The mascot of the wishing shop is a cat.

"Hmm, what is this?"

Ling Yan looked at the crystal that was suspended in the air entirely by its own power.

He didn't touch it directly, but instead circled the crystal and looked at it.

The crystals are irregular, entirely black, and somewhat resemble a cluster of crystals of varying sizes huddled together.

Despite the swirling dust, the crystal cluster didn't appear dirty; instead, it continued to emit a faint glow.

Its ability to levitate is due to the constantly overflowing energy that continuously impacts the ground.

In just a short while, the ground, which had been crystallized due to the ultra-high temperature, was blasted into a small crater by the energy.

"This looks a bit dangerous."

Lingyan had already squatted down in front of the crystal cluster, saying that it was somewhat dangerous, but he kept getting closer and closer.

"Well……"

Lingyan thought for a moment, then reached out and forcefully pried off a long, crystalline stone from the ground, and then used the stone to poke at the crystal cluster.

The stone gradually approached the crystal cluster, and then, just before it made contact, a portion of it was suddenly obliterated.

If Lingyan hadn't been observing so carefully, she really wouldn't have noticed this.

Where it disappeared, not even a speck of dust fell, as if it had become a two-dimensional object, erased without a trace.

"Interesting, interesting!"

Seeing this, Lingyan's eyes lit up even more, and he kept muttering things he found amusing.

Then, he moved the stone a little closer to the crystal and increased the speed of his movements.

The entire stone was obliterated even faster, and in just a few seconds, only a small section remained in Lingyan's hand.

"Judging from this, the energy fluctuations of this crystal cluster can annihilate inorganic matter. I wonder if it can also annihilate organic matter. However, judging from the appearance of the monster that enveloped it before, it probably won't. I even feel that the energy it emitted can enhance individual organisms."

Ling Yan muttered to himself, analyzing the situation. It wasn't that he was particularly powerful, able to know so much based on just this one thing, but rather—

He decisively transformed one of his hands into human form, while leaving the other hand unchanged. Then, at the same time, he reached both hands towards the crystal cluster.

"呲-"

With a sizzling sound, the human-shaped hand grasped the crystal cluster without any resistance, while the elemental hand had part of its tip obliterated in the sizzling sound.

"Hehehe, just as I guessed. ヾ(o′?｀o)?"

Lingyan didn't care which part of him had been destroyed; he could recover if he had enough energy. He happily picked up the crystal cluster with his human-form hand, intending to try other things.

“Huh! ゛('◇')?”

"Wow! ヽ(；′Д｀)?"

"This works?! (；?Д?)y"

“Wow↗↘↗⊙0⊙”

Lingyan was trying out various things on the open ground by herself, constantly making sounds of surprise.

If it weren't for the fact that most of his body was made of elements and the environment he was in was extremely harsh and dangerous, anyone who saw him would think he was an idiot, like he was just playing in the sand.

"Hehehe, this is so much fun, I don't even want to hand it over. ?(?????)?"

Lingyan was having a blast, like a boy who had found a perfectly straight tree branch by the roadside – he was incredibly excited.

"Snapped--"

Lingyan was having a great time when suddenly a furry black paw landed on his hand that was holding the crystal cluster. For a moment, he couldn't even move his hand.

"!!!! w(°o°)w"

This completely terrified Ling Yan. After all, the fact that something could get so close to him without him even noticing until it touched him was enough to indicate danger.

Fortunately, the other party didn't intend to kill him; they just managed to control him.

Ling Yan thought to himself, his body covered in cold sweat.

Although it was dangerous, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat, so Lingyan still resisted the pressure and wanted to see what was controlling her.

Looking up, Lingyan first saw the claws on her own hands.

The paw was furry, but very large, as big as Lingyan's hand. The claws didn't have nails showing; only the paw pads were pressing down on Lingyan.

Judging from the claws, the animal holding it down should be a feline, and it doesn't seem to be very hostile towards it, otherwise it wouldn't just have paw pads on its hand, but sharp claws.

Following the paw upwards, you see a pure black cat, about the size of an adult, with emerald green eyes that shimmer with an eerie light. Its fur is incredibly glossy and smooth, indicating that it is exceptionally well-maintained.

"Ho ho-"

The black cat saw Lingyan raise its head and look at it, and made a threatening sound from its throat, but it wasn't loud, probably because it didn't think Lingyan was a threat.

"Um, what are your thoughts? Tell me? 0ДQ"

In that one glance, Lingyan decisively abandoned her almost non-existent dignity.

Nonsense, it's obvious we can't win, what's the point of dignity? Isn't it better to just live? Anyway, the other side doesn't seem to be hostile at all right now.

“I know you, Lingyan, right?”

The black cat spoke in the common language of humans, sounding as fluent as if it had lived among humans for decades.

"Huh? Right, how did you know? (;?д?)"

Lingyan was even more stunned when he heard the black cat call out his name.

Normally, we don't have to use our brains in the team, who knew I'd run into this situation all by myself! Waaaaah, boss, quick thinking! Help me! o(╥﹏╥)o

Lingyan couldn't help but think.

"I am the cat at the wishing shop."

The black cat—that is, Meros—couldn't help but speak up and reveal his identity directly.

He was genuinely afraid that if he didn't speak frankly, the person's true nature would remain unknown in the end.

"Oh, ah?! You're that cat? The one named Fugui?! Are you spayed/neutered?!"

Ling Yan was taken aback, then blurted out a series of questions without thinking. The moment he asked those questions, he knew something was wrong, that things were going to go wrong.

Upon hearing his questions, Meros's murderous aura surged uncontrollably from his body, and his claws involuntarily extended.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have asked. Please let me know if you need anything!"

Ling Yan sensed the killing intent and decisively slid to his knees.

m (._.) m

m(_ _)m

m(o_ _）m

Meros couldn't help but take a deep breath before suppressing his murderous intent.

"Give me the things first."

"Huh? What is this?"

Lingyan blankly raised the crystal cluster in his hand and asked with a confused look.

"Yes, I'll explain the specific reasons to you later."

……