I, the little cat, am a substitute for others who are starving and thin

Chapter 11: Boys Can't Reject

Although very unhappy, Maomao remembered what the Saint Shadow had said to him. He pushed the mouse he had just killed in front of them and said straight to the point:

"Change the body."

Because the impact of the cat talking was so great, it took the two people two seconds to react to what it was saying.

"... Kitten, did I hear you right? You said you wanted to exchange for the body, right? What do you want to exchange for? Don't tell me you pushed this rat over here. Is this the currency in your circle?" Jello lay on Valkyrie's head, looking speechless.

Maomao tilted his head: "Fish..."

"Ahem, ahem, didn't you take the fishing rod away?"

"Fishing rod?" Johnny looked at him suspiciously again.

"Uh, yeah, after all, a kitten all alone in the wilderness...right?" He started to speak incoherently.

But Johnny didn't want to pursue this at this time.

How could this mouse be so valuable?

Is it possible?

"Dani?" Johnny's mouth twitched slightly, and he seemed to be thinking about something again.

No, mice couldn't possibly live that long. Even if it was really Dani, why would the cat kill it first and then exchange it? And even if Dani was still alive, there was no way he would exchange it. Not to mention that Dani might have been the cause of his brother's death...

Johnny Joestar, although he is a dark horse in this competition who has been silent for several years, is also considered to be the most disabled player with a strong will. With the help of his paralyzed legs and his top performance, he has regained his fame in the competition that is no less than before.

But the reason for participating in the competition was not because he had any thoughts of winning the championship. It was simply because Gero Zeppeli next to him had accidentally used his iron ball skills to help him stand up. Although it was only for a moment, it was a glimmer of hope.

Jero looked at Yimi with interest, interrupting his companion's wandering thoughts: "If a dead mouse can be exchanged for part of the body, I can catch a lot of them. How many do you think are enough to exchange for your left eye?"

He made this suggestion very seriously.

Yimi tilted her head: "No."

It needs to go home with this.

"It was you who proposed the bargaining chip, but you yourself are unwilling to exchange it!" Johnny shouted.

The cat hesitated for a second, then opened its mouth and bit the mouse.

"Crunch, crunch..." and ate it.

Da-ni!

After hearing what Jero said, Yimi seemed to have some preliminary understanding of what "transaction" in human society is.

It wagged its tail and asked again in a not-so-practiced, clear childish voice: "What do you want?"

"What I want is something you can't pay for, man." Unlike Johnny, Jello participated in this competition with only one purpose, which was to win the championship.

He had to be the champion, not just second or third, and this had nothing to do with the prize money, because he needed to win this honor for the country, so that the king could issue a general amnesty to prevent a young servant in prison from being implicated for rebelling against a noble.

As he finished speaking, the iron ball in his palm began to spin automatically, undisguisedly. "So you're the President's pursuer? How many fish did he give you? Can I pay double?"

"The President?" Yimi tilted his cat head. This was not part of his vocabulary.

"Isn't it... As expected of a small animal, even though it can talk, it's as innocent as a child."

"No, based on the lifespan of cats, most of them are actually children," Johnny whispered.

That's what he thought, because he didn't dare to treat the cat as a child based on the confusing things it said when it ran out.

"Hey, cat. You should have more than one body in your hands, right? For example, the 'spine' part should be in your hands, right?" Johnny had no basis for this, but he hoped so.

There's no other clue about the "spine" other than it being taken away by a toad-like double. And since he's paralyzed from the waist down, this is the part of the body he cares about most. Perhaps fusing the saint's spine with it will yield an unexpected miracle? Just like how Zero gained a similar ability to see through things after fusing his right eye,

Yimi shook her ears: "I won't tell you."

It hasn't learned to lie yet, and this answer is almost an admission.

Even if he lied, it would be useless because Jello had a similar ability to X-ray vision and could see through the remains on its body at a glance.

"Hey, Johnny!" Jello noticed that his friend's nails were peeling off and spinning in a swirling shape, and a dark flame seemed to flash in his eyes.

"I know Jero. It's unwise to actively make enemies with other Stand users at this time."

Although he didn't trust Lucy Steele, a woman with a sensitive identity, he roughly learned from her that the saint's spine was taken away by a creature that burrowed randomly into the ground and had a tongue that could stretch ten meters and penetrate the human body at the speed of a bullet. It sounded very tricky.

Johnny closed his eyes and clenched his fists. "You just said we should exchange, right?"

A dry hand split from Johnny's left wrist: "Let's exchange, my left hand in exchange for your spine."

"Meow?" The cat didn't understand what this meant. It didn't mean anything to it anyway.

Yimi needs to collect the remains of all the saints, and there must be no situation where one remains is exchanged for another, but it has nothing else on it... that's not to say it doesn't have anything.

Under the confused gazes of the two, the cat turned around, rummaged in the grass, and brought an exquisitely crafted red rhinoceros beetle to them.

"I'll trade with you."

Although bugs look powerful, they are useless against cats.

"?"

"What is this thing? Where did you catch one this big? It must be a Stand!" Jero's eyes widened, but he patted his face and quickly adjusted himself in front of his friend. "But it's really unfair for you to exchange a bug for the remains of a saint..."

"this thing?"

"Johnny?" Jero noticed that his friend seemed even more moved than he was. "Hey, buddy, do you recognize this?"

"I don't recognize it, but I have a feeling I want it very much." Johnny covered his heart.

The first sentence of [Kabuto Zecter·Easy Trial Version]: It has an unimaginable temptation for boys.

Johnny relaxed a bit and whispered to Jello, "I don't know if it was a deliberate attempt to tempt my Stand ability or something else, but it was as if something told me it could get me back on my feet."

But if he himself could sense its allure, what substitute could be so useless? Upon closer inspection, this rhinoceros beetle wasn't actually a living thing. It looked like a work of art crafted by a top-notch mechanic, its flapping wings adding a touch of mystery.

But he had no basis for this. How could he know that this insect had such a good effect? ​​He didn't even know what it was.

No, the cat actually indicated that from the beginning, didn't it?

“There is no absolute fairness. What is needed is the most expensive.”

Does it mean that this is what you need?

Johnny closed his eyes tightly. Only those who are truly unable to walk know how important the function of legs is.

He looked at Yimi and said, "Kitten, can you promise that it will allow me to move?"

As he said this, he knew that the temptation seemed to have overcome his reason.

"Meow?" Yimi was puzzled.

"I agree to this exchange. I will use the remains of my left hand in exchange for this unknown beetle."

"Johnny..."

This was already a risky move that was incomprehensible to others. If this beetle was just an ordinary toy or a substitute creation, he would definitely suffer a huge loss if he was fooled by it.

But what Johnny didn't expect was that Yimi, lying on the ground, seemed very dissatisfied with the result. He stared at Jello's right eye and made an unreasonable request: "Two."

"What?" Johnny was stunned.

"Two, change one." Yimi explained her purpose in brief words.

"Are you kidding..."

"It's okay, Johnny. I'm not interested in the remains of saints. I never thought a cat would command such a high price one day. If I told the girls back home, I'm afraid no one would believe me."

"Jero?"

"Now that you've said that, you think this thing might help you stand up." The saint's eyes shifted from Jello's right eye to his palm. "How about we swap and let go together?"

Chapter 12: RIDER KICK

"Does this thing need to be fed? Is it supposed to be bitten by it?"

"It seems like a scam no matter how you look at it. Now that we think about it, we actually tried to trade with a cat..."

Next to an abandoned stable, Johnny fumbled with this delicate little thing, but didn't dare to move it hard. He could only be sure that this thing was probably not a substitute.

Johnny, already prepared to bear the consequences of being cheated, was only further upset by Jello's intervention. It was also a moment of impulsiveness and insanity. He should have inspected the goods on the spot before making a decision, even though neither party, distrusting each other, would have given the other a chance to inspect the goods.

Yes, in addition to the saying that there is no absolute fairness, this hateful four-legged beast also said "Don't trust the devil", which is simply admitting guilt!

Jero saw his gnashing teeth and soothed him, "Cheer up, buddy! This thing is beautifully crafted, and the wings even move. If we sell it to a knowledgeable merchant, maybe we'll have enough food and clothing for the rest of our lives. Overall, we won't lose out."

"Didn't we memorize the locations of the other bodies? The legs are among them. Maybe that can help you."

"Jero, I'm sorry."

Johnny clenched his fists.

He was actually tricked by a cat! As an intelligent species...

If someone, like that bastard Diego, knew about this, his reputation would be ruined!

"Okay, okay, I already said I don't care... I just thought of a new joke. Do you want to hear it?"

"Thanks... Hmm? Jero, what's that behind you?"

"Behind him?" Jello turned around hurriedly and saw a balloon dog that could be seen from street craftsmen.

He also liked this thing when he was a kid, but liking it didn’t mean he wanted to see it running towards him by itself!

"Tsk! Is it because of this beetle?"

Jello threw the iron ball and hit the balloon dog accurately, but then there was an explosion that instantly destroyed the iron ball into debris.

"Jero!" Johnny yelled.

Only then did Jero notice that dozens of balloon dogs, ducks, snakes and other objects were surrounding them, and some strange symbols could be vaguely seen on them. They looked like... onomatopoeia?

"That guy did it!"

There were not many places for people to hide in this desolate plain. The sharp-eyed Johnny immediately noticed a man hiding behind a tree and blowing air with a long nail.

Mike O. is a black man working for the President, and his stand-in is "TUBULAR BELLS".

The effect is to blow air into a solid metal to make it expand like a balloon, and fold it into the shape of some animals to give it the characteristics of the animal. When the metal comes into contact with the target, it will drill into the target's body in its original form and destroy its body tissues.

To be honest, this ability of his is more suitable for tracking down the traitor that the President is obsessed with, such as folding a balloon dog to smell the scent, but due to its limited operability and range, he can only make the balloon dog wander around the presidential palace.

If the guy who could cooperate with him had not been suddenly recruited by the President, the President would not have taken the risk of letting his stand-in who was most suitable for tracking down traitors come out to hunt down these two people for safety reasons.

Mike looked at the sand man in the grass who seemed to be unaffected by the bite. This Indian who participated in the event by running on foot agreed to help the president snatch the saint's remains in exchange for the tribal territory.

This kid's stand's ability, the "Way of Silence," allows him to store sounds of burns, cuts, explosions, and the like on other objects and release them at any time. Combined with his movable balloon dog, he's a world of unstoppable destruction!

(Note: Mike's catchphrase is "The World")

"Damn it, our bodies were handed over a long time ago!" Johnny fired a few claw bullets at the balloon dogs. These balloon animals were not as agile as the terrifying beasts, but they were difficult to deal with because they could not be approached and did not require living creatures such as mice as a medium to create them.

The main body was too far away and the balloons were too numerous. He only had ten nails, and regeneration would take tens of seconds at most. And he was a cripple who couldn't move...

Should we call the horses over? But the attacks are too intense. If the horses get hurt here, they'll be out of the race for good.

Damn!

Johnny held tightly the rhinoceros beetle that was tricked into his hands.

"Johnny, about 'roundabout'... Johnny?"

At the critical moment, Jello suddenly calmed down and seemed to want to teach Johnny something, but he found that his friend's attention did not seem to be here.

A grooved belt appeared around Johnny's waist at some point.

"Dude, what is this?"

"I, I don't know, it looks like a rhinoceros beetle..." Seeing this groove corresponding to the bottom of the rhinoceros beetle, even a fool would know what it is for.

Although he didn't know what the use was, Johnny instinctively inserted the rhinoceros beetle.

『HENSHIN』

Armor that looked like leather and metal quickly covered his entire body, starting from his waist, forming a bulky armor that was armed to the teeth.

After it was fully formed, the shock waves that spread out blew away all the balloons, and even Jello beside him fell down.

Jello got up from the ground, his mouth wide open in shock: "What the hell is this..."