CHAPTER 80: IT LIKES YOU

One of its stubby limbs was sprawled across her collarbone, as though clinging to her even in sleep.

For a long moment, Ling Yu simply stared down at it.

The warmth against her skin was disarming. The creature was defenseless, vulnerable, yet it had chosen to press itself so close to her without fear.

Slowly, she raised her hand and brushed a lock of her hair aside, careful not to disturb it.

The system’s voice interrupted, as clinical as ever, but with an odd lilt, as though carrying more meaning than its words.

[System Observation]

[Entity: [Unnamed Fluffy] exhibits behavior consistent with dependency. Current state: Asleep, emotionally secure.

Estimated interpretation: It likes you.]

Ling Yu’s expression didn’t shift. She remained silent, staring at the sleeping ball of fluff.

The system continued, almost coaxing her.

[System Advisory]

[Consideration: Nurturing the entity may provide unforeseen advantages. Its survival may benefit yours. Emotional bonds, while inefficient, have been proven to increase human resilience.]

Ling Yu finally sighed, her voice low, nearly a whisper. "Enough."

Her hand lowered, resting on the blanket beside her. She closed her eyes again, though sleep no longer pulled at her.

Taking responsibility for another life...

Her mind flickered back to the past. To faces she had once sworn to protect, faces she had seen torn apart in the apocalypse. To the promises she had failed to keep, the trust that had curdled into betrayal. The weight of corpses, the screams of allies who had turned to enemies, all of it pressed against her chest even now.

She was not ready to shoulder a new life, not ready to see innocence turn to ashes under her hands.

She didn’t say or do anything as she let the creature sleep against her cheek, its warmth both soothing and suffocating.

The system went quiet after that, as though it too understood.

Outside, the factory stirred. Survivors rose one by one, stretching sore limbs, counting their food, whispering about their plans. The leader moved among them, checking wounds, ensuring no fights broke out. The morning light painted the factory in shades of pale gold, but the shadows of fear lingered beneath every conversation.

Ling Yu sat silently in her corner, the fluff nestled against her, and her ink black eyes remained unreadable. She had survived another night, but survival was not enough.

The morning in the factory was quiet, almost deceptively so. The faint chatter of survivors carried across the wide, cavernous hall as people divided rations, argued in hushed voices, or sharpened crude weapons they had scavenged. Rust clung to the air, mixed with the faint smell of burnt oil and human sweat.

But in Ling Yu’s corner, the world was narrowed to a soft ball of fur that had just stirred awake.

The little creature blinked drowsily, its huge eyes clouded with sleep. It yawned, if such a round fluff could even yawn, that its tiny mouth opening to emit the faintest squeak, before rubbing its face against Ling Yu’s arm.

Ling Yu who was already awake, regarded it with a calm expression. She had been turning something over in her hand for the last few minutes: a small shard of crystal, faintly glowing with a dim blue light.

A mana stone.

They were fragments left behind by monsters, the hardened crystallization of their essence. Most hunters in her last life had treated them as valuable currency or crafting materials, but there had been some exceptions. Some beings consumed themas well. Creatures born of anomaly and chaos, who fed not on flesh but on energy itself.

Ling Yu stared at the ball of fluff as she wondered.

Could this fluffy be one of them?

"Let’s find out," she murmured softly, setting the stone before the creature.

The fluff tilted its head, its ears, or were they tufts of fur?

Perking up as it sniffed the glowing shard. For a moment it only stared, its glossy black eyes reflecting the faint light, as if unsure what to do.

Then, with a tentative little chirp, it lowered its tiny mouth and pecked on it.

The sound was like a faint crack against glass. The stone dimmed, a shard breaking off under its nibble. Ling Yu leaned forward, her eyes narrowing in concentration.

The fluffy chewed, or rather, absorbed the fragment, its body shivering as if a pleasant warmth passed through it. It let out a delighted coo, and immediately pecked again. This time, the glow of the shard pulsed, dimmed, then vanished altogether, the entire stone disappearing into its small body.

Ling Yu blinked.

The creature wobbled on its stubby feet, then plopped back down into her lap, its little belly visibly rounder, its fur puffing slightly as though filled with static. It chirped happily, rolling over once before snuggling against her stomach with a look of pure contentment.

The system chimed in.

[System Analysis]

[Entity has consumed [Low-Class Mana Stone].

Compatibility: 98%.

Result: Entity exhibits high affinity for mana absorption. Potential growth detected.

Advisory: Sustained feeding may evolve the entity.]

Ling Yu’s lips pressed into a thin line.

So it was true. This creature wasn’t just some ordinary fluff. It was something rare, maybe even dangerous. In her last life, she had heard whispers of "companions" or "familiars" appearing during the early waves, beings that bonded to hunters and grew stronger with them. Most of those rumors had been dismissed as lies, since few ever survived long enough to prove them.

And yet here one sat, cooing in her lap, belly full of mana stone.

"Are you going to become a little sack of trouble for me?" she looked at it with a frown and muttered, brushing her fingers lightly across its fur. It was soft, too soft that it was almost distracting. Even though she was frowning, Ling Yu actually didn’t feel annoyed.

The creature only squeaked and licked her finger with its warm, tiny tongue, as if to answer.

The system interrupted again.

[System Note]

[Interpretation: It likes you.]

Ling Yu closed her eyes briefly, exhaling. "You say that too often."

But she did not push it away.