Combat Power Not Even Enough for a Cat

The commotion didn't last long, it was almost instantaneous before Jiu Ming's vision blurred... he had changed scenes!

What was even more different was that memories that should have been vague were unexpectedly clear. Organizing his thoughts, the difference was... he had agreed to play in Suzumiya Haruhi's world!

It was a bit strange, that vague memory didn't seem to contain this detail. If it were important, this memory should have become clear long ago.

Ah, whatever, there's a change this time, so let's find the source of the event... cut!

But where was this place?

"Hey, hey, who are you? Don't you know trespassing is illegal... Huh!? Whoa, what are you doing!?" A small girl, like a doll, was grabbed by the collar and lifted by Jiu Ming. Her small arms and legs struggled, "Help!!"

"Huh? Soft, not a robot?" Jiu Ming reached out and pinched the little beauty's cheek.

"You're the robot! How can a robot compare to me!" The little beauty struggled, her small hands slapping Jiu Ming's hand with a pat pat pat sound. But no matter how she struggled, she couldn't escape the fact that she couldn't break free. "Damn it, if only my abilities weren't restricted..."

"Okay, where is this place?" Jiu Ming looked around. How to put it, it seemed well-maintained!

"Huh?" Hearing Jiu Ming's question, the little beauty immediately jumped out of his loosened grip and stood on the ground, adjusting her slightly messy clothes from struggling. "Ahem... I am the head of this household!"

"...Can you beat a cat?" Jiu Ming glanced at the little beauty hopping on the ground with drooping eyelids. Honestly, a cat could probably carry her away, right?

"No... You all bully me!! You too, Yuki too!!!"

"Huh? Yuki? This is her home." Jiu Ming nodded, slapped his palm, and praised, "It looks pretty good."

"Heh heh, of course, who do you think maintains it? Otherwise, with Yuki... sigh, I'm practically her mother." Shaking her head and sighing, like a little adult, the little beauty looked helpless with her own child, which made Jiu Ming feel strange.

"My name is Jiu Ming, and yours?" Jiu Ming scratched his head and squatted down, placing the little beauty on the low table. Finally, he didn't have to look down all the time.

"Call me Asakura Ryoko." The little beauty waved her hand carelessly, scrutinizing Jiu Ming. "Your condition doesn't seem good. You're smoking."

"Never seen a soul scattered?" he said half-jokingly. Jiu Ming didn't care about his condition. As long as he didn't go through that self-defeating process again, his body's dissipation speed wouldn't keep up with his recovery speed. With one plus one minus, this state would disappear after a while when he recovered.

"I have now!" After looking at Jiu Ming for a few moments and seeing nothing, Asakura Ryoko pouted. She had seen many abnormal existences, and her identity was not ordinary. Even if she understood that Jiu Ming was not human, she wouldn't be surprised. "You... are you close to Yuki?"

She stared intently at Jiu Ming. Long ago, she had vaguely learned that Nagato Yuki seemed to have a connection with another 'world'. Unfortunately, she was 'imprisoned' here and knew very little. Now that Jiu Ming had suddenly appeared here, she couldn't help but be suspicious.

"It's alright..." Jiu Ming tapped his head. Because the accumulating memories only contained non-repeating elements, he had lost a lot of his sense of time. The only clear thing was Nagato Yuki's increasingly cautious aura.

A memory?

But his little notebook recorded at least over three thousand five hundred times...

Thinking about it now, it was truly insane. If memories increased repetitively, he was afraid he would have gone mad from that massive brainwashing cycle.

"What has Yuki been through recently? She seems very lonely?"

"Sigh? Come to think of it, that's true." Asakura Ryoko sat with her arms crossed on the low table, which was taller than her. "But I don't know. I've lost most of my abilities, otherwise, I wouldn't be in a situation where even a mere cat can threaten me... Damn it!"

Speaking of cats, Asakura Ryoko's expression turned ferocious, her anger so extreme it suggested she'd once narrowly escaped a feline attack.

"If you're close to her, you can ask. Even she, if this continues, might run into trouble." Tapping her chin, Asakura Ryoko seemed to recall something. "Oh right, my precognition has been happening more frequently lately. Like the scene of her leaving just now, I feel like I've seen it many times..."

"Is that so..." Jiu Ming pondered, fiddling with his fingers. He no longer bothered to comment on this cheap world. What he needed to figure out now was the source of these strange occurrences. "I haven't asked yet, what's your relationship with her?"

"Colleagues! But right now, I'm practically her mother. I'm responsible for her entire daily life. And you don't know how much of a handful she is at home!"

Having a colleague who badmouthed her like this, Jiu Ming felt sorry for Nagato Yuki... Wait? Nagato Yuki doesn't seem like someone who's a handful.

"Aren't you afraid I'll report you?"

One sentence turned Asakura Ryoko's face green. "I'll kill you!!"

...Is an angry mole threatening?

Watching Asakura Ryoko fall squarely from the low table, Jiu Ming scratched his head. This was truly tragic.

"Alright, alright. Do you know where Yuki went?" Jiu Ming placed Asakura Ryoko, whose forehead was red from the fall, back onto the low table, staring into her angry eyes and asking.

"I don't know!" She seemed determined not to cooperate.

Jiu Ming thought for a moment, and amidst Asakura Ryoko's terrified confusion, he revealed a strange, sinister smile. "Yuki didn't tell you, did she... I'm a perverted doll enthusiast, especially when it comes to beings your size..."

"Are you threatening me?" Asakura Ryoko was sharp and didn't flinch, cutting Jiu Ming off.

"...I'm going to catch cats."

"Waaah!!" Stimulated, Asakura Ryoko bared her teeth and lunged at Jiu Ming, grabbing his hem and nimbly climbing onto his shoulder. She bared her white teeth and bit down hard on his neck!!

"Such a feeble counterattack." Jiu Ming clicked his tongue lightly and gently gripped her collar. "In short, don't doubt my capabilities when I go insane."

"Besides, I'm feeling quite agitated from being 'tortured' over and over again." Jiu Ming was smiling, a smile that made Asakura Ryoko freeze.

"Uh... Take me with you!"

"Okay!" Without a second thought, Jiu Ming nodded immediately. "But can you find her?"

"Of course. Although I've lost most of my abilities, finding someone is a task with no technical difficulty, it's simple!" Dragging a backpack and throwing it at Jiu Ming's feet, Asakura Ryoko looked relaxed, exuding an aura of effortless victory that stunned Jiu Ming.

"That's all then, let's go." Jiu Ming checked the time. It was only one o'clock...

Apart from Nagato Yuki's words, he didn't know this Three-No Girl lived in a high-class apartment. It was noon, and the weather was hot, but when they walked out, Jiu Ming didn't see many people. They were probably all holed up at home with the air conditioning on.

Asakura Ryoko quietly curled up inside the backpack. After Jiu Ming left the area, the sound of a zipper being gently pulled open echoed in his ears. Then, a small shadow quickly darted out of the backpack. With a high leap and a leap of faith for her size, accompanied by a shout of 'I'm free!', she landed.

She successfully landed on a sturdy stray cat that seemed unafraid of people...

Silence...

Her face, flushed with excitement and the apparent intention to flee, rapidly turned ashen. The cat, startled by her sudden 'attack', froze for a moment before letting out an indignant, low growl.

"Help me!!!!!" Looking at Jiu Ming, who remained indifferent, Asakura Ryoko burst into tears and ran for her life just as the stray cat pounced.

"Sigh, if you don't court death, you won't die. Fine, consider it a lesson." With his arms crossed and a slight smile on his face, Jiu Ming watched the little beauty and the stray cat circling him. "You're not being honest, trying to run away."

"Save me quickly! It's over! It's going to catch me!!" Tripping over a small stone, Asakura Ryoko's small body was immediately cast in shadow. Perhaps in the stray cat's eyes, she was just a slightly larger mouse...

If nothing unexpected happened, the next scene would be the brutal slaughter of the girl.

"Mew! Meow...?"

The stray cat, suspended in mid-air, let out a confused yowl. Why hadn't it landed?

"I'm saved." Asakura Ryoko let out a long sigh, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead. "You scared me to death. How could you watch so coldly? I'm a beauty, you know!"

"You're too small, I'm not interested." Jiu Ming gently pinched the stray cat's ear. Not sensing any malice from Jiu Ming, the stray cat struggled slightly before rubbing contentedly against the hand scratching its ears.

"..." Asakura Ryoko understood. Jiu Ming hadn't dared to get rid of the stray cat; instead, he kept it. The implication was clear, as if he were saying, 'Try running away again if you dare!'

"You two are in cahoots!" At the same time, she felt a sense of injustice. The cat had been fierce towards her just now, but why was it so docile in Jiu Ming's hands?

"Can we compare? In its eyes, you're just a slightly larger mouse." Jiu Ming gently stroked the stray cat's head and put it down. "I don't have any snacks this time, go play by yourself."

After landing, the stray cat licked its lips at Asakura Ryoko, glanced at Jiu Ming, and then leaped over the wall, disappearing.

"There won't be a next time, right?"

"What if there is?" Asakura Ryoko asked somewhat shyly.

"I'll treat you like a real doll and play with you!"