Apocalyptic Crazy Kitty

Chapter 49: Zhao Ritian, I’ll Be Your Dog from Now On!

Is this some kind of joke!? With so many people—even the mighty Evolvers of the Divine Presence Organization—straining every muscle and still unable to budge that cube even a fraction of an inch, you just let some random cat or dog pick it up? Don’t you care about your pride?! Just as everyone’s worldview was being severely shaken, something even more shocking happened. The cat leaned its head toward the cube, and it vanished! The moment the cube vanished, Wang Sen decisively ordered his men to open fire. If he still thought this was just an ordinary cat or dog, he’d have to be out of his mind—this was definitely a mutated animal, and might even be a new species of corpse beast! Looking at the Orange Cat, whose fur was now ragged and torn from the gunfire, Wang Sen finally let out a long sigh of relief. That scene had been far too eerie, leaving him deeply unsettled. Fortunately, even under a hail of gunfire, these two animals were still no match for the bullets. It looked like the Orange Cat had swallowed that cube; he’d have to perform a necropsy on its body to retrieve it… Wang Sen gave a signal to one of his men. The man nodded, drew a combat knife, crouched down, and stabbed at the Orange Cat’s corpse. Just then, something unexpected happened! The Orange Cat, which had appeared to be “dead,” suddenly leaped up like a flash of lightning and burrowed into Shennu’s embrace. In the next instant, Shennu let out two “huh-huh” sounds, suddenly lunged forward—his limbs going limp—and crashed down directly onto the cat and dog. Immediately afterward, the Shennu seemed to float in midair before shooting forward with a “whoosh”! In its wake, a long trail of blood was left behind, and the Orange Cat and the Teddy that had been lying on the ground had vanished! “Stop them!” Wang Sen roared, instantly pulling the trigger as he charged forward. The other Shennus realized it too—the cat and the dog had actually used that Shennu as a human shield! Needless to say, the moment the Orange Cat darted into his arms, he was already dead! The remaining seven Shennu activated their optical camouflage once more, instantly vanishing into the night, leaving only the muzzles of their guns visible as they ran in pursuit, firing as they went. Among these Shennu were four Evolvers and three ordinary soldiers—all elite warriors. Although their aim wasn’t as precise while on the move, quite a few bullets still struck their targets. But at that moment, a cat and a dog were shielding Shennu’s corpse, so all the bullets struck their former comrade. Fortunately, the enemy wasn’t running very fast and never managed to pull away. These Shennu were like a swarm of maggots clinging to the bones, firmly stuck to the Orange Cat and the Teddy’s heels. “Cat Brother, are you okay?” Zhao Ritian turned to ask Zuo Chen, who was on his back, his face filled with concern and gratitude. The moment the gunfire erupted, Zuo Chen had pinned him firmly beneath him. Although he hadn’t been hit, he could feel the constant vibrations from the bullets striking Zuo Chen’s body, as well as Cat Brother’s muffled groans of pain. “I’m not going to die!” Zuo Chen said through gritted teeth. He was currently lying on Zhao Ritian’s back, his claws firmly dug into the dead Shennu’s chest, using him as a human shield. “Cat Brother, I… sniffle…” Teddy choked out as he ran, “…I, Zhao Ritian, will be your dog from now on! No one has ever been this good to me except my dad… sniffle, sniffle, sniffle…” Zuo Chen felt his head spin. Dude, bro, is this really the time to get all emotional!? “Shut up! Stop crying! Run—head straight for wherever there are the most zombies!” Zuo Chen swished his tail, lashing it like a small whip against Zhao Ritian’s buttocks. “Yes, sir!” Zhao Ritian, now completely obedient to him, immediately wiped away his tears, surged forward, and, shouldering Zuo Chen and the corpse he was using as a shield, charged into the Weicheng Middle School academic building. He then slammed headfirst into the hallway wall, tearing a huge hole in the building as he continued his charge. The building was teeming with Red-Line zombies. As Zuo Chen and Zhao Ritian roared past, they immediately caused many of the Red-Line zombies to open their eyes! The Shennu who charged in right behind them were in for a world of trouble. Sensing the scent of humans and gunpowder, the Red-Line zombies immediately lunged at the gun barrels appearing in midair. “Hide your weapons—go fully invisible!” Wang Sen ordered. A group of Shennu immediately used optical camouflage to conceal their weapons, completely hiding their forms and auras. If it had been daytime, this optical camouflage would have been easily exposed against mutated zombies, but now, in the pitch-black night, and with everyone wearing night-vision goggles, it was quite easy to fool ordinary zombies. However, one of the ordinary soldiers failed to stow his weapon in time and was bitten on the barrel by a zombie that had just woken up. He was then surrounded by several zombies, completely exposed, and bitten in the blink of an eye. “Ah—Captain, save me! Save me!” The soldier, surrounded by zombies, screamed in agony, but the rest of the team seized the opportunity to pass through the school building and dash into the night to continue their pursuit. A bitten civilian wasn’t worth saving. The soldier clearly understood this as well; after shouting a few times, he gritted his teeth and pulled the pin on a hand grenade strapped to his waist. Just as Wang Sen and his group charged out, they heard a massive “BOOM” behind them—the soldier had blown himself up along with the zombies surrounding him. “Stay hidden. They won’t get far,” Wang Sen ordered again, his gaze cold and menacing. The explosion caused by the soldier’s death was so loud that it would surely wake the zombies in the vicinity! Sure enough, after the explosion, all the Red Line zombies in the area opened their eyes, and a peculiar mental fluctuation even emanated from the endless strands of blood-red slime surrounding them. Hordes of Red-Line zombies were converging on the ruins of Weicheng Middle School, including some powerful mutant zombies! A cat and a dog, dragging a corpse between them, kept charging toward the center of the Weicheng ruins. The deeper they went, the more the ruins resembled a blood-red labyrinth. At first, one could still make out the crumbling ruins of human structures, but a hundred meters beyond Weicheng Middle School, the surfaces of all surrounding buildings were completely covered in a dense web of blood-red slimy threads, resembling blood-soaked cocoons. The ground was covered with a thick layer of these slimy threads, crisscrossing like a network of blood vessels and nerves. And within this blood-red labyrinth, the sheer number of zombies was suffocating—it was practically comparable to a train station during the Spring Festival travel rush in peacetime. “Thud…” A bullet struck a corpse, infuriating Zuo Chen. “Damn it, is this ever going to end?” In the blink of an eye, they charged into another shopping mall, only to find the zombies inside packed together like sardines in a can—crowded everywhere, their bodies completely entangled in blood-red threads! At the same time, several Shennu behind them slipped in silently. This is the place! Zuo Chen tapped Zhao Ritian to signal him to stop, then glared with wide eyes as his psychic force field instantly expanded, unleashing an indiscriminate barrage in all directions! Caught off guard, the Shennu immediately felt a wave of excruciating pain and came to a sudden halt. At the same time, hundreds of Red-Thread Zombies that had been slumbering nearby were suddenly awakened by the ferocious psychic assault and opened their eyes! Among them were three powerful mutant zombies! “Roar—” The mutated zombies let out a collective roar, and the surrounding Red-Line zombies immediately surged forward! “This is bad! Retreat quickly!” Wang Sen shouted, dashing toward the entrance. Even with optical camouflage, it was of little use against the mutant zombies. These zombies had extremely keen senses of smell and hearing, and—even more dangerously—many of them possessed infrared vision, allowing them to detect the heat signatures emitted by humans! But it was already too late—there were simply too many zombies here, and many had already blocked his path. The rapid-fire crack of silenced rifles rang out, startling more and more zombies awake, which lunged toward them! “Charge! Dash right through their legs!” By now, Zuo Chen and Zhao Ritian had already discarded the corpse they’d been using as a shield. Taking advantage of the fact that these zombies had just woken up and weren’t yet fully alert, they dashed between their legs. In the blink of an eye, they sprinted past hundreds of pairs of legs and entered the core area of Weicheng’s ruins…