"Human, I curse your ancestors!"

As the plane tree let out a wretched scream, its leaves and branches rapidly turned withered and yellow.

Wrinkles also appeared all over its face.

Despite it being summer, the plane tree looked as if it had entered winter.

"Hahaha."

Liu Zheng laughed even louder than its screaming.

Gratitude is gratitude, resentment is resentment.

The plane tree had set so many traps for him—did it really think he wouldn't hold a grudge?

Liu Zheng had brought Tindalos over specifically to see if he could scare this tree and vent some frustration.

He never expected the effect to be this good.

"Now we're even," he said with satisfaction.

"Stupid human, do you think you're only harming me?"

The plane tree's angry expression faded, replaced by a strange smile.

"What?"

Liu Zheng immediately sensed something wrong.

But before he could react, the hound suddenly lowered its head to look at a patch of black soil.

A piece of bark was stuck in the black soil.

Natasha Marceau was buried right beneath it.

"Bravo! Looks like that case of Maotai will go to waste," the plane tree said with schadenfreude.

"Didn't you promise to keep it safe for me?"

"I did promise to keep it safe, but only within my capabilities."

"I'm doing well enough to protect myself from this dog—asking me to drive it away is impossible. The rules don't force trees to do the impossible either."

The plane tree spoke leisurely.

Every time, Liu Zheng used the rules to trap it—finally, it was its turn to use the rules against this human.

"Help me stop it, and I'll give you another case of Maotai," Liu Zheng said decisively.

"Even if you offered me another bottle of Vlad III, it wouldn't work. I genuinely can't fight it."

The plane tree wasn't falling for it.

"Tindalos, return!"

He tried calling the hound back, but the hound completely ignored him.

It was already good enough that it wasn't eating him—did he really think he was its master?

"Damn it, now I've really become the clown," Liu Zheng said with rare frustration.

Previous crises had been forced upon him by circumstances, but this time he had brought trouble upon himself.

"I can hold out for one minute at most. If you can't figure something out within one minute, then consider yourself unlucky."

"I'll tell all the birds about your glorious deeds, letting the whole world know how stupid you humans are. Hahaha!"

Amid the plane tree's maniacal laughter, the hound dug up the black soil, revealing the root cage beneath.

Through the gaps, the small coffin and the tiny body inside could be seen.

"Growl!"

The hound let out a dissatisfied roar, fiercely biting at the roots.

Roots harder than steel were like tofu under its sharp teeth.

But for every root it bit through, another would take its place, temporarily blocking the hound.

"What can I do?"

Liu Zheng sighed.

Even the plane tree could only take a beating, let alone him.

He was just a tool accompanying it on walks—Tindalos wouldn't listen to him at all.

Huh? Listening?

Liu Zheng suddenly remembered the two things the miniature person had said.

"Tindalos is very generous to those it likes."

"Tindalos is a good doggy."

How did wolves become dogs?

He recalled a skinny wolf from Hoh Xil that tourists had persistently fed egg yolk pies until it became a fat dog—reportedly even learning to roll over and expose its belly.

Liu Zheng opened the Legendary delivery box, inside which was a replicated "Garlic Rice·Go Brain Flower."

If the owner loved this food, surely the pet would too, right?

Gritting his teeth, he walked to the edge of the black soil.

Seeing this, a flicker of disappointment crossed the plane tree's face. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novelfire(.)net

"Good doggy, time to eat."

Liu Zheng tapped the plate with a spoon, producing a crisp sound.

"Growl?"

The hound stopped biting and turned back in confusion.

"Fresh brain flower, just like your owner's," he tempted.

"Growl~"

The hound cheered, turning and pouncing in front of Liu Zheng.

"Sit."

The hound obediently sat down.

"Shake tentacle."

The hound extended its paw and cut Liu Zheng's tentacle into three segments.

...Fine, let's assume it wasn't intentional.

"Eat up, eat up."

Liu Zheng placed the food plate on the ground.

The hound eagerly extended its tongue.

The hollow tongue tube continuously moved, and the brain flower visibly shrank until it turned into a thin skin.

"Growl growl growl~"

The hound let out a long howl.

It was clear it had enjoyed the meal immensely.

The hound rubbed its head against Liu Zheng's face, then left the black soil area.

His hanging heart finally settled.

"Growl?"

The hound raised one paw, pointing at the plane tree.

The plane tree's settled heart hung right back up.

"It? No no no, we're not enemies. We're all buddies here—just joking around earlier."

Liu Zheng glanced at it, smiling meaninglessly.

"Yes yes yes, we're all buddies here."

The plane tree put on an ingratiating smile, angry but not daring to speak up.

"Growl."

The hound nodded as if somewhat understanding, then spat out a bone.

"Name: Tindalos' Chew Toy (One-time Use)"

"Type: Item"

"Quality: Excellent"

"Effect: Can summon one Tindalos Hound when thrown. Duration: three minutes."

"Note: Please be aware—the summoned hound may not necessarily be Tindalos itself."

"Can be taken out of dungeon: No"

What a powerful weapon.

Liu Zheng happily picked up the bone.

"Growl."

Tindalos extended its paw, pointing at the bone whistle around his neck.

"Sigh, knew there wouldn't be such good fortune."

Liu Zheng sighed, taking off the bone whistle and handing it to the hound.

If he had the bone whistle, this chew toy would be a guided missile.

Without the bone whistle, this thing became a portable nuclear launcher.

Emphasizing that true death is when everyone dies—you die, I die too.

Although there was a chance to summon Tindalos, given the Excellent quality rating, this probability clearly wouldn't be very high.

"Growl~"

Tindalos patted Liu Zheng's shoulder, then turned into a cloud of smoke and disappeared.

"Finally finished walking it."

He wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his brow.

"Human, I'm going to fucking kill you!"

The moment the hound left, the plane tree immediately attacked.

Its face contorted, countless roots and branches intertwining as they came at him like a giant abyssal mouth.

"Should I throw it?"

Liu Zheng raised the bone.

"You wouldn't dare. That dog would eat you too," the plane tree said confidently.

"No problem—at least you'll keep me company in hell."

"You'll be my firewood while I'm boiling in oil," he said cheerfully.

"Hmph, who wants to go to hell with you? Disgusting."

The plane tree spat and withdrew its roots.

"Don't be angry. I didn't expect things to turn out this way either. I'll get you another bottle of good liquor later," Liu Zheng soothed.

"Stop your nonsense. Don't think I don't know what evil schemes you're brewing."

The plane tree wasn't buying it.

"I want two bottles."

"Fine, fine, two bottles it is."

He readily agreed.

"Get lost, get lost! I get annoyed just seeing you. Stupid human."

A root wrapped around Liu Zheng, then forcefully flung him.

He was launched like a cannonball, landing directly two kilometers away.

"Ouch ouch ouch."

Liu Zheng touched his thoroughly smashed buttocks, grimacing in pain.

"So irritable—do trees have periods too?"

He sat on the ground waiting for his tailbone to heal, then limped toward the restaurant.