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It's been a few weeks now since I came to this shithole I now call home. And to be honest? I'm actually kinda proud of what I've done with the place.
I've been doing what Dr. Shitstick Bao tells me—mainly fixing the satellites and researching signals he sends coordinates for. Gotta grind those company points somehow. And y'know what? It was kinda fun. *Was.* Like, fun in the "first few times" kind of way—before the soul-crushing monotony set in.
Right now, I'm parked in my chair, eating shrimp and lounging while the computer processes signal data. Living the dream.
That was, until the radar monitor started pinging. Something was entering the vicinity.
"Well, it took them long enough. Let's see how the mischievous invisible cat aliens are doing on their *great* little picnic getaway."
> *\[Author's Note: I'm curious what you guys think the Arirals are really here for. In-game, it seems like it's a picnic, but I doubt they stuck around just for fun once the Rozitals showed up.]*
I push myself off the chair and grab a packet of shrimp from my locked stockpile—yes, I have a stockpile. I've been buying shrimp like it's currency, knowing how much those feline aliens love it. And honestly? It's grown on me too. Weirdly tasty.
I head to the garage, hop on the ATV, and ride out toward the landing site.
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A while later, I arrive. Their sleek, white, triangular ships loom ahead—identical to the in-game models.
"Huh. I thought they'd look *slightly* different in real life. Guess not. Whatever, who am I to judge alien design aesthetics?"
I stroll up to their picnic blanket and casually plop a shrimp packet next to one of their baskets. I *almost* peek inside one of them—but nah, that'd probably be rude. I don't want to start some interstellar war by messing with their lunch.
"Hey, uh… I'm gonna leave this shrimp packet here for you guys, okay?"
I shout at the two ships. No clue if they understood me, but considering they spoke *some* English in-game, I'll take my chances.
I hop back on the ATV and head for base. Hopefully, this goodwill gesture pays off. If not, and they go hostile, I'll just hang water buckets over every door. Cats hate water, right? Even eight-foot-tall spine-snapping ones, apparently.
"Hmm… speaking of cats, maybe I should save up for a Kerfur unit. Been looking for parts to upgrade one into an Omega model. Could come in handy if things get hectic."
As I ponder this, I realize I'm already almost back at base. Guess my existential rambling helps pass the time.
I park the ATV and head back inside. Gotta keep grinding those points. The rest of the day passes in a blur—tinkering, scanning, pretending I'm not mentally unraveling. Eventually, I seek the sweet warmth and snuggly comfort of my bed.
Then I hear it.
A dull, human-like voice. Not out loud, but in my head.
> **"I don't want to sleep… I can sense something…"**
My eyes snap open.
"What the fuck—why am I hearing that *in my head*?"
I know those words. That's the prompt that appears when something is *inside* the base with you, preventing sleep. But why am I *hearing* it now? Wait… is this my cheat? Some weird internal version of the UI?
…If it is, it's a really shitty cheat with overly specific use cases.
I sigh, grab my trusty crowbar from the nightstand (because I'm not an idiot—I *know* how this place works), and step into the hallway to investigate.
"So far, so good…"
Then I hear it. The unmistakable sound of someone trying to open my shrimp cabinet.
Not today, Satan.
I sprint to the room, crowbar in hand, full Gremlin-mode activated.
"**YOU WILL NOT HAVE MY SHRIMPSSSSSSSSSS!**"
I charge in like a lunatic, only to hear a faint—
**"Mrow?"**
…Wait. *Mrow*? That's the sound Arirals make.
Oh.
**OHHHHHH SHIT.**
I freeze. The invisible cat menace—probably curious, probably hungry—yanks the crowbar from my hands like it's made of paper and lifts me off the floor one-handed, like I weigh nothing. Which, to an 8-foot-tall alien with the strength to Bane a spine in half, I probably do.
"Mrow?"
It says, or at least I *think* it says. So I panic.
"Mrow?"
I echo back at it.
It… gasps? Or something? Honestly, I don't know if I just said "hello" or accidentally dropped an intergalactic slur.
If I die as the first human to be racist against an alien… well, that's a *kind* of legacy, I guess.
"Mrow ack θœ?"
Okay yeah, I'm not repeating that.
"Uh...hi?"
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