Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
"...What a coincidence."
Ji Yiwei broke his usual silence with rare small talk while smiling as he approached. Zhou Yuechu and Wen Xu wanted to run but didn't dare and could just watch helplessly as Ji Yiwei drew near.
Ji Yiwei vaguely remembered Zhou Yuechu and called out to her.
"Zhou..." He paused slightly before continuing smoothly, "Miss Zhou."
He probably didn't remember her name at all, Zhou Yuechu thought calmly—though she'd never dare say it aloud. Surprisingly, Ji Yiwei actually remembered Wen Xu and could even recall his full name.
Wen Xu was nearly scared to tears by this "recognition", feeling uneasy all over.
"I heard you're an inventor. Since we've met here, I'd like to patronize your business and buy something." His tone was relatively friendly, and the fact that he was speaking so much suggested he was in a genuinely good mood.
"Do you have the most advanced photography equipment? Not the mediocre stuff sold in the System Mall, nor those special-function toys from mission worlds. It needs maximum storage capacity."
How could Wen Xu refuse? After some fumbling—completely lacking his usual arrogance—he pitifully produced the device.
As Ji Yiwei raised his wrist to pay, he suddenly paused with his stare on Wen Xu.
"The price... it's not too expensive, is it? I'm trying to be frugal lately."
If he bought something too pricey, Sansan would scold him for overspending again.
Wen Xu's mouth twitched uncontrollably.
"It's yours! A gift!"
But Ji Yiwei slowly shook his head. Not spending any points would defeat the purpose—he wouldn't be able to show off his thriftiness to Sansan and earn praise. That wouldn't do.
He smiled politely at Wen Xu.
"Just name your price."
What kind of hellish pricing challenge was this?!
Wen Xu felt like Ji Yiwei was driving him insane. He had to set the price himself—too high and Ji Yiwei might kill him for being expensive, too low and he might kill him for the insult. He had to find the perfect amount. No, he needed to name the price that would satisfy Ji Yiwei's expectations!
After frantic mental calculations, his lips trembling as he quoted a figure that exhausted all his worldly wisdom.
"Five hundred points?"
Ji Yiwei's smile vanished instantly and his expression darkened.
"That's too expensive."
Wen Xu's composure shattered.
Why don't you just rob me instead?!
Zhou Yuechu suddenly had an epiphany. She recalled how Sheng Songshi, after surviving an encounter with Ji Yiwei, had gone drinking with them to celebrate.
During the gathering, he'd mournfully recounted how Ji Yiwei had forcibly bought his precious green onion for the absurdly low price of one point.
One point...
Could it be that Ji Yiwei only recognized "one point" as an acceptable amount?
"One point?" Zhou Yuechu tentatively suggested.
Ji Yiwei's expression immediately brightened.
"You'd really sell it to me for so little?"
They both nodded frantically, and Ji Yiwei frugally purchased the new photography device. Seeing him in good spirits, Zhou Yuechu ventured another question.
"Mr. Ji, what will you use this for...?"
"To take some cat photos." Ji Yiwei adjusted the device while praising it. "It really is much better than those slow-updating models in the System space. The storage is impressive too."
Wen Xu was delighted that someone praised his skills, but he forgot that the person complimenting him was Ji Yiwei—someone who took great pleasure in toying with others' emotions. Just as he began to relax, he suddenly heard Ji Yiwei remark casually:
"If you can modify a camera device so well, robots must be no problem for you either."
"That robot that delivered fruit to me last time was far more agile than the average one."
Wen Xu's legs immediately gave out, and it was Zhou Yuechu who had to steady him. Steeling herself, Zhou Yuechu asked Ji Yiwei,
"Mr. Ji, what exactly are you planning...?"
Ji Yiwei smiled.
"I’m not planning anything. I’ll soon be the leader of the White Bird Project. Although Sheng Songshi hasn’t shown the slightest initiative in handing over the responsibilities, I’m conscientious enough to start the transition early."
Amid their pale faces, he continued with a faint smile.
"I did some simple research afterward. The White Bird Project mainly consists of two parts: operations targeting the fringe worlds and a power seizure within the Main System’s domain."
He didn’t shy away from revealing such classified information in public, because as he spoke, white paper birds fluttered around, sealing off the area. No one, not even the Main System, could eavesdrop on their conversation.
Ji Yiwei went on.
"The technical aspects of the White Bird Project rely heavily on the legacy of retired host Zhou Yueluo, overseen by Miss Zhou... here. The minor innovations, however, fall to Wen Xu."
"And though you’re at odds with Sheng Songshi, you’ve maintained technical collaboration—especially regarding robots. To succeed in the Main System’s domain, controlling the robot army is essential. As the incoming leader, it’s only reasonable for me to inspect things in advance."
He leisurely dissected every major and minor secret of the White Bird Project before turning to Zhou Yuechu for confirmation.
"Miss Zhou... the internal structure of the White Bird Project is as I described, isn’t it?"
Cold sweat broke out on Zhou Yuechu’s forehead. How could Ji Yiwei know so much?
She suspected the White Bird Project had no secrets left from him—or perhaps there was one. The plan to deploy a virus against the Systems likely remained unknown to him. Given how fond he was of System 2333, he would’ve exploded if he knew. His calm demeanor suggested he was still in the dark.
At least Sheng Songshi would live a little longer.
Wen Xu had no choice but to agree, setting a time for Ji Yiwei to inspect his completed work. But just as his heart began to settle, Ji Yiwei yanked it back up again.
"Oh, one more thing."
The tea-haired young man smiled warmly before posing a lethal question.
"You’re only modifying robots, right? Nothing involving the System?"
Ji Yiwei had thoroughly investigated the White Bird Project by now.
Sheng Songshi had accounted for the fringe worlds, the hosts, and the robots—but such a glaring omission, the Cat-Ball Systems, couldn’t have been unintentional. He had a nagging suspicion that Sheng Songshi lumped Systems and robots together in his plans, and that bothered him deeply.
"No, perhaps 'bothered' isn’t strong enough," he mused, correcting himself. "I’m extremely bothered."
He’d strap anyone who dared harm San-San to a rocket and drown them in the vacuum of space.
Seeing Wen Xu frantically shake his head, Ji Yiwei was satisfied. He weighed the camera device in his hand and strolled away, unhurried.
Until Ji Yiwei's figure completely disappeared from sight, Wen Xu cautiously waited another full ten minutes before murmuring to himself.
"This is bad. Ji Yiwei doesn't allow tampering with the systems."
Though he wasn't of the same mind as Sheng Songshi, he had promised to develop viruses for him in exchange for sufficient benefits to support his own research. Currently, his research was still limited to robots and hadn't progressed to the systems stage, but the inclination was clear. If Ji Yiwei found out, the consequences would be unthinkable.
...He couldn't understand it. They were just programs—what was there to care about?
Zhou Yuechu read the frustration and disdain in his expression.
The bouncing cat-ball systems suddenly flashed through her mind. After a long moment of contemplation, she sighed.
"We shouldn't be tampering with the systems in the first place. They're..."
She didn't elaborate further but instead fixed Wen Xu with a serious gaze before speaking slowly and deliberately.
"Wen Xu, come with me."
Sheng Songshi hadn't expected to run into Zhou Yuechu at the bottom of the abandoned elevator shaft.
He had come to the system living quarters primarily to map the terrain, which was why he had chosen to move at night.
He carried paper-thin surveying robots that could squeeze through elevator gaps to explore deeper, though they moved slowly and the images weren't very clear.
Previously, he had always sent Zheng Xibei to handle this task. He hadn't anticipated running into Zhou Yuechu tonight. Still, this was a location both of them knew about—he had no right to stop her from coming here. But why had she brought... Wen Xu?
Had she told him that the systems were actually intelligent lifeforms?
The atmosphere among the three of them grew tense.
For some reason, Ji Yiwei hadn't returned to the elevator shaft. Given how absorbed and obsessed he had been last time, Sheng Songshi had assumed he would come daily to observe the cat-balls—especially to find his own, 2333, and admire it. But he hadn't shown up at all.
If Ji Yiwei had come today, it would have turned into a real horror story.
The heavy silence was broken by voices outside. Two cat-balls were discussing ghosts in a spot close enough to hear but impossible to see through the door crack. One of them had its ears flattened the entire time and trembled in fear.
It was hard to imagine these mechanical beings so vividly discussing urban legends, complete with vivid descriptions.
The three inside only heard one of the cat-balls laugh.
"Little Five, we can't let fear defeat us—we have to defeat fear!"
"So what if it's haunted? Let's go talk to the ghost and tell it to stop, or else the cat-balls will eliminate it!"
The other cat-ball whimpered fearfully the whole time.
"Meow, can we really negotiate? I don't think the ghost will listen... Wait, no! I don't want to see a ghost, waaah!"
Seeing how terrified Little Five was, System 2333 didn't push further. Calculating the curfew time, its two tails flicked with a hint of schadenfreude.
The "ghost" in the elevator must be really scared right now, huh?
Time to make the ghost even more afraid! It was going in!
As it crossed the barrier and approached the outer door of the abandoned elevator shaft, the three inside pressed themselves tightly against the walls to avoid being spotted through the cracks.
None of them dared to breathe.
"Three-Three... curfew is about to start..." another cat-eared ball called out fearfully from behind, successfully revealing the identity of this persistent ball to the three in the elevator shaft.
It was Ji Yiwei's ball.
Of course it was Ji Yiwei's ball!
The black cat-eared ball seemed to ponder for a moment, perhaps finding its companion's reasoning valid. But just as the three were halfway through sighing in relief, they suddenly realized the black ball had changed its mind and was continuing to approach the elevator shaft!
In that dazed moment, Zhou Yuechu seemed to see Ji Yiwei himself—wasn't this exactly the same kind of move Ji Yiwei would pull?
Ghost! The cat-eared ghost is coming!
Author's Note:
Like master, like servant.
The ball reflects its owner.
Actually, Three-Three shares quite a few similarities with Ji Yiwei~
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