Chapter 5: The Fur Ball’s Predicament

Well, wasn’t that mysteriously dashing?

Alright, I know it was rather awkward, but I truly couldn’t find any other words to describe it…

After a long pause, Ning Beibei finally let out a sigh: “As a well-read and sensible girl, even showing off is improper.”

She wouldn’t even allow me to show off; this woman’s worldview was practically a match for Su Yingning’s! Besides… I never said I was a well-read and sensible girl!

Thankfully, she didn’t electrocute me this time.

This significantly increased my favorability towards her… She, too, was clearly aware of it, revealing a childlike expression of joy.

It wasn’t due to my relieved expression, but rather because it was all explicitly displayed before us.

[System Notification: Favorability +3, Loyalty +1]

I feared I had been transformed into a character akin to a dating sim heroine, and a masochistic one at that, with an incredibly sensitive and fragile psyche, happy enough to wag my tail at even the slightest hint of kindness from my owner.

“Beep-Beep, you’re not allowed to speak nonsense or show off next time, okay~” The girl gently rubbed my head, and to my shame, I felt myself displaying an expression of contentment and happiness.

“Beep-Beep, are you well-rested? We should be heading out!”

Feigning that I hadn’t rested adequately, I stubbornly sprawled on the stone pillar, refusing to budge.

This kind of life, living under someone’s thumb… oh no, living under someone else’s roof, I’d truly had enough of it! Was this what online games were like? As expected, they were incredibly unfriendly towards me!

[System Notification: Your owner has used the Follow command]

…What more could I possibly say?

Dragging my soft, powerless body, I swayed unsteadily, trailing behind the girl. Her destination was a monster grinding spot.

She seemed unaware that I was an intelligent pet, continuing to treat me like any ordinary companion, never asking for my opinion, nor regarding me as a sentient being… I could grudgingly understand, for in her eyes, I was merely a collection of data.

Her past behavior—her control over my words and actions—was likely due to her ignorance of the human soul residing within this body, believing I needed careful, mechanical cultivation of personality and behavior, just like any common pet.

My ears drooped, and my tail, like a peacock’s display gone overboard, wrapped my entire self—oh no, my entire fox form—into a ball of pristine white fur.

If anyone were to observe me, they would likely only see a fuzzy ball with legs.

This spot was nestled within a small grove at the edge of the monster grinding area, rarely frequented by players. Thus, we had not yet caused a stir among the throngs of players. However, if we ventured into the grinding area to hunt monsters shortly, we would inevitably be surrounded and gawked at by a large crowd.

As it turned out, I was far too naive.

In truth, we had already drawn considerable attention, yet most players were too preoccupied with snatching monsters to heed us. This, however, did not mean that the smaller faction of players, who had already finished their monster hunts and now had nothing to do, weren’t watching us.

Consequently, upon reaching the edge of the grove, we found our path blocked.

I hadn’t yet seen my exact appearance, but I knew a nine-tailed fox would undoubtedly be a beauty of such destructive allure as to topple kingdoms. With such a captivating visage, provocative attire, the magnificent nine white tails trailing behind, and unusually wide ear-guards atop my head, it would be difficult *not* to draw attention!

I watched with a sense of schadenfreude as we were surrounded by a large contingent of players.

‘An innocent man is guilty only for possessing a treasure’—a truth even elementary school children understood. How dared you flaunt such a treasure, with me on your back, through the public?

Whether driven by jealousy, suspicion, or an intense sense of injustice, those players had ample reason to attack us. I had no doubt that in the next second, my owner, Ning Beibei, would be torn to shreds, reduced to a pixelated mess.

The players who had intercepted us appeared to belong to the same guild. They knew each other well, and their coordination was far superior to that of unorganized players. They even intentionally or unintentionally formed an encirclement, completely blocking all our escape routes.

“Beautiful lady, please halt.”

The one who spoke was likely their guild leader, for when he opened his mouth, none of the dozens of other players seemed to find anything amiss.

I continued to wrap myself in my large white tails, obediently playing the part of a fur ball, desperately trying to minimize my presence.

“Yes?”

Her “Yes?” was uttered with resolute, crisp clarity, devoid of any fear or hint of a guilty conscience.

I gazed at the girl in astonishment; though initially a touch flustered when provoked, she swiftly displayed an on-the-spot adaptability and self-regulation far beyond that of an average girl, sweeping away that flicker of panic until only cold ruthlessness remained.

Though she, like those around her, wore mere newbie rags, her aura instantly shone forth after that single utterance, like the brilliant moon in a starry sky, incomparably dazzling and drawing all eyes.

In that moment, standing amidst the crowd, she was like a golden phoenix in a chicken coop, elevated and utterly out of place with her surroundings.

I distinctly recalled how, in private, facing me, she would appear charmingly pretty and a little adorably naive.

If one were to truly describe it, she transformed from a gentle and endearing girl-next-door into a decisive and resolute female warrior in an instant!

The contrast between her two personas was immense.

Considering it unlikely she would put on an act in front of her own pet, this current toughness and domineering aura must be a protective coloration she deliberately feigned, wouldn’t it?

Beautiful women always seemed to protect themselves in this manner; it was an act of self-preservation, lest countless irritating flies perpetually buzzed around them.

To think that, as a pet, I was fortunate enough to witness a woman’s two distinct facets.

“Nothing much, just wanted to invite the beautiful lady to join our guild…” The man’s smile was bright and sunny, but in the very next second, that warmth twisted into a foul, cruel glint. “And also, I wanted to ask about this furry… uh…”

‘This fur ball?!’

‘What the hell? Where’s the nine-tailed fox? Why is there only a giant fur ball left?’

The man scrutinized me meticulously. Having already shrunk into a fur ball, I hastily tucked my entire face in, allowing only two curious, large eyes to peek out from the crevices of my fur.

‘You can’t see me… surely, you can’t see me… I absolutely do not want you to look at me… I’ve only just turned into a girl and I’m feeling so awkward… what if you suddenly fall in love with me and confess?’

Alas, the man’s intelligence proved higher than I’d anticipated; he actually recognized that the fur ball was me.

In truth, I was unaware that the man was looking at a fur ball with two large white ears sticking up, those ears still complacently twitching.

The corner of the man’s mouth twitched, as if he were concerned about the pet’s intelligence. For a fleeting moment, his thoughts of robbery and murder even wavered, but it was only for an instant.

Soon, his expression shifted from bewildered back to savage: “If I recall the game settings correctly, this shouldn’t be a player. Is it a rare, high-quality humanoid summoned beast?”

Ning Beibei furrowed her delicate brows: “You’re mistaken. This is my friend.”

“Then I formally invite you and your friend to join my [Heavenly Dominion] guild. Furthermore, our guild is an affiliated guild of [Sword Sweeps the World], which ranks among the top ten guilds globally. You’ve surely heard of [Sword Sweeps the World], haven’t you? That’s right, they’re our backing! [Sword Sweeps the World] has also fully migrated to this game! I wonder if such a guild is worthy enough to invite two beautiful ladies to join… If you do, we will definitely offer you extremely generous benefits.”

The man appeared to sincerely extend a guild invitation. However, a summoned beast cannot accept guild invitations, so if he were to send one, my true identity would be revealed.

The man was so clever I almost wanted to give him a thumbs-up, but considering our positions… primarily considering the shocking ten thousand volts of the electrocuting middle school girl’s ultimate move, I refrained from doing so.

“I apologize, but we also have our own guild, and as it happens, I am the guild leader.”

Whether it was a trick of my perception or not, I seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of disgust and hatred on Ning Beibei’s face, emotions she quickly suppressed due to the circumstances.

The man paused, seemingly weighing the consequences of initiating a conflict with another guild and estimating the size of Ning Beibei’s guild. However, he then glanced at me, swallowed hard, and instantly made up his mind: “A distant solution can’t quench a present thirst. At least for today, you won’t be leaving this grove… I’ve heard that a pet’s life is very precious, and the higher the level of the pet, the greater the cost of death and the rarer the resurrection materials required.”

The man paused again, seemingly giving us time to consider, then continued: “If you trade her to me, I will use the full power of the guild to protect her, allowing her to realize her maximum value… and only in my hands can she achieve that maximum value! If you refuse… I think countless people would go to any lengths to try and kill this pet, which has disrupted the early game balance! And she… she’s only Level 1, isn’t she? A Level 1 pet has no combat capability, does it?”

The man didn’t even ask for our guild’s name, which meant he was now frantic and reckless! Even if it meant mutual destruction, he was determined to have me!

Ning Beibei glanced at me, and from her forced composure, I saw a fleeting flicker of helplessness and despair.

Indeed, if I were to die, at this current stage, and even for a very long time—up to two years after the game’s launch—I wouldn’t be able to revive. This was because the precious resurrection materials could only be obtained when one reached Level 120.

Their intention was also simple and brutal: if I can’t have it, no one else can!

Coincidentally, a Level 1 pet couldn’t learn many skills, and its stats weren’t much higher than a player’s, so it truly lacked any self-preservation abilities… probably.

I decided to believe it was true.

So I continued to act as a fur ball.

“Of course, you could also choose to unsummon her, in which case…” The man’s smile grew even more cruel, “…you can forget about ever leaving the新手村 (TL Note:新手村, ‘xinshoucun,’ refers to the ‘Newbie Village’ or ‘starting zone’ in an MMORPG.)!”

“Hmph…”

I watched as this female player, my owner, Ning Beibei, parted her red lips slightly.

“I’m sorry… brother, I can’t protect her…”

I couldn’t comprehend her complex thoughts at that moment, but I heard the four words I least wanted to hear.

“Unsummon!”