Little Monster 1
Things like employees taking long vacations need to report their whereabouts to the main system. Although in the system's words, this is just a formality. As long as they walk around in front of the main system and sign, they can arrange their time freely afterwards.
As a non-staff member who was originally recruited to carry out the mission, Mu Zhi still suggested that he would like to go and take a look when he heard them talking about this matter.
"I want to thank the main system," Mu Zhi explained, "after all, it has given me a lot of nutrient solution before."
He would also secretly give him special training and sometimes even help him update the game.
Fu Lang had no opinion on this. After giving him a few words of advice, he seemed to have remembered something and asked, "what are your plans for the future?"
What are your plans for the future?
Mu Zhi thought about it, and finally shook his head left and right, "no."
When the little monster first entered the world, his wish was very simple.
At that time, all he could think about was following Fu Lang to complete the tasks conscientiously, trying to accumulate points, and when the number was almost enough, he would ask the system to redeem the opportunity to go home.
But later, as he cleared one world after another, Mu Zhi's wish changed quietly without him noticing.
He no longer focused on finding a way to go home, but began to learn how to raise a cat and how to share the burden of tasks in Fu Lang's hands.
So much so that now that the opportunity to go home that he had longed for was right in front of him, Mu Zhi did not react immediately. Instead, he felt that the previous small world ended very suddenly.
There was even some unexpected reluctance.
Besides, he didn't know what was going on with the man.
The melancholy of parting with his cat began to accumulate, and the little monster's brows began to frown.
After going through so many worlds, Mu Zhi experienced a lot of things, but he still hasn't learned to control his expression.
So when the little leaves in his heart began to twist, Fu Lang noticed his emotions at the first moment.
"Although I still don't particularly like him," he comforted her, "but based on what I know about him, your cat must be looking for you now."
"So don't worry about him anymore," Fu Lang said with his head down, "instead of making yourself unhappy, you might as well think about whether to accept my invitation."
Mu Zhi was stunned for a moment, "what invitation?"
Putting the system by the collar into the young man's palm, Fu Lang lowered his eyes and looked at him, "accept our invitation to continue our cooperation."
Fu Lang has been working here for a while. Compared to completing tasks alone in the small world, he feels happier working in a team with Mu Zhi.
Although there are a lot more things he needs to worry about during this whole process, he still prefers a more lively atmosphere.
"There will be fewer missions. According to my authority, the three worlds will be grouped together in the future. As long as you complete a group, you will get a year's vacation."
After all, there was a selfish motive behind doing this, so Fu Lang continued to tempt him, "you can choose your own role then, and if you encounter a love line, you can take the initiative to refuse."
After this period of experience, Mu Zhi no longer had the initial resistance to this job.
He pinched his fingers in silence for a few seconds, and finally nodded gently: "Okay."
Anyway, he didn't know what to do in the future. Even if he found his cat, Mu Zhi felt that he should find something to do.
So the matter was settled. When Fu Lang went to the main system to sign, he simply entered Mu Zhi's information into the file.
Most of the hosts working in the system come from different time, space and regions.
Mu Zhi had thought about this problem before, and was worried that Fu Lang would not be used to the place where he lived. However, after the transmission was over, he turned around while tidying up his clothes, and when he raised his eyes, he saw a person in a green shirt behind him.
The real realization of the fact that he and Fu Lang were from the same hometown came after he took us through the streets and alleys of the demon world with familiarity.
Instead, the system, which was specially changed into a humanoid form for the sake of convenience in movement, seemed out of place among their group.
Because Fu Lang and Mu Zhi had both lived in the demon world for a long time, after buying some things and taking the system for a tour, the three of them began to walk towards the mountain where the boy lived.
There have not been any major changes in the current demon world and before Mu Zhi was captured for the mission. However, when passing by the city gate, the little demon suddenly overheard the conversation of the guards.
"Have you heard that the master who had been in seclusion in the forbidden area for a long time suddenly came out this morning."
Since they were waiting in line, Mu Zhi turned his head to pay more attention to their conversation.
The guard over there didn't notice the extra gaze on him, but just asked in confusion: "There are many masters in seclusion over there, which one are you talking about?"
The guard standing opposite him clicked his tongue, put his finger to his lips and made a warning "hush" sound, then said: "Who else could have made such a big noise? Of course it's the one who has a connection with the Demon King's family."
The guard didn't say it explicitly, but the other party's expression immediately changed as he reacted.
Mu Zhi usually doesn't pay attention to these things, and he's not particularly sensitive to the demon king's family relationships, but seeing that the guards and monsters around him shut their mouths in an instant, he still pulled Fu Lang's sleeve curiously.
"Who are they talking about?" the little monster asked softly.
The guards did not intentionally lower their volume when chatting, so Fu Lang was able to hear their conversation.
Looking up at their slightly nervous expressions, Fu Lang guessed for a while in his mind and quickly gave an answer.
"He Zhibai."
Mu Zhi just felt that the name sounded very familiar, but no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't figure out what the other person looked like.
"He is the nephew of the current demon king and the cousin of the two young masters."
As if he felt that this explanation was not enough for Mu Zhi to understand, Fu Lang thought for a few seconds and added: "Perhaps you still remember why you were pulled into the small world to do the mission?"
"Yes."
Mu Zhi would never forget this incident, "because I accidentally broke a vase."
"It's a vase that contains a piece of broken grass. I heard it cost a lot."
Fu Lang saw that he became unhappy when he talked about this matter, so he kindly reminded him: "The owner of the vase is the big demon they are talking about."
Ah.
After Fu Lang's explanation, Mu Zhi finally understood the identity of He Zhibai.
It turns out that He Zhibai was the idiot who treated that wilted grass like a treasure and forced him to enter the small world to work and pay off his debts.
Little Monster 2
The passage of time in the small world is not the same as the speed in the real world.
Even though he clearly remembered that he had experienced six and a half complete small worlds before, when Mu Zhi came back for a look, he realized that only one month had passed since he broke the vase and was taken away to pay off his debt.
"How magical," the little monster exclaimed, "I thought it had been a long time."
The main reason why he said goodbye to the boy and went down the mountain alone was simply because he had read a lot of stories about the protagonists going out to explore the world and encountering adventures for a while, and the idea of going out to explore the world suddenly emerged in his mind.
The boys were initially skeptical of his lofty ambitions, but in order not to undermine Mu Zhi's confidence, they agreed with him on a time to go out, requiring him to come back at least once a month.
He originally thought that he would be late for this trip, and he brainstormed for a long time but couldn't come up with a suitable reason.
But now that he was sure of it, Mu Zhi felt relieved and even his steps became lighter.
The mountain where the boy lives does not actually belong to the demon world from a geographical point of view, but it is close to the main city of the demon clan, and there are several little monsters living there.
As a result, over time, the true ownership of this mountain has long been forgotten by everyone.
Fu Lang had heard about the things on the mountain before, so when he saw Mu Zhi in front of him skillfully raising his hand to knock on the door of the barrier and leading him in with a swagger, he raised his eyebrows and asked, "did you grow up here?"
"Yes," Mu Zhi nodded, "this is the first time I go down the mountain."
He went out with the beautiful dream of making a living in the world, but not only was he chased by a dog in the city, but he was also visiting the stalls around him on the road. As a result, he didn't pay attention to the road in front of him and accidentally broke the vase.
This incident left a huge shadow on Mu Zhi. When he just recalled it, his eyebrows drooped instantly.
Fu Lang, who was following behind him, thought silently for a while because of his affirmation, and then shook his head slightly.
Now it's right.
He wondered why a little monster like Mu Zhi, who was good-looking, well-behaved and wouldn't cause trouble, had never been heard of in the monster world.
It turns out that he was raised quietly and protected.
Sighing like this in his heart, Fu Lang lowered his head and gathered his skirt, then turned back as if sensing something, frowned, reached out his hand, and pulled the system that was attracted by the butterfly to his side.
The three of them walked slowly up the mountain along the stairs, and the boy who was watering the flowers in the yard at the top of the mountain stood up straight at the first opportunity.
All the creatures in the mountains were raised by the boy, but over the years, he has remained a teenager.
Although he rarely goes down the mountain, many people in the demon world have heard of his name.
So when he was led up the last step of the stairs and walked a few steps forward until he finally saw the real person, Fu Lang still bowed his head to him politely and respectfully.
In Mu Zhi's understanding, the boy has always been a person with a good temper, a casual personality, and who likes to slack off with them.
At this moment, he squinted his eyes and looked at Fu Lang and the system, and asked them for their personal information in a serious manner. This was the first time Mu Zhi saw it.
Fortunately, the attitudes of both sides were pretty good. The boy glanced at Mu Zhi who was looking at him eagerly, and finally sighed and moved away.
"There are vacant rooms in the backyard," he said. "Pick two for your friends. As long as they don't damage the garden, they can use it as they please."
The boy's attitude towards Fu Lang could not be described as enthusiastic, but it was not cold either.
But what surprised Mu Zhi was that, in comparison, the boy's attitude towards the system was more gentle.
When he took Fu Lang to the garden to bask in the sun the next day, he secretly talked about this matter with others.
Fu Lang just lowered his head, picked a place for himself, and then took the initiative to give an answer.
"Who doesn't like someone who is cute, obedient and sensible?"
Mu Zhi glanced at the system, which was squatting on the ground with its knees hugged, poking the blood-sucking vine that was curled up and buried in the soil with its fingers, and enthusiastically selling nutrient solution to the system. He blinked and suddenly felt that what he said seemed to sound correct.
Fu Lang and his friends settled down directly on the mountain, and after a day or two of living together, the boy's attitude towards them changed significantly.
At least while fertilizing and loosening the soil for other plants in the garden, he would also water the willow trees, one large and one small, and the catnip nearby with some nectar.
Because he was still thinking about his cat, Mu Zhi originally planned to take some time out in the next few days to go down the mountain and look for information about the man.
But no one knew what had happened recently. On the first night after they returned, the boy hurried out to reinforce the barrier at the foot of the mountain with several layers, and also reminded Mu Zhi and the others that it would be better for them to stay here and not go down the mountain at will in the next few days.
The little monster probably heard the seriousness of the matter from the boy's tone. Although he felt a little disappointed, he had to postpone the search for the cat for the time being.
The boy is a person who doesn't like to take the initiative to cause trouble. Sometimes when he hears some rumors, he will choose to avoid them.
Mu Zhi didn't know what was happening outside, so he could only count the days and wait for the situation to stabilize.
It was just on the third night after returning home, when Mu Zhi came back from the garden, rubbing his eyes and slowly washing himself, and was about to change clothes and go to bed, he had just unbuttoned his coat when he caught a glimpse of a white figure flashing outside the window out of the corner of his eye.
The movement of his hands stopped instantly, and Mu Zhi walked towards the window vigilantly, holding his collar. At the same time, he was mentally prepared to call for help if he saw anything wrong.
But just as his front foot landed on the floor tiles illuminated by the moonlight, the next second, a pair of hands hugged his waist from behind.
Warm breath fell beside his ear. Mu Zhi was about to speak when the person behind him, as if he had expected it, raised his hand to cover his mouth and carried him to the bed.
"Hush," a strange and deep voice sounded beside his ear, "I don't want to spend another day studying those troublesome barriers."
Holding his waist and leaning in the other's arms, Mu Zhi listened to the other's words and gradually stopped struggling.
He raised his hand and pulled it off his face, then slowly turned his head and his eyes fell on the man's face.
It was a handsome but unfamiliar face. Mu Zhi stared at the other person for a long time, and only spoke softly after a long time.
"Dabai?"
He Zhibai brought the man closer to his arms. Seeing that he recognized him, he lowered his head and rubbed his little monster, then replied in a muffled voice: "Yeah."
Mu Zhi raised his hand and hugged the other person's face, leaned over and asked excitedly: "Why are you here?"
He Zhibai looked at the other person and smiled when he heard the words.
"Don't you want me to come?"
"No," Mu Zhi bit his head, but his eyes were sparkling, "I really hoped you'd come over."
Raising his hand and gently pinching the little demon's cheek, He Zhibai asked: "Then do you want to come with me?"
Mu Zhi thought for a moment, thinking about the other party's behavior of sneaking in to find him, so he carefully speculated: "Do you have a grudge against the boy?"
Otherwise, why doesn't he come to see him openly?
He Zhibai was silent for a moment, and finally answered honestly: "Yes."
Mu Zhi found this novel. After all, it was just a question he asked casually, but he didn't expect that the other party would actually agree with it.
Besides, the boy has been extremely peaceful over the years. Even if Mu Zhi poured out all his past memories, he couldn't think of any conflicts between the boy and others.
So Mu Zhi frowned and subconsciously asked, "what's your name?"
"He Zhibai."
"What's wrong?" He Zhibai saw that the little monster had a strange expression, so he frowned and asked.
Mu Zhi's eyes suddenly became sharp. He slapped away the other person's hand that was around his waist, then stood up ruthlessly and stood in front of the other person.
The little demon looked down at him and said, "is that you, the big demon that came out of seclusion not long ago?"
Although he didn't know why the other party asked this, He Zhibai still nodded.
"Yes."
Mu Zhi's expression did not change. He just pursed his lips and continued to ask, "before, have you ever bought a very expensive vase to hold an ugly grass, and then it was broken by someone?"
He Zhibai paused. He suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. His desire to survive made him not answer immediately. Instead, he repeated the original question as if unintentionally: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Mu Zhi said fiercely with a tense expression, "I just suddenly don't want to go with you."
"Just go back and live with that broken grass."
Little Monster 3
When they discovered there was suddenly a cat on the mountain the next day, everyone's expression was somewhat subtle.
Fu Lang was the first to discover this situation.
He always gets up early and likes to stretch his branches in the garden in the quiet morning.
After he spent half an hour adjusting himself to the best condition, he changed back to human form and went to the kitchen to tinker with it for a while. Then he took the food box and knocked on the system and Mu Zhi's doors in turn to wake him up.
He doesn't know if it's because the system has been assimilated by Mu Zhi because it spent too long with him, but the system learned to stay in bed late on the first day after it became a human.
After all, this was a system that had been with him for so long, so Fu Lang was patient enough when calling him to get up. He sat at the head of the bed for a long time before finally pulling the confused young man out of the quilt.
In a sense, waking people up is also a special challenge.
After successfully completing one challenge, Fu Lang put the food box on the table in the system room for the time being, took a deep breath and prepared to face the next challenge.
He came to Mu Zhi's door and before he raised his hand to knock, he subconsciously tilted his head slightly and keenly heard a cat's meow coming from the room.
His right hand paused in mid-air, and Fu Lang cast his gaze on the closed door in front of him. After hesitating for a moment, he reached out and closed it.
However, he had just knocked on the door twice tentatively when he heard a few slightly panicked noises from inside the house, followed by scattered footsteps approaching.
Mu Zhi had obviously run over to open the door. His hair was a little messy, and even his clothes were not completely tidied.
Fu Lang outside the door just stared at him. He tried to hold back for a long time, but finally couldn't help it and raised his hand to help him turn up his collar.
However, he had only done half of his action when he caught a glimpse of a beautiful and particularly familiar maine coon coming out from behind Mu Zhi. It was now squatting on the ground with an elegant posture, facing his gaze, folding its ears and squinting at him, staring at him with a look that was full of hostility.
Fu Lang: ...
He took his hand back silently, and Fu Lang's familiar smile appeared on his face again.
"Where did this cat come from?"
"He ran in by himself," Mu Zhi was obviously still in the process of unilaterally breaking up with the cat. When the maine coon habitually rubbed against him with its tail up, he deliberately took a step to the side, "and then he refused to leave."
Fu Lang didn't say anything, but just looked at the maine coon, who was rubbed against by the young man and raised his head with round eyes and a look of disbelief on his face, and felt amused in his heart.
"Do you need my help to take him out?" Fu Lang asked kindly.
Feeling a little guilty at the maine coon's accusing gaze, the little monster looked away uncomfortably, but finally shook his head.
"No need," Mu Zhi cleared his throat and said slowly, "I plan to see how he performs and then make a plan."
Fu Lang understood this. He lowered his head and glanced at the maine coon, whose tail was drooping, and said with a smile, "just make your arrangements."
"Come for breakfast?" he asked again. "He got up just now."
Mu Zhi held his stomach and nodded. He was about to go out with Fu Lang, but the next second he was blocked by the maine coon who suddenly fell in front of him and tried to scam him.
Fu Lang, who was walking in front, looked back and saw that He Zhibai was so shameless relying on the fact that he was in his original form. He raised his eyebrows slightly and, based on the principle of out of sight, out of mind, he went into the room next to him.
Mu Zhi looked at the cat with its head down and paws tucked in, revealing its belly. The hand hanging beside his leg moved slightly. The little leaf in his heart twisted and struggled for a long time, but finally he couldn't resist the temptation of the cat, so he bent down and hugged the maine coon in his arms.
"Can you please stop being so childish?" Mu Zhi whispered, "otherwise I will use the photo stone to record your actions just now, and then find an opportunity to auction it off."
After all, whether it is his own strength or the identity behind him, He Zhibai is a well-known demon in the demon world and even in the six realms.
After being attacked by a cat last night, Mu Zhi lay in bed hugging the quilt and thinking for a long time. As he flipped through his past memories, he suddenly discovered that he seemed to have heard a lot about He Zhibai from different people before.
According to other people's descriptions, He Zhibai was young and promising and extremely powerful. Not only had he won first place several times in competitions jointly held by the six realms, he had even suppressed several riots in the abyss.
But such a famous demon would actually take advantage of his original form and collapse on the ground and act coquettishly in front of him without restraint.
What a foul.
Mu Zhi deliberately pinched the other's paws with force, but the maine coon in his arms pretended not to understand and shook his ears and meowed. At the same time, while there was no one around, he deliberately stretched out his two front paws and hugged the young man's arm tightly.
The soft belly was exposed to Mu Zhi without any worries. The little monster was rubbed by the cat actively, and then he rubbed him several times in despair.
"This doesn't count," Mu Zhi muttered, "I haven't completely forgiven you yet."
He Zhibai shook his tail, stepped on his paws, and slowly blinked at the little monster.
When Mu Zhi brought the cat over to eat, the system was already dressed and sitting at the table.
In the system department, as long as certain requirements are met, each system can obtain the right to use human identity from the main system free of charge and permanently.
Although it is a welfare, in order to avoid the birth of bad habits, the main system stipulates that the images that can be exchanged by the systems are generated according to their established attributes.
The system's current appearance was similar to what Mu Zhi had imagined before, elegant and soft, which matched the image of the system who liked to pull the data cable when he was nervous.
Even the reaction when seeing the maine coon was similar. If it hadn't suddenly realized that its current state was not suitable for getting into Fu Lang's collar, the system would have been scared away on the spot.
Fortunately, Mu Zhi noticed the tension of the system in time, and reached out his hand to secretly turn the cat's head in his arms.
So the three people and the cat, each with their own thoughts, sat around the table and quietly ate an unusual breakfast.
Although the road connecting to the town in the demon world was sealed by the boy, there were many other little monsters living on the mountain. Morning was the best time for everyone to wander out for a stroll. So when Mu Zhi brought the cat back to the room, the boy had already heard about the cat that appeared out of nowhere.
The boy came directly here after finishing work in the garden. When he stood in the corridor and called Mu Zhi, he was still holding the kettle in his hand. Even the system, which was one of the insiders, felt that he looked like he came here deliberately to feed the cats when passing by.
Although they were still unilaterally breaking up, Mu Zhi couldn't help his curiosity last night and took the initiative to ask He Zhibai about the conflict between him and the boy.
The man at that time did not give a clear answer, but insisted on pulling him back into his arms, burying his head and fooling around with silence.
But at this moment, the boy outside the door revealed the secret with a sneer.
"Why, when did the great Master He learn such low-class methods?"
"Not only did he eat my little demon's leaves while he was sleeping, but he also tried every means to come to my place to ask for him back. Now he has even broken through my barrier and sneaked in, and he won't leave," the boy praised sincerely, "He Zhibai, you are such a good dog."