What To Do If The System Forces You To Exercise Ch. 71

Ch.71- Are all cats good cats?!

Da…da…..da….

As the footsteps got closer and more rapid, their heartbeats accelerated and their nerves tensed. They held their iron poles tightly as they stared intensely at the door in front of them. 

The footsteps stopped in front of the door, then there was a sound of something brushing against the door and a slight thump that did not sound like a human. There was no doubt that the person outside wasn’t really a person, but rather some sort of animal. Could it be….a monster? Do monsters really exist? 

They didn’t dare to even breathe as they waited, lightly holding their hands to their mouths. 

Bang! Bang! There was a big slapping sound before the footsteps slowly got quieter, farther and farther away as it finally disappeared. 

“Phew…..d-did it leave?” Shi Junmao collapsed onto the floor, sitting directly on the ground regardless of the dirt and grime. 

“My hands are so sweaty.” Lan Yuyan wiped his hands against his pants with a wry smile. 

“That was terrifying! What the hell was outside just now?!” Wen Ting said in a panic, holding her head in her hands. 

“Calm down, if we panic now it will only make things worse. We’re safe, at least for now, so we should figure out what to do next. How to avoid whatever that thing is and then find a way to get out of this place.” Chu Heling said calmly. 

“We should search for materials we can use to perhaps make a trap or something we can use to take down that creature.” Li Lingqing echoed Chu Heling’s sentiments. 

“But….it’s disgusting….” Shi Junmao picked up some of the old uniforms lying around with a face of utter disgust. The musty smell revealed that these clothes have been here for a few decades at least and combined with the dust, the smell made one feel nauseous….

“Stop complaining, we’re lucky to find anything in here. The traps need to be small too, as we can’t dig any pits in here.” Mu Du’s face was stained with a disgusted expression, covering his nose and mouth with his shirt. 

“Then what kind of trap are we making?” Wen Jiexi’s mouth and nose were covered by Su Chenyu’s hand. The sweet fragrance coming from the hand covering her nose was even more powerful than the musty smell in the air. 

“I think we can make a maze. A labyrinth of sorts. That kind of trap.” Wen Ting proposed. 

“Although the clothes aren’t very strong, they can at least be used as obstacles to block your path. And if we twist all the clothes together, I think we can create a rather strong rope.” 

Everyone then turned to look at Wen Jiexi. Although these fabrics were indeed rather brittle and weak after decades of neglect, it still wasn’t possible for a normal human to tear a durable uniform apart with their bare hands. Therefore, this duty should be left to Wen Jiexi. With no scissors around, then the best candidate to tear these clothes apart with their bare hands was her. 

“Leave it to me, just make sure to tie the pieces of clothing together after I’m done.” Wen Jiexi nodded, accepting this heavy responsibility without any hesitation.

Riippp- Riippp- 

The sound of fabric being torn rang out in the silent room. 

For Wen Jiexi, this was a simple matter and she easily tore the fabric into tiny strips before handing them to everyone else. 

Since their resources are limited, they could only twist the several pieces into braids to increase their toughness. Then they combined several braids together, tightened them and finally tied a few tight knots. 

Their foreheads were covered in sweat as they worked, but each of their expressions were serious and determined. They had no choice, this was a matter of life and death. They gritted their teeth and worked fast. 

Finally, a dozen roughly made ropes were finished after an hour of work. 

“We’ll keep two on us, as there may be a use for them later, and use the remaining ropes to tie them along the path we just passed through. Remember to be subtle, we don’t want the traps to be obvious. Any left over can be used for the actual trap.” Chu Heling gathered them in a huddle and told them the plan in a hushed voice. 

“But who’s going to go out there and do all that? We don’t know when that thing will appear again.” Shi Junmao said as he shivered uncontrollably and then threw a glance at Wen Jiexi. However, he quickly lowered his head again and pinched his cheek harshly. What is he thinking? Even if the girl had strong combat prowess, how can he, as a man, stay and hide behind a girl? 

The group fell silent after this question and then Wen Jiexi slowly started to speak. 

“I saw a shadow earlier before we entered this room. I think it was that creature just now.” 

Wen Jiexi’s words made everyone stare at her with widened eyes. Who knew that someone actually saw the thing? 

“Did you see what it was?” Lan Yuyan asked. 

“No, I couldn’t see clearly as the moonlight was faint and so the shadow was rather blurry but I did see four legs and that it was very big. I believe it’s an animal, big enough to reach….around Yuyan’s chin. However, shadows tend to be elongated so I’m not quite sure about the height. 

Lan Yuyan’s chin….one must know that Lan Yuyan is around 180 cm and so his chin would be….around 160 cm? Although that’s smaller than the average person, at that height the animal must be much stronger! After all, other than intelligence and creativity, humans are not comparable to animals, especially when it came to…..combat prowess! 

“Perhaps we should act together, but it’s best if we don’t stray too far from this room. This is our current stronghold, our base of operations after all. Also, I think it’s a good idea if the men carry an extra rope on them along with carrying an extra iron rod. The women will also carry an iron rod. With this, the men will stand guard as the women set up the traps and then warn the group if they see something. If something happens, we will retreat quickly. Remember, it doesn’t matter if the traps aren’t set up properly. Our safety is more important. There are enough clothes here for us to make more ropes.” Su Chenyu explained as she crossed her arms. Her commanding tone made everyone unable to refuse as they subconsciously surrendered to her whims. 

“Then let’s do as Sister Su says! I’ll take the lead!” Wen Jiexi said as she held the door handle. 

“I’m opening the door now…” 

They watched Wen Jiexi’s movements closely, as she slowly opened the door just a little before peeking out the tiny gap carefully. Seeing no signs of danger, she opened the door and leaned her head out. 

“There’s nothing here, come on out.” 

Everyone left the room one after another after getting the ‘okay’ signal from Wen Jiexi. 

“Look here, it’s the same as the big footprint we saw earlier. Seems like the creature just now is the biggest animal here.” Mu Du squatted and peered at the ground covered in dust and debris. The footprints of the group were clearly imprinted in the dust but their feet could not compare to the big footprint. Even the dust below the big footprint seemed to be crushed completely, making it all the more frightening. 

“If there is more than one of these creatures, although they may be smaller than the big one, we’re going to lose if we try to fight them.” Shi Junmao scratched his head and smiled bitterly.

“Then you should pray that we don’t meet any of them or fight them either.” Wen Ting said in an annoyed tone as she slapped Shi Junmao on the back. 

“Let’s continue forward. I don’t think there’s anything nearby.” Wen Jiexi looked up at the corridor ahead and then turned near the corner. However, other than the extra set of footprints, there was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“B-but…but it’s so strange….” Huo Lin’er stammered as she held Wen Ting’s hand tightly. 

“What’s wrong?” Wen Ting asked in a flabbergasted tone. 

“It really is weird.” Chu Heling nodded and frowned, “It’s reasonable to say that an animal’s nose should be very sensitive. So it’s impossible for the creature to not have known we weren’t in the room so….why did the creature leave?” 

They all silently turned to look at the door behind them. This small and rusty door can be knocked down after only a few hits so….why did it leave? 

“Could it be that it’s treating us like it’s backup food?” Mu Du shivered and said. 

“Hey, stop trying to scare us!” Shi Junmao jumped up, rubbing his hands nervously as his eyes darted left and right. 

“Alright, clam down, I think I have an explanation.” Su Chenyu’s words sobered the frightened as they calmed down to listen to her. 

“My first guess is I don’t think this ‘monster’ attacks people on sight. The people who broke into this place before must’ve done something to have caused this monster to take action, in other words, it won’t attack unless provoked. My second guess is similar to what Mu Du said. Since the monster knows we can’t escape, it lets us live first.” 

“Hisss…I pray that it’s the first guess.” Wen Ting said with a smile, but her smile seemed even more sad than her crying face. She never thought that she would become food one day. As a human being, other than inedible food and other human beings, what couldn’t be eaten? Now they had fallen from their position at the top of the food chain. 

“Anyhow, what we can be sure of is that since it didn’t attack us the first time that means we are safe…for now. As it is the biggest one here, even if it has a whole crowd of underlings following behind, they will not attack based on the leader’s action. That means we can safely carry out our plan.” Li Lingqing said while shaking the cloth rope in her hand. 

“I agree, what we need to do now is to act quickly and be prepared for a second encounter.” Chu Heling nodded and said. 

Since the calmest three out of the group said so, the others did not hesitate any longer. Wen Jiexi took the lead, with Lan Yuyan and Yan Haochen watching the back while Shi Junmao and Mu Du stood on the left and right to surround the girls in the middle. 

They carefully set up the ropes and snares in the corridor outside the room. They hoped the traps would trip the creature but they also had to make sure to remember the placements of the ropes or else they might fall prey to the traps instead. Then that would be a sight to see. 

“Huu….my hands are so sore….” Wen Ting rubbed her tired fingers as she finished tying a knot. 

They searched around the entire first floor and except for some spiders and mice, there were no other living things on the first floor. They found quite a lot of useful things in their search, like a rusty kitchen knife and Mu Du even found a large pot that could be used as a shield. Although it looked ridiculous, it could at least be used to resist a basic attack and at this point, who cared about image anymore? They would take anything they could get. 

“It looks like they’re concentrated upstairs so does that mean we should stay downstairs?”  Shi Junmao scratched his head and said.

“From the footprints, it does seem they’re concentrated upstairs and it looks like there are several floors as well.” Wen Jiexi looked up the stairwell not too far away and saw that the footprints were indeed going up. 

“If I remember correctly, there should be three floors and a rooftop.” Mu Du thought for a while and answered. “The first floor is full of basic amusement park facilities, the second floor is a small movie theater with some lounges and even more amusement park facilities. The third floor is a canteen and the rooftop should be full of the outdoor facilities, like roller coasters, ferris wheels, etc…..” 

“So those creatures are gathered together on the third floor?” Lan Yuyan cautiously approached the stairwell and made a move to go up but was pulled back by Yan Haocheng. 

Ka-da….

At that moment, a loud click sounded out and caught their attention. They turned their heads slowly, their bodies stiffening….

Then several little figures slowly crawled out of the shadows to look up at the humans. Green and blue eyes stared back at them and followed their every movement. 

“W-what is…this?!” Shu Junmao swallowed nervously, his body trembling in fright. The figures’s features were blurred but those eyes were frightening enough. 

“This….a cat?” Wne Jiexi’s night vision was much better than the others when she exchanged her points for those martial art skill books. She squinted slightly and saw that the owners of those eyes were indeed cats. And all of them black cats too. No wonder the others didn’t notice them earlier as the cats practically blended in with the shadows. If it weren’t for that sudden noise just now, they never would’ve noticed the tiny animals. 

“Cats? Say….those little footprints couldn’t have been these little cats, right?” Wen Ting clapped her hands as she silently mouthed an ‘Aha!’. So those small footprints belonged to the cats. 

“Phew…fortunately it’s just some cats, or else it’ll be way too scary.” Shi Junmao patted his chest and said. 

Da, da, da……

At this moment, a blue-eyed cat slowly walked out of the darkness. It looked markedly better than the dirty environment around it with it’s shiny and lustrous fur. It walked over, stretching under the moonlight as it sat down next to them and then licked its paws with its small yet bright red tongue. 

“So cute!” Huo Lin’er’s eyes lit up. In such a scary place, these cute little cats had a soothing effect. 

Wen Jiexi grabbed Su Chenyu anxiously. For some reason, she always felt a sense of danger when she saw these cats. This was different from the nervousness when meeting the monster. There was this kind of….anxiety that was rising from the bottom of her heart. Could it be…fear? 

Is there something wrong with these cats? Wen Jiexi looked closely. Ever since these cats appeared, even more glowing eyes appeared in the darkness. 

“This…just how many cats are there?”  Lan Yuyan looked around in astonishment as the eyes around them. From a simple count, there are at least 50-60 cats hiding in the darkness. 

They didn’t see any earlier and yet now all of them appeared at once. It was quite a shocking scene. 

“So there were actually so many cats here? Where were they hiding just now? Wow, they are way too good at hiding. Wait, those people from before couldn’t have been scared because of these cats, right?” Uncle Mu Du scratched his head and said jokingly.

“Jiexi?” Su Chenyu whispered softly. She felt a slight tremor just now from the hand she was holding and frowned slightly in surprise and worry. Her soft whisper caused Wen Jiexi to stiffen and also attracted everyone else’s eyes. 

“Jiexi, are you okay? Your face looks a bit pale.” Wen Ting leaned over and said worriedly. 

“Did you get a fever from the rain just now?” Chu Heling walked over, reaching out a hand instinctively to touch Wen Jiexi’s forehead when someone else’s hand beat her to it. She blushed embarrassedly as she stood there awkwardly before Li Lingqing dragged her away. 

“Ai, they can take care of themselves, don’t worry about them too much.” While saying so, Li Lingqing rolled her eyes at Su Chenyu. What is with her? Do you have to be so possessive? Can a person not even worry about Jiexi? 

Su Chenyu didn’t care what the others were thinking as she touched Wen Jiexi’s forehead. The forehead felt normal but the hand she was holding is….cold. 

“Jiexi, you….” 

“I’m fine…I just think we’d better leave…quickly…” Wen Jiexi said, watching the group of cats vigilantly. Even though one of them has walked out into the light, the others were still hiding in the dark, staring intently at them. This eerie scene made the back of her neck stand up. Was she just being too sensitive….or is there something wrong with these cats? 

“Leave? Why? It’s just a bunch of cats. I think they actually make me feel more at ease. As someone who animals hate with a passion, this is the first time I’ve seen so many cats without a single one of them running away. Could it be that Jiexi and I’s powers cancel each other out and that just causes the cats to want to approach us even more?” “Lan Yuyan looked at the black cat with bright eyes and then teased lightly. 

“I wonder if it’ll let me pet it.” Shi Junmao said eagerly. 

“They are wild cats. It’s better if you forget about petting them.” Chu Heling looked helplessly at the two eager boys and sighed. Anyhow, it wasn’t just Wen Jiexi who felt something was off, seh also felt that these cats….had a special coldness in their gazes. The icy feeling from their animalistic gazes caused goosebumps to rise. That feeling wasn’t strong, however, and it was easily overlooked. 

“Jiexi is right. We should leave first. This area is too close to the stairs. The commotion here might attract the creatures above. Our traps are set up, we should get ready to leave.” Although Su Chenyu didn’t know what was going on with Wen Jiexi, she felt an unexplainable aversion to these cats. Usually she didn’t have any problems with small animals, so why was it that today she felt so strongly against these cats? 

As if it realized they were leaving, the black cat licked its lips and then tilted its head as it let out a cute ‘meow~’. With it’s trembling little ears, it was…how to say….really cute!

The first person who couldn’t resist it anymore was Shi Junmao. He rubbed his hands excitedly and then took a few steps forward. 

“Little Mao-zi, what are you….” Wen Jiexi asked in surprise. 

“I want to touch it. Although the wild cats are known to be a bit fierce, not all of them are.” Shi Junmao walked a few more steps forward and then squatted down about two meters away from the cat. He then reached out a tentative hand. 

“Duuu, duuu, come here little cutie~ Come here~ Come here to this handsome brother~ This brother will brush your fur for you~” 

The cat did not retreat but instead raised its head as it watched the boy approach. It didn’t even switch its tail at the sudden movements. This made Shi Junmao smile widen as he extended his reach. 

Wen Jiexi didn’t know if it was just her imagination or some sort of illusion, but there was something strange about that cat’s gaze. It seemed to be watching, observing….waiting for something. The cat didn’t even blink as Shi Junmao’s hand inched closer, in fact the feline’s gaze calmly landed on Shi Junmao’s face and then moved downwards before stopping on the boy’s neck. Then a trace of insatiable desire flickered in its eyes…wait, desire?! 

Shi Junmao didn’t seem to have noticed anything was amiss and instead smiled as his hands neared the cat’s head. In his mind, if the cat wasn’t evading his hand then the cat should be harmless. There was no reason for him to fear for his life. 

“Hey, Little Mao-zi! Get away from that cat!” Wen Jiexi broke away from Su Chenyu’s arms and rushed towards Shi Junmao, pulling him by the back of his collar and causing him to fall backwards onto the ground. 

The moment Wen Jiexi pulled Shi Junmao away, the cat made its move. The cat was now standing where Shi Junmao was previously squatting before, its sharp claws now exposed and glinting dangerously under the chilling moonlight. 

Meow~~ 

Compared to the pleasant and crisp meow from before, this one was harsh and grating to the ears, its sound reverberating throughout the surroundings.The black cat from before realized that its attack had missed and its eyes now glowed with visible displeasure. With a single cry, the black cat stirred the owners of the glowing eyes in the darkness. The shadows slowly melted out of the darkness and into the light. 

The number of cats that appeared was much higher than they had estimated. With over 80% of them black cats, there were nearly hundreds of them. Some of them were like the black cat, their fur clean and shiny. Among their number, two cats, one dark purple, and one gray cat confidently sat behind the black cat quietly. Other than these cats, the rest of the cats did not have clean and shiny fur but instead unruly, unkempt hair that added a dangerous aura to their scar covered bodies. Their eyes all turned towards their group, every single one of their gaze filled with a bloodthirsty light. 

“These cats…..what the hell is wrong with these casts…..” Shi Junmao trembled and cried in panic. There was a small trickle of blood on his right cheek, the drops slowly sliding down his skin. If Wen Jiexi hadn’t pulled him back just now he would’ve already….already be….if he remembers correctly, the cat’s claws earlier were pointed at his neck! If that attack had landed…..

He had just survived a life and death situation. Shi Junmao’s forehead was covered in sweat and he reached up his trembling hands to cover his neck gently. He then stammered out a few words towards Wen Jiexi, 

“J-Jiexi….thank you….” 

“Didn’t I say we should’ve left earlier…..it’s going to be difficult to escape now….” Wen Jiexi sighed as her hands tightened around the iron rod in her hands. The traps they had laid out were now all in vain, and…..can they even escape from this situation alive? 

She didn’t want to think about the answer right now. She could only grab Su Chenyu’s arm and move the woman behind her as she tried to protect them all. The men also did not shrink back in fear from this situation and instead tightened their grip on their own iron rods and surrounded the girls in a protective circle. 

DONG! DONG! 

At this moment, the sound of heavy footsteps came from the stairs and from the sound, it doesn’t seem like it was only one creature but multiple. 

“There’s more? Is it coming for us again?” Mu Du whispered in a tense voice, his eyes facing the direction of the stairs. In their current situation, if those things from upstairs come down and join the fight then things will undoubtedly get worse. 

“No exactly, something’s not right. It seems like the cats…..are restless?” Chu Heling who hid behind Li Lingqing said solemnly. 

It was just as Chu Heling said, the huddle of cats seemed to be in a state of turmoil, their paws constantly scratching up the ground and the cats who seemed to be the leaders of the group looked at each other in dismay. Then they turned towards the direction of the stairs with an alert expression, the black cat in lead frowning with its head filled with unknown thoughts. 

At this moment, the footsteps finally stopped and every human and cat in the room raised their head as six pairs of huge blood red eyes materialized in the darkness.

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