Chapter 48: We Have a Cat

After the "slightly forceful" "persuasion" of his Guerrilla comrades, Shaji finally accepted Aolang's invitation.

Surrounded by a large crowd, the man and the cat arrived at Qiaoda's office.

Shaji, following beside Aolang, looked somewhat cowed, as if ashamed to make this request to Boss Qiaoda, while Qiaoda stood with arms crossed, as though he had been waiting there for a while.

"Finally persuaded him?" Qiaoda asked, looking at Aolang.

Aolang didn't quite know how to answer; to be honest, he hadn't even had time to persuade anyone, as the words had mostly come from the others.

Resha grabbed Shaji and hugged him, rubbing his face vigorously. "The little guy is leaving; it's truly hard to let go."

Asa grabbed Shaji's dangling foot and, mimicking Resha, pretended to rub it. "Hard to let go!"

"Get lost, meow!" Shaji kicked him away with force.

Watching this group of young people laughing and joking, a smile appeared on Qiaoda's face.

Some words were unsuitable for Aolang to say from his position, but the Guerrilla comrades could push Shaji forward from behind.

"Alright, stop fooling around and put Shaji down," Qiaoda said, scolding the group lightly before straightening his expression.

Shaji, back on the ground, tried hard to stand straight, yet still dared not raise his head to look at Qiaoda's face.

"Alright, what kind of look is that? Raise your head."

Accustomed to obeying orders, Shaji instinctively looked up, only to meet Qiaoda's large hand.

Qiaoda rubbed and pressed the top of Shaji's head for a moment, then squatted down to look Shaji in the eye and said, "Don't listen to what others say, and don't think about repayment or anything like that. I'll only ask you one thing.

Shaji, do you want to travel with Aolang, or do you prefer life with the Citadel Guerrillas and want to stay here forever?

Think it over carefully, seriously determine what is in your heart. Don't rush to answer me; give me your answer in three minutes."

Shaji held his head and thought for a long time, finally raising it to answer seriously, "Everyone in the Guerrilla team has been very good to me, and I haven't yet repaid the kindness of taking me in, meow.

Although it seems ungrateful, I truly still want to go out and see the outside world, meow."

"That's good," Qiaoda said, rubbing Shaji's head again. "It's good that you can confirm what is in your heart."

Saying this, he took a Contract Scroll from behind his back.

"On the first day I brought you back to Luokelake, I told you that the Citadel Guerrillas are a 'cradle.' When you feel you are ready, walk out with your head held high."

"Boss Qiaoda, meow!" Shaji's eyes filled with tears.

"If you have made up your mind, leave your paw print on the Contract. From now on, you'll have to call someone else 'Boss,' you know." Qiaoda handed the Contract to Shaji. "If you still have doubts, staying here is perfectly fine too."

Shaji looked up at Aolang. Aolang squatted down and held out his palm. "Will you come with me?"

After a brief silence, Shaji nodded and placed his small paw in Aolang's palm.

Watching this scene, the emotional Resha couldn't help but sniffle.

Asa, standing nearby, bumped her shoulder. "Wasn't Shaji closest to you before? To be honest, I always thought he would become your partner. How did Aolang manage to steal him away?"

"Get lost!"

This wasn't a short trip of a few days, but leaving a familiar city for a long journey abroad, and the things needing preparation beforehand were countless.

Aolang took out his memo pad, which was already densely filled with writing across two pages.

"Boss, what are we going to do now, meow?" Shaji, following beside Aolang, asked.

Aolang put away the small notebook. "First, let's go to the Workshop. The armor ordered before the Harvest Festival should be finished. The Citadel Guerrilla set has been returned, so we can exchange it for the new armor.

Does your Equipment need strengthening?"

"Me, meow?" Shaji patted the Alloy Cat Armor on his body. "No need, meow. I only changed into this set a few months ago, meow. It's perfectly sufficient, meow."

"Alright. If you feel a need later, tell me anytime. The same goes for the fees and materials for learning and researching Mechanisms."

"That's not necessary, meow," Shaji shook his small head. "Those are just my personal hobbies, meow."

Aolang smiled at him. "No need to be so polite. I actually plan to strongly support this hobby of yours.

I heard that in recent years, besides Combat Cats who use traditional Weapons, Bomb Cats who focus on Explosive Bombs, and Healing Cats skilled in first aid, Assist Cats who specialize in using traps and Mechanisms have gradually emerged.

I feel that direction suits you quite well. Don't look at how you can only restore Clockwork Toys and such right now; perhaps in a few years, you'll even be able to craft a Portable Dragon Gun."

"That's way too exaggerated, meow!"

"Goals should always be set high."

The man and the cat arrived at the Workshop, chatting and laughing. Seeing the two of them, the boss lady, dressed lightly, picked up her pipe. "You're finally here. I thought you forgot about the Equipment order you placed here."

"Sorry..."

"Alright, just a joke. Don't take it so seriously." The boss lady blew a smoke ring. "Actually, it was just forged not long ago. Who could have known the Harvest Festival would be so busy before?"

Following the boss lady's call, someone soon carried the brand-new Yellow Speed Dragon Set from the inner room of the Workshop.

Unlike the original bright yellow of the material, the processed Yellow Velocidrome King material presented a dark red color resembling rust.

Divided into inner and outer layers, the inner layer was a Metal Armor base forged from Iron Ore, Swallow Stone, and other minerals, while the outer layer was attached with Yellow Velocidrome King leather and scales to strengthen defense, looking quite sturdy and reliable.

"There aren't many points worth introducing about this set. In short, its defensive performance is far superior to your initial Hunter Set.

What needs noting is that the Yellow Velocidrome King itself has very poor resistance to Water Attribute and Ice Attribute, after all, these are hard to find in the Desert.

This armor also inherits this weakness. If you need to deal with Monsters possessing similar abilities, please be careful."

"Thanks for the reminder. I've noted it."

After nodding seriously, Aolang began to try on the armor.

The craftsmanship of the Workshop artisans was excellent; the entire set of armor was made to fit perfectly. Heavier than the Hunter Set and the Citadel Guerrilla Team Set, it gave a feeling of security.

"Oh, and this is the Shield you requested to be reforged." The boss lady handed a brand-new Metal Round Shield to Aolang.

Just as Aolang reached to take it, the boss lady suddenly pulled her hand back, leaving him grasping at air. "Don't do things like throwing away a Shield and not picking it up again, or the artisans will get angry."

"Sorry, I'll pay attention." Aolang lowered his head somewhat awkwardly.

The boss lady snorted and stuffed the new Shield into his arms. "I heard from someone that you used a One-Handed Sword and a Pickaxe to perform Demon Dance on the back of the Peak Mountain Dragon.

I say, you kid, why not just switch to Dual Blades?"

Aolang felt a moment of temptation at these words, but he ultimately shook his head. "It's not time yet. I do not have the qualification to discard my Shield."

"Fine, fine, do as you please." The shopkeeper waved her hand; she had only mentioned it casually to begin with.

After bidding farewell to the shopkeeper, the man and the cat left the Workshop.

Aolang took out his notepad again and, following its contents, began making pre-departure preparations one by one.

He packed necessary luggage, bid farewell to Marydan and her husband along with friends, left a letter explaining his travel plans in the mailbox at his doorstep, and sorted through accumulated materials—selling what should be sold and sealing what should be sealed.

Finally, he gathered all his money; except for a small amount of cash, he exchanged the rest with a Merchant introduced by Qiaoda into Jewelry Rough Stones, which were easy to carry.

These jewels were a specialty of Luokelake and were relatively cheap locally; it was said that taking them to major cities outside the Desert region could increase their value by ten to twenty percent.

Even if not sold, keeping them for future crafting into decorative beads would not be a loss.

One by one, the tasks recorded on the notepad were completed; when the final item was crossed out with charcoal, the day of departure was already close at hand.