Chapter 286: Parting
Translator: Pluto Editor: Vermillion
The huge fire in the Provincial Hospital raged until that afternoon before it gradually abated. By that time, Lin Sanjiu and her group had already left the hospital and were making plans for the remaining days in this world as they walked around aimlessly.
After they had gone through yet another round of life-earning event at Mausoleum Elementary School, the lives deducted from them and their current lives finally added up to 108. In other words, they could finally complete this long-lasting pocket dimension with a large active area which had descended on them many days before.
Even though they had confirmed the situation with the cat doctor over and over again, on the 108th day, the siblings woke up early in the morning and checked each other's back every few minutes for quite some time. They were eager for the numbers on their back to disappear and the moment it occurred, the two children couldn't help cheering non-stop.
"Since the numbers are gone, you better leave as soon as possible," the cat doctor peered down at them. Perhaps, all cats had this bad habit. The thing Meowie Hu liked most when speaking was to climb up to a high spot and look down on the humans below. "I think you should take the train and leave this area as quickly as possible."
"Sir, are you afraid that people might think that we still have numbers on our back and ambush us," Reno asked reverently.
"No," the cat looked at the three humans below him as he sat atop a clothes closet, "I vaguely remembered something. If you stay for an hour within the active boundaries of this pocket dimension even after the numbers disappear from your body, the pocket dimension would automatically assume that you wish to continue for another 108 days…"
Before he could finish his sentence, the siblings leaped up immediately.
"What are you waiting for? Let's get out of here! Quick!" Rena was so scared that they would be dragged into another round in this pocket dimension that she was already standing at the doorway, beckoning, "Hurry up! Let's go!"
Lin Sanjiu stood up sluggishly. Recently, whenever she was not fighting, she would move very slowly like a sloth. According to Mrs. Manas, this was because her body had not regained its full vitality, so it had not fully recovered from its hibernation state. When she walked to the door, she suddenly realized that something was amiss. She turned behind herself and saw that the bicolor cat was still sitting on top of the closet.
"Let's go. Why aren't you moving?" she asked, puzzled.
"You guys can go. Why do you want to bring me along?" Meowie Hu said in a matter-of-fact manner and crooked his head, "I am a cat from this world."
The three humans froze. The room became silent for a few seconds. During this time, they had spent so much time with the cat doctor that they had already treated his presence as something that was very natural to them. None of them expected that the cat doctor would suddenly refuse to travel with them.
"But... but," Rena repeated "but" many times, yet, she still couldn't find the appropriate words. "Don't you want to leave Kisaragi Station…"
The cat doctor licked his paws elegantly.
"I wonder if that visa you talked about would work on a cat. Besides, I have a pretty decent life in Kisaragi Station." He nodded his head in a dignified manner, "Though, I am very happy to have had friends with me over this period of time."
"We can try!" Rena felt a little desperate, "We usually bring two extra nameless visas. We'll give Jiu one and we can give you the other… Red Nautilus World is way better than this place. Honestly!"
"Really…" the cat doctor watched while she took out a visa, but his expression did not change much, "But, I am a cat. I have strong attachments to my home."
The teenage girl immediately showed a very bitter expression and pouted. Even though Lin Sanjiu also felt reluctant to part with the cat, she let out a faint sigh and patted the children' shoulders, "If Dr. Hu wishes to stay, let's not make things difficult for him. Let's go. If we don't go now, we might run out of time."
The cat watched them silently without moving or speaking.
With drooping shoulders, the children walked out of the door almost in tears. Lin Sanjiu paused for a moment. She turned to look at the cat doctor before strutting to the closet.
"Take care of yourself," Lin Sanjiu was very upset when she looked at this beautiful companion who had helped her a lot during this period of time. "I know you can charm people, but don't be too reckless just because of that. Maybe, someday, you might meet someone with higher consciousness just like me… After we leave, you should find and stay in a place with fewer posthumans…" she advised softly.
The cat's pair of emerald eyes flashed in the dim light, making it difficult to read his thoughts.
Lin Sanjiu sighed again. She was much taller now, so she could touch the top of the closet when she raised her arm. Lin Sanjiu reached out for the cat slowly; she wanted to stroke Meowie's fur.
The cat rubbed his forehead against her hand on his own initiative. He made a soft mewing sound. The feeling of his fluffy fur made her hand a little itchy.
"I will visit you again in the future when I have the chance," Lin Sanjiu said slowly.
Even though she said that, she knew it in her heart that in these unpredictable apocalyptic worlds it was difficult to see someone again after parting.
When the three humans walked out from the building, they turned back to look at the small figure of the cat standing at the window. They couldn't help feeling somewhat gloomy.
Heeding the cat doctor's suggestions, they sprinted and quickly found a station called "Old Vine Station". Just as before, after waiting for a short while, a train chugged into the train station and stopped. Then, the chugging train took them away from the active area of the pocket dimension speedily. Away from the provincial hospital and away from Meowie Hu.
Even after the cat's charm wore off, the two children still felt very dejected. Reno had even forgotten about his fear of cats as he sat in the train with a very despondent face.
Counting the days which had passed, they didn't have much time left in Kisaragi Station. Reno and Rena had arrived in this world one week earlier than Lin Sanjiu so they would naturally be sent away a week earlier.
Ever since the apocalypse descended upon her world, this was the first time that Lin Sanjiu had a clear idea of the world she was heading next. Holding the nameless visa in her hand, she felt a rare sense of apprehension.
The train slowly stopped. Apparently, it had reached another station. The humans on the train were unconcerned. They were discussing their plans for Red Nautilus. After deciding on a meeting point, the siblings informed Lin Sanjiu about various things she had to be aware of. Lin Sanjiu was taken aback a few times as she listened to them.
Naturally, no one boarded the train at this station.
When the doors made the beeping sounds before closing, they suddenly heard a faint sound from outside the train.
"Meeeeoooowwww—"
It was a long mew.
Before they could react, a black shadow hit the closed train doors with a thud. Lin Sanjiu responded the quickest, she immediately broke a window with a punch. As the train started moving, she scooped up the small, black figure who was outside the train—
"I changed my mind!" the cat said bashfully. He lost a bit of fur when Lin Sanjiu clutched him. "It is difficult to find people who understand you, so let's go—"
Lin Sanjiu looked up and caught a glimpse of a few people who had rushed into the station that their train just pulled out from. Those were probably the cat doctor's pursuers. She eyed the cat on the floor of the train.