Doomsday Cat City Lord - Chapter 27.2

The next day.

The whole world was being frozen. Standing on the city walls and looking out, visible ice encased the banyan trees in the mountain forest in new shells; the pale blue of the ice and the white of the snowflakes covered the earth.

The city gates were frozen shut. The monsters beneath the city walls were like ice sculptures; only their occasionally moving eyeballs proved that they hadn’t died.

The swirling heavy snow buried the world, also covering up their scents; no new monsters appeared.

There was no gale today; there was only the cold chill permeating their clothes, attempting to seep into their muscles and bones.

Orange Fatty exhaled a cloud of white steam. It looked up at Miaomiao, discovering that it was so short it couldn’t even see the cat’s neck. Helplessly, it shouted loudly: “Miaomiao, is your body itchy?”

“A little.” Mi Miaomiao lowered its head, putting Orange Fatty who was wearing a full set of down jackets, not even exposing its feet, and was completely unable to move into the large pocket on its chest.

“Then that’s right, we’re starting to grow winter fluff!” Orange Fatty was restless even in the bag, arching back and forth like a cat-worm, saying with regret: “In the past, I could still catch insects to eat in autumn, letting my fur grow more vibrant and smooth; now I can’t even eat insects!”

“Just supplementing fat and protein is enough; I still have some nutrient paste stored.” Mi Miaomiao was only answering subconsciously; it was now entirely focused on arrangements for the future:

The temperature was stable at minus 35 degrees, the threat of monsters was temporarily eliminated, but the corn and grain planted earlier were largely frozen to death. Next, they needed to urgently build planting greenhouses, and…

“Plat-dat!”

Sensing something strange overhead, Mi Miaomiao dodged quickly.

“Bang—!” A huge white leaf wrapped in a thick ice shell smashed down at the spot where it had just been standing. A leaf with a diameter of one meter, falling from that height, was simply like a bomb!

“Sorry, I’ve been frostbitten.”

The aerial roots wrapped in broken ice hung down slowly, shoving a white bamboo toward Mi Miaomiao. The great banyan tree’s voice was listless: “Both leaves and roots have turned white; I can’t control the leaves falling off. Don’t let the city residents go under my canopy recently. The Jade-Bone Bamboo is a token of apology; it’s a Level 4 plant-type monster, and I feel it’s even rarer than me.”

“…Okay, thank you, take care of yourself.” Mi Miaomiao sighed helplessly; the great banyan tree didn’t want the leaves to fall off either.

“Wow, a tree is about to lose all its leaves is it just like a cat that lost its hair and became bald? The canopy is so big; it looks even more like a cat tree if it loses its leaves a cat tree thousands of meters tall! Miaomiao, don’t you want it? Why are you covering my mouth?” Orange Fatty swayed back and forth under the giant cat paw.

“Forget it.” Mi Miaomiao saw the aerial roots moving upward obviously stiffen for several seconds, finally fleeing in what could be called a panic.

Could it be that the great banyan tree was actually very afraid of cats? Or could it just not stand Fatty’s directness?

The temperature was too low, and monsters couldn’t pose a threat. Except for the few ant guards who didn’t fear the severe cold, Mi Miaomiao sent everyone back to the refuge area on Platform 6 for the time being.

After patrolling the city walls, Mi Miaomiao planned to take advantage of the short winter break to determine various positions in Rong City and then hold a management meeting.

As a result, just after lying down in the temporarily opened office, it received a resignation letter.

The First Agricultural Base of Anqing Province.

“Did the prophecy fail?” Gu Jing looked at the vast, white world outside the window. On the table before him were two documents: one was the casualty report after the sudden cold wave, and the other was an inquiry or it could be called an interrogation sent by the legion superiors.

Gu Jing shook his head; he didn’t think so.

He had read that prophecy email countless times, and also had legion investigators and psychological experts conduct research. All summarized information proved that the person who wrote this email hadn’t lied.

That proved that the current changes were outside the prophecy, just like the rainstorm weather that had shortened by half before.

This email was the butterfly flapping its wings; from the moment he opened the email, the history or, rather, the contents of the prophecy had changed.

“The progress of the apocalypse is accelerating. What is the reason for this? Are these changes good or bad?” Gu Jing reflected on every single thing he had done since the beginning of the apocalypse:

Saved more lives than expected?

Used the energy stones brought out from Shanghe Island to significantly improve everyone’s evolution level?

Prevented the history recorded in the prophecy of clearing monsters with nuclear bombs, and therefore affected the generation of the magnetic storm?

But thinking carefully, he felt that none of these were sufficient to affect the entire world. Gu Jing preferred to believe that the person who wrote this prophecy was also working hard to change the apocalypse.

Has the magnetic storm truly disappeared? Can the cold winter end early? After the death of these more than 10,000 people in the base, how will the remaining nearly 200,000 lives survive? Will the subsequent drought appear? Will the underground city plan become a paradise for insect monsters? Can cold-resistant and drought-resistant grain seeds truly be researched?

The disasters in the prophecy might still happen, but the time recorded in the prophecy itself could no longer be trusted.

Gu Jing walked out of his office, walking through the wind and snow in thin clothing; for once, he felt somewhat lost.

“Sir, that chicken in Qitai City agreed to cooperate!” The adjutant was wearing two sets of cold-proof clothing, looking very much like a penguin as he swayed excitedly.

Gu Jing’s black eyes suddenly brightened; the dust covering him dissipated, and he strode toward the prison holding those animals.

“Why?” Mi Miaomiao’s claws trembled, its voice filled with disbelief; it had been ready to appoint Lu Jia as Vice City Lord.

Lu Jia rubbed her nose and said softly: “Because I’m lazy…”

Mi Miaomiao was shocked: “?!” What kind of reason was that?

“I can’t put it that way either. After observing, I found that the contribution made by the queen ant is sufficient to become Vice City Lord. And the Vice City Lord has to complete this tedious work it doesn’t have to be me. I feel like I’ve found what I truly want to do, and my temperament and aura are too… unique? In short, it’s a bit hard to integrate into the crowd.”

Could there be anyone more difficult to integrate into the crowd than Cheng Ningye? Impossible!

The big cat looked at Lu Jia, who didn’t appear bloated even in a black down jacket, and couldn’t help but mutter in a low voice: “I actually hope Rong City can have your aura, mysterious and powerful, making people fearful yet yearning.”

Lu Jia lowered her eyes, nodding thoughtfully: “City Lord-sama, I understand.”

“What do you understand?” Mi Miaomiao was lost.

“I’ll ask for the reward after I’ve done it.” Lu Jia shook her head, refusing to say, and turned to leave.

“It’s fine if you don’t be Vice City Lord; I have a more leisurely job here that suits you.”

Mi Miaomiao stopped her. Just as it was about to speak, the wooden door was pushed open from the outside. The old Monkey King walked in with an awkward face, its gaze toward the big cat full of hesitation and struggle it was exactly the same expression as Lu Jia’s when she pushed open the door just now!

“Wait, don’t tell me, you don’t want to be Vice City Lord either?”

“Yes, City Lord-sama, I want to be the captain of the guard team.”

The old Monkey King’s expression suddenly became pained, its tone filled with hatred for the incompetence of its subordinates: “Compared to the responsibility of Vice City Lord, I want to inspire the willpower of the animals! How can they be drowsy because of a little cold? Half the animals are now preparing to hibernate. If this continues, who will protect Rong City?!”

Mi Miaomiao raised a claw: “Let’s just say, hibernation is the nature of animals. If they should sleep, let them sleep. Monsters are also slow to move; Rong City hasn’t reached that critical moment yet.”

“No! Animals cannot lose to humans! Where is our dignity?”

Mi Miaomiao took a deep breath. Fine, it was a vanity-stricken one.

But it suddenly realized that it had originally intended to make the old Monkey King the captain of the guard team!

Looking at the righteous expressions of the human and monkey opposite, Mi Miaomiao confirmed their positions directly on the system panel. After thinking about it, Mi Miaomiao simply confirmed the queen ant as Vice City Lord as well.

[Level 3 Binder: Lu Jia Race: Human Evolution Level: Level 3 Evolution Skills: Basic Ability Telepathy, Dark-type ability (Awakened prophecy skill) Identity: Warehouse Administrator (Warehouse usage permissions). Trust Value: Green (0-30 Red, 30-60 Yellow, 60-100 Green)]

[Level 3 Binder: Black Ape King (Old Monkey King) Race: Gibbon (Modern Apes) Evolution Level: Level 3 Evolution Skills: Basic Ability Arm Strengthening, Wood-type ability (Unawakened) Identity: Guard Team Captain (City resident information viewing permissions). Trust Value: Green (0-30 Red, 30-60 Yellow, 60-100 Green)]

[Secondary Binder: Queen Ant Race: Pavement Ant (Arthropoda Phylum) Evolution Level: Level 4 (Tribe leader) Evolution Skills: Basic Ability Mental Perception, Mental-type ability (Awakened mental control skill) Identity: Vice City Lord, City-within-a-City City Lord Trust Value: Yellow (0-30 Red, 30-60 Yellow, 60-100 Green)]

Having an identity on the system panel meant they could view system information, and also meant they would learn of the system’s existence, the consequences of the apocalypse, the significance of Rong City’s existence, and the importance of this identity of theirs.

What color the trust value was ended up being not that important.

“Go back and study the system. We’ll hold a collective meeting in two days. By the way, recommend to me the animals and humans you think are capable of holding positions in Rong City in the next two days.”

Mi Miaomiao sent this message directly to the Rong City management group.

After assembling the five management tiers, the system enabled group messaging and voice call functions.

Two days were enough for Xuan Yu to complete its advancement.

“All go back; don’t crowd around me.” Mi Miaomiao picked up the bamboo on the table that felt like jade; it always felt there was some strange energy between life and death within it.

The old Monkey King looked at the system panel as it walked, scratching its head in a panic over the fact that it could suddenly understand all human text.

Lu Jia was both surprised and happy!

She seemed to have found the immense hope she had seen in the City Lord hope capable of resisting the apocalypse.

High in the sky, a silver-white giant bird spread its wings and soared through the wind and snow.

“Refreshing!” Great King was enjoying the sky where, for once after the apocalypse, there would rarely be flying monsters.

A bird aura suddenly appeared in the magnetic field sensing. The rotors on its wings turned, and the Great King Bird-of-Paradise hovered in place, closing its eyes to sense carefully.

A moment later, an electric arc flashed in its opened eyes. It locked onto the woodland below tightly. Thunder-element energy was input into the self-thermal sensor; heat wrapped around its body, and it fell straight down like a drone.

The mechanical sound startled the sleeping flock of birds; four or five crows flew out of the nest simultaneously, rushing recklessly toward the strange giant bird that had appeared suddenly!

“Ga-ga-ga-ga!” Everyone, stay still! You are surrounded by me. Surrender and you won’t be killed, and I can even give you a bright future!

“Ga-ga-ga-ga!” Fart! You monster, stop mimicking our speech!

Small ice needles followed the flapping wings of the leading crow, stabbing toward Great King’s eyes.

“Ying-ying-ying-ying!” Your mouth really stinks; how can you curse a bird!

Great King hurriedly ascended, dodging the ice needles; it was only a Level 2 baby after all.

The five crows stopped speaking, encircling the silver monster bird in a group.

Great King landed helplessly, raising its wings without moving to show surrender: “Big brothers, don’t misunderstand, I really have no malicious intent. I represent Rong City to go out and find animals that have survived the cold wave. I want to invite you to join Rong City; it’s an animal city with abundant supplies, and the city residents are all companions to one another!”

“Ga-ga-ga!” Don’t talk nonsense!

“Ga-ga-ga.” Leader, its body is alive; let’s kill it and eat the meat!

One crow was drooling with greed, and the other crows nodded in unison.

“Ga-ga-ga!” Leader, the little ones haven’t had food for three days; if this continues, none of them will survive!

“Ga!” Only humans would build cities, and only humans would produce the metal on your wings! Don’t try to fool me!

The crow leader, with a body size of one meter, turned its head, signaling its subordinates to kill that monster bird.

“Ga-ga!” Let the little ones eat the meat first.

“Going to hell, tell you guys not to decide my life and death on your own!” As the words fell, a sound of metal friction rang out. Before those crows could react, Great King Bird-of-Paradise’s silver-white wings quickly changed form, and two pitch-black gun muzzles aimed at the sky.

“Electromagnetic anesthesia shells! Fire!”

Ten seconds later, all five adult crows collapsed to the ground, twitching all over, blue electric arcs flickering on their black feathers.

“I was telling the truth; just follow me to Rong City and you’ll know.” Great King stepped on the little crow that had been the first to try to kill it, canceled its weapon form, and flew onto the tree trunk. Inside the tree hole were three crow hatchlings whose wings had just finished growing; because they lost the body heat of the adult crows, they were already at death’s door.

“Clang!”

The sharp metal wings directly cut out the section of the tree trunk with the tree hole, shoved the four adult crows that weren’t as large-sized into the tree hole, fixed the tree hole in front of itself, and then wrapped a metal chain around the still-conscious crow leader.

Great King flew back into the sky. The heat produced by the self-thermal sensor traveled along the metal chain into the tree hole and onto the leader crow.

“Ga-ga-ga!” Don’t worry, I guarantee you won’t die. If you still want to leave after seeing the situation in Rong City, I guarantee the City Lord won’t stop you from leaving.” Great King added silently in its heart: There’s also no need to keep short-sighted, suicidal, big idiots!

“Ga-ga-ga-ga, City Lord-sama!”

“……!” Mi Miaomiao’s claw shook, almost destroying the newly cultivated parasitic Jade-Bone Bamboo this was the great treasure concerning the future of Rong City!

“Your gift has returned with a gift~”