Chapter 68: Zhao Xue Said, "They're Here"

Animals can mutate—this was something Su Miao had known ever since she saw the prophecy of the apocalypse. The giant rats so often spotted in the tourist area had already confirmed it. That was why Su Miao placed cabinets at every floor, blocking the stairway entrances. Despite all precautions, she had never expected a dangerous mutant Persian cat to come upstairs.

What was even more terrifying was that this mutant Persian cat seemed to possess the ability to control its size at will. In its normal state, it appeared no different from an ordinary cat; but when it prepared to attack, its mouth could expand to the size of a millstone, making it effortless to swallow a person whole.

When the mutant Persian cat encountered Su Miao, it behaved with remarkable gentleness, intelligence, and charm, indicating a considerable level of wisdom. Imagine such an adorable cat approaching you, seeking affection, inviting you to pet it—who could resist? One simply must pet it first!

But, once you let your guard down and allow the cat close, you would be swallowed whole before you even realized it.

Su Miao trembled in the cardboard box, shaken to her core and nearly eaten. As she calmed herself, she began to recall everything that had just happened.

When the Persian cat approached, Xia Xiao'an had not spoken up to warn her. It wasn't that Xia Xiao'an didn't want to speak, but rather that she was completely unable to. This was because the Persian cat possessed a degree of psychic control; the warm memories flooding Su Miao's mind as she saw the cat proved it. Fortunately, the cat's psychic influence on Su Miao was limited. Otherwise, it could have directly controlled her thoughts, not merely filled her mind with beautiful memories.

Unfortunately, the mutant Persian cat didn't know that Su Miao had already resolved to act the moment she sensed something was amiss.

What had just happened was far too frightening.

Su Miao dared not imagine how many more such dangerous mutant animals would emerge in this world. Yet this Persian cat was probably not a mountain-dwelling feline; it must have been brought into the tourist area by some visitor or disaster victim.

Could it have been brought by those people from the company? Su Miao pondered carefully and concluded it was unlikely; if that were the case, they would have sent the cat to attack her long ago.

The pressing question now was how long this mutant Persian cat had been lurking in the tourist area, and how many other dangerous animals there were.

Behind them lay only mountains...

Su Miao shivered.

It seemed she could no longer stay in the tourist area.

Nowhere else could have more wild animals than the wilderness itself.

Thinking of that day, when torrential rain revealed swarms of giant rats and beetles crawling across the mountains, Su Miao's fear grew.

"Sister, are you all right?"

Xia Xiao'an, face tear-streaked, approached the cardboard box and asked.

"I—I'm fine."

Su Miao forced herself to sound calm: "Just exhausted my magic too much just now, I need a moment to compose myself. It's nothing."

Is this really something you can brush off with a little composure? Xia Xiao'an wiped the cat's blood from her face and said, "Sister, I don't think we can live in our villa anymore."

Su Miao poked her head out, surveying the chaos in the third-floor living room, speechless.

The white Persian cat had been blasted apart, scattered everywhere.

Even cleaning would be difficult.

"Just throw away everything in the living room and tidy up," Su Miao said, retrieving a brand-new set of cleaning tools from her magical space. "Look on the bright side—those mutant rats probably won't dare come again."

Xia Xiao'an blinked a few times. Su Miao was right.

Unless they left the tourist area, they could not expect a better place to live.

Besides, even if they really wanted to leave, they'd have to kill all those dangerous company thugs first.

Those people controlled the tourist area exits—taking another route would risk attacks by mutant animals, or encountering flash floods, mudslides, and other dangers.

...

Parking lot.

Chi Wan'ning sat at the center of a heap of corpses.

Xu Heng and Bai Rui entered, and upon witnessing the bloody scene, dared not utter a single breath.

Every corpse belonged to a maid who had served Chi Wan'ning daily; now, they had all been slaughtered. Judging by the state of the bodies, it was clear they had been killed by their employer, Chi Wan'ning.

For Chi Wan'ning was not human at all, and killing meant nothing to her.

"How many people do we have left?"

Chi Wan'ning's crimson gaze fixed on Xu Heng.

Xu Heng trembled and replied, "There are twenty-one left in the combat squad, fifteen guns."

Chi Wan'ning turned to Bai Rui. "What's going on with logistics?"

Bai Rui knelt directly in the pool of blood. "Boss, it was negligence on our part—we were poisoned."

Chi Wan'ning asked, "Who poisoned you?"

Bai Rui stammered, "Boss, please give me time to investigate—I will definitely find the culprit."

In truth, he wanted to say it was Lu Xuechuan and Xiong Hui who did it; after all, he had intentionally assigned them to the logistics department. If it came down to accountability, the blame would fall on him.

If the blame fell on him, it would mean death.

Thus, he could not falsely accuse the two. Yet, Bai Rui did not know whom else he could blame.

Chi Wan'ning continued, "Do you know what kind of poison they used?"

Bai Rui opened his mouth, "It was probably the toxin from a deadly mushroom—they started experiencing all kinds of hallucinations after being poisoned."

Chi Wan'ning flipped open the criminal law book in her hand. "Hmm, Bai Rui, you're clever—even this you know."

Bai Rui looked at Chi Wan'ning in confusion, searching her crimson gaze for any clues.

But he saw nothing.

Chi Wan'ning asked, "Bai Rui, do you know why I have kept you alive all this time?"

Terror appeared on Bai Rui's face. "Boss, please, don't—don't—"

"Heh."

Chi Wan'ning moved in a flash, appearing before Bai Rui, her crimson gaze spreading. "Trash. Do you really think you have a chance?"

"Ah!"

A piercing scream rang out.

Xu Heng immediately lowered his head, not daring to look at Chi Wan'ning.

No one knew how much time passed before the scream finally ceased; Bai Rui, with a bloody hole in his forehead and a blank expression, stood up.

He took a black cloak from Chi Wan'ning's hand, draped it over his shoulders, and silently left the hall of blood.

"Xu Heng, what do you think of Su Miao?" Chi Wan'ning returned to her seat, the criminal law book now closed.

Xu Heng replied, "Boss, we should try to negotiate with Su Miao, and then kill her when she lets her guard down."

Chi Wan'ning tapped her fingertips on the criminal law book. "Very well, I'll leave this matter to you."

Xu Heng hesitated, "Boss, if necessary, you may need to handle it personally."

Chi Wan'ning gave Xu Heng a meaningful look. "Fine."

They wanted her to be sniped by Su Miao?

...

Night fell.

Torrential rain poured down.

Hiding in an abandoned villa, Xiong Hui opened his eyes and nudged Lu Xuechuan. "Lu Xuechuan, wake up."

Lu Xuechuan opened his eyes. In the darkness, he could only rely on touch to know Xiong Hui was still there. "We're still alive?"

Xiong Hui replied, "Yes, we're both alive."

Listening to the rain outside, Lu Xuechuan asked, "Xiong Hui, where should we go next?"

Xiong Hui said, "Zhao Xue said troops from Dragon Nation have arrived outside the tourist area. We should go find them—let's leave now."

Lu Xuechuan felt deeply uneasy. To fumble down the mountain in the midst of a torrential storm—was he courting death?