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It was already past 5 a.m. The sky was tinged with a faint, hazy white. Shawn Young paced anxiously along the dock, searching as he went. In just one more hour, it would be the Witching Hour on Gengshen Day—the moment when the Soulhook Arrow inside Charles Morin would fully activate. If his 'living soul' was hooked then, not even a Celestial Immortal could save him!
Shawn arrived at another port on the docks, a bustling hub for commercial shipping. Goods from all over the province and beyond were traded in its open-air market. The air was thick with mingled scents of cargo. Though it was early, the dock was already crowded and lively. Trucks of all sizes packed the parking lot, and vendors had been busy since 2 a.m., hustling non-stop for hours.
As soon as Shawn entered the port, he heard a chaotic chorus of dogs barking. Turning his head, he spotted a middle-aged man in a vest, driving an electric tricycle slowly into the port with the crowd. On the back was a huge iron cage filled with scruffy mutts, all crammed together and barking in terror.
Shawn's mind raced. He hurried over, blocking the tricycle's path. The driver, seeing a young, handsome guy in front of him, hit the brakes and frowned. "Hey kid, you're blocking my way! I need to get in and grab a good spot. Don't mess up my business!" he shouted.
"Oh, don't get me wrong, Uncle. Are you here to sell these mutts at the dock?" Shawn asked directly.
"Yep! Just picked these dogs up yesterday at the country fair. Look at them—shiny coats, thick legs, lots of meat, full of spirit, real lively! Boss, do you run a restaurant? Want to buy a few mutts for some fresh dog meat?" The middle-aged man perked up, launching into his sales pitch.
"Uh—yeah, Uncle. Name your price. I'll buy every mutt you've got. How much for the whole lot?" Shawn couldn't afford to waste time.
"Huh? Boss—you want them all!?" The man's eyes lit up.
"Of course! Are you selling or not? If yes, make it quick—I'm in a hurry!" Shawn urged.
"Sell? Of course I'll sell! You look like a straightforward guy, so I'll be honest: I've got 45 mutts here—44 strong males and just one female, my own. She went into heat a few days ago and was driving me nuts with her barking. I didn't have time to find her a mate, so I just threw her in with the rest. If you really want them all, the price is ten thousand yuan, flat! That's fair—these days, the market price is around two hundred per dog!" the man declared.
"Deal! Ten thousand it is. But I don't have that much cash on me—can you haul these mutts to the dock next door? I'll get the money for you there!" Shawn said.
"Uh—okay, but I want cash," the man replied quickly after thinking it over.
"No worries, I'll withdraw it from the ATM right there!" Shawn reassured him, knowing exactly what the man was worried about.
"Great! You're a real stand-up guy, boss. Let's get moving!" The man relaxed and grinned.
So Shawn hopped onto the back of the electric tricycle, pointing out the way as the man drove the whole load of mutts to the neighboring dock. The Starlight Princess was still moored there. From a distance, Shawn spotted Helen standing at the bow, peering down. He jumped off the tricycle, waved, and shouted, "Miss Helen, could you lower the boarding ramp for me?"
Helen nodded and ducked into the cabin. Less than a minute later, the Starlight Princess had lowered its ramp. Shawn turned to the stunned man and said, "Uncle, please drive the tricycle onto the ship and unload the dogs. I'll get your money right after!"
"Oh—okay, sure!" the man agreed, quickly starting up the tricycle and driving it onto the Starlight Princess's deck.
Helen and a few pretty young crew members came out of the cabin, gathering curiously around the big iron cage of mutts. Many of the dogs were huddled in one corner, where a small iron cage separated a single all-black mutt. The rest crowded around that cage, barking wildly. The noise echoed oddly across the luxury ship.
"Uh—Mr. Shawn, what's up with these dogs? Why are they all crowding around that one?" Helen asked curiously.
Shawn shook his head; he had no idea why all those mutts were crowding around the black one. The middle-aged man came over, glanced at Helen and the other gorgeous crew members, then grinned mischievously. "Oh—that black mutt is my own little female. She's in heat right now, and all these males can smell it. Naturally, they want to... play with her."
"Play? Play what?" The pretty crew members didn't get it and couldn't help asking curiously.
"Uh—that... that... I mean, mating," the man explained awkwardly.
"Oh—" The girls gasped, faces turning red as they quickly ducked back into the cabin. Only Helen, cheeks flushed, stayed by Shawn's side.
"Uh—okay, I'm really pressed for time. Miss Helen, here's my bank card. Could you please withdraw ten thousand yuan from the ATM on the dock for this uncle?" Shawn handed her his card.
"Oh—sure!" Helen took it. Shawn leaned in and whispered in her ear, "The password is xxx—got it?"
"Mm—got it—I'll go get the money now," Helen blushed, feeling Shawn's masculine presence. Her heart raced as she turned to escort the man off the ship.
"Heh—boss, you're impressive. So many pretty women on this ship. If you want to keep up with them, remember to eat more dog meat—it's good for virility!" the man said enviously as he left, offering Shawn a 'friendly tip.'
"Uh—got it—" Shawn's face turned red as he hurried the man off the ship.
Once Helen and the man left the ship, Shawn turned to the big iron cage of mutts. Suddenly, a wicked idea popped into his head. His eyes landed on the black female, still being 'harassed' by the crowd of males. Quickly, he opened the cage, snatched up the smaller cage with the black female, closed the lid, and carried her up to the top deck of the Starlight Princess.