115. Abandoned Futuristic City

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The cat began to move, and Ino's clone, now fully inhabiting the feline's body, felt a rush of sensory information. The world appeared different through the cat's eyes—colours more vivid, sounds sharper, and the sense of smell overwhelming. She could feel the soft pad of the cat's paws against the ground as it started to walk, its instincts guiding her through this strange place.

The landscape around them was surreal, an abandoned wasteland with remnants of a civilization that had long since vanished. The cat padded through the ruins, its movements graceful and silent. As Ino's consciousness adjusted, she began to notice the oddities of the place—strange structures that towered above, long-abandoned and covered in vines, their once smooth surfaces now cracked and weathered.

Ino's clone pressed the cat onward, moving through the dilapidated streets that seemed to stretch on endlessly. The air was thick with a sense of abandonment, the silence only broken by the occasional rustle of debris. Despite the desolation, there was an underlying energy to the place, as if something lingered just beyond their sight.

After what felt like an eternity of wandering, the cat's path led it to a peculiar sight—a cityscape, but not one that any of them recognized. It was a stark contrast to the empty wasteland they had been traversing.

Tall, imposing buildings loomed over the streets, their glass windows shattered, and their metal frames rusted. The streets were littered with the remnants of a once-thriving civilization—vehicles that Ino couldn't identify, strange devices scattered on the ground, and signs written in an unfamiliar language.

"What is this place?" Ino's voice, though emanating from the cat, was tinged with awe and confusion. The projection seal relayed the scene to her teammates, who watched in stunned silence.

"It looks like some kind of advanced city," Sora mused, his eyes narrowing as he took in the details. "But it's been abandoned for a long time."

The cat continued to move through the city, its feline instincts guiding it with an eerie precision. It weaved through the deserted streets, occasionally stopping to sniff the air or peer into the shadows. Ino's clone kept a careful eye on everything, noting the strange architecture and the objects scattered about—devices and vehicles that seemed far beyond the technological level of their world.

"Check inside one of those buildings," Shikamaru suggested, his strategic mind working to piece together the puzzle. "There might be clues about what happened here."

The cat darted toward one of the taller buildings, slipping through a broken doorway. The interior was dark and cold, the walls lined with strange panels and devices that emitted a faint hum. The floor was littered with debris—shattered glass, broken metal, and other unidentifiable objects.

Ino's clone guided the cat deeper into the building, its senses heightened as it explored the alien environment. The air was thick with dust, and every step stirred up more of it, creating a suffocating atmosphere. Despite the discomfort, Ino pressed on, determined to find something that could shed light on this mysterious city.

As they moved further inside, the cat suddenly paused, its ears twitching. Ino felt a jolt of surprise as she realized the cat had picked up on something—a faint sound, like a distant hum or vibration, coming from deeper within the building.

"There's something ahead," Ino reported, her voice echoing through the projection. The cat crept forward cautiously, its body low to the ground as it approached the source of the sound.

They reached a large room at the end of a long corridor. The walls were lined with strange machines, their surfaces covered in dust and grime, but still faintly operational. In the centre of the room stood a massive console, its screens flickering with faint images and text that Ino couldn't decipher.

"This… this is incredible," Ino whispered, her clone's feline eyes wide as they took in the sight. The technology was far beyond anything they had ever encountered, and yet it seemed to have been abandoned for a long time.

"See if you can access any of the information on those screens," Shikamaru suggested, his analytical mind already working through the possibilities. "There might be something here that can tell us what happened."

Ino's clone, still inhabiting the cat's body, approached the console. The cat's paw reached out, tapping one of the buttons. The screen flickered, and suddenly, a map of the city appeared, with a red dot blinking in the centre.

"I found something," Ino said, her voice laced with excitement. "There's a map here, and it's showing a location with a red marker. It must be important."

"Can you magnify it to get more details?" Sora asked, his curiosity piqued, he had seen projectors in use and Shikamaru's original seal, he also has read a lot of sci-fi novels and shows, so he has some idea on how maybe things work.

Ino's clone tapped the screen again, trying to manipulate the controls with the cat's limited dexterity. The map zoomed in, revealing more details of the city layout and highlighting the building where the red marker was located. The symbol next to it was unfamiliar, but it clearly indicated something of significance.

"We need to check out that location," Shikamaru decided. "It might be the key to understanding this place."

Before Ino could respond, the ground beneath the cat suddenly shook a low rumble that sent vibrations through the entire building. The cat leapt back instinctively, its body tense and alert.

"Ino, get out of there!" Shikamaru's voice was sharp, filled with urgency.

Ino's clone quickly turned the cat around, racing back through the corridors and out of the building. The rumbling continued, growing stronger with each passing moment. It felt as if the entire city was on the brink of collapse.

The cat sprinted through the streets, dodging debris as the ground buckled and cracked beneath its paws. Ino's heart pounded in her chest, fear gripping her as she urged the cat to move faster. She could feel the weight of the situation pressing down on her—the realization that this place, this abandoned city, was far more dangerous than they had anticipated.

Finally, the cat reached the outskirts of the city, where the rumbling subsided. The projection flickered, and Ino's main body felt a wave of relief as the cat slowed down, its breathing heavy from the exertion.

"That was close," Ino said, her voice shaky but filled with determination. "But we have the information we need, let's explore there"

"Hmm, I have not said this but, the wavelengths automatically change even if I don't input anything, so we don't really have much time in this 'reality', so we need to hurry as each reality changes its wavelength continuously, that's also the reason we can't find our own reality if that makes sense" Sora urged Ino to move to that location quickly which Ino compiled making the cat move in that blinking location.

Ino's clone, embodying the agile grace of a cat, navigated through the warped terrain with precision. The red-marked location on the map pulsated with an eerie light, guiding her through the twisted remnants of a once-thriving city now overtaken by nature's relentless advance.

Towering trees wove their branches through the skeletons of crumbling skyscrapers, and vines choked the life out of what was left of the technology. The sense of timelessness was palpable as if centuries had passed in mere moments.

Back at the hidden chamber, Team 10 and Sora watched the unfolding events through the hologram seal. The holographic display provided a live feed of Ino's clone's perspective, making the scene both vivid and disconcerting. The dimensions of reality around the stone structure flickered with the intensity of the energy being absorbed from outside, causing the entire scene to warp and twist.

Shikamaru furrowed his brow as he observed the ever-changing landscape. "The dimension itself is reacting to the energy Ino's clone is interacting with. This is far more complex than we anticipated."

Sora, eyes locked on the projection, nodded. "The entire dimension is in flux. We need to be ready for any sudden changes."

Ino's clone reached the coordinates marked in red, finding herself in front of a colossal stone edifice. The structure, covered in enigmatic runes, seemed to pulse with a rhythm of its own. As she approached, the surrounding environment shifted and undulated, causing the holographic feed to shimmer and distort.

A metallic device embedded into the stonework responded to the cat's presence. With nimble paws, Ino's clone manipulated the device, triggering a series of holographic images that illuminated the area. The hologram projected the same scene for Team 10 and Sora, revealing a dark, ancient chamber filled with advanced yet decrepit technology.

***

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