◎ This is not a cat trap prepared for you! ◎
When the sunlight spilled onto the glass and birds hopped among the branches, letting out clear chirps, Lin Shiyao stood on the balcony, making herself a cup of coffee with three sugars.
She picked up the watering can to water the two pothos plants, noticing that people were already strolling through the residential compound in the early morning. Over at the gazebo diagonally across from her, someone was practicing Tai Chi, the sunlight stretching their shadow. A small dog sprinted past, its owner sighing and tugging at the leash from behind. There was also a little girl with a ponytail who jogged out from the entrance of Building 3, looked around, and set her sights on Building 5, where their apartment was located.
She was carrying a bag of steamed buns in her hand, likely her breakfast.
However, upon arriving downstairs, Lin Shiyao noticed that the little girl was merely walking in circles in front of the main entrance. It was unclear who she was looking for, and she didn't come over to ring the doorbell.
She estimated the time in her head. A few minutes later, the curtains of the sliding glass door behind her were pulled back, followed by the glass door itself opening. Lin Fuque poked her head out from the bedroom: "Mom—"
"What was the name of that website where you can make your own mobile apps? I forgot."
She looked as though she had just woken up. Lin Shiyao was pulled into the bedroom by her and pressed into the chair in front of an open computer.
Lin Fuque let out a hum, scratched her hair, and ran off to wash up.
Lin Shiyao shook her head and helped her search for the "e-pick" website. This was a non-commercial site where individuals could register and create mobile apps. Students in certain majors also needed to use this site to complete their assignments. She had casually mentioned it at home once before.
It seemed Lin Fuque was genuinely planning to create an app. As a mother, she didn't interfere too much. After putting the watering can away and tossing her coffee cup into the dishwasher, she heard the patter of footsteps behind her again. Lin Fuque ran to the balcony and suddenly waved downstairs, shouting:
"Lu Xiyu—"
She cheerfully trotted over, gave Lin Shiyao a hug around the waist, and said, "Mom, I'm going out to play with my friend!"
Lin Shiyao raised an eyebrow. "What about your breakfast?"
"I'll eat outside!" Lin Fuque replied.
Realizing something, Lin Shiyao walked to the window just in time to see Lin Fuque accepting the steamed buns brought by the ponytail girl. The two little friends then walked off shoulder to shoulder:
So this was what she meant by "outside."
-
The summer morning wasn't too hot yet, nor was it as stifling as midday.
Lu Xiyu looked very excited. "This one is a meat bun, and this one is a mushroom and diced chicken bun. Which one do you want? Oh, right, I forgot to add you as a friend yesterday. Let's add each other first."
Otherwise, it wouldn't be convenient to keep in touch.
Lin Fuque took the buns and milk her friend offered, not forgetting to hand over the item she had prepared for her.
With her mouth stuffed with food, she signaled with her eyes for Lu Xiyu to open the small cardboard box wrapped in a ribbon.
"Is this for me?" Lu Xiyu pulled Lin Fuque over to sit on a stone bench and carefully untied the ribbon. "A watch and a butterfly?"
The screen of the children's smartwatch was off. The mechanical butterfly, however, had a very striking design. It was modeled after a blue morpho butterfly, with wings so thin and translucent that it looked like an ornament meant to be displayed on a desk.
"Put the watch on first!"
Lu Xiyu immediately took off her own watch and put on this slightly older one. Lin Fuque then motioned for her to take out her phone and used a nearby share feature to send an app from her own phone to Lu Xiyu's.
The app was called [Mechanical Butterfly].
"Wow!!" Although she didn't know what it was, Lu Xiyu felt it was something incredible.
Lin Fuque had her register an account. "Look, there's a string of codes on the butterfly's abdomen. It matches the code scanned by the app. Once you bind them together, the butterfly is yours."
"Wow, so it's like I'm adopting this butterfly?" Lu Xiyu asked.
The butterfly hadn't been activated yet, so she still thought it was just a decoration, but she felt it was very meaningful nonetheless!
Lin Fuque paused for a moment, finding the phrasing quite interesting. "You're right... I can change the [Bind] button here to 'Adopt' later."
"Eh?" Lu Xiyu blinked.
"I made it," Lin Fuque said.
"Eh!" Lu Xiyu exclaimed.
"It can fly, too~" Lin Fuque added.
"Ehhh?!" Lu Xiyu gasped.
This was the result of five consecutive exams. In order to make the butterfly capable of obstacle-avoidance flight without invading user privacy, Lin Fuque had managed to come up with a solution—the initial code for the butterfly monitor dictated random flight within a one-kilometer radius of a "camp." She changed "camp" to "the location of the children's smartwatch" and the one-kilometer radius to a ten-meter radius. Then, she imported the scanned and modeled map into the [Mechanical Butterfly] app, ensuring that only the user themselves could view it.
The app was only 32.1 MB in size. The modeled map was very rudimentary, lacking any coloration, and would automatically clear its data every 24 hours.
Aside from viewing the map, users could also use the software to [Set Patrol Interval] and [Set Flight Target Point].
However, Lu Xiyu was the sole user of the software.
In just one night, Lin Fuque had only managed to create these two functions.
"Patrol Interval" meant that the mechanical butterfly, flying randomly within its designated range, would fly back to the children's smartwatch at a set frequency to recharge.
"Flight Target Point" was designed to look a bit cooler. By selecting a coordinate point on the screen (such as a shoulder or the top of the head), the butterfly would receive the signal, flutter back, land on the chosen spot, and fold its wings.
Meanwhile, Lu Xiyu had already figured it out and started playing with it!
She shortened the patrol interval and began running around Lin Fuque. Yet, the blue morpho butterfly effortlessly avoided obstacles and landed precisely on the screen of the children's smartwatch.
While charging, its wings still fluttered gently in the breeze, but it never fell off.
Lin Fuque pointed at it and explained, "It might fall off if the wind is too strong. Because it's so light, it can't withstand heavy gusts. When it rains, it will actively seek shelter, so you can't let it outside on rainy days. Also, it can't fly too high..."
Thinking about it carefully, this mechanical butterfly actually still had quite a few flaws. Lin Fuque hadn't even taken it out for testing after making it.
So, she patted her chest and promised, "If anything goes wrong with it, bring it to me. I'll cover the warranty."
Although she herself didn't have much confidence in this new blue morpho butterfly, the game system fully acknowledged this modification—
[You have modified and completed a mechanical crafting job with 22% originality for the first time!]
[You gained Mechanic EXP x25]
[Your Mechanic class level has increased!]
[Current Mechanic Level: Lv. 2 (0/200)]
[You have received a title reward: Quest Discoverer (Mechanic)]
[Upon equipping this title, you have a certain chance of discovering side quests related to the Mechanic class nearby!]
The interface indicated that quest rewards could be items, money, or points. However, since she was currently only at level 2, such a low level meant she wouldn't be able to accept any high-value quests for the time being... but Lin Fuque didn't mind!
Lu Xiyu was still playing with the blue morpho butterfly, so she simply invited her friend to tag along. Her buddy wouldn't mind anyway.
The map showed the locations of available quests. The nearest one wasn't far away. The two of them walked hand in hand to the entrance of the property management office. A blue butterfly fluttered beside them. Lin Fuque immediately spotted the person with a quest marker hovering above his head!
It was an employee wearing a property management vest. A toolbox lay open on the ground, and a somewhat old blower was placed on its side. The man was sweating profusely as he tried to dismantle it.
Lin Fuque glanced at the quest title and let out an "Uh."
[Lyu Hong's Trouble]
The property management employee named Lyu Hong didn't notice them at all. Lin Fuque blinked, realizing that she couldn't just accept the quest with a wink.
She had no choice but to poke his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Lyu Hong looked up. "Sorry about this. If you need anything, you can go to the lobby to find someone..."
It seemed she had to show off a little. Lin Fuque put her hands behind her back. "Do you need help? Do you want to give me a quest? I can help you fix this blower."
Lyu Hong: "Hah, stop joking around."
Hey!
Lin Fuque wanted to say something else, but Lu Xiyu suddenly leaned over and showed him the butterfly in her hand. "She's amazing! Look at this. She made this flying butterfly, and she even made a mobile app that can control it—"
Lyu Hong: What does software programming have to do with fixing a blower?
The blue morpho butterfly resting on the surface of the watch flapped its wings, fluttering up like a streak of flowing light. Lyu Hong's eyes were inadvertently drawn to it. By the time he snapped back to reality, he found that Lin Fuque was already holding a wrench, tapping and tinkering with the blower.
In her other hand, she had picked up the structural diagram from the ground, looking at it as she worked.
Lyu Hong: "Hey, wait."
Lin Fuque looked up. "Is the rotor broken? Do you want to replace the fan blades?"
Lyu Hong was stunned.
She actually understood it?!
Lin Fuque gently blew the dust off the fan blades. "You don't have to replace the blades. This is a structural failure caused by uncleared debris in the rotor."
She could tell that the adult in front of her seemed to believe her a little, but was still hesitating. So, Lin Fuque added, "My mom is a physics professor, by the way."
[Accept the quest "Lyu Hong's Trouble"?]
[Quest Description: The property management department of Guanghua Residential Community is about to hold an anniversary event and plans to invite employees and homeowners to participate together. However, the blower needed for the performance is broken. Lyu Hong can't fix it. If he doesn't pay out of pocket to send it for repairs, several related performances will have to be canceled. You can help him fix the blower.]
[Quest Reward: Random Item x1, Points x0.5]
Lyu Hong half-heartedly accepted Lin Fuque's help. He still had some doubts in his heart, but he stepped aside, deciding to assist with the dismantling work first.
...But he soon discovered that his dismantling speed wasn't even as fast as Lin Fuque's!
It was obvious that Lin Fuque had never repaired a blower before—most kids her age wouldn't have this experience—she was just following the structural diagram, looking at it while working. Alternating tools in her hands, she surprisingly managed to take the outer casing off in no time.
She clearly didn't have much strength, so how did she manage to get it done so effortlessly with just a few twists and turns?
Lyu Hong was reduced to simply handing her things, taking things from her, and moving the parts aside.
This had nothing to do with Lu Xiyu, but she helped out too. After all, "dismantling a blower" was a very rare way to play. In any case, she had never played like this before, so even though dust got into her eyes, she remained in high spirits.
"This butterfly is a toy, right? It's really pretty..."
"Yeah, yeah, and it can fly! It's not a store-bought toy. Lin Fuque said she made it herself! She made it for me!"
"That's so impressive. I thought it was a very expensive toy. It's so exquisite... Can you actually control it?"
After all, it was too awkward to just work without talking. The sun had risen, and the air had become muggy. Lin Fuque spoke less, focusing solely on the repairs, while the other two gradually started chatting intently. Having received a gift from her friend, Lu Xiyu couldn't resist showing it off wherever she went.
During this time, someone came out of the property management lobby to ask about the situation, and Lu Xiyu didn't spare them either, repeating the exact same spiel.
Lin Fuque: "...It's fixed."
The problem actually wasn't major. The most time-consuming part was simply taking it apart and putting it back together. Lyu Hong plugged it in and turned it on. The spinning fan blades first blew away the dust, and then generated a strong gust of wind.
They stood opposite the fan blades. The howling wind blew everyone's hair up and forced them to close their eyes.
The three of them: "What a strong wind!"
Lyu Hong hurriedly went over to turn it off, then thanked Lin Fuque. "Oh, right! Wait here for a moment!"
Not long after, he came out carrying a cage.
It was a cat trap cage, but it had no door.
"Didn't you say you wanted a cage to hold a cat? Our property management has an old one. The cage door fell off and got lost a long time ago, so it's been stuffed in the warehouse ever since." Lin Fuque had mentioned wanting to catch a cat during their chat. Lyu Hong wanted to thank her, so he thought of this unwanted cage. "Little kid, catching cats is still very dangerous. It's best not to go by yourself. If you see a cat go into the cage, come call our property management to take it away."
He thought Lin Fuque wanted to catch some kitten in the residential community, naturally not associating it with Little Yellow, the ferocious Level 6 Great Demon King.
And Lin Fuque had the skills. If she found some iron wire to fix the door, she could repurpose this piece of junk.
[Quest Completed]
[Reward Obtained: Cat Trap Cage (Damaged) x1, Points x0.5]
Lin Fuque was very happy. "Thank you!"
The cage was too big. She wasn't planning to take it home and decided to find a place to put it down first, then look for materials to patch it up.
Moreover, after completing this quest, she vaguely realized something: "The random quest rewards... seem to be related to my choices?"
If she hadn't mentioned catching a cat during their chat, perhaps Lyu Hong would have given her snacks or something else?
In that case...
There didn't seem to be many quests on the map right now. Could it be that the number of quests in the game was also related to "promotion"?
No one knew that Lin Fuque was a Level 2 Mechanic!
Naturally, there weren't many quests she could accept, and they seemed to be concentrated solely within the residential community.
After leaving the property management entrance, Lu Xiyu still looked back from time to time. "That was so interesting..."
She couldn't quite describe the feeling, but she thought her friend was so cool. Although she hadn't been able to do much herself, she was also extremely excited. Upon learning that Lin Fuque "wanted to accept more quests," she declared, "Then I'll help you promote!"
Of course, Lin Fuque didn't even need to ask; she definitely wouldn't be able to resist talking extensively about today's wonderful experience.
Then, Lin Fuque pulled her to a corner of the artificial lake, where she helped a fishing grandpa fix his electric fishing rod. She received a small red bucket used for holding fish, which contained only three slender yellow croakers.
But this time it was even faster. Perhaps because it was too simple, she didn't receive any points as a reward.
They carried the bucket, lugged the cat trap cage (without a door), and brought the butterfly along as they arrived at the edge of the birch forest.
They placed the cage under a tree, loosely buried it with some dirt, and covered it with a magazine they had picked up along the way.
Lu Xiyu said, "I saw this in the videos. Cats like dark environments, so blocking the light with a magazine makes them more likely to go inside."
As for the small bucket, Lin Fuque wanted to give Lu Xiyu one of the fish, but Lu Xiyu's family refused to keep "anything living and breathing other than you two sisters." Therefore, she had to go home and sneak out a plastic takeout container first.
She placed the bucket next to the cat trap, and the two decided to meet up here again after lunch.
-
"Lu Xiyu, what are you doing?"
"Sis!" After kneeling by the bed and rummaging for spare change for a long time, Lu Xiyu concluded that she really didn't have enough money. "Lend me a hundred bucks! Pretty please—"
Lu Wenjue let out a dry chuckle.
"Don't even think about it. I'm busy. I have a business trip in a few days, so don't cause any trouble for me!"
"Ahhh! I'll pay you back," Lu Xiyu hugged her sister's waist to stop her from leaving. "I want to buy a gift for my best friend. She gave me one, so I definitely have to give her something in return."
Lu Wenjue asked, "How expensive of a gift are you buying—"
"Look! This, this, this butterfly," Lu Xiyu couldn't wait to thrust her hand in front of her sister's eyes, but there was only a watch there, no butterfly. "See it?"
Lu Wenjue was speechless. "See wha—"
A blue morpho butterfly flew in from the window. Its wings swept past her eyes before it landed on the watch dial. The dial lit up, displaying a charging symbol.
Its mechanical texture and structure were clearly visible, but just as Lu Wenjue tried to look closer, it fluttered its wings and flew away again... as if a vibrant soul had been born from the machinery.
The young woman lost her voice for a moment, her eyes following the butterfly. A second later, as if suddenly realizing something, she grabbed her sister's hand, her tone agitated:
"Lu Xiyu, is this the gift your friend gave you? Where did she buy it?!"
"I really need this right now! I have to contact the manufacturer. Go ask her, and if you can find out, you won't even have to pay back the money you're borrowing from me!"
-
While the two sisters were going back and forth, at the same time, Lin Fuque was sitting in the cafeteria, her eyes wide as she observed her surroundings... Even the lunch in front of her didn't seem as appetizing anymore.
Quests, new quests, hmm... there wasn't a single one!
Perhaps because Lecheng University of Science and Technology wasn't within a one-kilometer radius of the camp, there was no 3D map here, only a 2D one, and there were no available quests to accept.
She bit her chopsticks, then switched the screen back to Guanghua Neighborhood. She casually zoomed in and suddenly choked.
Fish!
She saw a white cat eating the small fish next to the cat trap!
What is more, after finishing the fish, the white cat actually crawled into the cage, lay down, and didn't move!
Wait, this cage isn't for you!
And she hadn't even installed the door yet!
