The Witch in the Cat Cafe (4)

The cat-headed employee didn't leave immediately after saying that.

It stood in front of the cages, its slit-like golden pupils dilated as it greedily eyed the civet cats inside.

Its gaze didn't look like it was observing living creatures. Instead, it was like looking at bags of merchandise that had already been marked with price tags.

Being stared at like that made Cen Yao feel extremely uncomfortable, and the tip of her tail instinctively tensed.

The cat-headed employee's gaze swept over her and landed on several other civet cats nearby, a low chuckle escaping its throat.

“So fresh.”

“Fresh little kitties can fit so many cherries in their bellies.”

“The manager will definitely be very pleased.”

It drew out its words, as if speaking of something worthy of celebration.

But combined with that cat face and the smirk on its lips, it looked incredibly sinister no matter how one sliced it.

Cen Yao flattened her ears slightly.

What a pain.

This crappy dungeon really had nothing to do with the word “normal.”

The cat-headed employee finally turned around, seemingly satisfied.

The stun baton in its hand dragged along the ground. As it walked forward, the tip scraped against the floor, making a slow, grating noise.

None of the civet cats in the cages dared to move.

A few of them even buried their heads in their paws, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

The cat-headed employee walked further and further away.

The sound also grew more and more distant.

Right after, an out-of-tune song drifted over with the wind.

The melody was bizarre, sounding like a nursery rhyme sung by someone being choked.

“Red cherries, black cherries, little kitty open your mouth.”

“Swallow the bitter ones, swallow the rotten ones too.”

“Belly swells up, tail droops down.”

“Round little beans fall out, fragrant guests smile bright.”

“Eat and eat, sleep and sleep, little flowers bloom in the cage.”

“Missing one piece today, missing another tomorrow.”

“Whose eyes have closed forever? Whose pelt is hung up to dry?”

“Red cherries, black cherries, little kitty, don't regret.”

“There are no doors in the cafe, sleep tight, sleep tight...”

The last few words were sung so softly and airily.

They felt like a cold thread crawling along the ground, slithering into the ears of every civet cat.

Every hair on Cen Yao's body stood on end.

Not out of fear.

But out of sheer disgust.

This crappy song was like a worm crawling out of a rotten coffee cherry, slithering stickily all over her.

She kneaded the mat with her paws, forcing down the urge to swear.

The silhouette of the cat-headed employee vanished completely.

The discordant singing also slowly faded into the distance.

Only when the surroundings fell completely silent did the civet cats in the cages finally seem to dare to breathe, making faint, rustling noises.

Some were trembling, while others whimpered.

Others simply lay there numbly, their eyes cloudy and dull, as if they had long since grown accustomed to everything here.

Cen Yao was in no hurry to move.

She first opened her System panel.

A transparent light screen popped up before her eyes.

【Dungeon Name: Cat Cafe】

【Dungeon Rank: C-rank】

【Main Quest: Escape from the Cat Cafe within seven days】

【Initial Players: 12】

【Currently Surviving Players: 12】

Twelve players.

Cen Yao raised a fluffy little paw and stroked her chin.

After doing so, her movements paused.

Hmm. It actually felt pretty good.

In the next second, she immediately put her paw down.

No. Now was not the time to study whether her fur felt good to pet.

Since all twelve players were still alive, it meant they had likely all been dropped into this breeding area.

As for which cages they were individually locked in, it was hard to tell for now.

After all, looking around, the place was packed with countless cages.

And every single cage held a civet cat.

Some looked to be in decent spirits, while others were skin and bones. Still others had dull fur, their eyes as empty as dead stones.

Cat Cafe.

The name of this dungeon sounded cute, but in reality, it was like a factory farm wearing a cute skin.

And they, these “cats,” were the production tools locked in cages.

Cen Yao looked out through the gaps in the cage.

All the cages were placed outdoors.

Row after row of metal shelves were neatly arranged, stretching from where she was all the way into the distance.

There was a rain canopy overhead.

But that was it.

There were no warm cat beds, no clean water bowls, and no windbreaks.

Nor was there anything that could make them even slightly more comfortable.

The wind blew through the cages, carrying the smell of damp soil, the sour-bitter scent of rotting coffee cherries, and the rank stench of animals trapped together for too long.

Cen Yao wrinkled her nose.

She looked toward the horizon.

The sun was about to set.

It wasn't completely dark yet, but the orange-red light had grown so thin it was on the verge of being swallowed by the night.

This timing was very delicate.

Logically speaking, the first night of a dungeon should be a safe night.

Many dungeons would give players some time to adjust.

Especially when there were many rookie players, the dungeon usually wouldn't go for the kill on the very first night.

But...

Cen Yao turned around irritably inside her cramped cage.

To hell with a safe night.

Nothing was absolute.

This wasn't some legitimate tour group that would arrange an adjustment period for people.

What was more, her intuition kept ringing alarm bells.

She had to leave the cage before the sun went down.

Otherwise, it would be extremely dangerous.

That sense of danger didn't stem from any specific object in front of her, but rather seeped out from the entire environment.

It was as if the moment the sun completely set, this breeding area would turn into some kind of hunting ground.

Cen Yao had never possessed such an astonishing intuition before.

At most, her reflexes were slightly faster when she encountered danger.

But ever since she obtained that strange Medium Talent, her judgment of danger could no longer be explained by simple intuition in many instances.

It was the same this time.

She trusted this feeling.

One shouldn't underestimate any Talent.

Even if that Talent seemed completely baffling.

A flurry of thoughts drifted through Cen Yao's little cat head, but she quickly refocused her attention on the cage in front of her.

There was a lock on the cage door.

The metal latch didn't look complicated, but pale blue electrical arcs occasionally flashed across it.

She had already tested it firsthand.

Touching it directly would result in getting shocked.

Cen Yao looked down at her little paws.

Her paw pads were still a bit numb.

That previous shock had literally made her fur puff up.

She stared at the cage door, her cat pupils constricting slightly.

She wondered if her instincts had been magnified after turning into a cat.

Whenever she stared at a target, she always felt an urge to reach out and swat at it.

Especially with that lock dangling right in front of her eyes.

It was so annoying. She really wanted to swat it.

Cen Yao's paw twitched.

In the next second, the lingering numbness in her paw pads snapped her back to her senses.

Wait. She was a Witch, right? So why didn't she just use magic to open the door?

Cen Yao: “...”

As expected, after turning into a cat, her brain capacity had shrunk.

She had almost forgotten that her primary profession was a Witch.

How could a Witch rely on scratching with her paws to pick a lock?

Cen Yao sat up properly in the cage and raised a little paw, pointing it at the cage door.

She tried her best to look serious.

Even though she was currently just a little cat locked in a cage.

“Meow~”