Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
—A hand covered in mottled dirt and dried blood rested on the car door handle.
Its owner seemed hesitant as the fingers kept tightening and loosening in turn.
The internal battle raged—should he drive away immediately or turn back to save them? The two thoughts clashed fiercely in his mind, neither gaining the upper hand.
[Host Jiang Zhuo.]
The system's calm, mechanical voice sounded directly in his mind.
[You have three minutes left to escape Restricted Zone 306 and complete the mission.]
The system paused briefly, and as if understanding his hesitation, its mechanical tone softened slightly.
[There’s no need to worry excessively. The host who saved you, Ji Yiwei, is an absolute veteran of the Infinite Space. His System No. 2333 is a second-generation system—my senior. The power, items, and points they possess are beyond our imagination. They will surely escape safely.]
In the face of such veterans, newcomers like them—both host and system—were as weak as infants. Adults didn’t need rescuing from babies, and veterans didn’t need rescuing from rookies.
But just because they didn’t need it, did that mean he shouldn’t repay the favor? Shouldn't he try to save them?
[My logical programming disagrees.]
Only when the system’s cool, mechanical voice spoke again did Jiang Zhuo realize he had unknowingly voiced his thoughts aloud—and the system had responded.
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Zhuo yanked the car door open, twisted the key, and started the engine.
Tires kicked up dust as the battered, open-top off-roader—originally poised for escape—swung around and sped back toward the heart of the restricted zone.
The three-minute countdown ticked mercilessly.
Along the way, the vehicle sent rotting test subjects flying, the recoil rattling his teeth. Finally, Jiang Zhuo reached the central courtyard of the restricted zone. With a minute and a half left, he flung open the passenger door and shouted outside—
"Mr. Ji! Get in the car!!!"
A young man with tea-gold hair stood in the courtyard.
Restricted Zone 306 lay in a desolate expanse of the Gobi Desert, strewn with rubble and parched by drought. Yet, against all logic, a flourishing peach tree bloomed in the heart of the zone.
Its delicate, vibrant blossoms stood in stark. It was almost a mocking contrast to the atrocities committed within the facility.
The man stood beneath the flowers, his dark eyes deep and unreadable. His clothes were immaculate, and in his hands, he held a pair of professional gardening shears and carefully selected a branch.
Having made his choice, he snipped it cleanly.
The countdown continued its relentless march, the final deadline for escape drawing near—yet his expression remained utterly serene, with a faint smile playing on his lips as he brought the most exquisite blossom to them.
—He kissed the peach blossom in the courtyard.
[...I found it! I told you these flowers were pretty!]
In his mind, a lively voice chimed, devoid of the usual mechanical tone—more like a cheerful friend. Through Ji Yiwei’s perspective, the voice’s owner admired the beautiful peach blossom for a moment before noticing the off-roader and its frantic driver.
[Ji Yiwei, the rookie actually came back for us! What a good kid!]
[I was going to remind you to leave when we hit the one-minute mark, but since he’s being so kind, should we get in?]
Ji Yiwei naturally wouldn't oppose his system's idea. With an indulgent smile, he gathered the flower branches and lightly boarded the off-road vehicle.
The vehicle accelerated across the vast Gobi Desert, occasionally hitting gravel with brief tremors.
Jiang Zhuo, who was driving, watched the countdown nearing zero with his mind filled only with thoughts of going faster, even faster. Yet no matter how he calculated, they couldn't exit Restricted Zone 306 before the timer ended—meaning their mission would fail.
Under the blazing sun, he was drenched in sweat.
Beside him, Ji Yiwei seemed completely unconcerned.
Guided by that cheerful voice in his mind, he folded a sturdy sun hat from a newspaper and perched it on his head to block the sun before relaxing into his seat.
As the countdown approached zero, Jiang Zhuo's lips trembled with fear when Ji Yiwei suddenly lifted his eyelids and asked:
"What time is it?"
[13:39:38.]
"13:39:40."
Prompted by his system, Jiang Zhuo reported the exact time down to the second despite his trembling fear. After speaking, he noticed Ji Yiwei's slightly raised lips droop a fraction, revealing a hint of displeasure as if something hadn't met his expectations.
The next second, a violent explosion erupted behind them.
The blast's heatwave even reached their open-top vehicle. Jiang Zhuo slammed the brakes, causing the car to screech to a drifting halt.
Jiang Zhuo turned back—a series of roars continued as thick smoke billowed skyward, with the wails of decaying test subjects echoing across the barren land.
[Restricted Zone 306—annihilated.]
[Escape—successful.]
Jiang Zhuo was stunned.
He turned forward with his expression frozen in disbelief before glancing sideways at Ji Yiwei. He stared blankly as the curve of Ji Yiwei's lips returned to its initial slight upward tilt—that small sign of pleasure—and felt a chill run down his spine.
—It was Mr. Ji.
—Everything was Mr. Ji's arrangement.
Of course. They didn't necessarily have to leave Restricted Zone 306 for the escape to count. The zone's complete destruction also meant survival.
Both systems' voices sounded simultaneously in their hosts' minds, with the latter noticeably more lively.
[Mission complete, successful escape.]
[Mission complete, successful escape!]
[Escape completion: 100%]
[Escape completion: 100%!]
[Test subjects rescued: 2]
[Test subjects rescued: 300!]
[Map exploration: 30%]
[Map exploration: 100%!]
[Side missions completed: 0]
[Side missions completed: 17!]
[Total points earned: 320]
[Total points earned: 30,000!]
[Bonus points (Newcomer Assistance): 5,000!]
Jiang Zhuo's system had finished announcing, but the voice in Ji Yiwei's mind continued with cheerful "dings."
Due to the high mission completion rate, there were additional exploration bonuses alongside side mission rewards and newcomer assistance points. The reward announcements gradually devolved into happy "meows", as the system's true nature revealed in its joy.
Ji Yiwei smiled.
"Shouldn't this month's side mission quota be met by now?"
If it weren't for the side missions and considering System 2333's commission, Ji Yiwei would have chosen a more challenging task world with higher reward points instead of "Restricted Zone 306"—a place abundant with side missions but little else.
[Meow! Mission accomplished!]
System 2333 continued to show his true colors, reveling in joy for a while before tidying up the files around him, ready to wrap up this world.
[I'm about to finalize the settlement. I'll transfer you back right away.]
A smile lingered at the corners of Ji Yiwei's brows.
"Alright, I'll wait for you at the exit of the Miniature Garden."
In a cramped cubicle roughly one cubic meter in size, screens surrounded every inch of the walls and displayed everything in the surroundings without blind spots.
At the center squatted a footless mechanical cat-ball. The spherical body was entirely black and sleek with a futuristic aesthetic. Its face is a circular electronic screen with slit-like eyes that blinked playfully. The two mechanical cat ears atop its head twitched slightly.
Hearing Ji Yiwei's words, the slit eyes on the screen instantly curved into two cheerful crescents.
[Sure thing!]
He replied happily.
[See you at the Miniature Garden exit!]
After finishing the call with Ji Yiwei, System 2333 gleefully imagined the hefty influx of points and switched to another system's channel.
[S-senior!]
The nervous voice belonged to System 6666, Jiang Zhuo's system and a newcomer—this was his first task world with his host. His tone now was vastly different from when he spoke to Jiang Zhuo, livelier and more inexperienced.
System 2333 detected his anxiety and chuckled.
[Don't worry, you did great for a rookie system this time!]
On System 6666's screen-face, the slit eyes instantly transformed into tearful, moved expressions.
[Thank you for helping me and my host, Senior! Sniff...]
[No problem~ You've never handled host transfers before, right? I'll guide you through it this time—pay close attention to the procedure!]
[Got it!!!]
Under the blazing sun of the Gobi Desert, the two figures in the open-top off-roader vanished in an instant.
A hot wind swept past as plumes of thick smoke continued to rise from Restricted Zone 306 in the distance—all the test subjects and sins buried beneath the explosions.
This task world had been thoroughly completed and squeezed dry of every possible point source, leaving no reason for other systems or hosts to return.
[Host ability sealing in progress...]
[Sealing successful!]
[Transfer successful!]
[Host Ji Yiwei has taken 150 grams of material from the small world. Deducting 1,500 points.]
……….
The host's mission was over, but the system's work was far from done.
Inside the tiny cubicle, System 2333 was now bombarded with directives from the Main System.
[System 2333, report all settlement details for the small world immediately!]
"Yes, yes, working on it right now..."
[System 2333, ensure host ability sealing is error-free! Adjust parameters!]
"Got it, got it, on it, on it—so exhausting... "
[System 2333, is the equipment transaction log properly filled out? A review found formatting errors in the last inventory report's endnotes. Rectify this immediately within the next few minutes!]
System 2333: "...
[System 2333! System 2333!]
System 2333: "..."
Bosses really love to nag.
Don't dig up old grievances when we're this busy!
With a snap, he yanked off the left cat ear on his head that received messages from the Main System, and the world fell into silence.
System 2333 quickly organized all the forms and data in this peaceful quiet, submitted them to the Main System, and then reattached the left cat ear.
The Main System fell silent.
Hehe.
As it turned out, ignoring the boss's nonsense sometimes didn’t affect work efficiency at all.
After swiftly finishing all his tasks, one side of the cubicle finally opened. System 2333 floated five centimeters higher and "whooshed" out like an office worker clocking out, his heart racing toward home.
Beyond the tiny cubicle, the familiar "Miniature Garden" scenery unfolded before System 2333's eyes—
Countless cubicles, each about one cubic meter in size, were stacked from the floor to the ceiling and gleaming with a metallic sheen.
These metal cubes weren’t static but constantly shifted and rearranged like a colossal Rubik’s Cube.
Curved tracks crisscrossed the air, with mechanical cat balls sliding up and down along them, heading to or leaving their assigned cubicles.
The main system space had a flight restriction—all mechanical cat balls could fly no higher than two meters off the ground. For the fist-sized cat balls, the tracks became essential for vertical movement.
The place was both bustling and desolate, with each mechanical cat ball burdened by the heavy performance quotas assigned by the main system that to be met monthly without fail.
System 2333 paused briefly before this scene but remembered that Ji Yiwei was still waiting for him at Miniature Garden’s exit, he hurriedly slid down the track to the ground. Just as he was about to take off, he heard a voice calling from behind.
"Senior! Senior!"
It was System 6666.
According to the main system’s latest directive, newbie systems had to complete one task world with their assigned newbie hosts before entering Miniature Garden.
As a newcomer, this was System 6666’s first time in the Miniature Garden area. Though the manual had some basic guidelines, he was still a bit clumsy with the tracks, but finally managed to descend to the ground and approach System 2333.
"Senior, thank you for helping us in the previous task world," he said earnestly again with his mechanical cat ears twitching. "Otherwise, neither my host nor I might have made it here."
System 2333 smiled, his eyes curving.
"It was nothing. Helping newcomers also earns us bonus points—totally worth it!"
"But starting from the next world, you’ll have to work hard on your own."
System 6666 nodded vigorously while looking at System 2333 with admiration.
A system’s batch was indicated by the first digit of their number—he was from the latest sixth batch, while his senior was a seasoned second-batch veteran, even paired with a kind and gentle host.
So impressive.
"I’d love to learn more from you, Senior," System 6666 said sheepishly. "When do you have time?"
At this, System 2333 perked up excitedly.
"I’m off duty tomorrow! We can grab some supplements together then. For now, let’s exchange contact info."
After adding the contact number, which took a little time, System 2333 hurried toward the exit of the Miniature Garden to avoid keeping Ji Yiwei waiting too long.
Along the way, he encountered many mechanical cat balls coming to work, with almost every one of them startled with airplane ears. Every passing host also wore a look of lingering fear—some covering their mouths, others clutching their chests—yet none dared to even glance back.
System 2333: ●v●
It seemed Ji Yiwei was already waiting for him at the exit.
System 2333 sped toward the Miniature Garden’s exit.
From afar, he could see Ji Yiwei standing tall and graceful, with one hand tucked behind his back as he waited quietly. His tea-gold hair looked warm and bright, and the black kitten earring on his right ear flickered faintly. Despite such a charming appearance, numerous systems and hosts scattered to avoid him.
Or rather, fled in panic?
Only System 2333 flew straight toward Ji Yiwei. Before even reaching him, the vertical-line eyes on his screen face had already curved into crescents.
"Ji Yiwei!"
He called his host's name cheerfully as he flew toward him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting! I'm here!"
The young man, who had been standing with his head lowered and expression unreadable, looked up at the sound.
Watching the cat ball speeding toward him, he couldn't help but smile.
He was undeniably handsome, though the curve of his lips usually held a detached, emotionless tilt. Now, with a genuine smile, he radiated warmth and brightness that were utterly captivating.
Suddenly, the hand he had hidden behind his back extended forward. Between his slender fingers, a peach blossom bloomed, delicate and dewy, vibrant and radiant.
He offered the flower branch—specially brought back from a mission world—to the black cat ball while leaning slightly as if extending a dance invitation or a lover's holiday gift. His dark eyes brimmed with amusement.
"Flowers for the kitty." He said.
System 2333: ●v●
System 2333: >v<
Wow!
Ji Yiwei really knows how to charm!
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