"By the way, Tom, how did you get here?" Zhang Da Ye asked.
Tom hopped up, gesturing and bouncing around, but Zhang Da Ye couldn't understand him at all. He stopped him, saying, "Wait, wait, wait—you can talk, right?"
Zhang Da Ye remembered that Tom was a language master, fluent in multiple human languages and even various Chinese dialects. So why wasn't he speaking directly?
When Tom finally opened his mouth, it brought an inexplicable sense of familiarity:
"Speaking human talk is exhausting, throat hurts."
A thick, rustic accent! Zhang Da Ye nodded—okay, cats' bodies aren't built like humans, so it makes sense that speaking human language would be uncomfortable… but wait, Tom's body isn't exactly an ordinary cat's either.
"Then how about writing?" Zhang Da Ye suggested. Since Tom didn't want to talk, he didn't want to force him.
Tom nodded, raised a paw, and with his sharp claw, scratched neat characters onto the wooden board. The writing was so tidy it looked like printed text, leaving Zhang Da Ye feeling embarrassed.
A few minutes later, combining the writing with Tom's gestures, Zhang Da Ye finally understood Tom's story.
After being kicked out of his home, Tom was heartbroken—until a contract appeared before him. The gist of it read:
"Summon Tom to another world to help Zhang Da Ye overcome difficulties. Tom may make reasonable requests. Signing this contract makes it effective."
After a moment of thought, Tom signed and wrote his request:
"Make Zhang Da Ye my new owner, and let me be a happy house cat."
Zhang Da Ye was stunned. Was this a literal freebie? Did Tom's brain work differently from normal cats?
Although Zhang Da Ye didn't create the contract, he still felt guilty about "coercing" an unsuspecting cat.
He rubbed his conscience and asked, "Tom, with your skills, you could survive fine on your own. Why do you need an owner?"
Tom shook his head and wrote a few more lines:
"A cat with an owner is a house cat. A cat without an owner is a stray. Strays go hungry, get cold, and are bullied. I want to be a house cat."
Zhang Da Ye was speechless at Tom's flawless logic. After a moment, he reached out to pat Tom's head and said,
"Then I'll be your owner. As long as I have food, you'll have food. I'll make sure you have a warm home."
Zhang Da Ye remembered Tom's favorite things besides playing with Jerry: sleeping lazily by the fireplace and raiding the fridge. A cat like Tom could easily devour an entire family's feast.
Zhang Da Ye realized that keeping Tom would require him to work hard and earn plenty. It was going to be a long journey.
Tom, seeing Zhang Da Ye's affirmation, rubbed his head against Zhang Da Ye's hand happily.
According to Tom, this place was another world. For Zhang Da Ye, it probably was too—though neither knew exactly where they were.
At this moment, Zhang Da Ye noticed the circular pattern on his left hand. Only the outer ring was visible and faintly glowing. According to Tom, this was the summoning magic that brought him here.
Could it help them escape? Zhang Da Ye poked the ring with his finger. It flickered, showing 3%—like his phone battery before.
"This thing… out of power?" Zhang Da Ye murmured. He patted his pockets—no phone, only an ear pick and his pendant.
Tom tilted his head, puzzled.
Zhang Da Ye smiled, "Alright, Tom. You can see the situation. We're drifting at sea. We need to find land, get food, and water."
Speaking of food, Zhang Da Ye's stomach growled.
Tom quickly pulled his small backpack over and pushed it to Zhang Da Ye.
Inside were three cans of fish and a wad of green bills—Tom's entire "possessions" when leaving home. Zhang Da Ye was touched.
"I can wait a bit. Let's try fishing first. Save the canned fish for emergencies."
Tom patted his chest, signaling "I got this," and grabbed the wooden stick he'd carried, combining it with Zhang Da Ye's shoelace-fish-hook contraption to make a makeshift fishing rod.
One shoelace was too short, so Zhang Da Ye added another.
Watching Tom expertly cast the hook, Zhang Da Ye felt hopeful. Tom was probably good at fishing—he did have experience using Jerry as bait.
After a long time… nothing.
Tom looked a bit upset—without bait, it was really hard. They were drifting, food was limited, and they couldn't attract fish. As the saying goes: no bait, no fish.
Reluctantly, they opened a can of fish—metal with a twistable side lid. Inside were six small fish, about ten centimeters each. They split it evenly.
Starvation made the first fish taste better than anything Zhang Da Ye had ever eaten. By the second and third, he returned to normal eating habits, carefully removing bones. Tom, on the other hand, could eat a whole fish, spit out a clean skeleton in seconds—not a scrap left.
After finishing, Zhang Da Ye collected some fish residue and juice to coat the hook for Tom. Using fish to catch fish—maybe some carnivorous fish would bite.
The empty can was saved. Zhang Da Ye tried to distill some freshwater using the can and the empty milk bottle.
"Wish we had a plastic sheet…" he muttered.
A transparent sheet appeared before him.
"Thanks." He examined it, figuring out how to set it up.
Five seconds later…
"?"
"Wait, where did this sheet come from?"
Zhang Da Ye then muttered, "Wish we had a small stone."
Tom didn't even turn his head. He reached behind him, pulled out a tiny stone the size of a fingernail, and handed it to Zhang Da Ye.
Zhang Da Ye: "!!!"
Seeing Zhang Da Ye hesitate, Tom, looking puzzled, handed it again.
Curious, Zhang Da Ye asked, "Tom, how many things are you hiding? Do you have anything we can use now?"
Tom thought for a moment, then pulled out one item after another:
Mouse traps, firecrackers, matches, cigars, rope, blindfolds… even two revolvers.
Zhang Da Ye thought: makes sense for a cowboy cat to carry two guns.
But there was still no food or water.
Zhang Da Ye grabbed some thin wooden sticks, figuring he'd have to rely on them for distilling water.
"Wait, Tom, why did you use my shoelace as the fishing line if you have rope?"
Tom smiled sheepishly. Since there was something ready, he forgot his own rope.
Zhang Da Ye forgave him and, after much effort, built a functional freshwater collector.
Covering the can and bottle with the plastic sheet, he placed the stone on top, ensuring the lowest point aligned with the bottle.
Sea water evaporated, condensed on the sheet, and dripped into the bottle as freshwater.
Excited, Zhang Da Ye bragged to Tom, "See, Tom! With this, we'll have freshwater tonight or tomorrow!"
Tom, sitting by the edge fishing, glanced over.
Seeing Zhang Da Ye's shaky contraption, Tom almost laughed. Calmly, he disassembled it and reassembled it faster, sturdier, and more efficiently than Zhang Da Ye ever could.
The iron can and glass bottle were secured with string, the bottle wrapped in cloth to reduce evaporation, and the sheet supported firmly.
Zhang Da Ye felt like a novice waving a sword in front of Guan Yu.
Tom, acting like it was nothing, patted his hands and returned to fishing.
Zhang Da Ye realized this must be what people mean by "humbling experience." He could happily cling to Tom's thigh for protection.