Secret Keeper Cat's Dried Fish Information Network
The secret-keeper cat Nightmare's chamber is hidden deep within the Bureau's ventilation ducts. The entrance is entangled with the beeswax chains from the Ancient Story arc (a foreshadowing in Volume 8), and a wooden sign reads "No Entry for Non-Cats." Azuki melts the chains with his tentacles, but this triggers an elemental trap from the Western Fantasy arc, which spews out octopus balls laced with mustard instead of flames.
"Stupid rat, this is an anti-human device." Nightmare licked the mayonnaise on his paw. The cat's bed was filled with dried energy fish from the Star Wars arc and expired potato chips from the Campus arc. The walls were covered with Cthulhu wanted posters that had been repurposed as cat food ads. "Tell me, what do you want in exchange for information?"
Xiaodou took out the spiritual plant seeds from the world of cultivation from the subspace stomach (foreshadowing in Volume 5): "This can grow catnip that can do square dancing."
Nightmare's pupils suddenly shrank into vertical lines. "Deal! But first you have to help me decipher this secret letter—it's written in Cthulhu."
Tentacle Language and the Squid Tentacle Codebook
The secret letter is written in Cthulhu tentacle slime, and under the fluorescent light, it appears as a cyberpunk data stream (foreshadowing Volume 14). Xiaodou nibbles at the edge of the slime, and a mechanical cat translation program emerges from his stomach (foreshadowing Volume 3), transforming the text into:
"When the stars align into the shape of squid tentacles, the God of Gluttony will awaken at the 'intersection of reality and fantasy' - coordinates: Lin Shen Veterinary Clinic refrigerator."
"The intersection of reality and fantasy?" The director (school idol) frowned, and the mechanical heart pendant in his pocket (a foreshadowing in Volume 7) suddenly became hot. "That's not..."
Nightmare suddenly slapped Xiaodou's tentacles with his claws: "Wait, how can you translate Cthulhu? Unless you..."
Crisis of Confidence and Dried Fish Bombs
Xiaodou's tentacles unconsciously wrapped around Nightmare's tail, but triggered Cthulhu's memory flashback - she saw Nightmare stealing dried fish in Lin Shen's clinic in the modern chapter, with a collar of "Guardian No. 002" around his neck (foreshadowing in the tenth volume).
"Are you the Royal Cat?" Xiaodou exclaimed, "The Royal Cat from the ancient story?"
Nightmare (ear tips red): "Shut up! It's just a part-time job..."
The director suddenly raised the nanogun from the interstellar chapter (a foreshadowing of Volume 2): "Stop arguing. The coordinates in the secret letter point to the real world, and our actions in the Cthulhu world may affect that world—"
Before he could finish his words, Nightmare's pile of dried fish suddenly exploded, sending flying popcorn coated in Cthulhu slime. It turned out that Xiaodou's tentacles had accidentally touched the bomb Easter egg in the game (foreshadowed in Volume 4) while translating, transforming the dried fish into "explosive snacks."
Cthulhu version of "Learn to Meow"
The three of them coughed in the smoke, and Nightmare suddenly started tap dancing, uttering the Cthulhu version of "Learn to Meow": "Gululu Cthulhu, meow meow meow~"
Xiaodou paused, realizing this was a symptom of low San. He quickly released sweet dream energy, creating a karaoke-themed illusion within the cat's nest. KTV hits from various worlds played on the walls, Cthulhu statues swayed to the rhythm, and Nightmare clutched a microphone, singing with abandon.
"So your San value is so low." The director reluctantly put an anti-collapse helmet on Nightmare. The helmet was printed with "Guardian No. 002" (a foreshadowing in Volume 10). "Tell me, what is your mission in the real world?"
End-of-Chapter Hook: Veterinary Clinic Fridge Coordinates
Nightmare drunkenly tossed out a coordinate map of the real world. "Linshen Veterinary Clinic, No. 666" was marked in the center, exactly where the refrigerator entrance in Volume 11 was. Written on the edge of the map in Cthulhu was the phrase: "Beware of the man in the white coat. There are cracks in his eyes."
"Lin Shen..." The rune on Xiaodou's claws lit up with the pattern of "L.S", resonating with the director's pendant. "Is he..."
Nightmare suddenly woke up and pressed Xiaodou's tentacles with his claws. "Don't ask too much. Some truths will make your San value go to zero... Anyway, the key to stopping the God of Gluttony lies in the refrigerator in the real world - there lies the core fragment of the Concept Rat King."
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