Purrfect Romance

Phoenix couldn’t help but choke up a bit.

He turned to look at Lion and couldn’t resist asking, "Boss, what difficulty level did you train on?"

Lion paused, "I haven't used this training equipment."

This simulated terrain training was developed after Lion left the Awakening School.

Lion stated factually, "Even the extreme difficulty in the grassland region is very simple for me; I don’t need this kind of simulation training."

The environment of space combat and the dangers experienced as a space pirate far exceed the difficulty of this kind of wilderness simulation training.

Compared to gunshots, lasers, and countless ambushes and assassinations, this natural ecosystem simulation is friendly to the extreme.

…Alright.

Phoenix took a deep breath.

If Lion can do it, so can the kitty!

Phoenix encouraged himself.

Training is not allowed with terminals, because they would definitely get lost.

Phoenix removed the terminal and set it aside.

Lion entered Phoenix’s body model into the system and sent it to the 68 simulation robots in the jungle zone. Then he picked up the kitten and threw it into the training area.

Phoenix stood dumbfounded at the entrance for a few seconds, turned around, and found that Lion was already preparing to leave.

Phoenix was startled and meowed a few times.

Lion glanced at the time, "When dinner time arrives, the robots will pause. You’ll need to come back yourself. After eating, it will turn dark, and nighttime mode will trigger. If you want to continue, you’ll need to come back."

Training all night?

Wouldn’t that affect the body?

Phoenix was shocked.

Awakened individuals really aren’t easy.

Lion continued, "Your goal is to master your physical functions within two weeks, so you should complete the difficult mode within that time frame."

During the awakening period, due to fluctuating hormone levels, even after mastering the body functions, the transformation back to human form isn’t entirely stable.

For a long time after fully mastering the awakened state, when returning to human life, awakened individuals might still subconsciously display parts of their awakened form.

For example, some races that heavily rely on hearing or smell might inadvertently reveal their awakened traits on their human bodies.

A large number of feline awakened individuals often show their cat tails and ears when transitioning back to human life, and some might even show their whiskers.

Given this situation after the awakening period, it’s even less stable during the awakening phase itself.

But this is easily handled.

Long sleeves, pants, a hat, and maybe a mask should cover it up.

Lion looked at Phoenix hesitating at the jungle entrance, "You should go in."

Phoenix drooped his ears, folding them back, and pitifully looked at Lion, mewing, trying to express his fear.

But Lion is a particularly ruthless and cool guy.

He looked at the mewing little kitten, walked over, and tossed Phoenix inside.

???

Damn it!!

Lion, you’re asking for it!!

Immediately following, small speakers hidden in the jungle beeped.

"Beep! Phoenix has been attacked by a venomous snake, death count: one."

Phoenix: "?"

Damn!!

There’s real-time reporting?!

"Beep! Phoenix has been captured by a baboon, death count: two."

"Beep! Phoenix has been captured by a gibbon, death count: three."

"Beep! Phoenix encountered a black rhino, death count: four."

…………

……

"Beep! Phoenix has been captured by a leopard, death count: forty-six."

Lion sighed deeply upon seeing Phoenix’s average death rate of once every three minutes.

In Awakening School, this would result in detention and extra training.

"Beep..."

"Miaow!!"

Shut up!!

You damn speaker beeping all day!

Phoenix dashed madly through the forest, listening to the beeps, feeling utterly desperate.

This isn’t a simulation training!

This is clearly a jungle survival movie set!!

No, this is much harsher than jungle survival!

At least in jungle survival, you’d get some breathing room, build a shelter, light a fire, and live like a jungle version of Robinson Crusoe, which isn’t exactly comfortable but at least somewhat peaceful.

But here!!

On the ground, there are bears, tigers, wolves, snakes, scorpions, and giant lizards.

Want to climb a tree? There are baboons, gibbons, and leopards.

Want to swim? There are crocodiles, rhinos, water snakes, and piranhas.

Damn it!!

There’s nowhere to hide!!

In this dense forest, a white figure is like a target!!

Who has seen such a white animal glowing in the rainforest or jungle?!

Even Phoenix knows that white fur only provides camouflage in polar regions or snowy highlands!

Lion, touch your conscience and tell me this is a wilderness simulation training ground?!

I think Lion, you have no heart!

"Beep! Phoenix has been stung by a scorpion, death count: eighty-one."

Beep off!!

What can a little kitten do?!

Phoenix kicked away a scorpion beside him and ran around frantically.

Even though my geography and biology weren’t the best, I know this is definitely not a proper jungle life!

Damn.

One day when I’ve mastered my skills, I’m going to carve a big ‘惨’ (suffering) on my leg!

After being attacked by a giant lizard again, Phoenix leaped up a tree and crouched on a branch, alertly pricking his ears.

His tail curled up nervously, his whiskers twitched slightly, and he cautiously observed his surroundings.

A squirrel poked its head out of a nearby tree hole.

The branches rustled not far away, and the kitten tensed up.

But the squirrel approached and chirped.

The movement in the distance suddenly became loud and clear, obviously heading this way quickly.

Damn!

Phoenix turned to look at the squirrel, glaring fiercely, raised a paw, and smacked the squirrel’s head, knocking it off the tree.

The squirrel landed on a pile of dead leaves, squeaking in fright.

Phoenix finally spotted the gibbon moving among the trees. He instantly arched his body, aiming for a lower branch, ready to leap and escape, but the gibbon went straight for the squirrel making random noises.

The squirrel was also a robot. Phoenix hadn’t understood why there were so many small animals besides predators here, but now he got it.

These things were decoys.

Phoenix turned to look at the squirrel’s tree hole, crawled in, and found it was just the right size for him.

So, there are safe spots.

Exhausted, Phoenix sat down and took a long breath.

Phoenix was tired.

Phoenix needed a nap.

……

Lion was watching the surveillance footage of Sunnyfields Manor with Mr. Bodyguard, discussing in low voices while remotely controlling the robots setting up defenses around the manor.

"Raven will likely arrive tomorrow afternoon," said Mr. Bodyguard, looking at the received intelligence, and then at the robots moving heat-sensitive weapons, "We have enough time for setup."

Lion glanced at the defense points, "If we can actually kill him, it wouldn’t be a bad thing."

Mr. Bodyguard remained silent.

He knew it would be tough.

Even Raven might not step foot into the manor, given his sensitive hearing could easily detect the absence of people.

But what if?

So Mr. Bodyguard still came to discuss with Lion.

That rabbit hadn’t hesitated to fight with them many times. If he could suffer a setback here, even if he didn’t die, getting injured would give other fleet captains a chance to capture several planets.

Lion, recently obsessed with raising cats, wasn’t too concerned about this.

He waved it off indifferently, then checked on Phoenix’s performance.

To his surprise, Phoenix was sleeping soundly in the squirrel hole, snoring softly.

Looks like he really didn’t sleep well last night.

Lion scrolled up and found Phoenix’s failure record stopped two hours ago.

The time log showed Phoenix had been fleeing for one hour and forty-two minutes.

This endurance was already beyond the capability of normal feline awakened individuals.

Felines are known for their explosive strength but low endurance. No feline species can sprint non-stop for nearly two hours—lions, tigers, and leopards included.

And this might not even be Phoenix’s limit.

Because halfway through, he discovered a safe spot and just went to sleep.

Lion looked at Phoenix’s route map.

As time progressed, the initially chaotic route evolved into a discernible pattern of hiding spots.

Mr. Bodyguard glanced briefly, "Talented."

Lion nodded in agreement.

Within less than two hours, while fleeing in panic, Phoenix managed to observe his surroundings, find hiding spots, and even discover a safe spot.

From talent, ability, and luck, it was impressive.

Unfortunately, Phoenix has no ambition, certainly won’t pursue military or political careers, and wouldn’t consider roaming the universe.

He wants to be an ordinary person.

Lion was well aware of this.

It doesn’t matter, Lion thought.

If he wants to be an ordinary person, fine. As long as he doesn’t run away, Lion can see him anytime, which is fine.

—Although the requirement of anytime visibility practically ties them together.

But Lion didn’t care about this contradiction.

He closed the interface and slowly opened the mythology page.

Mr. Bodyguard glanced at the document with only 5% progress, "…"

Not that Lion wasn’t trying, but the content was just too vast.

Mythology, being vague and often passed down orally, lacks detailed descriptions of mythical creatures, with some purely imaginary.

Lion had already picked out many creatures similar to Phoenix, but none quite matched the little kitten.

Mr. Bodyguard made Lion a pot of tea and walked out.

Lion read a bit, then looked at Phoenix.

Outside of working hours, he didn’t want to miss the kitten’s antics.

Even just sleeping and snoring seemed adorable.

……

The little kitten slept soundly in the squirrel hole.

These tree holes are narrow at the entrance but spacious inside, perfect for avoiding most large predators.

For snakes and venomous insects, blocking the entrance with bark and leaving a small gap for air was sufficient.

For a cat, getting in wasn’t hard; for an awakened individual with human intelligence, blocking the entrance wasn’t either.

Phoenix slept well, yawned, slowly sat up, washed his face, and licked the damp fur from attempting to escape via water.

The fur was still wet.

Then he stretched out a paw and moved the bark blocking the entrance.

As soon as the door opened, he faced a colorful spider.

The spider was larger than the entrance, preparing to weave a web outside.

Phoenix froze.

The spider froze.

Phoenix: "…………Miaow!!!"

Phoenix screamed in despair, grabbed the bark with both paws, and pushed it frantically.

Ah ah ah ah ah!!!

Die die die die die!!!

Get lost!!!

Phoenix pushed the big spider backward and jumped out of the tree hole with incredible agility.

The spider didn’t flee.

It even bared its fangs.

What?!

Wants to compete with Phoenix?!

Phoenix stared fiercely at the spider, courage rising, and leaped forward, kicking it with both feet.

Eat my stomp!!!!

Author's Note:

Personal bias for a Warcraft reference.