The Beta Dominates Alphas

Chapter 49: The Queen’s Cat

As Kestrel journeyed further into the Polluted Zone, she observed something unusual. The beings there were becoming more ’ordinary’. Not in their looks, but in an uncanny sense of mental balance and maturity. This balance suggested an improved capacity for rational thought and logical reasoning, making Kestrel be even more careful.

The monsters here had developed a certain regularity in their life. It was as if they had established their unique lifestyle within this world. Kestrel even started to consider the possibility that life here may not be that bad.

A mutant walked up to Kestrel. He had the perfect body of a human male, wearing a suit that fit him well. But on top of his neck, there was a tall, thin, metallic pyramid. Where his neck ended, human skin mixed with partially decayed metal. At the top of this pyramid, there was a single, unusually large eye. The eye blinked and looked down at Kestrel, who was sitting by the road.

"You’re somewhat different from us, aren’t you?" it questioned.

"No, you’re wrong, we’re pretty much the same," Kestrel responded, confidently and easily.

By this point, she had found a way to interact with them. Her tendrils gently stretched out, linking with the mutant’s brain, reaching into his mental universe. This gave her the power to alter his thoughts.

Even with the strange pyramid head, it had feelings and thoughts. These allowed for communication, subtle influences could be made.

The mutant seemed slightly confused, as if he saw Kestrel with a similar pyramid-shaped head. His single eye blinked, and then he laughed, "My apologies, ma’am. I was wrong."

"Why are you sitting here, ma’am? Is there any way I can help?" it asked politely.

"Thanks, but I’m just a bit hungry," Kestrel answered.

She was good at blending in, whether it was humans or monsters. She knew that acting relaxed and normal would keep her from drawing attention, from reminding them of her difference.

She had been in Polluted Zone Five for twenty hours, living on just a piece of roasted bread given by Muros. Her powers were draining quickly because of constant movement and focus.

The "Pyramid" suddenly produced a paper parcel and handed it to Kestrel.

Inside, Kestrel found a warm, soft loaf of bread, still warm. A cute red stamp was right in the center. She broke off a bit and tasted it, finding it quite yummy. She thanked the Pyramid.

The Pyramid’s eye arched upwards, almost like it was smiling, and it said goodbye to her elegantly.

Her tendrils began to chat amongst themselves:

"Can we really eat this?"

"It’s quite tasty."

"Let me have a bite."

"I’m hungry."

"Pyramid Head is a nice guy."

"We should call him Mr. Pyramid from now on."

Kestrel headed closer to the heart of the vortex, the point where all the glowing dots visible from above converged. This turned out to be a gigantic palace.

The palace was a mix of old and new, combining elements of ancient human symbols with advanced architectural methods. Its exterior wall was as glossy as a mirror, reaching up into the sky, with eye-shaped scanners moving across its surface. The main entrance was incredibly majestic, with glazed tiles sparkling gold and turquoise, high corners that seemed ready to fly, and grand, red pillars. Mounted on these pillars were electromagnetic pulse weapons, set to obliterate intruders.

Even a group of alphas, would find it hard to get past this wall, let alone Kestrel alone. However, inside was the location of the Backbone, the only place where the key could be found.

Kestrel crouched near the main entrance of the "palace", watching the mutants go in and out. The ones with different metallic heads were the most common. They just stood at the entrance for a while, their bodies flickered and then disappeared. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Sometimes, a metallic-headed mutant would guide a group of mutants, big and small, tied together with a rope.

Whether they were giant monsters several meters tall or small mutants not larger than a fist, these scary creatures all seemed to lose their fierceness here, patiently lining up to be taken to the entrance. After waiting for a bit, their bodies flickered and disappeared all at once.

Seeing the mutants vanish at the entrance, Kestrel thought about how she should enter. She thought of that ’big fish’; maybe he had already gone in. Then she murmured to herself, "Huh, weird. When did I start calling him ’big fish’, too?"

Just then, she saw a familiar figure at the entrance. The mutant with the metallic head and the suit, Mr. Pyramid, was standing outside the palace gates. He thought for a moment before quickly walking forward.

"Hey, that’s the one who gave us the bread."

"That’s Mr. Pyramid."

"Let’s see what he’s doing."

The tendrils, having eaten his food, happily followed him from underground. They picked up a clear feeling being emitted, a rush of worried thoughts that reached the tendrils, which then passed them to Kestrel.

" Her Majesty’s cat is sick."

"Her Majesty is very upset."

"Need to sort this out."

"Where can we find a vet?"

Kestrel quickly came up with a plan.

Mr. Pyramid, who was talking to himself, stopped when he saw Kestrel standing in front of him.

The single eye within the metal pyramid was first confused but slowly started to remember. It shaped into a friendly smile as it greeted her,

"Is that you? We meet again, ma’am. What brings you here?"

"I’m a vet. I can treat cats," Kestrel confidently said, showing complete confidence and honesty without explaining further.

Mr. Pyramid blinked, not thinking too much before excitedly shaking Kestrel’s hand, saying, "Wonderful, Her Majesty’s cat is sick. We need your help."

Kestrel had no idea about who this queen everyone talked about was, but she didn’t care. The chance to enter the palace was all she needed. freewebnσvel.cøm

Mr. Pyramid guided Kestrel to the entrance of the palace, gently taking her hand. A bright white light flashed by.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves inside the palace.

The interior of the palace was even more impressive and magnificent than Kestrel had imagined. It was more than just ’luxurious’: high, open domes, pillars carved from gem and marble stone, golden floors. Even the plants in the garden were artificial, with leaves carved from emeralds and flowers dotted with gemstones. Mechanical birds covered with sapphire shells sat on the treetops, singing sweetly as people walked by.

The tendrils eagerly explored everywhere but soon returned.

"There’s hardly any life," they complained.

The tendrils were sensitive to the spiritual world and a lively emotional world was what seemed colorful to them. No matter how unique the gemstone trees or the beautiful mechanical birds were, they were nothing more than boring dead things to them.