After subduing the Blood Wolf, Shan Hongyi found a length of hemp rope, and Jiang Bai immediately tied the wolf up in an intricate pattern.

The Institute Director looked at the elaborate rope work on the Blood Wolf's body and fell into deep thought.

Was he so lonely that even a wolf looked attractive to him?

Or was Jiang Bai such a scoundrel that he'd play bondage games with beasts, making him worse than the beasts themselves?

Even a dog would say, "Jiang Bai, you're the real dog here."

Was all this really necessary?

The Director couldn't help but ask, "Is it just me, or is there something off about your rope-tying technique?"

"What are you talking about? How could you say such a thing!" Jiang Bai pointed at the intricate knots all over the Blood Wolf's body and said seriously,

"I've left a bit of my ability as a sealing point at each of these knots. Otherwise, do you think ordinary rope could restrain this creature?"

The Blood Wolf possessed the strength of a mid-level ability user. Even in its weakened state, it could easily break free from hemp rope.

After explaining, Jiang Bai couldn't help but sigh and said with a meaningful tone,

"Look at the level of your thinking. When will you ever improve!"

The Director: ...... Had he really misunderstood Jiang Bai?

The sealing was real, but the way the rope was tied also seemed quite... unconventional.

Now that the Blood Wolf had been subdued, Shan Hongyi, who had finished repairing the damaged power lines, returned to the two men.

"Brother Jiang, what do you plan to do with this thing?"

Shan Hongyi looked at the Blood Wolf, which was even larger than herself, and quietly stood behind Jiang Bai.

If this creature were to suddenly attack, Shan Hongyi could easily take it down with one swift slide tackle.

Shan Hongyi didn't quite understand why Jiang Bai would rather risk injury to capture the Blood Wolf alive.

The difficulty between killing and capturing alive was vastly different.

Jiang Bai's plan was like dancing on the edge of a knife. If any part had gone wrong, the Director would have been in trouble...

The Director was thinking even further than Shan Hongyi. He pondered and said,

"Jiang Bai, do you want to test the practical effects of your 'edge control' technique, or are you trying to interrupt the process of losing control?"

Jiang Bai didn't hide anything and replied straightforwardly, "Both."

Even without the assistance of the other two, Jiang Bai was fully confident that he could easily deal with the Blood Wolf.

Jiang Bai had faced beings hundreds or thousands of times more dangerous than this creature.

While combat testing was undoubtedly important, Jiang Bai didn't have much need for practical combat at the moment.

Firstly, 1200 years ago, Jiang Bai had already been battle-hardened, with rich combat experience and an incredible talent for trickery.

Secondly, Jiang Bai was now just a weak, helpless, pitiful low-level ability user. Focusing on steady growth was the right path!

What was truly important was interrupting the process of ability loss of control!

Jiang Bai had never forgotten his mission.

According to incomplete statistics, among the many secondary disasters brought by the Mysterious Tide, the damage caused by ability users losing control was the most significant threat to people's lives and property!

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To thoroughly solve these secondary disasters, it was necessary to keep ability users themselves stable and prevent loss of control.

The Blood Wolf was the first experimental subject Jiang Bai had encountered since waking up.

Although it would put the Director at a slight risk, Jiang Bai thought it was worth a try!

Hearing Jiang Bai's answer, the Director sighed with a mix of appreciation and helplessness, "This time, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed."

The Director pointed at the tumor-like growth on the ground and explained,

"If I'm not mistaken, there should be an Aberrant Beast core inside this thing. By the way, animals that possess abilities are collectively called Aberrant Beasts, and the core is the center of their Sequence Ability.

This Blood Wolf mistakenly ate an Aberrant Beast core of a different system, which it couldn't digest internally. The conflict between the two forces ultimately led to its loss of control..."

Therefore, when Jiang Bai cut off the tumor-like growth, it was equivalent to removing the source of the problem, completely resolving the Blood Wolf's loss of control.

"I see," Jiang Bai suddenly realized.

This was just a symptomatic treatment, addressing the problem at hand without solving the root cause. Regarding the issue of "Ability Loss of Control," it was treating the symptoms but not the disease. Jiang Bai had essentially worked in vain.

Jiang Bai looked down at the Blood Wolf, lost in thought.

Shan Hongyi curiously asked, "Brother Jiang, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking... how to deal with this guy."

Jiang Bai calculated, muttering to himself,

"This fellow must have a huge appetite. How much meat would it eat in one meal? We're so poor we can't even afford electricity, how can we afford to keep it?

How is the value of an Aberrant Beast calculated? Is it more profitable to sell it in parts or as a whole?

Is it male or female? Male, the coat color is quite pure, can it be used for breeding?

If breeding doesn't work, can it do labor? Director, do we have a hand-cranked generator? No? Then do we have a millstone? If not, even grinding some soy milk in the morning would save electricity..."

In Jiang Bai's eyes, he had already started analyzing the value of his spoils.

Behind Jiang Bai, the Director and Shan Hongyi felt a chill run down their spines.

The tightly bound Blood Wolf seemed to understand Jiang Bai's words and tucked its tail, trembling.

Eventually, following the Director's suggestion, Jiang Bai decided to keep the Blood Wolf.

Even the Director had rarely seen Aberrant Beasts that recovered after losing control of their abilities. It was indeed a valuable research subject.

There was just one small problem...

The Ninth Research Institute lacked research funds, materials, personnel... they lacked everything except research subjects!

Jiang Bai alone was enough to keep the Director busy.

He could only hand the Blood Wolf over to Jiang Bai and let him handle it as he saw fit. After all, it was Jiang Bai's spoils of war.

So, on the first day, Jiang Bai dyed the Blood Wolf black.

The curious Shan Hongyi couldn't help but ask again,

"Brother Jiang, why did you dye it black?"

"Red is too eye-catching and not good for combat. Black is the camouflage color of the night, very suitable for sneak attacks!"

Jiang Bai's reason sounded very serious.

Based on Shan Hongyi's understanding of Jiang Bai, there should be other reasons.

Under Shan Hongyi's persistent questioning, Jiang Bai confessed,

"Who knows what bad things this guy has done before? If I take it out directly, people might think I'm the owner, and I'd be taking the blame for it!

Now that it has turned over a new leaf and is starting fresh as a dog, let's just forget about its past!"

Shan Hongyi: ......

"Brother Jiang, this is a wolf, not a dog."

Jiang Bai corrected her,

"Wolf-dog, wolf-dog. I've checked, and in this defense base where we are, we can't keep wolves, but we can keep dogs!"

Shan Hongyi asked in surprise, "You're planning to get it registered?"

The defense base itself was a loose organization. Under the protection of top experts, ordinary people had a place to live, but they also had to work to exchange for resources.

Keeping unregistered dogs was actually the norm.

Moreover, Shan Hongyi knew Jiang Bai's personality. The Ninth Research Institute was currently so poor that they wanted to split every penny. How could they have spare money to register a dog?

This didn't seem like something Jiang Bai would do!

Jiang Bai said righteously,

"What are you talking about? Why wouldn't I register it if I'm keeping a dog!"

Even though Jiang Bai spoke with such confidence, Shan Hongyi's eyes were full of doubt.

Jiang Bai squatted down, patted the black wolf's head, and said with a smile,

"I'm planning to get it registered as a guide dog. Then it can work with a license and earn money for our institute.

I'm a reasonable person. The initial wage earnings will first compensate for the institute's electrical damage, then pay for the loss of control treatment, recovery fees, care fees, fur dyeing fees, rehabilitation fees..."