White’s Aesthetics

The sudden surge in anomalous objects, whose origins remained a mystery, brought with it a cascade of difficult handling issues.

Beyond the problem of insufficient personnel, the limitations of the Cat-girls’ abilities also posed a significant challenge.

With only just over twenty Cat-girls, their numbers were simply too few.

Moreover, due to mental energy constraints, each could only use their Appraisal skill a maximum of twice a day.

The first problem fell outside Dr. Cat’s purview, yet she could still offer some assistance with the second.

A straightforward solution presented itself: expanding the team’s size.

However, it was generally better to avoid expanding such a specialized squad unless absolutely necessary.

Furthermore, Dr. Cat herself was a ‘special Cat-girl,’ and since there had been no direct order from above to expand, her position made it inappropriate for her to initiate such a suggestion.

Thus, only the second solution remained: addressing the mental energy limitations of the Cat-girls.

Dr. Cat already had some ideas for this problem.

She had noticed early on, shortly after transforming into a Cat-girl, that her own mental energy was exceptionally high—nearly nine times that of the other members.

Her high mental energy had been apparent even before her transformation; becoming a Cat-girl merely allowed her to quantify it through Bai’s System.

In fact, Dr. Cat’s previous research had leaned towards the mental domain.

Had it not been for Bai’s arrival increasing her workload in other areas, her next research project would have focused on quantifying mental energy strength.

But to return to the main point: why was her mental energy so remarkably high?

The answer was evident—it stemmed from the anomalous object, the Scripture of the Spirit Vine.

If a method could be found to share the Scripture of the Spirit Vine with all the Cat-girls, the problem of insufficient mental energy would be perfectly resolved.

This sounded like a wild fantasy, yet wasn’t the skill derived from Bai’s Soul Lantern Contract precisely about sharing Bai’s abilities?

Dr. Cat decided to start there.

The first step, however, was to locate Bai.[Ten Thousand Whys: Does any cat know where Boss Bai is, meow?][Yun Juan: Oh, it seems like our lively one is here today.]

[Ten Thousand Whys: You guessed right!][Ten Thousand Whys: Your reward is telling me Bai’s location.][Yun Juan: Even if you say that, this cat wouldn’t know, meow.]

[Melancholy Cat: What do you need Bai for?][Melancholy Cat: She should be at home, not out.]

[Yun Juan: Who are you?][Ten Thousand Whys: Who are you?]

[Melancholy Cat: ……………][Melancholy Cat: I’m Wei… By the way, why don’t you just ask Xuan Bai?][Ten Thousand Whys: Uh… Bai blocked me.]

[Yun Juan: What did you do now?!][Yun Juan: Boss Bai actually blocked a cat?]

[Ten Thousand Whys: It was nothing, really…][Ten Thousand Whys: I just ran into Old Man Zhao sunbathing after work and chatted with him for a bit… probably… cough cough, never mind, I’m off to find Bai.]

Dr. Cat closed the panel, complaining inwardly to her dominant personality.

“Look at you, always pestering people with questions.”

“Now they see you like students see their teacher and block you.”

“…Those were essential things to know.”

“But you can’t ask so urgently!”

“You need to take it step by step, step by step.”

“Don’t you understand?”

“……………”

“Alright, alright, I won’t talk about you anymore.”

“Hey, what’s with Old Wei’s new name?”

“Is she reliving her youthful, literary days again?”

“Only Bai has permission to change names.”

“Ah, this… Oh no, now I’m the one curious about what happened.”

Engaging in what was almost a one-sided internal dialogue, Dr. Cat’s steps remained unceasing as she headed towards the special containment room, which now served as Bai’s home.

It was quite peculiar, really.

As Bai’s home, Bai herself didn’t possess the ‘key’—the access card—to return.

She didn’t need it to go home; all the keys to her front door were in other people’s hands.

The access card was swiped, the newly recorded facial recognition completed, and the large door sighed a long, drawn-out sound as it slowly slid open.

Dr. Cat stepped into the room, arriving at the entrance of the small house.

She knocked on the door, standing at the threshold and listening intently for any movement inside.

Absolute silence.

That was the only way to describe it.

“Not here?”

Dr. Cat murmured to herself, pushing open the unlocked door.

The first thing that met her eyes was a mountain of chaotic clutter.

The table was overturned, as were the chairs.

Various boxes, cabinets, and shelves lay in disarray, resting in unexpected positions.

Beyond that, piles of miscellaneous items formed small mountains: tablecloths, bedsheets, blankets, snacks, plastic packaging, paper boxes, cardboard, cotton balls, and even tree branches and wooden sticks from who knew where.

Yet, astonishingly, despite the utter mess, the room only conveyed a sense of disarray, not dirtiness.

Upon closer inspection, there were no stains, no damp spots, no perishable food remnants, and no peculiar odors.

Moreover, the natural lighting was actually quite good.

Nevertheless, it was enough to give Dr. Cat a small shock.

“What’s going on?”

“Did bandits ransack the place?”

Dr. Cat tiptoed around the accumulated clutter, exploring deeper into the room.

“Bai? Are you there?”

As Dr. Cat called out, she failed to notice the pair of eyes, pupils contracted into thin slits, glowing from within a pile of sundries dominated by a shoe cabinet behind her.

The next instant, the beast hidden within the clutter pounced out, moving with the speed of lightning.

It struck Dr. Cat’s head before she could even react.

“Meow-ow-ow-ow!!!”

Startled by the ambush, Dr. Cat shrieked, leaping three feet into the air.

She slammed into the ceiling, then crashed headfirst into another pile of clutter, buried beneath the collapsing cascade of various items.

The large, creamy-white long-haired cat landed gracefully, wagging her tail triumphantly.

Bai had hidden and planned this ambush as soon as Dr. Cat mentioned coming to find her in the chat group.

It seemed the surprise attack had been highly effective.

“Hiss… Ouch, ouch, ouch…”

The green-furred cat struggled out of the pile of debris.

Bai’s ambush had only startled her, causing no actual harm.

However, the impact from jumping and hitting the ceiling had genuinely hurt, seemingly striking her ear.

Ambush games were a common form of entertainment among Cat-girls.

Dr. Cat didn’t blame Bai; being so startled was purely her own fault for being too clumsy.

“What’s happened to your room?” Dr. Cat asked, rubbing her head.

The last time she was here, it hadn’t been this messy.

“Mm-hmm… Meow,” Bai purred an unintelligible sound.

A soft blue glow spread, lifting Dr. Cat and setting her aside.

The collapsed and scattered items also floated upwards, supported by the light, re-forming into their previous chaotic arrangement.

Dr. Cat realized that the seemingly messy scene around them was intentionally created by Bai.

After tidying up her ‘masterpiece,’ Bai proudly flicked her tail, asking Dr. Cat for her opinion on the ‘decoration.’

Who knew where Bai had picked up this new term?

Bai had ‘decorated’ her home, turning it into this.

How else could one describe it but ‘messy’?

Dr. Cat frowned, observing the surroundings.

Yet, after lowering her guard, Dr. Cat did indeed notice something different.

The varied items were arranged in a disorderly but deliberate manner, and the way they were piled seemed carefully designed, not just haphazardly thrown together.

They supported each other, with various objects filling gaps, creating numerous internal spaces.

Her feline instincts told her that burrowing inside would be incredibly cozy.

Indeed, for cats, a messy environment might be preferred over a tidy one.

Complex terrain offered a sense of security, and crevices to squeeze into provided pleasure and satisfaction.

Dr. Cat pulled back her gaze, suppressing the urge to transform into a cat and dive in.

She nodded.

“From a cat’s perspective, it’s excellent decor.”

‘Right? Of course!’ Bai was a very clever cat, after all.

Bai wagged her proudly raised tail even harder, then inquired about the real reason for the visit.

“What did you come to find this cat for?”

Despite how annoying Dr. Cat’s questions could be, Bai was always willing to help her companion.