Chapter 188

Chapter 188

It was not yet 4 a.m., but the sky in the mountains was already bright. Sunlight couldn't penetrate the thick fog, yet it made the mist glow faintly. The lingering night was dyed a beautiful pinkish-purple, dreamlike and illusory.

Chen Ji stood by the window for a while, then went to the bathroom to relieve himself before lying back down. He pulled the thin blanket around himself and pulled out his phone, while his other hand rummaged through the bedside drawer, eventually fishing out a large, unopened bag of potato chips.

The System Cat's pink little nose twitched. Its eyes still closed, it wriggled over, its plump body sprawling onto Chen Ji's chest. A line of silvery drool smoothly dripped from its mouth onto Chen Ji's arm.

Chen Ji: ...

He held a potato chip near the System Cat's nose and, taking the opportunity, wiped the drool off on the cat's own fur. The System Cat let out a muffled "Mmm," still not opening its eyes, and opened its mouth to bite the chip. Chen Ji mischievously raised his hand, successfully tricking the cat into tumbling off the bed.

"Aww—!" The System Cat lay on its back on the floor. When it opened its eyes and looked at the ceiling, its gaze was utterly bewildered, completely unaware of its surroundings. Feeling its wet mouth, it simply assumed it had rolled off in its sleep. Stumbling to its feet to get back on the bed, it saw Chen Ji leisurely eating chips while watching it.

What more was there to understand!

The little cat exploded: "Chen Ji! You bastard—!"

Man and cat immediately started fighting. In the end, Chen Ji successfully bribed the System Cat with a brand-new bag of Italian Red Seasoning flavored chips. The System Cat's big head was already buried in the chip bag, and the sound of rustling came from inside as it ate and mumbled, "Is this breakfast today? Mmm, so good! I also want cola!"

Chen Ji reached into the gap between the mattress and the wall, rummaging through the System Cat's private snack stash, and successfully pulled out two cans of soda. He carefully inserted straws before handing them to the System Cat's mouth. Man and cat lay in bed, chowing down on snacks, playing with their phones, and chatting idly, and they didn't actually get up until 9:30 in the morning.

*Tap, tap, tap.* The window was knocked.

Hearing the sound, Chen Ji turned his head to look. Little Red was carrying Little Translator on its back, and Little White was perched on Little Translator's head. The three little ones were stacked up on his windowsill, their eyes bright. Chen Ji beckoned, and Little Red deftly opened the window and agilely jumped to the floor with the other two.

It was even smart enough to avoid the bed—even the most favored cat had to wipe its paws before jumping onto the bed!

Chen Ji's eyes curved into a smile. "Come here."

Little Red hesitated for a moment, then vigorously rubbed its paws on the bedside rug before jumping into Chen Ji's arms. The sun was already strong, and Little Red's fur was warm to the touch from the sun. Holding it felt like a soft, warm, huge pillow—and it smelled nice too, like a mix of roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes.

Just as Chen Ji thought this, he heard someone shout from outside, "Brother Chen! Brother Chen, are you home?!"

Chen Ji paused.

Zhao Ling?! What was she doing up the mountain?!

Chen Ji hurriedly responded, slipped on his slippers and went out. Zhao Ling stood at the temple entrance, peering inside. When she saw Chen Ji, she broke into a big smile. At her feet was a large plastic bag, surrounded by a group of little animals munching on steaming hot chestnuts and sweet potatoes.

That was where the aroma was coming from.

"What brings you up the mountain?" Chen Ji asked casually. "Is something the matter?"

"With things being so dangerous lately, and you living alone up here, Brother Chen, I had to come check on you," Zhao Ling said, reaching for the plastic bag. Then she smiled awkwardly. "The chestnuts and sweet potatoes... sorry, Brother Chen. They're just too cute."

They were all originally meant for Chen Ji, but since no one answered, she couldn't just barge in, right? Who knew these furry little creatures' noses would be so sharp, immediately gathering around? In her daze, she ended up giving some to each of them.

"It's fine," Chen Ji said, not inviting her in either. "It's too dangerous for you to come up the mountain alone. If there's nothing else, you should head back down soon."

Now that he was being watched by Yellow-hair, it was better to have people leave the mountain quickly. Who knew if someone might accidentally become someone else's meal up here? He glanced at the little ghostly spirit, which very understandingly made an 'OK' gesture with its paw—though it was quite a feat for its paw to manage that shape.

Zhao Ling wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Ah, I know. I'm glad you're okay, Brother Chen. I'll be going now... Oh, right, a few days ago, some people came to repair the communication base station. Brother Chen, check if your TV works. If it does, then basically everything should be fine."

"Okay," Chen Ji replied, took the things, and closed the temple gate. Zhao Ling didn't mind and simply turned to leave. The little ghostly spirit zipped up onto her shoulder in an instant. She wasn't scared and even seemed a little delighted, playing with the little ghostly spirit.

The little ghostly spirit found Zhao Ling annoying and, adhering to the principle of "better you than me," handed the little hedgehog hanging from its tail to Zhao Ling. Zhao Ling had seen hedgehogs before, but where had she ever seen a rare breed like a snow-white hedgehog? She immediately cradled it in her hands, unable to put it down. "Oh my, baby, where did you come from? I didn't see you earlier! You're so adorable!"

Little White waved its tiny, slender paws, showing no sign of fear at all. It sat in Zhao Ling's palm, playing with her fingers.

Overjoyed, Zhao Ling took a chestnut from her pocket, carefully peeled it, and fed it to the little hedgehog. The little hedgehog hugged the chestnut, which was nearly a third of its size, and buried its head in eating. Zhao Ling held it in one hand, walking and watching it, her face filled with a motherly smile.

Chen Ji entered the main hall, casually turned on the TV, grabbed a handful of chestnuts and two sweet potatoes, and gestured to Little Red. "You guys can share the rest."

***

He showed no intention of offering them as tribute.

Eat? What's there to eat? Not eating won't starve it to death anyway!

The TV signal had originally been boosted by the System Cat. Chen Ji pressed the remote a few times randomly. In the late morning, apart from soap operas, there was news. Compared to the endless, plotless soap operas, Chen Ji chose to stop on the news channel.

It was still a rebroadcast of yesterday's news. Chen Ji listened while lowering his head to open a match-three puzzle game. He didn't have anyone in particular he needed to contact, and it seemed there was nothing he needed to arrange... Thinking of this, he suddenly got up and went to the bedroom to turn on the computer. After a few simple lines of code, several program windows appeared on the screen: browsing history, hard drive, chat files... A series of his personal data was being rapidly cleared.

He executed the same program on his phone.

As the saying goes, one's head may be severed, one's blood may flow, but one's integrity must remain in this world.

After handling all this, half an hour had passed. From the TV outside came a familiar theme song: "Welcome to the News Live Broadcast. It is now 10:00 a.m. on June 21, 2025... First, let's focus on..."

Chen Ji sat down on the sofa and opened his phone, planning to inform Zhao Ling that communications were normal. Just then, he heard the host say, "Now let's focus on a piece of news. Through a decision by the Organization Department, environmental governance reforms will be vigorously implemented in provinces including Y and G. G Province's Luyun Mountain and Qingyun Mountain are now designated as the Qingyun Mountain Range... Y Province's Xiaoqing Mountain and Changyun Mountain are designated as the Chenyun Mountain Range..."

Chen Ji abruptly looked up. At the same moment, Zhao Ling let out a scream filled with terror!

"Ah—!!!"