Doomsday Cat City Lord - Chapter 30

Wind and snow swirled, and all things were empty and silent.

Outside the car window, the low-hanging snow clouds clung to the boundless, frozen sea, like two mirror surfaces inverted and gradually merging into one.

Shao Ming held his girlfriend; the two sat in the last row of the off-road vehicle, their ears filled with the creaking sound of the tires’ anti-skid chains crushing the accumulated snow.

The vehicle traveled through the rustling falling snow. Behind them, rows of steel-cast buildings shimmered with shimmering light against the dim, yellow sky.

“Bang!” The car suddenly shook violently, as if it had crushed something.

Shao Ming and Jiang Xiaoyu were awakened from their trance-like sense of unreality. Shao Ming wrapped one arm around his girlfriend and gripped the overhead handle firmly with the other. A sharp, stinging, aching, and itchy sensation spread from the palm of his hand numb and blue with cold.

The feeling was indescribably agonizing. Shao Ming buried his face into his girlfriend’s collar to hide his grimacing expression.

“Can we really survive this winter?” Jiang Xiaoyu used her own equally swollen and blue-tinted hands to rub Shao Ming’s fingers. Two people who were equally freezing cold had no way to warm each other.

Shao Ming was also thinking about this question. Their group of 16 had come to Lushan Town from school, and after experiencing the beast tide, only 10 remained. After the sudden temperature drop, only 7 were still alive. Among them, two had frostbitten hands and feet and were forced to undergo amputations. At this moment, they were lying in a temporarily dug underground refuge area, waiting for death.

The base had also changed from distributing food to everyone at the beginning to only issuing food in exchange for contributions. Those with high evolution levels who could go out to kill monsters lived in large rooms with heaters, enjoying sufficient food and hot water.

Shao Ming and his girlfriend’s basic abilities one was hearing enhancement, the other was vision enhancement were neither suitable for frontal combat. Powerful, independent hunting teams refused to recruit them.

Therefore, if they wanted to exchange for food, they could only follow the base’s teams to go out and collect supplies. The base would provide cold-proof clothing and vehicles, but whatever supplies were found, everything had to be handed over.

Once, a teammate couldn’t endure the hunger and secretly ate a piece of bread he had found. Later, the rest of them watched with their own eyes as the team leader, an ability user, ripped off the teammate’s cotton-padded coat and drove him off the car. In less than 10 minutes, a living person had turned into an ice sculpture.

“Let’s change to a different place to live?”

Shao Ming whispered in his girlfriend’s ear. This wasn’t an idea he had just had; it had been buried deep in his heart, but as he spoke the words, he felt an intense urgency, urging him to act.

The temperature had been getting colder recently, yet the winter clothing issued was still just two layers, without even decent boots. Supplies that could be found around Lushan Town were becoming fewer and fewer, and the teams had to spread outward. The ruins of Chunquan City they were going to today required a six-hour round trip; once the vehicle’s engine stalled, everyone would freeze to death on the road.

But… the supplies they exchanged with their lives couldn’t be used for their own benefit at all; they could only use their frostbitten hands to claim a little food that barely kept them full.

It wasn’t that no one had thought of resisting, but the base management consisted of Level 2 and Level 3 evolvers. They, these low-level evolvers who were a step behind, could only be relegated to the bottom of the hierarchy.

In this long winter with no end in sight, they waited numbly for death.

“We go…”

Jiang Xiaoyu reached out and covered her boyfriend’s mouth, turning to look at the teammates resting with their eyes closed in the front row, signaling to Shao Ming that they couldn’t be heard by anyone else.

Shao Ming saw that there was suddenly light in Xiaoyu’s eyes. They embraced each other, and in their gaze, they understood each other’s determination. A smile of identical anticipation appeared on their young, frostbitten cheeks.

Lushan Town was within reach. Shao Ming’s gaze involuntarily fell on the mountain forest further away. He had a clear idea about his plan after leaving.

Inventorying supplies, being searched, collecting the food exchanged for that day’s work.

Shao Ming pulled his girlfriend into the underground passageway, winding their way to a hidden corner.

“After we leave Lushan Town, there are two places we can go. One is the school that took us in before; there are buildings to live in, and tree walls to block monsters. The second is to go to Rong City.”

Shao Ming’s hearing allowed him to inadvertently hear quite a lot of information, even when he intentionally avoided it. So, he knew there was a large base inside the mountains—a city co-built by humans and evolved animals.

“Does Rong City still exist?” Jiang Xiaoyu also thought of the giant white cat that had left a deep impression on her, as well as Lu He-tao and those elderly people who had taken them in.

Rong City took in animals and accepted the elderly; the living environment certainly wouldn’t be worse than Lushan Town. It was just that the previous monster tide seemed to have primarily attacked the depths of the mountains.

“That giant cat was able to easily clear out a swarm of insects in a short time. Perhaps they could hold on. And we all saw that whenever the number of monsters was at its highest, light would appear in the mountain forest, attracting them all away. Furthermore, after being illuminated by the light, it seemed that the pain from our injuries was also alleviated a bit.” Shao Ming broke the hard bread into pieces and fed it bit by bit to Jiang Xiaoyu’s mouth.

“Then let’s go to Rong City and see. Even if the monsters’ aggression has decreased now, I always feel uneasy living by ourselves.”

Jiang Xiaoyu nodded, taking out the purified water she had hidden in her bosom all day, which still carried her body heat, and shared it with her boyfriend.

“Alright, but we need to make preparations in advance, find a place to hide some supplies, prepare warm things, and it would be best if we could find a vehicle.” Shao Ming quickly planned in his heart how to act in the next few days.

The sound of intentionally heavy footsteps suddenly rang in his ears, and a familiar figure appeared before them.

This short figure, wrapped tightly from head to toe with only a pair of eyes exposed, was their teammate. Both were Level 1 evolvers; Shao Ming felt slightly relieved, but he still stood up and pulled his girlfriend behind him.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I want to leave Lushan Town with you guys, and I have a way to get supplies.” To show her sincerity, Qin Xin took off her scarf and hat, her smooth, long hair falling to her waist.

She looked slightly older than Jiang Xiaoyu, with ordinary features but a very gentle temperament. Shao Ming and his girlfriend exchanged a glance, and both of their attitudes softened significantly.

“Why do you want to leave, and where can supplies be found?”

“My name is Qin Xin; my real strength is a Level 2 evolver, and my basic ability is telepathy.” Qin Xin looked around and invited the two to her room.

Shao Ming knew the other party lived opposite them, so he followed. Upon entering, he found that although it was in a similarly secluded corner, Qin Xin’s room was significantly more spacious and warmer than theirs, and the door was thick and had a lock, with soundproofing far better than theirs.

Facing their surprised gazes, Qin Xin revealed a bitter expression: “The Alaskan I raised from when it was small was taken away by Hong Jiaxi. This room is an exchange for Puff being taken away.”

“Puff has a gentle personality and was kind to any small life; it didn’t fight. When Hong Jiaxi wanted to take Puff away, I felt that rather than both of us dying in the mouths of monsters, letting Puff go to her side might allow it to live a better life.”

“But two days ago, I secretly contacted Hong Jiaxi’s subordinates and learned through telepathy that Hong Jiaxi used various methods to find many evolved animals, forcing them to hunt monsters, withholding their food, letting them kill each other, and then selecting the strongest to keep by her side.”

“She is forcibly domesticating evolved animals!” Jiang Xiaoyu was very angry. Not to mention that animals were smarter and independent individual lives after evolving—even before the apocalypse, forcibly domesticating animals and treating pets with violence was against the law.

“Many animals are injured, but no one treats their wounds. Puff was lying in a cage crying the whole time. I want to take it away together.”

Shao Ming frowned: “We have no way to get close to the core area.”

“The two foxes currently following Hong Jiaxi plan to release all the animals in two days. We should make preparations in advance, and it shouldn’t be difficult to take a supply vehicle during the chaos. I also found an undiscovered winter supply cache outside the base; I can share half of it with you, as long as you help me take Puff away.”

“If things are truly as you say, we agree to help.” Shao Ming and Jiang Xiaoyu exchanged glances and both nodded together.

The next day, the three participated in the collection mission as usual. It was just that in the afternoon, Qin Xin went out alone for 2 hours, returning covered in frost and snow, with three sets of self-heating windproof jackets in her arms brand new, unopened, with built-in energy bars fully charged, and capable of being used continuously for 1 month.

“I found these by prying open the ice layer. The location is very hidden; it certainly won’t be discovered in a short time, and half the warehouse inside wasn’t flooded.”

Shao Ming and Jiang Xiaoyu wore the clothes inside their cotton-padded jackets and discussed the escape plan for tomorrow seriously with Qin Xin.

In the evening, Shao Ming stayed near the base exit alone, focusing on listening to the sounds around him. It wasn’t until midnight that he heard a faint sound of fox cries and dog barks outside the base.

Early the next morning, before the sky was even bright, the three went to the garage together to help move the food and emergency supplies needed for today’s outing.

At 8:00 AM, the convoy set off one after another. Suddenly, a large cloud of smoke rose in the core area, and those who hadn’t left ran to extinguish the fire.

Jiang Xiaoyu found the truck they had selected from the very beginning, took the key card during the chaos, got into the car, and locked all the doors and windows.

“Thirty minutes at most!” Shao Ming gave a word of caution, turned, and went with Qin Xin to the place where the animals were imprisoned.

Jiang Xiaoyu huddled beneath the car window, nervously watching the time pass on the timer. Until the agreed-upon thirty minutes had passed, she didn’t wait for the familiar figures; instead, strange evolvers were approaching the vehicle.

She held her breath and waited for another ten minutes. When those two evolvers walked nearby, Jiang Xiaoyu wiped the tears from her face fiercely, started the car, and suddenly saw a giant metal cage on wheels, two meters tall, appearing in the distance. It was rushing toward them rapidly, and the two evolvers patrolling the surroundings could only dodge.

“Xiaoyu!”

Jiang Xiaoyu immediately pressed the unlock button. The cage was carried directly into the cargo box by Shao Ming and Qin Xin, and the two jumped in after. The next instant, the car doors closed again, and they rushed out of the base with a roar.

Driving downward along the mountain road, it wasn’t long before the vehicle drove onto the ice surface, and the blizzard covered their tracks. After a long time, the vehicles tracking from behind had to give up.

Taking a wide detour to pick up the batch of clothing Qin Xin had hidden, it wasn’t until noon that the cargo truck re-entered the Boyun Mountains.

There was no need to fear encountering monsters on the road low-level ones had slow reactions and could be directly crushed, incidentally harvesting a few crystals. High-level monsters didn’t have as keen a sense of smell as before either; speeding up and shaking them off from afar was enough.

At night, the truck had to stop at a place still some distance from the school. Jiang Xiaoyu checked the display screen repeatedly, then said helplessly to the two in the cargo box: “There’s no energy left. From here on, we can only walk to the school; there are still five thousand meters left.”

“How about we build a temporary snow igloo? These animals probably can’t walk that far.” Shao Ming and Qin Xin had been busy the whole way, only just finishing treating the wounds of the rescued animals.

Qin Xin held the Alaskan she had regained, stroking its gaunt body, her imploring gaze switching back and forth between the couple opposite.

Jiang Xiaoyu was very conflicted. She worried that living in the wild would lead to monster attacks at night; the three of them who were non-combatants and a group of injured animals wouldn’t be able to dodge anyone.

“Woof-aow!” Why are you guys running so slowly?

“Squeak-squeak-squeak!” We’ve been waiting for you for a long time.

“Woof-chirp-chirp!” Puff, are you okay? Is this your master?

A large group of animals that appeared suddenly surrounded their truck. Shao Ming and Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t dare move at all.

The husky with a scar on its face wore a ring of orange fire around its body. It stood far away at the highest point on the perimeter, its fierce, vigilant blue eyes looking down at them, as if it were scrutinizing them.

The other cat and dog animals that appeared to be its lackeys were also full of fighting spirit, as if they had just stepped down from a battlefield.

“Awoo!” Erha tilted its head and let out a wolf howl. The animals around, including those injured on the truck, also let out roars together.

Jiang Xiaoyu and Shao Ming couldn’t understand the animals’ language, but just by looking, they could feel their excitement and joy.

…

Huskies, Golden Retrievers, Border Collies, Corgis, Giant Poodles, foxes, oversized Chinchillas, Forest Cats, white elk.

Surely, no one had ever seen the scene of them pulling a sled together!

Shao Ming and Jiang Xiaoyu squeezed into the middle seat of the same sled, with a giant supply crate behind them. There were two other sleds in front. Qin Xin and the injured animals were wearing self-heating suits, hiding under windproof cloth.

Jiang Xiaoyu looked puzzled: “Are we going to Rong City now?”

“Let’s go and see. Even at its worst, how much worse could it be than Lushan Town? Didn’t that border collie named Dongfeng tell Qin Xin that she could leave whenever she wanted?” Shao Ming’s expression was somewhat excited. Although the future was uncertain, the sled pulled by animals was truly damn cool!

The two gray squirrels running behind the convoy suddenly jumped onto the sled to rest, lying down beside Jiang Xiaoyu’s feet, leisurely licking their paws and washing their faces. Behind them, two fluffy, large gray tails were swaying back and forth, swaying back and forth.

Before Jiang Xiaoyu realized it, her hand had already reached out to touch the soft, fluffy tail.

“…” Jiang Xiaoyu didn’t dare move.

The two squirrels stopped their actions, leaned over to Jiang Xiaoyu’s hand to sniff, then returned to their original positions, grooming their fur with their little paws on their own.

“They sniffed my scent; they don’t reject me.” Jiang Xiaoyu really liked small animals; she knew that squirrels wouldn’t let people they didn’t like touch them at all, and would bite if touched voluntarily.

“Can I comb your hair?” Jiang Xiaoyu took her small comb out of Shao Ming’s pocket, shook it at the two squirrels, and brought it close to let them smell it.

“Squeak!” Brother Dongfeng said, if you want to join Rong City, at least you can’t reject humans.

“Squeak-squeak-squeak-squeak!” Boss Sun said, it doesn’t matter if you reject humans or not, as long as you don’t fight in the city. You just have to look decent on the surface; we still have to live with the animals.

“Squeak-squeak.” But, we have to earn points to live a comfortable life without a shortage of food. Brother Dongfeng said there’s a mission in the city that’s very easy to complete—it’s just soothing the fragile hearts of humans; you only need to let them touch and hug you. I don’t reject this human; how about I try it first?

“Squeak!” The larger gray squirrel had nothing to say, turned its back, and ignored its brother.

Jiang Xiaoyu successfully combed the little squirrel’s fur. The warm, soft little ball in her palm lightened the haze that had accumulated in her heart over these days.

Shao Ming watched with envy and also wanted to touch the little squirrel, but was rejected. But… the little squirrel raising its little claws before its chest in a serious manner was also very cute!

Time passed unconsciously. Sensing that the speed of the sled was slowing down, Jiang Xiaoyu checked the timer five o’clock in the morning.

Pulling down the windproof cloth overhead, what entered her vision was the tall city walls amidst the sky-filling drifting snow. Gray-white stone city walls were climbed by verdant branches and leaves, and thick, cold ice added a strange, sealed charm to them.

As the distance got closer and closer, intuitively feeling its magnificence, all emotions like amazement and disbelief were transformed into security!

“Awoo!” We’re home!

“Woof, woof, woof!” Brake!

“Woof-woo-woo!”

“Meow-aow!”

“Squeak-squeak!”

Amidst the chaotic animal calls, Sun, Dongfeng, and the Giant Poodle rushed into three different directions of large snowdrifts in the lead, and the remaining animals pulling the sleds crowded and smashed into them one after another.

After several previous decelerations, the force wasn’t great when the heavy sleds drifted and hit the snowdrifts, but it was enough to knock Shao Yang and the others into a daze.

“Is anyone injured? Is anyone injured! Stand up quickly, or you’ll get stuck to the ice.”

A youth’s clear voice rang in their ears, and immediately afterward, Shao Yang felt his neck tighten, as if he had been picked up by someone grabbing his clothes.

“Thank you, this… giant panda!”

Wiping the snow off his face, seeing that it was a black-and-white giant bear standing on its hind legs behind him, Shao Yang’s voice cracked uncontrollably!

Feng Lu got up holding the injured animal, seeing the reaction of the new uncle, and couldn’t help but laugh.

The old Monkey King walked over carrying honeysuckle specially used for healing. As the wood-element energy was infused, vines automatically wrapped around the wounds.

Half an hour later, three humans and thirty-three newly arrived animals sat together in a spacious room within the city walls, waiting for their bodies to be checked before registering their identities.

“Woof, woof, woof!” Old Monkey, am I the first one to bring people back?

Sun looked at the room full of people and animals, a sense of pride spontaneously arising.

“Hmph! The Queen Ant was half a day ahead of you; by now, the hive is probably already hung on the tree on Platform 5.”

“Woof, woof, woof!” Tch, that’s only because she has more subordinates!

Erha was indignant, but there was nothing it could do about the Queen Ant. It flicked its tail, bit down on the task receipt, turned, and took the cubs back to eat.

“Alright, take your identification certificates. This is the voucher for entering and leaving Rong City. If you want to build a house in the future, you will also need to hold it to exchange for land.”

Lu He-tao pushed three double-layered laminated hard cards to the three of them. On the other side, Fatty Orange squatted on the table, in front of it a small basket of laminated small round tags with lanyards.

The animals took turns stepping forward, and each animal would receive a “Meow” from the orange cat, and then a round tag would be hung around its neck.

Shao Yang watched from the side with novelty, and Jiang Xiaoyu had already finished reading her identification certificate:

[Name: Jiang Xiaoyu Race: Human Gender: Female Age: 25 years old Basic Ability: Visual enhancement Ability: Wind-type (Unawakened)]

Even while waiting, she had already read the official Rong City website introduction and understood the welfare system of Rong City. At this moment, looking at the ability column above, she still couldn’t help but marvel at Rong City’s power and mystery.

Holding their identification certificates and a map of Rong City, the three of Shao Yang prepared to explore Rong City together, the first step being to go to the canteen to check out the food.

“Wait a moment, do you want to trade the batch of supplies you brought with our official warehouse?” Lu He-tao thought of the great magnetic storm and the repeated bombardments by Deng Huai over these past few days, so he took the initiative to mention it.

Seeing that the three had suddenly become nervous and vigilant, he added with a smile: “Exchanged with real-world points; we won’t let you suffer a loss.”

Originally, Shao Yang thought, since they had already entered the city, as long as the exploitation wasn’t too harsh, contributing half of the supplies was acceptable. But when he received the peanut-sized white jade beads, his expression turned to shock.

The energy contained was slightly less than that of a Level 1 crystal, but it was very gentle and pure. If he hadn’t known that this place was very strange to them, Shao Yang would have already been unable to resist absorbing the energy inside.

His body’s instincts were attracted. He calmed down to evaluate absorbing a few more jade beads might allow him to advance without a Level 2 crystal.

“This is the exclusive point currency of Rong City. The soybean-sized round beads are 1 point, this peanut-sized cube is 10 points, and the large round bead in your hand is 50 points. There is also a pink jade bead worth 100 points, but I don’t have any on hand at the moment.”

“You can consider exchanging a few points first, go look around the Rong City marketplace, and if you think the prices are fair, then come back.”

Shao Yang didn’t hesitate anymore: “What price can you give?”

“Just the self-heating clothes, 25 points per set.” If there weren’t a great magnetic storm, these clothes would indeed be very valuable, but now? They couldn’t be traded even if they were acquired.

The three of Shao Yang discussed for a while, and Qin Xin spoke first; she was the only one of the three who still had her communicator: “This price isn’t too high, but I’ve looked at the official exchange warehouse; there’s no shortage of various winter clothing. The prices for down jackets and special material warm clothing are all around 50 points. However… our clothes have a limited shelf life; without energy replenishment, they can only be worn for a month or two at most, and they are easily damaged.”

Jiang Xiaoyu: “I heard that Rong City hadn’t recruited new city residents before. The people in the city have enjoyed benefits for such a long time; they shouldn’t be short of winter clothing.”

Shao Yang nodded: “Then let’s trade. There are 170 sets of self-heating clothes; how many are we trading?”

Qin Xin calculated simply: “Trading them all, 4,250 points, split equally among the three of us, over 1,400 points per person; it should be a good start.”

Jiang Xiaoyu shook her head, unwilling to take advantage: “It was agreed that supplies would be split in half.”

Qin Xin smiled and rubbed the girl’s bruised, frostbitten fingers: “It’s alright. If you really feel bad, you can give me more of the remaining clothing.”

Lu He-tao took the self-heating suits. Half of Qin Xin’s points were transferred to her account, and half were exchanged for real-world points. Shao Yang and Jiang Xiaoyu’s backpacks had some more heavy beads.

Following the map’s instructions, the three walked toward the pedestrian stairs leading up the mountain. From time to time, vehicles passed by on the wide roads beside them. The higher they went, the livelier the sides of the road became. Near the platform, they could see humans and animals working together to build houses with giant stones.

Stepping onto the No. 1 platform, there was a bonfire in the middle of the circular square. Shops were being built around the square. Some trade items were placed directly on wooden tables under tents, with a price list standing beside them, but the owners of the stalls were nowhere to be seen.

Bedding that could be exchanged for a dozen points, clothing that could be exchanged for a few points, various furniture items, packaged food, and water were also visible everywhere.

Walking up the stairs leading to Platform 6, they could smell the rich aroma of food from afar. Shao Yang hugged his girlfriend’s arm, which was trembling.

“I should have brought you here sooner.”

In the office, Mi Miaomiao rarely had leisure time, designing its future house on paper.

The door was suddenly pushed open with great force. Deng Huai squeezed the document in his hand, excited: “It’s confirmed, it’s been measured! System buildings have a certain probability of blocking the impact of high-energy charged particles; the effect is better than existing anti-radiation materials. We can save a portion of high-tech equipment!”