Ch13 - The Dragon Cat’s Debut

You may not believe when I say this, but Sparta got his first blood 

Editor: Vez 

After Xin Qin waited for another moment to make sure that Sparta was calm, he reached out and turned on the video. Because the video was not muted, a loud and horrific cat cry came out in an instant. He quickly pressed the mute button and checked Sparta’s reaction.

Sparta was already looking up. His ears were on alert as he stared at the tablet. He huffed with his nose, as if showing disdain towards the cat in the video. 

It’s just a bath from the human, it already got you to crying for help? What a scaredy little cat. Miwu, no need to worry, I have great courage. There is no way I will cry disgracefully like that.

Seeing a small reaction from the Dragon Li cat, Xin Qin was relieved as well as wondering why did the staff from that pet beauty salon say that Sparta was not obedient at all? As he was thinking, he began to wash his cat. His movements were very agile, fearing if he took too much time, the cat might catch a cold.  

Since it was Sparta’s first bath, he was very dirty, so Xin Qin could not afford to be sloppy. He washed the cat’s chin, neck, belly, tail, not even letting the cat’s family jewels get away. The cat was very cooperative throughout the whole process. Xin Qin was the puppeteer and Sparta was the marionette. Sparta would raise his paw at command or get up when prompted, letting the human control him. He did not even struggle when Xin Qin used the shower head to rinse off the bubbles. 

With the cat’s cooperation, the bath was soon finished. Xin Qin pulled the towel that was set aside and wrapped it around Sparta tightly. The towel’s water absorption was very good. It did not take long for it to absorb most of the dripping water from the cat’s fur. He brought Sparta to the living room, happy with the smooth bathing process. His T-shirt was wet and sticky from him nervously sweating but, he disregarded his discomfort, and brought the long prepared hair dryer, planning to blow dry Sparta. This hair dryer had been specially purchased by his grandmother for Coffee. It made very little noise and the force of the blowing air was relatively mild. Xin Qin also used this to blow his own hair.

It is said that even if your cat is not afraid of a bath, the cat cannot escape the nightmare that is the hair dryer. Cats are very sensitive to noise and vibration. Electrical appliances such as hair dryers can easily cause the cat tension and anxiety. 

He held Sparta tightly and firmly, shifted the cat to lie on his back with his limbs towards the ceilings before turning on the hair dryer. First, he faced the hair dryer in the opposite direction towards Sparta, observing any reaction from the cat. He did not expect Sparta to be so calm. Although the cat stared at the hair dryer for a moment as his eyes narrowed into a thin line, and didn’t try making any impulsive actions. After getting him used to the hair dryer, he turned the appliance around and began to blow Sparta’s fur.

The warm and steady air blew through Sparta’s thick hair, causing the cat to sneeze. Is this the human’s blowing monster that Dai Mochi talked about? Meow, it doesn’t look that scary. It is so small that I could beat it with one paw. Meow, it’s so warm. My hair doesn’t feel as wet anymore. It is quite comfortable. He leaned back and looked at Xin Qin with half-lidded eyes.

Xin Qin blew dry Sparta’s fur while turning the cat. He sighed about how well-behaved his cat was, he even questioned if what he had picked up was a cat demon. That pet beauty salon was too unreasonable. His cat was so good. How could Sparta deliberately scratch the employee’s face because he was resisting bathing? They must be a dishonest shop. Sparta’s fur was blown so soft and fluffy that it shined warmly under the light. Xin Qin could not resist bending down and kissing the cat’s round head. “We are never going back to that unethical salon again.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Miwu!

Pc j rtbga alwf, Vqjgaj’r tjlg kjr wbrais vgs jcv tf yfujc ab aklamt tlr ilwyr gfraifrris. Wlc Hlc aegcfv boo atf tjlg vgsfg, delmxis jvperafv atf mja’r qbraegf jcv rwbbatfv atf oeg klat tlr tjcvr. “Cii gluta. Tbe tjnf yffc ubbv abvjs rb sbe vfrfgnf j gfkjgv.” 

Ktf gfkjgv kjr atf mjccfv aecj atja Wlc Hlc tjv ybeuta obg atf Ggjubc Ol mja. Lf bqfcfv atf mjc jcv qbegfv la lcab j rwjii qijaf obg Vqjgaj. Lf frqfmljiis ybeuta atlr qijaf klat akb mja fjgr. Lf qea atf qijaf ktfgf Vqjgaj erejiis jaf jcv yfmxbcfv tlw bnfg.

Sparta smelled a wonderful scent. He tiptoed over. First he rubbed his Miwu with his head, and then approached the alluring aroma on the plate carefully. It smells so good! What is it? He sniffed left and right. After making sure there was no issue, he gave it a lick. Meow! It’s so yummy! Meooow!

Watching Sparta burying his head to eat the canned food, it suddenly dawned on Xin Qin that this was probably the Dragon Li cat’s first can in his life. Without leaving, he sat down against the wall and watched Sparta clean and licked the plate quietly.

Sparta was perfectly satisfied with his meal. He excitedly rubbed his cheek against Miwu’s trouser. Miwu, thank you! This is the best thing I have ever eaten! 

Xin Qin reached out and held the Dragon Li cat into his arms. Instead of struggling, the full little fellow relaxed his body and melted into his chest, purring and licking his paw to wash his face. His fur felt soft and every hair smelled like sunshine. Xin Qin remained sitting on the ground against the wall while holding the cat, gently running his fingers through the Dragon Li cat’s fur. Then he raised his head and looked out of the balcony. There was a crescent moon in the sky, like a slight smile.

This was the most relaxing night since his grandmother’s passing.

He lowered his head and exhaled, blowing on Sparta’s whiskers. Sparta probably found this uncomfortable as he tilted his body to avoid it, using his front two paws to cover his face. Xin Qin found this fun then he suddenly remembered something. He pulled out his phone from his pocket and took a picture of Sparta. 

Xin Qin posted this photo on his Weibo with the following message: [This is your fourth day with me. I gave you a bath and you were so well-behaved. You must always be healthy and happy.] 

This was the first time he had posted something personal on his Weibo. His previous posts were all about game guides, strategies or videos, just like an official gaming account. Maybe Sparta was not the most good-looking cat in everyone’s eyes, but the Dragon Li cat was good-looking in his eyes and he wanted to share with others, as well as record every moment of his cat’s life.

Once eight o’clock rolled around, Xin Qin got online, opened his livestream room and started his livestream. Scrambled Eggs happened to be online and soon sent forth a party invite. Xin Qin accepted and entered into the game lobby.

Scrambled Eggs’ voice soon appeared as he babbled, “Hey, I saw the picture of your cat you posted. He looks much better than before, and those adorable little paws.”

“I gave him a bath.” Xin Qin explained. After the bath, the Dragon Li cat’s fur was very fluffy which made him look more energetic. Additionally with the posture and lighting, it was indeed better looking than the first photo. 

“Not bad, not bad. He can still be considered an adorable pet!”

Due to this season nearing its end, the game was very lively as many players were grinding ranks throughout the night. Scrambled Eggs was not a bad player, and riding the bike is always more dependable. This was the first time they tagged along together, but their synergy was decent. Xin Qin’s scores in the game were consistent. XF is an FPS game, so accuracy, position and cooperation were important. Xin Qin’s offensive hero was also very powerful, and his prediction and awareness were impeccable. If he got snipers, he was basically invincible. But his hero pool was very deep, and he could play the support positions, which was a great role that could turn the tide in the competitive field. They were victorious in the few games they played tonight. Due to their winning streak, the bonus earned had helped Scrambled Eggs reach four thousand points. His viewers were celebrating as they kept sending gifts to congratulate.

“Thank you so much to the great god for carrying me!” Scrambled Eggs shouted excitedly. Now with four thousand points, his hope to reach the top five hundreds seemed not far away. The bullet screen also got very lively as many people kept begging for the great god’s livestream room. Scrambled Eggs took the opportunity to promote his teammate’s livestream.

Scrambled Eggs specialised in SF games. At present, the number of his fans was in the steady fifty to sixty thousands, and his viewer count could reach upward of forty to fifty thousand every night. Although he was not one of the top streamers, he was at least one with steady popularity. Just one flattery from him instantly increased the viewers in Xin Qin’s livestream by ten thousand, as the messages from the bullet screen gradually increased.  

—[Came to watch the great god!]

—[I have both livestreams open, Now I have two perspectives. No one is as outrageous as I am.]

—[The livestream’s name is rather cute ahahaha]

—[Why is the human-shape cheater not talking?] 

Although Xin Qin would turn his mic on when he livestream, he never developed the habit of chatting to his audience. What was more, previously, his audience was very small, so there was not a need for much interaction. Now that there were suddenly more onlookers, he did not know how to respond except for remaining silent and focusing on the game.

Scrambled Eggs added another teammate. The other party’s ID was slightly familiar. TooWolf. Scrambled Eggs briefly introduced Xin Qin and Too Wolf to each other. In fact, Scrambled Eggs and Too Wolf were on the same platform. They knew of each other but had only added each other as friends. They rarely played together. Today, Scrambled Eggs randomly sent out a party invite. He was actually hoping for the other to decline because he did not want to catch Too Wolf’s losing streak, but he was also in a rush to get more teammates to earn more points. Since the beginning of this season, Too Walf’s luck had been in the dumpster. He did not do well in his placement match as well as was stuck in a losing streak that caused him to drop his points to the three thousand and five hundred range. Although they were not familiar with each other, there was an interesting thing about playing games. Strangers could quickly come to play together by chance even with their totally different nature. “It is too painful to watch. Xin God, why don’t we help him out? Or else he won’t have the confidence to undergo prostate surgery like ever.”

“Get lost and beat it!” Too Wolf huffed this and he obviously spoke with a distinct Guangxi accent, which sounded pretty funny. “I fucking lost three time in a row today! Like I was hit with this pig teammate buff. Can you two even manage this third-wheeler? If not, I am going to jump off. This is to fucking stressful!” 

“Yes, absolutely very reliable!” Scrambled Eggs cried out, “See my friend here? Do you see his achievement? Boss, believe me when I tell you this that we are not riding a tricycle, we are practically operating an aircraft carrier. Is there anything more stable?” 

“Holy fuck, you actually got four thousand points! Motherfucker, get out!”

Too Wolf and Scrambled Eggs were bickering with each other. Not sure if it was Scrambled Eggs’ iron belief, they were so lucky that they did not lose a single game after they formed this trio team. Too Wolf’s points also slowly rose. He was so thrilled that some of his shouting was incomprehensible, joking through his mic how he wanted to have Xin Qin’s babies. 

Xin Qin glanced at his livestream room and was shocked by the number of online viewers. A moment ago it was ten thousand, now sixty thousand people are watching.

—[Amazing skill!] 

—[Sniper god]

—[Why isn’t xiao gege talking]

—[Watermelon Too Wolf sightseeing group has dropped their airborne army to check in]

Seeing the ‘Watermelon Too Wolf’, Xin Qin suddenly knew why this ID looked so familiar. Watermelon Too Wolf is one of the most popular streamers in Fish Cat Platform, with four hundred thousand fans. This might be the reason behind his increased viewers as many of them were trickling down from this streamer. Sure enough, it confirmed Scramble Eggs’ earlier statement. Sometimes, getting popular depended on luck. 

Xin Qin was so focused on the game that he did not notice Sparta entering the room. The Dragon Li cat sat upright under the table and stared at Xin Qin for a while. Seeing that the other party did not respond, he jumped onto the table, stepped on the keyboard with his front paw and instantly headshot an enemy. Before Xin Qin had time to react, his own hero threw himself off of a cliff and died immediately. 

At the same time, a huge “victory” was displayed on the screen, announcing the end of the game.

“Awesome headshot!” Scrambled Eggs laughed. “But one for one is not worth it, Xin God. Why did you kill yourself?”

—[You understand nothing. This is called sacrificing to God!] 

—[Hahaha never would I expect this outcome]

Xin Qin had to explain himself, “Actually, that kill was my cat’s.”