A cat's meow?
Everything had begun with a cat.
Now, in the shifting mall, a cat's meow abruptly rang out.
Lin Ye anticipated the danger at once.
He immediately pulled Haruno, who was beside him, and shielded her behind himself,
and Haruno's heart tightened with tension because of this action of Lin Ye's.
Things weren't over yet; the end was still far, far away.
"Brother Lin,"
The male High School Student panicked too. Damn it, if there was still some monstrous Strange thing, how were they supposed to deal with it?
He looked around in a fluster, but couldn't pin down the direction the cat's cry came from,
while the female yoga teacher, at a distance, after hearing the meow and catching the reactions of Lin Ye and the others, immediately realized how dire the situation was.
"It's not over yet,"
"Damn it,"
Dragging her somewhat weary body, she ran with all her might toward Lin Ye and the other two,
For her, only at Lin Ye's side was safe.
How much time had it been already.
She had to hold on until the very end, had to successfully return to the real world.
She, Kurosawa Eiko, did not want to die here.
"Meow…"
Another meow,
The sound came from everywhere,
Even Lin Ye couldn't tell where the cat was coming from.
Lin Ye observed his surroundings, but the mall was empty, without anything out of the ordinary.
'Tap-tap-tap…'
The female yoga teacher's footsteps kept sounding, drawing closer and closer; she was not far from them now.
For her, she would soon be safe.
"Meow…"
Another meow.
The sound was closer.
But the direction seemed to come from all sides, with no precise bearing at all.
Haruno frowned, growing more and more anxious. "Lin-kun, do we need to find that cat? Could it… also use Invisibility?"
She raised a possibility.
This possibility couldn't be ignored; Haruno even felt it was the most likely one.
The male High School Student swallowed at hearing this. If it could even turn invisible, how were they supposed to deal with this monster?
They had no means of detection.
How were they to find that hidden cat?
The male High School Student felt the pain coming from his left hand while suppressing the fear in his heart, his terror of death.
He didn't want to die. Having experienced pain, he didn't want to die at all.
Haruno unconsciously drew closer,
and the female yoga teacher was about to rejoin Lin Ye and the other two,
"Meow…"
This meow was very close — clearly a warning that the cat had already arrived right beside them all,
"Dodge, Haruno,"
"What?"
Haruno was startled, but her feet began to move on instinct; she didn't know where to go, but she was already moving.
'Swish!' A sound of air being cut,
It was the cat,
and this cat came from behind the female yoga teacher,
It had closely followed the female yoga teacher's figure and footsteps to approach the three, exploiting their visual blind spot.
"Riiip!"
Haruno instinctively threw up a block; the clothing on her left arm tore open with a rip, exposing the skin beneath, a clear scratch mark, threads of blood trickling down.
Haruno had no time to register the pain; she moved quickly, getting away as fast as she could.
But this cat seemed to have locked onto Haruno; it leapt again, its nimble form pouncing straight at her.
At this moment,
Lin Ye had, at some unknown point, already moved; a Dagger had appeared in his hand, which he swung in a direct thrust at the white cat.
'Meow…'
The instant the white cat made contact, it gave a light leap with its forelegs, immediately dodging, then used the recoil to open up the distance.
At this moment a Strange object appeared in Lin Ye's hand — the Snake Eye Orb.
'Swish!'
The power of fear passed through, acting upon the cat.
"Meow meow meow…"
The white cat's fur bristled in that moment, its white fur standing on end, its eyes glaring wide, full of terror.
Lin Ye seized the chance to close in quickly, thrusting the Dagger toward the white cat's eye.
'Shoo…'
The Dagger pierced in,
The next moment, Lin Ye immediately pulled it out and pulled back; just then the cat's claw came down, but Lin Ye dodged it at the perfect moment.
"Meow…"
A wretched cry of pain rang out.
The cat's injured eye leaked an unidentifiable black-red fluid; its paw covered the wounded eyeball, its body reacting intensely to the pain.
Only now did the three — Haruno, the female yoga teacher, and the male High School Student — react and realize what had happened in that brief instant just now.
Had it been them, they'd probably already have been finished off by the white cat!
The male High School Student had already started running; getting away was the right call.
With Lin Ye holding the front, with a big shot holding the line, he, a mere foot soldier, didn't need to do anything at all.
"Meow…"
The white cat's eyes caught it; it sprang up in a flash and pounced straight at the fleeing male High School Student.
The male High School Student's face changed drastically. "Don't come after me!"
But his shouting and his accelerated flight were of no use at all,
In just a few seconds, the male High School Student's howl rang out.
"Aaargh!"
"Save me, Brother Lin… save me!"
But the male High School Student, lying on the ground in a pool of blood, reached out for help, only to see Lin Ye standing in place, taking no action whatsoever.
In this moment, his last hope was shattered.
And the female yoga teacher, who had intended to get away and find a safe place to hide, broke out in a cold sweat down her back,
She'd just been thinking of getting away from the dangerous battlefield — with Lin Ye dealing with the white cat, she could get clear and quietly await good news, rather than be caught up in the possible fighting.
But clearly, she'd been wrong.
This not-very-large white cat would prioritize attacking whoever fled.
"Phew…"
What luck!
Had she run first, the one killed by the white cat just now would have been her.
A moment ago she'd been marveling at the male High School Student's reaction, fleeing so decisively, and this moment, she was marveling at her own luck.
With this stroke of good luck, she was sure to survive to the very end.
From start to finish, Haruno had never thought of getting away from Lin Ye; staying near Lin Ye's side was the safest place.
Though, indeed, in the instant Lin Ye fought the white cat, she really had instinctively had the thought of leaving the danger zone.
It was just suppressed by reason,
and the result proved she was right,
In this enormous mall, the safest place was at Lin Ye's side.
So thought Haruno.
She trotted over to Lin Ye's side,
The female yoga teacher, half a beat slower, hurried to follow as well.
Lin Ye paid no mind to the two women, focusing only on the white cat now stained with red blood,
At this moment, the white cat, bathed in blood, fixed its sharp eyes on Lin Ye; to it, Lin Ye was the greatest threat.
"Meow…"
It stuck out its tongue and gave it a lick.
"Lin-kun, its eye has healed,"
Yes,
the injured eye had already recovered,
Lin Ye wasn't sure whether it was simple self-recovery, or whether it had recovered after killing someone.
"Meow…"
"In a moment, when I say run, immediately head for the stairway over there,"
Lin Ye said to the two women,
"Mm-hm."
Haruno and the female yoga teacher both nodded vigorously,
They would surely follow Lin Ye's arrangement.
He once again gripped the Snake Eye Orb,
In the instant his eyes met the white cat's, he suddenly unleashed its aura, and the power of the Snake Eye Orb once again enveloped the white cat.
"Run,"
The two women dared not hesitate in the slightest; they immediately drove their legs into a furious sprint.
"Aroooo…"
The white cat gave a frenzied roar — that was fear; the images in its mind had given it quite a shock.
Lin Ye once again closed in, trying to kill the white cat.
But that body was like steel and metal — it couldn't be pierced at all.
And the eyes,
before they could be pierced, but this time they were rock-hard, not at all the feel of flesh.
In just a few seconds, Lin Ye immediately pulled away, avoiding being struck by the white cat's claws.
"Swish!"
"Meow…"
The white cat roared, its two claws flailing wildly,
Some cracks appeared on the ground.
That cracking sound left even Haruno shocked.
How much force would it take to reach this level.
Lin Ye understood that conventional methods definitely couldn't deal with this cat,
Moreover,
there was a doubt: was killing this white cat enough to leave?
Was the way to clear this round to kill this white cat?
For the moment, Lin Ye couldn't be sure.
"Meow meow meow…"
Accompanied by several meows, the white cat's body rapidly grew larger; the petite little thing turned into something comparable to a lion in size,
It didn't stop; it kept growing larger.
Its huge body had already reached the size of an elephant.
"Meow…"
This was no mere meow now,
It glared, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it charged at Lin Ye.
Lin Ye maneuvered around it with his robust physique, and finally once again used Invisibility.
Only, the Invisibility lasted less than a few seconds; the white cat sniffed a few times, then raised its paw and slammed it down heavily.
It could find Lin Ye's position through smell.
"Boom…"
Lin Ye simply canceled the Invisibility outright and started running,
The mall was big enough,
enough for him to maneuver.
But,
if this kept up, Lin Ye had a feeling his Stamina would be the first to give out.
There had to be a way; there had to be a correct solution.
"Lin-kun… upstairs."
Ever since the four monsters had been dealt with, the mall's range of observation and hearing had both expanded.
At the stairway, Haruno saw Lin Ye being chased and hunted by the white cat.
After speaking, she ran up the stairs with a clatter,
The female yoga teacher didn't dare wait in place at all, following closely up.
After a short while,
Lin Ye also went upstairs,
The white cat bounded along, its speed only growing faster, never slower.
Up ahead,
the store's green light spread out,
that green light that had only appeared after the monsters were dealt with.
Haruno and the female yoga teacher paid no mind, gritting their teeth and running hard,
even gasping for breath, out of breath, she still gritted her teeth and held on,
You could say that in this moment, the two women's will to survive was off the charts.
Lin Ye took a couple more glances and suddenly thought of something.
"Haruno, quickly enter that clothing store, hurry inside,"
Such an obvious hint, and he'd actually overlooked it.
Truly a blind spot in his thinking.
Haruno nodded,
But the female yoga teacher had also thought of something; she rammed into Haruno, causing Haruno to briefly stagger a couple of steps, while she burst into her fastest speed and entered that clothing store.
And when Haruno tried to enter, she found she could no longer get in, blocked outside.
She immediately started running.
Lin Ye, about ten meters away, accelerated,
"Downstairs,"
He paid no mind to that female yoga teacher,
Everyone had to bear the corresponding consequences of their own actions.
"Lin-kun,"
The white cat grew even more frenzied,
This time Lin Ye grabbed Haruno, lifted her up, and leapt down.
With a 'thud,'
Lin Ye landed steadily and immediately ran toward the green-lit jewelry store on the first floor.
Seemingly realizing what Lin Ye was about to do,
the white cat grew even more frenzied. "Meow meow meow…"
Its whistling claws flew out, but always fell just a little bit short.
"Lin-kun,"
Haruno gazed at Lin Ye's profile right before her eyes, her heart fluttering uncontrollably.
In this moment,
in her heart, Lin Ye was the most handsome, bar none.
And she was even more certain that, whether in the past or in the future, this scene would forever remain in her heart; she would never forget it for the rest of her life.
"Yukino, it seems I… have really fallen for him!"
Haruno sighed, and in the end couldn't help herself, planting a kiss on Lin Ye's cheek.
Lin Ye had no spare attention now for the soft sensation that suddenly arrived on his face.
"Hurry inside; find the special spot and you should be able to leave,"
"Mm,"
After landing, Haruno didn't hesitate at all and immediately walked in.
"Be sure to come back safe; Yukino and I will be waiting for you,"
She knew Lin Ye had to go to the third floor to successfully leave,
Lin Ye waved a hand and ran off,
The white cat looked at Haruno, but it knew it couldn't catch her, so it pursued Lin Ye further; it didn't want to let this last prey escape.
Haruno walked in and soon spotted the lucky cat at the checkout counter, suffused with a faint glow.
"So this is the object for leaving!"
A cat — yet again a cat.
This lucky cat truly left her exasperated.
"How do I use it?"
Haruno gripped this lucky cat,
After a short while, she felt the familiar sense of weightlessness arrive,
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself back in this underground parking garage.
The sounds of cars, of footsteps, and that bright light — she realized she had already returned.
"Go find Yukino first,"
In this moment Haruno was finally at ease.
As for Lin Ye, she was a bit worried, but she believed Lin Ye would surely come back safe.
"Kurosawa Eiko, ramming me is going to cost you,"
"Lin-kun won't hold it against anyone, but I'm a woman, a woman who holds grudges, so…"
A trace of a smile rose at the corner of Haruno's mouth.
For her, that ram by the female yoga teacher had cost her a chance to leave safely, and most importantly, this woman hadn't listened to Lin Ye.
And that was the thing he could least accept.
She would definitely make that woman pay the price.
And Lin Ye had already successfully arrived at the fourth-floor buffet restaurant.
He had actually already been to the third-floor buffet restaurant and found that glowing lucky cat.
But he hadn't chosen to grab the lucky cat directly; instead he used a cloth bag to carry the lucky cat away, and once again risked going out to head to the fourth floor.
Four special stores,
He had to check whether there was anything hidden.
These lucky cats — he judged there was one per store, so at the very least he had to try whether he could take one away.
"Goodbye, big white cat,"
So saying, Lin Ye picked up the lucky cat from the real estate agency.
The next second,
He felt the weightlessness, and when he opened his eyes again, he saw the mall's basement.
He had returned.
...
...
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