Chapter 10
It was already 9:50 PM when the little hamster rubbed his eyes and finally woke up. His sister had just come in to tell him it was time for bed.
Yu Tianwei sat at the foot of the bed with her arms crossed, watching the little hamster sit up groggily. He let out a soft, sleepy whine, rubbing his face with tiny paws as he grumbled unhappily about being disturbed.
“You really are turning into a proper little hamster, aren’t you?” Tianwei teased, lightly poking him in the lower back. “Waking up this late… what, are you planning to break into a granary tonight?”
Hearing his old trade mentioned, the little hamster’s eyes lit up instantly. He looked up at her with bright anticipation.
“Squeak, squeak?” Can I?
“Of course not!” Tianwei was driven nearly crazy by the little rascal. “The apocalypse hasn’t even started yet. You can’t just go running wild!”
How humiliating would it be if, before the world even ended, she had to bail a certain food-thieving hamster out of the local police station?
Still, as she spoke, she held out a miniature outfit. “It’s chilly tonight. Put this on first.”
The little hamster lowered his paws, cast a suspicious glance at his sister, and let out a haughty “Hmph!”, batting the garment away in disdain.
His dark, glossy eyes were exceptionally striking. Tianwei could swear that across all the pet markets and specialty breeders she had browsed behind her father’s back—from cheap market hamsters to prize-winning pedigrees worth tens of thousands—none compared to the little fellow before her. Absolutely none!
Her little brother was simply the most handsome hamster alive!
His nose was a delicate pink, and his dark eyes were vastly larger and brighter than an ordinary hamster’s. The adorable creature practically overflowed with charm, complete with tiny, perfectly curved eyelashes. Plump, bright-eyed, and milky-soft from head to toe, he was utterly irresistible.
“All right, how about this one instead?” Tianwei coaxed, producing a second outfit.
It featured a miniature black top hat, a formal tailcoat over a tiny dress shirt, and even a miniature cane. An extraordinary creature like him was far above ordinary pet clothes; after all, he could actually walk upright on two feet, puffing out his chest with his head held high just like a cartoon mouse.
Seeing that it wasn’t an embarrassing frilly dress, the little hamster stood on his hind legs and raised his paws, obligingly letting his sister dress him in the coat, top hat, little white gloves, and tiny cane. She had even laid out a pair of miniature leather shoes. Once fully dressed, he looked remarkably like a refined, dignified gentleman mouse.
…Wait a minute. Was dressing him up like a tiny human supposed to be an insult to his noble mouse heritage?
Smoothing down the lapels of his coat, Tianwei shared the strategic decisions she and their father had reached. “If Dad, you, and I all rush out hoarding goods together, we’ll draw too much unwanted scrutiny. So, as for buying a supermarket, we’ve decided to hold off on acquiring an actual storefront for now.”
At those words, the little hamster’s velvety ears drooped flat against his head.
Just moments ago, he had been admiring his sharp reflection in a small mirror, but now he collapsed onto the mattress with a soft thud. He sat there in utter silence, staring at his sister with a face full of sorrow and grievance.
Though he didn’t utter a sound, his dark, glossy eyes practically shouted an accusation: You promised! Are you breaking your word again? Are humans really this dishonest, doing nothing but deceiving sweet, innocent fluffballs? Do all the sweet promises whispered while petting my fur count for nothing? Were you just playing with the little hamster’s fragile feelings?!
Struck with a sharp pang of guilt, Tianwei quickly backpedaled. “Wait, listen! Your sister has already compiled a complete directory of all the surrounding commercial supply centers! Even if we don’t open an actual supermarket,” she raised three fingers in a solemn vow, “we will still use the cover of establishing a major supermarket chain to lease a massive central logistics warehouse first!”
“Squeak?” The little hamster sprang back onto his hind legs.
Tianwei nodded emphatically. “Truly! I swear it!” She held out an index finger for him to lean against. “So be a good boy, Little Taro Ball. Get a good night’s rest. Starting tomorrow morning, our grand hoarding mission officially begins!”
“Mm!” The little hamster nodded vigorously. Standing tall on the bed, he waved a tiny white-gloved paw. “Good night, Sister!”
“Good night, precious.”
Turning to close the door, Tianwei caught sight of him balanced on his tiptoes, still waving goodbye so politely.
Aaaah! He’s far too adorable! Let me cuddle him just one more time, just one little sniff!! Forget it—she was sleeping with the hamster tonight!
She certainly had the ambition, but the little hamster had other plans.
With steam practically puffing from his ears, he hopped into the miniature electric car his uncle had bought for him, revved the motor, drove his sister out into the hallway, and slammed the bedroom door shut behind her with a sharp Bang!
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Sniff, sniff, sniff—cuddle-sniffing is all she ever thinks about! The second she lays eyes on a furball, her entire brain turns to mush! Aside from rubbing fluffy cheeks, there isn’t a single useful thought in her head! She didn’t even think to take her precious little brother out for a late-night scouting run, let alone help him hoard some preserved vegetables or bulk salt!
“Hmph!” All she cared about was petting him like a common toy!
The little hamster furiously wiped his whiskers, fuming in righteous indignation. He waved his paws around, squeaking passionately for several minutes before his temper finally settled.
Once his anger cooled, he sat blankly in the tiny car, staring straight ahead with vacant, glossy eyes.
“Squeak…?” Wait a second. Had he forgotten something terribly important again?
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!” Right! The Kuntian Jade! He still hadn’t dealt with that rebellious artifact spirit, Kun Tianya!
Remembering the vast expanse within the jade, the little hamster steered his miniature electric car and chanted the command in his mind:
“Enter!”
Sitting proudly behind the wheel of his milky-white toy car, the little hamster materialized inside the pocket dimension. Down on the grass, the battered spirit Kun Tianya lay crumpled on the ground, still glaring up at him with bitter resentment.
The hamster gave his soft, plush coat a vigorous shake, sending a flurry of loose white fluff drifting straight into Kun Tianya’s face.
Choking in fury and humiliation, the spirit wheezed, “You insolent beast… you dare show your face here again?!”
“Silence!” The little hamster adjusted his miniature top hat with a paw, grumbling haughtily, “On such a lovely evening, try not to say things that spoil my mood, all right?”
Leaning on his cane, he hopped down from the vehicle and poked Kun Tianya with the polished tip, looking every bit like an arrogant, aristocratic gentleman mouse.
Watching from the dirt, Kun Tianya seethed inwardly. The creature didn’t look like an elegant nobleman at all; he looked like a flashy, vulgar nouveau-riche coal baron!
The little hamster, however, was thoroughly convinced of his own supreme nobility. After all, his sister had handpicked this fine outfit for him! Tucking the cane under his arm, he climbed back into the miniature car and leisurely cruised across the green plains to inspect his newly acquired territory.
The internal space of the Kuntian Jade was vastly larger than his innate cheek pouches. Better yet, its greatest virtue was that it could sustain living organisms and allow crops to thrive.
The hamster parked and trotted across the vibrant green turf on his stubby legs.
“Whoa!” A medicine garden!
His eyes sparkled as he gazed upon towering, millennia-old ginseng roots. Beside them grew lush patches of lingzhi mushrooms, notoginseng, fleeceflower root, gastrodia, and prized cordyceps.
During an apocalyptic crisis, when synthetic pharmaceuticals would become practically impossible to mass-produce, high-potency traditional herbs like these would be worth their weight in gold.
There were countless rare plants he couldn’t even identify, but that hardly mattered. The moment the formally dressed hamster approached the plots, mystical knowledge flooded his mind automatically, detailing each herb’s identity, growth cycle, and medicinal potency.
This reminded him of his two personal dimensions that had been cleared out upon his arrival in this world. Originally, his left pouch had contained hundreds of years’ worth of spiritual herbs and legendary treasures he had scavenged from great demon beasts.
He had collected rhino horn shavings while house-sitting for Mr. Rhino, gathered spilled blood from defeated demon tigers, swept up sacred phoenix ash from burnt paulownia trees, and even collected molted dragon scales and drops of dragon blood while working as a cleaning beast for ancient clans. Over the centuries, he had hoarded mountains of priceless relics.
Though it had all vanished, the little hamster now understood why the Heavenly Dao had confiscated his hoard.
Yeah, it really would have been cheating…
After all, he had even stashed away two petrified, unhatched primordial bird eggs. A single bite from one of those could turn an ordinary mortal into a half-immortal. If he had distributed relics of that caliber, this entire apocalyptic trial would have been solved before it even started!
Looking around, he noticed plenty of vacant, fertile soil.
While Kun Tianya could tend the fields, doing so manually required expending spiritual energy. The little hamster wasn’t keen on wasting spiritual reserves, so he decided to buy an automated seed-drilling and harvesting tractor later on, introducing this ancient spirit to the raw power of modern technology!
Waddling toward the solitary pavilion in the distance, he stepped into a quiet study and quickly located the jade’s instruction manual.
The ancient immortal who left this treasure had truly cared for his benefactors’ bloodline. The text detailed everything: time acceleration techniques, crop rotation cycles, harvesting precautions, and warehouse management. It explicitly noted that if ordinary mortals consumed crops grown here, spiritual spring water should only be used to hasten initial seed germination; irrigating mature crops with pure spring water was strictly discouraged, as the natural soil moisture was already self-sustaining. The text even included practical advice on how to use the spatial abilities discreetly without alerting common mortals.
The little hamster resolved to pass this jade pendant on to his sister eventually.
Turning to the final page of the tome, his gaze turned icy as he glanced back at the battered spirit outside.
“Little slave! Time to sign your soul pact with Grandpa Mouse!”
Reaching out with a tiny paw, he dragged the fleeing Kun Tianya through the air with a pulse of spatial authority.
The manual glowed in response, projecting glowing golden glyphs into the air that wrapped around Kun Tianya like an inescapable net. The little hamster pricked his claw, squeezed out a single drop of fresh blood, marched up to the spirit, and pressed it firmly onto his forehead.
“Let me go! Mercy!” Kun Tianya shrieked, writhing on the grass in sheer agony.
The moment the blood sank into his brow, the contract took root. The binding terms dictated that if Kun Tianya harbored even the slightest rebellious impulse or malicious thought toward his master, spiritual fire would immediately ravage his soul.
Already battered by the heavenly lightning from earlier, the spirit was overwhelmed with bitter resentment, yet utterly powerless to resist as he rolled on the turf.
Standing tall before him, the little hamster laid down his rules with grand authority. “Rule number one: no matter who I bring into this space in the future, you are strictly forbidden from revealing a single detail about me. Violators will have their souls ground into dust!”
A fiery crimson brand seeped through Kun Tianya’s skin, burning straight into his spiritual core. Shivering in cold dread, sweat drenching his brow, the spirit finally realized that all hope of rebellion was gone.
He secretly cursed the ancient immortal for handing him over to such a ruthless tyrant. How was a mere hamster worthy of commanding an ancient divine artifact?
Yet the instant the treacherous thought surfaced, an excruciating, tearing pain ripped through the back of his skull. Knowing the contract was already punishing his insolence, he quickly suppressed his hatred, stammering in terror, “I obey… I won’t dare again, I swear!”
“Good that you understand.” The little hamster rubbed his cheeks and tossed him a small packet of seeds. “Here. Plant these first as practice. Tomorrow, I’ll bring in proper vegetable seeds and fruit saplings.”
Kun Tianya caught the packet, asking meekly, “May I ask… what kind of divine spiritual herb this is?”
“Catnip.” It was just a packet of cat grass seeds his sister had left behind, which were essentially just wheat seeds. It was the perfect low-stakes crop for the servant to practice on.
Checking his tiny watch as he drove back out of the dimension, the hamster noted the time: “10:30 PM.”
A proper hamster never went to sleep this early; his nightlife had only just begun!
Climbing back into his miniature electric vehicle, he revved the tiny motor—vroom, vroom, vroom!
It’s time to settle the score with that fat calico! Tonight, those whiskers are coming off!
Meanwhile, at the Mu family estate, Mu Feiyi had finally wrapped up his grueling day.
Tossing his suit jacket onto the sofa, he dismissed the head butler with a weary wave, having no desire to listen to tedious clan politics tonight. Pouring himself a glass of red wine, he removed his silver-rimmed glasses, preparing to unwind.
Suddenly, his eye caught a small, pale object resting quietly beside the cushions.
“Hmm?”
Setting his glass down, Mu Feiyi walked over and knelt to pick it up. It was a plump, roasted peanut with two whole kernels inside, clean and completely undamaged.
“Could it be…”
He studied the peanut in contemplation. Did that little hamster leave this behind?
He had seemed so remarkably well-behaved. To think that little furball—whose cheeks had yielded nothing no matter how much they were kneaded, and who had cheekily hidden in his breast pocket—had secretly gifted him such a lovely little treat before leaving.
The realization brought a rare, faint smile to Mu Feiyi’s lips, softening the habitual coldness in his sharp eyes.
Perhaps, he thought, he ought to pay another visit to that wonderfully soft, chubby little creature sometime soon.
