DA chapter 18

 

The cat still stood far away. Lin Jia no longer paid attention to it. He lowered his rolled-up sleeves, smoothed them flat, put on his coat, and stood up.

When he reached the door, he placed one hand on the metal handle, pressed it down, and pulled the door open slightly. Through the narrow crack, a narrow view appeared. He turned back to look at the cat and impatiently urged, “Not leaving? Then stay here.”

The door closed with a “pa-da” as Lin Jia left. With the last person leaving Fish Belly, the solid door that had existed a second ago gradually became transparent.

The cat remembered that the door would soon disappear and that if it did not leave now, it would remain there forever, so it quickly leapt up, opened the door, and darted out.

The second the cat rushed out, the door became almost invisible. Then it turned into a streak of fading light and disappeared into the air.

The cat raised its head.

Lin Jia had not gone far. He stood in an open area, looking up at the so-called ‘Underwater Wold’.

The cat secretly observed Lin Jia’s back, its emotions tangled inside.

Was he not planning to settle accounts afterward? But that really did not fit Lin Jia’s character!

If Lin Jia truly wanted to silence the cat, Fish Belly would have been the best place. With Lin Jia blocking the door, the cat could not escape. Now they had both come out of Fish Belly, and the Underwater Wold stretched in all directions. Wouldn’t it be troublesome if Lin Jia made a move here? Was he not afraid of failing and letting it run away while carrying Lin Jia’s weakness—fear of darkness?

The Underwater Wold reflected in Lin Jia’s black pupils: tall buildings lined up neatly, roads crisscrossing… forming a huge city. But it was not the real world. The strangeness was in the sky. There was no sun, only floating, layered cloud formations shaped like fish.

Some clouds hung low and some hung high. They were all different sizes and looked like schools of fish swimming underwater—almost covering the entire sky.

No wonder it was called the ‘Underwater Wold’.

Lin Jia stood on the street. The broad road stretched into the distance, beyond sight. Streams of people came and went on both sides of the street. Their faces were numb, tired, or relieved.

They passed him, brushing by.

After observing for a while, Lin Jia turned to the cat. The cat hesitated, then walked over.

Lin Jia asked, “How exactly do you exchange fish spirits?”

It looked as if Lin Jia had no intention of settling accounts, so the cat finally relaxed. It jumped onto Lin Jia’s side and waited until the people around them had walked farther away. Then it said, “You need to register first.”

Everything was unfamiliar after arriving here for the first time.

The city was unfamiliar, as were all its rules.

Lin Jia said, “Lead the way.”

The cat replied, “Let me think.”

Lin Jia waited for the cat to remember. After more than ten minutes, the cat finally recalled, “You can register at the Management Office. Just find one.”

Lin Jia: “Where?”

Cat: “A lot of them; they’re everywhere.”

Lin Jia didn’t expose the fact that the cat couldn’t remember the exact location, he walked forward along the street.

On both sides of the street were open shops of all kinds:

Convenience stores, bookstores, restaurants… there were even hotels.

If you didn’t look up at the sky, you would think this was the real world. But upon closer inspection, abnormalities were apparent. No matter what kind of shop, all the workers wore identical dark blue uniforms.

Seeing Lin Jia’s gaze, the cat jumped onto his shoulder and whispered, “These are all people from the Management Office. Everything in the Underwater Wold is under the Management Office’s control.”

As it spoke, a car sped past them. The cat looked at the car, then thought of something and said to Lin Jia, “There aren’t many cars in the Underwater Wold. Most belong to the Management Office, some are taxis operated by the office, and only a few are private cars. People who can own private cars are basically big shots because most people enter Fish Belly and never come out, let alone obtain a large amount of fish spirit to exchange for currency.”

Lin Jia looked up and watched the back of the car quickly disappear.

Just as the cat said, Management Offices could be seen everywhere. There was one every two or three streets.

Lin Jia entered the first Management Office he saw. The interior resembled a large office building.

It had several floors divided into designated sections.

The registration the cat mentioned was for newcomers and was located on the first floor.

Lin Jia followed the signs.

There was no complicated procedure. They asked for his name and birth date, took a photo, and that was it.

After registering, the management staff handling his case told him to go to the card-making section to apply for a card.

The card-making section was on the second floor, so Lin Jia went upstairs.

Almost the entire second floor was the card-making area, with more than ten counters, each lined with people. At first glance, most people in line appeared fearful. It was obvious that they were newcomers to the Underwater Wold, just like him.

Lin Jia joined a line.

The cat looked around from his shoulder and, whenever it remembered something, leaned into Lin Jia’s ear and whispered, “The card is your identity and your account in the Underwater Wold. After exchanging fish spirit, the currency appears on your card as virtual numbers.”

“If the card is lost, it’s troublesome. If someone else picks it up and transfers the balance away, it’s hard to recover, so you must keep it safe.”

The cat continued to chatter, and Lin Jia listened quietly.

The line moved quickly. Before the cat could say much more, it was Lin Jia’s turn.

“Registration information,” said the staff member making the card.

Lin Jia handed over the registration information he had just received.

After operating something for a moment, the staff member said, “Come back in seven days to collect the card.”

Lin Jia frowned slightly.

The staff member returned the registration paper to him, but now there was a stamp with an address on the back.

Management staff: “Stay there these few days. Don’t wander around, and don’t cause trouble.”

After saying that, they called the next person forward.

Lin Jia glanced at the paper in his hand. Since the card had transaction functions, he could not exchange fish spirit without receiving the card now.

He had a rough idea of what kind of place the address was.

Newcomers without cards could not normally trade in the Underwater Wold, so this place must be a shelter of some kind.

The shelter period was seven days. After receiving the card, one had to leave the shelter and either struggle in the Underwater Wold or fend for oneself.

There was no other way, so Lin Jia could only head to the address.

The cat on his shoulder clearly remembered something else, but it didn’t speak until Lin Jia walked out of the Management Office: “Actually, making a card doesn’t take this long. Newcomers die more easily, so making cards is a waste of materials, and it also wastes manpower to recover them later. That’s why there’s a seven-day waiting period.”

Lin Jia commented, “Talents.”

No matter how you looked at it, making a card was less troublesome than sheltering people, and the cost certainly couldn’t be higher than providing food and lodging for seven days.

The cat said, “In the past, newcomers weren’t sheltered. I remember a group of newcomers causing trouble, and the Management Office not wanting to lose face by changing the rules, so this address came about.”

From the cat’s words, it seemed that the Management Office was not exactly good people.

Lin Jia asked, “Are the management humans?”

Cat: “Of course they’re human. They’re all people who fell from the real world into the Underwater Wold.”

Fortunately, the address was not too far away. Lin Jia did not walk far before reaching the destination.

Standing at the entrance, Lin Jia was not very willing to go inside.

It was obvious what kind of attitude management had toward newcomers. The building wasn’t old, but it really wasn’t very nice.

There was plenty of dirt on the ground, and all kinds of indescribable smells assaulted his nose.

The area was smaller than the Management Office building, yet it was crowded with heads everywhere.

Without going any further, Lin Jia could already imagine how many people had to squeeze into one room and how many people slept on one bed.

Lin Jia fell silent for a moment, then asked, “Do you remember that group of newcomers who caused trouble?”

Cat: “…”

Seeing Lin Jia’s serious expression, the cat realized he was not joking and anxiously replied, “Can’t make trouble! Can’t make trouble! After that incident, the Management Office established a patrol team specifically for maintaining order. In special situations, they can open fire directly!”

“Wait, let me think.” The cat worked its not-so-bright brain. “Let me think of a way.”

The cat was truly afraid that Lin Jia would cause trouble and drag it down, too. Surprisingly, the cat did not make Lin Jia wait long. A flash of inspiration came. “I remembered! There’s a name that works very well. Reporting his name should open a back door.”

Lin Jia waited for the cat to continue.

The cat shrank a little and said, “I can’t remember clearly. I only remember the surname, Chen.”

Lin Jia gave a cold smile. “Use your brain.”

But Lin Jia still decided to try.

He returned to the Management Office and went to another card-making counter. He said to the management staff behind the counter, “Old Chen told me to come.”

The cat on his shoulder tightened its claws, digging into his clothes nervously.

The management staff froze, then raised his head. “Is it… Deputy Director Chen?”

Lin Jia: “Mm.”

The management staff looked Lin Jia up and down suspiciously, but perhaps because he was too calm and had good bearing, the staff believed him.

The staff member immediately entered Lin Jia’s information and handed him a black card.

Lin Jia took the card and glanced at it.

Its surface was matte, and a string of six digits was printed in the lower right corner.

The management staff said thoughtfully, “Your current account balance is ‘0’. Would you like to exchange Fish Spirit? I can handle it for you directly.”

Lin Jia handed the Fish Spirit.

Looking at the complete piece of fish spirit, the management staff became even more convinced that Lin Jia was connected to Deputy Director Chen. No newcomer could produce such a complete piece of fish spirit on their first exchange.

“One hundred and twenty thousand has already been credited.” The manager glanced at Lin Jia’s registration information. “Mr. Lin, do you have somewhere to go? Would you like me to arrange it for you?”

“I have one. Thank you.”

Lin Jia got the card and saw that the fish spirit had also been exchanged for currency. He did not stay any longer. He turned and left with the cat.

After leaving the Management Office, the cat let out a long breath. It looked at Lin Jia, admiring his psychological composure.

“The prices in Underwater Wold are a bit higher than in the real world,” the cat said. “As long as you don’t run around and get caught in Fish Belly, one hundred and twenty thousand will be enough to live comfortably for quite a long time.”

Lin Jia went to a high-end hotel and asked for a presidential suite. The room fee was 10,000 per night.

Cat: “…”

Pretend it said nothing.

After several days in Fish Belly without bathing or changing clothes, Lin Jia had reached his limit. He called the hotel management and asked them to buy him a new set of clothes. Then he went straight into the bathroom and filled the tub for a bath.

The bathtub filled with hot water, and after Lin Jia got in, the waterline rose a little.

His arms were stretched fully along both sides of the tub, and he held a diamond-shaped glass in one hand. Inside the glass was a round ice sphere soaking in chilled, soft-textured Pinot Noir red wine.[mfn]Pinot noir , also known as Pinot nero, and Spätburgunder is a red-wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes.[/mfn]

Lin Jia tilted his head back, letting the bright and abundant light fall all over him, and closed his eyes.

After enjoying it for only a short while, he heard the cat’s voice. “Lin Jia, they delivered the clothes. I told them to leave them at the door.”

The hotel management could not tell through the door whether it was a person or a cat speaking.

“My God, you even opened wine.” The cat’s shocked voice sounded again. “Damn, so expensive!”

Lin Jia moved his fingers.

The cat carefully opened the room door, and while no one noticed, dragged in the paper bag with clothes in its mouth, looking at the tags one by one.

“Damn!” the cat exclaimed. “Damn, damn, damn.”

Unable to endure it anymore, Lin Jia took a final sip of wine.

He put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom.

Seeing cat fur stuck to the brand-new clothes, Lin Jia said nothing. He placed the wine glass on the coffee table, walked to the cat’s side, and extended his hand.

The cat immediately became alert. “What are you doing?”

Lin Jia smoothed the cat’s fur. It had not been cleaned in a while, and its fur felt dirty.

Rarely did Lin Jia not dislike it. His fingers moved through the cat’s dense fur and barely found its neck before stopping. He said lightly, “Time to settle accounts.”

That was more like it. The cat had brought Lin Jia to Underwater Wold and knew his fatal weakness. There was no way Lin Jia would let it off the hook.

Lin Jia did not deal with it in Fish Belly because he still needed it to understand Underwater Wold.

Cat: “……”

The cat got angry. “You used me!”

Lin Jia’s response was to grab the cat by the neck. The cat immediately panicked. “You can’t kill me!”

Lin Jia looked at the cat sideways. “Reason.”

Cat: “I saved you! If not for me, you would have already been killed by the dead!”

“If not for you, I wouldn’t have come here. The trick of harming me and then saving me doesn’t work.” Lin Jia slowly tightened his grip, his voice cold. “Any other reason?”

The cat was terrified. It absolutely could not die.

“I…I know how to leave Underwater Wold. Only I know! If you kill me, you’ll be stuck here forever, unable to leave until death.”

Lin Jia stared at the cat for two seconds, then said, “Speak.”

The cat had finally become a little smarter. “If I hand over my trump card to you, I’ll be even less able to survive.”

Lin Jia laughed and released the cat.

The cat immediately darted under the table. Lin Jia ignored it and walked to the door, deliberately locking it. The lock clicked, intentionally reminding the cat that if it could not explain itself clearly, it could forget about leaving the room.

He poured more wine and sat, watching the cat under the table.

Lin Jia: “Speak.”

The cat weakly asked, “…After I speak, you won’t kill me, right?”

Lin Jia could not guarantee that. “Depends on the situation.”

“But if you don’t speak, you definitely won’t walk out of this door.”

The cat took a deep breath. After a moment of consideration, it opened its mouth. “This is a long story.”

Lin Jia: “Make it short.”

Cat: “Can’t make it short.”

Lin Jia: “…Speak.”

The cat steeled itself and said, “Actually, I’m not a cat.”

Lin Jia was not surprised. He had never thought the cat was actually a cat.

The cat immediately continued, “But I can’t really count as a human either. I’m just a thought.”

Lin Jia examined the cat. The cat raised its head. “Don’t you want to leave Underwater Wold? I am the thought ‘must leave Underwater Wold’ stripped away from my original self.”

“Do you remember that meteor shower? At the time, the situation was critical. My original self tore open a gap in Underwater Wold and sent me out so that this thought would not be destroyed. If I die, my original self will remain in Underwater Wold forever, muddleheaded through an entire life, without the thought for leaving.”

The meteor shower caused the “thought” to fall onto the cat.

“Your cat won’t die; it’s just temporarily asleep.” The cat said whatever came to mind. “But I’ve been away from my original self too long. If I don’t merge back soon, I’ll gradually disappear. My memory is already poor. I need reminders before I can remember things. If I stay separated from my original self any longer, I may forget everything.”

It was only a ‘thought’. As long as it remembered, “Must leave Underwater Wold,” that was enough. Everything else was difficult; for example, it really had no way to quickly sort out Lin Jia’s causal logic.

The cat said, “I’ve been observing you.”

The cat knew its own strength was weak. It needed someone to help it return to its original body. Lin Jia was the first person the cat encountered after leaving Underwater Wold. However, after much consideration, the cat decided against it.

If not for the living dead sensing its presence and finding the door, it would not have brought Lin Jia to Underwater Wold.

“Sorry.” The cat sincerely apologized to Lin Jia and said, “Can you understand what I mean?”

What was there not to understand?

The cat meant that it was only a “thought” and had forgotten many things, including how to leave Underwater Wold. If Lin Jia wanted to leave, he had to help the cat merge with its original self.

Looking deeply at the cat, Lin Jia opened his mouth. “How to merge?”

The cat pressed its paw against its forehead. It said, “Thoughts and ideas are stored here. As long as my forehead touches my original self’s, we can merge.”

Not difficult. Lin Jia swirled his wine glass and asked, “Who is your original self?”

The cat said awkwardly, “N-not really remember.”

Lin Jia snorted. “Ha.”

The cat quickly replied, “My original self must be an important figure who threatens Underwater Wold. Many people in Underwater Wold want to leave, so why was I the only one stripped out?”

Looking at the silent Lin Jia, the cat tried to persuade him. “A person with such a firm desire to leave Underwater Wold must have an upright character. Help me find my original self. After I merge back, I will definitely let you leave Underwater Wold. Even if we can’t leave immediately, I guarantee I’ll protect you.”

“Whether the character is upright or not is unknown.” Lin Jia glanced at the cat curled into a ball. “But timid and afraid of trouble is a fact.”

The cat disliked Lin Jia saying that and retorted, “I’m only a thought. I don’t represent my original self’s personality. It’s because your cat is timid that I’m affected.”

Lin Jia snorted again. “Heh.”

“I really don’t remember how to leave Underwater Wold.” The cat looked at Lin Jia, who lowered his eyes in thought and tested him. “My original self could send me out of Underwater Wold, so they should have learned a method to leave Underwater Wold… Want to try?”

Lin Jia didn’t respond clearly and asked, “How much do you still remember about yourself?”

Cat: “Probably not much.”

Lin Jia: “Male or female?”

Cat: “Probably male, my voice tone is male.”

Lin Jia coldly pointed out the fact. “My cat is male.”

Cat: “Oh.”

“Then…” The cat coughed awkwardly. “There’s a fifty percent chance of being male and a fifty percent chance of being female.”

Lin Jia took a sip of wine. “Please find someone more capable.”

He turned and went back to the bathroom to wash off the cat smell on his hands.

 

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