The Dog Arena.

This is the grim and shadowy area of City J.

Where there is light, there is darkness—an immutable truth. Even in today’s civilized world, some corners still play host to the most primal and sordid scenes.

This is a fighting arena where participants from various regions bring their trained dogs for one-on-one matches. The only rule for victory is to survive.

The battles are brutally bloody. To increase the dogs' aggression, owners deliberately starve them for days before a fight, turning them into ravenous beasts that feast on their own kind. Some even inject stimulants or apply anesthetics to their dogs.

The fighting dogs have no right to forfeit—this is humanity.

Outside an unremarkable door,

Chen Feng’s cold gaze was fixed on the simple entrance. With the apocalypse imminent, he had no interest in watching dog fights.

In his past life, the onset of the disaster had been too sudden. By the time Chen Feng realized what was happening, his surroundings had become a hellish landscape, overrun by zombies and vicious creatures. Humans, once lofty, had become prey, and the slaughter had begun.

Compared to the sluggish zombies, the most terrifying creatures at the start of the apocalypse were those that triggered genetic chain reactions. Some beings exhibited ancestral traits, with powers that were both enhanced and disturbingly strange.

Like elite monsters in a game, their appearance was rare but their strength was formidable.

Hellhound.

That was its title—or perhaps a symbol of glory.

In his past life, this beast had slaughtered an entire city district, standing five meters tall, with crimson fur and the ability to spew scorching magma.

Compared to ordinary monsters, these elite creatures with special abilities were truly terrifying. It was only after immense costs that national forces had managed to kill it.

Even after death, the Hellhound’s corpse remained scorching hot for three days. As Chen Feng's first encounter with such a monster, the Hellhound had left a profound impression on him.

The most striking feature was a scar on its back engraved with the character “斗” (fight). Some insiders said this was the mark of the City J dog fighting arena. Each fighting dog had its fur shaved and a character carved into its skin to incite ferocity through pain.

This was why Chen Feng had come here.

He was searching for the beast that would soon transform into a demon.

In China, firearms were strictly prohibited. With the apocalypse about to begin in a few hours, buying useless cold weapons and stockpiling food was not as beneficial as acquiring a Hellhound for Chen Feng's plans.

“Knock, knock…”

With this thought, Chen Feng no longer hesitated and knocked on the wooden door in front of him.

“Who is it?”

The door opened to reveal a young man in a vest and cloth shoes. He looked around warily before directing a cautious gaze at the stranger.

A middleman.

In this gray market, there were specific rules. Whether for dog owners or gambling spectators, an introduction was required to enter.

This middleman had clearly never seen Chen Feng before, his expression darkening with caution.

“I want to buy a dog.”

“What kind of dog? This is Zhang’s noodle shop!”

Time was short, and Chen Feng had no time for pleasantries. He opened the bag in his hand, revealing ten stacks of hundred-yuan bills.

Alone and without family.

This was all of Chen Feng’s assets. To buy a dog, he had put everything he had into it. To an ordinary person, Chen Feng might seem insane. But in a few hours, with the apocalypse imminent, money, property, and enterprises would be as useless as mud. In this new world, strength mattered more than connections.

No one would pass up money.

The middleman couldn’t make such decisions and didn’t dare. He hesitated for a moment before hurriedly going inside to consult with the higher-ups.

………………

Greed leads to death.

The lure of money quickly made Chen Feng a guest at the arena.

The shop appeared to be a grain store, but it hid another world within. After entering a small room, the clamor and the sounds of fierce growling reached Chen Feng’s ears.

Blood.

The thick scent of blood.

This was undeniably an arena. A group of people surrounded an iron cage, shouting wildly as two pit bulls inside savagely tore at each other.

At that moment, a bald, middle-aged man with tiger tattoos on his arms approached Chen Feng.

He was the owner of this place.

The middleman’s report left him somewhat surprised. Dogs meant different things to different people. For some, they were food or tools, while for others, they were friends and companions.

In the past, many had come here to choose their preferred fighting dogs. Those dogs were lucky; they were selected by buyers and no longer faced the threat of death.

Prices ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands, but what the tattooed man didn’t expect was someone like the person before him—an unusual case.

The young man before him stood about 175 cm tall, with fair skin and not much visible muscle. Unlike some of the flamboyant figures in the gray market, he looked more like a recent college graduate. Ordinarily, someone so inexperienced would be anxious and fearful in such a setting. However, this young man exuded a calmness that was difficult to describe, particularly in his eyes, which were deep and cold like spring water.

A strange character.

The tattooed man sneered, assigning a label to Chen Feng.

“I want to buy a dog.” This was Chen Feng’s second statement. He tossed the money in his hand to the tattooed man and then glanced at the fighting dogs nearby.

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Time was running short.

He needed to find the “Hellhound” as quickly as possible.

Fighting dogs were unarmored. In such bloodshed, there were no absolute victors. Even if a dog won a match, it would suffer severe injuries, often rendering it incapable of fighting again.

To put it simply, it was a gamble, akin to a game of chance. The so-called fighting dogs were more like chess pieces, and buying a piece before making a move was more than sufficient.

Chen Feng examined each fighting dog carefully.

“Not this one.”

“Not this one.”

“None of these…”

After inspecting the dozen or so dogs, Chen Feng frowned. He had not seen the Hellhound among them.

“Could I be mistaken?” A glint of determination flashed in Chen Feng’s eyes. He approached the tattooed man and asked in a deep voice, “Are all the fighting dogs here?”

“All the best fighting dogs are here. Besides these, the rest are just the maimed…” The tattooed man, motivated by the money, answered truthfully.

“Maimed?”

Chen Feng’s face tightened, and his pupils narrowed. It seemed he had overlooked something important. He paused and said, “Show me the maimed ones.”

“Uh…”

The tattooed man was taken aback.

Having navigated the gray areas for years, he sensed an inexplicable danger from Chen Feng.

Strange.

The tattooed man couldn’t quite describe his feeling. Despite Chen Feng seeming like an inexperienced novice, he evoked an unsettling sense of dread.

Chen Feng didn’t need to prove himself through battle. His every gesture, tone, or even a casual glance made the tattooed man uncomfortable.

The tattooed man could never have imagined that after enduring the apocalypse for over a decade and witnessing countless deaths and destruction, Chen Feng’s indifference to life had become ingrained in his very bones.

……

This was an abandoned room, littered with seven or eight damaged fighting dogs. These dogs, whether dead or alive, were discarded like trash.

“Found it!”

Chen Feng scanned the room and suddenly froze. His pupils narrowed into slits. His hands felt cold. Even with just a glance, he was certain this was the creature he had been searching for.

A weakened Tibetan Mastiff.

It had its eyes open, as if unwilling to die, revealing a sinister cold gleam.

Chen Feng would never forget that gaze—pale pupils veined with green blood, resembling a grotesque spider’s web. Meeting its gaze sent a chill down his spine, a suffocating feeling that washed over him.

The Hellhound.

This was the beast that had instilled endless terror in City J.

Here's your text translated into English:

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“I want it,” Chen Feng’s tone brooked no argument. Under the tattooed man’s bewildered gaze, he secured the nearly dying creature.

…

One hour until the apocalypse.

In an empty room.

Chen Feng looked expressionlessly at the fighting dog on the verge of death. Who would have thought that this seemingly pitiful creature would, in less than an hour, become everyone’s nightmare?

Food, water, some basic bandaging.

Though these actions might seem superfluous for a dog favored by fate, Chen Feng wasn’t willing to risk any mistakes at a critical moment. Basic treatment was still necessary.

Initially, the fighting dog was resistant to Chen Feng, but after seeing that he was genuinely trying to help, its hostile, wary, gloomy, and angry gaze gradually softened into dependence, acceptance, relaxation, and gratitude.

Gratitude.

This was a special instinct of intelligent beings.

Powerful potential.

This ability, different from others of its kind, might be the reason it had become an elite monster.

The fighting dog clearly saw Chen Feng as a lifeline in a sea of despair. Chen Feng had become its hope, perhaps even its savior.

Favorability.

To put it simply, Chen Feng had gained the NPC's favor. In the apocalypse scenario, with the Hellhound’s favor, he could live under its protection and even wield control over it.

This wasn’t an exaggeration.

In the apocalypse, some fortunate individuals find a weak little beast by the roadside and nurture it. Who would have thought that this small beast would possess extraordinary talent, growing rapidly and not only ensuring its owner’s safety but also elevating them to a higher level?

Clearly, Chen Feng had gained such an opportunity.

Chen Feng stood on the ground, watching the hands of his watch. Tick… tick… 12:00.

“Boom…”

A huge sound erupted, marking the spatial transformation and heralding the dawn of a new era.

The apocalypse had truly arrived!

Almost instantly, the fighting dog's body began to change. It started to tremble, then suddenly grew larger, with its wounds bursting open, as if covered in a layer of dark red blood. Its pupils were red, resembling eyes bloodshot from asphyxiation, exuding an extreme terror and strangeness, along with a burning energy.

Its injuries were rapidly healing.

Gene reboot? Or some other unknown force? In just a few minutes, this once pitiful creature had transformed into a completely new form.

Though it was still weak and not yet five meters tall, its aura was already formidable.

Surprisingly, the beast looked at Chen Feng with dependence and affection, rather than the cruelty and malice typical of predators. Chen Feng felt a tumult of emotions, unable to remain calm. As the apocalypse began, his stiffened lips finally curved into a faint smile.

The next moment.

He raised a shovel from the corner and brought it down hard on the Hellhound’s head.

The newly evolved Hellhound was still weak. It would need time to become the feared nightmare of the human world. However…

It would never see that day.

Everything happened too suddenly.

Certainly! Here’s the revised translation:

Chen Feng’s hands trembled slightly as he looked at the beast that had shown him favor and could have been tamed. His eyes were devoid of any guilt or remorse. “The apocalypse is merciless. When it comes to personal gain, even one’s own flesh and blood can be sacrificed at any moment, let alone such unfounded gratitude.”

Dead.

Compared to the living Hellhound, the corpse before Chen Feng was what he truly wanted.

At the same time, the spatial disturbance made Chen Feng feel a familiar yet strange power.

Simultaneously, his body underwent a transformation.

Taking one last look at the blood and flesh on the ground, Chen Feng knelt, then plunged both hands into the bloody mass. His expression was solemn, his tone icy: “Decayed body buried in the darkness, heed the ancient pact, listen to my whispers, break the boundaries of time and space, arise… companion from the abyss…”

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