Chapter 243: Connection

Joo Joowon stuffed one core into each cat’s paws. Hwi immediately hugged his core and began gnawing on it without hesitation, making the Zombie Core all wet.

He could not help pushing Hwi slightly. "Take it down and chew it."

Eating on the bed was not a good habit, although the bed was not exactly very clean right now either.

Joo Joowon rubbed his swollen temples. According to his perception, there was nothing wrong with his body. However, the negative effects caused by losing 8 points of Mental Power had not completely recovered even after sleeping. Even now, he would still occasionally feel a needle-like pain.

His expression remained calm. He picked up Byeol, who seemed to have little appetite, and placed him on his legs. He opened a pack of wet wipes and wiped away the traces of blood stained on the white cat fur. Then he touched his own neck, where there was now no trace of a wound at all, and felt somewhat puzzled.

It was not that he found it strange that the wound had disappeared. With 21 points of Physique, which was already more than four times that of an ordinary person, it would actually be abnormal if he recovered slowly.

So, before he lost consciousness, why had such a small wound continued bleeding so heavily? He did not have any blood clotting disorder.

Could damage to Mental Power also affect the body’s ability to recover?

After thinking about it, Joo Joowon guessed that it was probably because his Mental Power had already taken control of all of his attributes. As a result, when one part was affected, everything else had been affected as well. After his Mental Power suddenly went on strike, his other three-dimensional attributes had fallen into a chaotic state without anyone taking charge, causing the platelets, white blood cells, and other components around his wounds to fail to function normally.

However, this was only a minor issue. As long as he had not encountered any enemies at that time, even if his Mental Power had never returned to "work," his other attributes would have returned to their respective functions after the brief period of chaos. There was no way he would have died from excessive blood loss while unconscious.

Byeol did not resist Joo Joowon cleaning his fur. He simply frowned tightly while slowly licking the Zombie Core in small bites.

It was not because he was being picky about the core. Rather, the angle at which Joo Joowon had held him while sleeping had been somewhat awkward, causing the area where his bone was fractured to affect his eating somewhat. However, he did not want Joo Joowon to notice this.

He also knew how dangerous it would be for them to be injured out in the wild, so he endured the pain and absorbed the energy contained within the Zombie Core.

Byeol was not an impulsive cat like Hwi. He could sense that, for his current condition, the energy within the Zombie Core was somewhat violent, making it difficult to digest. Therefore, he ate it slowly as well.

He had always been very particular and loyal when it came to the taste of his food. Some animals might change their food and, after going hungry for a few days, pinch their noses and accept it. Byeol, however, was the type who would rather starve to death than eat something he did not like. There was a rather stubborn side to his personality.

As long as there was no problem with nutritional balance, Joo Joowon did not care whether he was picky about food or not. After all, as long as it was something Joo Joowon fed him, even if Byeol did not actually like it, he would still slowly and reluctantly finish eating it.

He had never once failed to appreciate Joo Joowon’s kindness.

Therefore, Joo Joowon did not pay much attention to his slow chewing of the Zombie Core. After wiping him with the wet wipes for quite some time, he finally managed to remove most of the dried blood. Then, he went over and wiped Hwi as well.

It was probably because both cats had been guarding him while he was asleep that they had not even noticed their own condition and had failed to lick themselves clean.

This feeling of being cared about was still quite pleasant. While cleaning Hwi, Joo Joowon looked toward Byeol and thought, now that the Pet Companion interface had been unlocked, what should he do to get Byeol to join it as well?

What was the reason that had caused Hwi to be recognized by the system as his Pet Companion?

Previously, when Byeol had killed the mutated rats, the game had clearly treated him as his pet as well. So why was he not appearing on the Pet Companion panel now?

Was it because of Favorability?

But if it was because of Favorability, Byeol should have appeared on the Pet Companion panel long ago.

Then what could the reason be?

The pain that occasionally came from his brain somewhat hindered Joo Joowon’s thinking. However, since he had already wasted two whole days, it did not matter if he spent the remaining day thinking about it.

When Hwi was finally cleaned until he looked completely refreshed, Joo Joowon also finally figured out where the problem was.

Whether in terms of Favorability or the bond between the two sides, there was no doubt that Byeol was far above Hwi. Yet according to the system’s rules for determining eligibility, Byeol did not meet the conditions for being registered.

If he had to say what difference existed between them, after thinking it over again and again, Joo Joowon felt that aside from their levels, there was only their souls.

It should be impossible for the difference to be their levels. After all, Byeol was also a mutated beast that had stepped into the extraordinary realm. There was no way he would not even catch the game’s attention. Therefore, the only difference between them was that Joo Joowon had come into contact with Hwi’s soul, but had never come into contact with Byeol’s.