Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
On top of the spaceship, the two paper birds felt utterly horrified while staring at Ji Yiwei with near disbelief.
Being paper birds, Ji Yiwei seemed to disdain adding another layer of concealment in front of them, so they could always see him. But now, both Sheng Songshi and Zhou Yuechu were shocked to discover that the paper birds flying around Ji Yiwei as cover were falling one by one.
This meant Ji Yiwei was gradually becoming visible.
What was Ji Yiwei trying to do? Did he intend to reveal himself before all the system cat balls and the robots controlled by the Main System?!
If so, the immensely powerful Ji Yiwei might not die, but it would definitely alert the enemy.
The Main System would likely hide or flee, and tighten the control over them as hosts would be inevitable. It might even take extreme measures by purging a batch of hosts outright!
Ji Yiwei was truly a reckless madman—how could they let him run wild!
Sheng Songshi was burning with anxiety and wanted to stop Ji Yiwei. But his paper bird body was pinned firmly, impossible to break free from. In desperation, he tore his paper bird body apart and tumbling down to the bottom of the spaceship, where he began crawling frantically on the ground.
He wanted to stop Ji Yiwei, but it was already too late.
Ji Yiwei's dark, fathomless eyes fixed on the massive ore as he slowly raised his hand, seemingly intending to shatter it directly.
Sheng Songshi's torn paper bird continued crawling, leaving a long, winding trail in the sand.
For the future and fate of the hosts...
Ji Yiwei was far too reckless, caring nothing for anyone or anything outside his sphere of concern. This was precisely why Sheng Songshi had refused to entrust the White Bird Plan to him.
Zhou Yuechu's paper bird, also struggling to break free atop the spaceship, watched as the trail in the sand grew longer. Half of Sheng Songshi's paper bird body was now buried in dust, and her heart ached at the sight.
Sheng Songshi was filled with despair. Covered in dirt, he watched as Ji Yiwei's hand was about to descend, while unseen paper birds danced wildly in the sky.
There was no time left!
Suddenly, he saw Ji Yiwei freeze as his dark eyes widened slowly and the power around him gradually dissipated.
Following Ji Yiwei's gaze, Sheng Songshi saw a black cat ball, surrounded by several colorful cat balls, appear at the top of the gentle slope. The number "2333" on its shell was strikingly visible.
It was Ji Yiwei's system! Alive and kicking!
So it wasn't Ji Yiwei's system trapped under the ore—the future of the hosts was saved!
Mining was hard work. System 2333 looked as if it had just returned from scavenging, holding a small pickaxe and carrying a little basket with its screen smudged with dirt.
Panting, it floated to the top of the slope with its friends, surveying the chaotic rescue scene below from above.
"...This isn't working," 1818 said, its screen's eyebrows furrowing. "That ore is too big to lift—even with everyone's combined strength, it's impossible. The best solution would be to roll it away, but then..."
"There's a high risk of secondary damage. If it crushes the chips 4399 mentioned, it'd be disastrous," 1001 said gravely.
The rescue was proving tricky.
2222 leaned forward, studying the scene below intently, when suddenly, the cat balls beneath erupted in cheers.
"What? Did they solve it?" it asked through its speaker, calling down to the cat balls below.
The cat-balls below were holding up a tail and placing it on a stretcher. As soon as one stretcher was carried away, another arrived. Hearing the question, a cat-ball below looked up, bounced once, and replied.
"Good news! The tail has been rescued!"
Before 2222 could rejoice, the next sentence came.
"Bad news—only the tail was rescued."
2222: "..."
So save the ball first! Why rescue the tail?!
"It's too hard to save! We can't move the ore!"
Witnessing this chaotic scene, System 2333 pondered for a moment before a lightbulb lit up on his screen. Since the commotion below continued, to silence the crowd, 2333 raised his little pickaxe and gave a "ding" as he struck a nearby exposed hard rock.
"Ding—"
"Everyone, wait! Listen to me!"
Accompanied by the resounding "ding," the cat-balls below initially continued scrambling around and meowing as if they hadn't heard a thing.
Just as 2333 was about to strike harder, within three seconds, all the cat-balls below simultaneously jerked backward and let out a collective "meow" as they toppled over in fright.
2333 on the slope: "..."
He was exasperated.
Is everyone's latency a bit too high? The recent maintenance by the Main System was clearly just for show!
"I've got a solution! Everyone, stay calm!" Seizing the moment of silence, he called out to those below.
Though the cat-balls seemed to be playfully tapping at the ore, this energy ore could only be mined by them—even the most powerful drills and mining robots couldn't break through. Their little pickaxes weren't for smashing the ore but for clearing away the surrounding rock and dirt. If the ore was too large, they'd detach their mechanical cat ears to shatter it before scooping it away with shovels.
But faced with such a massive chunk of ore, a single tiny ear likely wouldn't be enough to break it—extra force was needed.
2333 nodded solemnly to his friends nearby, then removed the mechanical cat ears from his head, stacked them together, and pressed them back onto the very center of his head.
Snap! They transformed into a tiny drill!
But that wasn't all. With a spirited "meow," 2333 declared, "Cat-balls, unite and transform!"
The assembled cat-balls lined up behind 2333, their tails entwining to stabilize the formation before revving up and accelerating together, charging toward the giant ore like a drill!
No—not a drill! A battering ram!
2333 at the forefront spun rapidly, his vertical-line eyes soon turning into dizzy spirals, but he held on. The cat-balls behind him lost power one after another, dropping off like rocket stages. By the time 2333 reached the ore, he had built up terrifying momentum!
The cat ears slammed into the ore!
For a moment, it seemed as if a blinding flash erupted—then the ore shattered into countless small fragments.
2333, with his eyes still spiraled, plunged into the debris, his consciousness hazy.
The surrounding cat-balls immediately swarmed in—some lifting 2333, others tending to the wounded.
Before being helped up, System 2333 must have been clinging to the stubborn desire to show off in front of all the cat-ball comrades. Barely conscious from his daze, he weakly raised his tail to wave off assistance.
Slowly standing up, he readjusted his ears back into their proper positions atop his head and shook off the ore debris. In the background, a flattened cat-ball lay on a stretcher while others pumped it back to shape with air pumps.
The flattened cat-ball quickly reinflated, and System 2333 proudly planted a single tail on his hip.
"The big ore is shattered!"
He announced grandly.
"We already dug up some ore earlier, and now with the fragments from this big one, we've got enough for everyone to meet the quota!"
"Line up with your baskets to collect them. As for the remaining time..." He glanced furtively at the overseer robot and lowered his speaker volume. "We'll take shifts pretending to work while secretly playing games!"
The cat-balls immediately cheered in hushed excitement, with some even tossing their ears into the air!
"Meow-meow, hooray!"
"We've got baskets—let's go sand-sliding!"
Seeing their joy, System 2333 also beamed, his screen eyes curving into crescents. Then, he suddenly felt something—as if someone was watching him.
With a settled heart, he looked toward the source of the sensation, but the spot was empty.
"Three-Three, thanks to your quick thinking! You go first—come on!"
System 2333 responded and turned back. Still unsettled, he left behind one of the little cat-head carvings he'd made in the mines before floating off.
Even if there was nothing there, another cat-ball would pick it up—so no waste at all.
The direction he had sensed was, in fact, where Ji Yiwei stood.
The power in his hands gradually dissipated, reforming into a paper bird. Unlike its kin, this one abandoned flight entirely, opting instead to scuttle across the ground.
Rustling over sand and gravel, the paper bird moved surprisingly fast, soon reaching the cat-head carving. It covered the tiny sculpture with its body before burrowing into the sand.
Then, it crawled back underground, rustling all the way.
Once safely hidden again, the paper bird peeked out from the soil, watching System 2333 strut proudly among the cat-balls. It folded its wings atop its head into a heart shape.
Three-Three is so cute.
As long as Three-Three is safe.
If anything had happened to Three-Three...
No—something had already happened.
That confidentiality agreement... mishandled, it could have been deadly.
With the shattered ore fragments as a bonus, the cat-balls found themselves free from quota pressure and launched into a variety of extracurricular activities.
Some used each other's tails as jump ropes, others played catch with their ears, while a few took turns distracting the overseer robot.
1111 played the erhu. Most, however, heeded System 2333's encouragement [strikethrough] leadership and started sand-sliding by gleefully riding their baskets down slopes.
"Whee—so fast!"
What was meant to be a grueling mining task had somehow turned into a delightful break for the cat-balls.
While the cat balls were playing, 1001 watched with a smile.
He volunteered that he didn't need to join, taking on the role of the guard robot. But he suspected that 33 and other friends would soon drag him into the fun anyway—the cat balls firmly believed that during happy times, not a single one should be absent.
Hmm, should he jump rope or sandboard?
As he pondered this monumental question, 1001 suddenly noticed something white trembling in the distance. Instantly alert, he cautiously floated over, only to find it was a false alarm.
It was half a paper bird, likely cut out by someone for fun, its slight trembling caused by the breeze.
Half-paper-bird Sheng Songshi: "..."
His feelings at this moment were complicated.
From the paper bird's perspective, the round cat balls appeared enormous, almost like a reversal of positions. Just as he considered fleeing, he felt himself being gently picked up.
1001 seemed aloof but was actually quite gentle. He cradled the paper bird with his tail when 2222, sweaty from playing, came to relieve him. Seeing the dirty, crumpled, sand-covered paper bird, 2222 asked curiously, "1001, why are you picking up this dirty thing?"
Holding the paper bird, 1001 lifted his screen slightly, his blinking vertical-line eyes gazing at the sky. "I hope one day, we too can fly freely like birds."
"Without worrying about being systems—just as ourselves."
Hearing this, Sheng Songshi's paper wings trembled slightly.
He felt as though only today had he truly come to know 1001.
2222 fell silent, and 1001 grew somber.
The road ahead was long, and they would have to walk it for a very, very long time, perhaps enduring many hardships—even losing companions.
But no matter what, they had to keep going.
"...Then, for our shared dream, let's hold a ceremony!"
The lively voice unmistakably belonged to System 2333. 1001 turned in confusion while still holding the paper bird on his tail, and saw 2333 dragging over a massive blower with great effort.
Sheng Songshi suddenly had a bad feeling. Then 2333 cheerfully announced, "Let's hold a 'little bird takes flight' ceremony!"
Excited, 2333's screen displayed a ">v<" expression—he thought his idea was brilliant.
The other cat balls considered it and agreed enthusiastically.
Where to find a little bird?
Wasn't there one right on 1001's tail? How convenient!
Little-bird Sheng Songshi: "..."
Help! This is terrifying! These cat balls are demons!
The blower roared to life mercilessly, sending a powerful gust that kicked up swirling sand. Even the paper bird Zhou Yuechu that were nailed firmly to the spaceship's roof, felt the wind's force.
Paper-bird Ji Yiwei was unfortunately in the same direction but, unlike the other two useless paper birds, he quickly buried himself in the sand—thanks to the cat-head ore he carried.
Such was the advantage of mastering a skill!
Amid the gale, 1001 loosened his tail, and the paper bird tumbled into flight. The cat balls looked up hopefully, all sharing the same thought in their hearts—
Tomorrow will definitely be better! Meow meow!
Rolling Sheng Songshi: "..."
The wind picked up, and he was blown away, soaring higher and higher! [Author's Note]
Zhou Yuechu flattened herself fearfully on top of the spaceship, watching helplessly as Sheng Songshi was swept away over her head like a torn plastic bag.
Brother Sheng!
Brother Sheeeeng!
Author's Note:
Sheng Songshi (silently): Truly got to know 1001.
Sheng Songshi (terrified): Truly got to know 1001 and the species known as cat-balls!
[NOTE] Reference from "The Legend of Peach Blossom and Ximen Wuhui", original line: "The boat exploded, I flew, flying so high so high."
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