Chapter 105: Mischief, and Milk’s Transformation

It took quite some time for Granny Gu’s body to finish burning. Everyone sat around the fire, lost in their own thoughts. It wasn’t until hunger pangs gnawed at their stomachs that they realized another day was almost over. Rubbing his sore, tired eyes, Chu Hao got up to find something to eat—only then did he notice Anran squatting by the door.

He suddenly remembered that Anran probably hadn’t eaten all day either. How could such a small child endure that? Guilt welled up in his heart. “You must be starving, Anran. Big Brother Chu will get you something to eat.”

He quickly pulled out a drink and a big bag of soft bread from his space. They’d collected a lot of supplies yesterday, so at least for the foreseeable future, food wouldn’t be a problem.

Anran shook her head and whispered, “Sister Bian already gave me some.” She pointed inside, where several cartons of milk sat on the table, along with biscuits, chocolate, tea eggs, and a small handful of soft candy. Anran looked both happy and a little anxious. “Sister Bian gave me so much, I can’t finish it all. But she’s been gone for a long time and hasn’t come back. Uncle Chu, is she not coming back either?”

She didn’t fully understand the whole “strong vs. weak” thing, but she did know there was safety in numbers. Now, with one adult after another leaving, she was truly scared.

Chu Hao glanced at the food, feeling a surge of admiration for Bian Changxi. She really was generous and kind-hearted, so thoughtful. Unlike the rest of them, who were too caught up in their own grief to even think about taking care of a child. But hearing Anran’s last sentence, his heart skipped a beat. “She left? Where did she go? When did she leave?”

Bian Changxi’s abilities had left everyone in awe—not just her combat skills, but her healing powers too. With her around, even the most life-threatening wounds seemed manageable. And she had that huge storage space. She could fight, heal, and gather supplies—she was basically a one-woman survival kit. Especially after everything they’d been through, losing people left and right, Chu Hao valued this new teammate even more. Honestly, if it weren’t for her, he might not have had the courage to trek all the way to Sucheng.

So hearing that she’d gone out and hadn’t returned, and with night falling, how could he not be anxious?

George came over too. “What, Bian left as well?”

He suddenly felt even more hopeless. Were they just going to rot away in this place?

Just then, the low rumble of an engine came from the distant road. Before long, a motorcycle shot down a slope and came to a steady stop in the barren fields. The rider, dressed all in black, was none other than the person they thought had left.

“What’s wrong with you guys? Did something happen again?”

Bian Changxi killed the engine and looked up, only to see the group looking even more lifeless than when she’d left. Her heart skipped a beat—had something terrible happened while she was gone?

Her first instinct was to look for Chen Guanqing. Seeing him weeding in the field, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew it—Chen Guanqing had ended up going to Sucheng with Chu Hao in her previous life. No way would something irreversible happen to him here.

So what were these grown men doing, still wallowing in grief? Was their resilience really that bad? A little sadness was fine, but this was getting out of hand. Didn’t they realize what time it was? If everyone acted like this, how would anyone survive?

She grumbled to herself, hopped off the bike, and untied a burlap sack from the back seat.

Chu Hao and George hurried over, delighted. “Miss Bian, where did you go? We thought you’d left us!”

Before they could finish, a flash of white darted out from behind Bian Changxi, letting out a low growl as it lunged at them like lightning. Everything happened so fast, they barely had time to react. All they saw were two rows of gleaming, razor-sharp fangs and a pair of cold, black eyes brimming with killing intent. A hot, fierce breath brushed their faces, and then something swiped across their cheeks, sending them both sprawling backwards, landing flat on their backs.

What the hell was that? A mutant beast?

Hearts pounding, they scrambled to their feet before they’d even hit the ground properly.

Chu Hao whipped out a watermelon knife from his space, while George thrust his hand into the air, sending a tornado-like blast of energy swirling forth.

The white blur leapt high, seemingly about to crash straight into the energy blast, but Bian Changxi quickly reached out and grabbed it, yanking it down. The blast was about to hit her face, her bangs flying wildly, and George yelped, unable to pull back his power. Just then, a frosty red vine appeared in front of her, casually whipping a few times and instantly dispersing the seemingly unstoppable energy.

George was stunned. Just like that—she’d neutralized his attack?

Chu Hao, meanwhile, was staring at the white creature in Bian Changxi’s hand. Bian Changxi was glaring at it too. “I told you not to mess around. Are you itching for trouble, or do you want to go back inside?”

“Awoo—” The creature, dangling by the scruff, let out a pitiful, kitten-like whimper, nothing like the fierce, soul-shaking growl from before.

Chu Hao was shocked. Looking closer, he realized Bian Changxi was holding a small white animal—not quite a cat, maybe a dog, or perhaps a fox? He couldn’t tell. It was about the length of a human forearm, covered in pure white, slightly sparse fur. Dangling by its neck, its limbs hung limply, its little head twisting to look at Bian Changxi, big black eyes shining beautifully as it blinked pitifully.

Anran was the first to exclaim, “Wow, what a cute kitten!”

Chen Guanqing hurried over too. “That cat…” But then his eyes dimmed. It wasn’t the one that used to be with Xiao Ai. Xiao Ai had loved cats, and after… what happened, there had always been a lot of cats around her. One of them had been small and white, very cute.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Is that… your pet?”

Bian Changxi glanced at him. “Sort of. I’m looking after it for a friend. We got separated before, but I just found it today. Its name is Milk. It might be a bit mischievous, but it won’t hurt anyone.” She held the little beast up for everyone to see. “Milk, say hello to everyone.”

Milk, now changed in both color and appearance, glanced at the group, curled its lip in disdain, and lazily waved its left paw before wriggling furiously, trying to break free from Bian Changxi’s grip. Awoo! Being held up like this was so embarrassing—it wanted to protest!

It was much stronger now, and Bian Changxi almost couldn’t hold on. Worried she’d hurt its skin, she let go. Milk tumbled down, but managed to grab her finger with its front paw at the last moment, kicked its hind legs in the air, then scrambled up her arm, finally settling contentedly on her shoulder.

Bian Changxi looked at it, exasperated, and gave its head a little pat. “Mischief again.” It shook its head in protest, snuggled closer, rubbed against her neck, and purred contentedly, its beautiful eyes watching the group.

The three adults and one child all stared, a bit stunned. This cat—no, whatever it was—seemed almost human in its behavior.

Chu Hao said in amazement, “Miss Bian, your pet is really… really something else. What breed is it? Is it mutated too?”

Bian Changxi sighed, glancing at Milk’s current appearance and color, frowning. “I don’t know what breed it is either. You’d have to ask its owner.”

She wondered if Gu Xu would even recognize it when he saw it again.

She remembered how, when she’d first entered her space, a fluffy white ball had rolled over to her. She’d been startled out of her wits! If the original, pink, hairless Milk hadn’t disappeared, she’d never have connected this odd little creature to that brown mouse.

It just lost its fur—did it really have to change this much?

It didn’t even feel familiar anymore!

She still thought the chubby mouse version was cuter.

But while she was struggling to adjust to the drastic change, Milk was as affectionate as ever, rubbing against her, rolling around on the ground, showing off how strong it’d grown, or maybe just being clingy. Either way, it made it clear it wanted to come along and not be left alone in the space with a bunch of noisy chickens, ducks, and two bored cows, forced to play by itself.

Seeing that it had recovered well, Bian Changxi brought it out with her.

The moment it came out, it was like a tiger unleashed, charging around everywhere. The mutant beasts that sometimes came to harass her all tucked their tails and ran, and even first- and second-tier zombies couldn’t handle its claws. It actually helped her a lot—otherwise, things would’ve been dicey for her alone at the music plaza.

Later, it even dragged her to a secluded farmhouse nearby, where it dug three live, unmutated geese out of a pile of firewood.

Bian Changxi bent down and opened the sack. “I found these geese in someone’s yard. They haven’t mutated, so they’re definitely safe to eat. This one’s got a broken wing. Should we make soup, or roast it and split it up as rations for the road?”

There were three geese, two males and one female. The owners must have left in a hurry. Seeing the broken wing wouldn’t heal, she decided to spare it the envy of the other two, who could fly away as a pair, and planned to butcher it tonight.

To avoid revealing that her space could hold live animals, she’d just kept them on the bike.

She said all this matter-of-factly, but Chen Guanqing’s face stiffened. Still, he didn’t react much, just walked away looking downcast.

Bian Changxi glanced at Chu Hao, who whispered happily, “I think I can talk him around. I’ll try again tonight—he’ll definitely agree to come with us.”

George was even more excited, rubbing his hands together. “We can really leave? When?”

It was already the 13th. Bian Changxi said, “If nothing goes wrong, tomorrow. George, can you take care of the goose for us?”