Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
Despite Ji Yiwei being considerate and clingy, System 2333 still reluctantly clocked out for the day.
Tonight's work on clearing the elevator shaft would likely require an all-nighter, so he needed to hurry—no time for the cafeteria's midnight snack. But since he'd already consumed plenty of rare supplements at Ji Yiwei's place, enough to multiply his weight several times over, System 2333 figured it didn't matter.
System 2333 was a highly unruly cat-ball, thoroughly embodying the wisdom of "if the boss points east, he goes west; if the boss scolds a dog, he chases a chicken." Since the Main System prohibited all non-mission cat-balls from moving around at night, System 2333 seized this precious opportunity to wander through nearly every corner of the system's living quarters.
The places he couldn't access only fueled his curiosity further—he'd glitch through bugs just to squeeze inside.
First, he checked out the abandoned elevator shaft from his memory.
This shaft was actually right around the corner from the elevators the cat-balls normally used. Blocked off with "No Entry" tape, it usually kept law-abiding cat-balls out—but System 2333 was utterly undeterred.
System 2333: Meow-haha!
Rebellious to the core! What could they do?
Given that the many small elevators the cat-balls currently used descended from the Miniature Garden, this abandoned shaft likely led upward to it—though the reason for its disuse was unclear.
After confirming the location, System 2333 contacted Xiao Yi, who seemed swamped.
"Sorry, curfew's almost here—I'm rushing to finish overtime work."
"You've already pinpointed the spot? Hold on, I'll be right there."
System 1001 was busy unpacking world data packets, verifying key information, listing the times, locations, and probabilities of side events, while also assessing risks within the worlds to determine what items to stock in the store—all of which affected not just the hosts' points but their very survival.
With such tight deadlines and heavy workloads, System 1001 was on the verge of despair, but no cat-ball would ever half-ass their duties.
Calmly, he thought, worst case, he'd just take the work to the charging room and keep laboring while plugged in—the equivalent of a human working overtime even in their dreams.
"By the way, San-san, are you heading out on a mission soon too?" 1001 asked offhandedly while being surrounded by cat-balls pulling all-nighters and frantically scratching their bald spots.
"Seems like everyone's working overtime. When I asked around, other balls said a lot of veteran hosts are planning to complete missions first and then enjoy a ten-day break... Apparently, they got some inspiration from the host gathering."
Living in the Infinite Space meant learning to find joy in hardship. If they treated the Main System's new rules not as fines but as paid vacations, it suddenly seemed pretty awesome.
"Honestly, thinking about it that way makes it way more bearable," another overtime-working cat-ball chimed in, trying to stay positive. "Who even came up with this idea?"
System 2333: "..."
He and Ji Yiwei were amazing—they'd completely twisted the Main System's new policy.
By now, System 2333 was already poking his head into the archives. Soon, he spotted Xiao Yi amid the crowd of overworked cat-balls. As he floated over, an even more eye-catching streak of red drifted into view.
"1001, here's the data. Let's head out together tomorrow—we'll wait for our hosts at the Miniature Garden entrance. My host Zheng Xibei and your host Sheng Songshi are assigned a joint mission. Looking forward to our cooperation, meow~"
1001 nodded. He often partnered with 2222 for combined missions. Nearby, 2333 watched with longing eyes and dropping ears—how he wished he could join his friends on joint missions too!
After exchanging mission details, 2222 scrolled through the system store interface with unusual seriousness, sighing deeply instead of his usual goofy demeanor.
"But look—aren't all the systems working overtime tonight were veterans assigned to experienced hosts?"
2333 glanced around and realized it was true. The only veteran system not pulling overtime... seemed to be him.
"All that talk we had about spending points to buy vacation time? That only applies to powerful hosts.”
A sighing emoji appeared on 2222's screen.
"But for average hosts, this is brutal. They were already afraid of missions, preferring to scrape by doing odd jobs in the main system space. Now they're forced to constantly take on assignments."
These financially struggling, mission-averse hosts had learned the new regulations were passed at a gathering of veteran hosts. Some had even grown to resent the elite hosts, causing divisions among them.
And if this forced mission cycle continued... inevitably some hosts—and cat-balls—would crack under pressure.
"Actually, many balls here aren't prepping for tomorrow's missions. They're just analyzing worlds in advance—see 6666 over there? The more intel they gather, the better their hosts' survival chances."
The three spheres fell silent. 1001's resolve to resist the main system hardened as he recalled recent events. He exchanged a glance with 2333, who immediately understood and began floating away.
They'd return to their charging docks first, leave decoy shells behind, then slip away.
As they departed, 2222 returned to his workstation but paused for one final look back.
"If you ever need help... just say the word."
Goofy he might be, but he wasn't stupid.
For the second time today, 1001 felt something akin to gratitude. Yet for others' safety, he wanted to minimize involvement...
To his astonishment, 2333 answered cheerfully: "Actually, we need help tonight!"
Under 1001's shocked gaze, he dragged 2222 to a surveillance blind spot near the charging room then signaling silence before dramatically producing a red cat-ball shell.
"Your disguise! And this camouflage fabric! Watch how we do it—you'll learn the escape ropes!"
No further explanation was needed. 2222 immediately muffled his speaker to suppress any shocked outburst. Mimicking their every move with intense concentration, he executed the perfect shell-game escape, vanishing beneath the fabric.
After they left, two taller gray-white robots arrived at the charging room.
Known as "Inspectors" by the cat-eared spheres, these were non-combat robots created by the main system with powerful identification capabilities. Though the Inspector-type robots lacked combat functions, they could mobilize large numbers of ordinary robots with a single command, specializing in counting the cat-eared spheres and enforcing curfew.
They conducted an astonishingly thorough scan of the entire charging room before concluding their inspection.
"All systems except mission-related ones have returned to their positions."
One Inspector robot, passing by a red cat-eared sphere, found its color particularly eye-catching and performed an individual scan. After the beam passed, the Inspector detected nothing suspicious and floated out of the charging room.
By then, the three spheres had already reached the basement level.
The day's entry checks had ended, leaving only two robots on standby in the corner with their screens turned off. In theory, all cat-eared spheres should have been charging, but these three rule-breaking ones were still out and about, like delinquents wandering after curfew.
2222 had been holding back the whole way. Finally alone, he couldn't contain his excitement.
"Whoa! We made it out? This is amazing! It's my first time—mmph!"
2333 quickly silenced him with a bug exploit before letting him bounce around freely, then turned to lecture 1001 with earnest concern.
"Xiao Yi, how many times have I told you? Don't always keep things to yourself," he said with hands on his hips like a little teapot. "If you have problems, speak up. If you need help, shout loudly so friends like us can hear you."
"Look at Xiao Er—he came running as soon as I called. We're all working together tonight."
1001 blinked his vertical-line eyes and smiled softly.
"Alright, I won't hide things anymore. I'll shout loudly when I need help."
Satisfied, 2333 curved his screen eyes again, and the three spheres gently bumped heads. After setting up their bug exploit to avoid surveillance, they arrived before the abandoned elevator shaft.
The outer door was tightly shut. The three spheres looked up, unsure how to "clear the path." Was it blocked inside?
"No worries, I've got it covered," 2333 declared confidently with his screen filled with bamboo graphics to symbolize his preparedness. "I've already called a friend for backup! You two might not know him well yet, but you will soon!"
"...Still as socially fearless as ever. You should turn into a cow sphere."
4399 arrived with his toolkit slung over his back. 2333's screen eyes squinted with joy as he made grand introductions.
"This is the Great Repair Handyman, the childhood memory—4399!"
4399: "..."
He promptly bonked 2333's head with his tail, eliciting an "Ow!"
"Don't think adding 'Great' makes me overlook 'Handyman.'"
Turning to the other two, he greeted them politely.
"Hello."
"Hello."
"Hi!"
The cat-eared spheres exchanged courteous bows before facing the massive elevator door together.
2333 gazed up at the towering elevator shaft, deep in thought.
He had always found it strange.
The cat balls were only the size of fists, so why was there an elevator shaft large enough to accommodate humans? It was so odd.
It was almost as if...
There had once been many people walking around here.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
The completed novel is now available in my Ko-fi page.
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•