Yama Reborn-Chapter 502 - 499 [Cats Are Curious Animals]

Chapter Four Hundred Ninety-Nine: Cats Are Curious Creatures

As for Chen Nuo’s mood at this moment... It could only be described with the word "crumbling."

Was the girl in front of him still the gentle and possibly School Belle Sun, Sun Keke, Sun CC, Sun Fatso?

Or, how did the gentle and lovely White Moonlight turn into this cold and detached Yun Yin?

How did Yun Yin from the 1981 timeline in another dimension turn into Sun Fatso of this space-time in the year 2002?

This thing... it’s not scientific!

This matter, it’s like, last night your dear dad was just fine, eating dinner: a plate of garlic chives scrambled with eggs and a bowl of pork braised with tofu skins, followed by a cup of Changbai Mountain red wine. He was so satisfied he even went outside for a stroll around the neighborhood and casually got a COVID test.

Then this morning he gets up, suddenly turns his face to you and, while pounding the table and glaring, says, "I am the great Qin Shi Huang!"

Where do you even begin to reason with that?

How difficult do you think it is?

What scientific theory can explain this kind of thing?

"Sun Keke" didn’t hesitate. After slapping Chen Nuo, her mood completely exploded. She spread her arms wide, and the exquisite and unparalleled internal fist and palm techniques of the Qingyun Sect started raining down on Chen Nuo like a torrent.

The moves were truly sophisticated.

Chen Nuo didn’t resist, letting this woman punch away at him like a madwoman for quite some time. He didn’t lose any HP, but "Sun Keke" was nearly dead tired.

Finally, Chen Nuo got annoyed. "Calm down for a sec, I need to think properly!"

"Think what, you..."

Chen Nuo sighed—it was time to use his ultimate move.

You forced my hand!

He grabbed the woman and flung her onto the bed!

"Sun Keke" instantly went silent!

She stared wide-eyed at the man in front of her, her face reddening. "What, what are you going to do to me!"

Even her voice trembled.

You could see and hear it; Yun Yin was truly scared.

Chen Nuo, with a stern face, grabbed the woman’s wrists with one hand, and with the other, he shook out the quilt on the bed.

He pushed, rolled, and wrapped.

With a glare, the curtain rope flew towards him. He clutched it in his hand, and in just a few moments, he had her tied up.

Yun Yin was completely dumbfounded!

What kind of move was this?

"Don’t shout! This old house has poor sound insulation. Don’t let the neighbors think there’s a crime scene here and cause us trouble by calling the police," Chen Nuo narrowed his eyes at Yun Yin. "I don’t care how you managed to Body Seize my Keke, you better get out and return Keke to me! Otherwise..."

At this point, Chen Nuo suddenly choked on his words.

Otherwise, what could he do to her?

Torture her? Abuse her?

This body belongs to Sun Keke, the Keke he adores. No matter what, how could he bear to hurt even a finger of hers?

Yun Yin gritted her teeth. "What Keke, what giving her back... I simply don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Chen Nuo rubbed his temples forcefully, suddenly turned around, pulled a towel from the drawer, and stuffed it into Yun Yin’s mouth.

"Just stay quiet for now!"

Chen Nuo turned and left the bedroom. Standing in the living room with trembling hands, he fumbled to light a cigarette. He took a drag, pushing down the irritation and shock in his heart, and strived to think of a strategy.

Sun Keke had turned into Yun Yin.

Yun Yin had Body Seized Sun Keke.

He couldn’t figure out where Yun Yin had come from yet, but this situation...

It definitely had something to do with that guy, Zero!

It’s Zero!

Definitely it! Besides it, no one else would have this ability!

It could turn Yun Yin into Louis, into the current Lu Xixi.

So Sun Keke turning into Yun Yin... it must be its doing too!

But the question is...

How to find Zero?

Chen Nuo felt a surge of anxiety again.

His only direct encounter with Zero had been... It wasn’t even in this timeline, but on the one in 1981!

So, how can I find Zero in 2002?

That guy had always been plotting in the shadows, then it would show up on its own to meet him.

I have no idea where this guy is, let alone what identity or name it’s using in 2002.

Even more, this guy can change identities at will.

It can also jump to any timeline it wants.

This isn’t even looking for a needle in a haystack.

This is like looking for a damned needle in the universe!

And it’s like looking for a freaking single needle in countless parallel universes!

Chen Nuo rubbed his temples until they were red, then took several deep breaths in succession.

The first question: who did it?

Answer: Zero.

Then, the second question arose.

Why would Zero do this? Turn Sun Keke into Yun Yin?

Chen Nuo pondered the answer to this question. Needless to say, it definitely had something to do with him.

Zero is plotting against me. This move is targeted at me.

So, following that train of thought...

The third question:

Turning Sun Keke into Yun Yin—what is it trying to achieve by scheming against me this way?

What impact will it have on me, and how does that benefit Zero?

Zero’s goal is to manipulate me, then ensure I never become Four-dimensional, never occupy that "unique" position.

For this, it doesn’t hesitate to jump timelines and has set up the romantic plot line between me and Lu Xixi, crafting itself into the strongest shipper in history.

Using its malicious words, almost like a curse: May you forever bask in the river of love.

Yeah, just soak in the river of love, don’t come out, don’t evolve to become Four-dimensional!

That’s Zero’s ultimate goal.

This line of reasoning is sound.

So... turning Sun Keke into Yun Yin, how does that help its ultimate goal?

He couldn’t quite figure that part out.

Eventually, it all came back to the core:

How to find Zero?

In the 2002 timeline...

Never mind me, even Seed, Octopus Monster, The Fourth Seed—these top predators—are also looking for Zero, yet can’t find it.

What about me?

In this 2002 timeline, it seems only he and Zero had ever interacted...

That’s not right!

Chen Nuo threw away the cigarette butt and stamped it out!

In this 2002 timeline, besides himself, there was another person who had dealings with Zero.

Turning his head, he walked into the room, looking at Yun Yin lying on the bed, curled up in the blanket.

Looking at that familiar face, those peach-blossom eyes no longer gentle, that pretty face no longer tender, but gazing at him with angry and indifferent eyes.

Anger surged up within Chen Nuo’s heart.

With a point of his finger, a strand of spiritual power wrapped around her, sealing Yun Yin’s entire body. Chen Nuo said coldly, "You stay here. I have to go take care of some business."

After thinking for a moment, he left behind a strand of Spiritual Force Tentacles coiled beside the bed, then Chen Nuo turned and left.

Yun Yin on the bed had also calmed down, merely watching Chen Nuo leave coldly as the door was shut. Yet, this woman closed her eyes instead.

As befits her stature as a top fighter, Yun Yin gave up futile resistance and struggle. Instead, she calmed her heart, secretly gathering bits of her faint spiritual power, trying to look inward.

Only by regaining my strength can I challenge this bastard!

It was just that her current spiritual power was really too weak—by the standards of the top fighter Yun Yin, it was indeed too trivial to mention.

But bit by bit, it was gathering. Yun Yin closed her eyes and entered meditation.

As long as she could look inward and enter her own Consciousness Space, Yun Yin felt there might be a chance to figure out what exactly had happened to her.

Chen Nuo instantly spread his consciousness out, and in an instant, nearly half of Jinling City was enveloped in his spiritual consciousness.

The several parks in the south of the city yielded nothing.

Zijin Mountain in the east of the city yielded nothing.

Xuanwu Lake yielded nothing.

The riverside park in the west of the city yielded nothing.

The north of the city...

That cunning Gray Cat, it actually couldn’t be found?

After who knows how long in her meditation, Yun Yin’s spiritual power accumulated bit by bit until it finally reached a bottleneck...

She sighed in her heart and opened her eyes.

No, this body is now too weak. It should be simple to gather spiritual power and enter the Consciousness Space, but I can’t even do it.

According to my judgment, with my current level of spiritual power, even in the Underground World, I would be at the bottom of the ranks.

If I want to cultivate to a state where I can enter the Consciousness Space, it will probably take about a year and a half of hard work.

So useless!

Suddenly, Yun Yin frowned. Lying motionless on the bed, she tried hard to move her eyeballs. The corner of her eye seemed to catch a glimpse of something crouched by the window.

It was just that as soon as her gaze swept over, that thing moved.

A ball of gray, fluffy matter swept past the edge of the windowsill. Then, the handle on the window automatically turned, and the window opened a crack.

The light and agile ball of fluff jumped in and crouched on the table in front of the windowsill, quietly watching Yun Yin on the bed.

Yun Yin quietly looked back at the cat.

Although her body was sealed and she couldn’t speak, Yun Yin’s eyes rapidly turned cold!

Without a doubt, she recognized this cat!

The Gray Cat paused there, quietly sizing up Yun Yin on the bed for more than a minute before it finally spoke.

"We... have met again, Miss Yun Yin. I really didn’t expect that we would meet again at this time, in this place, and in this way."

Yun Yin’s gaze was indifferent.

The Gray Cat raised its paw. A strange power circumvented the spiritual power left by Chen Nuo, touching Yun Yin’s body, and suddenly, she felt her throat loosen.

Her heart stirred, and she managed to speak, "It’s you, cat!"

The Gray Cat licked its paw. "Don’t move recklessly. I can only quietly undo a little bit of the seal. If you move too much, that dog-man will notice. However, now that you can talk, we can communicate a little."

Yun Yin snorted. "You fearful cat... tell me, who did this to me and turned me into what I am now? Was it you?"

"No, I’m not capable of such schemes," the Gray Cat shook its head.

"Then you..." Yun Yin’s mind stirred. "Then why did you come to see me? Just at this time, and you even found this place?"

The Gray Cat shook its head again. "I came to deliver some news and clarify some things, so you’re not completely in the dark about your current situation."

As the Gray Cat waved its paw, Yun Yin slowly floated up from the bed, hovered to the window, and stood upright.

This angle allowed her to see outside the window.

"I know, your memory is likely still stuck in London, 1981, right? You think that just the day before, you had a huge fight with that guy Chen Nuo in London. Both of you were heavily injured. He took you back to a manor, and then, on the verge of death, you lost consciousness.

"Then, you woke up here, and you’d become someone else.

"Right?"

Yun Yin replied, "...Right."

"Good, then let me first introduce some basic facts about the present.

"Firstly, it’s not 1981. Now, it’s 2002."

Yun Yin was stunned!

2002?

I’ve been unconscious for... nearly twenty years?!

"Also, this isn’t London, but Jinling City in Huaxia," the Gray Cat said in a low voice. "Of course, by lineage, you are Chinese, so in a way, you’ve returned to your homeland."

Yun Yin’s voice was somewhat hoarse. "How did I... go from 1981’s London to 2002’s Jinling City?"

"We haven’t reached the Q&A part yet.

"Now, the third piece of information.

"Your current identity is not that of a descendant of Yun He, the former Sect Leader of the Qingyun Sect.

"Your identity now is that of an ordinary female university student in Jinling City, Huaxia, in the year 2002, and your major is in education.

"You have parents who love you dearly. Even though your father is not your birth father, he treats you as his own, giving you all his fatherly love.

"You’ve been a kind and gentle girl from a young age, with a beautiful appearance that is charming and likable.

"However, your love life hasn’t gone smoothly. You have fallen in love with a very ’dog’ of a man.

"Although that guy is very impressive in many ways, I must say, when it comes to feelings, he really is a dog.

"But, unfortunately, fate has entangled you two together.

"You loved him... err, no, remove the ’loved.’ You actually have always loved him.

"You’ve felt heartache, discomfort, pain, and disappointment because of him.

"Oh, the ’he’ I’m talking about is the man you’ve already met."

Yun Yin was stunned, frowning as she said, "That man?"

After a pause, she asked, "That’s not right... When I met him, he treated me as if I were a woman named Lu Xixi. He even claimed Lu Xixi was his wife. He should love that Lu Xixi, right?

"But now... I seem to be called something else—Keke?

"Shouldn’t he and that Lu Xixi be the real couple?"

The Gray Cat sighed.

"That’s why he’s a dog," it said.

Yun Yin was silent.

The woman and the cat looked at each other for a moment.

Yun Yin sneered. "So, what about you? Turning me into someone else... in this situation, what role does this cat play?"

"Me? I’m just a messenger," the Gray Cat said, seeming to smile bitterly as it shook its head. "This thought, this message, suddenly appeared in my mind, and I came to deliver it to you.

"And I’m sure that once I’ve done this, perhaps this part of my memory will be erased."

Yun Yin narrowed her eyes. "Who’s behind all of this? Is it...?"

"It’s the one who turned you into a Chosen One," the Gray Cat grinned.

Yun Yin said nothing more.

Even a slight hint of fear began to appear in her eyes. "So... why do you obey it? Has it controlled your thoughts, making you do its bidding?"

"No, no, no, it’s not what you think," the Gray Cat shook its head. "It can’t control my thoughts.

"It may be very powerful, but not powerful enough to manipulate the thoughts of another Seed.

"What it can do is quietly plant a memory or a thought in my head, set to be triggered at a specific time.

"And I..."

The Gray Cat smiled. "Today, such a thought and memory were activated in my brain, telling me to do this.

"Of course, I could choose not to follow this memory and thought; I could refuse.

"But... I didn’t refuse.

"Because I’m curious too. I wanted to know what was going on and how things would unfold.

"So, I came.

"After all... cats are curious creatures."

The Gray Cat chuckled softly.

Then, the next second, it suddenly couldn’t laugh anymore.

Because a hand suddenly stretched in from outside the window, grabbed the scruff of its neck, and lifted the Gray Cat into its grip!

The fur on the Gray Cat’s body instantly bristled!

Then it turned its head and saw that dog-man’s face!

"I know cats are curious creatures. I’ve heard cats have nine lives too. Shall we test that, Gray Cat?"

Chen Nuo stared at the sly cat in his hand through gritted teeth!

The Gray Cat tucked its head in tightly, covering its eyes with its paws. "You, you... Chen Xiaoguo, how did you find me?!"

"Simple," Chen Nuo sneered. "Every time something big happens, you’re always involved—either by my side, appearing in the situation, or providing me with just the right information.

"You’re just like an NPC in a puzzle game!

"This time, such a huge incident occurred, but instead, you hid and prevented me from finding you. That makes no sense.

"I figured either you were truly afraid I’d discover something, so you were hiding,

"or you were playing hide-and-seek right under my nose!"

The Gray Cat’s paws flailed as it struggled.

Chen Nuo clenched his teeth. "Come to think of it, I’ve always been curious about something... What happens when a human kills a Seed?

"I’ve never killed a Seed before.

"Shall we try it out today?"

The Gray Cat kicked frantically. "I don’t want to! What’s there to try with something like that! Besides... Chen Nuo, you can’t kill me. I may be timid, but you might not be able to beat me!"

"But I am a Chosen One! If you fight me, it means you’re giving up withdrawing and rejoining the race! I may not be able to kill you, but do you think Seed and the others would want to kill you?"

The Gray Cat froze.

Suddenly, it uttered a strange sentence, and upon hearing it, Chen Nuo instantly let go, dropping it back onto the table.

It said...

"I think I know where Zero is."