Shadow Cat

Chapter 4: Shadow Cat

The Shadow Cat was here! Isn't this just a cat? How is its nose as sharp as a dog's?

Wang Ji held his breath, slowly gathering his strength.

The moment a black shadow darted out from the corner, Wang Ji thrust his combat knife forward with all his might!

The corner of this corridor was already cramped, and Wang Ji struck right at the center. With the element of surprise on his side, the Shadow Cat had nowhere to dodge!

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

A flash of claws swept past, and "Squelch!" Wang Ji felt as if he had been struck by a heavy blow, his body crashing backward into the basement.

Wang Ji gripped his combat knife, trembling as he propped himself up. Three gruesome wounds ran parallel across his chest, five centimeters deep and over a foot long!

The pain was so intense that Wang Ji could barely stand, but some unknown surge of ruthlessness drove him to force himself back onto his feet.

The Shadow Cat curled up, hissing viciously at Wang Ji. The beast was even more severely wounded! The combat knife had pierced through the Shadow Cat's abdomen—a completely fatal injury!

Wang Ji slowly shuffled toward the Shadow Cat. Suddenly, the beast exhausted its remaining strength in a death-defying pounce! Wang Ji struggled to block with his combat knife, but a sudden, violent pain in his chest and abdomen made him too slow to dodge, and he was knocked backward by the cat's impact.

Fortunately, the Shadow Cat's forced exertion only worsened its own injuries, and it curled up on the ground once more.

Wang Ji rose again and approached. "Squelch!"

A slash!

The Shadow Cat moved sluggishly, but another wound was carved into its body!

Slash!

Slash again!

Wang Ji lost count of how many times he had struck the Shadow Cat, but he felt as though his own blood was nearly drained. Dizziness washed over him in waves, yet he persisted in hacking away.

The Shadow Cat's dodges grew slower and slower until it stopped moving altogether. After the final few strikes, the Shadow Cat was reduced to a pile of mangled flesh.

Wang Ji swayed, then collapsed.

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

What a brutal battle! After all, the gap in strength and speed was too vast, and he hadn't even been wearing protective gear. Fortunately, the Shadow Cat had died by his hand.

Wang Ji focused his mind.

Name: Wang Ji
Age: 17
Strength: 590kg
Speed: 18m/s
Nerve Reaction: Primary Warrior - Unqualified
Essence Source: 2 points

Killing two monsters had earned him 2 points of Essence Source. It seemed the subsequent yield of Essence Source could double!

Use!

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

Awesome! Just a few dozen more kilograms of punch force and he would reach the rank of Advanced Trainee! Finally, he was no longer a weakling!

A punch force of 300kg was the threshold for a Primary Trainee, 500kg for an Intermediate Trainee, and 700kg for an Advanced Trainee. It seemed Wang Ji was very close to becoming an Advanced Trainee! One had to realize that in all of Yi'an No. 3 High School, there were only three Advanced Trainees!

In this world of Swallowed Star, after people were infected by the RR Virus, their general physical constitution increased significantly. Even without training, an average adult could easily exceed 400kg of punch force, reaching the threshold of a Primary Trainee. However, in this world, who could resist the pleasure of physical improvement and not train? Everyone yearned to become a Warrior!

Before the age of 16, high-intensity, crushing training was not recommended, as the focus was primarily on development. Therefore, high school was the period of rapid growth for teenagers. Most high school students could increase their punch force from three or four hundred to five or six hundred kilograms within two or three years, quickly becoming Intermediate Trainees. A rare few with exceptional constitutions and rigorous training could exceed 700kg by their senior year, reaching the rank of Advanced Trainee. However, such geniuses were few and far between—people like Luo Feng and Zhang Haobai.

"At this rate, I can earn 6 points of Essence Source a day! Five days! In just five days, I can become a prospective Warrior!"

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

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

"Huh? That fat guy isn't here?" Wang Ji asked Uncle Yan quietly. The fat supervisor was surprisingly absent from the management office at the workshop entrance today.

Uncle Yan curled his lip. "Someone invited him out for drinks. That fat pig probably went to socialize."

"Oh!" Wang Ji didn't care. He went about his sorting and categorizing with practiced ease. Although he would soon become a prospective Warrior, Wang Ji possessed the composure of a man in his thirties and continued his old life steadily. The impetuous nature of his youth had long been smoothed away in his previous life.

Near the end of his shift, the fat man finally returned. As soon as he arrived, he waddled over to Wang Ji, swaying unsteadily. Wang Ji felt deeply impatient but merely pretended to continue sorting diligently.

"Wa... Wang Ji! You don't need to come tomorrow!" the fat man slurred, speaking with an arrogant, overbearing air.

"Oh?" Wang Ji looked up at the fat man with a calm expression.

The fat man was infuriated by Wang Ji's composure and the disdain in his eyes. He had expected Wang Ji to grovel and beg, only for him to kick the boy out like trash—that would have displayed his authority. He hadn't expected to see a gaze of calm contempt!

How dare he!

The fat man slammed his hand onto the workbench beside the conveyor belt. "Bang!"

"I said! You! Don't need to come tomorrow! You're fired!" The fat man glared at Wang Ji with bloodshot, bull-like eyes.

"Sigh... sigh! Supervisor, Little Ji has been working diligently and conscientiously for over half a year here!" Uncle Yan pleaded, bowing his head. "He hasn't made any mistakes!"

"Heh! I'm the supervisor, so I have the final say! If you've got the guts, go find the boss and see whether my brother-in-law listens to you or me!" the fat man roared, glaring fiercely at Uncle Yan.

Wang Ji thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is this because of Liu Biao? Is Liu Biao taking you out for drinks tonight? Or is it one of Liu Biao's lackeys?"

The fat man was startled. "How did you... Heh! Kid, you've got some wits about you! Too bad, you've offended someone you can't afford to provoke! Get lost now!"

Seeing that Uncle Yan was about to plead for him again, Wang Ji gave the fat man a look of disdain, then spoke gently to Uncle Yan, "Uncle Yan, you don't need to plead for me. As it happens, I was looking to change jobs anyway!"

Uncle Yan's lips trembled, and he finally let out a sigh. "Sigh! Little Ji! Then take care of yourself. If... if you really run into trouble, come find your Uncle Yan. I can help out a little, at least."

This promise carried a lot of weight. Among coworkers, Uncle Yan was the only one who would offer such help in a situation like this.

Wang Ji felt a warmth in his heart and bowed respectfully. "Uncle Yan, I'll keep that in mind!"

Afterward, Wang Ji said calmly, "Supervisor, then settle my wages so I can leave! Today is the 10th; that's 600 yuan for ten days of work!"

The fat man's eyes bulged like a bull's. "What wages! You were absent without leave the day before yesterday, causing huge losses to the production line; it's all been deducted! Get out of here!"

Anger rushed to Wang Ji's head, but his mature soul suppressed it. He had experienced such infuriating matters many times in his previous life. He was no longer a hot-blooded youth who would fly into a rage at the slightest provocation.

Thinking of his current situation, Wang Ji gave a fierce smile. "Fatty, I'll remember you!"

"Who are you calling fatty? Damn it, I'll beat you to death!" The fat man rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike Wang Ji.

Wang Ji gave a sharp grin, channeling all the killing intent he had gathered from hunting monsters over the past few days, and suddenly slammed his fist onto the workbench. "Bang!"

The workbench shattered into pieces!

The fat man gulped audibly.

Wang Ji pointed a finger at the fat man. "Fatty, I'll remember you!"

With that, he turned and walked out without looking back.

It might be possible to get that 600 yuan back by making a scene with a person like this, but it wasn't worth it! There would be the risk of further conflict or falling into a trap set by Liu Biao. Therefore, walking away was the most appropriate choice. Once he became a prospective martial artist, or a full martial artist, trash like this would naturally be begging on their knees to hand over the 600 yuan with both hands!