Chapter 90: Cage

After lunch, I ate my lunch absentmindedly. My companions discussed countermeasures one after another, but most of them were full of radical ideas. After lunch, we sat in the restaurant and discussed for more than half an hour, but no more moderate solution could be thought of.

"Let's stop here for today. Thank you all for your hard work." Inukai looked at the time and everyone's slightly tired expressions.

The sunlight at the end of August was still scorching, and it was even stronger during the noon and afternoon, so their planned activity time was only one morning. Even if Ueno Zoo did not use that method to deal with them, they would probably just stay a little longer and then have a meal and go home.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Inukai returned to the apartment. He carefully confirmed that there were no signs that the door had been opened. Then he held his breath and slowly opened the door.

The house was still furnished in the same familiar way, and the messily placed cat toy was still in its original place.

"Xiao Tao! Don't go in yet!"

Seeing Xiaotao running in impatiently, Inukai hurried to follow, holding an electric mosquito swatter bought from a convenience store in his hand, which was better than nothing as a self-defense weapon.

He did not dare close the door so that he could escape later. Instead, he walked straight into the house, turned it upside down, and made sure that there was no one in any place where there could be a hiding place.

He even turned over the toilet tank. If such a big and strong man was still in the house, there was no reason for him to hide in a place where he couldn't be found.

"Huh, so what's going on?" Inukai closed the door, slowly walked to the place where the strong man was standing at that time, and looked out the window.

The apartment he lived in was different from ordinary low-rise apartments. It was a tower apartment. The height of more than 20 floors was enough to take in a large part of the city view. At night, when the lights came on, the neon lights were flashing, and the traffic was endless, presenting a prosperous urban scene.

"Xiaotao, will there ever be a day when humans and animals can live in harmony?"

"Yeah, I don't think so either, but what if?"

"After all, mom and dad have worked their entire lives for this."

"I also want to inherit their legacy."

In the afternoon, Inukai checked out of the hotel, went home and slept until the evening, then drove to the supermarket to buy discounted bento boxes and delivered them to the homeless people.

I was thinking of just having a bento to get by, but for some reason I remembered what Ogata said, and subconsciously went to buy some ingredients, planning to cook it myself when I got home.

But standing in the kitchen, looking at the large number of almost new kitchen utensils in the kitchen, he began to breathe rapidly unconsciously, his hands and feet trembled, and he finally made a fried hamburger with great difficulty.

Inukai sighed after taking a bite of the hamburger meat whose taste was hard to describe.

"I really don't have a talent for cooking."

I'd better just eat my bento obediently from now on.

Even though it tasted bad, he still finished it. Food cannot be wasted, otherwise he would feel very uncomfortable. Xiaotao didn't like it either. Even if it was an empty box, Xiaotao would rummage through the trash can, as if she was checking whether he had wasted food.

"Get married? Xiaotao, I'm afraid that after getting married, I won't be able to fulfill my responsibilities as a husband."

"Nile? I checked the public information of Ueno Zoo and it is still alive."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

Inukai stood up from the sofa and hesitated for a while.

"Let's just take a look outside, yes, let's just take a look outside."

Talking to himself, he picked up his keys and went out.

We drove to a shopping mall near Ueno Zoo and found a place to park. The zoo was closed at that time, but if we got closer, we could hear some noises from time to time that we didn't know what kind of animals they were.

Inukai just walked around the zoo.

But found nothing.

After going around in circles for more than an hour, he finally gave up.

This is a cage that neither he nor the animals can escape from.

Like
"You really want to go in?"

The sound from behind almost gave Inukai a cardiac arrest.

He slowly turned around and finally saw the strong man like an iron tower.

"Who are you?" Inukai sighed deeply and asked in despair.

There was a person inexplicably appearing in his life, and he couldn't tell whether he existed in reality or was just an imaginary person, which made him feel like he was about to go into schizophrenia.

"If you can accept Xiaotao, why can't you accept one more person?" the sturdy man said.

"It's different. I know Xiao Tao is an illusion, it's my subconscious. But I can't tell where you are. There is no place for you in my mind." Inukai looked at him weakly and said slowly. The strong man nodded thoughtfully: "As far as mental illness is concerned, your thinking is very clear."

"Although I said that Xiaotao was an illusion, who can tell for sure whether Xiaotao is really in a certain space, accompanying me all the time? The reason I can see Xiaotao is that my brain resonates with Xiaotao's existence." Inukai shook his head, "So, who are you?"

"Do you want to go in?" the sturdy man answered irrelevantly.

Inukai opened his mouth slightly and glanced at the wall behind him: "There are a lot of surveillance cameras in there. Even if you throw me in, it will alert them."

"So do you want to go in?"

Inukai was silent for a few seconds, then nodded: "I do."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sturdy man grabbed his arm. Inukai felt dizzy and suddenly he found himself in the zoo area.

And it was in the chimpanzee exhibition area.

"You - this! How did you do this?!" Inukai lowered his excited voice and looked around.

Yes, although it has changed a lot, this is the chimpanzee exhibition area that he used to visit often.

It's just that it's night time now and the chimpanzees are all locked in the rest area, so it seems dead silent.

He pinched himself and felt very painful. He was very clear-headed and was sure it was not a dream. However, he was not sure if it was a schizophrenia attack. But mental illness should not violate the laws of physics, right?

"So, you are extraordinary?" Inukai could only come to this conclusion.

The sturdy man didn't answer, but pulled his arm again, and in the blink of an eye, he entered the rest area.

The chimpanzees are kept alone in a small space, either sleeping or pulling out their hair. Some of them, even after staying there for a long time, will shake the iron door every day to try to get out.

Inukai looked at it infatuatedly and tears fell unconsciously.

Try to revive a dead memory.

But it was quickly suppressed by the subconscious.

Can't recall, can't recall.

"Do you think they belong here?" the strong man asked.

Inukai shook his head. This was a question that could be answered without much thought.

"They should belong to the wilderness, but they are trapped in the cage of the city. Even humans themselves are trapped in this prison called the city. The wilderness is the proper destination for all living things. If you do it this way, people will never feel afraid, and animals will continue to be exhibited, deprived of their nature, and forced to give them the so-called meaning of survival."

The sturdy man said a lot in one breath, then took out a key he got from somewhere, walked to one of the "rooms" and opened the door.

Inukai slowly followed and saw the huge chimpanzee in the lounge through the gap in the iron bars. The familiar shoulders with golden hair made him recognize who it was at a glance.

"Nero. Long time no see."

The chimpanzee named Nile looked at the strong man, then at Inugami, without making any sound or taking any action, but just remained sitting silently.

Inukai knelt before Nero.
"I'm sorry, I promised to take you out, but I can't do it."

"Yeah, I can't possibly break the cage. I'm just too arrogant."

"You believe me? But now I don't even believe myself"

Looking at Inukai talking to Nile, Shiraishi Kou controlled the parasite to fully activate [Listen], but he could indeed not hear what the chimpanzee was saying.

In other words, all this was just Inukai's illusion.

Shiraishi Kou has seen too many mentally ill patients like this, but most of them did not surprise him. He just wondered if Inukai would be any different.

"To break the cage, you need strength."

“And the wilderness will not hesitate to give everyone who believes in her the power to control their lives freely.”

"If you really want to, you can return to the wilderness at any time now."

"Wild Domination, this is the name of our organization."

The sturdy man spread out his palms, and between his palms lay a pill.

　Thanks to "Blue Chopper" for the reward
　　
　
(End of this chapter)