164: Duo Yu's final act of sabotage resulted in a crushing defeat; the secrets of their destined return are revealed in the game's universe.

In the early morning at the Xihong City Stray Animal Public Welfare Fund, the sounds of cats and dogs barking and meowing could be heard one after another. Big Smart, wearing a blue vest printed with 'Public Welfare Caretaker', was carrying a full basin of imported cat food toward the cat house. Suddenly, he tripped over something, and the entire basin of cat food spilled onto the ground with a 'clatter'. A dozen orange cats instantly swarmed around, licking even the grains of cat food stuck to his pant legs clean. One bold Calico Cat even jumped directly onto his shoulder and let out a 'meow' in his ear, startling him so much that the empty basin fell from his hands.

'Big Smart! How many times have you spilled the cat food now?' Aunt Zhang, a caretaker, walked over with a broom. Looking at the mess on the ground, she was both angry and amused. 'This basin of cat food costs two hundred yuan. What you spill in a month is enough to feed the stray cats for three days!'

Big Smart crouched on the ground and carefully lifted the Calico Cat down, his face turning bright red. 'I... I saw they were hungry and wanted to feed them quickly. I didn't notice the cat scratcher under my feet...'

Xie Hui had just walked in with Xia Zhu, carrying two thermal bags containing Xia Zhu's favorite sugar-free soy milk and whole wheat sandwiches, as well as hot buns for the caretakers. Seeing the scene, he smiled and handed a bun to Big Smart. 'It's fine. If it's spilled, we'll just buy more. Order another five thousand pounds of imported cat food and distribute it to all the stray animal feeding points in the city. That's another hundred thousand in expenses. Also, add ten non-slip mats to the cat house, costing fifty yuan each, to prevent anyone else from tripping.'

Xia Zhu helped lay the non-slip mats at the entrance of the cat house. Her fingertips touched the cool mats, and she looked up to ask, 'Did the cooperation fee from the foreign company arrive yesterday? Xiao Zhang said it was five hundred million. How should we plan it?'

'Invest it all in public welfare,' Xie Hui said decisively, taking a bite of his sandwich. 'Build twenty stray animal recovery centers. Each center's equipment costs two million, so twenty centers will be forty million. Then hire thirty professional recovery specialists with a monthly salary of thirty thousand, which adds up to another ten million. Use the remaining money to install surveillance and automatic feeders at every feeding point to prevent anyone from abusing the cats and dogs. Altogether, this will be nearly sixty million—all legitimate expenses that will broaden the reach of our public welfare.'

Xia Zhu quickly recorded the figures in the ledger, the sound of her pen gliding across the paper exceptionally crisp. 'Forty million for recovery centers, ten million for specialists, and ten million for surveillance and feeders. That uses up a portion of the five hundred million, and the rest can be kept for emergencies! Oh, Mr. Wang Zongyao's assistant just sent a message saying that Wang Duoyu is still causing trouble in the detention center. He contacted his former subordinates through someone, seemingly planning to steal the equipment blueprints for our recovery centers.'

Xie Hui's gaze turned cold as he mentally chanted 'Time Stop'. Instantly, the sounds of cats meowing and brooms sweeping ceased, and even the Calico Cat leaping in mid-air froze in place. He walked quickly to the office and pulled up the public welfare fund's surveillance backend. Tracing the IP of Wang Duoyu's subordinates, he found them hiding in an old warehouse in the suburbs. They were taking photos of the stolen equipment blueprints and planning to secretly swap in a batch of inferior parts during the recovery center's construction that night.

'Truly incorrigible.' Xie Hui took a screenshot and noted the warehouse address. After releasing the Time Stop, he said to the Security Captain, 'Take the brothers to the warehouse immediately and lie in ambush. Wait for them to act tonight, then catch them along with the blueprints. Additionally, add anti-counterfeit labels to the recovery center's equipment. Each label costs ten yuan, so a thousand labels will be ten thousand. Then hire five equipment supervisors with a monthly salary of twenty thousand to specifically monitor construction quality—that's another hundred and ten thousand in expenses.'

The captain patted his chest and guaranteed, 'Don't worry, CEO Xie! I'll make sure they never dare to cause trouble again!'

Xia Zhu helped organize the surveillance screenshots and suddenly discovered a familiar mark on the blueprints—it was the logo of Wang Duoyu's former company. She pointed at the mark, her voice carrying a hint of lingering fear. 'It turns out he didn't just want to steal the blueprints; he also wanted to print his company's logo on the equipment and pretend he donated it! This is too much!'

'That's all the capability he has left.' Xie Hui reached out and ruffled her hair, his fingertips accidentally touching her earlobe. Xia Zhu's face instantly flushed, and she quickly lowered her head to continue organizing the screenshots. Nearby, Big Smart was still struggling with the Calico Cat, trying to put it into the cat house, only for the cat's claws to snag his vest and tear a small hole, making everyone laugh.

At noon, the security team sent word that they had apprehended Wang Duoyu's subordinates and seized the blueprints hidden in the warehouse. They also found a note written by Wang Duoyu on them, which said, 'As long as you can ruin Xie Hui's public welfare fund, I'll give each of you a hundred thousand after I get out.' Xie Hui took a photo of the note and sent it to Wang Zongyao's assistant. Not long after, the assistant replied, 'Second Master is completely enraged. He's instructed the lawyers to increase the amount of Wang Duoyu's compensation and said he's forbidden from ever touching anything related to public welfare again. Wang Duoyu is in the detention center now and doesn't even want to go out for exercise anymore.'

'He brought this on himself,' Xie Hui said as he put away his phone, turning to Xia Zhu. 'Let's go to the recovery center to check on the construction progress. I'll take you somewhere while we're at it.'

When the two drove to the recovery center, the construction team was busy setting up the recovery rooms. The blue hoarding was printed with the words 'Stray Animal Recovery Center', and a crane in the distance was still lifting steel structures. Xie Hui pulled Xia Zhu to a deserted corner and suddenly said, 'Close your eyes. I want to show you something.'

Xia Zhu obediently closed her eyes and felt a cold object placed into her hand. Opening her eyes, she saw a palm-sized jade pendant carved with a lifelike kitten, looking exactly like the Calico Cat from the rescue station. 'This is...'

'It's made of Hetian Jade I brought back from the condor heroes world. I've kept it in my inner universe for a long time,' Xie Hui explained with a smile. 'There are many other things stored in there, like a handwritten copy of the Nine Yin Manual, Medicinal Pills from Peach Blossom Island, and various treasures collected from previous Transmigrations. Once we're ready, I'll take you to the next world—maybe Harry Potter or the Avengers Alliance. Which one would you like to visit?'

Xia Zhu's eyes instantly lit up, and she tightened her grip on the jade pendant. 'I want to go to all of them! But... can I be of any help? I'm afraid of holding you back.'

'How could you?' Xie Hui reached out and grasped her hand, the warmth from his fingertips transferring to her. 'With you by my side, I feel at peace no matter which world we go to. Besides, you're so good at managing accounts; in other worlds, I'll still need you to help me plan how to spend money.'

Xia Zhu's face turned even redder. She looked down at the jade pendant, the corners of her mouth curling upward. She had never imagined she would have the chance to visit other worlds, let alone with the person she liked. A cheer suddenly erupted from the nearby construction team; the frame of the first recovery room had been completed. Sunlight filtered through the steel beams, falling perfectly onto their joined hands.

In the afternoon, Xiao Zhang suddenly ran over in a flurry, holding a tablet and shouting excitedly, 'CEO Xie! Accountant Xia! Our Metaverse Dog Walking APP has been named the "Annual Best Public Welfare APP". The organizers want to invite us to the awards ceremony, and there's a prize of one million yuan!'

'We can go to the ceremony, but donate all the prize money,' Xie Hui patted Xiao Zhang's shoulder. 'Donate it to stray animal rescue stations in impoverished areas and order a batch of winter pet cotton nests. Each one costs eighty yuan, so ten thousand nests will be eight hundred thousand—that's another 1.8 million in expenses, which happens to use up the prize money.'

Xia Zhu helped contact the rescue stations. Looking at the photos on the screen of children in impoverished areas with stray dogs, she whispered, 'I wish we could have helped them sooner.'

'We will from now on,' Xie Hui stood beside her, watching the sunset in the distance. 'Once we've handled everything in Xihong City, we'll go to the next world to complete missions while doing more meaningful things.'

At dusk, Xie Hui and Xia Zhu sat on the steps of the recovery center, watching the construction team gradually finish their work for the day. Stray cats could be heard meowing at the nearby feeding points. Xia Zhu leaned her head on Xie Hui's shoulder, playing with the jade pendant in her hand, and said softly, 'I never thought spending money could be so meaningful, or that I'd meet someone so wonderful.'

Xie Hui turned his head to look at her profile, tinted red by the setting sun, and spoke tenderly, 'Me too. After meeting you, I feel like Transmigration is no longer just a simple mission, but something that has given me a sense of belonging.'

The two looked at each other and smiled. The sunset stretched their shadows long, and even the air seemed to carry a hint of sweetness. Meanwhile, in the detention center, Wang Duoyu sat in a corner staring blankly at the small window on the wall. He finally understood that what he had lost was never money, but a love for life and kindness toward others.

As the night deepened, Xie Hui drove Xia Zhu home. Passing by the Jianbing Guozi stall they often visited, Xia Zhu suddenly said, 'I want one with double eggs and double sausage, and extra cilantro.'

Xie Hui smiled and parked the car, running over to join the queue. Watching the vendor skillfully spread the batter, he suddenly felt that this kind of daily routine was exceptionally precious. He knew that the adventure in Xihong City was coming to an end, but a new journey was just beginning. With Xia Zhu's company, every future world would be filled with surprises and warmth.