Mutated Cat

These cages were ordinary stainless-steel cages, and inside them were scattered, with two or three in each, nothing but shriveled corpses.

Under the high temperature, the corpses had quickly rotted. Then insects had eaten away the flesh, leaving only dried skin and fur wrapped around the bones.

It was easy to tell that these dried corpses all belonged to felines.

The cage at the very edge held the corpse of a medium-sized dog.

It had long black fur, and it was impossible to tell what breed it had been. It might have been a husky, a sheepdog, or something similar.

She had initially thought the place belonged to two people who raised cats. They should have been cat lovers. But after taking a closer look at the corpses, she discovered that almost all of them were missing parts.

Although the corpses had deformed to some extent from rotting and drying out, it was obvious that they were incomplete.

The gaps between the bars were too narrow for a zombie's hand to reach through, and the cages had been locked from the outside. They had never been opened.

That proved the corpses had not been damaged by zombies.

Some of the corpses had been pierced through the head by steel bars. Some were missing an arm, while others had lost a leg.

The worst was a cat in the corner. Its corpse had clearly been skinned.

And right outside the cat cages was a pile of foul-smelling fur and hides.

In the corner, Jiang You also found a tripod for filming and a prepared platform. The platform was covered in blackened bloodstains. It looked like they had been there for more than a day or two.

Jiang You seemed to have thought of something, and her expression darkened.

The bloodstains on the platform, along with a pile of coarse, rusted tools, clearly were not for treating animals.

For some reason, Jiang You thought of her experiences in the laboratory.

She could even see the scene from back then in her mind, just like herself on the operating table.

They were all livestock at the mercy of others.

"Clatter~"

Just then, she heard the sound of chains being dragged again.

She turned toward the sound. In the dark shadows beneath the concrete platform, the chain jingled softly. A tabby cat emerged from a crack in the darkness.

Jiang You had seen countless terrifying gazes before, but they had all been on people. Especially in the Forbidden Tower, such gazes were countless.

A beast's gaze might be fierce, but it would not possess that sinister quality unique to humans.

Yet now, Jiang You was seeing that kind of gaze in a cat for the first time.

It was as if a psychopathic murderer were staring straight at her. Its eyes held not only savagery, but madness and an inexplicable, eerie menace.

The tabby was somewhat larger than an ordinary tabby, but it was very thin. The shape of its skeleton was clearly visible beneath its fur.

It glared viciously at the human who had invaded its territory, its eyes filled with a dark, sinister complexity.

It hated every human who approached it without exception.

A thumb-thick iron chain was fastened around the tabby's neck. Whenever it moved, the chain clattered.

Although it felt strange to describe a cat as savage,

for some reason, Jiang You thought of that word the instant she saw it.

Its body was covered in all kinds of wounds. In some places, the wounds even exposed the bone, clearly inflicted by zombie claws.

Much of its fur had fallen out. Although it was so thin that it was little more than skin and bones, with a fierce glint in its eyes, it was obvious at a glance that it was not to be trifled with.

"Meow!"

The cat's fur stood on end. Its body arched as it lunged fiercely at Jiang You, only to be restrained by the chain and crash heavily to the ground.

Even so, it continued glaring at Jiang You viciously, as though she would be torn to pieces if she took even one more step forward.

Only then did Jiang You notice the blood around the cat's mouth. On the ground beside it were also several pieces of blackened minced meat marked with bite wounds.

Her pupils contracted, and her previously relaxed expression suddenly turned serious.

As if she had remembered something, she turned and strode over to the corpses of the two zombies.

She had initially thought the claw marks on the zombies' clothes had been caused by them scratching each other. But now, that no longer seemed likely.

Jiang You carefully examined the claw wounds on the two corpses and found that they were thin, with every three or four wounds clustered closely together.

They did not look like wounds caused by zombies. They looked more like cat scratches.

She examined the two zombies' bodies again and, sure enough, found wounds where chunks of muscle were missing from both of them. Linking that with the bluish-black pieces of flesh beside the tabby, she quickly understood where the missing meat had gone.

The cat had eaten zombie flesh!

The two zombies must have wanted to eat the cat, only to have chunks of flesh bitten off by it again and again.

After all, the wounds on their bodies clearly could not have been caused in just one or two attacks.

That cat had actually eaten zombie flesh.

While restrained by an iron chain and attacked by two zombies, it had not only avoided becoming food itself but had also managed to bite pieces of flesh from the zombies.

That combat power was anything but ordinary.

Jiang You walked back to the tabby and stared straight into its eyes.

Although its body was rough and ragged, its eyes were as clear and translucent as the finest jade.

This cat had not undergone zombification!

It might be a mutated cat. But even for a mutated cat, this level of combat power was formidable.

It had to be known that, in the early stages, mutated animals were only somewhat stronger than normal animals in strength and speed. There was no qualitative change.

Moreover, when mutated animals ate zombie flesh, they were usually infected by the zombie virus and directly zombified.

Yet this cat had not.

It was... very special.

Whether animal or human, anyone infected by the zombie virus would develop symptoms within an hour or two at most.

But this tabby was clearly rational.

She tentatively extended a hand. The tabby immediately bared its teeth and lunged, looking as though it would rather die together with her than let itself be bullied.

"Oh~ You're a feisty little one."

Jiang You watched the fierce tabby with great interest. She liked fierce little animals.

After all, before sharp claws, cuteness was utterly useless.

"Little one, want to come with me?"

"Meow!" The tabby was extremely fierce.

"Ten cat treats a day."

"Meow!"

"Three meals of canned food a day."

"Meow!"

"Eat all the chicken, duck, and fish you want."

"Meow!"

Stupid human, what makes you think you can trick me with those conditions?!

I'm not falling for it!

The cat went berserk again, hurling itself forward repeatedly as the iron chain clattered wildly and fur flew everywhere.

Its sharp claws danced so quickly in the sunlight that they nearly blurred into afterimages.