"It's just two blocks, I'll walk home. You go sing with your friends—see you tomorrow."
After dinner, Shuo Yu said goodbye to Shen Zhiyin and walked home under the streetlights.
Looking at the withered sycamore leaves by the roadside, she thought of the snowy scene Shen Zhiyin had sent her last month.
This city rarely snowed—what a pity she had missed it.
As she passed by a pet hospital, her gaze unconsciously drifted toward the glass doors.
Inside, a customer was registering their pet—a blue-gray British Shorthair, looking lazy and completely calm, even as its owner took it out of its carrier to be handled in the unfamiliar environment.
Admiring cats from behind a glass door was the maximum Shuo Yu could handle with her cat fur allergy—
If she actually touched one, she'd probably spend the night in the hospital.
"Mianmian is way cuter—at least I can talk to her."
Shuo Yu retracted her gaze, bitterly convincing herself, then pulled out her phone and opened Cat Island Diary.
Cat Island had no lighting.
Aside from the moonlight shimmering on the sea, everything was pitch black.
Some areas were even covered in dense black shadows, making the scene look like something out of a horror game.
As she walked home, Shuo Yu swiped her screen several times, bringing her view to the area where she had placed the cat food and the cat house.
It was completely dark—she could barely make out the silhouettes of the objects.
Unwilling to give up, she tapped on the cat house, wondering if there was any progress.
She tapped three times—nothing happened.
Just as she was about to give up, a soft, annoyed voice came through her speaker:
"Ahhh! Stop poking me!"
Shuo Yu froze.
"Mianmian? Are you inside?"
The cat house was a triangular tent, stuffed with dry grass and covered with two waterproof leaves.
By proportion, it was only about the size of a suitcase—a regular cat could sleep in it comfortably.
But Mianmian looked like a fully grown teenage girl—how did she even fit inside?!
"Mm… I gave my home to One Eye, and this was the only safe spot left."
Ji Mianmian hugged her knees, huddled inside the cat house.
Even her speech bubble lines were shaking.
"Safe spot?"
Shuo Yu frowned, picking up on the keyword.
"Is the island dangerous at night?"
Ji Mianmian hadn't expected the mysterious woman on the floating screen, the one who could pet her across space, to be completely unaware of the evil spirits.
Hearing her urgent question, Mianmian slowly explained:
"Evil spirits feed on the fear of cats.
They disappear during the day and only come out to hunt at night.
To us, they look like shifting, pitch-black fluid.
Sometimes, they take the shape of a person; sometimes, they look like an animal."
Through the small entrance of the cat house, Ji Mianmian saw worry flash across Shuo Yu's face.
To reassure her, she quickly added:
"I hide really well—I haven't been caught yet.
But from what the other cats say, getting caught means spending the night inside an evil spirit's world…
They get slammed, trampled, and bitten—
Some come back with wounds when the sun rises.
If they're lucky, the evil spirit loses interest, and they just spend the night in the dark."
The more Shuo Yu listened, the tighter her fist clenched.
On one hand, she wanted to curse the game developers for creating such a sick mechanic—
On the other, she couldn't ignore that in real life, there were actual psychopaths who abused cats.
Maybe this was a way to bring awareness to the issue.
A deep sense of powerlessness surged through her.
She tapped the cat house again and softly said,
"Mianmian, don't be scared—I'm here."
She couldn't save real-life cats—
But on Cat Island, she was going to protect them all.
Shuo Yu rushed home, didn't even take off her coat, and immediately opened the in-game shop.
At Level 3, most of the store was still locked, leaving only one available purchase—
A 'Basic Survival Pack' for 200 Cat Coins.
She bought it instantly.
The pack contained four items:
[Bonfire Blueprint, Torch Blueprint, Fruit Knife, Flint]
Now that she had the blueprints, gathering materials became much easier—
If a needed item was within 100 meters, a guiding line would appear.
Following the markers, Shuo Yu searched the dark forest and soon found some dry pine branches.
Following the crafting instructions, she arranged them into a bonfire shape, shaved some tinder with the knife, then used the flint to start a fire.
Before long—
A warm, bright fire lit up West Ear Beach.
The bonfire was right in front of Ji Mianmian's cat house.
When Shuo Yu adjusted the camera, she saw Mianmian's eyes sparkle with joy.
The girl didn't hold back her praise:
"Shuo Yu, the safe zone just got bigger!
You're amazing!"
Her voice was so sweet—
Hearing it felt like drinking a glass of freshly squeezed strawberry juice.
Shuo Yu had heard her own name called countless times in her life—
But for the first time, she felt a soft, ticklish sensation, as if a cat's paw had stepped on her heart.
Immediately, she turned that feeling into motivation—
"Hold on, I'm going to top up some currency and power level!"
If she reached Level 5, she could buy the 'Newbie Blueprint Pack'—
It had five random blueprints, which would definitely improve Mianmian and the kittens' quality of life!
Shuo Yu hadn't expected that in just one day, she was already on the verge of becoming a pay-to-win player in Cat Island Diary.
For 68 yuan, she bought the Monthly Card, which included:
[12 Diamonds]
[6,800 Cat Coins]
[Daily stamina & currency rewards]
[Exclusive VIP outfits & speech bubbles]
[Unlockable vending machines & purification systems]
[A weekly interaction fragment for special cat bonding events]
The Monthly Card was always the best deal—
Since she was serious about playing, of course she had to subscribe.
With that—
Shuo Yu officially became a VIP member.
All interaction cards in Cat Island Diary are assembled from fragments.
The fragments are divided into three categories: Time, Location, and Event.
Once a set is completed, the player can invite a cat to experience the scenario.
Shuo Yu's first weekly reward was an Event Fragment—[Bathing].
Most cats absolutely hated baths, so Shuo Yu didn't expect this interaction card to create a soothing scene.
In fact, she suspected that using it would drop a cat's affection level instantly!
However—
Shuo Yu's gaze subtly drifted toward Ji Mianmian.
If this interaction could be used on Mianmian… then the scenario would be completely different.
A vision of fragrant water, misty air, and a stunning beauty emerging from the bath flashed through her mind—
She wished she could fast-forward two weeks, collect all three fragments, and unlock the scene immediately!
"Damn it, you pervy old woman."
She cursed herself internally and quickly scrolled past the thought.
Two special function packs caught her attention.
[Small House Feature] (648 yuan):
Permanently unlocks the ability to build a house on Cat Island.
Can be upgraded into a full-fledged cat sanctuary.
[Gourmet Feature] (328 yuan):
Permanently unlocks the Cat Island Cookbook and a mini kitchen.
Allows cooking anything from land, sea, or sky—if it's edible, it can be cooked!
Spending 1,000 yuan on a mobile game all at once was a bit painful.
Shuo Yu decided to wait and get to know Mianmian and the kittens better before investing more.
The moment she closed the recharge page, she saw Mianmian staring at her with hopeful eyes.
A strange feeling of guilt settled in—
Like she had just abandoned a beloved gacha waifu by not spending enough money.
Ji Mianmian had clearly heard the payment success sound effect—
But when nothing new appeared, she tilted her head curiously.
"Shuo Yu, what did you just buy?"
"Just a small top-up—got the monthly card and unlocked three machines. Let's set them up and check them out together."
Hearing the sweet tone in Mianmian's voice instantly soothed Shuo Yu's heart.
Thinking about it rationally—spending money on the first day of a mobile game was already pretty generous!
The three new vending machines appeared on the beach.
Each one was a large metal box with glowing neon lights—just like real-world vending machines.
[Cat Food Dispenser]
[Seawater Purifier]
[Recycling Machine]
Set up side by side, their glowing lights drove away the endless darkness, expanding the safe zone even further.
Ji Mianmian stepped onto the cool sand and curiously tapped the Cat Food Dispenser.
Peering inside, she saw various cat foods neatly arranged—but blocked by glass.
Unable to get anything out, she tilted her head up, staring expectantly at Shuo Yu.
This little gesture was too adorable.
Looking at her bright, pleading eyes, Shuo Yu felt a wave of affection.
At this point, she had completely forgotten that she originally joined this game just to pet cats.
With a soft chuckle, she teased,
"I'm not sure if these are edible for you.
Go ahead and pick one—whatever you want, big sis will buy it for you."
With her wallet freshly loaded, her words carried real confidence!
Mianmian didn't hesitate.
Pointing at a beef freeze-dried snack, she said softly,
"Big sis, I want this one."
She called me big sis.
Shuo Yu felt her heart tremble—
Without hesitation, she spammed the purchase button, buying ten pieces in one go.
At first, Mianmian thought the machine had malfunctioned—
Why had so many snacks fallen out at once?!
Then, she glanced up—
Seeing the expectation in Shuo Yu's eyes, she immediately understood.
Flashing a brilliant smile, she looked up and said sweetly,
"Thank you, big sis! I love it! You really didn't have to spend so much."
[Ji Mianmian Affection +3]
[Ji Mianmian Affection +2]
Seeing the affection points steadily rising, Shuo Yu knew—
She genuinely liked it.
With unrestrained generosity, she tapped every button on the vending machine—
Like an overindulgent emperor throwing gold at his favorite concubine.
"Mianmian, I bought one of everything. Try them all and tell me which ones you like—I'll buy more next time."
"Thank you, big sis!"
Ji Mianmian hadn't felt this kind of warmth in a long, long time.
Her heart felt soft and warm.
Meanwhile, Shuo Yu was all smiles, her lips curving up uncontrollably.
She moved on to check the other two machines.
The Seawater Purifier required digging a pipeline to channel seawater beneath the sand.
Once activated, it functioned like an automatic water dispenser, providing fresh water anytime.
The Recycling Machine could process plastic waste, preventing pollution on Cat Island.
Bonus: Occasionally, it would spit out materials and extra Cat Coins!
After testing everything, Mianmian returned to her cat house.
With the expanded safe zone, she no longer had to curl up tightly when she slept.
Meeting Shuo Yu was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
Shuo Yu, meanwhile, was browsing the VIP wardrobe options—
Seeing the maid outfit available, she raised an eyebrow, a playful glint flashing in her eyes.
She selected Ji Mianmian, who was still examining the freeze-dried snacks—
Wondering if her affection points were high enough to unlock the outfit change feature.