“The pets inside the pet shop are all humans?” Taking in the large cages and the human spirits inside them, a surreal feeling overwhelmed Han Fei. Normally humans domesticated animals as pets, this was the first time he had seen domesticated humans as pets. Each of the cages came with a tag that recorded the spirit’s age, nature, personality, it was all very professional. Han Fei had Weep summon the vet out from the urn. When the vet in tattered robe appeared inside the shop, his face paled immediately.
“You guys really came here? We need to leave now! If it discovers us, we won’t have the chance to escape!” The vet gripped Han Fei and hissed desperately.
“Is there still hope for the souls inside these cages?” The caged spirits had human appearance but they saw themselves as pets. They seemed to have surrendered fully and accepted their pet role.
“No! They volunteered to be pets. Furthermore, they’ll be safer as pets here than wandering around outside.” The vet was being very realistic. Even though the caged spirits had lost their freedom and had regressed to animals, at least they gained the protection from the shop owner. They were safe. As long as they could survive, being a pet was not so bad.
“Open the cages, if they are willing then they can come with us. They should at least be given the freedom of choice.” Even in the dangerous cryptic world, Han Fei held onto his principle. He never actively hurt others, he only countered out of self defense.
“You’ll be the death of us all!” With no other option, the vet opened the cages. If not for Weep keeping an eye on him, he would have escaped already. When the cages were unlocked, the spirits inside showed no happiness or gratitude. They looked on numbly. Like trained pets, they didn’t dare to walk out from the cages. If anything, they cowered deeper into the cages as if knowing the cages were a safer place than the outside world.
Han Fei shrugged and walked past the two rows of cages and into the shop. Pushing open the reinforced door, Han Fei was instantly greeted by intense roars and sounds of steel chains clanking against each other. He turned to the sound and saw that the deepest door at the pet store was deep red in color. Thick carpet of animal fur and flesh covered the ground. Several large cages covered with black cloth lined the walls. A large metallic table stained with blood stood in the middle of the room.
“Normally I train and sew the wounds of the pets here. But now this place has been taken over by it.” The vet didn’t dare to enter the room, he was very afraid of this place. Having his neighbours be on their guard, Han Fei pulled off the black cloth from one of the cages.
As the cloth fell to the ground, a man covered in burn wounds, and had a butterfly tattoo on his chest appeared before them. He was about 2 metres tall and he kept ramming into his cage. The man was as powerful as a Medium Lingering Spirit. His eyes were red and his mouth drooling with saliva. A normal chain wouldn’t be able to apprehend him but the chains at the pet store appeared to be different from normal. They were sticky with pet fur and blood. Disfigured souls wound around them.
“The pet shop owner dares to imprison Butterfly’s people?” Han Fei pulled out Rest in Peace when he saw the familiar butterfly tattoo. “I’ll put this thing to rest and then take the chains and cage back home with me. They appear to be cursed objects too.” While Han Fei considered the logistics, crying came from the urn. The muscular man in the cage growled louder, all the chains around him pulled tight.
“It’s over now! It’s coming! We’ve been discovered!” The vet’s face was ashen. He fidgeted about, unable to find a place to hide. Putting on the Cattle Mask, Han Fei stared quietly at the door, preparing for battle. A bloody wind picked up inside the room. There were no footsteps but instead there was a speaking voice that came from outside. It was strange, like the speaker had just learned how to speak. “No matter the type of pet you keep, they have to be vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease.”
The curtains of the corridor were pulled back. A ‘human’ holding a syringe and covered in animal fur appeared in Han Fei’s sight. The monster had a feline face while its body was made into human shape from dead pets.
“This is a ‘pet’ I created out of accident, an undead presence…” The vet said with despair. The monster in the corridor repeated the statement. Its pronunciation was off like it had just learned how to use languages. It did not think much after seeing the open cages. Instead it reached into one of the cages, grabbed the spirit out and stuck the syringe into the spirit’s neck. The black liquid was injected into the spirit. After it collapsed on the ground, the spirit became even more like an animal. The last bit of humanity was vanquished. Pulling out the syringe, the monster turned to Han Fei. Its mouth split into a line, like it was grinning.
“Animals have the tendency to bond with their kin but be careful not to let your pet interact too deeply with wild animals to prevent spread of diseases.” While mumbling these strange axioms, the thing suddenly burst with speed!
Han Fei felt the draft blow at him and then his body was pushed away by an unknown force. When Han Fei came to, he noticed Weep was standing at the spot he occupied earlier. Weep’s body protruded with despairing needles. The monster had materialized inside the room. Its arm was injured by Weep and lingering despair seeped through its wound.
‘It can move that fast?’ Han Fei’s physique was not on the same level as the beast. Without his neighbour, he’d be dead already. No wonder Weep and Drake had him stay away from the pet shop back then. They were indeed not strong enough to take on such a threat. Turning its head to look at the spines in its arm, the cat face yawned its maw and its barbed tongue licked at the despair-filled needles. Then it sought out from its fur pocket a syringe filled with red liquid. “If you’re accidentally scratched or bitten by your pets, you have to seek medical attention immediately and ask for vaccination.” Then it plunged the syringe into its neck.
The black vessels pounded around its neck. The feline creature’s body suddenly bloated. Its slightly cute face turned feral. This was its true nature. When the monster went berserk, Han Fei suddenly received a system notification.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered Grade G Hidden Mission—Adopt a Pet.
“With a job comes the stress of the working life, adopting a pet can help provide you with spiritual support, adjust your emotions and relieve your stress.
“A good pet can turn into a good life partner, it is a great source for one to find happiness and bliss. Look at how obedient, and cute this little kitty is. Don’t you feel your stress melting away just looking at it?”
Taking in the 3 metres tall ‘little kitty’ with Frankenstein-like suturing marks all over its body, a ‘kitty’ where its fangs were so long that they pierced through its jaw, Han Fei’s eyes twitched involuntarily.
