What spilled from the shattered Starlight Treasure Box—
Wasn't plush toys.
Wasn't prizes.
Several small metallic canisters, dull and unlabeled, rolled across the illuminated stage floor.
And among them—
A palm-sized electronic device, pulsing with a faint red light.
A transmitter.
Or worse.
For half a second—
No one reacted.
Then—
The scent hit.
A violent wave of odor burst into the air.
Sharp.
Metallic.
Damp like freshly turned soil—
Yet sickeningly sweet with floral-fruit notes.
Artificial.
Aggressive.
Wrong.
Er'gou reacted instantly.
After slamming the chest, he had already leapt aside with feline agility—
But the expanding cloud still caught him full in the face.
He choked.
Coughed harshly.
Stumbled backward.
Head shaking violently as if trying to fling the smell off reality itself.
One paw clawed desperately at his nose.
Eyes watering.
Breathing ragged.
The studio froze.
Director.
Host.
Crew.
Guests.
Tourists.
Every face locked in stunned disbelief.
"What… what IS that thing?!"The director's voice cracked.
A staff member, curiosity outweighing caution, stepped forward.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!"
Lin Wan's shout tore through the chaos like a whip.
Memory flashed—
Chen Lin's warning.
Er'gou's abnormal reaction.
The attack.
The scent.
Without hesitation—
She lunged forward, grabbed the glowing device—
And hurled it with every ounce of strength she had.
The device arced through the night.
Vanished into distant grass.
The red light flickered—
Then died.
Gasps rippled outward.
Lin Wan spun, reaching for the canisters—
"Lin Wan! What are you doing?!"The director shouted, half furious, half terrified.
And then—
From above—
A sound.
Crack.
Near the top of the Ferris wheel, inside a slowly rotating cabin—
Glass fractured.
A thin wisp of vapor seeped from its ventilation slit.
Barely visible.
But unmistakable.
The SAME scent.
Diluted.
Released from elevation.
Er'gou's head snapped upward.
Blue eyes igniting with lethal clarity.
The coughing stopped.
A deep, thunderous snarl rolled from his chest.
Not fear.
Not discomfort.
But raw, murderous fury.
His body lowered.
Muscles coiling.
Gaze locked on the cabin like a predator marking prey.
Lin Wan's blood turned to ice.
Someone was up there.
Using the same substance.
The plaza erupted.
Tourists panicked.
Crew scrambled.
Security rushed in.
Jenny's corgi barked nervously.
Su Xiao clutched her Ragdoll cat, face pale.
A'Huang's orange cat finally woke, blinking in confusion.
"Clear the area! NOW!""Protect the guests!""Move, move, MOVE!"
The director's commands collided with rising chaos.
But his eyes—
His eyes kept darting back to Er'gou.
Shock dawning.
If the husky hadn't smashed that chest…
What would those canisters have done?
What signal was that device sending?
Who had planted them?
Er'gou remained locked in battle stance.
Watching.
Tracking.
Until the Ferris wheel cabin rotated out of sight behind the structure.
Only then did the tension ease—
Slightly.
But his body still trembled.
Violence barely contained beneath fur and bone.
Lin Wan approached carefully.
Her fingers touched his back—
And she felt it.
The vibration.
Not terror.
But adrenaline.
Rage.
Aftershock.
"It's okay… it's okay…"
She wrapped her arms around him, shielding him from the crowd's stares—
Curious.
Fearful.
Calculating.
Er'gou leaned into her.
Breathing heavy.
Eyes slowly dimming from combat ice to exhausted steel.
Then—
He lifted one paw.
Pointed to his nose.
Pointed to where the canisters had been.
And shook his head.
Slow.
Firm.
Message received:
That scent was a threat.
No grand prize tonight.
No finale.
The recording was officially terminated.
While the production team scrambled into damage control—
Lin Wan used the excuse of "pet distress" to extract Er'gou from the chaos.
Fast.
Silent.
Inside the temporary mobile lounge—
Door locked.
Noise sealed outside.
Lin Wan's legs finally gave way.
She slid down the wall, breath unsteady.
Er'gou jumped onto the sofa.
Collapsed.
Head resting on crossed paws.
Chest still rising unevenly.
Lin Wan grabbed her phone.
Tried Chen Lin's encrypted channel.
Connection Failed.
Again.
Failed.
She cursed softly.
Then turned toward Er'gou.
Voice low.
Sincere.
"…You saved us again."
No response.
Only a faint flick of his tail tip.
Lin Wan hesitated.
Then asked the question burning through her mind:
"What WAS that smell?"
"You reacted like it was poison."
Silence stretched.
Long.
Heavy.
Then—
Er'gou's throat moved.
A sound struggled upward.
Broken.
Painfully forced through canine anatomy never meant for human words.
"…Mix…"
"…Interference…"
"…Marker…"
"…Hate…"
"…Human…"
Each syllable scraped raw.
Fragmented.
But unmistakable.
Lin Wan's eyes widened.
"Interference?"
"Marker?"
Her thoughts raced.
Chen Lin's explanation.
Entropy's obsession.
Silas Moore's nose.
"That scent…"
"…Was designed for YOU?"
Er'gou opened his eyes.
And nodded.
Cold certainty burned behind those blue irises.
Lin Wan's voice dropped to a whisper.
"…Entropy."
Another nod.
"And the person on the Ferris wheel?"
Nod.
Slower this time.
Heavier.
Lin Wan's spine chilled.
They hadn't stumbled into danger tonight.
They had walked straight into a set trap.
High-ground dispersal.
Ground-level trigger devices.
Signal equipment.
A coordinated operation.
If Er'gou hadn't sensed it…
If he hadn't acted without hesitation…
Tonight might have ended very differently.
Outside, carnival lights still flashed.
Music still played.
Crowds still laughed.
But inside that small mobile room—
War had just been confirmed.