Gu Cha felt his body suspended in the air. Looking down, he saw the ground growing farther and farther away. He let out a terrified scream, but the sound that came out was a tiny “meow~.” His eyes widened in surprise.
“Where did this kitten come from?”
“Who knows? I haven’t seen a cat in over ten years.”
A sun-darkened, broad face appeared in front of Gu Cha. The owner of that face was staring at him.
A bad premonition stirred in Gu Cha’s heart. He tried to speak again: 【Meow~ Who are you?】 He was surprised that such a sound still came from him. He moved his paws slightly, then noticed that the tips were round and covered in mud and dirt.
【Meow meow.】
He had turned into a cat!
The man with the broad face found it fascinating. Humanity had entered the apocalypse over twenty years ago, and they hadn’t seen a cat in many years. At one point, people even thought that creatures like cats, lacking any real self-defense, had gone extinct long ago.
He reached out and stroked Gu Cha’s furry chin. Gu Cha instinctively closed his eyes, displaying a look of enjoyment: 【Purr purr.】
“Eh, this kitten is quite cute,” said the broad-faced man, Gou Dashu.
Several girls in the crowd were drawn to Gu Cha’s charming appearance.
“Let’s play with it, Gou Dashu!” the girls shouted.
Gou Dashu chuckled and rubbed the kitten’s head: “Such a cute little one. Go play with the sisters for a while.”
Gu Cha’s head swayed from side to side. When the girls took him into their hands, his large cat eyes looked at them with confusion, his expression adorably blank.
His appearance hit the sisters’ “cute” spot perfectly.
“Aww, it’s so obedient…”
“How old is it?”
“Looks like a kitten, maybe six months old.”
Under their playful torment, Gu Cha’s fur was a mess. He couldn’t bear it and begged: 【Meow——】
“Ahhhh!”
The girls were lost in their obsession with petting the kitten. Gu Cha could only call out to Tong Tong in his mind.
【Cha Cha, because the energy from the previous Dimensional World has run out, this Dimensional World cannot maintain your human form continuously. You’ll have to endure being a kitten for now. Once there’s enough energy, you can transform again.】
Gu Cha looked puzzled: “Wasn’t the previous world’s mission completed? Why isn’t there enough energy?”
Tong Tong hesitated for a long time and said nothing. In each new Dimensional World, the memories from previous worlds were temporarily sealed, as per the rules of dimensional missions.
So Gu Cha did not remember that in the previous world, Tong Tong had spent all the energy to keep him in that Dimensional World for two extra years. Tong Tong also could not tell the truth—it would violate the rules.
【Anyway… anyway, there’s just not enough…】
Gu Cha nodded and did not ask further.
A few girls continued amusing themselves with the little kitten. Soon, some impatient people started urging: “Enough playing. It’s just a cat. What’s so special? If you don’t leave, we will.”
The girls reluctantly petted Gu Cha’s new body, their eyes filled with pity.
If this had been twenty years ago, encountering such a heart-stirring kitten on the street, they would have definitely taken it home to care for it. But now, in the apocalypse… survival was their priority. A small, useless kitten could be played with, but could not be taken along.
Gu Cha was set down on the ground. He looked at a dozen “giants” around him in confusion.
The girls said: “Let’s go, let’s go. If we don’t leave, the zombies will find this place.”
Seeing everyone in the small garage moving outside, Gu Cha instinctively wanted to follow the crowd.
【Meow——】 he called.
The sound caught a few people’s attention. They cursed: “Damn it! Don’t follow us! Get over there! Go!”
【Cha Cha, be careful!】
“Ahhh—”
Gu Cha’s lower abdomen was kicked. Following his feline instincts, he arched his back and let out a pitiful scream, collapsing to the side.
“What are you doing?! Why kick it for no reason!” someone with a kind heart shouted.
The kicker pointed at them: “If it follows and draws the zombies’ attention, I’ll throw you out first! Where did this sanctimonious nonsense come from? Idiot!”
The rebuked person had no response and quietly shut their mouth.
Thus, Gu Cha could only watch helplessly as the crowd moved farther and farther away until they completely disappeared from his sight.
Confusion filled Gu Cha’s mind. He did not understand why they treated him this way.
Pain radiated through his abdomen. The original little kitten had been only six months old. Malnourished in the apocalypse, it was even smaller than other kittens its age. Its body was weak, and before Gu Cha entered, it had already starved to death. The mother cat that had struggled to give birth had been killed by zombies a few days prior.
At this point, Gu Cha was the only cat left on Earth.
Now, he did not even know how hard that person had kicked him, leaving him unable to even stand.
【Cha Cha, are you okay? Does it hurt? That person is really cruel!】 Tong Tong said with concern.
Gu Cha tried to respond to Tong Tong, but the pain left him speechless. His ears drooped.
【Clack clack clack.】
【Thump thump glare.】
Not long after, Gu Cha heard chaos outside—the sound of creatures approaching the garage!
【Meow—】 Gu Cha howled weakly.
A pair of shoes suddenly appeared in his line of sight. The owner of the shoes did not move, standing with hands in his pockets. A sea-blue gem earring glimmered faintly on his ear in the dim garage.
After a long moment, Gu Cha was lifted by one hand. In his daze, he met a face devoid of sorrow or joy, utterly cold.
Lu Chenyu pinched Gu Cha’s scruff disdainfully with two fingers, his voice flat as still water: “Where did this filthy beast come from?”
Gu Cha protested softly: 【Awoo.】 “You’re the real beast!”
【System detection: male lead has appeared. Distance from Host is less than one meter. Host must start mission immediately.】
Tong Tong covered its face, letting out a deafening scream.
Why did the male lead in this world look exactly like the male lead in the previous world? This man was Lu Chenyu!
Behind Lu Chenyu were hundreds of green, glistening zombies making strange “clack clack clack” noises. All of them stared with glowing eyes at the “prey” in their leader’s hands.
“Guys, do you like it? Should I let you eat it?” Lu Chenyu’s lips curled into a cruel smile, though his eyes betrayed no amusement.