Chapter 15: Evil Creatures

“What’s going on, Ning Luoluo, what are you playing at?!” Qu Banqing stormed out, brandishing a soup spoon, but the moment she saw the massive figure behind Ning Zhixia, her face went deathly pale. She yanked Ning Zhixia behind her and muttered warily, “Wow... That’s a huge slime...”

“It’s not a slime, it’s a sea monster from the Monis Sea! It doesn’t hurt anyone!” Ning Zhixia poked her head out and twined the slippery tentacle in her hand, introducing, “Its name is Bobokura!”

Qu Banqing swallowed hard. “It really is pretty cool.”

The wooden floor was too slippery for Bobokura, so it clung tightly to the boards with its suckers. Hearing Ning Zhixia introduce it, Bobokura politely raised a tentacle in greeting.

“Bloop, bloop, bloop...”

A series of popping suction noises sounded as the suckers left the floor.

Qu Banqing was speechless.

As the most intelligent creature in the ocean depths, Bobokura had little interest in mingling with the other chaotic-looking fish. It wandered about until, by chance, it discovered a mysterious cave hidden at the edge of the sea. With great effort, it squeezed inside, never expecting to pass through a wall of water and encounter the legendary land-dwelling creatures who lived in little houses.

“So that’s how it is...” Ning Zhixia, mouth full of crumbs, sat atop a coiled tentacle, listening to its tale. She handed over a gigantic burger and explained, “This is a nail salon that connects to many worlds. I might not be able to offer you much in the way of service, but you’re very welcome to hang out here.”

The burger was so packed with fillings that even two hands couldn’t quite grasp it. Bobokura gratefully curled its tentacle around the treat, glanced shyly at the little human before it, and opened its cherry-colored, toothy maw with remarkable decorum, tossing the burger in as if it were a jellybean.

“Your food is delicious!” the pink octopus said in a soft, delicate voice, cradling its smooth, round head with two tentacles.

Ning Zhixia was speechless. Darling, do you even taste it before you praise it?

After sampling three colossal burgers, Bobokura bashfully rubbed its tentacles in thanks. Upon learning the shop was from another world, it stretched a thick tentacle out the door and, from who-knows-where, retrieved a glass bottle.

“There’s something I really want to ask—have you ever seen a kind of evil creature in your world?” With nimble movements, it uncorked the bottle and poured out a scroll of parchment. Bobokura’s voice turned mysteriously conspiratorial. “They say if you get hooked, you can never quit. It’s completely addictive.”

“What evil creature?” Qu Banqing laughed. “How could we have something like that here?”

Ning Zhixia wriggled her way forward, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. “What does it look like?”

“Like this!” Bobokura brandished its tentacle and unfurled the parchment with a dramatic flourish.

Soft limbs, hooked claws, and a wild, arrogant expression...

The two peered closer, staring in stunned silence.

Qu Banqing shook its tentacle in commiseration. “It really is evil!”

“Oh, come on, it’s just a cat.” Ning Zhixia poked the tiny ball of fluff sketched on the parchment, then turned and pressed the button on the automatic feeder.

The crisp sound of kibble hitting the dish rang out. A few pairs of ears twitched, and in the blink of an eye, a squad of cats dashed from every corner of the house, charging in like a tiny stampede!

“Chomp chomp chomp...”

The kittens munched away, mouths full and satisfied. The pink octopus, caught off guard by the sight of the furballs it had dreamed of, trembled with excitement, its tentacles shivering like seaweed in an undersea current.

“Oh my! One, two, three... Ohhh!” Its tentacle tip floated above the kittens’ heads, wavering in delight.

There were five fluffballs! And one of them was especially round!

When the cats finished their snack, they finally noticed the massive creature in the corner and cautiously lowered their heads to sniff.

Bobokura was so overcome with joy it nearly burst into bubbles. Before Ning Zhixia could intervene, it gently wrapped a tentacle around the chubby tabby.

“Meoww!”

The cold, slippery touch made the tabby bristle from head to tail. It struggled free, hissing and batting at the tentacle with lightning-fast paws.

The other kittens scattered at once, huddling behind the sofa with only half their heads peeking out, watching warily.

“Oh no... The kitties are all gone...” Bobokura collapsed into a puddle of jelly, its round eyes brimming with tears and wobbling like poached eggs. Holding back as long as it could, it finally covered its eyes with a tentacle and sobbed its heart out.

“Don’t cry, Bobokura, you just startled them,” Ning Zhixia said awkwardly, scratching her cheek as she crouched to pat its big head in comfort.

“So... I... addicted... to... cats... and now... they... hate... me...” The pink octopus was wracked with grief, its whole body shuddering. Soon a puddle of water seeped out beneath it, staining the floor. Noticing, it quickly sucked the water back up, hiccupping as it wept.

Qu Banqing couldn’t help but mutter, “Imagine how smart this thing would be as a mop.”

Ning Zhixia glared. Please, stop looking so eager!

Bobokura slumped gloomily in the corner like a punctured inflatable toy. Clearly, being rejected by the cats had dealt it a heavy blow.

Ning Zhixia scolded the chubby tabby, “Do you know whose love you just rejected? The love of a sea monster!”

The cat, unbothered, twitched its whiskers, flicked its tail, and strutted off.

Qu Banqing sighed. “Bobokura, can you make yourself a bit smaller?”

A sea monster ought to have that kind of ability.

Sure enough, Bobokura answered softly, “I can, yes.”

“Perfect!” Ning Zhixia’s eyes sparkled with an idea. She leaned in and whispered, “Give me some time, and I promise the cats will come to you!”

“Really?” Bobokura perked up, its tentacles wringing nervously as it peeked at the kittens hiding behind her. “But I must look scary...”

“Not at all,” Ning Zhixia laughed. “Your color is lovely, like sweet cotton candy!”

Bobokura blinked its tennis-ball eyes, bashful. “What’s cotton candy?”

Ning Zhixia waved her hands, trying to describe. “It’s like a soft, puffy cloud! Pink, dreamy, and sweet!”

“Dreamy...” Bobokura squirmed with embarrassment. “Oh, stop it, you flatter me!”

A dreamy pink tentacle gave Ning Zhixia’s shoulder a gentle push, sending her sliding two meters across the floor.

Qu Banqing applauded quietly. Tonight, the floor would be gleaming.

True to her word, Ning Zhixia ordered a special aquarium online—a rectangular tank with a round arched entrance in the middle, just the right size for a few kittens to squeeze inside.

That evening, when Bobokura returned, they filled the tank with seawater from this dimension. Its eight tentacles carried all sorts of decorative trinkets, which it carefully arranged inside.

It clung to the glass, using two tentacles to uncork a bottle and pour out sand and pebbles. Four tentacles placed bits of coral and shiny shells, while the last two fussed over the placement of seaweed.

Ning Zhixia and Qu Banqing squatted nearby, watching Bobokura enthusiastically arrange its new home, pineapple house and stone statues in hand, unable to offer any help.

In no time, the plain aquarium was transformed into a luxurious ocean-view suite. Bobokura shrank itself down, bringing along its favorite glass bottle, and slid into the tank with happy little “bloop bloop” sounds.

Ning Zhixia tapped the glass. “How is it? Do you like it?”

The pink octopus, now fanned out like an umbrella, filled itself with water and shot across the tank in delight. It did a joyful lap, then bobbed up from the shimmering surface, a tentacle reaching out to wrap around Ning Zhixia’s finger in friendly greeting—a sign of utter satisfaction.

Seeing this, Ning Zhixia had Qu Banqing bring the kittens over. But before Qu Banqing could even tempt them with snacks, the kittens, having watched from the sidelines, bravely crept closer on their own.

They circled the tank, peered inside, and, spotting the arched doorway that looked so much like a cat bed, slipped in by twos and threes, eyes fixed on Bobokura as it darted gracefully among the seaweed and coral.

“Meow, meow...”

Fluffy paws batted at the glass, and Bobokura, noticing the little pink paws so like its own color, eagerly waved a tentacle in greeting. Soon, more paws pressed up against the glass.

It was already late, and the portal had closed for the day. The two of them decided that since Bobokura was just in the tank, they might as well let it stay the night by the TV cabinet and return to the undersea city tomorrow.

Bobokura was thrilled to be so close to the furballs, pressing its pink tentacles to the glass, waving above the water in excitement.

Ning Zhixia knew that creatures from other worlds couldn’t stay long, but figured an extra day at home wouldn’t hurt.

Who could have guessed that the next morning, Audro strolled into the Monster Nail Salon as if he owned the place and caught Bobokura red-handed, reveling in its ocean-view suite and basking in feline company.

“Why did you keep the Monis sea monster here?” Audro swirled his fingers through the water, sending ripples across the surface, then snatched the pink octopus disguised as coral with a single deft move.

He dangled the soft, boneless creature between two fingers, squinting as he scrutinized it, unable to imagine what Ning Zhixia saw in it. After a long pause, he turned and asked, “Are you planning to sell snacks?”

Ning Zhixia was confused. “What?”

“Octopus balls.” Audro’s tongue flicked over his lips unconsciously as he stared at Bobokura and murmured in a devilish voice, “Its tentacles regenerate quickly...”

Endless supply, inexhaustible—an ideal source of ingredients!

“No, no, no! Absolutely not!” Bobokura was so terrified it began to lose color, inwardly shrieking that humans were monsters, wriggling madly in a futile attempt to hide all its tentacles beneath its head.

“That’s not my plan at all!” Ning Zhixia shook her head furiously, vowing to the nearly-desiccated Bobokura that she had absolutely no designs on its tentacles.

“Oh, thank goodness...” Bobokura wriggled free from Audro’s grasp and plopped onto the table.

Trying to prove it wasn’t just freeloading for the cats, Bobokura mustered its courage and said, “I—I’m here to sell good things to Boss Ning. We—we have a serious business proposal!”

At the mention of “good things,” Ning Zhixia’s eyes lit up instantly.

What good things?

Let me see!