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Chapter 11 - Go to the Guards
🕑 Added 2025-03-27 16:35:50 +0000 UTCThis chapter includes a song. From now on, for every chapter with music, I will simply list the song title at the top, so those who wish to can have the player ready. Whenever the song title appears again in the chapter, just press play.
Song: [Mission Impossible Theme]
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"You can't go like that! It's a super-secret place!"
Humpty whispered, covering the side of his mouth with his palm facing outward.
He then stretched out one of the branches to Puss, wanting him to take it.
What was happening was that Humpty wanted Puss to grab one of the branches he was carrying and disguise himself as a bush like him to go to the secret place.
But Puss was not willing to do something so embarrassing and immediately refused.
"No need."
He waved his paw, dismissing the suggestion.
But Humpty wasn't ready to give up so easily.
"Come on, Puss! It's a very secret place, we can't reveal anything—"
"It's the tarp behind the playground."
Puss interrupted him and, with an emotionless look, revealed Humpty's secret spot, making the giant egg freeze.
"Cough! Cough! How did you—"
Humpty choked in surprise and looked at Puss, shocked. But then, as if remembering something, he tapped his palm with a small fist.
"It was the day I called you to make a deal! I indirectly revealed my hideout! Well, Puss, that day I calculated precisely when you would pass by, ensuring no one else would be around, which prevented my hideout from being exposed. This time, there are two of us—it's much more noticeable!"
Humpty, understanding the reasoning, still thought his caution was necessary.
That made Puss roll his eyes. His hideout couldn't be more obvious. The kids just didn't notice because they never paid attention to him.
'Come to think of it, Humpty's social invisibility might even be a superpower!'
Puss thought amusedly, looking at the giant egg. But seeing him still holding out the branch with a serious look, he felt powerless.
"Haah…"
Sighing, rubbing his forehead with his paw, Puss didn't know what to do with Humpty's insistence.
He didn't want to ruin the image he had built for six months—of an antisocial and cool cat—by walking around holding a branch in front of him.
But then, something flashed in his mind, and he spoke with seriousness.
"You are right, Humpty. Leave a branch and go first. It's better if we act separately so no one notices."
Puss spoke seriously.
Humpty's eyes widened in surprise.
"Damn, why didn't I think of that? You're right, Puss! I'll go first. Be careful!"
Then, grabbing his branch and leaving the other behind, Humpty left, creeping along the walls with the branch covering his body and sharp eyes scanning the surroundings—like a super spy… well, at least in his head.
Watching him leave, Puss just smirked and walked away, leaving the branch behind.
Meanwhile, Humpty was focused on his mission.
[Mission Impossible Theme]
Rolling down a corridor with his oval body, still clutching the branch firmly in his hands.
Suddenly, Humpty heard footsteps and the voices of children.
Struggling clumsily to get up, he barely managed in time and pressed himself against the wall, holding the branch in front of his body.
The children passed by without noticing him.
Sighing in relief, his eyes regained their determination, and he continued on his way with firm and silent steps.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
At least, in his mind.
One of the children who had passed by, now at a distance, asked the others,
"Why was the egg hiding behind a branch in the corner?"
Another child just shrugged.
"Who knows? He's always weird. But I wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the fact that it was a bush in the middle of a corridor… and his shoes were showing underneath."
Reaching the garden, Humpty spotted another child.
He walked silently behind them, but the child seemed to sense something and looked back.
Humpty froze like a statue, holding the branch in front of him, imitating a bush. Sweat dripped down his head as the child stared strangely at the bush with an egg behind it. Then, shrugging, they went off to find their friends.
Crossing the garden like a shadow, he slipped under the tarp unnoticed… because no one was paying attention to him.
As he entered, his branch got stuck at the entrance, forcing him into a brief struggle before finally yanking it inside.
With narrow, satisfied eyes, he cautiously peeked outside, waiting for Puss to arrive.
But then, he felt a pat on his back, followed by a voice with a Spanish accent.
"Who are you waiting for?"
"AAHHH!!"
With a scream and a jump, Humpty spun around and saw Puss behind him, smiling.
"You! How? When?!"
He looked at Puss, stunned, as the cat idly inspected his claws.
"Doesn't matter. Just show me the stuff."
Puss spoke, amused by Humpty's reaction, the tip of his tail standing up slightly.
After recovering a bit from the shock, Humpty wasted no time and quickly led Puss to a corner where a workbench stood.
Humpty began tapping under the table, biting his tongue between his lips as if searching for something.
"Hmm, where is it? I always miss it! Wait! Oh! Aha! Found it!"
He said excitedly, seemingly having located something.
With a clicking sound, a secret compartment in the table opened.
'He's good,' Puss had to mentally praise Humpty's ingenuity.
From the secret compartment, Humpty pulled out several sheets of paper with drawings.
"The designs you gave me for the carriage spring were practically complete—I just made some final adjustments. Though the springs themselves are almost ready, you didn't provide any plans for adapting them to the carriage. I had to secretly study a carriage to come up with them, but it wasn't too difficult."
He said as he spread the various sheets on the workbench for the cat to see.
Puss looked over them and nodded in satisfaction.
Carriage springs were something he had seen in his previous life, along with truck, bus, and car springs, and they weren't particularly complex. So the plans he had given Humpty were quite complete, perhaps only needing some refinements in measurements.
He knew carriages would need adaptations, but he had only written about the springs indifferently, leaving others to finish the details. He wasn't an engineer—nor did he want to be. He would just be a warrior in this life.
So, he was very pleased that Humpty had thought about those things for him.
"This sewing machine was the hardest to design, but it wasn't too difficult either. It operates with a pedal and a pulley. According to what you wanted, it makes a simple stitch."
Puss admitted that he had only watched a video about sewing machines and had seen an old one operated by his grandmother once. Fortunately, with his rebirth, his memory was as clear as day, and as long as he wanted to recall something, it was easy.
But since he hadn't studied it in depth and only knew the basics, his design had a few incomplete sections. Thankfully, Humpty was a genius engineer in this world.
Looking at the drawings on the table, Puss nodded in approval and patted the egg's… arm.
"Very good, Humpty. Hide the sewing machine plans; they'll be used later. Take the spring designs and come with me."
Puss didn't want to waste any more time and left without waiting for Humpty.
"Huh! Hey, wait!"
Humpty, stunned to see the cat leave so quickly, quickly snapped out of it and stored away the sewing machine plans before running after Puss with the spring blueprints.
Leaving the tarp behind, with no time to hide, Humpty had no choice but to follow Puss helplessly.
"Where are we going?" he asked, confused.
"To meet the guards," Puss replied indifferently.
"AH?!" A slight cry of shock escaped Humpty's mouth, and his face turned pale.
