Chapter 32: I Am Afraid of Losing My Dog

This meal proved highly beneficial for Zhou Mo, during which Xia An provided him with a wealth of knowledge regarding subconscious monsters. It must be said that while Xia An may only possess a modest degree of cleverness, she is undeniably experienced when it comes to dealing with these entities. A blank slate, Zhou Mo absorbed information like a sponge, devouring a significant amount over the course of the meal.

It was only when Zhou Mo noticed the sky had darkened that he hurriedly brought the meal to an end. Primarily, he suspected the "dog brain" at home was reaching its limit. Although Zhou Mo remained clueless about how these brains functioned, he was well aware of the destructive potential of a husky. The fact that the mere thought of this brain could evoke memories of a husky’s chaos was proof enough of the creature's terrifying nature.

When Zhou Mo returned home with a leash in hand, he found the dog brain, which had escaped its confinement, frolicking about the room. Miraculously, the refrigerator remained sealed with tape. As soon as Zhou Mo opened the door, the dog brain lunged at him like a madman, scrambling up his body.

"Damn it!" Zhou Mo yelped, suppressing his physical discomfort as he tried to grab the giant cockroach-like creature, but he was no match for its speed.

Thump!

Brother Brain, unable to watch any longer, flipped open his skull cap and jumped out, using an eyeball to help Zhou Mo escape the predicament.

Zhou Mo shivered and rubbed his arm. "This really tests one’s mental fortitude. Does this pathetic thing have any concept of its own image?"

Subdued by the glare of the eyeball, the dog brain finally behaved, trembling as it hid behind Zhou Mo’s shoe, extending two eyes to watch Brother Brain hop onto the bed and begin digging a hole.

Zhou Mo checked the time; it was nearly 11:00 PM. He pulled the leash from behind his back and dangled it in front of the dog brain. "Let's go. I promised to take you out."

The hyperactive dog brain froze, staring at the leash. After a long moment, it tilted its eyes up at Zhou Mo, the expression clearly conveying: *Are you serious?*

Below on the pillow, where Brother Brain was busy digging, his eight short legs twitched. He had nearly jumped out of his skin the moment Zhou Mo walked into the pet shop to buy the leash.

Zhou Mo, sporting his two hollow eye sockets, nodded solemnly. "I refuse to walk you unless you wear this."

The dog brain finally realized that the most absurd thing in this rental apartment wasn't the brains themselves, but the brainless man standing before them. Brother Brain lay on the pillow, his body convulsing as he rolled back and forth, his eyes pounding the pillow while crystalline tears welled up. The idea of "walking a brain" was beyond even Brother Brain’s imagination; he never expected Zhou Mo to go so far as to put one on a leash.

Of course, this wasn't entirely due to Zhou Mo’s wild imagination; it was mostly because the dog brain had shown a tendency to bolt at the first opportunity. To be safe, Zhou Mo didn't want to let the brain run wild and cause a major scandal. Under the dog brain's bewildered gaze, Zhou Mo used an eccentric tying method to secure the leash firmly to the creature.

Zhou Mo looked back at Brother Brain, who was still rolling on the bed, and asked, "Are you coming with me, Brother Brain?"

Brother Brain waved an eyeball: *Too full, sleepy.*

"Fine then." Zhou Mo considered that it was late and no one would likely pay him any mind, so he simply put on his sunglasses, tucked the dog brain into his arms, and headed out.

Because of the recent major incident in the old residential complex, few people ventured out at night. Even the old caretaker had recently taken leave to go home and rest. In any case, the security provided by an eighty-year-old man was negligible, so everyone simply turned a blind eye.

Zhou Mo chose a secluded, deserted path, eventually reaching a small park by the river levee. Only then did he release the dog brain from his clothes and attach the leash. The dog brain looked at the leash with visible annoyance, but after a glance at Zhou Mo, it simply went back to darting through the bushes by the riverbank.

As he walked the brain, Zhou Mo contemplated his next move. Of the three files Xia An had given him, the one Zhou Mo was most concerned with was the urban legend about the news broadcast room. Although it seemed the most mundane and insignificant of the files, he had an intuition that it was directly linked to the murderer.

*The Brain-Eating Demon must have acquired some of Liu Tianyou’s research, giving them an understanding of subconscious monsters that exceeds official knowledge.*

*Liao Feng was terrified when possessed by the subconscious monster; it was clearly involuntary. That giant bat must have been controlled by someone to silence him.*

*I suspect Liao Feng would have died even if Brother Brain hadn't intervened.*

*Liao Feng’s giant bat and Zhang Shuo’s hound—these are clearly research results unknown to the authorities...*

What were these people doing with so many brains? Zhou Mo felt it couldn't be that simple. Such technology and research could easily be traded for endless wealth and influence, even if the research was stolen. Could they be like him? Needing to constantly switch brains? Or was it some idle cult using the brains of smart people to perform rituals to destroy the world? That seemed too ridiculous.

Toying with the leash, he felt that unraveling these secrets required starting with Liu Tianyou. Whether it was the events happening to Zhou Mo himself or the things he had come into contact with, everything seemed to revolve around Liu Tianyou. He was the vortex at the center of the mystery.

Recalling the memory Brother Brain had given him, Zhou Mo frowned slightly. "What exactly was Liu Tianyou experimenting with in his final moments?"

"Is the resurrection of the brain my own doing, or did Liu Tianyou have a hand in it?"

The more he thought about it, the more Zhou Mo felt the Brain-Eating Demon wasn't as simple as he imagined; this was definitely not some ordinary, perverted serial killer. He feared this secret was inextricably linked to his own current state.

"Tsk..."

"It feels like finding my brain is getting harder and harder. It probably won't be easy to do on my own..."

"I’ll probably need the help of the City Guard, but the problem is I’m not even a detective trainee yet. I have to get my license before they’ll cooperate with me..."

"I remember Xia An saying you need a few case signatures to get the license. Does this mean I need to find a way to pad my record?"

Zhou Mo reached up to scratch his empty skull, but just then, he felt the dog brain pull hard on the leash behind him.

Zhou Mo turned around in confusion, only to see a woman in form-fitting sportswear running toward him from the distance, looking panicked.

"Help!"

"Sir, can you please help me!"

The woman, with her well-endowed figure, arrived at Zhou Mo’s side, trembling and looking distressed. Although she covered her heaving chest with her hands, it only made the cleavage more conspicuous. With a delicate, tearful voice, she said, "My friend fainted from low blood sugar while jogging with me. I’ve called an ambulance, but they can't get in here."

"Sir, could you please help me carry my friend?"

However, the bespectacled Zhou Mo looked up above the woman, where two long, translucent legs were visibly swinging back and forth in the air.

Zhou Mo put on a serious expression and said righteously, "Of course, no problem. But could you please hold my dog for me?"

"I’m afraid my dog might run off."