The Strange Cat from Fuuto

"Running so fast?!"

Miku shook his head and chuckled when he saw that Haidong was no longer in front of him. He wasn't some ferocious beast, so why did he have to run so fast?

"Since Anku and the others are coming back today, I might as well go ask them!"

As Miku turned to leave, he didn't notice that just by squatting there for a moment, four charred, plum blossom-shaped marks appeared on the asphalt road.

.........

In the mountain cabin, Daojiao staggered to the door. Looking at the dilapidated wooden house, a look of bewilderment appeared in his eyes.

"Lovefin, Lovefin, Lovefin, are you here?!"

In the nearly collapsed wooden house, besides the embers of the hearth fire, there was only a pool of cellular coins left behind when the shovel was taken away.

"Isn't it here?"

In the dim light of the thief's vision, there was no sign of Aifin. Feeling lost and helpless, he first absorbed the Cell Coins on the ground, then left the cabin to continue his search for Aifin.

"Aiqi, you'll be alright, you'll be alright!"

........

A multinational restaurant, Couscous.

Izumi Hina sat alone in the deserted shop. The shop manager was away on a trip, and Eiji had gone to find Anko. Now she was all alone. Apart from going to school, she could only sit blankly in the shop and wait for the others to return.

"Squeak..."

As the shop door hinges turned, two people she had been longing for came into view.

"Hina, we're back!"

Welcome back!

Before the smiling girl could even exchange pleasantries with Eiji and Ankh, an indescribable wave of heat appeared behind them at the shop entrance.

"Ugh, why is it so hot?!"

Feeling the noticeably rising temperature, Eiji touched his sweat-drenched forehead. Ankh sensed a terrifying aura brewing within the indescribable heat wave behind him.

"So it was you. I've brought this kid back. What about the reward you promised?" Anku, who had put his arm around Eiji, spoke to Miku in front of him. Miku glanced at Anku with slight surprise and pouted, "Before that, there's something I need to ask you!"

"If you can, come with me. Eiji, you too!"

Seeing Hina's sweat pouring down her face, Miku sighed and turned to walk out of the shop.

I need to resolve this power overload as soon as possible. If I'm going to stay in this state for the rest of my life, as Wang Xiaoming said, then I can forget about fulfilling my wish. I might as well find a place to stay and live out my life!

If ordinary people can hardly tolerate the high temperature emanating from their own bodies, then those around them will certainly feel uncomfortable as well. That's why Uncle Hongshang asked him to come out for a walk today.

If this continues, my daily life will completely collapse due to overload!

"Hey, what do you want to ask?"

Looking at Miku squatting in the distance, Anku spoke irritably. This guy came to find him but didn't mention the reward, and even treated him like a subordinate, ordering him around.

If I weren't so weak, I would have smashed you into a cat pancake!

"I want to ask you about the Zero Driver!"

While maintaining a safe distance from Eisanku, Miku quickly asked a question.

"Zero Driver, why are you asking this? Didn't I already tell you that using that thing will gradually turn you into a greedy person, and you'll be tempted by the coins to plunder even more coins!"

"That's not all!" Feeling the heat surging through his body, Miku squinted and said loudly. Anku raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion, "That's not all? What exactly do you want to ask?"

"What I want to ask is the real secret of the Zero Drive!"

"cut...."

Anku clicked his tongue and met Miku's golden eyes, but an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart. After a moment of silence, Anku said, "I don't actually know much, but I can tell you some things that those guys don't know."

"You, who cooperated with that king eight hundred years ago, must know something!"

Miku nodded, signaling the other to continue. Anku thought for a moment and recalled some distant memories, saying, "The Zero Driver is called Zero because it represents something from nothing!"

"Those who use it will inevitably be catalyzed by the Zero Driver, and this process is irreversible. After being catalyzed, people will begin to evolve rapidly. As for the fact that humans who use it will become greedy, I think you know better than I do, so I won't go into details!"

"The only thing I can truly tell you is that the Zero Driver was created by an alchemist eight hundred years ago to promote biological evolution. However, once evolution begins, it cannot be stopped. If it stops, the user will inevitably go berserk!"

"So that's how it is!"

After listening to Anku's words, Miku, who already had a better understanding of his situation, nodded and turned his gaze to Eiji beside him.

"Eiji, have you been feeling unwell lately?"

"uncomfortable?"

After subconsciously checking her own body and finding nothing wrong, Eiji smiled and said, "I don't feel unwell anywhere, thank you for your concern!"

"I see. Then you must tell me immediately if you feel unwell!"

"Ok!"

Miku glanced deeply at the grinning Eiji, then turned and left. He had learned what he wanted to know, and now it was time to do what needed to be done!

"Hey, wait!"

Anku suddenly spoke, staring intently at Miku, and said, "You promised me a reward, you haven't forgotten, have you!"

"Of course I haven't forgotten, but because of some things Aifin did, that little guy ran away, and I don't even know where he went, so you'll have to collect this reward by yourself!"

Miku turned and left without giving Anku any time to react. Watching Miku's figure disappear into the distance, Anku clicked his tongue and said with a displeased look, "I knew it wouldn't be that simple. In the end, I still have to handle this myself!"

.......

Hong Shang Foundation Headquarters Building, Top Floor Office

Miku brought his own sweltering heat into the room as he entered, causing Uncle Hongshang, who had just put on a formal suit, to look crestfallen.

"Miku, can't you go out for a walk more often?"

I'm back because I have something to do!

After finding his Zero Driver and Core Medal, Miku said to Uncle Hongshang, "I need to use the area downstairs in the old house for a while. Don't let anyone disturb me while I'm not coming out!"

Seeing Miku speak so seriously, Uncle Hongshang straightened his expression and said, "I understand!"

"Then I'm leaving!"

After watching Miku leave, Uncle Hongshang quickly unbuttoned his shirt, picked up a round fan and fanned himself, then called out to Richu, "Hurry up, Richu, turn on the air conditioner!"

"Ok!"

In just one minute, as the atmosphere inside the room became increasingly tense, sweat poured down Li Zhong's face, and even her makeup was ruined.

"If Miku doesn't solve this problem, we really won't be able to live like this anymore!"

Uncle Hongshang, waving a round fan, wiped away his sweat, nodded in deep agreement, and quickly touched up his makeup.

In the basement of Hongshang's old mansion, Miku, after taking the elevator down to this hidden underground space, looked at the charred claw marks he had left inside the elevator and sighed helplessly: "I have to deal with the problem on my body as soon as possible!"

Miku strolled over to the Gaia Fusion Device and looked at the device, which he had smashed in his excitement after completing the fusion, and couldn't help but feel a pang of nostalgia.

"My new life begins here, and I will definitely be able to walk out of here again!"

Chapter 76: Yet another honest man has fallen from grace!

Inside the underground space of Hongshang Old House.

A hexagonal halo, interspersed with golden specks amidst emerald green, emanated from Miku's body, and a constantly distorting shadow was projected onto the stone wall beside him.

After transforming, Miku's eyes were no longer scarlet; instead, they were filled with a hazy golden-red light. Many fine cracks appeared on his thick bio-armor, from which wisps of golden flames emerged, just like magma gushing from the earth's fissures.

Bathed in golden flames, Miku held three Cat-type Core Medals in his hands: Lion, Tiger, and Cheetah. The three golden Core Medals reflected a hazy light under the firelight emanating from Miku.

"Success or failure hinges on this!"

Miku suddenly threw three coins into his body. When the core coins touched Miku's chest, the hard bio-armor rippled like water, causing the three core coins to disappear into it.

"Well....."

As soon as the Core Medal entered his body, Miku groaned, a strange pain filling his golden eyes. Struggling to stay upright, he said mockingly, "It really does hurt a little!"

"But pain is good, it means my chances of becoming a greedy person are greatly reduced!"

Miku, who originally had no designs on the Core Medal, had everything decided the moment he obtained the Zero Driver. He originally wanted to infiltrate the movie to steal the replica that the Foundation had developed based on the Core Medal, but now he has no choice but to incorporate the real Core Medal into his body.

"I need to rest!"

A strange drowsiness surged up in Miku, and he slowly lay down on the ground, his eyes slowly closing. The flames surging from the fine cracks on his body became more concentrated, and a layer of golden film appeared on his skin.

Inside the cat's body, amidst a bloodless void, a golden Gaia Memory and three golden Core Medals confronted each other, with subtle sparks colliding between them.

Unaware that a silent yet extremely dangerous battle was raging within Miku's body, the slumbering Miku was unaware of what was happening inside him.

Only one side can survive this battle!

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

Outside the city, amidst the lush green mountains, a clear stream flows along the waterway, and several fry swim in the crystal-clear water.

"Snapped!"

A large foot covered in heavy armor stepped into the stream, startling the fish into scattering in panic.

A monstrous one-horned elephant-trunk-like figure, its lower body covered in silver-gray armor and its upper body a dark gray, straddled the stream. Everything was incredibly blurry in its dim vision, but within that blurry vision, a silvery glow emanating from a cellular coin pierced its eyes.

After searching for several days in the mountains following the lingering scent of Lovefin, Thief Horn finally found the last trace left by Lovefin in front of a mountain wall with a human-shaped indentation.

"Love Fins!"

The thief, kneeling dejectedly, picked up the scattered cell coins from the ground with both hands, his simple tone revealing a sense of sorrow.

"I can't live without you!"

"But why are you being so foolish? Can't I do it instead?!"

Holding the coin, the thief knelt on the ground, muttering to himself. The lingering scent of love fins abruptly stopped there, and even his not-so-bright mind understood what it meant.

While being chased by Miku, Aifin transferred the Core Medal and some of the Cell Medals from its body to its legs, burying them into the ground the moment it took a step.

This also meant that when Miku finally destroyed the Lovefin Core Medal and was collecting the ordinary Core Medals, he didn't find the Thief Medal.