Vera smiled: "This is also a member of the Punisher team. Please meet Cat Kate."
Shen Mi still looked at the big fat yellow cat in disbelief, confirming that the expression on his face was indeed human, as if he was saying to Shen Mi:
"I'm fine, young man..."
"It is indeed a member of the Punisher team, and the earliest one among us... I think Uncle Cat is the most suitable to be your contractor mentor, because he has rich enough experience." Vera explained patiently: "From our current situation Judging from the work arrangement, Uncle Cat is also more suitable. He doesn’t have many field missions recently, so he just has time to accompany you..."
Luo Qing, who was sitting in the driver's seat, pursed his lips and said: "You have to pay for the food when you send someone there...I'm afraid the captain is trying to save cat food, right? Uncle Cat can save money on cat food by sending it to you..."
Vera shrugged her shoulders and did not express any objection...
Shen Mi looked at the fat cat next to him again, and felt... the professional image of the contractors that the Punisher team had built up overnight was disappearing before his eyes.
"I am also a contractor, and my ability is just possession..." Fat Cat stretched out his paw and licked it, then said disdainfully: "Is it worth making such a fuss about?"
Shen Mi nodded numbly... Everything you said is right!
Indeed, this is a world of supernatural powers, and the emergence of various strange abilities is not something to be surprised about. However, this person and a cat were sitting side by side in the back of the car, with their eyes facing each other, making Shen Mi still feel an indescribable weirdness - —Especially since this cat keeps making various human expressions.
After Vera waved goodbye, the electric car started slowly, and the pushing feeling caused by the speed arose spontaneously.
"For newcomers to the contract, this is the door to a new world that has just opened..." Luo Qing said to himself as he drove, not knowing whether he intended to teach Shen Mi through words and deeds.
…
It's dawn, and the bright sun jumps out of the horizon from the distance, spreading its light to everything.
The entire Hot Spring City seemed to be waking up from a deep sleep, and people were already coming out of the mixed-style buildings of Chinese and Western styles to welcome the new day.
There are Europeans in suits and ties, rushing to the tram station with briefcases under their arms; there are yellow-skinned Chinese people standing in front of a fast food restaurant, holding a sandwich in one hand and a cup in the other, wolfing down breakfast; there are also several horse-drawn carriages A convoy of vehicles, mostly brown-skinned Hesse people wearing cleaning uniforms, collected the iron trash cans on the roadside in turn, dumped all the garbage on the car, and transported it out of the city...
People of all races living together without any conflict gave Shen Mi a strong sense of unreality again, as if he was in an old movie.
Soon we arrived at the central square of Hot Springs, where I had been here countless times before... Cars shuttled along the ring road, and inside the ring was a huge square, with a statue of a figure holding a giant ax and a shield in the middle - Changsheng.
The "Immortal" in my memory is an ancient man from more than 2,000 years ago. He was the leader of the Pandora Organization at that time. He led the Ironmen to break out of Ayerkula Island and was a pioneer in returning to the mainland of Rodinia... Therefore, in the long period of time, It has been respected by the Ironborn throughout its history and has been worshiped by generations as a symbol of "freedom".
At this time, Shen Mi once again cast his eyes on the face of "Changsheng", but saw a completely different feeling - this admired sculpture has a flatter face and thin straight hair, typical of the Tang Dynasty. feature…
Shen Mi's mind moved, and she turned to look at the fat cat who was licking its front paws. The other person seemed to have been paying attention to Shen Mi's gaze...
Being watched by a cat completely dissipated the sleepiness that was originally so drowsy.
"Have you always been possessed by a cat?" The plan of squinting in the car for a while was no longer possible, and Shen Mi decided to talk to his contractor mentor.
The fat yellow cat sat up, stretched its two front paws to both sides, and made a gesture of spreading its hands. The long whiskers on the cat's face began to tremble, and it said:
"I don't want to do this either, I can't help it..."
The meow meowed, but the timbre was fused with the richness of a middle-aged man, making Shen Mi make some guesses about Cat Kate's age and gender...
It's just that the weird feeling of talking to a cat is even stronger.
"Don't try to understand other people's secrets..." Fat Meow said with a mysterious face: "Understanding me is not within the scope of teaching you... You should think more about yourself."
Um... This is a personal question, I was educated by the cat! Shen Mi grasped the "mentor"'s mood, lowered his head and pondered a few questions that he had never gotten the answer to. Now is the opportunity to communicate.
After a pause, Shen Mi asked the cat in a humble tone: "If the contractor does not pay the price... what will happen in the end?"
"Good question..." Fat Meow seemed to be very satisfied with Shen Ming's attitude. He actually straightened up and leaned back on the car seat, revealing his furry white belly, and hugged his cat's paws as if thinking...
This is what a university professor looks like:
"Generally speaking, this situation will not occur, because original sin is painful, and no one can persist all the time, watching the pain and disease get stronger and stronger... However, there are always special circumstances, when the payment cannot be completed, the original sin The pain will be so severe that the contractor will lose consciousness and eventually die of pain, or... there is a certain chance that the contractor will lose self-awareness and become a spirit puppet!"
Spirit puppet... The second time I heard the word "spiritual puppet", Xiao Bai's perfect face appeared in Shen Mi's mind - her eyes were dull, but her beauty was breathtaking.
From the appearance point of view, Xiaobai is an extremely beautiful girl, but her eyes are always empty and scattered, as if she has lost her soul. In the emotional world when she awakens, Xiaobai also has no emotional color of any living thing...
"Yes, it's the spirit puppet. You've already met Xiaobai..." Mao already guessed what Shen Mi was thinking of, and continued: "The spirit puppet is the product of the contractor who failed to pay the price and lost his self-awareness. They only have simple With mechanical thinking, it is even difficult for them to take care of themselves. They seem to have lost their wisdom and spirituality and become a part of this world... Meow... The part I am talking about has the same meaning as air, water, and earth..."
"Losing the intelligent thinking of higher beings and turning into lower beings without thinking?" Shen Mi summarized Fei Miao's words and sighed: "How could such a thing happen..."
This is a bit cruel... This shows that Xiaobai was originally a contractor, but because she did not pay the price, she eventually lost her self-awareness and became a spirit doll - she was originally a person, a human with superpowers, but now she is just a Vegetative state... Xiaobai once had a conversation when she woke up, explaining to herself that there was no malicious intent, and that this behavior was just due to her mechanical thinking, just like a machine working.
Shen Mi's last words caused the fat cat to misunderstand. It thought Shen Mi was asking how the spirit puppets were produced. It couldn't help frowning and racking its brains to think about how to answer this question. Even its two round pupils changed. It became two fine lines...
Just when Shen Mi came back from his thoughts, Fat Cat suddenly hit his left paw with his right paw, making a fist-punching gesture like a human being "There is something to do", and said to Shen Mi with a smile:
"I'll tell you a story..."
"In the beginning, the Ironborn had no contractors, and their supernatural abilities came from another creature on the continent, the elves..."
As if telling a story to a child, Sha Mao began to narrate in an instructive tone, giving Shen Mi an illusion - when she was a child, her mother held a picture book and spoke softly of "A long time ago..."
Shen Mi pretended to be listening and listened to Sha Mao as he continued to talk:
"Elves are perfect creatures. They live in harmony with nature and are almost a part of nature. They have perfect looks and gentle natures. Well, in other words, every elf is an unparalleled beauty. They are simply The perfect creatures favored by the Iron God not only give them a perfect appearance, but also... possess various magical powers..."
The God of Iron is an illusory god in this world, the original creator of intelligent creatures. His status is equivalent to Nuwa in Eastern mythology and Prometheus in Western mythology... Shen Mi grasped the key words and asked: "Magic power" ?”
"Yes! It's magic!" Seeing Shen Mi's serious thinking, the fat cat was obviously a little pleased, his whiskers trembled even more, and the cat's claws swung:
"The greedy Ironborn coveted this magical power and sent people to the kingdom of elves to learn this power. No, not to learn, but to steal is more appropriate, or to steal... So, the Ironborn tribe succeeded, and they gained control Using the method of mysterious power, superpowers began to appear in future generations..."
"It's just that stealing means punishment. The superior Iron God does not allow mediocre Ironmen to obtain mysterious powers for nothing, so he imposes divine punishment so that Ironmen must pay the price after using their supernatural abilities!"
Speaking of this, Fat Meow showed a ferocious expression on his face, as if imitating the extreme and arrogance of the Iron God, revealing his four sharp canine teeth...
"So, the price and original sin appeared, and the contractor appeared! Once the contractor just uses power without paying the price, the original sin will turn the ironborn into unconscious elves-that is, elf dolls, which we now call spirit dolls. .”
"This is almost like a curse, and it has been with the Ironborn to this day... Spirit puppets have no independent consciousness. Like elves, they have the power to coexist harmoniously with the heaven and earth. Like the sky, the earth, the wind, and the water, they are an integral part of the world..."
"What's even more ironic is that when the contractor becomes a spirit puppet, no matter how ugly he is, he will transform into a perfect face like an elf, extremely beautiful..."
The cat used vivid language and rich movements to tell a mythical and touching story, but it was still full of mixed feelings... This is a cursed story. If it is true, then...
"Power and risk are equivalent."
Sha Mao made a summary: "Otherwise, what do you think the job of the Punisher team is? It is to help new contractors pay the price smoothly until they are proficient... This is why I am your mentor."
