The Strange Cat from Fuuto

Having held a high position in the museum for many years and handled matters with great care, Saeko was naturally not a soft-hearted person; her hands were stained with blood, directly or indirectly. However, Sougo Ichiro's actions still puzzled her.

"Just some entertainment!"

Without turning around, Sougo Ichiro said, "The Gaia Memory contains toxins that resonate with a person's negative emotions, thus dragging the user into the abyss."

"So here's a hypothetical scenario: what interesting reactions would occur when someone who has already fallen into the abyss uses the Gaia Memory?"

"Stepping into the abyss!?"

Saeko, vaguely sensing Sougo Ichiro's thoughts, muttered to herself, "What a perverse fellow!"

"I'll show you a good show!"

Sougo Ichiro walked up to the cage, knocked on the bars, and said in a flippant tone, "Come on, let's get moving. The winner today gets a three-day extension!"

Those who heard Sougo Ichiro's words showed hope in their eyes. They all knew what kind of hell this was, where they struggled to survive on the brink of life and death every day.

Chaos erupted immediately inside the cage as everyone fought desperately. One of the women even used her teeth to bite a ragged man, quickly biting off his ear.

You're playing with fire!

Saeko warned in a serious tone, "What you're doing is an abuse of your power!"

"It's just a waste of precious experimental materials. You know, even our museum can't squander experimental subjects like that!"

"Oh, is that so!"

Sougo Ichiro waved to a lab technician, instructing him to deliver the latest experimental data to Saeko. Upon receiving the data, Saeko's beautiful eyes widened instantly, filled with disbelief.

"How did you do that? How did the experiment achieve such a high level of completion?!"

"As it turns out, as long as you achieve results, no matter what methods you use, Mr. Ryūbei will just laugh it off!"

When the old man is mentioned, Sougo Ichiro's eyes light up with fervor; to him, the old man is his god!

As they spoke, the deathmatch in the cage was coming to an end, and the woman who had been tearing at her opponent with her teeth was still standing there.

"Clap clap clap!"

"That was fantastic!"

Sougo Ichiro clapped his hands, "Congratulations on getting three more precious days!"

"I don't care what you want to do to me, I just want to see my daughter!" The woman gripped the railing, blood trickling from her mouth. "I just want to see my daughter!"

"Then live to the end, and you'll get everything you want!"

With a seductive tone, Sougo Ichiro instructed his men to select the losers to be used as experimental subjects, while the winners would receive medical care, food, and water.

Kurata Kenji's back was completely soaked with cold sweat as he witnessed all of this. In his eyes, Sougo Ichiro was the very embodiment of a demon, someone who disregarded, toyed with, and trampled on life. Thinking back to his own suicidal actions at the beginning, cold sweat poured down his back.

"Lord Sougo, I've brought the things!"

At this moment, the previous experimenter presented two items to Sougo Ichiro on a tray. One was a machine resembling an arm guard, with a playing card-sized LCD screen in the center and several interconnected pipes. The other was a strange square frame capable of embedding Gaia Memory.

"Then let's try it on this friend right away!"

"Ok!"

The experimenter quickly put the arm guard-like thing on Kurata Kenji's hand. After importing the data, a series of data streams flowed on the LCD screen, and finally identified it as a memory starting with the letter "A" composed of a gun and a dagger.

"arm?!"

"Looks like you're in luck!"

As Sougo Ichiro sent someone to retrieve the ARM Gaia Memory, he handed the strange square to Kurata Kenji, his tone enticing, "If you want even greater power, try this!"

"I promise you won't be disappointed!"

Kurata Kenji swallowed hard and struggled to put away the square. At this moment, Sougo Ichiro was nothing less than a devil tempting people to evil.

Chapter Nineteen: The Well of the Earth

Beneath the DG building lies a hidden experimental field unknown to most.

Behind the blurry frosted glass was a hunched figure. As the hunched figure moved, its shape twisted and its size shrank. After a flash of light, a round-headed British Shorthair cat walked along the corridor and boarded the elevator.

A middle-aged man in a suit with a stiff face was already waiting at the elevator entrance. After seeing the British Shorthair come out, he followed the cat without saying a word.

After they got in the car, Miku lay down on a soft cushion in the back seat, tucked his paws in, and closed his eyes as if he were dozing. While he was pretending to be asleep, Miku's mind was racing. He had been guarding the experimental department for almost half a month and hadn't done anything. He just lay there in a daze every day. Fortunately, the treatment was not bad, except for the strong smell of disinfectant.

Miku had a rough idea of ​​what Sougo Ichiro was thinking. As the first animal to develop intelligence from his memory, he left himself in the experimental department to observe more. Since he couldn't dissect him to find the cause, this guy could only watch and enjoy the spectacle!

Today, at that guy's request, Miku even maintained his transformed state for a whole day!

There hasn't been any news about the guy Saeko brought before. I knew it was him when I saw Kurata Kenji in Miku. After all, the experience monster that first appeared in W's Fang Mode still left a deep impression on Miku.

"I didn't expect the plot to have progressed this far!"

"Fang, I really want to see his debut!"

"Speaking of which, Kurata Kenji didn't get that in the original story, but now he has it. What direction will the plot take next?"

Miku's mind was racing with questions, but the next moment he shook his head vigorously. His priority now was to stay put, not to worry about or ask anything, and to maintain his persona... no, his cat persona!

"This is so boring, this kind of life is like raising pigs!"

Miku, lamenting the hardships of life, didn't notice that while he was lost in thought, the car pulled into the Sonozaki mansion and stopped in front of the main gate. Oritachi opened the door for Miku and waited quietly for him to get out of the car.

Miku, having disembarked, flicked its tail, and the bell around its neck jingled: "Go back... now."

"Yes!"

After watching Otachi leave, Miku wagged his tail and walked slowly with cat-like steps. After passing through a small garden, Wakana stood there with her hands on her hips, looking furious.

"Miku!" Wakana rushed over and grabbed Miku's ear, yelling at him with a resentful look, "What have you been doing lately? Why haven't you been here when I've been looking for you?!"

"Work...work, work!"

Having broken free, Miku squatted on the spot, tilting his head to the side, constantly fiddling with his ear with one paw. Wakana's touch was incredibly painful; Miku felt as if his ear was about to be ripped off.

"What kind of job do you, a cat, have!"

Even if Father tells you to take over the family affairs, there's not much you can actually do!

Wakana was really furious this time. Ever since the old man announced that Miku would take on some of the work, Wakana hadn't seen Miku at all. Sometimes when they met, she would only see Miku's figure disappearing around the corner in a hurry.

"I...want...to...be with you, but...I...can't!"

Miku, looking worried, softly said to Wakana, "I...will definitely...have time...to be with...you!"

"I need to take... a day off!"

Miku tilted his head back, his eyes wide open, a strange light gleaming in his emerald green pupils. Seeing Miku's pitiful appearance, Wakana could only suppress her anger, picking him up and saying fiercely, "I'll let you off this time, but watch out next time!!"

Wakana, gently stroking Miku's chin with her fingers, carried Miku into the house. Just as they turned a corner, Wakana and Miku, one human and one cat, saw the old man standing there with his hands behind his back, smiling broadly.

"Wakana, Daddy needs to borrow your rice for a while!"

"Come here, Miku, I'll show you something!"

As he spoke, he took Miku from Wakana's arms. Wakana, still pouting, complained, "Father, Miku just got back, can't you let him spend more time with me?!"

"That won't do. Miku has taken over part of the family business, and there are some things he needs to know. I'm going to take him there next!"

"Then you can go!"

After abruptly leaving a remark, Wakana turned and went back to her room. Watching her retreating figure, the old man shook his head and chuckled softly, "Wakana is really childish!"

Miku, held in the old man's arms, looked curious, but she already had a guess in her heart. "It seems that the thing I need to know is there!"

While pondering, Miku was carried by the old man into a "dead end" inside a house. It was called a "dead end" because it was just a bookshelf used as decoration to block the way. In Miku's memory, the Sonozaki mansion was so big that it was practically a maze. The total area of ​​the mansion alone was probably the size of an elementary school, not to mention the magnificent mansion itself. It was full of twists and turns, and if you didn't know the way, it would be easy to get lost. When Miku first came here, it took him a long time to figure out where he was.

"You'd better remember this place; it's very important!"

As he spoke, the old man flipped a switch on a nearby light. The light came on, and with a crisp click of a mechanism turning, the bookshelf silently flipped inward, revealing an elevator illuminated by a dim yellow light. Stepping into the elevator, Miku felt himself plummeting downwards. When it came to a stop, he found himself in a long corridor made entirely of concrete, with fluorescent lights embedded in the ceiling. Beyond the corridor lay a vast underground space.

This underground space is supported by thick stone pillars carved with strange patterns, and the walls are covered with obscure reliefs. Even the decorative patterns here can make people dizzy.

"Where...am I?!"

Miku, with the eagerness of a curious child, couldn't wait to ask, "Is it...like...the Experiment Department?"

Miku's shocked and curious expression made the old man laugh again. Holding Miku, the old man swayed as he walked towards the center of the underground space, saying, "You've been here before, but you didn't have any wisdom back then!"

"I...have...been here before?!"

On the surface, Miku is just a curious kid, but he's actually putting on a spectacular acting show. Since transmigrating, Miku has been acting all the time. In order to avoid being noticed, to avoid being put on the experimental table, and to avoid arousing suspicion, he can now pass any audition for any film crew with ease. After all, he doesn't have to die to play a movie role, but if he slips up here, he'll be in big trouble!

Finally, the old man led Miku to the true location of the museum: a well embedded in the ground. This well had clearly been modified; at least in Miku's memory, it was originally a buried, dry well, but it was awakened when young Philip fell into it.

The well, now partially exposed above ground, is made of alloy, with eight vertical bars embedded at the wellhead, and a computer connected to this Earth Well.

The old man casually placed Miku aside, walked to the computer, and tapped a few times on the keyboard. A stream of green data shot straight up from the wellhead of the Earth Well, touching the ceiling. The emerald green data reflected the light and shadow on Miku's furry face.

Welcome to the museum!

"Miku!"

The old man raised his hands high, watching the gushing data stream, his face full of fervor.

"This...is...a real...museum?!"

Miku stared intently at the data stream gushing from the well, his emerald green eyes reflecting the data. In that instant, Miku seemed to see the real Earth, the real world!

Chapter Twenty: Kurata Kenji Gets a Severe Beating!

Plants flourish, life multiplies, birth and death alternate, the cycle continues endlessly, history advances, and the times progress...

In an instant, Miku seemed to see how the original Earth nurtured life, how life propagated, how life evolved, and how life flourished. A single glance could span a thousand years; from the initial lifelessness to the prosperous human society of today, a steel jungle built of reinforced concrete.

Within it, Miku even saw the source of his memory's power—the saber-toothed tiger—and witnessed how it evolved, survived, and became extinct. He also saw countless pieces of knowledge and the rise and fall of human civilization.

"How about that? Isn't it amazing?!"

"That's exactly what I thought when I first saw it!"

"Earth's memory is truly an amazing thing!"

The old man smiled as he looked at the dazed Miku. After waiting for him for a long time, when Miku came to his senses, he found that the Well of Earth had already returned to calm, and what had just happened seemed like a dream.