Transmigrating into a Wasteland Cannon Fodder Slag A [GL Yuri] - Chapter 31.2

Gu Xia stepped out, and a wave of fear washed over her as she looked at the zombie dog on the ground. It was clearly different from a human zombie. This one was far more perceptive.

Yan An hadn’t made a sound, yet the dog had sensed her. And its speed was terrifyingly fast. While it wasn’t faster than a bullet, someone with a slower reaction time would have already been tackled. The most horrifying thought was how much more dangerous these animals would be if they retained their natural characteristics. The speed and keen senses of a dog, or the stealthy and sudden movements of a cat, would make them incredibly hard to deal with. And both were common pets in their world.

It had only been a few days, and the virus had already mutated. What did this mean? Could the virus evolve? There were probably more than just one zombie dog or cat in the village.

Gu Xia held up her submachine gun and cautiously approached the cage. Inside was the cat, so weak it was on the verge of death. It was a pure black cat, a color rarely kept as a pet. Was that why it had been abandoned in a cage?

Yan An walked over and crouched down to examine it. “It’s not infected,” she said. The cage had saved it, but it had been trapped for so long without food or water. And the zombie dog’s relentless attacks, rolling the cage around, probably didn’t help. The cat likely wouldn’t survive much longer.

Gu Xia slung the submachine gun over her shoulder and pulled out her pistol, aiming it at the cat to put it out of its misery. She couldn’t take it with her, and leaving it behind would just mean a slow death by starvation.

“Gu Xia,” Yan An said, stopping her. She took out a sausage and some water, placing them in front of the cat. It took a few weak sips of water, struggling to even eat the sausage. It looked like it was on its last breath. Yan An quickly opened the cage, placed her hand on the cat, and used her healing ability.

Within moments, the cat perked up and began to eat with newfound vigor. Healing a cat didn’t use up much of her energy.

“Let’s take it with us. We can put it in a backpack. If it gets too difficult, I can hide it,” Yan An said.

She had a soft spot for these abandoned, pathetic little creatures. This black cat reminded her of herself. Something forgotten and left behind. In her previous life, she had died on an island during a survival competition, and she knew that no one would have ever found her body. Just like this cat, left to starve and die in a cage, forgotten by all.

Feeling a profound sense of empathy, Yan An picked up the cat once it had finished eating.

Gu Xia knew what Yan An meant by “hide it,” and this was the first time she realized that Yan An’s spatial ability could hold living things.

“Okay, if you want to take it, we’ll take it.” It was just a cat, and as long as it was hidden in the space, there would be no problem. Gu Xia saw a fleeting look of sadness in Yan An’s eyes and knew it was a moment of deep connection, even if she didn’t know the full reason behind it.

“Let’s go,” Yan An said, turning to walk back toward the inn.

They were still at the outskirts of the village, and she didn’t want to venture any further in, fearing they would encounter more zombie dogs. As they passed the village community center, Yan An gave Gu Xia a look. “I’m going to check inside.” She hoped to find some useful tools there.

The community center was a small building with only a few rooms. They could see through the windows that there were no zombies inside. Yan An started to walk in, and Gu Xia followed her immediately. “There’s bl00d and signs of a struggle. All the windows are shattered. It must have been a tough fight.”

So where were all the villagers? Was it possible that there were only zombies at the village entrance, or were there just a few people here to begin with? It was all very unsettling. Yan An felt a sense of unease that only intensified as she walked back out of the village. Even though it was a slight feeling, it was stronger than any other danger she had sensed before.

“I think something’s wrong. Let’s grab what we need and leave immediately,” she warned Gu Xia. Gu Xia also felt her hair stand on end. They hadn’t encountered a single human zombie, only a far more dangerous zombie dog. It was enough to put anyone on edge.

“A toolbox!” Yan An found a welding machine and a number of other tools in the storage room. The box had wheels, so they could easily pull it with them. Yan An grabbed the handle without even looking inside. “Let’s go,” she said to Gu Xia.

They scanned their surroundings, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. As they passed a row of water faucets, Yan An had a sudden idea. “Gu Xia, you go ahead to the inn with the box.”

“What about you?” Gu Xia asked, confused. Why was Yan An trying to send her away?

Yan An paused, then came up with an excuse. “I’m going to give the little cat a bath.”

Gu Xia didn’t buy it. “No. We can’t split up. We go together.”

“Trust me,” Yan An said, looking her in the eye.

Gu Xia studied her for a moment, sensing that she was up to something, but ultimately chose to trust her. She pulled the tool box and walked toward the inn, which was only about a hundred meters away. If she were to fire her gun, it would immediately alert everyone. However, the inn was facing away from the community center, so without a gunshot, it would be difficult for anyone at the inn to see what was happening.

Yan An had a nagging feeling that something was watching her. It was probably afraid of the submachine gun in Gu Xia’s hands, which was why it hadn’t shown itself yet. Could zombies be that intelligent? Or was it a person? If it was a person, were they planning to kill them and steal their supplies?

Regardless, she needed to draw out whatever was hiding in the shadows. It would be a problem if it followed them. That’s why she had sent Gu Xia away, hoping she would understand.

Once Gu Xia was gone, she found a basin and filled it with water from a faucet. She pretended to take out a box of disinfectant tablets and dropped one into the water. As the tablet fizzed, Yan An placed the cat in the basin.

“Aowu!” the black cat growled, as if threatening her.

“What’s that for? You’re challenging me? I fed you, and now you’re talking back. You better learn to hold your tongue,” Yan An scolded playfully.

The cat seemed to understand. It turned its head away with a huff, unwilling to give in or compromise. What a smart little cat. Yan An flicked some water at its face. Then, using the basin as a screen, she took out a bottle of shampoo and gave the little creature a serious scrubbing.

She was fast. Within two minutes, she had the cat clean. She refilled the basin with clean water, added another tablet, and rinsed the soap from the cat’s fur.

Suddenly, her heart raced. She immediately pulled out a sniper rifle, spun around, and fired without hesitation. A zombie dog, four or five meters away, froze in place.

Yan An’s lips curled into a cold smile. She knew something had been following them. This zombie dog was too smart. It had been wary of Gu Xia’s submachine gun and refused to show itself. Only after Gu Xia had left, when Yan An was pretending to be focused on washing the cat, did it appear behind her, ready to lunge.

The moment Yan An shot the zombie dog, Gu Xia ran back. She had never actually left, just hid behind the inn’s wall to see what would happen. And her suspicions were right—something was definitely following them.

“Are you okay?” Gu Xia asked, concerned.

Yan An gave the cat a rough shake as she picked it up. “I’m fine,” she replied. She then wrapped the cat in a towel, her tone heavy. “The only thing in this village is bl00d, no bodies. They were probably all eaten by those zombie dogs.” The lack of corpses could only be explained if people hadn’t even had a chance to turn into zombies before being consumed, which would also explain the deserted village.

Gu Xia shook her head. “Something’s not right. That zombie dog was way too smart. It was better in every way than a regular zombie.” Especially its intelligence. If zombies gained intelligence, humanity’s extinction would be a matter of time. The zombie virus spread so quickly; it had been a short time since it broke out, and entire cities were already gone. Not just one city, but most of them. The human population in those cities was practically wiped out. There were probably very few safe cities left.

Cities thousands of miles apart had experienced zombie outbreaks at the same time, and online discussions didn’t reveal where the virus had originated. The virus was constantly evolving. Could humanity really survive this?

For the first time since arriving in this world, this question entered Yan An’s mind. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it. No matter what, there were still safe zones and special cities. As long as those cities remained, there would be a sanctuary for humanity, a place for them to live.

Yan An put her pistol into the large pocket of her jacket, holding the sniper rifle in one hand and the cat in the other. When she shot the zombie dog just now, she realized that the pistol was difficult to aim, and its bullets, while lethal, couldn’t pierce the zombie dog like they could a regular zombie. She was also running low on pistol ammunition.

Yan An rubbed her temples. “Gu Xia, you have about a hundred submachine gun rounds left. The pistol has three hundred rounds, and my sniper rifle still has a few hundred rounds since I haven’t used it much.” She continued, “Once you run out of submachine gun rounds, I’ll give you the sniper rifle.”

As they walked back to the inn, a heavy feeling weighed on them. They had a lot of bullets between them, but the zombies outnumbered them by far.

Gu Xia didn’t respond, her mind still on the zombie dog. “Yan An, do you think someone is controlling these zombie dogs?” She couldn’t believe the virus could evolve so fast, not only infecting animals but also giving them such high intelligence. It was just too quick.

“It’s not impossible,” Yan An said, not dismissing the idea. The mystery of the village was too strange to ignore.