Chapter 20 Picking up a cat
After Gu Yanxu and the other two arrived, Bai Tang picked up a long wooden stick from the side and tentatively stretched it towards the clump of withered grass.
Suddenly something darted out; it was covered in mud and grayish, making it impossible to tell what it was.
Bai Tang looked to the side again and saw clearly that it was a wild animal trap, which had caught a furry animal.
Another animal, covered in mud, lay beside the one caught in the trap, whimpering pitifully.
At this moment, Lin Fan recognized it; it looked like a large wildcat.
The one that was trapped must be its mother, because it was much larger than the cub next to her.
Because the mountains in the northern suburbs are barren and have many wild animals, some local hunters set animal traps on the mountains, and this stray cat unfortunately stepped on one.
Just then, the stray kitten rushed towards Bai Tang and the others, meowing as if it were asking for help.
To ensure Bai Tang's safety, Gu Yanxu, knowing that stray cats are generally fierce, slowly approached the stray cat lying on the ground.
The little stray cat next to them seemed to know that Bai Tang and the others were going to save them, and it didn't react in any way.
After Gu Yanxu approached, he squatted down and looked at the trapped female stray cat. He then turned to Bai Tang and the others and shook his head, saying, "It has been trapped for too long, and with the bad weather, its legs have become necrotic and infected."
It's beyond saving, and it's probably already at its last gasp.
The mother cat seemed to understand what Gu Yanxu said and licked the head of the kitten next to her.
Then she looked at Bai Tang, her eyes filled with tears.
It seemed to be hoping that Bai Tang and the others could rescue its cubs.
The kittens realized their mother was dying, and immediately lay down beside her, whimpering pitifully.
Seeing this, Bai Tang knew that in this apocalyptic world, a little wild kitten could not possibly survive on its own.
She had always wanted to have a cat or dog, but she put her plans on hold because of the apocalypse.
This little wild kitten can make up for the regret of not having a cat before; at least it saved a life.
In the apocalypse, saving cats and dogs is better than saving people.
In the end times, people are treacherous. If you save a cat, it will know to treat you well; if you save a dog, it will know to wag its tail at you; but saving a person is not so certain, and they might even bite you back.
So Bai Tang decided to take the little wildcat back and raise it. She didn't know if she could tame it, but Bai Tang had plenty of food in her space, so she was sure it wouldn't suffer.
Bai Tang said to the dying mother cat, "Don't worry, I will take your kitten back and take good care of it."
After Bai Tang finished speaking, the mother cat slowly stopped breathing. Bai Tang slowly approached the little wild kitten, not minding that it was covered in mud, and picked it up.
While hugging it, I said, "Don't be sad, I will take good care of you."
The little wildcat seemed to understand what Bai Tang said, and just lay in Bai Tang's arms meowing, as if it was saddened by the loss of its mother.
Gu Yanxu and the others originally planned to find a place to bury the mother cat's body in a pit.
However, fearing that the floodwaters might continue to rise, Bai Tang suggested: put them in bags and temporarily store them in the space, then bury them when the time is right.
He turned around and took out the body bags he had previously stockpiled from his spatial storage.
Because of the apocalyptic natural disasters, people will always die. If relatives or friends unfortunately perish, at least we can prepare a burial for them.
Although this may sound ominous, they have considered all possibilities.
After Bai Tang put the mother cat's body into a body bag, she stored it in her spatial storage.
After cutting down the remaining dead trees and storing them in their spatial storage, they prepared to head home.
Lin Feng and Lin Fan weren't stupid; they naturally saw that Bai Tang had taken it out directly, but the two tacitly refrained from asking any questions.
After all, Bai Tang was the person their boss favored, and she was their sister-in-law.
Everyone could see how good Bai Tang was to them.
Bai Tang carried the little wildcat cub and followed them down the mountain.
The others tried to help Bai Tang hold the little wildcat, but without exception, they were all warned by the little wildcat's hiss.
It is now only close to Bai Tang and wary of everyone else.
After all, it is a wild animal, so it should be wary, but for some reason it is particularly close to Bai Tang.
Bai Tang smiled at them and said, "It's okay, I can carry it. It's so small and not heavy."
The kitten clung tightly to Bai Tang's arm, refusing to let go.
Upon reaching the water's edge, Bai Tang launched the assault boat. After everyone boarded, Bai Tang took out several backpacks and smeared mud on them.
They pretended that the backpacks contained supplies they had found.
Seeing this, Gu Yanxu and the others also wiped the mud off their trousers and shoes onto their backpacks.
Bai Tang rubbed the mud off the kitten onto her backpack, making it filthy.
Bai Tang said, "This is what it looks like to find supplies in a flood. Otherwise, who would believe it would be completely clean?"
Not long after, they returned to the neighborhood safely.
It seems that there aren't many people outside who have the tools to loot in the floodwaters for the time being.
For a time, things were relatively calm.
After returning to Building 5, Gu Yanxu and his companion carried the inflatable boat upstairs, each carrying a small backpack on their backs.
Bai Tang was carrying a backpack and holding a kitten in her arms.
Someone saw Bai Tang holding a live animal in her arms and instantly had a wicked thought: to steal the animal, kill it, and eat it.
So the man stood up and ran towards Bai Tang. When Bai Tang saw this, she calmly took out the pistol that she had been keeping in her waist pocket.
The man was scared back by the pistol she pulled out before he even reached Bai Tang.
The people inside the building who saw this all lowered their heads and said: This has nothing to do with me. Don't look at me. You should hurry up and go upstairs.
With Bai Tang threatening them by pulling out a pistol, they went upstairs at a leisurely pace.
When they reached the 20th floor stairwell, Bai Tang called out, "Brother! Open the door, we're back."
Bai Jiyang heard Bai Tang knocking on the door from inside the house.
He quickly got off the sofa, walked out of the house, and opened the door to the 20th-floor exit for Bai Tang and the others.
Lin Zhou followed him out.
Seeing the four of them covered in mud, Bai Jiyang told them to quickly go inside and take a shower.
After they all came in, they closed the door again.
Bai Jiyang had just returned to the house when he saw Bai Tang holding a muddy-looking thing in her arms, but he couldn't tell what it was.
He asked, "Sis, what are you holding in your arms? Why is it covered in mud?"
Bai Tang quickly told them that it was a rescued stray kitten.
Bai Jiyang said with a hint of disgust, "It's all muddy, sis. Don't you mind? Take it to wash it."
The little wildcat seemed to understand what Bai Jiyang was talking about, and turned its head to breathe on Bai Jiyang.
Bai Tang patted its head and said, "It's okay, he's just worried about you and asked me to take you to get a good bath."
After saying that, Bai Tang took the stray cat into the bathroom.
Gu Yanxu and the other two went to other bathrooms to take a shower.