Laser Finger

The next morning.

After Cheng Han got up, he first found several items in the drawer and began applying them to his face.

Over the past year or so, through the Eye of Omniscience, he had acquired a great deal of strange knowledge known to few.

For instance, the roots and stems of Blue Tooth Grass could be pressed for juice, then boiled and simmered dry to produce pure black pigment with no odor. It was a natural cosmetic material.

After putting on some simple makeup, Cheng Han rode to school and asked his homeroom teacher for a day off.

There was no helping it.

Without parents, he could only make the trip himself.

As for the reason for his leave, during yesterday's Meditation Class, Qiu Yuan had explicitly said that excessive mental exhaustion could cause headaches.

It was a ready-made excuse, and the whole class could testify for him.

The homeroom teacher was named Yan Dongshan. Looking at Cheng Han's dark circles, he did not make things difficult for him. "All right, get some proper rest at home today."

Cheng Han put on a listless expression. "Mr. Yan, I'll be going now."

Yan Dongshan said with concern, "Be careful on the road."

The moment Cheng Han left the school, he immediately sprang back to life. Pedaling hard, he rode his Bicycle along the familiar route to East Terrace Road.

Before leaving home, he had performed a divination.

The result showed that the Black Cat was still near the Textile Factory.

Sure enough.

After wandering around nearby for a while, Cheng Han successfully found the Black Cat.

And the instant the Black Cat saw him, it swiftly climbed to the top of the wall.

Clearly, it was full of vigilance toward strangers.

Cheng Han looked up at the Black Cat and greeted it. "Hi!"

The Black Cat sat quietly atop the wall, looking aloof and frosty.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Han took a bag of Dried Fish from his schoolbag, tore open the package, and shook it several times at the Black Cat. "Little one, want an extra snack?"

This was a snack Qian Qingqing had "shared" with him yesterday.

Ever since the little girl discovered that her deskmate had many hidden talents, she had become increasingly fond of feeding him, bringing him snacks every day.

Yet at this moment, faced with the fragrant Dried Fish, the Black Cat remained completely unmoved.

Instead, it stood up, seemingly intending to leave.

Cheng Han put away the Dried Fish and immediately made up his mind. Then let's try the backup plan.

He focused all his attention and activated the Fragmented Imprint of True Flame.

The Halo of the imprint instantly expanded considerably.

Cheng Han extended a finger and lightly pointed at the ground.

Something marvelous happened.

His finger grew slightly warm, and a tiny blazing-red spot of light abruptly appeared on the ground where his fingertip pointed.

The Black Cat instantly turned its head and sharply caught sight of the light.

"Meow~"

It cried out. Its pair of gleaming green cat eyes suddenly widened, and its fluffy tail began to sway.

Cheng Han immediately smiled. "Looks like in any world, laser pointers are enough to drive every cat crazy."

He promptly corrected himself. "No, this should be called a 'Laser Finger.'"

He moved his hand.

The spot of light immediately shifted several meters.

"Meow~"

The Black Cat gave a hurried cry, leaping down and pouncing toward the light.

Cheng Han had long been prepared. He strode forward several steps, opened his schoolbag at top speed, and aimed it at the rapidly falling Black Cat.

The Black Cat realized it had been tricked, but it was already too late to turn the tide.

With a "puff," it landed squarely inside the schoolbag.

"Wuu~ screech~"

The Black Cat struggled fiercely, continuously letting out sharp cries.

Cheng Han clamped the schoolbag shut tightly, preventing it from breaking free.

Only after quite a while, when the Black Cat seemed to have grown tired, did it finally quiet down.

Cheng Han happily whistled and rode his Bicycle away.

Done! ... At the entrance to Shanyi Neighborhood, Cheng Han encountered the Spirit Mastiffs Tao Zi and Li Zi once more.

"Woof! Woof!"

The two dogs barked a few times, wagging their tails enthusiastically.

Just then, the sound of a Bell rang out.

"Jingle~"

Cheng Han turned his head and saw an Old Man riding over on a Bicycle, with vegetables in the wire basket in front of the handlebars.

He had not moved into Shanyi Neighborhood long ago, and he lived a routine life between two points every day. He was not familiar with the residents in the neighborhood, so he did not recognize the Old Man.

The Old Man jumped off his Bicycle and lined up behind Cheng Han, waiting for the Spirit Mastiffs' inspection.

Tao Zi trotted over and sniffed Cheng Han a few times. Its dog eyes locked onto the schoolbag, and it barked, "Woof!"

Cheng Han clearly felt that the Black Cat, which had occasionally struggled a few times before, had now gone completely rigid. It seemed terribly afraid of the fierce dogs.

He explained with a straight face, "I happened to pick up a stray cat on the way back."

The two fierce dogs seemed to understand. They actually exchanged a glance.

Li Zi nodded its dog head with strikingly humanlike manner. "Woof!"

Tao Zi wagged its tail and walked aside.

This was clearly a sign that he could pass.

The Old Man looked at Cheng Han, then glanced at the Spirit Mastiffs, surprise in his voice. "Don't the Spirit Mastiffs refuse to let any small animals in?"

Cheng Han explained, "If they're harmless little animals, they won't stop them."

The Old Man froze for a moment. "Last time I bought a live chicken, why did the Spirit Mastiffs block me and insist that I twist its neck on the spot before they would let me in?"

He heavily emphasized, "What harm could a chicken possibly do?"

Tao Zi bared its dog mouth in something remarkably like a human smile, as if saying: I just feel like it. What can you do about it? The Old Man wanted to protest, but mindful that the Spirit Mastiffs were far too intelligent and belonged to the Patrol Department, he ultimately did not dare say it aloud.

Cheng Han found it rather amusing. He reached out and patted Tao Zi's head, giving its neck a scratch as well.

Tao Zi closed its eyes in comfort.

Li Zi also came over, gazing at him eagerly. Its dog eyes clearly brimmed with a longing to be petted.

The Old Man was even more astonished. He went in and out of the neighborhood every day, yet he had never seen the Spirit Mastiffs take the initiative to grow close to anyone, much less seen anyone able to touch them.

Cheng Han gave Li Zi a few more pets, then greeted them and pushed his Bicycle into the neighborhood.

Behind him.

Li Zi quickly circled the Old Man, completing its routine inspection, then nodded its dog head once more. "Woof!"

Remembering Cheng Han's earlier action, the Old Man boldly reached toward Li Zi's head.

Li Zi swiftly retreated several steps, opened its mouth to reveal rather sharp canine teeth, and let out a short "wuu wuu" growl.

This was undoubtedly a warning.

The Old Man jumped in fright and hurriedly withdrew his hand.

"Woof!"

Tao Zi gave two displeased barks, glaring at the Old Man as if saying: Touch us again, and you'll regret it.

The Old Man gave an embarrassed smile and slunk into the neighborhood in disgrace.

... After entering his home, Cheng Han first shut the door tightly, then closed every window before opening his schoolbag and releasing the Black Cat.

"Meow~"

The Black Cat shrieked and swiftly burrowed beneath the storage cabinet in the living room.

Cheng Han took out the food he had prepared in advance, filled another bowl halfway with water, placed both beside the cabinet, and then entered the bedroom.

In the living room, a full quarter of an hour passed before the Black Cat cautiously crawled out and began lapping at the clear water in small sips.

"Lap! Lap!"

The sound carried a strong rhythm.

Another half hour later, Cheng Han opened the bedroom door and saw the Black Cat lying motionless, with more than half the food beside it gone.

He smiled smugly. "Little one, you fell right into my trap, didn't you?"

The food had been mixed with powdered Black Cauldron Mushroom. This thing was harmless to humans, but to cats, it was equivalent to a powerful sleeping drug.

This was not knowledge gained through divination, but content from his agronomy class.

Incidentally, because Black Cauldron Mushroom was toxic, it was not permitted to be sold on the market. Ordinary people could not buy it even if they wanted to, but that posed no difficulty for Cheng Han.

All he needed to do was count on his fingers, and he could foresee where Black Cauldron Mushroom could be gathered.

Cheng Han pressed a hand onto the cat's head and silently recited, "Using this Black Cat as a clue, divine the disaster that will occur at the factory."

There was one important prerequisite for using a living creature in divination: the other party had to be in a peaceful state. Otherwise, the chance of failure was extremely high, so medication had to be used.

A cool sensation spread across the crown of his head.

His Spirit Value plummeted in a straight line. In the blink of an eye, 1.2 points had vanished, and it continued falling.

Joy filled Cheng Han's heart.

It worked on the first try! Catching the Black Cat really was a wise decision.

"Ah~"

An instant later, an incomparably shrill wail abruptly rang out beside Cheng Han's ears.

A hazy, illusory scene flashed before his eyes.

Two seconds later, the image disappeared.

A message immediately followed: "Proficiency +6. Current Proficiency: 26/1000. Spirit Value: 6.4/13.2."

Cheng Han's face turned deathly pale.

Partly because he had been frightened.

And partly because he had been sickened.

Ever since crossing into this world, every description Cheng Han had heard of the Alien God had been stamped with words such as "evil," "bloody," and "brutal."

Originally, he had no particularly direct understanding of such things, merely maintaining the detached mentality of a spectator: it had nothing to do with him.

But the horrifying image in the Illusion made him truly realize that those words did not even amount to one percent of the real situation.