What To Do If The System Forces You To Exercise Ch. 72

Ch.72- The owners of the large eyes?!

“What is that?” Wen Ting pointed towards the top of the stairs, her lips trembling as she hugged Huo Lin’er tightly, who was shivering so badly herself that she could not speak. 

Pa…Pa…..

As if responding to Wen Ting’s question, the sound of footsteps started again and the leading figure in the shadows stepped forward, half of its body appearing before them. 

“That’s a…dog? A…mastiff?” Mu Du said with widened eyes. 

The dog in front of them was at least 140 cm tall, with sharp teeth, sturdy forelimbs, and ferocious eyes that made one flinch and shudder. 

“This…are they still dogs at this point? A variant perhaps?” Lan Yuyan said dumbfoundedly. This dog in the front was at least several times larger than a normal dog. It was the biggest dog he had ever seen.  

“What should we do? Are they with the cats?” Shi Junmao’s face collapsed. He had only agreed to participate in a variety TV show. So how come he’s gotten himself involved in such a fu*ked up situation? 

“I don’t think so.” Wen Jiexi squinted. She had felt….a certain kindness from the first dog’s gaze? 

“If they’re with the cats then they would have arrived together a long time ago. However, the cats are obviously agitated and look at those scars, you can tell they were made by those dogs.” Chu Heling pointed to the cats on the outermost periphery of the cat group. Those cats were more or less mutilated with some having scars that went as deep as their bones. Those huge wounds and claw marks could only be left by these enormous dogs. Not to mention, when the cats had seen these dogs, their tails had drooped and many had started wailing, wilting away in horror. 

Meow~ 

The black cat meowed sharply at those cats, it’s tone oppressive. When the other cats heard the black cat cry out, their bodies trembled even more fiercely and their ears flattened meekly against their heads. Was it an illusion or are those cats even more afraid of this black cat than the dogs? 

Meow! Meow! 

The black cat yelped sharply at the biggest dog in the lead. The dog only glanced at the black cat lightly and then stepped forwards, growling as it revealed rows of sharp teeth that were at least as big as a human’s index finger. The blinding white teeth didn’t look any weaker than the sharp claws of the black cat, and looked to be actually even more threatening. 

The owners of the other five pairs of eyes behind the big dog also stepped forward into the light. They were also mastiffs. Although they were a little bit taller and bigger than ordinary mastiffs, their size was nowhere near their leader. However, the fierce light in their eyes was more than enough to make up for their smaller size. 

Meow! Meow! Meow!

When the cats saw the dogs move, their backs arched and the fur on their bodies exploded upward. They hissed loudly, their claws shooting out from their furry paws. It seemed that both sides were preparing for a vicious battle. 

“What is it now? A cat and dog fight?” Uncle Mu Du scratched his head, looking left and right in confusion. 

“Let’s not discuss whether or not a cat and dog fight will break out, but at least these two parties aren’t together. Isn’t that a good thing?” Wen Ting curled her lips and said quietly.

Awooo! The huge mastiff barked at the balck cat. 

Meow! The black cat didn’t back down and stared back at the big dog, unwilling to show any weakness just because the other party had a bigger body. However, the apprehension in the cat’s eyes was rather obvious. 

“We should approach the dogs slowly, I don’t think they’ll hurt us.” Li Lingqing said. 

“Let’s go over there then.” Shi Junmao nodded fiercely. He didn’t want to stay with this group of black cats any longer. 

“Hold your weapons tightly and we’ll slowly make our way over.” Wne Jiexi said. Currently, they were in the middle of the cats so if the dogs wanted to approach them, it would take at least a minute to move through the cats and get over to them. One minute is not long, but if the dogs were to make a move, it’s unavoidable that the cats will attack. Then they would have to hold out until the dogs could get to them and then retreat while fighting. That was a bloody scene they wanted to avoid.

But the black cat didn’t seem to want to let them go. Its ears flickered in their direction when it heard them shuffling and immediately turned around to hiss at them. Over half of the black cat’s subordinates followed suit and immediately turned around as well before slowly advancing towards the players. 

AWooooooO! The big dog howled and immediately the other five dogs began charging towards them. 

Meow! The black cat also screamed and the cats turned to greet the charging dogs. The black cat and the four cats behind it stayed and then pounced towards Wen Jiexi and the others without hesitation. 

“Don’t show mercy.” Su Chenyu said with a frown and didn’t hesitate as she knocked back the black cat that had thrown itself at her. The black cat screamed and flipped agilely through the air before landing on the ground on all fours.

The others were somewhat shocked by Su Chenyu’s brutal and direct attack but quickly recovered. This was not the time to show mercy, it would only make things difficult for themselves. They swung their iron rods widely, creating powerful gusts of winds. Although they wouldn’t willingly hit the cats unless they had to, they could at least keep them from getting close and scratching them. 

The room filled up with sounds of swinging iron, angry dogs barking, cats hissing and various animalistic wailing sounds. Soon, the smell of blood filled their noses. 

“If you’re afraid or squeamish with blood, don’t look at them and focus on the battle in front of you instead.” Su Chenyu’s voice transmitted into their ears, making those who originally wanted to vomit due to the bloody smell push down their nausea and continue the attacks. 

Meanwhile, Wen Jiexi and Su Chenyu faced the big dog and cat battle. No matter how serious their situation got, they could at least keep an eye on the main battle. 

They watched as countless cats pounced on the dogs, opening their mouths to bite the big animals or using their claws to scratch at them. The dogs didn’t not dodge the attacks and merely swept out their big paws to slap them away. Most of the cats immediately flew into the air with just one hit and then landed into two mutilated pieces on the ground. Why were the cats in two pieces? 

Because their heads were separated from their body, most of the upper part mauled beyond recognition as the lower part was left mostly intact. Seeing this bloody scene, Wen Jiexi felt like vomiting, her chest heaving dangerously. 

“Jiexi, take a deep breath, don’t pay attention to them. This is a life and death situation, we can’t afford to  be merciful now.” Su Chenyu looked at the iron rod in Wen Jiexi’s hands. She had watched as the girl waved the weapon around and caused multiple cats to fly far into the air. However, that only threw the cats back and didn’t actually do any real damage as they just got back up again and kept tenaciously attacking. 

“But….” Wen Jiexi felt like she was about to cry. As someone who hasn’t even killed a fish before, how do you expect her to kill a cat? Just how big of a psychological shadow would that leave on her heart? 

“If you can’t do it, then at least try to knock them out.” Su Chenyu waved at the unconscious cats at her feet to support her point. Sometimes, it was better to persuade people by setting an example. Whether it was to kill or to knock them out, both were viable options, as long as one stopped showing mercy.

“I-I understand.” Wen Jiexi gritted her teeth and no longer held back her strength. She tapped lightly on the heads of the cats who attacked her and one by one they all went down. 

Their current situation was actually pretty good as over twenty cats have been put down by them. It was a favorable fight for them as their physical strength was stronger than the cats. Furthermore, if they got tired, they could change their grip from their right to their left hands. Although one’s left hand wasn’t nearly as dextrous, waving an iron rod around didn’t take much skill. And so, the cats surrounding them slowly dwindled in number.  

You could say that they were like an iron bastion, their defence impenetrable as long as they waved those iron rods. The remaining cats stopped attacking them and although they gasped for breath, the cats still stared intently at them. They consumed more stamina than Wen Jiexi and the other humans, as every time they pounce they use every fiber of their muscles. With attacks like that, the cats didn’t last long and soon the humans gained the upper hand. 

The cats’ casualties continued to pile up, especially on the dogs’ side as the smell of blood permeated sharply the air. There were cat corpses everywhere as more fell to the ground with a miserable wail. Some of the corpses were separated into pieces while some were even more miserable as they had become mashed bags of meat after being trampled on. 

Of course, the dogs weren’t unscathed by the onslaught either. They wailed every time a cat’s bite sunk into their skin, their fur now colored with red as streams of liquid trickled from their body. The cats had done a number on them, and now the dogs were in a rather sorry state. 

Wen Jiexi and the others couldn’t help the dogs as even though they had the upper hand on their side, they couldn’t just blindly rush in and help. They might accidently hit the dogs with their sticks and the dogs might scratch them accidentally. Wouldn’t they be more of a hindrance than anything if they tried to help? 

“Do we have to stay here? My hands are so sore.” Shi Junmao whispered, while kneading his barely conscious arm. He didn’t know how many times he had waved his iron rod, but the soreness and the fraying of the nerves was really starting to tire him out. 

“Restore your energy. Although now is the time to rest, we can’t let our guard down. They are waiting for us to slip up.” Su Chenyu said solemnly.

After a brief period where they could breathe again, they felt the fatigue catching up to them. Their grip on their weapons caused the iron rods to droop slightly and some had begun to sit down, but after hearing Su Chenyu’s words, they forced themselves to get up. And sure enough, a cat appeared out of nowhere, apparently it sneaked up behind them when they let their guards down. They hurriedly drove the cat away with a swing of their iron rods and didn’t dare to relax their guards again. 

Awooo! Meow! 

At this moment, the leaders of the cats and the leaders of the dogs began to face each other. They bared their teeth at each other, grinning ferocious smiles as they attacked. Both sides snarled and scratched, the climax of the battle now beginning as the two sides’s attacks grew in increasing intensity. 

Bang! 

The big dog dodged the black cat’s claws that were aimed at its vulnerable abdomen and then slammed into the gray cat who had wanted to take advantage of the big dog’s moment of inattention to launch a sneak attack. The gray cat flew into the air and slammed into the pillar, making a loud noise as he landed with a thud. The dog’s strength was evident as the pillar began to crack…

Wait…is a pillar supposed to crack that easily? 

They watched as the huge crack on the pillar slowly spread upward until the entire room suddenly shook with a large bang and the fighting stopped instantly. 

Every human, dog, and cat stopped fighting as they looked up at the ceiling above and watched as a huge crack opened up and spread out across the entire ceiling. Soon, pieces of rubble started falling towards the ground. 

“The building is about to collapse! Hurry, run!” Li Lingqing shouted. 

“Damn! It’s really about to collapse!” Shi Junmao jumped up. How was he so sure that the ceiling was about to fall? Because the falling debris pieces kept getting bigger and bigger! He could even see the room upstairs through one of the holes left behind! 

“T-this…..where can we run too?!!” Huo Lin’er looked around nervously. No matter where she looked, there was nowhere to run. There were other exits and the big door at the entrance was stuck and wouldn’t open. 

While everyone else panicked, the cats fled. Unlike the humans and the big dogs, their bodies were small enough to fit through the small passages and holes they could use to escape. 

Awooooo! The big dogs ran towards the humans and then bit lightly on their clothes, dragging the humans by the mouth as they ran towards a wall. The big dog used its ferocious strength to break down the wall and then the ten of them, including the five big dogs, ran out towards the outside. 

At that moment, the crumbling reached its climax and the castle suddenly collapsed, causing the earth to tremble as a small wave of earthquakes struck the ground. 

The players who had barely gotten out of there by the skin of their teeth sighed inside their hearts as they looked at the ruins before them.  They had never expected that the entire castle would actually collapse. 

As the tremors stopped, the sun rose into the sky. The warm morning sun dispelled the cold, signalling that everything was truly over. Now with the sun in the sky, the cemetery behind them didn’t look as gloomy and terrifying as it was before. In fact, the entire atmosphere of the place felt completely different than the night before. 

“Phew….finally got out of there! I was so afraid that would either be killed by a cat’s claws or killed by the falling bricks! What is really amazing is that the entire castle is made of wood! Way to cut corners I guess! Really!”  Shi Junmao kicked the debris on the ground and didn’t know whether to laugh or thank the man who had designed the castle. 

“Please, it was a common practice for houses to be built by wood and then covered with a layer of cement. The United States used that architecture design well until the 80’s, not to mention the castle hasn’t been renovated for over 40 years. We should be thankful that it didn’t collapse sooner!” Mu Du patted his clothes and shook the dust off his body as he explained helplessly to Shi Junmao. 

“Pfft-hahaha, you guys look ridiculous!” After a long and harrowing night, Huo Lin’er finally laughed for the first time in hours as she pointed at the dirt covered players in front of her. 

“Pfft-” 

“Hahahaha!” 

Everyone looked at each other and started chuckling. Each and every one of them was covered in dust from head to toe. Even the nationally famous Su Chenyu was not spared from the embarrassment. If the ten of them were to walk down the streets, they would probably be treated as a bunch of beggars. 

“So dirty….” The originally white little sheep has now become a gray sheep. She looked over at Su Chenyu. Su Chenyu still looked the same, except her wolf ears were covered in spider silk and her sorry state of dress looked especially funny under the bright light. 

Su Chenyu looked over at the little sheep who was laughing at her and helplessly pinched the girl’s cheeks as punishment for laughing at her. 

“Oh, right, where are the dogs?” Wen Ting looked around anxiously. 

Right, what about the dogs? What happened to the dogs that helped them? 

Shuaa…Shua….. 

At that moment, the sound of something digging through the debris sounded. One by one, nearly a dozen cat heads poked out of the debris.  Some of them were unharmed. Some of them had broken forelegs or hind limbs. The five shiny and clean furred cats from before also appeared. They seemed to be fine except for the dirt covering their fur but they didn’t seem to mind. When the cat’s eyes landed on Wen Jiexi and the others, their fur immediately stood up on their back and they let out a sharp scream. 

“Damn….the cats are still alive….” Lan Yuyan took a few steps back. If it was the big dogs who had come out, he would have welcomed them with open arms, but it was the killer cats who ate people that appeared instead. Funnily, everyone had thought that the human-eating monster was the dogs, but it turns out to have actually been the cats! The dogs had become the unknowing scapegoats. 

Perhaps the people who had entered the castle before were scared by the dogs due to their humongous size. However, those poor souls probably didn’t realize that the dogs they were so scared of was actually their shield against the cats. When the humans chased away the dogs, it was the cat’s chance to eat their ‘dinner’. The screams those reporters had heard were probably from those who had been attacked and eaten up by the cats. 

And how do cats eat their food? If their prey is not dead, they will ‘play’ with their prey until they die miserably. So perhaps the screams lasted for nearly two hours because of a diabolical cat and ‘mouse’ game. Just how they played with their prey? They didn’t want to think about it….no, they could guess roughly, but they did not want to think about it anymore. 

“Should we (1) run, (2) run, or (3) run!!!!!” Shi Junmao backed away slowly, his body tensing as he prepared to flee. 

“Looks like you really want to run, huh? Since that’s the only option you gave!” Wen Ting rolled her eyes at him.

Awoooo! A low cry sounded out and the rubble moved against as five dogs appeared, shaking the dust off their bodies and then getting up as if nothing had happened. 

At the same time, a huge figure slowly crawled to its feet underneath a pile of wood. Slowly, the big dog from before crawled out, but then fell down again. From a closer look one could see that unexpectedly the dog’s hindleg had been struck with an iron bar. And the iron bar was stuck underneath a pile of stone. 

AWoooooooo!!! 

The five dogs howled in grief, whining as they moved to run towards their boss . 

Awo! 

The big dog’s eyes suddenly landed on the cats and the five dogs immediately stopped. They turned around and growled at the cats. It was clear to see that the dogs intended to drive away the cats. 

Hissss! 

The black cat hissed at the big dog and flicked it’s tail. It looked over at Wen Jiexi and others, then turned around and left with the remaining cats.

“This ending…..is rather dramatic.” Lan Yuyan scratched his nose and said. 

Ka-la….Ka-la….

Wen Jiexi stepped through the gravel and arrived in front of the big dog. The five dogs around the big dog did not stop Wen Jiexi’s approach, but whimpered instead. They flicked their tails helplessly, looking like they were at a loss. 

“With this kind of injury, it’s better if we call a professional from the hospital. We can’t move him carelessly, otherwise he may be permanently disabled.” Su Chenyu said after carefully observing the big dog’s injury. 

“As long as he doesn’t die.” Wen Jiexi patted the dog’s head and felt relieved at Su Chenyu’s words. The furn underneath her hand was rough and dark, but it was….not bad to the touch.

“But where exactly is the production crew? Do we have to wait for them to pick up here? Or do we have to walk back by ourselves!” Lan Yuyan stuck his hands on his waist and looked towards the road in front of him. Without transportation or even a phone, how were they going to take the dog to the hospital? 

“It will take at least an hour to walk to the city from here.” Mu Du said helplessly. There used to be a lot of vendors and small shops set up near the amusement park but after those terrible incidents, the crowd was driven away and the vendors packed up their shops. So after a generation has passed, this place has become a desolate area. He looked over at the dog. If the wound was treated soon, it might get worse. 

“Gahhhhh! Old Zhan really is such a-! When we need him he isn’t here, and he only works when it comes to doing weird things! Really, I want to beat him up!” Wen Ting waved her fists and yelled. The dog was injured yet the production crew still haven’t shown their faces? Don’t they know that it’s better to treat an injury as soon as possible? 

Just as they found themselves hard-pressed by their circumstances, several cars arrived on the horizon and were making their way towards them. 

“Ah! It’s the program’s cars!” Shi Junmao’s eyes lit up and he stretched out his hands to wave excitedly. The others also got excited at his words and stood up to wave at the distant cars. 

Soon the cars stopped in front of them. 

“Old Zhan, you….” Mu Du was about to speak when he was interrupted by Old Zhan slapping his head, 

“Why did you guys come here?! Where were you guys when we went to pick you up! Wow, damn, you guys look miserable.” 

“..Didn’t you send someone to pick us up?” Everyone asked and then looked at each other. 

“No! I went to switch the car into a black shiny one for this occasion but when I arrived, you guys were already gone!” Old Zhan rubbed his dry eyes that had dark circles underneath them. They were bloodshot and were obviously the eyes of someone who had stayed up all night. Not only did he look exhausted, but the crew behind him look just as tired. 

“But we got into a car that looked exactly like the ones you guys have right now!” Lan Yuyan stepped forward and scratched his head. 

“No matter how shameless I am, I would not bring you here! This place is…..this place is that ghost of a park alright.” Old Zhan looked at the cemetery beside him, and rubbed his hands nervously. 

If it weren’t for the fact that the cameras they had installed had noticed the contestants moved towards this direction, they would never have known they would be here. Then they would’ve lost the contestants for good. Just thinking about the consequences if he had lost his contestants made him break out in sweat. After all, of the ten of them one is a famous business tycoon and the other is the goddess of the nation. It would cause a riot if he lost them! 

“But…we were brought here…”  Wen Ting whispered.

The contestants and the production crew stared at each other. Both sides could tell that the other party was not lying. If so, then what is going on? 

Su Chenyu looked at Old Zhan’s expression and frowned slightly. Then she looked over at Li Lingqing and Chu Heling beside her. 

Li Lingqing and Chu Heling’s faces were also dark. It seems they have come up with the same conclusion. 

She had not expected for them to make their move now. And they even intend to kill off the heirs of two prominent families and the youngest daughter of the entertainment king. Who would do such a thing? There was no need for her to look any farther. Only they would do something so bold.  

Su Chenyu looked at the two of them and then mouthed silently towards them: 

“I will take care of this.” 

She lowered her head, her eyes glinting dangerously.

 If you want to hurt Jiexi, then you will have to pay the price. Just you wait. 

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