C19 The Night Was like a Cat's Cry

Night swiftly descended in the virtual sky, and Lee Kai gazed upward into the darkness, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on the ground. "No alerts. This must be a surveillance blind spot," he mused as an animal the size of a head emerged beside him, sparking a glint of excitement in his eyes. Abruptly, the boom of cannon fire echoed above, and he watched as a screen materialized in the sky, displaying the faces of the deceased.

He tallied the death toll silently. Soon, the sky's screen vanished, and he sat in contemplative silence. "By my initial count, there should be 72 people, yet the death toll has already climbed to 43. It's only the first day. Caution is paramount. The platform accounts for 36 of the deceased, confirming my suspicion that we're mostly newcomers here."

"The cover of darkness hampers movement, likely reducing the night's skirmishes. Now is my chance to act; I must locate the protagonist." His previous encounter with a six-member team from this world had led to a skirmish during which Lee Kai had drawn one member away, separating himself from the protagonist's group.

"My survival indicates the protagonist is still alive. His team consists of four—no, three members, as the elderly woman was shown on the big screen. That leaves 25 adversaries, including 11 from the platform. Both platform members and natives of this world are formidable, and if I continue to operate solo, the risk to my safety escalates," Lee Kai pondered, feeling the weight of his predicament.

Initially, he had avoided joining the protagonist's team, wary of the constant dangers that seemed to follow them. He had opted to protect them from a distance, launching surprise attacks on their assailants and keeping his distance when they were unthreatened, all to safeguard his own well-being. However, with the current level of peril and the prevalence of teams, the proximity to the protagonist's peril was irrelevant. It was time to devise a plan to find them and blend in.

Lee Kai gently patted the summoned animal beside him and began to make his move. Traveling through the dead of night was risky; the silence around him meant that the slightest rustle could draw unwanted attention. This was why he proceeded with such caution. He had been warned earlier that using his Active Skill was restricted due to the pervasive surveillance equipment. If he used it carelessly, he would be detected. Yet, Lee Kai pondered the choice of words: why was it restricted and not prohibited? With this question in mind, he began to recklessly test his limits.

He eventually grasped the nuance of the restriction. While within the monitored area, using an Active Skill would trigger an alert from the platform. However, once outside the surveillance zone, using his skills posed no significant issue. The black cat leaping from tree to tree was the result of his half-day's labor. For safety, he meticulously crafted the skill each time he released it, allowing for a sustained duration. This interval served as a buffer, giving the platform time to indicate whether the use of the skill was permissible. Otherwise, a hasty release could be caught on camera, leading to certain death at the platform's hands.

His small stature and subtle movements made him difficult to detect. With the black cat acting as his eyes, navigating the darkness became considerably safer.

After some time, Lee Kai halted abruptly as a sense of danger emanated from the black cat's mental signal. His body instantly tensed. He scanned the area and then concealed himself behind a large tree, mentally commanding the black cat to attack.

A chilling screech of a cat followed, and about twenty meters ahead of Lee Kai, a man's voice erupted, "Fuck!" He swore loudly at the tree, taken aback by the unexpected assault. Though unharmed, the surprise had rattled him.

Rubbing his waist, another voice called down from the tree, "Wang Xin, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just watch out, there's some animal up here. Gave me quite a scare. It was all black."

"What are you worried about? It's just a cat. I can't believe you got scared by a cat and nearly fell. Since when did you become such a scaredy-cat?"

"Me, scared? That's laughable. How many people have I killed? At least seven or eight, right? And you're calling me timid? If I'm timid, what does that make you? You've only taken out two so far," Wang Xin retorted, his voice laced with annoyance as he yelled up at the tree.

"What's the big deal about taking down two? I, Yu Han, don't stoop to killing defenseless targets like you do. I only go after those who can hold their own, not waste my time on rookies."

"Alright, alright, you're the man, Yu Han. You're the toughest of the tough. With all that bravado, why don't you go after that woman instead of teaming up with me?" Wang Xin had landed on his side, avoiding serious injury but his arm was numb. He sat under a tree, flexing his arm to restore feeling.

"Isn't it obvious? With teams all over the place, we'd be dead meat without allies. And since we know each other from the Peace Platform, who else would I turn to?" Yu Han spoke from his perch in the tree, eyes closed. Both men were seasoned members of the platform, which is why they had easily formed a team.

"Hey, before I ran into you, I encountered that new tough character," Yu Han suddenly mentioned.

"Which tough character? Do I know him?"

"The one who took on twenty people by himself. Haven't you heard about him?"

"That guy? Where did you see him? If he's around, we'd better just stay hidden. I have no intention of crossing him; it's like begging for a death wish!" Wang Xin recognized the man in question—a truly formidable opponent. He had made a name for himself by aggressively taking on other newcomers in his first world on the platform, leaving few survivors. His quiet demeanor belied his lethal nature.

"Exactly, I'm on the same page. Oh, for crying out loud! Damn... Get out of here..." A string of curses erupted from the tree. Wang Xin sprang to his feet, thinking Yu Han was under attack. But upon closer inspection, he burst into laughter. "Haha, weren't you just calling me a coward? Looks like that black cat decided to pick on you instead. Karma for all your teasing, serves you right!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a hand emerged from behind, clamping over his mouth. A kunai in the assailant's other hand swiftly stabbed into Wang Xin's neck and slashed backward. Overwhelmed by the sudden pain, Wang Xin tried to scream and resist. But his unenhanced strength was no match for Lee Kai's, and as the fatal wound took its toll, his struggles gradually subsided.

At that moment, the black cat was giving Yu Han quite a hard time. Its agility, likely enhanced by Lee Kai's intelligence, made it far more nimble than the average cat. It darted around the branches surrounding Yu Han, occasionally seizing the opportunity to swipe at him with its claws when he wasn't looking. Yu Han tried to catch it, but maneuvering through the branches proved difficult, and before he knew it, he had tumbled from the tree.

"Ouch, that's going to leave a mark. Has this cat lost its mind? Why is it so hyper?" Yu Han groaned, rolling back and forth on the ground. The fall from the tree had been painful, and while he was a player who relied on strength, he wasn't like Wang Xin, who focused on enhancing his stamina. Both had fallen from a tree, but Wang Xin could endure much more than him.

"Hey, say something. Come give me a hand!" Yu Han called out, but Wang Xin didn't respond. A second ticked by, and Yu Han's heart pounded alarmingly, as if it might burst from his chest. A sense of unease washed over him. "Why is he so quiet? He should be laughing and taunting me by now." Ignoring the aches in his body, Yu Han flipped over and stood up, peering into the darkness toward Wang Xin. All he could make out was a figure lying on the ground.

"Hey, this isn't funny. Make a noise," Yu Han called out, but silence was his only answer. He paused, scanning the surroundings with caution. Apart from the soft whisper of the wind, there was no other sound.

"Come on, stop messing around," Yu Han called again, but still, Wang Xin remained silent. Yu Han braced himself for the worst, yet a part of him clung to hope as he edged closer to where Wang Xin lay.

The rustling of the wind seemed to intensify, the sound of it passing through the leaves now eerie and unsettling. The breeze that had once been soothing now made Yu Han wish he couldn't hear at all.

He moved slowly, but eventually reached Wang Xin's side. Crouching down, he gave him a gentle nudge, but there was no reaction. The wind swept by again, this time carrying the distinct scent of blood to Yu Han's nose. His body tensed. Just then, a chilling scream erupted from behind him, so visceral that it sent his already taut nerves into overdrive. He spun around like a top, facing the direction of the sound, and nearly lost his balance. He would never admit that fear had made his legs tremble.

Lee Kai suddenly sprang out from behind the tree where he had been concealed. With a forceful kick against the ground, a scattering of dry leaves erupted into the air. Lee Kai, agile as the black cat he had conjured, lunged toward Yu Han's back.

Yu Han spun around to find a pair of eyes glowing green fixed on him. Truth be told, the combination of the scene, the corpse nearby, and the previous cat's cry had thoroughly spooked him. At that moment, his mind was completely blank.