Chapter 100: The Little Kitty Wearing White Gloves

Chapter 100: Chapter 100: The Little Kitty Wearing White Gloves

On Blue Star, cats are the pinnacle of hunter evolution. Which of the Lords, with their territories spanning thousands of acres, wouldn’t want an Evolution Cat—the natural enemy of the Evolutionary Rat—as a companion?

For cuddling during downtime.

And in battle, they could hold their own.

That’s why Xiaqing and Hu Zifeng were taking today’s meeting with the potential Evolution Cat companions so seriously. They had both brought "greeting gifts" for the cats.

Hu Zifeng had prepared dried bamboo rat meat. "It’s from the one our team hunted a few days ago while clearing Mountain No. 49," he said. "I couldn’t bring myself to eat it, so I dried it all for the kittens."

According to the lease agreement for Mountain No. 49 between Xiaqing and the Green Dragon Team, Xiaqing had the right to be informed about any Green Light food the team obtained from the mountain, as well as the right of first refusal.

So, when Hu Zifeng hunted a Green Light mouse and dug up some Green Light Bamboo Shoots, Luo Pei had informed Xiaqing. Since the quantity was small, she hadn’t made an offer to purchase them.

’To be honest, I’m not exactly short on Green Light food right now.’

’Green Light vegetables? I grow them myself.’

’Green Light meat? Just a few days ago, I snagged an over forty-pound Green Light Evolution Snake from my private training grounds.’

She had seasoned the snake meat and roasted it into fragrant jerky, which she then packed into small sealed bags. Whenever she went to train, she’d bring a bag along. She’d eat some when she got tired and hungry, and if she grew weary of the jerky, she’d have a Green Light cucumber or tomato. Life was pretty good.

’Cats eat both fish and mice, but Green Light meat is definitely more appealing than Red Light. It would be a problem if the kittens took a liking to the Green Light mouse meat and all decided to follow Hu Zifeng.’

Xiaqing secretly pulled a small bag of Green Light Snake Meat from her Protective Suit and slipped it into a more accessible pocket. Only then did she feel at ease. "Brother Feng, do you know what breed Brother San’s cats are?"

Hu Zifeng shook his head. "I don’t know. I’d guess they’re domestic cats."

Domestic cats from Hua Country have a robust gene pool. Their Life Force is stronger than that of delicate, imported breeds, and their Evolutionary Abilities are more powerful as well.

Xiaqing’s eyes filled with anticipation. "I hope it’s a Raccoon Cat. It would be perfect if it had little white boots."

’Raccoon Cats were already smart and tough before the great biological evolution; they’d be absolute powerhouses after evolving.’

Hu Zifeng nodded. "I’m hoping for an evolved Raccoon Cat, too. Do you want a male or a female?"

Xiaqing had no preference. "It all depends on chemistry. I’ll pick whichever of the two kittens I connect with."

’Hu Zifeng secretly prayed that Xiaqing would leave him a male. After all, Brother San had said she would get first pick.’

The pair arrived right on time at the buffer zone of Territory Land No. 7, where they saw a familiar face: the tall man in charge of transporting trade goods to the various Lords, Ji Li.

Ji Li ushered them into Territory Land No. 7’s Buffer Forest.

Like the Third Territory, Territory Land No. 7 had Buffer Forests on two sides. The difference was that the Third Territory’s forests were to the west and north, while Territory Land No. 7’s were to the east and north.

Xiaqing walked in behind Ji Li, trying to keep her eyes from wandering. As they entered the Buffer Forest, she noticed that Territory Land No. 7’s was much tidier than her own.

’Looks like Brother San has a lot of people in his territory,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, they’d be too busy farming to have time for building stone paths and clearing weeds in the Buffer Forest.’

After about 150 meters, Ji Li, who was leading the way, stopped. He pointed ahead and whispered, "The mother cat brought her two little ones out to sunbathe today. They’re right over there, take a look."

’The kittens are only twenty days old, not even the size of my palm, and their mother is already bringing them into the Buffer Forest to sunbathe?’

Following Ji Li’s finger, Xiaqing, with her Visual Evolution, quickly focused on a clearing in the Buffer Forest about 150 meters away. There, a cat was sunbathing and grooming its fur.

’A genuine Raccoon Cat!’

’But where are the kittens?’

Her eyes scanned the area, and she soon spotted the tiny kittens in a patch of rustling grass near a rock.

One was a little Raccoon Cat, a spitting image of its mother. The other was also a Raccoon Cat, but with a white neck and little white paws.

The moment Xiaqing saw the kitten with four little white paws, she had a name ready: ’Little San!’

’No, that won’t work. If my idol, Brother San, found out, it would be awkward.’

’How about Little Si, then?’

’No, no, there’s also Fourth Sister. Then... Little Wu. From now on, it will be Old Wu in my territory.’

Hu Zifeng was just as excited as Xiaqing. "Which one have you picked?"

Xiaqing whispered, "The one with the white paws. You, Brother Feng?"

"..." ’Same here,’ he thought.

"When the mother cat brings the kittens over, don’t either of you move," Ji Li instructed. "See who they approach first, then you two can talk it over." Then, in a gentle voice completely at odds with his six-foot-three, tough-guy frame, he called out to the Evolution Cat, "Princess, I’ve brought the visitors."

The evolved Raccoon Cat, Princess, remained on the rock, lazily licking her fur. But Xiaqing saw her ears twitch. ’She definitely heard him,’ Xiaqing thought. ’She’s just ignoring him.’

’A true cat-lord. So much personality!’

Ji Li wasn’t the least bit impatient. He called out several more times before the large, evolved Raccoon Cat finally stood, stretched, hopped off the rock, and beckoned her two tiny kittens to slowly follow her over.

Her heart practically melted as she watched Little Wu. The kitten followed its mother, stumbling as it walked. With its little black nose, the dark rings around its eyes, its brown eyes, white whiskers, and white-gloved paws, it was an overdose of cuteness.

’How could such an adorable little thing eat low-grade food like Red Light fish? I’ll feed it all the Green Light meat I have at home.’

’And when that’s gone, Mama will go into the woods and hunt more for you!’

’If you want mice, I’ll catch you mice! If you want snakes, I’ll catch you snakes!’

Hu Zifeng held out his dried Green Light bamboo rat meat, his eyes fixed eagerly on the two tiny kittens. ’Come on, little ones, come to Papa. Papa has delicious treats for you. Come on...’

Just as Xiaqing was gazing at Little Wu with the adoring expression of a new mother, the pupils of the aloof and noble Cat Princess suddenly dilated. As fast as a lightning strike, she pounced at Xiaqing.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Xiaqing had already drawn her machete and aimed it at the Cat Princess.

"Princess!" Ji Li’s shout was useless. The Cat Princess’s sharp claws were already upon Xiaqing, only to be blocked by her machete.

A piercing screech of metal on keratin rang out. The heavy machete had been gouged with several deep scratches from the Cat Princess’s claws.

After the single exchange, the Cat Princess leaped back five or six meters. She arched her back, her tail bristling, and positioned herself in front of her two tiny kittens, turning to glare viciously at Xiaqing.

The two kittens stood by their mother, their tiny paws digging into the stone. They opened their adorable little mouths, revealing newly-sprouted, millet-sized fangs, and hissed right alongside their mother.

Xiaqing assumed this was some kind of test from the mother cat, so she tightened her grip on her machete, her own killing intent flaring. But Hu Zifeng, who had experience with Evolution Cats, could tell something was off. He stepped forward, putting himself in front of Xiaqing.

Ji Li, who knew the Cat Princess better, moved to shield the family of three behind him. He faced Xiaqing and asked, "Miss Xia, have you met our Princess before? Have you had a conflict with her in the past?"

Xiaqing immediately shook her head. "No, this is the first time we’ve met."

"But Princess senses a great threat from you," Ji Li said, questioning her further. "Miss Xia, have you ever owned a cat? Do you generally get along with them?"

"I’ve never owned one, but before the Natural Disasters, I fed stray cats plenty of times, and they were always really friendly to me." Xiaqing’s heart was in turmoil. With the mother cat acting like this toward her, was there any chance she’d let a kitten go home with her?

’Oh... my dear Little Wu...’