Mutant Dogs

"Let's find somewhere to eat and rest for a bit." Bai Yaoyao had heard several people's stomachs growling.

"Yaoyao, there's a restaurant at the intersection ahead, with tables and chairs! I'll go clear it out!" A-Dai, who had spent the whole morning killing zombies without saying a word, suddenly perked up at the mention of food.

Bai Yaoyao smiled and nodded. "Go ahead. Be careful."

A-Dai activated a speed ability and dashed over. By the time Bai Yaoyao and the others arrived, all the zombies in the restaurant had been killed and thrown outside, and the tables and chairs had been wiped clean.

"A-Dai, you're awesome."

"Time to chow down!"

Once everyone had sat down in a circle, Bai Yaoyao said, "Come on, what do you want to eat? Name your dishes!"

They chatted as they ate, noticing that more people were appearing on the street outside.

Drawn by the aroma wafting from the restaurant, the people outside couldn't help looking over again and again. It smelled so damn good.

They didn't have the guts to steal any, so they could only go kill zombies instead.

They had dared to come outside for two reasons. First, Bai Yaoyao and her companions had already cleared out most of the zombies along this street. Second, seeing how easily the group chopped up zombies, as if slicing vegetables, had given them some confidence too.

The men and young people in the nearby homes ventured downstairs to gather supplies, all tacitly making sure to steer clear of Bai Yaoyao and her companions.

Bai Yaoyao was pleased with this. Although she wouldn't kill people for no reason, she really did hate trouble and wasn't particularly interested in interacting with anyone.

This suited her just fine. She could enjoy some peace and quiet.

After lunch, Bai Yaoyao divided everyone into three groups so they could collect crystal cores faster.

Apart from herself, Lulu and A-Dai were currently the strongest fighters, so each of them led a team. They agreed to regroup in three hours. Every team took signal flares, and they stayed close enough to support one another.

She had wanted Doggie to go with Lulu because Lulu's ability was still unstable, but Doggie refused to leave Bai Yaoyao no matter what. Even bones stewed in soy sauce couldn't persuade him.

"Bro Doggie, you're the strongest one here. How could we manage without you leading a team of your own? Everyone's counting on you," Bai Yaoyao coaxed.

Doggie let out a string of howls, then finally strutted off with Lulu's team...

Bai Yaoyao took Peiqi, Xiao Shiliu, and Dada Juan with her.

Together, they headed to the Convention Center in H City.

While eating, she had spotted flyers scattered on the ground and learned that the Convention Center was hosting a Luxury Car Show over the next few days. She planned to see whether there were any suitable vehicles. They currently had only seven or eight usable cars, and with so many people on her team, she worried that soon wouldn't be enough.

As soon as they reached the entrance to the Convention Center, Bai Yaoyao habitually scanned the surroundings with her psychic power. She discovered a zombie that not only moved as nimbly as a normal person but could also knock down a railing with a single kick.

It clearly wasn't a level-zero zombie. Bai Yaoyao found this strange. Too much had changed in this life. Level-one zombies weren't supposed to appear until ten days later, yet one had already shown up on the first day of the apocalypse.

Still, she didn't hesitate. She went straight at it, dodged its attack, kicked it to the ground, and brought her Baseball Bat down on its head!

A dagger was too short and made it easy to get splashed with blood, so Bai Yaoyao had been using the Baseball Bat all along. With her strength ability boosting her blows, smashing heads felt damn satisfying.

Bai Yaoyao picked up the crystal stone and examined it. Sure enough, it was a level-one crystal core. A faint sense of urgency rose within her.

"Yaoyao, why was that zombie you just killed so fancy?" Xiao Shiliu asked curiously.

"That was a level-one zombie. We need to pick up the pace!" Bai Yaoyao replied.

Dada Juan suddenly said, "Look, there's a cat over there! Holy crap, it's fast! It looks way more powerful than Bro Doggie!"

"Are we about to fight? That cat's fast. Everyone, be careful." Peiqi hurriedly drew her dagger.

A cat raced past, its fur snowy white all over, looking especially noble and elegant. It paused briefly to glance at Bai Yaoyao and the others, then turned and left.

"It depends on the mutant beast's temperament. Some won't attack humans unprovoked, so we don't need to bother that kind," Bai Yaoyao explained.

"Phew, good thing that cat's easygoing. With that speed and agility, it would've been really hard to fight." Xiao Shiliu patted their chest.

"Let's go. Time to work!"

There weren't many zombies in the Convention Center, fewer than ten in total. The other three dealt with them while Bai Yaoyao focused on collecting cars.

As long as she could find the keys, she took every vehicle regardless of model. Unfortunately, most were sports cars and business vehicles with low ground clearance. They were fine for now, but in a few days, they would no longer be able to travel the roads.

As for those without keys, she took them too, so they could be dismantled for Monkey to use as repair parts.

After collecting them all, she was just about to continue clearing the streets when she suddenly saw a distress flare rise from A-Dai's direction. Three went up in succession, signaling the highest level of danger.

Bai Yaoyao hurried over with the other three, running at full speed while using her psychic power to scout ahead.

She realized A-Dai's group seemed to be facing mutant beasts. The sensing range of her level-one psychic ability was limited, and only when she got close did she detect that they were mutant dogs!

In the early stages, mutant beasts were far stronger than humans. They were fast, had sharp reflexes, and possessed powerful bites. Facing one at the same level usually meant death or serious injury.

She had no idea how A-Dai and the others had provoked so many mutant dogs. The moment Bai Yaoyao's group of four arrived, they joined the fight.

Bai Yaoyao faced a black-backed dog and didn't dare let her guard down. She wasn't a level-nine ability user now. She had none of her spatial attacks, only her strength and combat instincts.

She had expected the fight to be somewhat difficult, but to her surprise, she anticipated the mutant dog's next move several times.

I... actually predicted a dog's movements!

When the mutant dog lunged again, Bai Yaoyao kicked it flying, rushed after it, and drove her dagger into its throat, killing it with a single stab.

Without wasting a second, she hurried to take over the mutant dog Keke was fighting. She had already caught a glimpse of Keke nearly reaching the breaking point.

Just as she engaged it, Lulu's team arrived too. Bai Yaoyao let out a deep breath.

"Awoo, awoo! Woof, woof! Awoooo, awoooo! Woof, woof, woof! Awoooo!"

Doggie ran over and barked several times. All the mutant dogs instantly stopped moving.

Everyone was stunned. Bro Doggie was freaking amazing! Had he become the mutant dogs' leader?!!

Doggie tossed his head proudly!

Except...