1017 No God (2/2)

”Come here.”

Vladimir took him to a nearby tree and said, ”That kitten seems to be trapped in the tree.”

Zhang Zian looked up, but his eyesight at night wasn't as good as a cat's. After observing closely, however, he found a yellow and white kitten in the tree, and it looked like a stray cat.

Zian turned on the flashlight function of his phone and faced it towards the kitten. The kitten squinted its eyes and writhed its body uneasily, trying to avoid the glare as it meowed softly.

Zhang Zian noticed that the kitten wanted to get down from the tree, but it seemed to be afraid of the height.

”Let me bring a ladder over and carry it down,” Zian said as he turned off the flashlight.

”Wait.” Vladimir stopped him.

”What's wrong?”

Vladimir seemed to be thinking about some difficult problem. It looked at the kitten in the tree. ”I want to know why it can't come down on its own.”

”Why it can't come down by itself?” Zhang Zian asked, not understanding what it meant.

Vladimir nodded and said, ”When I left earlier, I saw this kitten, and I was about to ask if it would like to join the Meow Meow Branch Organization of the small community opposite of ours, but I noticed that it was still too small. It isn't at the appropriate age to participate in our business, so I gave up on that thought. Indeed, it's still small and playful. It can climb up the tree by itself, but it can't come down after climbing up. I asked if it required any help, but it didn't respond to me, so I went back to find you. It started to meow after you came here.”

”Oh, so it's like this… In fact, cats generally only call out to humans. They don't usually meow at each other,” Zhang Zian explained.

Vladimir was surprised. ”Is that the case?”

Its question showed that Vladimir was indeed a fantasy elfin, and was not a real cat that had existed in history.

”Well, it's because cats don't need to communicate through their meowing; they can judge each other's intentions through their eyes, movements, and smell. Only when they're far away from each other do they scream with a sharp voice.” Zhang Zian then laughed and explained, ”How do you put it… meowing is like something cats intentionally do to communicate with humans.”

Vladimir started to think about what Zian said. It recalled the kittens in the pet shop, and in most cases, they didn't meow at one another, but they communicated through their movements and their eyes. For example, they licked each other's hair, or rolled around while they clung onto one another, or they chased each other. When they saw humans that they wanted to communicate with, they would softly meow to Zhang Zian, the staff, or customers.

”Then let me ask you––what if I were to let the stray cats use their meowing sound as a form of a secret signal between each other? Would it be against their nature?” it asked seriously.

”Why are you asking this?” Zhang Zian asked.

It gazed at the dimly lit streets and the endless vehicles, then slowly said, ”To have the stray cats unite and defend themselves against foreign enemies… It's a road that no men or cat has ever walked, and I am lonely on this road. I don't know if this is really good for them. Maybe it's just their nature to be free and lax. Even if they are bullied and oppressed, haven't they lived for thousands of years that way?”

Zhang Zian was surprised. He had always thought that Vladimir drove himself forward with his passionate beliefs, and never questioned whether or not it had made a mistake. But obviously, it did self-reflect occasionally; it just didn't easily reveal it to others.

But the problem was too big, and he was not a cat, so Zian couldn't put himself in the cat's point of view to think about the problem.

He gave it some thought then asked again, ”If there's the possibility that you will make a mistake, does that mean that you'll not do it?”

”How's that possible?” Vladimir looked up and said firmly, ”Even if it's the wrong way, you would have to go through it to know!”

Zhang Zian nodded in agreement. ”Vladimir, I hope that you can remember that you're not a god––you're just an ordinary cat. As long as you're a cat, you may make mistakes. You're no exception. But so far, you've done very well, so even if you make mistakes in the future, they won't erase your achievements.”

Vladimir's eyes started to shine. It clenched a front paw into a fist. ”Yes! I'm not a god! I don't want to be a god! There's no god in this world! Only fools and cowards put their hopes in god! I firmly believe that our cause is just! No enemy can break the cause of just!”

Its former presence had returned, and it was even more vigorous than ever. The flames burning in its eyes showed its courage, which could match a thousand warriors. ”There has never been a savior! And we don't depend on the Deity Emperor! To create happiness for cats, we can only depend on ourselves!”