Luring the Cat into the Trap

"It's good that Jingwei No. 0350 is coming to pick us up, but with the mutated cat outside, can it land safely and then pick us up?" Faced with Liu Lian's skepticism, the leader of the Special Operations Department replied, "That is indeed a threat, so we must find a way to kill it, or at least drive it away. We'll rely on your ability to locate it by sound and provide us with its real-time position."

Liu Lian thought for a moment. "That's not a problem. It seems that its skin defense isn't too strong after the mutation, and your bullets can harm it. The only problem is its speed. I think we need to set a trap."

"What kind of trap?"

"When we encountered the mutated soldier ants, Tom used a method. We trapped one ant in a net and then set it on fire."

Recalling that battle, Liu Lian still felt deeply moved. At that time, except for Tom, everyone was in a dire situation, and they were all scared to death. It can be said that if it weren't for Tom, they would all have been food for the ants.

"So we find a rope, and when it charges towards us, we pull it up... heh heh."

"A snare? That's a good idea, but who can guarantee that it will run towards the snare?"

Liu Lian grinned and looked at Ouyang Haotian, who was still chatting with Xiao Mei. "That's where we need a bait that runs fast enough."

Confused by everyone's gaze, Ouyang Haotian blinked a few times. "What... are you all looking at?"

The leader of the Special Operations Department nodded. "That's a good idea. Once we trip it, our seven guns will keep it down."

Special operations equipment always included ropes and grappling hooks for climbing heights, so there were no issues with length. The next step was to choose the location to set up the snare. They surveyed the surrounding environment through the shelter's external cameras and quickly selected a central area in a neglected flowerbed.

The flowerbed, overgrown with weeds due to two months of neglect, provided excellent concealment, making it perfect for hiding. When the time came, Ouyang Haotian would use his speed ability to lure the mutated black cat onto the path, and the others would seize the opportunity to pull up the snare and hinder its movement.

Although Ouyang Haotian was somewhat reluctant, this was the only way to escape. With plenty of time and Jingwei No. 0350 temporarily unable to arrive, they decided to eat something and continue resting.

At noon, when the sun was at its highest and visibility was poorest for the cat, and also when it was most lethargic, the shelter door slowly opened. The nine guns were on high alert, fearing that the mutated cat would rush in, which would be dangerous in the confined space of the shelter.

The group escorted Liu Lian to the door, where he held the red crystal and began to focus his abilities with closed eyes.

Initially, Liu Lian relied on his ears to detect his surroundings, but for creatures like cats that walked almost silently, it was difficult to hear them. Along the way, Liu Lian found that he could emit sound waves from his mouth that were inaudible to human ears. By relying on the reflection of these sound waves, he could detect his surroundings, akin to what was popularly termed "sonar radar" in computer hardware.

After emitting two rounds of sound waves, Liu Lian didn't detect any large objects and immediately said, "It's safe, it's not here!"

Ouyang Haotian felt a bit relieved. "Ah, that cat has already eaten several people. It's probably found a place to sleep soundly."

Liu Lian gave him a stern look. "Don't underestimate the cat's vindictiveness. These animals are very vengeful. We injured it last night, so it's probably still nearby. Hurry, let's ambush in the flowerbed and get the snare ready."

The six soldiers from the Special Operations Department and the three security guards from the Security Department, each armed with a gun, quickly ran to the designated ambush location, leaving Liu Lian and Ouyang Haotian behind.

"Hey, do you already have Zhao Yingying but still have designs on Xiao Mei? Is that why you came up with this plan to harm me and monopolize Xiao Mei?" Ouyang Haotian looked at the shelter, where Bai Sifei and Xiao Mei were still inside. "I don't have confidence in outrunning that mutated cat. If it decides to attack you instead of me, do you think I'll have a chance to survive? I don't want to do this unless it's for the sake of getting back safely."

Ouyang Haotian pondered for a moment. "Yeah, as long as I run far enough, that cat will definitely get you first. Haha, fatty, you're done for."

"It's okay. If I die, you won't live long either. It's just a matter of who goes first. Anyway, Tom gave me this life. Being able to live until today is already a big gain. Compared to that, Tom is still missing."

"Tom again... always Tom." Ouyang Haotian slapped his forehead. "I know he's great, but I didn't expect everyone except that guy surnamed Li to be so attached to him. If the people he met before were all like you, he wouldn't have almost starved to death."

"Starved to death?" Liu Lian was shocked to hear this.

Ouyang Haotian realized he had let slip and quickly covered his mouth. "No, I was just making an analogy. Forget about it, let's focus on our surroundings to prevent the mutated cat from catching us off guard. Don't worry, I won't let it find you, or else Xiao Mei will tear me apart first."

Liu Lian immediately shifted his attention to observing their surroundings. Since they were in an open area, it was convenient for him to use his sonar radar. He scanned the area intermittently but found no signs of movement yet.

By one-thirty in the afternoon, Ouyang Haotian was lounging lazily under the shade of a tree, yawning. "Are we just worrying for nothing? That cat might have gone somewhere to find some fish jerky to eat. We've been waiting for so long, and there's been no response at all. Oh, it's so hot, my pants are sticking together."

Liu Lian wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, frowning as he surveyed the surroundings. "If it hasn't shown up, that's good. Once Jingwei No. 0350 arrives, we can safely board and leave." With that, he emitted another sound wave.

"After we go back, I'll definitely take a good bath, like in a private bathroom... none of that public bathhouse stuff..."

"Shut up! There's something!" Liu Lian quickly waved his hand to alert the others, then looked towards the northeast corner. He emitted another sound wave, and soon his ears picked up the rebounded waves, projecting a familiar silhouette in his mind. He immediately shouted, "Mutated cat! It's the mutated cat! Get ready!"

This was both a reminder to Ouyang Haotian and to the others hiding in the flowerbed. He pointed to the northeast corner and shouted, "Mouse, over there, get ready to lure it!"

Ouyang Haotian couldn't see the cat that Liu Lian mentioned, but he immediately accelerated towards the northeast direction. After running for more than ten meters, a dark figure suddenly pounced towards him. He quickly made an emergency stop and dodged the attack.

"Oh damn! Tom, you better watch over me!" Ouyang Haotian hurriedly sprinted away, not caring about the direction at this point.

Seeing Ouyang Haotian running off course, Liu Lian anxiously shouted, "Over there, over there! You're running the wrong way!"

With this shout, the mutated cat, which had chased out some distance, found it troublesome to chase after Ouyang Haotian, who ran too fast. Instead, it turned towards Liu Lian, who had more flesh, and immediately pounced towards him.

Terrified, Liu Lian started running, "Oh my god, why is it coming for me? I'm doomed!"

Ouyang Haotian stopped and saw what was happening, then quickly ran back, shouting loudly, hoping to redirect the mutated cat's attention.

However, the mutated cat targeted the slow-moving Liu Lian, charging straight at him. Just as it was about to catch up, several bullets hit its feet.

It turned out that the captain of the Special Operations Department had also run out and successfully attracted its attention by firing his gun while running.

Now even more enraged, seeing only one person holding a gun instead of many, the mutated cat immediately turned its direction towards him.

Only one bullet hit the leaping and dodging mutated cat, and with a few more, the captain's body armor was torn open, and then the mutated cat grabbed him in its mouth and shook him left and right.

"Captain!" The soldiers from the Special Operations Department inside the shelter watched this scene in agony, but their obedience to orders prevented them from moving a muscle, leaving them to watch their captain being killed.

"You damn beast!" Ouyang Haotian finally rushed back to the mutated cat's side, picked up the assault rifle, and immediately started firing at the struggling cat. Others also hurriedly got up, picked up their rifles, and started firing.

"Meow..." The mutated cat rolled over, trying to use its feet to push itself up, but the bullets pierced through its feet. The pain spread, leaving it unable to get up.

The eight rifles poured a storm of metal, hitting its belly and eyes, quickly immobilizing it.

With all the bullets spent and the mutated cat lying on the ground struggling to get up, an angry Liu Lian ran over, pulled out the hollow spike from his waist, which he had found on a mutated mosquito corpse earlier and had been carrying with him.

Blood gushed out, splattering Liu Lian's face, but he didn't care about his almost distorted expression. He roared as he continuously pulled it out, thrust it in, pulled it out, thrust it in, continuously enlarging the wound on the cat's neck.

"It's dead, it's dead!" Ouyang Haotian sat down exhaustedly, while the other three soldiers from the Special Operations Department hurried over to the captain. When they arrived, all they saw were his internal organs flowing on the ground, his eyes still open but lifeless.

"Captain!" The iron-blooded men shed tears, but the fearless hero was no longer breathing.