Chapter 17: Viral on the Star Network! The Live Selling Exhibition
Shu Can and Uncle Lan exchanged a knowing look, realizing that Shopkeeper Su had a master plan.
Meanwhile, inside the Iron Wolf War Pet Shop.
Champagne bubbles danced in the air, accompanied by waves of joyous laughter. Xiaowei and her boyfriend, Zhao Zhengzhi, shared a triumphant smile.
Their promotional video was dominating the top spot on the trending search list, and the targeted traffic generation was working flawlessly. The store was absolutely packed with eager customers.
“Look, honey,” Xiaowei said, proudly wrapping her arm around Zhao Zhengzhi. “I told you we would be a massive success!”
Zhao Zhengzhi nodded smugly, his gaze locking onto the centerpiece display in the middle of the store. Standing there was a four-million-credit mechanical wolf—sleek, silver-gray, and engineered with smooth, aggressively powerful lines. Its optical sensors glowed a menacing red, and its razor-sharp titanium claws gleamed under the display lights.
The surrounding crowd stared in awe, practically fighting over space to snap photos with their communicators.
“So awesome! This is my first time seeing this model in person!”Â
“Now this is a real mechanical beast! Cold, powerful, and absolutely lethal.”Â
“That glare is terrifying. I feel like it’s going to rip my throat out just looking at it!”
Xiaowei shot a deeply arrogant, mocking glance toward the deserted shop across the street. She scoffed. “Look over there. Not a single soul in sight.”
“Oh, wait, except for that old geezer and that random young guy who’s been hanging around lately. I don’t know where he crawled out from, but I bet he’s only there because he has a crush on Su Wudeng!”
After all, there was no way anyone was actually in there to buy her fake pets.
Zhao Zhengzhi’s chest puffed out with pride. Everything was aligning perfectly with his vision. There was no problem in the galaxy that money couldn’t solve; if there was, it just meant you hadn’t spent enough of it. He had burned through a fortune to guarantee this grand opening was a legendary success.
As for the pathetic, broke girl across the street? She probably couldn’t even afford to buy a single sponsored post. Well, tough luck. She was just going to have to sit there and be completely crushed into dust by the troll army he had hired. She would never recover. From this day forward, the pet street belonged to Zhao Zhengzhi!
But suddenly, they noticed a bizarre shift in the atmosphere around them.
The crowd’s expressions turned strange. Hostile, disgusted whispers began to ripple through the store.
“So it was them… that’s absolutely despicable.”Â
“And to think I actually believed their marketing.”Â
“Is this how they treat their so-called ‘best friends’? Backstabbing them like that? They’re pure garbage!”Â
“Let’s go, let’s get out of here. Spending another second in here makes me want to throw up!”
Xiaowei and Zhao Zhengzhi exchanged panicked looks, completely lost.
“What the hell is going on?” Zhao Zhengzhi demanded, his face darkening. Why had the mood flipped so violently?
Xiaowei was the first to react. She hurriedly pulled up her communicator, checking the network feeds.
As if struck by lightning, her entire body began to tremble. She clutched Zhao Zhengzhi’s sleeve desperately. “Honey… look at this…”
Sitting securely at the number two spot on the trending search list was a massive headline: EXPOSED: Pet Store Maliciously Hires Troll Army to Smear Competitor, Shamelessly Sabotages Rival Just to Launch Their Own Business!
Xiaowei frantically clicked on the attached video. To her absolute horror, every single shred of evidence was laid bare for the entire galaxy to see.
The chat logs with the troll syndicate, the transaction receipts, the exact timestamps of the coordinated attacks—it was all there, indisputable and completely damning. It was the absolute, undeniable truth.
“How is this possible?!” Zhao Zhengzhi roared, his face turning an ugly shade of purple. “How the hell did they get all this data? It has to be that bitch across the street!”
Xiaowei frowned deeply, her mind racing. “No, that’s impossible. How could that broke peasant possibly possess this level of digital warfare capability? She has zero money and zero connections…”
“Then who the hell else could it be?!”
Who would go out of their way to target them so precisely?
Before they could even attempt to salvage the situation, the atmosphere inside the store completely collapsed. Customers began flooding toward the exit in droves, some even turning back to spit curses at them.
“Black-hearted scammers! I’m never stepping foot in here again!”Â
“Absolute scumbags! You aren’t getting a single credit from me!”
Xiaowei and Zhao Zhengzhi watched in utter, helpless despair as the multi-million-credit grand opening they had spent a fortune preparing emptied out entirely in a matter of minutes.
“What is happening?!”Â
“Why is everyone leaving?!”Â
“Get back here! Come back!”
Xiaowei clung to Zhao Zhengzhi’s arm, completely paralyzed by shock. Then, another high-priority notification popped up on her screen.
The Origin of the Snow Crystal Cat Revealed! Unedited Footage Proves They Are 100% Authentic, Living Pets!
Her hands shook violently as she opened the video. It had indeed been uploaded by Su Wudeng.
The footage opened on a cluster of tiny, emaciated kittens huddled tightly together, letting out weak, heart-wrenching cries. They were severely malnourished and starving. Sensing a rescuer, the kittens practically dragged their trembling, frail bodies over to Su Wudeng, desperately clinging to her pant legs and refusing to let go. They were so starved that they began instinctively suckling at the fabric.
The comment section below the video was an ocean of heartbreak.
“Oh my god, those are real living kittens… they look so pitiful.”Â
“They were so hungry they thought her pants were food. That is absolutely devastating.”Â
“They were literally starving to death. To think they suffered so much before she found them.”Â
“How the hell could anyone call this fake? Look at the before-and-after contrast! It’s undeniably real! Iron Wolf War Pet Shop, you are absolute monsters!”
The netizens were profoundly moved by the tragic struggle of the fragile little lives. Watching the unedited footage made them feel as though they were right there beside Su Wudeng, experiencing the rescue firsthand. They agonized over the kittens’ near-death state, but were equally euphoric to see them successfully survive and thrive.
“Waaah, this is so incredibly touching!”Â
“If it weren’t for Shopkeeper Su’s pure heart, those kittens would have died alone in the dark somewhere.”Â
“Seeing the raw comparison between how sickly and frail they were to how plump and healthy they are now… I’m one hundred percent convinced they are real!”Â
“The physical transformation is too drastic and natural. There is no mechanical pet on the market capable of simulating that level of organic recovery and morphological change!”Â
“I knew it was real from the start! No machine possesses eyes that vibrant and expressive. It looks like it has a soul.”
The comment section instantly transitioned from heartbreak to an absolute buying frenzy:
“I need to buy one! The Snow Crystal Cat is my absolute dream companion!”Â
“Please, Shopkeeper, I’m begging you! Let me adopt one!”Â
“Waaah, I want a Snow Crystal Cat of my own right now!”
However, just as tens of thousands of users flooded Su Wudeng’s inbox with purchase requests, an official pinned statement appeared at the top of the comment section:
“I am incredibly sorry, but all available Snow Crystal Cats have already been adopted. Thank you all for your overwhelming support.”
The announcement hit the network like a tactical nuke, sending the comment section into an absolute uproar.
“What?! Sold out already?!”Â
“Wait, didn’t everyone spend the last 24 hours screaming about how they were fake and completely useless? So who the hell bought them?!”Â
“Oh no! We have traitors in our midst!”Â
“Okay, own up to it! You all swore you wouldn’t buy them, but you were secretly throwing down deposits behind our backs, weren’t you?!”Â
“Who did it?! Who secretly bought my Snow Crystal Cat?!!!”
Within minutes, the associated tags completely hijacked the trending search rankings.
#EveryoneSworeTheyWereFakeSoWhoBoughtThem# #TraitorsInTheChat# #ShopkeeperPleaseReleaseAnotherBatch# #WeWillDoAnything#
To pour gasoline on the fire, Coco and Chu Yansen began happily dropping photos and video updates of their respective adopted kittens right into the top comment threads.
Chu Yansen typed with insufferable smugness: “Didn’t you guys want to know who bought the Snow Crystal Cats? Well, feast your eyes.”
In the attached video, a tiny Snow Crystal Cat was curled up perfectly in Chu Yansen’s palm, its snowy coat gleaming like pure silk. His slender fingers gently stroked its back, and the kitten let out a deep, rumbling purr of absolute satisfaction.
His next clip showed him working diligently at his desk, with Snowball sitting right next to his monitor. The kitten stared at him with massive, adorable eyes, tilted its head curiously, and then executed a breathtakingly elegant, lazy stretch.
…
Not to be outdone, Coco eagerly had her parents upload updates of Xiaoxue.
“The little one has learned how to run!”
In the video, Xiaoxue’s white fur sparkled beautifully under the living room lights as her stubby little legs carried her in a clumsy, joyful sprint across the floor. Her steps weren’t perfectly steady, but she was brimming with excitement, her tiny pink nose twitching rapidly as she sniffed at her new kingdom.
When she saw Coco reaching out for a hug, Xiaoxue bounced with pure joy, sprinting straight toward her with her tiny tail sticking straight up into the air like an antenna.
Before the internet could even recover from the sheer cuteness of the first video, Coco dropped a second one.
“She was humming right next to my ear first thing in the morning, begging for breakfast.”
This video was a direct critical hit to the entire galaxy’s collective heart.
A ball of snow-white fluff was curled tightly in Coco’s arms. Even though the fluffball hadn’t fully woken up yet, she was already letting out soft, subconscious humming noises. She let out a massive, lazy stretch, exposing her squishy pink paw pads and tiny, needle-like claws.
The tiny paws immediately reached out, gently pressing against Coco’s face. Coco erupted into a fit of giggles. Xiaoxue finally blinked awake, staring directly into the camera with sleepy, half-lidded eyes as she let out a soft, incredibly tender “meow.”
The humming sound was a masterclass in acting spoiled, and Coco couldn’t resist burying her face into the kitten’s round little head. Xiaoxue grew restless, her wet little nose nudging urgently against Coco’s palm as the humming grew slightly louder. She stared up at Coco with eyes as blue and clear as pristine gemstones, brimming with absolute expectation.
It didn’t take a genius to translate what the little creature was thinking: “Hungry! Give food!”
Unable to resist the cuteness assault, Coco immediately got out of bed and filled Xiaoxue’s bowl to the brim. Fully satisfied, Xiaoxue practically vibrated with energy. Her tiny pink tongue lapped up the food with rapid precision, letting out happy, gurgling noises as she ate. She looked so incredibly focused on her meal that even the tips of her ears twitched rhythmically with pure pleasure.
The moment the video went live, the live reaction feed completely shattered.
“Oh my god, this is illegally cute!”Â
“You’re trying to murder me with cuteness, aren’t you?!”Â
“My heart is completely melting into a puddle!”Â
“Oh my god, that is MY cat! Give it back!”Â
“Waaah, I can’t believe you guys are eating this well behind our backs!”Â
“No, I have to say it again—Iron Wolf War Pet Shop, you are absolute, unforgivable scum for trying to ruin this!!!”
As the network hype reached a fever pitch, Zhong Huihui decided to upload a dedicated video of her own.
“I love my kitty so incredibly much!” Zhong Huihui’s voice was thick with pure, unadulterated affection. “When I was having a mental breakdown and crying in the middle of the night, she trotted right over with her tail raised high and meowed at me. She kept rubbing her little head against my face, and the comfort I felt was instant!”
In the accompanying footage, a snowy-white kitten hopped lightly onto her bed, gently nuzzling Zhong Huihui’s cheek with its soft pink nose.
“I want to share the story of my little Baiyun.”
Zhong Huihui looked at the camera, her eyes softening completely. She spoke slowly, recounting the day she officially adopted “Baiyun.”
That day, she had mustered every ounce of courage she possessed to quit the toxic job that was slowly suffocating her. She had pushed open the door to Shopkeeper Su’s store, and through sheer, miraculous luck, she had been granted the opportunity to adopt the Snow Crystal Cat she named Baiyun.
God only knew the overwhelming, absolute euphoria she felt in that moment. When she cradled the soft, silver-white fluffball in her arms for the very first time, it felt as though her heart had expanded to twice its size. She finally had a cat. A living, breathing soul that belonged entirely to her.
“Baiyun,” she had whispered softly. “You are my cat now. Let’s call you Baiyun, okay?”
Baiyun had let out a soft hum, stretching her neck to rub affectionately against her new owner, sealing the bond.
In that moment, Zhong Huihui felt that every hardship she had endured was entirely worth it.
However, reality crashed down later that evening. Her parents had called her, demanding to know why she had recklessly thrown away a stable corporate job just to become a lowly clerk in a pet shop.
“Are you out of your mind? Go back and beg your boss for forgiveness right this second!” her father had roared through the receiver. “What kind of future is there in retail? Your corporate job was so prestigious!” her mother’s crushing disappointment had nearly drowned her. “If you want to remain my daughter, you will listen to me!”
She remembered trying to explain that the stress was physically suffocating her, that she was just too exhausted to keep going. But the response from the other end of the line was a barrage of toxic, invalidating accusations.
“Exhausted? Who isn’t exhausted? If you want to make money, you have to suffer!”Â
“We’ve lived like this our entire lives, so what gives you the right to be this selfish?”Â
“Look at your cousin, look at your old classmates… they’re all executives now. They make their families so proud…”
She couldn’t hear whatever came next. For the first time in her life, she realized with devastating clarity that in her parents’ eyes, she didn’t even possess the basic human right to pursue happiness. It was as if she had been born solely to endure suffering—but a suffering that felt endless and entirely pointless.
They believed that enduring misery was the only valid path to the pinnacle of life, the only way to secure “face” and make their relatives envious. But they had never once paused to ask her if that was the life she actually wanted.
She had curled up in her bed, her tears soaking silently into her pillow. The night was deathly quiet, making her muffled sobs sound terrifyingly loud.
But right then, a warm, tiny body had gently climbed onto her mattress.
Baiyun let out an anxious meow. The kitten clearly didn’t understand the complex human reasons behind her owner’s tears, but her acute empathy sensed that her human was in profound pain.
Baiyun gently patted Zhong Huihui’s arm with her soft paws, but the gesture only made Zhong Huihui cry harder.
This sent Baiyun into a panic. “Meow~ Meow~” Don’t cry~
The kitten quickly scrambled right in front of Zhong Huihui’s face, extending her tiny paws to clumsily rub at her cheeks.
Zhong Huihui forced her bloodshot eyes open. Seeing the deeply worried expression on the tiny creature’s face caused a fresh torrent of tears to fall. Even a tiny, helpless kitten knew she was hurting and was doing everything in its power to comfort her. Yet her own blood relatives—the people closest to her—had only offered her blame and condemnation.
Baiyun didn’t understand why her human was crying even harder. Frantic, she nuzzled closer, aggressively rubbing her plush forehead against Zhong Huihui’s tear-stained face. But the more she rubbed, the more the tears seemed to flow.
In a moment of pure desperation, Baiyun flopped over and began rolling around on her back. This was the game her owner loved the most. Every time she did this, her owner would laugh brightly and tickle her belly.
If I do this, will my human be happy again?
“Meow~” Don’t be sad~
Baiyun rolled back and forth, eventually placing a tiny paw directly onto Zhong Huihui’s hand.
Zhong Huihui instinctively reached out, her fingers gently stroking Baiyun’s velvety belly, before finally pulling the kitten into a tight embrace. Pressed against her chest, she could hear Baiyun’s heartbeat—tiny, but incredibly strong and steady.
“Meow~” Don’t cry~
As if understanding the assignment, Baiyun kept wiping away the tears with her paws, even though the fur was already soaked.
Zhong Huihui finally couldn’t hold back. She gently grasped the tiny paw, choking on a sob. “Baiyun, you are the absolute best Baiyun in the world.”
Baiyun replied with a soft, affectionate “meow.”
In that single instant, it felt as though every ounce of grievance, pain, and isolation had been completely healed. She wasn’t alone. She wasn’t empty-handed. She had Baiyun.
That was why Zhong Huihui had decided to share this intensely personal memory with the Star Network.
The Snow Crystal Cat wasn’t a fragile, useless creature. It was a guardian angel that provided her with immeasurable strength and warmth. To Zhong Huihui, her Snow Crystal Cat was infinitely warmer and more loving than any multi-million-credit mechanical beast could ever hope to be.
She looked directly into the camera, delivering her final sentence with profound sincerity: “She understands my joy, my sorrow, my anger, and my happiness. I love her with all my heart. And I am incredibly blessed to know that she loves me back just as much.”
Netizens who watched the video in its entirety were left completely in tears.
“I’m full-on sobbing right now. The things your parents said to you are the EXACT same things mine say to me!”Â
“+1. My experience is identical to yours! Even the mental breakdown part is the exact same!”Â
“But I don’t have a kitten to comfort me! Waaah! I want one so badly!”Â
“My tear ducts can’t handle this. This kitten is too pure for this world! OP, you can tell that she genuinely, deeply loves you!”Â
“I need a little angel like that in my life right now!”Â
“It’s over for the machine industry. After seeing this, I realize mechanical pets are just cold lumps of iron. I don’t care if they cost a billion credits; they can never, ever compare to a living kitten!”Â
“Waaah, I’m so jealous. OP, please promise you’ll give her the best life possible.”Â
“She loves you so much. Hearing Baiyun try to comfort you absolutely broke me. I’ve never experienced unconditional love like that in my entire life.”Â
“I’m crying so hard. Baiyun is a literal angel! She didn’t just heal you; she healed every single one of us watching this story. Snow Crystal Cats are the absolute GOAT!”Â
“I always believed that high-tech mechanical beasts were the ultimate future of companionship. But now… my entire worldview has shifted. I would do anything to have a Snow Crystal Cat!”Â
“I want one! I want one! I NEED ONE!”Â
“Shopkeeper, please! I will literally do anything. Release another batch of Snow Crystal Cats!”
Zhong Huihui’s story acted like a massive boulder thrown into a placid lake, sending tidal waves across the entire network. Her deeply emotional, raw narrative was aggressively shared across every major social platform, rocketing straight to the absolute top of the trending charts in a matter of hours.
The public’s enthusiasm had been completely, irreversibly ignited.
To the citizens of the interstellar era, Zhong Huihui’s story was a revelation. It proved that pets could actually provide genuine, empathetic warmth and companionship—an emotional depth that artificial, programmed responses could never simulate.
Millions of netizens flooded the forums, expressing their tears and declaring their desperate longing to adopt a Snow Crystal Cat of their own.
Hashtags like #IWantASnowCrystalCatToo#, #LivingPetsVSMechanicalBeasts#, and #TheHealingPowerOfSnowCrystalCats# dominated the network, sparking massive societal debates.
@LonelyPatient: “I stayed up all night after watching Zhong Huihui’s video. I just want a companion who actually understands me.”Â
@CorporateDrone: “I am willing to trade an entire year’s salary for a Snow Crystal Cat! Someone, anyone, please tell me where I can buy one!”Â
@TechTitan: “As a lead developer in the mechanical pet industry, I have to publicly concede. The organic emotional interaction displayed by the Snow Crystal Cat is a phenomenon we fundamentally cannot replicate with code. That is true, authentic companionship.”Â
@WealthyTycoonLiu: “Money is no object! I am prepared to pay ten times the market price right now!”
Even Zhong Huihui was completely blown away. She never anticipated that her personal story would resonate with so many millions of people on such a visceral level.
As a direct result, an unstoppable tsunami of users crashed into the official Pet Love Home account, flooding Su Wudeng’s inbox with manic requests.
“Shopkeeper! Please! I need a Snow Crystal Cat! Name your absolute highest price; I will pay it!”Â
“I’m willing to wait! Put me on a waitlist! I don’t care if it takes an entire year!”Â
“My daughter is chronically ill in the hospital. I desperately want to give her a companion like Baiyun. Please, can you help me?”Â
“Shut up and take my money!”
Su Wudeng sat at her desk, utterly bewildered. Where on earth am I supposed to pull more Snow Crystal Cats from?
Driven to desperation, the masses began deploying absurd tactics just to catch Su Wudeng’s attention. A barrage of new, increasingly unhinged trending topics began to surface.
#BeggingShopkeeperSuToSellCats# #SeriouslyIWillBuyAnything# #ShopkeeperLookAtMe#
Some musically gifted users even began composing and producing original ballads dedicated to their quest.
“Oh, Shopkeeper Su, hear my desperate plea… The Snow Crystal Cat is the moonlight in my heart… Please let its warmth illuminate my lonely, hollow nights…”
Major online influencers and livestreamers were completely blindsided by the phenomenon. What the hell is a Snow Crystal Cat, and why is the entire galaxy suddenly having a collective meltdown over it?
But regardless of whether they understood the hype or not, they knew one thing for certain: they had to ride this massive wave of algorithmic traffic!
Instantly, streamers across every major platform began broadcasting 24/7. As long as the title of their stream contained the words “Snow Crystal Cat,” their viewer counts exploded. It was the easiest money they had ever made.
Some clout-chasers leaned into the desperation of the buyers to generate viral gimmicks, making absurd public pledges: “If Shopkeeper Su agrees to sell me a kitten, I will livestream myself eating one hundred raw mustard dumplings! While doing a handstand!”
Watching the absolute chaos unfolding across the network, Su Wudeng felt completely numb.
Before Zhong Huihui had posted her video, the situation had remained somewhat manageable. People were intensely curious about the Snow Crystal Cats, but they hadn’t crossed the line into absolute fanaticism. But Zhong Huihui’s video had struck a raw, exposed nerve in the collective human psyche.
Interstellar society was a high-pressure, emotionally sterile environment. It wasn’t that humans had evolved to be devoid of emotion; it was the result of systemic, generational suppression. The relentless grind of survival simply didn’t afford anyone the luxury of indulging in sadness or emotional vulnerability.
In the towering metropolises of steel and chrome, absolute efficiency was the only metric of value. Out on the frontier borders and the Zerg battlefields, raw destructive power was the only currency that mattered.
But when the story of Zhong Huihui and Baiyun went viral, society remembered what they had lost. They discovered that there were still impossibly pure, innocent creatures capable of smoothing over the jagged, bleeding edges of their souls. Creatures so adorable, so intrinsically warm, that their mere existence could illuminate hearts that had long been scarred over by the dark, mechanical reality of the era.
How could they not go absolutely feral over the prospect of having one?
But Su Wudeng was completely out of options. Every single Snow Crystal Cat from the litter had been officially claimed. She had just learned from Chu Yansen that the final kitten had been reserved by a senior researcher specializing in endangered species. Chu Yansen had personally vouched for the man’s integrity, guaranteeing the kitten would be treated like royalty.
The inventory was officially at zero.
Realizing that if she didn’t address the mob soon, people would start physically tracking down her shop and barricading her front door, she quickly brainstormed a solution and fired off a highly anticipated public announcement.
“You have a new notification from the pet shop you follow!”
“I am deeply moved by everyone’s incredible enthusiasm. While it is true that all of our current Snow Crystal Cats have found their forever homes, the kittens are still residing in the shop for their mandatory observation period. To celebrate, I will be hosting a live broadcast so everyone can spend some time with them!”
The announcement sent the millions of users monitoring her account into absolute hysterics.
“A live broadcast?! An actual, real-time livestream?!”Â
“Oh my god! I finally get to see a living Snow Crystal Cat in real-time!”Â
“Everyone, clear your schedules! Stock up on snacks and drinks! This is a historic event; we cannot miss a single second!”
Deep down, the public knew the harsh reality. Authentic Snow Crystal Cats were impossibly rare. For the vast majority of them, owning one would remain a lifelong, unfulfilled dream. But simply being granted the opportunity to watch them live and satisfy their desperate cravings was a massive victory! To be able to gaze upon such beautiful, perfect angels was a privilege they would cherish for a lifetime.
However, the announcement plunged the corporate working class into a state of sheer panic. The elusive shopkeeper rarely ever initiated a live broadcast, and they were stuck in the middle of their shifts! What were they supposed to do?
In a matter of minutes, the workforce collectively brainstormed the ultimate solution: mass sick leave!
“Boss, I’m having a sudden, violently severe stomach ache. I need to request emergency medical leave!”Â
“Request denied! …Unless you forward me the direct viewing link immediately!”Â
“Wait, seriously? You’re a fan too, Boss?!”
Millions of prepared viewers camped out in the waiting room of the livestream, practically vibrating with anticipation for Su Wudeng to hit the ‘Go Live’ button. The pre-stream chat was moving so fast it was a blur, the atmosphere charged with electric hype.
“Sisters, get your notepads ready! I am going to meticulously document the unique physical traits of every single kitten! I plan on analyzing this footage frame by frame!”Â
“You’re doing god’s work, sis! You have to drop a PDF of your notes in the forum afterward!”Â
“Hey idiot above me, why don’t you just use a screen recorder?”Â
“Heh, amateurs. I have ten separate terminals rigged up right now. I will not miss a single micro-expression!”Â
“Heh! All of you are wasting your time. My digital wallet is fully loaded and ready to deploy. I will drop a massive donation bomb to force the shopkeeper to notice me!”Â
“What?! Us broke peasants can’t compete with the corporate whales?! Okay, balance has been restored to the universe.”
Behind the scenes, the administrators of the streaming platform were currently experiencing a catastrophic meltdown.
The General Manager stared at the backend analytics in absolute horror as the incoming user traffic spiked vertically. “Wait… where the hell is this massive influx of traffic coming from?!”
“One million… ten million… holy crap, the main servers are redlining! Quick! Re-route auxiliary power and spin up the backup server clusters right now!”Â
“If our infrastructure crashes during a historic broadcast of this magnitude, the network will publicly execute us!”
Forget the year-end bonuses; they’d be lucky to keep their jobs!
The engineering team was sweating profusely as they hammered away at their consoles, frantically stabilizing the load. Deep down, they were agonizing over the fact that they were too busy saving the servers to actually watch the Snow Crystal Cats themselves.
On her end, Su Wudeng finished calibrating the camera mount, making some final micro-adjustments to the lens angle to ensure perfect lighting.
Once everything was locked in, she confidently tapped the ‘Go Live’ button.
A gentle, melodic female voice filtered through the audio feed. “Hello? Can everyone hear me? Is the feed lagging?”
“Oh, wow. No, the feed is fine; there are just an unbelievable amount of people here.”
“Goodness, the viewer count is incredible. Thank you all so much for tuning in.”
“I know why you’re all here, so let’s skip the boring introductions. Come on, let’s take a look at the Snow Crystal Cats together~”
Su Wudeng knew full well that the audience had zero interest in hearing her ramble. They were here for the main event, and she delivered immediately.
On the live feed, tiny, pristine Snow Crystal Cats began hopping into the frame one by one. Su Wudeng had deliberately orchestrated this sequence, ensuring that every single kitten received equal, high-definition screen time so the netizens could admire their unique perfection up close.
Once all the kittens had gathered in the viewing area, the situation devolved into adorable chaos. Driven by natural curiosity, they bounded toward the camera lens, sniffing the glass intently and occasionally letting out soft, inquisitive meows, clearly trying to figure out what this strange, glowing monolith was.
But this extreme, high-definition proximity sent the millions of viewers on the other side of the screen into absolute, feral madness.
The live chat exploded, scrolling so fast it broke the rendering engine:
“THE FUR! THE TINY PINK NOSE! AHHH, I HAVE TRANSCENDED!”Â
“Those little paws~ Literal perfection.”Â
“They look so innocent and pitiful… How am I supposed to survive this?!”Â
“Auntie is having a severe nosebleed right now! Auntie’s heart cannot take this!”Â
“Hehehe~ inhales aggressively I am inhaling the cat through the screen! Inhaling respectfully!”Â
“Getting this close to the lens… you obviously want me to kiss you, don’t you?! mwah mwah mwah!”Â
“Ahem! Can the degenerates in the chat exercise a modicum of restraint? (Quietly cradles a digital kitten to my chest… so soft~)”Â
“OMG! The one on the far left totally just winked at me! I swear on my life it winked at me!”Â
“The one in the middle is grooming its paws! My god, look at that tiny pink tongue! It’s illegally cute!”Â
“Shopkeeper! Can you make them do a barrel roll? Please, I’m begging you!”Â
“Shopkeeper, Shopkeeper! Pick them up and cuddle them for me! They are so unbelievably precious, how are you resisting the urge?!”Â
“Seriously, Shopkeeper, how are you maintaining your composure?!”
The screen was completely obliterated by a tidal wave of chaotic, desperate comments.
The audience was agonizing over the fact that they could see these divine creatures but were physically barred from touching them. Meanwhile, the only person in the universe with the physical clearance to cuddle them was displaying a terrifying, monk-like level of self-control. How could she just sit there without aggressively burying her face in that fluff?
Su Wudeng let out a soft chuckle. The sheer desperation in the chat was genuinely hilarious.
They had no idea that she had already spent the entire morning aggressively cuddling these little angels off-camera!
However, seeing the escalating demands flooding the chat, she decided to throw the netizens a bone.
“Alright, alright. I’ll fulfill your wishes.”
She smiled warmly. “Let’s play a quick game. I’m going to count to three, and then I’ll take a random screenshot of the live chat. Whatever request the screenshot captures, I’ll do it. Is everyone ready?”
The chat detonated instantly:
“Let’s goooo!”Â
“Do it!”
“Alright, here we go… three, two, one!” Su Wudeng called out. “Screenshot captured!”
“Okay, let’s see what the winning request is~”
“Oh~ I see. The winner wants me to scoop a kitten up and display it in the palm of my hand.”
“No problem! Give me one second!”
She turned around, scanning the cluster of kittens tumbling around her boots, and locked onto the closest one. The little guy was staring up at her with profound curiosity, absolute innocence swimming in his massive blue eyes. He seemed entirely bewildered as to why his human was talking to a glowing rectangular brick.
“You’re the lucky winner, little cutie,” Su Wudeng cooed softly. She expertly scruffed the back of the kitten’s neck and hoisted him into the air.
She gently deposited the kitten squarely into the palm of her hand. To her pleasant surprise, the little guy was exceptionally cooperative. He sat perfectly still in her palm, tucking his four tiny paws neatly together and wrapping his plush tail elegantly around his body.
“Oh, you are being incredibly well-behaved today,” Su Wudeng praised with a bright smile. “Do you know that there are millions of aunties and uncles out there who absolutely adore you?”
“Come on, say hello to everyone!”
She slowly moved her palm closer to the camera lens so the audience could get a hyper-detailed, close-up view.
The little guy seemed intensely fascinated by the sudden proximity of the lens. He tilted his head at a severe angle, staring directly into the camera with blue eyes as pure and unblemished as a cloudless sky.
Su Wudeng subtly shifted the angle of her hand, and the kitten immediately, instinctively adjusted its posture to maintain perfect balance, demonstrating its innate agility.
This simple, flawless display completely shattered the netizens’ remaining sanity.
“AHHHH! IT’S TOO CUTE!”Â
“I AM OFFICIALLY DYING OF CUTENESS OVERLOAD!”Â
“How is it possible for a kitten to be this well-behaved?! Oh my god!”Â
“My mom walked in and asked why my nose was bleeding, so I showed her the screen, and now her nose is bleeding too. Is this medically normal, chat?”Â
“No, but my nose is bleeding too, so you’re not alone!”
Su Wudeng burst out laughing as she read the chat. It seemed that regardless of the universe or the era, humanity possessed absolutely zero biological resistance to supreme pet cuteness.
“Alright,” she said, her voice still laced with laughter. “Shall we continue?”
She gently lowered the kitten back to the floor.
At that exact moment, the auto-tracking camera panned slightly, catching a tiny, hesitant silhouette in the corner of the frame.
A remarkably small Snow Crystal Cat was timidly poking its head out from behind a scratching post, eyeing the glowing screen with profound caution. Its eyes were massive, deep pools of sky blue, and its tiny nose was the exact shade of a freshly bloomed cherry blossom.
Su Wudeng immediately recognized the little angel and introduced her to the millions watching. “I’m sure you all recognize this precious little one. This is Huihui’s guardian angel, Baiyun.”
The moment the name “Baiyun” registered, the chat erupted into a state of absolute reverence and hysteria.
“I know her! She’s the empathetic angel who comforted her owner while she was crying!”Â
“Oh my god, it’s actually Baiyun!”
Su Wudeng gently adjusted the camera, bringing Baiyun fully into focus.
Zhong Huihui had specifically brought Baiyun into the shop today to make a guest appearance and support the live broadcast.
Baiyun’s coat was as immaculate and soft as premium satin, emitting a soft, ethereal silver halo under the studio lights. Being the runt of the litter, she was noticeably smaller and more delicate than her robust siblings. But her eyes were undoubtedly the brightest and most expressive. She tilted her tiny head slightly, as if deeply confused by the massive black iron cyclops staring at her.
That single, devastatingly innocent look struck a critical hit directly into the core of millions of netizens’ hearts.
Even Su Wudeng felt a profound surge of protective instinct wash over her. “She’s just too pure for this world,” she thought.
Looking at her like this, she appeared incredibly fragile and pitiful. Her tiny frame looked impossibly soft, yet it harbored a quiet, resilient strength. Knowing the context—that this tiny, fearful creature had bravely stepped up to comfort her emotionally shattered owner—elevated her status from a mere pet to a literal saint in the eyes of the public.
Looking at Baiyun now, the audience was viewing her through a massive, ten-tier emotional filter.
Su Wudeng couldn’t suppress a warm smile. “Thank you for everything you do, little one.”
The live chat was entirely boiling over:
“Oh my God! What an absolute, flawless beauty!”Â
“My heart cannot take this level of purity! She’s too precious!”Â
“How can a creature be this tiny and perfect? I am literally melting into my chair!”Â
“Those eyes… I could stare into those eyes for the rest of eternity!”Â
“Look at how shy and timid she is! I just want to wrap her in blankets and protect her forever!”
Seeming to sense the overwhelming, focused adoration of millions of people, Baiyun tilted her head further and stared directly down the barrel of the camera lens with her pure, crystalline blue eyes.
The Snow Crystal Cat was universally acknowledged as the absolute pinnacle of feline aesthetics. The combination of their immaculate snowy coats and piercing sapphire eyes granted them an aura of divine, holy elegance. And right now, this impossibly tiny, precious angel was sitting perfectly still, tilting her head with lethal, weaponized cuteness.
“AHHHH! THE HEAD TILT! SHE DID THE HEAD TILT! IT’S A CRITICAL HIT!”Â
“I can’t take this anymore, I seriously cannot handle it. Let me touch her, just for one second! I’ll give up ten years of my life!”Â
“My life has officially peaked. Baiyun! Please let us see you more often!”
Su Wudeng was highly amused by the sheer, unhinged fanaticism of the audience. She squatted down gracefully and extended a hand toward Baiyun. “Come here, little one. Why don’t you say hello to everyone?”
Baiyun hesitated for a fraction of a second before letting out a soft, delicate meow, her voice as sweet and airy as spun cotton candy.
Su Wudeng gently stroked Baiyun’s head, speaking softly to the camera. “Baiyun is being such a brave, good girl. Did you know that there are millions of aunties on the other side of that screen who love you very much?”
Baiyun responded with another soft, trilling meow.
Following Baiyun’s introduction, Su Wudeng spent the next hour systematically introducing the rest of the Snow Crystal Cats. Following the demands of the chat, she had the kittens perform various adorable tricks and showcases, thoroughly satisfying the netizens’ desperate cravings.
The concurrent viewership count skyrocketed continuously, effortlessly shattering the ten-million mark. The broadcast was practically siphoning every single ounce of user traffic from the entire platform, creating a digital black hole.
With the explosive traffic came a relentless, manic wave of purchase requests.
“I will literally sign over my entire annual salary for one!”Â
“Please, Shopkeeper, I’m begging you! Source a new batch!”Â
“Are they seriously 100% sold out? Waaah, I refuse to give up hope!”
However, facing the absolute tidal wave of desperate pleas, Su Wudeng offered a regretful, apologetic smile. “I am truly sorry, everyone, but the Snow Crystal Cats are officially, permanently sold out.”
But just as the chat prepared to descend into mass mourning, her tone shifted, a secretive smile playing on her lips. “However… our next flagship pet has already been secured and is currently undergoing observation. How about I give you all an exclusive sneak peek?”
The screen suddenly cut to a slightly blurred, stealthily captured video clip.
A massive, incredibly robust furry silhouette could be vaguely discerned, its thick silver-blue coat gleaming beautifully under the natural sunlight. Its movements exuded a powerful, coiled strength, and there appeared to be something entirely unique secured across its broad back…
Right at that exact second, a booming, energetic bark echoed through the audio feed, instantly detonating the entire live chat into absolute pandemonium.
“HOLY CRAP! I definitely didn’t mishear that! That was a bark! Are you telling me she has a DOG?!”Â
“Oh my God, she has cats AND dogs?! What kind of utopian paradise is she running?!”Â
“Shopkeeper! Can you please adopt me so I can live in your shop for just two days?!”Â
“Quick, quick, drop the pre-order link right now! Take my money! No one is going to out-click me this time!”
Standing safely out of the camera’s field of view, Shu Can monitored the live chat feed on a secondary console. Watching the absolute, rabid frenzy unfolding across the screen, the corners of his mouth curled into a deeply smug, knowing smile.
The second the broadcast had gone live, he had rushed over to offer his services as technical support. The explosive, unprecedented virality of Pet Love Home meant Su Wudeng hadn’t had the time to recruit any additional staff beyond Zhong Huihui. Shu Can had eagerly stepped in to act as a temporary chat moderator.
Seeing millions of people losing their minds over the Snow Crystal Cats and the brief Husky teaser, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You guys are having a collective meltdown just because they look cute? You are all so hopelessly naive.”
“Just wait until you find out that these animals possess the capability to establish combat soul-contracts. The entire galaxy is going to experience a mass cardiac arrest!”
Shu Can relished his secret knowledge, his gaze drifting away from the monitors to settle on the litter of husky puppies tumbling chaotically in the corner of the room, safely out of frame.
Of course, they were devastatingly cute. But their value transcended mere aesthetics. He knew with absolute certainty that once these little tykes successfully navigated their infancy and reached their evolutionary transition, they possessed the latent power to forge neural contracts with human tamers!
A soul-contract. The term felt almost mythical.
For the average citizen, successfully contracting a beast was a phenomenon that belonged to the lost pre-Cataclysm era. In the modern dystopian reality, only the absolute zenith of human elite possessed the clearance and resources to even attempt a contract.
When the truth finally dropped, the entire sector would violently understand just how god-like Shopkeeper Su truly was!
The more Shu Can turned the reality over in his head, the more profoundly blessed he felt. “Hehehe, thank the heavens I already secured one before the world found out.”
He watched as his designated little husky stumbled clumsily across the floorboards, making a beeline straight for him before gently pressing its wet, cold nose against his knuckles.
Shu Can’s heart swelled with an overwhelming rush of affection. He squatted down, gently stroking the pup’s impossibly soft fur before lifting it up and pressing several fierce, loving kisses against its head. In just a few short days, he would initiate the formal contract ritual with this little guy, so it was imperative he cultivated their bond to the absolute maximum right now.
As if perfectly understanding its owner’s intentions, the little husky extended a tiny pink tongue, affectionately licking Shu Can’s cheek.
Shu Can felt his entire soul melt into a puddle. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he produced a handful of premium, artisan dog treats he had specifically commissioned earlier.
“Here you go, my precious little king. Time for a gourmet snack,” Shu Can cooed with sickeningly sweet devotion.
Watching Xiao Ha devour the treats with such pure, unadulterated joy, Shu Can felt a profound sense of satisfaction that vastly eclipsed the pleasure of eating a Michelin-star meal himself!
He couldn’t help but marvel internally once again. Shopkeeper Su’s capabilities are terrifyingly profound!
She is literally my undisputed God!
