Ke Xun realized his body was becoming increasingly strange, and reached out to touch his tailbone: "My tail hasn't grown yet, I can still be saved, meow!"
"..." Mu Yiran reached out and placed his hand on the back of Ke Xun's hand, wanting to soothe him, but Ke Xun pulled his hand away and then placed his hand on Mu Yiran's.
Mu Yiran: "..." Okay, the cat's paw has to be on top.
"Yiran meow, do you think I'll slowly become unable to understand human speech? And then grow fur and a tail like a real cat, only interested in little female cats... or little male cats meow?" Ke Xun squatted down beside him worriedly, the tips of his cat ears drooping.
"Maybe." Mu Yiran didn't want to give him too much hope. "It seems our time is running out, and this painting might be different from any other painting before. Its method of killing might not be ending life, but rather… killing our 'real-world human' attributes."
"Damn it, that's just as ruthless as killing someone!" Ke Xun was furious, his ears puffed back into a flat shape. "But among us, only I chose cat ears, and besides the two who chose rabbit ears and dragon horns, does that mean that the others have another way of being killed by their human attributes?"
"Yes." Mu Yiran's answer was without hesitation, so certain and decisive that Ke Xun immediately became suspicious.
"Yiran," Ke Xun stared at him, "Did you also get caught, meow? Is there something wrong with you, meow? Tell me quickly, meow! Meow meow meow!"
Mu Yiran suddenly chuckled slightly at his meow, leaving Ke Xun completely bewildered: "You… what are you laughing at, meow?"
"Sorry," Mu Yiran regained his composure, "I just couldn't help but laugh."
Ke Xun: "…"
Mu Yiran slightly bent one of his long legs, answering Ke Xun's barrage of questions: "I did get caught, but I'm not sure if it's related to the fruit I swallowed. I need more clues to confirm."
"Where exactly do you feel unwell, meow?" Ke Xun pressed.
Mu Yiran reached out and gently pinched the back of his neck: "I won't tell you for now, lest you get angry."
Ke Xun: "…"
Ke Xun couldn't get angry even if he wanted to. The back of the neck was a cat's Achilles' heel. He was currently so weak and limp from the boss's pinch that he couldn't move, and even his thoughts were scattered and difficult to organize.
Wei Dong turned his gaze away from the other side, then whispered to Zhu Haowen beside him, "Well, looks like the two of them are officially a couple. So, should I call the big boss 'sister-in-law' or 'brother-in-law' from now on?"
"Instead of wasting time thinking about that, why don't you use your brain to find some clues?" Zhu Haowen said coldly.
"Our brains as graphic designers are for coming up with ideas and thinking about compositions, not for finding Easter eggs in paintings, okay..." Wei Dong sighed, took out the prop brush he had received, and ran his fingers through the snow-white bristles of the brush tip. "Without paint, what's the difference between this brush and a waste? Even if you gave me a box of ink, I could at least show you my ink painting skills. At least I could make a picture of chicks eating rice."
As he spoke, he twirled the dry brush between his fingers a couple of times, then exclaimed, "Why do I feel like my hands have become uglier?"
Zhu Haowen didn't want to pay attention to him anymore. At a time like this, this idiot still had the mind to care about whether his hands were pretty or not.
Wei Dong, however, seemed to take this discovery very seriously, jumping up and rushing towards Ke Xun opposite him: "Ke'er! Look, look! Look at my hands! Any discoveries?"
He held out his hand to Ke Xun, who slapped it away.
Wei Dong: "..."
Ke Xun: "Ahem...sorry, I don't know why, I just instinctively slapped it away...Come on, let me see your delicate hands."
It's no wonder Wei Dong is so sensitive about his hands; after all, he works in a profession that relies on his hands. Whether holding a paintbrush or a mouse, these hands are under his watchful eye most of the day, arguably the part of his body he knows best.
Ke Xun looked at Wei Dong's hands for a while, pondering, "It seems there's been a change, a bit...swollen?"
"Yeah!" Wei Dong rubbed his hands, "What's going on? Is it because I'm not used to the environment after starting to paint?"
"Ask Brother Qin," Ke Xun said.
Wei Dong rushed to Qin Ci, "Brother Qin, Brother Qin, look what happened to me! Why are my hands swollen?"
Qin Ci took his hand, examined it, and then asked, "Is it only your hands? What about your feet?"
Wei Dong quickly took off his shoes and socks, and examined his feet closely. He was shocked, "My feet are swollen too! What's going on!"
Qin Ci pinched his feet again, frowning slightly, "This isn't edema, there are no pathological signs. If I had to describe it, it's like you suddenly gained weight in a short period of time, but it's not just water retention; the flesh under your skin is very firm."
"Fat...?" Wei Dong was completely bewildered. "Why did I suddenly gain weight? Damn it—people say they gain weight just from drinking water, but I gain weight just from breathing?"
"Is this the effect of this 'painting' on you?" Ke Xun's voice suddenly rang out behind him, startling Wei Dong.
"Holy crap, when did you get behind me? You walk so quietly, you almost scared me to death!" Wei Dong clutched his chest.
"...I just walked over normally, meow." Ke Xun waved his hand. "Now, Yi Ran, Dong Zi, and I have all experienced changes in our bodies. This must be the rule of this painting at work. Brother Qin, what changes have you experienced, meow?"
Qin Ci sensed his own condition and shook his head: "It seems like nothing for now."
"Hao Wen'er, what about you, meow?" Ke Xun turned and asked.
Zhu Hao Wen sat there, looked up at him, and after a long while calmly said, "I can't see things very clearly anymore, and it seems like I've become completely colorblind. Everything in front of me is gray, white, and black."
Ke Xun strode over, squatted down in front of him, and frowned slightly: "Can you see me clearly at this distance?"
Zhu Hao Wen lowered his eyelids, then looked up: "Yes, but not in high definition."
Ke Xun patted his shoulder, stood up, and asked Luo Wei and Li Yaqing: "What about you two, meow?"
Li Yaqing shook her head in alarm. Luo Wei looked at her, his eyes hidden behind his glasses: "I'm fine for now too."
"Brother Pi, what about you?" Ke Xun asked Huang Pi again.
"...No changes." Huang Pi answered him in a hoarse voice.
"It's getting more and more chaotic, meow," Ke Xun scratched his cat ears. "Not only is the art style different in each world, but the props we all received are also different. Now, even the physical changes affected by the rules of the art are different. Some are turning into cats, some are getting fat, some are becoming nearsighted or colorblind, some haven't changed yet, and some won't tell me, meow."
He glanced at Mu Yiran with a haughty expression.
Before Mu Yiran could speak, they heard a door on the wall open. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Qi Qiang stepping in through the door. However, his two teammates were not behind him, nor were Zhao Haicui and Zhang Lifeng, who had gone to that world to look for people.
"Where are they, meow?" Ke Xun asked him.
Qi Qiang gave him a disgusted look, seemingly annoyed by his "meow," and replied gruffly, "What's it to me!"
Before the door closed, Ke Xun glanced into the world inside. It was already dark; only a vast expanse of snow-covered mountains and forests was vaguely visible.
Was it still winter in this world?
"What did you see in there, meow?" Ke Xun continued to ask Qi Qiang.
"What the hell are you meowing for?!" Qi Qiang, unable to contain himself any longer, cursed at Ke Xun, his sword flashing as he pointed it at him, wishing he could stab him through the throat.
Ke Xun: "...Yi Ran, you ask him, meow...cough."
Mu Yi Ran didn't even move his mouth; a single glance was enough for Qi Qiang to feel his aura. Of course, Qi Qiang wasn't stupid; at this moment, only by cooperating with these people could they possibly find a way to leave the painting as quickly as possible.
"Snow is everywhere," Qi Qiang said, sheathing his sword with a grim face. "It looks like we're in the mountains. There are forests, caves, and…" He hesitated, a look of exasperation on his face, "and there are damn monkeys that can talk…"
The group exchanged glances. Qin Ci asked him, "What did the monkeys say to you?"
"Nothing the hell!" Qi Qiang snapped. "Those two idiots saw the monkeys could talk and screamed like idiots, then ran away!"
"Don't tell me you killed those monkeys, meow." Ke Xun looked at him expressionlessly.
With Qi Qiang's personality and a weapon at his disposal, he might actually do something reckless.
Qi Qiang didn't say anything, which was a tacit admission.
"…Aren't you afraid of the backlash…" Wei Dong was speechless.
"And then, meow?" Ke Xun continued to ask Qi Qiang.
"I just came back along the same path." Qi Qiang answered coldly.
"Is there anything wrong with your body?" Qin Ci asked.
"No." Qi Qiang glared at Wei Dong, who was staring at him intently, then walked to the corner and sat down to rest.
"I feel like something's different about him..." Wei Dong whispered to Ke Xun.
"Where, meow?" Ke Xun asked.
"I can't quite put my finger on it..." Wei Dong rubbed his face with his now chubby hands, "Maybe it's because I'm being paranoid about what we were talking about earlier."
"No, I trust your professional skills," Ke Xun said, "Since you feel something's off, then there's definitely a problem. Don't rush, meow, calm down, observe him more carefully, meow."
"Okay, meow, I'll take another look, meow." Wei Dong said.
Ke Xun: "...If you mimic me again, I'll scratch you to death, meow!"
Wei Dong went to the shadows to continue secretly observing Qi Qiang, who was resting with his eyes closed, while Ke Xun returned to Mu Yiran's side, glancing at him sideways: "Still won't tell me what changes have happened to you, meow?"
The old members all looked at him upon hearing this: This guy's got some nerve, daring to talk to the male god they've been pursuing like that?! So incredibly arrogant.
Mu Yiran was sitting leaning against the wall when he glanced at him with a raised chin, then patted his thigh and said casually, "Come here."
The old members watched with a "WTF" expression as Ke Xun meowed and sprawled on Mu Yiran's lap, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons, emitting a very enjoyable and satisfied purr from his chest...
As night deepened, the entire room was plunged into a near-deep blue darkness, with only the yellow star and moon patterns printed on the walls and ceiling emitting a dreamlike glow.