Plague Doctor

Chapter 419: Multi-colored Cat

Wu Siyu used a surprising amount of effort before she managed to yank off a ball of fur. ‘If these furs can get over the border, then I should be able too.’ She studied the mutated area which was one step away and waved her paws. The ball of fur was supposed to lift up into a draft of wind but there was not one, therefore, Wu Siyu puffed up her cheeks and blew as hard as she could. Her whiskers were shuddering from the effort. The fur finally floated over. It slowly drifted across the border and landed on the scorched soil of the mutated area. It was successful. The fur crossed the border safely.

Wu Siyu planted herself on the ground and started to observe. The ball of fur did not burn and it did not seem to change at all. Perhaps as long as it was a part of her cat body, it would not be affected by radiation? She waited a while longer until the sky at the mutated area lightened. She’d have greater visibility. She turned back to look. She was already at the edge. If there was a 5th explosion, it would engulf the places that she had treaded. In other words, it included the iron pole and the dead body inside the cage...

Wu Siyu had a feeling that it was not only a trap. If that thing was overlapped onto Earth, it would bring a greater tragedy upon Earth.

‘O well, looks like I’ll have to take that swing...’ With no protection available. She wiggled her body and raised her tail as she slowly edged towards the border. If she felt pain from the tip of her tail, she’d shrink back immediately... The worst outcome would be to lose her tail. She’d consider that a weight loss. Since it would not affect her limbs and brain, it was the most reasonable solution.

The tail tip eventually crossed the border and then came the rest of the tail. It was fine! She did not feel any pain or itchiness. Her synaesthesia gave her no warning either. ‘Alright, it’s time to slowly move over.’ Wu Siyu padded backwards. Her fat stomach and back paws entered the mutated area. They were followed by her front paws, neck and head... The radiation burns did not happen. Her whole cat body was standing inside the intersection point of the two worlds. She looked up into the sun and even the air felt fresher. However, her surroundings were as lifeless and wilted as ever. ‘Even though this place is also under radiation, it’s much better than where I came from. The radiation level over there should be over 100 plus Gy/hour. It is why I feel freer over here.’

However, she also sensed that she was unable to return back to Earth from this mutated area. Standing at the border, she could only see the wasteland and not Mo Bei as she believed the drone did. The mutated area was about 70 cubic km in size. If she walked from one edge to another, in her current state, it would take days. Dirty-minded Jun’s voice appeared to tell her that was not a wise idea. Instead it reminded her that what she needed to do now... it was to re-establish communication with Phecda.

‘When you’re right, you’re right.’ Wu Siyu stood for a while before she moved to action. She was at the edge and so did the Special Mobile Force units. Perhaps they would be surprised to find a sudden appearance of a cat here. To make herself more conspicuous, she sauntered about with her tail raised high. She occasionally leaped into the air and gave a few shrill whines. “MEOW!!”

‘I’m here, I’m here! This is Wu Siyu, calling for headquarters!’

...

“Look, over there! Is that... a cat?”

“What?!”

The mutated area was growing larger, its border alone covered miles. Therefore, it was unrealistic to expect every inch to be monitored by Phecda. However, for the border that was closest to Mo Bei City, a new layer of quarantine circle was being constructed so there were a large number of engineering and action Department members. At that moment, several patrols saw with shock that less than 1 meter away from them, right inside the previously deathly silent mutated area, there was a fat and strange mixed-colored cat. The cat leaped here and there, calling and meowing. It appeared to be taunting them.

With a glance, they knew that this was not a normal or stray cat. After all, what kind of stray could be so well fed?

Therefore, they instantly reported this to their superior. Soon a drone came over and the camera pointed at the cat on the ground. The image was broadcasted to the big screen at headquarters. Of course not everyone knew about Wu Siyu’s painting accident yesterday night. Even at the headquarters, only higher ups like Yao Sinian and Elder Tong knew about it. Therefore, when most saw that cat, the one with dual-colored eyes, a chill crawled into their hearts. The satellite failed to capture the cat’s mysterious appearance, it seemed to materialize out of thin air.

Elder Tong and Yao Sinian were shocked and confused. ‘Isn’t that... the cat from Wu Siyu’s painting? It disappeared from the painting and now appeared here? Why?’

Ever since yesterday night, Wu Siyu had entered a state of soullessness. But strangely enough, there seemed to be a lingering consciousness within her, or it might be her survival instinct taking over. She did not need others to care for her, she knew how to eat, sleep and use the bathroom on her own. Since the incident, she had not uttered a word but she continued to keep her body working like an automaton.

‘What is up with this cat? Is it calling people to come get her?’ The headquarters maintained a communication channel with The One who was present at the scene. As the team rushed towards the border, they tuned into the broadcast and were briefed about the relevant information.

“I have a feeling...” Deng Ximei commented, “That the cat is very much like Siyu. Especially the eyes.”

“Now that you mention it, they do bear many similarities.” Lou Xiaoning though based her observation on the cat’s mannerism and actions. ‘Is it possible that due to some unknown reason Siyu’s soul had travelled into her own painted cat?’ Elder Tong concurred with their assessment. He was quite excited. ‘Does this mean Siyu has found some new clues? Will this be the breakthrough they need?’

“Better be prepared to intercept this cat.” Elder Tong told the One. Since Deng Ximei and the guys were already exposed to the radiation in their previous excursion, Elder Tong’s order was mainly directed at Lou Xioaning. The radiation inside the mutated area worsened, so they could only manage 2.5 minutes inside it while they had a 3.5 minutes window earlier. After the 4th explosion, the radiation reading was now 60.3 Gy/h.

“I’ve been meaning to check it out.” Lou Xiaoning was not afraid, “I don’t mind staying a while longer in fact.”

However moments later, the latest image taken by the drone caused Elder Tong and The One to lose their earlier enthusiasm. The multi-colored cat was seen scratching around on the scorched soil. It was a sentence that said, ‘I witnessed God, I am his incarnation in the human world’.

That was the exact sentence Headmaster Chui and Lee Yuhan, confirmed patients of Locust Sickness had said.