"Please enjoy your meal."
After placing the salver down, the young and attentive male attendant bowed and retreated from the room.
An albescent teacup sat on top of the desk-sized salver. Wisps of hot steam rose into the air from the cup, carrying the earthy tea aroma and filling the room with fragrance. On one side of the salver sat a small cup of hot milk sweetened with just a spoonful of honey as requested.
Glaring at the damn little furball, AYU felt that she had agreed to help him too soon.
Placing his white paw through the round cup holder, the cat doctor picked up the cup of milk, poured it into the tea, and made himself a cup of brew. There was a selection of snacks placed next to the beverage: a plate of cookies, a plate of yolk pastries, and a plate of dried peeled shrimp. He moved his nose from one plate of snacks to the next and left a damp, cat nose-shaped mark on a piece of cookie.
In contrast to Meowie Hu's warm hospitality, AYU and her kinsmen were treated like a bunch of convicts. The female captain kept them under strict surveillance, day and night.
Even though they did not want to eat cookies or drink milk tea, the Souls were still quite uncomfortable. After all, they all were given seats on the floor while the cat doctor sat in an upholstered armchair.
"Does your ability affect all human beings ?" asked AYU.
All in all, AYU believed that Meowie Hu already knew that Souls weren't human beings.
Meowie Hu lapped the milk tea, and his two big, round eyes blinked due to the steam.
"So far, no human being on this planet has been able to escape my ability but one," Meowie Hu paused for a moment, taking another lap of his milk tea before continuing, "And that one person is my friend."
The Souls looked at each other and marveled at the fact revealed by Meowie Hu. After much contemplation, AYU suddenly said, "Perhaps, we might need your help instead."
The cat doctor didn't say yes or no. He merely continued to lap his afternoon tea.
Unlike Santa Claus's crazy-like speed, the airship was flown at a slow and steady speed. After arriving at the maritime space of the suspected destination, the airship swanned over the ocean so that Silverdale could locate Soulsqn's coordinates. After about half a day, Silverdale finally captured Soulsqn'a faint signal and pinpointed the exact location of the pocket dimension.
After that, the airship descended and hovered ten meters above the ocean.
As the female captain opened the cabin door, she anxiously said, "Please be careful, doctor. If no one is here to pick you up when you come out from the pocket dimension, please contact me with the communication device I gave you."
The cat doctor's eyes ran down the sea. He was very excited and curious about the adventure that lay ahead. Without turning his head, the cat doctor waved his paw and said, "Okay, okay. Thank you, you're the best. I have to go now."
Meowie Hu watched as the Souls jumped out of the airship one after another. He psyched himself up, crouched down, and use his hind legs to propel him into the air.
The cat doctor didn't have any skydiving experience, so he hadn't expected it to be so spine-chilling. As he was plummeting, he meowed all the way down without keeping his usual graceful demeanor. Just before he touched the surface of the ocean, he disappeared.
When Meowie Hu landed on the rocky, reef and grass-covered shore, his tail was still in a bristled state. He was badly shaken.
The little furball studied his surrounding slack-jawed. His brain seemed to be unable to process the current situation. How did he arrive here when he had almost fallen into the ocean? Refusing to believe that he was safe, he lifted his paw and checked himself. After finding that his fur was completely dry, Meowie Hu heaved a sigh of relief. After that, he proceeded cautiously toward the gate that seemed as though it was built for a castle where a group of Souls stood at the entrance gathered around discussing something that was unknown to others.
Using his natural feline advantage of being able to walk silently, the cat doctor snuck behind the group of Souls. He found himself a good spot and eavesdropped on their discussion.
"The queen is here; I can sense her. Ah, she's moving toward us," Silverdale stood in the middle of the group, and he let out a guttural, inconceivable hissing before he said with joy, "We should stay here to greet the queen. She's near."
The cat doctor's ears flicked. He heard somebody heading their way from behind the entrance gate. That person's pace wasn't fast. It was just one step after another like his thumping heart. As a newbie to the world, he was attracted to everything not to mention meeting a queen of non-human races. His bright emerald eyes were filled with curiosity.
" Since she is their queen, I can assume that she's a beauty? Or at any rate, she should be —"
His wild mind froze the moment Soulsqn appeared in his sight.
"You guys are here."
Soulsqn seemed unsurprised to meet her clansmen here. She had already sensed their presence even before they entered the pocket dimension. As she walked, she tried to push her skin that slid down like mud. She found the task exhausting. As a Soul, it was such a rare feeling.
"My queen—" AYU took a step forward, paused for a second when she saw Soulsqn's gruesome state and continued, "—You are injured. Will you revert to your primitive state?"
Soulsqn had never been damaged to such state since she was born. Her body was half drained, so she did not even have an idea of what to do next. After she contemplated for a moment, the queen waved her hand. Her floppy human skin suit with nails flung uncontrollably in the air as she gave her order to her clansmen.
As the queen of the Souls, she did not have to speak to give a command. The Souls followed her orders, unquestionably and dedicatedly. As they moved aside obediently and silently, the little furball who was hiding behind them was revealed.
"My queen, allow me to introduce Doctor Hu. Doctor Hu is the one who founds us an airship," AYU quickly stepped forward and explained to Soulsqn, "It has an absorbing ability which may be of use to us."
Following that, AYU systematically explained in full detail how the cat doctor's ability affected humans. When she reached the cookies the cat doctor had on the airship, Soulsqn's eyes glowed.
Meowie Hu was feeling a little bit disturbed by being stared at by a half-humanoid creature. He lashed his big fluffy tail nervously and kept his back as straight as possible to maintain his graceful appearance.
"Doctor Hu," said Soulsqn reverently. If Lin Sanjiu was around, she would have been astonished by Soulsqn's polite tone, "I greatly appreciate the assistance you have offered to my men so far. If there is anything I can do to make myself useful, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will gladly offer you a hand, but now, there is still have one more problem that I hope you can help me."
"Say it."
"Well, I believe nobody in this world besides you can put an end to my problem," Soulsqn praised Meowie Hu to bribe him into doing her bidding. She learned the way from humans, and she found it very effective. She then continued, "There is still another person inside the amusement park."
Nobody was able to escape from being flattered, not even a cat. Meowie Hu was exhilarated. As he immersed in the pleasure, he nodded at Soulsqn to continue speaking.
"She is, how should I put this—" Soulsqn paused as she struggled to ferret through her brain for the term to describe the relationship between her and Lin Sanjiu. Their relationship was kind of odd: they were not enemies, nor they were partners, "—is very useful to me, and I need her. However, my order won't work on her, neither can I apprehend her with force. So—"
"Understood," the cat doctor nodded as he said, "I'll go and meet her."
Hearing this, Soulsqn drew and let out a long breath of relief. She had gotten the guarantee from her men and her men would never lie to her, so the feline standing in front of her had to be pretty capable.
" At last, after so much time, after experiencing so much humiliation and torture, I finally could set everything back to their rightful track again. "
She was happy with the result of their negotiation. Hence, she readily agreed to offer help to the cat doctor, "That's great, doctor. If your friend does require our help, tell us. I'll send my men there right away."
"Meow."
Both the cat doctor and Souls were happy with the outcome of their negotiation. As they finalized their deal, the Souls that had been sent out by Soulsqn returned. Sajee and Silverdale walked in front of the group. They greeted the queen and reported their findings, "We didn't find anyone with the look of Santa Claus nearby, nor did we see any living humans."
Soulsqn's squished jelly-like skin jiggled. No one aside from her kind understood the meaning behind her gesture. Then, a Soul stepped forward and responded to her question, "The ground that we're standing right now isn't vast. It takes less than ten minutes to finish a circle. From the two edges, we could faintly see the remaining two parts of the amusement park. It seems like there are two entrances. However, there is a large ocean between them. It's impossible to go around it."
The amusement park was designed like a cross such that each end of the cross was further separated into another four routes. Soulsqn, who originally wanted to find a shortcut, fell silent. She felt the task at hand was getting more difficult.
"Why don't we just go in from this entrance?" Meowie Hu craned his neck and looked over to the direction of the entrance.
If she could sigh, Soulsqn would have done it. While she reveled in the newfangled, never-experienced human feeling, she spoke slowly, "The reason we can't enter from this entrance is that the attractions inside are extremely tough. I only took part in the first round, yet I ended up in this devastated state. However, that's not the end of it. If you continue the game for the second round, the difficulty will be triple of the previous round. Also, if you refuse to participate in any of the attractions, you won't be able to proceed."
"Hmm? Oh, I guess your ability won't earn you any shortcut as well. The workers in the amusement park are not humans."
After listening to Soulsqn's explanation, the cat doctor frowned. A solemn expression graced his face as he fell into deep thought.
"I think we can find a loophole here," his big emerald eyes rolled as he continued to speak his mind, "Let's imagine this: if a player brought a mindless dog into a pocket dimension, would that make the dog a player? Also, similarly, your shoes wouldn't be a player, right?"
Even though Soulsqn felt that the logic was odd, she couldn't help but feel that what the cat doctor said made sense.
"But… we're living organisms with consciousness and self-awareness. The park will regard us as players once we step into the park," Soulsqn countered the cat doctor's logic with her own experiences.
"Regarding that issue," Meowie Hu slightly tilted his head and said confidently, "I might have an idea about how to solve it."
"Please enjoy your meal."
After placing the salver down, the young and attentive male attendant bowed and retreated from the room.
An albescent teacup sat on top of the desk-sized salver. Wisps of hot steam rose into the air from the cup, carrying the earthy tea aroma and filling the room with fragrance. On one side of the salver sat a small cup of hot milk sweetened with just a spoonful of honey as requested.
Glaring at the damn little furball, AYU felt that she had agreed to help him too soon.
Placing his white paw through the round cup holder, the cat doctor picked up the cup of milk, poured it into the tea, and made himself a cup of brew. There was a selection of snacks placed next to the beverage: a plate of cookies, a plate of yolk pastries, and a plate of dried peeled shrimp. He moved his nose from one plate of snacks to the next and left a damp, cat nose-shaped mark on a piece of cookie.
In contrast to Meowie Hu's warm hospitality, AYU and her kinsmen were treated like a bunch of convicts. The female captain kept them under strict surveillance, day and night.
Even though they did not want to eat cookies or drink milk tea, the Souls were still quite uncomfortable. After all, they all were given seats on the floor while the cat doctor sat in an upholstered armchair.
"Does your ability affect all human beings ?" asked AYU.
All in all, AYU believed that Meowie Hu already knew that Souls weren't human beings.
Meowie Hu lapped the milk tea, and his two big, round eyes blinked due to the steam.
"So far, no human being on this planet has been able to escape my ability but one," Meowie Hu paused for a moment, taking another lap of his milk tea before continuing, "And that one person is my friend."
The Souls looked at each other and marveled at the fact revealed by Meowie Hu. After much contemplation, AYU suddenly said, "Perhaps, we might need your help instead."
The cat doctor didn't say yes or no. He merely continued to lap his afternoon tea.
Unlike Santa Claus's crazy-like speed, the airship was flown at a slow and steady speed. After arriving at the maritime space of the suspected destination, the airship swanned over the ocean so that Silverdale could locate Soulsqn's coordinates. After about half a day, Silverdale finally captured Soulsqn'a faint signal and pinpointed the exact location of the pocket dimension.
After that, the airship descended and hovered ten meters above the ocean.
As the female captain opened the cabin door, she anxiously said, "Please be careful, doctor. If no one is here to pick you up when you come out from the pocket dimension, please contact me with the communication device I gave you."
The cat doctor's eyes ran down the sea. He was very excited and curious about the adventure that lay ahead. Without turning his head, the cat doctor waved his paw and said, "Okay, okay. Thank you, you're the best. I have to go now."
Meowie Hu watched as the Souls jumped out of the airship one after another. He psyched himself up, crouched down, and use his hind legs to propel him into the air.
The cat doctor didn't have any skydiving experience, so he hadn't expected it to be so spine-chilling. As he was plummeting, he meowed all the way down without keeping his usual graceful demeanor. Just before he touched the surface of the ocean, he disappeared.
When Meowie Hu landed on the rocky, reef and grass-covered shore, his tail was still in a bristled state. He was badly shaken.
The little furball studied his surrounding slack-jawed. His brain seemed to be unable to process the current situation. How did he arrive here when he had almost fallen into the ocean? Refusing to believe that he was safe, he lifted his paw and checked himself. After finding that his fur was completely dry, Meowie Hu heaved a sigh of relief. After that, he proceeded cautiously toward the gate that seemed as though it was built for a castle where a group of Souls stood at the entrance gathered around discussing something that was unknown to others.
Using his natural feline advantage of being able to walk silently, the cat doctor snuck behind the group of Souls. He found himself a good spot and eavesdropped on their discussion.
"The queen is here; I can sense her. Ah, she's moving toward us," Silverdale stood in the middle of the group, and he let out a guttural, inconceivable hissing before he said with joy, "We should stay here to greet the queen. She's near."
The cat doctor's ears flicked. He heard somebody heading their way from behind the entrance gate. That person's pace wasn't fast. It was just one step after another like his thumping heart. As a newbie to the world, he was attracted to everything not to mention meeting a queen of non-human races. His bright emerald eyes were filled with curiosity.
" Since she is their queen, I can assume that she's a beauty? Or at any rate, she should be —"
His wild mind froze the moment Soulsqn appeared in his sight.
"You guys are here."
Soulsqn seemed unsurprised to meet her clansmen here. She had already sensed their presence even before they entered the pocket dimension. As she walked, she tried to push her skin that slid down like mud. She found the task exhausting. As a Soul, it was such a rare feeling.
"My queen—" AYU took a step forward, paused for a second when she saw Soulsqn's gruesome state and continued, "—You are injured. Will you revert to your primitive state?"
Soulsqn had never been damaged to such state since she was born. Her body was half drained, so she did not even have an idea of what to do next. After she contemplated for a moment, the queen waved her hand. Her floppy human skin suit with nails flung uncontrollably in the air as she gave her order to her clansmen.
As the queen of the Souls, she did not have to speak to give a command. The Souls followed her orders, unquestionably and dedicatedly. As they moved aside obediently and silently, the little furball who was hiding behind them was revealed.
"My queen, allow me to introduce Doctor Hu. Doctor Hu is the one who founds us an airship," AYU quickly stepped forward and explained to Soulsqn, "It has an absorbing ability which may be of use to us."
Following that, AYU systematically explained in full detail how the cat doctor's ability affected humans. When she reached the cookies the cat doctor had on the airship, Soulsqn's eyes glowed.
Meowie Hu was feeling a little bit disturbed by being stared at by a half-humanoid creature. He lashed his big fluffy tail nervously and kept his back as straight as possible to maintain his graceful appearance.
"Doctor Hu," said Soulsqn reverently. If Lin Sanjiu was around, she would have been astonished by Soulsqn's polite tone, "I greatly appreciate the assistance you have offered to my men so far. If there is anything I can do to make myself useful, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will gladly offer you a hand, but now, there is still have one more problem that I hope you can help me."
"Say it."
"Well, I believe nobody in this world besides you can put an end to my problem," Soulsqn praised Meowie Hu to bribe him into doing her bidding. She learned the way from humans, and she found it very effective. She then continued, "There is still another person inside the amusement park."
Nobody was able to escape from being flattered, not even a cat. Meowie Hu was exhilarated. As he immersed in the pleasure, he nodded at Soulsqn to continue speaking.
"She is, how should I put this—" Soulsqn paused as she struggled to ferret through her brain for the term to describe the relationship between her and Lin Sanjiu. Their relationship was kind of odd: they were not enemies, nor they were partners, "—is very useful to me, and I need her. However, my order won't work on her, neither can I apprehend her with force. So—"
"Understood," the cat doctor nodded as he said, "I'll go and meet her."
Hearing this, Soulsqn drew and let out a long breath of relief. She had gotten the guarantee from her men and her men would never lie to her, so the feline standing in front of her had to be pretty capable.
" At last, after so much time, after experiencing so much humiliation and torture, I finally could set everything back to their rightful track again. "
She was happy with the result of their negotiation. Hence, she readily agreed to offer help to the cat doctor, "That's great, doctor. If your friend does require our help, tell us. I'll send my men there right away."
"Meow."
Both the cat doctor and Souls were happy with the outcome of their negotiation. As they finalized their deal, the Souls that had been sent out by Soulsqn returned. Sajee and Silverdale walked in front of the group. They greeted the queen and reported their findings, "We didn't find anyone with the look of Santa Claus nearby, nor did we see any living humans."
Soulsqn's squished jelly-like skin jiggled. No one aside from her kind understood the meaning behind her gesture. Then, a Soul stepped forward and responded to her question, "The ground that we're standing right now isn't vast. It takes less than ten minutes to finish a circle. From the two edges, we could faintly see the remaining two parts of the amusement park. It seems like there are two entrances. However, there is a large ocean between them. It's impossible to go around it."
The amusement park was designed like a cross such that each end of the cross was further separated into another four routes. Soulsqn, who originally wanted to find a shortcut, fell silent. She felt the task at hand was getting more difficult.
"Why don't we just go in from this entrance?" Meowie Hu craned his neck and looked over to the direction of the entrance.
If she could sigh, Soulsqn would have done it. While she reveled in the newfangled, never-experienced human feeling, she spoke slowly, "The reason we can't enter from this entrance is that the attractions inside are extremely tough. I only took part in the first round, yet I ended up in this devastated state. However, that's not the end of it. If you continue the game for the second round, the difficulty will be triple of the previous round. Also, if you refuse to participate in any of the attractions, you won't be able to proceed."
"Hmm? Oh, I guess your ability won't earn you any shortcut as well. The workers in the amusement park are not humans."
After listening to Soulsqn's explanation, the cat doctor frowned. A solemn expression graced his face as he fell into deep thought.
"I think we can find a loophole here," his big emerald eyes rolled as he continued to speak his mind, "Let's imagine this: if a player brought a mindless dog into a pocket dimension, would that make the dog a player? Also, similarly, your shoes wouldn't be a player, right?"
Even though Soulsqn felt that the logic was odd, she couldn't help but feel that what the cat doctor said made sense.
"But… we're living organisms with consciousness and self-awareness. The park will regard us as players once we step into the park," Soulsqn countered the cat doctor's logic with her own experiences.
"Regarding that issue," Meowie Hu slightly tilted his head and said confidently, "I might have an idea about how to solve it."
