Chapter 112: The Cat's Cry

"A cat's meow?"

The man with the bulbous nose furrowed his brow. But in the apocalypse, where would a cat come from? Could it be a mutated beast?

Brother Wu pondered aloud, "If it really is just a cat, that would be manageable. I’m just worried it might be something else."

"Mm." The bulbous-nosed man nodded.

"Meow~~~"

Another cry echoed, clearer in the dim surroundings, sounding as if it were drawing closer. Brother Wu and his companion furrowed their brows even deeper. They felt it necessary to go out and take a look. If there was any real danger, they needed to eliminate it early to avoid future trouble. And if it really was just a cat... wouldn't that be a nice extra meal?

Brother Wu turned his gaze toward a man and a woman. "Er-Zhuang, Li Yan, you two go out and take a look."

For such a dangerous task, he certainly wouldn't go himself; he needed to find some cannon fodder.

"Uh, this..." Er-Zhuang and Li Yan froze. They exchanged glances, both seeing the anxiety in the other's eyes. They were only Brain-Core stage awakeners with no actual awakened abilities. But since Brother Wu had given the order, they dared not disobey.

"Fine."

The two agreed, then selected a few male survivors to serve as sacrificial lambs. There were six of them in total. They cautiously opened the door and poked their heads out to inspect the area.

Outside was a long corridor and a staircase leading to the street level. Since the exit had been tightly sealed, no light penetrated the space; it was pitch black, and one could not even see their own hand before their face. However, thanks to the enhanced vision of the awakeners, they could barely make out their surroundings.

"There's nothing here. It must be outside," Er-Zhuang said, squinting. Before the exit had been sealed, they had thoroughly cleared the interior of any other living creatures.

*Gulp!*

Li Yan’s dry lips moved as she swallowed hard, her expression extremely nervous. She had only joined the Black Scorpion gang by using her looks and had never experienced anything major.

"Then... shall we go out?"

"Mm." Er-Zhuang nodded and looked at the four survivors. "You go first."

"This..." The four men, their faces covered in dust, looked as if they had just swallowed a fly, but they dared not resist. They could only steel themselves and walk forward. Because the corridor was so dark, they had to feel their way along the walls.

During the trek, one man accidentally kicked an old soda can, which clattered loudly.

"A ghost!"

Overcome with nerves, he was startled by his own noise, stumbled back two steps, and sat hard on the ground.

"Damn it! You really are a useless piece of trash!" Er-Zhuang, furious, kicked the youth. "Move your ass, or I'll kill you right now!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" The youth nodded repeatedly with a mournful expression.

Fortunately, they made it through the corridor without incident. They reached a large iron gate at the top of the stairs.

"Brother Er, there’s no sound outside anymore. How about we head back and just say there was nothing there..." Before they even stepped out, Li Yan was already looking for a way to retreat.

Er-Zhuang thought about it; that seemed like a viable plan. Given the current situation, it was best to avoid going outside if possible.

"Meow~~~"

Just then, a cat’s cry echoed once more. This time, it was right at their feet, as if separated from them by nothing more than a door.

"Damn it!" Er-Zhuang cursed under his breath, his hair standing on end. It seemed he couldn't go back now. Yet, he was terrified that the moment he opened the door, some horrific thing would be pressed right against his face.

Li Yan was trembling all over, instinctively taking two steps back.

Er-Zhuang took a deep breath, held it, and after gently unlocking the door, slowly pushed it outward. Through the crack, silver moonlight spilled in, and the night breeze made everyone shudder.

"Huh? Is there nothing there?" Er-Zhuang peeked through the gap and found the outside completely empty. It wasn't the terrifying sight he had imagined.

"Whew—" He finally exhaled the breath he had been holding. He then pushed the door wide open.

There really was nothing outside. The ruined street was bathed in silver moonlight; not even a single zombie was in sight. However, as they scanned the area, they spotted a ball of orange fur perched on a trash bin by the roadside. It was chubby, looking like a ball of meat—it was a ginger cat.

"It really is just a cat..." Er-Zhuang finally relaxed and muttered. Where would all these terrifying monsters come from? He had been scaring himself!

But Li Yan frowned and asked, "Brother Er, isn't this cat too fat? It's the apocalypse; what has it been eating to get this big?"

"Maybe... mice. There are plenty of rats in the sewers," Er-Zhuang analyzed.

Li Yan nodded, finding that reasonable, and her racing heart finally slowed.

"Should we catch it? We can improve our diet; finally, we get to eat some meat."

"Of course." Er-Zhuang grinned.

He ordered the four survivors to stand around the ginger cat to form a perimeter so it couldn't escape. He then crept toward the cat, step by step.

"Here kitty, kitty. Don't run, I have something tasty for you..."

But the ginger cat stared at him. When he was about five or six meters away, it let out a strange "meow," turned around, jumped off the trash bin, and bolted into the distance.

The survivors lying in ambush scrambled to cut it off. But although the cat was fat, it was agile and reacted with incredible speed, weaving through the legs of one of the men.

"Damn! Useless idiots!" Er-Zhuang cursed. "Chase it!"

They immediately gave chase. As Brain-Core awakeners, even without special abilities, Er-Zhuang and Li Yan possessed exceptional physical fitness and moved quite fast. Before long, they vanished into the darkness.

At this moment, Lin Dong was watching from his position. He had already sensed that the mastermind controlling the cat’s soul was about to appear. He was deeply curious—what exactly could it be?

Furthermore, two powerful auras were approaching. Both were at the Zombie King level, and their ranks were not low. There were two known Zombie Kings in the Jiangqiao District: the Cat-Face and the White Bone. This third one approaching... he didn't yet know what it was.

But one thing was certain: the slaughter was about to begin.

A moment later, Er-Zhuang and his group had chased the cat a hundred meters away, but their speed was ultimately no match for it, and they had lost their target.

"Stop." Er-Zhuang waved his hand, signaling the others to halt. Due to the lack of food, the survivors were weak and were already panting after running only a short distance.

"We can't chase it any further. There might be danger ahead." Er-Zhuang squinted into the distance. By the moonlight, he could faintly see terrifying figures moving on the street ahead—clearly wandering zombies.

"Mm, mm..." The survivors nodded repeatedly. They hadn't wanted to chase it in the first place, only obeying orders out of necessity.

"Finally, we can go back..."

But just as they let out a sigh of relief, Li Yan’s body suddenly jolted. She looked as if she had seen something truly horrific, and she began to tremble violently from head to toe.

"Brother... Brother Er, look at the top of that building!"