After speeding a few kilometers inside the slide, the party reached a wide grassy area.

"Oh... It hurts!"

They stood up and found that the blue mother star was already waving goodbye to them. At this time, the air became very wet, and the green grass under the feet was covered by the light of the mother star with a unique layer of blue gauze, misty in the air. A few hundred meters away, the dewdrops on the petals of the violets seemed to be their reluctant tears. Their unique refreshing fragrance and the vapor in the air melted together, slowly infiltrating the hearts of the party. From time to time, pedestrians would walk into the various stores around to pick up a dress, buy a necklace, or pick up something to eat for dinner or a late-night snack. But the cafe in front of them had none of the noise and bustle of other shops. A 5km road sign told them that the cafe was their next stop.

They went to the door. William twisted the dark brown door handle.

It was quiet here. They were the only ones here. Looking around, the walls were painted a pale brown and gave off a strong smell of the oddly fragrant cocoa beans. The oil paint was made from cocoa mixed with water. Inside, several tables were neatly laid out, all painted with the same paint. Rows of lamps hung from the ceiling, glowing a warm yellowish glow. It was like being curled up by a burning fireplace in the dead of winter. On the other side was a brown counter half a man's height, neatly arranged with shelves of various utensils and etc. At the back stood a tabby cat, all covered in thick, silky hair the color of a tiramisu, with a long, slender tail hanging down naturally. On the head was a pale pink cap, below which a pair of green eyes were shining. She was wearing a pink apron. Standing at the counter, she welcomed the party in with a smile, and of course the cat cast curious glances as Photon and Natalie passed by.

This cat, beyond doubt, was Sophia, the owner of the cafe.

"What can I get for you?" She asked, smiling as she took a menu politely from the counter. But as if she had known them before, the cat patted William on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "It's all right. Make yourself at home. All the food here is free for you." Sophia winked, and William didn't understand, so she added, "Just don't tell the other guests."

William nodded and understood. Then he said, "We'll have one, please... Oh no, four tiramisu coffees, four six-inch blueberry cakes, and..."

"And two large portions of grilled chicken legs," Ranran said, taking his words.

"Yeah! Nice, that's all!" Photon and Natalie shouted together.

"All right, please choose your seats and take a rest. I'll serve your food as soon as I can." Smiling again, Tabby went into the kitchen and began to prepare their meal.

"What did the cat say to you?" Ranran asked William quietly.

"Nothing." William replied, then whispered in her ear, "She just said we could eat and drink for free, and she wanted us to keep this secret..."

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't think she would do that to an ordinary visitor. Perhaps she has something to tell us?"

"I think so. Maybe she knows something else, something that might be useful along the way to saving that gene-edited cat."

Sophia was extremely quick. In a few minutes she was all ready. She came toward them carrying a large tray. "Your dishes are all here. Please enjoy yourselves!" Sophia said with a smile.

"Oh, thank you." Ranran replied. The party was immediately attracted by the combined aroma of blueberry cakes, tiramisu and roast chicken legs, because William's saliva dropped on the napkins on the table. "Wow, I'm really hungry, so let's... eat?" He ventured to ask, while the others agreed with one voice. They had not eaten for nearly eight hours.

So the party immediately picked up knives and forks, beginning to taste. Had to say that although the cafe was small, the owner's workmanship was superb. The blue and purple blueberries, the juice, the milky white cream and the bright yellow cake crust were perfectly blended, each inhaling the fragrance of the other; tiramisu required special cocoa beans. It was needed that one boil the beans in a special pot at high heat and then add a little sugar and milk. The grilled chicken legs were roasted in an oven for 10 minutes at 240 degrees Celsius before being eaten.

William accidentally knocked a note off under his napkin. He picked it up and read it. It was written by Sophia:

A special guest is coming in soon. Please tell him that you all come to the kitchen after dinner. I have something to tell you, that's why I said you could order for free.

Sophia

"Special guest? Who can it be?" William wondered. He looked out of the window. It was now completely dark, and the road was illuminated early with yellow street lights. The temperature had been moderate when they arrived, but now it was snowing and, strangely, it was not very cold outside. Even so, the crystal snow still kissed the window, and then was melted by the heat of the vapor into water droplets, leaving a long trace on it, as if it was the tears of the window.

Just then the door opened again and in walked an electric fan! He had batteries inside, so he had no plug. His upper half was round, and inside it there were two groups of blades, four blades each; the bottom half was rectangle with a touch switch. His two "hands" were on each side of the lower half, and his two "legs" were on the base. As for his "eyes", they were actually on top, which were two tiny cameras. But because they were so small, no one noticed.

There was no doubt that everyone cast strange glances as the fan approached.

"Is he the special guest?" Thought William, wondering.

He went to the counter and ordered the food. A few minutes later, Tabby cat brought him food.

"Is he what you call a 'special guest'?" William whispered to Tabby. She nodded.

"All right, I see. I've read your note. I'll tell him."

"Well, thank you. I have to leave work early today."

"Why?"

"Because what I'm about to tell you may be complicated... So I don't want to go on with my work while telling you all about it."

"Oh, all right."

Tabby walked away and continued to stand at the counter. When William had finished eating, he stood up, flicked the switch of the fan, and asked politely,

"Good day, Sir. May I have your name?"

The fan surveyed the man in front of him, then, too, stood up and said,

"I am Hagariffin. You can call me Hagar for short."

"Well, nice to meet you, Mr Hagar."

"Nice to meet you. But I don't know why you came to me to say hello."

Upon hearing this, William showed him the note.

"Oh, I see. No problem, I will." Replied the fan.

"I wonder why Ms Sophia would want to talk to you." Asked William again.

"Oh... Yes, I have a missing accessory, but it doesn't affect the use. Yet I still want to find it. I recently heard that Ms Sophia has that accessory, so I made an appointment to come over today. Then why did you come?"

"I... I don't know. I just popped in for a bite to eat."

"Oh, so did you and your friends just come out of a windowless building?"

"How do you know?" Asked William, very surprised.

"I happened to be passing the same building today, and I heard cries from inside the slide. I thought there must be someone in there."

"Oh, I see."

By this time the others had also finished eating. Tabby, seeing this, gave William a wink and signaled them to go inside. She walked to the door and flipped the sign to "Closed". Then she pulled a switch and the door clicked lock. She walked up to the party, flipped a switch on the wall, and the lights went out.

They turned a corner and walked dozens of steps until they came to the back door. Tabby cat pointed to a big apple tree and said, "Let's go outside. It's near my house. Look, my house is over that apple tree in front of us."

"Your house is in a tree?" Natalie asked in surprise.

"Oh, no. Come with me." Sophia said with an embarrassed smile. She locked the back door, too, and led the others to a marble path. Then Photon looked up at the sky and saw thousands of stars inlaid like diamonds in the deep darkness. Little by little the noise of the street was receding from them, while the loud song of the crickets became more and more pronounced. Snow had not stopped, and dozens of thousands of white snowflakes quietly fell on the marbles. They instantly became drops of clear water, reflecting the silvery brilliance of millions of stars.

The road took many bends and continued on. A snowflake fell on Ranran's palm. She smiled and kissed it gently with her red lips, and it melted. Holding the cool drop of water, Ranran showed a more comfortable smile.

A cricket hopped up on the hood of Natalie and she smiled back, ready to hear the singer sing. But it jumped off. She sighed with disappointment.

After a sharp bend, the road led to the apple tree. As they drew near, William looked up and saw the red apples dressed in silver starlight. Snowflakes fell on the leaves, adding whiteness to the verdure.

A few dozen meters behind the tree was a long staircase leading underground. There were more than 100 stairs. "My house is down here." Sophia said, "Come on, everyone."

So they lined up in turn and walked down. The staircase spiraled down several times before finally stopping in front of a silver door. The door was covered in a dense network of electronic wiring, and there was a switch.

"This is my home." Sophia said, pressing the switch. The door opened.