Today is Xiao He’s first day at work.
“You’ll be responsible for the Pallas’s cat enclosure! Basically, daily cleaning and feeding. I’ll slowly teach you the rest,” the senior said kindly.
Xiao He was dressed in a light blue sterile suit, wearing a mask, hair cover, and plastic gloves. A little nervous, he asked, “Is there anything I should pay attention to?”
“Just don’t make them angry! Even though Pallas’s cats look very cute—small bodies, round faces—they’re actually the fiercest among felines! They have bad tempers and are very good at fighting. If they dislike you, your days will be very difficult.”
As she spoke, the senior opened the door and led him into the enclosure.
Inside was a flat, artificially constructed grassland, with several rock formations, a small pond, a few large trees, and even a little swing. Sunlight streamed down through the transparent ceiling, casting dappled shadows across the ground.
From behind the small round leaves, from the crevices in the rocks by the pond, and even from the swaying swing, little fluffy heads began to pop out one by one.
The Pallas’s cat is a small feline species, about half the size of a typical domestic cat. It possesses all the adorable traits of felines, with thick, long fur and a round, fluffy tail trailing behind.
Seeing the familiar sterile suit and smelling the senior’s scent, they trotted over one after another, surrounding her and letting out soft, coquettish mewling sounds, rubbing affectionately against her boots.
Outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, the visiting tourists let out excited screams, while the clicking of camera shutters rose and fell in waves.
“This is the activity area for the Pallas’s cats,” the senior explained. “They usually play here, bask in the sun, and sleep.”
She bent down and scooped up two little ones rubbing against her feet. “These are Dong Dong and Luo Luo. They’re four years old this year—two girls. They have the best temperaments; you can try petting them.”
Xiao He extended his hand and cautiously touched Dong Dong’s back. His fingers immediately sank into the thick, soft fur. Dong Dong turned her head to glance at him and gently licked his glove. Luo Luo also leaned her head over, letting out a coquettish little cry.
The senior set Dong Dong and Luo Luo down, then walked over to the small swing and pulled down the little Pallas’s cat that was fiercely gnawing on the rope.
“This one is Ma Ma, only half a year old. Very mischievous—always causing trouble everywhere. But if it likes you, it’ll behave and let you hold it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Ma Ma bared its fangs at Xiao He, letting out warning hisses—“Ssss—sss—”.
“Looks like it doesn’t like you,” the senior said with a sigh of regret.
Next, the senior introduced the other Pallas’s cats one by one.
“There were originally eight of them. Last month, Xiao He gave birth to three babies, so now there are eleven! They all look quite similar, so you won’t be able to tell them apart at first—but that’s alright, you’ll get used to it.”
Elio’s notes: The Xiao He mentioned here has the characters 小荷 while the MC of this extra chapter has the characters 小何. The latter, I think, represents He Chu San lol
Xiao He spoke softly, “I can tell them apart.”
“Hm?”
“I can distinguish them,” Xiao He said, then pointed at each one in turn. “Those are Dong Dong and Luo Luo. The one biting their tails is Ma Ma. The one with the yellow spot on its head is Scarhead. The one with the gray tail is Xiao He. You just introduced ten—there’s still one missing.”
The senior looked at her in surprise. “You have an excellent memory!”
Xiao He lowered his gaze slightly, a little embarrassed.
“I forgot to introduce the fiercest one,” the senior laughed. Her gaze swept across the enclosure. “Because it hides during the day and only comes out at night—ah! There it is!”
She pointed to the highest branch of a tree. The branch stood about four to five meters above the ground, nearly touching the transparent ceiling.
Amid the overlapping leaves, a small figure lay faintly concealed. As if sensing their attention, it drew its body inward, hiding itself deeper behind the foliage.
Ah—but its tail wasn’t hidden. Xiao He thought to himself; he could see the tip of its tail flicking impatiently.
“It’s called Liu Liu—because it arrived on June 6th this year. It’s been here just over four months,” the senior said. “It’s about three years old, but it wasn’t born in this enclosure—it was rescued from the wild. Its temper is the worst. It really dislikes human contact—even I’ve never touched it.”
Xiao He raised the back of his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and squinted up at the small Liu Liu. The leaves trembled slightly, and between them appeared a pair of wary, amber-like round eyes. Perhaps noticing that this new human was still staring, Liu Liu’s tail began to lash irritably against the branch.
Truly ill-tempered, Xiao He thought. It feels like it might leap down and bite me at any moment.
From that day on, the Pallas’s cat enclosure gained a new young caretaker.
Xiao He was handsome and slender, with a tall build. Every morning, he could be seen sweeping the grounds with brisk shua-shua-shua sounds. When cleaning the litter, he would frown slightly—because the smell was simply unbearable.
The half-grown Pallas’s cat Ma Ma seemed to dislike him very much. Every time Xiao He cleaned the litter, Ma Ma would flick its tail and leap about, causing trouble.
On this particular day, Ma Ma kicked litter all over Xiao He again—pusu-pusu—even scattering it across his face.
Xiao He didn’t argue with it and silently continued working. Suddenly, he noticed that a large clump of feces was stuck to Ma Ma’s rear. He set down the litter scoop and took out a piece of sterile gauze.
“Meow—!” Ma Ma bared its teeth and snarled.
“There’s something dirty—let me clean it,” Xiao He coaxed patiently, chasing after it.
With his long reach, he caught Ma Ma in his arms and gently tried to wipe its rear. Ma Ma let out a sharp scream and bit at him fiercely—but being only half a year old, its teeth were not fully grown. It foolishly clamped onto Xiao He’s glove and ended up choking itself, coughing repeatedly.
At that very moment, Xiao He heard the startled cries of the tourists outside the glass window.
In the next instant, a dark blur flashed before his eyes.
“Ah!” Liu Liu, suddenly lunging out, struck him with a vicious swipe of its claw!
Xiao He cried out in pain and covered his eye. Liu Liu seized Ma Ma by the scruff of its neck and swiftly dragged it away.
Xiao He crouched on the ground, the pain so intense that he couldn’t lift his head for a long while. After some time, through tear-blurred vision, he looked ahead—
Liu Liu was hiding behind a rock formation, half its head peeking out, casting a fierce and warning gaze toward him.
This was Xiao He’s first “intimate encounter” with Liu Liu—
and Liu Liu left him with a long scar.
Futile Devices Scans 
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