Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 352 Cat Alliance
"The principle behind intelligent recommendation is that when you click on a video, big data will recommend similar videos to you based on the video content, which is why these videos appear on the homepage."

Ethan felt he could still be saved.

The first step is to muddy the waters by using a lot of jargon that Winter and Shadow have never heard of. When they ask questions, the first step is to explain the concept of big data to them, while subtly shifting the blame to the unscrupulous AI that pushes data.

"But you need to add the content to your favorites yourself."

Unfortunately, his tactics quickly ended in failure, and Winter's eyes sharpened.

She was simply unfamiliar with electronic devices, which were much simpler to understand than complex elemental energy-converting spells.

Moreover, she knew Ethan too well; this evasive tactic was completely ineffective against her.

However, this was also thanks to Xiao An's timely report; otherwise, she probably would have had a hard time discovering that Ethan had collected so many "treasures" in his favorites, which changed Winter's opinion of Shadow a lot.

"Don't try to get away with this!"

The black cat also stood on the table, pressing down on the tablet with its paws, looking like it was about to interrogate someone.

Damn it, aren't these two cats from opposing camps?!

And the ability of Shadow Arrow to read minds makes Winter even more difficult to deal with!
Ethan, besieged on all sides, was deep in thought.

"Swearing won't help!"

The black cat, acting as judge, meticulously listed Ethan's sins: "A total of 72 videos, 42 of which are related to feet... This is enough to prove that you are a foot fetishist!"

She learned the name from the video title on the spot. Faced with an absolute number of 42, those scattered fun little videos and life helpers simply couldn't make a difference.

Shadow never expected that Ethan, whom she hadn't seen for so long, would have developed such a strange hobby. But then she noticed the strange atmosphere in the room. When she accused Ethan of being a foot fetishist, Winter didn't show much surprise, as if she had expected it.

"You... knew he had this hobby?"

"know."

The crisp and efficient answer made Ethan and Shadow both widen their eyes in unison. Seeing this, Winter's eyelids twitched violently a few times. As for Shadow, she could understand it, but she didn't understand why Ethan looked so shocked. Every time, Ethan would come up with such a clumsy excuse as "worried that she would cut herself on a stone while walking barefoot." In her opinion, this was no different from Rowena always emphasizing that she had a lot of dating experience.

Perhaps only they themselves believe that such a reason can convince others.

"Foot fetishism isn't the problem; the problem is that you have to delete these videos."

With her arms crossed, Winter said approvingly, "What's the point of this box if you can only look at it, not touch or feel it?"

"Delete it, delete it right now!"

Ethan immediately started operating the machine in front of the two of them, saying, "I can only say that I was too young back then."

He felt that this was understandable.

After all, how could he have predicted that he would find a girlfriend with white hair, red eyes, a curvy figure, and long legs when he was working? If someone told him that, he would most likely have categorized them as a fraudster.

"It won't happen again."

Winter also knew when to stop.

"You've forgiven him already?"

The black cat on the table seemed somewhat reluctant, its heterochromatic eyes still intently fixed on the video on the tablet.

"if not?"

"Of course, they'll find them one by one and then kill them."

Boundless darkness spread through the bedroom, even the windows were covered in shadows, blocking the summer sun from reaching the other side. The black cat's body trembled slightly, as if it was already contemplating the scene of its execution.

"None of those things can happen."

After deleting all the evidence, Ethan breathed a sigh of relief. He then grabbed the black cat's front paw and lifted her off the table. "This is a society governed by the rule of law. Random killing is absolutely prohibited."

Even in his dreams, he didn't want Shadow Arrow to cause serial murders everywhere. This was his ideal living environment. But even after Julius's downfall, the empire still had a long way to go before reaching modern civilization. In cities outside the capital, dark creatures and various crimes continued to emerge, and missing persons cases in border cities remained a major problem.

"Especially you, you are forbidden from attacking anyone here, and even more so from turning them into ghouls!"

"Meow~"

The black cat squinted its eyes and meowed in a high-pitched voice that was so sweet it gave Ethan goosebumps. Ethan thought that "getting away with cuteness" might be a natural skill of the cat race.

He put on a stern face. "Acting cute won't work. Repeat what I just said."

The black cat immediately lowered its head and frowned, saying, "You are forbidden to attack anyone, and you are not allowed to turn them into ghouls."

"very good."

Ethan then put the black cat back on the table with satisfaction. Next, according to the original plan, he had to take Winter downstairs to the clothing store to buy a suitable outfit. He couldn't yet determine why he was in a dream, nor did he know why he didn't wake up immediately after realizing it was a dream like others. But Ethan had a feeling that this wouldn't be the last time he appeared here.

From a time perspective, this was the period before his interview at Pioneer.

The right time and the right place gave him the opportunity to uncover what had happened in his lost memories.

He checked the paid apps on his phone. His bank card was linked and he had enough credit, meaning he wouldn't have to worry about spending for a while. He brought Winter along. The black cat cried and refused to stay at home. Helpless, Winter had to hold the black cat in her arms, otherwise the cat would take advantage of her position—Ethan's shoulder.

Not content with that, the shadow's eyes darted around.

Unsurprisingly, from the moment she entered the elevator, Winter became the center of attention. In modern civilized society, white hair and red eyes are definitely rare features. There were no Northern Clan or Ice Elemental Shapers here, so they would only think that Winter was a cosplay enthusiast. However, Winter's hair color and eye color were perfectly natural. From the moment she stepped into the elevator, the talkative uncles and aunts in the apartment building could not contain their enthusiasm for gossip and were reserved and warm towards Winter, the girl who seemed to have come from abroad.

Fortunately, they did not experience any language barrier, which Ethan guessed was a side effect of the dream, allowing them to avoid wasting too much time on language.

Winter acted with grace and poise, holding the black cat in her arms, her demeanor befitting the mistress of the house. Ethan had never realized before how socially adept Winter was; she had won over the apartment building's residents with heartfelt blessings for her and Ethan in just a few steps up and down the stairs.

Only the black cat in her arms seemed a little unhappy, but even in protest, she could only meow a few times at the end of the conversation to express her dissent. Just as Ethan had predicted, the fake sisterhood between Shadow and Winter could not last long.

The destination of this trip is the lingerie store across the street.

Ethan had considered going in himself to buy underwear for Winter, but he was too shy to admit it. To avoid being seen as a pervert by the underwear store owner, he could only bring Winter to the store in person.

The store manager was a woman who looked to be in her early forties. When I entered, the loudspeaker on the counter was broadcasting the latest news from the city.

This morning, a spokesperson for Pioneer Technologies said at a press conference that the company is researching a brand-new virtual reality technology that will revolutionize people's lives, and soon they will have the opportunity to live in a virtual world.

That was a country set in the Victorian era.

Steam technology, magic, and familiar detective stories will definitely bring a brand new experience to any participant.

Ethan sent Winter to the store to pick out some lingerie while he stayed at the counter listening to news reports about Pioneer Technology. "It sounds like empty promises."

He struck up a casual conversation with the store manager, who was dressed quite fashionably and seemed to be a trendsetter herself. This almost immediately got her talking, and she confidently stated, "This is 100% hype, and Pioneer Technology's stock price is sure to soar."

She still looks like a seasoned stock market investor.

This inevitably brought back unpleasant memories for Ethan. He had terrible luck in the stock market, and his hard-earned savings of several years were halved in the blink of an eye. He also remembered that at dusk, he almost went up to the top of the city's tallest building, Pioneer Technology, with his friends who had leveraged their investments. For a long time, it had become a holy place for unprotected bungee jumping in the city.

For this reason, the company building was off-limits to outsiders for quite some time.

Ethan rested his left elbow on the counter, vaguely recalling something in this peculiar dream.

It was all related to Pioneer Technology. He was quite certain that he later passed Pioneer's interview and was immediately assigned to the relevant project team. Combined with the company's press conference today, it was all related to their publicly announced virtual reality technology, and he seemed to have provided technical assistance to Pioneer Technology.

A vague outline emerged in my mind, but the specific details remained shrouded in mystery.

Ethan had a premonition that if this dream continued, he would eventually have to contact Zhuang Xiao, the HR manager in the real world who had called him, and he would also have to go for an interview at Pioneer Technology. Only in that way could he get closer to those hidden secrets.

The memories of both the King of Gold and the Crimson Queen point to the mysterious "company" boss, and it now appears that the company appearing in their memories is Pioneer Technology.

The city's outstanding enterprises, a dream destination for countless working people.

That was also where he completed his project.

Returning to the dream world, Ethan began to speculate further. With the power and technology of the Pioneer Corporation, erasing parts of his memories wouldn't be difficult, and they would have ample reason to do so...

Ethan's thoughts were quickly interrupted.

After picking out her outfit, Winter also helped Dark choose one for her.

"teacher……"

Ethan stared into thought at the thick stack of socks hanging on Winter's arm.

Long, short, black, white, colorful.

"What does this mean?"

"Your girlfriend has great taste."

The clothing store owner wore a knowing smile, her thoughts practically written all over her face: "These young people these days are really something else."

She raised an eyebrow. "Teacher-student relationship?"

"Well, that's right."

"I know, I know. When you learn a foreign language, you'll eventually become a couple."

She secretly gave Ethan a thumbs up.

After their conversation, she developed a considerable liking for Ethan, this young man.

He had a foreign girlfriend, and she was unusually white-haired with red eyes.

Ethan was at a loss for words. If he were to be blunt and tell her that the course was about elemental magic, he would most likely be seen as a crazy young man.

The proprietress then said, "I'll give you a 30% discount."

"Thank you, boss lady."

Ethan expressed his gratitude, scanned the code to pay, and packed the purchased clothes into a bag. After that, he planned to share more knowledge about this era with Winter and Darkness.

The use of everyday electronic devices, ordering takeout and simple entertainment—if he passes the Pioneer Company interview soon, Winter and Dark will have a considerable amount of time to stay at home.

He often appears here after he falls asleep.

A strong premonition welled up deep within Ethan's heart.

The two people and the cat walked out of the clothing store with a warm farewell from the store owner. Ethan carried the shopping bag, and Winter took the opportunity to affectionately link arms with him and lean against him, attracting the attention of passersby.

Next, he planned to take Winter to try modern cuisine. Although Bi'an and Miss Chloe were enthusiastic enough, the Victorian era's knowledge of food was far inferior to that of modern society. In addition, the Empire deserved the description of a "food desert." He believed that Winter and Xiao An would soon be impressed by modern cuisine.

"Look at this."

Ethan pulled up a list of nearby restaurants on his phone and showed it to Winter and Darkness. "Any of them are of interest to you?"

Since it was a dream world, he felt much more confident spending money.

"this."

The black cat in Winter's arms was the first to extend its paw and place it on a hot pot restaurant with a flashy cover on the screen. The red oil broth tasted just like Ethan's.

There is no shop similar to it in the capital or even the entire continent.

"I agree."

Winter was also attracted by the flashy advertisements. They had never seen such a spectacle in the Empire and had almost no resistance to modern advertisements.

This is a good start. Ethan hopes that Winter and Dark will like the atmosphere here, because in his vision of the future, the Empire will one day complete the transition to modernization. That is Ethan's imagination of civilized society.

With the arrival of those two "time travelers," the empire's modernization process has been put on the agenda.

However, not everyone thinks so.

Ethan had just set his location on his phone when a white van pulled up to the side of the road. A suspicious-looking man dressed in black and wearing sunglasses opened the van door and immediately asked, "Mr. Ethan?"

"what's up?"

"Please come with us."

The visitor is not good.

This can be seen from the fact that the man in black deliberately pulled up the corner of his clothes in front of him, revealing the pistol tucked into his waistband.

The invitation was laced with a threatening undertone; if it were the old Ethan, he would have been terrified.

On their first day back in modern society, they were kidnapped.

(End of this chapter)