Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 31: A Simple Meal

A group of wild Evolvers from the ruins of Yancheng… Isn’t that exactly what they’re talking about—Erzi and his group…? Zuo Chen narrowed his eyes; he didn’t believe in such coincidences in this world. Besides, there weren’t many people left in the ruins of Yancheng to begin with, and the timing of this wanted notice coincided suspiciously with the time Erzi and his group evolved—it was clearly aimed at them. As for how the other side managed to obtain information about these wild Evolvers from the Jicheng Base, it was likely because there were still surveillance devices in the biological research institute at the ruins of Yancheng. Could it be… Song Tianqiao? So Song Tianqiao is a member of the Divine Presence Organization. Zuo Chen had already quickly drawn this conclusion—it was almost certainly the case. He turned and kicked Mo Xiaoqing—who had crawled up beside him, her eyes glazed over—away, then continued questioning the man with the triangular eyes: “So, since you didn’t come here to capture these Evolved Ones, what is your real purpose?” “The organization’s unmanned probe detected abnormal energy fluctuations in this meteor crater, so they sent us to investigate,” the man with the triangular eyes replied obediently. It’s a System fragment! Zuo Chen immediately realized what was going on—those abnormal energy fluctuations were most likely emitted by a System fragment. It made sense—after all, even the virus had been brought by these meteorites, so any crater that stood out even slightly would naturally attract attention. After asking a few more detailed questions about the Divine Presence Organization, Zuo Chen retracted the rainbow glow; his fur returned to its ordinary orange color, and he looked at Triangle Eyes with a mocking expression. Triangle Eyes and the others quickly snapped out of the hypnosis, their faces ashen. Even though they had regained consciousness, the memories formed during the hypnosis wouldn’t be erased—he clearly remembered exactly what he had said. The Divine Presence Organization had been completely betrayed by him. “You… you cat demon, you’re a demon! You’re the devil!” Triangle-Eye screamed frantically as he struggled, his voice shrill. Blood and fragments of internal organs spurted violently from his mouth. His face quickly turned deathly pale, his voice grew hoarse, and he drew his last breath. He had already sustained fatal injuries, and combined with the rage that overwhelmed him upon waking from hypnosis, he actually died on the spot. As for the remaining Shennu, some died instantly from their severe injuries, while others were killed by the Wasteland Bandits as they tried to fight back. In the blink of an eye, every last one of them was dead, leaving only Mo Xiaoqing alive. “They’re actually pretty loyal, meow…” Zuo Chen scratched his belly and said to Mo Xiaoqing, “Do you also want to sacrifice yourself for your god? However you want to die, we can help you. Go ahead, don’t hold back, meow.” Although these self-proclaimed Shennu were annoying, their fearless spirit was truly worthy of respect, and Zuo Chen wanted to fulfill their wishes as much as possible. Unexpectedly, upon hearing Zuo Chen’s words, Mo Xiaoqing froze for a moment, then suddenly began rolling around on the ground, wailing hysterically: “Don’t kill me! I don’t want to die! I’m only eighteen!” She suddenly threw herself at Zuo Chen’s feet, carefully grasping his paw, and said pitifully, “Your Majesty the Beast King, you definitely won’t kill me, right? Kitties are so cute—even as the Beast King, you’re the kindest Beast King of all. You absolutely wouldn’t have the heart to hurt a little girl like me…” As Mo Xiaoqing spoke, tears and snot streamed down her face, and her hair fell loose: “As long as you don’t kill me, Your Majesty the Beast King, I’ll agree to anything you ask. I can tell you’re a male—you’ve surely never done anything naughty before, have you? I can go find you a group of young, beautiful female cats. If you don’t mind, even though I’m only eighteen and have no experience, I’ve watched plenty of adult movies and am already quite the pro. If you want to try bestiality, I can help with that too—as long as it’s with a cat, I don’t mind…” Excuse me, meow? What kind of nonsense is this? It’s a bit different from what I imagined… “Shut up! Can’t you show a little backbone? Don’t you have even a shred of loyalty to your organization, meow?” Zuo Chen rolled his eyes—even as a cat, he couldn’t stand watching this. If the leader of the Divine Presence Organization found out, he’d probably be so furious he’d spit blood. “Your Majesty, I’ve had such a rough life! When I joined the organization, they promised I’d be fed until I was full every day. But once I got in, each meal was just three steamed buns and five bowls of porridge, with only one meat dish and one vegetable—it’s not nearly enough to eat!” Mo Xiaoqing continued her lament, and the crowd around her, their faces a mask of exasperation, finally understood her backstory. She had originally been an orphan in Jicheng, wandering the streets every day and stealing to get by, eventually becoming a little delinquent. But she never expected the apocalypse to strike—her gang of good-for-nothing friends either died or turned into zombies. After the entire city of Jicheng was placed under martial law and cleared, it was transformed into the Jicheng Fortress. She had never had any marketable skills to begin with, and this time she nearly starved to death. Unexpectedly, as she teetered on the brink of death, she underwent a form of self-evolution, was discovered by the Divine Presence Organization, and was recruited into their ranks. She’s the newest recruit at her base. With her naturally rebellious streak and the street-smart cunning she picked up on the streets—all wrapped up in the innocent face of a young girl—she plays both sides, feigning brainwashing, and has actually thrived in the organization. As for her loyalty… well, there’s basically none… After finishing her tearful monologue, Mo Xiaoqing lowered her head, clutching Zuo Chen’s paw, and secretly watched his reaction out of the corner of her eye. She couldn’t resist gently pinching the pad on his paw. “Give me a reason not to kill you,” Zuo Chen said, completely unmoved, his voice devoid of any emotion. The reasons Mo Xiaoqing had given were simply not enough—who knew if they were true or not? Gritting her teeth, Mo Xiaoqing said, “There’s also a Shennu squad that’s been searching for you guys. They’re ranked higher than our squad and are much more powerful. Great King, I can help you trick them so you can launch a surprise attack.” As she spoke, her eyes brimmed with resentment, as if she were reproaching the adorable kitty before her for being too heartless toward her. “Fine. Once I’ve killed them, I’ll let you go. Until then, you’ll serve as my mount.” With that, Zuo Chen leaped onto Mo Xiaoqing’s shoulder. His tail slithered like a snake, coiling around her neck, with the tip of his tail bone pressed against her throat. At the slightest sign of trouble, he’d kill her instantly. Mo Xiaoqing was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly: “Your Majesty, rest assured—I promise to complete the mission.” Just moments ago she had been weeping bitterly, but now her face was as radiant as a flower—her mood shifted faster than turning a page. Wonderful—she wouldn’t have to die, and she’d even get to be close to the Cat King! Feeling the softness and warmth of that fluffy cat tail around her neck, Mo Xiaoqing couldn’t resist the urge to turn her head and rub against the Orange Cat on her shoulder, but she managed to hold back. Suddenly, she sensed a resentful gaze fixed on her. She immediately turned to look and saw Erzi had turned his head away. Yet that aura of resentment lingered around him, as if someone had snatched his plum assignment away… “When will the other squad arrive?” Zuo Chen asked. “We ran into them on our way to the Yancheng Ruins. It’ll be a while before they get here, but the Shennu Squad is required to report their movements to base every two hours. Since their captain is dead, I expect base will soon realize something’s wrong,” Mo Xiaoqing replied honestly. Zuo Chen narrowed his eyes, having already made up his mind. Soon, the combat suits and helmets of the seven deceased male Shennu were removed and put on Erzi and the others. These combat suits were made of carbon fiber, offering bulletproof protection and excellent breathability—far superior to the clothes Erzi and his companions were wearing. The remaining bodies and the clothes they had taken off were buried in the dense forest nearby. After retrieving a small energy detector from the corpse of the triangular-eyed creature, Zuo Chen rode Mo Xiaoqing back into the meteor crater. Soon, in front of a large boulder, the detector emitted a shrill beep. Erzi and Bai Biao worked together to move the boulder aside, and a metal chip the size of a ring, glowing green, floated toward Zuo Chen and fused with his bell. “Beep… System fragment detected—partial data repair of the recipe database; recipes for Dark Energy ingredients below Level 30 have been restored.” The voice of the Gourmet System rang out in Zuo Chen’s mind once more, causing him to clench his cat paws in excitement. This is it! After obtaining the system fragment, the cat and the eight humans immediately left the meteor crater and ventured deep into the dense forest. Zuo Chen was so excited his whiskers were practically standing on end; he couldn’t wait to see what these Dark Energy ingredient recipes were all about—and whether those highly toxic mutant plants were actually edible. Soon, the group arrived at a field overgrown with green-rooted potatoes—a place that had once been a vegetable greenhouse. After digging up a few mutated potatoes that looked just like jade, Zuo Chen ordered the system to open the relevant recipe. The words “How to Cook Emerald Potatoes” appeared in large characters on the light screen. Zuo Chen eagerly scanned the screen and found the recipe for emerald potatoes. The first line read “Cooking Emerald Potatoes is relatively simple; all you need is an ordinary ring particle collider…”