In silence, the Cat Chef Mother quietly observed the teenage girl before her. After a long, long ti, she removed her round-frad glasses, seemingly out of helplessness.
"Have you really thought this through, child?" she said. "The so-called gamble is rely to let you realize and understand that there is no difference between here and the outside world. Amidst the Disasters out there, is there really sothing you yearn for so much?"
"Yes." Fu Yi nodded resolutely.
The Cat Chef Mother asked again, "Even if you risk the chance of staying here forever, are you still willing to pay any price to leave?"
"Yes." The teenage girl nodded again.
"It's truly saddening. Your deanor reminds of many of our companions and clan mbers." The elderly cat grandmother sighed, caressing the Little Cat in her hands, "They were all like you, not hesitating to sever ties with us, just to rush toward Hell... to seek death. It's incredible. Life is precious; it shouldn't be like this."
"I understand," Fu Yi said.
"Even so, you still want to go?"
"Yes."
"Even if there's no chance of you winning?"
"No, that's the one thing I won't agree with." Fu Yi smiled cheerfully, "I will win this bet for sure!"
All the cats fell silent, solemnly scrutinizing the teenage girl before them, waiting for her request.
"Go ahead, child," the Cat Chef Mother said, "Tell us your final wish."
"Then, please tell —" Fu Yi took a deep breath and asked solemnly, "Can I find love here?"
"..."
No one responded. All the cats were silent, just quietly watching her, or looking at each other in bewildernt, before finally turning their gaze toward the elderly grandmother.
The grandmother was silent.
Fu Yi's smile beca even more joyful, "What I'm asking for is sothing I have outside, and that you cannot give , right?"
The grandmother didn't argue.
Fu Yi asked again, "Just like friendship... love is mutual, correct?"
"Yes." The grandmother nodded.
Fu Yi, relieved, took a deep breath and asked her final question, "So you can't give it to , can you?"
The grandmother pondered for a mont, then suddenly said, "We can try."
As if in a daze amidst the heated card ga, Huai Shi couldn't help but yawn, feeling drowsy.
Then, as if in a dream, he heard a familiar and sweet voice next to him: "Huai Shi, I like you."
"Bro, cut it out..."
Subconsciously, he pushed to the side, only to shove empty air and paused, perplexed.
Unbelievable.
He actually heard his best bro confessing to him.
Is this so kind of bizarre hallucination specific to adolescence?
"What's wrong?" the Wolf Beast next to him urged. "Hurry up and play! I'm waiting until the flowers wilt here."
"Urge, urge, urge, what's with all the urging?" Huai Shi flicked his hand and threw the Joker cards on the pile, "How can you outplay ? I won! You're about to lose your underwear to , okay?"
The two bachelors, their faces covered in foil, swore and helplessly tossed their lousy hands on the ground.
They had lost thoroughly.
...
"..."
In the awkward silence of the room, the old woman hesitated for a mont and said, "I could guide him... Love takes a little ti to blossom, doesn't it?"
"But that's not sothing you would give, right?" Fu Yi smiled. "Love is mutual, but unlike friendship, it leaves no room for a third person..."
The elderly Cat Chef Mother couldn't help but lower her head and sigh in frustration.
Then, she heard the voice outside the door.
"She won."
As if he had been waiting outside for a long ti, the old man who had been standing there delivered his final judgnt and then walked away with frail steps.
The Cat Chef Mother nodded.
Although sowhat regretful, she still accepted the loss of the gamble and began to comfort the sad Little Cat in her arms.
Fu Yi's tense body finally relaxed. She took a deep breath, only to beco puzzled, "Why didn't you deceive ?"
"Hmm?" The old chef was puzzled.
"I an, the rules are all about subjective interpretation, aren't they?" Fu Yi said. "Love, that vague thing... just by slightly twisting the rules, it would be easy to fulfill. Even creating a fake person wouldn't be hard, right?"
The Cat Chef Mother smiled bitterly and shook her head.
"In that case, wouldn't we be deceiving you?"
Fu Yi was taken aback.
"We just wanted to make you stay here, to beco friends with us," she said earnestly. "Before destruction cos, we can all be happy together... There will be no betrayal, no harm, and no suspicion of each other. After all, this is a Shelter, not a cage, isn't it?"
She smiled kindly, lifting her furry palm to caress the White Weasel's little ear, "Child, deception won't earn you sincerity... nor can it bring friendship."
The old chef earnestly reminded, "And concealnt won't either."
Fu Yi was stunned.
She averted her gaze sowhat evasively.
"I know..." she said softly. "I just need a little ti..."
"Then wait patiently." The old chef smiled gently for the last ti, "Before the end cos, we all have plenty of ti to wait, to love."
Her figure slowly faded away, along with the many crestfallen cats.
The warm light of the little log cabin slowly went out, as if sinking into the distant darkness, moving away from her.
Fu Yi found herself back in the cold, snowy land. The blizzard had stopped at so unknown point; the sky was clear, and the air was fresh.
And on the table in front of her, there was a steaming hot pot of stew and two sets of bowls and chopsticks.
A White Crystal rested on a slip of paper.
The paper depicted a smiling face uncannily similar to the old grandmother's, with a line of handwriting: "Before the wait is over, please share this with your friend!"
"..."
Fu Yi stared blankly for a long ti. She couldn't resist sniffing the warm stew before her and then couldn't help but laugh. "What the heck? Still so kind to unwelco guests like us in the end, huh?"
After a long silence, she turned around. Seeing a certain Husky drooling in his sleep in the snow, her expression turned annoyed and helpless.
A snowball as big as a soccer ball smashed onto his dog face.
Huai Shi startled awake, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. "What? What happened? Where's the enemy? Fu Yi, don't be scared, I'll protect you!"
Rembering how this guy had reached an understanding with the enemy made Fu Yi irritable. "Protect my ass! Stop dawdling and co eat!"
"Huh? Why is there food? Slls good."
"Why bother so much? Just eat... Don't nudge it with your snout like that; it's about to spill! Forget it, I'll scoop so for you..."
The White Weasel sighed and waved a hand, activating her Psychokinesis.
In passing, she quietly stashed the slip of paper into her own space.
Wait... huh?
Her mood beca heavy once again. Talking about waiting with this guy, who could be confident even if they waited until Doomsday?
Forget it, eat first.
She picked up a small bowl, took a bite of the tender and juicy beef, and squinted her eyes contentedly.
"So delicious!"
A discouraging voice ca from beside her.
The al was finished quickly. After all, the pot was only so big, hardly enough to fill the gaps between Huai Shi's teeth, but the taste was indeed excellent.
Steaming hot, it seed to warm their hearts as they finished eating.
Then, Huai Shi finally noticed the White Crystal in Fu Yi's hand.
"Where did this co from?" He leaned closer, his eyes widening. "It's shiny and pretty."
He wanted to eat it.
He had gotten used to eating these things these past few days.
"Go away! Soone gave it to . Why are you licking it so eagerly?" Fu Yi snatched the crystal away, preventing Huai Shi from licking it any further.
But for so reason, holding the crystal in her hand, she felt her heartbeat speeding up.
Her breathing beca rapid, and soon, the White Crystal began to emit a faint light and rged into her body.
"Wow, you ate it all yourself? You didn't even share a bite with ?"
Huai Shi was astonished. Then he saw Fu Yi staggering backward as if drunk, collapsing dizzily to the ground.
"I feel a bit..." she said, "...sleepy."
Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.
Following that, a layer of her fine white fur began to grow wildly, enshrouding her and turning her into sothing like a cocoon.
Huai Shi was dumbfounded and nudged it with his nose.
He hesitated, wondering whether to blast this thing with iron saliva and rescue Fu Yi.
But considering there was no friendly fire protection here, what if he accidentally burned Fu Yi to death?
If he did, once they got out, wouldn't he be in for so "cordial treatnt" from the good people at the Social Security Bureau, complete with thermite, flathrowers, and Incendiary Bombs?
While he was hesitating, the cocoon had already crumbled apart.
A rejuvenated Fu Yi opened her eyes from within. Seeing Huai Shi opening his mouth, she instinctively raised her hand to seal it shut with her Psychokinesis.
If he dared to say another word about her shedding or going bald, Fu Yi felt she wouldn't be able to take it.
His teeth clamped shut with a SNAP.
Fu Yi was startled.
Huai Shi's mouth was truly sealed by her Psychokinesis, as if clamped shut by iron pincers, unable to open.
Only when she realized what she had done and released her hold did Huai Shi exclaim in astonishnt, "How have you beco transparent?"
At that mont, Fu Yi noticed her own body... it really... had beco a bit transparent.
It was as if the opacity of a Photoshop layer had been adjusted incorrectly, increased slightly, allowing her to vaguely see the color of the soil behind her through her own body.
"Other than this," Huai Shi asked curiously, "what else can you do?"
"Let check…"
Fu Yi opened her Skills nu, hastily searching. Soon, Huai Shi heard Fu Yi's voice in his head, "Hello? Hello? Can you hear ?"
"Wow! Telepathy!" Huai Shi exclaid in admiration. "No need to pay phone bills anymore!"
"...Can you just shut up?"
With this buzzkill around, anything good could be made to sound worthless.
"Is there anything else besides this?" Huai Shi asked.
"That's it. What else did you expect?" Fu Yi glanced back at him. "It's good enough that there's sothing."
"Okay then..." Huai Shi, disappointed at missing the chance to see sothing new, sulkily shook his head. "Let's go then."
"Yeah, let's go."
Fu Yi jumped up, nimbly landing on his back. "Assault Huai Shi, launch!"
For so reason, Huai Shi suddenly thought Fu Yi had been kind of cute just now... Hmm, it must be an illusion. A tough bro like her couldn't be like that; I must be overthinking things.
So, Huai Shi grinned, tongue lolling, and began sprinting forward.
On his back, Fu Yi sighed deeply. She glanced at her status panel one last ti before looking away.
This was the new Skill she hadn't told Huai Shi about: [Psychological Hint].
Seems useless, huh...
She sighed again, collapsed limply looking up at the sky, and fell asleep.
Behind them, deep within the jungle, the spectral log cabin faintly materialized from the air, quietly watching them depart.
"Head to the Capital City, outsiders. All that you seek lies there."
The Cat Chef Mother whispered her goodbye, "May you face this cruel world after you awaken from this brief dream."
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