Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
System 2333 drifted leisurely down the hallway with a small towel wrapped around his head and body, his black shell smoother and shinier than ever before.
He turned past a door to find his friends enjoying other treatments.
Three cat-shaped system spheres were evenly buried in fine white sand, with only their screens and two ears peeking out. The ambient temperature was perfectly maintained, so the sand was warm and cozy, making each cat sphere gleam so brightly they practically emitted a divine glow.
The earlier batch systems had seen their fair share of excitement and could comfortably indulge in relaxation. As 2333 floated past 6666, he noticed the other system was so blissed out that his cat spirit was nearly escaping through his ears. Startled, 2333 quickly pushed it back in.
The area was quiet and empty, with only a few cleaning machines moving about. For customer privacy, the spa had no surveillance installed, and today they had booked the entire place—no other guests were present. While their hosts were off doing their own thing, the systems could fully enjoy all the amenities without worry.
Still slightly damp, 2333 wasn’t keen on sand bathing just yet, so he lounged on a nearby chair and flipped through the service menu and realized they had already tried most of the offerings.
"It's a shame 1818 couldn’t make it…" 2222 sighed from his sandy cocoon.
1314, also buried, wriggled deeper into the sand.
"But isn’t this place invested in by 1818’s host? He can come anytime he wants."
Meanwhile, 1001, buried just as deeply, struggled to keep his vertical-line eyes open, resisting the comfort of the environment to stay alert and thoughtful.
"Don’t you find it strange? Why would our hosts bring us here to enjoy all this?"
"What’s so strange about it?" 2222 replied while purring contentedly in the sand. "My host doesn’t need to be cautious—he even stashed all his contraband with me, a whole arsenal… though I’ve since handed it over to Three-Three for safekeeping."
At the mention of that, 2333 remembered.
"Xiao Er, the major inspection is over now. Do you want it back?"
2222 shook his head so vigorously that sand flew everywhere.
"No, no, keep holding onto it, 33. Be a kind cat and let me keep storing it there. I’ve got my own contraband taking up space now—no room left for my host’s stuff."
6666, too poor to own any contraband, stayed silent.
1314 spoke up as well.
"Honestly, these treatments might be lavish, but is it really that odd? My host, Zhou Yuechu, even manages to snag new supplement batches for me sometimes."
Every cat sphere except 2333: "!!!"
Those supplements that sold out in less than a second?! To actually get your hands on those—1314’s host must be a legend!
2333, unfamiliar with the hype around the new supplements, tilted his head and smiled.
"Well, I don’t need to explain much. Even though there are a lot of fancy services here, Ji Yiwei is the investor behind this spa—I can come anytime… Nothing to be wary about."
1001, who had never experienced such pampering, fell silent.
Seeing 1001 fall silent, the other cat balls realized they'd spoken out of turn. Some unwrapped their tiny towels, others wriggled free from the sand, before all crowding around to comfort him. But 1001 shook his head and used his tail to pat the head of the nearest and most concerned 2333 before speaking lightly.
"I'm fine."
"I'm system 1001 after all—much more mature than you guys. Mature cat balls don't need those things."
He glanced around at his gathered friends and sighed helplessly.
"If none of you think it's strange, then there's no need to be on guard."
1001's emotions appeared steady, but his longtime friend 2333 knew better—Little One's heart was still hurting, just habitually concealed beneath that reliable exterior.
...Had to find a way to cheer Little One up.
After some thought, he actively raised his tail to propose:
"Indoor activities are boring! Let's sneak out for a short hike! There's a forest outside!"
A forest!
This thrilled the usually indoor-confined cat balls who spent their days either on missions in cubicles or organizing files at desks. They bounced excitedly in agreement.
"Yeah! Forest hike!"
As they spoke, three cat balls worked together to physically lift 1001 up.
1001: "...Hey, I can float on my own."
Protest ignored! Amid his objections, the cat balls rolled him out like a wheel.
The procession carrying 1001 boldly forward encountered a standby cleaning robot at the entrance. They instantly adjusted their floating speed, sneaking past quietly.
A wave of lush greenery greeted them—the sound of rustling leaves and cicadas.
Beyond this door lay freedom.
Indoors, Ji Yiwei leaned casually against the pool table with a cue in hand and black specialty gloves on, while his gaze leisurely scanning the layout.
The red ball's umbrella spread beautifully—the table was full of opportunities, this game's points already his for the taking.
Beside him, Sheng Songshi remained expressionless while sipping water—his second bottle already.
He was clearly destined to lose this round as Ji Yiwei left no openings for a comeback, so he might as well keep drinking to ease the awkwardness.
Having finally selected his target ball, Ji Yiwei bent over with his dark eyes fixed on it. Suddenly, his pupils flickered slightly before returning.
Seems Three-Three went outside.
The thought brought an indulgent smile to his lips. The club's enclosed forest had paved trails—hard to get lost, and short walks were technically part of the program.
He struck—the crisp click of balls colliding.
Click.
Thud!
On a massive fallen log, system 2333—holding a leaf-flag—braked abruptly. The cat balls behind crashed into him and even nearly tumbled off the trunk before stabilizing by grabbing each other's tails.
6666, clinging to his senior's tail, scrambled back up after several attempts and peeked forward to see what had caused the sudden stop.
System 2333 watched the streak of sunlight falling on the tree trunk with great wariness. The sunlight lay directly across their path—impossible to circumvent. Passing through it would mean getting sun exposure.
He flicked his tail decisively.
"Improvise with local materials! Don't let the sun damage our freshly polished shells!"
The cat-ball spheres immediately began searching nearby, eventually selecting their tools.
They plucked round, single leaves with stems, then wore these trumpet-shaped hats on their heads. After testing with a couple of small jumps to ensure they wouldn't fall off, their expressions turned satisfied.
Only then did System 2333 continue forward while holding up his little flag as he led the cat-ball spheres across the sunlight streak to a relatively open clearing in the forest.
Sunlight filtering through the leaves scattered golden fragments across the ground. System 2333 planted the tour guide flag as a marker, and the cat-ball spheres disbanded their formation to roll freely on the grass, enjoying life.
System 2333's tail swished frequently as his vertical-line eyes fixed intently on a sapphire-blue butterfly before him, barely containing his excitement.
The butterfly remained motionless until some disturbance startled it into premature flight. Startled, System 2333 immediately gave chase, bouncing up and down as he pursued it from one side of the tree trunk to the other. At this distance, he could still see his fellow cat-ball spheres, so he felt secure. When the butterfly flew higher, he leaped forward—only to find empty air beneath him.
System 2333: "......"
His ears flapped uselessly against the air for a moment before he let out a "meep" and plummeted downward.
Only when nearing the bottom did he remember he could fly, so he hastily stabilized himself midair. As his eyes adjusted to the dimmer surroundings, he realized he was in a deep depression.
Perhaps carved by water erosion with upper soil layers collapsing, this hollow had formed amidst the trees. Half-rotten timber crisscrossed around him while constant dripping sounds echoed. Before him stood an enormous triangular... object.
The sapphire butterfly alighted briefly on one of the triangle's points, its tiny legs clinging as if bestowing a butterfly kiss, before fluttering away into the darkness.
System 2333 couldn't quite describe what he felt—only that this triangular object gave him an uncanny sense of familiarity. It felt intimate, nostalgic, and...
Sorrowful.
He drifted closer to the triangular mechanical structure when suddenly, voices calling his name echoed from above the depression.
"San-san!"
"Senior Three-Three—"
These calls somewhat dispelled the melancholy in his heart. He quickly looked up before amplifying his speaker to maximum volume.
"I'm down here! I fell into a pit!"
"But you can fly?!"
"......"
"......"
"Hehe."
"Stop hehe-ing! Stay put, we're flying down."
Following his voice, the other cat-ball spheres descended. The moment 1001 arrived, he grabbed System 2333 and shook him vigorously.
"Wandering off again! I'll tie your tail to a tree!"
He really was developing gray hairs worrying over this troublemaker!
"S-sorry, but Xiao Yi, look at this..."
1001 turned his screen, and amidst the dancing tree shadows, he too saw the massive triangular machine.
"What... is this?"
The cat balls huddled together, engaging in a heated discussion about this triangular object, mainly debating what it could possibly be used for.
"UFO fragment?" guessed 2222.
1314 cautiously scanned the object, particularly the underside of the triangle where there were exposed wires and ports.
"This should be part of some mechanical body. Look here—there's a clear fracture point."
1001 pondered for a moment before suddenly stepping back to view it from a distance. His screen displayed a frown before he moved closer for comparison. System 2333's mechanical cat ears also entered his field of vision that sparked a sudden realization.
"Doesn't this look like... a cat ear?"
Including System 2333, the other cat balls froze their screens to look—and indeed, it did resemble one.
2222 even took off his own mechanical cat ear to compare the outlines—they matched perfectly.
But if this was a cat ear, then the cat ball it belonged to... must have been enormous, many times larger than even the ring-bearing Main System.
After some deliberation, the cat balls could only tentatively conclude that this was indeed an ear, with no other information available.
1001 looked up—it was getting late, and they needed to hurry back. But when he turned, he saw System 2333 split open down the middle and attempted to swallow the entire massive mechanical cat ear.
"Three-Three," he advised, "it's too big. We've taken photos—let's leave it here. No need to bring it back."
System 2333 continued straining to stuff the cat ear into his storage compartment, exerting more effort than he ever had before.
He didn't want...
To leave this cat ear alone here.
Sheng Songshi held a Go piece between his fingers, contemplating for a long while before sighing and conceding defeat. Zheng Xibei, who had been diligently strategizing beside him, also let out a sigh—another loss.
That afternoon had started with just Sheng getting thoroughly beaten, but soon the three of them united against their common opponent and took turns challenging Ji Yiwei in various leisure activities—many of which were their specialties—yet still couldn't avoid defeat.
Ji Yiwei seemed to have no weaknesses, claiming all the points they wagered with effortless ease, his overwhelming strength bordering on despair-inducing.
As Sheng Songshi shook his head and began collecting the pieces, Zhou Yuechu suddenly spoke.
"They're back."
The hosts moved to discreetly observe from the window. In the distance, the cat balls with their trumpet-shaped hats were bouncing their way back. Among them, System 2333's figure jumped and trembled intermittently, as if hiccuping nonstop.
After today, there could be no doubt—the systems were indeed intelligent lifeforms.
Ji Yiwei stood up.
Three-Three was back, so today's activities could end here—he'd won more than enough points.
On behalf of the other two hosts, Sheng Songshi sincerely thanked Ji Yiwei for his hospitality today. After all, Ji Yiwei had voluntarily revealed his identity as an investor in this club and then proceeded to win so many points—he'd probably be treating them today.
Seeing Ji Yiwei in such an agreeable mood, Sheng Songshi adjusted his non-prescription glasses and couldn't help remarking:
"I thought you only used this club for yourself and didn't open it to others."
Judging from today's events, Ji Yiwei wasn't a complete lone wolf after all, nor was he entirely incapable of cooperation. In fact, one might even say he had an approachable side. Perhaps if he talked with Ji Yiwei again, the man might give up his demand for the entire White Bird Project and join them... as a comrade?
Seeing Sheng Songshi growing increasingly presumptuous, Ji Yiwei responded with a faint smile.
He had indeed once wanted Sansan to have this place all to himself—no amount of begging from Qian Dafa would have changed his mind. But one year, while celebrating Sansan's birthday, he overheard the cat making wishes over electronic candles. Sansan probably never imagined his hearing would be so acute, far surpassing that of ordinary hosts and allowing him to catch every whispered word.
[I hope I can be happy.]
[I hope Ji Yiwei can be happy.]
[I hope all the cat balls can be happy.]
Three wishes—only one for himself, while the other two were for others.
How could Ji Yiwei not fulfill Sansan's birthday wishes?
Thus came into existence the current club.
But since it was a profit-driven establishment...
With a smile, he spread his hands toward Sheng Songshi.
"Time to settle the bill. Don't forget the venue fee for the private booking."
Bets were bets, but charges were charges. Did they really think they could play for free? He had Sansan to take care of—he wouldn't let a single credit slip by.
Sheng Songshi: "..."
So much for being approachable!
All that goodwill was wasted!
Author's Note:
Sheng Songshi: An entire afternoon of losing bets and losing bets—all that goodwill was wasted!!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
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!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•