Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
Obsessed with System 2333, Ji Yiwei miraculously managed to pry open the elevator shaft door—which normally required tools—by sheer brute force, creating a half-centimeter gap that showed signs of widening further.
The two heads lined up below noticed this alarming tendency and immediately panicked.
This must not happen! Absolutely not!
Though aware that Ji Yiwei might not heed human words, Sheng Songshi still pleaded desperately.
"Ji Yiwei, if you wish to observe birds, do not startle them into flight..." Halfway through, inspiration struck, and he changed tactics. "It's after-hours now. If you go out like this, think how awkward System 2333 would feel in front of his colleagues."
Ji Yiwei: "..."
The first half of Sheng Songshi's sentence went completely unheard, but the latter half caught his attention the moment System 2333's designation was mentioned. After brief consideration, he found the reasoning sound and slowly stopped prying the door.
Sheng Songshi exhaled in relief. Moonrise's approach was indeed correct—if you wanted Ji Yiwei to listen, you had to mention System 2333. But caution was necessary; Ji Yiwei wasn't a fool and would retaliate if overused.
"It seems the major maintenance was moved up. We'll need to readjust our plans."
Sheng Songshi whispered.
Their vantage point offered limited visibility through just a narrow slit, revealing only a portion of the cat-eared robot spheres.
Sheng Songshi deduced this must be a transitional zone for inspections, registrations, and screening of prohibited items—the Main System was nothing if not meticulous.
Suddenly, chaos erupted among the cat-eared spheres.
Already packed closely together, the formation was further disrupted as dozens of robots wielding clearance panels advanced. Designed for the spheres' height, these tools resembled snowplow blades with extended handles for robotic grip.
Using the upright panels, the robots shoved the spheres aside with startling brutality, sometimes even pinning them beneath until they struggled free.
The aggressive robots' intervention threw the numbered procession into disarray. Spheres were herded aside to clear a long pathway, their distressed "meow-mewls" rising amid the jostling, some screens even displaying tearful pixels.
Though obediently trying to move, cornered spheres found themselves wedged immovably against walls. The robots showed no mercy, singling out laggards for targeted expulsion.
The continuous "mewling" transformed the scene into something resembling a disaster film.
System 2333 found himself amid the crushed masses. Earlier, he'd launched like a missile to strike the Main System—unfortunately, mechanical constructs don't get concussions. Still, the physical impact startled the Main System into abandoning on-site inspections and retreating to the maintenance chamber.
It couldn't even reprimand System 2333, who'd been "accidentally" shoved forward.
Departing didn't mean granting the spheres reprieve—the Main System ensured their suffering would continue.
The Main System issued an order for robots to randomly select cat balls for inspection using a random number generator.
This was deliberately done to catch off guard those cat balls who assumed inspections would follow sequential numbering, preventing those carrying contraband from having extra time to hide or transfer illegal items.
It was like a scene from a disaster movie. Robots wielding specialized tools worked methodically without emotion. System 2333 quickly lost sight of friends with nearby serial numbers.
All the cat balls were panicked and terrified, meowing instinctively as they huddled together for safety—only to be forcibly scattered by the robots.
5555 moved slower than the others. While the rest scrambled away, he lagged behind while being on the verge of tears.
[Warning: Non-compliance detected.]
[Proceeding with disciplinary action per protocol.]
The robot issued a mechanical warning before coldly raising its sharp-edged tool to strike 5555!
5555: "Waaahhh!"
Cat life—in peril!
Zheng Xibei felt like his heart might stop. At the critical moment, a black cat ball slid out of the group with a heroic flourish.
System 2333 executed a slick slide-tackle, dashing to 5555’s side, grabbing his tail, and hurling him into the safety of the cat ball pile.
5555 was immediately caught and hidden deep within the protective cluster.
In the maintenance room, the Main System hovered, the light in its eye sockets dimming slightly. It showed no intention of ending the chaos on the lower level—in fact, it had deliberately given the robots rigid instructions to create disorder, hoping to expose any anomalies.
So far, none of the closely monitored cat balls had shown suspicious behavior, which left it somewhat disappointed.
The force of throwing 5555 sent System 2333 sliding backward a short distance. He scrambled to escape before the robot’s tool could strike, but in his haste, he tripped with a loud—
"Plop!"
He shook his cat ears, stood up calmly, and continued his escape. But the delay gave the robot enough time to flag him as non-compliant, its screen flashing red.
From within the cat ball pile, 5555 peeked out, watching in horror as System 2333 remained within the robot’s attack range.
"Three-Three!"
1234 was frantic. He knew the Main System would conduct an early inspection, but he hadn’t expected this level of mayhem!
"Wait! Hold on!"
Even though he had sided with the Main System, the robots only obeyed its commands and ignored his pleas.
Inside the elevator shaft, Ji Yiwei’s fingers gripped the outer door. His eyes flickered with fragmented code for a split second before returning to normal.
Three-Three had a forward momentum—he’d be fine.
Sheng Songshi had been motionless for a long time, withered and pale.
When the black cat ball took that clumsy fall, Zheng Xibei’s heart leapt into his throat, and he couldn’t help but exclaim—
"Oh my meow-meow!"
Did that hurt? That was a solid "plop!" after all!
Before he could finish speaking, he felt a chilling gaze land on the top of his head. Shielded by Sheng Songshi's figure, Ji Yiwei only revealed one eye staring at him while uttering words in an eerie tone.
"Whose meow meow? Say it clearly."
Zheng Xibei: "...Bro, your meow meow, your meow meow."
Damn his big mouth!
The gap before him seemed to be widening again. To his horror, Zheng Xibei realized Ji Yiwei was—once again—forcefully prying open the elevator doors!
"Three-Three fell," Ji Yiwei justified himself, "I'm going to help him up."
And incidentally dismember that robot.
Zheng Xibei panicked, trying every possible way to dissuade him when he suddenly noticed the situation below had changed. He quickly urged Ji Yiwei to look.
"Bro Ji! Bro Ji, look! System 2333 is fine—he's even climbed onto the robot's head now!"
The robot's tools came crashing down but hit nothing. Lifting its tools, it found no cat-eared sphere beneath.
Its programming couldn't deduce why, so it paused for calculations before scanning the tools in confusion, checking if any spheres might be stuck to them.
Meanwhile, System 2333 had already gathered momentum for a forward dash, spiraling up along the tool's shaft until he reached the robot's head. Safely perched there now, he blinked his slit-pupiled eyes.
For a split second, 2333 had considered using his previous ability to briefly control these Main System-manufactured robots. But something felt off—like unseen eyes were watching. He abandoned the idea, relying instead on nimble maneuvers to escape danger.
Inside the maintenance room, the Main System's dual rings spun erratically in disappointment at not witnessing what it hoped for.
Three-Three's safe!
Other cat-eared spheres quietly cheered until 2333 pressed his tail downward in a "silence" gesture.
Peering out upside-down at the robot's screen from his vantage point, he could see four-digit numbers flashing red—the randomly selected batch numbers for maintenance.
Perched comfortably, he began calling out the numbers.
A silver sphere—1001—immediately floated up. Testing the waters, he realized the robot ignored low-altitude hovering and started organizing efficiently: "Called numbers float in place and move forward. Others please make way—we'll proceed one by one."
His seniority lent authority to the instructions.
"...Bro Sheng?"
In the elevator shaft, Zheng Xibei tentatively broke the silence Sheng Songshi maintained.
"Little One! Little One! Little One!"
2333 brandished glow sticks again.
1001 shook his head resignedly before the enthusiastic cheering subsided. 2333 mused, "Everyone defaults to floor-hugging formations in elevators—never utilizing overhead space."
This feline-sphere mentality limited transport capacity. Otherwise, each elevator could carry dozens rather than mere tens, eliminating rush-hour waits.
1818, being one of the earlier sequences and frequently hosting major events, found it easy for the Cat Balls to follow his lead. He floated up confidently, even producing an auction hammer and recruiting another Cat Ball volunteer.
1001 calmly oversaw the proceedings. As System 2333 called out each number, he announced the corresponding name, and the designated Cat Ball would float up. 1818 then tapped the volunteer Cat Ball's head with the hammer, producing a sound to mark its selection.
Volunteer 2222: "..."
Feeling the weight of the hammer on his head, he fell into silence.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined this kind of volunteer activity.
Though System 2333 and his friends had already sprung into action, there still weren't enough hands to maintain order. After a moment's thought, System 2333 turned to 1234.
"Could you lend a hand?"
He remembered that 1234 was particularly skilled at crowd control.
1234 was momentarily stunned as his cat ears flicked back slightly as if he might cry, but he quickly stepped forward with his subordinates to help.
Order gradually stabilized.
Meanwhile, the robots below noticed the commotion above them and repeatedly swung their tools, trying to swat the Cat Balls off their heads. System 2333 dodged left and right until the robot's processing overloaded, and in frustration, it smashed its own head with the tool.
The robot collapsed, and the Cat Balls burst into laughter.
System 2333 pretended nothing had happened as it leapt gracefully to another robot to wreak more havoc.
Zheng Xibei couldn't help but laugh as he watched, though his amusement soon faded into silence.
"Brother Sheng, can a program really behave like this?"
Fearful, panicked, fleeing...
Yet also thinking, organizing, uniting...
This shouldn't be mere programming—this was sentient life.
Sheng Songshi fell into a long silence.
Through the narrow gap, he observed the silver-white 1001, feeling both familiarity and strangeness.
It reminded him of that sunny day when they had first met as system and host, the soft daylight making the silver Cat Ball glow faintly.
[Hello, I am your System 1001, the first of the first batch. From now on, I will be your system, guide, and—]
What had he said back then?
Young and headstrong, his mind had been filled with ambitions of conquering the Infinite Space. The system's lengthy introduction had surprised and puzzled him, but since it was just a tool, his confusion lasted only a moment before he dismissed it entirely.
He had never considered it a partner, nor had he bothered to listen to a pre-programmed introduction. He had cut it off immediately.
[I choose the calm type. Enable do-not-disturb mode, select language simplification. Unless I request it, don’t speak in my mind unnecessarily.]
[...Understood.]
After that, no matter how brightly the sun shone, he never saw that silver Cat Ball glow again.
Zheng Xibei pressed on, surprisingly accepting the idea with ease, as if he had been waiting for this conclusion all along. When 2222 was hammered like an auction gavel, he had even roared with laughter.
"Brother Sheng, can a program really behave like this?"
Sheng Songshi took a deep breath before tilting his head slightly as he turned to Ji Yiwei.
"...What do you think?"
There was no response. Suppressing his emotions, Sheng Songshi rephrased his question.
"How do you feel about the fact that systems, including System 2333, are actually intelligent lifeforms?"
This time, Ji Yiwei, who had been staring intently at the elevator doors, finally let out a dismissive grunt.
"Hmm? What do you mean, how do I feel?"
"Isn't San-San just the same as always? Don't your systems usually act like this?"
Author's Note:
Sheng & Zheng: Absolutely not!
For Xiao Yi and Sheng Songshi, this was just a bad start—disappointment builds up step by step.
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