The System Mistook Me for a Cat-Chapter 183

Chu Tingwu's actions seemed to spark an idea among the players.

Because soon, someone mentioned in the chat channel, "Is it really possible to rob people in this game...?"

Chu Tingwu: "Huh?"

Since battles could occur on vehicles and players could counterattack when attacked, some figured out that deliberately provoking individuals in the city who appeared to be low-level thugs or hooligans, angering them, and then engaging in combat mode could yield financial rewards upon victory.

Moreover, players felt this was justified: We're only defending ourselves, taking some compensation for our medical fees, right?

In reality, characters in the game don't have a health bar but instead a stamina bar. Intense activities, like running to film birds, consume stamina faster. The game's setting dictates that characters cannot die from losing health and don't need to eat (or pay for food), so players without a health bar are essentially invincible—as long as they have money in their pocket.

Soon, everyone started emulating this tactic of "ambulance chasing robbery," as not all could be as lucky as Chu Tingwu to encounter thieves on vehicles, but ambushes were replicable across various cities. Even if they failed to knock out the thug with simple moves and steal their money, it was just a waste of time for the player; the character didn't suffer any real loss.

A little girl next to Chu Tingwu questioned, "Can games really be played like this?"

Chu Tingwu stroked her chin, "Of course, the game doesn't mandate players to follow the predetermined path... but I bet this tactic will be restricted."

How could the system allow players to breeze through the game using this method, achieving a good rating? Following the initial game guidance to achieve an average ending would be the best-orchestrated outcome, according to game narrative flow. Players still had to strive—either through time or wit.

As expected, someone soon found themselves punished.

A scream echoed from the voice room:

"Ah... how did my money get stolen!"

Everyone immediately checked their screen’s balance before asking, "There's still thieves?"

After some fiddling, the person responded, "It seems to be because of 'mood.'"

Indeed, besides the stamina bar, the main character had a status bar featuring the current day's【mood】.

Capturing good material, receiving numerous likes online, earning money, or even just having a sunny day could boost the protagonist’s mood positively. However, constantly confronting petty thugs would occasionally result in negative moods.

This particular tester intentionally let the protagonist both win and lose in hand-to-hand combat to test how different win rates would affect the storyline.

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When her protagonist was just beaten up by a thug, the camera suddenly zoomed in for a close-up. The character, standing outside a store, reflected a tired and numb face in the glass, with lingering anger at the corners of their eyes, causing passersby to avoid them.

The next scene showed the photographer being targeted by a thief.

The tester pondered, "From the protagonist's perspective, chasing migratory birds involves constant traveling, filming, and navigating unfamiliar cities... but encountering thugs and hooligans again and again, having no rest, and being forced into fights—"

She felt the agony just imagining it.

From the protagonist's viewpoint, it seemed like bad luck, with the occasional petty earnings from defeating foes doing little to lift his spirits.

Yet, players outside the screen weren’t discouraged. Instead, their enthusiasm grew—

The game's high freedom and AI realism intrigued them, with different paths leading to varied impacts and feedback... This made everyone more curious: What would be the highest-rated way to complete the game? Given the game design's breadth, there might be more than one path to perfection!

Of course, suboptimal paths would abound.

Qiao Lulu reminded, "Currently, the game only has the first half."

It was unclear what Wusheng Group was thinking. A 3A title completed early but released without proper fanfare. Usually, a six-month promotional campaign would be standard, but this release seemed hasty.

While playing, Qiao Lulu had friends forwarding news articles, dubbing Wusheng Group's game rollout as—

"A Fool's Day prank?"

No prior announcements, and the game was out?

Qiao Lulu: Look, no one believes it, everyone thought it was a joke.

But testing games is exhausting. After sitting at his computer for a few hours, people in the channel came and went. Finally, he collected feedback and then reached out to Chu Tingwu:

"Teacher 355, how's your progress?"

Chu Tingwu: "…No need to call me 355. Just use a different nickname. It's pretty fun though."

"Okay, Teacher Gāngyī," Chu Tingwu’s reply rolled through Qiao Lulu’s mind before he cautiously asked, "You haven't... died yet, have you?"

Chu Tingwu: "?"

Qiao Lulu: "No, no, I mean, your cat hasn't starved to death yet?"

—The game was absurd. After trying out both male, female, and cat protagonists, players found that the male character had a longer stamina bar, females were more emotionally stable, while cats... hadn’t shown any clear advantages but had obvious disadvantages.

Cats actually needed to eat!?

Unlike humans whose stamina refilled automatically after a short rest, controlling a cat in the game seemed to be "hard mode." Without money, some transport could be evaded using tickets, but many couldn't be taken at all. Stamina was consumed, and food had to be found to recover; otherwise, the cat could literally starve to death.

Players testing the cat's newbie guide first encountered an AI that opened with—

[Having chosen this protagonist, surely you're no novice. Enjoy your fantastic journey now!]

Newbies: "?"

They then entered the game to find that the only guidance for cats was to open live streaming and shop on the live interface.

Yes, the cat couldn't upload videos itself, so while others earned by editing videos, it could only choose to live-stream with the collar camera.

It could use the streaming tips to purchase various supplies from the "365 Cat Mall," including canned food and toys, delivered by drones.

However, unless injured, the cat's mood remained stable, seldom experiencing negative emotions that could affect gameplay like humans.

This was probably the only consolation for players.

In this hard mode, guidance only provided markers and maps, with the choice of path and how to reach destinations entirely left to the player's judgment.

So, after trying it twice, Qiao Lulu decided he'd first finish the human photographer mode before tackling the cat challenge, unwilling to rush it.

But hearing Chu Tingwu's tone, she was not only playing smoothly but also nearing the end, so she sought advice, "Teacher Gāngyī, would you mind adding me as a friend and sending me your feedback? I'll compile it and send it to the client."

Chu Tingwu: "No need to trouble yourself; I can give direct feedback."

Qiao Lulu: "Please do trouble me..."

He was curious about how Chu Tingwu went about playing!

Chu Tingwu: "=="

"I'll record a clip for you."

Just one clip—no screen sharing—it was getting late, and she needed to head out.

After Chu Tingwu left the channel, Qiao Lulu opened the video, first seeing the game's cat streamer interface. However, the live viewership, online count, and the flowing gifts—had Chu Tingwu already found a cracked version before the game's release?

Everyone has tried to control a cat, but it quickly becomes apparent that cats have significant limitations as streamers: the live streaming perspective is inconvenient, and the camera attached to the collar is not stable enough, resulting in a consistently low number of viewers in the live stream room.

So, most of the time, they can only rely on being cute, capturing footage of birds, and using the "cat call" skill.

It seems that everyone loves the "Chatty Little Cat" persona, which is also the easiest way for players to gain traffic. All it takes is for the cat to meow a few extra times and interact with the people and animals in the frame, and they can build a relatively loyal fanbase.

But after watching for a while, he noticed that the little cat controlled by Chu Tingwu hadn't made a single sound in the past few minutes!

And what exactly was she doing?

The time in the upper right corner hadn’t changed, indicating that she wasn’t on the main storyline. However, the virtual audience in the game seemed quite lively, even though the cat in the frame appeared to just be on the move.

Then, it seemed to have reached its destination—a park. The cat stopped and meowed a couple of times, and soon, a group of feral cats appeared.

Qiao Lulu noticed that Chu Tingwu had pulled out the hidden sound bar for the "cat call" skill and was clicking on it, producing different tones of meows.

This detail was also noticed by others, but they simply thought it was an Easter egg in the game design. Even if you’re playing alone, having just one sound can be a bit boring.

[“The cat sounds are synthesized, but they’re quite accurate, almost indistinguishable from the real thing. I think this part is done pretty well.”]

As Chu Tingwu was controlling the cat and providing commentary, in the video, the feral cats gathered around the protagonist cat as if they were communicating.

Qiao Lulu: “?” Wait, how do you know it’s accurate…

Then, the protagonist cat led the feral cats through the woods, engaging in a cat fight with another group of cats.

Qiao Lulu: “…”

After the fight, he watched as the cat’s [Mood] attribute changed from "Calm" to "Happy." Meanwhile, the player’s mood likely also improved. The viewers in the virtual world were enthusiastically tipping, praising, and showing concern… the atmosphere in the live stream room was much better than human live streams.

And the earnings were even higher.

Although cats don’t really need money since they have limited mobility, Qiao Lulu tried to console himself. How would they even continue the main storyline with such transportation issues?

But then, he saw Chu Tingwu open the "365 Cat Mall" shopping interface, scroll down, and purchase the latest automatic following live-streaming drone.

Now, when cats stream, they could switch to a more stable drone camera view.

It was foreseeable that the viewing experience would be even better, and the number of fans in the live stream room would grow. The cats would almost no longer need to worry about food along the way.

A major problem that had plagued others was thus solved, and Qiao Lulu suddenly realized this. Unable to hold back, he sent Chu Tingwu a message, asking her how she came up with these strategies.

A ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‍few minutes later, he received a reply.

… Uh, what does “I have experience being a cat” mean?