CH 71

Thank you to Veren for the ko-fi~

Liu Po felt extremely embarrassed. It was bad enough that his own foolish younger brother tried to lure someone else’s pet, but the problem was that he failed and got scorned.

Choked by Shu Shuishui’s words, Liu Du couldn’t help but recall the fear he felt when he first saw Shu Shuishui, dominated by revengeful mosquitoes. “Why is it scary? Wouldn’t it be even cuter if Shui Shui gains some weight?”

Shu Shuishui shook his head earnestly. “Obesity usually comes with hormonal imbalances and some hair loss. I don’t want to end up all bald like you guys, having to rely on clothes for warmth when going out. Plus, my little tummy is just fine this way.” As he spoke, Shu Shuishui extended his paw and patted his little belly.

Actually, Shu Shuishui hadn’t mentioned a very important point: if a hand-controlled dormouse really gained a pound every year, wouldn’t it become impossible to sleep in Gu Gu’s perfect palm in the future?

Liu Du was speechless.

Liu Po, who inexplicably found Shu Shuishui’s words quite logical: “…” He understood why Liu Du had been brainwashed. Shu Shuishui wasn’t just a talking mouse; he was a logical one.

It was impossible to take Shu Shuishui away. As long as Gu Langu was alive, it couldn’t happen.

However, Liu Du was quite persistent and always felt he could give it another try. But as he looked at the lush green valley and the four grasshoppers nurtured by Shu Shuishui, he suddenly realized that his pride in the B district base seemed impoverished, with nothing impressive to show off.

Life conditions revolved around clothing, food, shelter, and transportation. Seeing that food wasn’t an option for now, as hibernation was inevitable in the winter no matter where they were, Liu Du felt he could focus on clothing and shelter. Looking at the fluffy Shu Shuishui and pondering how he might look in clothes, Liu Du had an overwhelming sense that he was about to be smitten. “Does Shui Shui like new clothes? There are many in the B district, along with lots of beautiful houses. I can personally set up a grand villa just for Shui Shui.”

If Liu Du’s previous attempt at luring had some semblance of disguise, now it was boldly overt. Gu Langu, Nan Ge, and Yu Jin, who had come along, all shot sharp glances at Liu Du. Liu Du, on the other hand, seemed completely unbothered by their scrutiny, adopting a “you can look all you want” attitude.

However, Gu Langu’s trio wasn’t particularly worried because they knew that Shu Shuishui was different from the flashy and cheap mice outside. He wouldn’t care about such matters.

But unexpectedly, Shu Shuishui tilted his little head and started to seriously contemplate.

Liu Du’s eyes lit up, and Yu Jin struggled to contain his impatience. He almost wanted to reach out and shake the little mouse’s neck to snap him out of it. Just as Yu Jin was about to speak out, Shu Shuishui finally lifted his tiny head. However, he didn’t respond to Liu Du; instead, he turned to Gu Langu. “Does Gu Gu want to wear new clothes? Does Gu Gu want to live in a big villa? It’s my lack of ability that prevented me from building a villa for Gu Gu. I could only let Gu Gu live in a tent and make hats and gloves for Gu Gu, but I couldn’t make clothes.”

The more the little dormouse spoke, the sadder he seemed. It was as if he believed he was truly useless. His tiny ears drooped little by little, and eventually, it lay dejectedly against the furry head. Even his whiskers seemed to droop, and every strand of fur on his body emitted an aura of self-blame. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at Gu Langu.

Liu Po was almost floored. So, this little mouse had actually made that tent! He even made gloves and hats. What kind of mouse was this? And why would a mouse possess such a sense of responsibility to provide for its family?

Liu Du’s kidnapping plan once again failed due to Shu Shuishui’s unusually peculiar way of thinking. As he looked at the small mouse, now softened by self-blame, Liu Du felt like he had taken a direct hit to the heart. He almost wanted to pick up the little mouse immediately and give it a good cuddle to console it.

Liu Du’s wish was obviously unattainable, but at least he could watch Gu Langu cuddle the mouse.

Gu Langu lifted the soft and squishy bundle, extending two fingers from Shu Shuishui’s head to his tail. After a couple of strokes, Shu Shuishui transformed into a flattened mouse pancake resting in Gu Langu’s palm, emitting a comfortable and pleasurable scent all over. With each stroke, the mouse’s ears quivered slightly, and the thin mouse pancake seemed like it might melt away. “Shui Shui is great. I don’t like living in a big villa; I prefer living in a tent, especially one made by Shui Shui. I also don’t like wearing clothes; I prefer hats and gloves.”

Everyone’s expression was a mix of confusion. Something about this seemed off.

Gu Langu’s stroking of the mouse continued as he added, “Of course, if it’s clothes made by Shui Shui, I would really like them.”

The mouse pancake, enjoying the sensation as if it were being massaged all over, squinted its eyes. “Then I’ll make clothes for Gu Gu, warm brown ones, Gu Gu’s favorite color.”

The others felt a strange mix of emotions. This crafty and shameless scoundrel wasn’t content with just gloves and hats; he had managed to gain another piece of clothing, and Shu Shuishui will make it personally!

Liu Po’s gaze shifted between Gu Langu and Shu Shuishui several times, feeling that something was indeed strange. Wasn’t there something off about this owner-and-pet dynamic? Could anyone really pamper a pet to such an extent? And who was actually pampering whom? It all seemed a bit twisted.

Looking at his brother, who was practically drooling, Liu Po felt a bit helpless. Wasn’t the situation obvious? They couldn’t possibly take away this mutated mouse.

“Alright, bringing you here wasn’t meant for you to cause trouble,” Liu Po interjected, putting an end to the escalating situation.

Liu Du, who had been desperately trying to speak again, had to swallow his unsaid words in silence.

Regarding Shu Shuishui, the mouse they had heard so much about but hadn’t seen until now, Liu Po couldn’t help but feel that his first impression wasn’t bad. It turned out that the enemy wasn’t too crafty or persuasive; it was actually their own brother who lacked intelligence, dropping several IQ levels in the presence of a mouse.

Not wanting to linger on the topic of kidnapping the little mouse, the atmosphere became much more harmonious. Liu Po didn’t immediately probe about the temperature in the valley either; instead, he focused on the issue of the simulator, allowing the conversation to progress.

However, it was evident that Shu Shuishui’s presence was required to discuss the exchange of simulators, as he was the one who had discovered them.

This time, Shu Shuishui didn’t take the liberty of selling the simulator for the “high price” of two grasshoppers. Instead, he obediently sat on Gu Langu’s shoulder, and whenever a topic of interest came up, his ears would involuntarily twitch.

Observant Liu Po immediately noticed this behavior and realized that Shu Shuishui was quite intrigued by the world of simulators. Whenever the conversation delved into specific details about the simulation space, Shu Shuishui’s little ears would twitch. “Has Shui Shui ever been inside the simulation space?”

Liu Po asked this question tentatively, only to see the little mouse on Gu Langu’s shoulder nodding enthusiastically, showing an impatient expression.

How could Shu Shuishui not be excited? Two months had passed into winter, yet he hadn’t hibernated. Such a situation had never occurred on Earth before. A dormouse that couldn’t hibernate had no soul. Shu Shuishui had long yearned to experience hibernation alongside Gu Langu within the simulator.

For Shu Shuishui, every aspect of life was worth taking seriously, especially the prospect of experiencing the first shared hibernation with a humanoid pet, a type of hibernation he had never tried before.

Since Shu Shuishui was so close, Gu Langu could practically feel the soft, furry brushing of the mouse’s nodding against his cheek. Taking a brief pause in his breath, Gu Langu thought about his empty landing space, which always lacked content. He felt a pang of regret. He had never realized how much the little mouse anticipated this, as it had never expressed it to him before.

Cheng Que, who had remained silent until now, quietly took everything in, including the fleeting sadness that passed across Gu Langu’s face. He felt a slight surprise that he could detect negative emotions from Gu Langu. After a moment’s contemplation, Cheng Que made an educated guess. It was likely that, within the simulator’s landing space, Gu Langu’s world was devoid of anything. Even the invincible god of war could find himself helpless at times.

Sensing a change in Gu Langu’s demeanor, Cheng Que decided to hold off for the time being. After all, it was quite likely that Gu Langu was the key to his stable survival on Cang Zhan Star. Even in the face of resource scarcity, Cheng Que was well aware that, on Cang Zhan Star, no one could surpass Gu Langu in intelligence or combat prowess.

Under the assault of the Seventh Dimension civilization, the reason the Cang Zhan Star had risen unexpectedly, shining brightly in the midst of the apocalypse, was likely due to Gu Langu.

Of course, these were just Cheng Que’s speculations. After all, Gu Langu was only a semi-mechanical being, and in the Xian Ge Galaxy, there were numerous intelligent mechanical beings, all fully awakened with their own consciousness and wisdom.

Cheng Que didn’t know what had happened in the Xian Ge Galaxy when the Seventh Dimension civilization arrived, but one thing was certain: the Xian Ge Galaxy hadn’t been spared; it too had been destroyed. In that apocalyptic chaos of time and space, distances that were normally invisible to the naked eye were starkly visible. That was why so many people could see the complete Cang Zhan Star. The spatial aspect there seemed both incredibly distant and just within reach. Countless people floated hopelessly within the chaotic time and space. Due to the distortion of dimensions, they struggled alone, unable to convey anything outward. Some remained intact, some turned into two-dimensional paper, and some dissolved into nothingness. However, without exception, they all waited for death in silence.

Some people died in the instant the Seventh Dimension civilization arrived, as their time became extremely brief. Others could “live” until the end of time, as their time had become infinitely extended.

Recalling that hellish world, Cheng Que still shuddered with lingering fear. It was his first direct encounter with a high-dimensional civilization, his first deep understanding of the laws of the universe. There was no reason and no need for explanations; everything stemmed from vulnerability. “Does Shui Shui know about spatial compression?”

Cheng Que’s question successfully captured Shu Shuishui’s attention. Shu Shuishui remembered that this person had exchanged greetings with Gu Langu before. “Are you Gu Gu’s friend? Hello.”

Although he had heard it a few times already, Cheng Que was clearly taken aback by the name “Gu Gu”. He glanced at Gu Langu from the corner of his eye and, unsurprisingly, detected no expression. “Hello, I’m Cheng Que. Shui Shui can understand that I’m someone who knows General Gu well.”

Shu Shuishui’s little ears twitched, and he stared intently at Cheng Que for a moment. Then he tilted his head and leaned close to Gu Langu’s ear. “Gu Gu, he said he knows you well. He knows you’re afraid of cats, like warm brown color, and enjoy eating grasshoppers?”

Gu Langu’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. He then turned his head slightly. He was about to speak, but he noticed that the little mouse had already obediently tilted his head and brought his own tiny ears closer, eagerly awaiting Gu Langu’s whispered words. “Only Shui Shui knows these things.” Gu Langu calmly and softly said to Shu Shuishui’s little ear.

The perceptive onlookers were left speechless.

Cheng Que was taken aback. If it weren’t for this blatantly secretive conversation, he wouldn’t have known that Gu Langu actually liked eating grasshoppers?!

Shu Shuishui blinked at Gu Langu and patted his own small chest. “Gu Gu, rest assured, I’ll keep it a secret. I’ll become the mouse that knows you the best!”

Gu Langu responded with a simple “Hmm.”

Everyone else felt a sense of being overwhelmed by the unexpected revelations.