by N. Heller
Actually, the 'cushion' was just a piece of rag and the tea was just water. Yet, Lin Sanjiu was truly astonished by Meowie Hu's ability to charm humans. Not counting herself, even when Reno was badly hurt, his sister didn't even consider getting something soft to let him lay on. The siblings sat straight and properly by his side, as if they were afraid that Lin Sanjiu might ask the cat an offensive question. Unfortunately, they were quite distressed when they found out that Lin Sanjiu's first question was already very offensive.
"What are you exactly?" she spelled in the air.
"Did I already answer you? I am a doctor." The cat looked as if he was hiding his disgruntled face, "Haven't I shown you my incredible medical skills? Why won't you believe me?"
Similarly, the siblings showed her a "what-are-you-doing?" expression.
"I've never met such a boastful cat before. I'm not going to judge his medical skill at the moment… " Lin Sanjiu thought to herself and wrote, "If you are a cat, how did you become a doctor?"
Meowie Hu nodded and answered proudly, "By learning."
Lin Sanjiu was about to explode.
Seeing that the cat wasn't about to answer her questions properly, she changed her question, "Do you know about these numbers?"
All along she had the inkling that Zhu Mingchun wasn't telling them the whole truth, so she wanted to use this opportunity to just confirm her doubts.
"Yes. I came here to collect corps—patients precisely because I know." The cat doctor displayed his elegant demeanor and answered truthfully without further probing, "A person can transfer another person's numbers to their bodies through combat. I think you know this. Next, you all must spend 180 days in the pocket dimension. Oh, you know this too? Oh, you know quite a lot… Do all of you know how much longer you can live?"
The three people froze on the spot.
"What do you mean how much longer you can live?" Just when the siblings were cautiously going to ask the cat doctor about this, the cat narrowed its eyes as if he instantly understood their intentions, "So, this is what you don't know. The numbers represent the number of days you can live."
"What? Don't they represent how many lives I have?" Rena was startled, "Doctor, previously, I only survived those lethal attacks because…"
Before Rena could finish her sentence, the cat doctor interrupted her after waving his paw dismissively.
"That's right. Every time you recei8ive a lethal blow, the number on your back will drop by 1. Meanwhile," the cat squinted his eyes and licked his paws, continuing, "Every day, that number would also naturally decrease by 1. Once you use up the numbers, you're dead. Why do you think these people attacked you? If that was the case, nobody would fight. Everyone could just survive peacefully for 180 days with the original 5 on their backs."
"The starting number is 5!"
When they found those numbers on their back, the number was already 4 because a day had passed. The three of them were so shocked that they couldn't say a word. After some time, Rena suddenly became aware of something. She quickly tried to look at the number on her back, "What is... what is my number now?"
Even though each of them had killed one enemy and gained their numbers, there was a large disparity between their numbers. Among the three of them, Lin Sanjiu had the highest number. Due to the tenacity of her higher consciousness, she didn't really receive any lethal attacks. As Derik's number was 11, Lin Sanjiu's number was now 15.
That is to say, even if she didn't do anything, she could still survive for half a month without fretting. Reno had the second highest number. After getting Zhu Mingchun's number, he was already at 9.
Rena had the lowest number. Logically speaking, Hannie Huang's number should be very high—at least it should be above 10. However, when Rena threw all her Ripple Spheres, Hannie's number was used up immediately. At the same time, they were also added to Rena. However, the explosions were still ongoing at that point. The detonation waves were strong enough to kill Rena several times over. As a result, she spent many of the lives she had gotten and was now left with 3.
When Rena found out the number on her back, she turned pale.
Many people have questioned themselves or others about what they would do if they had only three days left to live. However, when it becomes a reality, it isn't something that everyone can accept. Luckily, there were still ways to solve this.
"So… I have been in this area for quite a few days. I have seen a sort of fighting strategies," Meowie said slowly. "There are those who form teams and eventually backstab their comrades. There are others who lure and trick newcomers; they hide the truth about the numbers and kill them silently. There are people who would use surprise attacks. They would suddenly rush out, attack you and then run away, though that is quite difficult and you only get 1 each time. There are also those who would ambush victims, set traps, etc. There are just countless methods."
Even though they could feel the bloodl.u.s.t and cruelty from the actions the cat described, the cat's voice did not show any emotions. He still used that slightly lazy, elegant tone. If one had to really describe it, it sounded like he was slightly annoyed by humans' stupidity.
"Is attacking others the only way we can gain numbers?" Reno asked urgently, he had a ghastly expression.
If everybody's number drop by 1 each day, the combined value of the numbers on everybody's backs would constantly be dropping. Under such extreme circ.u.mstances, one would have to kill a heap load of people to survive 180 days.
While two pairs of eyes and two sockets from a skull stared at the cat doctor, he groomed his fur unhurriedly. As his audience was getting a little anxious, he spoke leisurely, "Actually… there are other ways."
Chapter 247 - Cat Doctor's Instructions
"If Reno was dragged away by that cat doctor, what would happen to him?" Lin Sanjiu thought to herself as she saw the cat doctor off and turned to look at the siblings who hadn't regained their sobriety. In the end, she still didn't get to the bottom of what the cat doctor was. Compared to the size of the black and white cat, Zhu Mingchun's body seemed too large for it. When Meowie started dragging the corpse away laboriously, he couldn't even be seen because of the man's two big feet. At first glance, it was as if a corpse was crawling on the ground. It made them a little worried whether the cat doctor could even successfully go back to his hospital.
"I have an office nearby," the cat doctor had rejected their help graciously before he left. "I brought quite a few dissec— medical instruments over, so it is quite a well-equipped. It isn't far, so you don't have to come with me." Obviously, he was directing his words at the siblings.
"Thank you, doctor. If we pass by, we will definitely visit you." When Reno spoke with Meowie, he seemed to be influenced by the cat's gentleman demeanor and so he started speaking very politely, "Are you lacking anything? We can bring you something as a sign of gratitude for the consultation if we meet again."
Under the dark sky, the cat's eyes appeared to be a deep, dark green. The cat doctor's eyes lit up. He immediately nodded happily, "Since you offered, I would graciously accept it. If it is possible, I hope you can bring me some badly injured people or seriously ill people…"
"What do you plan to do with them!" Maybe she might have overthought things but Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling a chill running through her body, even though she didn't really have one. She quickly flew forward and interrupted the farewell between the cat and the siblings. However, the siblings have already accepted the cat doctor's request eagerly. Meowie bade them farewell with a satisfied expression and continued dragging the corpse by its feet. While the corpse made scraping sounds across the ground, the cat headed slowly toward north.
Even though the cat doctor was very strange, and was actually coerced by Lin Sanjiu, he certainly helped them a lot. The three of them looked at each other and suddenly burst out laughing because they all looked pathetic.
Among them, Rena looked the worst. The wounds she received were enough for her to die ten times ove
r. She tore her wounds when she continued fighting with Hannie. Below the point of her c.h.e.s.t, her dress had been soaked with blood. The soaked dark-red dress hung from her body. The cat doctor gave her some simple wound treatment and wrapped a clean cloth around her stomach. With that, she avoided the scary warning from the cat doctor, "If you aren't careful, your intestines might fall out."
After Reno coughed up a few mouthfuls of blood, he could now walk slowly. Lin Sanjiu had used up too much of her higher consciousness, but she only needed some time to recover, so it wasn't a big problem. After they had a short discussion, they decided to leave this place far behind them and find a place to rest and recover.
"I wonder if that cannonball man that attacked us was killed by the explosion," Rena looked behind her at the collapsed buildings, which lay in ruins, "He didn't even appear all this time."
"If he's not dead, he probably ran away," Reno muttered somewhat furiously. "He better not let me see him again!"
They chatted and supported each other as they walked slowly. Meanwhile, Lin Sanjiu also scanned and monitored their surroundings with her higher consciousness. It wasn't an easy journey.
Throughout their journey, they avoided quite a few groups of posthumans that were heading for the collapsed bank building, some that were patrolling their territories, and others who were seeking out targets to kill. Finally, they found a secluded place which had no one within a one-kilometer radius.
"This seems to be a shopping lane," Rena looked around. "Look, there is even a luxury goods store."
Even though the street had lost its previous crowds and vibrancy, there were still many traces of how it was before. There was a bubble tea shop with a "Second cup, half-price" sign. There was a stall selling cheese fishball. There was a leather store that had a killer clearance sale. There were all kinds of shops and stalls along the street. As their doors were not closed, they gave the false impression that they were still operating under the dark skies of the night. Bamboo skewers and drink bottles littered the ground. They even spotted a "Please give me 6 dollars to go home" in chalk scribbled on the floor at one of the corners. Walking along this street that seemed to be filled with everything so familiar to her in her home world, in a place with so many signs of modern human civilization, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling distracted. For a moment, it was as if her countless brushes with death had just been a dream.
When they walked past a clothes store, Lin Sanjiu even went in and browsed for a few sets of clothes. After that, she converted them to cards and brought them along. Rena had to change her clothes because her dress was ruined. Lin Sanjiu also had to prepare some clothes as the organs and muscles on her upper body was almost complete. She knew that once her skin developed, she would need to wear clothes.
"Let's avoid using a restaurant as our resting place," Reno said as he tried very hard to avert his gaze from a sign which wrote, "Mega-sized, juicy Osaka beef cheeseburger!" This food from the normal worlds had a special allure to the kids. "I'm scared that I wouldn't be able to resist eating food from this world."
"There is a department store just up ahead," Lin Sanjiu wrote. "Let's go there."
"Okay," Rena replied quickly. "But, I wonder where are those buildings that the cat doctor mentioned, those we can earn lives 1 from."
When Rena brought up the cat doctor, Reno's face turned pale, as if he suddenly remembered what had happened before. It was as if he suddenly realized that the cat doctor was a cat. He tried to calm himself before he finally spoke with lingering fear, "Yes, yes. Let's go and earn lives… But then again, can we trust what that cat say…"
"He is probably way more trustworthy than humans," Lin Sanjiu thought to herself but did not write it out.
According to Meowie Hu, some of the buildings within the area affected by the pocket dimension had mutated. They held a sort of "mini pocket dimension" and fulfilling the requirements there would net them about 5 to 40 lives.
The cat had overheard the conversation of two people who had come out from a building but did not actually enter one before, so he could only tell them that much.
"Ah, we're here." Rena walked behind Lin Sanjiu. When she was at the door of the department store, she commented, "It's quite beautiful." The author uses 'numbers' instead of lives, but it just doesn't work very well in English sentences.
Chapter 248 - 30%
A department store wasn't exactly the most ideal resting spot for them as it was large and there were about five entrances. If someone were to sneak in, they might not notice immediately. However, with their injuries and exhaustion, they didn't really give it much thought. After resting for a little while, Lin Sanjiu allowed Rena to stay on the second floor, where beds used to be for sale, while she went up to the third floor with Reno. They checked the entire department store and got rid of the few duoluozhongs hiding in the corners of the toilets. After that, they blocked the entrances with cabinets and shelves, leaving only one side entrance opened for themselves to enter and exit. They tied a thin thread with a bell across that entrance and it was around the height of a person's ankle.
Even though that seemed primitive, the siblings have lost all their alarm system equipment in the residential building. They had no choice but to resort to this method which could at least work on stupid people. In the bed and beddings section, the department store only had display beds that they could roll about in. More importantly, they were pleasantly surprised to find that the backup generator was functioning properly. Even though Kisaragi Station World had water and electricity, they were not very stable and often stopped working. For example, this area affected by the pocket dimension had frequent blackouts. With the backup generator, at least, they knew that they would not need to be in constant darkness. However, they didn't dare to switch on the lights now.
"After we recover, we can switch on all the lights here," Reno touched the light switch and said a little regretfully. "I want to see what kinds of people it will attract! If they dare to make trouble, they can forget about leaving!"
During the entire situation with Derik, he was mostly unconscious due to his wounds, so he left all the fighting to his sister and Lin Sanjiu. His sister nearly died because of that. This perhaps explained the stifling feeling the teenage boy felt. It gradually grew into a sort of grudge, making him eager to recover quickly and have a proper fight.
After resting for a few hours, Lin Sanjiu gradually recovered some of her higher consciousness. Her bones slowly reappeared and there were faint outlines of her pelvis. She sighed inwardly without saying a word when she heard Reno mentioning it.
They could only rest here for a night, but when the number on Rena's back changed to 2, they would need to look for that sort of mutated building that the cat doctor had described. In that case, Reno probably wouldn't have a chance to fight anyone here. After they finished checking the department store, both of they went back upstairs. The siblings ate a little of the yellowish-green food they had brought with them very hastily before quickly sleeping in their beds. While they slept, the kids looked very weak and tired.
Lin Sanjiu did not need to sleep, so she concentrated on recovering her higher consciousness. After every 30 minutes, she would stop and scan the entire department store with her higher consciousness. After she had checked the department store for about eight to nine times, the skies outside gradually turned a light-navy. A beam of white light appeared on the eastern horizon.
Within this time, Lin Sanjiu's entire skeletal structure had been reconstructed. There was also red flesh and muscles on her face and neck. After a few rounds of 'usage and recovery', the growth rate of Lin Sanjiu's higher consciousness was way faster than before. She estimated that she would only need another day to fully develop all the muscles and flesh on her body. She pulled out the clothes she had previously got from the clothes store and wore a T-shirt and a pair of shorts. As her lower body was just bones, it took Lin Sanjiu quite some effort to secure the shorts to her pelvis bones using a belt.
> "It feels a little weird to wear clothes again…"
Lin Sanjiu let the siblings sleep for another few hours. When she saw that it was about time, she woke the kids up. Even though she had spent a significant amount of time with them, the two kids still had the same reaction when they saw a skinless face in front of their drowsy eyes.
Lin Sanjiu dodged two attacks with some difficulties, and the muscles on her face moved to show an unhappy expression.
"Oh, but you can't really blame us…" Rena said a little guiltily as she followed behind Lin Sanjiu. After resting for one night, Rena looked visibly more energetic, "I think that seeing you as a skull is better than your current face."
Reno avoided the white thread with the bell and laughed, "You should grow out some skin quickly. Let us see how you look! Your eye sockets are pretty large, so your eyes shouldn't be small…"
Lin Sanjiu was so entertained by them that wasn't angry anymore.
Thankfully, after they left the department store, the kids immediately became vigilant. After all, they didn't know if anyone was waiting to ambush in the darkness, treating them like preys. According to the cat doctor, the exterior facades of mutated buildings did not look any different from the usual buildings, so one had to enter a building to know if it was different.
Due to this, they needed quite a significant amount of time. There were all sorts of large and small buildings along the shopping lane, as far as their eyes could see. Since there was a chance that it could be any of these buildings, they couldn't miss out checking even a single one. Two hours had passed when they finished checking all the buildings. It was now 5 pm and they only had little more than six hours to 12 am. After midnight, the number on Rena's back would drop to 1.
Lin Sanjiu looked at the siblings and realized that their expressions had turned grim. After thinking for a moment, she took out a piece of paper and consoled them, "Let's walk out of this shopping lane and try walking in that direction."