Léon: The Cat Killer

"Can't I be included?"

Seeing the slightly ingratiating look in Nana's eyes, Susuluo chuckled, while Huang also smiled happily.

"sure!"

"Sure... my foot! Huang, look at her now and say that again?"

Looking at the big cat who used to bully the little fox, now seemingly completely overshadowed by the little fox's title, Nana chuckled and asked Kate to help her put the cup into her uniform pocket. Just as she was watching her friends frolicking around, just like they had three years ago, she suddenly felt a sharp presence behind her, making everyone's tails stand on end. Everyone turned around at once.

Nana heard a slightly heavy footstep. Qi

"Oh, they're here." (II)

Smiling, Kira took control of the wheelchair from Aya and gestured for Nana to turn to the other side of the corridor. Seeing the cat, whose memories were mostly filled with tears or carefree smiles, arrive with an unprecedentedly resolute gaze, accompanied by four enormous, floating shields, even Nana couldn't help but sigh. 彡

The little Feilin who used to always cry in my arms can now carry that terrifying-looking gear.

But the moment that thought crossed his mind, the kitten, who had been dashing for three seconds in front of Nana, instantly reverted to his usual bright-smiling self upon seeing her.

The little white cat, carrying a terminal in one arm and a spell unit half the size of a person on her back, charged forward like a runaway husky. This in itself wasn't unusual, but the four enormous shields floating behind her were quite frightening.

Even Huang, who had been promoted to an elite operator, had to wave his hand in alarm. In the end, it was only after Aya, the nominal 'senior', loudly reminded him that the little cat stopped, its ears drooping.

"Don't run in the corridors carrying your equipment—!"

P.S.: I haven't finished writing it yet. I'm going to write another chapter to finish the temporary version... I feel like my brain has been dried out by the sun after going out for a while.

3rd This Land: 065 Cat Exams

"I'm sorry, Aya... I didn't expect Nana to actually come... I'm... so happy."

The little cat, shaped like a cloud, had droopy ears, but when it saw Nana, one of its ears would perk up again, and then it would droop down again when it looked at Aya... It looked rather pitiful, but... kind of cute.

However, Aya was very authoritative in front of the kitten. Although her actions and words were deliberately imitating Kal'tsit, Nana could see that her concern for the kitten was genuine and without any gloom... How to put it, it felt like Aya was raising the kitten as a daughter?

"...I know, but don't forget your goal for this assessment... Unlike other members of the same cohort, they need to improve their strength, while your goal is 'control'... Uncontrollable power is nothing but pure destruction. Your equipment may not mean much to you, but think about it, one of your shields has a pure mass of three tons. Even a slight bump would cause unavoidable serious injury to an ordinary person... What if it grazed your senior?"

"...Hmm...Nana should be fine."

Upon seeing the kitten's reply, Aya leaned back and her blood pressure visibly spiked... But then Aya seemed to realize something. Clearly, after spending the past three years together, she knew that the kitten wasn't the type to joke around.

If the kitten says everything will be alright, then everything really will be alright.

Seeing Aya's questioning gaze, Nana nodded:

“Cole and Kate are watching. They seem to prioritize interfering with things more than the kitten itself. They can also interfere with that… shield. It shouldn’t hurt me. But Aya is right. Even if it doesn’t hit me, it’s not good if it hits other people or the ship’s walls… The non-toxic rust-proof paint inside the landship costs a lot of money to reapply.”

Looking at the little white cat with a surprised expression because of Nana's unusual perspective, Aya was surprised to find that the kitten seemed to be very sensitive to 'money'... This was something Aya had never paid attention to before.

After all, when Aya used to tell the kitten what she could and couldn't do, she would explain the pros and cons in great detail. This was a typical Kal'tsit teaching method, and Aya herself was taught in this way... So, can simply telling the kitten the price of paint now improve her clumsy personality when she gets excited?

Doesn't that contradict Kal'tsit's statement that the kitten hasn't yet adapted to how to live with its abilities?

Of course, another problem might be that Ya Ye did not take into account the consumption of material losses.

Suddenly contemplating these questions she had never paid attention to before caused Aya's expression to freeze. Clearly, as she delved deeper into her thoughts, she seemed to be getting closer and closer to the truth of the universe.

But in fact... Nana's teachings and Kal'tsit's teachings are not contradictory at all...

Explaining the ins and outs of things carefully and teaching children right from wrong is definitely not a problem... As for why the kitten is so sensitive to money, after all, she still remembers why her home became like that.

Perhaps Kal'tsit will now have to worry about how to instill a proper understanding of money in the kitten.

In short, after some instruction, the kitten gained control of the wheelchair. As Matilda pushed Nana into the training room with satisfaction, Nana could only hear the kitten's chirping all around her:

"This is the first training ground, where I will be assessed later... The topic is suppression combat. The goal is to break through the examiner's defenses and successfully rescue the hostages without destroying the anti-spell padding or harming the examiner... Hmm, that's a bit difficult."

Looking at the training ground, which was completely different from the one where she tested her abilities and seemed to be full of high-tech gadgets, Nana looked around for a while and breathed a sigh of relief when she found nothing she didn't recognize.

"As for the difficulty, it's not too bad. It does seem to be testing your control... However, Little Cat has been living and eating at Rhodes Island for the past three years. She... shouldn't she already be a member of Rhodes Island, right...?"

Why do even existing Rhodes Island members have to undergo an assessment before joining Rhodes Island? This is probably the only thing Nana found strange along the way.

In response, Huang flicked the employee card hanging on her waist:

"It's actually something like a medical professional title assessment... It's also a way to reveal the cat's abilities, since even elite operators don't all have the time to sit in a chair and read documents."

Listening to Huang's analysis beside her, Nana nodded at first, but then felt that Huang was being sarcastic:

"...Huang, you're not still blaming me for leaving you in the second node three years ago, are you?"

Although the big cat suddenly leaned back as if it had been hit, Huang's stubbornness in refusing to admit anything... was probably something he only learned in the last three years:

"No, how could I? I don't care at all. After all, you were the captain back then... Even if it happened again... Heh... If it happened again... If it happened again, I'd be a top-tier operator! Then Medic would be the one taking my orders!"

And you say you don't care? If you don't care, then don't put on that smug, self-satisfied look...

Although her face was much thinner than before, to the point that her facial muscle control had decreased considerably, Nana's lips twitched twice, and she decided not to respond.

Just as the kitten was happily pawing at Nana's wheelchair, the examiner arrived shortly afterward.

"ACE, is it really a warrior like you who's an examiner?"

Seeing Nana's somewhat surprised expression, ACE, who was carrying a thickened two-handed shield and a power hammer... clearly overweight, but looking like a super sandbag, shrugged helplessly:

“If I don’t come, then we’ll probably have to use someone like Logos as a punching bag. He’s a bit allergic to your cat right now… However, I’m not the examiner, and Qi Lingwu 4VI (8) Qi Qiqun is the ‘imaginary enemy’ for this assessment. The examiner is this guy.”

As ACE gestured respectfully but somewhat comically behind him, a Pero woman in training trousers holding a file folder frowned and slapped away ACE's outstretched hand.

"The training ground is the battlefield for operators. Every drop of sweat and effort here will become valuable experience that will save them from bloodshed and pain on the battlefield... I have said that you should take training seriously..."

"Oh, but Rosemary is still young... and we're a pharmaceutical company's action team, so the atmosphere doesn't need to be that serious, right?"

"Perhaps this is why Lady Kal'tsit invited me to become an archbishop... Hmm? You are..."

Nana glanced at the personnel department's information about Instructor Doberman that Aya had casually handed her, then looked up, and Aya put her terminal away.

“Hello, I am Nana Ivy... I am Kitten... Rosemary’s guardian, and also a member of Rhodes Island. You can call me by my code name, Medic.”

"Medic...Medic?! You're the personnel minister who built the preparatory action group structure?"

She sighed softly... or rather, not so softly. As Aya quietly explained Nana's inability to move to Instructor Dobermann, Nana was surprised to find herself standing at attention with unusual respect from the incredibly tall instructor, who clearly had a military background. Nana inexplicably felt that the instructor was being overly respectful to her.

Of course, besides Nana's own fame on Rhodes Island, there is another important reason why she did this:

"I am your subordinate, a member of the instructor team under the Personnel Department. Chief Instructor Dubin reports to you... I used to serve in the Bolivarian National Guard, and I am quite familiar with your deeds. I have long admired you."

"...You're too kind."

Just like when she was about to wake up and was completely confused by the name 'Doberman Instructor' that the kitten mentioned, Nana had the same attitude towards the 'instructor team'...

If she knew nothing about it, why would Kal'tsit still let her continue working as a manager in the human resources department? Or did she simply need her to exist as a middle-management position at Rhodes Island?

Just like that "Number 77" under the agent, whose existence is unknown?

Before Nana could finish her reverie, Dobermann stood upright in front of her. Then, realizing that her height wasn't quite right for her to stand like that, she took out the assessment plan and knelt down in front of Nana... This was a 'squatting' gesture that soldiers in full armor habitually use when they 'squat'.

"If you're here, are you here to confirm Rosemary's promotion assessment?"

"Um... I just came to check on her exam... but this exam... 'Senior Elite Operator Promotion Exam'?"

Nana read out the document title written in Yan script, and she was somewhat puzzled.

Clearly, Rhodes Island has standardized many things in its human resources department over the past three years, but the fatal flaw is that it seems unaware of this thing that appears to be similar to the ICA's operative rating system...

Dobermann clearly understood the bewildered look on his department head's face after being bedridden for three years. The instructors were responsible for teaching the officers, and this kind of written instruction was something the instructors usually did. However, this was the first time Dobermann had ever experienced a subordinate instructing a superior.

Medic seemed like a very approachable person to her, with a hoarse voice but a gentle temperament... However, upon closer inspection, she appeared to be about the same age as the children in the preparatory action group.

Just thinking about how the other person, with such a frail appearance, had accomplished the feat of leading a rescue team through a natural disaster, and looking at their thin figure, Doberman's tone involuntarily softened:

"Elite operators are elite operators, which is an affirmation of their abilities. Veteran operators, on the other hand, are those who have stood the test of time, who have been recognized by everyone and are deemed trustworthy. Such people are called 'veterans' in the operations team... Thus, the term 'veteran elite operator' came into being."

"This is the title of Rhodes Island's highest-ranking operative, and it is also a sign that their abilities and character have been assessed and affirmed by a group of people."

"I see... So, if we calculate it that way, what is Instructor Dubin's rank?"

"I only joined Rhodes Island a year and a half ago, so I can't be considered a senior member. I am currently a full-fledged operator, which means I have Level 4 clearance. I am responsible for the training of two operational reserve teams as well as the daily training arrangements for full-fledged personnel."

"Two reserve action teams?"

"Yes, besides the Operation Reserve Group A4 that you personally recruited, there's also a team made up of the children of Tikkarundo and Kazdel, which is Operation Reserve Group A1..."

"I recruited them myself... So A4 is Katie's group... A1... Why are the numbers of the later recruits at the front?"

"Because of their training level, Group A1, having received training experience from the Tikkarondo Police Force before joining, was the first to obtain an official reserve group number... Although Group A4's training level was slightly lower, it also obtained a reserve group number a year ago and began participating in field operations."

"...I see. Then...what about A2 and A3?"

"Unfortunately, there are no A2 and A3 action teams yet... When higher-level privilege holders worked on behalf of the personnel department, they named the teams according to the dormitory numbers... We were assigned according to the dormitory numbers. Rooms number two and three on deck A are essentially a rest room and a kitchen, so... unless the buildings are renovated, the A2 and A3 reserve action teams will not appear for the time being."

"...Such a thing actually happened?"

As Doberman explained, Nana nodded repeatedly, but throughout the entire process, she remained very curious about the 'higher-level agent'...

After all, Kal'tsit was also working on behalf of the entire ship three years ago, but her operation records clearly showed that she directly left her electronic signature.

Correspondingly, this guy who has been working in the human resources department for nearly three years seems a bit too suspicious... Even if it's Amiya, who is nominally still a minor and an intern CEO, her signature should be left. This guy who hasn't been taken away by Kal'tsit yet... Nana is very concerned.

Seeing that Nana seemed to have no further questions for the time being, Doberman continued to point to the documents below:

"So, regarding the assessment of Elite Rosemary... the current key point is to confirm her ability to control power... May I ask..."

"Let's just follow the instructors' decision..."

Nana glanced at the comments the seven instructors made about the kitten on the list and smiled helplessly:

"I only woke up yesterday, so it would be a waste to start working today... For now, please conduct the assessment according to the content you have prepared. I am just here as an observer as a family member of the Rosemary operator."

"Nana-neechan, please look at me, I will try my best!"

Watching the kitten excitedly waving its little paws, and even the blue electricity seeming to be released from the shield behind it, ACE's expression, hidden behind his sunglasses, seemed to be about to break down.

"...I think you don't need to work that hard. Don't forget the purpose of this assessment. The goal of this assessment is to get you used to using your strength precisely in your daily life, based on how much strength you can do. Don't get too excited."

"Yes, Uncle Ace."

Seeing the little guy pursing his lips as if trying to adjust his mood, but no matter how you looked at it, his murderous intent was becoming more and more intense. Thinking of the cat that had just instinctively retaliated and poked out one of her eyes, and the fact that a casual strike could cause a magnitude 7 earthquake and level half a laboratory, Nana couldn't help but start to worry about ACE's safety.

But... well, we have to trust everyone on Rhodes Island.

Trust that the child is in control of himself.

She also took care of herself while living alone on Rhodes Island for three years. In terms of time spent with the people here... Little Cat has already surpassed her, and that's why she's called a 'veteran operator', isn't it?

Seniority... is a symbol of being trusted by everyone, that's what Instructor Dobermann just said.

With that thought in mind, Doberman had already entered the training field with the evaluation form in hand.

ACE activated the external power supply to his protective gear. The device, which appeared to be power armor with cables attached, started up with the sound of a motor. ACE carefully used his arm armor, which was thicker than his waist, to remove the mask.

"Rosemary, are you ready? Instructor Doberman has complete faith in your training results, so he's not wearing any protective gear... Even a minor scratch on your tactical unit can be fatal to the human body, but I won't show any mercy. If you don't exert enough force and I push you in front of me, it means you can't control your strength precisely. Similarly, puncturing the training mat into the armor layer means you've failed the test... Understand?"

"understand!"

"So, are you ready?"

As the shield, far too large for ACE to withstand, pointed its spikes at him, even this man, who Nana remembered as always acting with composure, involuntarily tightened his grip on the reinforced shield in front of him…

"...Even though I already knew, being pointed at like that...it's still incredibly oppressive...Here we go, little kitten!" Qi

Seeing that both competitors were ready and seemed quite confident in their training results, Doberman, dressed only in a thin training suit and standing behind ACE as a 'hostage' for this assessment, also pressed the timer.

"Rosemary, a veteran one-star caster operator, is taking the comprehensive professional exam to advance to a veteran elite operator. The timer has begun!"

PS: The day Nana woke up was also the day she leveled up to six stars, making it a truly special day for Rosemary.

PS2: But for Nana, the questions that await her are probably already piling up throughout the entire Rhodes Island warehouse... and there are still quite a few new things waiting for her to discover.

PS3: Aww, kitty~ I'm posting a large horizontal image today. It has a really nice feel to it, but I don't know how it will look after being compressed after uploading... Nine

3rd This land: 066 Welcome back, Room 77

Several-ton tactical units roared through the air, their multi-layered, sandwich-armored structure creating cone-shaped clouds of air. The hardened breaching cones at their bases could pierce the armor of land-based warships, and the blue electric currents flowing across their surfaces indicated that their lethality was not merely physical.

The kitten stood still, seemingly oblivious to the siege crossbow hidden within the large shield by ACE.

A dark meteor streaked across the sky, but the speed of the City-Breaking Arrow slowed down rapidly after it was fired, and it came to a complete stop when it reached the kitten.

"Little cat, I should have told you not to accept anything thrown at you by the enemy."

"Meow--?!"

Seeing the bolt, which had stopped, suddenly burst into flame and began to charge at him again, unlike the disheveled appearance of the other side... Little Felin, who was still as white as a cloud, bristled and then, with an unseen hand, snapped the bolt in two.

To prevent the still-moving arrow from scratching the armored layer of the training room and causing him to fail the assessment, the kitten carefully kneaded it into a ball before dropping it. But the sound of brute force being used to knead and round the hard steel still made everyone present involuntarily droop their ears like airplane ears.