Linjiang City.
Yue Bay District.
Yang Fan muttered to himself: "Liren thinks I only reveal myself as a crow, but I also show up as a cat."
He was lazily lying on the sofa, observing the little girl in front of him through the perspective of Cat Number Three.
The little girl's name is Xiang Mengmeng, she is seven years old this year, and lives in Room 601 downstairs.
Her personality suits her name.
The little girl is indeed adorable, especially when her large eyes blink charmingly, she looks extremely cute.
Her mother got divorced a few years back, and now the mother and daughter depend on each other.
Currently, it is a very difficult time, and the two have hardly been able to make ends meet.
Yang Fan doesn't know how many times he has "overheard" Xiang Mengmeng and her mother discussing how to save money or plan their daily meals.
Honestly speaking.
Hearing a little girl say, "Mom, I didn't move around much today, I can eat a little less," really tugs at the heartstrings.
After all, he's not heartless, it's hard not to be touched.
At this moment.
A little girl and a cat, looking at each other through the window glass.
This scene feels rather heartwarming.
Yang Fan, watching the little girl through the cat's eyes, smiled slightly: "Knock on the door...no, knock on the window."
Cat Number Three lifted a paw and gently knocked on the glass twice.
"Thump! Thump!"
Xiang Mengmeng blinked her big eyes and asked, "Kitty, are you cold? Do you want to come in to warm up a bit?"
The tabby cat nodded vigorously: "Meow!"
Xiang Mengmeng was greatly surprised: "You understand what I'm saying?"
The little girl quickly opened the window a crack and beckoned to the tabby cat: "Kitty, come in quickly."
The tabby cat, however, did not go in and continued to stand on the windowsill.
Xiang Mengmeng urged: "Come on!"
Yang Fan smiled slightly: "Although life is a bit tough, you need a bit of sweetness sometimes too."
The tabby cat mewed, seemingly repeating the words.
It immediately picked up a 200-gram packet of gummies and tossed it inside through the window.
Candies and snacks like gummies are considered special items in Great Xia Business Communication, usually only granted to those diagnosed as malnourished by hospitals.
The Space Pearl stored thousands of packets of gummies, giving away one was just a drizzle.
The little girl glanced at the gummies, then at the cat, her little brain in a state of confusion: "Kitty, what are you doing?"
Yang Fan chuckled again: "You need to eat some meat regularly and supplement a bit of protein to grow tall."
The tabby cat lifted a paw, mimicking a "grow tall" gesture: "Meow~"
It then picked up a fish, about one kilogram in weight, and swiftly threw it inside.
Although Great Xia Business Communication does supply meat, the quantity is low and the prices are very high, and the mother and daughter haven't tasted meat in quite a while.
Xiang Mengmeng was even more bewildered.
A cat suddenly appeared, knocked on her window, and delivered both candy and fish; it's too fantastical for a little girl.
Her little head couldn't process such a situation and was already "crashing".
Yang Fan added: "Remember to remind her to shut the window."
The tabby cat meowed again and used its paw to tap the glass with a "thud", making a "close the window" gesture.
Xiang Mengmeng understood the gesture, foolishly following the instruction, and reached out to close the window.
At this moment.
A voice suddenly came from above.
"Swoosh!"
This was the sound of a window being pulled open.
A head poked out.
It was the beautiful Long Legged Sister — Zhao Xiaoying.
The tabby cat instinctively tilted its head up, and its eyes met the beautiful eyes of the Long Legged Sister; both were momentarily stunned.
Yang Fan was also a bit dumbstruck upon seeing this stunning face.
Since when did the Long Legged Sister appear out of nowhere?
How come I didn't hear her upstairs?
He immediately understood; she must have been sitting by the windowsill for quite a while, curious due to the frequent cat meows from below she opened the window to peek.
Yang Fan snapped back to reality and ordered: "Retreat!"
The tabby cat's hind legs kicked off the ground forcefully, and it leaped down from more than ten meters high.
It soared over twenty meters through the air, accurately grabbing a tree branch, using it to offset a significant portion of its force.
It then jumped to another branch, depleting its force once again, and took advantage of it to leap onto the tree trunk, quickly disappearing into the greenery.
This entire set of movements was executed with extreme fluidity, embodying the style of a "master cat".
On the eighth floor.
Zhao Xiaoying witnessed this scene, her red lips turned into an "O" shape.
My goodness!
Isn't this cat too amazing?!
A thought popped into her head: "A skilled fishmonger, sparrows that can do ballet, and a cat that can leap between rooftops, what kind of world is this Great Xia?"
A while passed.
Zhao Xiaoying saw a familiar figure quickly pass by on the street below.
Fishmonger!
She murmured softly: "Why is he only going out after eight today?"
Zhao Xiaoying glanced at the spot where the tabby cat disappeared, her expression subtle: "Why do I feel that this cat is related to the fishmonger?"
She couldn't explain the reason, just had this strange intuition.
Her eyes flickered: "Others can't afford a cat, but the fishmonger's skills aren't small; he often takes home buckets of fish, so raising a cat shouldn't be difficult for him."
Zhao Xiaoying watched the fishmonger's back disappear and sat down again, starting to scroll through her phone news.
Five minutes later.
A news article from Tintera caught her attention.
"Poisonous mosquito swarms erupted in the Kariado Wetland, killing hundreds overnight, with tens of thousands abandoning their homes to flee."
The news was accompanied by a picture.
Although it was pixelated, it's barely recognizable that this was a bloated corpse that made people nauseous.
Zhao Xiaoying was shocked: "Has the situation in Tintera gotten this terrible?"
She suddenly felt a deep sense of relief: "Thankfully, Dad made a decisive decision and brought the whole family back to Great Xia."
It's imaginable.
The over twenty million citizens of Tintera, facing such consecutive tragedies, are bound to feel intense panic.
Yet the Tintera officials are doing nothing. If the family remained in Tintera, they'd surely be living in constant fear day and night.
Zhao Xiaoying sighed, stuffed her phone into her pocket, and turned her head to shout: "Xiaolong, come down and walk with me."
The response came quickly.
"Not going! It's too cold outside."
Zhao Xiaoying narrowed her eyes and chuckled: "I'll give you a chance to reconsider."
The siblings exchanged glances for a moment.
Brother Zhao Xiaolong's calves trembled a few times, finally yielding: "Alright, I'll go, I'll just put on a hat and gloves first."
Zhao Xiaoying warned: "Don't dawdle!"
Zhao Xiaolong quickly sped up: "How could I possibly dawdle."
Very soon.
The siblings came out of Building Twelve.
Zhao Xiaoying walked a few steps, then glanced down at the snow: "These seem like the fishmonger's footprints."
Usually, she wouldn't pay attention to such small details based on her character.
But for some reason, she always felt a mysterious allure about the fishmonger.
So this girl paid extra attention to him, even remembering the footprints he left behind quite clearly.
Zhao Xiaoying walked a few more steps and suddenly squatted down, touched her own footprints, then touched the fishmonger's footprints.
Her brows slightly furrowed: "Something's not right."
Zhao Xiaolong leaned forward and glanced, asking: "Sis, what's wrong?"
Zhao Xiaoying shook her head: "Nothing, let's go."
Zhao Xiaolong knew his sister definitely had something on her mind, but her strength was too formidable for this kid to dare ask.
Zhao Xiaoying kept walking, her mind full of puzzles: "The fishmonger is a head taller than me, with a considerably heftier weight, so why are his footprints about the same depth as mine?"
She suddenly stopped, and then flicked a chunk of snow with her toe, spinning around for a roundhouse kick.
"Pow!"
The back of her foot hit precisely.
Snowflakes flew far, reaching over ten meters away.
The force of this kick was evident.
Zhao Xiaolong shivered at the sight, thinking: "This violent girl is getting scarier."
Zhao Xiaoying nodded contentedly, and added: "Xiaolong, when the fishmonger returns, go to his place and buy fish, understand?"
Zhao Xiaolong remembered the fierce roundhouse kick earlier and obediently answered "Oh".
Actually, he wanted to say "If you show your long legs or big chest, the fishmonger will surely give you a few fish, why don't you go."
*
At the entrance of the community.
Yang Fan, through the perspective of a sparrow, clearly saw the scene of the "long-legged sister squatting down to touch footprints".
He was slightly surprised: "The difference in footprints is so small, Zhao Xiaoying could still see it? This girl's vision is really sharp!"
Yang Fan scratched his head again: "Why do I feel like this long-legged sister seems to have her eyes on me?"
He sighed lightly: "You're a pretty girl, why not go fall in love and enjoy your youth, why focus on me, a fishmonger?"
His hearing is far superior to a dog's ears, often hearing her muttering "fishmonger", so of course, he knew.
An hour and a half later.
Yang Fan took a subway ride and then transferred to a bus, arriving at the west suburb of Linjiang City.
Why it took so long was because the subway company reduced train services to save power.
Due to resource conservation, gas prices soared several times, few could afford to drive fuel-powered cars, with many vehicles being sold cheaply to the national recycling company established by Great Xia.
With the limited power supply, electric cars weren't much better; many lay idle or were sold to the national recycling company.
More and more people turned to public transportation or started riding bicycles.
At this moment.
Yang Fan observed the wilderness ahead, smiling lightly: "Today I can gather enough Source Energy Points for fusion superpowers."
A few kilometers ahead lies the second mosquito egg gathering spot he discovered.