Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
Finally, the miracle kitten San San, who always fulfills everyone's wishes, worked his magic again—each cat ball received a kitty-shaped ornament matching their own head shape.
1001 wore the ore kitty head on his chest like a brooch; 1818 adorned his tail with it as decoration; 2222 thought for a moment before placing it atop his head, just below his cat ears, like a hair accessory.
Every cat ball now had their own ornament, and they were all delighted. As they worked, they continued searching nearby for ore chunks of the right size to carve into more kitty heads.
Their movements were practiced and discreet. The overseer robot's head twitched slightly but, finding nothing amiss, turned back.
Then, a sound rose from the lower tunnels.
"Heave—ho—heave—ho—"
2222 glanced downward.
"Isn't that the lowest level? That sounds like they hit a massive ore deposit."
They quickly cleared away scattered ore fragments from the ground to make way for the ascending cat balls, ensuring no one would scrape their little bellies. After a while of "heave-ho," a huge, glistening chunk of ore emerged—the lower-level cat balls had struck an enormous deposit and were laboriously hauling it up.
Such massive, intact ore chunks were rare. Usually, one or two would be spared from being broken down and instead transported whole to the spaceship as a special tribute to the Main System.
...The Main System really had too many pointless demands.
The lead cat ball directing the transport flicked dust off their cap with their tail and signaled for a breather. The thought of the long journey ahead made the cat balls anxious.
While resting, they spotted System 2333 and their group and waved.
"San San, mining here too?"
"We struck a big one—this'll be our tribute. Just hauling it up now."
As they greeted each other, the lead cat ball noticed something glinting on the others. Upon closer look, they saw the kitty-shaped ore ornaments, and their screen instantly brightened.
"San San! Wh-what's this?!"
Sparkly! Adorable!
Hearing the question, System 2333 generously handed out ornaments to each of them. Easily delighted, the cat balls lifted their new treasures high, spun in place, and marveled at the shiny kitty heads before decorating themselves.
"San San, thank you for these! They're perfect for the mines!"
They probably couldn't keep them outside the mining zone—the Main System wouldn't allow energy ore to remain on them—but they could leave the ornaments here. That way, the next hardworking cat balls to arrive would also have pretty decorations!
Though mining was exhausting, and though they could only enjoy the ornaments briefly, the cat balls felt reinvigorated!
...Except the massive ore chunk was still heavy and annoying. Ugh.
System 2333 and the lead transport cat ball exchanged a glance and instantly agreed. In a flash, 2333 scrambled atop the ore and carved it into—what else?—a giant kitty head.
The transport team: "!!!"
Now it was super cute!
The kitty balls all declared they could transport such an adorable giant kitty head for another hundred years!
Without needing much rest, they proactively lifted the ore. The usual "heave—ho—heave—ho" during transport turned into an accelerated "heave-ho-heave-ho" as they swiftly carried the cute giant kitty head upward.
Watching the dark mine shaft the kitty balls came from, System 2333 seemed to have an idea. He stole a glance at the overseer robot, hooked his tail toward a companion, and whispered something in meows.
Soon, with Systems 2222 and 1818 providing cover, the shells of Systems 2333 and 1001 were placed outside as decoys. If they returned quickly, the overseer robot wouldn’t notice their absence for a while. The two of them slipped down to the lower mine.
System 2333 had thought it through clearly.
After extracting such a massive chunk of ore, whatever remained below would be scattered fragments, with almost no kitty balls working there anymore. The emptied-out ore would leave a hollowed-out section of the mountain wall—perfect for his plans.
Floating in the shaft, System 1001 asked quietly,
"Three-Three, you mentioned earlier that we might not be the only ones mining here. Are you planning to…?"
System 2333 nodded firmly.
They quickly found the hollowed-out section.
System 2333 tossed aside his small pickaxe, and the tip of his tail split open to emit a laser, carving words into the stone wall. System 1001 kept watch while tilting his head to read the forming text.
[Hello, unknown miners.]
[We are a group of pitiful kitty balls. Our leader PUA’s us, forcing us to work 20-hour days with only 5% commission and three unpaid holidays a year…]
As he carved, System 2333 choked up several times, and System 1001 did too.
What kind of bullshit life was this?
After etching this lengthy letter into the wall, System 2333 paused, then placed a cute kitty-head ore nearby as bait to ensure the message would be seen.
He didn’t know if this would work—whether the miners who read this tearful plea would come to their rescue.
But if there was a chance, he had to seize it! Even if it failed, carving the crimes of the Main System into stone would surely become a precious artifact a thousand years later—sob!
With that thought, he even added a cave painting of kitty balls hunting a giant watermelon beside the text!
As he painted, the pigment suddenly touched a spot where the color differed from the surrounding rock. Curious, System 2333 glanced at Little One and dug around, uncovering the tip of a mechanical structure.
This tip…
"This tip… it’s from last time…" System 1001 recognized it too.
It looked familiar—identical to the giant mechanical cat ear they’d found before!
That sorrowful, nostalgic emotion surged through his circuits again. This time, System 2333 even heard a faint, laughing voice—
[Three-Three, goodbye.]
As these fleeting images and sounds surfaced, System 2333’s digging tail sped up frantically. He was determined to unearth this cat ear immediately!
—The fluttering of paper wings.
For some reason, System 2333 heard this sound. A flash of white darted past from within the mine shaft, snapping his consciousness back to reality. He seemed to sense a familiar gaze and the familiar sensation of being touched on the back of his head—as if by a hand.
The back of his head?
System 2333 shook his head, feeling something firmly stuck there, clinging tightly—vaguely shaped like a paper bird. But before he could ponder further, he finally heard Xiao Yi's voice again.
"Three-Three! Three-Three... Thank goodness, you can hear me now."
System 1001's screen was filled with worry.
Just moments ago, Three-Three had seemed lost in some emotion and completely unresponsive. By the time he snapped out of it, a small section of cat ears had already emerged, showing just how intensely Three-Three had been digging.
"With just the two of us, we're too weak. If we want to dig, it's best to get everyone to help. We should also survey and plan ahead to avoid the mine collapsing halfway—that would be way too dangerous."
Xiao Yi was always meticulous, and System 2333 agreed. They returned to the upper tunnels, where System 2333 took a deep breath and immediately focused on controlling the robot.
System 1001 mentioned the reappearance of the cat ears, and soon, every available system was mobilized to help excavate the giant cat ears.
Above ground, dazzling lights flickered as the enormous ore cat head emerged from the mine, drawing the attention of countless cat-balls who abandoned their work just to watch. But with the overseer robots glaring menacingly, they could only sneak glances.
Under the spotlight, the cat-balls transporting the giant cat-head ore felt immensely proud, working even harder to place it at the center of an open area.
"This is one of the special tributes for the Main System!"
"...Isn't this a bit wasteful?" one cat-ball blurted out before immediately covering its mouth in horror. That was definitely not something to say out loud!
"..."
They were right—this was practically sacrilege.
On top of a spaceship, two parched paper birds watched as the enormous ore cat head rose majestically. Countless cat-balls jumped and danced around it until the overseer robots cracked their energy whips, forcing them back to work.
What a massive energy ore! How much power could this provide the Main System?
Sheng Songshi's heart sank slightly.
What a huge cat head! How many lifetimes would it take to fully appreciate this?
Zhou Yuechu's thoughts were simpler.
Up above, helping to sort the ores, System 1234 also caught sight of the giant cat head. He paused in his movements, thinking, "This kind of grand gesture... only 2333 could pull it off."
The thought made him itch to go down and find 2333.
Not out of concern or curiosity, of course! He just... just...
Putting on an indifferent front, 1234 requested a shift change from another cat-ball. The addressed cat-ball flinched, recalling rumors about 1234 being the Main System's informant and lackey, shrinking back nervously.
"O-okay, but the work in the mines is much harder. Wouldn't sorting ores be better...?"
"No problem! A capable cat-ball should take on the tough jobs—that's the mark of true loyalty to the Main System!" 1234 declared passionately, only to be met with even more fearful shrinking.
Sniffle... 1234 is so weird. What's so great about the Main System making us work?
After changing jobs, 1234 couldn't wait to take his subordinates down into the mines. They ventured deep into the shafts, arriving at a tunnel where ore remnants should have remained, only to find it completely empty—not a single sphere in sight.
"...Where did they all go?"
1234 was baffled, while 1314 internally panicked.
This is bad!
The remaining cat spheres must have gone off to cause trouble, never expecting 1234 would come looking for them right now! He needed to divert his leader immediately—but 1234 had already floated toward the lower tunnels!
At the entrance of the deeper mine shaft, 1234's hovering movement froze. He stared in shock as several cat spheres were excavating an enormous triangular object.
Most astonishingly, the overseer robots were helping them dig, with System 2333 expertly directing the machines back and forth.
"Discard the waste rock over there—we'll transport it all up later."
"Use your light whip to reinforce this section first, yes, otherwise it might collapse."
1234's mechanical cat ears gradually flattened backward into airplane mode.
Beyond fear, he felt utter bewilderment—this was the most incomprehensible situation he'd ever encountered in his entire spherical existence.
Commanding robots...
Wasn't that the exclusive privilege of the great Master System?!
Author's Note:
Ji Yiwei: "I ignore ability restrictions."
San San: "I can control robots."
Ji Yiwei & San San: High five! "Let others (spheres) experience terror!"
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