Purrfect Romance

"..."

Lion watched Fenix, who was fighting fiercely with the venomous spider through the surveillance camera, feeling a bit surprised.

The failure notifications flooded the screen after several hours, and the little announcements kept beeping, reminding Fenix that he had been killed by the venomous spider one, two, three, four, five times.

But Fenix paid no attention to them, as if he had a deep grudge against the venomous spider robot, guarding the entrance to the cave and pummeling the spider relentlessly.

Whenever other robots approached, he would retreat into the cave, only to emerge and continue fighting the venomous spider.

Lion: "..."

Cats are really...

He remembered the topics he had searched before and found that cats indeed behaved strangely.

Even getting frightened by their own tails, nothing cats did seemed surprising anymore.

Forget it.

Lion thought back to his own awakening experience, where he struggled for three years and eventually lost control of his instincts, fighting every male predator in the awakening school.

Not only that, after confirming he was the strongest, he started marking territory within the school.

Resisting the urge to use the most primitive method to leave his scent was his last shred of rationality.

Then he was expelled.

Such incidents influenced by the awakened state weren't uncommon.

In the awakening school, classrooms and teaching aids for canines were often replaced every half-day.

Occasionally, one could see a Corgi being chased by a teacher to wipe its bottom.

Compared to those situations, Fenix's condition was just a drizzle.

At least he hadn't destroyed anything or fought with others.

Lion was about to dispatch a robot to remove the venomous spider when dinner time arrived.

The robots in the jungle area gradually entered sleep mode.

Fenix swiped at the spider with a claw, and the spider, which had been strutting arrogantly, flew out and landed on a pile of dry leaves below, which were surprisingly soft.

Fenix was startled, looked up at the sky, and suddenly realized something.

He leaped from branch to branch, moving gracefully and skillfully. His claws barely touched the branches before he jumped again, and the delicate branches didn't even sway.

Lion watched the white furball moving through the shades of green.

The trees in the jungle were tall and dense, blocking out the sky.

The small white creature, head down, couldn't help but follow the few beams of light that pierced through the canopy, treading on the dappled sunlight on the ground.

Bathed in the gentle glow of the sunset, he seemed to be glowing, like an elf born from the forest, lively and carefree.

Lion reviewed Fenix's previous training data, noting the summary evaluation.

Perhaps it wasn't because of his innate talent.

More likely, his awakened state was naturally adapted to the jungle environment.

Lion watched Fenix playing while walking out, thoughtful.

A whole afternoon of exercise—though he slept for most of the time—had left Fenix famished.

Lion glanced at Fenix, who refused to approach the pool and preferred to lick his fur clean, and said, "Your training went well."

Fenix paused mid-lick, then slowly remembered what he had done all afternoon and shrank his neck.

"Just, didn't rest well last night..."

"Then don't go tonight, rest well," Lion said, "Tomorrow morning, try to pass the basic level, and in the afternoon, go to the grassland area, I'll teach you some basic hunting skills."

Fenix, unfamiliar with such training, simply accepted Lion's instructions.

Fenix typed quickly, "Yes, Boss! No problem, Boss!"

Seeing Fenix unquestioningly entrust everything to him, Lion's lips curved upward, feeling much happier.

This trust was different from the obedience given by subordinates.

Exactly how different, Lion couldn't quite discern.

He was not an emotionally nuanced person.

"Your pet costume has arrived."

"Mew~"

Fenix bounced up, turned to find his little clothes, put them on, and dragged the outfit to Lion, asking him to fasten the clip on the back.

"Actually, it's not necessary..." Lion started, paused, then thought about the rabbit that might come around these days, so he fastened the clip, and tucked half of Fenix's unusually fluffy long tail inside.

Most vertebrates rely on their tails for balance.

Felines are among them, and unfortunately for Fenix, he didn't need his tail.

He didn't mind others touching his tail and didn't need it for balance.

His tail served no proper function except as a blanket, toy, clothing, and for expressing emotions.

Fortunately, it had no proper function.

Otherwise, it couldn't be covered.

Lion watched Fenix gnawing on a rib bone, and opened his nutritional supplements.

This time, he took two extra pills.

During training, as he gained more control over his body and increased his exercise, his consumption would also increase.

Before Lion could explain, Fenix swallowed the pills without hesitation, continuing to gnaw on the rib bone.

Lion was slightly taken aback by the kitten's genuine trust, feeling more comfortable and increasingly happy.

His hands didn't stop, and he opened another bag of dried fish for Fenix.

With a round belly, Fenix went to bed contentedly.

The next morning, Fenix woke up in the cardboard box containing his little clothes, groggily holding the terminal and opening his social account.

First, steal some energy.

Then feed the chickens.

Finally, screenshot and send to the group to mock the lazybones who couldn't wake up early.

As Lion came downstairs, he heard rustling sounds, and upon looking into the box, he saw Fenix waving a claw to scare away another chicken.

Then he looked up and gave Lion a soft "mew."

Probably meaning good morning.

Lion carried Fenix to the dining table. Fenix seized the opportunity to check today's news.

Upon opening the news, Fenix saw familiar words.

The former second-in-command of the Lionheart pirate group encountered a lone fleet of the Raven pirate group, engaged in a black-on-black operation, and left unscathed.

The accompanying picture showed debris floating in space.

The news was written vividly, as if the reporter had witnessed the event firsthand.

Lion glanced at the news page Fenix had boldly displayed and paused, "Pirates?"

Fenix mewed.

Lion asked casually, "What do you think of these guys?"

Fenix was taken aback, moving his gaze from the news page to Lion.

?

What do I think?

Isn't it obvious.

Of course, with your eyes.

Thinking this way, Fenix was hesitant.

Fenix felt he was facing a death sentence.

After pondering, he decided to take a neutral stance and avoid controversy.

Fenix cautiously typed, "From the current situation, large pirate groups are relatively better than small ones."

Lion casually tore open a packet of dried fish and showed interest upon reading Fenix's response, "Why?"

Fenix looked at the shredded fish strips in Lion's hand, feeling a chill.

A former pirate leader asking someone else's opinion on pirates was unsettling.

Fenix became even more cautious, "Because large pirate groups have their own territories and areas of influence, they don't need to rely on looting to sustain themselves. But small pirate groups still depend on looting, causing trouble in the gray areas beyond the reach of regular forces, which is not good."

Fenix stopped typing there.

Lion chuckled, "Think deeply, huh?"

Indeed.

Who hasn't dreamed of being a pirate when they were young?

Having thoughts like this was normal.

Lion understood this well, living in the space age, where although many people may never leave their home planets to explore the universe, they always yearn for it.

Lion finished tearing the dried fish and said, "I thought you'd rank the pirate groups."

In fact, none of them were good birds.

Fenix muttered silently.

Medium and large pirate groups mostly started through looting, a den of thieves.

However, unlike ordinary people, Fenix knew more.

To satisfy various player needs, the top three pirate groups were split into three factions.

Lion rose through black-on-black operations.

Raven killed the original leader to rise to power.

Only the perennial third-place was a true villain.

So you see, Lion could whitewash his reputation whenever he wanted.

Lion brushed off the crumbs from his hands, "You seem not to be repelled by pirates?"

Fenix was puzzled, "What's the point of me being repelled?"

Lion raised an eyebrow, fair point.

Unexpectedly, despite appearing foolish, Fenix had a surprisingly open-minded view.

He dropped the topic, "Eat breakfast, then we'll see if you can pass the basic level."

Hearing this, Fenix quickly finished his breakfast and snuggled into Lion's pocket, trying to take a shortcut.

Lion didn't mind, adjusting the difficulty from basic to intermediate as Fenix entered the training ground.

The difficulty was two levels higher, recommended for 15 to 18-year-olds, aggressive, omnivorous medium-sized animals proficient in their awakened forms.

Waiting outside the training ground, Lion watched Fenix adapt quickly after dying thirty times initially.

Two hours later, Fenix passed the intermediate level, receiving a poor rating since he always hid and didn't show aggression.

Regardless of the rating—since Lion hadn't taught Fenix hunting yet—he had done this in just a few hours.

The system records showed that the best performers took three days to pass the intermediate level.

Hearing the beep announcing his success, Fenix happily ran out.

Lion, who had turned into his awakened form, lay outside, watching the kitten sprint towards him.

"Mew!"

Fenix had passed!

Awesome!

Praise me!

It'd be even better with some pampering!

Fenix's tail wagged, ready to fly high.

Though the language was different, the message was clear.

Lion patted Fenix's head gently with a paw, watching the kitten's wagging tail, then picked him up and headed to the pre-activated dry-season prairie area.

Carried by Lion, Fenix remembered that Lion said he would teach him hunting yesterday.

His eyes shone, gazing at the vast prairie, his heart swelling with excitement.

Such a vast prairie!

It's all mine, Fenix's hunting ground!

My domain!

My empire!

Fenix's excitement came to a halt the moment Lion put him down.

The kitten was instantly submerged in the withered yellow grass.

Fenix was stunned.

Surrounded by grass taller than him, he couldn't even see Lion's face through the dense stalks, only vaguely making out a dark brown silhouette.

Fenix: "..."

Damn.

How could this happen!

To be honest, the grass was at least five to six times taller than him.

No way.

Fenix couldn't give up easily.

Fenix mewed, raising a paw, trying to walk forward, but unsure where to step.

Blind in this environment.

Lion looked down at the grass reaching his belly height, then at the faint white figure in the grass.

Fenix, unwilling to give up, wandered around but hadn't gone far after a long time.

Well.

Lion confirmed that Fenix's excellent performance in the jungle was due to his awakened form's natural adaptability to the environment.

With this thought, Lion raised his head, emitting a threatening growl that made a stray hyena robot retreat.

He then stepped towards Fenix.

Fenix vaguely sensed danger but couldn't escape due to his limited vision, crouching low, ready to respond, only to realize it was Lion.

Lion picked him up.

Fenix emerged, seeing the hyena retreating with its tail between its legs.

Fenix was stunned for two seconds, realizing Lion's growl alone could scare the robot away, and felt envious.

One roar, and they retreated.

So cool!

Fenix puffed his cheeks, lowering his voice, imitating Lion's growl, "Meow-roar! Meow-ow!"

Lion: "..."

Fenix continued practicing, "Meow-woof!"

"Meow-ow!"

"Awoh! Awoo!"

"Woof!"

?

Damn it.

Damn Ferran!

Fenix cursed inwardly, then smacked his lips, "Meow-woof-ow!"

Lion looked around at the predators attracted by Fenix's random meows, involuntarily sighing deeply.

Author's note:

Ferran slowly types a question mark.