Chapter 129 Hatching
The biting wind howled in my ears, leaving a long trail of dog paw prints on the snow.
According to Wangwangzai's assessment, the little rabbit headed east after leaving its burrow. But for some reason, it suddenly lost signal, a strange phenomenon that made him worried: Could something have happened to it? But what kind of accident could happen when we're dead?
Filled with questions, the dog quickened his pace. Suddenly, he slammed on the brakes and froze on the snow.
The cat squirmed nervously, signaling to be put down, but the dog wouldn't let go.
"Meow Xiaosu, something's up! I sense the presence of an enemy!"
"Huh? There are enemies here?"
"It's the infamous dark wizard, Lord 'Witch Raven'!"
The dog didn't know how he knew this either. But he accepted this premise so easily. The cat, who had been confused, seemed to have had its memory switched on: "Ah, I remember now! Legend has it that Lord Raven knows evil black magic."
"That's right, he's the one who kidnapped the little rabbit. I'm going to rescue the little rabbit from that big bad guy!"
"Little woof, let's go together!"
"No! Meow Xiaosu, you're too weak. Your strength is no match for Lord Witch Crow. I, a single dog, can handle this. Just wait and see, I'll definitely beat that Witch Crow to a pulp!"
"But I'm still worried about you..."
"Don't worry! I'm a smart, agile, and adorable dog with keen senses. Believe in my strength, I will definitely return victorious!"
The cat couldn't help but start its voice chat, complaining, "Meow meow meow?" (I understand the logic, but what does being fluffy and cute have to do with this?)
"Hey, this is my dog persona! You can rest assured, just wait for my good news!"
Having said that, the milky-white fluffy ball rushed toward the huge black shadow to the east.
The raven sensed the approach of the puppy, spread its wings, and shook off a few glossy black feathers, which, reflected in the snow, appeared as eye-like illusions.
"It's Lord Raven's dark magic! I can't let him bewitch me!"
The dog closed its eyes, avoiding anything that might disturb its peace of mind, and used its sense of smell and hearing to search for the little rabbit.
Seeing that the puppy hadn't been hit, Lord Crow gently flapped his wings, and countless sharp feathers transformed into a rain of arrows, shooting towards the dog in unison.
The dog showed no fear, keeping its eyes tightly closed, and relied on its excellent hearing to accurately judge the position of each arrow. Under the overwhelming onslaught of the ravens, it skillfully weaved through the gaps, and no matter how many ravens' feathers it was attacked, it could not be harmed in the slightest.
The raven was enraged and launched a new, even fiercer attack. This time, it was no longer a rain of arrows, but a whirlwind of black storm that trapped the puppy in the center.
The dog steadied himself, and with a powerful leap, broke through the ravens' encirclement. The moment he breathed in the fresh air, he was overjoyed to sense the rabbit's presence: it was in the cave across the way!
Using the airflow generated by the black storm, the dog turned in the air and swooped down towards the cave.
In the blink of an eye, before the dog could even touch the ground, a dark figure appeared out of thin air in front of him and flung the dog far away.
The dog, who had just completed a 1080-degree spin in mid-air and landed face-first with its mouth full of snow, was stunned and puzzled: How could that raven be so fast?!
"Could he teleport?"
Undeterred, the dog rallied and continued his battle with the raven. He pretended to fall down the snowy slope, but in reality, he used a roundabout route to approach the little rabbit trapped in the cave.
The raven reverted to its original raven form, seemingly believing its opponent had fled in disarray.
The dog moved nimbly and cautiously down the snow slope, trying not to make a sound. He stealthily made his way to the cave, estimating that he was about 13 steps away from rescuing the little rabbit.
However, fate is unpredictable. Just as the dog was preparing to win this round in one fell swoop, the raven struck again with lightning speed. The moment the dog jumped, he was swatted away by the huge black shadow.
The dog, lying sprawled in the snow, was shocked. He stubbornly stood up and continued his desperate fight with the raven.
After several rounds, the battered dog finally realized one thing: the black magic used by the witch raven wasn't teleportation, but rather freezing time, like pressing a pause button. However, while the world remained still, the witch raven itself could roam freely.
"He anticipated my next move and stopped my actions in advance, taking corresponding countermeasures. In this way, he can always gain the upper hand!"
"But the question is, how does he know what I'm thinking?"
"No, I have to fool him and make him fall for it!"
To the dog's surprise, the raven suddenly went berserk, as if it had heard his thoughts, and retaliated in the most severe way.
The dog, finding no way to hide, quickly gave in. In his fading consciousness, he heard an old and terrifying voice: "Bourbon, I've found you!"
The puppy started falling again, but this time not downwards, but inwards.
He saw the stars flickering beneath the fur and flesh, dim and lifeless as if lacking electricity.
Later, somehow, his star lit up again as if it had been switched on, and it shone brightly once more.
After a while, the dog woke up.
The moment the dog opened his eyes, he saw the cat's petite and adorable figure standing between him and the raven. Against the backdrop of this cold and cruel silhouette, there was a strange sense of tragic grandeur.
"Meow!" The cat arched its back, bared its teeth, and bravely challenged the witch raven.
"Miao Xiaosu, run! You can't beat him!"
The dog was extremely worried, but its injuries were too severe, and it was no longer able to escape with the cat.
The huge black shadow approached step by step. The dog closed its eyes in despair, thinking unwillingly: I've already died once, and I can't believe I'll die again!
Strangely, the raven did not continue to approach, but stopped a short distance away: an invisible barrier blocked the invasion of black magic.
The dog's eyes lit up, and it barked excitedly, "Woof woof woof!" (Meow Xiaosu, you're amazing!)
The cat scratched its head sheepishly: "Actually, I don't know what happened either. I just came to check on you since you hadn't come back yet..."
"Then let's hurry and rescue the little rabbit!"
However, before the furry creatures could take any action, Bourbon and Scotland "hatched" and returned to the real world.
"Huh? Where am I?" Bourbon looked around in horror: he was sitting in a large, egg-shaped device, with many electronic sensors attached to his head and torso. The upper part of the eggshell was open, and he could see that Little Scotland next to him was also inside an "egg".
The room was spotless, and only Alice, dressed in a white lab coat, stood before them. Seeing the bewildered expressions on the two participants' faces, Alice said, "Welcome back! You've worked hard; you did a great job."
"What is this thing? I just... I think I turned into a dog."
"This is a game, currently in closed beta. To give players a more realistic gaming experience, we will try our best to make participants believe that their environment is real. Of course, to avoid scaring players away, the game has disabled the sense of pain."
Bourbon was incredulous upon hearing this, thinking: "I never imagined that virtual reality games have reached this level! I genuinely thought I was dead just now!"
"Alice, if you want players to believe the game is real, shouldn't you give them a human form? Why did you turn me into a dog?"
“Bourbon, it wasn’t me who turned you into a dog, but rather the conclusion of your genome analysis report,” Alice corrected. “Besides, a human form is also possible, but the more complex the game character, the greater the simulation overhead. Your mission this time isn’t about that, so there’s no need to unnecessarily increase costs.”
"What did you mean by the genome analysis report you just mentioned? Why is Bourbon a dog and I a cat?" Scotland asked in a childish voice. Bourbon and Alice couldn't help but exclaim inwardly: Wow! He's so cute!
Alice explained gently and kindly to the Scottish children: "We all evolved step by step from our ancient ancestors, just like cats and dogs. By comparing and analyzing the similarities of a person with key gene sequences from other species, we can determine the person's anthropomorphic spirit beast carrier."
"What carrier?" Alice spoke too quickly, and neither Bourbon nor Scotland heard her clearly.
“A personality-mimicking spirit beast carrier,” Alice repeated. “In short: mimicry spirit body. The game simulation device you are in now is called a mimicry pod.”
"Mimicry?"
"To put it simply, mimicry is the opposite of anthropomorphism in literature; it is the act of giving humans the form and characteristics of animals."
The cats and dogs blinked their eyes, and although I felt like they understood, it still felt magical.
"Alice, what's wrong with that little rabbit? Why did it end the game before we could save it?"
"Because you have already lost, there is no point in continuing the game."
"How could that be? Scotland clearly repelled the enemy!"
Alice looked regretful: "It's a pity, Bourbon, you lost before that. Because you failed to keep the secret that had to be kept."
"Are you saying the enemy anticipated my actions, or that they knew my real code name?" Bourbon asked, and Alice's expression suggested the latter.
Bourbon complained, "But this is totally unfair! You didn't even tell me the rules of the game!"
"Shouldn't keeping secrets be a principle that one must uphold until death for a secret agent?"
Bourbon was speechless, then asked, "I still don't understand, how did they know my code name? And then again, what can they do even if they know?"
"You're not the only ones who can hear each other's thoughts; the Raven can too. The problem is, when everyone can freely enter the inner world of others, how do we keep secrets? It's just that in the game, secrets are simplified into code names."
"So, just like in 'Real Names,' once your real identity is revealed, the police will come knocking, right? Game over!" Bourbon raised an eyebrow and said, "But it's strange, if that's the case, why did you wait until Scotland came to rescue me before ending the game?"
Alice gave an enigmatic smile: "I was waiting for a miracle, and you really did it."
"Huh?"
"Thank you, Bourbon. You're right. Everyone makes mistakes." Alice said, then turned and left, leaving the cats and dogs still inside the mimicry pod looking bewildered.
"Bourbon, is she just going to leave us here like this?"
The golden retriever said thoughtfully, "I think that's probably how she says thank you."
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