Doomsday Cat City Lord - Chapter 15

The mountains stretched endlessly on both sides, and the noisy human voices eventually faded into the distance.

Among those saved by the fleet, a portion followed them almost without hesitation. As for the small boats trailing behind the fleet, after much deliberation, some decided to follow them as they veered into the Tuanfeng River.

Deep in the night, the edges of the ink-black clouds were stained with a striking crimson. Blue-violet lightning danced wildly in the wind, and the thunder sounded like the laughter of a god of destruction, deafening and thunderous.

Surrounded by towering peaks, the large white cat stood on the summit, witnessing the birth of the great tsunami. Its fur, drenched in rain, had become soft and matted. Beside it, an evolved plant growing from a crevice in the rock swayed with the gale.

Mi Miaomiao channeled some wood-element energy toward it. The little sapling quickly perked up; its roots grew tough and spread downward, while its canopy gradually gathered, forming a canopy of leaves over the white cat’s head.

The big cat tilted its head, nuzzling the new branches with its ears, then tapped the map stored on its communicator, circling their current location: Yanping Mountain.

In their past life, Gu Jing had led the fleet forward along the Songyuan River, rescuing people along the way, and did not reach the Song’an Reservoir until the night of the 5th. In the early morning of the 6th, a massive undersea earthquake erupted. Huge waves swallowed more than half of the Zhongzhou continent before surging into the Tiansong Mountain range with undiminished force. The impact sent water surging over the dam, severely affecting the upstream and downstream reservoirs. At that time, the casualties among those still on the ships were horrific; only those who had hidden in the surrounding mountains survived unscathed.

Right now, there were massive queues of ships at the reservoir floodgate; it would be difficult to enter the upstream area before the 6th. After discussing it with Cheng Ningye, Mi Miaomiao decided to lead the fleet to shelter in the surrounding mountains to survive the great tsunami.

The Tiansong Mountain range intersected with the Songyuan River, forming dozens of river branches of various sizes that spread between the peaks. Yanping Mountain was located at the end of the Tuanfeng River mouth, at an elevation of about 1,000 meters. The mountain was not considered high compared to the surrounding peaks, but its rock was fine-grained and hard, renowned as the best natural stone for crafting inkstones.

They chose this location primarily because the mountain was a solid, integrated mass, greatly reducing the possibility of landslides after the vegetation died off.

The old mine shaft Xuan Yu had found halfway up the mountain could serve as a safe house, but Mi Miaomiao was currently puzzled: how could they bring their supplies and ships up to the mountain to protect them?

Down the mountain:

Cheng Ningye was dressed in a full set of waterproof gear. His hood obscured the upper half of his face, while the lower half was hidden in his upturned collar. His slender fingers, clad in snug black gloves, gripped a pre-armed anesthetic pulse gun.

The cats and dogs of the “Miaomiao Group” helped him set up tents. Ai Yuan and Wen Yushuang were instructed to keep their distance and were assigned tasks: building shelters for the animals and preparing hot food.

They chose the freshest ingredients possible from the large ship’s freezer, cooking as much as they could, as leftovers could be preserved for later.

The siblings, Ai Yuan and Wen Yushuang, didn’t know how to cook standard meals, but they were quite skilled at preparing food for the animals and grilling a variety of meats.

The thawed meat was cleaned in plastic boxes. During the torrential rain, they avoided feeding too much raw meat to the carnivores; instead, the cooked meat was cut into pieces and mixed with a small amount of vegetables to provide vitamins. Vegetables had become a scarce commodity; Ai Yuan gave only one or two greens to each herbivore, while the staple food was steamed cakes made from a mixture of flour, rice flour, eggs, and grain powder.

On the nearby grill, thin slices of beef, lamb, and whole fish were brushed with a makeshift barbecue seasoning. The intense aroma of meat, accompanied by the sweet scent of flour, spread outward, masked by the curtain of rain.

Near another sheltered rock wall opposite them, scattered groups of people sat under various makeshift rain covers. These were mostly elderly people and children. Among the few strong young men and women sat relatives and friends who didn’t look particularly healthy.

Smelling the fragrance drifting toward them, they held their stomachs. Those who were too hungry to endure would take a few bites of compressed biscuits. No one actively went to disturb the other side.

The pulse gun in the lean man’s hand was one reason, but more importantly, those resting under the rain cover on the other side were large wild animals: a strong male lion, a black ape that was taller and broader than a human, two zebras and two antelopes keeping watch around the perimeter, and even the giant panda and the giantized red panda which, no matter how cute, were still bears.

People might enthusiastically praise these animals in a zoo, but when forced to come into close, unprotected contact with them during a disaster, the first thought in everyone’s mind was fear, and the second was rejection.

However, these people had been personally selected by the animals, and fear and hesitation were the strongest negative emotions they felt. As for the people on the small boats who had followed on their own, they were more intimidated by the animals’ martial prowess and filled with admiration for the three people living among them.

“Brother, do you recognize that panda baby?”

“I don’t know, brother, but I’ve seen it once before. Do you know it, Feifei?” Feng Lu pulled the blanket on his body tighter, wrapping the six-year-old girl in his arms more snugly. His grandfather and the girl’s parents were working together to gather stones and dead wood nearby. A rain tarp covered the space between the two floating containers, preventing the wind and rain from invading this little world for the time being.

“That’s the panda Yungu. It’s six months old. I saw its photos on the internet. I’m its fan.”

Feifei took a small red apple from the pocket of her overalls. She wiped it reluctantly with her small, chubby hand, swallowed her saliva, and whispered, “Yungu is so pitiful. It didn’t get to eat a little apple today. Can I give it my apple?”

“One isn’t enough to share. I’ll give mine to them, too.” Feng Lu and his grandfather didn’t have many supplies, and the apples had been given to them by Feifei’s mother. But to the young boy, the possibility of becoming friends with the panda baby was far more important than the apple.

Yungu was pestering its father for a treat. Luoyun was an adult giant panda weighing over 300 pounds. When it sat down, its belly swelled into a round ball. Every time Yungu reached out, Luoyun would breathe heavily; with one inhale and exhale, the six-month-old panda would be bounced up by its father’s big belly, wobbling as it slid down.

However, this angle was just perfect to see the crumbs of treats falling from the giant panda’s mouth. Yungu happily wiggled its bottom as it stood up, wagging its short tail as it crawled back onto its father, working hard to lick the crumbs by the little “dining table.”

Suddenly, its foot was hit by something. Looking down, it saw a fruit!

Then its leg was hit again; another fruit!

It was red, and it smelled very sweet! And fragrant!

Yungu turned and sat down, picking up a fruit in each hand. Drool dripped from its mouth. Just as it was about to start gnawing on the fruit, it suddenly remembered something. It looked up at the antelope sisters grazing cautiously nearby and at its father, who had nothing but treats and bamboo leaves and no bamboo shoots. It put the raised claws back down.

Looking across the rain curtain toward the direction the fruit had been thrown, it saw two human children crouching behind a large rock not far away, wrapped in black cloth. As Yungu looked up, two pairs of bright black eyes smiled into curved arcs.

Yungu thought for a moment, imitated the pose its father had taught it, and waved a claw at the human children. Then, it handed one of the fruits to its father and, lowering its head, bit down on the other, slowly walking toward Uncle Orange Cat.

When Grandpa Feng and Feifei’s parents returned and learned that the two children had given their apples to the panda baby, they all revealed expressions of helplessness mixed with comfort.

“You did well.” Feifei’s father, Yang Hailin, was busy using stones to build a fire pit, but he didn’t forget to praise the two children.

Feifei’s mother, Cheng Jin, rubbed the two children’s half-dried hair with a gentle smile: “The pandas’ ship saved us; otherwise, we would have already left this world. We don’t oppose you wanting to know the panda and become its friend, but remember: do not hurt those animals, and remember the kindness they showed in saving us.”

Cheng Feifei smiled, seemingly half-understanding, while Feng Lu nodded solemnly.

Just as the fire pit was lit, a giant cat and a man and a woman walked out from the opposite side. They were holding disposable plates filled with grilled meat. The elderly and the children each had a portion, and the portions for Cheng Feifei and Feng Lu were especially heavy.

There were young people around the elderly and children to help them; they shared some with those around them, allowing everyone to get a taste.

This was the fourth day since the apocalypse began. As many people ate normal, delicious, warm food, tears immediately slid down their cheeks.

Looking at the giant cat’s gentle eyes and the curious gazes of the animals opposite them, people’s fear of these animals diminished significantly.

The large ship might not be able to sail normally after the great tsunami, so the meat in the freezer needed to be consumed as soon as possible.

After sharing the food, the attitude of those who had followed softened significantly. Even when the suggestion was made to move together to the mine shaft on the mountain, no one strongly objected. Those with boats insisted on staying to watch them, but their refusals were gentle.

Mi Miaomiao did not dispense kindness casually. These people had been selected after the animals used their intuition to distinguish between good and evil, and their nature was not bad. After the Great Flood, if they were willing to follow it and become residents of Rong City, it would take responsibility for them.

September 4th, Afternoon:

Clear “ray clouds” appeared on the horizon. The clouds in the center of the rays presented a bizarre orange-red color, mixed in with the heavy dark clouds, like a puddle of viscous, dried-up filthy blood on the curtain of the sky.

The vibrant colors finally brightened people’s vision, but those who witnessed this scene all looked pale, just like the orange-yellow light scattered across their faces.

“There hasn’t been an earthquake or tsunami for nearly 24 hours!”

“This is the gap period before the great tsunami earthquake! That means there is only about 24 hours left before the ‘Great Flood’ strikes!” Someone reacted quickly, taking out a signal-less communicator to flip through the Alliance’s historical records of disaster warnings.

“This is already the inland; will we really be struck by disaster too?” Some people looked at the towering mountains around them and the dam ahead that seemed to connect heaven and earth, their tones filled with disbelief.

The long queue of ships in front of the dam began to evacuate. People scrambled up the mountains around the riverway, trying to reach the highest point. Even if they encountered monsters along the way, they worked together to resolve them.

The mine shaft was located at an elevation of about 800 meters. The tunnel leading to the belly of the mountain had long since been filled, and the monsters that had previously entrenched themselves inside had become snacks for Xuan Yu.

People who arrived at the cave to take refuge first witnessed the giant monster carcasses near the cave entrance, and then, on September 5th, they saw with their own eyes a monster riot. Ferocious beasts attacked the people in the cave from underground and from the water—in the end, the animals stood up to face the enemy first. After half a day, humans and animals worked together to save their cave.

Led by Grandpa Feng and the Cheng family couple, the people in the cave moved their resting places one after another to near Mi Miaomiao and the others. They helped them transport supplies as much as they could and built anti-surge walls outside the cave.

Before the Great Flood arrived, three anti-surge walls stacked with boulders were built in front of the cave. From the top of the mountain down to where the boats were docked, Mi Miaomiao had planted honeysuckle seeds along the entire path.

“—!”

“————!”

The animals huddled together, covering each other’s ears. The prolonged infrasound waves made them feel restless and pained.

The monsters outside suffered from the same trouble; their twisted howls resounded through the world.

The flexible honeysuckle branches supported dead wood to form the outermost layer, and the stacked supply boxes were the second layer of protection. Amidst the earth-shattering wailing of the world, rocks rolling down above the cavern were blocked by the shelter temporarily built inside the cave.

Their bodies were tumbling, their brains unable to distinguish direction, something crashed against them… the dizziness and violent tremors lasted nearly 10 minutes before ending.

In the next half hour, aftershocks occurred every ten minutes. However, the humans and animals in the cave were already able to barely maintain their balance, working together to protect the elderly and children by their sides.

“BOOM—!”

A deafening sound reached their ears, accompanied by the movement of the river water below the mountain quickly receding. Seeing this, the giant cat guarding the cave entrance stood up quickly and rushed down the mountain.

Behind it, animals and people who could strengthen their own power donned protective gear and rushed toward the place where the ships were docked!