The Proper Use of a Cat

"Old man, you were messing with me, weren't you?" Zhou Bai glared at the old man before him and pointed at the Shiba Inu by his feet. "This is Elsa?"

Seeing Zhou Bai point at her, the Shiba Inu happily stood up, tail wagging nonstop, her mouth split in what looked like a smile.

The old man said awkwardly, "She was infected by polluted spiritual qi, and her body began showing symptoms of Demonization. We did everything we could to suppress the extent of her Demonization. It wasn't easy to make her no longer dangerous."

"What?" Zhou Bai shouted. "I gave you a person, and you gave me back a dog? And you're telling me it wasn't easy?"

The old man coughed. "She hasn't turned into a dog forever. If her will is strong enough, she might be able to change back."

Just then, the Shiba Inu suddenly rose up, tugging at her leash as though she wanted to pounce on Zhou Bai. When she saw him looking over in surprise, she bared her teeth and made a hoarse sound.

"Zhou~~ Bai~~"

Zhou Bai stared at the scene in astonishment. "This is..."

"I~~ hungry~~"

Zhou Bai froze for a moment, then crouched down and stroked Elsa's head. In a grave tone, he said, "Don't be afraid, Elsa. I'll take you to eat something in a while." He looked up at the old man. "You come too. Tell me what exactly this Demonization is about."

More than half an hour later, as Zhou Bai led Elsa back, the old man's words still echoed in his mind.

Demonization was a unique phenomenon caused by infection with Polluted Spiritual Machine. The body and consciousness both underwent aberration, turning the victim into a monster that had lost all reason.

Most such monsters could never recover. Roughly one or two out of every ten thousand might regain a measure of sanity, but their personalities and understanding of the world would already be completely twisted. They could no longer be regarded as human.

Of course, if rescue came in time, there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance that a Demonized human could survive in a Semi-Demonized state. But if the rescue failed, they might end up like Elsa before him, completely transformed into an animal.

There had been cases of those in a Semi-Demonized state regaining human form after their cultivation improved.

As for complete animal transformation like Elsa's, while it was theoretically possible to regain human form after one's cultivation improved, in reality, those completely transformed into animals possessed intelligence too low. To this day, there had never been a case of one returning to human form.

After bringing Elsa back to the room, Zhou Bai sat on the floor with a frown. Elsa circled around him a few times before finally lying on his chest and licking his cheek, whimpering softly.

"Zhou Bai, perhaps things aren't as bad as you think." Christina analyzed, "Do you remember? When Dr. Zhuang fought that Heavenly Demon, his body showed signs of Demonization too."

Zhou Bai's gaze sharpened as he realized something. "I clearly saw Elsa get pierced through by the Heavenly Demon. An ordinary child couldn't possibly have survived that."

"That's right. And an ordinary child wouldn't have such an enormous appetite either. Do you remember Dr. Zhuang's research goal? To cultivate without being affected by Spiritual Machine infection. Perhaps he already succeeded."

Zhou Bai looked at Elsa beside him. She did seem smarter than an ordinary dog, but there was no sign of human intelligence at all.

Christina reminded him, "Don't forget that the Heavenly Court Rescue Team saved her. Maybe their rescue interrupted Elsa's Demonization, which is why she didn't successfully control the power of Demonization like Dr. Zhuang did."

"What should I do?" Zhou Bai said. "Let Elsa come into contact with Polluted Spiritual Machine? Increase her degree of Demonization? That won't work either. She got vaccinated too. Ordinary exposure is useless; she'd have to stay outside for ten days or more..."

"Don't do anything reckless," Christina said. "We know far too little about Demonization.

"Besides, Dr. Zhuang's research into cultivation and Demonization may be unique in the world. I think you should keep her for now. Didn't Dr. Zhuang leave behind the coordinates to some data? Maybe his experimental results are hidden there. If we find that data, perhaps we can cure Elsa."

"Exactly. You and I were thinking alike. We can only keep Elsa for now..." Suddenly, Zhou Bai cried out, "Elsa! Get back here!!"

Christina watched Elsa stick her rear up and relieve herself on the bed, secretly laughing as she said in Zhou Bai's mind, "This is the vile nature of dogs. She actually peed on the bed. I'd never do something like that."

Zhou Bai said, "Shut up. You don't need to eat or shit."

Whoosh!

Zhou Bai released Christina in an instant, then grabbed her by the tail and viciously slammed her toward the ground.

"Wait a—"

Smack

Looking at the cat in his hand, dazed and disoriented, Zhou Bai pointed at the Shiba Inu before him. "You. Starting today, you're in charge of raising my dog."

Christina said, "But I'm a cat! This is an insult to me!"

Zhou Bai said, "If you refuse, I'll use you to wipe up the pee."

Thus, Christina ran over to the Shiba Inu with an unhappy expression. One dog and one cat barked and meowed at each other for a long while, though no one knew what they were saying or whether either side could understand the other.

Then Christina's cries grew louder and louder. At last, she leaped up and repeatedly swatted the Shiba Inu's head with her paws. Elsa whimpered and began nodding again and again.

Zhou Bai looked at the bed, which was a complete mess, then lay down on the sofa and said to Christina, "Oh, right. Don't forget to change my bedsheets. Better wash them while you're at it."

A few minutes later, Christina scrubbed the sheets while cursing Zhou Bai in her heart. You damned skinflint! Exploiting even a cat—are you even human? Washing sheets? One day I'll make you wash them until you die!

Laziness Qi Value +10

Lying on the bed and seeing his Laziness Qi Value increase by 10 points, Zhou Bai was instantly delighted.

So that's how it is. He looked at Christina, who was washing the sheets in his place, then at himself lying on the sofa preparing to sleep. A flash of inspiration struck his mind. No wonder the system gave me a cat as well. Is this how she's meant to be used?

Christina's body trembled. Why do I suddenly feel like something is wrong? Is someone plotting against me?

Happily spending the 10 points of Laziness Qi Value, Zhou Bai's Primordial Spirit Value rose to 72.

Early the next morning, Zhou Bai went out to eat at the appointed time, then waited for the vehicle heading to Donghua City.

Christina had already returned to Zhou Bai's mind, while Elsa followed beside him, wearing the foolish grin unique to Shiba Inus.

The Flying Carriage to Donghua City was a gigantic vehicle as tall as a two-story building, pulled by twelve Bronze Horses. Though its design looked old-fashioned, it could hover one meter above the ground and travel far faster than high-speed rail.

With the Anti-Pollution Array on the Flying Carriage, as well as the passengers' own Primordial Spirit adjustment and Rune Immunity, the risk of infection was extremely low so long as they did not leave places like cities or strongholds for more than seven days.

Zhou Bai could not help but sigh. In some aspects of daily life, the Immortal Dao Technology of this world was still far more primitive than that of his old world. Yet in other aspects, it was more advanced—far, far more advanced.

Ah, who wouldn't want an adorable little cat that neither ate nor shat, and could even do housework?