Chapter 466 - 456: The Talent-Awakened Calico Cat

Watching the two of them chasing each other around the living room, Moira Lynch suddenly thought, ’This is way more entertaining than any cartoon. Makes for great dinner entertainment, too.’

Just then, Hugh Finch spoke up from the side. "You’re right. We still have a lot to handle. For starters, there’s a ton of work to be done in our respective territories."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "By the way, it looks like First City has jobs set up specifically for us players. Want to go check it out?"

"First City? Who came up with that name?"

Moira Lynch looked disgusted. It wasn’t that the name was bad, just a little too on the nose.

"It’s just a temporary name, since the city isn’t completely finished yet. By the way, they’ve been arguing nonstop recently about whether to build city walls. What’s your take on it?"

Even though everyone knew Veridian Prime was extremely safe, some people still insisted on building walls, just in case.

But that would drastically increase their workload.

"My take? I’ll just watch from the sidelines," Moira Lynch said with a shrug. "I don’t know the first thing about this stuff. Besides, there are plenty of people who are more qualified than me. As a complete amateur, I’ll keep my opinions to myself."

When Hugh Finch heard that, he figured that made sense.

"So, do you want to look for a job? You’re not doing anything anyway, and I hear the pay is good."

"Nope."

Moira Lynch refused without a second thought. Her past life had been an endless cycle of work and overtime, and she’d had more than enough of those days.

She still had to work in this life, but at least she got a one-month vacation after every job.

Moreover, for the in-game jobs, the pay came in on time, never late, and she could keep any extra earnings for herself.

A job like that was infinitely better than her old one, where pulling an all-nighter for overtime was common, yet she was still expected to be at her desk the next morning, looking energetic, no matter how exhausted she was.

Seeing her refusal, Hugh Finch didn’t press the issue.

Moira Lynch was young, after all. At her age, back in the old world, she probably would’ve still been in school. It was the time of her life to have fun.

’As for work... might as well forget it. It’s not like they’re short on money anyway.’

"Still, they won’t force the two of us to work if we don’t want to. Shane Rhodes and Kai York, on the other hand, have to spend four hours a day helping to generate power."

At this, Moira Lynch clicked her tongue, "TSK," and gave Kai York and Shane Rhodes a sympathetic look.

Both of them were sporting scrapes on their faces, but thankfully, their healing abilities were astonishing. Minor injuries like these didn’t even require medicine; they healed in the blink of an eye.

However, while the scrapes on their faces could heal, their messy clothes and hair could not.

"Oh yeah, Moira," Kai York said, rubbing his right cheek curiously, "when I came in, I saw a black shadow dart past me. I took a closer look and saw it was Black Wolf. What’s gotten into him?"

"Oh, that," Moira Lynch said, her face expressionless. "He got too fat but is in total denial about it, so I’m making him run a hundred laps around the island."

Shane Rhodes and the other two didn’t see Black Wolf very often, so they had no real sense of whether he was fat or not. They just felt that Black Wolf was definitely a lot bigger than the first time they’d met him.

The mention of Black Wolf reminded Kai York of his own precious boy, Abu.

"Moira, where’s my Abu? Where is he?"

"Oh, he’s..."

Just as Moira Lynch was about to answer, an impossibly high-pitched and affected sound drifted down from upstairs.

"Meeeeow~~~"

That single meow seemed to twist and turn a dozen times, making the three men break out in goosebumps.

Just then, a figure darted down from the second floor. After a few light-footed leaps, it landed precisely on Moira Lynch’s lap.

Once the figure came to a stop, the three men could finally see that it was a long-haired calico cat.

’Felines are known for their agility, but this was just too fast.’

’Even with their enhanced eyesight, all they could see was a blur. A normal cat could never move like that.’

"Moira, don’t tell me this is another cat you brought back from the game."

It wouldn’t be the first time Moira Lynch had done something like this, after all. First Black Wolf, then the Ghost Cat Owl... bringing back a super-fast cat seemed perfectly normal for her at this point.

"Nope, this is just a regular cat. It’s just that it awakened a speed-related talent, which is why it’s so fast," Moira Lynch explained.

This calico was born inside the space, and it had been different from the others since day one.

There were three other kittens in the same litter, but this calico’s growth rate was clearly much faster than the others.

It grew teeth and started eating meat after only three days of nursing. Even though it was the last one born, it grew incredibly fast, reaching the size of an adult cat in just one month.

What’s more, this cat was clearly smarter than an ordinary cat, with an intelligence that even surpassed the Border Collies in the space.

Later, when Moira Lynch noticed how unusual it was, she had Patience scan it and confirmed that it had awakened a talent.

"Awakened a talent!!!"

Shane Rhodes, Kai York, and Hugh Finch shouted almost in unison. Their voices were so loud that they startled the calico cat, which had been sitting elegantly on Moira Lynch’s lap, grooming itself.

After giving the three of them a disdainful look, it leaped away with a light spring.

"Wait, animals can awaken talents, too?" Shane Rhodes was the first to speak.

"Why not? Humans are animals, too. We’re all part of the natural world. If we can awaken talents, why can’t other animals?"

’Of course, the natural awakening rate for humans was around fifty percent, while for animals, it was a pitiful 0.001 percent.’

’And don’t ask why the rate was so low. The simple answer was that they weren’t evolved enough.’

’Based on her analysis, this calico’s awakening was probably inextricably linked to the environment inside the space.’

’But even so, it was still the only animal to have awakened a talent so far.’

"In that case, should we report this to the base?" Shane Rhodes asked, suddenly looking at Moira Lynch.

After all, the cat belonged to Moira Lynch. If she wanted to tell them, they’d notify the base and give them a heads-up. If she didn’t want to, then they would pretend they didn’t know anything.

In short, they would respect Moira Lynch’s decision.

Moira Lynch, for her part, didn’t have strong feelings about it.

"Sure, go ahead and tell them. They’ll find out sooner or later anyway. Though, the base probably knows already."

Moira Lynch’s casual remark caught Shane Rhodes’s attention. "How do you know they already know?"

Realizing she’d let that slip, Moira Lynch gave a dry laugh. "Just a guess. I mean, think about it. They raise so many military dogs, police dogs, and what not. Their odds of hitting the jackpot have to be way higher than ours."