Chapter 2: Snow Crystal Cats
“Ding-dong! The first traversal has begun. Destination: Great Prosperity Era. Initial map: Random.”
“If you wish to exit, you can call out ‘Exit’ at any time to instantly leave the map.”
The moment the system finished speaking, the scenery before Su Wudeng’s eyes suddenly began to distort and warp.
The dim shop and the mottled walls spun rapidly, as if torn apart by an invisible force.
Caught completely off guard, the ground beneath her feet vanished, and her body fell uncontrollably.
Surrounding her was a kaleidoscope of time and space tunnels, where countless bizarre, fantastical images flashed past at blinding speed.
She recognized them as the phantoms of pet beasts: Snow Crystal Cats, Snow Leopards, Blue Crystal Whales, Iron-Eating Beasts…
The next second, she landed on solid ground.
A soft sensation snapped her back to reality. Was this… grass?
Su Wudeng was instantly struck speechless by the sight before her.
Lush, thriving trees towered into the clouds, with dappled sunlight filtering through the canopy.
The fresh air was thick with the fragrance of earth and green grass.
In the distance, a creek flowed merrily, its surface rippling with sparkling light.
“Wow, it’s beautiful.”
She couldn’t help but marvel aloud like a country bumpkin.
Who else could possibly understand what it was like to stare at cold steel skyscrapers all day in the city?
The contrast with her present surroundings was night and day.
All kinds of bizarre flora and fauna caught her eye. Over the past month since her arrival, she had cram-studied the history of the Beast Taming world, yet there were still things she had never even seen before.
A vibrant green butterfly fluttered leisurely past her face. Not far away, a squirrel-like pet beast poked its head out of a tree, studying her with curiosity.
She took a deep breath. This fresh air was incredibly healing.
Su Wudeng looked up to see a sapphire-blue sky, where a few white clouds drifted lazily.
The warm sunlight washed over her, making a significant amount of her exhaustion melt away.
She couldn’t help but smile as she stood on the soft grass, stretching her arms out wide.
Right then, an unusual flash of white light caught her eye.
Su Wudeng’s gaze landed on a patch of grass not far away.
There seemed to be something there, shimmering beautifully under the sun like crystalline snow.
What is that?
She leaned in quietly and discovered it was actually a tiny, white furry tail.
The fluffy little tail swayed back and forth at a leisurely pace, making her heart flutter along with it.
She couldn’t help but coo, “Oh my, what kind of little creature is so adorable?”
Su Wudeng carefully parted the grass.
Instantly, a litter of newborn Snow Crystal Cats appeared before her eyes.
Four tiny kittens were huddled into a ball, their fluffy bodies looking like blooming snowflakes.
Their soft, snow-white fur shimmered with a crystalline glow under the sunlight, looking as though it were dusted with a layer of fine diamonds.
But the most breathtaking part was their eyes—clear and blue like the sky, those round eyes were currently staring up at her with pure innocence.
Su Wudeng felt her heart instantly melt into mush.
“So it’s our super adorable Snow Crystal Kitties!”
The Snow Crystal Cats bore a striking resemblance to the white Ragdoll cats she had seen in her previous life, looking both beautiful and elegant.
Their snowy fur was as smooth as silk, their tiny noses were a cute pink, and their rounded ears twitched slightly.
One of the Snow Crystal Cats was a bit larger than the rest. It wobbled precariously as it tried to stand up, showing no fear of Su Wudeng whatsoever.
It even extended its little nose, sniffing forward inquisitively.
“Meowu~” it cried softly, its voice milky and tender, as if it were greeting her.
A gentle breeze blew past, brushing against the Snow Crystal Cat’s soft fur. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the grass, draping it in a halo of light.
Su Wudeng held her breath and clutched her chest.
She couldn’t take it!
How could something be this cute!
The tiny kitten teetered as it stood up, taking soft, wobbly little steps toward her.
Its tail was held high in the air, curled like a little question mark.
“Aww, what does our little kitty want to do?” Su Wudeng said softly, her lips curving upward naturally.
It had been marching forward with a grand, imposing air, only to suddenly trip over a dandelion.
Embarrassed, it lowered its head and poked out a tiny pink tongue to lick its nose, as if trying to cover up its awkwardness.
So embarrassing for a cat.
Su Wudeng’s heart turned completely into water.
She couldn’t resist reaching out her hand, wanting to stroke the kitten’s soft fur.
But just as her fingertips were about to touch it, she froze.
“No!”
“These are infant Snow Crystal Cats. Their mother must be nearby.”
She recalled the nature documentaries she had watched before.
Many animals were extremely sensitive to scents. If a human’s scent rubbed off on the cubs, the mother might very well abandon them.
“Such adorable little kitties shouldn’t be left without a mother.”
Su Wudeng maintained her distance and refrained from moving closer.
But the little kitten didn’t seem to understand. It tilted its head to look at her, its sapphire eyes filled with confusion.
“Still…” Su Wudeng looked around. “Maybe I can find something for you guys to eat.”
She couldn’t resist the urge to feed them.
Yet, the moment she stood up to carefully examine the surrounding plants, she was completely stunned.
“Are all of these… spiritual plants?” Su Wudeng’s eyes widened.
She had subconsciously assumed she was surrounded by ordinary grass and flowers, but only now did she realize that the entire landscape was blankets of spiritual plants!
Amidst the sea of lush green, some flowers shimmered under the sun, colorful liquids flowed along the leaves of others, and some stems even vibrated slightly, as if they possessed a life of their own.
There was no doubt about it—these were definitely spiritual plants.
Spiritual plants were rare treasures in the Beast Taming world used to improve human physical constitutions.
It was said that consuming them could not only strengthen the body but also enhance mental strength and even prolong life.
Some spiritual plants could even grant humans special abilities, such as night vision, underwater breathing, and so on.
A single high-grade spiritual plant could fetch an astronomical price, and even then, there was often demand but no supply.
After all, the collapse of the natural ecosystem didn’t just mean the disappearance of pet beasts; it also meant the mass extinction of plant life.
Spiritual plants were practically premium luxury items in the Beast Taming community.
And right now, they were growing all over the hills surrounding her?!
Her throat felt dry. She didn’t dare to imagine just how massive of a treasure trove this truly was!
Right at that moment, Su Wudeng suddenly noticed a plant by her foot.
“Wait!”
“Isn’t… isn’t this the ‘Astraea Grass’ that the Agricultural Research Institute has been trying to cultivate to no avail?”
Astraea Grass was a top-tier spiritual plant legendary for its ability to significantly boost mental strength.
It could vastly increase one’s control over mechanical pet beasts.
“Holy crap, am I about to strike it rich?”
Furthermore, she discovered there were actually several stalks of Astraea Grass growing here.
Su Wudeng’s heart raced, and her hands trembled slightly as she carefully reached out toward the nearest one.
“It should… be fine to just take it like this, right?”
Su Wudeng pulled the Astraea Grass right out by its roots.
She looked at the plant in her hand with a slightly guilty conscience. She didn’t know the proper harvesting method, after all; she had only caught a glimpse of it on the news before.
But to be safe, she would just pull one for now.
Leaving empty-handed was completely out of the question, but she didn’t want to ruin good things either.
If the experts at the Agricultural Research Institute were to see Su Wudeng’s crude method, they would probably be heartbroken to the point of tears.
Carefully putting the Astraea Grass away, Su Wudeng looked up and was drawn to a few brightly colored spiritual plants.
Though she didn’t know what they were used for, they were truly beautiful.
“Taking them!” she decided resolutely.
But just as she took a step forward, she suddenly felt a tug at her foot.
Looking down, Su Wudeng froze.
It turned out that the kitten that had stood up was tightly biting the hem of her pants.
It looked up, its big, watery blue eyes filled with pleading.
“Meowu~” the little guy cried pitifully, its paws continuously scratching at her shoe.
Su Wudeng was amused to the point of laughter. She squatted down. “You little thing, do you want to come with me?”
“No can do. You have to wait for your mommy here, okay?”
She wasn’t so completely heartless as to separate such a tiny infant from its mother.
The little Snow Crystal Cat tilted its head, seemingly unable to understand a word she said.
It let go of her pants, but the next second, it bit down on Su Wudeng’s finger instead, the pressure so light it felt like it was just acting cute.
“Don’t be like this…”
Su Wudeng lifted her foot, but the little guy refused to give up.
Every step she took forward, it would drag itself along her pants, pulling backward.
“Meowu! Meowu!” The little guy cried out in anxiety, its voice so soft and milky that it could melt anyone’s heart.
“You little rascal,” Su Wudeng said, caught between anger and amusement.
“I’m not your mommy. You have a mommy, right?”
Just as she was about to squat down and reclaim her pant leg, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
Wait, something’s wrong.
Su Wudeng frowned and carefully observed the other three kittens.
They remained curled up in the grass, their bodies shivering slightly, looking extraordinarily weak.
“How could this be?” she muttered to herself. “If a mother cat were taking care of them, there shouldn’t be such a massive disparity.”
Years of experience raising cats made Su Wudeng instantly alert.
She cautiously approached the other kittens to inspect their condition thoroughly.
Sure enough, she noticed that the kittens’ bellies were completely sunken.
“They haven’t been getting enough milk…” Su Wudeng’s heart sank.
Immediately following that, she looked at the feces surrounding the kittens. The color was abnormal, and it was dry and hard.
“These are signs of starvation and dehydration.”
Moreover, except for that one active kitten, the others didn’t even have the strength to stand up.
And now, even that slightly more active kitten had clamped onto her pants leg, sucking on it weakly until it left a wet patch.
“Something is wrong. This litter of little guys must have been abandoned!”
And they had been abandoned for quite some time.
Under normal circumstances, a mother cat would nurse her cubs multiple times a day.
If there really were a mother cat around, she would never let her cubs starve to this extent.
She looked back at the kitten still biting her pants leg and suddenly understood its behavior.
It wasn’t being lively and cute at all—it was hungry! It was dizzy from hunger!
But a kitten this small had absolutely no idea what was drinkable and what wasn’t; it was merely biting and sucking on everything out of instinct.
The look in Su Wudeng’s eyes changed instantly.
She hurriedly bent down and carefully scooped it up into her arms.
The moment she touched it, she gasped. The kitten’s body temperature was abnormally high.
“This is bad. It’s sick!”
They needed medical treatment immediately!
Otherwise, with a fever this high, this litter of kittens wouldn’t last much longer!
The little guy’s body was burning hot and shivering slightly, its tiny claws tightly hooking onto Su Wudeng’s finger.
It was tired, hungry, and in pain, its belly letting out a faint gurgling sound.
Its tiny tongue poked out slightly, as if searching for mother’s milk, but it could only lick Su Wudeng’s palm.
“Mommy…”
