Chapter 1 A Weird Roommate

Lili zipped behind the sofa in a flash, having already transformed into her werewolf form.

She crouched behind the sofa, cautiously peeking out with half her head. Her long silver hair draped to the floor, and her furry silver-white ears twitched sensitively, as if she were ready for battle at any moment. Hao Ren noticed that the mysterious creature was still chewing on half a noodle and some greens, which severely undermined her already limited "majesty." But what further undermined her majesty was Lili's next action: she pointed shakily at the black-and-white cat at Hao Ren's feet with her chopsticks, her voice almost crying out, "Cat...cat!"

"Meow?" The black-and-white cat curiously tilted its head and glanced at the unexpected guest who had appeared in the house. That single meow made Lili tremble twice, but then the cat ignored her with the elegant indifference befitting a feline.

Hao Ren stared dumbfounded at all of this. It took him a moment to process what was happening. He looked at Lili, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, in disbelief. "You...you're afraid of cats?"

"I...I'm not afraid of cats!" Lili stubbornly raised her head, like a proud fighting dog. "I just feel...intimidated."

"Isn't that the same thing!" Hao Ren felt that not only was his worldview inadequate, but his brain was too. He didn't even care that she was a werewolf, and a werewolf he had only just met, as he angrily pointed at Lili. "Come on! You're a werewolf, okay?!"

"I am a werewolf!" Lili seemed to finally realize that her current reaction was a bit embarrassing, and perhaps Hao Ren's gaze and words had stimulated the werewolf girl a bit. In any case, she plucked up her courage and sneaked out from behind the sofa, then pretended to return to the dining table, but actually tiptoed along the wall of the living room, making a wide circle to the other side of the room. "Are you sure this cat is safe?"

"What's unsafe about it?" Hao Ren casually picked up the black-and-white cat. "I've never seen such an easy-to-raise cat. Right, Gun?"

The black-and-white cat immediately meowed softly, its expression extremely docile. Hao Ren was overjoyed at this sight. He got up and brought over the cat food bowl, filling it for his pet and placing it on the floor next to the table: this was the cat's designated dining location. At the same time, Hao Ren introduced Lili to his cat: "Her name is Liu Lili, she's a werewolf... well, that probably doesn't mean anything to you. Anyway, just know that she's a new guest in our house. Your future food supply depends directly on how much rent she can pay, so be respectful to your benefactor, got it?"

The black-and-white cat seemed to really understand human speech. It raised its head and nodded reservedly at Lili, who was standing not far away looking wary, indicating its approval. Then, it continued to eat.

Lili seemed to have finally determined the harmlessness of the black-and-white cat. She cautiously crept back to the dining table, but still held her noodles and moved to the safest spot farthest from the cat. Then, she suddenly seemed to remember something. "What did you call that cat just now?"

"Gun," Hao Ren looked down at his only current "family member." "Its name is Gun, the 'gun' that means 'roll away.'"

Lili's silver hair and wolf ears slowly receded as her emotions calmed down (to be honest, Hao Ren felt a little regretful), and a surprised expression appeared on her face. "How could it have such a strange name?!"

"This cat came to my house last year," Hao Ren chuckled, introducing the origins of his cat. "I don't know what breed it is. This place is desolate and remote, plagued by stray cats and dogs. It's normal for one or two to sneak into people's homes when they're not paying attention, but this cat came and never left. I chased it away several times, but it didn't work..."

"So you named it 'Gun' in the hope that it would roll away soon?" Lili asked, wide-eyed.

"No, it likes to suddenly jump onto the bed when I'm watching TV. Every time, I shout 'Gun' to chase it away. It was quite effective at first, but after a long time, whenever I shout 'Gun,' it would come over and rub against me with particular enthusiasm—this cat thought its name was Gun. And then it really became Gun."

Lili listened with wide eyes, then lowered her head and ate silently. After a moment, she muttered, "I feel like I've come to a very strange place."

Hao Ren rolled his eyes: is there anything stranger than you in this house? A werewolf miss who completely subverts common sense!

By the time they finished eating, it was past nine o'clock. "Gun's" activity time had arrived. The black-and-white kitten strutted upstairs to inspect its territory. Hao Ren threw the dishes into the kitchen sink, planning to wash them tomorrow. Then, he lit a cigarette and sat in the living room in a daze—continuing to sort out his experiences from the day, and marveling at his own ability to accept things.

The werewolf ran around upstairs and downstairs energetically, familiarizing herself with the new home she would be renting for a while in an almost rude, overly familiar manner. Every time she reached a place, she would sniff vigorously, as if memorizing the scent. Although she was currently in human form, Hao Ren couldn't help but imagine a pair of pointed ears and a wagging tail on her. Normally, he would say something if a tenant was running around so freely, but now he didn't want to say anything more: it was normal for a wolf to mark its territory after arriving in a new place. He just hoped that this werewolf's territorial awareness could be combined with human common sense, as long as she always remembered that this was actually someone else's home, and that she was just a tenant. Considering Lili's current personality, this shouldn't be difficult.

Anyway, no matter what happens, Hao Ren was sure that he couldn't beat this werewolf.

Was it right or wrong to invite a creature with a high combat ability of presumably non-human origin into his home?

After calming down again, Hao Ren couldn't help but think about this question, but in the end, he still felt that he had made the right choice, and to be honest... he was quite looking forward to what would happen next.

This was a very reckless mentality. A normal person should learn to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, rather than rashly contacting a mysterious new world that might cost him his life out of pure curiosity, but Hao Ren had lived this ordinary, boring life for too long.

He liked to read novels, watch TV, and watch all kinds of bizarre fantasy stories. This was the almost inevitable lifestyle of every single, unemployed, unmarried, and well-fed young man living alone. Although he wasn't so obsessed with fantasy that he was delusional, and he hadn't yet found his boring days unbearable, and even if a "yes" or "ok" dialog box suddenly popped up on his computer, his first reaction would definitely be to unplug the power, that still couldn't stop him from feeling eager to try when faced with certain "new stimuli." This was the human tendency to be nosy at work. Some people would back down in fear after their curiosity was satisfied, but others...

Would probably react like Hao Ren.

And no matter what, he had to be wary of that strange and dangerous giant bat. Although he didn't know why he was being targeted by that kind of weird thing, the fact was that it had already happened, so he could only deal with it. Hao Ren wasn't the kind of person who would run away from reality. He would actively think of ways to increase his safety factor: such as keeping that werewolf, who looked very strong and seemed easy to talk to, by his side.

"Oh right, landlord, here's your rent!" Lili ran up and down the stairs several times (meeting "Gun" twice in the middle, each time accompanied by screams), finally remembering her current identity. She went back to her room with a lively spirit and took out her wallet, counted out the rent, and handed it to Hao Ren. "According to what you wrote in the ad, I'm prepaying three months' rent, and how much is the food fee?"

Oh, not only was she easy to talk to, but she was also a werewolf who would obediently pay rent—which book has this kind of good thing ever happened?

"You don't have to pay for food," Hao Ren noticed that Lili frowned when she smelled the smoke (a dog's nose is useful), so he consciously stubbed out his cigarette. "Anyway, one more person won't make much of a difference. Also, don't keep calling me landlord, I have a name, you can just call me Hao Ren."

"Got it, landlord."

"Call me Hao Ren..."

"Okay, landlord."

"...Forget it, I'm going back to my room to sleep, just make yourself at home. Don't go into those locked rooms, anything else is fine." Hao Ren sighed, got up and went back to his room. Lili also turned to leave, but she had a new topic halfway there. "By the way, landlord, you won't come to raid me at night, will you? It seems like it's just the two of us in this house. It's my first time renting a room from a single male landlord..."

Hao Ren almost fell to the ground, then turned his head and glared at the annoying werewolf. "For my own safety, I will definitely not raid you at night, you can rest assured!"