The cat café was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Jin Dian Ceng seemed to have been hit by a Shi Hua Zhou, frozen in the posture Jiang Huayan was holding her in—both front paws half-folded on her chest, tail stiffly pointed straight up in midair.
Jiang Huayan’s mind went blank, unable to believe what she had just done.
Xing Ketu was in no hurry to erase the Huo Hua Zhi, but she hadn’t foolishly pressed the “claim death” button either.
The steadily thickening black mist from the Geng Gong kept sounding the ominous countdown of death.
Jiang Huayan closed her eyes in despair, unsure what else she could do to save her own life.
[Black Mist Density +7]
[Black Mist Density -2]
[Black Mist Density -5]
[Black Mist Density +4]
[Black Mist Density -2]
The wildly fluctuating blackened value was like a broken record, going up and down unpredictably.
Jiang Huayan: “7.”
She looked down at the still rigid Jin Dian Ceng, not really understanding the feelings of her little Xiao Fen Dui.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Jiang Huayan tentatively loosened her grip.
Jin Dian Ceng kicked off quickly, disappearing from her sight in a blur.
Jiang Huayan stared at the empty arms, feeling a little guilty as she rubbed the tip of her nose.
Xing Ketu, as if chased by some terrifying monster, dashed straight into the deepest corner of the cat café and finally stopped with her head buried in the shadows.
Jin Dian Ceng’s fluffy chest heaved violently, her whiskers twitching sharply with each breath.
Her bright yellow cat eyes gleamed hauntingly in the darkness.
That hypocritical human! That fickle human! That frivolous human!
How could she have casually kissed a wild hunter she’d just met, a stranger of unknown origin?
She had completely forgotten her old promise!
No, not entirely.
She had kissed Xing Ketu; it had been a very long time since she’d kissed anyone.
The soft touch carried a sweet scent, like a red-hot branding iron searing her silent soul, awakening every frenzy, boiling and crashing through her veins.
Even the pink pads under her paws flushed a deep red.
But she had completely failed to remember the truth.
So many probes, and yet everything was openly laid before her, but she still didn’t recognize the truth!
Her surging emotions were swallowed by the dense, cold blackness washing over her, twisting and corrupting uncontrollably.
Jin Dian Ceng bared sharp canine teeth, neck hair bristling.
Death was too cheap for her.
It wanted to torment her, to take revenge in the same way!
Once she was distracted by Jin Dian Ceng’s facade, it would reveal its true self with eyes that swallowed the night, making her feel the agonizing taste of being hunted!
Outside, Jiang Huaming waited a long time but Xin Ketu didn’t come out.
Only the sounds of the black mist’s fluctuating density grew more intense.
She waited until she was nearly asleep before the alerts finally stopped.
She opened her personal panel and glanced at the black mist density on the Kapai—it had actually lessened.
Not obvious, but definitely good news.
“Meow.”
A faint cat’s meow drew Jiang Huayan’s attention.
Golden honey-colored Mao Mian Bao finally dared to step out from the room, carrying a blanket much bigger than itself.
Jin Dian Ceng was still as soft and pliant as before, as if none of the previous events had happened.
So it made sense that she treated Xing Ketu as just an ordinary cat with a good temper, didn’t it?
“Is this for me?” Jiang Huayan struggled to pull herself out from the couch cloud and stretched toward Jin Dian Ceng’s paws.
Xing Ketu proudly let out a “Meow” and pushed the blanket toward Jiang Huayan with a paw, doing its best to play the role of an understanding little cat.
“Thank you, baby.”
Jiang Huayan accepted it, feeling cherished but then suddenly awkward as her fingertips unconsciously probed the blanket.
“Can I call you ‘baby’?”
Jin Dian Ceng stiffened upon hearing the word “baby.”
The black mist density fluctuated several times between +1 and -1 before finally dropping by two.
Jiang Huayan listened to the alert sounds while observing Xin Ketu.
Sitting upright, her fluffy cat face showed no strong emotion, but her golden tail behind her had its own ideas.
The moment it heard the word “baby,” it perked up excitedly, wagging from side to side—a glaringly obvious show of approval.
Xin Ketu sensed the betrayal of her own tail and violently pinned it beneath her paw.
She didn’t respond to Jiang Huayan’s question, as if she simply didn’t understand.
Jiang Huayan’s eyes fell sadly, partly shading her melancholic green eyes, voice pitiful:
“Not allowed? Then I…”
“Meow.”
The cat’s meow cut her off.
Xin Ketu flicked her tail like a king patrolling her territory, stepping on the Tian Lan Se Mao Rong Tan and leaving a row of Mei Hua Yin imprints before finally claiming a corner of the blanket farthest from Jiang Huayan.
Jiang Huayan hugged the blanket to her chest, shifting closer to Jin Dian Ceng: “Baby, you’re so cute.”
[Black Mist Density -1]
[Black Mist Density -1]
“Baby, you don’t know how scared I was just now. I was chased by a huge black monster, so I didn’t believe you at first when I saw you.”
She leaned closer and closer; the fur on the honey-colored Mao Mian Bao rose slightly with her breath.
“Meow!” Xin Ketu suddenly raised a paw and swiped at Jiang Huayan’s nose.
The pale-colored paw pads were soft, and the sharp claws were all tucked obediently away.
She turned her head away, not looking at Jiang Huayan; her bright yellow eyes appeared a little dim under the light and shadow.
[Black Mist Density +3]
[Black Mist Density -1]
[Black Mist Density -2]
[Black Mist Density -1]
The alerts kept buzzing busily.
Jiang Huayan took note of the pattern but didn’t withdraw; instead, she pushed her nose forward again: “Baby, your paws smell so nice, like Cao Guang.”
Compared to Xin Ketu, she was more like a playful and curious little animal.
[Black Mist Density -2]
[Black Mist Density -3]
The cat “tasted” with a quick pullback of her paw; the tail tip twitched slightly upward.
Jiang Huayan tested the limits, shifting her hips forward: “Is this Mao Ka your home? Why don’t I see any other little cats?”
[Black Mist Density -1]
[Black Mist Density +2]
Jiang Huaming changed the topic: “I’m really worried that the monster chasing me will find this place. Baby, you’re so small; you can’t beat the monster.”
[Black Mist Density -3]
The little cat seemed to understand that.
Jiang Huayan noticed that every different monster had its own preference for increasing or decreasing the blackening value.
The butcher’s blackening value changes were as straightforward as his personality: direct and bold.
Xin Ketu’s, however, was more subtle.
The increments and decrements were scattered, each fluctuation reflecting her mood changes—very fitting for a cat’s character.
“Baby, can I touch you?” Jiang Huayan reached out to Xin Ketu.
[Black Mist Density -1]
Xin Ketu sat still but her tail betrayed her again, flicking anxiously several times as if silently urging her.
However, her smooth white palm stopped just two centimeters from the sleeve and didn’t move further.
Xin Ketu stared at her with bright yellow cat pupils.
Back when she wasn’t allowed to come close, she was so reckless; now that she’s allowed, she’s all polite.
The blackening value went up and down again.
The little rebel’s tail thumped against the sofa, making a soft sound.
Jiang Huayan’s eyes sparkled as if holding a handful of stars, full of expectation: “Can I, baby?”
“Meow.”
The fluffy round head tilted and rubbed against the girl’s palm.
Xin Ketu’s moist nose twitched slightly, barely suppressing the rumbling sound in her throat.
She didn’t want to take the initiative to get close to this frivolous human—it was all for revenge.
As soon as news of the wanted human spread, some young hunters couldn’t wait to see the killer human’s style.
Soon, the Qiu Xian Xiao Fen Dui had gathered.
Led by Qiu Xian Shaonian, a group of fluffy, agile little cats hurried to the Mao Ka.
“How did your Cat Elder kill that human?”
“Cat Elder must have bitten off that human’s head!”
“No, no, the boss doesn’t like biting heads; he likes to carve that human into eight pieces!”
“If Cat Elder swallowed the human whole, then we wouldn’t get to see it! Hurry, hurry!”
“If we’d arrived earlier, maybe we could’ve killed the human together with Cat Elder!”
Normal humans can’t tell where they are, but as natives of the Jin Dian Ceng forest, the cats were familiar with the terrain.
They quickly found the location.
But one cat was faster than them all.
The elegant Bu Ou seemed to have known they were coming back and waited by the Tree Hole.
Qiu Bai’s furry face immediately fell: “Chan Yue, you… how did you know…”
The other young cats behind also looked despondent.
They looked pitiful.
Chan Yue’s gentle amber eyes swept over them and after a few seconds revealed a helpless smile: “Go.”
“Really?” Chu Zhu Shaonian excitedly shouted, leading the way into the Tree Hole.
Inside the hole, transparent ripples shimmered and then vanished.
The little cats followed in single file.
After the last one entered, Chan Yue took a leap and followed.
Jiang Huayan was racing against time to reduce Xin Ketu’s blackening value when a group of little cats suddenly ran out from the room inside the Mao Ka.
The previously quiet café instantly filled with the lively, innocent “meow” sounds.
She looked in surprise at the dozen or so cats of various breeds in front of her, secretly marveling at the wonders of this dream core.
The Cat Small Squad hadn’t expected the human to be alive; their eyes shone with joy as they looked at Jiang Huayan:
“So you were all resting inside!”
Feeling their enthusiasm, Jiang Huayan eagerly got up from the sofa.
To avoid scaring the little cats, she stayed at a safe distance, crouching down and showing her harmlessness: “Little cats~ come here!”
Her eyes immediately settled on the elegant Xian Nu Mao Bu Ou sitting there.
Noble, graceful, and ethereal.
Truly the dream hunt!
However, Jiang Huayan, focused on the wild cats outside, hadn’t noticed the terrifying scene unfolding behind her.
The previously four-legged Cheng Mao suddenly twisted and inflated; the front half of its body spiraled like twisting a towel, turning into a drill-like shape.
Its back half became a thick deep blue tail resembling a turtle’s, composed of mechanical metal vertebrae—not uniform parts, but seemingly pieced together from various components.
The fish tail stood vertically, holding the monster’s body, now three or four times larger, suspended above Jiang Huayan’s head.
This was the true form of the Jing Xing Guai living here.
The monster’s head, centered on the drill, split into eight jagged petals like a menacing Sunflower Drill Monster, its killing intent unmasked.
Jiang Huayan stomped on the ground, feeling the light above grow dim.
Just as she was about to react, a shadow flashed on the floor.
A deafening explosion shattered the silence; the entire Mao Ka trembled.
Jiang Huaming spun around quickly.
Where the bar used to be was now a huge crater, and a large section of the wall had caved in, still vaguely resembling a sunflower shape.
Lying in the rubble was a fainted Meng Mao.
Xin Ketu, impersonating Jin Dian Ceng, stood beside it, arrogantly stepping on its head with a paw.
Jiang Huayan froze for a few seconds, dull-eyed, whispering, “Ah…”
Behind her, the other little cats all wore the same stunned expression.
The boss just swatted the Tao Kan away with one paw!
So cool!
But very quickly, the little cats grew confused.
Why would the boss stop the Cheng Mao from devouring the wanted human cat?
Before the little cats could figure it out, the human spoke again: “Baby, don’t hit the other cats.”
Xin Ketu quickly retracted her paw and obediently sat amid the mess, blinking her big watery yellow eyes and calling out sweetly, “Meow~”
Behind Jiang Huayan, the little cats all looked at Xin Ketu with confused and puzzled eyes.
Elder, why are you so precious to your baby?