Chapter 7: The Cat and the Old Dog

【1. Marked Slot +1】

【2. Body Search Function +1】

3. Hosted AI Personality Change

The marked slot was exactly what Xia Yu had just wanted. The body search function was likely a feature to filter bodies based on certain conditions, but without available slots, even selecting another body would be useless.

Regarding the change in the hosted AI’s personality, did the hosted AI even have a personality to begin with?

“Hosted AI personality,” Xia Yu muttered.

The next moment, a line of subtitles appeared before him:

【AI Personality: Introverted and Silent】

So there was such a thing. This game didn’t have an instruction manual; every function had to be explored on one’s own.

The introverted and silent personality was excellent, and Xia Yu had no intention of changing it.

Stretching out his hand, he clicked on the first option.

An empty spot appeared in his exchange slot.

Smiling in satisfaction, Xia Yu walked out of the room to get ready for the day.

Since the black cat could be exchanged again, picking it up and bringing it home had now become urgent. If the cat encountered any misfortune outside, Xia Yu would lose an exceptional body.

After getting ready, Xia Yu checked the time—it was 2:30 AM. The cat was in the neighboring city, and there were no high-speed trains at this hour.

Hesitating for a moment at the door, Xia Yu sighed and raised his hand to hail a taxi.

“Brother, where to?” the driver asked.

“Going to Donglin City,” Xia Yu replied reluctantly. “How much?”

“Since there aren’t many passengers at this hour, I’ll give you a discounted price—four hundred.” The driver smiled. Long-distance fares paid much better than short ones. “I’m not ripping you off. Even if you find another driver, the price won’t be lower than mine.”

Four hundred yuan was nearly half a month’s salary for Xia Yu. He tried to negotiate: “How about 350?”

“Deal!” The driver opened the door.

“…”

“Haha! Three hundred and fifty is exactly my bottom line. Brother, you really know your stuff!” The driver enthusiastically invited Xia Yu to get in.

Well, waiting for another taxi might take forever, and this world didn’t have an app-based ride-hailing function.

It was just money anyway. Finding the black cat was the priority.

In many fantasy stories, tragedies often happened because the protagonist delayed.

After a three-hour ride, Xia Yu arrived at his destination. He asked the driver to stop at a familiar pedestrian street, paid, and got out.

Although this body had never been here before, the black cat had wandered around the area all night and was already very familiar with it.

Passing the tree where the cat had picked up a balloon last night, passing the glass wall where it had looked at its reflection, Xia Yu entered a narrow alley.

The milk tea bottle he had crushed the previous night still lay quietly on the ground.

Walking past a trash can, Xia Yu reached the corner where he had hidden the roast duck. Only a duck head remained; the rest was gone.

Had the black cat taken it?

If the black cat wasn’t nearby, that would be a problem.

However, as long as the cat wasn’t in mortal danger, things would be fine.

He could find a taxi driver, tell them to bring a cat to Zilang City at night, and then switch into the cat’s body and take the taxi.

The premise was that the black cat wasn’t in danger.

Unsettled, Xia Yu walked around the area but still didn’t spot the black cat.

Should he try exchanging again tonight?

Xia Yu didn’t want to waste time grinding for the black cat’s skills. Piano lessons were his top priority.

“Um…” A young man approached Xia Yu.

“Hello, anything I can help with?” Xia Yu looked at the approaching youth. The young man wore a simple plaid shirt and didn’t seem like a thug.

“There’s a very aggressive stray dog in this alley. You’d better not walk through here,” the young man said.

Xia Yu glanced around and realized he was standing exactly where the black cat had warned him last night.

The black cat itself knew this place was dangerous and wouldn’t enter.

“Why not report it to the city management?” Xia Yu asked casually.

“The city management came twice already but couldn’t catch it. That dog is really cunning—it hides when it sees a crowd. Plus, not many people walk this way, so most just take a detour.” The young man pointed to the right. “You can go this way.”

“Thanks.” Xia Yu thanked him and was about to leave.

At that moment, he noticed a takeout bag wedged in a corner of the alley.

It was the roast duck takeout bag.

Beside him, the young man smiled, seeing Xia Yu heed his advice. As he was about to leave, he saw Xia Yu enter the alley.

“???”

“Hey, why don’t you believe what I said!” Seeing Xia Yu walking faster, the young man quickly picked up a brick from the ground and followed.

Xia Yu had already started jogging. He could hear the cat meowing.

Following the sound, Xia Yu spotted the black cat. It was clinging to a small tree. Below it, a half-meter-tall, tan-colored dog crouched on the ground.

Seeing Xia Yu, the dog stood up and barked at him.

Xia Yu quickly scanned the surroundings for a weapon but found nothing.

Looking at the black cat clinging to the tree with all four paws, its meows weak, unsure how much longer it could hold on, Xia Yu broke off a branch from a nearby tree.

Seeing that Xia Yu had no intention of retreating, the dog’s expression turned fierce. It charged at him.

Its rough breathing and sharp teeth were terrifying.

As it approached, Xia Yu suddenly felt its movements slow down.

Dogs didn’t just slow down on their own. It must be that Xia Yu’s reaction speed had increased under focused attention.

Agility had such an effect?

Indeed, mice were fast, snakes could catch mice, but cats could even hold their own against snakes. What seemed fast to humans was just normal to cats.

Sidestepping, Xia Yu dodged the dog’s charge and struck it across the face with the branch.

An ordinary dog would have whimpered and run off after such a hit, but this tan dog didn’t even make a sound. After landing, it spun around and charged again.

Throwing away the ineffective branch, Xia Yu timed his move and kicked the dog hard in the waist.

The force was great, and the kick landed precisely. The dog couldn’t get up immediately.

The young man who had followed behind watched the fight between Xia Yu and the dog in stunned silence. He had already prepared to call an ambulance but hadn’t expected Xia Yu to be so capable.

After the dog whimpered, the young man snapped out of his daze. Holding the brick, he approached the dog and started hitting it on the head.

“Last time you chased me—how was my butt to bite? Huh?”

Hearing the young man’s words, Xia Yu immediately imagined him being brutally bitten.

Besides being a genuinely good person, the young man also had his own reasons for being so enthusiastic—hatred, perhaps.

After knocking the dog unconscious, the young man thanked Xia Yu: “Finally got my revenge. If you have something to do, you can go ahead. I’ll wait here for the city management to come take this dog away.”

Nodding, Xia Yu used a sausage he had bought on the way to coax the black cat and held it in his arms.

He looked around and saw a pile of bones. They were from the roast duck. The black cat wouldn’t have eaten it all at once. Most likely, the tan dog had smelled the food, stolen the duck, and the black cat had followed to try to retrieve it, only to be chased up the tree.

Luckily he had arrived in time. If the black cat had been caught by the tan dog, it would have been in serious danger.

Patting the black cat’s head, Xia Yu took a taxi back to Zilang City. Since high-speed trains didn’t allow animals, he had to spend more money again.

By the time he got home, it was nearly noon. Hearing the door open, Youxue came out.

“Brother, where did you go… Ah, a cat!” Noticing the black cat in Xia Yu’s arms, the girl became excited.

Xia Yu handed the black cat to Youxue, who happily petted it.

After pouring himself a glass of water in the kitchen and drinking it, Xia Yu waited for Youxue to ask about the phone. But after finishing two glasses of water, she still hadn’t brought it up.

Seeing the phone on the desk, Youxue must have guessed it was from him. It wasn’t like her not to mention it at all.

My Youxue wasn’t a child without manners.

Frowning, Xia Yu thought for two seconds.

“Youxue, go buy me an eraser.” Xia Yu handed her a ten-yuan note to send her out.

“Okay.” Without the slightest reluctance, Youxue put down the cat and left.

After seeing her walk far away from the balcony, Xia Yu approached Xia Dongyang’s room door and kicked it hard.