pdf-ebookys Chapter 297 Cat
Chapter 297 Cat
After putting on breathing masks, the slaves led them downstairs.
This is a large hidden area below the apron deck, filled with various exposed mechanical structures. The gaps between these mechanical structures are not intended for people to walk through, but are just space margins left when the machinery was laid out. Normally, no human would pass by here for a hundred years.
Fortunately, the Crimson Sword had not yet started working, otherwise the high temperature here would be enough to kill everyone present in an instant... except perhaps these two ladies who could use psychic powers.
Now, although the high temperature generated by the continued operation is gone, the low terrain, the evaporation of waste liquid from mechanical leakage, and various inexplicable toxic wastes and viruses have caused this area to be shrouded in a diffuse dark green gas.
Howard and others walked in it, and the poisonous gases were stirred like tobacco, leaving small vortexes behind them.
"Ladies and gentlemen, wrap your clothes tighter! Walk faster." Even in this environment, Nakhimov kept talking: "The stinky smoke here will itch if we touch it for too long. If you stay here any longer, be careful not to get your skin rotten!"
Howard knew how powerful the smoke was when he came in. Even with the help of the Goddess of Life and even though he was wearing three layers of clothes given by the Governor, Howard could still feel the cold gas drilling into his body through every gap in his clothes, and there was a slight burning and itching sensation wherever the gas touched.
Howard looked at Mei, who had refused to wear a breathing mask. The Eldar remained unfazed by this level of poisonous gas. Even Nasimov couldn't help but admire her:
"Wow! This noble lady, you are so amazing!" Nakhimov began to chatter again. "I heard from my mother that some nobles would replace their flesh lungs with iron lungs so that they would not be afraid of any toxic gases. You must have an iron lung too!"
As the child spoke, she even wanted to touch Mei's ribs, but the nun pulled her aside and stopped her from doing so.
"How stingy..." Nakhimov muttered.
Then Howard suddenly thought that he was protected by the Goddess of Life and was not afraid of the poison gas, Mei was an elf, and the nun had combat armor and was not afraid of this level of poison gas, and Nakhimov and these slaves probably had developed certain antibodies to this level of poison gas, but there seemed to be someone in their team who had no such special ability at all!
So Howard began to look for Jasmine, and found that Jasmine was right next to Mei, holding Mei's hand very secretly.
He's not the only one considering this.
As early as entering this area, Mei had been using her psychic powers to protect this fragile human.
Although Howard was wearing a mask, the Eldar seemed to still be aware of Howard's gaze. She responded to Howard's gaze and nodded slightly.
Howard secretly gave her a thumbs up.
But at this moment, Howard suddenly saw a strange black shadow flash by in the thickest black smoke in the distance. Howard thought he was dazzled, but the ever-expanding wavy trajectory left by the black shadow's high-speed movement in the poisonous smoke explained everything.
"What the hell is this?!" Howard asked in surprise.
The reason why he was so surprised was not because he was frightened or afraid of danger, but because he judged from its size and movement speed that the thing was definitely not a human being. He thought to himself, could it be a cunning creature?
Suddenly he thought of Nakhimov's sharp teeth, and was really scared.
Could it be that this child is also a cunning one?
But then he rejected this idea because Nakhimov had hair, and although his skin was not good, it was far from being as wrinkled as Ji Zei's.
One interesting thing about chicken thieves is that humans who live with them for a long time may not be able to distinguish them from normal humans due to the cognitive hypnosis that chicken thieves possess. However, if someone has never seen a chicken thief, they can tell at a glance that this thing is not human.
Howard didn't think in that direction when he first saw Nakhimov and when Nakhimov showed off his fangs later, which was enough to prove that Nakhimov was a human being.
Besides, even if Howard couldn't see it, wouldn't the nun be able to see it? The combat helmet's database wouldn't care about hypnosis or sleight of hand.
"Ah..." Nasimov didn't even look at the trail left by the black shadow. It was obvious that he was already accustomed to the other party's existence.
"That's a cat," said Nakhimov.
Howard: "Huh?"
"Never mind, I'm too lazy to explain." Nakhimov said, and then she waved her hand: "Hey, so-and-so! Go and get it done!"
After the order was given, a slave who had been guarding Nakhimov quietly left the team. After a while, disturbing noises were heard around.
That was the sound of chasing and running. Human footsteps landed heavily on iron nets or machinery, making a dull thud. In addition to the sound of human footsteps, there was also the sound of some extremely small objects falling to the ground.
Where Howard couldn't see, the slave assigned by Nakhimov was chasing something, but that thing was by no means without the ability to resist. Both sides were testing each other, constantly running and changing positions, just waiting for the moment when the other side revealed a flaw.
The surrounding poisonous smoke was stirred up by their activities, so Nakhimov had to order the team to stop and let Howard and other VIPs hide in a mechanical recess.
Then Howard heard the heavy footsteps become rapid and short, followed by the sound of something flapping and colliding, and finally, Howard heard a scream that was not human, but similar to that of a cat.
The scream did not just last for a moment. In fact, after that scream, the animal kept screaming.
Then the sound of human footsteps appeared again and gradually approached, and the cry of the strange animal also got closer and closer.
After a while, the slave sent by Nakhimov came back. He had a few injuries on his body but they were not serious. In his hand, he was holding a strange beast that was almost 1.5 meters long including its tail, covered with black hair, and had festering bodies.
The beast had a huge hole in its belly, with its intestines and stomach spilling out, but it was far from dead.
The slave grabbed its hind legs and tail and lifted it upside down, but it was still struggling hard. Its intestines were entangled on its front paws, so it pulled out more of its own internal organs while struggling.
"Well done, you so-and-so. I'll give you a leg as a reward when I get home."
"This is Cat." Then Nakhimov introduced him to Howard:
"These creatures are the masters of this area. Their tribe lives here, ready to bite the throat of any fool who is careless."
"But it's a pity that it met us," Nakhimov said proudly. "After meeting us, they can only give it as a gift."
"My dear guests, you are so lucky! Normally, we might not be able to catch many cats in a whole year. Only the tribe mother can enjoy the cat stew. But to entertain you, the tribe mother will definitely share the soup with you. You are in for a treat."
Howard was not impressed by this. Not to mention the viruses and parasites in the monster, just the black, rotten, and smelly meat he saw from its cut open belly was enough to kill Howard's appetite.