My family runs an adventurer's guild.

Therefore, Phil didn't need to go inside the apartment building at all; he could simply climb from the ground floor to the roof using the external fire escape staircase.

Then, he stood on the edge of the rooftop of the apartment building, gazing south towards the top of Manhattan Island. Under the bright sun, a vast and magnificent cluster of modern skyscrapers, varying in height, came into view, reflecting shimmering light and making one fully feel the awe-inspiring power of modern civilization.

Although, in Phil's heart, he would prefer to see the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai Tower in Pudong, Shanghai...

"...Well, it's alright. After running around like that, I didn't actually go the wrong way. And, the New York Temple, where we started, doesn't seem too remote. If we keep going south until the afternoon, we should be able to see the Charging Bull on Wall Street and the Statue of Liberty across the water."

As many readers probably know, New York City has five boroughs, with the most prime locations located in Manhattan on Manhattan Island.

What many people don't know is that even just Manhattan is a full four kilometers wide and twenty kilometers long. Therefore, Manhattan is further subdivided into many smaller areas, such as Harlem, where the Black population is concentrated; SoHo, the shopping paradise; Hell's Kitchen, a crime-ridden area; and the Upper East Side (east of Central Park), where the wealthy congregate. Even within Manhattan, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor, and the urban landscape varies greatly.

The Manhattan skyscrapers we often see on television, facing the Statue of Liberty across the water, are actually mainly located in the "Midtown" area on the southern part of Manhattan Island, occupying only a very small area compared to the entire Manhattan. However, the most attractive tourist attractions are also located in this small area.

It is the most crowded and bustling area on Manhattan Island, and also the area with the highest density of skyscrapers in the world. It is home to world-famous skyscrapers such as Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and the Empire State Building. Nearby are Wall Street, the world's financial center, and Broadway, the theater capital.

Fortunately, the Temple of the Mage's Retreat at 177A Blick Street in Manhattan, the starting point of Phil's trip to New York, is not too remote. Although it is a distance from Midtown, where skyscrapers stand, it is only about five or six kilometers away according to the map.

As long as you don't go in the wrong direction, even with a cat's walking speed, you should be able to get there within a day.

—Well, unlike tourists, cats can't take taxis or ride-sharing...

If this trip to New York were to take place in Queens, the sheer travel time would be enough to rub the paw pads of these felines raw.

Author's message

PS: The barrage of criticism is making me, Old Wang, a little nervous. Although I still have some drafts saved up, I can't afford to waste them like this. Therefore, starting tomorrow, the reward price will revert to its original level. Monthly tickets and recommendations are no longer needed; one extra chapter will be added for every 100 criticisms. The reward period will remain unchanged until the end of this week. That's all.

Also, there seemed to be a problem with the formatting just now, so some readers couldn't see this chapter—can you see it now?

Chapter 97, The Useless Cats with a Combat Power of Less Than 0.5

After confirming her current location and the next travel route, Phil felt much more relaxed.

Lying lazily on the rooftop of the apartment building, Phili sunbathed with her furry paws tucked in, while squinting her eyes and twitching her ears.

He almost fell asleep in the warm sunshine, just like an ordinary cat.

However, this trip to New York has only just begun, and now is not the time to relax and sleep.

So, after a short rest, Feli the cat got up again and went back down the dark alley downstairs.

However, before he could reunite with his companions, he heard a heart-wrenching, piercing meow coming from not far ahead.

"...Meow—Meow!"

"...Help! Someone save me, meow! The savage cat is going to eat me, meow!"

"...You damned, lowly stray cat! Get your filthy paws off me right now!"

……

Hearing these sounds, Phil sensed something was wrong and rushed over, only to witness a truly absurd scene.

—The neighbors who were just acting cute with me to earn fish are now experiencing a bullying and robbery incident between cats!

The "culprits" were three stray cats from New York City: one white and two black.

The five Totoro cats left in the alley were now being relentlessly rubbed to the ground by a dirty black cat, with Cuenca and Lazel being slapped repeatedly. Gilda and Lula were nowhere to be seen, seemingly frightened away by the fierce New York stray cats. The unfortunate Fao lay motionless against the wall, his head bleeding, seemingly knocked unconscious by the stray cats.

As for the leader of this gang, a large, fat white cat, he leisurely savored the sashimi, dried fish, and fried shrimp that he had just snatched from the cats' mouths, occasionally growling at the two cats who were being beaten, as if to intimidate them.

Faced with this situation, watching the two kittens being rubbed against the ground by the stray cat, Phil felt as if she were in a whirlwind, as if a hundred thousand magnificent alpacas were stampeding through her mind, and she didn't even know how to complain.

Five cat-people citizens from a civilized country were actually being beaten by three—no, two—ignorant, lowly stray cats.

Two of the cat-people didn't even have the courage to fight and had already fled and disappeared.

You really are the Eight Banners descendants of the cat clan, a bunch of useless cats with a fighting power of less than 0.5!

How embarrassing! No, I've embarrassed my cat so much that it's now a disgrace on Earth!

I'm in despair! I'm in despair! I'm completely hopeless about these useless cats whose fighting power is less than 0.5!

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On the other side, seemingly noticing Phil's appearance, the plump, strong white cat boss, whose size was at least three times that of Phil, also spat out the fish bone in its mouth, stopped eating, then stood up, raised its tail, and slowly approached Phil, letting out a series of fierce roars.

The scene looked like a negotiation, but it sounded more like intimidation.

However, Phil's reaction was one of utter bewilderment: "???"

He couldn't understand a word the big white cat was saying.

—There's no way around it, Earth cats and otherworldly cats can't communicate!

Many mediocre online writers often make a basic mistake in their writing: they mistakenly believe that species other than humans have a unified language. They think that once someone learns to talk to a cat, then all the cats in the world can communicate with him normally.

However, the harsh truth is... it's simply impossible.

As the most intelligent of all beings, humankind, despite frequent communication that has turned the entire planet into a "global village," still possesses a vast array of languages ​​and dialects. Many people who are neighbors separated only by a border often find themselves unable to communicate with each other.

So how could cats, who live alone in a very small space, rarely travel across borders, have no need for trade negotiations, and rarely communicate even within their own group, possibly develop a universal language that encompasses the entire group without ever entering a state of civilization?

(Firi and the alien cats who came with him belong to a civilized race and cannot be confused with cats on Earth.)

So if the protagonist of a novel claims to have learned cat language, readers might as well say: What country's cat language is this?

Or, to put it another way, "Which cat's language?"—the difference between Persian cats and tabby cats is greater than the difference between black and white cats!

In fact, if we were to insist that all cats in the world use only one kind of cat language, then the following hilarious scenes might occur:

A Russian and a Chinese man were sitting face-to-face talking, but the Chinese man didn't understand Russian, and the Russian man didn't understand Chinese. Luckily, they both understood cat language, so they had to rely on their respective pet cats, who sat on the table and meowed, acting as real-time translators...

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Ahem, getting back to the point, although Phil couldn't understand a word of the New York stray cat boss's clamor, he could roughly guess what this dirty white cat was trying to tell him just by looking at its expression and aura.

It's nothing more than, "This is my territory, you philandering out-of-town cats, get out of here right now!"

Or it could be, "You useless piece of trash, you think you can beat me? You're far from qualified! Go ahead and try!"

It could also be something like, "You worthless bastard, I'm going to blast you to smithereens today! I'll make sure you die a horrible death! The most horrible death ever! An absolutely horrible death!"

In short, it's all provocation before the fight starts, using "the language of the strong."

If Phil was in a good mood, he might not mind having a pointless, boastful exchange with this cat boss, yelling things like, "You cowardly scoundrel, all you know is bullying the weak! Today I'll make you fall flat on your face under my righteous iron claws!"

However, by this time, Firi had already lost interest due to his embarrassing and useless cat companions with a combat strength of less than 0.5, and was only thinking about a quick victory—would he use lightning magic? Or fireballs? No… those were too conspicuous!

To avoid attracting attention, it seems best not to unleash your big moves unnecessarily.

He looked up and glanced around, but didn't see any obvious cameras. However, he couldn't be sure that the place wasn't being monitored by anyone.

Therefore, to be on the safe side, seeing the large white cat slowly approaching with its claws outstretched, Phil used a more covert counterattack.

"...[Fear Spell]!"

An invisible wave surged forth from Phil's raised paw. The large white cat opposite, which had already arched its back and was about to pounce and bite, suddenly seemed to see its natural enemy. Its fur stood on end as if it had been electrocuted, and its limbs trembled as if in spasm...

The next moment, accompanied by a mournful "meow," the big white cat immediately turned and ran away, disappearing into the distance. The two black cats, who were currently pinning Kunka and Lazel to the ground, were also surprised and uncertain upon seeing this. After hesitating for a moment, they too followed the big white cat and sped off.

Seeing that the three stray cats had run away, Phil strolled over leisurely, cast a Minor Healing spell on the heavily injured and unconscious Fao, and then asked his two cat-human companions who were whimpering as they got up, "...What happened just now? How come the five of you couldn't even beat three wild cats?"

Author's message

PS: I've received another 100 blades, bringing my total to 2000 with yesterday's recommendation votes. I'll be posting four chapters today, totaling 8000 words. If I get more blades, I'll add another chapter tonight.

In short, Old Wang's reward will definitely be paid out at any time without delay.

Chapter 98, An Honest Cat Can't Be an Adventurer (3000 words)

An adventurer's life should be a pursuit of honor and victory. Only the most fearless souls can embark on the endless journey of exploring the unknown, willing to sacrifice their lives to challenge hidden dangers and seek the glory of success.

—The above is the introduction to the Totoro Town Adventurers' Guild Rules, written by the third guild master 250 years ago.

However, many teenagers who dream of becoming adventurers, and even the elderly who once dreamed of becoming adventurers, only saw the heroic and cool aspects of this passage, longing for a wonderful and exciting adventure, without realizing the cruelty and ruthlessness behind the words.

In general, truly qualified adventurers should be a group of bold, brave, shrewd, and rational outlaws.

Only by disregarding both one's own life and the lives of others can one forge a path to success in this dangerous profession.

You must carefully plan every action and calmly assess the situation at every moment in order to avoid losing your life too quickly.

Those cautious, mediocre, and honest farmers and city dwellers are not suited for the high-risk profession of adventurer.

—Leaving aside factors such as martial arts skills and physical strength, if one lacks sufficiently excellent mental qualities, let alone making money, even survival will be difficult.

In fact, due to their lack of experience, they often encounter numerous problems even when they go on a trip, especially if they are unlucky.

—You guys are so weak you can't even kill a chicken! You need more training!

"...Little brother Phil, it's not that I'm useless, it's that those three stray cats were too cunning, meow! They didn't go along the alley, but instead silently approached us from the top of the wall, and then suddenly pounced down on us! Before Lazel and I could even react, we were both knocked down and pinned down, meow!"

Cuenca, a retired civil servant from Totoro Town, who had just had his sashimi snatched from his mouth by a stray cat in New York and then rubbed against the ground, was practically sobbing as he recounted his unfortunate ordeal. "...Fao was even knocked unconscious by that big white cat. What's worse, those two bastards, Gilda and Lula, didn't even come to help us when they saw us getting beaten up! Instead, they ran away in fear!"

—Philip could only roll his eyes helplessly: So not only is your combat power only 0.5, but your team spirit is also negative!

In short, you bunch of useless cats shouldn't even dream of becoming adventurers!

"...It's meow! Phili, we strictly followed your instructions, and even after being beaten like this, we didn't transform back into our original form."

Lazel, whose face was bruised and swollen from being punched, kicked, and scratched by the stray cat, grumbled, "...otherwise, how could we be in such a sorry state..."

—So, you mean it's my fault that you five civilized cat-people were beaten down by three wild cats?

Don't you know that, let alone cats, even humans are often pickpocketed in major European cities by North African thieves or robbed by Black gangsters in major American cities when traveling abroad? If you don't even have the courage to fight your opponents, what kind of cross-dimensional adventure are you going to have?

Phil rolled his eyes again in exasperation, but didn't know what to say. So he turned around and searched for the two lost cat-people, Gilda and Lula. He searched everywhere and shouted until his throat was hoarse, but in the end he found nothing.

—Gilda and Lula, those two useless cats, have a fighting strength that's probably less than half that of a goose, and their team spirit of helping each other is practically nonexistent. But they're incredibly fast at escaping; in the blink of an eye, they've already disappeared to who-knows-where…

In the end, Phil could only shrug and announce to the remaining three cat-people, "...Never mind them, let's continue our tour!"

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Fortunately, although these Totoro Town companions who were being rubbed into the ground by the stray cats were truly a disgrace to adventurers—even though they weren't actually serious adventurers at all—they certainly didn't need any fighting ability if they were just a simple tour group.

So, led by Phil, the remaining three cats, who had barely eaten half a meal, continued their trip to New York.

Along the way, although they didn't see any superheroes in tight suits or supervillains dressed as hippies, being able to appreciate the bustling streets of New York up close was enough to broaden their horizons and make the trip worthwhile.

In fact, through the subsequent exchanges and communication, Phil gradually came to understand the embarrassing predicament of these three cowardly cats.

For these three cats who have spent half their lives in a magical medieval town, the sudden change in their psychological state when they are brought to the 21st-century metropolis of Manhattan, New York, is almost like that of Stone Age cavemen entering the city.

Specifically, it means suddenly being confronted with a whole bunch of things that seem incredibly impressive and incomprehensible to them, yet they have absolutely no idea how they work or what they're used for. And these things aren't just sitting quietly in one place; they constantly emit bright lights and loud noises, and sometimes even a person (computers and televisions) pops out of them and starts singing or talking. Some of them speed along roads, or even fly overhead (it could be Iron Man or a drone), or spew out steam, sparks, and unidentified gases, constantly releasing all sorts of unsettling signals...

In this situation, unless you're a born adventurer with exceptional mental fortitude, anyone would feel their legs go weak and their liver tremble.

If these cats from Totoro Town hadn't been instilled with some common sense before their arrival (the modern common sense from the Type-Moon universe, bundled with the Heroic Spirit descent technology, is incomplete and incompatible with the Marvel universe; more importantly, these cats can't understand it at all, as if reading gibberish), they might have knelt down before the cars speeding by on the street the moment they stepped out of the New York Sanctuary.

However, due to their innate curiosity, after being shocked and trembling, cats often can't help but want to tinker with and play with these unheard-of and strange things, which naturally leads to all sorts of funny situations, or even turns into risking their lives.

After all, for them, this is just a fully immersive VR game. It's no big deal if they do something stupid; they won't actually die.

Given this, it seems understandable what shameful things they might do on the streets of New York...

In short, after thinking about it this way, Phil adjusted his mindset and began to explain New York's famous landmarks to the feline tourists with the attitude of welcoming "caveman into the city"—although he himself only had a superficial understanding and mixed in a lot of content from movies.

There's no way around it, either Feline the cat, or Wang Qiu himself, the bricklayer before his soul transmigrated, is also visiting New York for the first time!

"...This is Grand Central Terminal in New York City. Local residents use this to access the subway system... Hmm? Why don't they walk on the streets, but instead crawl into the sewers? And why are they arranging carriages and horses in the sewers? This is a very complicated question, and I can't explain it in a short time, meow..."