“Meow~”
“Hmm?”
Nie Pi, who was mopping the floor, looked up to see a cat crouching on the table in front of him.
It was a tabby cat with extremely smooth fur, clearly well-fed. There was a scar across the bridge of its nose.
But most strikingly, it was wearing a pair of sunglasses.
A cat wearing sunglasses!
Nie Pi reacted immediately; this must be the 'Cat Boss' his employer had mentioned.
“Boss!”
Nie Pi called out to it quite naturally.
“Meow?”
“I'm the new employee.”
“Meow.”
Canned Food gave a yawn and jumped onto Yin Yang's chair to sleep.
Nie Pi froze, feeling like a lunatic. Why was he talking to a cat?
'Wait... No, it seems like he understood me!'
Nie Pi looked at Canned Food in surprise, and then Yin Yang's earlier words floated back into his mind.
There's a cat that's a bit special.
'Well, he's the boss's cat, after all. He really is special!'
...
Three days later.
“Old Wang, how was it? Did you go?”
“I did, I did. Oh man, there were so many people. We didn't get seen until almost ten at night.”
“So? Can it be cured?”
“The doctor said it's from years of manual labor; my cervical spine is deformed from exhaustion. She said a full recovery would be very difficult, but she prescribed some ointments to help relieve the symptoms.”
“Hahaha, relief is good enough.”
“Exactly. And it wasn't expensive either—only twelve yuan.”
“Tsk, that's cheap. I should go check it out when I have time.”
“Sure, but you have to go early. The place is packed now.”
“So, did you join the faith?”
“I did while I was getting treated.”
“Hahahaha!”
The coworker burst out laughing.
People like them never believed in gods—or rather, they didn't believe that praying to gods was useful.
After all, if praying really worked, people like them wouldn't even be allowed through the temple gates.
“What kind of god do they believe in there?”
“It's called something like... the Lord of Rebirth and Communion.”
“The Lord of Rebirth and Communion?”
“Yeah.”
“That's a bit of a strange name. I remember other gods are usually the 'God of This' or 'God of That.' Why is he called that?”
“I heard it's an honorific title.”
As the two spoke, they prepared their gloves and water bottles and headed toward the construction site. Halfway there, they saw several men in black walking out of the site.
Old Wang glanced at them curiously but didn't think much of it, heading straight into the site.
...
Command Center.
“A natural disaster? The Earth Dragon Jar?”
“Yes. An elder from the True Knowledge Society dug it up in some ruins. They've been researching it for many years. It's said to be incredibly powerful.”
Wang Gen stood before the desk, reporting on his work.
Su Baadao looked up at him and said, “Sit down. Why are you acting all formal with me now?”
“Hehehe.”
Only then did Wang Gen sit on the sofa to continue his report.
“Before we eliminated those two demigods, someone went to retrieve it. I'm not sure what the situation is now.”
Su Baadao rubbed his temples upon hearing this.
“How many hiding spots have been found?”
“Four!”
“Are they all marked?”
“Yes.”
“Close the net!”
“So soon?”
Wang Gen looked at Su Baadao in surprise.
Su Baadao nodded.
“The Earth Dragon Jar... a natural disaster... it should be an earthquake.”
“Take your team and flatten their strongholds. Then begin defensive preparations. I want every person entering or leaving Mangliang City checked thoroughly.”
“I'll go organize an earthquake drill and prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
“Yes, sir.”
Wang Gen acknowledged the order and stood up to leave.
Su Baadao was increasingly satisfied. This was exactly why he had insisted on bringing Wang Gen with him when he was reassigned.
Decisive, efficient, and with a solid moral compass!
...
Gold Medal Pest Control Company.
“Boss, you're back.”
“Hmm?”
Yin Yang took out his phone to check the time, then looked at Nie Pi, who was still in the shop.
“It's past eight. Why haven't you gone back to sleep yet? Didn't the restaurant deliver the food?”
“They did, they did.”
Yin Yang nodded and glanced at the sleeping Canned Food.
“That's our company's partner. If you want to eat something specific, just tell them. As long as it's within the meal allowance, it's no problem. They'll deliver it the next day.”
Nie Pi acknowledged this and leaned on his crutch.
“I just saw that business is good and was worried someone might try to cause trouble if no one was watching the shop, so I wanted to wait for you to return.”
Yin Yang laughed.
“Hahaha, don't worry. With Cat Boss here, everything will be fine.”
“Meow~”
Canned Food yawned and tilted his head to look at Nie Pi.
Nie Pi was finally certain: this cat really could understand their conversation.
“Alright, go back and get some sleep. Oh, right—take this.”
Yin Yang pulled three hundred-yuan bills from his pocket. Before the other man could react, Yin Yang stuffed the money into his jacket pocket.
“This is an advance on your salary for the next few days. You're far from home; you can't get by without some cash on hand.”
Nie Pi was dazed, looking at the bills in his pocket, unsure of what to say.
“Alright, get going. We don't provide late-night snacks here.”
Yin Yang smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
“Boss.”
“Hmm?”
“How... how did you know I'm not from around here?”
“Nonsense. Your accent isn't from Mangliang City. Do you think I wouldn't notice?”
“Boss.”
“Yes?”
“How can I ever thank you?”
“Feed the cat well!”
“Yes, sir!”
After seeing Nie Pi off, Yin Yang closed the door. Shadows shifted behind him, and the four ghosts emerged.
The Blade-wielding Ghost looked at Yin Yang and held up four fingers on his right hand, then made a slashing motion across his throat.
“They've all been eliminated?”
The Blade-wielding Ghost nodded.
Yin Yang couldn't help but sigh.
“That Su Baadao really is something. He acts so decisively. Making an enemy of someone like that isn't a wise move.”
“Quite a few of the True Knowledge Society's demigods have died at his hands by now, haven't they?”
The Blade-wielding Ghost shook his head and spread his hands.
“Four strongholds, and not a single demigod?”
The Blade-wielding Ghost nodded.
“I suppose that makes sense. Demigods aren't exactly common, after all.”
“Killing those two earlier was enough to make them feel the sting for a while.”
“It's a pity. With Su Baadao and Wang Gen both there, they'd definitely notice if I used the Sacrifice Brand. The risk outweighs the gain.”
The Blade-wielding Ghost nodded, agreeing with Yin Yang's reasoning. Then he gripped his blade and pointed toward the Command Center.
“Yeah, he's different from other demigods. He's in a league of his own.”
“That's why we need to gather strength as quickly as possible and reach Sequence 6 soon.”
The Blade-wielding Ghost nodded. Behind him, the newly attributed Headless Ghost, who 'couldn't make heads or tails of anything,' was completely baffled as to how they were communicating.
...
“Ugh, this is so annoying. Work is tiring enough as it is, and now they're doing some earthquake drill.”
“If an earthquake actually hits Mangliang City, I'll eat my desk!”
A programmer who had just spent the night revising a proposal spoke with a face full of fury.
His colleague sighed.
“Alright, stop complaining. At least we get to step outside for a bit. I haven't seen the sun in days.”
Just as he finished speaking, he felt the ground beneath his feet shudder.
“Huh?”
The programmer who had spoken earlier snapped wide awake, his mouth hanging open.
“I... I'm not actually that hungry.”
Rate on N.U.
