"I heard it's all been bombed into ruins, it's terrifying. No signs of human intervention have been detected yet, but it doesn't seem like an accident either, especially since it happened at this time..."
"Those who bombed the lab deserve to die! So many cute little kittens! I cried for half an hour this morning."
"Oh, you didn't know? The police report from Rongcheng said they couldn't detect any kitten tissue. I don't know if someone moved it or what..."
"Stop talking, it's getting scarier the more you talk about it."
The final round of the Galaxy Group Cup Pet Beauty Contest for cats is about to begin, and a group of cat owners are gathered around the stage. Although only one hundred cats have made it to the finals this time, quite a few people have bought tickets to watch.
Other types of pet competitions are tomorrow. Several dogs that came to watch the excitement were running around with their owners. Yu Jin, wearing a volunteer red vest and carrying a stack of towels, weaved through the crowd, delivering them to the designated location before running back with a basket, sweating profusely.
Today's discussions were different from the harmonious atmosphere of the preliminary rounds; they were relatively serious, and some people were quite confrontational.
It's actually easy to understand. Dahei, a "country bumpkin," became the most popular cat on Weibo, and then the Galaxy Group's sick cat incident broke out. The balance of power between the two sides was reversed, which naturally led to the argument.
The argument escalated, and just as one side countered with a press release that highlighted the peaceful and idyllic environment of the laboratory, the situation exploded that very night.
No one could say it was just a coincidence.
Now that they've been labeled "extreme cat rightsists," the two sides have been locked in a fierce battle on Weibo. In just three hours since everyone woke up this morning, Weibo has crashed twice.
Around the stadium, where the events of today are of utmost concern, there are naturally many people frantically typing on their phones, their faces blazing with anger, as if they're about to drag someone out and beat them up.
As Yu Jin crawled along, he saw seven or eight small-scale verbal battles, but since they weren't physically fighting, the volunteers couldn't say anything and could only lower their heads and quickly move away.
At this moment, the two girls had their tickets checked at the entrance and followed the flow of people into the area.
"Xiaoyuan, Mom brought you to watch the game!" A girl with two low braids, wearing black overalls, and a backpack slung over her shoulder. A silver-gray cat peeked its head out of the bag, curiously looking outside, eager to pounce.
“Xiao Yuan is excited,” another girl said. She was tall and slender with short hair and a short sweater. She was holding a stack of papers in her right hand and had a bag slung over her left shoulder. “It’s so hard to bring it out here. It’s messy here. Let’s fasten the collar.”
"Okay." The girl with the braided hair nervously agreed, then checked the gray cat's pink collar again before walking forward next to the short-haired girl.
The venue was huge, almost half the size of a football field, with an empty lawn as far as the eye could see, surrounded by a dense crowd of people.
"There are too many people..." The girl with braided hair couldn't move her feet, and despite the cold weather, she was sweating. The tall man supported her waist with one hand, stood on tiptoe, and looked around, intending to find a more open space.
"Zhenzhen, what's it like over there?" The short-haired girl pointed to a row of red canopies at the edge of the field, a bit far from the center, but there was space nearby.
Zhenzhen was feeling suffocated and, worried that her cat Xiaoyuan in her arms might be uncomfortable, quickly nodded.
While saying "Make way" as she shuffled past for several hundred meters, she passed various small verbal battles, some of which were so heated they were almost about to come to blows. Zhenzhen, with her braided hair, stuffed the cat back into her backpack to keep it from being frightened. However, as she approached the small shed, she was caught off guard and tripped over something, only managing to flip over and fall backward to the ground, clutching her backpack.
A stack of papers fluttered down from the air, some landing on the ground and being stepped on. The tall girl, Luya, had also been pulled down and was now kneeling on the ground, hurriedly trying to help Zhenzhen up.
"Photos!" Zhenzhen exclaimed anxiously. While urging Luya to pick them up quickly, she ignored her aching back, opened the backpack a crack, and tenderly reached in a finger to touch Xiaoyuan's head, comforting it and telling it not to be afraid.
"Let me put it this way, they're all a bunch of poor bastards, so poor they're practically destitute. Just because they can't afford the expensive stuff doesn't mean the whole world can't buy it either? What a brilliant idea, but in the end they'll just be poor for three generations!"
"Go to hell! You guys are the ones who have money to burn and can't live without showing it off, huh? You can't demonstrate your special nobility without creating some deformed animals?"
"The lab is quite professional; are you blind to see it?"
"All I know is that because of this damn lab, so many cats die every year! Every cat is someone's precious pet!"
The people around them grew louder and louder. The man and woman, both middle-aged and physically strong, couldn't help but escalate into a physical altercation, scratching each other. As fingernails reached for her eyes, the man took a step back and stomped on Luya's hand, which was about to pick up the photo.
"Ah!" Luya's hand was scraped raw by the sole of the shoe, but it was too noisy and crowded around, and few people heard her cry of pain. Tears welled up instantly, but she gritted her teeth and pulled the photo out from the man's shoe.
"What are you doing?!" The man reacted, looked down and scolded, and the people around him made way for the two girls who had fallen.
Upon seeing the bloodstains on the ground, everyone panicked. Some went to call volunteers, while others hurriedly pulled them up.
"What happened, little girl? How could you be so careless..." One of them helped Luya with the photos, and when he saw the cats in them, he paused and asked, "Why are there so many cats? Are you selling cats?"
Zhenzhen stood up with tears in her eyes, took Luya's hand with heartache and blew on it. Seeing so many people staring at her, she became nervous and started to stutter a little.
"No, no... these are cats from our... shelter... that we can adopt for free..."
Luya took a deep breath, patted her shoulder, and forced a smile: "If you're interested, you can follow our Xiaoyuan Home on Weibo. They're all very cute cats, and you can adopt them for free."
Silence spread as the photos circulated among the group. Everyone noticed that the cats were of common breeds, but the photos were taken with care and were quite adorable.
The middle-aged woman who had just been arguing said sheepishly, "Well, what made me think of posting here?"
"These past few days, there's been a lot of discussion online about the benefits of mixed-breed cats, and we thought this would be an opportunity to promote them... The competition venue has the largest crowd, and they're all cat lovers, which is much better than us handing out flyers on the street..."
Just then, several volunteers rushed over with a first-aid kit and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Luya was alright.
The crowd spontaneously made way for the two girls, who were taken to a nearby medical facility for disinfection and bandaging.
After a while, Yu Jin returned, covered in sweat, carrying a stack of photos. He asked them shyly, "Take a look, are they all there? If not, I'll go find some more."
Both girls were surprised and touched, and quickly said no need, there was an electronic version, these were specially printed for today.
"Have we caused you any trouble..." Zhenzhen wrung her hands, her face flushed: "There are so many people, we were too reckless."
After hearing what his colleagues had said, Yu Jin knew everything was alright, so he quickly smiled and reassured them, "No, but safety is always the most important thing. Let's ask again when it's less crowded after the event. I'll help you then."
"Really?" Zhenzhen's eyes widened, then she quickly lowered her head again. "Thank you, no need... Ah, Xiaoyuan." The bag in her arms moved, and she quickly unzipped it. A gray cat peeked out and meowed softly.
Yu Jin had just finished delivering the items and pulled up a stool to rest when he saw the cat and asked with a smile, "Is it participating in the competition? It should be taken backstage by now."
“No…” Zhenzhen took the cat out, “Xiaoyuan can’t participate, look…”
The cat is missing a hind leg, but it's having a lot of fun with its remaining three paws, meowing and wanting to get down and play.
Yu Jin looked surprised. Zhenzhen carefully held the cat in her arms and said, "You can't run around now, there are too many people..."
She was a little uneasy, worried that people might feel uncomfortable seeing the disabled cat, but to her surprise, Yu Jin took a small package of fish soup out of his vest pocket and handed it to her: "Here, does it like it?"
After Zhenzhen took it, he poured a cup of sugar water for Luya, who had no hands.
"How much do you earn each month doing adoptions?" Yu Jin asked curiously.
Luya took a sip of water: "Not a single cent."
"Huh? Not making any money at all?"
“It’s very difficult to get sponsorships…” Zhenzhen said, “We spend all the money we have on cat food and canned food, and sometimes we have to pay for it ourselves.”
Luya sat down next to her: "Our private shelters have so many chores, it's impossible to find a proper job to supplement our income. We're just ordinary families, and it's quite difficult for us to make ends meet."
“Our family keeps urging us to stop, but…” Zhenzhen patted Xiaoyuan, who was licking his fish soup, and said, “Some things still need to be done by someone.”
"We are ordinary people, we can't change the world, but when the opportunity for change comes, we can become a cog in the machine. That way, we won't have lived in vain."
Yu Jin's eyes glazed over for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure: "Do you need cat food? I know someone who owns a pet supply store. He's a really nice guy. I'll ask him if he can help us out."
Seeing that Zhenzhen and the others were a little embarrassed, he laughed and said, "Even if I just help you display your photos in the store, it's better than you handing out flyers here."
When Yu Jin found the blond-haired boy, he was standing with Wen Zheng.
He stepped forward to greet them and briefly explained the situation. Wen Zheng asked in confusion, "Xiao Yuan's family?"
"Hmm?" the blond-haired guy asked, "Does Big Brother have any explanation?"
"I think I've heard of it before," but I can't quite remember.
After bending down to enter the shed, the two girls saw him and exclaimed, "Z-da!"
Wen Zheng was slightly taken aback. When the other party mentioned that he had sent him a private message before, he remembered that Xiaoyuan Home was one of the adoption agencies that had sent him a private message when he wanted to send Dahei away.
Wen Zheng had a pretty good impression of them. Seeing that the little blond cat had sponsored several boxes of cat food that he didn't think tasted very good, he said, "Should I post some promotions for you on Weibo?"
The two girls stared at each other, wide-eyed, incredulous.
"Z, you have millions of followers on Weibo... We can't afford it..."
“It’s okay,” Wen Zheng thought for a moment, “I’ll post it when Dahei wins the championship and there’s a lot of traffic. If you know any similar organizations, you can also send me a private message.”
Lucia couldn't help but ask, "What if... what if we don't win the championship?"
“…Then let’s send it while they’re arguing,” Wen Zheng said calmly.
Lucia and Mama: "…………"
After noting down the two girls' phone numbers and seeing them off, Wen Zheng scrolled through their Weibo accounts on his phone for a while. All sorts of cats looked even cuter in the photos taken by the girls who knew how to take pictures than in videos.
Yu Jin sat down to rest for a while, then asked, "Did you originally intend to send Dahei away?"
Wen Zheng chuckled to himself, "Yeah, so ugly no one wants her."
Yu Jin smiled and said, "Those two girls just now didn't care whether the cat was ugly or not... It's good to have something you're passionate about and a goal to strive for. I've always lived a messy life... What about you? Do you have any dreams?"
When people reach a certain age, most become ashamed to talk about their dreams. The environment in the confidential department was like that, with days going by but not days going by, while in the office I later worked in, my colleagues were only concerned with how much their salaries were.
This was the first time Wen Zheng had discussed this topic with someone of his generation, and it still felt quite novel.
Everyone else was busy in the shed, leaving only the two of them. Wen Zheng thought for a moment before saying, "It's not exactly a dream... I want to make games."
“…Hmm?” Yu Jin was surprised: “If you really want to, you can do it, right? It seems that there are many games nowadays with low barriers to entry for designing…”
"For some reasons, it's not possible for the time being." Wen Zheng looked at him: "And you? Running around like this, is there something you particularly want to achieve?"
Yu Jin, feeling his gaze, suddenly laughed: "It would be great if there were. I don't know either."
After he finished speaking, a volunteer rushed in and called Yu Jin to help. He smiled and politely agreed, then hurriedly followed him out.
Zhenzhen and Luya, along with their cat Xiaoyuan, luckily found a good spot facing the green field.
Before long, the host began to introduce the competition schedule for today.
Despite being sponsored by Galaxy Group, with so many "domestic cat rights" advocates present, the host dared not speak too biasedly. When Big Black led out with several of his henchmen, he gave a formal introduction to the cats.
"Welcome our favorite to win, Big Black!"
The big black elephant walked the runway with an air of nobility and aloofness, even gesturing to the left and right like a leader on an inspection tour, which made many people laugh.
The group to Zhenzhen's left was laughing especially loudly, and some people were even holding up holographic light boards and whistling for Big Black. They were using footage that had just been released a couple of days ago, and they looked like a group of Big Black fans.
The forest cats that appeared behind Dahei also won the approval of this fan group. They cheered for each one as it appeared, making the crowd to Zhenzhen's right even quieter.
"Our position doesn't seem very good..." Luya said hesitantly, "It's right between the two factions...?"
Zhenzhen was sweating profusely because a huge cheer erupted from their right side as a white rabbit-tailed cat appeared.
"Sticky rice! So incredibly cute!"
Startled, Mama Ruya: "…………"
Honestly, although the slogan was corny and didn't really fit the cat theme, it was very effective at rallying the fan group's enthusiasm. The big black fan group next to them immediately objected, whispered among themselves for a while, and someone took the lead in shouting it.
"Big Black! Big Black! All ministers, kneel down!"
Everyone repeated it in unison.
Mama Ruya: "???"