Human

The Zombie Cat arched its stiff back, letting out a hoarse, murky growl.

The next instant, it pushed off the ground with all four limbs, its body suddenly leaping out, bringing a stench of decay and a chilling wind as it rushed straight at Lu Heng's face.

They are several times faster than ordinary Zombie.

But it was still not enough in the face of Lu Heng's already heightened vigilance.

Lu Heng subtly sidestepped, calmly avoiding the attack's trajectory.

Taking advantage of the moment they passed each other, the Ghost Claw he was wearing suddenly emerged from deep within, precisely targeting the Zombie Cat's back flesh and piercing it deeply.

A biting resistance came, tearing directly through the surface of the rotten fur.

A trembling sound, like a foreign object struggling, came from my palm.

"He's injured and still so cheeky."

A hint of coldness crept into Lu Heng's eyes.

That's really giving this mutated beast a hard time.

He twisted his wrist, locking the opponent's body firmly in place, not intending to give it any chance to retaliate. With his other hand, he gripped the Bronze Hunting Blade, preparing to finish it off with a single strike and end the mutated life.

Just as the blade was about to fall.

A hurried and flustered female voice suddenly came from behind.

"Wait! No!"

A strange, clear voice, heavy with panting, abruptly pierced the deathly silence of the ruins.

Lu Heng's slashing motion froze in mid-air.

His heart skipped a beat.

Depend on.

It's been too long.

It has been too long since I have heard any human sounds other than the roars of strange beasts and the sound of wind scattering rocks.

Even a brief, urgent word of dissuasion made him instinctively stop, preventing him from delivering the final blow.

After a brief moment of surprise, Lu Heng quickly regained his composure and his mindset returned to normal.

He didn't loosen his grip; his five fingers remained firmly locked around the Zombie Cat's neck.

Beneath my palm, the little creature that had been struggling frantically just moments before was now completely limp, no longer making any further thrashing.

They were completely subdued.

Lu Heng slowly turned around.

At the edge of the horizon, a slender female figure was running towards them with all her might.

He ran through ruined streets and rubble, his hair disheveled and his breath ragged.

A few seconds later, the woman rushed forward, bent over, supporting herself on her knees, panting heavily, her chest heaving violently, clearly having run quite a distance.

Lu Heng looked at her quietly.

With his spiritual perception spread out, he found that the opponent's aura was weak and the fluctuations were stable, with no hidden killing intent or signs of an ambush.

Having confirmed there was no danger, he did not raise the blade, and spoke calmly and directly.

Who are you?

It took the woman several seconds to catch her breath. She looked up cautiously at Lu Heng, whose clothes and weapons were completely unfamiliar to her, her eyes filled with a hint of hope and uncertainty.

She asked softly.

"Are you... someone sent by the Federation specifically to rescue us?"

As she finished speaking, her gaze fell on the motionless Zombie Cat under Lu Heng's palm, her tone pleading.

"Could you... let go of the little guy you're holding?"

"It was my old pet cat."

"Right when the apocalypse first arrived, it was scratched by Zombie while protecting me, which is why it completely transformed into Zombie."

"I don't know why, but ever since it became like this, it has never hurt me."

Instead, they stayed in this area, silently clearing out the wandering Zombie, and have kept me alive until now.

The woman spoke very quickly, rattling off a long list of reasons.

Lu Heng listened quietly, his heart unmoved, even somewhat irritated.

So much trivial stuff.

What's it to him?

He is not a savior, nor does he have the leisure to pity the joys and sorrows of people in the end times.

But then I thought about it again.

Having just stepped into this entirely new, ruined territory, I knew nothing about the virus, the strangeness, or the rules here.

The woman in front of him was the first local survivor he had encountered.

Keeping her around will allow us to gather a lot of crucial intelligence.

There's no need to completely escalate the conflict.

With this thought in mind, Lu Heng loosened his grip and casually tossed the Zombie Cat, which had completely lost its ability to resist, onto the ground.

His eyes were sharp, and he began his questioning directly.

"Let's not talk about that now."

When did the large-scale infection begin here?

"Furthermore, I don't believe a mutated Zombie pet can suppress its instincts and not harm people."

"Are you the only living person in this area?"

Who are you? What's your name?

The woman was visibly taken aback by Lu Heng's barrage of cold questions.

She glanced up at Lu Heng's attire, which seemed completely out of place in this wasteland, paused for two seconds, and then answered honestly.

My name is Yun Jing.

About six months ago, the world went completely into chaos.

"A bizarre game rule appeared out of nowhere, conjuring up a huge number of people in the first wave."

"Following the spread of the virus, the vast majority of humanity turned into Zombie."

"The previous national structure, Federation armaments, and heavy weaponry have all become ineffective and are completely unable to withstand the mutation."

"The whole world is completely finished."

"We are just pitiful people left behind, barely clinging to life."

Yun Jing's gaze fell on the lifeless Zombie Cat on the ground, and her tone softened.

"I'm definitely the only living person left in this area."

"It's always been it, Abao, watching over me."

"That's why I've survived to this day in this ruin full of Zombie and eerie sights."

Before Yun Jing could finish speaking, with a hint of grievance in her eyes, Lu Heng had already lost patience to listen to her fabricated explanation.

He shifted to the side, flicked his wrist, and his cold, Phantom Claw plunged straight into the body of the Zombie Cat, Abao.

The rotten, blackened flesh was easily pierced by the sharp claws, and foul-smelling juices dripped down from the claw tips.

Lu Heng turned his head to look at Yun Jing, whose face had suddenly turned pale, his tone cold and hard, leaving no room for easing.

"I wouldn't call myself particularly meticulous, but your excuse won't fool me."

"Do you really think I'm a fool? There isn't a single living person for miles around in these ruins, yet you've survived for half a year. How did you manage to stay alive? How did you find food and water?"

His gaze swept back and forth between the woman and the convulsing Zombie Cat on the ground, his suspicions weighing heavily on his mind.

Who can guarantee that the human and the mutated cat aren't part of a coordinated trap, specifically designed to ambush passing survivors and steal their supplies? Keeping such a threat around is like planting a knife in your back that could be stabbed at any moment.

Lu Heng slowly took a deep breath, his chest churning with a long-held fear of betrayal and ambush.

Since stepping into this trial world, he had long been mentally prepared to kill without hesitation. His greatest fear was being caught off guard and attacked from behind; he simply couldn't bear that kind of sudden betrayal.

In his survival principle, there is no reason to keep anything that is questionable.

He gripped his blood- Phantom Claw tightly, his steps drawing ever closer to Yun Jing, his eyes devoid of any pity.

"I can't tell if you're inherently good or evil, but right now, you're at my level of danger."

So, the only thing I can do is ask you to die.