Chapter 100 - Mastermo Is A Mad Scientist

"Alvi, I feel tired," Zhihao was in no condition to be even saying this.

One look and Alvi could realize this for herself. 

Zhihao had played for more than nine continuous hours. It would have been more shocking if he said that he wasn't tired. 

[Are you going to take a break now?] Alvi asked with eyes that glimmered with hope. 

"You sound like you want me to log out." 

[You make me sound bad]

[I'm just looking out for your health]

[You should get some sleep and come back later]

[I'll still be here and the game is also not going anywhere]

"Then let me ask you something." 

[What?]

"Did I get better?" 

[...]

"Why are you silent?" 

[Do you really want my answer?]

"Yeah!" Zhihao felt like he was going to regret asking a bot this question, but he still needed to know the answer. 

[Your gameplay has certainly changed, but the change isn't positive]

Zhihao sighed, "So I got worse?" 

[You are smart]

[I didn't even need to tell you]

Alvi beamed and for some reason, although it hurt Zhihao to hear her answer, he also wanted to laugh as he heard her. 

[But it's probably because of all the fatigue]

[You should rest and come back once you are refreshed]

"I really should..."

"This will be the last level I play for tonight" 

[...]

[You said the same thing five levels ago]

[And it's not night anymore]

Although Zhihao had heard the bot, he acted like he hadn't and continued to attack the creature in front of him. 

It was almost ridiculous how serious he had suddenly become, especially after considering that he was fighting against a dog. 

A dog that could turn into a human, but a dog nonetheless. 

The hybrid dog growled at Zhihao as it circled around him and when it pranced at Zhihao, the man was able to jump on time and avoid being attacked, all the while trying to catch the dog with the net in his hand. 

It would've been easier if he was given the task to kill the dog, but he was banned from killing the creature. If he killed the dog, he was going to be thrown out of the level. 

Out of all the levels and stories he had seen and played, this one ought to be the dumbest or weirdest one he had played. 

The level was rather simple and had clear instructions. A scientist had gone crazy and created a hybrid dog that could turn into a human but it wasn't like a werewolf. There was no trigger to changing forms and if it was in its dog form, it would not turn back into a human unless someone forced it to since being in a dog's form would limit the person's thinking capacity and make him dumb. 

This dog-human was named Erin and had stupidly turned into a dog that went around biting everyone he saw and now he wasn't turning back. 

It was Zhihao's job to make the stupid dog turn back into a human and stop him from going on a rampage. For Zhihao, the best way to do that was by killing the creature but he couldn't.

He was angry at the mad scientist who had created such a half-dog creature but no matter how much he cursed the man, he was not satisfied with it. 

The reason why he was given the responsibility of turning the dog back into a human was simple. It was because he was given the character of the mad scientist he hated. 

So no matter how much he cursed the mad scientist, he felt wronged since he was basically cursing himself. 

Zhihao had been inside this level for quite some time now but he was still unable to catch the dog. 

Never in his life would he have thought that he would one day need to become a dog catcher but now, T.I.A.D. had made that possible. He didn't know if he wanted to thank the game developers for making such a thing possible or curse at them for making such a thing possible. 

"Come on, buddy. Let's go back home," Zhihao had never owned a dog but he had always liked dogs so he knew how to talk to them but when he thought about the dog in front of him also being a half-human, he was a bit reluctant to call the dog a good boy. 

[You sound too awkward]

"I can't get used to it," Zhihao defended himself. 

Zhihao was lucky that no one was around and the only NPC here was the dog in front of him that didn't have a brain. He could go OOC and talk to Alvi without triggering the OOC alert. 

If there was something he could change about the scenario he would want to change the place they were at. 

They were in the middle of some random school playground. 

The worst thing about this would be the fact that Zhihao was dressed in a school uniform because the 'genius' scientist thought that just because he wore a school uniform, he would mix in with the environment and be able to catch his failed experiment without being noticed by others. 

If Zhihao was in his original appearance, he might have been able to pass off as a student but Alvi just had to change his appearance and give him the appearance of the original mad scientist who was a man in his late thirties. 

Even his trousers were falling short for his legs and the shirt was so tight that Zhihao was afraid the buttons would burst open at any moment now. 

Zhihao wanted to get this over and done with before he gets found by others who'll look at his embarrassing image. He could only pray that nobody stayed for so long to watch his livestream. 

Mastermo was supposed to look cool! Cool! Not look like a middle-aged man who wanted to cosplay as a student to catch a stupid dog!

The dog growled as he avoided the net that was thrown at him. 

Zhihao had no experience catching a dog simply because he never needed to so it really need not be said how bad he was at the job. 

The only one who was truly enjoying the current situation was Alvi who seemed to eat popcorn in the background as she laughed at Zhihao's despair. 

[Try giving it some treats]

"Alvi, if I give you some T-points, would you help me pass this level?" 

[Are you trying to bribe me?]

[Hahaha]

[You can suffer on your own cause I ain't helping no matter how many T-points you give me]

[You should feel ashamed for bribing me with T-points]

[I'm not as corrupted by money as you]

Alvi who was ready to become the antagonist for some T-points in the gambling bar said with so much confidence that it would make people wonder if there was a different Alvi 2.0 who was doing all the dirty work for the T-point betters. 

Zhihao, "Tch- I should really ask them to change you." 

[What?!]

[You're so ungrateful!]

[I'm the best there can be and you are still unsatisfied!]

"If you are the best then I question if there are any other bots joining the competition." 

[What do you mean?!]

Zhihao chuckled, "If we look at it, you are the improved version of the old system so there really is no other competition. You are so shameless for saying that you are the best when there really is no one else to compare yourself with." 

[...]

[I feel like you are dissing me.]

"At least you are smart enough to realize." 

[You really sound tired]

[Even your insults sound lame now.] 

[Try coming up with something more creative next time]

Zhihao suddenly felt the need to go meet the guy who coded this bot to give such answers. No matter how much he tried to attack the bot, it always had an answer that would counterattack his insult back. 

The more he interacted with this bot, the more he felt like he was being attacked. 

"Forget it," Zhihao jumped aside once again as he saw Erin attacking him or at least trying to do so. 

Now that he was in this position, he really could not understand how the people were bitten by this dog named Erin. It was so stupid that it was hard to actually get attacked by it. Just move aside and the dog would slam itself against the floor, passing out. 

If someone were to get attacked by this dog, they would have to be really stupid. 

Stupid and their instincts would have to be slower than a sloth.

Erin circled around Zhihao like a wild animal that was circling its prey but every time it pranced forward, Zhihao would step aside and watch the dog slam its face against the floor but that didn't stop the dog from trying to attack him again. 

It would have been better if this dog had an equally stupid instinct at dodging but surprisingly, it was really clever when it came to avoiding the net. 

No matter how Zhihao threw the net, it was as if this dog could bend all the bones in his body to avoid the net at all costs.