky; the Second Husky was the only dog alive.
Qin Ming found it miraculous, and upon close observation, he saw that the Husky's ears were still twitching slightly — it was clearly playing dead.
How could a Husky with such intelligence play dead?
Clearly, the dog's intelligence was enhanced by NZT, and this crude experiment still had its successful specimens.
Jerry, seeing that Dr. Qin beside him remained silent, couldn't help asking, "Dr. Qin, how should we deal with these dogs' bodies?"
Qin Ming smiled, his smile tinged with mockery.
"It's all meat, can't waste it, tell the kitchen, we're having dog hotpot tonight."
???
The Husky still lying on the ground pretending to be dead almost jumped up on the spot.
[He said dog meat, I'm going to be eaten!]
[What's hotpot, a pot that's on fire?]
It wasn't Sichuan Erha, so it couldn't understand this term, but it knew that if it continued pretending, it would end up being eaten by these humans and turned into their dinner.
[They say I'm a dog.]
[Who am I? I'm a canine animal, they are humans, and I'm a dog.]
[These people just fed me something, I feel like I understand a lot more now, I understand so much, I can understand what these people are saying.]
[Why have all the other dogs fallen down, hey, that person is looking at me, I feel very uncomfortable, so I fell down too.]
Inside, the Husky began to recall what had just happened, in order to avoid being eaten, it pretended to slowly open its eyes.
[I must not let them find out I can understand their speech.]
It pretended to be as silly as before, barking into the air.
[Why is this man looking at me, I'm just a regular dog.]
A man and a dog stared at each other, with Qin Ming giving Second Husky a deep look; he knew the dog was playing dumb.
But he had a way to make Second Husky speak for itself.
"Jerry, go out and buy a female dog, remember, pick a pretty one that appeals to a dog's aesthetic sense."
Jerry felt Dr. Qin was asking too much, "Dr. Qin, I'm not a dog, how would I know which one is pretty?"
"Take Tom with you when buying, he'll tell you."
"Who's Tom?"
Qin Ming pointed at the bewildered Husky: "From now on, he's called Tom."
[I'm called Tom.]
[The man who talked about eating dogs has given me a name, Tom.]
[That man called Dr. Qin is gone, too scary, he disappeared into something called an elevator.]
[I need to stay away from that thing, I don't want to disappear.]
[Tom sounds like a cat's name, I hate cats.]
[The man named Jerry took me to the pet shop, I remember, this is where they bought me from, he pointed and asked me to pick which dog was pretty.]
[I like that white dog, she's so white, her eyes are so bright, I can't think of other words to describe it, that's the Samoyed I've always liked, they call her Samoyed.]
[I want to lick her fur, I want to nuzzle against her butt, but I can only make woof woof woof sounds, my body limits me, I can't speak human language.]
[I got what I wished for, I got her.]
[As we left, the woman who sold dogs was smiling broadly.]
[My body has an urge, as if I could mate anytime, I want to sire offspring with her.]
[Back at the place they call the base, I started living a happy life with her, my gosh, is this heaven?]