The two walked one after the other. When they reached the door of a small store selling grilled sausages and drinks, Lin Qingqing waved for Lei Min behind her to come over and take a look. Sure enough, the store door was intact and closed, while the window glass was shattered all over the ground. Clearly, the door was just ajar and not locked. Why bother breaking the window glass? Moreover, with such carved windows, even if the glass was broken, it was impossible for people to get in.
"It really does seem a bit abnormal. Let's go in and take a look. Be careful," Lin Qingqing said, then pushed the door open and walked in. Lei Min nodded obediently and followed her.
As the door was pushed open, a sudden "dingling～" sound rang out overhead. The two were startled. Looking up, they found that there was a bell hanging inside the store door, presumably to alert the clerk that a customer had arrived. Lin Qingqing casually took off the bell and gently placed it on a nearby dining table. Then she glanced back at Lei Min, and Lei Min immediately understood. The two of them stood back - to - back, vigilantly looking around the entire room.
This small store wasn't very large. The interior was decorated with a strong sense of girlishness. The store was divided into two parts by a long bar. In front of the bar were four small dining tables for waiting and resting, with four chairs beside each small dining table. The chairs were neatly arranged, showing no signs of a fight.
Behind the bar was the operating table for making drinks. Various machines and tools were scattered everywhere inside. Further in, there was a small door with a curtain hanging on it. Usually, it was probably used as a storage room.
So far, they hadn't found anything. Lin Qingqing looked at Lei Min, then lightly jumped over the bar.
On the ground inside the bar, a zombie corpse was lying on its back, wearing a sky - blue work uniform with its head tilted to one side. It was likely the clerk here. Lin Qingqing took one look and then turned her eyes away, preparing to step over the zombie's body and check the storage room inside.
However, just as she stepped over with one foot, she suddenly noticed something amiss. The zombie's collar was torn into strips, and through the tattered fabric, several everted wounds could be seen on the zombie's gray - blue skin. These wounds were thin and deep, and Lin Qingqing couldn't guess for a moment what had caused them.
"Come and take a look at this." She pointed out the strange things on the zombie to Lei Min. Lei Min endured the nausea and observed carefully for a while but couldn't figure out what had caused the wounds either.
Finally, Lin Qingqing used the tip of her ice - blade to push aside the zombie's head, only to find that half of its neck was missing. The other half gave the impression that it had been forcefully torn off by something.
"Look, does this look like it was caused by the teeth of some wild animal?" Lin Qingqing pointed to the wound on the zombie's neck and said. "Now that you mention it, it really does. If so, the marks on its shoulder also look like they were scratched by an animal's sharp claws," Lei Min said after looking carefully.
"Are there any animals in this park?"
"Yes, but they're all birds, like swans, ducks, egrets, and the like.""But there are quite a few wild small animals that can be seen," Lei Min thought for a while and added.
Hearing this, Lin Qingqing seemed to suddenly think of something. She turned to Lei Min and shouted, "Run! There's danger here!" Then she took the lead and jumped out of the bar, running outside.
Lei Min was jolted into action. She didn't have time to ask why and immediately followed Lin Qingqing and rushed out.
Unfortunately, it was a step too late. As soon as they went out, they found that on the ground, on the rooftops, and in the treetops, dozens of cat - like wild beasts, big and small, had surrounded the small store they were in.
"Sister Lin, are these cats?" Lei Min asked uncertainly.
"They should be!" Lin Qingqing looked at these wild beasts. They had the same appearance as cats, but they were bigger in size and their claws were sharper. A normal tree trunk would be left with several deep scratch marks when they scratched it lightly, which looked almost identical to the wounds on the clerk's body just now.
"It seems that these mutated stray cats are likely the ones that killed that zombie," Lin Qingqing said, looking at those sharp claws. "Stray cats? Mutated?" Lei Min was shocked, but then she affirmed Lin Qingqing's statement.
"You're probably right. There are a few whose fur patterns look very familiar. That big orange one in the tree and the black - and - white cow - patterned one on the rooftop. I've seen them several times before. I never thought that after the end of the world, even the animals would mutate."
"Be careful! These mutated cats can kill zombies!"
"Yeah, Sister Lin, you be careful too." Lin Qingqing couldn't help but glance at her. Although Lei Min looked very scared, she hadn't lost her calm. Her big eyes were still rolling around.
"Let's find a way to get back to the car first," Lin Qingqing didn't want to fight this group of mutated wild cats. They seemed much more ferocious than zombies.
Moreover, these mutated cats looked at them unfriendly. They bared their teeth at the two of them, their sharp teeth exposed outside the gums, saliva dripping down, and the fur all over their bodies standing on end, as if they would pounce at any moment.
"They don't want to eat us, do they?" Lei Min's voice trembled a bit.
"Most likely. Cats are carnivores originally, and they'll only be more ferocious after mutation." Lin Qingqing looked at those sharp teeth and the saliva, her face gloomy. This was also the first time she had seen mutated animals.
She gave Lei Min a look, and then the two of them, facing the group of mutated cats, slowly moved step by step in the direction of the car.
The first few steps were smooth. The mutated cats just watched their movements warily.
But when they were about to withdraw from the encirclement, the cat group across from them immediately became restless. Some of them even impatiently let out low growls.
Seeing that the cat group couldn't hold back anymore, the two of them suddenly quickened their pace."Run!" At this moment, Lin Qingqing shouted and turned to run towards the direction where the car was parked. Lei Min immediately followed closely behind upon hearing this.
The moment she shouted "run", almost all the mutated cats pounced towards the two of them simultaneously, their speed as fast as streaks of lightning.
"Zi la～" This was the sound of Lei Min's clothes on her back being caught by the sharp claws of the mutated cat in the front. Feeling a pulling force from behind, she quickly swung the steel pipe in her hand and swept it backwards without even looking.
"Pi pa～" The steel pipe charged with electricity hit the hind leg of this leaping mutated cat precisely. Then the hit mutated cat was thrown sideways, lying on the ground and twitching for a long time before it managed to get up again.
This seemed to stir up a hornet's nest. All the mutated cats, as if stimulated, pounced towards them crazily.
Seeing that they were caught up, the two had no choice but to turn around and fight the mutated cats.
They fought and retreated in the direction of the car. Lin Qingqing waved the ice - blade in her hand, and Lei Min held the electricity - discharging steel pipe. The two of them blocked the attacks of the mutated cats again and again.
Of course, the mutated cats wouldn't let the food in front of them run away. They were wary of the weapons in the hands of the two, and then changed their strategy. Instead of charging forward recklessly, they dispersed and launched organized, successive attacks, attempting to exhaust the two's physical strength through a war of attrition.