Chapter 108: Chapter 108: Liuli

"Hmm..."

Wang Xi hummed thoughtfully, sizing up the calico cat.

He bent down, reached out, and, to the cat’s dumbfounded expression, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and lifted it up.

"Gah! Master, what are you doing?!"

The calico cried out, shyly covering its face with its paws. Its long, fluffy tail curled up to cover its private parts.

Seeing this, Bai Qimeng, who was standing to the side, punched Wang Xi.

"You perv," she said, displeased. "Calicos are almost always female. Did you really need to lift it up to check?"

Bai Qimeng jerked her thumb back at Liu Wenjie, who was filming with his phone like a creep, and said:

"Show some decency. You’re violating the poor thing’s privacy."

"Who’s checking if it’s a boy or a girl?" Wang Xi gave her a strange look. "I just think something’s off. This is clearly a Blue Card, so why is it so much weaker than your Night King?"

「Follower Cat · Unnamed (Loyalty/One Star/Elite)」

Although it was a Bronze Frame Elite, it was only One Star, far weaker than Bai Qimeng’s black cat.

Wang Xi was puzzled.

’This cat’s special feature... is just encouragement?’

’What kind of encouragement could possibly be worthy of Blue Quality?’

’Could it be that when I’m beaten to my knees by the Wolf Witch and about to be dragged back to Moon Castle, this calico will just clench its paws on the sideline and shout "Get up, Master!" in a squeaky, cutesy voice?’

"Strength isn’t the only metric."

Bai Qimeng stared at the calico in his hand and analyzed seriously, "It might have a special ability."

"Do you have any suitable Equipment Cards? Try equipping it with one and see."

"Equipment Cards, hmm..."

Wang Xi thought for a moment. He actually seemed to have some.

Back in the Fairy Tale Otherworld, he’d gotten an incomplete blue Equipment Card from killing Calvin. The set of Onion Armor was missing everything but the head and leg pieces.

He had no use for them himself.

According to the Follower Cat’s traits, only three types of Equipment Cards—boots, swords, and guns—received the maximum Enhancement.

’I wonder if the 「γ Defense Onion Armor·Incomplete」 counts?’

Wang Xi directly pulled out the Blue Card.

Then, he put the calico back on the ground, took out the 「Solomon Military Laser Pistol Type V」 and 「Cupid’s Chainsaw」, and offered them all to the cat.

’Now the three-piece set is complete.’

’It’s unorthodox, I’ll admit.’

’But hey, better to be overqualified than underqualified, right?’

’The only question is whether it meets the standard for boots, a sword, and a gun.’

’We’re not rich enough to make our kid a fantasy ranger cat, but if we grit our teeth, we can at least make her a space marine cat, right?’

"Whoa, a Blue Card!" Bai Qimeng exclaimed, scrutinizing Wang Xi. "Got any more? Sell me a few!"

"That’s it." Wang Xi shot her a glance and said flatly, "What do you think these are, freebies from a snack pack? You want to buy them wholesale? This was just a useless Blue Card gathering dust in my inventory."

"Thank you for your gift, Master." At that moment, the calico carefully took the three Cards and said respectfully, "Would you please give me a name, Master?"

"A name?"

Wang Xi rubbed his chin and tentatively suggested:

"How about ’Milk Tea Girl’?"

"..."

The calico tilted its little head back, its watery, mismatched eyes on the verge of shedding tears. It put on a pitiful expression.

Even Bai Qimeng couldn’t stand it anymore. She crossed her arms and said:

"What kind of terrible name is that? Can’t you pick something nicer?"

"You’ve got some nerve telling me that."

Wang Xi rolled his eyes at her.

He coughed once, then leaned over with his hands on his knees.

"Liuli," he said with a soft chuckle. "Your name will be Liuli. From now on, you’ll roam the world with me. How about it?"

"I have a name..."

The calico’s eyes shone with a brilliant light.

"Liuli is so happy! Liuli is willing to follow Master to the ends of the earth and never leave your side!"

With a HUM,

Amidst a dazzling swirl of blue and white light, Liuli’s appearance changed dramatically—

She now wore a pair of metal boots that looked like iron buckets and a flat, round, full-coverage helmet. A Laser Pistol was slung at her waist, and Cupid’s Chainsaw was strapped to her back.

Her once small and cute image instantly became iron-willed and murderous.

Wang Xi stared, stunned.

「Follower Cat · Liuli (Loyalty/Four Stars/Elite)」

’This...’

’The power gap before and after equipping her is way too big, isn’t it?’

’She jumped three whole stars?!’

"Master, who do you want to kill, meow?"

From under the Onion Armor helmet came the cold, emotionless voice of a young girl.

"Tell me, and I’ll kill them all! Anyone who dares to stand in our way, kill, kill, kill!"

"..."

Wang Xi and Bai Qimeng looked at each other, speechless.

It seemed both of them knew where the problem was.

This cat wasn’t clean.

It was a bit demonic.

Before she was equipped, she was a delicate, weak-looking thing with no confidence. But once she picked up a weapon, she transformed into a brutal, ferocious beast with an overwhelming lust for slaughter.

’How could a little kitty have two faces?’

’A split cat-sonality, huh!’

"Ahem." Wang Xi gathered his thoughts and said gently, as if coaxing a child, "I haven’t decided who to kill yet. We’ll talk about it next time... Good Liuli, disarm for now."

"Definitely next time, meow?"

The cat tilted her head up. Beneath the single horizontal slit of her flat, round onion helmet, a sinister scarlet light flickered.

The cold girl’s voice was laced with disappointment. "Useless Master! How will you get stronger without enemies? If you don’t get stronger, how will you survive? And if you can’t survive, how will you buy yummy food for your cute Liuli, meow!"

"..."

Wang Xi finally seemed to understand what her so-called "encouragement" was.

He’d gotten his hopes up for nothing.

BONK!

Wang Xi, imitating how Bev hit Sofia, flicked his finger against Liuli’s helmet, making a crisp, muffled sound.

"Have some respect," he said flatly. "Liuli, hurry up and disarm. Change back."

The calico put her paws on her hips, grumbling and whining, not quite convinced. But she couldn’t hold out for long under her master’s gaze.

"I know, I know..."

Liuli said listlessly.

"If you don’t listen to your meow-meow, you’ll pay the price meow. Master, if you keep being so soft, you’ll just end up a pitiful slave, and unlucky Liuli will have to suffer and be abused with you. Sigh, this cat’s life has no hope, meow..."

With a flash of light,

Liuli’s equipment vanished, and she changed back into an ordinary calico cat.

"Mrow!" She froze for a second, then let out a startled cry. She took the initiative to approach, rubbing her forehead against Wang Xi’s leg and saying timidly, "S-sorry, Master. Liuli didn’t mean it. Please don’t be angry, Master."

Wang Xi wasn’t angry.

He just found it amusing.

Both Liuli and Night King had come from that hidden Card Pool. In a sense, they could be considered Limited Cards.

They were different from the common Follower Cards on the market, possessing a rare ability to communicate and true intelligence. Ordinary Follower Cats could only understand simple commands and acted rather rigidly. There was no comparison.

Moreover, both Liuli and Night King’s strength increased significantly after being equipped, making them capable assistants.

Wang Xi was very satisfied with this.

...

...

The Maze expedition was finally over.

The custom commission was also successfully completed.

Wang Xi once again experienced the lightning-fast ride home in Bai Qimeng’s hovering supercar.

Evening.

Valley City, Nest Capital District.

The sports car, a streak of blue and white light, stopped under the glow of the setting sun at the entrance of a quiet residential complex, drawing many looks of attention and awe.

The gull-wing doors swiveled open, and a straight-backed figure stepped out.

"Thanks," Wang Xi said, turning around. He then added with great seriousness, "Miss Bai, safety first. You should really try to avoid speeding in the future."

"Heh, acting all tough now that it’s over."

Bai Qimeng leaned lazily against the frameless window.

"Why so formal? Afraid I’ll skip out on the payment?"

"Miss Bai, you misunderstand," Wang Xi said righteously. "This is a friendly warning. I’d hate to one day scroll past the news that the beautiful young lady of the Shanshan Conglomerate died in a car crash, the last Knight of the new era meeting an unceremonious end."

"That would be a great loss for all of Valley City, and even for all of humanity. Besides, it wouldn’t be good to hit someone, and even damaging the flowers and plants would be—"

"Alright, alright, that’s enough of the lecture."

Bai Qimeng rolled her eyes and took out her phone, tapping on it a few times.

BEEP BEEP.

Wang Xi’s pocket vibrated. He had received a transfer of 200,000 Credit Points—the payment for the 「Wind-Seeking Boots」.

"Since we’re friends, I’ll take your advice. From now on, I’ll try to keep my speed under 300."

Bai Qimeng smiled and gave a cool two-fingered salute.

"I was very satisfied with today’s adventure. The commission fee has already been sent to Cupid Housekeeping... Handsome, let’s work together again if we get the chance. I’ll be sure to request you."

"...Sure."

Although Wang Xi found her words a bit strange, he returned her smile with a thumbs-up.

With a ROAR, the hovering supercar shot out a blue-violet exhaust flame and vanished in a streak of light.

Lin Xin’Er didn’t say a word to Wang Xi before they left, sitting alone and crestfallen in the passenger seat.

Wang Xi, of course, knew why.

’After all, anyone who wasted fifty pulls on the hidden Card Pool without getting a single thing of note would look like that...’

"Sometimes, hope is like a wallet. It’s always getting emptied out by cruel reality, leaving you utterly defeated."

Wang Xi shook his head, spouting a bit of off-the-cuff philosophy as he turned and walked toward the residential complex.

He couldn’t help but think of Liu Wenjie.

That Maze Streamer was lucky to have survived. If he hadn’t managed to call for help by completing the theater with the Demon King’s help at the last moment, the entire party probably would have been wiped out.

Wang Xi didn’t pay it much mind.

Back home, he ordered his usual multi-person combo from "Temperamental Sweetheart" and went online to "Flying Hat" to buy some cat food, freeze-dried treats, canned food, and other pet supplies.

Another expense of over a thousand Credit Points.

Although Wang Xi had owned cats in his previous life, he had never raised a Follower Cat, so he could only try to apply his past experience.

In addition, he also took the opportunity to carefully select a Swordsmanship Core Card from the "Hat Cave" section.

— 「Swordsmanship Mastery (Skill Card)」

Perhaps because it was for a physical deck, this One Star Green Card, made especially for "Non-Chief War Gods," was much cheaper than the noble magic-type Core Card, 「Water Element Mastery」.

It cost 380,000 Credit Points.

After this spending spree, Wang Xi’s account was left with a balance of less than 20,000.

"Sigh. In most cases, wallets and gacha rates are the same. They always obey the law of conservation so perfectly."

Wang Xi sighed philosophically once more.

He spent money like water, and it was never enough.

He had originally wanted to buy a Technique Card that would let him cultivate Magic Power, but a search on "Hat Cave" came up empty. He couldn’t buy one at all... They were probably too precious and hard to find on the market.

On the way back, Wang Xi had asked Bai Qimeng a question, a doubt that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

How many tiers of Universal Cards were there, really?

The highest Quality Card he had encountered so far was the deep blue 「Self-Immolation」. Even on "Hat Cave," Deep Blue Cards were few and far between.

Were there Cards of even higher Quality?

As the heiress of a conglomerate, Bai Qimeng was worldly and knowledgeable, but she couldn’t give him a precise answer either... She only said that there were indeed rarer and more precious Cards above Deep Blue, but she had never seen one with her own eyes.

They weren’t something you could get just by having money.

The reason was simple.

Universal Cards above Deep Blue all came from Mazes and Disasters numbered 5 and higher.

Cards of that grade were almost impossible for the general public to see. A small place like Valley City probably didn’t have a single one.

’So, a Maze like A-4 can produce Deep Blue Quality Cards at most...’

Wang Xi finally understood.

For an average Hero, White Cards were the standard deck Quality, with a few managing to get Green Cards. As for Deep Green, only Four-Star and Five-Star Professional Warriors were likely to have them.

And Blue, or even Deep Blue Cards, were probably the Main Battle Card Quality for 「Upper Rank」 Heroes.

Although there were no explicit rules, it gave the impression of a strict, multi-layered hierarchy.

While waiting for his takeout and deliveries, Wang Xi sat on his living room sofa in the twilight and took stock of his haul from the Maze expedition:

Aside from the commission payment, which would be issued with his salary, he had obtained one Blue Card (the Follower Card Liuli), one Green Card (a Wind Element Cloak), and two White Cards (the Silver Thorn Sword and the Iron Oath Longsword), for a total of four high-value Universal Cards.

He also had 25 junk White Cards and 3,010 grams of Magic Stones left.

Wang Xi crushed the "Dog Food Cards" into Experience Points and converted the Magic Stones into Energy. The panel in his mind updated accordingly:

「Energy: 3265」

「Experience: 1845」

It was a bountiful harvest, and he was delighted.

’Oh right, I also got a Blue Card from Bai Qimeng. It couldn’t be her 「Bootleg Transformation Device」, could it?’

Wang Xi thought to himself.

If it was, that would be a problem.

Because a 「Transformation Device」 was clearly the core of a special deck and required matching Cards to unleash its full power.

’Kaos, draw.’

A brilliant blue light erupted in his mind—

「Everyone Has a Maiden’s Heart (Equipment Card)」

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