Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 5: Orange Cats Are Meant to Eat Oranges

“Meow!” Zuo Chen let out a startled cry at the sudden attack. This creature with an orange tree growing out of its belly was still alive! And it was a mutated zombie! Shocked, Zuo Chen’s bone claws flashed into view with a “swish,” and he began struggling frantically, trying to shake off the tentacles. But caught off guard, his limbs were already tightly bound by the tentacles, leaving him unable to muster any strength for the moment. There are many animals in nature that hunt through mimicry, and this zombie was clearly using the same tactic—except it was disguised as a corpse with an orange tree growing out of its stomach! As he struggled, Zuo Chen realized that the ground around him was littered with crushed and drained corpses. The tattered skin of these corpses was still intact, but it clung tightly to bones that had been reduced to a mangled mass, looking just like the remnants left after digestion. Earlier, he’d been so preoccupied with picking up items that he’d assumed these were supermarket goods—he hadn’t taken a closer look at all. He’d been too careless! “Snap…” With a soft sound, after struggling relentlessly, Zuo Chen’s hind claw finally tore through a tentacle, freeing him. He then kicked out with his bony claws, digging them fiercely into the tentacle wrapped around his other hind leg, trying to tear it apart again. Just then, the tentacle he’d just torn off suddenly stretched out again and wrapped around him. At the tip of the tentacle was a bony spike that tried to pierce Zuo Chen’s body, but it was blocked by his fur. Zuo Chen immediately began struggling frantically once more. The sound of “snap, snap” filled the air as Zuo Chen struggled relentlessly; tentacles were torn off one after another, only to be replaced by a ceaseless stream of new ones. The tentacle zombie’s limbs had mutated into four massive tentacles, and its fingers and toes had all turned into smaller tentacles—at least twenty in total—and they could regenerate endlessly! Fortunately, Zuo Chen was incredibly strong. Although he couldn’t break free completely, constantly severing the creature’s tentacles prevented the tentacle zombie from devouring him for the time being. However, as time went on, he faced an even greater crisis: hunger! He had already begun to feel hungry earlier, and now, after the intense physical exertion of the battle, the sensation of hunger emanating from every cell had begun to flood his entire body, driving him mad. I’m so hungry! So hungry! I need food! Hunger made his movements somewhat erratic, and the tentacled zombie seized the opportunity, wrapping its tentacles tightly around Zuo Chen before opening its gaping maw and pulling him inside. Although today’s prey was different from humans and zombies—and a bit of a challenge—this vibrant life force stirred a sense of excitement in the tentacled zombie’s chaotic consciousness. Eat! In the blink of an eye, Zuo Chen had been pulled right up to the tentacled zombie’s mouth, and in the next second, he was about to be bitten to pieces and swallowed. But by now, he was completely consumed by hunger; his cells had already begun to digest his own body, and his consciousness was growing hazy. Hungry! All he wanted was to eat! His body had wasted away noticeably in just a few seconds. Struggling, Zuo Chen broke free from the tentacles and shot straight out. But he didn’t run away. Hunger had robbed him of nearly all reason; baring a mouthful of sharp fangs, he actually bit down hard on the tentacled zombie’s head! “Crack!” The sound of a skull shattering echoed as Zuo Chen’s teeth crushed the tentacled zombie’s skull! Hunger… So hungry! The frenzied hunger had left him unable to distinguish what was at his lips, and he began devouring it in huge mouthfuls. At first, the tentacles struggled to wrap around Zuo Chen, but as their brains were destroyed, their strength rapidly waned. Finally, they twitched a few times, fell to the ground in all directions, and were completely lifeless. Silence fell once more, broken only by the sound of swallowing. Once the last one was swallowed, his hunger subsided, and Zuo Chen finally regained his senses. But in the very next instant, countless fragments of memory began surging through his mind like a tidal wave! Born into an ordinary working-class family, he had been lazy and gluttonous from a young age, with no interest in learning. As an adult, he found a job as a supermarket clerk, often stealing food. Then the biohazard outbreak occurred, and he was eventually infected, becoming a zombie left behind in the supermarket… Zuo Chen realized that these were all the memories from this tentacled zombie’s past life! There were even some scenes from after it had become a tentacled zombie. Clearly, after devouring the other’s brain, he had also acquired its memories! However, the sheer volume of information was overwhelming—after all, these were the memories of an entire lifetime. Even the most mundane life, down to the smallest details, amounted to a massive amount of data. Fortunately, Zuo Chen had already undergone a memory fusion with Li Jianguo, so he was able to handle it reasonably well. Moreover, he soon discovered that these absorbed memories functioned like a database. If he wished, he could seal off most of the information, selecting only the parts he wanted to view and use, while confirming that useless information could be directly destroyed by phagocytosis. No, it wasn’t just memories… Zuo Chen flicked his tail, and in an instant, it elongated into an agile tentacle. He flung it several meters away; a hollow bony spike emerged at its tip and, with a “thud,” embedded itself into a row of shelves, piercing right through the metal plate. He’s even acquired the mutated genes of this tentacled zombie! How on earth did this guy become a mutated zombie? Zuo Chen quickly scanned the zombie’s memories after its transformation and soon found a crucial fragment, which he immediately integrated into his own brain. This memory clearly showed the tentacled zombie, after its transformation, aimlessly wandering out of the shopping mall and into Yancheng University. Then it accidentally fell into a large pit—a meteorite crater in the artificial lake at Yancheng University! In this memory, after arriving at the meteorite crater, he appeared to be exposed to some kind of light for a period of time, after which he gradually began to mutate. Once mutated, his subconscious instincts drove him back to the shopping mall. Clearly, the answer to all of this lay within that meteorite crater. “Growl…” Zuo Chen’s stomach growled with hunger once more. Although he’d eaten, the meal hadn’t contained much protein and hadn’t been enough to satisfy his hunger. Zuo Chen leaped up, plucked a few small oranges from the tree, peeled them in a flash, and popped them into his mouth. Savoring the sweet-and-sour taste he hadn’t experienced in years, Zuo Chen couldn’t help but let out a contented moan: “Meow…” Orange Cats are meant to eat oranges! Just then, he suddenly realized that despite the huge commotion caused by the battle moments ago, not a single zombie from the entire shopping mall had come to check things out. Glancing at the zombie corpses littering the ground and piecing together the tentacled zombie’s memories, Zuo Chen had already figured it out. This tentacled zombie had been posing as an orange tree to hunt humans and zombies here for a very long time, and precisely because of that, it exerted a natural aura of intimidation over the surrounding zombies, causing them to instinctively avoid coming near this spot. No wonder not a single zombie had come over, even after they’d made such a huge commotion. Over the past few years, food had been readily available to the tentacled zombie—it had been feasting to its heart’s content—to the point that it had almost forgotten how to stand up, remaining lying down the entire time. It had even been using that orange tree as bait to lure prey. Realizing all this, Zuo Chen couldn’t help but feel excited. He took out the food he’d gathered earlier, tore down a few wooden planks from the shelves, piled them together, and lit them with a few stray matches, quickly building a campfire. He then found a large metal lunchbox, wiped it clean, poured in a few bottles of the bottled water he’d just found, and began heating water in the pot. The wooden planks were as dry as could be; they caught fire instantly, and the flames burned fiercely, bringing the water to a boil in no time. Zuo Chen took another stroll through the produce section, and by the time he returned, he was holding a small tomato and a few vegetable leaves. The temperature inside the supermarket actually felt quite a bit like a greenhouse, though the lighting was a bit poor, so the vegetables that grew there were all quite small—but they were full of flavor. He chopped up the vegetables and tossed them into the water. The fresh, crisp aroma of vegetables immediately filled the air, making Zuo Chen’s eyes light up. Saliva instantly trickled down his pink lips, dampening the fuzz on his chin. But this was only the beginning. Taking two packs of Master Kong Braised Beef Noodles from his backpack, Zuo Chen carefully placed the noodle blocks inside, then poured in the oil packet and seasoning packet. The aroma—a blend of vegetables, seasonings, and oil—spread outward, carried by the rising steam. Zuo Chen swayed his head back and forth, following the scent, and his drool dripped straight onto the ground. And that’s not all! There were also the cans! Two cans of luncheon meat and one can of ham were all opened. Zuo Chen quickly sliced the luncheon meat and ham and tossed them into the pot, even pouring in the remaining oil and broth from the cans. The noodle broth bubbled a few times, and the flavor of this pot of noodles instantly reached its peak! Savory, fragrant, and warm—the steam from this blend of flavors spread out like a scent bomb, and the broth had turned a beautiful golden yellow. A glow of happiness shone in the cat’s eyes as he pressed his paws together, utterly entranced by the aroma. “Meow, meow, meow—” Gazing at the pot full of food, he was so overjoyed he let out a cry, his drool soaking the fur on his chest. Ever since the biohazard outbreak, he hadn’t had a hot meal—especially after being captured by the biological research institute, where he was fed nothing but compressed energy bars made from metabolic byproducts every day, which had absolutely no flavor. Over the past few years, he had lost count of how many times he’d dreamed of banquets, dining out, and eating at home. And even if he’d wanted to cook these past few days, he hadn’t had a suitable place or enough ingredients—but now, his wish had finally come true! After five or six minutes, when the instant noodles in the pot were thoroughly cooked and soaked in the broth from the vegetables and meat, Zuo Chen finally lifted the lunchbox-turned-pot off the fire. After washing his paws, Zuo Chen used both paws to scoop up a big handful of noodles, meat, and vegetables and shoveled them into his mouth. A rich, savory aroma immediately filled his mouth. “Mmm, mmm, so good, so good!” Not caring that it was too hot for his mouth, Zuo Chen held the pot with his left paw while his right paw kept scooping up the noodles, eating them in big mouthfuls. “Munch, munch…” “Mmm, mmm…” “It’s so hot, so hot…” By the campfire surrounded by a circle of corpses, a chubby Orange Cat held a pot of soup and ate with gusto, his face splattered with broth—yet this was his happiest moment…