Chapter 144 – Cat Dad’s Endless Enemies
CRACKLE
A silhouette of a humanoid cat climbed out from the rubble. His tentacles wrapped around his two cats, shielding them from the intense fire.
A faint blue aura around Xiaomao maintained his body temperature, and water continued to drip from his body. However, he didn’t look tired.
DING
<Synchronization Rate: 70%>
Xiaomao blinked and noticed that his sync rate had become so high. Although he was surprised, he had no time to question its logic.
While covering Mama Cat and Nyanko in his tentacles, Xiaomao leaped out from the sea of flame and left the house’s premises through the back. He jumped over another burning house behind his home and kept on running.
Xiaomao gritted his teeth. He thought of Mu-Nyang and Mir, whom he couldn’t find. He was vexed, but he had no choice but to leave them behind to save Nyanko and Mama Cat first.
Xiaomao arrived at the school’s backyard, which was a common place for a hoodlum to gather and smoke. He placed the cats down and opened a faucet, letting the water run.
Both cats rushed to the faucet and drank the water while panting. Their complexion didn’t look well, and none of them had the strength to meow.
Xiaomao shut his eyes and looked at the synchronization menu behind his eyelids. It had not reached 100% yet, but Xiaomao decided to test his superpower.
“Area Heal!”
He attempted to use the elemental mage’s spell that he had learned from the game.
Nothing happened.
Xiaomao took several deep breaths and looked at his arms and tentacles. He bit his lower lips and changed his approach.
His body transformed again. Instead of remaining as a humanoid cat, his physique shrunk and transformed into a catopus, which resembled his character in-game!
The process was painful. He felt like all bones in his body had shattered, and his muscles were torn to shred.
After enduring the process for 5 minutes, Xiaomao reopened his eyes and examined his body.
It was gone. He could only see his small chubby tentacles, whiskers, and the world that seemed to be larger than usual. Even Nyanko and Mama Cat seemed to have grown so big that they were as big as him.
“Area Heal!” Xiaomao tried again.
This time, a magic circle appeared below Xiaomao’s feet. Gentle gold light on the ground shone and seeped into Xiaomao, Mama Cat, and Nyanko’s pores.
Both cats let out a long sigh, relaxing and enjoying the sensation. Xiaomao also regained his stamina, and the pain from before was gone.
DING
<Synchronization Rate: 50%>
“!!!”
Xiaomao’s heart thumped, and his body grew hotter. His transformation was canceled, and he reverted into a werecat.
He panted and clenched his chest. Suddenly, the nauseous sensation hit him, and Xiaomao turned around and vomited yellow fluid.
DING
<Synchronization Rate: 30%>
The tentacles behind Xiaomao’s back receded into his skin and vanished. His cat-like face and whiskers were also gone, returning his human look. However, his cat ears and cat tail remained.
After getting his human appearance back, Xiaomao felt a bit better. The tight sensation in his chest was gone, and his mind was clear.
Xiaomao walked to the faucet, where the two cats were competing on drinking the water. He washed his hands and drank several mouthfuls of tap water.
NYA! (Papa, my water!)
Meo! (Hooman, I’m still drinking!)
The cats regained their strength and yelled at Xiaomao. He snickered, but his expression was still dark.
“Stay here and hide from the students. I’ll go back and fetch Mu-Nyang and Mir.”
Xiaomao patted his dirty pants. They were half-burnt, and many parts were torn. As for his shirt, it was no longer on him.
As soon as he stood up, he looked around, ensuring that no one had seen him.
Unfortunately, he was seen. Xiaomao’s eyes met with a high-schooler, who also knew him.
“Xiaomao! What happened to you?!”
The guy was none other than Liu Bei.
Xiaomao clicked his tongue. He wondered if he should also silence the guy.
“How come you’re here half-naked? Are you into exhibition kink or what?”
Xiaomao rolled his eyes, “How much have you seen?”
Liu Bei burst into laughter, “I saw you were drinking tap water. Say, does your tail come with an anal plug?”
Xiaomao frowned again and looked at his cat tail. His expression distorted in anger, “It attaches to the tape on my bag. I’m not into gay stuff.”
“Ah, I see. I see. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”
The smirking face of Liu Bei was so obnoxious that Xiaomao wanted to punch him in the face.
“What do you want? I’m busy,” Xiaomao tried to chase Liu Bei away.
“Don’t be so cold,” Liu Bei laughed and brought out his phone. Then, he snapped a picture of Xiaomao.
“You…”
Liu Bei snickered and swiped his phone. Then, he opened a news website, which was broadcasting the attack on Xiaomao’s house.
The headline of the news was so big that Xiaomao could read it from afar.
Terrorist Attack!
Xiaomao’s expression distorted in disgust. The local military was the terrorist, not him!
“Isn’t this your house, friend?”
“So?” Xiaomao’s pupils gleamed, getting ready to silence this hoodlum even if he had to become a murderer.
Again, Liu Bei smirked. He dialed 110, which was China’s 911. However, Liu Bei hadn’t pressed the call button yet.
“Give me 10 million USDT, and I won’t call the cops on you.”
“So, you want to blackmail me?” Xiaomao’s eyes were filled with killing intent.
“This is how the world works. You’re the terrorist that they are looking for, and I have the duty of a good Samaritan to report the cops whenever I find you. However, I might get so sick that my throat doesn’t have the strength to talk if I have enough cash on me. You know the gist of it, right?”
Xiaomao spat. He stomped toward Liu Bei with the intention to kill.
BANG!
Something hard suddenly hit the back of his head, and he was stunned and fell to one knee. A hot metal bullet was flattened upon impact, but it fell to the ground.
A man in a black suit leaped from another building and landed 100 meters away from Xiaomao. He held a 50 caliber rifle in his arm, and the muzzle was still hot.
He tossed away the rifle and brought out a Damascus short sword. However, the short sword was covered by a red aura. While he was taking off his sunglasses, he warned Xiaomao.
“Regressor Miao Xiaomao. Surrender and come with me, or I shall end you here!”
Liu Bei shrieked like a panicking woman and ran away. As for Xiaomao, he slowly turned around while he rubbed the part that the 50-cal bullet had hit him.
Upon looking at the agent, Xiaomao saw something that shouldn’t exist in the real world over the man’s head.
He saw the agent’s name, affiliation, title, and level!
Apollo Lavendor, Servant of Nian, Earth Cultivator, Level 450
“I see. So, the whole farce just now is the work of Nian all along!”
Nian existed in both the game world and the real world. This was a wake-up call to Xiaomao as the incident reminded him who he was messing with.
Xiaomao gnashed his teeth and stood up. He shifted his arms and legs into a karate stance, getting ready to fight.
Apollo snorted, “I’ve seen your in-game character and your fighting style. You are no match for me with your current sync rate.”
Xiaomao narrowed his eyes, “So, you’re a player from the first game?”
“You know too much.”
Apollo kicked the ground and charged at Xiaomao.