The off-road vehicle drove down the mountainside, heading straight for the city. Not long after they left, countless mutated animals charged out of the forest behind the mountain like mad, densely flooding the entire villa district. This wealthy villa area had become a paradise for mutated animals.
Speeding through the city in the off-road vehicle, Jiang Zhiying's nerves were tightly stretched, afraid that a mutated animal would suddenly dart out and block their path. But of course, what she didn't want to happen happened anyway.
The rain had also stirred up the ferocity of the mutated animals in the city. The most numerous, the mutated dogs, were tearing and biting wantonly in the streets.
Looking at the mutated dogs fighting ahead on the road, Jiang Zhiying gritted her teeth and floored the accelerator, charging straight through. The mutated dogs caught the unfamiliar scent and rushed toward the off-road vehicle, only to be sent flying by the high-speed vehicle.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The front of the vehicle smashed into who knows how many mutated dogs, becoming stained with a layer of blood. Struggling to break through the pursuit of the mutated dog pack, the off-road vehicle turned a corner and sped off in another direction.
The off-road vehicle stopped on a street. Jiang Zhiying relaxed her numb paws and sprawled across Xiaobai's back, panting heavily. That was too thrilling and too dangerous—several times she had faced the brink of death in a wrecked vehicle.
After catching her breath, Jiang Zhiying looked at the two-story building before her. They would take shelter here for now. Xiaobai carried Xie Anze on its back while Jiang Zhiying stored the vehicle back into her spatial dimension. One person and two beasts entered the house unimpeded.
Avoiding the corpse by the entrance, they carefully made their way to the second floor and found a bedroom. Xiaobai placed Xie Anze on the bed and pulled the blanket over him. Jiang Zhiying hopped onto the soft quilt and lay down to rest, her small mouth slightly open with her pink tongue sticking out.
Today had truly exhausted her.
"Xiaobai, you keep watch. I'll doze off for a bit." Jiang Zhiying was feeling drowsy. After instructing Xiaobai, she shifted her small body and closed her eyes, snuggling close to Xie Anze.
There was no sound in the room. Xiaobai dutifully guarded the room. Xie Anze tried to move his body—his limbs were still weak, but he could lift them slightly. The severed tendons were slowly growing back, and the shattered bones were gradually healing.
He lowered his head slightly and could see Jiang Zhiying sleeping beside him. He quietly watched that small bundle, his emotions complicated. This cat was clearly a very powerful mutant beast, and if he wasn't mistaken, this cat even had a spatial dimension!
But why had it saved him? Doubt flickered in Xie Anze's eyes. He was certain he had never met this cat before.
After a moment, he let out a long breath. No matter what, since he had been saved by this cat, he would definitely repay it!
His clear eyes stared at the ceiling, no longer lifeless but filled with fighting spirit and hope.
At this moment, he desperately wished he could recover quickly so he could help the little cat. His powerful conviction spurred his body to evolve rapidly, and an invisible force surged deep within him, nourishing every cell.
She hadn't been sleeping long when Jiang Zhiying was awakened by a rustling sound in the room. Opening her hazy eyes, what came into view were three flies, each as large as a sparrow, perched on the wall. The enormous flies sat motionless on the wall, their terrifying compound eyes fixed on her without blinking.
"Meow meow meow!" Jiang Zhiying sprang up from the bed in fright. Flies this big?!
The three flies took off, extending their hairy, vicious mouthparts, and buzzed toward Jiang Zhiying.
Standing on the bed, Jiang Zhiying's pupils dilated. Her cat eyes clearly tracked the flight paths of the three flies—their movements appeared incredibly slow to her.
Cat Paw Strike!
Just as they flew close to her, Jiang Zhiying attacked without hesitation. Her sharp claws extended from her soft white paw pads, tracing three cold arcs of light through the air like lightning.
The flies' bodies stiffened mid-flap. They were split in half, and dark green blood splattered through the air. The three flies fell to the ground, a rotting stench spreading throughout the room.
"Ugh!" Jiang Zhiying landed back on the bed and nearly vomited from the smell. It was too foul. She frantically rubbed her blood-stained paws against the bedsheet, wiping all the blood clean.
"Rustle!" Eight eyes fixed on the door. Xiaobai let out a rustling warning sound.
"Sister, many mutant beasts are approaching."
Jiang Zhiying crouched on the bed, her round cat eyes narrowing. She knew what was happening—mutant beasts had extremely keen senses of smell. By killing those three flies, the rotting blood scent drifting outward had attracted numerous mutant beasts.
She took a deep breath. The rain's catalytic effect wouldn't subside for at least another day. A hard battle was coming.
"Squeak squeak squeak." The sound of rats came from outside, followed by the gnawing sound of chewing.
Visible to the naked eye, a large hole was chewed through the door panel. One by one, plump rats squeezed through the hole. Jiang Zhiying counted—five mutant rats in total.
The rats' crimson eyes drooled over Xiaobai, Jiang Zhiying, and Xie Anze, who lay immobile on the bed.
[Target level too high, cannot appraise.] The skill couldn't identify them, and Jiang Zhiying drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
This was going to be a tough battle!
Facing five Mutant Rats at once, Jiang Zhiying's heart pounded nervously.
"Squeak squeak squeak!" Without giving her much time to wait, the five rats lunged ferociously, and chaos erupted in an instant.
Half an hour later, the five rats lay on the ground, with large pools of crimson blood staining the floor.
Jiang Zhiying lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily. She had been bitten several times by the Mutant Rats, wounds piling up one after another on her back, blood dyeing her petite body red.
Jiang Zhiying trembled in pain and lay on the ground for a while before recovering. Under the effect of her skill, her wounds healed very quickly, and she could move without hindrance.
"Let's go, we can't stay here anymore." Looking at the blood all over the floor, she decided immediately.
Carrying Xie Anze on her back, they quickly left the room. Not daring to take the main road outside, Jiang Zhiying cut through a small path behind the house and found another place to stay.
After laying Xie Anze on the bed, Jiang Zhiying realized that at some point, he had fallen into a coma again!
"Meow?" Jiang Zhiying looked at Xie Anze in confusion, extending her paw to place it on his forehead—no fever!
He might be in Evolution, and his body had entered a state of self-protection. After thinking it over, that was the only reason she could come up with.
She wasn't wrong. Having witnessed Jiang Zhiying's fierce battle with the Mutant Rats and the severe wounds she sustained, Xie Anze felt a fire burning in his chest. He had never hated his own powerlessness so much before. He desperately wanted to gain great strength to protect the people he wanted to protect.
The energy flowing deep within his body mutated and surged, and to protect his body, his brain spontaneously fell into dormancy.
After moving to the new house and securing the doors and windows, they huddled tightly together. This time, they were very lucky—not a single Mutant Beast discovered them.
Listening to the brutal fighting of the Mutant Beasts outside, Xiaobai could no longer contain itself. It rustled softly to Jiang Zhiying, saying it wanted to go out!
Jiang Zhiying thought for a moment and nodded, letting it go. For Mutant Beasts, constant fighting was also a path to improvement.
Xiaobai layered webs all around the house, inside and out, before leaving. Jiang Zhiying lay on the bed, eyes slightly narrowed, her ears twitching sensitively from time to time, gathering sounds from outside. Only when the noise gradually subsided did she finally let out a sigh of relief.