By the third day of rehabilitation—
Silas Moore had fully stabilized.
His stamina?
Back to baseline.
Command response?
Sharp again.
Precision?
Even better than before.
Every movement—
Deliberate.
Refined.
Optimized.
And his senses?
Still operating at peak level.
That Afternoon
Old Wu brought out something new.
A set of objects.
Different materials.
Different sizes.
Various shapes.
And a simple board—
With matching holes.
A child's toy.
"Try this," Old Wu said, placing it in front of Silas.
"Spatial awareness. Logical reasoning."
"Use your paw."
Silas Moore lowered his gaze.
Looked at the blocks.
Then the board.
No reaction.
No excitement.
No curiosity.
Just calm evaluation.
He extended a paw.
Tapped the blocks.
Measured weight.
Texture.
Balance.
Then—
A brief sniff.
Habit.
But he didn't start matching immediately.
Instead—
He sorted them.
By shape.
By size.
Organized.
Clean.
Efficient.
Then—
He picked up a triangle block.
Walked to the board.
Aligned it with the triangular slot.
Adjusted the angle.
And—
Not with his mouth.
With his paw.
He pressed it in.
Perfect fit.
No hesitation.
No correction.
Then—
Circle.
Square.
Star.
One by one.
Seamless.
Flawless.
Controlled with a level of precision—
That most humans couldn't replicate on the first try.
Old Wu stopped writing for a second.
Then muttered under his breath:
"Spatial cognition… geometric recognition… fine motor control…"
"This isn't 'a smart dog.'"
"This is advanced abstraction paired with neuromuscular precision."
He exhaled slowly.
"What the hell did that drug do to him?"
"Did it shove a top-tier human operating system into a canine body—"
"And somehow optimize the drivers?"
Chen Lin didn't answer immediately.
He was watching Silas.
Carefully.
"Or maybe," he said quietly,
"It's exactly because it shouldn't work…"
"That it does."
"That incompatibility…"
"Created something new."
"Something unstable."
Silas Moore didn't care.
He had already finished the task.
Then—
He did something unexpected.
He pushed the fully completed board—
Toward Ironfang.
Paused.
Then raised a paw.
Pointed at the blocks.
Made a pulling gesture.
"Woof."
Short.
Clear.
Command.
He was…
Teaching.
Or testing.
Ironfang blinked.
Looked at the board.
Looked at Silas.
Confused.
He nudged a block with his nose.
Nothing happened.
He glanced back—
For help.
Silas exhaled softly through his nose.
Then demonstrated.
Hooked a claw.
Popped out the circular piece.
Pushed it back in.
Then gestured again.
Ironfang hesitated.
Then tried—
With his mouth.
Crooked.
Clumsy.
But—
He got it out.
His tail exploded into motion.
Success.
Silas Moore watched.
Then—
Exhaled again.
A little sharper this time.
Clearly unimpressed.
Mouth? Really?
But—
He still nudged Ironfang's chin.
Approval.
Minimal.
But real.
Then—
He turned.
Walked away.
Jumped onto his bed.
Lied down.
Closed his eyes.
Like nothing had happened.
Mission complete.
Lin Wan. Chen Lin. Old Wu.
All silent.
If there had been a livestream—
The chat would've exploded:
[Teacher Er'gou started mentoring now?!][Ironfang: Boss is teaching me! I'm promoted!][Silas: Acceptable. Barely.][From top-tier superstar to kindergarten instructor??]
The mood in the base shifted again.
Lighter.
Warmer.
Even the working dogs—
Looked at Silas differently now.
Not just fear.
Not just respect.
Something else.
Trust.
Dependence.
But beneath that calm—
The current never stopped moving.
Because everyone knew—
This "genius dog"—
Was never meant to live a quiet life.