by N. Heller
The pink bumper kart did not continue the assault, and Lin Sanjiu thanked God for that minor good fortune. The pink bumper kart moved around like a living organism looking for direction. It inched backward for a short distance and vanished into the air again.
Lin Sanjiu's expression grew grim as she asked Hei Zeji, "What is wrong with these karts?"
Hei Zeji glanced up, revealing his even grimmer expression and met Lin Sanjiu's questioning gaze.
"Why are you so dull? Could it be that you've met some mongrels by chance and gave them your reflexes to fill their stomachs?" Hei Zeji effortlessly evaded another bumper kart that came from nowhere. Then, he continued, "I wonder how you survive the previous game. Let me guess, you took advantage of your strengthened body and braved through it?"
Lin Sanjiu, who was about to say something to defend herself, was silenced by Hei Zeji's critic.
"He's right," Lin Sanjiu thought to herself.
"Okay, listen to me carefully," Hei Zeji seemingly always breathed with the air of impatience when he was talking. He said, "Space here has been distorted and folded into multiple layers. Light cannot shine directly on them, so you can't see them—"
As if he was proving his words, he made a sharp u-turn before finishing his sentence. He followed the bumper kart that had ambushed him earlier on and vanished before reappearing moments later.
"Although they are invisible, there will always be a signal when they emerge from the folding space. Look for that signal," Lin Sanjiu felt that Hei Zeji's demonstration belied his explanation. He just vanished and popped out at another spot without showing any sign at all, "... Your reflexes are too slow. You should start practicing how to evade their ambush first."
"What does it look like in the folding space?" Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and quickly followed up with another question, "Can you also explain to me what it means that I can only move in the 'forest'?"
"I don't know. I drove with my eyes closed, but it seems that there are many runways inside the folding space. Nevertheless, don't feel relieved once you successfully evade an ambush. These runways are designed in 360-degrees, so the bumper kart can bump into you from any angle—"
Hei Zeji paused and squinted before he continued, "Well, for the 'forest,' I'm guessing it probably refers to the route where those green bumper karts have traversed. That is to say that from this moment onward there are two things you need to do: first, recall the routes those greenies have traveled, and second, try your best to keep your eye on them all the time. Once you drive on a track that has not been traveled by any green bumper karts, you'll be punished."
Although both of them had exchanged a substantial amount of information, the game had only started thirty seconds prior. As the distance between Hei Zeji and Lin Sanjiu grew larger, four bumper karts cut into the gap between them and charged at Lin Sanjiu at full speed.
Lin Sanjiu drew a deep breath to steady herself and made her utmost effort to ignore the bumper karts that were closing in on her.
Although she wasn't a prodigy, she learned things rather fast. After she'd fully digested Hei Zeji's explanation, she found that the bumper karts that were always in her sights actually posed little threat to her.
"Green, green, where are you…"
From the beginning of the game until now, she didn't even have the time to catch her breath, let alone to pay attention to what was going on around her. As such, memorizing the routes that each type of bumper kart had taken was an impossible task.
Lin Sanjiu sighed and repented inwardly, "It would be great if I still had the enhanced perception that I obtained from School of Higher Consciousness. It would have spared me the aggravation of rummaging through my memories…"
Hei Zeji was right: she was too oblivious. She didn't know there was a bumper kart in front of her until the collision happened and the impact sent her sliding away.
"Collision with a brown bumper kart. Buried the seed deep into the soil effect. Last until the end of the game."
As Lin Sanjiu was distracted, an invisible object pounced on her face, covering her mouth and nose. She felt like she was being buried alive. Her c.h.e.s.t got heavier and breathing grew more difficult until she was not able to draw air into her lungs.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hei Zeji's voice was filled with anger as it traveled far from the opposite side of the arena, "Didn't I tell you to watch out for the signal before they appear?"
Lin Sanjiu's face quickly became red as her brain's oxygen supply was depleted. She could not even speak a word now, so how could she still have the energy to spare to observe the bumper karts?
Suddenly, she caught the sight of a bumper kart with the corner of her eyes. Lin Sanjiu was struggling for air, and it was several folds harder for her to make a move at her current state. Still, Lin Sanjiu promptly hit the accelerator and carefully drove toward the spot where she had collided with the green bumper kart.
Like sharks attracted to blood, ten bumper karts quickly gathered around Lin Sanjiu leaving her not more than three seconds to steer clear of their ambush. At the same time, Lin Sanjiu heard her blood boiling in her eardrums as fear began to swallow her.
"The reason Soulsqn became a raggedy doll was probably that she joined me in the previous game… Will I become like her as well?"
"There are only two seconds left before that kart crashes into me——"
"So, where did those green bumper karts actually go?"
Not even Lin Sanjiu was aware that her consciousness had expanded as it flowed madly. There was only a second left before the collision. She could even see the words imprinted on the pink bumper kart.
"There!"
Just as she thought she was doomed, a vividly clear scene jumped out in her mind. It was as if a dazzling ray of light pierced through the darkness; it granted her a glimpse of hope to shatter the tricky situation.
When she was at the peak of her concentration, she calmed down. She didn't know whether it was real or was just an illusion. She felt that her body, reflexes, and her joints had become much smoother and quicker to react.
At this moment, the memory that she had been struggling to recall became clear, almost crisp to her foggy mind. She knew a green bumper kart had gone this way.
She waited anxiously for half a second. When the sound that symbolizes the "punishment" did not reach her ear, Lin Sanjiu knew.
She was on the right track.
Chapter 337 - The Way to Become a Mongrel
"Please enjoy your meal."
After placing the salver down, the young and attentive male attendant bowed and retreated from the room.
An albescent teacup sat on top of the desk-sized salver. Wisps of hot steam rose into the air from the cup, carrying the earthy tea aroma and filling the room with fragrance. On one side of the salver sat a small cup of hot milk sweetened with just a spoonful of honey as requested.
Glaring at the damn little furball, AYU felt that she had agreed to help him too soon.
Placing his white paw through the round cup holder, the cat doctor picked up the cup of milk, poured it into the tea, and made himself a cup of brew. There was a selection of snacks placed next to the beverage: a plate of cookies, a plate of yolk pastries, and a plate of dried peeled shrimp. He moved his nose from one plate of snacks to the next and left a damp, cat nose-shaped mark on a piece of cookie.
In contrast to Meowie Hu's warm hospitality, AYU and her kinsmen were treated like a bunch of convicts. The female captain kept them under strict surveillance, day and night.
Even though they did not want to eat cookies or drink milk tea, the Souls were still quite uncomfortable. After all, they all were given seats on the floor while the cat doctor sat in an upholstered armchair.
"Does your ability affect all human beings ?" asked AYU.
All in all, AYU believed that Meowie Hu already knew that Souls weren't human beings.
Meowie Hu lapped the milk tea, and his two big, round eyes blinked due to the steam.
"So far, no human being on this planet has been able to escape my ability but one," Meowie Hu paused for a moment, taking another l.a.p of his milk tea before continuing, "And that one person is my friend."
The Souls looked at each other and marveled at the fact revealed by Meowie Hu. After much contemplation, AYU suddenly said, "Perhaps, we might need your help instead."
The cat doctor didn't say yes or no. He merely continued to l.a.p his afternoon tea.
Unlike Santa Claus's crazy-like speed, the airship was flown at a slow and steady speed. After arriving at the maritime space of the suspected destination, the airship swanned over the ocean so that Silverdale could locate Soulsqn's coordinates. After about half a day, Silverdale finally captured Soulsqn'a faint signal and pinpointed the exact location of the pocket dimension.
After that, the airship descended and hovered ten meters above the ocean.
As the female captain opened the cabin door, she anxiously said, "Please be careful, doctor. If no one is here to pick you up when you come out from the pocket dimension, please contact me with the communication device I gave you."
The cat doctor's eyes ran down the sea. He was very excited and curious about the adventure that lay ahead. Without turning his head, the cat doctor waved his paw and said, "Okay, okay. Thank you, you're the best. I have to go now."
Meowie Hu watched as the Souls jumped out of the airship one after another. He psyched himself up, crouched down, and use his hind legs to propel him into the air.
The cat doctor didn't have any skydiving experience, so he hadn't expected it to be so spine-chilling. As he was plummeting, he meowed all the way down without keeping his usual graceful demeanor. Just before he touched the surface of the ocean, he disappeared.
When Meowie Hu landed on the rocky, reef and grass-covered shore, his tail was still in a bristled state. He was badly shaken.
The little furball studied his surrounding slack-jawed. His brain seemed to be unable to process the current situation. How did he arrive here when he had almost fallen into the ocean? Refusing to believe that he was safe, he lifted his paw and checked himself. After finding that his fur was completely dry, Meowie Hu heaved a sigh of relief. After that, he proceeded cautiously toward the gate that seemed as though it was built for a castle where a group of Souls stood at the entrance gathered around discussing something that was unknown to others.
"The queen is here; I can sense her. Ah, she's moving toward us," Silverdale stood in the middle of the group, and he let out a guttural, inconceivable hissing before he said with joy, "We should stay here to greet the queen. She's near."
The cat doctor's ears flicked. He heard somebody heading their way from behind the entrance gate. That person's pace wasn't fast. It was just one step after another like his thumping heart. As a newbie to the world, he was attracted to everything not to mention meeting a queen of non-human races. His bright emerald eyes were filled with curiosity.
" Since she is their queen, I can assume that she's a beauty? Or at any rate, she should be —"
His wild mind froze the moment Soulsqn appeared in his sight.
"You guys are here."
Soulsqn seemed unsurprised to meet her clansmen here. She had already sensed their presence even before they entered the pocket dimension. As she walked, she tried to push her skin that slid down like mud. She found the task exhausting. As a Soul, it was such a rare feeling.
"My queen—" AYU took a step forward, paused for a second when she saw Soulsqn's gruesome state and continued, "—You are injured. Will you revert to your primitive state?"
Soulsqn had never been damaged to such state since she was born. Her body was half drained, so she did not even have an idea of what to do next. After she contemplated for a moment, the queen waved her hand. Her floppy human skin suit with nails flung uncontrollably in the air as she gave her order to her clansmen.
As the queen of the Souls, she did not have to speak to give a command. The Souls followed her orders, unquestionably and dedicatedly. As they moved aside obediently and silently, the little furball who was hiding behind them was revealed.
"My queen, allow me to introduce Doctor Hu. Doctor Hu is the one who founds us an airship," AYU quickly stepped forward and explained to Soulsqn, "It has an absorbing ability which may be of use to us."
Following that, AYU systematically explained in full detail how the cat doctor's ability affected humans. When she reached the cookies the cat doctor had on the airship, Soulsqn's eyes glowed.
Meowie Hu was feeling a little bit disturbed by being stared at by a half-humanoid creature. He lashed his big fluffy tail nervously and kept his back as straight as possible to maintain his graceful appearance.
"Doctor Hu," said Soulsqn reverently. If Lin Sanjiu was around, she would have been astonished by Soulsqn's polite tone, "I greatly appreciate the assistance you have offered to my men so far. If there is anything I can do to make myself useful, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will gladly offer you a hand, but now, there is still have one more problem that I hope you can help me."
"Say it."
"Well, I believe nobody in this world besides you can put an end to my problem," Soulsqn praised Meowie Hu to bribe him into doing her bidding. She learned the way from humans, and she found it very effective. She then continued, "There is still another person inside the amus.e.m.e.nt park."
Nobody was able to escape from being flattered, not even a cat. Meowie Hu was exhilarated. As he immersed in the p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, he nodded at Soulsqn to continue speaking.
"She is, how should I put this—" Soulsqn paused as she struggled to ferret through her brain for the term to describe the relationship between her and Lin Sanjiu. Their relationship was kind of odd: they were not enemies, nor they were partners, "—is very useful to me, and I need her. However, my order won't work on her, neither can I apprehend her with force. So—"
"Understood," the cat doctor nodded as he said, "I'll go and meet her."
Hearing this, Soulsqn drew and let out a long breath of relief. She had gotten the guarantee from her men and her men would never lie to her, so the feline standing in front of her had to be pretty capable.
" At last, after so much time, after experiencing so much humiliation and torture, I finally could set everything back to their rightful track again. "
She was happy with the result of their negotiation. Hence, she readily agreed to offer help to the cat doctor, "That's great, doctor. If your friend does require our help, tell us. I'll send my men there right away."
"Meow."
Both the cat doctor and Souls were happy with the outcome of their negotiation. As they finalized their deal, the Souls that had been sent out by Soulsqn returned. Sajee and Silverdale walked in front of the group. They greeted the queen and reported their findings, "We didn't find anyone with the look of Santa Claus nearby, nor did we see any living humans."
Soulsqn's squished jelly-like skin jiggled. No one aside from her kind understood the meaning behind her gesture. Then, a Soul stepped forward and responded to her question, "The ground that we're standing right now isn't vast. It takes less than ten minutes to finish a circle. From the two edges, we could faintly see the remaining two parts of the amus.e.m.e.nt park. It seems like two entrances. However, there is a large ocean between them. It's impossible to go around it."
The amus.e.m.e.nt park was designed like a cross such that each end of the cross was further separated into another four routes. Soulsqn, who originally wanted to find a shortcut, fell silent. She felt the task at hand was getting more difficult.
"Why don't we just go in from this entrance?" Meowie Hu craned his neck and looked over to the direction of the entrance.
If she could sigh, Soulsqn would have done it. While she reveled in the newfangled, never-experienced human feeling, she spoke slowly, "The reason we can't enter from this entrance is that the attractions inside are extremely tough. I only took part in the first round, yet I ended up in this devastate
d state. However, that's not the end of it. If you continue the game for the second round, the difficulty will be triple of the previous round. Also, if you refuse to participate in any of the attractions, you won't be able to proceed."
"Hmm? Oh, I guess your ability won't earn you any shortcut as well. The workers in the amus.e.m.e.nt park are not humans."
After listening to Soulsqn's explanation, the cat doctor frowned. A solemn expression graced his face as he fell into deep thought.
"I think we can find a loophole here," his big emerald eyes rolled as he continued to speak his mind, "Let's imagine this: if a player brought a mindless dog into a pocket dimension, would that make the dog a player? Also, similarly, your shoes wouldn't be a player, right?"
Even though Soulsqn felt that the logic was odd, she couldn't help but feel that what the cat doctor said made sense.
"But… we're living organisms with consciousness and self-awareness. The park will regard us as players once we step into the park," Soulsqn countered the cat doctor's logic with her own experiences.
"Regarding that issue," Meowie Hu slightly tilted his head and said confidently, "I might have an idea about how to solve it."
Chapter 338 - Getting A Master
"How should I describe this feeling?"
Lin Sanjiu had already been oxygen-deprived for three minutes. Her cheeks were turning very red and the veins on her forehead were starting to pop. Just as she hit her steering wheel and changed the direction of her kart, this rather irrelevant thought surfaced in her mind.
If she really had to describe her current feeling, she felt like she was a paraplegic who had been cured after many years. Or, perhaps, a very dusty porcelain vase which had been wiped clean.
—
"There are too many different abilities in the apocalyptic world. If you're over-reliant on your evolved abilities and Special Items, what will you do if you meet an enemy that is your natural bane… Do you know how many powerful posthumans I have killed?" Hei Zeji's voice seemed to be just beside Lin Sanjiu's ears. She could even hear the sort of cold laughter between his sentences. "Your own body is the true source of your strength."