Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Burly Man
Sensing something strange on his body, Zhang Wenda cracked open an eye. He saw a little black cat, curled up head-to-tail into a furry little ball, perfectly covering his belly button.
Taking a closer look, Zhang Wenda realized this seemed to be the same cat from the Youth Palace.
"You’re the one who really cares about me," Zhang Wenda cooed. He hugged the cat’s head, gave it a little kiss, then lay back down on the floor and went to sleep.
To be honest, it was not a comfortable sleep. Between the hard floor and the bizarre dreams erupting in his mind, Zhang Wenda tossed and turned, stuck in a state of being half-asleep and half-awake.
After what felt like a very long time, Zhang Wenda was jolted awake by a rhythmic thudding sound.
"Who’s doing construction this early?" Feeling more tired than if he hadn’t slept at all, Zhang Wenda sat up, clutching his aching head.
He first looked over toward Song Jianguo, only to find a sprawl of Black Cats. Song Jianguo was gone.
"Huh? What time is it? I can’t be late." Zhang Wenda looked around in a daze, turning his head toward the source of the thudding.
Then he saw him: a burly man, pinning Song Jianguo tightly against the wall!
"Holy shit!" The sight instantly vaporized any trace of sleepiness from Zhang Wenda’s body.
In a flash, he whipped out his flashlight and slammed the butt of it against the Red Core. With a VMMMM, a blinding Light Saber shot out.
"Hah!" Zhang Wenda launched himself forward, leaping onto the burly man’s back and plunging the Light Saber deep into his body.
With a wet SQUELCH, blood sprayed from the wound, instantly staining the white parts of Zhang Wenda’s blue-and-white school uniform pants a deep red.
"Fuck your mother! Get off me!" An immense force sent Zhang Wenda flying. He slammed hard against the wall of the treehouse.
Before Zhang Wenda could even fall, a huge, hairy hand smashed into him, driving him right into the crumbling wall.
The intense pain in his abdomen nearly made Zhang Wenda pass out. He could feel the crack of his own bones; those last few hits had broken several of his ribs, at least!
The man’s strength was immense, even greater than his own, which was enhanced by the Red Core. If he didn’t have such a high tolerance for pain, that last blow would have knocked him unconscious.
Clutching the flashlight in a reverse grip, Zhang Wenda slashed out, cleanly severing the man’s half-meter-wide fist.
The burly man cried out in pain and stumbled back a few steps, giving Zhang Wenda a moment to breathe.
He dropped from the wall, landing on one knee. He clutched his agonizingly painful abdomen with one hand, his eyes locked on his opponent.
His opponent was now clutching his severed wrist, glaring viciously at Zhang Wenda. The atmosphere in the room grew incredibly tense.
Both of their breaths grew heavy. Just as they roared and lunged at each other again, a sharp cry came from the side—it was Song Jianguo.
"This is so annoying! Both of you, stop!"
Hearing Song Jianguo’s words, both fighters froze in place, staring in shock at Song Jianguo’s furious expression.
Song Jianguo pointed at the burly man and snapped irritably at Zhang Wenda, "What are you hitting him for? Did I say he was the enemy?"
"He’s not the enemy?" Zhang Wenda’s eyes widened in astonishment.
"She’s my Great-Aunt!"
"Huh?!" Zhang Wenda’s jaw dropped. His hand went slack, and the flashlight fell to the floor with a CLATTER. "You said... she’s your... what?"
"Shit, what the hell! Are you deaf or something? I’m her Great-Aunt, got it!" the burly man snapped, glaring at Zhang Wenda before turning to pick up his severed hand.
It was only then that Zhang Wenda noticed. Although the burly man was scruffy and bearded, her clothes were distinctly feminine. She was wearing a long red skirt on her lower half, dressed a bit like Sister Hong.
When he realized who—or what—he was looking at, Zhang Wenda was so shocked his voice went shrill.
"Holy crap?! Is that a sentient Great-Aunt?!"
For the next few minutes, Zhang Wenda listened to Song Jianguo’s explanation, but he finally couldn’t take it anymore and interrupted him.
"So you’re saying this... creature... is your ’Great-Aunt’? The one that comes for a few days every month to make you miserable?"
The Great-Aunt snorted and shot her right elbow into Song Jianguo’s stomach.
"How many times do I have to say it! What part don’t you get? Are you an idiot or what?"
"No, but... how can she be your Great-Aunt? She... she... she doesn’t even have the same accent as you!" Zhang Wenda, at a loss for words, managed to stammer out a reason.
At that moment, Zhang Wenda noticed that the woman had easily reattached her hand. There wasn’t even a scar. She really didn’t seem human.
"Are other people’s Great-Aunts like this too?" Zhang Wenda asked in amazement.
"No, it’s just me," Song Jianguo said, his face pale. He gently rubbed his stomach with one hand. "Something happened to me, and my body... underwent some unexpected changes."
Suddenly, something clicked in Zhang Wenda’s head. He looked at Song Jianguo in surprise. "So when you tried to steal my Superpower... you wanted to use it to get rid of your Great-Aunt?!"
"What?!" the burly woman at their side exclaimed, staring at Song Jianguo in shock. "Mimi, I’m so good to you, and you don’t want to see me anymore? Fine! I’m leaving!"
With tears welling in her eyes, she stood up, snatched her red shoulder bag from the floor, and stomped huffily toward the warped entrance of the treehouse.
Song Jianguo practically threw himself onto his Great-Aunt’s back, clinging to her like a refrigerator magnet in an attempt to stop her from leaving.
"No, no! Auntie, Auntie, don’t listen to his nonsense! I don’t want to get rid of you! I just want to get my memory back!"
"Memory? You lost your memory?"
After finally managing to placate his Great-Aunt, Song Jianguo sat on the floor and said irritably, "Yeah, not only did I lose my memory, but I also grew a cat ear on my head. I just want to find my memories and get rid of this cat ear!"
"So you’re saying that because of something that happened, you grew a cat ear, lost your memory, and your Great-Aunt became sentient?"
"Yes," Song Jianguo said, but knew he’d messed up the instant the word left his mouth and quickly corrected himself.
"No, no, Auntie, please don’t cry! I didn’t mean I want to get rid of you! I love having you around! I wish you would come every day!"
Watching Song Jianguo hug his Great-Aunt like he was clinging to a giant teddy bear, Zhang Wenda scratched his head in confusion. ’A menstrual period can be personified? How weird is that?’
Song Jianguo, still trying to console his Great-Aunt, shot an irritated glare at Zhang Wenda. "Your adult world is even weirder, you know! You’ve got some nerve calling me weird!"
Now that he understood the whole story, Zhang Wenda finally switched off his flashlight. He let out a sigh of relief and said, "You should have said something sooner! You made me fight your Great-Aunt. Look at this mess, I’m covered in blood."
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