"Did you see me die in the prophecy?"
The High Priest hesitated for a moment, "No, I didnât..."
"Then it doesnât matter."
As they spoke, the mechanical doors opened layer by layer, and Director Xu emerged from the lab with his assistant.
His steps were brisk, and even the corners of his white coat fluttered.
It seemed some experiment had achieved a breakthrough.
Su Huan looked up and said to Shu Wei behind him, "Letâs make a bet, just bet on..."
"No bet."
Before he could finish, Shu Wei bluntly refused.
Before coming to a stop, Director Xu, his eyes gleaming, announced, "Iâve cracked the ability of Deep Blue Dataâs information gatherer."
Su Huan felt a bit regretful, as there was no reward to win.
...
The restless wind swept overhead, carrying away the sweat from training.
The mongoose sat on top of the vehicle, hugging her knees, deep in thought.
Soon, a Tier One mutant falcon in the sky regarded her as a small beast to capture, but the massive armored train made it somewhat wary.
After circling for a moment, doubt appeared in its eagle eyes, and in the next instant, it dove towards the mongooseâs position.
Its talons sharp as knives, glinting with a cold light.
The mongooseâs eyes remained vacant, completely unaware of the impending danger.
The cannons and anti-aircraft guns on the train simultaneously swiveled their muzzles.
"Boom boomâ"
The sound of explosions accompanied by the thudding of a woodpecker tapping on a tree simultaneously erupted.
The Tier One mutant falcon let out a shrill scream.
Blood splattered and black feathers exploded outward.
Just three meters from the mongooseâs head, she suddenly leapt up, her body lunging forward, crossing six meters, silently landing her palm on the roof of the train.
Then she resumed sitting with her legs hugged.
The Tier One falcon narrowly missed, crashing into the roof with a thud.
Four armed soldiers and two combat group members jumped onto the train to finish off the struggling Tier One falcon.
Once confirmed dead, they apologized to the mongoose sitting at the front.
"Sorry, Sister Cat, almost hurt you."
The mongooseâs ears twitched, she didnât look back, just waved a hand.
The team dragged the Tier One falcon onto the deck.
Because she enjoyed sitting atop the vehicle, the mongoose was used to being treated as a snack by foraging birds and beasts.
Initially, it was a bit embarrassing, but as her strength grew, she could now drift off and use instinctive reflexes to dodge these Evolution Beasts.
And the trainâs defense system would activate in advance, even if it failed, the sentinel on duty and combat group members would counterattack.
Just dodge it.
The mongoose suddenly felt an itch on her rear, extending her paw to scratch it.
Her eyes instantly became round, like two concentric circles.
The black circles of her pupils grew enormous.
She pulled out her hand, which was holding a furry "rope," squeezing it, feeling elasticity.
The mongoose tugged on it incredulously twice.
The "rope" was pulled out even longer.
If this was a tail...
It seemed to be over two meters long!
With a twitch at the corner of her mouth, the mongoose let go.
Sure enough, through instinctive manipulation, the "rope" began to move.
No, it should be said that the tail began to move.
She had grown a tail.
Smelling the scent of blood wafting to her nostrils, hearing the sound of knives cutting flesh below, the mongoose sighed softly.
Though expected, it still felt a bit strange.
After being human for so many years, was she really going to turn into a cat in the future...
It was a bit hard to accept.
Instinctively licking her hand, the mongoose then smoothed the ruffled fur on her tail.
This was just a small matter.
What truly lingered in her mind was witnessing Old Wuâs "cane execution."
The train conductorâs dark, calm eyes had left an indelible mark on her heart.
Though it didnât quite feel like a collapse of faith.
But it always struck her as slightly off.
She had pondered it for days but couldnât figure it out.
The mongoose suddenly stood on the roof, "I need to find someone to ask, canât just get stuck in a rut myself."
With determination, she tucked her tail back into her pants, and headed inside.
First circling around He Jieâs doorstep, hearing the laughter within, the mongoose hesitated, then turned to another carriage.
Carriages Vice 2 and Vice 3 were for officers, Vice 4 was for the chief conductor.
Main 4 was where Xiaoba and the others boarded early on, and although there were no core members after restructuring, to ordinary crew, this carriage was even better than the adjacent management carriage.
After all, this was the main train.
The mongoose only gained access to the front carriages after becoming Qu Hangâs adjutant.
But besides helping Yu Yue grab things, she rarely entered.
The mongoose felt a bit anxious.
Like a little cat tiptoeing through unfamiliar territory.
Fortunately, "Beastification" had given her cat-like traits, allowing her to control her steps quietly.
The corridor was silent, with only the sound of machinery whirring from Carriage 3.
Suddenly, the sound of wheels gliding came from Carriage 5.
The mongooseâs ears flattened, instinctively wanting to find a narrow space to slip into, but remembering she wasnât a thief, she stood stiffly.
"Sister Cat?"
A curious young voice called out.
The mongoose looked up to see Xiaoba, dressed in a Mickey Mouse t-shirt, sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her curiously.
"Master Eight..."
The tail tucked in her pants slipped out, over her shoulder, and waved like a hand at Xiaoba.
The teenager seemed bewildered.
When the mongoose realized her expression slowly turned rigid.
...
"Cat sister, why do you have cat ears?"
"Cat sister, whatâs your name?"
"Cat sister, can I touch your tail?"
The mongoose sat awkwardly on a chair inside the room.
A little figure circled around her, but whenever he reached one side, the mongooseâs tail would retract to the other.
The mongoose awkwardly replied.
But when the little boyâs hand reached out, she instinctively moved her tail away.
"Chengcheng, donât be rude!"
Xiaoba carried two cups of tea out of the room, handed one to the mongoose, then sat back on the wheelchair opposite her.
To ease the awkwardness, the mongoose asked, "Master Eight..."
"Sister Cat, youâre much older than me, just call me Xiaoba."
"Xiaoba... why are you still in a wheelchair?"
Xiaoba smiled, patting the wheelchair, winking, "This is my secret weapon!"
"Oh~"
The mongoose understood.
With the topic exhausted, an awkward silence fell in the room.
Several topics flashed through her mind, but the mongoose dismissed them.
Her gaze instinctively fell on the curious little boy beside her, quickly asking, "Is he the little boy you adopted?"
Xiaoba nodded, a warm smile on his lips, "Heâs not started school yet, only remembers his nickname Chengcheng, so I gave him my surname, his full name is Qi Cheng."
"Navel orange?"
"Uh... Growthâs âChengâ."
The mongooseâs expression softened, "Thatâs amazing, where did you meet him?"
Opposite, Xiaobaâs expression didnât change, like a little adult, told the boy beside him, "Sister Xingzi is almost off duty, you go find her, brother has to host a guest, come back after dinner."
"Okay..."
The little boy agreed hesitantly, looking back at the mongooseâs tail thrice before leaving.
"Go on."
When the door closed, the smile on Xiaobaâs face slowly faded.
With a faint trace of concern.
"Itâs not really a secret, but it relates to the train conductor."
Hearing the words âtrain conductor,â the mongoose instantly perked up.
"Can you talk about it in detail?"
Xiaoba hesitated for a moment, "Many witnessed the event back then, but most wouldnât care, it doesnât need strict secrecy, but I donât want anyone to tell Chengcheng about it."
The mongoose quickly extended four fingers, as if making a vow.
"Rest assured, Xiaoba, thereâs no one in the regiment with a tighter lip than mine."
"No need to swear, the story starts from the time of the Steel Councilâs events, you hadnât boarded the train then, had you?"
"No, I was with the Shunâan people."
"Hereâs how it happened..."