Chapter 219: Collecting

Zhang Wenda was completely baffled as he listened to the Little Black Cat chatter on about all this nonsense.

He hadn't expected the things it was collecting to have such strange names.

'Can something called "Serotonin" be a flower?' Zhang Wenda wondered as he picked an item out of the basket with his fingers.

He had a hunch this place was his own inner world, but why was it so bizarre?

"So, what are you collecting these for?" Zhang Wenda asked again.

"Because it's raining," the Little Black Cat said, pointing at the rain falling endlessly from the sky. "It's lighter now, but it was pouring earlier. That's why we have to make it stop."

"But why does the rain have to stop?"

"Because we don't have umbrellas, and the rain will get our fur wet."

Looking into its innocent eyes, Zhang Wenda was momentarily at a loss for what to ask next.

Just then, the Little Black Cat lowered its head shyly and said, "Um... can you do me a favor?"

"What is it?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"We've gathered everything else, but we're missing the most important thing. Can you help me find it?"

Zhang Wenda looked at the little cat before him, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Alright. But after I help you, you have to do me a favor in return, okay?"

'It's better to find a local to act as a guide than to wander around this strange place by myself.'

'I'm still not sure what my so-called "true self" even is. Maybe this local knows more.'

'And looking at this little guy's size, anything that's hard for him probably won't be a big deal for me.'

"Okay! Okay!" Hearing Zhang Wenda agree to help, the Little Black Cat immediately started wagging its tail in delight.

"Then follow me! This way, this way!" the Little Black Cat said excitedly, diving into the tall grass.

"You still haven't told me what you need help finding," Zhang Wenda called out.

"We're going to catch Dopamine!"

"Dopamine?!"

Already lost, Zhang Wenda was now even more bewildered. But for now, all he could do was take things one step at a time.

Once he was done helping, there were a lot of things he needed to ask the Little Black Cat.

Following the Little Black Cat, Zhang Wenda finally saw the so-called Dopamine behind a patch of shrubs. It was a small lion with a golden mane and a head that was much larger than its body.

Here, Dopamine was an animal.

Seeing the Little Black Cat arch its back, crouch in the grass, and wiggle its rear and tail like it was ready to pounce, Zhang Wenda squatted down and whispered, "What's the plan? We just grab it?"

"Mhm! Be careful. It's really fast. It'll be gone in a flash if you're not paying attention."

Zhang Wenda glanced at the surrounding trees and quickly formulated a plan. "Okay, I'll go to the other side. You drive it toward me, and we'll ambush it."

"Okay!" The Little Black Cat carefully crept forward, while Zhang Wenda waited patiently in his spot.

Soon, a sharp meow cut through the air. The Dopamine was startled and began running for its life right toward him.

Seeing this, Zhang Wenda, who was hiding in the grass, chose his moment and lunged, reaching out to grab its left leg.

Just when Zhang Wenda thought the mission would be an easy success, his hand passed right through the Dopamine's body as if it were completely transparent.

In the instant he froze in shock, the Dopamine was already several meters away. "Quick, after it! It's getting away!"

The Little Black Cat's voice snapped Zhang Wenda back to his senses. He gave chase with all his might. Back in the outside world, he would have caught it in an instant, but here, the monstrous speed he'd once possessed was completely gone. All he could do was run as hard as he could, desperately trying to keep up.

"I can't touch it! I'll chase, you grab!" Zhang Wenda yelled to the Little Black Cat, which was running on all fours behind him.

"You got it!" the Little Black Cat replied, leaping into a nearby tree with a powerful push from its hind legs.

Zhang Wenda began changing his direction, trying to herd the Dopamine toward the Black Cat.

He ran for so long he was almost breathless. Just as they were getting close, his foot suddenly slipped, and with a SPLASH, he fell right into a small stream in the middle of the forest.

By the time he clambered out of the water, sopping wet, he saw the Little Black Cat in the distance finally pounce on the Dopamine. The tension that had kept him going finally broke. He leaned over, hands on his knees, and gasped for air.

"So... so tired," the soaking-wet Zhang Wenda muttered, looking at the stream. "That favor... really took a lot out of me."

As Zhang Wenda looked at his reflection in the stream, he froze. The face looking back at him was completely unfamiliar.

After staring for a long moment, Zhang Wenda finally realized it was him—his adult self from long ago.

Not a rabbit, not a monster, and not a child, but the real, fully-grown, adult Zhang Wenda.

The leather jacket he wore, the digital watch on his wrist—it was all so familiar.

"I... I changed back? How did I change back?" Zhang Wenda touched his own face in astonishment, finding it hard to believe.

'After being a monster for so long, suddenly becoming human again felt... a little strange.'

'No wonder I didn't have my monstrous speed just now.'

"HAHAHAHA!" A burst of hearty laughter drew Zhang Wenda's attention. He looked up to see the Little Black Cat on top of the Dopamine, tickling it furiously.

The Dopamine was rolling all over the ground, laughing so hard that tears streamed from its eyes.

'No wonder the Dopamine ran. So this is what happens when you get caught—you get tickled.'

Zhang Wenda wiped the water from his cheeks with the back of his hand and waded through the stream toward them.

Just as he reached them, he saw the Little Black Cat let the Dopamine go. It fled as if making an escape.

"Why did you let it go?" Zhang Wenda asked.

"We have enough now," said the Little Black Cat, squatting on the ground. It held its small basket in one paw while picking up the Dopamine's tears with the other.

The Dopamine's tears weren't liquid; they had the texture of golden jelly. Zhang Wenda helped it pick them up.

Once they had collected them all, the Little Black Cat looked up happily and said, "Thank you! You were a huge help. Let's go this way."

Following the Little Black Cat's lead, Zhang Wenda walked through the forest for some time before arriving at a village—a village of little black cats.

All the cat dens looked somewhat similar to Song Jianguo's old treehouse.

They were so small that Zhang Wenda had to tread carefully upon entering the village to avoid stepping on any of them.

Little black cats, carrying all sorts of things, walked in twos and threes toward the center of the village. In the middle of the village stood a large, steaming cauldron. They carefully placed the contents of their baskets into the pot.

Before Zhang Wenda could figure out what they were doing, the cats surrounded the cauldron and began to stir it vigorously. As they stirred, a thick, pale-yellow smoke began to rise from the pot.

Meanwhile, another group of little cats extended their claws to hook the wisps of smoke. They kneaded the smoke over and over until it formed into cloud-like shapes, at which point they gently released their paws.

As the clouds floated up into the sky one by one, the rain gradually began to let up. The giant old woman's head that had been there before had also vanished at some point.