Chapter 147 Pet Group "...Who is this gray avatar? ...
Chaomu, who was eating supper outside, had no idea that her cat and fish were fighting.
Although Squalo had no habit of controlling the scope of the damage, his current state meant that his attack range was limited to a smaller area; Zhu Xingdai was intentionally controlling it. After all, he knew better than the former that if Chaomu came back and saw the bathroom full of bullet holes and knife marks, neither he nor Squalo would have a good ending.
The experience of this battle was quite novel to both gentlemen present.
This was the first time that Moroboshi Dai fought in this half-human, half-cat form.
He dodged the incoming water blades and landed lightly on the sink beside him, leaving a deep crack in the ground where he had stood. As he dodged, he drew his gun and fired back, his bullet piercing the mist.
Before, when he was in pure human form, he vaguely felt that the cat part made him more agile and his combat effectiveness was also enhanced when he was active at night; now that he had completely unrepressed this part of his animal instinct, his nails became sharper and his speed became faster, so he was able to better face this powerful opponent... and avoid being quickly defeated.
...In fact, from the moment they started fighting, Zhu Xingda had already realized this - in a head-on confrontation, Squalo was stronger than him.
The mermaid in front of him was obviously not used to his current body and was inferior to Zhu Xingdai in suppressing his animal nature, but this also gave the mermaid greater explosive power.
A fierce light flashed in his lead-gray eyes. In a moment, he used the bone spurs like a long sword to split the bullet. The water curtain he raised came towards him like a blade, splitting the sink under the enemy in half.
This attack was completely unscientific, yet the opponent used it quite smoothly... Was Mr. Squalo usually used to fighting this way? Someone with special abilities?
If Moroboshi Dai hadn't dodged quickly enough, he and the sink would have been split in half. The black-haired sniper let out a low breath, and the pupils in his cold green eyes gradually became sharper.
A dangerous opponent... His attacks were deadly and unreserved. Clearly, he wasn't engaged in any peaceful or friendly work, and he was a leader among them... Italian? Mafia?
Where on earth did Chaomu pick up such a dangerous creature? And bringing such a creature home... What a troublesome owner.
"Hey—what are you daydreaming about?"
A gentle drizzle had begun to fall in the bathroom, a dangerous aura lingering in the water droplets. Having failed to land a strike, the merman's silver hair scattered in the mist, her eyes bulging, and the long sword, extending from her body, showed shark-like teeth. "You dare challenge me with this level of skill..."
When he swung the sword, the beast part in his eyes receded like the tide, leaving only the calm and experienced swordsman part, and he swung the sword with great momentum, like a tornado.
Blue raindrops fell on him, and Zhu Xingdai's fingertips moved slightly, feeling his body grow calm—and sluggish. This unnatural rain, falling indoors, clearly had a special effect. Combined with the lightning-fast sword technique, he probably couldn't completely avoid the blow; at least he would be struck in the shoulder.
The breath of death blew towards him, but he didn't make any move in the end. He just raised his face and looked calmly at the sword wind enveloping him.
"boom--"
Icy water droplets splattered and scattered, filling the room with moist vapor. Squalo paused, his brow furrowed inexplicably, and he looked at the unflinching enemy in front of him: "Is that guy stupid?" He suddenly stopped moving.
Although he wanted to fight to vent his anger, he didn't really want to kill anyone. After all, this guy was obviously one of the weird kid's "pets", and he was currently under the kid's control. If he killed another pet, who knows what trouble would happen later.
But what happened next was completely beyond Squalo's expectations.
The sinister sword light suddenly stopped in front of the black-haired man, blocked by an invisible barrier and vanished into thin air. The man's long black hair was dampened by the water vapor, and his cold green eyes were calm.
"...As expected." He casually pulled his long hair back and tied it up, looking at the sharp sword in the merman's hand with understanding. "As expected."
Squalo: “…………?”
The silver-haired mermaid swung her sword again, unconvinced. Seeing the black cat across from her remained unscathed, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Hey—what did you do? An illusion?"
"Unfortunately, I don't possess any special supernatural abilities." General Moroboshi holstered his gun, bent over to prop up the broken sink, and, looking down at the mess on the floor, replied casually, "These are some of the rules our 'master' and I have created... things like damage immunity between teammates."
Realizing that the cleaved sink likely couldn't be put back together, he pressed his forehead and gave up on rescuing the scene. Instead, he explained the rules he knew to the "newcomer": "You must have made some kind of special contract with her, right? Otherwise, she wouldn't have let you in here."
He casually unbuttoned his collar, and the raccoon brand on his chest was glowing slightly.
Squalo's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he raised his arm while grinding his back teeth. The emblem on the inside of his left forearm was exactly the same as the other person's. The Q-version raccoon grinned on his muscles, looking very arrogant.
"Annoying little brat..." He sighed and soaked himself back in the bathtub. "God knows where she got all these weird abilities..."
He had originally hoped that this kid was just playing house and that the actual restrictions weren't that big of a deal, but seeing how skilled she was and the "other pet" she'd raised, it seemed like this kid probably had her own set of rules for raising pets...
The thought of the jerk Black Cat talking about "pearl farming" flashed through his mind again, and the silver-haired mermaid's face darkened for a moment. He flicked his tail furiously, then struggled to turn over under the water, sending up another wave of water splashing across the ground.
This mermaid seemed a bit autistic, and Zhu Xingda could completely sympathize with him - after all, no matter who it was, if they were suddenly turned into a pet, it would be normal for them to become autistic... He had similar thoughts when he first arrived.
"Don't worry too much. Her restrictions on us aren't that severe." Out of a subtle sympathy, he swept the floor with a broom, comforting his "new colleague" casually, "Besides helping her with a few simple daily tasks when you get home, most of the time you're free to do your own work... She won't interfere."
Squalo was not at all comforted.
"That brat insisted on raising me just to make me cry like this in front of her... to produce those damn pearls, right?" Thinking of this, his face couldn't help but reveal a hint of humiliation. He could only try to seek some comfort from the one who came first. "What about you, Black Cat—did she keep you so she could use your fur to make scarves?"
To his disappointment, Moroboshi Dai calmly shook his head.
"That's not what she needs from me," the black-haired sniper stated. "That's why I just said that there seems to be some difference between our roles."
Squalo: “…………”
There was no one more miserable than him to take the blame, and he became even more depressed for a while.
Then again, no matter how you think about it, this whole thing is XANXUS's fault... If XANXUS hadn't insisted on having a midnight snack that night, and hadn't gotten angry at Sawada Tsunayoshi, Asami wouldn't have taken out that apple...
The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became. A dangerous glint flashed in his eyes. "Is there no way to cancel this contract? Am I really going to be this brat's pet for the rest of my life...?"
"At the moment, even if there is a way to remove it, the initiative is completely in her hands."
Zhu Xingdai ordered a new sink of the same model and had it expedited, while rolling up his sleeves and bringing a toolbox. Chaomu probably wouldn't be back that early tonight, so he should be able to restore the place to its original state before she returned.
Delivery would take time, and he had nothing else to do at the moment. His eyes swept over the mermaid, who looked quite dissatisfied with the current situation. After a few seconds of thought, he decided to have a little more conversation with her… not to mention nonsense like becoming friends, but at least to get the mermaid to behave herself and not hold him back.
"Contracting with her isn't entirely a bad thing—you should be able to sense that your current form has improved your combat effectiveness." After a brief moment of reflection, he quickly found his starting point. "Some simple daily tasks can indeed help you improve your abilities, and there are also some special rewards."
"You should be familiar with the Master's personality. If you don't want to be manipulated by her, your best option is to cooperate with her. Rebellion will only make her more interested in you."
His words were so earnest and sincere that veins popped up on Squalo's forehead. Was he supposed to just live peacefully in this brat's house and cry every day while she gave birth to pearls? The more he listened, the more frustrated he felt...
But the other party's words were really "for his own good", so he could only snort coldly, reluctantly keep this matter in mind, and continue to listen to his "new colleague" explain some precautions.
This Moroboshi Dai had been infected some time before him, and he clearly had a deep understanding of the so-called rules. Under his guidance, Squalo learned how to send messages to his "master" through the system panel and how he switched forms—but Moroboshi Dai's experience was of no use to him regarding transformations, as his current form was derived from the buff of the Small Animal Tea Party, not something he could switch to on his own.
While "teaching" Squalo, Moroboshi also discovered a new feature. A new button suddenly appeared in the message panel.
"...Pet group chat?" His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he clicked the button. "Create a group chat for owners and pets, to facilitate communication among families with multiple pets..."
...a family of many spoiled children... I always felt that this statement was quite subtle. Although having "colleagues" would make him look less miserable, in reality, Zhu Xingdai didn't really want any more "newcomers" to join.
But new features are always worth exploring, and since Squalo didn't seem to mind, Moroboshi tentatively clicked on "Create." This group chat feature seemed different from social media platforms like Line. There was no need to manually add members. After clicking on it, a few more avatars appeared in the group named "Raccoon House."
One, two, three...four?
When looking through the list of group members, Zhu Xingda's eyes suddenly froze.
The familiar raccoon head was naturally Chaomu, the shark head was Squalo, and the black cat head was him. Below these three illuminated heads, there was another gray head... which looked like a black snake.
...Who is this gray avatar?
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The author has something to say: The deadline dance was barely successful.
Hehe, I can smoke Xiao Lu tomorrow... Xiao Lu... hehehe... Miss Christine... hehehe...
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