Mutated Cat

Mutant Cat

More than sixty zombies lay dead in the stairwell, sprawled in every direction. Severed limbs and bloody chunks of flesh had piled into a small mountain of corpses, a horrific sight. The air was thick with a stench of blood strong enough to make one faint. Most of the zombies had been blown apart by high-explosive grenades, and the walls were splattered with flesh and blood. They had died horribly.

However, without the grenades, Mu Xiao would not have been able to clear out most of the zombies so quickly.

"What now? Without corpse-dissolving fluid, these bodies will eventually attract other zombies. What if a zombie comes and devours all these corpses, evolving into a mutant? That would be troublesome." Mu Xiao looked at the corpses covering the floor, finding himself in a dilemma.

In the later stages of the evolutionary era, he would only need to find a gathering place for new humans and buy a bottle of ordinary corpse-dissolving fluid. He could dissolve the bodies directly and avoid the trouble of attracting monsters.

However, corpse-dissolving fluid was simple to make only in the later world. At this early stage, there was no mutated plant material needed for it, so Mu Xiao could not produce it under his current circumstances.

Mu Xiao could not worry about that for now. He began collecting the blood beads from the zombies one by one. There were simply too many bodies, and some had been blown into mangled pulp by the grenades, making soybean-sized blood beads difficult to find. But that did not stump Mu Xiao. He directly used his mental power to scan the corpses on the ground, then used telekinesis to extract the blood beads whenever he found them.

Telekinesis could manipulate objects. Simply extracting blood beads did not consume much of Mu Xiao's stamina.

As Mu Xiao walked through the piles of corpses in the stairwell, blood beads sprang from the flesh one after another, densely floating in the air.

Ability users of the mental type were well suited for cleaning up battlefields. They would not miss a single treasure.

With telekinesis added to the mix, sweeping up loot became even faster.

Mu Xiao collected more than two hundred blood beads in total. Most were inferior brown blood beads. There were more than fifty ordinary vermilion blood beads, only a little over twenty high-quality dark red blood beads, and not a single precious purplish-red blood bead.

Aside from the blood beads, Mu Xiao's evolution had risen to fifteen gene resonances. His overall physical strength had grown several degrees stronger, while his mental power and telekinesis had also improved slightly.

The number of gene resonances represented one's overall physical quality. Usually, once a new human's evolution reached one resonance, their physique would automatically be optimized into that of a new human. Bloodline genes were the foundation of evolution. As resonance continued to rise, it meant one's bloodline compatibility would improve, and the body's capacity and endurance would grow greater and stronger... perhaps even leading to eternal, deathless life!

Of course, absorbing ability sources to strengthen one's physique could enhance the body in advance, making one far stronger in combat than others at the same level.

Mu Xiao absorbed the pure source as well, investing it all into his physique. He wanted to break through to an SSS-class physique as soon as possible and obtain the true physique of a new human.

This time, he had not obtained any "ability sources" to convert into his experience points. Although several zombies had been level ten, they had evidently not evolved any worthwhile abilities. At most, they were somewhat stronger than lower-level zombies, which was why they had yielded a few high-quality blood beads.

"These corpses can only be left alone for now. At most, I can close off the entrances to this stairwell later. That should reduce the chances of other zombies getting in." Mu Xiao did not have time to carry the corpses out one by one. He planned to bring some supplies next time and clear away the layers of piled-up bodies.

Stepping over the bizarrely shaped black corpses scattered across the floor, Mu Xiao entered the corner of the fourth floor and found the hidden room on that level. Dark red, nearly black bloodstains remained inside, but there were no zombies.

Perhaps there had once been zombies inside, but they had likely been drawn out earlier by the scent of their own kind's corpses and become some of Mu Xiao's targets.

The hidden room on the fourth floor should have been a guards' break room. It contained only everyday supplies, with no weapons in sight. When the virus outbreak began, most of the guards had probably grabbed their weapons and rushed out to support their companions. As a result, Mu Xiao found nothing valuable. Still, there was plenty of high-calorie food, along with five or six ordinary nutrient solutions. Mu Xiao took everything without hesitation and stuffed it into his backpack.

Seeing that there was nothing else to gain, Mu Xiao left the room and headed down to the hidden room on the third floor. But it was another break room, and he found the same things: food and nutrient solutions.

Mu Xiao found a second backpack and put the food that would not fit into the first one inside. Food was always a necessary consumable, especially at a time like this. Every scrap of food was an extremely important resource, even more precious than gold. Naturally, Mu Xiao would not pass up any of it.

A nearly inaudible sound suddenly came from the stairwell. With the surroundings so quiet, Mu Xiao immediately heard something approaching, while his conscious mental sense also faintly detected something unusual. He quickly set down his backpack, gripped his military knife, and silently concealed himself. At the same time, he released his mental power and rapidly extended it outward to probe what was in the stairwell.

"A cat?"

The information relayed through Mu Xiao's scan revealed an animal with black-and-white fur, shaped somewhat like a small cheetah but resembling a house cat. It was several times larger than an ordinary cat, and its pupils were dark red, glinting from time to time with cold-blooded vigilance. Its entire body radiated an eerie aura.

The next moment, Mu Xiao confirmed that it was a mutant cat.

After animals mutated, the savage and violent instincts buried deep within their genes and bloodlines were completely unleashed. Formerly tame pets became ferocious mutant monsters. Moreover, the more vicious an animal's nature had been, the more terrifying its combat power became after mutation. Carnivores such as lions and tigers were no less dangerous than mutants, perhaps even more so.

However, mutant monsters generally only preyed on fresh flesh. They rarely took the initiative to hunt zombies with their inferior flesh, much less showed any interest in them.

Therefore, this mutant cat had likely caught the lingering scent of a living human during Mu Xiao's battle and quietly slipped into the stairwell.

"There must have been someone keeping a cat in the law firm before. Otherwise, how could a cat have mutated here? And it seems this mutant cat has eaten quite a bit of human flesh..." Mu Xiao thought to himself.

He sensed that this mutant cat was at the same fifteen gene resonances as him, but it was definitely several times stronger than a zombie of the same level.

"Mutant beast meat is highly nourishing. I can't let this chance slip away." Mu Xiao licked his lips, lightened his footsteps, and released a trace of his living-human scent to lure the mutant cat into a sneak attack before counterattacking to kill it.

Sure enough, a vicious gleam flashed through the mutant cat's eyes, and it soon pinpointed Mu Xiao's location. But unlike a zombie, it did not charge in with overwhelming force. Instead, like a cunning hunter, it first locked onto its prey, observed for a while, then slowly approached in search of an opportunity to ambush him.

Mu Xiao realized that he did not seem to have any spare weapons. Fighting with only a military knife would be difficult, and the mutant cat's claws were certainly not much less sharp than his blade. Perhaps only their hardness differed.

The mutant cat's body was extremely flexible, and its muscles were compact. It would not be as easy to pierce as a zombie.

If Mu Xiao's military knife could activate its energy, it would definitely be a deadly weapon, more than capable of easily killing this mutant cat. Unfortunately, he had not yet acquired the abilities "Mechanical Mastery" or "Weapon Mastery," meaning he could not activate the knife's full functions.

"I can only end this quickly." With a thought, Mu Xiao decided not to fight the mutant cat head-on. Otherwise, he might suffer considerable injuries himself. He still had to return to his residence later, and he did not know what dangers awaited him on the way. He needed to eliminate this trouble at the lowest possible cost.

The mutant cat approached the room step by step. Mu Xiao had already moved beside the wall near the doorway, waiting for the right moment.

The instant the mutant cat was about to enter the room, Mu Xiao unleashed his telekinesis. Like a pair of invisible giant hands, it enveloped the mutant cat's head. Telekinetic force no weaker than physical strength tightly gripped the cat's skull and violently dragged it into the room. At the same time, Mu Xiao pushed off the ground, his speed reaching its peak as his knife shot out like lightning and thunder toward the mutant cat's abdomen.

It looked as though the mutant cat had suddenly been flung into the air, exposing its vulnerable belly as it slammed fiercely onto the sharp blade.

"Hiss!"

The mutant cat let out a shrill, vicious screech. Its muscles convulsed as it exploded with strength, nearly breaking free from Mu Xiao's telekinetic control. Yet amid its violent struggle, Mu Xiao's blade shifted slightly and only pierced into the mutant cat's ribs, where its resilient muscles clamped down on the blade and prevented it from going any deeper.

"Idiot! Did you think I only had the strength for one strike?!" Mu Xiao shouted angrily. He viciously pulled out the bloodied military knife, preparing to thrust it straight in for the finishing blow. But in that instant, the mutant cat's muscles swelled, and its struggling strength more than doubled. It was no longer something Mu Xiao's telekinesis could keep under control.

Mu Xiao increased his telekinetic output and smashed the mutant cat brutally into the ground with crushing force. Wind whistled from his leg as he delivered a heavy kick to the mutant cat, which had bounced up like a ball.

Bang!

With the force of that heavy kick, the mutant cat streaked through the air trailing blood, flying away like a kite with its string cut.

The mutant cat flipped and sprang with lightning agility, landing steadily on the ground. It opened its mouth full of needle-like teeth and released a hoarse, cracking cry of pain and resentment. Its blood-red eyes were chillingly cold, and its claws gleamed like steel blades, ready to unleash a desperate, fatal attack at any moment.

Mu Xiao watched the mutant cat calmly, ready to defend against a sudden assault. Suddenly, the mutant cat's body doubled in size, muscles bulging across it like small hills. It no longer resembled a cat at all, but a small, wild and ferocious monster.

The mutated cat tensed its muscles, and the wound on its abdomen quickly stopped bleeding. Clearly, its muscles possessed tremendous resilience.

Psychic power surrounded Mu Xiao. The moment the mutated cat attacked, it would be enveloped like a great net.

Yet unexpectedly, the mutated cat did not launch an attack. Instead, it swiftly turned and fled, clearly knowing it was no match for Mu Xiao.

"Trying to run!" How could Mu Xiao let the mutated cat go? Mutated monsters were extremely vengeful. If he did not get rid of it now, it would linger nearby like a ghost, waiting for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack. In the past, it would have been manageable. As long as he entered a city district protected by powerful people, found someone cultivating secret soul arts to conceal his aura, and stayed in the city for a while, there would not be much danger. But this was only the beginning of evolution. No powerful figures had yet established factions, nor had anyone cultivated secret arts capable of concealing bodily auras.

That left only one path: he had to kill the mutated monster.

Mu Xiao's psychic power surged like a torrent and slammed into the doorway. The mutated cat seemed to crash into an invisible wall. At this moment, Mu Xiao no longer held back his psychic power. It erupted in full force like a whirlwind, and an invisible strand of psychic power, like the tip of an invisible blade, twisted into the mutated cat's previous wound and viciously tore it open.

Mu Xiao could only control one strand of psychic power at maximum intensity. If he could control several powerful strands, he could have torn the mutated cat in half in a single exchange.

At that moment, he used one strand of psychic power to restrain the mutated cat's counterattacks. Whenever it pounced at him, his psychic power transformed into an invisible force and sent it flying like a massive hammer.

Psychic power could not only attack, but also defend. As long as one's psychic power was strong enough, enemies would not even be able to approach, and could be tortured to death from afar. But Mu Xiao did not yet possess such strength. He could only coordinate his psychic attacks, stabbing the mutated cat again and again.

With blood flowing from many wounds, the mutated cat could no longer stop the loss of blood. Moreover, Mu Xiao's psychic power was impossible to guard against, attacking through every opening. Before long, the mutated cat collapsed from excessive blood loss, too exhausted to rise again.

The instant the mutated cat died, a full, water-like mass of 'evolutionary force source' merged into Mu Xiao's body. At the same time, another source of power surfaced above the mutated cat's corpse.