Chapter 30: Almost Got Caught Again!

After a while, the Black Cat left, and the place darkened once more, becoming pitch black.

"Wahh..." Turtle Miss began to sob.

"Cry all you want, crying won't help anyway." Ying Su said. If crying were useful, she would have just eaten, slept, and cried her way to enlightenment back at the containment facility, wouldn't she?

"What... what is going on..."

"Punk Town. This is Punk Town. Do you know where that is?"

"Punk Town... I... I live here!" Turtle Miss exclaimed.

"Do you know that person? The one who caught you. Um... we call her Master."

"No... I'm sure I've never seen her at my school." Turtle Miss said. "Do you know how to escape? I'll do anything!"

"It's pointless. Even if you escape from here, you'll only be able to spend the rest of your life as a turtle." Ying Su replied.

"I can call my mom and dad! We can think of a way together. They might believe me!" Turtle Miss insisted.

"And the payment?"

"Pa... payment?"

"Of course. Otherwise, why would I help you?" Ying Su wasn't some naive little bunny, easily swayed by a few sweet words. The information Turtle Miss could provide had already been traded to Ying Su in advance by Hamster.

"You... you don't want to escape?"

"I can leave anytime. The one who needs to escape," Ying Su leaned down, her bird form looming much larger over the tiny turtle, making her shrink back in fear, "is just you, little girl."

"Then... then what do you want? I... I can give you money! I'll give you all my money! My parents will give you money too!"

"I don't need that stuff. The only thing about you that interests me is your soul." Ying Su stated slowly.

"Wh... what?!"

"How about a deal? I want your soul, and I'll help you return to your parents."

"..."

There was no response. Perhaps she was scared, or maybe she simply didn't understand Ying Su's words. But Ying Su didn't care. She was just feeling whimsical and wanted to try out her new skill.

If she didn't want to, fine. Although Ying Su didn't consider herself a good person, she wasn't cruel enough to casually take someone's life to refine her Soul-Snatching Banner.

The night passed without further conversation.

The next day, after sensing that Master had left, Ying Su patiently waited another two hours before slipping out of the cage.

She didn't open the cage. Instead, she liquefied and oozed out through the bars. Opening the cage might allow Turtle Miss to escape, only to be killed by the Black Cat, which would be doing her a disservice.

Though, whether the Black Cat would have the strength for that later is another question...

"Come, face me!!"

Ying Su transformed back into her figurine form and fought the pouncing Black Cat.

The Black Cat was seriously hindering her movements, so she had to deal with it first.

Even if she couldn't kill it, she at least needed to make sure it couldn't interfere anymore.

Ying Su conjured a tiny figurine horse, mounted it, and charged at the Black Cat with her Gauntlet Sword transformed into a needle.

"Charge—!"

Whack—!

She was slapped down by a single cat paw.

"Damn it, not practical!" Ying Su, having liquefied again, surged forward like a piece of cloth.

There was a reason Olivia always fought in this form. The weapon only needed minor adjustments at the tip, and staying liquid significantly reduced damage.

Although the back-and-forth brawl with the Black Cat was fierce, from a bird's-eye view, it looked like a black plastic bag fighting a kitten.

"Take this!" Ying Su threw out another Strike card and thrust her needle forward, directly stabbing the Black Cat in the eye.

"Meow—!" It cried out in pain, leaping back and running away.

"Don't you dare run!"

However, in terms of size, Ying Su was still much smaller and couldn't jump as high. She could only watch as it leaped back onto its bed by the door.

"Whatever. It should stay quiet for a while." Ying Su shook her body. A 〖WIN〗 symbol popped up above her head, followed by a little trumpet that tooted twice. She quickly went to gather the bits of herself that had been torn off. If she didn't retrieve those little blood droplets scattered on the floor, it would take her a long time to recover naturally.

Then she flattened into a pancake shape, jumped up onto the bed as a springboard, and leaped again onto the desk.

But where to find the password?

Ying Su thought for a moment and then slithered directly inside the keyboard.

Hiding here was actually fine. The vantage point was great too. She didn't believe Master would go days without using the computer.

But before half a day had passed, the Black Cat caught her scent and came looking again.

"Meow!" The Black Cat scratched at the keyboard but couldn't do anything to Ying Su hiding inside.

"Shoo, go away." Ying Su extended a hand from within the keyboard and gave the Black Cat a slap.

"Hsss—!"

It hissed, but the Black Cat truly had no way to deal with Ying Su, who had shrunk into the keyboard. They say cats are made of liquid, but unfortunately, it wasn't liquid enough. Ying Su was the real liquid.

However, Ying Su noticed that the eye she had injured earlier showed no trace of damage now.

She had stabbed with the intent to kill. But it seemed the other party also possessed troublesome regenerative abilities. If it came down to a fight to the death, a prolonged battle would likely end with Ying Su's defeat.

Ying Su waited inside the keyboard until Master returned.

This time, she quietly extended a tiny tendril from the keyboard to observe Master's actions more clearly.

The girl returned wearing a school uniform, changed her clothes, then went outside to get something to eat.

Sitting on the bed, swinging her legs, eating a fruit cake—she looked like an innocent, carefree little girl.

If she hadn't already killed countless people, and if Ying Su had just met her outside, she probably wouldn't have suspected this girl was a monstrous villain.

Finally, the girl took out the cage, ready to play with her little toys.

But as soon as she pulled out the cage, she cried out angrily, "Where's the little bird?! Where is the bird?!"

She got on the floor, lifted the bedsheet, searched everywhere, but found nothing. Grabbing the turtle, she demanded, "Where's the little bird?!"

"I... I don't know!"

"If you don't know, then die!" Master said, crushing the little turtle alive. After a凄惨 sound, she wiped the sticky remains from her hand with a tissue.

"Little bird, little bird, come out, please? I won't put you in a cage anymore, okay?" She called out in the room. "You can live with Xiao Mi, okay? I won't lock you up!"

But there was no way Ying Su would come out.

"Huff... Little bird, if you don't come out now, I'll pluck all your feathers!" She stomped her foot in anger, but Ying Su was delighted to see her so frustrated.

"Damn it, Xiao Mi, find her for me!"

"Meow!" The Black Cat meowed at the keyboard. Master fiddled with the keyboard, shook it upside down, but nothing came out. Puzzled for a moment, she said to the Black Cat, "Xiao Mi, you can be a bad kitty for once!"

"She turned into liquid and is hiding inside the keyboard."

Shit shit shit shit—!

The Black Cat was also human-transformed!

Immediately, Master began dismantling the keyboard. A blob of black liquid instantly leaped out, transforming into a bird trying to escape.

"Xiao Mi, catch her!"

"Meow!!"

The Black Cat pounced. The bird turned back into liquid.

"Ew, gross! I don't want it anymore! Little bird, you're a bad child!" Master shouted angrily. After the Black Cat let go and ran off, she stomped on the liquid, ground it a few times, then wiped it clean with a tissue and threw it in the trash.

She can use her power without direct contact...

Ying Su took a deep breath. She had almost been caught.

To save her life, she had decisively severed and sacrificed two-thirds of her blood volume. Now, Ying Su was desperately weak. She hoped this would let her escape detection.

It seemed Master didn't suspect anything. But now, with both the turtle and the bird gone, the frustrated girl turned on the computer to find some entertainment.

Ying Su, still hiding inside the keyboard, finally got the login password.

The discarded parts of her body seemed unrecoverable. She didn't dare risk appearing in the Black Cat's sight again.

But the cat's bed was on the cat tree right next to the door, overlooking the entire room.

With no other choice, Ying Su had to stay inside the keyboard, waiting for the right opportunity. Besides, she was now too weak to even fight the Black Cat.

From a safe, hidden crevice in the keyboard, Ying Su began observing what Master was browsing.

〖Professor Spencer's science forum, opening on October 7th, is conducive to promoting scientific and cultural exchange among teenagers...〗

〖His immense contributions to pedagogy are admirable. He is a respectable person...〗

〖Magical Girl Orange embroiled in scandal. Former teammate: comrade or girlfriend?〗

〖The Hero Association has decided...〗

"?"

Why are there so many freaks and monsters in this world? Are these tabloid stories even real?

Hey, what about the containment facility? Help! Isn't it your job to contain these weirdos?

Don't let them mess up the world!

But Master just skimmed through and then navigated to a site she liked—a small animal photography website.

She looks like a child who really loves animals and cherishes life!

What followed was various boring webpage scrolling, almost putting Ying Su to sleep. But Master seemed quite happy, taking screenshots and saving pictures of cute little things she liked.

Definitely a computer illiterate. No wonder she rarely turns it on, and it boots up so slowly.

She played until past ten o'clock, then yawned, took a shower, and without putting on any clothes, just dried off, got into bed, and fell asleep under the covers.

"Does she live here alone?"

Only in that situation could someone be so casual.