Orange Cat

The orange cat walked into the room, standing upright on its two hind legs.

It had been told to stay at the entrance of the outer hall and not to go any further inside.

After it entered, Loop closed the door behind it.

The orange cat didn't notice Loop blocking its retreat from behind, or rather, even if it did, it didn't care.

Its eyes were completely fixed on Bobo not far away, practically drooling.

"Are you the boss of this hotel? A talking cat demon?" Chen Miemie asked from a distance.

Chen Miemie's question momentarily drew the orange cat's attention away from the roast chicken.

"How rude! I'm no cat demon. Please call me Lord Yarn Ball, meow."

"If you're not a demon, how can a cat like you speak?"

"Hmph, so ignorant. Cat demons don't look like me. They are cat-men and cat-women. How could they have such beautiful fur like mine? I am an anomaly. Can't you even tell that much, meow?"

Now, Chen Miemie was even more confused.

An anomaly running a hotel in the city? Was anyone regulating this?

Surprise aside, knowing the orange cat was an anomaly rather than a demon actually made Chen Miemie relax a bit.

"You just told us your identity so easily. It seems you aren't afraid of being exposed."

"Of course, meow. I have a legal identity. I am a major taxpayer in Sixiang City every year. Even those government officials treat me with utmost politeness, meow."

"Want a bite?" Chen Miemie picked up Bobo on the plate.

"Mhm, mhm, mhm!" The orange cat's eyes followed the roast chicken on the porcelain plate.

"Then I'll treat you to the roast chicken, and you answer my questions. How about it?"

"Sure... no, anything except my secrets, meow."

Chen Miemie tossed a steaming drumstick over.

The orange cat pounced like a fierce tiger, jumping high into the air and catching the drumstick in its mouth mid-flight. Then it did a backflip and landed gracefully without making a single sound.

"First question: how did an anomaly like you manage to be accepted by humans?"

"Delicious, so delicious. Hmm? Accepted? You've got it wrong, meow. It's not humans who accepted me; it's I who accepted humans."

"What do you mean?"

"I am Lord Yarn Ball, and this is my home. Humans are the latecomers."

"I don't get it. Are you saying you're very ancient?"

The orange cat finished the drumstick in a few bites, not even spitting out the bones. It rolled its eyes and cunningly demanded more:

"That counts as the second question. You need to pay with another drumstick, meow."

Chen Miemie tossed another drumstick over.

Yarn Ball was very satisfied with Chen Miemie's straightforwardness:

"My age isn't considered very old, it's just that my age is very old."

Chen Miemie seized the chance and immediately made a sharp retort:

"That sentence contradicts itself, it's grammatically incorrect, and you missed the 'meow'!"

"Hmph, I'm not a cat, and I don't have to add a 'meow' to every single sentence."

"Not a cat? Then what are you?"

"Idiot, can't you even see that? I am this hotel itself, meow."

"What! You're this hotel! Doesn't that mean you've been around since the Second Era?"

"Not exactly. The foundation of my body was indeed built back then, but I only gained consciousness after the most recent renovation, meow."

"Then how do you control your passive abilities so they don't hurt people?"

The orange cat looked at the rest of the roast chicken, gesturing that it could all be given at once.

Chen Miemie naturally had no objections and threw the whole thing over.

The orange cat received the whole chicken and was extremely satisfied.

"I don't control my passives. I'm very special; my passive abilities don't easily hurt people. It might be because my birth is inherently connected to the people coming in and out."

Loop acutely caught the ambiguity in the orange cat's words: "Not easily? That means under certain conditions, you still would, right?"

The orange cat didn't deny it: "Of course. I just don't hurt rule-abiding guests. If someone tries to skip the bill or cause trouble, I, Lord Yarn Ball, will eat them, meow."

Chen Miemie was a bit curious: "How exactly do you 'eat' them? Like eating a roast chicken?"

The orange cat licked its paws: "Of course not. There are many plaster sculptures in the hotel. Disobedient guests will be compressed into the walls by the rooms, eventually turning into new sculptures, meow."

Chen Miemie: ......

In other words, their group was currently inside the body of this anomaly, and could be compressed into specimens at any moment.

Talking didn't affect the orange cat's eating at all.

In just the span of those few sentences, a whole roast chicken had gone into its belly.

For the orange cat, finishing the delicious food meant this conversation should come to an end.

Just as it turned around.

A second roast chicken appeared in Chen Miemie's hand.

"Still want to eat?"

The orange cat's eyes almost popped out: "Are... are you someone who possesses a super invincible [Mystery] that can conjure roast chickens?"

Chen Miemie nodded. With a flick of his wrist, a second roast chicken appeared directly on the plate.

The orange cat took a massive leap, pouncing fiercely toward Chen Miemie.

While its body was still mid-air, three barriers immediately appeared out of nowhere: a porcelain wall, a spider web, and a water curtain.

However, what used to be an absolute defense failed this time.

The orange cat's body either turned intangible or performed a spatial teleportation; it simply passed right through the three barriers and landed on Chen Miemie's shoulder.

"In my, Lord Yarn Ball's territory, no one can stop me, meow."

After landing on Chen Miemie's shoulder, the orange cat didn't attack. Instead, it sniffed his face.

Chen Miemie waved his hand, signaling the anomalies on him not to be nervous.

If it wanted to attack, he would have been hit already. Since he was fine, it meant the orange cat didn't intend to be an enemy.

"Yarn Ball, since you're not a cat but a hotel, why do you still need to eat food? With your 'belly,' couldn't you eat several warehouses' worth of food?"

It would have been fine if Chen Miemie hadn't said anything, but his words struck an emotional chord with Yarn Ball.

"Exactly! Look at my appearance outside, I was a fat orange cat, but now look! I've starved down to a regular orange cat!"

"You mean, you need a lot of food?"

The orange cat shook its head: "No, human food is just to satisfy my cravings. If I really want to fill my belly, the hotel needs to have good business.

Business is good, I'm full. But the hateful thing is that over the years, who knows what this city is doing, meow! Business is getting worse every year, and I, Lord Yarn Ball, have starved down three sizes!"

Chen Miemie showed off by instantly conjuring roast chickens of different flavors.

This unique skill left Yarn Ball absolutely astounded.

"Your name is Chen Miemie, right? Yarn Ball declares that from now on, you are my good friend, meow."

Just as Chen Miemie wanted to chat a bit more.

Yarn Ball's cat pupils suddenly narrowed into slits.

"Someone is actually breaking the rules and causing trouble in the hotel. I'm angry, meow!"

Right after saying this, it vanished from the room.

Chen Miemie and Loop exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit helpless.

Although Yarn Ball hadn't hurt Chen Miemie, it still served as a wake-up call for him.

During the day and on [No Tomorrow], he was not immortal. Even carrying most of the anomalies from his family, he couldn't act recklessly; he still needed to be more cautious.

The world was vast, and the abilities of anomalies and mystics were bizarre and endlessly varied. It was always right to be careful.

On the first floor of the hotel.

Several phantom-race mystics had surrounded the little girl at the front desk on the first floor.

"If you don't want to die, tell me Chen Miemie's room number!" The leader stared menacingly at the little girl.

Yarn Ball was indeed quite young, not even a century old. It couldn't move around, simply guarding its own small building and keeping a very low profile.

Not many people in the municipal government knew the truth, and naturally, they wouldn't go around broadcasting it.

These few phantom clan members clearly had no idea they were playing with fire.

Facing the four mysterious figures, the little girl didn't panic in the slightest.

She merely muttered to herself in a very soft voice, "Sigh, starting today, I'll have to prepare a few more portions of cat food."

The next moment, an orange cat appeared on the front desk.

The orange cat was none other than Yarn Ball, who had just vanished from Chen Miemie's room. It swiped its paw through the air at the four individuals.

The four mysterious figures instantly disappeared, leaving only their clothes to fall limply to the floor.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Fat Orange Hotel, four new additions joined the kittens roaming about.