Nothing happened overnight. No one held a sacrificial ritual today, and no new offerings appeared in Ke Meng's home.
After getting up, Ke Meng saw an enormous ball of fur, a size bigger than it had been the day before yesterday.
"Big Fur?" Ke Meng called.
"Woof!"
Big Fur Dog answered.
Could it still be called Big Fur Dog? Ke Meng thought Big Fur Ball suited it better now.
Big Fur Ball was perfectly round all over. Its thick coat was at least several dozen centimeters long, burying its eyes and hiding its mouth.
Its four legs went without saying. They had been short to begin with, and now that its fur had grown longer, even its legs were hidden, with its coat resting directly on the floor.
As for a tail, forget about seeing that. It was buried beneath the fur too.
Ke Meng strongly suspected this was no canine, but some mutated species. The facts proved it was indeed no normal dog, but a genuine Otherworld Game Creature.
"How about reviewing Big Fur in the next video?" Ke Meng got out of bed and patted Big Fur Ball's head, his hand landing on a soft, silky mass of fur.
"Woof?" The furball made a puzzled sound.
Ke Meng went to feed Big-Faced Cat first, placing a dried fish into its mouth with chopsticks. The fish vanished.
Big Fur Ball whined hungrily, rolling back and forth behind Ke Meng.
"How do you eat with all that fur?" Looking doubtful, Ke Meng tossed a dried fish onto the floor.
The furball rolled before Ke Meng's eyes, pressing the dried fish into its coat. Once the dog had rolled past, the fish was gone.
Ke Meng's eyes widened in disbelief.
How did a furry creature eat a seven-centimeter-long dried fish when even its mouth was covered in fur?
By all rights, it should have been practically impossible.
With a mass of fur blocking its mouth, it would get dog hair in its mouth whenever it ate.
Ke Meng was stunned.
"How did you eat that, you little rascal? Show me again." As he spoke, Ke Meng tossed another dried fish.
Big Fur Ball rolled over it like a wheel, but the dried fish wasn't flattened. It vanished instead.
Ke Meng refused to believe it. This time, he held a dried fish aloft with his chopsticks rather than putting it on the floor.
Big Fur Ball rolled over and stopped beside Ke Meng.
Since the person before it was its master, it naturally couldn't roll straight over his face to eat the dried fish. And so, Ke Meng saw how Big Fur Ball really ate.
Its golden fur seemed to come alive. A few golden hairs wound around the dried fish, dragged it into its coat, and delivered it to the mouth buried deep within.
Ke Meng understood. So that was it-Big Fur Ball could control its fur freely.
As an elite monster, it possessed the skill Dog Fur Needles, though using it too much would leave it bald.
Its Gigantification skill had also unlocked, so Ke Meng decided to test its skills.
"We're testing your skills today. Behave, and you'll get dried fish." Ke Meng patted Big Fur Ball.
Big Fur Ball rolled from side to side, looking delighted.
Looking at the perfectly round furball, Ke Meng fetched a ruler to measure its height.
It was 1.2 meters tall. He wondered whether it would grow any taller.
Having decided to test its skills, Ke Meng began considering where to do it.
The furball's skills included Gigantification, Bite-to-Heal, and Pear Blossom Needle Storm.
Both Gigantification and Pear Blossom Needle Storm needed plenty of space to test. Ke Meng thought of the hills outside town. They were deserted and spacious-the ideal testing grounds.
Ke Meng ordered breakfast first. Chen Momo brought it upstairs and asked curiously, "Meng, why haven't you posted your new video yet?"
He had told her last time that he was recording a new video, and Chen Momo had been looking forward to its release ever since. Seeing no new video yesterday, she had made a point of asking while delivering breakfast.
"That video is too difficult to produce. It won't be ready that quickly."
Ke Meng continued spinning his psychology yarn. "Things involving psychological suggestion like this take a lot of fine-tuning to produce a similar misdirection effect."
Chen Momo nodded, only half understanding, then glanced behind Ke Meng. "Where's your puppy? I want to pet it."
"Oh, I gave it away. It was too rambunctious to keep at home."
He couldn't exactly show her the dog. It had grown to 1.2 meters tall and looked like an enormous, round plush toy.
Thinking of plush toys, Ke Meng considered it further. Perhaps letting her see it wasn't out of the question. He could simply pass it off as a newly purchased plush toy-as long as the dog stayed still. Any movement would give it away.
Not getting the answer she wanted, Chen Momo pouted and trudged downstairs.
Ke Meng returned to the bedroom and ate breakfast while warning Big Fur Ball, "From now on, I'll call you Furball. When strangers are around, don't move in front of them unless your life is in danger. Oh, right, what do you think of the name I gave you?"
Big Fur Ball whined, apparently dissatisfied.
"Does it sound bad? I think it's all right."
Ke Meng glanced at the golden-furred fluffball, trying to find a better name.
Golden Glitter?
Hmm, its fur is golden, but Golden Glitter would make people think of that anime character. No, no, I need something else.
Ke Meng couldn't think of a good name. He might as well post an update and see what people online thought.
He took a photo of the dog's latest appearance with his camera, then posted it to his Bilibili account with the caption:
"I received a gift from a friend in Crocodile Continent-a super-sized plush toy. I'd like to give it a name. Any suggestions?"
The update had only just gone live, and none of the online jokesters had shown up yet, so Ke Meng turned off his phone's screen for now.
"Come on, time for a review." Ke Meng patted Big Fur Ball's round head.
It felt incredibly soft, without the warmth of an animal's body heat. The dog was already a proper elite monster, different from a normal canine in every respect.
Round and roly-poly, Big Fur Ball rolled straight over.
At the bedroom door, its body got slightly stuck.
The master bedroom doorway was about ninety centimeters wide. With its 1.2-meter diameter, it had already exceeded the doorway's width.
Fortunately, the dog's fur wasn't made of steel needles. With a little effort and a squeeze, it popped out of the bedroom.
"Woof, woof." The dog barked happily.
Big Fur Ball rolled along behind Ke Meng, completely abandoning the traditional canine method of walking on four legs. It looked like a furry bowling ball.
When they reached the front door in the entryway, the furball got stuck in the doorframe just as before.
The front doorway was wider than the bedroom doorway. It shifted its body slightly and popped through the frame in an instant, without any effort.
Ke Meng took the furball downstairs. Once they reached the ground floor, he picked up Big Fur Ball and held it like a plush toy so no one would see it rolling on its own.
The stairs led to a side door rather than directly into the convenience store, so the people in the store couldn't see Ke Meng carrying a huge furball downstairs.
A car was parked by the roadside. After opening its door, Ke Meng looked at the narrow opening, then at Big Fur Ball in his arms.
"I'm going to have to stuff you in," Ke Meng said.
With that, he pushed Big Fur Ball into the car.
The furball wriggled a little, then slipped through the door on its own with a whoosh. To an onlooker, though, it would have looked as if Ke Meng had forced it into the back seat.
Afterward, Ke Meng went upstairs and brought his drone, camera equipment, and other things down to the car.
I'm planning to call it Big Fur or Furball. What do you all think? Or do you have a better name that sounds good and suits its appearance?
Before you continue