Want to talk?

White Cat instantly bristled. A cat could be killed, but never humiliated!

Damn it, I'll kill you!

As though White Cat had lost all reason, the cat ignored Bai Yaoyao and swiped at Doggie. Doggie barely dodged, his face full of disbelief and hurt.

You hit me! You actually hit me!

Every hair on White Cat's body stood on end. Having missed the first strike, the cat pounced again!

"Woof, woof, awoo, whine, woof, woof!"

"Meow!"

"Woof, awoo, whine, woof, woof!"

"Meow!"

One beast ran while the other chased. Bai Yaoyao stood frozen where she was, utterly ignored.

"Sister Yao, don't feel bad. Doggie is a Husky, after all. For him to... behave like this today, uh... that's already pretty good."

Peiqi had raised Doggie for a few months, after all, and couldn't help coming over to soothe her. Sister Yao cared so much about her pride that Peiqi worried she might get upset and throw Doggie out.

Bai Yaoyao took a deep breath, glanced at the cat and dog still chasing each other, and said, "Leave those two alone for now. Let's make a round and clear out the zombies first."

Peiqi nodded. "Okay, as long as you don't throw Doggie out."

Bai Yaoyao: ಥ_ಥ He saved my life. I couldn't throw him out.

"Seriously? There are only this many zombies?" Xiaomi complained.

There were only six zombies in the entire villa complex, all level one or level two. There were plenty of zombie corpses, but their crystal cores had already been dug out.

"White Cat probably killed them all," Bai Yaoyao guessed. The cat seemed to be guarding this villa complex.

They started knocking on doors from the first villa. Bai Yaoyao didn't want to use her psychic detection again unless necessary. Today would be a drawn-out battle, and she had no idea how late they'd be working, so she wanted to conserve some power.

"Who... who's there?" a man's voice called from inside the villa.

"Official rescue is here. Pack your things and come out. We'll take you to the Safe Zone!" Bai Yaoyao said succinctly.

The door opened a crack. Only after seeing that everyone outside wore matching uniforms and had no intention of barging in did the man relax.

He hurriedly said, "Is it just you few? Do you have any food? Give me some first. My parents and I haven't eaten in days!"

"No. Come out and assemble. We won't wait if you're late."

With that, Bai Yaoyao moved on. Lulu and Xiao Shiliu stayed behind to wait for the people in each house to come out.

Perhaps because White Cat was around and the households had fairly large food supplies, almost every home in the villa complex had survivors. Apart from a few people who had turned into zombies, the survival rate was quite high.

When they reached the last villa, White Cat suddenly rushed over, abandoning Doggie, and blocked the doorway without giving an inch.

Bai Yaoyao more or less understood what was going on. Since both sides were wary of each other's strength, why not... talk?

"Um... hello!" Bai Yaoyao said, taking a step back.

She could clearly sense White Cat relaxing a little.

"Meow."

"You don't want us to go inside, right?"

"Meow."

"Are there any humans still alive inside?"

"Meow."

Bai Yaoyao probed with her psychic power. There were indeed no signs of any living humans, but a strong energy signature came from a corner on the villa's second floor. Could those be... zombie crystal cores?

Although Bai Yaoyao coveted them, she wasn't about to rob a cat.

After hesitating, she said, "We won't go inside, and we'll leave right away. But I'm taking the people outside with me."

"Meow." White Cat agreed and took a step back. For the moment, they had reached a truce.

"Let's go," Bai Yaoyao told the other members of Dark Night.

"Okay. Best not to fight. This cat is pretty freaky-way too fast," Fat Brother agreed.

Just as everyone was about to turn and leave, Doggie refused to go! He howled and bounced around, clamping onto Bai Yaoyao's trouser leg and refusing to let go.

"What exactly do you want?!" Bai Yaoyao asked through gritted teeth.

"Woof, woof, woof, awoo!"

(I want the kitty!)

"Like hell you do. We're leaving!" Bai Yaoyao scooped Doggie up and tucked him under her arm.

Then... then came a shriek like a pig being slaughtered.

Bai Yaoyao glared furiously at Doggie, only to find him looking up at her with tear-filled eyes. Suddenly, she remembered how, in her previous life, Doggie had taken that swipe from a zombie in her place.

Before he died, his eyes had looked just like this, filled with tears and reluctance to leave her.

For a moment, Bai Yaoyao was dazed.

"Fat Brother, did Sister Yao get so mad she cried?"

"Surely not?"

Bai Yaoyao took a deep breath, put Doggie down, and returned to White Cat. "Would you be willing to leave with us? From now on, as long as I, Bai Yaoyao, have food to eat, so will you. I promise I'll treat you sincerely!

"This place isn't safe. No matter how strong you are, you can't fight that many zombies. All the humans are about to evacuate. Once they're gone, you mutant beasts will become the zombies' targets.

"Come with me, and I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."

Bai Yaoyao spoke earnestly to White Cat.

Since Doggie liked the cat, she would try to win the cat over. If she couldn't... she'd knock Doggie out and take him away.

White Cat froze completely. This woman said she wanted to take the cat away! She even said she'd provide food! And that she'd do everything she could to offer protection!

Am I going to have a home?

The girl in the villa fed me for a week. I wanted to protect her, but somehow, she still died...

For a moment, White Cat hesitated, unsure what to do.

Seeing a chance, Bai Yaoyao hurriedly said, "Your owner is inside the villa, right? According to our human customs, the dead should be cremated and then laid to rest. I'll help bury your owner, and you'll leave with me. How does that sound?"

White Cat was tempted. After much hesitation, the cat finally meowed and stepped aside.

Bai Yaoyao turned and said, "Wait here for me."

Bai Yaoyao followed White Cat into the villa. A girl lay beside the sofa, with pills scattered all over the floor. A glance at the box revealed they were fast-acting heart pills.

Bai Yaoyao took a tarp out of her space, wrapped the girl in it, and carried her to the small garden by the entrance.

Bai Yaoyao said, "Dada Juan, light a fire. Fat Brother, dig a grave."

"Okay!"

Once they had buried the girl, White Cat obediently stayed beside Bai Yaoyao. Seeing Doggie behind them with a lovestruck expression, Bai Yaoyao couldn't help pressing a hand to her forehead and sighing.

White Cat led Bai Yaoyao to the villa's second floor and pointed at the pile of crystal cores, indicating that she should put them away.

Bai Yaoyao couldn't help swallowing. She'd seen plenty of impressive things before, but getting several hundred crystal cores all at once still made her giddy.

There were even three or four level-three crystal cores!

This adorable little kitty looked much more reliable than Doggie.

Bai Yaoyao's gaze involuntarily softened as she looked at the kitty.

"How about I give you a name?"

"Meow."

"You're petite and snowy white all over, so let's call you, uh... Big Meow. It suits you, rolls off the tongue, and sounds nice!" Bai Yaoyao had meant to say Little White, but suddenly remembered that her master had called her Little White when she was young.

Big Meow: ???