Chapter 35: Unconscious Fox

The fox was all wet from the water, but it was clean. Cassias even used a towel to wrap its small body. However, upon closer look, the fox seemed very weak and there were some bite marks.

The bite marks were very clear on the missing patch of fur, forming a redness. It hit Laziel with a sense of guilt. Did that snake from earlier bite this little thing?

"Prepare yourself." As soon as Cassias finished muttering his warning, Laziel heard the sounds of zombies heading their way.

When the first one appeared, Cassias, holding the fox in his other hand with extreme care, shot the zombie. Laziel took the pitchfork in his hand and fell into a momentary daze.

Right, how was that munchkin doing at this time? Laziel's gaze flitted to Cassias, who had just given him the pitchfork. He did recognize that this thing wasn't the one she usually used.

If she were here, she would have probably snatched it up and tried to see whether it was hers, right? That girl most likely was getting bored sleeping in the hospital room. 

Laziel shook his head, and no longer thought about Zerra, focusing on the battle ahead. One day passed, and she hadn't turned into a zombie anyway, so she must have been safe.

In just a few minutes, Cassias managed to take down most of the zombies heading their way. It was like he was in a hurry to do it, even Laziel was shocked by his speed.

"Did you hide your true power?" He blurted out.

Cassias glanced at him but didn't speak. He went back to killing the zombies and mutated animals. The more he saw how ferocious Cassias was, the more he felt that he didn't know this man.

However, if Cassias was this strong, he still hoped that he would be with Nyra instead. He would definitely be able to protect her…

A zombie nearly crashed into him, knocking out of his trance. He was sent back slamming to the ground.

"What are you doing just standing stupidly there?" Cassias glanced at him with displeasure. His forehead marred with a slight frown. That look had been plastered on his face since he found the fox earlier, clearly in a bad mood.

"Sorry." Laziel realized his mistake. He got up and fought the zombies more seriously, not minding the pain in his limbs from Cassias' hurl. 

If not for Cassias, the zombie would have bitten him.

Half an hour later, they finished the horde of zombies. Cassias sat on the ground, opening the dirty bundle of towel and exchanged it with a new one. Some zombie blood had splashed on the old one.

"I will take the crystal cores." Laziel offered, and without waiting for Cassias' answer. He already began working. 

The smell of rotten flesh, blood, and pus still made him want to vomit, but he persisted. Cassias didn't stop him.

The man was busy applying some medicine on the fox skin. The unmoving and unconscious fox let out a small whimper, as if in pain.

Cassias stopped, and the whimper similarly halted. The fox curled up, using its wet tail to warm itself to no avail. Cassias continued to apply medicine again, ignoring its slight whimper and subconscious struggle.

When he arrived at the large patch of missing fur, he paused. Then he took the cotton bud and his movement resumed. The fox once again let out a pained whimper, and then…

It bit Cassias's finger.

Laziel widened his eyes when he saw the appearance of the fox, whose eyes now opened like it had woken up.

Its pair of eyes looked empty. Similar to those zombies he had seen before. The place where there should be pupils was replaced by white color, clouded. 

"Man, that's a damn mutated zombie animal." Laziel stood up and approached him, stopping his crystal core digging midway. 

He checked Cassias' finger, which now had torn skin from the fox's sharp tooth. His hands went to his head in distress. "It even bit you!"

"Stay back." Cassias ordered. Laziel's hand stopped, no longer reaching for the fox. He was about to forcefully pull that fox off Cassias' finger.

His face still appeared panicky. "What if you turn into a zombie? You were so careless, picking up a mutated zombie fox like that!"

He watched with trepidation as Cassias softly pulled his finger out of the fox's small mouth. There was something in his eyes that Laziel couldn't quite decipher.

"Are you into cute animals?" Laziel blurted out before he could control his mouth.

Cassias' mouth twitched, and he shrugged, neither denying nor acknowledging it. Laziel seemed to have taken Cassias' response as a silent acquiescence. His eyes widened in shock, as if he had just discovered a new continent.

They fell into a brief silence. Laziel adjusted his own complicated emotions and asked him bluntly, "Are you going to turn into a zombie?"

"No." Cassias shook his head. The bitten mark was quite shallow, like a knife that grazed the surface of his hand.

"No?" Laziel raised his eyebrows in puzzlement.

In a confident tone, Cassias told him, "Just this much is nothing. Not enough to turn me into a zombie."

Laziel pursed his lips. Cassias didn't stop there, "But if it happened to you…" 

There was a meaningful look on his face. Laziel took that as a warning. Tsk, this man was so protective of that stinky fox already. 

Laziel didn't know why, but he didn't have a good impression of this fox, probably because it was also a mutated animal that had caused Grandma to turn into a zombie. He did hate mutated zombie animals…

"Well, fine." He shrugged and then continued to dig the crystal cores.

Fifteen minutes later, he finished. He brought the crystal cores and scrutinized them. "They have a lot of colors. Are they divided according to its power?"

"That's correct," Cassias said as he wrapped the fox in a bandage. 

Then he wrapped it in a small silky blanket. The fox's eyes had closed again, and it had fallen into complete unconsciousness. No matter how long it took for Cassias to apply the medicine, the fox never moved again.

He lifted his head. "Let's go."

"Is something wrong?" Laziel became tense suddenly. He saw Cassias looking in the direction where those zombies had come from, with knitted brows.

"Those zombies in the hospital room might have come from this place. It's unknown what has lured them here." His jaw tight, and his eyes narrowed.

"You mean they crawled up from this tunnel?" Laziel opened his mouth slightly in disbelief.

"That's only my conjecture." 

Nevertheless, Laziel couldn't refute Cassias' words. For the past two days, they hadn't found where those zombies had come from. His explanation was the most reasonable answer.

Cassias gestured to Laziel to follow him. They went back to where they had come from. When he saw Cassias taking out a flashlight, his mouth twitched, then opened wide.

He witnessed Cassias looking at the wall and began to take some kind of machine. Then, he handed the fox to Laziel and began to use the earth drilling machine to drill a hole through the earthly tunnel.

Laziel wanted to caress the fox's fur but held himself as he remembered Cassias' warning. He didn't want to turn into a zombie.

The sound of the machine echoed through the quiet tunnel. The thin wall crumbled, and an opening was revealed. Cassias hacked the few zombies in front of him and told Laziel, "Get here, quick."

Laziel stepped into the small opening, crouching down slightly, and got inside. He saw another path for this tunnel, which now resembled a labyrinth.

"Your fox." He handed over the fox back to Cassias after he stored away his drilling machine. After thinking about it, he also decided to hand over the crystal cores to Cassias. 

"These are your crystal cores. You are the one who killed all the zombies, anyway. But would you mind if I take the red ones?" The red crystal cores had a fire attribute suitable for Nyra.

Just as Laziel held his hand out to Cassias, he suddenly sensed a pain. Something had stabbed his finger.

The unconscious fox had some crystal cores in its mouth. Not only that, it also seemed keen on making Laziel its meal. Its teeth embedded in his finger.

He panicked. "Damn it. I am going to turn into a zombie!"