Chapter 111 – Cat Dad’s Intermission
Xiaomao logged out of the game as he needed time to recuperate and increase his sync rate. He also needed to adapt to his upgraded strength.
When Xiaomao opened the capsule, he no longer had the cat tail or cat ears. However, his sense of smell got stronger than usual. Following the scent, Xiaomao looked at the bed.
Mu-Nyang, Mama Cat, Mir, and Nyanko all cuddled and slept together there. The cute sight soothed Xiaomao and made him forget about the troublesome future in-game.
Xiaomao looked at the clock. It was 5 AM on Monday.
“I hate Mondays. I hate school.”
He was tired of going to school. For him, it was a pointless and tedious process of life.
The final exam was over, but all high-school students were forced to attend classes and prepare for the mock SAT exams. This was the fate of an Asian student, who barely had any freedom in life.
Xiaomao took a power nap and woke up at 7. He took a bath and prepared to go to school.
Grabbing his phone, he checked the unread messages. Sure enough, one of them came from his father.
‘I see that you skipped school to play that online game. What should it be this time? A belt? A hanger? Or the classic wok spoon?’
Seeing the message, Xiaomao snickered. He posted a screenshot of his crypto wallet’s balance.
“I’ve scored a million dollars because I skipped school to play the game.”
He pressed the SENT button and laughed when the message was instantly read.
Miao Damao replied within under a minute.
‘Good job. You can skip the entire SAT season. I’ll call the principal and tell them that you have other plans.’
Xiaomao couldn’t stop laughing. His father was very understanding, and he loved him.
However, the next message changed his mind.
‘I want 300k.’
Xiaomao rolled his eyes, but his hands didn’t stop typing on the phone.
“I’ll tell mother.”
‘Don’t. How about 250k?’
“100K! That’s my first million dollars, dad.”
‘200?’
“150.”
‘Deal!’
“Give me your crypto wallet address. I have it in USDT.”
His father sent an emoji of a handshake and his crypto wallet’s address.
Using his phone, Xiaomao transferred 150,000 USDT to his father, leaving him with 850,000 dollars. He could have sent more as he would get several million in a few days, but chose to play it safe.
It was the right decision. A few seconds later, Xiaomao’s mother texted him.
‘300K and you can stay home to play the game until the next semester. 10 million bucks to quit school and be a professional gamer.’
It appeared that his mother found out. Xiaomao cackled and replied.
“You sure? 10 million?”
‘I never retracted my promises. Give me 10 million dollars as my pension, and you can do whatever you want in your life.’
“You said it. No takey backey!”
Xiaomao capped the screenshot of the chat. Then, he showed it in the family group chat to make his father a witness. Messing with his mother, Xiaomao sent an emoji of smirking Anya.
A second later, his father sent an emoji of the shocked face of Golgo 13 in the family group chat. Then, his mother replied with a falling guillotine and a skull image.
Seeing how his parents underestimated his talent, Xiaomao capped the screen of the auction and posted it to his family group. The prospect of his income in a few days was now 20 million USD.
After Xiaomao had posted the screenshot and Anakin’s “You’re underestimating my power” meme, his phone rang. Xiaomao looked at the caller’s number and discovered that his mom was calling him.
He accepted the call.
“Surprised?”
‘Did you hack the game or what?’
“We call that SKILLS, mom.”
‘And why the hell are you using your real name in-game?! You should have come up with an alias or something. Jeez.’
“Err, I was too excited to play the game. Actually, all my desired names were taken. I couldn’t come up with an alias.”
Suddenly, his father’s voice sounded in the call.
‘Xiaomao, I’ll talk to the school’s superintendent and transfer you abroad. Let’s move to the US!’
“What the hell, dad?! That’s too sudden. You should have asked me if I want to leave. I have friends and social here. I also met a good girl. Although I haven’t decided about making her a girlfriend yet, she’s a nice candidate. Having said that, when are we moving? I’ll go to the foreign affairs office to issue a passport and apply for a US Visa right now.”
‘… I never knew that you were this obnoxious,’ Xiaomao’s father was dumbfounded.
“Even without alcohol or weed, everybody can get drunk whenever they have a windfall, dad. Let me enjoy my life!”
Xiaomao laughed. He had never conversed with his parents like this in his previous life, and he had fun toying with them.
In the end, Xiaomao skipped school once again. His parents gave him permission, and they allowed Xiaomao to quit his part-time job. However, as promised, his mother demanded 10 million dollars in exchange for his freedom. Of course, the debt would be settled after the money was transferred.
After taking breakfast and feeding his cats, Xiaomao visited the convenience store of Qin Yun.
.
Qin Yun’s store opened 24 hours a day, copying the 7-11 business scheme. However, Qin Yun usually tended to the store alone during the daytime.
When Xiaomao arrived, Qin Yun frowned at the youth.
“Are you skipping school, brat?! I’ll tell your parents!”
Xiaomao smiled at the elder. He cupped his fist and saluted, “I’m here to quit my job. I won a lottery.”
Qin Yun raised his brows. He smirked, “What a coincidence. I also wanted to tell you that I’ll close my shop in a few days. I guess I don’t need to tell you that you’re fired.”
“Hahaha! Too bad. You could have imitated Trump’s mouth when you say it.”
“Wanna make me try? Okay, then. You-Are-FIRED!”
“Hahahaha!”
Both Qin Yun and Xiaomao laughed and continued chatting for an hour. When Xiaomao was about to leave, Qin Yun gave him five cartons of canned carbonated drinks. Fortunately, Xiaomao was strong enough to carry them home.
.
Upon returning home, Xiaomao checked the social media and the game’s forums. Exploring for a while, he found the screenshots of a certain black frigate. Xiaomao took his time to read it and took notes of the trend.
Several threads were interesting. Some of them directly advertised that they would hunt Xiaomao, and they needed volunteers to join their private WeChat group.
Some dissed Xiaomao for being a hacker or a cheater. Many speculated that Xiaomao was an insider.
He laughed at their speculations and flaming comments. However, the joy didn’t last long. Everything was fun in the first few minutes, but after reading through 100 ill comments, Xiaomao lost interest.
They were all keyboard warriors. He would have wasted time had he interacted with any of them.
Since Xiaomao knew that he had a target on his back, he knew what to do. He shifted his attention to the second world, where all chaos started.
<Breaking News, United States of Wei retreated from the south sea!>
<Breaking News, the Mao Clan’s young master single-handedly defeated monster generals!>
<Breaking News, Shu Han Republic rallied troops. A new invasion is imminent.>
<Qinyun Sect is accepting new disciples!>
As expected, the news was centered on the story quests and events in the second world. Before the regression, this world was always so flashy and stole the limelight.
Xiaomao scrolled down and ignored the event news. He checked the general section, where dramas and controversies occurred.
<40 Players found dead in game capsules!>
<Mother sued Pangu Online Incorporate. “My son’s soul is trapped in the game!”>
“Yup. That’s about right. This shitty game kills players, alright.”
Xiaomao wasn’t even sad for the victims. After all, those dead players would soon become the enemies of mankind when they returned as cultivators.
NPCs from the second world were not the only ones who wanted to destroy mankind. The fellow ex-players, who were trapped in the game and returned home, would want everybody on earth to become their slaves.