Dongfang Qiqing said:
"I remember Catcakes are listed on the Universal Cute Creature Rankings."
"The general knowledge records say they were created by Ms. Ruan Mei."
"Catcakes, Icefield Bears, and Dream Tappers are all listed as the hardest cute pets to obtain."
— Cute Pet Trivia • No.1 —
This is a piece of interstellar trivia.
Originally, it began as a contest among several bored individuals.
They wanted to compete to see whose pet was the cutest.
But the concept of "cute" is vague.
No one could judge it fairly and objectively—
Except the Knights of Beauty.
The Knights of Beauty happily accepted the invitation to judge this competition of "beauty."
Gradually, the event gained popularity on the Interastral Peace Network.
The Interastral Peace Corporation noticed the rising attention and stepped in to sponsor the event.
Thus the First Universal Cute Creature Competition was born.
Unexpectedly, the event became extremely popular.
Public enthusiasm soared.
And so the second, third, and many more competitions followed year after year.
However—
The creatures appearing on the rankings were usually always the same species.
Very rarely did a new one enter the list.
So curious enthusiasts compiled a Universal Cute Creature Ranking List based on historical competition results.
The ranking was calculated from multiple factors:
Scores from the Knights of Beauty
Financial backing from sponsors
Results from the Cute Creature Competition
Famous individuals within the species
Popularity
Rarity
Each factor had a certain weight.
But the most interesting part of the list was the legendary "Honorary Last Place."
Holding rank #100 for multiple consecutive competitions:
The Trotter.
Because the Trotter's position was incredibly stable.
Other rankings changed over time.
But the Trotter remained permanently at the bottom of the Top 100.
It never rose.
It never dropped out.
Many people believed other creatures were cuter than Trotters.
They suspected corruption.
Coincidentally, Topaz, a senior executive in the Strategic Investment Department of the IPC—
And a famous debt collection specialist—
Owned a Trotter.
So people joked that Director Topaz must have paid to manipulate the rankings.
Otherwise, how could Trotters maintain their legendary last-place position so consistently?
It was certainly an amusing speculation.
However, investigations have confirmed that this rumor is completely false.
When the first Cute Creature Competition was held—
Director Topaz had not yet joined the IPC's Strategic Investment Department.
Nor did she own a Trotter.
Everything mentioned above is merely fabricated gossip from fictional historians.
Please distinguish carefully!
Additionally, this publication has never received donations or financial support from Director Topaz.
That rumor is also false.
Author: Les
Zhuxing nodded.
"Yes."
"This shop is actually run by a giant Catcake."
Dongfang Qiqing's mouth dropped open.
"What?!"
"A Catcake runs the shop?!"
"I thought the owner just kept Catcakes as pets…"
Zhuxing nodded again.
"Well… that's also true."
"It does keep Catcakes."
Dongfang Qiqing blinked in confusion.
"A Catcake… raising Catcakes?"
Zhuxing clarified:
"A big Catcake opened a cake shop called Catcake House."
"And it earns money to raise more Catcakes."
Dongfang Qiqing suddenly felt like dozens of Catcakes were flying around her head in circles.
Zhuxing simply grabbed her arm.
"Come on."
"You'll understand once you see it."
"Seeing it yourself is better than hearing about it."
"Mmum~ Mnyu~"
The moment they entered—
They saw a whole group of Catcakes playing and bouncing around.
In a corner of the kitchen stood an enormous Catcake.
It wore a strangely shaped chef's outfit.
"There are actually this many Catcakes!"
Dongfang Qiqing exclaimed.
"This place is full of adorable creatures!"
She picked one up.
"Hey Zhuxing, this one looks like you."
Zhuxing accepted the Zhuxing Cake.
"Sister Qiqing, if you know Catcakes well, you should know this is normal."
"Why are there so many Catcakes here?" Qiqing asked.
She picked up another one—Ruan Mei Cake.
Zhuxing explained:
"These are Catcakes that Ruan Mei abandoned."
"Many people originally wanted to adopt them."
"But as you can see…"
"A giant Catcake with Ancient Beast genes added by Aha—"
"Or you could call it an Ancient Beast Cake—"
"It raised the slogan of self-sufficiency while waiting for Ruan Mei to return."
"All the Catcakes responded together."
"They refused adoption."
Zhuxing sighed while hugging Zhuxing Cake.
"Otherwise, I would definitely take this one home."
Dongfang Qiqing put down the Ruan Mei Cake.
Because she noticed Asta Cake nearby.
She picked it up and sat across from Zhuxing.
At that moment—
Several Catcakes hopped over to the table.
One stood still.
Another jumped onto its head.
A third jumped onto the second one.
The three Catcakes formed a stack.
From bottom to top, they passed up a menu.
"Mmum~ Mnyu~"
Zhuxing took the menu.
"Oh! There's quite a lot today."
"But we don't need the menu."
"We're regular customers."
"Four of everything."
"Hmm… make that five of each."
"And pack three portions."
The three Catcakes immediately flew away.
Dongfang Qiqing blinked.
"Wait."
"If they can fly, why did they stack themselves like that earlier?"
Zhuxing squeezed Zhuxing Cake while explaining:
"That's part of the performance."
"Some customers come here for the desserts."
"Others come here for the Catcakes."
Dongfang Qiqing nodded slowly.
"…Makes sense."
— Cute Pet Trivia • No.2 —
Why are Catcakes so expensive?
Catcakes are incredibly difficult to obtain.
Legend says that whenever Ms. Ruan Mei's research makes progress—
She creates new Catcakes using her latest technology.
But soon afterward, she abandons them.
Even so, the total number of Catcakes in the universe remains extremely small.
Because:
Catcakes cannot reproduce naturally (suspected)
They are fragile
They have extremely strict environmental requirements
Their rarity heavily influences their ranking in the Universal Cute Creature List.
As a result—
Each Catcake is worth a fortune.
This even created a profession known as:
"Catcake Hunters."
These hunters travel to planets where Ruan Mei once conducted research.
They hope to find abandoned Catcakes that nobody has discovered yet.
Then sell them to wealthy collectors.
Whether these hunters succeed is unknown.
But one Catcake was once auctioned at the Atuin Universal Auction for:
27.2 billion credits.
Excerpt from Universal Encyclopedia 2157
At that moment—
The huge Catcake slowly hopped over.
Several plates of desserts floated beside it.
No one knew why—
Even though the plates floated through the air—
It insisted on jumping instead of flying.
One plate after another landed neatly on the table.
Beautifully arranged.
Small and delicate pastries.
"Wuji~ Wum~"
"Wum~ Mju~"
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