Annie's shadow stretches out the tree trunk, and the hazy fluorescent light spreads.
A mutilated gray cat is silhouetted sitting on a stone a few meters away.
It is not a ghost. The legs and abdomen are not covered by hair and skin, and the festering flesh without scabs is exposed. The harsh environment has fortunately prevented the wounds from being parasitized by maggots. Even the hair on the uninjured body is curly and charred after being burned by fire.
"Meow"
The gray cat barked hoarsely at Lu Li, jumped off the stone, stood up on one of its hind legs, and staggered to lead the way for Lu Li.
Anthony, the businessman who showed up at the summons, told Lu Li that that side was the direction of Vig Town.
The gray cat leading the way suddenly jumped into the air and was picked up by a hand and put into his arms. It raised its head and stared at Lu Li's chin. After a while, it purred slightly due to the warmth and comfort.
Since he was in a hurry and had no time to use the recovery potion, Lu Li waited until the gray cat's wound had scabbed over and stopped emitting a rotten smell and put away the Tree Whisperer.
Holding the gray cat in his right hand and holding an oil lamp in his left hand, Lu Li trekked through the dark mountains where it was difficult to tell the direction. Whenever this happened, the gray cat would make a hoarse sound and turn his head in the right direction. The appearance of the gray cat meant that there was still flow here.
The range of radiation that cats can radiate
The suspicion was quickly dispelled when he encountered an unknown strange thing. Lu Li hugged the gray cat tightly and wanted to jump out to confront him, and released the dreamer to scare away the unknown strange thing.
The flowing cat has very little control over this mountain range, or has completely lost control.
The only thing that can be confirmed is that He still exists, is still the leader of all cats, and is still in the town of Vig.
Thanks to the guidance of the gray cat, Lu Li was able to rush at full speed in the dark noon. The strange things that appeared from time to time were either driven away by him with potions or frightened by people who fell asleep.
As he was hurrying in silence, the gray cat that was guiding Lu Li to move straight towards Vig Town suddenly turned to the north, raised his head and called to Lu Li.
Lu Li paused slightly and approached the direction indicated by the gray cat. Soon he met a black cat lying under a tree.
The gray cat jumped down from Lu Li's arms, stood on tiptoe on its hind legs that did not dare to fall, and approached the black cat. It lowered its head and sniffed it before calling to Lu Li: "Meow~"
Lu Li squatted next to the tabby cat and tilted the oil lamp beside him.
Its injuries were worse than the gray cat. The black cat was not its original color, but the color formed by the hair curled to the roots after being burned by the flames. The skin was exposed, and the tail was shriveled and eroded as if it had been crushed by a heavy object. It could no longer stand up.
Only the faint rise and fall of the shriveled abdomen proved that it was not dead.
It is still alive only because cats are very tolerant creatures.
Lu Li couldn't even pick it up like a gray cat, so he could only take out the recovery potion and spray it on its body, release the Tree Whisperer to make the skin scab, and then pick it up. It was completely opposite to the "fluffy and soft" thing he imagined, like a dead branch.
Light and rough "Black Cat".
Lifting up the oil lamp and holding the "black cat" in his arms, Lu Li followed the tiptoed gray cat and continued forward.
In the afternoon, Lu Li met a third cat. It was in better condition than the first two cats...but also worse.
The dirty tabby cat's eyes were gouged out, and it could only find their location by the gray cat's calls. It emitted a weak and continuous meow, raised its tail, and rubbed back and forth against Lu Li's trouser legs.
Lu Li couldn't hold it anymore, but the tabby cat, which had lost its eyes, could distinguish the sound and followed the gray cat.
Because of the company of the three cats, I was no longer lonely on the road, but I also no longer encountered more cats.
Before the strange fog came in at night, Lu Li arrived at the second destination of his trip: Weig Town.
Everything was dormant in the endless endless darkness, only the charcoal under his feet proved that Lu Li was approaching the ruined town.
There are also cat meows that can be heard from the depths of the ruins due to the hoarse meow of the gray cat.
It should be safe now.
Lu Li adjusted the oil lamp to its brightest setting, and under the dim light, he followed the gray cat leading the way and passed the group of cats heading towards him.
They were more or less injured. Lu Li did not release the Tree Whisperer, which was too wasteful. He just asked the merchant Anthony to bring a large amount of weird meat and recovery potions, and swayed the recovery potions when these cats with withered bellies gathered in front of the food.
.
Some cats ran away, but more cats bathed in the recovery potion and whimpered to eat, or took pieces of meat sprinkled with the recovery potion and brought them to their companions who could not come over.
Leaving them behind, Lu Li, the gray cat and the "black cat" in his arms went deep into the ruins of Vege Town.
Even though Lu Li had already guessed the outcome of Vig Town from the three cats, he was still silent because of this scene.
The pain that the flames once brought to the town has long since left. Even if you walk in the town, you can't smell the burning smell. Occasionally, cats meow from the intact stone houses that pass by.
The cats have taken over the town, and so far, Lu Li has seen no trace of the surviving townspeople.
Taking Lu Li, Gray Cat buried himself in a two-story building that had lost its roof.
Lu Li remembered this place: it was once the office of the mayor of the town, and later it became the Church of the Flowing Cat.
Standing outside the hall, this half-stone building is still standing, but everything inside has long been burned by the high temperature.
The gray cat ran into the depths of the hall and called out to Lu Li.
Lu Li followed behind, and the gray cat sitting on the edge of the oil lamp appeared, as well as the black silhouette of the cat sitting on the fur.
He is no longer as noble and elegant as he once was, and his shadow-like hair has been replaced by burnt black. Only a short section of the long tail that once could wrap around his body is left, and one of the cat's eyes, which are like exquisite black gems, is missing, facing empty.
Lu Li.
The flowing cat has changed from an elegant cat that should accompany the royal family to a one-eyed black cat at the feet of the captain on the pirate ship.
"Meow~"
However, His voice was still beautiful, and His movements were still light. His head lightly touched Lu Li's leg bones, expressing his closeness.
"Has Anna come back?" Lu Li asked.
The flowing cat was still rubbing between Lu Li's legs and didn't respond.
And without Big Sister's translator, Lu Li couldn't communicate with him.
Lu Li started having weird dreams, imagining the flowing cat as a human being.
He tilted his head due to the change, as if he realized what it was, and then, a long black tail materialized from behind him. This was a good sign. Lu Li asked him: "Has Anna come back? What happened in Weg Town?"
The flowing cat didn't answer Lu Li, but just moved closer to Lu Li and rubbed his face with its fuzzy cheeks.
He didn't know how to speak.
Losing faith, He seemed to become an ordinary cat.
Lu Li calmed down his dream, and the flowing cat, which regained its cat body, shook its severed tail and sat upright as if lost.
He couldn't help Lu Li and even needed Lu Li's help.
Lu Li and Flowing Cat left the church, returned to the group of cats gathered around the food, and asked them to follow them to the church. Then with the help of Flowing Cat, they searched among the ruins for immovable, dying, and seriously injured cats.
and the survivors, brought to the church.
He brought back many seriously injured cats, but no survivors, not even the bodies.
Lu Li retreated to the ruins of the church when the strange fog that crossed the Hilleweg Mountains came.
Beside the lit bonfire, Lu Li released the tree whisperers to heal them, and rested for the night in the company of cats.