Worse Than a Dog

"Eight thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

The pot-bellied middle-aged man spoke again, raising the price to eight thousand in one go. His eyes were filled with desire as he looked at Catwoman.

Long Jie frowned, his face darkening as anxiety filled his heart. He could not bear to see such a little girl ruined by an old man like that.

In his haste, Long Jie looked at Shui Bing'er and said helplessly, "Bing'er, lend me money!"

Shui Bing'er froze. You're asking me for money? You're asking me for money because of another woman?

Shui Bing'er did not understand Long Jie's feelings at the moment. She simply thought he coveted that little Catwoman. Her heart instantly turned cold, and most of her expectations for Long Jie vanished.

"Fine, you want money, right? Here are five thousand Gold Soul Coins. They're yours!"

In a fit of anger, Shui Bing'er threw the gold card at Long Jie, then stormed out of the Auction House.

Long Jie froze and immediately realized that she had misunderstood. But Catwoman was still being auctioned off, so he did not dare chase after Shui Bing'er. He could only sigh helplessly to himself.

I'll explain it to her when I get back!

"Ten thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

This was Long Jie's final bid. If it failed, he would have to think of another way—for example, stealing her!

"Damn it, you're bidding ten thousand for a little Catwoman? Are you insane?" The pot-bellied middle-aged man cursed for a while before reluctantly giving up.

Only then did Long Jie let out a sigh of relief. Above them, Xiao Hua slowly addressed the crowd, "Ten thousand, going once. Ten thousand, going twice. Does anyone wish to bid higher?"

Her gaze swept across the crowd, passing from one person to another before finally settling on Long Jie's face. She smiled at him and said, "If there are no further bids, then Catwoman will belong to this gentleman..."

She raised the hammer in her hand. Just as it was about to fall under Long Jie's expectant gaze, an unpleasant voice rang out.

"Ten thousand one Gold Soul Coins!"

It was the tall, skinny man with glasses from earlier. Behind those lenses, his eyes were fixed on Catwoman, filled with greed.

"Ten thousand one Gold Soul Coins. Is there anyone willing to bid higher? If not, Catwoman will belong to this gentleman!"

On the stage, Xiao Hua glanced at Long Jie again, hoping he would bid higher. But Long Jie had no money left. All the money he had, combined with Shui Bing'er's, only amounted to ten thousand.

"Damn it, this bastard!" Long Jie shot the bespectacled man one reluctant look before finally flicking his sleeve and leaving helplessly.

At this point, he had no mood left to buy a Sound Recording Stone! Since money could not buy her, then he should not blame Long Jie for what came next!

For the first time, murderous intent appeared in his eyes—and it was because of a little Catwoman.

When Xiao Hua saw Long Jie leave, she could not help feeling a little disappointed. But she quickly brought down the hammer, selling Catwoman to the bespectacled man for ten thousand one hundred.

Even through the iron cage, one could see the immense despair of that tiny figure.

After leaving the Auction House, Long Jie did not stop walking. He strode toward a shop, spent a few Silver Soul Coins on a Night Suit, and wrapped himself up tightly. Only then did he return to the Auction House. With the Gale Wolf bloodline possessing him, he hid nearby.

His calm gaze remained fixed on the Auction House entrance.

The moment that bespectacled man came out, Long Jie would follow him closely, then snatch Catwoman from his hands!

At that moment, Long Jie calmed his mind and watched the entrance with an icy gaze.

Suddenly, light footsteps sounded behind him. Long Jie frowned, and the Seven Stars Blade spun back instinctively, nearly cutting down on the person's head.

Fortunately, Long Jie saw who it was in time and stopped the blade just in the nick of time.

"Bing'er? Why are you here?" Long Jie was startled. The person before him was Shui Bing'er.

Shui Bing'er was equally frightened. She looked at Long Jie and demanded angrily, "Long Jie, what exactly are you doing?"

Her voice was so loud that Long Jie hurriedly covered Shui Bing'er's mouth. The two of them hid in a patch of grass.

"Shh, don't be so loud!" Long Jie whispered. Only after Shui Bing'er calmed down did he release her.

"Tell me, what exactly are you doing?" Shui Bing'er lowered her voice, her mood clearly foul. "Isn't she just a little Catwoman? Do you really like her that much? Is she... is she better than me?"

She puffed out her cheeks, furious inside. He had confessed to her during the day, yet by night he had fallen for another girl?

That was going too far!

"It's not like that... How could she be better than you?" Long Jie said helplessly, forced to explain. "I just can't bear to see her bought by someone else and bullied!"

"So you want to buy her and bully her yourself?" Shui Bing'er retorted. "She's just a Catwoman. Although she's young, there are actually plenty of them. You can save one, but can you save them all?"

Long Jie frowned, instinctively wanting to refute Shui Bing'er's words. But after thinking carefully, he realized she was right. He could save one, but not all of them.

"But... I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

He looked at Shui Bing'er with a determined gaze and said, "Bing'er, Catwomen are people too. They are no different from humans. We should not enslave them—we should treat them as equals!"

"But... it's always been this way!" Shui Bing'er retorted instinctively, but those words made Long Jie extremely angry.

"It's always been this way, so does that mean it's right?" Long Jie said angrily. "Why have we become accustomed to enslaving others? Why shouldn't we be equal?"

"They're all people. What did they do wrong? Nothing. They did nothing wrong. They should not be bullied!"

Hearing this, Shui Bing'er fell silent. She carefully considered Long Jie's words and immediately felt that they made perfect sense.

They were all people. They had merely mutated a little. Why should they be enslaved? That was completely wrong.

In an instant, she understood Long Jie's thoughts. The way she looked at him gained a few more traces of affection.

So this man was such a good person. He thought of things others would never think of, and he did things others would never do. He... was truly outstanding!

She looked at Long Jie with a serious expression and said earnestly, "I understand. So what should we do now?"

Shui Bing'er decided to admit her mistake and save that little Catwoman together with Long Jie.

Seeing that she had finally come to her senses, Long Jie could not help smiling. "We'll wait here for that guy to come out!"

"Alright!"

The two of them remained motionless in the bushes, keeping watch from eight thirty in the evening until eleven thirty, without the slightest impatience as they quietly watched the entrance.

It was not until ten thirty, when the auction ended and everyone left, that the tall, skinny bespectacled man came out with Catwoman on a rope.

When the people around him saw this, they actually stepped forward one after another to congratulate him.

The sight made Long Jie burn with rage. He wanted nothing more than to charge over with an Infinite E and kill every last one of them.

Treating people like pets—this man was worse than a dog!!!