The summoning ticket in Sherwin hand quickly folded itself up, forming into the shape of a bullet.
Strangely enough, the silvery-white part of the ticket became the bullet tip, while the brass-colored part formed the casing.
Then, with a sharp "whoosh—", that paper bullet shot into the sky and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Sherwin looked around, unsure what kind of entrance the new Felyne would make this time.
After all, every Felyne had their own unique way of showing up. Each time he summoned one, guessing their identity from the way they appeared was one of Sherwin little joys.
However, since they were now out at sea with no nearby islands or reefs, the most likely entrances would be either descending from the sky or bursting out of the water.
Of course, that wasn't guaranteed—after all, Seijuro Meow had once appeared right outside the door and knocked before coming in.
The other experienced Felynes were also turning their little heads, activating their Observation Haki to sense any signs of the new companion arrival.
Before long, Huamei Meow pointed to the horizon and shouted, "Over there! Something flying this way meow!"
Everyone turned to look in the direction she pointed—and sure enough, they saw a tiny black dot rapidly growing larger, wobbling from side to side...
No—by now, Sherwin could already make out what it was with his sharp eyesight.
It was a missile—painted and doodled to look like the ones from Mario Kart! And on top of it, a Felyne was standing as if surfing on a board.
The reason the missile was wobbling left and right was clearly because this little cat was squirming restlessly on top of it.
Under the sunlight, the Felyne fur shimmered with a beautiful, vivid blue. The color was so bright and striking that even against the blue sky, it stood out clearly.
"Crap!"
Sherwin slapped his forehead. Just from the entrance and the color of the fur, he instantly recognized who it was.
Of all the things to happen—of course, this was the one he dreaded most.
If Klee Meow was just a mischievous little troublemaker who didn't know her limits, then the Felyne he had summoned this time was nothing short of a walking disaster…
He could only hope Huamei Meow would be able to keep her under control.
But in truth, Sherwin wasn't feeling optimistic at all.
After all, this was none other than the infamous humanoid (or rather, felinoid) walking arsenal—the embodiment of chaos and mayhem herself—nicknamed the Rampaging Loli, real name: Jinx, also known as Misfortune / Calamity (Jinx)!
However, Sherwin quickly pulled himself together. So what if this was a little troublemaker Felyne? Surely the combined might of the Hunter and the Lord Tiger could handle one unruly cat, right?
Besides…
Just because her prototype was Jinx didn't necessarily mean this Felyne shared the same personality or background.
Who knew—maybe this "Meow" version of Jinx would turn out to be a good little kitty?
…Yeah, that possibility was definitely slim.
Looking at the blue-furred Felyne surfing a missile and wobbling from side to side like she couldn't stand still for a second, Sherwin wisely abandoned that fantasy.
The missile was moving fast—just as Sherwin finished mentally preparing himself, it was already upon them.
As it drew closer, the blue Felyne details became clearer: she wore a light outfit strapped with rows of bullets, carried a shark-shaped rocket launcher named Fishbones, a triple-barreled Gatling gun decorated with cat ears called Pow-Pow, and a small pistol capable of releasing electromagnetic shockwaves…
There was no doubt about it—she was definitely Jinx.
Any last bit of hope Sherwin had was completely extinguished.
Then, he saw Jinx Meow kick off from the missile, performing who knew how many front flips in midair before landing gracefully and firmly on the deck of the Dodo Advance.
"Perfect landing, meow!"
(=`=)
The little blue Felyne struck a textbook gymnast landing pose.
Meanwhile, the missile that had brought her here suddenly veered at nearly a ninety-degree angle after she kicked off it, plunging straight into the sea.
A deep boom followed, and a massive column of water shot into the sky—creating a grand, dramatic entrance that perfectly matched Jinx Meow landing pose.
Except… the seawater quickly came crashing back down, soaking the posing Felyne from head to tail, turning her into a drenched little kitten.
"Meowhahahahaha!"
Jinx Meow didn't care in the slightest. She clutched her belly and laughed uncontrollably for a while, then shook her body and head vigorously to fling off the seawater.
〝(ω≡ω)〞
With her fur still a mess, she bounced and skipped toward Sherwin, stopping right in front of him.
She raised a finger, twirled it beside her ear, tilted her head up innocently, and asked with bright curiosity, "A voice told me this place would never be boring. That true, meow?"
Straightforward, unrestrained, diving right into the point—yep, that was classic Jinx behavior.
Sherwin sighed quietly, finally understanding why she had responded to his summon.
He crouched down, pulled out a towel, and began gently drying the little blue cat damp fur. Instead of answering her question, he asked in return, "Why? Were things boring for you before?"
"Actually, it not that bad~" Meowx tapped her chin with a finger and replied,
"But Granny Felyne always says I'm too young, and won't let me go hunting with the Hunters. I'm so tired of fighting those fake monsters in the Felyne Dojo, meow!"
Listening to that, Sherwin immediately caught the key point in her words—
she actually listens to Granny Felyne!
He felt a huge wave of relief wash over him.
As expected, this Felyne just had a similar personality, but wasn't as crazy as her original counterpart.
That made sense. According to Arcane, Jinx madness was partly caused by being injected with Shimmer. But in the Monster Hunter world, that substance didn't exist...
Sure, there were similar effects from the Frenzy Virus or Parasitic Worms, but if Meowx had really been infected with either of those, she definitely wouldn't be acting like this now.
Of course, one sentence wasn't enough to be sure, so Sherwin continued to ask Meowx about what happened before she came here.
She didn't show any impatience — instead, she obediently let Sherwin wipe her down while she answered his questions honestly.
According to Meowx, she was the top combat Felyne and bomb expert in the Village Felyne Trainee Squad.
However, because of her young age, she still wasn't allowed to form a team with the village Hunters.
But since someone called "Jinx" could never be expected to behave, she began pulling pranks all over the village in protest.
Unfortunately, every time she caused trouble, she'd be caught by Granny Felyne or the Hunters at the Gathering Hub.
Even though they admitted her skills were impressive, they still refused to take her out on hunts.
So, Meowx decided to take matters into her own paws — to skip the Felyne follower stage entirely and become a full-fledged Felyne Hunter herself...
Then, during her regular training sessions, she secretly began collecting gunpowder and other materials.
She even rummaged through trash heaps and scavenged around the nearby Felyne camps outside the village, eventually managing to build the missile that had carried her here.
When Meowx, right in front of Granny Felyne and the Village Chief, took off on that missile and blasted her way out of the village, she felt Sherwin summoning.
Without a moment hesitation, the little blue cat responded to it.
As for why she didn't just sneak out quietly and instead chose such a blatant and dramatic method—Sherwin didn't even bother asking.
Because that was just how Jinx was.
"If all you want is to join battles, then this place definitely won't disappoint you."
Sherwin chuckled softly as he brushed Meowx fur dry, then gently scratched her chin and head with both hands — one above, one below.
Now that he fully understood the little blue cat situation, Sherwin felt much more at ease.
Although Meowx was still a mischievous little rascal, things were far better than he had expected.
"Really… purr… that just… purr… wonderful, meow! Purr purr…"
(=ω=)
Meowx narrowed her eyes in bliss, the purring in her throat only growing louder.
Heh~ as expected, no matter how troublesome a little cat may be, in the hands of the Hunter, even the most stubborn one ends up turning into a well-behaved kitten.
After confirming that his "Felyne-handling technique" still worked perfectly, Sherwin finally let go of the last bit of worry in his heart.