The Strange Cat from Fuuto

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The ticking of the wall clock could be clearly heard inside the office. Philip, soaking wet, leaned against the doorframe, looking puzzled.

"Help Jian'er?"

Philip slowly pondered Asou Fuyumi's words and asked, "Why should I help him?"

"He's my enemy now!"

Asou Fuyumi walked up to Philip and said with a look of reminiscence, "We were originally known as the Rose Twins, and Kurata Kenji was my partner and my lover!"

"Although he is no longer the Jian'er I know, I still want to save him and help him!"

Even if he did something very outrageous to me!

"I wanted to help him too!"

"Why?!"

Philip touched his lips in confusion and asked, "He's been so deeply affected by Gaia's memory that he might not even be able to revert to his original form!"

"Why do you still want to save him?!"

Asou Fuyumi clenched her hands, tilted her head back, and her eyes gleamed with an inexplicable light. "Because he and I are partners!"

"If the price of saving him is becoming a demon, I'm willing!"

As she spoke, Fuyumi Aso stood up and bowed deeply to Philip, her long hair cascading down her back. She said, "So please help me, okay?"

"partner?!"

Philip touched his lips thoughtfully as he walked into the office. Looking at Asou Fuyumi standing by the door, Philip smoothed his damp hair. "I need information on Kurata Kenji, everything!"

"Even the smallest bits of information must be said!"

"I see!"

Fuyumi Aso bit her lip and nodded vigorously, expressing her gratitude.

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

As night fell, the Sonozaki mansion remained brightly lit, but every servant in the mansion stood steadfastly at their post with a tense expression. In the hall, the old man stood by the window, gazing at the silhouette of Fuuto in the dark night.

Saeko stood silently before the table, head bowed, a strand of hair playfully falling across her face. She dared not move, the wound on her right hand still throbbing. Yet, she dared not utter a sound. Normally, Saeko aimed to surpass her father, aspiring to become the Queen of the Museum. But at this moment, she truly understood what the pinnacle of the museum meant, what a terrifying emperor truly was!

"Saeko, what is our Sonozaki family?!"

The old man turned around and slowly asked, and Saeko replied without hesitation, "Father, our Sonozaki family is the family chosen by Earth!"

“That’s right!” The old man nodded, walked to the dining table, picked up a flower from the flower basket, smelled it lightly, and said softly, “But as the eldest daughter of the family, your actions have disappointed me greatly!”

“Wakana has always been like a child; she’s not ready to take over the family business. Kirihiko, being a son-in-law, is also unable to shoulder the family’s responsibilities!”

"Although Miku has gained intelligence and taken over some of the family's affairs, he is ultimately not human. He cannot understand human nature, nor can he act according to human principles!"

"You alone, as the eldest daughter, are the one who will be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the family in the future!"

"But what you've done has disappointed me greatly!"

"As a cadre, he actually lost his memory, and it was stolen by the lowest-ranking henchman!"

The old man's gentle words struck Saeko like a thunderclap, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. "Father, I can definitely set things right and get them back on track!"

"no need!"

The old man refused decisively, "I've already asked Miku to do it. You just need to behave yourself and focus on developing the new type of memory!" As he spoke, the old man gently blew on the flower, and the once vibrant bloom withered and died instantly. "The value of this flower lies in its embellishment, but once it withers, it has no value!"

"You need to understand this, Saeko!"

Saeko trembled even more violently, and as she spoke in a trembling voice, her tone was filled with fear. "I understand, Father!"

"Good that you understand!" With that, the old man walked unsteadily towards the door, shaking his head as he went. "Miku is still the most worry-free!"

Saeko raised her head, biting her lip hard, not caring that blood was spilling out. Her hands were clenched into fists, and her eyes showed intense resentment.

The wind under the night sky seemed quiet and desolate, howling through the streets like the wailing of ghosts.

Miku walked alone on the deserted streets, his back hunched, his eyes searching for traces of the audacious fellow from earlier that day.

"I should have known better than to let the water out. Now I have to come out and retrieve the memory. Normally, this would be a time for leisurely rest!"

With a sigh, Miku lightly leaped onto the roof. With another leap, he moved like Tarzan in the jungle, traversing back and forth in this steel jungle.

"Drip drip!"

A sharp cry rang out, and Miku stopped what she was doing. She took out a palm-sized communicator, and after answering it, the bell around Miku's neck jingled impatiently: "What...is it?!"

"Lord Miku, we've found traces of that guy from the field!"

"Alright?" Miku, his impatience fading from his crimson eyes, said coldly, "Keep an eye on him... and wait... for me!"

Miku, having put away his communicator, suddenly increased his speed, leaping between the tall buildings on all fours. Tanaka was the low-ranking officer who had brazenly taken the forbidden memory in full view of everyone. He was usually a quiet, reserved person, but no one expected him to be so audacious. He dared to openly steal a senior officer's memory.

In the darkness of night, a blood-red hybrid with the lower body of a centipede scurried back and forth in the alley, pursued and intercepted by one museum lackey after another.

"Hey, Tanaka! Don't make another mistake. It's not too late to turn back!"

Those who were on good terms with Tanaka were clamoring to persuade him to return, but the potency of the Golden Gaia Memory was unimaginable; every great power comes at a heavy price. Those who usually only talked about the Madoka family would use the Earth Driver in conjunction with their transformations to avoid being too deeply infected by the toxins, losing their rationality, and ultimately self-destructing.

Tanaka dared to use the Golden Memory simply because of the bio-interface in his neck. Without the assistance of the Earth Driver, his self-awareness would have been extinguished long ago. All that remains now is his obsession.

"Enough with the nonsense!" Tanaka stopped in his tracks, casually conjuring a spherical ball of energy with a flick of his wrist. His face contorted with rage, he spoke coldly, "No one will make me give up this power!"

"I want to use this power to climb to the top of the museum and then trample this city under my feet!"

Tanaka blasted his friend in front of him into ashes as he threw an energy ball. "See that? That's my power!"

"The power to control the life and death of others!"

Tanaka was shouting wildly, his centipede-like lower body writhing.

"Charge them!"

"We must keep Lord Miku in check before he arrives!"

Otate's voice rang clearly in everyone's ears. Otate stared intently at Tanaka on the screen, his face still expressionless, but his clenched fists revealed his inner turmoil.

As lower-level staff members of the museum, they had no choice but to rush forward after receiving orders from their superiors, having sold everything to the museum.

"A masked ball!"

The museum minions, each using their own memories, had their heads shake before being covered by a black and white, skeletal-shaped mask.

"what!"

The two leading figures exchanged a glance and then lunged forward. But it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; Tanaka swung his body, like the lower half of a centipede, swatting the two away as if swatting flies.

"Go, go, go!"

"Everyone, get up there!"

Wei Li's voice rang in everyone's ears, and faced with the order, they could only obey.

The surging crowd instantly submerged the field, people jostling, pressing, and piling on top of each other.

A glimmer of light flashed through the crack, and the next moment, a massive explosion resounded, illuminating the dark night sky. Tanaka stretched out his body, his lower body slithering with countless insect-like limbs, and climbed the wall, heading in one direction.

"Lord Odate, Tanaka is on his way here!"

Inside an SUV parked by the roadside, a staff member intently watching the screen reported nervously to Wei Li, "Ten seconds left, target reached!"

"Sir, let's run away quickly!" A man, his face pale with fear, trembled and clung to Wei Li's clothes, pleading desperately. Wei Li, however, remained unmoved, staring at the screen with his fists clenched.

"We must buy time for Lord Miku, even if it costs us our lives, we must hold him back until Lord Miku arrives!"

"You're so stupid!"

The pale-faced staff member shook off the tailgate and fled alone into the distance. He had barely run a hundred meters when a ball of energy pulverized him, reducing him to ashes.

The sight of a living person turning to ashes is truly shocking.

"Rip..."

The sounds of tearing continued. When Oetachi looked up, he saw that Tanaka had ripped the roof off the SUV. After discarding the roof, now reduced to scrap metal, Tanaka let out a sinister laugh.

"Lord Odate, it's been a long time!"

At that moment, a chilling voice rang out from behind Tanaka.

"Hand over...the memory...body!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Burning Earth Library!

Tanaka suddenly turned his head, his ugly face displaying a series of changing expressions.

Shock, fear, madness, hysteria...

In the end, all expressions merged into one: overwhelming killing intent.

"Miku!"

Roaring, Tanaka abandoned Ootori in the car, his centipede-like lower body suddenly contracted and then stretched out, his powerful leaping force propelling him toward Miku.

Swish!

Faced with Tanaka's attack, Miku retreated and disappeared in a blur, reappearing at the end of the street.

"Aren't you a cadre?" Tanaka Chizuki stalked around, shouting wildly, "You don't even dare to face me, and you still dare to call yourself a cadre?!"

"what?"

Miku, with his back hunched and hands hanging naturally at his sides, tilted his head to the side when he heard Tanaka's shouts.

"This... is a roundabout... approach, understand!?"

"idiot!"

hum!

A ball of energy the size of a human head quietly condensed in the palm of his right hand, and Tanaka's figure was reflected in his scarlet eyes.

"It's time...to end...this farce!"