Chapter 34


    Ste squinted, finding her vision blurred. She took out her binocrs for a clearer look.


    In the middle of the river were two rubber boats filled with men and women. They were armed with


    makeshift weapons, sticks and pitchforks, and they were attacking something on the window ledge


    of a fifth-floor apartment.


    A drenched dog was on the ledge, baring its teeth and growling ferociously at the attackers.


    "Come on, kill it! We''ll have meat tonight," one of them yelled, prompting an excited cheer from the


    others. They swung their weapons at the dog, who jumped and dodged but refused to retreat.


    Ever since the sudden disaster, food supplies had be scarce. Many people had starved to


    death. The sight of a dog, even one as skinny as this one, was enough to stir their hunger.


    "It''s meat! Who wouldn''t want it?" their eyes glowed with anticipation. Ste watched them, feeling a


    pang of sympathy for the dog.


    She was about to turn away when she recognized the dog. It was Cooper! She had named him


    Cooper after she had found him abandoned by his owners. He had been living on the streets near


    her university, scavenging from the trash bins outside the local fast-food restaurants.


    Ste, who had been selling dog food at the time, had taken pity on him. She would often leave


    some food for him or toss him a hot dog.


    The only difference between a dog abandoned by its owner and a baby abandoned by its parents is


    that humans have orphanages, but stray dogs are killed once caught.


    At first, he was very cautious, resisting Ste''s approach, only eating after she walked away.


    As it grew familiar, even though he was still on guard, he would peek his head from behind a tree,


    stealthily watching her.


    Later on, Ste fell for Hector, abandoning her job of selling dog food and forgetting about Cooper


    completely.


    When they meet again, it was in the midst of a severe cold spell.


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    Ste didn''t know how he survived. All his fur had fallen off, his skin was covered in pus-filled


    frostbite sores, and he was so skinny that only his skeletal frame remained.


    Yet, even in this state, when she was harassed by a few thugs, he rushed up fearlessly, frantically


    biting at them. If he hadn''t pounced, a baseball bat would have crashed down on her forehead.


    In order to protect her, Cooper was beaten to death on the spot, yet hr never let go of the wrist he


    was biting until its death.


    She survived, but he was killed, cooked, and then eaten.


    When she was reborn, she searched for him multiple times, but she couldn''t find any traces of him.


    It was ridiculous to think that she had given her all to Hector, but he watched idly as she was killed


    by the thugs. Yet, the stray dog she had only asionally fed had given his life to protect her.


    "Cooper."


    When they meet again, tears streamed down Ste''s face. Without a second thought, Ste started


    her speedboat and headed towards the dog, shouting, "Cooper!"


    Cooper, hearing his name, looked in her direction. The momentary distraction allowed one of the


    men to hit him with a stick.


    In response, Cooperunched himself at the man, biting and wing. The other men rushed to their


    companion''s aid, raining down blows on the dog, but Cooper was quick and agile, and managed to


    dodge their attacks.


    The cudgel insteadnded on the man being bitten, causing him to howl in pain.


    Another rubber boat was rowed towards them but couldn''t be controlled due to the swift current.


    The two boats collided, causing two people to lose their bnce and fall into the water, screaming


    "Help, save me...”


    Before they could regain theirposure, Cooper leaped towards the oing rubber raft.


    The dog had a powerful jump and directly knocked down the person on it. In just a few rounds,


    three people had fallen into the water, and two had been sessfully injured by the dog''s bites.


    One man pulled out a knife and lunged at Cooper just as Ste''s speedboat rammed into their boat.


    Ste shouted Cooper''s name again, and the dog, using his powerful hind legs, jumped onto her


    boat.


    As she sped away, Ste could hear the angry shouts and curses from the men. She looked down


    at Cooper who was now sitting in her boat, looking wary and suspicious.


    His condition was terrible, with blooding from his mouth and most of his fur had fallen off,


    leaving behind blotchy wounds. It seemed that this was not the first time he had been besieged by


    humans.


    In the post-apocalyptic world, there was nothing one wouldn''t do to survive. Forget about stray


    dogs, before the storm, many people in her apartmentplex kept pets, treating them even better


    than themselves. But where were they now?


    Ste didn''t dare to think about how he had managed to survive till now.


    "Cooper, don''t be afraid," Ste tried to soothe it, "From now on, we''ll live together and as long as I


    have something to eat, you won''t starve."


    However, he still kept his distance from her, with no sign of letting down its guard. Ste didn''t even


    have the chance to get close, let alone touch it.


    She took out a sausage from her bag and tossed it to Cooper. He sniffed at it cautiously before


    quickly gobbling it up. Ste continued to feed him, slowly gaining his trust. By the time she had


    given him the tenth sausage, Cooper finally allowed her to touch him.


    In response to her offer, Cooper was unenthusiastic and attempted to jump into the floodwaters to


    swim away. Homeless dogs were not only cautious but also smart. He knew that this was human


    territory, and stepping in could mean getting cooked in a pot.


    Those foolish of his kind died this way!


    Ste, who had finally found Cooper, couldn''t let him go easily and hurriedly took out a chicken leg.


    She then took out the bag of dog food from her backpack to show it, "Cooper, if you follow me, I


    promise you will never go hungry."


    The dog food was taken from a supermarket during the flood. Scavenging for anything she could


    find, she found a bunch of dog food and canned pet food mixed in when she cleaned up. Not willing


    to throw it away, she thought about mixing it with fodder to feed the rabbits. Surprisingly, it turned


    out to be reserved for Cooper.


    Cooper''s eyes were fixed on the bag of dog food, seemingly lost in some memory. Ste held the


    bag of dog food, and he drooled at the sound.


    In the end, Cooper surrendered.


    With a sigh of relief, Ste steered her boat back towards her apartment. She knew that the road


    ahead would be tough, but at least they wouldn''t be facing it alone. In this grim post-apocalyptic


    world, she finally found apanion to share her life and death with, and she would no longer


    wander alone in the darkness.


    "Wow, a dog, there''s a dog!"


    "Grandma, I want to eat hot dogs."