Pet King
chapter-14

Zhang Zian rushed downstairs and took a glance around. There were no traces of Galaxy, and the bell on the glass door was still hanging quietly. He went back upstairs and carefully searched his bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room again. While searching, he left the doors open, staring at the hallway the whole time, but he still didn’t find Galaxy. "Could it have gotten into those two locked rooms?" Although he didn’t think that was the case, he still opened the doors to his parents’ bedroom and the storage room. The furniture in his parents’ bedroom was still as it had been when his parents were alive.

The cat was nowhere to be found; it was not under the bed, in the cabinet, under the desk, or on the balcony. He entered the storage room again, where there were extra cages, display cabinets, and a bit of debris. It was impossible for the cat to be hiding there. Zhang Zian was in a panic now, blaming himself for playing hide and seek. Now it was totally messed up.

He spoke out anxiously, "Galaxy, I surrender… I can’t find you, where are you?"

Just when he thought that he would not receive a response, he heard a "meow" from downstairs. He rushed downstairs and found Galaxy sitting in the middle of the shop, circling around joyfully. "Meow… Galaxy won… Meow… Galaxy won…" Zhang Zian blinked again and again, feeling reassured. But where had it hidden?

"I lost. I surrender. Galaxy, you are good at playing hide and seek. Could you please tell me where you were hiding?"

"Meow… Here… There… Here… There…"

Did the words "here" and "there" mean it didn’t hide in a fixed location, but was running between two or more places? However, there was only one set of stairs, so it had to have run from the second floor to the first using the stairs. Zhang Zian had paid great attention to the stairs during his second search. He was certain that it had not appeared there.

Quite weird! It raised his curiosity and competitiveness, so he squatted down and said, "Galaxy, let's play hide and seek again tomorrow, okay?

"Yeah! Meow! Galaxy likes hide and seek!"

The next day, the little girl brought a few peanuts and almonds to the store, as expected, and fed the small hamster through the hole. It seemed that she enjoyed watching it eat more than she enjoyed eating. She played for about ten minutes before leaving. After the little girl left, Sun Xiaomeng rushed in and threw a bag of buns to Zhang Zian before she went straight to trying to please Galaxy, but she failed again. Once in a while, several seniors would stop by on their way back from their morning exercises. However, after asking for the prices, they left the shop, shaking their heads.

Zhang Zian did not feel disappointed or surprised. Anyway, the seniors that tended to be picky about the price were not his target customers. As they said in the antique industry: an antique shop won’t make a profit until three years after it opens. A pet shop could not be compared with an antique shop, but it was similar. It could at least be said like this: a pet shop would make a profit after being open for three days.

Whatever happened, he would not choose to raise the sales by selling cheap pets, because people often don’t cherish cheap things. When there were no guest in the store, Zhang Zian decided to play hide and seek again with Galaxy. "Last time was just a warm-up!" he announced. "Now I’m serious! I’m afraid of myself when I’m serious! This time I am sure that I will find you!"

"Meow!" Galaxy ignored his claim. As a matter of fact, this time was simply a replica of yesterday. He still did not find Galaxy, and after he gave up, Galaxy re-appeared on the first floor again.

…

On the third day, Zhang Zian felt fully confident, because he was determined to become a hide-and-seek expert. Today, being well-prepared, he was confident he would be able to break the mystery behind Galaxy’s trick. After the game began, he counted to one hundred while Galaxy finished hiding. Zhang Zian went upstairs backward, carefully placing a thin layer of flour on each step. There was a ninety degree corner halfway up the staircase, which meant it was impossible for Galaxy to jump directly from upstairs to downstairs; it at least had to pause to change directions at the corner. As long as Galaxy passed through the stairs, it would leave traces of flour. He cautiously looked around on the first floor several times to confirm that the cat was not on the first floor, and then he moved on to the second floor. But this time, after he surrendered, Galaxy still appeared on the first floor. There was no footprint on the floured stairs. Zhang Zian had to admit that there must be some kind of trick! If possible, he really wanted to put a ring directly around Galaxy’s neck, but for hide and seek, that was too shameless…

…

The fourth day.

"Well, you won’t go crazy because you don’t have customers, right?" Sun Xiaomeng asked.

Zhang Zian looked up confusedly. "What? What did you say?"

"I said..." Sun Xiaomeng crossed her arms, looking him up and down as if he was a patient. "Why do I feel something is wrong with you? You seem out of your mind. Do you want me to give you a checkup?"

"Leave me alone! You are out of your mind. You are a vet. How could you give me a checkup? Be careful, otherwise I will sue you for seeing a patient without the proper license! In fact, I was thinking, didn’t you hear that serious men were the loveliest people?" Zhang Zian responded.

Sun Xiaomeng pouted. "Come on. You are thinking? I bet you were daydreaming!"

Zhang Zian raised his hands, pushing her out. "You’d better take care of your own business! Speaking of no customers, there isn’t much difference between us, right? Otherwise, would you be spending your time here?"

"Hahaha!" Sun Xiaomeng laughed out loud. "In fact, I came in person to tell you that somebody made an appointment to see me today." After saying that, she ran away. Zhang Zian's attention had been completely transferred to how to catch Galaxy, so it didn’t matter if there were no customers. Today he was ready to go all out. The mills of God grind slowly but surely! He still used the flour, but this time he scattered the flour on each room upstairs instead of the stairs. He closed the doors before he started the game.

The game started as usual. When he searched from the first floor to the second floor, and opened his bedroom, he saw an incredible scene. The only place that had Galaxy’s tracks was in the center. The thin flour layer was rubbed off a little bit, which showed that Galaxy was just lying there, leaving four small claw prints.

There were no footprints from the door to the center of the room. It seemed like it had suddenly appeared in the center of the room and then disappeared. He opened the kitchen, his parents’ bedroom, the storage room, and the living room, and saw its footprints were in the center of each room. No wonder it was here... It was there...

The cat could move between every room instantly. He had a slight clue about the origin of the Lucky Cat… It was definitely a sad story. "Galaxy, I throw in the towel," he said. "Meow! Galaxy won! Galaxy won!" The voice came from the first floor again."

"But tomorrow I will definitely catch you!" he issued a declaration of victory.

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Chapter 15: The Observer of Destiny

The Fifth Day.

Zhang Zian started the game.

"Navigation Elf, you said that the Lucky Cat was a mythical creature, which exist because of the faith of human beings?" he asked the flickering light on the screen.

[Navigation Elf]: Yes.

Zhang Zian sighed and said, "I see. I think I can guess its origin. "

[Navigation Elf]: If the player can guess the origin of the pet, your favorability level would improve.

Zhang Zian responded, "I don’t know who made the game, but the maker is awesome. Even… such ethereal things can be made into pets."

[Navigation Elf]: You were lucky enough to win the ethereal pet.

Zhang Zian said, "I have another question. Can the conversations between me and the Lucky Cat be heard by others?"

If a conversation between him and Galaxy was overheard… Well, Galaxy was impossible to capture, but Zhang Zian might be sent to the psychiatric hospital.

[Navigation Elf]: Only the player can hear, other people would just hear a cat’s or dog’s voice.

Zhang Zian replied, "Good."

He turned off the screen and talked to the Lucky Cat, who was staring at the pedestrians while sitting on the cotton pad, "Galaxy, come and play the game!"

"Meow! Play the game! Play the game!" Galaxy raised its tail happily.

Zhang Zian wasn’t ready for anything today, as it was impossible to defeat Galaxy. However, there was still a little hope through a strong will and a little luck.

After Galaxy had hidden, he first searched the first floor and confirmed that it wasn’t there. Then he went up to the second floor, closed his eyes, and began to circle around.

One… two… three...

Zhang Zian felt dizzy and nauseous, and he almost fell down.

He was not able to distinguish between southeast and northwest, nor did he know where he was facing.

He stopped without thinking or listening, just relying on his sixth sense and a bit of luck.

He touched a handle and opened the door. Then he opened his eyes. This was his bedroom, and Galaxy was sitting in the center of the room.

"I got you," he said with a smile.

"Meow! How wonderful! Zhang Zian is great," Galaxy said and jumped excitedly, like a dancer.

Sunshine shone through the windows. At this time, it seemed very real, no longer a phantom that could disappear at any moment.

"Ding dang!" The bell of the first floor rang, but it wasn’t a customer.

"Express! Is there anyone there?" a man asked.

Zhang Zian answered, "Yes, wait a moment!"

Then he said to Galaxy, "Follow me, I have a gift for you."

Galaxy froze, like a spell had been cast on it, and said, "Meow... Present?"

Zhang Zian said, "Right, present, a present for you!"

Galaxy murmured, "Present… Present… Meow..."

The courier delivered a heavily packaged box and left after receiving Zhang Zian's signature.

Zhang Zian opened several layers of the large box with a scissor and a knife and then removed the cushioning foam. Galaxy squatted a few meters away and stared at his actions.

After the box was opened completely, Zhang Zian took out a baby crib which had a very soft cotton pad, pillow, and quilt. The side of the bed was engraved with the word "Galaxy."

"Come here, try it," he said, pointing to the crib.

"Meow… Present… For Galaxy?" Galaxy hesitated.

Zhang Zian nodded and said, "Yes, for you. Come and give it a try."

He left the crib, and Galaxy slowly walked toward it.

The crib was very low because Zhang Zian had requested that the factory shorten the four legs. That way even a small cat such as Galaxy could jump into it.

"Meow… How warm... Meow… How warm..." Galaxy said. Then it lay in the crib, nuzzling happily.

Zhang Zian picked up his phone, as a notification had suddenly appeared.

[Navigation Elf]:Congratulations! Your favorability level was improved to friendly! Unlocked its true name!

[Game Hints]: Pet Attribute

[Known As]: Lucky Cat

[Rarity]: Unknown

[Feature Update]: Avert disaster and predict the future!

[Unlock Origin]:

In 1935, Schrodinger, a physicist from Austria, proposed a famous idea for an experiment called "Schrodinger's cat." A cat was sealed in a black box containing a bottle of deadly cyanide and a switch triggered by the decay of radioactive material.

The cat could have been either alive or dead; nobody could know the result until the box was opened.

As quantum theory had been proven by many experiments, Schrodinger’s cat had become well known and interesting.

With great faith, Schrodinger's cat was transformed from a pure dream into a mythical creature.

It had or had not.

It lived or died.

It was real or unreal.

It desired to live.

It desired to be real.

It desired to exist.

It desired to escape the accursed black box.

The experimental cat existed here as well as at the other end of the universe. It was the observer of destiny. In its eyes, the future of doom faded away while the future of happiness collapsed into reality.

It could be pulled back to the frightening black box at any moment. With the cyanide and radioactive substances, its cycles of life and death were changed until quantum theory would liberate it.

It could decide the destiny of everything, but it could not decide its own destiny.

[Unlocked True Name]: Schrodinger’s Quantum Cat

Zhang Zian's hands were trembling, and though he had guessed it, the destiny of Galaxy still made him sigh.

People imagined it in that black box, so it was in that black box.

Quantum theory had been set up for a hundred years, so it died many times in that black box, then it rose again and died again.

People believed in it and abused it.

The cat hated Schrodinger and its real name.

It was claustrophobic because of its long-term incarceration, so the cat liked "large" and hated the semi-enclosed cat's nest. The cat never hid in closets and cupboards when playing hide and seek.

In theory, as long as it left Zhang Zian’s vision, it was in a cloud of probability, and it could be in five rooms at the same time. Only in the moment of "observation" would its "in" or "absent" wave functions collapse into reality.

However, there was a small lag between "open the door" and "observe the room," during which it could escape to other rooms. So he closed his eyes and opened the door completely before opening his eyes.

As for making himself unconscious, he had tried to diminish the impact of his "consciousness" and become a weak observer before opening the door, and then he became a strong observer when he opened his eyes.

"Galaxy, this is your home. I will pay attention and observe you all the time and never let you go back into that damn black box again!" Zhang Zian said.