Doomsday Cat City Lord - Chapter 14

Ai Yuan and his sister, Wen Yushuang, were well aware that they had only managed to board this animal-led fleet by pure luck. Since they didn’t have many supplies of their own, they felt helpless to assist others and had retreated into the small ship’s pilot house from the start.

The torrential rain did not cease. Some people drifting on the water managed to return to the shore before their strength gave out, while others vanished silently into the churning waves.

Cheng Ningye stood by the window, watching. He had thought he could remain calm and indifferent, but that changed when he saw a wooden board carrying an elderly man and a young boy flip over for the third time. The grandfather, who appeared to be in his sixties, did not manage to get back on the board this time; he swam in the water, laboriously dragging the board behind him. He looked around in panic, hoping to find a ship willing to help them. His grandson, about thirteen or fourteen years old, knelt on the board, gripping his grandfather’s hand tightly. The boy’s hoarse, pleading voice cut straight through the curtain of rain and echoed in Cheng Ningye’s mind.

Mi Miaomiao pressed the controls, and the large ship slowly decelerated, veering off course.

“Meow, meow, meow, meow.” (Servant, I have calculated the system’s point reward formula. The points required to upgrade the city level increase exponentially; reaching a Level 8 city already requires 600,000 points. If all residents were Level 2 evolvers, we would need 60,000 citizens. If they were Level 3, we would still need tens of thousands. After all, it is impossible for every evolver to be among the elite capable of earning the 100-point reward.)

(In the apocalypse we experienced before, becoming a Level 3 evolver was the limit for most. Sixty percent or more of Level 2 evolvers couldn’t even awaken an ability. Back then, it took us two years just to reach the peak of Level 4, and we were always unable to find a suitable Level 5 crystal.)

“Meow, meow, meow, meow!” (And that is just the difficulty we face for a Level 8 city. In reality, the number of cities on the ranking list is increasing, and each world faces a different type of apocalypse; there are always cities catching up. The top hundred cities are also constantly increasing their points. Five years from now, perhaps the top hundred will all be Level 11 or 12 cities, with very small point gaps between them.)

(Therefore, Rong City needs not only high-level evolved residents but also a large number of ordinary citizens. Even if the city is animal-led, I cannot find that many qualified, high-level evolved animals.)

(Thus, evolved animals, ordinary animals, evolved plants, and humans are all potential members of Rong City.)

The white cat crouched by the window. Outside, the dark curtain of rain was occasionally illuminated by lightning. In the dim, flickering environment, the cat’s soft white fur rippled slightly with its breathing, making it look as though it were enveloped in a pale blue halo, possessed of a sacred charm.

Its striking gold and blue eyes held composure and confidence. Looking into those bright eyes, one would naturally feel an urge to submit.

Cheng Ningye’s brow smoothed, and he nodded with a smile: “It’s just my habit to consider things using the fixed mindset of our past life; I was being too extreme.”

The black cat guarding the door stood up, its tail trailing behind it, and its figure slowly disappeared up the stairs.

Realizing that “Miaomiao” was growing rapidly, Xuan Yu considered how it could keep up. Subconsciously, it opened the system panel and sent a message to 012.

Still… no reply.

[The detached floating boards can be used to save people. You can ask the animals on the ship to determine who is worth saving, and try your best to rescue any animals floating in the water.]

When Wen Yushuang received the message from Mi Miaomiao, she was also looking at the grandfather and grandson in the water, rummaging through her backpack to see if she had anything that could help them.

After confirming the content of the message, the siblings looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief.

They had seen too much tragedy along the way. They knew that attaching themselves to the strong would give them a better chance of survival, but witnessing Mi Miaomiao’s act of kindness was what finally put their minds at ease.

The old man touched his grandson’s hand; it was freezing cold. The wound on the arm, tightly wrapped in clothing, was no longer bleeding though more likely, it was because there was no blood left to bleed.

A gray plastic floating container, about two meters in size, was suddenly tossed near them, and the small fleet in the distance slowly approached.

“Sir, are you heading to the Song’an Reservoir? We can tow you there,” Wen Yushuang called out loudly from the edge of the barge, draped in a rain poncho.

“Miss, thank you! Thank you so much!” The old man let his grandson crawl into the one-meter-high floating container while he struggled to flip himself onto the wooden board. His withered fingers trembled as he tied the safety rope from the floating container onto the handle of the door panel.

“Miss, my grandson has a large wound on his arm from a monster. Do you have any way to help him?” His aged face was covered in streaks of water, making it impossible to tell if it was rain or tears. The old man knew supplies were scarce and shouldn’t have asked, but it was his grandson’s life—his only remaining relative.

“Catch,” Wen Yushuang said, tossing a small bag over. Ai Yuan waited until the barge was closest to the wooden board, then jumped into the water with a rope and quickly swam over to secure the other end to the board.

“Thank you, thank you!” The old man hurriedly opened the bag. Looking at the food, hemostatic agent, and anti-inflammatory medicine inside, he knelt on the board, unable to stop his body from trembling.

As the fleet set sail again, the wooden board and the floating container were slowly pulled alongside the barge.

Wen Yushuang climbed onto the board to help clean and re-bandage the wound on the boy’s arm.

At the end, the boy, who had been struggling not to lose consciousness, said gratefully in a soft voice: “Thank you, Big Sister.”

The old man accepted the rain poncho Ai Yuan handed over, draping half over himself and using the other half to shield the crouching Wen Yushuang from the rain. He explained their background: “We are from Wuyang Village near the Songyuan River. My son and daughter-in-law were killed by monsters on the way here; only my grandson and I survived. When we got near the Songyuan River, a group of bandits stole our supplies. We only found this door panel and escaped into the river during the earthquake.”

Wen Yushuang replied: “Our fleet won’t take on any more people, but we can help you get near the Song’an Reservoir.”

“That is already more than enough. Truly, thank you both.” Old Man Feng kept thanking the two young people as they walked away. He was satisfied just to have survived with his grandson.

Feng Lu felt the grief of losing his parents and worried about his grandfather’s health, yet his own body was failing him. In his dazed state, his gaze landed on the neighboring barge.

The rain cover hanging down to the floor moved quietly, and something lifted the tarp from within.

The boy couldn’t help but widen his eyes. Through the curtain of rain, he saw a thick, short black paw emerge from under the tarp, followed by a round little head squeezing out from the gap.

White fur, round black ears, black eyes, and large black eye patches.

“Grandpa, Grandpa, there’s a panda!” Feng Lu, no longer bothered by his pain, excitedly tugged at his grandfather’s clothes so he could see too.

Old Man Feng turned around, only to see the rain tarp swaying and the movement of something pressing the corners down from inside. Recalling the giant cat he had seen on the large ship earlier, a flash of realization crossed his eyes. He covered his grandson’s mouth and placed a finger to his own lips.

Feng Lu nodded repeatedly, and from then on, he would stare blankly at the rain cover every now and then.

Inside the tent, Luoyun pressed Yungu against its stomach, its paw—missing half a palm—swatting vigorously at the naughty cub’s bottom.

“Will we be discovered by strangers? We are protected species by the Alliance, after all.”

The Monkey King tossed away a banana peel and said dismissively: “Why be afraid? It’s the end of the world; that so-called Alliance probably doesn’t exist anymore. Besides, Luoyun, stop using your severed hand to scare our little princess!”

The giraffe stretched its neck and plucked Yungu from the giant panda’s embrace. The group of cubs gathered in the middle made room one after another.

As soon as the chubby panda cub landed, the remaining cubs swarmed over to nuzzle and cuddle it.

Three antelope cubs half-rose to lick the panda sister’s head. Their soft, pink little tongues, working with mouths that had few teeth, made smacking sounds as they chewed on the panda’s fur as if it were grass.

Seeing this, the little lion and the little zebra also leaned in to lick the fur.

“Yung-yung-yung!” (Big Sister, is it still raining outside?)

“Awoo!” (Big Sister, you are so brave, I want to learn from you!)

“Maa-maa-maa-maa!” (Big Sister, Big Sister, take us with you next time!)

The adult animals watched in relaxation as the panda cub was licked until it was dizzy, its fur sticking up in all directions, revealing the pink skin beneath.

Hearing the “baby talk” they couldn’t understand, they only felt that their desperate trip up the mountain to find the cubs left behind by the wild-raised animals was the right decision.

Cubs represent hope, no matter the time.

The Songyuan River is over 10,000 kilometers long. The Changsong Plateau is its source and the destination for many ships on this river. Once there, there’s no need to worry about the rising sea levels after the straits, and a base built by the Zhongzhou Federation’s branch government is already under construction.

However, with frequent small earthquakes and tsunamis occurring, most people just want to cross the Song’an Reservoir’s floodgate as soon as possible.

The Song’an Reservoir is the largest dam on the Zhongzhou continent. Over 100 years ago, it was the largest hydroelectric station on the planet. The difference between the upstream and downstream water levels is over 300 meters, and the dam stands 1,360 meters high. The project was originally designed with the yield of a nuclear weapon in mind; upon completion, it was rated to withstand a maximum Level 12 earthquake.

As long as one reaches the upstream, the 1,000-plus-meter dam is enough to block the first wave of the “Great Flood.”

The fleet traveled for a day, helping a few more people who had fallen into the water. Some small boats, realizing that this fleet would shelter those who followed, quietly trailed behind.

By the time they reached the Tiansong Mountains where the dam was located, it was already 2:00 AM on the 4th. There were more and more ships stopping ahead, all queuing to pass through the dam.

“The Song’an Dam is too high, and we’re too far back in the queue. When will we even be able to enter the segmented gate?”

“We shouldn’t have to wait that long. It’s the apocalypse already; the floating waterways won’t charge fees anymore, right? We ordinary people have lives too!”

After the development of new energy, the main function of the hydroelectric station had become tourism and sightseeing. Standard cargo ships and cruise ships used the segmented gates to pass through. The floating waterways consumed massive amounts of energy; except for official and military use, each activation required a high fee. Ordinary people could only look up and admire the so-called new-era high technology.

Mi Miaomiao directed Ai Yuan and Wen Yushuang. The two people and one cat untied the ropes fixed to the barges one by one. The fleet turned its direction and sailed toward the Tuanfeng River, a tributary of the Songyuan River.

“Where are you all going? Weren’t you supposed to take us over the dam?”

“Could there be a shortcut?”