Xu Gou, nicknamed Old Gou, is a single man who earns 3,500 yuan a month. He spends 2,000 on takeout, 1,000 on utilities, games, and odds and ends, and uses what's left to buy cheap cat food for the stray cats. He's never considered adopting one, for one simple reason: he can't afford it.
His greatest talent is being poor. His second greatest talent is understanding cats. The talent he wishes he didn't have is also understanding cats. Why? Because that second talent makes him even poorer. If those strays weren't constantly meowing in his ear that they were hungry, he could use the money left over to buy himself a few milk teas!
One day, as usual, Old Gou shuffled along in his flip-flops, carrying a plastic bag of cat food. He didn't want the hassle of pouring it into another container, but if he took the whole bag downstairs, he'd have to buy more again in a couple of days. Being poor meant saving money, not being stingy!
As he poured food for his feline overlords, he heard two cats across the way meowing at each other.
Old Gou pricked up his ears. Had that one who'd cheated a few days ago gotten what was coming to him?
Meow, meow, meow.
"Reporting, General! The neighboring complex has been captured by our forces!"
Good grief. Old Gou glanced sideways. That scrawny black cat was a general?
Meow, meow, meow.
"You did very well. Once we conquer Earth, you'll all be our greatest heroes!"
Old Gou stiffened. His mind automatically conjured up a scene of him bowing and scraping. The cat people really were going to conquer Earth!
Meow, meow, meow.
"Once humanity has surrendered at our feet, we'll enslave them! We won't let them go to work. They'll stay home every day..."
Xu Gou couldn't hear the rest of the conversation. All he could think about was not having to go to work. He gripped his long knife and struck the enemy from behind. Sorry, Your Excellency, but they were simply offering too much!
And so the traitor to Earth, Xu Gou, welcomed the first cat into his home. Its formal name was Xu Youzhi, and its nickname was Black Charcoal. True to its name, it was as black as coal and full of grand ambitions!
P.S. This story gets gloomy now and then, and it isn't a power fantasy. The male lead is just a good-for-nothing who doesn't want to work hard.
[Updates whenever inspiration strikes, or according to rankings. The author is also a good-for-nothing who doesn't want to work hard.]
Theme: Stay positive and work hard at life.
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