Chapter 146

Chapter 146

Wherever there's a scenic spot, there are always vendors. At most, they adapt their decor to suit the environment, but often, tourists traveling from afar can't help but lament the overly commercial atmosphere.

But Chen Ji was different.

He had spent months alone in the middle of nowhere, where not even birds would shit, relying on online shopping for food, and whatever he got was purely by chance. He truly missed the convenience of modern commerce, where anything and everything was available as long as you had money.

It was truly moving!

Chen Ji held a box of tiramisu, priced at a hefty 45 yuan, and ate it as he walked, carrying another box in his hand. These were from a reputable dessert shop, kept in a freezer, otherwise, he wouldn't dare to buy them. The tiramisu was smooth and creamy, and when he poked it, the coffee-chocolate lava oozed out, melting into a rich, intense flavor on his tongue. The slight bitterness, combined with the mellow aroma of coffee and chocolate, perfectly balanced the sweetness of the cream.

The system cat had been clamoring to come out and share, but Chen Ji felt there were too many people around. If he were to publicly feed the system cat coffee-chocolate tiramisu, he'd surely find posts condemning him on various platforms by tonight.

So, he decided to get two portions first and feed it to the cat later, when they were somewhere private.

He had also thought of getting a portion for Xiangxiang, but Xiangxiang disliked any bitter taste, and that shop only sold tiramisu, so he had to let that idea go.

Chen Ji continued to stroll around the scenic area for another half a day. Although he was a local, he understood the nature of such places. If you had the guts, you wouldn't buy anything; if you did, you'd inevitably get ripped off. Chen Ji, clutching a fruit platter worth a hundred yuan, ducked into a nearby alley. Once he was sure no one was around, the system cat eagerly darted out, meowing excitedly around him.

[Quick, quick, quick! One more second and I'll starve to death!]

Chen Ji couldn't help but smile, gesturing for it to sit. He squatted beside it, scooping a generous spoonful of tiramisu into its mouth, being careful to avoid getting the powder all over the system cat.

The system cat's cheeks puffed out: [Mmm, delicious! So good! Can we come here often from now on, please?!]

Chen Ji chuckled: [How can we come often? It's too far from Little Green Mountain.]

A helicopter ride indeed only takes half an hour—but that's a helicopter!

The system cat tilted its head, thinking: [Well, since you can't die on the ghost path, let's buy a ghost bike! Then you can ride the ghost bike into the ghost path and go wherever you want!]

Chen Ji was silent for a moment: […Then why wouldn't I bring my little ghost bike? It consumes two egg tarts per hundred kilometers and comes with intelligent driving. It absolutely blows all electric cars on the market out of the water.]

After all, electric car assisted driving uses algorithms, while the little ghost bike uses its brain.

System cat: [……]

What he said made so much sense, it couldn't even argue.

The system cat changed its posture. Without needing a prompt, Chen Ji understood what it wanted to do. He immediately pulled out two tissues and fashioned a makeshift bib for the system cat. As soon as it was on, the system cat buried its head in the cake box and took a huge bite with its wide-open maw.

A large chunk of tiramisu instantly disappeared, leaving a gaping hole. At this rate, two more bites and the tiramisu would be gone.

Chen Ji held the food container in one hand and placed the milk tea on the ground with the other. He deftly unwrapped and inserted the straw. After finishing its bite, the system cat turned its head and took a big gulp of milk tea. Similarly, the milk tea level dropped by a third.

Within a minute, the system cat had finished both the tiramisu and the milk tea, letting out a satisfied sigh: [Oh… this is the life I was meant to live as a system…]

Chen Ji ruffled its head and removed its little bib: "Isn't it?"

The system cat, a fierce feline, teared up. If it weren't for its current predicament, wouldn't it and Chen Ji have a perfectly good life in S City? Though a bit poor, S City's prices were high, but Chen Ji's salary was more than enough to support both of them. They could eat out once a week, and there was always plenty of milk tea, coffee, and snacks.

Plus, deliveries were fast and free.

Chen Ji's finances had always been managed by it, and it didn't even want to mention how much extra Chen Ji had spent on delivery fees since moving to Little Green Mountain! It couldn't imagine how happy it would be if that money were spent on food.

Chen Ji cleaned it up and didn't let it go back, instead hoisting it onto his shoulder. The system cat obediently lay there, quite pleased to have a mount. Chen Ji, on the other hand, jiggled it and kneaded its soft belly with one hand: [Baby, are you getting fat again?]

The system cat, with noble indifference, lifted its head: [Love makes little cats grow flesh and blood!]

Chen Ji quietly interjected: [Spoiling makes little cats grow lard.]

The system cat turned its head and bit Chen Ji's head with a "meow," but because Chen Ji's head was too big, it couldn't get a good bite and only got a mouthful of hair. It spat it out in disgust, grumbling without a word.

Anyway, it was just a system, not a real cat. Forget 18 catties, even growing to 28 catties was perfectly fine! It couldn't grow to 128 catties because the Chinese pastoral cat breed couldn't reach that weight for now.

Worst case, it could change breeds later! It wasn't limited to just being a cat!

Chen Ji didn't mind the system cat gnawing on him. It wasn't like it had just finished gnawing on… oh no, that was a mouthful of chocolate powder—never mind, he'd find a hotel later to wash his hair.

Fortunately, it wasn't peak tourist season, so Chen Ji easily found a guesthouse near the scenic area on his phone. He walked towards it with the system cat, and on the way, bought another box of boneless chicken feet mixed with various fruits.

This stuff was delicious, but also genuinely expensive. A box the size of a braised chicken rice container cost seventy yuan. Considering his and the system cat's appetites, Chen Ji bought four boxes.

Chen Ji entered a small alley. According to the navigation, the guesthouse was at the end of the alley, then a turn, and fifty meters further. He could already see the glowing directional sign. As he rounded the corner, he saw several people gathered around one person.

Chen Ji paused, and the next second realized they weren't saying anything, nor were they thugs or anything similar. As Chen Ji passed by, he saw that the person in the middle was a street vendor, with a cardboard sign that read "Ancient Coins, Old Artifacts," and "100 yuan each."

Chen Ji took one look and lost interest. Selling "old artifacts" in a scenic area… how to describe it… probably "old artifacts" made last week and "old artifacts" made yesterday, sold at the factory for three yuan each or ten yuan for three. Purely buying into the sentiment, with absolutely no real value.

But the next moment, Chen Ji's steps halted.

What was that?

He turned his head, noticing that the lines of one item inside were a bit off.

Objects also have "lines," but they are usually very faint. The most vibrant and complex lines are usually found in money, as it circulates enough in people's hands to unconsciously absorb their energy.

This particular item was a very plain, wooden gourd. But what Chen Ji first noticed wasn't even its shape, but its lines.

Gourds are treasures believed to attract wealth, bring good fortune, and ward off evil, usually appearing very stable.

However, the lines on this gourd were twisted, chaotic, and extremely dense, with black, purple, and red interwoven, like a constantly swirling vortex. It was clear at a glance that it was not a good thing. He felt as if if he looked at it for two more seconds, a red-clad figure might crawl out and strangle him.

Chen Ji took two more glances, then firmly turned around and headed towards the guesthouse—are you kidding? He wouldn't take this thing even if they paid him a hundred yuan! Did they really think everyone was crazy? Clearly, this item was problematic, possibly even dangerous, yet they expected him to buy it to see just how dangerous it was?

He wasn't going to look for trouble!

The guesthouse owner warmly welcomed Chen Ji, led him to a room on the third floor, and even presented him with a complimentary fruit platter. The moment the fruit platter appeared, Chen Ji knew that the room he booked today was definitely priced much higher than usual.

Once the door was closed, the system cat reappeared. Guesthouses generally don't allow pets, so to avoid trouble, it had remained invisible—it didn't shed fur, scratch sofas, sheets, or curtains. It wasn't even a real cat; throwing it on the bed was like throwing a phone on the bed. It was even much cleaner than a phone, so there were no real moral issues.

Chen Ji grabbed the system cat's two front paws, glaring at it menacingly: [Xiao Ba, do you have anything you want to explain?]

The guesthouse was recommended by the system cat.

The system cat's eyes were clean and pure. It tilted its head: [I'm just a little kitty, I don't know what you're talking about, meow~]

—He dared to call it fat! Serves him right for losing money! Hmph!

Chen Ji glared at it irritably and turned on the air conditioner. The room was a bit stuffy, and the air conditioner's initial smell wasn't great. Chen Ji went over and opened the window next to it. As soon as he did, he noticed that everyone downstairs was looking up at him.

Bad luck, this window was directly above the vendor's stall.

Chen Ji casually pulled the screen window shut and went to take a shower as if nothing had happened. The system cat, however, was very curious and lay on the window, looking down. It asked: [Chen Ji, that gourd clearly has something going on, are you really not buying it?]

Chen Ji washed his hair with his eyes closed, and hearing this, he said: [What would I buy it for? Am I short on magical artifacts?]

He wasn't good at using any magical artifacts—no, it should be said that the magical artifacts his grandfather left him were useless. They usually stayed in the temple, and if something really happened, there wasn't time to get them. Most importantly, he encountered two situations: no matter what magical artifact he brought, it was useless, and no matter what magical artifact he brought, it was useless.

Moreover, it was a dangerous magical artifact.

The system cat wagged its tail, revealing a sly, merchant-like smile that looked oddly sinister on its feline face: [Even if we can't use it ourselves, we can resell it!]

[It's okay if there's a slight problem. Anyway, we're going back to the mountain tomorrow. You can ask Old Man Huang or Xiangxiang to help fix it. Then, when we meet someone foolish with money… Oh no, I mean, someone destined for it, we can give it away.]

Chen Ji: …? That's a good point, a path he hadn't considered.

Chen Ji came out, towel-drying his hair, and casually put on a T-shirt. He wasn't in a hurry; if he went downstairs with wet hair, wouldn't it be obvious he was desperate? If he had the缘分 (fate/destiny) to buy it, he would. If someone else bought it, then it wasn't meant to be.

The system cat lay beside him, slurping on a Wangzai milk.

Chen Ji glanced at it, couldn't resist scooping it up, burying his face in its belly full of doting affection, and taking a deep breath. The system cat slapped his face with a paw: [What are you doing? Are you being a hooligan?!]

Chen Ji: […? Tomorrow, I'm taking you to get neutered.]