Chapter 13

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Chapter 13: Humans Are So Scary

“Master, you absolutely must not eat the kitty!”

“Why not?”

Mi Xiaoliu held the kitten in her hands.

The little creature was especially well-behaved—it didn’t scratch or struggle even when picked up.

“Because kitties are meant to be kept as pets!”

“No one’s keeping this one.”

“But in this world, humans have already universally accepted this species as pets. Historical records show that even before the Cataclysm, it was already the case. Master, if you kill it, others will morally condemn you…”

Sasha rattled off a whole string of reasons—some of which might not even make sense.

“…”

“To some people, a pet’s life is even more precious than a human’s. And besides… it’s still so small…”

“It’s still so small…” That phrase echoed in Mi Xiaoliu’s ears.

It gave her a strange sense of déjà vu, but she couldn’t recall anything specific.

It was like when someone opened a short video app intending to search for something, but the moment the homepage loaded, they forgot why they came in the first place—an itchy, crawling sensation, like ants on the skin.

It deepened her thirst for memory. She wished she could spend the last few hundred yuan she had on the memory lottery.

Mi Xiaoliu gently placed the kitten back in the cardboard box, then sat on the bench, head bowed in a daze.

This was what she’d been doing most often these past couple days—staring off blankly. Maybe she wasn’t thinking about anything at all, or maybe she was just trying to recall fragments she couldn’t reach.

Every time she tried to remember, she couldn’t help opening that wheel used for memory draws—only to back off again when she saw her current balance.

“Master! You can’t afford another spin!”

Sasha’s voice overlapped perfectly with the sound of the doorbell.

Mi Xiaoliu lowered her hand and sat silently, head still bowed.

The doorbell rang again. She still made no move.

“Master, the doorbell means someone’s looking for you,” Sasha reminded.

“Oh.” Still no movement.

“Aren’t you going to open the door?”

“Just because someone’s looking for me, I have to open the door?”

“Well… usually people do. Master could check the peephole to see who it is first. Pretending not to be home while obviously inside is kind of rude.”

Mi Xiaoliu nodded, picked up the kitten she’d just brought back, and tried to see something through its eyes.

But she saw nothing.

Her brows twitched ever so slightly in irritation at being tricked.

“Master, the ‘peephole’ I meant is the one in the door…”

Mi Xiaoliu tilted her head back a little.

So eating a cat would get her morally condemned, yet every time a door was installed, a cat’s eye was gouged out.

Humans are truly terrifying.

Under Sasha’s guidance, Mi Xiaoliu successfully identified the peephole on the door. It was at the perfect height—she didn’t need to bend down or stand on tiptoe.

She leaned against it, but she didn’t see the person outside—just a field of blood red.

Looking closely, she could make out white around the red, and within the white, faint blood vessels.

After staring for two seconds, Sasha reminded her: it was an eye. Someone was staring back at her from just a door’s thickness away…

Peepholes, when the inside is well-lit, often allow a limited view from the outside in.

Mi Xiaoliu froze and continued staring, silently locking gazes through the peephole with the other person.

Several seconds passed.

Eventually, the person outside blinked first. Their dry eyes finally couldn’t hold out—they stepped back, allowing Mi Xiaoliu to see their full appearance.

A fairy-like woman with pink hair—probably in her thirties. Her hair was a bit messy, tied in a lazy ponytail hanging down her back. She wore a white lab coat and had a lollipop in her mouth. Even with the dark circles under her eyes, it was clear she was a beauty.

Although no one had answered the door despite two rings, there was no impatience on her face. After holding eye contact with Mi Xiaoliu for a few seconds, she pressed the doorbell again.

“She’s your landlady!” Sasha gasped. “Oh no, oh no—I completely forgot about this!”

When she calculated the food expenses, she forgot to include the unpaid rent!

“Landlady?”

“Yes, the owner of the place you’re living in. You have to pay rent to the owner in order to stay in her house.”

“…”

A whole bunch of explanations—but not a word of it made sense.

She only understood one thing: money must be paid.

So the landlady was the bad guy.

“Master, you absolutely must not offend her.”

“Why?”

“Because she has pink hair!” And pink-haired characters are never to be messed with.

“…”

Mi Xiaoliu opened the door.

“Do you have money to pay rent?” the landlady asked directly.

Her tone was light, as if she was speaking with her last breath, making you wonder if she’d collapse any moment.

“How much?”

“Three-fifty.”

It was a student dorm, so the rent wasn’t too high—no deposit or multi-month payment required.

Mi Xiaoliu nodded. Her basic math told her she had more than 350 yuan left.

“But Master! If you pay the rent, you won’t have money left for food!”

The next mission wasn’t scheduled yet, and although they were told there had to be at least one mission a month, this month was almost over. What if the next one didn’t come until the end of next month?

“No money,” Mi Xiaoliu replied flatly.

The landlady’s brows furrowed noticeably.

“Master, you need to be more tactful… Don’t just say it so bluntly,” Sasha cried in despair.

“I might not have money,” Mi Xiaoliu rephrased.

The landlady crossed her arms.

Now even Sasha didn’t know how to help her.

After all, she hadn’t paid even the first month’s rent since moving in. The landlady letting her stay this long was already an act of great mercy.

The landlady quietly looked at Mi Xiaoliu.

Their eyes met across a barrier of lenses and colored contacts.

“I’ll ask again in three days,” the merciful landlady said, granting a deadline. “Water and electricity payments go next to the guard’s room on the first floor. You pay first, then use.”

“Okay.” Mi Xiaoliu nodded.

No matter what, just agree first.

“Don’t wander around at night,” the landlady added before leaving. “This city isn’t safe. Someone else died last night. A kid like you really shouldn’t walk alone at night.”

“Mmm.”

With no further small talk, the landlady turned and rang the doorbell at the next unit, leaning over to peer through the peephole again. “Rent’s due—seven hundred this month…”

Mi Xiaoliu closed the door and turned around—only to see the little kitten munching on the bun she had bought earlier. Even though it was just a few months old, it had managed to jump onto the table using the chair as a step.

Mi Xiaoliu sat down and quietly watched without stopping it.

She knew how terrible hunger felt.

“Master… are you thinking of keeping it?” Sasha sounded a little surprised.

“Keep it?”

“That means the Master would be responsible for feeding it, cleaning up after it, and giving it baths now and then. In return, it’ll give you a cute face—and occasionally destroy your home.”

“Then who will keep me?” Mi Xiaoliu poked the kitten’s head.

Envy.

“Ah…”

Children her age were usually just entering their rebellious phase—not yet fully independent from their parents.

Having been with Mi Xiaoliu since childhood, Sasha knew almost everything about her—and fell silent.

Looking at the last remaining bun, Mi Xiaoliu took out an unbranded smartphone.

It was issued by the organization after she completed her previous task, a replacement from “Boss.”

The number was special—it couldn’t call regular phones, couldn’t run games, and came with its own special browser and chat software.

Basically, it wasn’t usable as a normal phone.

Following Sasha’s instructions, she painstakingly typed out the word “mission” followed by a question mark to the Boss.

The reply came instantly: “Don’t get greedy.”

Though it was called “Little Gotham,” that didn’t mean there were always jobs. The wealthy had to weigh the risks of hiring illegal organizations, and as for the poor… In a city with no security cameras, most would rather take the risk themselves than spend money hiring help.

Besides, not every task could be assigned to rookies like her. Usually, beginners get stuck with debt collection or smashing shops like petty gangsters. Jobs that paid as much as her first one were rare.