Chapter 84: Beat It
Seven hours later, inside the cave.
A tree cocoon hung suspended in midair. Su Xiao had set up three life-sustaining devices around it, each filled with a green solution. Pale green mist sprayed onto the cocoon's surface, and the surrounding hard rock had sprouted vegetation.
Crack, crack...
Something inside the tree cocoon began to writhe. Several sharp cat claws pierced through the cocoon's shell, and a drenched jungle cat tumbled out from the opening at the bottom.
The jungle cat's fur was matted together, but the solution on its coat quickly evaporated, leaving it fluffy once more.
Its dark green eyes opened, the gleam within them unchanged—still that same untamed defiance.
"It seems it was a success."
Su Xiao sat on a rock nearby. At the sound of his voice, the jungle cat's fur bristled. For some reason, its feline face throbbed with phantom pain.
Instinctively, the jungle cat raised a paw in front of its face, bracing for another round of slaps.
Its gaze darted toward the cave entrance, and it immediately bolted in that direction.
Su Xiao raised his right hand. He wore a metal glove, and within a glass tube on the back of the glove was an incredibly concentrated dose of Hashirama Cells.
Hum～
A wave of energy radiated from the metal glove. The jungle cat, mid-sprint, froze in place, its face a mask of disbelief.
"If you could escape that easily, then my long years of research into alchemical biology would be for nothing."
Under the jungle cat's incredulous gaze, it turned and walked back to Su Xiao, finally sitting before him.
The jungle cat was stunned. After a moment, it raised a front paw, extended its sharp claws, and pressed them against its own throat. It would rather die than be controlled.
Just as the jungle cat was about to slash its throat, Su Xiao pressed a button on the metal glove, and the strange wave vanished.
Suddenly free again, the jungle cat was torn—should it still kill itself, or try to escape?
"As fellow intelligent beings, I'll give you five minutes to decide: die here now, or make a deal with me."
The jungle cat stared at Su Xiao in confusion, its expression clearly saying: "What is this human babbling about? I don't understand a word."
Bubu Wang stepped forward slowly. He could understand Su Xiao and communicate simply with the jungle cat.
After Bubu Wang gestured wildly with his paws for a while, the jungle cat finally grasped Su Xiao's meaning. It had a limited time to decide: die here, or make some kind of deal with that despicable human.
"Hrrr～"
The jungle cat let out a threatening growl at Bubu Wang, as if to say: "You lackey dog, you don't understand what freedom is."
Bubu Wang scoffed at this. From the moment he gained consciousness, Su Xiao had never restricted his movements. In Reincarnation Paradise, Bubu Wang was even more carefree than Su Xiao, roaming as he pleased. Sometimes Su Xiao couldn't even find where Bubu had wandered off. In other words, Bubu Wang had his own independent thoughts, and Su Xiao never went out of his way to track him down.
It wasn't just Bubu Wang. Amu also went wherever he wanted. During battles, the trio of one man, one dog, and one bull always stuck together—they were a team. The rest of the time, they were free to do as they pleased.
In Bubu Wang's view, the jungle cat wasn't living; it was surviving. Its entire life consisted of hunting and wandering the forest, with the constant risk of being mated by a tomcat, birthing a litter of kittens, and eventually dying of old age in these woods. Its world was just the Hot Rainforest—no, just its own territory.
A cat living at the bottom of a well, yet looking down on a dog that traveled across worlds.
Bubu Wang was unimpressed. The various intelligent races he had interacted with outnumbered the insects the jungle cat had ever seen—stone men with grass growing on their heads, bird-men with wings on their backs, upright crocodiles that spoke human language. These were wonders beyond the jungle cat's imagination.
"Bubu, tell it what it needs to give and what it will receive."
Su Xiao drew the Dragon-Slaying Flash from his waist, thrust it into the rock before him, and then pulled out a contract—a summoning contract.
After five minutes of Bubu Wang's gestural descriptions, the jungle cat understood and knew its time to decide was short.
Either sign the contract or die here. There was no third option. If it signed, it would have to help Su Xiao find rare resources, but the rest of the time, it would be free.
After Su Xiao's Charm Attribute broke through 20 points, he had gained an additional summoning slot. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered modifying the jungle cat.
"Time's up."
Su Xiao raised his right hand, and the strange wave reappeared. The jungle cat froze in place—hadn't it been promised a free choice?
Amu picked up the jungle cat and pressed its paw onto the scroll.
A modification agent worth 70,000 Paradise Coins, and a contract scroll worth 49,000 Paradise Coins. Would Su Xiao really leave a total of 120,000 Paradise Coins' worth of choices to a wild, untamable jungle cat? Absolutely not.
The jungle cat had no choice today. If it agreed willingly, everything would be fine. If it hesitated, Amu would make the decision for it.
"Meow!!"
The jungle cat let out a desperate cry. With a soft *pat*, its plump paw pad pressed onto the contract scroll.
The scroll shattered instantly, and a formation pattern sank into the jungle cat's body.
After Amu released it, the jungle cat's fur stood on end, its eyes screaming: "You despicable liars! Liars! You said I could choose freely!"
"You can go now."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, the jungle cat was startled. It could suddenly understand him—thanks to the summoning contract.
"Mrrow!"
The jungle cat let out a threatening yowl at Su Xiao, then turned and fled.
Bubu Wang looked at Su Xiao in confusion, as if to say: "Just let it go like that? What about the treasure hunting?"
"Don't worry. It'll be back soon."
No sooner had Su Xiao spoken than the jungle cat poked its head back in from the cave entrance. It had just escaped when it realized it couldn't revert to its original size.
"Come back in. Let's continue talking."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. The jungle cat slunk reluctantly back into the cave, its expression one of utter unwillingness. Seeing this, Su Xiao said:
"Bubu, beat it."
"?"
"??"
Bubu Wang was taken aback at first, but after a moment, he turned to look at the jungle cat, his eyes clearly saying: "Hey there, little buddy."
Three minutes later, after a combined assault from Bubu Wang and Amu, the jungle cat was much more subdued. The reason was simple: if it kept jumping around, Su Xiao might just grab it and slap it silly.
"You lost. Losing means paying a price..."
"Meow～"
The jungle cat meant it hadn't lost yet.
"Bubu, keep beating."
"Meow～"
The jungle cat raised a paw in front of its face, signaling to wait. The next moment, Bubu Wang bit down on its head, and Amu grabbed Bubu Wang's hind legs, spinning them rapidly—the "Bubu-Amu Combo Top-Style Storm Spin"!
Ten minutes later.
"Ugh～"
The jungle cat lay on the ground, its stomach heaving. Beside it, Bubu Wang leaned against the rock wall with a paw, stars in his eyes, as if to say: "How about it, still not giving in?"
"Your task is simple: find rare resources in the rainforest. The rest of the time, you're free to do as you please."
The still-gagging jungle cat stood up. It hadn't expected Su Xiao to only ask this of it. It had assumed Su Xiao would enslave it for battle or send it to its death. Things were different from what it had imagined.
Soon, with its restrictions lifted, the jungle cat left the cave. It leaped between the trees—find resources? Not a chance. It was going to enjoy its newfound freedom.
Two hours later, the jungle cat crouched on a tree branch. For some reason, it felt uneasy. A vague instinct told it that if it kept fooling around, the consequences would be severe. The biggest problem was: if it didn't find any rare resources, would it get a beating when it went back? That seemed pretty miserable...
The dignity of a cat versus a round of slaps. After much deliberation, the jungle cat decided to temporarily abandon its feline pride and first avoid that thrashing.
...
Two days later.
In a swamp within the rainforest.
Su Xiao lay prone on a thick tree trunk. Below him, in the mud, was a massive crocodile nearly ten meters long.
This giant crocodile's Strength Attribute had reached the world's maximum—99 points of True Strength Attribute—and its Stamina Attribute was as high as 95 points. Su Xiao's first target was this Yellow Spring Swamp Crocodile. To find it, he had been lying in ambush nearby for two full days.
PS: (Two chapters today. The war world is about to end. I need to carefully plan the finale.)