14: Creating a robot dog (Please read on and add to your favorites)

Jiang Feng pushed open the door, and the strong smell of paint rushed out.

Lin Xiaoyu choked and coughed continuously.

Something cold burrowed into her skirt; it was sticky.

"Ah!" She cried out in surprise and stepped back in alarm.

Only then did she clearly see that the cold thing was a Robot Dog, filthy all over and dripping paint.

Jiang Feng instructed flatly: "Go! Identify the Iron Hand Gang's characteristics, and disable them—every last one!"

The Robot Dog nodded slightly, its metal limbs suddenly tensed, and it transformed into a black bolt of lightning, instantly rushing out of the room.

"Th-that is..." Lin Xiaoyu's voice trembled.

"Our family's guard dog. Its name is 'Iron Clad Gold'." Jiang Feng took a rag, wiped the paint off his hands, then ran to the study to find a can of acetone, and knelt down to help Lin Xiaoyu clean her knees.

"You... when did you?"

Lin Xiaoyu stared blankly at him, her eyes slightly red. She had never seen Jiang Feng like this.

That kind of masculine confidence made her heart pound.

In the corridor, the Iron Hand Gang thugs had already spread out and were smashing doors house by house.

In the owners' group chat, everyone was panicking.

"Old Liu and the others failed!"

"What? What happened to my husband?"

"Damn it, I said we should have talked to them first. Now look, we're going to be robbed!"

"The Public Security Bureau refused to accept the case, claiming we report too frequently here, tying up police resources."

"What kind of people are they!"

"Answer me, what happened to my husband?"

"Sister Liu, your husband was just dragged past my door!"

"Where is Jiang Feng? Didn't he say he would wait and see? Shouldn't it be time now?"

"Forget it, he's just a coward. I bet he wouldn't dare utter a sound even if they messed with his wife later!"

"What should we do? They're smashing the door!"

A loud crash was immediately followed by a sinister laugh.

A green-haired lackey was kicking open room 302 when he suddenly felt his trouser leg being tugged by something.

He looked down and saw a filthy, stupid dog biting and shaking his pant leg in the dark hallway.

"Where did this stray dog come from? Get lost..." He raised his foot to kick it.

Red light suddenly flared in the Robot Dog's eyes.

"Crunch!"

The alloy teeth instantly bit through the combat boot, and Green Hair let out a pig-slaughtering shriek.

The others turned back at the sound, only to see a flash of lightning crackle; the shriek immediately cut off, followed by a black shadow leaping through the air.

The man dragging Old Liu hadn't even raised his iron fist before his wrist was clamped by the alloy teeth.

Iron Clad Gold was a search and rescue Robot Dog, and its teeth were actually "Hydraulic Crushing Pliers" capable of cutting through reinforced concrete.

"Zzzzzzt..."

Electricity immediately sparked from the mechanical joints.

The man was terrified but couldn't shake off the seventy-plus kilogram Robot Dog.

The mechanical arm broke into two pieces at the wrist and fell to the ground with a "clatter."

A hint of hesitation flashed across Iron Clad Gold's dual-camera eyes.

In its processor, it accurately recalled Jiang Feng's expression and tone just now, and immediately discarded its hesitation.

Its sharp alloy claws raked across the man's face with such force that they tore out his eyeball, shattered half of his cheekbone, completely flattened his nose bridge, and instantly surged with powerful high-voltage electricity.

The man didn't have time to scream; his throat only emitted a smoking, gurgling sound.

"Boss!"

"Damn! This thing is electrified!"

"What is it?"

"It's too damn dark! Flashlight, flashlight!"

High-voltage currents crackled, and the dark corridor was intermittently illuminated by blue light.

The terrified thugs fell to the ground smoking, convulsing until they passed out.

The metallic limbs rampaged, charging into the second floor, the first floor, and then attacking the gang members guarding the hover-bikes outside.

Iron Clad Gold had a peculiar dedication to the command "disable them."

Perhaps this was the underlying architecture given to it by the Cybrex Warforge.

In any case, everywhere it went, the lightest injuries resulted in lifelong disability, and the heaviest might require lifelong intubation.

Only a few minutes later, Iron Clad Gold quietly returned to the door of room 303, opened its mouth, shook off the blood on its sharp teeth, and with a faint hum from its servo motors, it lightly settled down.

"What happened?"

"Monster, there's a monster! I saw those Iron Hand Gang members all collapse!"

"Collapsed? I think they were eaten! It's pitch black outside; was it an Alien?"

"You watch too many old movies. It was a Robot Dog, I saw it!"

"Whose is it?"

"I don't know."

"Never seen it before."

"In any case, my Robot Dog doesn't have that capability."

"What about my husband? Is he still alive?"

"I'm going to step out and check. Old Liu is lying right outside, and I can still hear him breathing!"

"Don't go out!"

The building gradually grew noisy. Inside room 303.

Jiang Feng's wristband suddenly rang.

"Ding-dong."

He looked down and saw a pairing request sent by an "Unknown Device."

He clicked 'Accept,' and a message popped up: "Mission Complete."

A small window next to it displayed the Robot Dog's vision, pointed directly at the door of 303.

Jiang Feng immediately rushed over and opened the door.

Iron Clad Gold stood up, its drooping iron tail cocked up like a steel whip and wagged.

Lin Xiaoyu watched the scene in surprise.

Jiang Feng smiled and patted the Robot Dog's head.

The fierce creature actually rubbed its head against his palm like a pet, leaving his hand covered in black paint.

The Robot Dog looked up at her, and its watery blue gaze made Lin Xiaoyu very nervous; she subconsciously took half a step back.

But the Robot Dog suddenly moved closer, gently nudging the back of her hand with its cold metal nose, leaving a paint mark.

She let out a small "Ah," yet saw the steel beast cock its head.

The blue light in its electronic eyes was no longer harsh, showing a hint of goofiness.

"It can even act cute?" Lin Xiaoyu asked, still shaken but both surprised and delighted.

"It's an interactive program built into the open-source design." Jiang Feng smiled faintly: "I didn't expect it to be this amazing."

Lin Xiaoyu finally broke into a smile.

She squatted down, like a Little Girl who had never seen a large dog before, and gently stroked the Robot Dog's head.

The creature's tail wagged so hard it nearly turned into a windmill.

When it swept against the wall, the twenty-centimeter-thick concrete wall immediately cracked.

Jiang Feng's pupils contracted, and he clicked his tongue mentally: 'Good heavens, this power is almost comparable to a demolition crew.'

While wagging its tail, it made a whimpering electronic sound effect, which made Lin Xiaoyu burst out laughing.

"Let's keep it." Lin Xiaoyu squatted on the ground, looking up at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng clenched his fist and lightly coughed.

His recent explanation to his wife was strained; he had claimed the Robot Dog was pieced together from junk he collected.

This kind of flimsy excuse didn't hold up at all.

Lin Xiaoyu was the mistress of the house—how could she not know what was in their home?

Fortunately, she didn't intend to probe further.

Perhaps she treated the Robot Dog as an item someone had sent for repair.

Or perhaps, it was unconditional trust.

"Of course, we can." Jiang Feng pointed at Lin Xiaoyu and told the Robot Dog: "Iron Clad Gold, she is your mistress.

You must protect her even harder than you protect me. Highest priority!"

The Robot Dog stood up and nodded repeatedly.

Lin Xiaoyu suddenly laughed out loud, but as she laughed, her eyes turned red.

She turned and hugged Jiang Feng, the newly stained paint mixing on both their clothes.

She then turned her head to look at the mechanical dog, which was covered in patchy black paint but still stood tall, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She was happy because she knew her man seemed to have finally regained the confidence belonging to a strong person.

She was worried because she understood that this path would not be smooth; it would inevitably become even more perilous.

But more than that, there was an indescribable joy.

She finally saw the Jiang Feng who was once high-spirited, fighting for his dreams in the technical academy.

He was back—he was her first love, and he was her husband.

Lin Xiaoyu leaned gently on Jiang Feng's shoulder and whispered, "Thank you, Husband."

Jiang Feng didn't reply, simply pulling her into his embrace, his gaze fixed on the depths of the corridor.

Door after door opened, revealing panicked faces.

They involuntarily looked toward Jiang Feng, their eyes filled with disbelief, but even more so, boundless awe.

Awe, in the sense of respectful distance.

Fear, in the sense of dreading him like a viper.

Everyone feared the Iron Hand Gang's retaliation, but they feared Jiang Feng taking offense to them even more.

After all, Jiang Feng's existence was the apartment building's shield.

Even if the Iron Hand Gang sought revenge, they would only focus their firepower on Jiang Feng, neglecting the others for the time being.

Yet many people's eyes still flickered.

Jiang Feng could tell these people were calculating how they could profit from the situation.

If someone gave them benefits, they would gladly become bigmouths, spilling everything—relevant or not—like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.

Jiang Feng didn't care.

The Robot Dog was just his first step, but it wasn't enough.

What he wanted was not just a tool to protect his family, but true power—the power to stand against the world.

He needed money, technology, connections, and, most importantly, time.

And one day in the future, he would use his own methods to tell this world.

No one could make him unhappy.