Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 23: Life and Death, Staying and Leaving

“…A phoenix painted on a pink wall, a phoenix painted on a pink wall. A red phoenix, a pink phoenix, a red-and-pink phoenix—a flower phoenix! A red carp, a green carp, and a donkey; a donkey, a green carp, and a red carp!” After reciting a long tongue-twister, the moment he uttered the final word, the Orange Cat suddenly struck a “job well done” pose—one paw resting on his hip, the other raised high toward the sky—as he looked down at the ground, revealing the fuzzy back of his head. The band of outlaws was completely dumbfounded, their mouths agape and eyes wide, at a loss for words. After a moment, Erzi finally snapped out of it and led the applause: “The Great King is amazing!” The bandits, realizing what was happening, joined in, clapping enthusiastically. Though the scene was absurd and bizarre, they were deeply shocked. “Damn, that’s way too human-like! This isn’t a Beast King at all—it’s practically a cat spirit…” However, although his spoken Mandarin was very standard, his voice had a babyish, high-pitched tone that made him sound more like a seven- or eight-year-old child. The bandits found this strange contrast strangely endearing. “Meow-ha-ha, dear viewers, how good do you think my Mandarin is?” The Orange Cat laughed heartily, hands on his hips, looking up at the sky. Earlier, his heavy accent had been driving him crazy, but now he could finally let loose. “Definitely on par with a ‘News Broadcast’ anchor!” Erzi wasn’t exaggerating; despite the babyish tone, the Great King’s pronunciation was indeed quite standard. After showing off his voice, Zuo Chen nodded in satisfaction. He glanced at the remaining thirteen people and said, “Let’s get down to business.” The group got back on the elevator and returned to the upper floors. Unlike their previous cautious approach, this time—with Zuo Chen’s imposing presence—all the zombies had turned into docile little bunnies; even when a few humans walked right past them, they didn’t react at all. Amid their excitement, the group of humans was once again stunned. Soon, under Zuo Chen’s orders, they located more than a dozen zombies wearing white lab coats. In life, these lab-coat zombies had all been researchers or administrators at the biological research institute. Zuo Chen identified them by the name tags on their uniforms and selected the three zombies who had held the highest positions in life. One was the deputy director of the biological research institute, and the other two were project managers. He thrust his tail spike into the zombies’ brains and, in three separate sessions, absorbed portions of their memories. Zuo Chen had now acquired sufficient biological knowledge and an understanding of the underground testing facility. As Zuo Chen processed the knowledge in his mind, he marveled at just how convenient this method was. The research projects conducted at this biological research institute were truly cutting-edge, and these researchers were all renowned scientists in their field; he could now rightly be considered an expert in biology and virology. Moreover, because he had acquired the skeletal zombie’s psychic mutation ability, absorbing the memories of these zombies had become much faster, and the discomfort had been greatly reduced. Shortly afterward, the group returned to the underground testing facility, this time using ID tags taken from some of the zombies to open the door to the facility’s storage room. Behind the sleek, high-tech metal walls, rows of glass cabinets held precious experimental materials. Zuo Chen opened the innermost cabinet, where rows of vials were stored in liquid nitrogen. There were twenty vials in total, each containing a liquid that emitted a faint blue glow. According to the memories Zuo Chen had absorbed, this blue liquid was precisely the result of Song Tianqiao’s research at this institute over the past few years—the Type C Evolution Serum! The deputy director of the research institute had once been Song Tianqiao’s close associate and right-hand man, and as such, was very familiar with Song Tianqiao’s research. The reason they had remained at this research institute in Yancheng—rather than evacuating—after the outbreak of the biochemical crisis was, on the surface, to get close to the zombies and obtain firsthand research data; in reality, it was to conduct secret human experiments according to their own whims and to keep the results all to themselves. Their closest approach to a perfect experimental result over the past few years was this Type C Evolutionary Serum—though “close to perfect” merely meant that some people were able to survive after using it… Moreover, many of the active substances and compounds in this evolutionary serum must be extracted within seconds of a human test subject being infected. Every vial of serum represents a large number of people they tortured to death… This substance is extremely unstable. Although they’ve used it a few times since creating it, the fatality rate remains as high as sixty percent, and the deaths are gruesome. When the Biological Research Institute was overrun by skeleton zombies, Song Tianqiao only had time to take the experimental data with him; all the finished vials were left behind. In Zuo Chen’s eyes, however, this Type C Evolution Serum represented a precious opportunity. He believed this was especially true for the humans struggling to survive in the bio-chemical ruins. What did it matter if the mortality rate was high? As long as people survived, that was enough. Of course, this substance couldn’t transform him back from a cat into a human. According to the memories he’d acquired, some of the substances he’d been injected with back then were compounds that had only just been retrieved from the meteorite impact site—their exact composition wasn’t even fully understood. Carefully setting the vials down on the ground, Zuo Chen looked solemnly at the remaining thirteen people and said, “This is called Type C Evolution Serum. After injection, it has a 60 percent fatality rate. If you survive, there’s a high probability you’ll become stronger. Although it won’t grant immunity to the zombie virus, it will grant you greater strength—what is known as ‘evolution.’ I’m leaving Yancheng now. You’re free to stay or go as you please. If you want to come with me, you’re welcome to follow. Those who aren’t afraid of death can choose to inject the serum. If the injection fails, I can put you out of your misery.” “It’s the Evolution Serum!” Seeing the vials, the remaining thirteen people all widened their eyes, their breathing becoming rapid. Though they lived trapped in the ruins, they were able to tune in to news from the outside world via the radio, so they all knew just how precious this evolution serum truly was. It could be said that this serum is the very foundation upon which the surviving human world stands. They had all heard rumors about just how formidable those powerful beings known as “Evolvers” truly were. It’s no exaggeration to say that these so-called “Evolvers” are essentially the powerful superhumans once found in novels and comics. However, this serum carries a 60 percent fatality rate—a rate that is simply far too high… “Thump… thump…” No one spoke, yet they could almost hear each other’s heartbeats. Life or death, to stay or to go, to merely survive or to evolve! The Orange Cat stood there, one paw resting on the corner of the cabinet, waiting for their answer. He had already laid the choice before them; how they chose and what the outcome would be were entirely up to them. A trembling hand slowly reached out—it was Erzi. Though his hand trembled, his gaze was unwavering. In these post-apocalyptic ruins, strength is everything. Otherwise, even if they managed to scrape by today, what about tomorrow? Or the day after? Without strength, no one can hide forever. Since that’s the case, they might as well take a gamble: if they can’t hold out, they die; if they do, they’ll live better! Grabbing a syringe, Erzi’s hand stopped trembling. The needle pierced a vein in his arm, and the blue liquid flowed in slowly. When the very last drop of Type C Evolution Serum had been injected, Erzi’s eyes widened suddenly. He crushed the empty syringe in his fist, let out a pained growl, and collapsed to his knees. He then began frantically scratching at his own body while rolling on the ground; all the major veins across his body had now risen to the surface, glowing an eerie blue! Witnessing this scene, yet another person reached out, took a syringe, and injected it into their own body. Then a third… a fourth… Soon, all thirteen remaining humans had injected the evolution serum into their own bodies! They were a band of ruthless bandits to begin with; perhaps they feared cruel torture and endless suffering, but they did not fear death. If they survived, they would become stronger; if they died, it would be a form of liberation! “Hah… hah…” Agonized growls erupted from their throats as all dozen or so of them collapsed to the ground, frantically scratching at their bodies and writhing like insects. Zuo Chen simply plopped down onto his tail, crossed his front paws over his chest, and watched these humans writhing in agony. Clear veins had appeared all over their bodies, though they had turned blue, and their eyes were blood-red—strikingly similar to the transformation of zombies. Nearly half of them began to bleed from their eyes! This Type C evolutionary serum was essentially a work in progress; no one knew what side effects it might have. From the looks of it, they’re likely terrifying. Still, this was their own choice. Suddenly, one of the bandits began to scream frantically, scratching deep, bloody gashes into his chest as if trying to dig his way through, while blood poured from his mouth and nose as well. Zuo Chen could sense with his psychic power that this bandit’s thoughts had become chaotic and deranged; clearly, his brain had been damaged. He had failed. The bandit howled several times, then reached up to gouge out his own eyeballs! A yellow shadow flashed, and the bony spike at the tip of Zuo Chen’s tail had already pierced the Temple of the Sun in the bandit’s head. His body trembled a few times before falling completely still, and the blue veins visible on his skin slowly faded, as if he had fallen asleep. Then, another Wild Bandit began to wail. His muscles swelled rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, they actually burst through his skin; the muscles in his face were about to squeeze his eyeballs out! Zuo Chen lashed out with his tail once more, putting this failed-evolution bandit out of his misery. A moment later, a third failed subject appeared, and Zuo Chen once again put him out of his misery. His mental energy could now sense the emotions of the humans before him. When calm emotions turned into complete chaos and madness, that was the point at which brain damage became irreversible—and it signaled failure. An hour later, after the six failures had been released from their suffering, the remaining seven had calmed down considerably. Their facial expressions softened, the network of blood vessels covering their bodies gradually faded, and their mental fluctuations began to stabilize as they fell into a deep sleep. The wounds they had scratched into their own skin also began to heal slowly. Seven survived… that’s a few more than expected. The Orange Cat wore a solemn expression; those who survived would undergo evolution, while those who died had found permanent release. There were seven vials of Type C Evolution Serum remaining. Zuo Chen wrapped his tail around one and examined it closely. The blue serum inside looked like a cloudy blue gemstone. He pierced his left front paw with the needle, then pressed his right paw against it, injecting the serum into his body.