Raymond furrowed his brow as he searched the bedroom but couldn't find BEN MAO. "BEN MAO! Hey! BEN MAO! Where did you go? Come out!" He turned the living room upside down, even looking under the sofa, but still found nothing. It was as if BEN MAO had vanished from the house. "Where did that dumb cat go?" He checked the balcony but still couldn't find BEN MAO.
Raymond sighed and decided to have breakfast before going out to look. "Hmm? Come to think of it, I did say I'd kick it out. Maybe I shouldn't bother looking for it," he muttered, pushing open the kitchen door, only to be shocked by what he saw. "What the... Was there a break-in?!"
The kitchen was a mess, with pots and pans scattered everywhere, and the fridge door wide open. The once-packed fridge was now empty. If it weren't for the fact that he was the only person left in the world, Raymond would have thought a thief had broken in—a very hungry thief.
But clearly, it wasn't a break-in. He quickly identified the culprit behind the mess: a fluffy ball of fur. "What is this thing?!" Raymond squatted down and observed it closely, noticing that the fur was very similar to BEN MAO's. He poked it lightly, and the ball wobbled like a roly-poly toy. "Could this weird ball be that dumb cat?!"
It seemed unbelievable. No cat, no matter how good it was at curling up, could be this round! Where was its tail? Its head?
"Woof woof! Woof woof woof!" Suddenly, the sound of a dog barking urgently came from behind him. Startled, Raymond turned around to see the big yellow dog standing outside the kitchen, barking furiously at him.
Woof woof woof!
The yellow dog looked at the fur ball, then at Raymond, its barking becoming increasingly frantic. "Oh, you mean it's dangerous here, and I should leave quickly?" Raymond pondered, pointing at the inexplicable fur ball on the floor. "Woof woof!!" The dog continued to bark, growing more agitated when Raymond didn't move. Raymond squinted, recalling BEN MAO's strange behavior over the past few days, and nodded lightly. "It does seem dangerous. Let's get out of here."
He glanced at the balcony as he left the kitchen, understanding how the dog got in. He lived on the third floor, not too high up, and there was a large tree outside. Climbing the tree and jumping onto the balcony wouldn't be difficult for a dog.
Woof woof!!! The yellow dog urged him on.
Raymond followed it downstairs, the dog running ahead and occasionally looking back as if avoiding something terrifying. Raymond, panting heavily, tried to keep up. "Hey, don't run so fast! By the way, are you my sister's dog?" People certainly can't outrun dogs. If the yellow dog hadn't waited for him occasionally, he would have been left behind long ago.
After a long run, Raymond felt like his lungs were on fire. Turning a corner, he couldn't help but shout, "Dog up front, wait..."
Before he could finish, a shadow loomed overhead. Sharp teeth and claws gleamed coldly in the sunlight as a bloodthirsty maw aimed for Raymond's head. In the next moment, a scream echoed.
Blood splattered!
Raymond fell to the ground, rubbing his sore backside, and laughed at the sight of the yellow dog lying in front of him. "Surprised?" he asked, despite the pain in his rear. A sharp dagger was lodged in the dog's neck, blood pooling around it.
Shaking his head, Raymond raised a finger. "Hypothesis one: BEN MAO intends to harm me, and you want to save me. This only makes sense if you're my sister's dog; otherwise, you have no reason to 'insist on saving me.'" He raised another finger. "Hypothesis two: You intend to harm me. Whether you're my sister's dog or not, you want to harm me. Your actions each morning and your sudden appearance are all psychological suggestions. You're making me think BEN MAO wants to hurt me, and you want to save me."
Raymond grew excited. "If that's the case, can I assume you have human-like intelligence? I admit some dogs are very smart, but understanding psychological suggestions is beyond normal intelligence, right?"
Before he could continue, Raymond paused, noticing the yellow dog rising from its blood pool. It glared at him with a predatory gaze, baring its sharp teeth. "Ow!"
Raymond frowned, then grinned. "This is interesting. I'm curious, do you really have human-like intelligence? If so, did you secretly observe me before appearing? Did you know about BEN MAO's strange changes and decided to take advantage?"
The yellow dog might have human intelligence, but it couldn't speak. It just glared at Raymond viciously, like a predator sizing up its prey.
Raymond shrugged. "Why trust the weird cat at home? If I'm wrong, I just die once, no big deal!" He continued, "Besides, I don't think BEN MAO wants to harm me. It's been acting strange, but it seems like it's gaining intelligence, like in those web novels I used to read. These past days should be its initial confusion phase, like a newborn baby. Its intelligence isn't fully developed yet, but it's changing. Given that my cat is quite dumb, it's been acting weirdly. But because it's so obvious, not hiding its sharp claws and teeth, I don't think it means harm. Of course, anyone else might be scared. After all, the most frightening thing is scaring oneself, right?"
Talking dogs, evolving cats—it all seemed supernatural. But since the appearance of that enormous phantom tombstone after his last suicide attempt, Raymond felt he should abandon common sense.
Especially today, seeing BEN MAO change from a cat to a fluffy ball, wobbling like a toy when poked—that clearly defied common sense!
However, Raymond realized BEN MAO was at a crucial stage and felt it was dangerous to leave the yellow dog there. Who knows what it might do out of desperation? So he went along with it.
"Besides…" Raymond smiled. "I don't like cats, but I dislike dogs even more."
"Ow!" The yellow dog, with a dagger in its neck, continued to glare at Raymond, growling with bloody breath.
"Why glare at me?" Raymond asked seriously. "With such a serious injury, you should find a place to heal and learn from your failed attack. You should summarize your experience and improve yourself, following the guidelines of the central…"
"Ow!!!"
Before Raymond could finish, the yellow dog lunged at him, its powerful paw striking his chest in a flash.
"Oof!!"
Pain! Intense pain!
Several ribs seemed broken!
Damn it! Did I just fail at showing off?!
Is there no justice?!
With such a serious injury, shouldn't it be on the brink of death?! Shouldn't it be barely alive?!
And why is this dog so strong? Is it really a dog?!
The pain was excruciating, making even breathing painful.
Raymond fell to the ground. Before he could catch his breath, the dog's maw came at him again, reeking of blood and rot.
Is my second life going to end in a dog's mouth?! He thought bitterly.
Meow!!!"
Suddenly, a cat's cry echoed. A white figure dashed forward, and in an instant, the yellow dog was sent flying, crashing into a shutter door and denting it deeply.
Staring at the enraged, fur-erect, tail-straight figure standing before him, Raymond was dumbfounded. He rubbed his forehead.
No, no, something's wrong with this script!
Do cat-dog fights really look this terrifying?! Can't mess with this!
Wait! Is this my dumb cat?
The figure before him was different from the BEN MAO he knew. It was slightly bigger (though still small), its fur pure white instead of BEN MAO's white with dark gray stripes. But the biggest difference was the tail. BEN MAO's tail was thick at the base, tapering to a rounded tip, but this one's tail was long, fluffy, and increasingly voluminous, only tapering near the end.
Is this BEN MAO?
Coming to his senses, Raymond couldn't help but doubt.
Before him, after swatting away the yellow dog, the figure turned and growled angrily in the dog's direction, then ran to Raymond with a "meow" before tripping over nothing.
Raymond facepalmed.
No mistake, it's my cat…
Don't ask why I'm so sure. It's a sad story.
"What happened to you? How did your breed change?" Raymond wondered if BEN MAO was still a Scottish Fold, or even still a cat. While some cats had fluffy tails, this one's tail was something else, resembling a fox's tail more than a cat's.
"Don't tell me you changed species." Raymond joked.
BEN MAO tilted its head and nodded.
"What? You really changed? What did you—" Raymond stopped mid-sentence, realizing something. "You can understand me?!"
BEN MAO nodded again.
Raymond stroked his chin. Interesting, BEN MAO's intelligence had indeed evolved to understand him. Even humans aren't born understanding language; it has to be learned. How did BEN MAO learn? Had it been picking up on his speech subconsciously during their time together?
No, even if they hadn't been together long, a human language couldn't be learned so quickly. What had changed?
Was it from the white light flash or the yellow dog's blood? Had it caused a mutation in BEN MAO?
He dismissed these thoughts for now, returning to the more pressing issue: "BEN MAO, you've evolved to this point, gaining some combat power. Yet, despite clearly winning, you look tired, meaning the yellow dog is powerful and not to be underestimated."
He was unsure if BEN MAO could grasp his concern, but his attention shifted as the yellow dog climbed from the rubble, casting aside its canine guise to reveal a massive, terrifying wolf.
It transformed!
Raymond gulped. The scene before him was scarier than any horror movie.
BEN MAO tilted its head, looking thoughtful. After a moment, its eyes showed confusion, and it finally shook its head.
Alright, even it didn't know.
Raymond had to set aside his questions for the moment and addressed something that concerned him more. "Since you can understand what I'm saying, don't stare at me all night without sleeping. It's really creepy, got it?"
"Meow~ Meow~~~" BEN MAO rubbed affectionately against his arm, probably indicating "understood."
Seeing its behavior, it seemed the initial chaotic phase of its newly gained intelligence had ended.
Raymond patted its head and suddenly noticed that one part of BEN MAO hadn't changed: its ears. They still looked like little caps folded forward on its head.
This discovery made him frown.
BEN MAO's changes clearly indicated an evolution, and during evolution, it's logical for creatures to repair their own defects. Scottish Fold cats' ears, though cute, are actually a manifestation of a genetic defect, an innate pain. Why hadn't this been fixed? This dumb cat's intelligence had awakened, and it even changed species, so Raymond couldn't believe a mere skeletal genetic defect couldn't be repaired. What was going on?
He pondered seriously for a moment and then raised an eyebrow in realization.
Could it be that this dumb cat forcefully interrupted its own evolution process?
Although it seemed unlikely, as who would willingly give up evolution, he still asked BEN MAO.
Surprisingly, BEN MAO nodded.
It raised a little paw and made a gesture in the direction the yellow dog had been flung: "Meow! Meow!!"
Raymond was stunned, his feelings suddenly complicated.
Thinking that the yellow dog might cause unforeseen issues during BEN MAO's evolution, he had drawn it out. Yet, BEN MAO had forcefully ended its own evolution to come to his rescue, giving up the chance to repair its genetic defect.
How stupid can you be?
"Meow~"
"Sigh, it's all due to a lack of information," Raymond patted BEN MAO's head. "I wouldn't have died anyway." He didn't explain further and said, "Come on, let's see what happened to that dog."
He used his right hand to support himself against the wall and slowly stood up. The simple action caused him to break out in a cold sweat from the pain.
In fact, even while talking earlier, he had been enduring immense pain.
Several ribs were broken. Ouch... it hurt so much...
Gritting his teeth, Raymond walked over and squatted down to examine the yellow dog, finding it was dead beyond any doubt. This was expected since it hadn't moved at all after being flung by BEN MAO.
What a pity.
After all, this dog seemed to have intelligence.
"Meow~"
Suddenly, BEN MAO meowed, ran to the yellow dog's corpse, extended its sharp claws, and made a few slashes, disemboweling the dog and pulling out something from amidst the internal organs. It then nudged the item to Raymond's feet.
Holy crap! That's a huge stone!
It was a roughly half-fist-sized, irregularly shaped stone.
Raymond examined it closely, smiled, and sat down on the ground.
Then, he pulled the seven-inch dagger out of the yellow dog's neck, wiped it clean with his clothes, and said, "Hey, dumb cat, watch closely." With that, he raised the dagger and stabbed it into his own heart.