Mo Qingqing treated her as an experimental subject for the Life Law. A pet that could be discarded at any time. When Mo Qingqing was happy, she would scratch Su Yun’s chin. When she wasn’t, she would throw Su Yun out as bait, toss her into the death arena, or even use her for experiments… hurting her until she was half-dead.
And these toast cats were destined from birth to be sliced and eaten. They didn’t even have the right to resist. What was the fundamental difference between them and her?
‘If I lose my utility one day and can no longer please Mo Qingqing… if I can no longer serve as a front for her “disciple,” will I be “dealt with” as casually as these cats?’
Perhaps she would become experimental material, or perhaps something even more useless. That feeling of powerlessness over her own fate rushed into her heart like a cold tide, making her fingertips turn icy. A trace of unnoticed gloom flashed in her eyes. Her pinkish-blue tail drooped halfway, and even its fur seemed to lose its luster.
‘As I thought, no matter how well-behaved, obedient, or hard-working I am to please her, once my value is gone, I’m just an object to be disposed of. In this world where the strong devour the weak, I don’t even have the right to be sad.’
However, to her surprise, even the seemingly most timid Su Miaomiao only hesitated for a moment. Her small hands trembled slightly, but she picked up the knife as if she were used to it and carefully sliced off a small piece of bread. Her face even held a look of anticipation, as if this were the most common thing in the world.
Ning Die was even more expressionless. She sliced a piece with a decisive motion, put it in her mouth, and chewed slowly, her eyes showing no emotion at all. She only frowned slightly while drinking the milk, as if she felt it wasn’t sweet enough.
Su Yun’s skin crawled!
For a moment, she felt the fur all over her head stand on end. Her ears twitched uncontrollably, and even her breathing became rapid. Her chest felt congested and suffocatingly tight.
Wait… did that mean… all those soft, fragrant loaves of bread she had eaten before were made like this? No wonder she had never seen a cat or dog in this world. She had thought those two animals simply didn’t exist here. It turned out they were just treated as staples.
She subconsciously looked around. In the flower beds, a light brown toast cat was trying to crawl away, but its four legs had already been sliced off, leaving it to cry helplessly. There was also a milk-white toast cat lying obediently on a stone platform with its eyes closed, as if it had long ago accepted its fate and couldn’t even be bothered to struggle.
Su Yun’s heart sank further. That cat that had resigned itself to fate looked exactly like her current self, trying so hard to please Mo Qingqing. Even though she was terrified in her heart, she had to act obedient and submissive, as if that could buy her a chance at life.
“Ah… is Little Su Yun seeing cats for the first time?”
Lin Mo walked over with a new glass of milk, smiling as she added another blow. Her tone was as relaxed as if she were discussing a mundane trifle. “Qingqing doesn’t like the noise cats make, so she just dealt with them all, saying it saves trouble. But that kind of bread isn’t fresh. It turns hard if left out for too long. It’s definitely not as tasty as freshly sliced bread. You’ll know once you try it.”
Su Yun stared blankly at the steaming piece of bread that had just been sliced, nodding numbly. Her mind uncontrollably flashed to scenes of her own heart being brutally gouged out, of being abandoned on a dangerous battlefield and forced to risk her life scavenging corpses, of being thrown in front of ferocious Magical Beasts as bait and having to run for her life, and of the helplessness she felt when she was locked in a room and tormented.
She didn’t even dare to cry loudly!
The way Mo Qingqing dealt with cats seemed no different from how she dealt with useless experimental materials—so casual and nonchalant, as if she were merely disposing of trash.
Just a moment ago, Su Yun had thought this was like the cat cafés from her previous life. A place to drink beverages while playing with cats, feeling the healing power of fur—a little paradise where she could temporarily forget about pleasing others and forget her fear.
As it turned out, were they supposed to eat the cats with their drinks?
And wasn’t she just the “pet” by Mo Qingqing’s side who was temporarily useful and hadn’t been “dealt with” yet? Compared to these cats, she was just a bit luckier, possessing the value of “being needed” for the time being.
“Su Yun, aren’t you hungry?” Chu Yu’er asked, blinking her clear eyes at her. A few breadcrumbs were stuck to the corner of her mouth, and her cheeks were puffed out like a little squirrel hoarding food. Why wasn’t Su Yun eating when everyone else was?
Su Yun looked at her. Chu Yu’er’s eyes were as clean as a spring, reflecting Su Yun’s shadow with nothing but innocence. She saw no malice in those bright eyes, only anticipation for food and curiosity about her companion.
In other words, in this world, eating cats this way was the most ordinary thing possible. Just like eating chicken or pork in her previous life, no one would think it was cruel. No one would even think twice about it.
Or perhaps… the “cats” in her understanding were just a type of staple food in this world from the very beginning, no different from the meat she knew before. They existed solely to be consumed.
Then what about dogs? Were they rice? Or maybe buns or rolls? Forget it, whatever…
Su Yun took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her complex emotions and fear. She forced a faint smile. Her fluffy tail wagged slightly, and she tried to keep her voice normal.
“I’m just thinking that if we eat this now, will we still go eat lunch later?”
She tried to look calm, but only she knew how panicked she was inside. She had to be even more obedient and even more useful. She had to firmly grasp onto Mo Qingqing, her only lifeline. Only then could she stay by her side and maintain her status of “being needed.”
She couldn’t become one of these toast cats that anyone could slice. She couldn’t be like them, not even having a chance to survive!
“That’s true…”
Hearing this, Chu Yu’er stopped her knife and began to think seriously. Her round ears twitched slightly, and the tip of her tail unconsciously brushed against the table leg.
Su Yun took the opportunity to imitate them, picking up a small knife. The cold handle made her fingertips feel numb. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at the snow-white cream-filled toast cat on the plate, and quickly sliced off a small piece of bread. As the cold blade cut through the warm “cat body,” that short, aggrieved “Meow” stabbed her heart like a needle.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, but her expression remained unchanged.
The bread was soft in her mouth, carrying a rich wheat aroma and a faint milky scent, mixed with a hint of sweetness. It actually tasted quite good. But once she remembered it had just been a “cat” that could cry, feel fear, and be helpless—and once she thought about how her own situation was so similar to these cats—Su Yun felt a bit nauseated. An unspeakable bitterness rose in her throat.
She did her best to please, carefully farming favor, observing every expression every day for fear of making Mo Qingqing unhappy… and all it bought her was the status of “temporarily useful.” Just like these cats that hadn’t been finished yet, everything could be lost at any moment.
But she quickly suppressed this discomfort, forcing herself to chew and swallow. During her days as a refugee, she had seen scenes of people eating people more than once. Living people would be pinned to the ground, their hearts and lungs ripped out while they were still struggling and screaming. Blood would gush out like a fountain, but it would be immediately caught by others, not wanting to waste a single drop.
In comparison, what was eating a piece of bread that looked like a cat?
She chewed slowly and took a sip of the warm milk. The warm liquid slid down her throat, its milky fragrance diluting the discomfort and bitterness, but it couldn’t wash away the gloom in her heart.
Only one thought remained in her mind.
‘I must survive…’
‘I must make Mo Qingqing need me forever…’
Even if she had to live like a pet that could be abandoned at any time. Even if her heart was full of grievance and fear… she would accept it… as long as she could survive…
Su Yun stole a glance at Lin Mo, who was leisurely playing with the cats at the counter. Lin Mo was scratching the chin of a chocolate-colored toast cat. But Su Yun knew that this Grandmaster, just like Mo Qingqing, was someone standing at the top of the pyramid. Their gentleness and doting were perhaps only ever given to useful things. Or rather, only to objects they were willing to bestow their charity upon.
She then looked at the three companions beside her who were eating happily. Chu Yu’er was the daughter of the original owner of the space, Su Miaomiao was protected by Su Qiuyue, and Ning Die was the only daughter of the Dominator of Laws. They were born with backing, with the confidence to not have to be careful, and with the capital to be as willful as they pleased.
As for her, she had nothing. She could only rely on her endurance and her efforts to please others to trade for a chance at life.
Su Yun secretly clenched her fist, her fingertips turning white from the force. Her nails dug into her palm, bringing a faint sting of pain that cleared her head slightly. The gloom in her eyes faded.
She was different from these toast cats. She had the will to survive, the ability to please Mo Qingqing, and the experience of two lifetimes. She would definitely survive. She would firmly hold onto the label of “being useful.” She would not become “food” for others to dispose of. She would not be wiped away as easily as dust.
The toast cat on the plate was still whimpering softly. The scent of milk and the aroma of bread intertwined, but Su Yun only felt a bitterness in her mouth and a heaviness in her heart.
She knew the cruelty of this world, and all she could do was continue to wear her mask. Continue to please. Only by doing so would she avoid becoming a bread fox…
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