As someone in sequence 001, I also want to give up today.

The plane landed smoothly at Jiangcheng Airport.

Stepping out of the cabin, the damp yet familiar air rushed towards him, giving Li Xian a slight boost of energy.

The capital city may be nice, but it's not my home.

The wind in Jiangcheng, carrying a hint of the fishy smell of the river, is still the most pleasant to feel.

Li Yu and Chen Zhe wanted to stay in Beijing for another day to handle some business, so the father and daughter returned alone.

I hailed a taxi and headed straight home.

On the way, Lingdang was still immersed in the excitement of the trip, chattering about her experiences in the capital.

"Old Deng, the roast duck is delicious! The skin is so crispy!"

"The Forbidden City is so big! That golden roof is glittering in the sunlight!"

"How's your ice rabbit that my white-haired brother gave me? Has it melted?"

"And there's the fairy sister (Lilith)..."

When Lilith was mentioned, Bell shrank back and asked in a low voice.

"Old Deng, did the fairy sister stop being angry with me afterward?"

Li Xian rubbed her head.

"I'm not angry anymore. But remember, when you praise someone for being amazing, use 'unfathomable' or 'invincible,' but don't use 'old monster' anymore."

"Okay!"

The bell nodded vigorously, then looked curious.

"But how old is the fairy sister exactly? Is she really alive for hundreds of years, as the legends say?"

Li Xian: "...Focus on the road, we're almost home."

He refused to answer that question.

Does anyone know that person's real age?

It's definitely much bigger than it looks.

The car drove into the residential area and parked downstairs.

Li Xian paid the money, picked up his luggage, and took the bell upstairs.

The door was suddenly pulled open from the inside as soon as the key was inserted into the lock and before it could be turned.

Su Lin looked anxious, her eyes were a little red, and when she saw Li Xian and Lingdang, it was as if she had seen saviors.

"Li Xian! Lingdang! You're finally back!"

Li Xian was taken aback: "Sister Su Lin? What are you doing here? Didn't you say you'd help me look after Fatty Orange and Little Gold? What happened?"

"It's a chubby orange!"

Su Lin was so anxious that she stomped her feet.

"It...it's gone!"

"It's gone?"

Li Xian frowned slightly.

"When did this happen?"

"It was the afternoon you left!"

Su Lin spoke rapidly, her voice tinged with frustration.

"I did as you said, prepared cat food and water for it, and played with it for a while. It seemed fine at the time, just sunbathing on the balcony."

"Then I received an urgent call from the station and had to take care of some things. I was gone for about two hours. When I came back, I searched the whole house. The balcony windows were closed properly, and the door was locked, but Fatty Orange was just gone! It was like he vanished into thin air!"

Her speech became faster and faster, and her voice unconsciously rose a few octaves.

"I searched all the buildings nearby, posted missing cat notices, asked the neighbors, checked the community's security cameras... but I found nothing! It's like... like it just opened the door and ran away, without leaving a trace! It's all my fault for not keeping a closer eye on it..."

Su Lin is a healing-type ability user with a gentle and responsible personality.

He clearly blames himself for Fat Orange's disappearance, and probably hasn't slept well these past two days.

When Lingdang heard that Fatty Orange was gone, her little face immediately fell, and tears welled up in her big golden eyes.

"Fat Orange... Is Fat Orange lost? Could it have been kidnapped by bad people? Will it go hungry?"

Li Xian wasn't in such a hurry.

He knew that fat cat.

Vanished into thin air? Without leaving a trace?

With Fat Orange's cunning and its current strength as a B-level alien beast (although it pretends to be silly and cute at home all day), ordinary doors and windows might not be able to keep it out.

As for why it wasn't captured on surveillance footage... felines are naturally adept at stealth, let alone an awakened cat.

"Don't worry, Sister Su Lin, it's not your fault."

Li Xian comforted her, telling her to put down her luggage first, and then patted Lingdang's head.

"Fat Orange is clever; it's not that easy for it to get into trouble. Let me use my mental powers to check the surroundings first."

He walked to the center of the living room, closed his eyes, and his senses quietly began to unfold.

The power of all phenomena was like the most sophisticated radar, rapidly scanning the house for all remaining traces of energy and...scent information, with him at the center.

Soon, he "saw" it.

In the air, there remained an extremely faint yet unique energy trail belonging to Fat Orange.

The trajectory started from the balcony, not by breaking through the window, but... directly through the closed glass window?

Upon closer inspection, Li Xian discovered that the molecular structure of the window glass showed a very brief and slight "loosening" at a tiny point, before quickly returning to normal.

Phase travel? Or some kind of short-range matter infiltration?

Li Xian was somewhat surprised.

This fat cat has unknowingly awakened a similar spatial talent?

It seems that all those high-level exotic beast meats I ate weren't for nothing.

After passing through the window, the trajectory gently descended along several leverage points on the outer wall, landing steadily in the green belt.

Then, the trajectory swaggered out of the residential area and headed towards... the old town area in the west of Jiangcheng.

Once you reach the old town, the routes become more active and complex.

Li Xian can "smell" the residual "scent marks" belonging to Fat Orange in the air.

It was a pheromone that was a mixture of catnip, premium cat food, and its own unique energy, which it deliberately left on utility poles, in corners, and near trash cans.

This is clearly... a territorial grab?

Li Xian's senses continued to track.

Soon, he "saw" more interesting scenes (blurred image fragments reconstructed through the power of causality):

Fat Orange strode with an elegant yet arrogant cat-like gait through the alleys of the old town.

Several emaciated stray cats huddled in a corner, watching it with awe.

Fat Orange jumped onto an abandoned mailbox, looking down from above.

He let out a deep, menacing "Meow—" (Translation: From today onwards, this neighborhood is under my control!)

A reckless, newly awakened E-rank tabby cat with a bad temper attempts to challenge it.

As a result, it was swatted away by the fat orange cat with one paw (the footage shows that the fat orange cat's paw carried a sharp wind pressure that tore through the air), and embedded in a pile of waste paper in the corner of the wall, where it couldn't climb out for a long time.

A pregnant female cat came up to him in a flattering manner, and the fat orange cat demurely allowed it to rub against his neck (Li Xian: ...).

Fat Orange found an abandoned but dry and sheltered boiler room to use as its "palace".

There were even some dried fish and cat food cans that were brought in by the "little brothers" (I don't know if they were stolen or picked up from somewhere).

At night, Fat Orange squatted on the highest pipe in the boiler room, its heterochromatic eyes glowing faintly in the darkness, looking down at the neighborhood it had "conquered" like a king surveying his territory.

Several "concubines" (at least three female cats of different colors) were lying obediently below...

Li Xian: "…………"

His lips twitched uncontrollably a few times.

Good guy!

He thought the fat cat had just gone out to have fun, but he never expected it had gone to "start a business"!

They even unified the stray cat community in Jiangcheng's western district in a single day, establishing a "harem."

He lived the life of a local tyrant, with territory, followers, and "concubines"!

Is this the resolve of a B-rank alien beast?

Being a pet at home is nothing compared to being the king of the streets.

Moreover, judging from the intensity and traces of the residual energy, Fatty Orange has not only firmly entered the B-level in strength, but has also become increasingly proficient in using his awakened spatial talent.

No wonder Su Lin couldn't find it; it can pass right through walls.

It cannot be captured by surveillance cameras, and ordinary people and low-level superhumans cannot detect its energy fluctuations at all.

"Li Xian, how's it going? Any leads?"

Seeing that Li Xian had kept his eyes closed and hadn't spoken for a long time, Su Lin asked nervously.

Lingdang tugged at Li Xian's clothes, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Old Deng, have you found Fat Orange yet?"

Li Xian opened his eyes, his expression a mix of emotions: a bit speechless, and a bit... wanting to laugh.

He cleared his throat.

"Cough, found it. Fat Orange is alright."

"Really? Where?"

Su Lin and Ling Dang pressed for an answer at the same time.

"it……"

Li Xian carefully considered his choice of words.

"He went out... to expand his business. He's doing very well now, living the high life, with a bunch of underlings, and probably... doesn't want to come back for the time being."

Su Lin: "???"

Expanding business?

猫？

The bell blinked its big eyes.

"Did Fatty Orange go to work?"

"...I guess so."

Li Xian rubbed his temples.

"A rather unique form of 'freelancing'."

He couldn't explain in detail how a cat could dominate the stray cat world, so he just gave a vague answer.

"In short, it's safe and strong; neither ordinary people nor strange beasts can harm it. It will naturally return when it wants to. Sister Su Lin, don't blame yourself. It's not your fault; it's this fat cat... that's become wild."

Su Lin was skeptical, but seeing Li Xian's confident look, she recalled Pang Ju's usual intelligence (and the occasional chilling look in his eyes).

They seem to have accepted this explanation.

After all, Li Xian is the owner of Fatty Orange, so perhaps he has some special way of sensing it?

"That's good then."

Su Lin breathed a sigh of relief, but then became worried again.

"But it's still a cat. Won't it be in danger outside? Like encountering a powerful beast, or being targeted by bad people..."

Don't worry.

Li Xian waved his hand.

"The mid-to-high-level alien beasts in Jiangcheng have basically been... well, almost completely wiped out. What's left are just small fry, not worth their time. As for the bad guys..."

He recalled the image of the fat orange cat swatting away the E-grade tabby cat with a single paw.

"We don't even know who'll be the unlucky one yet."

Su Lin was finally relieved. After giving a few more instructions, she took her leave.

She's been exhausted these past few days searching for the cat.