CH 28

Chapter 28

Qin Jiulin said, “Why? There’s no need for that. We’re not at that point yet.”

Liu Zhongyuan blinked innocently, “Are you overthinking? I meant connecting the two rooms, each with its own bed. It’s safer that way, and you…”

Qin Jiulin, for the first time, wanted to punch him in the head, giving him a cold look. Liu Zhongyuan raised his hands, “I surrender, just kidding, hehe!”

So, the basement became Qi Yu’s place, and Qin Jiulin returned to his clean, unused second-floor bedroom. Liu Zhongyuan, looking pitiful, leaned against the doorframe, but Qin Jiulin ignored him until it was time.

Finally, Qin Jiulin responded, “Leaving?”

Liu Zhongyuan nodded, “Let’s go, no need to bring anything. If we must, just bring two bathrobes. When we transform into human form, we can easily put them on or take them off.”

Qin Jiulin agreed, “Yes, let’s bring the bathrobes and go.”

They set out with just two bathrobes, taking advantage of the night.

Outside was pitch black, but as they transformed into animal forms, their night vision was strong, allowing them to see clearly despite the darkness.

Qin Jiulin, now a giant tiger, moved silently in the dark. Behind him, a giant snake made a hissing noise, a bit noisy but manageable.

Qin Jiulin glanced back disapprovingly. The snake stiffened; he knew their movements in the silent night were conspicuous. This time, their goal was not hunting but approaching the urban area to gather supplies until the military took control.

Qin Jiulin led the way, observing their surroundings. Despite many unseen eyes watching, none dared to confront them.

The snake increased its speed, catching up to the tiger, hissing playfully. Qin Jiulin, annoyed, accelerated, leaving Liu Zhongyuan trailing behind, feeling a bit resentful.

Ignoring Liu Zhongyuan’s thoughts, Qin Jiulin continued forward. As they reached the nearest street to the villa area, instead of approaching directly, they observed from a distance.

Liu Zhongyuan’s large head approached Qin Jiulin, gently rubbing against him. Due to the spikes on the scales, he couldn’t get too close, just brushing against some fur.

Having felt enough, Qin Jiulin signaled it was okay to come closer. They proceeded towards the street, finding it eerily quiet with no signs of other half-beast entities, as if something had lured them away.

Walking through the debris-filled street with smashed cars, broken glass, and bloodstains, they searched for a supermarket or store. Qin Jiulin noticed leftover fingers and a foot in a corner.

The snake hissed, bringing Qin Jiulin back to attention. He transformed into human form, putting on a bathrobe, “Watch here; I’ll check inside.”

Liu Zhongyuan nodded. The silent street raised their caution. Qin Jiulin, now with a lit lighter, periodically illuminated the store. He quickly filled a black backpack with various items, including utensils, lighters, and snacks.

After three fully packed backpacks, he stepped outside, “We’ve got enough. This time, we’re here for seasonings. Let’s head back.”

“The street is too quiet; it gives me a bad feeling. Let’s leave first.”

Liu Zhongyuan agreed, feeling uneasy. Qin Jiulin, as a tiger, carried the three backpacks with ease, swaying his tail lightly on Liu Zhongyuan, signaling to move.

In less than two minutes after they left, small shadows the size of palms continuously flashed in the darkness. Soon, a dense cluster of these small black shadows could be seen, moving and squeezing together.

These small black shadows quickly found the small shop where Qin Jiulin had searched for supplies. They circled inside for a while, confirming there was nothing noteworthy before quietly leaving.

In less than a minute, the entire street returned to silence, resembling the peaceful scene when Qin Jiulin and the others had arrived. It would probably look very safe during the day, considering no dangers were visible.

Qin Jiulin and his group didn’t spend much time outside this time. The round trip took less than two hours. Now, late at night, they had no intention of unpacking; they casually tossed their three black backpacks aside, washed up a bit, and went to sleep.

The only one who woke up early the next day, Qi Yu, saw the three black backpacks in the living room. After checking the first floor and not finding the others, he knew they were still asleep.

He decided to open the backpacks and organize their contents. Almost sixty to seventy percent of the items in these three backpacks were seasonings, a variety of them.

Qi Yu placed these items in the kitchen, leaving only some small miscellaneous items. He placed those in the empty cabinets and drawers in the living room. As for some small snacks, he piled them on the coffee table.

He casually opened a small packet of snacks, tasted it – the flavor was excellent. Before, he wouldn’t have paid much attention to these things, but now, if it weren’t for Qin Jiulin and the others, he probably wouldn’t have had the chance to enjoy them.

It was just a momentary craving; he didn’t eat much. After placing the three empty backpacks in a corner, he noticed that one of the straps seemed to have some black fur attached to it. He went over, inspected it, and plucked off a strand or two of black fur.

Thinking of the giant tiger with black and red patterns after Qin Jiulin transformed, he assumed it must have come from there. He casually threw it out the door but glanced back at the black fur outside the door before closing it.

For some reason, he hesitated, picked it back up, and placed it on the cabinet in the hallway. After closing the door, he felt like he had done something silly.

Why did he bring back this black fur? Was it a memento for Qin Jiulin?

His action of picking up the black fur was entirely subconscious. Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out why he did it. Since he did, there must be something off. He decided to ask Qin Jiulin and the others when they woke up.

He checked the kitchen, everything neatly organized, and then opened the lower cabinets, grabbed some flour, planning to make a simple meal. For them now, besides the meat from hunting, everything else served as snacks.

Qin Jiulin and Liu Zhongyuan slept until almost noon. By then, Qi Yu had already eaten a bit to fill his stomach. The two of them just had a little water and didn’t touch the pasta Qi Yu made.

Qi Yu didn’t mind; after all, they were both variant beastment, and as long as their stomachs weren’t hungry, skipping a meal or two didn’t matter. He took the opportunity to carefully bring over the black fur placed on the hall cabinet.

“Qin Ge, I found this on the backpack. Is it your fur?”