HLM – Chapter 162 Divine Beast

As soon as the plump-faced man arrived, he brought up money, which immediately irritated Wang Bo. He hated people who thought a bit of money could make them the center of the universe.

So, despite the man’s pleading, Wang Bo remained unmoved and replied coldly, “Sorry, sir. Our rescue work is voluntary—it has nothing to do with money.”

Besides, Wang Bo was pretty proud—he didn’t believe this guy had more money than him. Forget his investments; even the cash he carried on him exceeded a hundred million!

Just then, Sheriff Smith came running over, panting. “Wang! Go help James first—he… his family is the biggest group…”

“Yes, yes, the biggest! My God!” the middle-aged man chimed in, nodding frantically. “My six children, my parents, my siblings—they’re all underneath, all trapped! Ahh, God, please save them!”

Hearing this, Wang Bo understood. It wasn’t that the man was trying to use money to pressure him—he was just desperate to save his loved ones.

James’s home was the place Sheriff Smith had previously led a team to dig. Compared to the surrounding houses, the ruins here were even more expansive—likely covering thousands of square meters in collapsed buildings.

Zhuang Ding trotted after them, but as they neared the ruins, it suddenly stopped. Its big ears drooped back, muscles slowly tensing, and its sharp gaze fixed on the rubble, as if it had sensed something unusual.

Wang Bo walked over and patted its head. “What’s wrong? Come on, sweetheart, go find out if anyone needs help, okay?”

Zhuang Ding rubbed its head against his leg, then turned toward a spot in the ruins and began barking loudly: “Woof woof woof! Woof woof woof!”

The barking was urgent, and Wang Bo could feel the tension in its voice.

That’s when he realized—something must be buried beneath that spot. He asked, “Mr. James, what’s under here? My dog won’t go near it.”

With tears in his eyes, the man replied, “Nothing… oh no, wait—I did keep some dogs and wolves down there too. But I swear, sir, there’s no danger!”

Wang Bo hadn’t expected the guy to keep wolves. He patted Zhuang Ding’s shoulder to calm it, then pointed at the ruins and instructed it to go search for survivors.

Once it had settled down, Zhuang Ding ran a full circle around the rubble, then stopped at a central location and began digging and barking.

Sheriff Smith immediately waved and shouted, “Quick, go save them!”

As soon as the rescue team moved in, Zhuang Ding ran off again and located three more spots. Three more teams rushed in to start emergency work.

After identifying those four spots, Zhuang Ding hesitated, then picked a new location and began digging furiously on its own.

Thinking another survivor might be trapped there, people hurried over to help.

Wang Bo and Zhuang Ding were about to move to the next site when something went wrong. Just as Zhuang Ding leapt onto the next pile of ruins, the ground began shaking again!

“Aftershock! Watch out!”

Someone shouted the moment the earth started trembling. Nearby rescuers rushed toward open ground in panic.

The tremor was strong—Wang Bo almost fell, and part of the already-dug rubble collapsed. Zhuang Ding had just jumped into the hole when debris from above came crashing down!

Seeing this, Wang Bo felt blood rush to his head. He ran madly toward the ruins, shouting hoarsely, “Zhuang Ding! No!”

Someone tried to hold him back, but Wang Bo shoved them aside with brute force and charged straight through the aftershock waves!

Luckily, the aftershock only lasted a few seconds, but it still caused significant damage. Several rescuers were injured, caught off guard.

The pit Zhuang Ding had jumped into was buried again by fallen bricks and wooden beams. Wang Bo dropped to his knees, frantically clearing debris while shouting, “Zhuang Ding! Zhuang Ding! Zhuang Ding!”

Adrenaline surged through him like never before. His body burned with energy, his arms surging with power. No matter what blocked him, he shoved it aside with everything he had.

He had adopted Zhuang Ding six months ago. It wasn’t a long time, but not a short one either. Zhuang Ding wasn’t his first pet—but it was the first that could help him, the first that gave him a sense of security.

Their relationship couldn’t simply be described as pet and owner. To Wang Bo, Zhuang Ding was a true partner.

Likewise, the mastiff trusted and depended on him deeply. While Wang Bo had many friends and other pets, Zhuang Ding had only him—he was its only family, its only support.

That’s why Zhuang Ding always obeyed orders without hesitation, so long as it understood them—even in dangerous disaster rescues like this one.

If anything happened to Zhuang Ding, Wang Bo would never forgive himself. He would regret it for the rest of his life!

As the aftershock passed, others rushed in to help. Zhuang Ding had become the brightest star at the rescue scene, its contributions undeniable. Everyone rescued so far had been found thanks to it—they all owed it half their lives.

Thankfully, the aftershock wasn’t too severe, and the debris wasn’t overwhelming. After Wang Bo desperately dug through it, Zhuang Ding poked its head out from the rubble and barked excitedly: “Woof woof woof!”

He threw off the broken wood and bricks covering the mastiff. Zhuang Ding stood up—clearly not in great shape. Its forehead and shoulders were bloodied, staining its light-yellow fur red.

But the mastiff was strong—unshaken by the injuries. Once the debris was cleared, it jumped up and threw itself into Wang Bo’s arms, licking his face non-stop.

Only Wang Bo knew—Zhuang Ding had been terrified just now. This was its way of acting cute, of releasing its fear.

But it knew its duty. After the moment of affection, it stood up again and returned to the ruins, searching once more for signs of life.

Watching the mastiff’s resilient, determined back, the nearby Māori men gave thumbs up and praised in unison, “What a dog! The best dog in the world!”

They searched through three or four more ruins. Then, Zhuang Ding sniffed the air and suddenly ran back.

Wang Bo followed, thinking it had found something new—but Zhuang Ding returned to the big ruins of James’s house. Its eyes fixed on a spot where people were digging, and once again, it looked nervous.

The team had been digging for a while when suddenly someone cried out, “Oh shit, what the hell is this? A tiger?!”

Zhuang Ding ran over and barked urgently. Wang Bo rushed up to look—and was stunned: a big feline head, tawny short fur, mottled patterns, thick paws, and black stripes on its forehead. If that wasn’t a tiger, what was it?

But it was just a cub—its head no bigger than a small watermelon. One leg was twisted grotesquely, and it lay there with its eyes closed, unclear whether it was alive. Clearly, it had been crushed badly.

Hearing the commotion, James rushed over. He peeked down and said, “That’s not a tiger, guys—don’t be scared…”