Cats That Meow Don’t Eat People
The enormous yellow beast, comparable in size to a Tyrannosaurus rex, opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar, revealing a row of chillingly sharp teeth.
In that instant, the two words known as “common sense” shattered into pieces inside Shi Xia’s heart.
“A monster!”
Summoning every ounce of strength she had, Shi Xia spun around and sprinted towards the forest where the others had disappeared.
To hell with common sense! To hell with science!
Why was there such a gigantic cat here? And why did it have wings? It even looked like a carnivore!
Weren’t cats supposed to eat cat food?
Had this thing been raised by dinosaurs?!
She finally understood why those people had been running so quickly. Right now, she wished she could grow two extra legs. She had never run this desperately even when doing the hundred-metre sprint at school.
She was terrified that if she slowed down even slightly, the enormous cat behind her would decide she looked like a suitable meal.
Although she had started running later than everyone else, she was fortunate enough to be fairly fast.
More and more people appeared around her. Perhaps because of their physical strength, all the young and able-bodied men had already run ahead. The people left around her were mostly women and children.
Shi Xia did not dare imagine what would happen to those who ran too slowly. She could only continue sprinting for her life.
“Ah!”
A little girl to her right suddenly seemed to trip over something and fell to the ground.
The child was not very old, perhaps only five or six.
She struggled to get back up, but immediately collapsed again. One of her legs was covered in blood. She was clearly injured.
“Niuniu!”
A young boy running ahead stopped and turned around, apparently wanting to come back and save her.
But it was already too late.
The scent of blood had attracted the monster behind them.
With a single leap, it landed directly in front of the little girl, only two or three paces away from Shi Xia, baring its terrifyingly sharp teeth.
The little girl was frozen with fear. She stared silently at the monster towering above her, tears pouring down her face.
Shi Xia was the closest person to her.
But in a situation like this, there was no way to save her. Anyone who approached would simply be eaten as well.
There was nothing she could do—
As if!
How could she possibly ignore her, damn it?!
Her body had already moved on its own!
Just as the monster opened its enormous jaws and lunged down to bite, Shi Xia threw herself forwards, grabbed the child, and rolled across the ground.
Using the momentum, she kicked the creature’s enormous catlike head and sent herself tumbling several metres away.
Perhaps people really could unleash hidden potential in a moment of crisis.
Shi Xia had never been good at sports, yet even while carrying a child, she somehow managed to run incredibly quickly.
“Run!”
She shouted towards the boy ahead while clutching the little girl and sprinting in another direction.
After being kicked, the enormous cat let out an angry howl and shook its head. It then roared, all the fur on its body standing on end.
Instead of continuing to chase the larger group of people, it turned around and charged straight towards her.
Holy crap!
This was not how things were supposed to go!
Shouldn’t it chase the place with the most people?
Why had it suddenly locked onto her?!
Was it too late to apologise?
“ROAR——!”
Shi Xia did not dare look back, nor did she have the time.
There was only a single word inside her mind:
Run!
The monster’s roaring grew closer and closer. Mixed into the noise was the faint beating of wings, and the trees around her swayed violently from the wind they created.
Damn it!
She had forgotten that thing could fly!
Did she really have to be this unlucky?
Was Heaven going to leave humanity any chance of survival at all?
In the next moment, Heaven answered her through its actions.
No.
Shi Xia’s heart turned completely cold as she stared at the broad stone wall blocking the path ahead.
Why had she run back here again?!
Damn it!
There was a stone wall in front of her and a monster behind her.
Sorry, but she was definitely dead.
The little girl seemed to understand their situation as well. Her small hands, which had been clutching the front of Shi Xia’s shirt, suddenly tightened even further, painfully grabbing both flesh and fabric.
Ow!
Kid, let go of my chest!
Unfortunately, Shi Xia had no time to worry about her chest.
The enormous feline monster had already caught up with them.
With a single flap of its wings, it created a small-scale typhoon. The wind scraped painfully against Shi Xia’s face.
The creature let out a roar. Seemingly aware that she had nowhere left to run, it began walking towards her one slow step at a time, repeatedly opening its enormous, blood-filled mouth.
A powerful, rotten stench blasted directly into Shi Xia’s face, making her dizzy.
Damn it!
This cat had bad breath too!
What should she do?
What should she do?!
Even if it did not eat her, standing here any longer would probably make her die from the smell.
But there was nowhere left to run.
Would pretending to be dead work?
This cat was so huge that even if she transformed into a Super Saiyan, she still would not be able to defeat it!
“ROAR——!”
The gigantic cat drew closer and closer.
Just looking at its gleaming white teeth was painful. It was obviously preparing to eat them.
Shi Xia knew she needed to dodge, but her legs were trembling like leaves in the wind.
As the massive mouth descended towards them, her heart sank.
She wanted to chop off her own hands for being so meddlesome.
Look at you, trying to play the hero!
Now you’re going to die!
How could anyone escape from a cat this enormous?
Wait.
A cat?
She had no idea which wire in her brain suddenly connected, but she remembered the dried fish in her pocket.
Perhaps…
She could try it?
Shi Xia immediately pulled out the packet, tore it open, and flung it forcefully to the side.
Small dried fish scattered all over the ground.
The gigantic cat froze.
Its vertical pupils remained fixed firmly upon her.
Of course…
There was no way this would work!
Although the creature looked like a cat, it was obviously an entirely different species.
How could it possibly surrender for the sake of a single packet of dried fish—
“Meow~”
In the next instant, the gigantic cat turned around and, with a speed too fast for the naked eye and accompanied by the metaphorical ringing of bells and clashing of drums, pounced upon the dried fish scattered across the ground.
It began licking and devouring them with utterly deranged enthusiasm.
As it ate, it repeatedly let out satisfied meowing sounds.
“…”
It actually worked?!
Where was its dignity as a monster?!
Shi Xia’s entire worldview collapsed.
As expected, no cat could resist dried fish.
Regardless of its size.
Shi Xia was instantly filled with endless motivation.
While the gigantic cat remained intoxicated by the dried fish, she tightened her hold around the child and sprinted back in the direction she had come from.
She no longer cared whether there was a proper path. She deliberately forced her way through the densest areas of the forest, never allowing her feet to stop as she ran for her life.
She had no idea how long she continued running.
Eventually, her legs gave out and her body toppled forwards.
Remembering the child in her arms, Shi Xia instinctively twisted her body and landed sideways, plunging headfirst into a patch of mud.
Only then did she realise she no longer had the strength to turn herself over.
Several clear birdcalls echoed beside her ears. Mist filled the surrounding forest, and the sky above was completely white.
It was only then that she realised morning had already arrived.
She had actually run for an entire night.
No wonder her limbs no longer felt as though they belonged to her.
They hurt like hell.
This was definitely the most miserable day in Shi Xia’s twenty-something years of life.
There was no competition.
“Big Sister…
“Big Sister…”
Something moved inside her arms, and a small, dirty face emerged.
The little girl’s eyes were misty, as though she might burst into tears at any moment. Her face was filled with worry and panic.
“Be good. Don’t cry.”
Shi Xia wanted to stroke her head, but she could not even lift her hand.
She could only continue lying there like a corpse, panting heavily.
“I… just need to rest… for a while. Be good.”
“Mm. Niuniu will be good.”
The girl obediently nodded.
She was still only a child. Seeing Shi Xia lying there without moving, how could she not be afraid?
She soon began shedding large tears despite herself, but she did not make a sound. Instead, she bit her lower lip tightly and pretended that she was not crying.
Shi Xia’s heart ached.
The little girl remained pressed against her side. Since Shi Xia could not move, she simply clung tightly to her and stayed obediently still.
After lying there for a long time, Shi Xia finally recovered a little strength.
At last, she was able to sit up.
She pulled the little radish-like child away from her chest, where she had practically become attached.
My poor chest!
“Big Sister…”
The little girl looked at her pitifully with eyes swollen like walnuts.
Shi Xia stroked her head and finally had the opportunity to examine the wound on her leg.
Fortunately, it was only a cut. The bleeding had already stopped.
She had saved the child, but what should she do now?
The girl looked only five or six years old. She would never survive alone in this forest.
Shi Xia sighed.
“Is your name Niuniu?”
The girl nodded.
“Then can you tell Big Sister what this place is?”
Niuniu looked completely confused.
Shi Xia had no choice but to change the question.
“Was the boy who was with you earlier someone you know?”
Niuniu remained silent for a while before answering, “Big Brother.”
“He’s your older brother?”
She nodded.
“Do you know how you came here?”
Shi Xia tried to keep her voice as gentle as possible.
“Where do you live? Do you remember the way home?”
Niuniu nodded, but after a while, she shook her head again.
“We’re not going home… Big Brother said we’d arrive soon… Once we find it, we won’t be hungry anymore… and we’ll become very powerful.”
What kind of confusing nonsense was that?
Shi Xia felt a headache coming on.
However, judging from the girl’s words, she had probably been following her brother towards a particular destination when they encountered the monster.
“Do you know where your brother was trying to go?”
Niuniu shook her head.
Then she suddenly seemed to remember something. She anxiously grabbed Shi Xia’s clothes.
“East… Big Brother said we had to go east-east. We were almost there.”
East?
Was she talking about a direction?
Shi Xia raised her head and examined the position of the sun to determine their bearings.
Coincidentally, the direction they had been travelling was east.
Returning the way they had come was impossible. Their only option was to continue forwards and search.
If Niuniu’s brother had truly been heading east, perhaps they might encounter him again.
After resting for a while longer, Shi Xia took Niuniu’s hand and continued on their way.
She could not even be bothered to worry about the mud covering her body.
She would simply treat it as a skincare treatment.
This world was far too unfamiliar to her. Remaining in one place would probably be even more dangerous.
Perhaps because of the dozens of delivery journeys she had already experienced, Shi Xia was surprisingly calm about transmigration.
After travelling between worlds so many times, she had simply grown accustomed to it.
Besides, she did not know whether it was merely her imagination, but she felt that the system’s decision to abandon her in this world could not be so simple.
There was probably some other purpose behind it.
Leave a Reply