Do You Have Any Opinion on Mechanical Cat Ears? (CAT EARS)
Ji Yiwei washed the last bowl in the sink and shook the remaining water off his hands.
The interior was spotless and tidy, bathed in sunlight. Even the seagull Mai Mai had been fed enough fries to lie on its back with its belly full.
Seeing everything in the house perfectly arranged, Ji Yiwei finally stepped out, even remembering to lock the door behind him.
Then, he began installing a series of ferocious security devices at his doorstep. No one was allowed to enter his and San San’s home. Breaking in? Impossible.
This was standard preparation before every mission. Though Ji Yiwei was unhinged, he was also extremely cautious. He had San San to take care of now, a far cry from his earlier death-seeking tendencies.
Once everything was set, Ji Yiwei tilted his head with a smile as a black cat-eared sphere floated down lightly onto his shoulder.
"Meow, let's go to the Miniature Garden!"
Time to work! The goal was to sweep all the points from [The Voice of the Great Lake]!
Joint missions meant slightly higher overall points, but the individual share would be smaller. Still, System 2333 didn’t mind at all—points could always be earned later. He had never experienced a joint mission before! Rumor had it there would be a public chat channel where everyone could talk and exchange ideas. He had already prepared hundreds of conversation topics!
The pair headed to the Miniature Garden together before parting ways.
Now, Ji Yiwei had completely lost trust in the Main System and its rules. Though San San hadn’t mentioned it in the stone wall inscription, Ji Yiwei had reason to believe that San San probably didn’t have an easy time while hosts were on missions.
Hosts weren’t allowed into the grid area where systems stayed during missions, but before they separated, Ji Yiwei stuck a blackened paper bird to the back of San San’s head.
Perfect camouflage!
He was determined to see exactly where San San stayed while they were tackling mission worlds.
System 2333 expertly lined up in the security checkpoint queue, right behind the creamy-yellow cat-eared sphere, System 5555.
System 2333 found it odd—every time he went on a mission, Little Five was also on one. And when he wasn’t, Little Five still was?
"Little Five, why are you going on another mission?"
This was already the third or fourth time in a short period. That was way too diligent—no need, really. Going all out for that damn watermelon wasn’t worth it.
The creamy-yellow cat-eared sphere turned around with teary eyes.
"Meow, Little Five didn’t meet the quota again this month."
"..."
"Little Five also didn’t draw any intermediate-level or higher worlds."
"..."
Hopelessly unlucky and unskilled, System 5555 burst into loud sobs. System 2333 patted his cat head sympathetically.
"Don’t cry, 5555. Next auction, we’ll let you have the high-level worlds."
"Yeah, yeah! Don’t cry, we’ll give them to you cheap!"
Other cat-eared spheres in line chimed in to comfort him, but System 5555 only cried harder.
"But analyzing high-level worlds is too hard for me, and my host struggles too." He slumped, burying his screen against the floor with ears drooping forward. "My host just wants to cook… I want to run a cafeteria…"
Some people weren’t lazy—they just weren’t cut out for it. System 5555 and his host’s daily routine in mission worlds was screaming, eating, screaming, eating, running away, eating… and so on.
Earning large amounts of points was completely out of the question, forcing both the human and the cat ball to essentially work on credit every month.
The surrounding circle of cat balls began wiping their tears with little handkerchiefs. "Number 5555 really has it so hard, wuwuwu..."
System 2333 genuinely felt that Little Five wasn't suited for this kind of work. Maybe cat balls didn’t necessarily have to be bound to hosts for missions? Perhaps there were other jobs? For instance, he thought 4399 would be much better suited as a back-end research player.
Exactly—division of labor was only natural. Yet the Main System had herded them all into missions, probably because missions yielded more points.
System 5555 gradually calmed down, and the clustered cat balls were dispersed by robots and lining up again. 5555 was pushed to the front.
System 2333 craned his neck to get a better look when someone tapped the back of his head—right where the paper bird was perched.
"Three-Three, don’t worry too much... Huh? When did you change your paper-textured film?"
The rustling sensation at the tip of his tail puzzled 2222. System 2333 was equally baffled.
Huh? But he hadn’t applied any film!
He touched the spot where he’d been tapped—smooth as glass, so slick even a mosquito would slip. The paper bird crawled onto his head, waiting for him to finish before settling back.
As they spoke, 1001 and 1314 had taken advantage of the robot-enforced reshuffling to position themselves nearby. These were the systems of hosts participating in the joint mission.
To System 2333’s surprise, Little Six was among them.
This wasn’t meant to disparage Little Six—it was just that both he and his host were newcomers.
[The Great Lake] was already an extremely dangerous world, and after System 2333’s reinterpretation, it had become the even more perilous [The Voice of the Great Lake], making it even less suitable for beginners.
"Actually, it was Host of 1001 who personally came to invite us," 6666 explained earnestly. "After careful consideration, my host decided that despite the risks, it was worth going. After all, his starting world—Restricted Zone 306—was already a level-jumping challenge."
"My host discussed it with me, and I agreed it was worth a try. This opportunity is incredibly valuable, with many veteran hosts overseeing it—especially Host Ji Yiwei, Three-Three’s host."
666 knew very well, as did his host Jiang Zhuo, that while Host Ji Yiwei’s instability was real, if he didn’t want you dead, you absolutely wouldn’t die. Venturing into a high-level world was risky, but if death was off the table, why hesitate?
System 2333 thought it over and understood.
"Little Six, you really are an outstanding system," he praised.
Cautious yet daring, and most importantly, aligned in values with his host—Little Six and his host would go far. There would undoubtedly be a place for Little Six among the veteran systems in the future.
He also figured out the hosts’ motivations.
In the Infinite Space, there were many protective measures for newcomers. For example, during their first mission, newcomers were assigned to veteran hosts’ worlds to scrape by on leftovers. In return, veteran hosts received points as rewards for assisting them.
In addition to these overt benefits, there were also some hidden advantages. During joint missions, if a team included newcomers with very few completed tasks and low point expenditures, the monsters in the mission would be appropriately weakened—typically by about five to ten percent. While this might seem minor, the actual impact was quite significant.
The fact that they wanted to weaken the monsters suggested the hosts were planning to leave ample time for other activities. It seemed this mission journey was going to be quite eventful.
"R-Really?" 6666 couldn't stay composed anymore—Senior Sansan had praised him! Meow meow!
The black paper bird, upon hearing Sansan compliment another cat-eared orb, lifted a corner of itself to glance at 6666 before flattening back down in a sulk.
What's so great about him? Hmph.
On the hosts' side, those participating in the joint mission had already gathered at the teleportation point.
Sheng Songshi looked exhausted, yet his eyes burned with determination. He was accustomed to joint missions with Zheng Xibei and frequently collaborated with Zhou Yuechu. The only new additions this time were Ji Yiwei and Jiang Zhuo.
Qian Dafa and Wen Xu remained behind—all arrangements made by Sheng Songshi, as Ji Yiwei was completely hands-off. Add to that the matter of Wen Xu's robots, and it was no wonder Sheng Songshi's dark circles were so pronounced.
Looking at Ji Yiwei—well-rested, glowing, and utterly relaxed—Sheng Songshi, who had always been in the capitalist position within the Infinite Space, suddenly felt the bitter resentment of an overworked employee.
It was agonizing. Every decision had to be made based on guessing Ji Yiwei's whims.
Ji Yiwei was like a client straight from hell—never stating his demands outright, just making them guess.
Get it wrong, and they'd suffer.
The stress was making Sheng Songshi's hair fall out in clumps.
Jiang Zhuo was included to minimize the monsters' difficulty as much as possible. Inside [The Great Lake], their energy would be largely spent on severing the connection between the Main System and the mission world while ensuring a full clear. The pressure was immense, so having weaker monsters would greatly benefit their plans.
Naturally, Sheng Songshi had consulted Jiang Zhuo beforehand. Jiang Zhuo's response was—after discussing it with his system, he agreed to join.
Sheng Songshi was pleased that Jiang Zhuo was on board, but he couldn't ignore the phrase "discussed with his system."
Sheng Songshi: "..."
The pain struck again.
Thinking about his strained relationship with 1001, Sheng Songshi felt a pang of sorrow.
He respected 1001's abilities, admired his calm and rational nature, and during the mining incident, he had learned that 1001 also shared his noble ideal of liberating their kind...
They were so alike, yet now they were like strangers.
With a deep sigh, the hosts stepped into the teleportation devices one by one.
[System connection... Connection successful.]
[World data loading... Load successful.]
[Selected abilities unlocked!]
In the cubicles, as the hosts took their positions, the cat-eared orbs sprang into high-speed action—screens flashing, data scrolling, pausing only to gulp down energy supplements before their ears perked up again!
Work time! Coordinated work!
Sheng Songshi heard footsteps passing by and warily opened his eyes.
It was Ji Yiwei, who had woken from teleportation unusually early. Without even stopping to discuss, he strode straight ahead along the muddy, damp path.
To wake up so quickly—Ji Yiwei truly lived up to his reputation as the strongest host...
The surroundings were shrouded in mist, with the faint, briny scent of lake water lingering in the air.
Watching Ji Yiwei walk further away while the other hosts remained unconscious behind them, Sheng Songshi grew increasingly anxious.
"Wait..."
A system notification chimed, delivering world data and analysis to each of them.
In Ji Yiwei's mind, the voice of System 2333 echoed.
[Ji Yiwei, I've sent the basic world analysis to the others. But I also wanted to give you something special...]
Something just for him? Ji Yiwei was instantly overjoyed.
[Just to be clear, it's some extra analysis I did that might change the entire course of the main storyline. If anything goes wrong, you can't laugh at me, okay!]
This was the result of System 2333's careful consideration. Initially, he had planned to share the findings from his on-site investigation with all the hosts. But upon reflection, he felt he still lacked trust in other hosts, so he decided to send it only to Ji Yiwei, whom he trusted the most.
Ji Yiwei was too elated to even think of laughing at him.
"Is this just for me, or do the other hosts have it too?" [1]
He pressed for confirmation.
[The others don't have it—it's just for you!]
"San San..."
[Meow...]
"San San!"
[Meow!]
The other hosts, who had just woken up and were cautiously following Ji Yiwei, suddenly saw him stop in his tracks, crouch down, and begin trembling all over.
The other hosts: "..."
Fear. Pure, unadulterated fear.
System 2333 sent the new data to Ji Yiwei, whose sharp mind could handle the influx without issue.
Lost in the sweetness of his exchange with San San, Ji Yiwei's lashes fluttered as he noticed the mission world's name had changed—from [The Great Lake] to—[The Voice of the Great Lake].
Author's Note:
San San: Just for you, only for you! I trust you the most!
Ji Yiwei (moved to tears): San San... my San San...
[1] Reference to Chapter 7 of Dream of the Red Chamber, during the scene where Zhou Rui's wife delivers palace flowers.
Original line: Daiyu glanced at the flowers in Baoyu's hand and asked, "Are these just for me, or do the other girls have them too?" Zhou Rui's wife replied, "The others already have theirs—these two are for you, miss." Daiyu sneered, "I knew it. You wouldn't give them to me unless they were leftovers no one else wanted."
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