Chapter 129
Chapter 129
The large white cat meowed to herself as she came in. She went straight to the kitchen to put away the things she had brought, then began cleaning the apartment.
When the large white cat failed to notice them for the moment, all five breathed a sigh of relief.
Unfortunately, the reprieve didn’t last. Before long, Cheng Miao clearly heard the white cat’s muttering grow irritable.
She saw the cat emerge carrying something that looked like a trash can. It was filled with hair.
Four of the five humans were girls, all with long hair, so naturally they shed quite a lot of it.
That was how the large white cat discovered that two more uninvited guests had appeared in the apartment.
She roughly picked up Qi Jiajia and Cheng Miao. Cheng Miao kept hold of Qi Jiajia’s hand, terrified that the young woman’s temper might make her do something reckless.
Fortunately, Qi Jiajia knew what mattered. Without saying a word, she let the large white cat turn her back and forth for inspection.
The pair were then flung toward the floor. Cheng Miao tightened her waist, twisted in midair, and landed steadily on her feet.
The large white cat opened the door and seized the three natives still huddled together. Along with Cheng Miao and Qi Jiajia, she tossed all five out.
The enormous door closed behind them. Qi Jiajia and the three natives stared at one another. “What just happened?”
Cheng Miao looked speechlessly at the door behind them and gave a dejected shrug. “What else? The white cat’s mom won’t let her keep pets, so we’ve been abandoned.”
Lin Zhu had already been taken out for inspection three times today. Fortunately, he had hidden plenty of nuts and other food in his pockets. Each time, he lay there like a corpse without making a fuss, watching patiently as the young hamster removed his hoard piece by piece, patted his head, then put him back in the cage.
The moment Lin Zhu landed, the man beside him crowded over. “Buddy, aren’t you angry that your stash was confiscated?”
Lin Zhu looked at the scrawny man in front of him, at a loss for words. He still remembered when the hamster had taken this man out. The mere act of searching his pockets had made him behave as if someone were trying to kill him. He had kicked up an incredible racket.
Though Lin Zhu truly had no idea how the man had stuffed so many things into his pockets.
Lin Zhu smiled. “Why would I be angry? There’s food and water here. It’s pretty nice.”
Of course I’m not angry. I’m not actually a hamster.
The man gave Lin Zhu an admiring look, then retreated into the room again.
The smile faded from Lin Zhu’s face. He glanced at the man sleeping by the door.
This man was extremely tall, perhaps around six foot seven, with a powerful build that clearly belonged to a trained fighter.
Unfortunately, he was a native.
A cat-type native.
There had originally been six people in Lin Zhu’s cage. Now only five remained.
The young hamster had taken one person out, and Lin Zhu had watched with his own eyes as that muscular man toyed with him to death.
He punched the man twice, then let him go when he grew dizzy and tried to flee, only to catch him and resume the beating.
By the time the man died, there wasn’t a patch of intact skin anywhere on his body.
Wasn’t that exactly how a cat played with a mouse?
There was no way Lin Zhu could defeat this man, but the male player seemed capable of putting up a fight.
The player might not be as tall, but anyone who had survived so many instances always possessed some skill. He couldn’t be compared to a brute who only knew how to fight.
The male player seemed to think the same. He showed no concern about being taken outside to serve as a cat’s toy and was sleeping soundly against the bars.
The hamster looked over the people in the cage. The male player was the only one it hadn’t inspected. It extended a slender paw, grabbed the sleeping player, and lifted him out.
Startled awake, the male player reflexively threw a punch. His fist slammed heavily into the hamster’s paw, making it recoil in pain.
Only then did the player realize his situation. If the hamster wanted to, it could easily kill him.
His expression turned ugly as he stood trembling in place.
The young hamster looked at him. Showing the tolerance one should have for a pet, it didn’t make things difficult for him. It picked him up as before and carefully searched his pockets.
The male player’s pockets were empty. Earlier, when Lin Zhu told him that hamsters had a habit of hoarding food and suggested that he put some in his pockets too, the man had called Lin Zhu a lunatic.
The hamster searched for ages but found nothing, so it put him back.
The male player strutted back and forth in front of Lin Zhu as if demonstrating his superiority. His voice was pitched just loudly enough for Lin Zhu to hear. “Some people think they’re so clever. Pretending to be a hamster? I really don’t know how they survived this long.”
Lin Zhu didn’t argue. If he had overthought matters, so much the better. It would mean the instance imposed fewer restrictions.
The male player sat back down beside the cage and tried to drink some water, only to accidentally spill it all over himself.
It should have been an insignificant mishap, yet a powerful aversion and resistance to water suddenly rose inside him.
His fear of water grew so intense that once it touched him, he froze in terror and began trembling uncontrollably.
Seeing the male player standing rigidly in place, Lin Zhu walked over in confusion. “Are you all right?”
The player turned toward Lin Zhu, his face deathly pale. He opened his mouth but didn’t even have the strength to speak.
Qin Musong had finished training and was resting after eating his fill when a tall man sat down beside him.
The man’s name was Ah Qiang. He was also a player and had been assigned to the same place as Qin Musong.
During group training, Qin Musong had paid some attention to the others. There were quite a few players here, but all were muscular men. Cheng Miao and the others weren’t among them.
Their sleeping quarters consisted of separate concrete rooms, and Ah Qiang was the only player he could interact with.
Ah Qiang sighed and looked up at the dim yellow lightbulb overhead. “Buddy, do you know what this instance is actually making us do?”
Qin Musong drank from his water bowl. He could still keep up with the intensity of the training, but the same couldn’t be said for everyone. There were several players he hadn’t seen in a long time.
“I don’t have many clues yet. What we do know is that we’ve switched identities with dogs. They train us and provide us with food, water, and shelter.”
Qin Musong thought of Cheng Miao. He wondered how happy that young woman would be if she saw such enormous dogs.
He smiled. When he met Ah Qiang’s gaze again, his expression turned serious. “Don’t overthink it. We only have to last four days. Dogs understand people well, so we can probably understand what they’re saying. That’s a good thing. It’ll make things much more convenient for us.”
Ah Qiang nodded. That much was true, but the dogs weren’t always around. They rarely saw them outside training, so finding more clues was nearly impossible.
“Have you heard? We’re starting work tomorrow!” A noisy voice came from the room farthest inside. The native living there was lively by nature. Besides training, he also enjoyed playing with the canine instructors.
He knew everything that happened around here.
Starting work?
An absurd theory gradually took shape in Qin Musong’s mind.