"Chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, both of which can be toxic to animals, including mice. Even small amounts of chocolate can cause serious health issues, such as digestive problems, increased heart rate, seizures, and in severe cases, death. It is crucial to keep chocolate and other foods containing these substances away from your pet mouse to ensure its health and safety..."
Alan nodded as he read the information off his holographic watch. "Zed, I don't think you can eat this. I'll look for some nuts and fruits for you-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a series of crunching sounds. Looking down, he saw the little mouse taking large bites out of the chocolate bar in his hand.
"This is amazing!!!" Zed licked his paws clean of the chocolate residue with a blissful expression on his face. His cheeks were completely stuffed, and there were brown stains all over his nose and mouth.
This thing called chocolate was simply too delicious. He felt that his brain was about to short-circuit from the intense sensations sent from his tongue. His entire body buzzed and shivered from the sheer pleasure, and he couldn't stop himself from taking another mouthful of the soft, gooey substance.
For the entirety of his 100 years of his life, he'd only known the taste and texture of the dry and boring nutritional pellets. No matter what variation of pellets they gave to him, it all tasted the same. This was the first time his tongue had ever tasted something this amazing that sent shivers from his mouth to the tip of his tail.
Before Alan could react, the entire bar of chocolate had already disappeared completely.
"Ah! Quick, spit it out! This is bad for you!"
"Relax, kid. My body can even handle poison and viruses. A bit of theobromine and caffeine is nothing to me."
"Oh, right. Your physical enhancements must have given you the ability to metabolize chocolate without any negative effects," Alan calmed down. "But still, it would've been better if you didn't eat the wrapper!"
"What's a wrapper?" Zed tilted his little head with confusion.
"..." Forget. It seems that the mouse still had a lot to learn about the world.
Seeing that Alan did not respond, Zed crawled into his pocket to look for more chocolate.
Alan sat down under a large tree to rest for a while. At the same time, he pushed a few buttons on his holographic watch and a miniature map popped up in front of him.
Since Zed had saved his life and he didn't want to go back into the lab, Alan decided to help smuggle him into the stronghold to take refuge for the time being.
----------
A few moments after Zed pulled Alan into the sky and flew away, a figure crawled out of the sand with an anguished roar.
Dr. Daniel Peterson's appearance was extremely strange. His eyes had turned into vertical crescents and were completely crimson red. There were purple-black reptilian scales all over his body, and his nose had narrowed into slits. His arms were deformed and hung listlessly by his side, and blood flowed out of his seven orifices.
His hair was disheveled and covered in sand, and his expression was exceedingly ferocious. His former appearance of a dignified senior researcher had already long disappeared. He looked more like a deranged and wounded demon that'd been spat out from the underworld.
Dr. Daniel Peterson scanned the area with his glowing eyes and realized that the mouse had already disappeared. That insolent kid was also missing.
"D*MN IT!!!" He cursed as he kicked a nearby corpse in anger. The corpse immediately shattered under his boot and burst into countless tiny, unrecognizable pieces of flesh and blood. He continued venting his anger on the remaining corpses and hover bikes. Only when everything was completely destroyed and he stood among a sea of carnage did he finally calm down.
Drawing in a deep breath, he raised his head to the sky and roared, "ZED, YOU UNGRATEFUL THING!!! DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN RUN AWAY FROM ME!"
----------
Alan's feet trudged through the dense jungle as Zed scurried around him. His whiskers twitched as he explored the unfamiliar surroundings. The cacophony of chirping birds and buzzing insects enveloped them, but Alan could only hear the sound of his own labored breathing.
"Zed, when we get into the stronghold later, just stay in my pocket and don't make a sound. Remember that a mouse is not supposed to know how to speak!" Alan reminded in a ragged tone as he raised his head. A gigantic structure could be seen in the distance, towering above the canopy of the forest.
After traveling for hours, they were finally within reach of Stronghold 51. Fortunately, the direction Zed had chosen to fly was correct. They were only a day's walk away from the Stronghold.
The journey back had been long and tough, but uneventful so far. They could have reached the stronghold much earlier if Alan had been more accepting of Zed's suggestion to fly the entire way back.
Zed was evidently irritated by the multitude of complaints from the wimpy human beside him and wanted to leave by himself to explore this wide world. In the end, he still decided to follow Alan, lured by the tempting promise of more tasty treats.
But Alan was too weighed down by the burden of his own fleshy physique and he moved very slowly. He lumbered laboriously through the jungle, heaving and grunting with every step. Every so often, he would need to sit down for a few minutes to catch his breath.
Zed didn't mind this since he was busy enjoying the sights and smells of this completely new environment. He darted around the forest, sometimes venturing far away from Alan to look at some of the more interesting things.
"Hello, good Sir! May I ask, what are you?" Zed inquired politely as he trotted to the mouth of a thick, black python.
The python stuck out its tongue and looked at the little mouse before it with an incredulous expression on its face. Is this mouse crazy? It actually served itself to my mouth?
"Hiss." The python sniggered and opened its mouth wide to swallow the free snack. Since the idiotic mouse had a death wish, it would be impolite to refuse the other party's kind gesture.
A black mist spread out slowly from its body and covered Zed completely. At the same time, its mouth closed around him.
A foul smell assaulted Zed's nose, and the world turned dark. At the same time, he felt the walls constricting around him forcing him deeper into the darkness.
"Bleurgh!" Zed made a retching sound and stepped back. The smell coming from the depths of the darkness was really unpleasant.
"Okay, this is not fun." He admitted. Then, with a light push from his hind legs, he jumped up and broke through the 'ceiling'. The warm rays of the sun immediately greeted his body, and Zed sucked in the fresh air with great relish.
Beneath him, the giant snake was writhing and thrashing around in pain. An ugly hole had appeared on the back of its neck, and crimson blood spurted out of it. Large amounts of black mist flowed out of its body, corroding the surroundings.
Zed floated down from the air and landed gently beside the agonized snake.
"Erm, I'm really sorry, Sir. I didn't mean to do that... It's just that your breath was too smelly-"
Before Zed could finish speaking, the black python whirled around with hatred in its eyes. It brandished its sharp fangs and lunged at him, intent on tearing him apart.
----------
"Where did Zed go?" Alan wondered aloud as slumped heavily against a thick tree. He was too tired to care about anything right now. The forest was quite dangerous and without Zed's protection, he was basically a juicy piece of walking meat for the mutated beasts.
As expected, just as he was feeling worried, he heard a loud rustling sound. To his horror, he saw a humongous silhouette looming in the distance and it was moving towards him!
He scrambled to his feet and was about to run when he heard a high-pitched mousy squeak.
"Alan, Alan! What is this?" Zed shouted excitedly.
Alan's wary eyes widened in shock as he watched Zed drag a gigantic snake over and set it in front of him. His expression was quite a sight.
"O-Obsidian Coil!" Alan gasped and stepped back hurriedly as he took in the full appearance of the beast.
The Obsidian Coil is an abnormally large python, measuring over forty feet long and standing nearly six feet tall at the highest point of its head. Its scales are a deep black, with a glossy sheen that makes it appear even more menacing. The python's eyes are a piercing yellow, and its forked tongue is coated with a paralyzing venom that can immobilize most prey.
This thing weighed more than a car, and had an appetite that matched its massive size. Although it was not a commonly encountered mutated beast, it was quite popular among the students because of its cool appearance. Thus, Alan had recognized it at first glance.
"This guy is called an Obsidian Coil?" Zed tilted his head and asked.
"What a handsome name..." He felt a little jealous. This thing was so weak but it had a nicer name than him. "When I go to the humans' territory, I need to tell them to change my name for me." Zed resolved.
"White mouse" sounded too lame in comparison! Something cooler like Snowstorm Sentinel, or Ivory Avenger suited him a lot more.
Looking at the little mouse that was pouting at the side, Alan sighed and explained, "The Obsidian Coil is a species of mutated python. What sets it apart from other mutated pythons is the bony exoskeleton resembling jagged spikes that runs down its back. Its jaws are lined with razor-sharp teeth and two long fangs. It has distinctive small curved horns protruding from the top of its head, giving it the appearance of a fearsome dragon.
Its horns are also extremely durable, able to deflect attacks from bladed weapons or firearms. It can release a unique black mist that can obscure the senses of its targets and contains a corrosive property.
In short, it's a very dangerous mutated beast."
"Oh." Zed didn't seem very impressed.
Alan: "..."
Was this mouse jealous of the snake? How childish! Did you see what you did to it? Half of its head was caved in, and there was a ghastly hole on the back of its neck! Why would an overpowered mouse like you be envious of it?!
Of course, these were just his inner thoughts. He was not insensitive enough to tell Zed this. Instead, he decided to comfort the little fellow. Afterall, it's only his first time outside of the lab and it was understandable that his thoughts were not as mature yet.
Alan sat down heavily and stretched out a finger to gently stroke Zed's soft furry head.
"Don't be sad. This snake is definitely not as powerful as our Almighty Zed." He coaxed.