Chapter 12
The Houndour Pack's Hunt.
After hearing Lu Li's analysis, Jun Shutong shelved her plan to relocate the camp for the time being.
If that Ghost-type Pokémon really didn't kill people, being its neighbor might actually be a good thing.
Just as the two were getting engrossed in their conversation, a burst of electronic static suddenly came from Jun Shutong's walkie-talkie.
"Sister Jun, a building in the Star Sea Residential Community across the street is on fire! The flames are huge!"
Fatty Lei's panicked voice came through the walkie-talkie.
At those words, both Jun Shutong's and Lu Li's expressions darkened.
Jun Shutong worried that the fire would spread, and about the people still inside the building. Lu Li, meanwhile, had been living in the Star Sea Residential Community himself.
"Let's go take a look." Lu Li sprang to his feet.
Jun Shutong grabbed Lu Li's wrist and rushed out of the room.
The windows facing the Star Sea Residential Community were already packed with people. They didn't dare pull the curtains too far apart, so many were peering through the gaps at the blaze across the street.
"Make way, everyone! Make way!" Jun Shutong pushed through the crowd and squeezed her way to the window.
Lu Li followed close behind and reached the window as well.
When he saw which building was burning, Lu Li's pupils contracted sharply. Overwhelming terror flashed through him, followed by a rush of relief at having escaped death.
"Thank goodness I came to the mall. Thank goodness..."
Lu Li muttered under his breath.
The burning building was the very one he had lived in.
The fire had clearly spread from the middle of the building, which meant that anyone above the fifteenth floor had no chance of surviving.
The apocalypse had already arrived. Naturally, no firefighters would come to put out the blaze, nor would anyone come to the rescue.
As for those on the fifteenth floor, they might have a chance of surviving, but...
Lu Li narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the cluster of dark shapes by the building's exit. The most striking among them was an exceptionally brawny black dog with heavily muscled limbs and horns.
Houndoom, the Dark Pokémon, was Houndour's evolved form.
These Pokémon were also dominant predators in the apocalyptic world. They were omnivores, but preferred meat, usually hunting other Pokémon in packs. Humans were naturally on their menu too.
Led by their Houndoom leader, this pack of Houndour had turned the only emergency exit into a "dining table" where they could feast at will.
Lu Li even suspected that Houndoom had started the fire.
Some residents who had heard the commotion no longer cared whether it was dangerous outside. Desperate to escape the fire, they poured out through the emergency passage.
Some carried children, others supported elderly relatives, and some had only managed to put on one shoe.
They fled the building in terror, only to run straight into the Houndour waiting in ambush at the exit just as they thought they had reached temporary safety.
The scene instantly became too horrific to watch. Nearby survivors with children hurriedly covered their children's eyes, trembling uncontrollably.
Even Jun Shutong couldn't bear to watch any longer and abruptly pulled the curtains shut.
"Those vile things!" Fatty Lei ground his teeth. "That pack of black dog magical beasts definitely started the fire!"
Everyone who heard him nodded in agreement, but most felt fear more than anything else.
What if those black dog magical beasts came to the mall at night and set it on fire?
Seeing their reactions, Jun Shutong spoke up to reassure them. "Don't worry, everyone. The mall has several emergency exits. This should be those rat magical beasts' territory, and there are so many of them that the black dog magical beasts probably wouldn't dare invade the mall."
Lu Li's expression was grave. He wasn't as optimistic as Jun Shutong.
In the games, Houndour had to reach level 24 to evolve into Houndoom, while the rat magical beasts in the mall were mostly Rattata. Even if there were Raticate among them, they certainly wouldn't be as strong as Houndoom.
If that Houndour pack really set its sights on the mall, the timid Rattata might not dare fight them head-on. They might simply abandon the mall.
The phrase "as timid as a mouse" existed for a reason. Rattata were Pokémon modeled after rats, and these creatures had always been pitifully cowardly.
Houndoom, however, was a dual Dark- and Fire-type Pokémon. Its Dark type alone was enough to reveal the vicious, ruthless nature of these Pokémon.
Still, Lu Li wasn't about to jump in and contradict Jun Shutong at a time like this. He wasn't so foolish that he couldn't read the room.
The screams outside went on and on. A few brave souls occasionally approached the windows to look out, while most kept well away, clutching their children tightly and huddling into balls.
This was the enduring theme of the apocalypse.
Under the oppression of Pokémon, humanity had already fallen to the very bottom of the food chain.
After much of the crowd had dispersed, Fatty Lei said in a low voice, "I've been seeing buildings smoking a lot these past few days. Now that I think about it, those black dog magical beasts were probably responsible."
"When I was still at home, I also noticed smoke rising from lots of places in the city. I thought they were accidental fires, but now it looks like magical beasts were setting them deliberately." Lu Li shared some of what he had observed back in his rented apartment.
There was another detail he hadn't paid much attention to. He hadn't deliberately counted before, but thinking back now, Lu Li realized that whenever he looked out the window, there had always been buildings billowing thick smoke.
"These magical beasts seem pretty intelligent too. Do you think they'll discover us?" Jun Shutong was also frightened by the intelligence the Houndour had displayed.
Lu Li reassured her. "We should actually be fairly safe. At least, if I were that black dog magical beast, I'd definitely go after residential buildings with more people in them."
"And don't forget, the Aquarium is right next to us. It might usually be a ticking time bomb, but if there's a fire, those magical beasts could well be our saviors."
Lu Li paused, glanced at everyone's expressions, then continued his analysis. "Those black dog magical beasts probably hunt by roaming from place to place. Humans aren't their main food source either, so they should leave the area soon."
Seeing how convincingly Lu Li laid out his analysis, everyone gave him dubious looks.
Their eyes looked much like those of an ignorant crowd watching some phony expert.
Being stared at that way made Lu Li a little uncomfortable, but to reassure everyone, he calmly endured their scrutiny.
Seeing that Lu Li had soothed everyone's emotions, Jun Shutong gave him an appreciative look.
"Lu Li is right. We're already at the bottom of the food chain, while those black dog magical beasts are at least somewhere in the middle or near the top. We certainly won't be their primary targets." Jun Shutong seized the opportunity to reassure everyone as well.
With Lu Li and Jun Shutong backing each other up, everyone's frayed
nerves finally relaxed, freeing them from their fear of being hunted by Houndoom.
Only after Jun Shutong told everyone to go upstairs rather than gather together did she pull Lu Li into her room.
Once Lu Li sat down, Jun Shutong thanked him. "Thank you for what you did just now. I had no idea how to calm everyone down."
"I only shared my analysis. You don't think I was just saying things to reassure them, do you?" Lu Li gave Jun Shutong an odd look.
His analysis was based entirely on his knowledge of these Pokémon. Although he couldn't guarantee it was one hundred percent accurate, it was at least eighty percent reliable.