In silence, the Cat Chef Mother quietly observed the teenage girl before her. After a long, long time, she removed her round-framed glasses, seemingly out of helplessness.

"Have you really thought this through, child?" she said. "The so-called gamble is merely to let you realize and understand that there is no difference between here and the outside world. Amidst the Disasters out there, is there really something you yearn for so much?"

"Yes." Fu Yi nodded resolutely.

The Cat Chef Mother asked again, "Even if you risk the chance of staying here forever, are you still willing to pay any price to leave?"

"Yes." The teenage girl nodded again.

"It's truly saddening. Your demeanor reminds me of many of our companions and clan members." The elderly cat grandmother sighed, caressing the Little Cat in her hands, "They were all like you, not hesitating to sever ties with us, just to rush toward Hell... to seek death. It's incredible. Life is precious; it shouldn't be like this."

"I understand," Fu Yi said.

"Even so, you still want to go?"

"Yes."

"Even if there's no chance of you winning?"

"No, that's the one thing I won't agree with." Fu Yi smiled cheerfully, "I will win this bet for sure!"

All the cats fell silent, solemnly scrutinizing the teenage girl before them, waiting for her request.

"Go ahead, child," the Cat Chef Mother said, "Tell us your final wish."

"Then, please tell me—" Fu Yi took a deep breath and asked solemnly, "Can I find love here?"

"..."

No one responded. All the cats were silent, just quietly watching her, or looking at each other in bewilderment, before finally turning their gaze toward the elderly grandmother.

The grandmother was silent.

Fu Yi's smile became even more joyful, "What I'm asking for is something I have outside, and that you cannot give me, right?"

The grandmother didn't argue.

Fu Yi asked again, "Just like friendship... love is mutual, correct?"

"Yes." The grandmother nodded.

Fu Yi, relieved, took a deep breath and asked her final question, "So you can't give it to me, can you?"

The grandmother pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, "We can try."

As if in a daze amidst the heated card game, Huai Shi couldn't help but yawn, feeling drowsy.

Then, as if in a dream, he heard a familiar and sweet voice next to him: "Huai Shi, I like you."

"Bro, cut it out..."

Subconsciously, he pushed to the side, only to shove empty air and paused, perplexed.

Unbelievable.

He actually heard his best bro confessing to him.

Is this some kind of bizarre hallucination specific to adolescence?

"What's wrong?" the Wolf Beast next to him urged. "Hurry up and play! I'm waiting until the flowers wilt here."

"Urge, urge, urge, what's with all the urging?" Huai Shi flicked his hand and threw the Joker cards on the pile, "How can you outplay me? I won! You're about to lose your underwear to me, okay?"

The two bachelors, their faces covered in foil, swore and helplessly tossed their lousy hands on the ground.

They had lost thoroughly.

...

"..."

In the awkward silence of the room, the old woman hesitated for a moment and said, "I could guide him... Love takes a little time to blossom, doesn't it?"

"But that's not something you would give, right?" Fu Yi smiled. "Love is mutual, but unlike friendship, it leaves no room for a third person..."

The elderly Cat Chef Mother couldn't help but lower her head and sigh in frustration.

Then, she heard the voice outside the door.

"She won."

As if he had been waiting outside for a long time, the old man who had been standing there delivered his final judgment and then walked away with frail steps.

The Cat Chef Mother nodded.

Although somewhat regretful, she still accepted the loss of the gamble and began to comfort the sad Little Cat in her arms.

Fu Yi's tense body finally relaxed. She took a deep breath, only to become puzzled, "Why didn't you deceive me?"

"Hmm?" The old chef was puzzled.

"I mean, the rules are all about subjective interpretation, aren't they?" Fu Yi said. "Love, that vague thing... just by slightly twisting the rules, it would be easy to fulfill. Even creating a fake person wouldn't be hard, right?"

The Cat Chef Mother smiled bitterly and shook her head.

"In that case, wouldn't we be deceiving you?"

Fu Yi was taken aback.

"We just wanted to make you stay here, to become friends with us," she said earnestly. "Before destruction comes, we can all be happy together... There will be no betrayal, no harm, and no suspicion of each other. After all, this is a Shelter, not a cage, isn't it?"

She smiled kindly, lifting her furry palm to caress the White Weasel's little ear, "Child, deception won't earn you sincerity... nor can it bring friendship."

The old chef earnestly reminded, "And concealment won't either."

Fu Yi was stunned.

She averted her gaze somewhat evasively.

"I know..." she said softly. "I just need a little time..."

"Then wait patiently." The old chef smiled gently for the last time, "Before the end comes, we all have plenty of time to wait, to love."

Her figure slowly faded away, along with the many crestfallen cats.

The warm light of the little log cabin slowly went out, as if sinking into the distant darkness, moving away from her.

Fu Yi found herself back in the cold, snowy land. The blizzard had stopped at some unknown point; the sky was clear, and the air was fresh.

And on the table in front of her, there was a steaming hot pot of stew and two sets of bowls and chopsticks.

A White Crystal rested on a slip of paper.

The paper depicted a smiling face uncannily similar to the old grandmother's, with a line of handwriting: "Before the wait is over, please share this with your friend!"

"..."

Fu Yi stared blankly for a long time. She couldn't resist sniffing the warm stew before her and then couldn't help but laugh. "What the heck? Still so kind to unwelcome guests like us in the end, huh?"

After a long silence, she turned around. Seeing a certain Husky drooling in his sleep in the snow, her expression turned annoyed and helpless.

A snowball as big as a soccer ball smashed onto his dog face.

Huai Shi startled awake, vigilantly scanning the surroundings. "What? What happened? Where's the enemy? Fu Yi, don't be scared, I'll protect you!"

Remembering how this guy had reached an understanding with the enemy made Fu Yi irritable. "Protect my ass! Stop dawdling and come eat!"

"Huh? Why is there food? Smells good."

"Why bother so much? Just eat... Don't nudge it with your snout like that; it's about to spill! Forget it, I'll scoop some for you..."

The White Weasel sighed and waved a hand, activating her Psychokinesis.

In passing, she quietly stashed the slip of paper into her own space.

Wait... huh?

Her mood became heavy once again. Talking about waiting with this guy, who could be confident even if they waited until Doomsday?

Forget it, eat first.

She picked up a small bowl, took a bite of the tender and juicy beef, and squinted her eyes contentedly.

"So delicious!"

A discouraging voice came from beside her.

The meal was finished quickly. After all, the pot was only so big, hardly enough to fill the gaps between Huai Shi's teeth, but the taste was indeed excellent.

Steaming hot, it seemed to warm their hearts as they finished eating.

Then, Huai Shi finally noticed the White Crystal in Fu Yi's hand.

"Where did this come from?" He leaned closer, his eyes widening. "It's shiny and pretty."

He wanted to eat it.

He had gotten used to eating these things these past few days.

"Go away! Someone gave it to me. Why are you licking it so eagerly?" Fu Yi snatched the crystal away, preventing Huai Shi from licking it any further.

But for some reason, holding the crystal in her hand, she felt her heartbeat speeding up.

Her breathing became rapid, and soon, the White Crystal began to emit a faint light and merged into her body.

"Wow, you ate it all yourself? You didn't even share a bite with me?"

Huai Shi was astonished. Then he saw Fu Yi staggering backward as if drunk, collapsing dizzily to the ground.

"I feel a bit..." she said, "...sleepy."

Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.

Following that, a layer of her fine white fur began to grow wildly, enshrouding her and turning her into something like a cocoon.

Huai Shi was dumbfounded and nudged it with his nose.

He hesitated, wondering whether to blast this thing with iron saliva and rescue Fu Yi.

But considering there was no friendly fire protection here, what if he accidentally burned Fu Yi to death?

If he did, once they got out, wouldn't he be in for some "cordial treatment" from the good people at the Social Security Bureau, complete with thermite, flamethrowers, and Incendiary Bombs?

While he was hesitating, the cocoon had already crumbled apart.

A rejuvenated Fu Yi opened her eyes from within. Seeing Huai Shi opening his mouth, she instinctively raised her hand to seal it shut with her Psychokinesis.

If he dared to say another word about her shedding or going bald, Fu Yi felt she wouldn't be able to take it.

His teeth clamped shut with a SNAP.

Fu Yi was startled.

Huai Shi's mouth was truly sealed by her Psychokinesis, as if clamped shut by iron pincers, unable to open.

Only when she realized what she had done and released her hold did Huai Shi exclaim in astonishment, "How have you become transparent?"

At that moment, Fu Yi noticed her own body... it really... had become a bit transparent.

It was as if the opacity of a Photoshop layer had been adjusted incorrectly, increased slightly, allowing her to vaguely see the color of the soil behind her through her own body.

"Other than this," Huai Shi asked curiously, "what else can you do?"

"Let me check…"

Fu Yi opened her Skills menu, hastily searching. Soon, Huai Shi heard Fu Yi's voice in his head, "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Wow! Telepathy!" Huai Shi exclaimed in admiration. "No need to pay phone bills anymore!"

"...Can you just shut up?"

With this buzzkill around, anything good could be made to sound worthless.

"Is there anything else besides this?" Huai Shi asked.

"That's it. What else did you expect?" Fu Yi glanced back at him. "It's good enough that there's something."

"Okay then..." Huai Shi, disappointed at missing the chance to see something new, sulkily shook his head. "Let's go then."

"Yeah, let's go."

Fu Yi jumped up, nimbly landing on his back. "Assault Huai Shi, launch!"

For some reason, Huai Shi suddenly thought Fu Yi had been kind of cute just now... Hmm, it must be an illusion. A tough bro like her couldn't be like that; I must be overthinking things.

So, Huai Shi grinned, tongue lolling, and began sprinting forward.

On his back, Fu Yi sighed deeply. She glanced at her status panel one last time before looking away.

This was the new Skill she hadn't told Huai Shi about: [Psychological Hint].

Seems useless, huh...

She sighed again, collapsed limply looking up at the sky, and fell asleep.

Behind them, deep within the jungle, the spectral log cabin faintly materialized from the air, quietly watching them depart.

"Head to the Capital City, outsiders. All that you seek lies there."

The Cat Chef Mother whispered her goodbye, "May you face this cruel world after you awaken from this brief dream."