In The Zombie Shadows Chapter 5

Their eyes faced each other in deathly silence.

Qining was still snoring, not as if he was not alert, but more like he had fallen into a deep sleep for some reason.

Touching the kitten's ears and nose, Jake Qi could clearly feel that Qining's body temperature was rising rapidly, which was abnormally high.

Squeezing Qining's paw pads, not even a drop of sweat broke out. This made him even more worried, but he did not dare to look away easily and relax his vigilance against uninvited guests.

After confirming that there was a raptor on the roof of the cabin, Jake Qi became even more alert. He showed his four sharp fangs and let out a threatening growl from his throat.

Seeing Jake Qi's caution, the barn owl withdrew his gaze. After a moment, a man's voice sounded: "I mean no harm."

As the words fell, a harsh sound came from the cabin roof. A pair of hands with sharp nails grabbed the edge of the cabin board, tearing the crack wider. Then, a slender figure fell into the cabin.

Jake Qi was furious on the spot.

Is this not malicious? !

"Don't get excited."

The man is handsome, probably in his early twenties. Half-long brown hair covers the back of her neck, and her eyes are brilliant red gold.

Unlike the cool dress of Crow Girl, the man was wearing a shirt and trousers, with a two-finger-wide belt around his waist. There were weird metal rings hanging from the belt, and there were two or three small leather pockets. There were no shoes on her feet, and her hooked nails dug into the floor, leaving clear indentations.

"My name is Yas." The man was very friendly and had a hearty smile. He didn't show any of the ferocity he had when hunting before. "It's rare to see a native cat. Don't worry, I won't eat you."

Jake Qi said nothing and took a half step back, watching Yas's every move, thinking about which direction to escape if something went wrong. At the same time, it bared its fangs to warn the other party not to get close.

"This is the border of District 11."

Not caring about Jake Qi's threat at all, Yasi straightened up, dusted off the dust on his hands, glanced around a few times, and said to himself: "In normal times, this place would definitely be safer than District 12. However, Eleven District will soon turn into a hunting ground. You'd better change direction and go back to District 12 or go to District 10."

"Hunting ground?" Qi Lechi asked.

"The hunting ground of aliens." Yas clasped one hand on his waist and hooked his fingers on the hanging buckle of the belt.

"We have to come here every few years. Five years ago it was District 8, and this year it was supposed to be District 9. But it's the same whether you come early or come late."

"District 11, five years?"

Jake Qi was a little dizzy.

There was really too much information in Yas's words, and I couldn't digest it all in a hurry.

"You don't have a pack? You only have this cub around you?"

Jake Qi said nothing, taking it as acquiescence.

Yas frowned at first, then showed surprise, and soon showed some admiration.

Solitary native species and exotic animals are either so powerful that they occupy vast territories, or they can only become victims of predators. This native species obviously does not belong to the former. To be able to survive until now safely and even raise a cub is really incredible.

Clearing his throat, Yas explained: "There are twelve districts in Blue Star. Except for the third district, they are all the territories of native populations and exotic beasts."

"Every five to ten years, the alien race will choose a place as a hunting ground."

"This year's hunting ground is Area 11. The aliens are expelling the native ant colonies and there is no time to seal the border. The native species that have received the news are all migrating outwards."

"When all the ant colonies leave, District 11 will be completely sealed off, and the remaining populations will become prey for alien races."

Jake Qi took a deep breath and subconsciously tightened his arms.

Qining let out a weak moan, and his hot breath brushed Jake Qi's palm, almost scalding him.

Discovering Qining's symptoms, Yas frowned. Seeing the army ants on the ground, he quickly deduced the cause and effect. He immediately took out a green crystal core from his pocket and handed it directly to Jake Qi.

"The crystal core of the ant tribe is too domineering, and this cub is too small to bear it. Here is this for you, bite it into pieces and feed it to him."

Seeing Jake Qi's hesitation, Yas rolled his eyes ungracefully and said, "There are different types of crystal nuclei. You'll know if you eat more. This kind comes from mutated plants and can moderate the energy of other crystal nuclei." "

After Yas's explanation, Jake Qi finally understood that the crystal core was indeed a good thing, but it should not be eaten indiscriminately, otherwise it would be easy to get into trouble. His body has just grown up and can barely digest the energy in the crystal core of the marching ants. Qining is too young, so eating a whole pill and falling into a deep sleep is already a blessing among misfortunes.

Thinking of this, Jake Qi couldn't help but feel scared.

Although he didn't understand Yas's motives, he believed that the other party had no reason to lie to him.

The simple truth is that it won't do him any good. If you want to use yourself as food, just do it directly, why waste a precious crystal core.

Qi Ning's body temperature was getting higher and higher. Jake Qi didn't dare to hesitate anymore. He bit into pieces of the crystal core and stuffed several pieces into the kitten's mouth.

The results are immediate.

Qining's body temperature quickly began to drop, and his breathing gradually became steady. Jake Qi touched the kitten's nose and pinched the soft paw pads. He felt the slippery sweat and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." Jake Qi thanked him sincerely. He turned around and walked to the metal chair, picked up the crystal cores he found earlier, and handed them to Yas one by one. For him, Qining is more important than anything else. If these are not enough, he will look outside until the favor is returned.

Yasi did not refuse, he accepted the crystal core in front of him, looked at Jake Qi up and down, and suddenly came close to him, the distance between them was less than five centimeters.

Jake Qi froze on the spot.

He thought he reacted quickly enough, but he didn't have time to dodge. The only explanation is that Yas is much stronger than him. If he really takes action, he will never get the slightest advantage.

Unable to guess Yas's intentions, Jake Qi narrowed his eyes and held Qining tightly, his sharp nails popping out a few inches.

If the situation goes wrong, use your claws immediately, and you can always run away.

"Do you know the crows in District 12?" Yas wrinkled his nose, and Jake Qi was stunned for a moment by what he said.

crow?

Patunia?

"You smell of her. Lydia, you know her, right?" Yas sniffed carefully to make sure he was not mistaken. He straightened up and opened the distance between the two. He raised his eyebrows midway, not missing Jake Qi's sharp claws.

"With her scent, the crows and vultures nearby will not attack you."

Jake Qi really didn't expect that Crow Girl would help him like this.

If I had known earlier, I should have Fcuked, rolled, begged, and asked the girl to do more modeling... No, how could such an idea come to mind? Definitely not!

"You are acquainted with Patunia, and I will remind my fellow tribesmen not to embarrass you." Yas moved his shoulders, and his gray wings dotted with light brown spots spread out behind his back, creating a breeze.

"Here you go." Yas took off a long feather and handed it to Jake Qi, "Take it, it should be of some help."

"...Thank you." Jake Qi suddenly felt apologetic for misunderstanding this barn owl.

"No, that's it." Yas smiled heartily and knocked on the ant crystal core in his pocket.

He looks young, but his actual age is much older than Jake Qi.

In his eyes, Jake Qi is no different than a cub. The most important thing is that he has a good impression of this kitten and doesn't mind helping.

"Remember, don't stay here for too long and leave as soon as possible."

With these words, Yas flapped his wings and turned into a barn owl with a gray back and white belly. He quickly flew out of the cabin and disappeared into the night.

Jake Qi stood in the cabin, digesting the new information and planning to leave at dawn. I looked at the cabin roof inadvertently, and an inexplicable thought came to my mind: With such a big crack, what if it rains?

Just when I was worried about rain, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and there was a faint roar of thunder.

Jake Qi was stunned for a moment.

what is this?

The good ones don’t work, the bad ones work?

Qi Ning was awakened by the thunder. While yawning, he looked at Jake Qi and said confusedly: "Dad?"

"Are you awake?" Jake Qi didn't care about anything else. He held Qining up with both hands and asked worriedly, "Do you feel uncomfortable somewhere?"

"No." Qining opened his mouth, yawned again, and rolled up his pink tongue, "Dad is warm, slippery, and very comfortable."

Warm and slippery?

Suddenly realizing a serious problem, Jake Qi slowly lowered his head and his face turned red instantly.

He just talked to a certain raptor for a long time? !

After a long silence, Jake Qi decisively turned back into a civet flower. Before a "civilized appearance" can be ensured, it is safer to have a layer of skin.

In the night, Yas walked through the rain and returned to an ancient building where the tribe lived.

It was once a shelter built by humans. During the war, it once became the command center and office location for decision-making.

It’s just that the disaster happened too fast. Almost overnight, the virus broke out on a large scale. Starting from the warring armies, it quickly spread to civilians. In just a few days, all systems were paralyzed and the crowd was panicked. The entire Blue Star fell into complete chaos.

Shelters were built one after another and quickly abandoned.

After being abandoned for several years, it became home to birds of prey such as eagles, falcons, owls, and eagles.

At first there were only a few, but gradually they increased to dozens or even hundreds. Nowadays, most of the raptors in District 11 are concentrated here, forming a unique rule and order based on the group.

Yas's family occupies a position on the west side of the third floor of the building, adjacent to the Grass Owl family. Although there are occasional frictions, peace can always be maintained most of the time.

This year's breeding season has not yet begun, which means no chicks will be born. Most of the adult barn owls and grass owls are out, and the entire floor is very quiet.

For now, that's a good thing.

The young birds born in the last batch have left the nest and can migrate with the group without any major problems. Otherwise, the group can only abandon the weak to ensure that the strongest next generation can survive.

Faced with the threat of death, the choice is cruel, but the adults are powerless to change.

They can fight against aliens, but the results are often quite tragic.

It would be a different matter if they were as prolific as alien beasts and ant colonies, or as immortal as zombies, and would occasionally pop up in groups.

The fact is that they have no such advantage.

As the population continues to evolve and the brooding cycle continues to lengthen, reproduction becomes difficult. After several lessons, the raptors had to face reality. It was never wise to confront aliens before they had sufficient strength.

Alan was combing his feathers when he heard a noise and saw Yas falling next to him. He asked curiously: "Why is it so late?"

"I found two cats." Yas spread his wings and shook off the water drops on his feathers.

"Cat?" Alan looked surprised.

"I thought it was a strange beast and wanted to catch it and eat it, but it turned out that it was a native species." Yas came closer and rubbed his brother's wings, "One of them has the smell of Patunia."

"Patunia, that crow from District 12?" Alan's voice was deep, and his mood turned 180 degrees.

"Still holding grudges about what happened before?" Yas looked at his brother amusedly.

Alan turned his head and said nothing, obviously sulking.

"Five years have passed since the conflict. Besides, it's just a strange beast. Is it worth being angry for so long?" Yas waved his wings and patted Alan's head. "Living in the ethnic group, are you still worried about food?"

Alan snorted and continued to preen his feathers.

That was his first prey after independence, the first one!

As a result, it was snatched away by a crow. Anyone else would be furious!

"This time District 11 has become a hunting ground. The tribe plans to migrate to District 10 and will definitely pass by District 12. The crows there are not easy to mess with, especially the Patunian tribe. They always say hello when they encounter them. If it happens The leader may not be happy with the conflict."

When Yas mentioned the leader, Alan could only suppress his anger and nodded reluctantly no matter how reluctant he was.