Looking at the water in Bai Luxin’s palm, Nuobai fell into deep thought.
As soon as they had entered the house, the girl had enthusiastically asked if she was thirsty and wanted some water.
However, unable to find a suitable cup for a cat, she had simply poured the water into her palm and held it out in front of her.
‘To drink, or not to drink, that is the question.’
‘If I drink, my dignity as a human will be utterly gone. But if I don’t, wouldn’t that be a bit too cold-hearted?’
After observing her carefully to ensure she wasn’t intentionally making things difficult, Nuobai hesitantly lowered her head.
‘For the sake of saving my life, just this once.’
Slurp, slurp.
Her tongue, lined with tiny barbs, swept across the palm, quickly lapping up all the moisture. Out of habit, she gave it two extra licks.
“Hahaha, Nuobai, that tickles!”
Bai Luxin reflexively withdrew her hand before pouring a bit more into her palm. “Do you want more?”
‘More my foot! Do you want a repeat performance?’
Nuobai extended a small paw, pushed the girl’s hand away, and tossed her head to the side.
She hopped away and began to inspect the house.
Watching her haughty demeanor, Bai Luxin only grew more fond of her.
“Nuobai, what do you want to eat?”
“Ice or snow is fine.”
“Just that?”
Seeing her bob her tail in agreement, Bai Luxin’s mouth hung open slightly. That couldn’t be right.
What kind of divine Beast Pet had the heavens bestowed upon her? She was just… too perfect for her.
Seeing how happy the cat seemed, Bai Luxin still decided to do a search on her Terminal.
What do Snow Joy Cats like to eat?
The Terminal showed that Snow Joy Cats could eat any ice or snow-type creations.
Their favorite food was Snowflake Pieces, which required Ice Crystals, Snow-velvet Flowers, and Century Jade Marrow Liquid to produce…
An incredibly expensive list of ingredients appeared before her eyes.
A cat needed to eat five to ten pieces a day. Bai Luxin did the math—one piece cost 5,000 Credit Points. Ten pieces would be… 50,000!
And that was just for one day. For a year, it would be close to 20 million!
She was wrong. She had been dead wrong.
Raising a Beast Pet was never simple. Terrified by this astronomical figure, the light gradually faded from Bai Luxin’s eyes.
After finishing a pleasant inspection of her new territory, Nuobai stopped in front of a photo frame.
The photo showed a family of three. It was easy to tell that the little girl in the picture was Bai Luxin as a child.
The edges of the wooden frame bore marks from frequent handling.
“Nuobai, I’m sorry.”
“I don’t have the money to buy you Snowflake Pieces right now, but I’ll make it up to you in the future.”
Bai Luxin prepared a bowl of handmade shaved ice, drizzled it with nutritional fluid, and brought it over.
Seeing the girl’s face full of guilt, Nuobai asked in confusion, “Beast Master, who told you that you needed to buy Snowflake Pieces?”
Bai Luxin placed the Terminal in front of Nuobai. The Snow Joy Cat Raising Manual?
The screen showed a long, extremely detailed dissertation on how to raise a Snow Joy Cat. The more Nuobai read, the more familiar it felt. This style was a bit like…
She slid her small paw across the Terminal. Sure enough, at the very bottom of the paper, the signature clearly read: Qin Nian.
“Master, don’t believe what’s written there. When Aunt Qin was raising me, I didn’t even get to eat five Snowflake Pieces a week.”
“This was just Aunt Qin’s way of scamming for research funds. Even the Snowflake Pieces themselves were invented using scraps.”
“Mixing all those top-tier materials together definitely tastes good, but if you eat them as a regular meal, you’ll definitely get indigestion.”
“Nuobai, you don’t have to comfort me. I’ll work hard to earn money and provide for you.”
Moved, Bai Luxin scooped Nuobai up, sat on the sofa, and placed the bowl between her legs.
What a good child. She’s actually comforting me because she’s afraid I’ll feel guilty.
“I’m not comforting you. My skill [Snow Eater] can be triggered by consuming ice, snow, or even just drinking cold water.”
“How can I let you drink cold water!”
Bai Luxin was vehemently opposed. In her eyes, Nuobai was a newborn kitten that needed to be cherished. How could she let her grow up on cold water?
She had to use the best food to raise her. For now, the cat would have to suffer a little, but tomorrow, Bai Luxin would go to the school to pick up commissions and earn money.
Unable to argue with Bai Luxin, Nuobai gave up. Facts would prove that she was a cat who could survive on nothing but cold water.
Back then, that was exactly how she had won the championship of the Survival Tournament.
Hidden within the wind and snow, she had outlasted every other contestant, creating a literal miracle.
……
Night fell, and moonlight spilled onto the bed. Nuobai and Bai Luxin lay together. There was no other place in the house, so they had to share the bed tonight.
Fortunately, Nuobai was tiny and didn’t take up much space. Bai Luxin was currently playing with her tail.
While Nuobai teased her with her tail, she pondered how to quickly accumulate energy.
The talent [Rebellion] was very clear. There was still some remaining [Power of Betrayal], but the absorbed [Evolutionary Power] had been completely exhausted.
To continue evolving, she needed to gather energy again.
Luckily, her left eye seemed capable of absorbing any kind of energy, making accumulation relatively simple.
As for what to do if the [Power of Betrayal] ran out… Nuobai decided not to think about that for now. She definitely wouldn’t betray Bai Luxin again.
At worst, her evolution would be a bit slower. She would become a Beast King a bit later and turn back into a human a bit later.
“Goodnight, Nuobai.”
Bai Luxin couldn’t help but yawn. She closed her eyes, her black hair scattering across the bed, intertwining with Nuobai’s white tail.
Seeing that she was asleep, Nuobai stilled her tail and closed her eyes.
The moonlight gradually faded, leaving the room in total darkness.
“No… don’t… go…”
In her grogginess, Nuobai heard someone sobbing intermittently.
In the dark, a pair of heterochromatic eyes snapped open—one gold and one red. Looking around, Nuobai realized the sounds were coming from Bai Luxin.
Tears hung on the girl’s face as she curled into a ball, seemingly trapped in a nightmare.
“Don’t… go…”
Nuobai crawled over and pressed her body against the girl’s forehead to soothe her.
The pain and sorrow transmitting through the contract nearly made her tail tie itself in knots.
Bai Luxin had given her [Contract Power] without reservation. In this unconscious state, the emotions of the two were linked.
“Papa, Mama…”
As she pressed against the human’s skin, Nuobai’s body temperature rose slightly, and the furrow in Bai Luxin’s brow finally relaxed.
Nuzzling against Nuobai, the girl entered a new dream, a small smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.
The next day.
“Good morning!”
Bai Luxin stretched and greeted the listless Nuobai.
“Mhm.”
Nuobai gave a perfunctory response and dropped her head back down to sleep.
Bai Luxin didn’t mind. If she wanted to sleep, she could sleep. What child didn’t like to sleep in? She went to wash up first.
Still, was Nuobai acting like this because she hadn’t adjusted to the new environment?
Bai Luxin had slept quite well herself and had even had a good dream.
Picking up the photo frame, Bai Luxin murmured to the picture.
“Papa, Mama, I have a Beast Pet now.”
“She’s a very, very cute little cat.”
“If you could see her, you’d definitely love her too.”
“I’ll take good care of her. Don’t worry about me.”
As she spoke, two lines of tears fell silently. Bai Luxin put the frame back and washed her face with cold water.
She patted her cheeks and said to her reflection in the mirror, “We promised, no more crying.”
She then tied her hair into a side ponytail, leaving her left shoulder clear, and leaned toward Nuobai’s ear to whisper softly.
“Nuobai, time to get up.”
Half-asleep, Nuobai climbed onto her shoulder and continued her nap.
At first, Bai Luxin was worried the cat might fall off, but she soon discovered that Nuobai sat very securely on her shoulder.
Relieved, a new day began.
Starting today, she would work hard to provide for her family!