Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 26: Superstar of a Turbulent Era

Zuo Chen looked up to see seven Evolvers, all dressed in white shirts, black suits, and black sunglasses, wearing gold watches on their wrists and polished leather shoes, with their hair shaved into crew cuts. They bowed to Zuo Chen in unison: “Great King!” This group of Evolvers had all been through life-and-death battles; after evolving, they possessed immense strength and were all exceptionally well-built. Dressed in suits and ties, they certainly looked the part. Clearly, this outfit had been chosen at Erzi’s suggestion. After all, he had been with Zuo Chen the longest and had a fair understanding of His Majesty the Beast King’s preferences. Of course, they hadn’t been allowed to wear the rather conspicuous gold chains—after all, such status symbols were more fitting for the Great King himself. Zuo Chen smiled, nodded, and said, “We’re all set. Let’s go.” “Great King, where are we going?” Bai Biao asked hurriedly. “To the coast. We’ll find a boat and head to Jincheng,” Zuo Chen said. He’d already thought it through before going to sleep. The closest human fortress was Jicheng Fortress, but traveling from Yancheng across the entire peninsula to Jicheng would involve far too many dangers along the way, and the road was treacherous. The most convenient method, in fact, was to take the sea route directly to Jincheng Fortress, then travel to Jicheng Fortress via a heavily armored train. That way, they could avoid many of the risks on land. After all, while his current strength was more than enough to handle ordinary zombies, if he happened to encounter some abnormally powerful mutant zombies—or even an Abyssal Being or a true Beast King—he, as a fake Beast King, would be doomed to be beaten to a pulp. The Orange Cat stood up on its hind legs and led the way, followed by seven burly men in suits and sunglasses lined up in a row as they strode out of the mall and walked along the street toward the seaside. The streets were teeming with zombies, but thanks to Zuo Chen’s mental aura, they all kept their distance. Even when they caught a whiff of human scent, they dared not make a move. Wherever they passed, the zombies stood on both sides of the street, as if forming a welcoming guard of honor. Seeing this scene, the Evolvers all felt a secret thrill and were filled with excitement. Just a few days ago, they never would have dreamed that one day they’d be able to stride freely down a street overrun with zombies—it was absolutely exhilarating! Just then, the System’s mechanical voice rang out in Zuo Chen’s mind once more: “Environmental emotion detected: excitement. Preparing to play the background track ‘Superstar of the Chaos Era.’ ” The air around them suddenly vibrated, and in the next instant, the rousing intro to the *Young and Dangerous* theme song rang out, followed immediately by Chen Xiaochun’s vocals, echoing throughout the entire street “I rule the roost, I charge ahead as I please, with everyone looking up to me I rule the winds and clouds—I’ll never look back I’ll turn the world upside down; I’ll write my own laws This ferocious, gleaming-eyed wild wolf The Orange Cat helplessly raised a paw to cover his forehead. “Here come the triad thugs…” The few Evolvers behind him, on the other hand, were actually quite excited. They were thoroughly pleased with the sudden background music and were practically floating as they walked. Zuo Chen decided to just go with it—background music wasn’t so bad after all. At least it made them look pretty cool! In that moment, the cat and the seven humans all swung their arms and strut defiantly down the entire street… Half an hour later, the “Chaotic Times Superstar” soundtrack had already stopped, yet the group was still strolling leisurely down the street—though their earlier enthusiasm had long since faded. They were still quite a distance from the beach, and walking all the way there would take quite a while. “Big Boss… it’s kind of far…” Erzi said cautiously from the side, “How about… we find a ride?” Zuo Chen, who had been on all fours, suddenly whipped his head around, jumped up, and smacked Erzi on the head: “Why the hell didn’t you say so sooner!” “Find a car. We’re going to West Port Pier,” Zuo Chen said, his face darkening. He’d been so busy showing off that he hadn’t even thought of driving all this time—his feet were practically worn to the bone! There were plenty of abandoned vehicles on the street, and the group quickly found a Mercedes-Benz sedan and an SUV. Although they didn’t have much gas left and the tires were flat, they’d be good enough to get to the beach. They simply cut the wires to start the engines. Zuo Chen sat in the passenger seat of the sedan, and the group quickly drove to the West Gate area by the sea. Having spent so long hiding and surviving in the city’s ruins, it had been ages since any of them had been to the beach. As the salty, briny scent of the ocean brushed against their faces, they all let out cheers. This place had originally been a fishing port, with quite a few fishing boats moored there—and even some deep-sea fishing vessels. Although the noise from the car as they drove had attracted quite a few zombies to gather and watch, with Zuo Chen around, they weren’t afraid of anything. Bai Biao and the others even waved enthusiastically at the onlookers, looking just like movie stars facing a crowd of crazed fans. Who would have thought life could be so leisurely even in the apocalypse? Soon, the group found a large motorboat—a coastal fishing vessel. It was a relatively new model and should be fairly fast. Although the hull was covered in barnacles and various marine parasites, and the surface was rusty in places, one of the Evolvers—a man named Jiang Hailong, who used to be a fisherman—was extremely familiar with these things. He quickly inspected the vessel and confirmed it was in good condition. Since they were already in the Yellow and Bohai Sea region, he could navigate to the Jincheng Fortress even without GPS. The group climbed into the cabin and, under Jiang Hailong’s direction, prepared to set sail, while Zuo Chen jumped up onto the fishing boat’s flagpole and stood there, gazing out to sea. His psychic energy now faintly extended several dozen meters into the sea. Unlike the sensation on land, something about the sea felt different… Back among the city ruins, his mental field had been completely calm. Although the zombies also emitted chaotic mental fluctuations, the waves emanating from beings that had lost all intelligence were like nothing more than white noise. But out at sea, it was different. It was as if he could hear a voice whispering ceaselessly beneath the waves; yet, no matter how intently he listened, he couldn’t make out what it was saying. At the same time, he noticed vast patches of seagrass and seaweed near the shore. Moreover, these marine plants were much larger than he had imagined—a single ball of algae was actually as big as a ping-pong ball! After all, these little things were normally so tiny they were invisible to the naked eye. Looking along the shoreline, he saw vast quantities of tree-like sea grass protruding from the water, deeply rooted in the sand, turning the entire coastline green. Something wasn’t right… Zuo Chen had a vague sense that something was amiss, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. After all, he’d spent the last few years in the ruins of the city, and even in the few days since he’d turned into a cat, he’d only been wandering around those few city blocks—he hadn’t been out in the open for far too long. “Your Majesty, the boat is ready. We can set sail at any time,” Jiang Hailong reported to Zuo Chen from the deck. “Let’s set sail,” Zuo Chen nodded. The ship’s horn blared, and the fishing boat—which had been moored in the fishing harbor for several years—began to rumble as it slowly headed out to sea. “We’re finally leaving Yancheng…” the Orange Cat said, perched on the flagpole, watching the coastline recede into the distance. “I thought I’d die here soon, but thanks to Your Majesty for saving my life,” Erzi said with equal emotion. Bai Biao, standing nearby, said excitedly, “Great King, to be honest, my girlfriend is at the Jincheng Fortress. We lost contact during the apocalypse. If I can find her in Jincheng this time, I’m going to propose to her!” Zuo Chen suddenly turned his head, staring at him with wide eyes. “Shut up! Do you even realize what you just said!?” “…What did I do?” Bai Biao looked completely bewildered, not understanding what he’d said wrong. “Getting married, having kids, then going your separate ways—you’ve just set yourself up for certain death!” No sooner had the words left his mouth than the fishing boat, which had been sailing smoothly, jolted violently. A thousand meters ahead of the fishing boat, a swarm of bubbles suddenly appeared within a radius of over a kilometer. The calm sea surface instantly churned into giant waves tens of meters high. Immediately afterward, a small black island rose from the ocean floor—and it kept growing! In the blink of an eye, the island had reached a height of over a hundred meters, and a black jade disk with a diameter of more than ten meters appeared on its surface. Only then did everyone realize that this was no island at all, but a giant whale a kilometer long! This could no longer be called a giant whale—it was, in fact, a whale island! The surface of the giant whale’s body was entirely covered with bony spines, the shortest of which were still over ten meters long. Its fins, which were originally hundreds of meters wide, flapped the moment it broke the surface, whipping up fierce winds and towering waves that actually lifted the whale’s colossal body and carried it gliding across the water! The massive waves churned up by the whale as it broke the surface surged toward them, causing the fishing boat to rock violently. Though everyone clung on for dear life, their eyes remained fixed on the colossal creature. “In the Northern Sea there is a fish, named Kun. So vast is Kun that its size is unknown, spanning perhaps thousands of li; when it transforms into a bird, it is named Peng. The back of Peng is so vast that its size is unknown, spanning perhaps thousands of li. When it takes flight in fury, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky…” The Orange Cat clung tightly to the top of the flagpole, staring blankly as he muttered to himself. What on earth is this thing!? How can it be this huge! The giant whale in midair let out a long cry and spouted a column of water hundreds of meters high, shooting straight into the sky and causing a light rain to fall over a vast area. Bathed by the Sun, a massive rainbow formed in the sky, resembling a legendary beast passing through the Rainbow Gate! Zuo Chen sensed an unparalleled yet extremely gentle consciousness instantly enveloping the entire world. This consciousness seemed to have detected his presence as well, branching off a sliver of itself as if to converse with him. This was the true Beast King! No wonder beings of the Beast King and Abyssal One’s caliber are dubbed “walking nuclear bombs”—it’s because each of them possesses the power to directly destroy an entire city. Just then, the System’s voice rang out in Zuo Chen’s mind once more: “Dark Energy ingredient detected: Kun Whale. Ingredient level—79. The Gourmet System is severely damaged and unable to access the recipe database.” A Kun-whale!? Dark Energy Ingredients!? What on earth are these? Zuo Chen looked stunned; this was the first time he’d ever heard the system assign a rank to ingredients. The Gourmet System—it seems there are still many secrets he doesn’t know about. What on earth is happening in the outside world? Just then, the giant whale in the sky suddenly let out a mournful cry. A crimson beam of light, over ten meters in diameter, shot down from the clouds and instantly pierced right through the Kun Whale’s body! Thank you to readers “Gentle God of Wealth,” “A Pool of Joy and Sorrow,” “Li Yan,” “Mr. Lu,” “Silver Tea,” and “Reader 20171121210322895” for your generous donations! Performance during the launch period is crucial, so I hope everyone reading this will cast a recommendation vote every day—I really appreciate it!