Douluo Dalu: Starting With Tom Cat

It was nearly midnight when Shen An and his group returned to the tea house. The Soul Fighting Arena was still buzzing with chants of Shen An's name.

A few more waves of soul masters had stepped up to challenge him, but all were defeated. However, Shen An's soul power was significantly drained by the end.

With Shen An's overwhelming performance, the remaining soul masters didn't dare step up to embarrass themselves, so Shen An decided to call it a night and head back.

On the way home, Shen An couldn't help but feel exhilarated as he watched his fame points skyrocket at an astonishing rate.

Glancing at Tom, who had been well-behaved all day, Shen An decided to reward the cat with the ham he had drawn from the system earlier.

Shen An subtly pulled out Tuffy's diaper and began rummaging through it, but to his surprise, the ham was nowhere to be found. Shen An was baffled.

Strange, where did the ham go? Could Tuffy's diaper have swallowed it? 

Just as Shen An was filled with questions, a mocking sound came from beside him.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Tom was watching Shen An dig through the diaper, shaking his head and making clicking sounds with his tongue, as if laughing at Shen An.

Shen An glanced nervously at the two girls walking ahead, then glared at Tom, signaling the cat to keep quiet.

But Tom, seeing Shen An's guilty expression, burst into exaggerated laughter.

The two girls were instantly drawn to the sound. Tom raised a thumb and pointed it sideways at Shen An.

That's when Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong saw it—the Soul Fighting Arena's strongest newcomer, the genius who had defeated multiple opponents with his sword, now with his hand inside a tiny diaper. The scene was utterly bizarre.

Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong looked at him with strange expressions, unable to hold back their giggles. What was this? Did Shen An have some kind of weird fetish?

Shen An's face turned bright red, steam practically rising from his head. "Tom!"

Shen An had planned to reward Tom for being so well-behaved all day, but now the cat had pulled this stunt. This cat was just asking for trouble.

Shen An quickly stuffed the diaper back and put on an angry face, ready to pinch Tom's cheeks for daring to laugh at him.

Seeing Shen An about to pounce, Tom stuck out his tongue, made a face, and then took off running, taunting Shen An as he went.

The two of them chased each other down the empty streets. Every time Shen An got close, Tom would speed up just enough to stay out of reach.

Shen An was shocked to find that even with his Wind Chaser skill activated, he couldn't catch up to Tom.

"Tom, stop! There's a wall ahead!"

Shen An shouted as Tom raced forward, but the cat, now a blur of white fur, didn't slow down.

Tom hadn't had this much fun chasing and being chased since his days with Jerry. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and wasn't about to listen to Shen An.

Hmph, foolish owner. Trying to trick me into stopping? Dream on. I, Tom, am too clever for that. 

Shen An sighed and covered his eyes, not daring to watch what was about to happen.

"Boom!"

A loud crash echoed through the quiet night as Tom slammed into the wall, his entire body embedding itself into the brickwork.

Shen An wasn't lying. There really was a wall. This feels so familiar, meow~ Tom thought, stars spinning around his head—actual golden stars, glowing brightly in the dark.

Shen An and the two girls stared in shock at Tom, who was now part of the wall. Most people would just cry out in pain after hitting a wall, but Tom had managed to embed himself into it.

Shen An and Zhu Zhuqing grabbed Tom's tail and pulled with all their might, but they couldn't get him out. Even Ning Rongrong summoned her martial soul to boost their strength, but it was no use.

Tom's body stretched three to four meters, but he still wouldn't budge. Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's hearts raced, worried they might accidentally tear Tom apart.

Zhu Zhuqing was silent. As a Soul Grandmaster, she could easily shatter a wall with her full strength, yet she couldn't pull out a single cat.

Shen An, however, remained calm. After all, he knew that Tom's antics defied all logic.

In the end, Tom had to pull himself out. He pushed against the wall with his paws, pulling his limbs out one by one, and finally yanked his head free.

But the force was so great that Tom went flying through the air. To Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong's amazement, Tom started swimming through the air, paddling his paws as if he were in water.

Shen An's eyes widened. Seeing this in real life was completely different from watching it in a cartoon.

If Newton were alive in the Douluo Continent, he'd be flipping in his grave.

Finally realizing he was floating, Tom dropped to the ground with a thud. The two girls rushed to comfort him, cuddling and cooing over the poor cat.

Shen An, who had been planning to give Tom a good squeeze, had to let it go. Instead, he endured Ning Rongrong's teasing all the way home.

"Playing with diapers at your age? How embarrassing," Ning Rongrong giggled.

Even though Shen An argued that the diaper was a storage-type soul tool, Ning Rongrong just laughed harder.

"You're the only person on the entire continent who'd make a soul tool look like a diaper. Zhu Zhuqing, don't you think Shen An has some weird quirks?"

Even the usually aloof Zhu Zhuqing nodded, giving Shen An a teasing look.

Ning Rongrong smirked mischievously. "If you don't want me to spread the word about your diaper obsession, you'd better share some of those delicious snacks and fun toys with me."

"I'll make sure everyone in Soto City knows that the tea house owner, the Soul Fighting Arena's strongest newcomer, is a diaper-loving weirdo."

Ever since Ning Rongrong had tasted cola and played with the game console, she had been obsessed. Now she saw her chance to get more.

Shen An's face turned as dark as coal. "How... much... do you want?"

Ning Rongrong's eyes sparkled. "Give me a game console like Tom's and a whole box of that cola stuff."

In the end, Shen An reluctantly agreed, handing over a box of cola, some potato chips, and a game console to shut the little demoness up.

Although these items weren't particularly valuable—most of them came from the system's ten-draws—Shen An pretended to be deeply reluctant, making Ning Rongrong feel like she had scored a big win.

The girl was overjoyed, skipping and hopping all the way home.

As for Zhu Zhuqing, while she laughed along, she didn't make any demands like Ning Rongrong. Perhaps she didn't care much for such things, or maybe her reserved nature kept her from asking.

But Shen An thought about it and decided to have Tom give Zhu Zhuqing the same treats. Tom's expression was priceless—full of pride, as if he were a wise old cat. Shen An almost couldn't resist pinching his cheeks again.

Back at the tea house, the soothing aroma of tea filled the air, calming their minds. It was late, so after a quick wash, everyone retired to their rooms.

Shen An, however, began his favorite activity—the lottery draw.

Tonight's Soul Fighting Arena had earned him a whopping 70,000 fame points. Seventy draws, here we go!

Ding! Congratulations, you've obtained Small Soul Power Experience Pack*7!

Ding! Congratulations, you've obtained [Tom's Lasso]!

Ding! Congratulations, you've obtained [Tom's Strength Potion] and [Jerry's Speed Potion]!

Ding! Congratulations, you've obtained [Tuffy's Firecrackers*3]!