The Strange Cat from Fuuto

"But Father!"

"Alright, that's enough. This matter is settled!"

Miku squinted at Saeko and said, "Then... I'll be looking forward to... taking care of you... from now on, Saeko!"

Saeko simply snorted in response, then turned and left without even finishing her meal.

Nothing happened that night, and before we knew it, it was the next day!

Miku, unusually dressed in a suit-like pet outfit and sunglasses, exuded an air of importance. Following Saeko and Kirihiko, Miku lay sprawled on the back seat as the car drove smoothly along the road.

"Since you're going to take over some of the affairs, then you need to know the rules of the house!"

Saeko spoke expressionlessly, and Miku glanced at her with droopy eyelids, saying, "I will...!"

"That would be perfect!"

As they were talking, the car stopped in front of a building. In front of the building was a stone tablet with the DG logo, and below the DG logo was the English word "Digal".

"This is one of the family's properties, and also the most important one!"

Looking up at the building, Saeko walked in first. Every employee along the way bowed respectfully. Although they were a little puzzled as to why their boss would bring a cat, their self-awareness as employees kept them quiet.

Saeko's office was incredibly spacious, with a golden ceiling reflecting off the spotless floor. A golden chandelier hung in the center, and behind her desk was a huge floor-to-ceiling window offering a panoramic view of Fuuto. The entire office had a minimalist style, yet it exuded the elegance and sophistication of its owner. It was truly a case of understated luxury.

"The most important thing you'll be doing in the Experiment Department is to safeguard it. After all, the Experiment Department is the most crucial part of memory development, and it cannot be lost!"

"no problem!"

Miku chuckled silently. The old man still didn't trust him. But then again, he was completely clueless about the family business, and a cat, no matter how intelligent, was useless without human knowledge and experience. So, he simply gave him a sinecure?

"Although Father has entrusted you with this responsibility, for the sake of the family, I cannot allow you to act recklessly. Therefore, the responsibility of guarding the Experiment Department rests with you!"

"Oritachi, take him there!"

"Yes!"

Otachi, who had appeared in the office at some unknown time, respectfully said yes, and stepped aside to lead the way, saying, "Lord Miku, this way please!"

Led by Otachi, Miku took the elevator down to the deepest part of the earth, where the laboratory was located.

Upon exiting the elevator, Miku was first greeted by a long corridor made of steel and concrete. After passing through the corridor, behind one series of brightly lit doors lay an underground space larger than a football field.

Miku was on a high platform with steps leading down to one side. Looking down, he could see groups of staff members dressed in sterilized lab coats, completely covered up, working in an orderly fashion.

"This is Lord Miku, who has come to take over this place. I've heard so much about him!"

A middle-aged man in a white coat came up the stairs. He started laughing loudly before he even arrived, appearing very bold. However, Miku could feel the coldness emanating from this man. His eyes, hidden behind gold-rimmed glasses, were filled with a chilling light. Besides coldness and curiosity, he showed boundless malice towards Miku!

A ruthless executioner who disregards life—that was Miku's first impression of the head of the experimental department.

"Who... is this person?"

"How rude of me! I haven't even had a chance to introduce myself!"

"My name is Sougo Ichiro, and I am the manager here. Now that Lord Miku has arrived, we no longer need to worry about the safety of this place!"

"Ok!"

After saying that, Miku turned his head and looked down at the experimental department. In the original work, the museum's experimental department was only briefly seen, almost never, so Miku was very interested in this place.

The underground space, as spacious as a football field, was bathed in the intense light of large fluorescent lights. The air was thick with the smell of disinfectant. Individual cubicles were separated by frosted nylon curtains, and staff in sterile suits stood guard at their posts. Some were cautiously performing bio-injection procedures, while others meticulously recorded information from the machines. Meanwhile, suited personnel patrolled the corridors above.

"Lord Miku, what do you think of this place? Isn't it magnificent?"

"Ok!"

Sougo Ichiro approached Miku, his glasses reflecting light so that his eyes were hidden, but Miku, with his animalistic instincts, could clearly sense the thirst for knowledge and... malice in Sougo Ichiro's eyes.

Which researcher wouldn't be interested in a cat with intelligence, especially one that has mutated under the influence of its memory? If Miku weren't a member of the Sougo family, she would probably have been dragged onto the lab table by Sougo Ichiro and studied a thousand times over!

"What...am I supposed to do?"

The bell around Miku's neck jingled, emitting intermittent, cold, mechanical sounds. Sougo Ichiro placed his hand on the railing and said with a smile, "There's nothing for you to do. Normally, lower-level combat personnel are responsible for security, and they'll suppress any trouble that might occur. But... if anything unexpected happens, then we'll need your help!"

"it is good!"

Chapter 18: The Demon Scientist: Sougo Ichiro!

In the basement of the DG building in Fengdu, there is an incredibly spacious testing ground.

On a raised platform, in a cat's nest, Miku listlessly played with his tail, sprawled out in a ball. He wanted to do something, but under the watchful eye of that bespectacled man, the entire experimental department was proceeding smoothly. He couldn't get anything done!

"How's the experiment with the new type of memory going?!"

Wearing a white lab coat, Sougo Ichiro paced back and forth in the testing grounds like a king inspecting his kingdom. The experimenters following him quickly replied, "After using up thirty-five test subjects, it's almost perfect!"

"Not enough, keep going!"

"I don't want near-perfection, I want absolute perfection!"

Stopping in his tracks, Sougo Ichiro spoke slowly, a cold glint in his eyes. The lab technician, sweating profusely under Sougo Ichiro's gaze, quickly agreed.

"Yes, Lord Sougo Ichiro!"

"If you don't have enough test subjects, keep looking. Those guys at the police station always bribe you with so much money, and they still drag their feet. Go find a few people and warn them!"

"understood!"

The lab technician, head bowed, took a few steps back, turned, and left. His face, dripping with sweat, was filled with lingering fear. Thankfully, the experiment hadn't gone wrong; otherwise, he would have been in deep trouble. No one who worked with this guy could survive more than three days; he always found fault with them and threw them onto the operating table. But what could he do?

Since joining the museum, the darkest place in the city, everyone has entrusted everything to it. They can only work obediently; those who disobey will face consequences, as the cat on the high platform is not one to be trifled with.

Although they had heard of the organization's executioner, they never expected it to be a cat. They had conducted animal experiments before, but each test subject would instantly lose their mind and become a complete beast the moment the memory was implanted. This cat was truly amazing!

"Sigh, these young people nowadays, they're getting worse with each passing year!"

Listening to the footsteps fading away behind him, Sougo Ichiro pushed up his glasses. "I really miss those days!" He shook his head unconsciously and looked up at the platform, where he could vaguely see a corner of Miku's cat house.

"How curious!" Sougo Ichiro's eyes gleamed with curiosity, but he quickly suppressed it. "It's a pity it's Mr. Ryubei's cat, otherwise, I really want to know what kind of changes this cat's brain has!"

"such a pity!"

With a sigh, Sougo Ichiro continued his inspection, walked to a private room, lifted the curtain, and went inside.

A test subject dressed in white, his hands and feet bound, stared in terror at a white-coated man holding a biological injection gun beside him.

"Please, spare me!"

"I don't want to die!"

"I still have family waiting for me!"

The lab subject in the white coat pleaded for mercy, but the lab officer remained unmoved, coldly inserting a memory chip in its experimental stage into the bio-injection gun and injecting it into the subject's arm. Bio-link port generated perfectly!

"bean!"

The memory chip beeped, and the lab coat pressed it directly onto the test subject's arm. A greenish tinge appeared at the interface.

Its whole body glowed with a yellowish-green light, and disgusting lumps grew all over its body.

The tumor spread, and the experimental subject quickly lost his life.

"continue!"

After observing the experiment, Sougo Ichiro was very cold-hearted. This memory had been tested thirty times, but all of them had failed without exception.

"We're running out of mice, so tell those mouse catchers to hurry up!"

"Yes!"

........................

Saeko, wearing her high-heeled shoes, walked into the experimental department. As soon as she stepped out the door, she saw Miku's cat bed. Miku opened her eyes, glanced at Saeko, then turned and crawled into the cat bed, leaving Saeko with only her round buttocks.

I just don't like you, what can you do about it?

They won't even show you their face!

Hum（`へ′*）ノ!

Saeko frowned as she watched Miku's behavior. He was becoming more and more like a child!

When they need my help, they call me Little Flower; when they don't, they're like Mrs. Cow!

Behind Saeko was a long-haired man in a jacket. After entering, the man kept looking around, as if searching for a way to break through the defenses.

"If you can't control your eyes, then you shouldn't have one!"

Sougo Ichiro had been notified in advance. When he arrived at the platform, he saw the long-haired man in the jacket looking around with a very suspicious gaze.

"Mr. Sougo, have you prepared the things I asked you to prepare?"

Saeko stood between Kurata Kenji and Sougo Ichiro. She couldn't let this experimental maniac throw Kenji onto the lab table, the person she'd finally found. Sougo Ichiro was an old man who'd been with the old man since the museum's early days; sometimes he wouldn't even give her face. If she really angered him, Kurata Kenji would definitely be thrown onto the lab table and die a miserable death. This wasn't unprecedented; many of his previous test subjects had been provided as a favor.

Thinking about this, Saeko questioned whether her actions had been inconsiderate. After all, bringing an outsider into the museum's most important testing ground was a recipe for disaster; success would be fine, but failure would be a major headache. But she had already brought the person in; she couldn't just kill him.

Let's take it one step at a time!

Saeko thought to herself, then glanced at Sougo Ichiro before saying, "Alright, Mr. Sougo, everyone's time is precious, let's finish this quickly!"

"Hey, Saeko-sama, it's been so long since you've been to my testing ground. As for the memory, there's no rush, no rush!"

"Let me show you around first!"

Sougo Ichiro looked at Saeko with a fake smile, which Saeko completely ignored. That's just how he is; he always wears the same expression except when he's with the old man.

"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer!"

Accompanied by Kurata Kenji, Saeko followed behind Sougo Ichiro. After descending the platform, she said to an approaching lab technician, "Bring me the adapter detector!"

"Yes!"

"Wait a minute, and bring that thing over while you're at it!"

After glancing at Kurata Kenji, Sougo Ichiro spoke again, and Saeko asked, somewhat puzzled, "What is it?"

Let's leave this as a mystery for now!

Upon hearing this, the lab technician couldn't help but look at Kurata Kenji with pity, and hurriedly ran to fetch the compatibility detector and a tool that the lab had just developed. Several times before, all the new recruits had been thrown onto the testing table by Sougo Ichiro under various pretexts, and those who didn't end up worse off than those who did! Thinking about it now, the lab technician still felt a chill run down his spine! Those reckless individuals were either thrown into the cell where experimental subjects were held, or forcibly injected with memory on the spot, their bodies then dissolving. After several such experiences, the new recruits who arrived with these lessons learned extinguished any ulterior motives they might have. They worked cautiously, fearing that one day Sougo Ichiro would grab their arms and inject them with an unsuccessful memory.

"bring it on!"

Sougo Ichiro led the way, showing Saeko and Kurata Kenji around the place. A round cat's head emerged from a high platform, its emerald green eyes fixed intently on Sougo Ichiro. Saeko looked at the familiar yet unfamiliar scenery, especially a cage containing lab rats used for experiments. Inside the cage, seven or eight men and women, their faces filled with despair, lay or sat numbly. She asked with some doubt, "Why did you put these experimental subjects here alone?!"