Shadow Cat

Chapter 4: Shadow Cat

The Shadow Cat was here! Wasn't it just a cat? How could its nose be as keen as a dog's?

Wang Ji held his breath and slowly gathered his strength.

The moment a black shadow darted out from around the corner, Wang Ji thrust his War Blade forward!

The corner of the passage was narrow, and Wang Ji stabbed right through the middle, catching it completely off guard. The Shadow Cat had nowhere to dodge!

"Schhk!" Foul-smelling blood splattered all over Wang Ji.

A claw flashed past. "Schhk!" Wang Ji was struck hard and fell heavily backward into the basement.

Using the War Blade to support himself, Wang Ji shakily got back to his feet. Three gruesome wounds ran parallel across his chest, five centimeters deep and more than a foot long!

The pain was so intense that Wang Ji could barely stand, but some unknown surge of determination kept him on his feet.

The Shadow Cat crouched, snarling fiercely at Wang Ji. The beast was even more badly injured! The War Blade had pierced its abdomen, a completely fatal wound!

Wang Ji slowly edged toward the Shadow Cat. Suddenly, it summoned all its strength for a desperate leap! Wang Ji struggled to raise his War Blade in front of himself, but a sudden, violent pain in his chest and abdomen left him no time to dodge. The Shadow Cat still knocked him backward to the ground.

Fortunately, forcing itself to fight had only worsened the Shadow Cat's injuries. It curled up on the ground again.

Wang Ji got up once more and approached it. "Schhk!"

He swung his blade down!

The Shadow Cat managed to shift aside, but another wound was left on its body!

Slash!

Slash again!

Wang Ji had no idea how many times he had struck the Shadow Cat, but he had nearly bled dry himself. His head swam, yet he forced himself to swing again.

The Shadow Cat grew slower and slower at dodging, until it stopped trying altogether. After the last few strikes, it was nothing but a heap of mangled flesh.

Wang Ji swayed, then crumpled to the ground.

When Wang Ji regained consciousness, he was already in his bedroom!

What a brutal fight! The gap in strength and speed had been too great, and he hadn't even worn protective gear. Still, the Shadow Cat had died at Wang Ji's hands.

Wang Ji focused his mind.

Name: Wang Ji

Age: 17

Strength: 590 kg

Speed: 18 m/s

Neural response: Failed Beginner Warrior standard

Essence Source: 2 points

He had killed two monsters and gained two points of Essence Source. It looked like he would earn double the amount of Essence Source from now on!

Use!

A wave of intense pleasure washed over him. "Strength: 610 kg. Speed: 18.3 m/s."

Amazing! He was only a few dozen kilograms of punching power away from becoming an advanced student! He was finally not a weakling anymore!

A punching force of 300 kilograms made someone a beginner student, 500 kilograms made them an intermediate student, and 700 kilograms made them an advanced student. Wang Ji was already close to becoming an advanced student! After all, Yi'an No. 3 High School had only three advanced students!

In the world of Swallowed Star, people's physical fitness had generally improved greatly after they contracted the RR Virus. Even an ordinary adult who didn't exercise could easily punch with more than 400 kilograms of force, meeting the beginner student threshold. But who in this world could resist the rush of excitement that came with becoming stronger and not exercise? Everyone dreamed of becoming a warrior!

Before turning sixteen and entering high school, it wasn't advisable to undergo intense, punishing training. The focus was mainly on growth. That was why high school was a period of rapid improvement for teenagers. In just two or three years, most high school students could increase their punching power from three or four hundred kilograms to five or six hundred, quickly becoming intermediate students. A few with especially strong physiques who trained particularly hard could exceed 700 kilograms and become advanced students by their senior year. But such prodigies were rare—people like Luo Feng and Zhang Haobai.

"At this rate, I can gain six points of Essence Source a day! Five days! I'll become a Quasi-Martial Artist in just five days!"

"I can enter once more tonight. Let's go again!"

The next afternoon, after school, Wang Ji returned to the garbage sorting plant.

"Huh! That dead fatty isn't here?" Wang Ji quietly asked Uncle Yan. The fat supervisor wasn't in the management office by the workshop entrance today.

Uncle Yan curled his lip. "Someone invited him out for drinks. That dead fatty probably went to entertain them."

"Oh!" Wang Ji didn't mind. He continued sorting and categorizing the garbage with practiced ease. Although he would soon become a Quasi-Martial Artist, he had the self-control of someone in his thirties and kept calmly living as he always had. His hotheadedness had long since been worn away in his previous life.

Just before the end of the shift, the dead fatty finally returned. He staggered over to Wang Ji as soon as he got back. Wang Ji found him incredibly annoying, but pretended to focus on sorting.

"Wang... Wang Ji! You don't have to come in tomorrow!" the dead fatty slurred, speaking with arrogant bravado.

"Oh?" Wang Ji looked up at him calmly.

Wang Ji's composure and the disdain in his eyes enraged the dead fatty. He had thought Wang Ji would grovel and beg him, and that after making him plead desperately, he could kick him out like a piece of trash to show off his authority. He hadn't expected that calm, contemptuous look!

What gave him the right?

The dead fatty slammed his hand down hard on the workbench beside the conveyor belt. "Bang!"

"I said—you! Don't come in tomorrow! You're fired!" The dead fatty glared at Wang Ji with bloodshot eyes.

"Hey... hey, Supervisor, Xiao Ji works hard and has been here for over half a year!" Uncle Yan bent forward and pleaded. "He hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Ha! I'm the supervisor, so what I say goes! If you've got a problem, go complain to the boss and see whether my brother-in-law listens to you or me!" The dead fatty glared at Uncle Yan and shouted.

Wang Ji thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is this because of Liu Biao? Did Liu Biao invite you out for drinks tonight? Or was it one of his lackeys?"

The dead fatty was startled. "How did you... Hey! You've got a bit of sense, kid! Too bad you've offended someone you can't afford to mess with! Now get lost!"

Seeing that Uncle Yan was about to plead for him again, Wang Ji gave the dead fatty a contemptuous smile, then spoke kindly to Uncle Yan. "Uncle Yan, you don't have to plead for me. As it happens, I was thinking of changing jobs anyway!"

Uncle Yan's lips trembled. In the end, he let out a sigh. "Sigh! Xiao Ji, be careful out there. If... if you ever run into trouble, come to me. Uncle Yan can help you out, at least a little."

That was a weighty promise. Among coworkers, Uncle Yan was the only one who would offer that kind of help in a situation like this.

Warmth filled Wang Ji's heart. He bowed respectfully. "Uncle Yan, I'll remember that!"

Then Wang Ji said calmly, "Supervisor, settle my pay and I'll be on my way. It's the tenth today, so that's ten days' wages—600 yuan!"

The dead fatty glared at him. "What wages? You skipped work without a reason the day before yesterday and caused huge losses to the production line. Your wages have already been docked! Now get the hell out!"

Anger surged through Wang Ji, but his mature soul suppressed it. He had been through plenty of infuriating situations like this in his previous life. He was no longer a hot-blooded young man who flew into a rage at the slightest provocation.

Thinking about his current situation, Wang Ji gave a cold laugh. "Dead fatty, I'll remember you."

"Who are you calling a dead fatty? Damn it, I'll beat the hell out of you!" The dead fatty rolled up his sleeves and prepared to hit Wang Ji.

Wang Ji gave another cold laugh. With all the killing intent he had built up over the past few days of hunting monsters, he suddenly punched the workbench. "Bang!"

The workbench shattered into pieces!

The dead fatty swallowed hard.

Wang Ji pointed at him. "Dead fatty, I'll remember you."

With that, he walked away without looking back.

It might have been possible to get those 500 yuan back by making a fuss over someone like this, but it wasn't worth it! There was also the risk of a confrontation and getting set up by Liu Biao. So walking away was the best choice. Once he became a Quasi-Martial Artist—or a warrior—trash like this would kneel and beg to hand over the 500 yuan with both hands!