Chapter 37
Grandpa Zhang gazed at the fat calico with tender affection. The cat quietly tucked its paws beneath its chest, leaning its heavy, warm body against the old man’s leg.
The calico was still young and full of mischief, yet despite its bulk, it was usually gentle—aside from a notorious habit of terrorizing neighborhood dogs during afternoon strolls.
Yu Xiaoyuan glanced discreetly beneath the feline’s tail. Intact. A handsome tomcat with everything still in place.
“Grandpa Zhang, if it ever becomes too difficult to look after him, let me take care of him for you down the road,” Yu Xiaoyuan offered softly, reaching out to stroke the cat’s head.
The calico pulled back with a light shake of its whiskers, pressing its cheek more firmly against the elder’s knee.
The sight brought a fond, helpless chuckle to Grandpa Zhang’s lips. “I know you’re a good, kind lad. When my time comes, I’d be glad to leave him in your hands.”
“What if he refuses to leave with me?” Yu Xiaoyuan asked, noting the stubborn devotion shining in those feline eyes.
“He won’t want to at first. But if he resists, just let him be for a while. A cat’s mind is small; given enough time, the memories will fade. Once he forgets this old man, you can take him home,” Grandpa Zhang murmured, patting the plush head. “My children won’t let his bowl go empty, anyway. Once time has softened the grief, take him in and give him a proper home.”
“I promise,” Yu Xiaoyuan said.
He watched quietly as the elder pushed himself up with his walking cane, coughing into his hand as he shuffled toward the indoor breezeway. The fat calico hopped down from the bench, pattering faithfully behind on short, stout legs.
For the first time, a sharp, bitter grief settled into the young spirit beast’s chest.
He knew all too well that a lower-tier demon had no power to rewrite the fundamental laws of a dying planet. In a realm caught in a terminal cycle, cosmic agents like him were dispatched merely to soften the blow—to buy humanity precious margin, giving mortals a fleeting window to struggle at the edge of the abyss and unearth a single ember of hope.
The road ahead was a nightmare swamp. Yet even in the darkest mire, resilient seeds could still burst into bloom.
Yu Xiaoyuan stepped into the elevator just as a neighbor was heading out with his boisterous Siberian husky. The energetic dog bounded forward, paws skidding across the polished tiles in an eager attempt to tackle him.
Looking at the owner, Yu Xiaoyuan noticed a faint, sickly pallor clinging to the young man’s skin—a grim mark of tainted vitality that only a spirit beast could detect.
Without a word, Yu Xiaoyuan pulled a chilled bottle of mineral water from his bag. “You look parched. Drink some water.”
“Thanks, man,” the neighbor said, twisting the cap off. He gulped down half the bottle and tipped the rest into a portable bowl for the panting dog. “Hey, bring that little hamster of yours out to play sometime.”
“He’s with me today. I’ll let him out in the courtyard in a bit.”
“Awesome. I’ll keep an eye out so Grandpa Zhang’s fat calico doesn’t try to swat him,” the neighbor promised with an easy grin, jogging out toward the lawn.
Riding the elevator up to his apartment, Yu Xiaoyuan’s chest felt heavy.
The only silver lining was that neither his sister nor his uncle bore that dreaded ashen cast; the spiritual water had successfully shielded them. He made a mental note to double-check his uncle’s vitality when he returned to the villa tonight.
Stepping inside, he quickly cleared the apartment, sweeping cookware, spare bedding, and unopened dry goods straight into his spatial storage. Once the rooms were stripped bare, he shifted into his tiny hamster form, slipped beneath the door gap, and scampered into the lobby.
Down in the sunlit courtyard, the husky was happily digging in the flowerbeds while its owner rested on a garden bench.
A ninety-percent infection rate… The little hamster rubbed his cheeks with a heavy sigh. He needed to steel his heart. Arriving before the zero hour gave him the gift of forming genuine bonds with these people, but it also meant witnessing their inevitable end. He could nudge their odds, but he could not play God.
The neighbor had drunk the water laced with spiritual spring essence, and his breathing had stabilized. Yet the faint, necrotic shadow had not vanished entirely.
While he was lost in thought, the husky spotted the little furball, bounded over, and nudged the hamster directly into its owner’s lap with a wet snout.
The neighbor laughed, scooping the hamster into his broad palm. “Whoa, look at you! You’ve gotten completely round!”
He gently poked the creature’s plush, warm stomach. “You were sleek and tiny the last time I saw you. What have you been eating, buddy? Hmm?”
His thumb moved to knead the hamster’s chubby cheeks. “Let’s see if you’re hoarding sunflower seeds in here.”
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!” What is wrong with you humans?! Why does everyone insist on pinching my cheeks to check for contraband?! It’s completely undignified!
The hamster puffed up like an indignant pastry, squeaking and flailing his front paws in pure theatrical outrage.
The neighbor chuckled, cradling the squirming puffball safely against his chest. “Come on, let’s go visit Fat Lihua. His real name is Lihua—like the pear blossom—but Grandpa Zhang fed him so much roasted fish that the whole neighborhood just calls him the Fat Calico.”
“Squeak, squeak~” The hamster nodded with solemn understanding. A very fitting title.
Grandpa Zhang lived on the ground floor, where an airy glass sunroom opened directly onto the private garden. The elder was resting in a wicker lounger, basking in the afternoon sun, while the heavy calico dozed by his feet.
“Look who came to visit!” the neighbor called out, holding up his palm to show off the milk-tea-colored hamster.
“Well, well! Look at that plump little hamster!” Grandpa Zhang chuckled, sliding the glass door open. “Keep a close watch on him, young man. Don’t let my cat turn him into an afternoon snack.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got eyes on him,” the neighbor said, setting the hamster gently onto the garden table. He reached into a decorative ceramic bowl, broke off a thumb-sized chunk of crisp peanut brittle, and placed it right before the creature’s nose.
The little hamster looked down at the fat calico beneath the table. The feline’s slitted pupils flared into wide, predatory saucers the second it caught the hamster’s scent.
Unbothered, the hamster took a hearty, crunching bite of the sweet brittle.
Grandpa Zhang laughed heartily, chatting with the neighbor about district affairs, while the calico began an agonizingly slow, low-bellied stalk.
The fat cat considered itself a master tactician. Purring loudly, it rubbed its flank against Grandpa Zhang’s trousers to maintain its cover, all while keeping its gaze locked on the hamster munching away on the glass table.
Neither the elder nor the neighbor said a word, secretly amused as they watched the feline’s clumsy stealth routine unfold. The cat had no idea its grand ambush was painfully obvious.
Crunch.
The hamster took another leisurely bite.
The calico’s back legs bunched—spring!
“Gotcha, you little rascal!” Grandpa Zhang’s hand shot out, catching the cat neatly by the scruff of its neck.
The little hamster nearly rolled over in stitches. Watching the predator dangling mid-air, hind legs flailing in furious, mewing indignation, the hamster propped his paws on his hips and chattered with supreme arrogance: “Squeak, squeak, squeak~”
His taunting laughter proved too provocative. Driven mad by the insult, the calico launched into a frantic frenzy of kicks.
Feeling weak from his illness, Grandpa Zhang’s grip slipped.
The heavy feline pushed off the elder’s knee like a launched projectile!
“Grab him! Quick!”
Despite its sluggish demeanor, the cat was remarkably springy. Clearing the table edge in a single leap, its front claws swept forward like twin hooks, aiming straight for the mocking little furball.
“Eek!”
The hamster let out a sharp squeak, throwing himself into a sideways barrel roll. The heavy paw crashed against the glass, missing him by a hair!
Yet feline reflexes were legendary. Before the mouse could scramble to his feet, a second swipe caught him squarely across the back, pinning his plush body to the table.
Furious at being manhandled, the little hamster snapped!
Instead of running, he spun beneath the paw, bared his tiny teeth, and clamped down with all his might directly onto the soft, pink pad of the cat’s toe!
“YOWWWWL!”
The calico let out an unearthly shriek of pure betrayal. Unlike Big Orange from Qian Family Village—a battle-hardened barn hunter with notches in his ears—this suburban indoor cat had lived a life of pampered luxury. It had never encountered a hamster that actually fought back!
Shock and horror flooded the cat’s green eyes as it flinched backward.
Seizing the opening, the little hamster lunged forward, grabbed a mouthful of long feline whiskers, and swung his body like a pendulum!
Whoosh!
Using the whiskers as leverage, the hamster launched himself upward, landing with a soft thud squarely between the cat’s ears!
Standing tall on the predator’s head, the triumphant spirit beast grabbed both feline ears like reins.
“Squeak!” Giddy up, kitty!
The calico was traumatized. It had never witnessed a mouse behave with such unhinged, warlike dominance! Flattening its ears into terrified “airplane wings,” the feline turned tail and scrambled blindly into Grandpa Zhang’s lap, sobbing in high-pitched wails:
“Meow! Meowww! QAQ” The food is attacking me!
Grandpa Zhang was torn between exasperation and tears of laughter. “You oversized lump! How can an eight-kilogram predator be terrified of a palm-sized mouse?!”
Yet looking down at his trembling, chubby cat, its ears pinned flat against its skull in sheer, pathetic humiliation, the elder’s heart softened. The cat’s round face looked more pitifully doughy than ever.
“All right, all right, let’s take the terror off your head,” Grandpa Zhang coaxed, plucking the strutting hamster from the fur and setting him safely back onto the table. “If you hadn’t tried to hunt him, he wouldn’t have boxed your ears! Look at you, getting beaten up by a mouse and running crying to your grandfather.”
He smoothed down the ruffled fur on the cat’s spine. “There, there. The monster is gone.”
The calico tucked its nose under the elder’s elbow, purring weakly while refusing to lift its head. Its pride was shattered; gentle pats were simply not going to cut it.
“Aunt Liu,” Grandpa Zhang called toward the kitchen with a chuckle. “Bring out that pouch of freeze-dried salmon treats. Our little prince was just bullied to tears by a hamster.”
“Coming right out!” the nanny laughed, bustling in with a foil packet. “Eat up, poor baby, eat up.”
She gave the cat’s round flank an affectionate pat. “Such a heavy boy! In my village, a tomcat that gets beaten by a mouse wouldn’t dare show its face at the barn.”
“He’s still just a baby,” the elder defended warmly.
Over on the table, the little hamster sat back on his haunches, gnawing happily on his peanut brittle with loud, satisfying crunches.
Watching the calico sulk over its salmon snack, a thought struck him: I need to stock up on premium cat treats.
If he ended up taking the fat calico in after the zero hour, the cat would need provisions. And even if circumstances kept them apart, he could always use the treats to bribe Big Orange back at the village.
Dusting the sweet crumbs from his whiskers, the hamster bounded toward the edge of the table.
“Heading out already, little guy?” the neighbor asked, quickly wrapping two fresh slabs of peanut brittle in clean tissue paper. He strapped the small bundle neatly over the hamster’s shoulders like a tiny hiker’s pack. “Here—take these back for the road.”
“Squeak, squeak~”
The little hamster gave a cheerful chirp, hopping down to the grass and trotting toward the gates with his sweet cargo secured.
Behind him in the sunroom, the fat calico remained curled on Grandpa Zhang’s lap, stubbornly working through its second salmon fillet. Its dignity had been trampled under tiny paws.
One treat was nowhere near enough to heal this spiritual wound.
It needed at least three.
That evening, the little hamster sat in front of the television, nibbling away with a steady, rhythmic crunch, crunch, crunch as he cracked open sunflower seeds.
Above his head, the glowing digital timer ticked down: 1 day, 16 hours, 12 minutes, 25 seconds.
Right at that moment, the front door swung open.
Yu Tianwei walked in carrying a heavy stack of freshly laminated maps, closely followed by Yu Yuanzhou with an identical load. Behind them came two corporate assistants rolling a flatbed handcart laden with more boxes.
Still clutching a half-shelled sunflower seed between his paws, the little hamster froze in surprise.
“Just set everything by the entrance; Tianwei and I will take care of the rest,” Yu Yuanzhou instructed the staff, waiting by the threshold until they bowed and took their leave.
The moment the door clicked shut, the uncle waved toward the dazed little creature on the sofa. “Come over here and pack these away.”
The delivery had been arranged into four neat piles: two modest stacks and two towering crates. The little hamster understood the layout immediately. The large crates were bound for the static storage vaults of the Kuntian Jade, the smaller bundle would go into his cheek pouches for instant retrieval, and the two compact packages were reserved for immediate road travel.
Trotting over, the little hamster stretched his jaws wide: “Awooo!”
He swallowed an entire carton of rolled maps in a single gulp, the box vanishing cleanly into his pouch.
Once the hallway was cleared, he scampered back to the sofa, eager to return to his morning cartoons.
He looked down at the coffee table.
His eyes went wide.
Where are the shelled sunflower seeds?!
The neat little pile of freshly peeled kernels he had spent half an hour gathering had vanished into thin air!
The hamster whipped his head around in sheer disbelief, his gaze locking onto his sister, who was trying to tiptoe up the stairs.
“I gave half to your uncle!” Tianwei announced cheerfully, selling out her father without a shred of hesitation.
Yu Yuanzhou shot his daughter a sharp, annoyed glare. Clearing his throat, he put on a stern, righteous face and looked down at the aggrieved hamster. “Eating that many oily seeds in one sitting will cause internal inflammation. Your uncle is merely sharing the burden for your health.”
“Hmph!”
The little hamster puffed up his cheeks, snatching another raw seed from the bowl. Bully! Total bullies!
“Nonsense. If anything, it’s just teasing our favorite little hamster.” Seeing that the creature wasn’t genuinely angry, Tianwei hopped down the stairs, leaned over the back of the sofa, and buried her fingers into his plush crown to ruffle the fur. “Right, Dad?”
“I’m not taking part in your antics,” Yu Yuanzhou grunted, heading into the kitchen to grab a chilled bottle of water. “Tomorrow and the day after will be our final window to review the master list. We need to decide what last-minute supplies we’re missing.”
He took a sip and looked back at the sofa. “Little Yuan, is there anything else you want to purchase?”
“I stocked up on crates of cat food and freeze-dried treats today,” the little hamster replied, his paws slowing as he set the seed down. “When I went back to my old apartment this afternoon, Grandpa Zhang wasn’t doing well at all.”
A heavy silence fell over the room.
Yu Yuanzhou opened his mouth to offer comfort, but found himself at a loss for words. His nephew had always been sensitive and gentle; watching mortals fade was a painful trial.
“Grandpa Zhang asked me to look after the fat calico if his health takes a turn for the worse,” the little hamster murmured. He cracked the seed between his front teeth with a crisp snap, using his tiny claws to gently separate the tender white kernel from the shell.
“He wants our household—a home that literally has a pet hamster—to adopt a cat?” Tianwei asked, arching an eyebrow. While speaking, her hand drifted across the table, smoothly swiping the newly peeled kernel right out from under his nose. “Can’t his own family look after it?”
“Grandpa Zhang said his children wouldn’t let the cat starve, but they wouldn’t truly love him either. He’s terrified the fat calico will be neglected.” The little hamster sighed. He had already promised the old man.
Tianwei didn’t press the matter further. With mountains of provisions stashed in the jade realm, feeding a single plump cat would hardly strain their resources.
The room grew quiet once more. Yu Yuanzhou knew this was the unavoidable reality of what was to come. Beyond the raw terror of natural disasters, an apocalypse meant confronting the heartbreak of parting with the people and world they knew.
All he asked for now was that their household of three survive intact.
“Aside from pet supplies, what else?” Yu Yuanzhou cleared his throat, steering the topic back to logistics. “We have the space; we can buy whatever is missing.”
“Extra mattresses?” the little hamster suggested, remembering Jerry burrowing into plush cotton bedding on the screen.
“Wait!” Tianwei gasped, suddenly straightening her posture. “Little Yuan stockpiled hundreds of cases of bottled mineral water, but did we arrange bulk utility water? That can’t possibly be enough.”
“Doesn’t the jade realm have that large freshwater lake?” Yu Yuanzhou frowned. “Is that insufficient?”
“That lake is stocked with fish and river snails, and the livestock—the chickens, ducks, pigs, and cattle—all drink from it,” Tianwei pointed out, giving her father a flat look. “Dad, are you planning to drink from the duck pond?”
“Let’s go buy industrial water cisterns right now!” Yu Yuanzhou snatched his car keys from the counter. “Come on, Tianwei, you’re driving with me.”
“little hamster, we’ll order commercial bulk containers and have the freight trucks deliver directly to the gate! You just open the door to sign for them, or have them leave the pallets outside!” Tianwei called out over her shoulder as she hurried toward the foyer.
“Got it,” the hamster squeaked obediently.
The heavy front door clicked shut, leaving the sprawling villa silent once more.
Sigh…
The atmosphere was growing more tense with every passing hour. The closer they drew to the final deadline, the more glaring their missing preparations seemed to be.
The little hamster settled back into the sofa cushions, resuming his seed-cracking routine.
A soft chime from his smartphone broke the quiet. Wiggling his round behind, he scampered across the leather upholstery and tapped the screen with a paw.
It was a message from Mu Feiyi, asking if he was already asleep.
How could I possibly be asleep this early?
The little hamster tilted his head. He must be missing me already.
His ears twitched, and he quickly typed back: Do you want to watch the little hamster crack sunflower seeds?
Mu Feiyi hadn’t anticipated such an offer. Sitting in his private lounge with a freshly brewed cup of tea, he tapped back: All right.
A second later, the video call connected.
Mu Feiyi propped his phone against a decorative shelf. The moment the screen flickered to life, the camera was completely filled with the hamster’s round, fluffy face!
A tiny pink nose sniffed curiously at the camera lens, translucent rounded ears fluttering with excitement, while dark, glossy eyes peered into the screen with bright expectation.
With a soft, melodic “squeak~”, the creature held up a freshly peeled white kernel between his front paws, holding it high as if offering it through the glass.
Mu Feiyi felt his chest warm instantly. Even across a digital screen, this little creature was determined to share his prized snacks.
“Look at you, being so well-behaved,” Mu Feiyi murmured, leaning back against his leather chair with a fond smile. “Whose clever little hamster is this, hmm?”
He paused, a teasing smirk touching his lips. “He’ll be mine soon enough.”
The little hamster immediately jerked his head back, a comical look of pure disdain flashing in his dark eyes.
Turning his back to the lens, he presented only a plump, round silhouette, stubbornly going right back to peeling his seeds.
Mu Feiyi watched with quiet amusement as the creature placed the white kernels in a neat little pile on his left, while flicking the cracked husks into an ever-growing mound on his right. The pile of kernels was modest, but the mountain of discarded shells was staggering.
“Did someone steal your snack again?” Mu Feiyi asked, noticing the discrepancy. The hamster’s cheek pouches weren’t bulging, yet he had clearly cracked dozens of seeds.
Mentioning the theft was like lighting a fuse. The little hamster bounced upright on his hind legs, shrieking with theatrical outrage: “Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
Yes! Stolen! Completely robbed!
“Did Little Yuan take them?” Mu Feiyi chuckled, raising an eyebrow. Could that quiet youth be so mischievous behind closed doors?
The hamster shook his head vigorously, sniffling with an aggrieved expression before sitting back down to resume cracking shells. He kept his back slightly angled away from the camera.
“No way! It was my sister!”
A voice called out from the room!
The little hamster took immense pride in his ability to play two roles at once.
Mu Feiyi let out a dry, knowing laugh. That sounded exactly like Yu Tianwei. Only that fierce woman would find joy in terrorizing a defenseless hamster.
Still, Mu Feiyi had to admit: if he were in the room right now, he would probably steal the little creature’s seeds too, just to watch the furball stomp his paws, wail in protest, and look up with drooped ears and teary eyes.
Taking another sip of hot tea, he realized his possessiveness had only deepened. He wanted to scoop up the pet—and the sweet young master who owned him.
Yet Second Young Master Mu’s sharp ears picked up something unusual. Yu Xiaoyuan’s voice hadn’t sounded like it came from another room; the acoustic distance had felt surprisingly close to the microphone.
Setting his porcelain cup down, he asked casually, “What are you up to over there? Aren’t you coming into the camera frame?”
“Not coming over! I’m busy packing,” the youthful voice answered smoothly from behind the phone. “In a couple of days, Uncle is taking us up to Mount Qingyan for a family retreat. It was arranged at the last minute, so my luggage is a complete disaster.”
“I see.” Mu Feiyi assumed the boy was merely feeling bashful. He felt a faint prick of regret at not seeing his face, but watching the hamster wasn’t a bad compromise.
On the sofa, the little hamster gave his plush rear a sassy wiggle, his ears fluttering at the screen.
Mu Feiyi’s eyes narrowed into long, dangerous slits. “Are you intentionally trying to get me to cuddle you?”
In response, the hamster dropped his sunflower seed, rolled onto his back with a soft flump, and sprawled out right before the camera, shamelessly exposing his soft, pinkish-white tummy.
He clearly knew the human was hundreds of miles away—able to look, but completely unable to reach through the glass to stroke him!
Radiating pure mischief, the hamster used two tiny paws to casually scratch his downy belly, looking utterly relaxed. Then, patting his cheeks, he retrieved a plump, pristine roasted peanut from his spatial pouch and held it up toward the lens like a trophy.
Mu Feiyi knew with absolute certainty that the little monster was teasing him.
“Very clever,” he murmured, glancing down at his watch with a low chuckle. “I have meetings tomorrow, but I might just manage to fly back the day after.”
And when I land, I’m going to cuddle this little furball until he squeaks for mercy.
The hamster’s dark eyes froze. Slowly, very carefully, he rolled back onto his stomach, tucking his plush belly out of sight.
Wait… maybe teasing this predator was a terrible idea.
If there was one thing his simple brain understood, it was that unless they never crossed paths again in this lifetime, this petty human would remember this slight forever. The next time they met, he would be petted bald!
Worse still, a wave of guilt washed over the little spirit beast.
He still hadn’t confessed that the little hamster and Yu Xiaoyuan were the exact same person. If that secret ever slipped, he wouldn’t just lose his fur—he would have to face the music with his tail between his legs.
The little hamster is actually terrified!
Panicking, the hamster lowered his head and wedged his body straight into the narrow crevice between the sofa cushions, leaving only his round, fluffy behind and twitching pink tail sticking out in the air.
Mu Feiyi watched the trembling rear, itching to reach through the screen and pluck him out by the tail.
“Little Yuan,” he called out into the speaker, “your pet has burrowed into the sofa cushions again.”
“Squeak, squeak, squeak!”
The hamster violently scrambled backward, tumbling onto the leather with his fur in complete disarray.
His eyes were wide with sheer panic. His round head shook in frantic, dizzying circles while his front paws waved desperately from side to side, silently begging: Don’t tell him! Don’t say a word! I won’t dig into the cushions anymore!
Mu Feiyi blinked. For a fleeting second, he could have sworn he heard the faint, muffled pop of a wine cork from the speaker, followed by the softest rustle of clothing.
He parted his lips to speak, but the words died in his throat.
A strange, complex expression crossed his face—partly exasperated, partly thoroughly amused.
“So you actually know how to be afraid, do you?”
Originally, Mu Feiyi had only mentioned returning early to tease the fat little hamster.
Now, looking at the screen, he found himself genuinely calculating flight schedules.
He was going to clear his appointments and fly back early. He would snatch this little hamster into his coat, and find out once and for all what secrets Yu Xiaoyuan was hiding.
