The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 1023: Found the Cat

Boom, boom, boom—

The factory's center collapsed inward. Powerful firepower shot out toward the sky at a 35-degree angle, like a match struck across the sky, leaving blooms of flame in the concrete jungle kilometers away. @@novelbin@@

The devastation was impossible to neglect, and neighboring districts had been damaged. Moon City’s class 1 alert was immediately triggered. Soon, the Moon Cavalry would arrive.

They were the strongest special forces in Moon City, divided into twelve units of five to eight members. They had access to the finest battle gears with a staggering 75% augmentation rate. They were the cream of the top in mobility, hand-to-hand combat, S Chip infiltration, and counter-infiltration.

Even facing a terrorist like Berserking Lion, they could easily take him down in a one-on-one fight, let alone with a whole unit.

The factory lay ruined in flames. Berserking Lion panted, his energy depleted.

He knew he had made a grave mistake. He must get out of here now, everything else be damned. The Moon Cavalry would soon arrive to eliminate all threats.

But he didn’t run. Confusion distorted his expression and rooted him in place.

Inside the trench left by the great hail of attacks, Gao Yang stood unscathed. It seemed that the energy bullets, lasers, and shockwave—as well as the resulting explosion and fire—had all stayed clear of Gao Yang.

But that couldn’t be!

That would be impossible even with the strongest defense. Besides, there was no forcefield of any kind around Gao Yang.

Berserking Lion’s fearful and shocked eyes reflected Gao Yang’s pale face and eyes devoid of details. One was pure black, and the other pure white.

Expressionless, he strode up to Berserking Lion.

“No...impossible...” Berserking Lion finally realized that he should be running away, yet his feet wouldn’t listen to him. “What, what is this superpower? What manner of monster are you?!”

Gao Yang didn’t answer. He continued to stalk toward Berserking Lion.

The world was changed in his perspective. A domain had formed around him where everything dissolved into streams of ever-changing data. The changes were so rapid that they looked like tangled strands of glowing strings.

Gao Yang walked through the strings like parting dense growth of reeds. Before his eyes, Berserking Lion was nothing but a clump of intertwining yarn.

Gao Yang merely had to extend a hand to call it toward him.

Whoosh. In reality, Berserking Lion blinked and suddenly found himself standing before Gao Yang. Gao Yang’s bloodied hand was raised at his chest, merely fifty centimeters away.

“No! Don’t touch me! Let me go!” Berserking Lion was in hysterics. He couldn’t even move a muscle.

“No, no...don’t kill me...”

“Please spare me...”

Fear drowned him, leaving only survival instinct.

Gao Yang merely balled up his fist.

The yarn scattered suddenly into spots of light and glowing pieces, flying in all directions like blooming firework, illuminating Gao Yang’s face and stirring his hair.

In the real world, Berserking Lion’s prosthetic parts and artificial organs had divided into the most basic components, shooting outward and hovering around Gao Yang like an asteroid belt.

Then everything crumbled. The “asteroids” fell to the ground, becoming part of the universe that was the abandoned factory.

Ring

Dragging his torn, tattered body, he walked through the piles of components step by step.

At his feet was a “crystal ball”. The surface was a layer of gray membrane covered in holes—micro neurons connected to the brain. The “crystal ball” was Berserking Lion’s brain, the only human part left in his body.

Gao Yang didn’t even glance at it as he stepped on it, crushing it into a repulsive pool of blood and fluids.

He continued walking, finally finding the crumpled form of the white cat.

He fell to his knees, reaching out his remaining hand to pick it up with difficulty.

Meow.

The white cat called out to him weakly.

Gao Yang started. He thought he had heard it wrong. Taking a closer look, he saw not blood or organs inside the white cat's crushed body. Instead, there were intricate chips, artificial organs, neural circuits, and a blue flow battery.

It was an AI pet, not even a cat replica.

The head was intact, so it had only lost its mobility; it was still “alive”.

Meow. The white cat meowed softly in Gao Yang’s arms, twisting its head around with difficulty to nuzzle Gao Yang’s bloodied chin, but it was too far for it.

“Thank God...thank God...”

Gao Yang slowly sat down. Back pressed against a pile of prosthetic limbs, he lowered his head and gingerly held the white cat in his embrace, back arched. He sobbed silently.

He was still bleeding profusely. His body was getting stiff and cold. His vision blurred. His eyelids grew heavy.

“Newbie!”

Gao Yang opened his eyes to vaguely see a petite girl rushing toward him.

“I found...my cat.” Gao Yang said through barely parted lips, slowly closing his eyes.