Before Cen Yao could even react, the orb in the System Space panicked first.
“Host, you absolutely cannot leave Pei Tinglan behind!”
The orb was worried to death.
It had finally realized something.
Once she turned into a cat, its Host's IQ and memory plummeted.
She didn't become completely stupid.
But she couldn't piece many clues together on her own.
She could sense danger and react on instinct, but once she had to analyze dungeon rules, identify traps, and deduce clues, her brain easily short-circuited.
Pei Tinglan was different.
Perhaps because of his legs, his intelligence didn't seem to be affected much after turning into a cat.
The Host during the day desperately needed Pei Tinglan's brain.
Otherwise, she would probably end up taking many detours.
The same went for Zhu Lingxi.
Although she looked a bit dazed and was always a beat slow, her reaction speed was almost no different from when she was human.
The more the orb thought about it, the angrier it got.
Why did this crappy game target its Host so much!
Stupid game, just you wait!
The orb silently noted down the Horror Game's Main System in its little notebook, deciding to get revenge for its Host whenever it got the chance.
After listening to the orb, Cen Yao nodded inwardly.
She found its words highly reasonable.
Besides, even if the orb hadn't said anything, she couldn't actually leave Pei Tinglan behind.
They had eaten together yesterday.
They had slept together.
And today, they had even turned into cats together.
What kind of bond was that?
Rounded up, they were life-and-death friends.
Cen Yao did her best to mobilize her currently limited brain capacity to convince Pei Tinglan.
She looked at him with a serious expression.
“What are you talking about?”
“How could we possibly leave you behind!”
Zhu Lingxi also looked at Pei Tinglan in disapproval.
The small, round ears on her head twitched slightly, her gaze quiet but earnest.
Cen Yao the little cat tensed her black-cookie-like face and began racking her brain to recall some memorable quotes from cartoons.
“We are friends!”
“Friends who go through thick and thin, who have faced life and death together!”
“Since we're friends, how can we just abandon you?”
She spoke with utmost solemnity.
If one ignored the fact that she was currently a civet cat whose face looked even more like a dark little cookie due to her seriousness, this speech would actually be quite touching.
Zhu Lingxi the cat also nodded seriously.
“Right.”
“We are friends.”
“We can't leave you behind.”
Pei Tinglan fell silent.
“...Friends? Me?”
He looked at the two cats before him.
One was trying hard to look serious, her eyes excessively bright.
The other was quiet and earnest, as if she truly treated those words as some sort of rule that had to be followed.
There was no pity in their eyes.
No charity.
And none of that sickening, condescending sympathy.
They just looked at him very seriously.
As if him staying wasn't out of pity.
But because he was simply meant to be here.
An indescribable sourness suddenly welled up in Pei Tinglan's chest.
It was very faint.
Yet it made him uncomfortable.
Aside from the sourness, there was a barely perceptible trace of joy.
That trace of joy was too unfamiliar.
So unfamiliar that he almost instinctively wanted to sneer and suppress it.
Someone like him could be considered a friend?
They certainly dared to say it.
And they certainly dared to believe it.
Cen Yao didn't notice Pei Tinglan's complex emotions.
She was still earnestly adding.
“Yeah, didn't we eat and sleep together yesterday?”
“How does that not make us friends!”
With that, Cen Yao the little cat raised her right paw and patted Pei Tinglan the little cat's shoulder solemnly.
She originally wanted to express encouragement and reliable support between friends.
But she forgot that although she was currently a cat, Pei Tinglan was a cat who could only walk on his two front paws.
With this pat, she almost knocked the defenseless Pei Tinglan straight to the ground.
Pei Tinglan: “...”
Seeing this, Zhu Lingxi the cat seemed to think it was some sort of ritual between friends.
So she followed suit, raising her right paw and earnestly patting Pei Tinglan's other shoulder.
Zhu Lingxi's strength wasn't particularly great.
But the problem was that Pei Tinglan had just been thrown off balance by Cen Yao.
This tap happened to provide the final push.
Thud.
Pei Tinglan the little cat fell face-first onto the ground.
Cen Yao: “...”
Zhu Lingxi: “...”
The air fell silent for a moment.
Cen Yao silently pulled her paw back.
Zhu Lingxi also slowly retracted her paw.
Pei Tinglan lay on the ground, motionless.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head.
His beautiful cat face was smudged with a bit of dirt.
His gaze was so cold it could freeze the two cats in front of him solid on the spot.
Cen Yao guiltily averted her gaze.
Zhu Lingxi whispered, “Don't be mad, don't be mad.”
Pei Tinglan sneered.
Even as a cat, his sneer carried a chilling aura.
“Friends?”
He said, word by word.
“Truly deeply moving.”
Cen Yao immediately used her paws to help him up, attempting to make amends.
“An accident.”
“These are just little accidents between friends.”
Pei Tinglan stared at her.
“Then I suggest you make fewer friends in the future.”
Cen Yao: “...”
His tongue was still as sharp as ever.
It seemed he was fine.
Rate on N.U.
