Chapter 70: After Slaying the Female, the Male Arrives

Su Miao gazed out the window. On the mountain, not only were members of the security team fleeing, but many disaster victims were also running for their lives. Looking farther out, Su Miao spotted a lynx, two to three meters tall, leaping lightly and pinning a person to the ground. The blow seemed gentle to the lynx, yet the victim’s bones must have shattered under its paw.

After felling its prey, the lynx pawed a few more times at the body. Seeing that its quarry no longer tried to escape, it lost interest and moved on to chase the next victim. In the blink of an eye, five or six people were taken down, never to rise again.

Some, witnessing their loved ones fall, courageously charged at the lynx with machetes, hoping to drive it away. But the lynx merely looked at one such man, then swatted him into the air. The man crashed into a pine tree, blood splattering, his body sliding down like a heap of flesh—clearly beyond saving. More terrifying still, the struck pine tree shook violently, showing signs of splitting; it had nearly been snapped in half.

Su Miao blinked several times, set aside her AK47, and switched to the sniper rifle. Given the lynx’s massive size, she feared the AK47 might not penetrate its defenses, which would be far too dangerous.

As for any thoughts of rescue, Su Miao had none. The moment she parted the curtains, she had sensed the lynx’s intense malice aimed directly at her.

“Sister, that lynx is male. The Persian cat you killed yesterday was female. He’s coming for you,” Xia Xiao’an whispered, trembling.

So, after the female was killed, the male came? If her university biology classes hadn’t failed her, Su Miao recalled that Persian cats and lynxes were theoretically separate species, reproductively isolated. Could it be that, after mutation, those boundaries had vanished?

Su Miao’s expression grew strange. Also, since when could Xia Xiao’an understand the thoughts of animals? Remarkable!

She pushed aside her jumbled thoughts and locked onto the distant lynx. The creature seemed to sense danger, immediately altering its course, and Su Miao didn’t even pull the trigger. The scene resembled the way Chi Wannin from the company had dodged her sniper fire.

She tried several more times. Each time, she targeted the lynx and halted just as she was about to fire. Though she hadn’t attacked directly, the lynx always managed to evade, as if guided by an invisible hand manipulating its every move.

…

“Captain Chang, what’s going on with that lynx?” Old Song, running for his life ahead, noticed the lynx’s strange evasive maneuvers on the mountain. It no longer hunted the fleeing people.

“Don’t worry about that! Run for your life!” Chang Jieming replied.

He had faced too many dangers lately and had developed a professional’s confidence in escape. Suddenly, inspiration struck. “We’re near Villa 36. Su Miao must be taking action.”

“Wait, what if Su Miao thinks we led the monster here and decides to kill us all?”

It was a real possibility. With that, Chang Jieming urged his security team to run even faster, deliberately skirting Villa 36 to avoid further misunderstandings.

Seeing the security team’s desperate flight, the other disaster victims seemed to recall something. Their faces went deathly pale. Compared to the lynx behind them, the murderous witch living in Villa 36 was far more terrifying.

…

Su Miao, still aiming at the lynx, noticed the security team and refugees changing direction. In truth, she hadn’t paid attention to them from the start—there were simply too many people fleeing down from the mountain. She hadn’t expected so many to try escaping from the tourist area to the hills.

If there was any explanation, it was that the lynx had deliberately driven them all this way. Otherwise, why would everyone be heading in this direction?

Clearly, the lynx was even more intelligent than she had anticipated.

Bang!

Su Miao fired.

Anticipating the lynx’s evasions, she aimed slightly off. Originally, she intended for the bullet to pierce the lynx’s left eye, but at the last second, its movement redirected the shot, and the bullet struck its right hind leg instead.

The lynx howled in agony and, abandoning any approach to the villa, turned and fled.

Su Miao watched the direction in which it disappeared, afraid. Only two bullets remained for her sniper rifle.

She wanted to save those for the company boss, the ringleader of the parking lot thugs.

“Sister, it’s running away,” Xia Xiao’an said.

Su Miao, clutching her sniper rifle, shivered. “Yes, it’s all right. I laced the bullets with poison.”

She couldn’t understand how she’d managed to stay so calm just now. Looking back, the thought of a lynx, two or three meters tall, charging up to the villa was terrifying. She could only hope the deadly hallucinogen she’d coated the bullet with would take effect. Otherwise, peaceful sleep would be even harder to come by.

…

Xu Heng walked into the parking garage lobby.

The corpses had already been cleared away; the place looked clean, but the heavy stench of blood still lingered. Chi Wannin sat in a chair. “Something happened over there?”

Xu Heng replied, “Yes. We just received word—a mutant lynx appeared near Villa 36…”

He recounted the details.

Chi Wannin tapped her finger on the Criminal Law, frowning slightly. She’d long been aware of the existence of mutant animals. That was why, during the migration to the tourist area, she had tried to domesticate some, but all experiments had failed. Whenever these creatures saw her, they couldn’t resist the urge to tear her apart.

Even so, she’d brought her people here, determined to continue her experiments. Imagine—a vast army of mutated beasts in this apocalyptic world; where could she not go?

“And persuading Su Miao?”

“We’re working on it,” Xu Heng replied. “I believe there will be progress soon.”

Chi Wannin nodded, her fingertip brushing over the Criminal Law as if about to turn a page, but then she paused. “Xu Heng, how long have you been mutated?”

Xu Heng’s pupils contracted violently. He thought he’d hidden it well, but the boss had still seen through him. He hesitated.

“You don’t need to answer. Keep your abilities concealed,” Chi Wannin said. “After all, that’s why you’ve survived this long. Xu Heng, don’t disappoint me.”

Xu Heng replied quickly, “Boss, I am loyal to the company!”

Chi Wannin gave a cold laugh. “Get out.”

Loyal to the company? What a joke.

But this Su Miao—she was becoming more interesting by the day.

Once Xu Heng left, Chi Wannin took out a mirror. Her eyes in the reflection were still a deep, bloody red.

“My eyes, so beautiful!” she murmured in admiration—only to suddenly cough up a mouthful of black, fetid blood, her face twisting in hideous, agonizing pain.

“Murderous witch, Su Miao, my patience is wearing thin…”