Chapter 278: What a Formidable Cat! [Part 2]
Cillin told Wheeze to come back before returning to the safe zone beneath the tree. Neo had gone back to his lab to process the data they collected. There were some compressed food inside the cabinet that could be eaten after decompression. A display equipment in the living hall allowed them to see what was going on outside the base.
The group filled their bellies with decompressed food as they watched the scenery outside through the screen. Wheeze was the only one who didn’t eat with them because it had already had its fill while it was toying with the bio-soldiers earlier. Suddenly, Gu Xin’s queue caught its attention while it was licking its paws. After lifting its butt and stretching its back once, it ran to the back of Gu Xin’s chair and started playing with it.
Gu Xin used his spoon to block Wheeze’s paw, but it kept trying anyway as if it had found a new toy. The soldier shot Wheeze a dumbfounded glance when suddenly, Ah Shou — still burping while she drank her fruit juice — scratched her arms and whispered, “It’s about to hail.”
“Hmm?”
Cillin and Gu Xin looked at her in unison, causing the young girl to shrink back timidly. A burp later, she said again in a small voice, “A hail will come here in about an hour.”
Both men were very puzzled by her declaration. Even Gu Xin couldn’t be bothered to take offense with a certain cat that was taking advantage of his distraction and playing his queue with both paws. The weather looked fine, and they hadn’t sensed out of the ordinary while they were outside shooting bio-soldiers just now,
“Basing on past experiences, there’s a 99.99% chance that Ah Shou’s prediction will come true.” Neo had just walked out of his lab after he was finished processing his data.
“Would the hail affect this place?” asked Cillin.
“No, the buildings here are pretty reliable. However, the hail here normally lasts for five days, and —” Neo looked at Cillin and Gu Xin as he said this, “— the food here hadn’t been stocked with the lot of you in mind. It’ll be difficult to get out once it starts hailing, so I’d suggest you start stocking up on some food before it begins.”
Cillin and Gu Xin exchanged a glance with each other before they cleaned out the food ASAP and grabbed their gear. Before they took off, Neo passed them a list of plants and ingredients he needed them to gather like it was the only right thing to do.
Cillin’s eyelids twitched as he said, “We’ll see what we can do. If we happen to run into any of the stuff listed here, we’ll bring them with us.”
“Of course,” replied Neo nonchalantly before he went back to his room for a nap.
“If this was in the past, I would’ve beaten the shit out of that guy,” said Gu Xin after they left the base.
Neo’s tone was definitely a difficult thing to swallow, especially because he had no idea that he was offending the other person. Even a heartfelt praise would sound like sarcasm when it came out of Neo’s mouth.
“Is everyone in Black Viper a weirdo like him?” Gu Xin asked Cillin.
“I don’t know. However, these two are the only Black Viper members I ran into so far, and they are definitely weirdos.” If Cillin included that weirdo with a dissection fetish he hadn’t encountered yet — Hua Li — it would bring the count to three in total.
Cillin and Gu Xin set their sights on smaller animals they could take down quickly and easily. The meat were processed and put into bags to be brought back for heating later.
The duo moved very quickly, and after Gu Xin had regained his strength he was starting to display an extraordinary amount of skill. Smaller animals were barely able to put a dent in their energy, and they easily took out the two large-sized animals they encountered along the way with proper cooperation. Wheeze was out looking for nuts it could use to grind its teeth; it wasn’t interested in provoking animals after it had had its fill.
While Wheeze was packing its nuts, its ears suddenly perked up in attention. “Someone’s coming!”
Cillin and Gu Xin quickly hid themselves after the warning. Their bags had scent-isolating and camouflaging properties, and they were almost invisible after they had been disguised with grass cuttings and tree branches.
In his hiding spot, Cillin waited quietly as the newcomer came closer and closer. The man moved quickly like he was running away from something, and he was holding a bone blade. It was probably something he made after killing a large animal, and the bone looked tough enough to handle the average wild beast.
Gu Xin frowned after he saw the man’s face. It was him?
Cillin shot Gu Xin a glance after seeing his reaction: You know him?
Gu Xin blinked once in confirmation.
Lying on top of a tree, Wheeze noticed that another creature was coming their way. A roar shattered the silence of the forest immediately after.
The man swore in a low tone as he quickened his footsteps, searching for a place to hide as he ran. Suddenly, his gaze was attracted by Cillin and Gu Xin’s hiding spot, but it wasn’t because he had spotted the duo. Simply, it was one of the easier places to hide considering their surroundings.
Gu Xin shot Cillin another look that said that he wanted to handle this man himself. Cillin agreed.
The running newcomer suddenly paused in his tracks and swung his blade sideways. Prepared for the attack, Gu Xin easily deflected the blow and made a hand gesture that caused the newcomer to look distracted for a second. Although the newcomer still looked wary of Gu Xin, he couldn’t afford to ignore the danger that was probably just seconds away behind him. That was why he decided to follow Gu Xin’s lead for now and hide behind a shrubbery behind a hill.
The man had sprayed some plant liquid on himself to cover up his own scent, but its effects was fading because it had been some time since he last applied the spray. Gu Xin took it upon himself to reapply his spray, and the man didn’t reject his gesture. However, he never let go of his grip on his blade and was prepared to kill the second he sensed anything strange.
Although the man was clearly tired, he managed to adjust himself into a physical state that was well suited for concealment.
Not long later, a lizard-like creature about five meters tall crawled into view. Unlike the average lizard, this fellow had two pairs of nippers in front of it, a mass of standing spikes behind its back, and a body covered in thick, bony scales. It was obvious that this ferocious creature was no easy opponent.
The big fellow paused in its tracks as the two feelers above its head twitched. It was how it searched for its prey.
From the moment Cillin saw the feelers on the big fellow’s head, he knew that hiding was probably pointless before this big fellow. He shot Wheeze a glance, and Wheeze gave him a yawn in response.
Just when the big fellow was about to make way towards their hiding spot, a timely cry caught its attention and shocked Gu Xin and the newcomer.
The only reason Cillin wasn’t surprised was because he was prepared for it. After all, anyone would be frightened to hear a strange cat cry from right above their heads during such a tense moment.
Gu Xin’s eyes widened as he stared at Cillin. Is he planning to sacrifice his cat?
But Cillin clearly looked calm and unperturbed, so Gu Xin and the newcomer placed their attention to the front once more.
Wheeze ran towards the big fellow and quickened its pace suddenly. A gray flash later, the big fellow only had one feeler left. Wheeze shook its tail arrogantly as it held the feeler in its mouth.
Gu Xin, the newcomer: “...” What a formidable cat!
Wheeze started running away while still holding the big fellow’s feeler in its mouth. Angered, the big fellow roared and chased after Wheeze. It so happened that the roar was loud enough to knock some nuts off the trees.
Well, that makes the nut collecting a lot easier, Cillin thought to himself.
After the big fellow had gone far enough, Cillin and Gu Xin immediately started collecting the nuts on the ground while ignoring the other guy.
“It’s almost time. We need to get back!” said Cillin. They were ten minutes away from Ah Shou’s one hour time limit, and although Cillin had no idea how the hail of this place was like, he was sure that it wouldn’t be a pleasing experience. Best they got back to the safe zone while before it began.
Gu Xin nodded before looking at the other guy once more, “Are you coming with us, Erty?”
Erty shot Gu Xin, the guy who knew his identity and the youngster who was still collecting nuts a short distance away a wary glance. He knew that they were no ordinary people, but he had to admit that the situation wasn’t favorable to him. However, he still decided to turn down their offer because he didn’t trust easily.
“A hail is coming up very soon. I don’t think you’ll fare well in the state you’re in,” said Gu Xin before Erty could voice his rejection. The latter stared at Gu Xin as he tried to identify the truth behind his words.
“Let’s go!”
Cillin urged Gu Xin to leave again. Whether or not Erty decides to follow them was his own choice.
This time, Erty decided to follow the duo before they had gone far.
Wheeze had returned to the “treehouse” even before Cillin and Gu Xin. It was still holding the feeler with its mouth and pulling it happily with its claws.
Neo looked very unhappy when they returned with Erty. “Why do you guys enjoy carrying baggage back home so much?”
Ba… baggage?!
Erty felt like murdering someone. As far as he could remember, he had never been called a “baggage” until today. Erty felt like he could kill this thin bastard who had clearly just woken up from his sleep with just two fingers.
Luckily for everyone, Neo was still feeling sleepy. A toilet break later, he went back to his bedroom and slept some more.
Inside the living hall, Ah Shou shrank deeper into a corner of the sofa as she stared at the new murderous stranger. Her burping seemed to be starting up again.
Cillin directed Erty towards a room where medical supplies were placed in. He knew that Erty wouldn’t be comfortable to leave his treatment to another person.
While Erty went away to treat his wounds, Gu Xin filled in on Erty’s identity.
Erty was somewhat infamous in a circle in the seventeenth star region. There was a high ranking underground gang called the “Blood Orchid”, and its former leader had adopted Erty as his son a long time ago. Later on, some outside factors had instigated a civil war within “Blood Orchid” that resulted in the assassination of its former leader, and the beginning of Erty’s revenge.
In the next two years, several important gang members were assassinated by Erty. There were even a couple of extraplanetary government officials and nobles who made it to his kill list. Not long after, people started referring to Erty as the “Flower of Misfortune”.
“I heard that there was one time he was shot like a sieve, but there was no body to be found. A short time later, this fellow showed up again and successfully assassinated a couple of government officials who were participating in a star region meeting. Since then, Erty became the most wanted person in the entire seventeenth star region. However, Erty had vanished completely after the fact. He never showed his face again after his revenge was complete. I never thought that I’d see him in such a place.”
Erty, the Flower of Misfortune was probably dissatisfied with his nickname by virtue of his gender, but it was undoubtedly a nickname that struck fear in the hearts of some people in the seventeenth star region back then. To any noble who had partaken in that civil war back then, this name was the equivalent of a nightmare.