CHAPTER 659: CHAPTER 546: THE ORANGE CAT AND THIRD UNCLE

Provincial road junction.

Li Yu and the others found a temporary camp ahead, near the Yangming Mountain Forest Park.

This place is secluded and close to the Xiarong Expressway, so going back to Big Camphor Tree Base on the expressway tomorrow will make the journey a bit easier.

Dusk was slowly settling in.

Near the park, the summer forest.

Without human industrial pollution, the air had also become much fresher.

Tall trees with branches and leaves that were lush and verdant.

Wild-growing shrubs stretched unrestrainedly in no particular order. With no human trimming, they were somewhat disordered but filled with the charm of nature.

The buzzing of insects and the chirping of birds added a vital energy to this park.

If not for the distant roars of zombies disrupting this bit of beauty, everyone would feel as if they had returned to the time before the apocalypse.

The group was at the foot of the forest park, in a small resort that had long been abandoned.

There were few zombies here, and the six or seven buildings were soon cleared out by Li Yu and his team.

A huge parking lot contained only three or four vehicles.

They did not park in the parking lot but drove directly into the resort.

Even though the two hundred ton-plus loader had made the ground pitted, it doesn’t matter anymore.

And no one will care about these things.

The originally exquisitely laid stone bricks had been crushed into pieces.

"This is actually a good place," Li Yu said, surveying the surroundings after getting out of the Unimog.

The others also parked their vehicles under the buildings.

The parking lot was only over a hundred meters away, but they felt it safer to park directly under the buildings.

Last night, all the thirty-odd people slept in their vehicles; those with beds in their RVs got some rest, but others in trucks could only sit in their seats and squint through the night.

After a busy day from around 7 or 8 in the morning, fighting zombies, seizing munitions, and fleeing, they all had consumed a tremendous amount of mental and physical energy.

Worn out and muscles aching, tonight, they needed to rest well.

As usual, after clearing out the zombies in the vacation area, they began to search the rooms to see if they could find some useful items.

But the apocalypse had erupted for over a year, nearly two.

The houses in the resort area had obviously been searched already.

There was no food, not even condiments. Everything was taken.

The rooms were strewn with various garbage, and some damp beddings that had become moldy and then dried out by the recent hot weather, were now black and swollen, and their original colors and appearances indiscernible.

Dapao, who just entered the room, covered his nose and stepped out.

This room was so smelly that it could no longer be inhabited.

There was no point or need to clean it.

Thirty-five people were divided into seven groups.

Taking turns on guard duty to ensure security tonight.

Cooking over the fire, the aroma of food made everyone salivate. They had expended a lot of energy today and were starving.

...

....

Meanwhile.

On the outskirts of Xin City.

Xiao Jun and his deputy Zhou Tian met up with Third Uncle and proceeded to Xiao Hu’s location.

Several factories, but all deserted.

Rows of empty dormitory buildings. On the outdoor railings, there were some underwear and panties fluttering in the evening breeze.

Clang—

A cat leaped out.

A yellowish-orange cat, skin and bones.

Upon seeing it, Third Uncle’s hand twitched slightly, ready to make a move.

But the cat, upon seeing Third Uncle and Xiao Jun’s group, stood under the dark house, with bright eyes, neither advancing nor retreating.

After observing for a while, it slowly approached.

It advanced two steps, then retreated one.

This was the first time the group had encountered such an incident outside the base.

Faces full of caution.

A few of them wanted to shoot the small cat, but they heard Xiao Jun say, "Don’t shoot, the little orange cat hasn’t been infected. Look at its eyes."

As the little cat slowly walked out of the shadows, everyone saw its eyes, which were like human eyes, filled with fear and yet with a nostalgic affection.

It was very human-like.

Pitiful.

The cat was dry, its fur lacking any gloss.

Wrinkled and dry, even its eye boogers looked messy.

The cat slowly walked up to five meters in front of everyone.

And stopped.

Then turned and showed its belly.

A cat’s belly is thin and covers its organs, so it is both important and fragile, and cats will not easily expose it to others.

Everyone knew this.

After showing its belly upward, the cat, still facing the group with human-like eyes.

It was a domestic cat, with a collar around its neck.

The small cat flipped over on its back, cutely asking for pats, immediately softening the hearts of Third Uncle and the others.

Especially Zuo Ruxue and others behind Third Uncle, their eyes twinkling, wanted to step forward.

But they dared not.

Moreover, in this post-apocalyptic world, having a small cat was quite a complex matter.

Seeing this, a hint of sympathy appeared in everyone’s eyes.

Still, no one stepped forward.

Even those who wanted to had to be held back by their companions.

Cherishing life and caution were the only conditions for surviving in this post-apocalyptic world.

Third Uncle looked at the small cat, reminiscing in his eyes.

He had once raised a large orange cat as well.

But it had died of old age.

After thinking, he took out a little bit of broken food from his backpack, took two cautious steps forward, and placed it not far from the cat.