Chapter 189: First Meeting with Eve

She ignored the final notification message about the failure to create a Dungeon via the 【Nuclear Fusion】 Path.

Yun Mu looked at the name of the Dungeon created by the 【Scarlet】 Path.

【Blood Thorn Road lv35 (Expert)】

Should she try challenging it?

She thought to herself.

". Forget it."

After lowering her head to ponder for a moment, she shook her head and looked at the names of the other four Dungeons.

She was a Bloodline now; the Scarlet Curse would no longer take her life.

Therefore, the urgency of lifting the Scarlet Curse could be appropriately downgraded.

Plus, the level of 【Blood Thorn Road lv35 (Expert)】 was a bit too high for her current self.

She did not want to experience that feeling of dancing on the edge of the Dead Gate while challenging a higher-level Dungeon again.

It was better to leave it for later, and challenge it once her level had increased.

"Then, the remaining Dungeons..."

【Cat Paradise lv20 (Elite)】

【Painting Spirit lv15 (Elite)】

【Plague Capital lv18 (Elite)】

【Blood and Flesh Communion lv12 (Elite)】

Perhaps because her level had increased, the levels of the Dungeons, which were originally only lv10, had all been raised.

Or perhaps, when the Dungeons refreshed every week, their levels were readjusted according to her current level?

She wasn't sure; she could only wait until the Dungeons refreshed more times in the future to observe if there was any pattern to it.

"Hmm, let me think."

Her current level was lv18.

Lucy was lv12.

Among her three summons, the Bloodline Living Corpse was lv20, Chester was lv13, and the Scarlet Knight was lv22—the Scarlet Monastery she challenged last time was lv15.

Looking at it this way, the level of 【Blood and Flesh Communion lv12 (Elite)】 was a bit too low, so it could be eliminated directly.

Then, choosing one from the levels 15, 18, and 20... to be safe, choosing 15 seemed more prudent, and 18 probably wouldn't have much risk either.

So... "I choose, Cat Paradise!"

In the end, she still chose the playstyle with the most comments.

Why be a coward? There was no need to overthink a Dungeon level that hadn't even reached Expert yet; obviously, you just pick the highest level one.

Just go wild; as long as you don't die, keep going wild, woo-hoo~ 【Dungeon 【Cat Paradise lv20 (Elite)】 has been selected!】 【Please select the Path you will use in this Dungeon: Scarlet lv3, Cat lv2, Oil Painting lv2, Civilization lv3, Desire lv2, Nuclear Fusion lv1.】 "Hmm."

Yun Mu's gaze shifted back and forth between the effects of the different Paths, and after thinking for a moment, she said:

"Let's choose Desire."

【Desire lv2: Attack Power +5, Spell Strength +5. When you release a skill, there is a probability of increasing the skill's numerical value.】 【Each battle (including at the end), you can roll a Dice to randomly increase the effect of the next skill released, or increase the harvest of loot.】 The attribute increase was standard, the same as the effect at Scarlet lv2.

However, there was no effect of doubling attributes after health dropped below half, nor would it permanently increase maximum health after winning a battle.

Conversely, every time a skill was released, there was a probability of increasing the skill's numerical effect.

And it could increase the harvest of loot.

Yun Mu considered her current health to be sufficient; rather than increasing health, it was better to choose to increase the loot harvest.

【Selection complete, entering Dungeon...】 【Notification: Update data detected, currently updating...】 【Update complete!】 【Click on the update announcement to view the contents of this update!】 【You have entered the Dungeon 【Cat Paradise lv20 (Elite)】!】 "Wait, I've already transmigrated, where are you getting update data from?"

Surrounded by a familiar sense of collapse, Yun Mu opened her eyes and looked at the message popping up on the Game Panel in surprise.

"It's self-iteration, meow~" A soft, feminine voice suddenly sounded from behind Yun Mu.

"Who!?"

Yun Mu was startled by the sudden voice and hurriedly looked in the direction it came from.

She saw that behind her, on a structure composed of multiple wooden tubes, several jumping platforms, and small wooden pet houses, a completely silver-white cat was lying down.

Is this a cat tree? Yun Mu looked around and didn't find any other creatures nearby, so she cautiously asked the cat in front of her:

"Just now, were you the one talking?"

"Meow?"

The white cat looked at her with confusion, as if curious about where this bipedal creature in front of it had appeared from, and tilted its head.

Then it extended its right paw and began to lick it gently.

"Uh... could it not be?"

Watching it act like this, Yun Mu began to doubt whether she had guessed wrong.

On the premise that there was no danger for now, she began to observe the surrounding environment.

This seemed to be an artificially manicured lawn; not only was the grass clean and neat, but there were also many man-made objects on it.

The cat tree where the white cat was located was one of them.

Besides that, Yun Mu also saw several giant cat scratchers, balls of wool scattered everywhere, slides designed specifically for a cat's size, tunnels, and bells hanging on various man-made objects, etc. In the center of the lawn was a huge fountain; the water level of the fountain was not high, just enough to cover the height of a cat's paws, and next to the fountain was an elongated sand pit.

Hmm... considering the vast majority of cat supplies here, Yun Mu thought it would be best for her to stay away from that sand pit.

"... There really is an invisible wall."

Yun Mu walked around and reached out to touch the invisible wall in front of her, thinking to herself without surprise.

The area she could move in was only within a circle with a diameter of about 20 meters around the cat tree where the white cat was.

She absolutely did not believe that there was nothing wrong with that white cat.

That behavior just now, just like an ordinary cat, was definitely something it had faked! But before confronting the other party, she had to check the Game Panel's update announcement: 【1. Fixed the issue where players could still enjoy the numerical effects of other equipped weapons while using a weapon with different attack power!】 A thunderbolt at the start; she hadn't expected a nerf right off the bat.

However, it was fine; she didn't really use skills with attack power anyway. Yun Mu looked at the next item. 【2. More realistic turn-based combat! When players use skills, the system will no longer take over the body! Specific damage values will be determined by the player's own performance!】 【3. According to the effect of update 2, when players are attacked, the judgment for Dodge will also be determined by the player's performance!】 【4. Optimized the presentation of combat text, and during combat, players can open the combat log at any time to view what actions both the player and the monster took in previous turns!】 "Hmm."

Two and three weren't bad changes, but it was hard to say if they were good or not.

After all, between her own performance and system takeover, the latter was clearly more stable and could maintain a lower floor, while the former could achieve a higher ceiling.

As for Dodge, there was nothing much to say about that.

One relies on strength, the other relies on probability.

The fourth update's combat text optimization didn't seem to mean much to her, but the combat log was indeed a good feature.

"The game's self-iteration?" Recalling the words of the white cat she suspected, Yun Mu closed the Game Panel and walked toward the location where she had been at the start of the Dungeon.

After Yun Mu walked back, the white cat lying on the cat tree suddenly flicked its tail and asked, "The environment here is quite nice, meow~"

Upon hearing the white cat's question, Yun Mu was slightly stunned, but she quickly reacted and nodded sincerely: "Yes, it is indeed wonderful here."

The sun was bright, the air was fresh; compared to the two Dungeons she had cleared before—where ruins and debris were everywhere, the air was filled with dust and smoke, and the sight was covered in eerie Scarlet moonlight—it was incomparably better.

"As long as you like it, meow~"

The white cat nimbly jumped down from the cat tree and walked slowly toward Yun Mu with elegant movements, saying:

"This is a place I specifically created for the children to live in. You are currently the only human who has ever been here."

"Children?" Yun Mu asked with some confusion.

When she was scouting the environment earlier, she had used her Blood Perception ability to scan the area; other than her and the white cat in front of her, there shouldn't have been any other living creatures.

At the very least, she hadn't seen where the children the other party mentioned were at all.

"Didn't I just say, meow? You are the first human to come here. I was afraid the children would be frightened by you, so I shielded this area, meow."

After hearing Yun Mu's question, the white cat explained softly.

Shielded? Isn't that just an invisible wall!?

Yun Mu thought with a strange expression.

"Then what did you mean by self-iteration earlier?" After thinking for a moment, she asked the white cat again.

"Ah, are you talking about that thing that brought you here, meow?"

Hearing Yun Mu's words, the white cat seemed to think of something and said: "That item is the only 【Software】 in this world, meow, and it has integrated Paths that never existed in this world before, such as 【Game System】, 【Video Game】, 【Binary】, 【Code】, and 【Turn-based】."

"In the process of gradually merging with this world, it will naturally replace those old, bloated pieces of information through self-iteration, meow."

(⊙x⊙;) Is her Game System really that powerful? Could the bloated information refer to the mountain of crap code she wrote after teaching herself programming for a few months—full of loopholes and bugs, built entirely from a pile of incomprehensible instructions?

But then again... "Who are you, and why do you know that information about me?" Yun Mu looked at the cat in front of her with a serious face and asked.

Long ago, after experiencing the Scarlet Dungeon, she knew that those so-called Dungeons were not actually created entirely by the Game System itself.

For example, the Scarlet Dungeon world was composed of Echoes from the frontier.

And the Cat Paradise she was in now... "Wait, are you Mother of All Cats Eve?" Yun Mu thought of something and asked, her scalp tingling.

"It seems your brain turns quickly, meow~" The white cat—oh no, Eve—licked its paw, and a very human-like smile appeared on its cat face as it spoke.

"You guessed right, meow. I am the one standing at the peak of the Cat Path, the ancestor and guardian deity of all felines, the Ancestor of All Cats, or the Mother of All Cats, Eve-dayo~"

Yun Mu truly had not expected that in the very first Dungeon created by the 【Cat Path】, she would encounter such a heavyweight person—er, or rather, cat—or was it a god? Forgive her brain for short-circuiting at this moment; after all, it would be difficult for anyone to remain calm when meeting a deity.

After a long while, she suppressed the emotions in her heart, took a deep breath, and asked: "Regarding that thing on me, do you know much information?"

"Also, besides you, do other deities know of its existence?" She posed the two questions she was most concerned about.

"Unfortunately, I don't know much information, meow~" Upon hearing her words, Eve shook her head, answering her first question first: "I only know that you, and that item, both traveled here from another world."

"As for the other gods, only when their gaze lingers on you for more than ten seconds will they perceive your identity as an otherworldly visitor, meow~"

"As for that item on you..."

Pausing, Eve continued: "If it hadn't wanted to borrow my venue, I wouldn't have known of this item's existence at all, meow~"

"So you can rest assured, meow~"

"Phew, I see."

Yun Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Meow~ Let's end the Q&A session here. Next, I am going to issue the mission for your current Dungeon, meow~" Eve jumped hard and landed easily on Yun Mu's shoulder, saying.

"What mission?" Yun Mu asked with some curiosity.

"A very simple mission, meow~"

Eve pulled a pair of fluffy toy Cat Ears from somewhere and handed them to her, saying: "Three of my naughty children have run out of here, meow~"

"Before they cause any big trouble, I need you to bring them back to me."

"These Cat Ears can make my children recognize you as one of their own, meow. Come, try the effect!"

"Cat, Cat Ears?"

Yun Mu looked at the black Cat Ears Eve handed over with a flushed face, imagining what it would look like if this thing were worn on top of her head.

"Do you not like them, meow?" Eve looked at her with some confusion.

"No, it's not that." Yun Mu pursed her lips and said with some hesitation: "Rather than saying I don't like them, it's more like, I feel a sense of shame..."

"So that's it, meow!"

A look of realization appeared on Eve's face as she said: "So humans find it shameful to have Cat Ears grow on their heads, meow. No wonder humans who choose the 【Cat Path】 are so rare..."

"Ah no, I don't think that's the reason..."

"It doesn't matter, no other humans will see it here, meow~" Eve advised her: "Anyway, walking on my Path, Cat Ears will grow out sooner or later, meow~"

"Just treat it as getting used to the feeling of having Cat Ears grow out in advance, meow~"

PS: I can't do it anymore, I'm going to die from exhaustion.

Sleep, sleep.

I will update early tomorrow!!! (End of chapter)