The Strange Cat from Fuuto

Startled, Silly Orange looked around, his expression suddenly turning to horror and anger. "You eat people?!"

“We have no choice. In this situation, every bite we eat is one less bite we have left.” The little girl, stroking the silly orange face, said softly, “But don’t worry, I won’t waste you. We will make full use of your body and leave nothing behind.”

"Yes, the muscle will be used for pan-fried dumplings, the fat for soup, the offal for sliced ​​dishes, and the bones for ramen. We won't waste your resources!"

"you....."

Silly Orange, unsure of what to say, remained silent. He had thought he was mentally prepared through the memories of his other self, but the harsh reality here far exceeded his expectations.

"Oh dear, there's just no way to deal with Silly Orange's naive personality!"

After observing for a while, Miku sighed a few times, clearly disgusted by what he saw.

Adding to the side effects of the anesthetic these people are using, if I don't take care of him, this guy might really become a dish.

"However, if he dies now, I will have one less competitor."

A cold glint flashed in Miku's eyes as he glanced at the limp Sha Cheng and the unconscious Gao Siwu on the ground. Miku's lips curled up, revealing his sharp teeth.

"Poor little thing..."

After giving Silly Orange a pitying look, Miku turned and left, saying, "I'll come back later to collect your body and avenge you while I'm at it!"

The cat, muttering to itself, transformed into a stream of data and floated out of the bar. Just outside the door, the man paused, then shook his head and chuckled, "The protagonist is the protagonist; he always manages to escape danger!"

A squad from the World Tree, led by a face that Miku recognized very well, passed him and rushed into the bar.

"In any case, welcome to Sawame City, a place known for its friendly and kind people!"

After a strange glint appeared in the cat's eyes, it disappeared at the bar entrance.

Chapter 58: The Third Phase Begins!

Having left the bar, the cat naturally wouldn't care about Uncle Durian rescuing Silly Orange, and besides, this Silly Orange wasn't the same person he used to know.

Although he didn't know exactly what had happened, Miku could tell that the silly orange in front of him was very different from the one he knew, both in his eyes and his behavior.

However, these things have nothing to do with Miku anymore. Since he has decided to step into this quagmire, he should be prepared to be submerged.

Moreover, in Miku's view, when he clearly stated that he wanted to participate in the battle for the fruit, then everyone became his enemy.

There is only one path left between the cats and them: a life-or-death struggle!

The cat, whose body had transformed into a stream of data, randomly found a small spatial crack and slipped inside. He had something to discuss with Bai Ya.

Having returned to normal after arriving at the throne room, Miku looked at the cat that had suddenly appeared on the throne and asked, "What's wrong? Finished venting your emotions?"

"It doesn't really matter how you handle this. Instead of venting your emotions to someone, you should seriously think about how to deal with what comes next."

"So what came to mind?"

"It's simple, start the third stage of the survival game!" The cat narrowed its eyes, its killing intent exploding. Seeing this, Bai Ya asked with interest, "What do you plan to do?"

“Shrink their area of ​​operation, deploy more inves, then let them fight each other, and select the survivors.”

“This will result in many deaths.” After keenly sensing the murderous intent in Miku’s words, Baiya warned, “I’m afraid even the snake will be unhappy with you.”

"So I will give them two choices."

A mysterious light flashed in the cat's eyes as its two front legs were crossed and overlapped, and its lips curled up to reveal its sharp fangs.

"One is life, the other is death!"

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

On the streets of Sawame City, Uncle Durian and his World Tree team "protected" Silly Orange and Gao Siwu in the middle, but judging from their posture, it seemed more like a hostage situation than an escort.

"Hey, sir. Can't you really give me the driver back?"

"For your safety and the safety of others, World Tree has temporarily confiscated your driver!"

Uncle Durian, who spoke ruthlessly into the cold storage room, had a hint of mockery in his eyes. Their team's mission, besides gathering more refugees, was to confiscate the drives scattered among the people.

Firstly, it was to reduce fighting and casualties, since people who suddenly gained the power would often do many foolish things under its control.

Uncle Durian has seen this kind of thing many times. The cannibalistic family that was wiped out today is one example. There were even people who used the power of the Sengoku Driver to kidnap women on a large scale and force them to become their female slaves, creating a large harem.

After the driver of the kid named Itō was taken away and brought back to the World Tree base, he was castrated within a few days.

"But..." Silly Orange wanted to argue a bit more, but Uncle Durian pointed his saw sword at him and said with a half-smile, "I advise you to save your energy. After all, it's already a big favor that I didn't kill you on the spot."

"If you keep talking, I might just put a few holes in you!"

"Um..." Silly Orange wanted to say a few more words, but Gao Siwu covered his mouth before he could. Uncle Durian smiled with satisfaction, "This little girl is so sensible, unlike you, a grown man, babbling on and on like a woman!"

After saying that, Uncle Durian flicked his pinky finger, sheathed the saw sword at his waist, and swayed his hips, saying, "Let's go, we're not far from our base!"

The rest of the journey was silent, but Silly Orange couldn't help but feel a lot of complaints about Uncle Durian's swaying waist.

But the situation is beyond his control, so he can only keep it to himself.

The World Tree's base was built using resources gathered from various branches before Miku was sealed off, after the surrounding debris was cleared.

At first glance, it resembled a military camp, with barbed wire fences carrying high-voltage electricity enclosing the entire World Tree base. There were access cards at the entrance and a small team of shadowy figures stationed there.

After handing over with the stationed Shadow Squad, Uncle Durian led Silly Orange and Gao Siwu into the camp. Uncle Durian pointed at Silly Orange and Gao Siwu and said, "Take them to a place to settle down. I'm going to report to the director!"

"Yes, Captain!"

Uncle Durian, carrying the Silly Orange Driver and Lockseed, headed straight for the center of the base, the area where the World Tree Foundation's original personnel were located, and also the second ring of the base. The first ring was the area for storing supplies.

Soldiers and those who surrendered, such as the durian tree, lived in the third ring, the fourth ring was the logistics area, and refugees lived in the outermost fifth ring.

The entire base was well-organized and orderly, with each section interconnected.

"Wow, so many people!"

Escorted by shadowy soldiers behind him, Sha Cheng arrived at the Fifth Ring Road and saw the bustling refugee residential area. Sha Cheng sighed with emotion.

However, when he saw the children running back and forth on the roadside, Sha Cheng touched his back with a bit of fear. Who would have thought that the little girl from before was actually a member of a cannibalistic family, and not only that, but an adult as well.

As for her appearance, she's a forever-young girl. She even used to work for some adult entertainment companies.

Just before Sha Cheng and Gao Siwu arrived at their destination, a clear female voice, filled with disbelief, reached Sha Cheng's ears.

"Kouta, is that you, Kouta?!"

"elder sister?!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Sha Cheng turned his head and saw his sister, Ge Yejing. Ge Yejing, who was carrying a basket, appeared much plumper than the sister Sha Cheng remembered.

Overjoyed, Ge Yejing ran up to Sha Cheng and, without even bothering with the basket in her hand, dropped it on the ground, looking at Sha Cheng with delight.

"Madam Wu Dao!" Upon seeing Ge Yejing, the shadowy soldier immediately straightened his posture. Gao Siwu keenly grasped the key point and asked with surprise and uncertainty, "Madam Wu Dao?"

"This one..."

Kuzuha Akira, who tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, smiled and said, "A lot happened after I broke up with Kouta!"

"However, since we've met again, that's better than anything!"

"Let's go to my place first!" Ge Yejing, leading Sha Cheng and Gao Siwu, headed straight for the second ring, and the shadowy soldier didn't dare to stop her. He could only watch as Ge Yejing swaggered away with the two of them.

Inside the director's office, Uncle Durian placed the Silly Orange driver on his desk. After glancing at the driver, the director said in surprise, "This is...."

"It was a pleasant surprise. When we were wiping out that cannibalistic family, we rescued two victims. We thought they were just unlucky people, but we didn't expect one of them to be a knight with a driver."

"Oh, I see. Then take the drive to the supplies area for safekeeping, and go get some rest." The director smiled at Uncle Durian, "You've been working hard lately!"

"I'm paid to do this too, so there's no such thing as being tired or not. It's all part of my job!"

After giving the director a salute, Uncle Durian left his office with the driver.

But just a few seconds after leaving, Uncle Durian rushed back in, panicking, and said, "Director, something terrible has happened!"

"What's wrong now?"

Before Uncle Durian could speak, a thunderclap exploded outside, a hint of doubt appearing in the director's eyes.

"Ruler?!"

Upon hearing that extremely familiar voice, the director's expression changed, and he hurriedly ran out of the office, looking up at the sky.

A colossal, godlike phantom stretched across the sky, its merciless and cold eyes silently fixed on Sawame City.

Within the illusory image, Miku stood quietly. Behind him, a spatial rift opened, and Bai Ya, seated on the throne, rested his chin on his hand, looking at Miku.

"My surviving knights, first of all, I congratulate you on surviving and gaining the qualification to enter the next stage." Miku went straight to the point, looking down at the city below. In his view, many people were peeking out of their shelters and looking at the sky.

A sound as loud as thunder roared echoed throughout the entire city of Sawame as Miku opened and closed her mouth:

"And now, I declare the second phase over, and the third phase begins!"

Miku's words caused an uproar. The director looked at Miku in shock and said, "There's a third stage?"

"This game probably won't stop until a true winner is determined!" Zhanji Lingma walked to the director's side with his hands in the pockets of his white coat, followed by Momoko and Sid.

"I wonder what the third stage will be like. I've been holed up in the base the whole time, and my bones are starting to ache!" Sid adjusted his hat, speaking in a rather relaxed tone.

Sha Cheng, who was accompanying Ge Yejing, was just as shocked as the director, except that his eyes were full of disbelief.

"Even though I've seen it in my memory, it's only when I truly face it that I realize how insignificant I am!"

"What are you saying, Kouta?"

"It's nothing, sister." Silly Orange, looking a little uneasy, subconsciously touched her heart.

At the Baron camp, Ao Jiao looked at Miku in the sky with a grim expression. He had been conserving his energy in preparation for the trial that Zhen Hong had mentioned, but unexpectedly, things had changed and the third stage was about to begin.

In the sky, a cacophony of buzzing sounds, like the flapping of mosquito wings, echoed in Miku's ears. With a hint of impatience in his eyes, he said, "Silence!"

Before the commotion subsided, Miku continued, "In the third phase, the incompetent knights will be eliminated, leaving only the truly strong."

"Once the third phase begins, I will continue to shrink your area of ​​activity until the final ten are determined!"

“And during this process, I will appropriately increase the difficulty for you, as for the other residents of Sawame City…” Miku paused for a moment before continuing, “I have left you a way out.”

"A spatial passage leading to the outside world will open within Sawame City; that will be your only way to survive!"

After waiting quietly for a few seconds, Miku decisively announced, "Therefore, I declare: Phase Three begins!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a flash of blue light appeared in Bai Ya's eyes behind him.

Countless vines suddenly sprouted from the ground around Sawame City, growing rapidly until they formed a green circular canopy that enveloped the city.