ITOTIABSAM | Interstellar Orcs | 115
The pain seeped through the cracks in his bones, threatening to tear him apart, intermittent and endless.
In a daze, Xie Ye thought he would break free from the shackles and transform back into a human.
But he didn't.
The curtains in the bedroom were forgotten to be drawn, and when Xie Ye opened his eyes again, the sky was just beginning to turn pale. He felt warm all over as he looked around, only to realize that he was being enclosed by a radiant furry mass.
It seemed to be a tail.
Turning his head, he saw swathes of golden fur. He was lying in the arms of someone, closest to their chest, his ears perked up and he was able to hear the steady thump-thump of a heartbeat.
...Gu Cong?
The large dog beside him was breathing steadily, emitting a gentle and harmless aura. However, Xie Ye couldn't shake the feeling that, given Gu Cong's personality and style, he should be a more dangerous animal.
But Gu Cong was indeed loyal.
Without doubting too much, Xie Ye pushed aside the throbbing pain and swelling, his limbs regaining sensation. He tried to get up, but the next moment, he was pushed back by the front paws that were taller than him when standing straight.
Seemingly light and gentle, the action sent Xie Ye, the entire cat, uncontrollably tumbling back into Gu Cong's embrace. As his eyelids lifted, revealing his amber eyes, Gu Cong met his round emerald gaze. "Awake?"
Xie Ye: ...
A golden retriever speaking human language, it was strange no matter how you looked at it.
“Do you not recognize me?” Gu Cong scooped the cat deeper into his embrace with a firm paw. "Smell me it's exactly the same."
The shower gel in the bathroom was lemon-scented. Xie Ye buried his entire face in the soft and dense fur, struggling for a moment before finally revealing his head again.
"Sorry, it's been a while since I transformed, so I might not have controlled my strength well." Except for the long and fluffy tail, Xie Ye's body was actually very petite, at least in Gu Cong's eyes.
Although he couldn't be sure if the other party could really understand him, Gu Cong still explained earnestly, "You were sick last night. Are you still feeling uncomfortable now?"
He didn't mention anything about illegal drugs or hospitals because, in Gu Cong's view, these were overly complicated topics for a little cat. Even if the other party was indeed an experimental subject escaping from some underground research facility, it would be difficult for them to articulate valuable clues such as addresses, personnel, and targets.
Moreover, the most important thing was the cat itself.
As described in the original work, the new drug injected by Xie Tianhua into the little avatar contained unstable components that could be metabolized and eliminated by the body on its own.
It just took some time.
After carefully assessing his current condition, Xie Ye shook his head.
"That's good," Gu Cong said, seeing that the silver-white cat behaved no differently from usual.
He glanced at the sky. "It's still early. Do you want to sleep a little longer?"
Xie Ye shook his head again.
The poor quality of sleep made Xie Ye prefer to stay awake for the time being, waiting for the symptoms of the little avatar to flare up before deciding on his next move.
Feeling dry-mouthed and parched, Xie Ye pushed away the front paws resting on him and intended to go to the kitchen to find some water to drink. However, as soon as he stood up, his limbs, which were bearing most of his weight, felt weak and sore, causing him to stagger and fall.
Then, he fell onto a warm "cushion".
Quick to move forward and catch the unsteady cat, Gu Cong once again blocked Xie Ye's path with his front paws to prevent him from rolling off the bed.
Slowing down his speech like when they were choosing a name, he asked, "Do you want water? Food? Or do you need to use the bathroom?"
A fluffy tail patted his back.
Although he could turn back into a human, Gu Cong sensed that the animal form seemed to relax the cat more.
Was it because they were half of the same species?
Noticing the small ponytail tied at the back of the silver-white cat's head, Gu Cong couldn't help but smile and used his claw to remove the small leather strap.
Now, the cat, which had smooth fur, instantly turned into a "puffy head" with the tail standing up everywhere. Knowing that the other party liked cleanliness, Gu Cong instinctively licked it for him.
The unusual sensation made Xie Ye completely stiff.
Even though he had the memories of his alter self, he was not a native of this world and had no corresponding acceptance for the common intimacy between animal forms.
Moreover, in the cat's cognition, in most cases, the one who licked the fur had a higher status.
The large cotton candy-like tail suddenly flared up, and Xie Ye turned around intending to give Gu Cong two claws, but unexpectedly, Gu Cong stood up abruptly. His height allowed him to easily conceal Xie Ye under his four limbs, abdomen, and the bed surface, with even some space to spare.
Even more than enough.
Though he tried to reach up with his claws as much as possible, Xie Ye could only touch the fur around Gu Cong's neck. After calmly thinking for two seconds, he decided not to "add insult to injury".
‘Licking it is then,’ he thought, since Gu Cong didn't seem to mind.
"Are you thirsty?" Despite his large size, Gu Cong's movements were light and nearly silent as he jumped down from the bed and approached Xie Ye. "Come, I'll take you there."
Originally, he had thought about picking up the cat directly with his mouth, but considering Xie Ye's reaction after being licked, Gu Cong chose a gentler approach.
Adult golden retrievers are already tall, not to mention one disguised as a wolf. Fortunately, the bed covered in light gray sheets compensated for this difference to some extent. Gu Cong slightly bent his legs, allowing Xie Ye, who had little strength, to still lift his paws and climb onto Gu Cong's back.
As Gu Cong stood upright, Xie Ye's field of vision suddenly widened.
For a cat, the back of a golden retriever was already wide enough. Gu Cong walked steadily, with only slight undulations like waves on the shore. Xie Ye was initially a little nervous, but gradually found it enjoyable. Resting his chin on Gu Cong's head, he immersed himself in the experience, savoring the feeling of being carried by long legs.
Seeing that the silver-white cat's mood had visibly improved, Gu Cong first gave him some water, then carried him around the apartment for a while until the alarm on the bedside computer sounded. Only then did Gu Cong, who had been playing with the cat on the sofa and watching the news, transform back into a human.
This was the first time Xie Ye had witnessed the transformation process between human and beast forms.
However, it had almost no practical reference value. The energy in the air fluctuated slightly, and in an instant, Gu Cong's limbs elongated, his features appeared, and he was still wearing the dark cotton pajamas, with the top two buttons undone, revealing his clearly defined collarbones.
"Another day of work," Gu Cong straightened up with only a slight effort from his waist, running his hand through his slightly messy hair. "I'll make breakfast first, and we'll play when I come back in the evening."
Xie Ye, who had finally stabilized his posture, remained silent.
It was his fault for mistaking the lying big dog for a cat's nest just now. Now that the other person had turned into a human, he ended up directly lying on Gu Cong's chest. As Gu Cong sat up, Xie Ye, who didn't have the heart to use his claws to tear Gu Cong's pajamas, slid down the fabric along the man's abdominal muscles and ended up in an awkward place.
He wanted to jump away, but jumping away would inevitably mean stepping on...
Expressionless, the silver-white cat tilted his head upward.
Gu Cong immediately moved him to a place next to him where he wouldn't be squeezed by himself. He didn't think too much about it, after all, in Gu Cong's eyes at the moment, Xie Ye was just a cat.
At 8:30 in the morning on Capital Star, Gu Cong, as usual, took the floating bus to work.
Although with his salary, he could afford to buy a decent car, he preferred to save time by avoiding the daily congestion of rush hour for the sake of so-called prestige and sleep a few extra minutes.
Having gotten up in the middle of the night to take care of the sick and then playing with him in the morning, Gu Cong showed no signs of fatigue on his face. His energy levels were unexpectedly high.
As a member of the new project team, Gu Cong had also heard about the company's collaboration with the government:
The breakthrough in holographic technology.
Currently, popular holographic games on the market could achieve 99% simulation of real-world perception synchronization, but they were quite limited. For example, in mech combat, they could only fight in a few specific maps and relatively simple environments. Similarly, in single-player games with praised storylines and immersive experiences, the cost of constructing a beautifully detailed small world meant they couldn't be connected to the internet, leaving players to roam alone except for NPCs.
The new technology provided by Ark Technology to the government, however, could instantly simulate various changes in the data world with extremely low computing power consumption.
With the computing power of the Federal Government's supercomputer, it could completely construct a second world.
A real second world.
This, along with salary, was one of the reasons why Gu Cong chose to switch to Ark Technology. With new changes on the horizon, he was interested and wanted to be at the forefront.
Employees assigned to the new project team had signed version after version of confidentiality agreements. While there were many geniuses in the world, it was the researchers at Ark Technology who seemed to have the luck of breaking through challenges first, making it seem like the goddess of luck was favoring them.
If 1101 could hear these words, it would definitely shake its head frantically: Luck? What luck? It's all just making wedding clothes for the protagonist.
According to the logical sequence of the plot, the results obtained through legitimate means can't be considered "cheating".
Fortunately, the real Xie Ye would never fall in love with the protagonist.
The flamboyant signature on the work document released in the afternoon further confirmed Gu Cong's speculation from last night: The boss didn't run away, he can stay in the new company, and there's a promising future.
—— In fact, this was painstakingly practiced by Xie Ye with cat claws on the virtual panel for a long time before perfectly replicating the handwriting.
Being too focused on one thing, time always flies by quickly. While Gu Cong usually didn't like working overtime and had no strong desire to go home, ever since he had the cat, he, who didn't install surveillance cameras in the apartment, always wanted to rush home to be with the cat as soon as possible.
Taking a detour to the pet hospital to buy a box of specialized cat nutrient solution, he opened the door and called out: "Snowball."
As usual, there was no response.
Out of habit, he set down what he was holding, changed his shoes, and was about to go to the specific quiet corners of the house to find the cat. Suddenly, his steps paused, and he keenly noticed a person on the living room carpet.
A sleeping person.
White shirt, white trousers, white hair, and a greatly enlarged, furry tail poking out from behind the belt, complementing the slightly drooping cat ears on top of the head.
Most importantly, this person looked exactly like Xie Ye in the photos, his boss.
Even the short little ponytail at the back of the neck was identical.
What's going on? Xie Ye? Boss? Cat?
Rarely, Gu Cong's brain experienced a momentary crash.
However, soon, the young man who noticed the movement opened his eyes, dispelling Gu Cong's forming conjecture:
They were a pair of purely emerald eyes.
Clear and innocent.
Yawning lazily, the young man rolled over like a cat, lying on his back on the carpet, looking up at him with an air of innocence:
"I'm hungry."
Author's Note:
It's the sleeping beauty state of Xie Ye in cat form.
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