Cat 298: Raising Small Animals

Chapter 298: Raising Small Animals

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“Hahahahaha, the kitten just scared Qi Feng to death. He’d come over all happy to pick up his cat, and got scared out of his wits by his own.”

“No kidding, that cat’s really creepy! Isn’t this even scarier than a supernatural instance?”

“Aaaaah! It’s the first time I’ve seen the kitten talk in cat form. It’s too cute, I love it! I just want to know—when can we get a humanoid cat-eared boy lying on the bed, tail swishing?”

“Who knows if the game will add something fun like that? I know some players wear fake cat ears and tails as a prop, but the real thing is just different. I want to see a humanoid kitten grow cat ears and a tail for real!”

“Girl, that’s a really good idea! But I doubt we’ll see it; after all, even lip-licking scenes from the kitten get pixelated.”

“Tsk, cutting it off at the source…”

It’s true—Qi Feng was genuinely caught off-guard by Yan Jiyun speaking all of a sudden. He had always separated the cat from the person in his mind, never knowing that Yan Jiyun could speak while in cat form. It really did nearly give him a fright.

After holding back for ages, Yan Jiyun finally got his chance. Ever since his experience card vanished, he’d wondered if it was possible to really talk to people now.

The first time he realized he could talk as a cat, his conversation partner was an NPC. The second time, there was no one around. This time, there were people about—but none he trusted. He’d never dared to try speaking with a real person before now. But he was very curious about Qi Feng’s earlier response, and seizing the chance, he asked him outright, also wanting to tease him a little for fun—a pleasant surprise.

Who’d have thought that for Qi Feng, that “surprise” was almost a jump scare.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?” Yan Jiyun went on showing off his ability to talk in cat form, using the same system from the experience card; his voice didn’t change at all.

“I think I’m in a state of total shock. Why can you suddenly talk?” Qi Feng paused, gathering himself to accept that Yan Jiyun could speak while using cat form. “You can’t change back into human?”

Yan Jiyun replied, “When I woke up, my experience card was gone, and then the second round of the game started, so I never got a chance to talk to you.”

Qi Feng said, “My own items are no good either. Feels like the game carved out a new space and banned player starting items. But why can you talk all of a sudden?”

“If I told you I have no idea, would you believe me?” Yan Jiyun had his own suspicions, but wasn’t sure yet. And this wasn’t the place to discuss it.

“I believe you. Just don’t let anyone else find out.” Qi Feng was worried about him drawing unwanted attention. He kept his voice down, but there was always a risk some player with sharp ears might overhear.

Actually, the second round of the game wasn’t particularly hard. Up till now, not a single player had been eliminated; only the team rankings kept shifting.

Yan Jiyun: “Mm. So, shall we keep playing?”

Qi Feng: “The game didn’t tell us to stop, so we keep going. So far, two firsts and a third place. Your undercover points boosted us a lot—still sitting at number one.”

Yan Jiyun: “Alright, I’ll just keep following you.”

Qi Feng led Yan Jiyun and the team to a rest area. Not all players were still in the active project—some came and went, so the lounge never got full.

They were just discussing which game to tackle next.

Before they decided, the game abruptly issued a new announcement.

[All teams have used up their three chances to guess the undercover. Teams with less than 300 points cannot proceed to the next round.]

[Teams with more than 300 points advance to the final round. All others will be eliminated. Scene will change in 3 seconds.]

Qi Feng was glad he’d gone to bring Yan Jiyun back out just in time.

The game only gave them three seconds to react.

Both Yan Jiyun and Qi Feng found it hard to believe. Was this undercover game over so quickly?

It ended in just the second round?

Yan Jiyun didn’t want to be separated from his teammates again. He clung tightly to Qi Feng’s neck, still not clear on how he could speak in cat form, and wondering if his experience card would return in round three.

The game ended abruptly, but he’d enjoyed it. At least he hadn’t suffered any losses, and he’d earned a good number of points.

All the players quickly checked their team points—a few were relieved to barely make it to the third round, while others’ faces fell in defeat, not knowing what would happen once they were eliminated. Would it mean immediate death? Or spiritual torment before being tossed back into the game?

Three-second countdown. All went dark.

Yan Jiyun didn’t feel anything special, only his claws hooking tightly into Qi Feng’s collar.

Darkness lasted a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime.

When he opened his eyes again, his first instinct wasn’t to check the environment, but to see if his experience card was back.

Nope—the experience card was still gone. Apparently, they were still in the same space, moving on to the next round.

Thankfully, he hadn’t been separated from Qi Feng.

Yan Jiyun’s arms were still wrapped around Qi Feng’s neck, just as before. As he was about to say something, he realized more people had joined them. Their teammates were here, along with other familiar faces—Su Qiuming’s team, Chu Mo, and others.

How had everyone gathered together again?

And he hadn’t expected Su Qiuming’s team, despite having half their score cut away, to advance to round three.

Aware of his undercover mission, Yan Jiyun felt a twinge of guilt. He shrank into Qi Feng’s shoulder and pretended to nap, ignoring everyone.

At this point, there was no need to hide. After all, he’d wandered all over with Su Qiuming. There was no one left who didn’t know he was the black cat Qi Feng had brought into the game.

But with the challenge demanding full attention, no one had leisure for idle thoughts—at least, not for now.

“That cat’s amazing—lasting till now?”

“Must be the player raising it who’s amazing, right?”

“Does anyone know how the cat got into the game? Could we bring in pets to help us clear rounds?”

“I tried before! Brought cats, dogs, mice, rabbits, hawks—none ever worked. How did he do it?”

“Is there a trick to it?”

The group whispered among themselves, mostly speculating on how Qi Feng smuggled his cat in, rather than seeing the cat as an in-game item. Perhaps because no pets existed as items in the game.

Listening in, Yan Jiyun realized there was nothing hostile in the chat; he stopped paying attention, focusing instead on Qi Feng and the team as they tried to guess the next round’s challenge.

The third round’s player count was just half the second’s, which meant there were a bit over a thousand people left.

Just then, the scenery changed once more.

A strikingly beautiful young woman in a tailored black suit appeared atop a nearby platform—clearly the official NPC rule-explainer for the round. Her hair was long, glossy, and jet-black; she wore a professional yet approachable smile, neither too warm nor too cold.

Businesswoman: “Congratulations to all who reached the third round. Do you remember the name of our championship event?”

Of course, the players remembered—it was a Children’s Day Party. By now, they’d played enough children’s games to get PTSD.

She didn’t wait for a reply, smiling as she continued, “And do you all recall what image is on your nameplates?”

Every player had a nameplate hanging on their necks. If they lost it, a new one immediately appeared. The game wasn’t about to let anyone slip up there.

Yan Jiyun was the only one without a nameplate. He used a claw to fish out the plate hanging from Qi Feng’s chest—in cartoon style, a chubby raccoon head. Not as cute as a black cat if you asked him.

Qi Feng glanced down at his name tag, pinched between Yan Jiyun’s claws, and gave the padded paw a little squeeze, pretending to admire the raccoon badge.

He voiced Yan Jiyun’s secret thought: “If it were up to me, I’d pick a cat’s head. Way cuter.”

Yan Jiyun nodded emphatically. Standing right beside Qi Feng were Lan Mo and Sister Liang. Though he didn’t speak, the gesture showed his satisfaction with Qi Feng’s answer.

Raccoons really weren’t cute at all. Cats had that aloof charm—just like himself.

Lan Mo, seeing Qi Feng talking to his cat, couldn’t help but say, “Boss, you’re such a cat slave now.”

Qi Feng didn’t mind. “And loving every minute of it.”

He was happy to live the cat-servant life.

Lan Mo pressed on, “Since you love cats so much, why not get a couple more?”

Qi Feng: “One is enough. I couldn’t handle another—especially if the next one could turn human. My heart wouldn’t take it.”

Lan Mo, clueless that Qi Feng was flirting with the cat, added, “Then maybe try raising another animal?”

Just then, the businesswoman began to explain round three’s rules: “Welcome to the final round of the Championship. The rules are simple: Complete ten tasks from your mission list.”

Immediately, the players’ screens displayed a list of tasks.

[Small Animal Care Plan: Kids love pets, and their teachers often assign them pet-care homework. Please complete all ten tasks in the mission list within the allotted time, and earn your pet’s approval to score points. First to finish the round becomes this Championship’s winner and receives a special grand prize.]

[Mission List:]

1. Find your pet’s favorite food;
2. Play with your pet and discover its favorite toy;
3. Give your pet a bath;
4. Take your pet on a walk;
5. Record your pet’s weight;
6. Give your pet water;
7. Take your pet to the vet once;
8. Let your pet bask in the sun;
9. Swap pets with a teammate, and spend no less than 15 minutes caring for the new animal;
10. Groom your pet’s fur;
11. Record the food your pet hates;
12. Learn your pet’s natural enemy;
    ……
    Qi Feng already had a headache—let alone the others who’d never owned pets.

Sister Liang said, “I’d rather climb nine hundred ninety stairs! This is just torture.”

Yan Jiyun quietly thought: Sister Liang must have been able to make little boys cry when she was a kid.

The businesswoman continued, “Now you’ll each be assigned a pet. One last thing: The fastest player to win their small animal’s approval will not only receive a huge prize, but also one of the luxury manor owner’s personal treasures.”

With a flourish, everyone found themselves in a massive village square, each person holding a numbered wooden tag.

Businesswoman: “Each tag corresponds to a different animal cage. Please find your assigned animal and complete the ten tasks within twelve hours to leave the game.”

It all sounded easy—until the players saw the “small animals” locked up in the cages ahead. What looked like a simple mission had veterans blanching in horror.

Good grief. Each cage was bigger than the next. Were these “pets” modeled after dinosaurs?!

Qi Feng shot a look at Lan Mo, cursing the guy’s jinx: “Speak of the devil and it doth appear…”

Lan Mo was panicking too. He forced a smile: “Boss, you know all about raising cats. You’d better help me later!”

Qi Feng said, “I hope you get a normal animal.”

Yan Jiyun had his own tag, but quickly stuffed it into Qi Feng’s hand to avoid letting anyone find out he, too, was a player.

Qi Feng held onto both tags. Yan Jiyun’s never changed—number 29. His was 30.

After telling the team where to meet up, Qi Feng led Yan Jiyun to their assigned animals. “Come on, let’s see who we get.”

Yan Jiyun said, “You sound kind of excited.”

Qi Feng: “Nope. Raising you is enough.”

Yan Jiyun: “Mm-hmm.”

When they saw the two animals in side-by-side cages, Yan Jiyun bared his teeth and asked, “Do you want to give them a bath?”

Qi Feng heard the grinding of his fangs and hurried to reply, “I only give you baths.” Then it registered what he’d said and his face flushed bright red.