Chapter 233: Cat and Mouse
Ya and the others didn’t reveal any of these thoughts. Instead, they quickly packed up the camp, led their mounts, and walked into the cave entrance one after another.
Owen wasn’t entirely sure how big the Slime Queen was. The slimes he summoned had long become part of her, and as long as there was enough food, the Slime Queen would continue to split and reproduce without any apparent limit.
At this point, the Slime Queen had split off countless slimes to multiply in this food-abundant place. When they returned, who knew how many sizes larger she would be.
Even after splitting off so many, the Slime Queen’s size was still enormous. After hollowing out the underground in one go, it formed three main areas. The first was the stable near the cave entrance, used to house the Chocobos and the Dragon Sheep. The space was spacious, and the Slime Maids were responsible for feeding them, all with high-quality feed.
The middle area was the largest, centered around a circular living room. Around it were the kitchen, storage room, bathroom, and shower room. The last area consisted of four separate bedrooms.
All the areas, including the furniture inside, were formed as part of the Slime Queen. In other words, they were actually inside her stomach. If anything went wrong, they’d likely be digested clean in an instant, without even a trace left behind.
Ya and the other two were very aware of this, so their smiles were a little strained. It was like being invited to spend the night in the belly of a giant beast. It was quite thrilling.
But everyone is curious, and Ya and the others were no exception. They couldn’t help but explore everything here.
The walls here were made of a material similar to reinforced plastic โ hard, yet full of flexibility, firmly supporting the underground space.
The floor and tables and chairs were like rubber, a bit soft and springy. But the further in they went, the harder it became, like a rubber-coated steel baton.
What Ya and the others liked most was the sofa. It felt like they were sinking into it, like lying on a cloud.
This was the Slime Queen’s adjustment of the hardness of her body parts. It wasn’t difficult for her at the moment, and she could even separate some Slime Maids to act as internal service personnel. So, whether it was eating, drinking, or cleaning, they didn’t need to lift a finger. The Slime Queen even introduced some of the facilities here, like faucets, flush toilets, and the bathroom.
Although they were inside the Slime Queen, the source of the water was perfectly normal. It was high-quality purified water collected and filtered from underground by the Slime Queen. It was safe to drink directly from the faucet.
In extreme cases, the Slime Queen could even convert underground organic matter into nutrient solution, so even if they didn’t bring any supplies, they wouldn’t starve to death.
After eating and drinking their fill, Ya and the others followed the Slime Maids to the bathroom for a refreshing bath, then returned to their respective rooms. As for gathering together to discuss how to deal with the situation โ don’t be silly. They were currently in the Slime Queen’s belly. Discussing how to deal with her in this place, even the most brain-dead person wouldn’t do such a thing. So, they only exchanged a few brief gestures and movements while bathing.
Having been distracted by the upcoming adventure before, Owen had somewhat come back to his senses now. He realized he’d been a bit judgmental. The Raptor Squad wasn’t as innocent as he imagined.
Actually, this was normal. If they were truly naive and sweet, these three would have died long ago. There’s no way they could have survived so comfortably.
With this understanding, Owen naturally became wary.
Of the three, Ya, the captain, and Bai, the vice-captain, posed no real threat to Owen. The biggest threat was actually Zhi, who looked like a pet.
As a Ratman, Zhi was about 1.2 meters tall and weighed 40 kilograms. Her strength wasn’t great, and her speed was only average. But her reactions were exceptionally quick, and with her race’s advantage of being as flexible as a boneless creature, she was a natural assassin.
Owen estimated that if Zhi launched a sneak attack within three meters, he probably wouldn’t be able to react in time.
However, this didn’t mean Owen had no way to counter her. The simplest method was Ailu. After all, she was a rat. Wouldn’t it be enough to have a cat keep an eye on her?
Early the next morning, when Zhi, who woke up early, saw Ailu the Felyne walking out with breakfast, she felt terrible. Not only was her whole body stiff, but she also had the urge to fall to the ground and play dead.
“Cat-folk?” Ya and Bai, who woke up one after another, were stunned. They hadn’t seen her before.
“Her name is Ailu, my personal attendant.” Owen, who woke up last, sat at the dining table after brushing his teeth and washing his face. He ate the eggs and bacon Ailu had fried, then picked up the bread and milk, speaking casually.
Ya and Bai nodded blankly, then looked at Zhi, who was still stiff, with sympathetic gazes.
Although beast-eared humanoids had reduced animalistic instincts and enhanced rationality, there was still animosity between natural enemies. The Ratmen had the most say in this, because there were too many creatures that preyed on rats. There were eagles in the sky, cats on the ground, and snakes in the burrows. The most terrifying of these were cats โ the mortal enemies of rats.
Zhi finished her breakfast with tears in her eyes. After going outside, she burst into tears. If there was anything more terrifying than a rat and a cat being in the same room, it was eating at the same table.
Countless times, Ailu the Felyne unconsciously stretched her fork towards Zhi. When she came back to her senses, that regretful look sent chills down Zhi’s spine.
Ya and Bai had to comfort Zhi, who was trying to escape back to town. They finally decided to give up their little probes and take Owen directly to the mage’s tomb.
It was clear that what they had found was not a fat sheep, but a dragon in sheep’s clothing.
Now that the other party was smiling and treating them with courtesy, they should quickly kneel and accept it, and not let the face they were given fall to the ground. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be as simple as kneeling.
Next, Owen enjoyed special treatment. The service was truly impeccable. Those who had experienced it all agreed it was good. As for the details, they won’t be elaborated upon.
Of course, although the process was enjoyable, who was taking advantage was a matter of opinion. Did they really think only women lost out in this kind of thing?
As they went deeper, Owen discovered changes in the animals in addition to the plants.
In the mountains and outer areas, mammals were the majority. But as they went deeper, ferns became more and more numerous, the oxygen content gradually increased, and the temperature and humidity were also rising. This led to a decrease in the number of animals, but creatures resembling dinosaurs were becoming more and more numerous, and their size was increasing.
Owen had already released Warm Baby to facilitate the collection of all kinds of data. Besides plants, the main focus was on various dinosaur-like creatures.
Dinosaurs had long been extinct in Owen’s previous world. Now that he had seen them, even if they weren’t as magical as dragons, he was still filled with curiosity.
However, as the data was collected, Owen discovered that the otherworldly dinosaurs were not ordinary. The simplest example was the Raptors and Pterosaurs.
The Raptors of his previous world were actually not very large, let alone suitable for riding.
But the otherworldly Raptors looked like smaller Tyrannosaurus Rexes, stronger and fiercer. Therefore, they were not only incredibly powerful in combat but could also serve as excellent combat mounts.
The Pterosaurs of his previous world were very dependent on the terrain. Because their flight relied on gliding, their nests had to be at high altitudes.
But the otherworldly Pterosaurs could actually fly by climbing trees and jumping, which opened Owen’s eyes.
