Cocolia didn't take the fish fry directly but left them with Bronya first.
She needed to return to the orphanage to teach the children some basic fish farming knowledge, so they'd know how to take care of the fry.
There were a total of 3,000 fry—losing even one would make Cocolia feel heartache. She didn't plan to sell them after they matured, but rather wait until they started reproducing.
Cocolia left her office and returned to the orphanage.
The orphanage was located next to the Administrative District, covering an area of 10 square kilometers—2.5 km by 4 km.
The whole orphanage looked like an academy. In Ye Yun's words, it had a Western European medieval style.
The outermost layer was an iron fence, with a large castle in the center, surrounded by gardens, playgrounds, and similar areas.
Security for the orphanage was fully handled by the Silvermane Guards, so there were no safety issues.
As Cocolia entered the orphanage, a few little ones immediately gathered around her.
Leading them was none other than Julian, the second-in-command of Hook's Moles gang.
Cocolia squatted down slowly as she looked at the little ones.
"What's the matter, little ones?"
Julian exchanged glances with the others.
"Director Cocolia, can you get in touch with our boss?"
Cocolia thought for a moment.
Boss? Oh, that must be Hook, that little one. According to her father, she once formed a gang in the Underworld made up entirely of kids.
"I can. What's wrong?"
Julian's face lit up with joy upon hearing that Cocolia could contact Hook.
"We miss her. She hasn't come back in so long."
Cocolia thought for a moment.
"Alright, I'll help you contact her. You all go play for now."
Hearing this, Julian and the others happily ran off.
Cocolia took out her phone and called Ye Yun.
"Hello? Ye Yun?"
Ye Yun hung up after the call and called Hook over.
He told Hook that Julian and the others wanted her to come back and play for a bit.
Hook immediately agreed and shouted that she wanted to go back right now.
Ye Yun looked at the time—still early. The others like Stelle probably wouldn't be back until the afternoon.
So Ye Yun decided to take Klee, Bailu, Hook, and the others to Belobog for some fun.
Through the portal, Ye Yun brought Klee and the others to Belobog.
After arriving, they greeted Bronya and headed straight for the orphanage.
As they arrived, Hook pushed the door open and shouted:
"Look alive, Moles! The mighty Hook has returned!"
Julian and the others, who had been waiting near the door, immediately ran over.
"Boss! You're finally back!"
Hook stood with her hands on her hips.
"Yup, I'm back! And I brought you guys gifts!"
As she spoke, Hook took out several large boxes from her storage ring and opened them.
She leaned over the boxes, stood on tiptoe, and took out a small box to hand to Julian.
"Here, this is a phone! From now on, you can contact me directly with this!"
Hook, Bailu, and Klee helped distribute the phones.
For the rest of the time, Ye Yun played with the seven kids around the orphanage.
Hook and the others kept teaching the orphans how to use the phones.
After learning, Julian was amazed.
"Wow! Boss, I can see you on this thing! And I can hear your voice too!"
"Boss, is this a game? How do you play it?"
"Boss, boss! I want to add you as a friend!"
At Ye Yun's shop.
Stelle, Firefly, and the others who had gone to the sprite tournament had already returned to the train.
After returning, they all signed up for today's dungeon.
Ye Yun had already mentioned it in the group chat—if they had time, they should come and participate.
Soon, 50 people gathered, and the dungeon began.
All 50 participants were teleported to an amusement park.
The park was massive and gave everyone a real "mouse vs. cat" vibe.
In the northern part of the park was a high platform with 50 cages used to lock up captured mice.
The field also had many giant pieces of cheese.
The system gave players two minutes to familiarize themselves with the map before the first game began.
Stelle was assigned to the cat team.
She looked at her now larger body and the big sword in her hand.
Then she looked at Amber not far away, who was still small and only holding a little fork, and instantly felt overwhelmingly powerful.
Amber felt a chill down her spine as Stelle stared at her with a grin.
She gulped hard and bolted.
"Help!!!"
Stelle chuckled and gave chase—cats were faster than mice.
Amber panicked as Stelle closed in.
"Stelle! Stop chasing me! Have mercy!"
Stelle grinned mischievously.
"Spare you? Not a chance! Hehe, Amber, give it up! A little mouse can't beat a cat!"
Just as Stelle was about to land a hit on Amber, a banana peel suddenly flew over and landed under her feet.
Stelle slipped and fell flat on her back.
It was Hutao who had thrown the banana peel. She grabbed Amber's hand and ducked into a side alley.
Elsewhere.
Blade was hunting down Dan Heng—he was on the cat team this round as well.
He had spawned right near Dan Heng.
After being chosen as a cat, Blade immediately began chasing Dan Heng.
His eyes were fixed on Dan Heng—he even passed by others at corners who could've been captured with a swing, but he didn't give them a glance. His focus was solely on Dan Heng.
Kafka was also on the cat team but didn't go out to hunt. She chose to camp near the prison area to prevent rescues.
Kiana was locked in a cage and kept talking to Kafka, trying to distract her.
"Look! Kafka, Stelle is coming!"
"Kafka! Someone's rescuing over there!"
"Kafka! There's someone behind you!"
No matter what Kiana said, Kafka remained unmoved and simply kept observing the surroundings.
Eventually, Kiana gave up.
"Kafka, can't you go catch someone? Just standing here is so boring."
Kafka leaned against the railing of the high platform.
"It's fine. I'm not bored. As long as we win, I'm good."
Seeing someone already guarding the jail, the other cats didn't bother going there and instead chased other mice.
Paimon was hiding behind a big chunk of cheese on the edge, shoveling cheese into her mouth with a fork.
She was amazed—this was just a dungeon game, but the cheese actually had flavor.
And it was delicious. Paimon couldn't stop eating.
***
Paimon kept bragging non-stop, completely ignoring her surroundings.
At some point, Lumine appeared behind her and sighed helplessly, then struck Paimon on the head with a single chop.
In an instant, Paimon disappeared from where she was. When she came to, she found herself inside a cage.
Kiana, who had been caught first, saw Paimon and raised her little head.
"Yo~ You're here."
Only then did Paimon realize she had been caught. She looked at the massive blocks of cheese outside and instantly burst into tears.
Paimon grabbed the iron bars of the cage and shook them desperately.
"Let me out! Let me out, waaah! I want to eat cheese! I'm harmless!
Kafka, can you let me out? Don't worry, I swear I won't turn into a predator! I'll just eat cheese.
The cheese is really tasty—there are so many flavors!"
Kafka chuckled.
"I believe you won't turn into a predator, but I still can't let you out. Those are the rules of the game."
Hearing that, Paimon tried a different approach.
"Then could you bring me some cheese instead? I won't leave, I'll just eat it in here."
Kafka smiled but didn't respond. Paimon got the message and understood she had been refused.
She sighed quietly, sat in the cage, and gazed longingly at the chaotic amusement park below.
Now, all she could hope for was that someone would come to rescue her.
Otherwise, she'd have to wait until the next round to eat cheese.
As she watched, Paimon muttered to herself,
"That one's strawberry flavor, that one's blueberry, and the one at the highest point—whoa~ that one's apple!"
As time passed, more and more people were caught and locked in cages.
The prison area now resembled a marketplace, with people shouting loudly, trying to attract Kafka's attention.
Not far from the prison area, on a high platform, Hutao, Amber, Dan Heng, and Silver Wolf were discussing a rescue plan.
Only 10 minutes had passed; there were still 20 minutes left.
They had to think of a way to rescue some people—otherwise, they'd face a full-on manhunt.
Dan Heng thought for a moment.
"Right now, only Kafka and Blade are guarding the prison area. I can guarantee I'll lure Blade away—can you handle Kafka?"
Silver Wolf let out what she thought was a cool scoff.
"Leave Kafka to me. I can handle her.
Amber, Hutao, you go rescue the others."
Amber and Hutao nodded in agreement.
Dan Heng counted the cages below.
"There are 27 people caught. Unlocking a cage takes 10 seconds. Rescue as many as you can—don't get yourselves caught."
Amber and Hutao nodded again.
With that, Dan Heng left the hiding spot and walked straight toward the prison area, looking directly at Blade.
"Come catch me."
Blade saw Dan Heng and charged straight at him. Kafka didn't even have time to stop Blade.
It was obviously a diversion tactic.
Kafka sighed and shook her head slightly as she watched Dan Heng and Blade run off.
She was about to call for another teammate when Silver Wolf suddenly appeared nearby.
Silver Wolf casually flipped her off.
"Yo yo yo~ isn't this Kafka? Let me be honest—you know that coat you lost a few days ago? I took it.
And you know what? The quality's really good. It kept me super warm during my all-night gaming session.
Thanks a bunch~"
Kafka's face instantly darkened.
"Oh Darling, so it was you who took my limited-edition coat from Penacony~
Come here, let's have a little chat, My little Darling."
Kafka smiled as she walked toward Silver Wolf.
But Silver Wolf wasn't stupid—she turned and ran immediately, with Kafka chasing after her.
Hutao and Amber saw the scene and both gave Silver Wolf a thumbs-up.
"Nice one, Silver Wolf! Your sacrifice will be remembered forever by the organization!"
Taking the opportunity, Hutao and Amber rushed down to rescue people.
Seeing someone coming to rescue them, Paimon got super excited.
"Hutao! Save me first! Me first!"
Hutao glanced at Paimon, thought for two seconds, and decisively skipped her, running to help others.
Saving Paimon would be pointless—she'd just go back to eating cheese and wouldn't even try to hide.
Paimon watched Hutao run off, utterly devastated.
Noooo!!! I want fooooood!!!
While Amber was freeing someone, a flash of white light appeared in a nearby empty cage—Silver Wolf, bruised and battered, reappeared.
Silver Wolf saw Amber and quickly warned her,
"Run! Kafka's coming back!"
Amber panicked and turned to flee.
Then a voice rang out:
"Don't worry! I'm here! Amber, keep rescuing!"
Amber looked over and saw Firefly had grown in size—she now looked just like a cat, holding a fork in her hand.
Silver Wolf saw it and shouted:
"Nice one, Firefly! You evolved into a predator! Quick—take down Kafka and avenge me!"
Firefly charged forward and engaged Kafka in battle.
Both cat and predator had 200 health points, and each attack took off 50 HP.
Kafka and Firefly exchanged blows relentlessly, neither backing down.
Kafka kindly gave a warning.
"Firefly, if I were you, I'd run now."
Firefly shook her head firmly.
"I won't run! I still have to save my teammates!"
Kafka, hearing this, silently used a heart-shaped red item.
Her HP instantly returned to full. Firefly froze.
Crap—she forgot to pick up items!
In the end, Firefly was also caught.
Three hours later.
Ye Yun returned to the shop with the seven little ones and found everyone still discussing the cat-and-mouse game they had just played.
"Was today's dungeon finished?"
Stelle, Firefly, and the others nodded.
"Yeah, it's over. The cat-and-mouse game was super fun—we haven't had enough of it yet.
Ye Yun, is there a way to make this dungeon permanent? Some of the other ones aren't that fun."
Ye Yun asked the system in his mind.
"System, is that possible?"
[Notification:
Yes. The host can spend 100,000 Star Coins to fix one dungeon.
Each additional fixed dungeon will cost 10x more.
For example, fixing a second dungeon will cost 1 million.]
Ye Yun received the answer and turned to Stelle.
"It's possible—but you can only fix one at a time. Which one do you guys want?"
Hearing that, Stelle lit up and pulled everyone together to discuss which dungeon to fix.
Some wanted ones with good rewards, others just wanted the fun ones.
As everyone chatted, Ye Yun continued talking to the system.
"System, what about my mission reward? Let me see it."
[Notification:
Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Clear any dungeon 10 times.
Reward obtained: 1x Large Dungeon Unlock Permission.]
Ye Yun asked again,
"Is this large dungeon fixed, or can I choose it?"
[Notification:
This time's reward is a fixed dungeon.
Dungeon: Genshin World (Game Version)]
Ye Yun suddenly thought of a question.
"System, can this large dungeon be fixed?"
[Notification:
Yes. Starting price: 1 million Star Coins.]