Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Saline-alkali land.
Refuse landfill.
Most of the stray dogs coming from the dog market were large dogs. It could be said that only large dogs could survive the competition of the jungle. Although their blood was not so pure, if they had been small dogs like Pomeranians or poodles, they would have basically all been carried home and raised already.
The rest were odd mongrels, some of which were the second generation of stray dogs mated with each other, and some of which were experimental products that villagers near the dog market had intentionally crossed with purebred dogs in order to beat their opponents in dog fighting and earn money.
When outsiders first came to the landfill, they had already been frustrated by stray cats, and they were also hit head-on by the Aborigines.
For a very long time, wild dogs wandering nearby had long regarded this place as their own territory. Although they were all mixed dogs, not purebreds, they had accumulated abundant fighting experience in the cruel competition, especially in group fighting. They were even crazier than pure, large, fierce dogs when fighting.
More importantly, dogs were social animals that spontaneously created class distinctions in the population. Whoever had great strength and fought desperately would overwhelm other wild dogs and become the dog king here.
A motley crew, beaten up by stray cats and temporarily gathered, were already weak and hungry. Suddenly, they met a group of organized and experienced bandits. Even if the former had been an official army, they might not have been able to do well against the latter.
In fact, the new stray dogs were driven out of the landfill by Aboriginal wild dogs and dared to wander around.
Outside the landfill was far less abundant than the central area.
Every day, a garbage truck dumped fresh rubbish near several garbage hills. The garbage was mainly domestic garbage, including construction garbage like bricks, tiles and ceramics. There was also harmful garbage, which was theoretically non-recyclable, but there was also a good deal of recyclable garbage mixed in, because sometimes the cost of recycling and reusing garbage was higher than making a new thing completely.
Domestic garbage mainly consisted of organic substances, such as leftovers, bones, and peels, which were treated by biotechnology to accelerate degradation and then buried in the soil, waiting for decomposition.
However, there was another “biotechnology” at work—that is, before the garbage was buried underground, the wild dogs would find the bones and meat that had not yet completely decayed and have a good meal.
It was just that the stray dogs that were waiting around the outer ring of the landfill could not enjoy that sort of good treatment.
It had been some time since the stray dogs had been driven out of the dog market and arrived here. They wandered around and gradually formed several small groups, each of which had its own leader.
Animals gathered by species. Dogs separated by groups.
Stray dogs that were alone had to join these small groups. Otherwise, they had little room to survive.
Among the stories handed down by landfill workers, there were four well-known groups of stray dogs: the Pit Bull Band, the German Shepherd Club, the Fierce Dog Group, and the Local Dog Circle.
These names, of course, were jokes. They were nicknames given by workers for convenience. They did not mean that the Pit Bull Band was full of Pit Bulls. Where would so many Pit Bulls come from? In fact, they were named after the leaders of the four small groups.
The leader of the Pit Bull Band was a strong pit bull. It was said that when fighting, the dog would ignore the pain under the stimulation of adrenaline. It was extremely bloodthirsty and crazy. Whether it bit its own kind or bit people, once it had bitten, it would not let go. It had become a terrible legend of the landfill.
The leader of the German Shepherd Club was a cunning German shepherd. The German shepherd and its subordinates seldom hurt people. It was more like a wolf than a dog. It used simple strategies and often led its subordinates to surprise other small groups, and it came and went like the wind.
The head of the Fierce Dog Group was a large black mastiff dog with unusually long hair. It roared like a black lion. It was said that Tibetan mastiff’s blood flowed through its veins. Relying on its rough meat and long, thick hair, even in one-on-ones with the bloodthirsty pit bull, it did not lose.
Finally, the leader of the Local Dog Circle was a mixed breed dog, which combined the genes of several fierce dogs and their special characteristics. It was a fighting dog specially bred by a villager. But because the dog had bitten people in the village, the owner was afraid of being punished and implicated, and had abandoned the dog. It became a stray dog, so, as expected, it had a strong fighting force.
Friction and fighting often occured between small groups, and sometimes, with wild dogs occupying a central position, there were fights. After the emergence of leaders and organizations, the fighting power of these foreign stray dogs had increased rapidly and gradually began to encroach on the territory of wild dogs.
Landfill workers occasionally talked about this after dinner, and they were speculating that of the four leaders in the four small groups, which one would be chosen by fate, and unify these foreign stray dogs?
Several employees who liked to bet in private also made secret bets on which leader would eventually unify the stray dogs and become the real dog king.
Once all of the stray dogs were united, they could absolutely have the power to stand up to wild dogs and might even overpower their excellent genes.
Everyone could see clearly that if the German shepherd of the German Shepherd Club became the final winner, it would certainly bring the greatest improvement to the stray dogs as a whole. After all, it was very tactful. It liked to attack and circumvent in battle, and seldom rubbed shoulders with other small groups or leaders.
However, the contest for the dog throne was not decided by strategy, but by teeth and flesh, one on one.
In terms of individual combat effectiveness, the German shepherd was slightly inferior to the other three leaders and had the highest betting odds among employees.
Of course, theoretically speaking, it was also possible for them to be unified by dogs other than these four dogs, but everyone knew that the probability of this was extremely low. Because fixed groups and classes had been formed, it would be difficult to break through.
Dogs within a group were subject to the leader. A challenger could only be brought in from the outside, but if a new stray dog wanted to unify the world, it would be necessary to challenge the four leaders one by one and win. From the beginning to the end, it would have to win an overwhelming victory and could not be seriously injured, because if it was a single dog, there would be no time for an injury. If it barely beat a leader and suffered a serious injury, it would immediately be torn to pieces by other stray dogs.
But if it could beat the four dogs in an overwhelming victory… Was it still a dog? Even a lion might have found it hard to do so.
The last possibility was that no stray dog would be able to complete the reunification before the landfill leaders took measures to denounce them.
That day, from the direction of the sea, came a unique stray dog.
