Chapter 417 - 354: Chu Bamboo: Cat of Destiny, Get Over Here! I’ll Break Your Legs This Time

After all, he absolutely refused to believe Z would just stand by and watch him die.

That was true even if she knew he possessed the ability to reset upon death.

’So, this Divine Position can actually be given to different people...’

Chu Bamboo’s mind latched onto the key point. ’So, what exactly is this Divine Position, or rather, the very essence of a god?’ He suddenly found things becoming much more interesting!

"To put it bluntly, speaking a god’s name will draw their attention! If it were an ordinary person... that being could erase them with a single thought! If they felt like it, they could even lock onto the person’s coordinates and dispatch their mechanical soldiers to come kill them..."

"But... you’re different! Even if she learns of us through you, she’d probably make an exception for you." Lin Xin Bamboo sighed, her voice tinged with bitterness. "In truth, the only reason our Celestial Court resistance force hasn’t been wiped out... is likely because *she’s* doing it for your sake!"

"?"

"Because my father also called her his niece!" Lin Xin Bamboo’s voice was thick with a storm of emotions.

Chu Bamboo: "..."

’Alright, alright, so it’s all about personal connections, is it?’

’Wait a minute... Is that why Lin Xin Bamboo doesn’t wear a mask? So, she doesn’t have to worry about these taboos, but everyone else is deeply wary.’

After a long moment of contemplation, Chu Bamboo asked a new question: "Your power... just how strong are you?"

’Mo Tu, the digger, is way stronger compared to the previous timeline... I even suspect Eleven’s power might be greater than in the last timeline, too. Of course, that’s just speculation...’

’But if that’s the case... for her to be held in such high regard by this entire group... and for Lin Xin Bamboo herself, who has lived from a thousand years ago until now... just how powerful could she be?’

"Hmm." Lin Xin Bamboo mulled it over for a moment before saying carefully, "I’m no match for that ’dear cousin’ of mine."

"?" It took Chu Bamboo a moment to process that. Lin Xin Bamboo’s cousin was Z. He then sucked in a sharp breath.

’Holy shit! So you’re saying you’re second only to Z—who has already achieved godhood and fused three Divine Positions into one?’

"...You’re a god?"

"I’m not a god! I’m human," Lin Xin Bamboo instinctively retorted.

"?" With a strange expression, Chu Bamboo looked her up and down, even circling around her. He continued until Lin Xin Bamboo grew uncomfortable and asked him what on earth he was looking at. Only then did Chu Bamboo say slowly, "I was seeing if you could release golden divine power! Makes sense... After all, you did become the leader of humanity later on! It all fits. It all adds up. Next time I see Lin Xia! Heh heh..."

"?"

Noticing the confusion on Lin Xin Bamboo’s face and a fleeting emotional tremor, Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow but didn’t press the matter of Lin Xia. "Did you guys not have Warhammer in your era? Right... then again, it has been popular for a very long time."

Lin Xin Bamboo fell silent for a long, long time. Finally, she sighed and said, "I really have never heard of it. In our era, after all... But more than that, I’m a little curious, Uncle Chu. The me in your memory... what am I like?"

"?" With a curious expression, Chu Bamboo proceeded to describe the image of her he had pieced together from his diary...

"Then, Uncle, you must have the wrong person!" Lin Xin Bamboo shook her head, remarkably calm. "I saw you quite a few times when I was a child... and even..."

Chu Bamboo’s eyelid twitched. He’d always suspected that Lin Xin Bamboo might have had a crush on him when she was young... It wasn’t narcissism; it was her messages that gave him that impression—especially when compared to the messages from the Lin Xin Bamboo who had never met him...

"But! The me of this timeline is no final leader of humanity..." Lin Xin Bamboo closed her eyes wearily. "The last thing I remember is the year 2088. I was only a teenager back then!"

"Yes, back then I was something of a civil servant... tasked with finding and excavating ancient relics! Or, as you would call them, Spiritual Artifacts? I was ordered to excavate Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum... and then! I don’t know what I encountered... I think I was buried inside... When I woke up again, it was this... this nothingness... like a primitive civilization where everything had been reset!"

"In fact, if you hadn’t told me so much in the past... I would’ve truly believed that this wasn’t my home, that I had simply been transported to another world..."

A deep weariness washed over Lin Xin Bamboo.

At that instant, it felt as though a bolt of lightning had shot through Chu Bamboo’s brain. ’Lin Xin Bamboo... never made it to the 22nd century?!’

’In other words, she wasn’t the one who founded Nuwa... Wait, could that be the real reason Nuwa disappeared?’

At that moment, Chu Bamboo felt a tremor in his soul. He realized he had just stumbled upon a piece of the answer to Nuwa’s disappearance.

Meanwhile...

"...Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum!" Chu Bamboo mulled over the words as a thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

’That’s right. If even Liu Bang was like that, then Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who was even more exceptional... must be even more powerful and unfathomable!’

’And that’s precisely why his death and the collapse of the Qin Dynasty... have so many more aspects worth scrutinizing!’

’But for something to send Lin Xin Bamboo across time...’

"Xin Bamboo, I have a question for you!" Chu Bamboo’s voice suddenly turned serious. "Do you know a Big Orange Cat?"

"?" Lin Xin Bamboo was baffled. "I don’t think so? I prefer dogs to cats! Besides, the dog I used to have died a long time ago..."

"Besides, this environment isn’t suitable for keeping dogs. You saw that the base is full of Transcendents, right? They look normal enough, but there are also some civilians living on the second and third levels. They treat me like a Divine Being, and they also consume a lot of our supplies. I have to go out often just to support them... but even so, food is barely enough! We can barely feed our own people, let alone a pet."

"Is that so..." Chu Bamboo pondered for a very long time, then reached up and lightly pressed his forehead. He unsealed his memories.

Then, forcing a calm he didn’t feel, he uttered the name: "...Cat of Destiny, Chaos!"

’So... does that cat still exist in this timeline?’

As Chu Bamboo watched with a mixture of nervous anticipation and doubt, in the very next instant... the void itself warped.

"?!?!"

A bizarre cat suddenly emerged from the void. Its fur was a dusty gray and its body was covered in scars. One of its legs was clearly broken. A deep gash ran across one eye, leaving it obviously blind. The creature radiated an air of ultimate danger.

She radiated a terrifying wildness. Then... the instant she saw Lin Xin Bamboo, without a second thought, she turned and fled!