Chapter 6: Tom’s Idea

As the sun set, a person and a cat walked dejectedly down the main road of Thousand Feathers Academy.

They had been searching for a long time, but there were no hotels nearby.

Other than those already mentioned, all the hotels were over a kilometer away.

Staying at those inns would likely make them late in the morning, and after such a tiring day, who knew what time they'd wake up.

Seemingly exhausted, both the person and the cat found a long bench and sat down. The sunset cast their dejected shadows long behind them.

"Ah~ah~ah~"

A crow flew overhead, with an inexplicable trail of black spots following it. It felt as though even the surroundings were mocking them.

"Tom, do you think we'll have to sleep outside tonight?" Li Huan asked, looking at Tom with a worried expression.

Tom, with a similar expression, shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

"Damn it. I thought having money would mean we could stay somewhere nice, but here we are, facing this situation."

Li Huan was frustrated. After eating and drinking well, the thought of having no place to sleep was maddening.

There's an old saying: humans have three great desires: hunger, lust, and sleep. At the moment, their biggest desire was sleep.

After trekking over twenty kilometers and having a full stomach, their bodies were desperate for rest.

They had managed to nap a little in the taxi, but it was far from enough; it only made them more tired.

"There's no choice. Tom, you and I will split up and look for somewhere to rest. If we can't find anything in an hour, we'll meet back at this spot. Understand?"

"And one more thing: try not to attract attention. If you see people, try to avoid them. Got it?"

Tom raised a paw and nodded, showing he understood.

They both got up and headed in opposite directions. They had to find a place to sleep.

After Tom and Li Huan went their separate ways, Tom wandered along the road. As a loyal cat, he was determined to complete his task.

After all, if he didn't search properly, they might end up sleeping outside.

However, when Tom reached the playground, he suddenly let out a huge yawn.

As Li Huan had said, after walking over twenty kilometers, Tom was also feeling tired. Being a generally lazy cat, the effort of walking this distance had made his eyelids droop.

Upon reaching the playground, Tom noticed the grass field and his eyes lit up.

The playground was empty and closed, with high walls and barbed wire on top to prevent anyone from climbing over. It was well secured.

But that wasn't a problem for Tom. He propped a wooden stick on the ground and used it to support himself, lifting it high enough to reach the top of the wall.

This defied the laws of physics; Tom shouldn't be able to balance himself with a stick of that size, especially considering his weight. Yet, the stick stood firm, unmoving.

For Tom, this was entirely feasible. He had done similar things before, using a fishing rod to stand upright to evade Spike, the large dog chasing him.

At that time, he had been carrying a heavy fishing tackle box, but still managed to balance himself with ease. This was just a minor feat.

Tom elegantly used the stick to climb over the wall. But then, something went wrong.

As he was about to clear the wall, his tail got caught in the barbed wire.

???

Hanging in mid-air, Tom felt his tail snagged and instinctively yanked at it!

Rip—

With a tearing sound, blue and white fur floated through the air, followed by a heart-wrenching scream.

"Waa↗↘↗↘!!!!!!"

The scream, not quite like a cat's usual cry, was loud and piercing.

After hugging his tail for a while, Tom looked at the damaged end.

The fur was gone, revealing the bare, flesh-colored tip.

He was devastated, his tail, which he was so proud of, now in such a state.

Even though the fur would likely grow back, it didn't lessen the pain he felt.

At that moment, Tom realized something. Had he been too loud? Remembering Li Huan's instructions to avoid drawing attention, he panicked.

Would his loud cry make him noticeable?

Realizing the severity of the situation, Tom ignored his tail and quickly grabbed his belongings, looking around frantically for a place to hide.

Soon, he spotted a sports storage shed nearby. Although he didn't know what was inside, it seemed like a good place to take cover.

In a desperate move, he ran to the shed's front door.

Fortunately, it was open. Tom slipped inside, closed the door behind him, and found a corner to curl up in, hugging his head and shivering.

After about half an hour, Tom cautiously peeked out, checking if it was safe. Seeing no immediate danger, he sighed in relief.

It seemed his loud cry hadn't caused any problems after all.

Sitting on a sports mat, Tom wiped the sweat from his forehead with his paw, which he then shook off onto the ground.

At that moment, Tom noticed something about the mat.

It was quite soft. He became intrigued and began bouncing on the mat, playing joyfully.

No matter how he jumped, the mat cushioned his landings, making it all the more enjoyable.

He continued to jump and change his poses in mid-air, from a Buddha-like pose with one paw as a pillow to a diving pose, and then a display of strength.

After playing for a while, Tom suddenly had a bright idea. This could be his sleeping place! Looking at the layout of the sports shed, he grinned widely.