I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

From their conversation, I learned that they were a logging team, and the tool they were using was a chainsaw. Sometimes they would even calculate how many work points they had earned based on the number of trees they had cut down that day.

Work points?

What is that?

I don't quite understand, but the more work points they earn, the fewer trees there will be in the mountains. Sooner or later they'll cut down the tree where I live, and then I won't have a home anymore.

I thought about it for a long time and decided to talk to them and try to persuade them to stop cutting it down.

I squatted in the tree and talked to the man cutting down the tree below, "When will you stop cutting down trees?"

The man paused for a moment, looked around, and then asked the person next to him, "What did you just say?"

No.

“You didn’t say who said it, but the voice sounded like a woman.”

"I said it."

The man heard my voice again, then slowly looked up, and after seeing my cat, he paused for a moment, "Where did this cat come from in the mountains?"

"There are cats in the mountains too." I found it strange. I've heard this many times. It seems like everyone who comes into the mountains will be surprised and ask me, "Where did you get cats in the mountains?"

Then I saw his eyes slowly widen, and then he yelled "Oh my god, monster!", threw down the chainsaw, and ran away.

His companions nearby were still a bit confused, and I was confused too, so I jumped up into the tree and asked him, "Why did that person run away?"

Then his companion ran away, also shouting, "Oh my god, monster!"

Are you talking about me, monster?

But I'm clearly a cat.

After a while, the two men came over with a large group of people, pointed at me in the tree, and then whispered something to the person walking at the front.

Although his voice was very soft, I heard him clearly. He was saying that I was a monster again, so I retorted, "I am not a monster."

The person at the front suddenly widened his eyes when he saw me speaking, and then they hit me with something that could shoot fire.

Later I learned that thing was called a gun.

I couldn't dodge in time and got grazed by a bullet. It hurt so much, but thankfully it didn't hit me.

I ran home and hid in my tree hole to think about it carefully. Oh, so the talking cat was a monster.

After that, I never dared to speak in front of humans again.

The trees were not completely cut down by those humans. Countless years passed, and when I found that worshipping the moon was no longer effective, a voice in my heart seemed to say, "I can go and ask for a title."

I can go and ask for a title now.

Yeah, find a good human, a bad one won't do.

I carefully hid all the treasures I had collected over the years, bid farewell to the big tree where I had lived for many years, sealed off all my cultivation in order to obtain a seal, and then left the mountains.

-----------------------

That was the first time I left these mountains. I looked back at the forest and thought to myself, "Wait for me, I'll come back after I've finished collecting my reward."

I walked along that main road for a long time and saw many large houses in the distance, which, in human terms, are called apartment buildings.

This is my first time visiting a human city, or rather, a county town. I walked around and looked around. The people here didn't react much when they saw me, and no one called me a monster.

I think I guessed right. As long as I don't speak, they won't shoot me.

Find a good person to ask for an official title.

That's what I was thinking, but with so many people here, I don't know who to approach, or who the good person is.

And I'm so hungry.

Unlike in the mountains, there were no rabbits or fish on the road, but I could smell fish. I thought there was a river here where I could catch fish to eat, so I excitedly ran over and ended up at the market.

I finally found out where the fishy smell came from. At one of the stalls, a slightly plump woman was squatting by the stall, scaling a fish in her hand.

There were so many fish swimming in those big boxes; I thought I could catch them with just a flick of my wrist.

I stretched out my claws.

"Where did this dead cat come from? Go away, get out of here!" the woman yelled, slamming the iron brush she was using to scrape fish scales heavily on the ground.

I'm leaving.

I thought to myself, so catching fish here isn't allowed.

After leaving the market, I started wandering aimlessly again, looking for something to fill my stomach; I was really hungry.

Soon, it got dark.

I still couldn't find anything. The smell of charcoal grilling wafted from not far away. I had smelled something similar before, a long time ago, when I first ate grilled fish.

I followed the aroma and ran over there. There were many people sitting at round tables in the open air, eating skewers and occasionally clinking glasses with each other before drinking.

I have never envied humans as much as I did then. I really envied them. If I were human, could I sit at this round table like them, eating those kebabs, my mouth dripping with oil?

"Mimi, Mimi...."

Someone behind me was shouting those words. I turned around and saw a very young man with a smiling expression. He was shouting "Mimi Mimi" and holding a skewer of grilled meat, waving it in my direction.

Does this mean I should go over there to eat?

I think so.

So I ran over quickly, and then a foot came flying at me. I instinctively turned around to dodge.

"Damn, you reacted pretty quickly, you missed." The person who was just about to give me a skewer of grilled meat cursed loudly and stuffed the skewer into his own mouth.

Amidst their laughter, I left this place, running farther and farther until I could no longer hear their unrestrained laughter or smell that pungent aroma that made my stomach ache.

Go to sleep; you won't be so hungry when you're asleep.

All I wanted to do was find a place to sleep, a place where there were no humans.

I saw a dark alley, but the darkness actually made me feel safe because I couldn't see any humans inside.

"Mimi mimi..."

As I was about to enter the alley, I heard someone calling "Mimi" again. This time, I didn't turn around and dashed into the alley.

I found the darkest corner and curled my tail inside my body.

"Mimi mimi..."

It was that familiar voice again, accompanied by light footsteps. The girl who had called out "Mimi Mimi" earlier entered the alley. I felt a little panicked, not knowing what she wanted to do, and just huddled in the corner, afraid to make a sound.

After a while, I heard another person's footsteps and the rustling sound of plastic bags swinging.

"Here, give me the cat food."

"You're not thinking of taking this cat home to keep again, are you? You already have five cats at home."

"Oh dear, let's not get another one. We won't be able to afford it. Besides, this cat is obviously very afraid of people. I've been calling it for ages and it hasn't come out."

"Then put the cat food here for it, and then we'll go. It will definitely come out to eat by itself in a little while."

The man who spoke clearly sounded relieved.

"That's all we can do."

Cat food?

Is this for me to eat?

Hearing their conversation, I thought to myself, but I still didn't go out until I heard the rustling of plastic bags and the sound of footsteps getting farther and farther away until they disappeared.

After waiting a while, I ran out from the corner. The plastic bag was on the ground, the opening was open, and it was mostly filled with brownish-yellow cat food.

I leaned closer and carefully sniffed it. It smelled faintly fragrant, and also seemed to have a slightly fishy smell. Without trying to figure it out, I couldn't wait to start eating it.

I'm so hungry.

This must mean I've met a good person.

As I ate, I thought to myself, "It's a pity she's gone, otherwise I could have asked this kind person for a title."

Will she come back?

Later, I settled down in that alley. The girl would still come, sometimes bringing me cat food, and even canned cat food.

I've wanted to ask her for the title many times, but most of the time she came with that man.

Asking for an official title is a very private matter, and no one else can be present, so I have never been able to find an opportunity.

Until one day, I finally got my chance. She came alone and brought cat food. As usual, she put the cat food and cat food on the ground. Just as she was about to leave, I hesitated and said, "Wait a minute."

She turned around in confusion, her eyes scanning the room as if searching for the person who had spoken.

But it was me who spoke.

"you see me...."

As I was speaking, I struggled to my feet and was about to ask her if I looked human when I saw her eyes widen instantly, followed by a piercing, loud scream, and then she ran out of the alley screaming.

I never saw her again.

Later, when I was hungry, I would always think, if I hadn't asked her for a seal back then, would I still have cat food and canned cat food to eat?

If she hadn't been afraid or scared away when I asked for the title, I would have become a human long ago.

But later, I felt fortunate that she was scared at the time, and that I had scared her away.

I stayed in that small county for more than a month, but I still couldn't find another opportunity to ask for a title. I think I should leave.

Sometimes you'll hear people in this small county say that this is a small place, and there are bigger cities outside with more people.

Larger cities, more people, which means there's a much greater chance of finding someone to ask for a title.

Although I have never been to a big city, I know that big cities have very tall buildings, and the bigger the city, the taller the buildings.

I've seen it on something called a television.

Chapter 366 Extra Chapter 8

The television didn't lie to me; big cities do indeed have very tall buildings and more people.

Everyone here seemed to be in a hurry, and I later learned that this was because of the fast pace of life and high pressure.