"Of course. The organization wants us to lie low in this city and do our best not to attract the attention of the Superpower Administration Bureau."
"If I knew the target was connected to the Superpower Administration Bureau and still went after him, wouldn’t that just be asking for trouble?" Liu Menglong said.
......
On the Mysterious Small Island, shrouded in a vast white mist, a figure was hard at work with a small hoe in a newly tilled plot of land.
After a little while, Lin Li planted some of the strawberry seeds he had received that morning.
’In a week, I’ll be able to eat all the strawberries I want.’
After getting the strawberry seeds settled, Lin Li went to his vegetable patch to harvest the fruits and vegetables that were ready.
Cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, watermelons... Lin Li spent over half an hour harvesting, filling several large bamboo baskets with produce.
He was meeting Zhang Yuxi for lunch today. Lin Li decided to bag up some of his homegrown produce to give to her as a gift.
After he finished harvesting, Lin Li took a watering can and watered the crops in the field.
Then, he fetched several buckets of water and irrigated the fruit trees on the north side of the Mysterious Small Island, which would still need some time before they bore fruit.
Of course, he also watered the two Spirit Plants on the south side of the Mysterious Small Island, whose size hadn’t changed much.
Having finished his work on the Mysterious Small Island, Lin Li wiped his face with the damp towel hanging around his neck.
Then, munching on a crisp, freshly picked cucumber, he gazed at all the crops on the Mysterious Small Island with a contented smile.
......
Under the bright sun, in the residential complex next to Ping’an Garden District, a huge Big Orange Cat was dozing in the shade of a large tree in a corner of the complex.
Suddenly, the Big Orange Cat heard a noise. Its ears twitched a few times, and it slowly opened its eyes.
It saw two small stray cats, each only a quarter of its size, walking toward it in the distance.
They were old acquaintances. The Big Orange Cat meowed at the two small strays with a look of disdain.
"Meow... Didn’t I tell you? This complex is my territory. You’re not allowed here anymore. Did my words go in one ear and out the other?"
"Meow... We come and go as we please. It’s not your place to tell us what to do!" the short-tempered Little Black Cat retorted.
"Meow... I’ve been too merciful. My previous lessons were too light, which is why you never learn."
The huge Big Orange Cat stood up. Its body, several times larger than the two small cats, gave them an immense sense of pressure.
"Meow... Don’t waste my napping time. Both of you, come at me at once! Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson you won’t forget," the huge Big Orange Cat said menacingly, narrowing its eyes.
"Meow... You distract it from the front, and I’ll circle around to attack from behind." The Little White Cat was only halfway through its sentence when the impatient Little Black Cat had already charged forward, launching an attack on the Big Orange Cat.
"Meow... You idiot! I told you to distract it, not charge straight in!" The Little White Cat watched, speechless, as the Little Black Cat tangled with the Big Orange Cat. Then, abandoning all strategy, it rushed in to help its partner.
"Meow, meow, meow..."
A clamor of meows erupted in the remote corner of the complex. If any residents had passed by, they would have seen a chaotic brawl between three stray cats—one big and two small.
Er... it seemed this "chaotic brawl" was a one-sided beatdown.
The two small strays, one black and one white, were no match for the Big Orange Cat’s size. Not long after the fight began, they were getting mercilessly pummeled by it.
"Meow... You big fatso, let it go!" the Little Black Cat shouted anxiously, its fur standing on end, when it saw its companion, the Little White Cat, pinned beneath the Big Orange Cat.
The Big Orange Cat was pressing down on the Little White Cat, making it hard for the smaller cat to breathe. Hearing the Little Black Cat’s angry cry, it turned its head and said lazily,
"Meow... Aren’t you supposed to be so tough? Come and save it yourself!"
Actually, the Big Orange Cat would have much rather pinned down the Little Black Cat than the Little White Cat, as the black one had annoyed it many times before.
"Meow... Don’t worry about me, just go!" The Little White Cat knew they had lost again today and told the Little Black Cat to escape.
"Meow... You be quiet." The Big Orange Cat lifted a paw and patted the Little White Cat’s head with its paw pad.
"Meow... We came together, we leave together. I’m not leaving without you," the Little Black Cat said to its partner.
"Meow... Idiot!" the pinned and immobile Little White Cat yelled.
"Meow... You two are really close, huh?" The Big Orange Cat lifted a paw to scratch its head, remarking thoughtfully. Then, it looked at the Little Black Cat and made a demand.
"How about this, black cat. I’ll give you one more chance. If you bow your head, admit you’re wrong, and promise to never wander into my territory again, I’ll let your partner go."
"..."
Hearing this, the Little Black Cat was about to refuse the enemy’s proposal. But when it saw the Little White Cat pinned and struggling uncomfortably, the words caught in its throat, and it fell silent.
"Meow... Don’t surrender to it," the Little White Cat shouted again during the Little Black Cat’s silence.
"Meow... Shut your mouth. I keep giving you chances. Don’t mistake my kindness for weakness," the Big Orange Cat said, lifting its paw and smacking the pinned Little White Cat on the head a few times with its paw pad.
"Meow..." Though uninjured by the heavy blows, the Little White Cat’s head was spinning from the smacks.
"Meow... You big fatso, let it go!" Seeing its partner take several more heavy hits from the Big Orange Cat, the Little Black Cat seemed to snap, its anger flaring intensely.
After smacking the Little White Cat dizzy, the Big Orange Cat, the feline overlord of this complex, couldn’t help but grin smugly when it heard the Little Black Cat’s furious and frantic cries.
Lifting its head to look at the Little Black Cat, the smug grin on the Big Orange Cat’s face instantly froze. Its pupils contracted sharply, as if it had seen something terrifying.
A short distance away, seeing its friend being bullied relentlessly, the Little Black Cat was pushed past its limit.
Suddenly, with its fur bristling, a faint golden Spiritual Light appeared in the Little Black Cat’s eyes. Immediately after, its petite body began to grow rapidly.
In a matter of seconds, the Little Black Cat, originally only a quarter of the Big Orange Cat’s size, had grown to be just as large.
"Meow... Let it go!" Having grown several times larger, the Little Black Cat’s voice had also become much louder.
"Meow... Monster!!!" The smug expression on the once-triumphant Big Orange Cat’s face vanished completely.
It stared in terror at the Little Black Cat—now its own size, with a faint golden Spiritual Light in its eyes—and after a shriek of fear, it leaped off the Little White Cat and bolted, disappearing into the bushes of the green belt.
The dazed Little White Cat felt the pressure on its body disappear, a wave of relief washing over it.
"Meow...?!?" As the Little White Cat recovered and climbed to its paws, it looked at its partner, the Little Black Cat, and froze... ’What’s going on? How did it get so big? And why are its eyes glowing with a faint golden light?’
The Little White Cat stared blankly at its partner’s current appearance and finally understood why, while its head was still spinning, it had heard the Big Orange Cat cry "Monster!"
......