Chapter 67: A Suspicious Invitation
"You just watched that thing fight a gorilla and a hippo."
"And?"
"And now you want me to film you molesting its face?"
"I’m just pinching its cheek."
"That does not make this less stupid."
Cain pushed the phone toward him.
"Just record."
Ron looked at Cain’s hand, then he extended his own.
"Give them to me."
Cain raised an eyebrow. "Give what?"
"The Gorilla Core and the Cyan Scroll."
Cain stared at him.
"Did you know that you’ve become more shameless as time passed by?"
"I learned from the best."
Cain laughed.
He had already considered giving Ron the drops anyway.
A 1st Echelon Core would help strengthen Ron’s newly formed Mana Core further, and the Cyan Scroll might give him another useful ability.
Cain retrieved both items and tossed them over.
Ron caught them immediately.
His expression brightened.
"Pleasure doing business."
"Record properly."
Ron stored the payment before opening Cain’s camera.
Cain crouched beside the panda again.
Ron started recording.
Cain immediately smiled toward the phone.
"Anya, look, look!"
He pointed enthusiastically beside him.
"It’s a panda."
The panda opened one eye again.
Cain leaned closer.
"You were curious about how it feels to pinch a panda’s cheeks, right?"
His hand reached the panda’s face.
"Watch this."
Pinch!
The panda’s cheek stretched.
Cain nodded toward the camera.
"It’s really soft."
He pinched the other side.
"Way softer than I expected. The fur is thick too."
The panda stared at him.
Cain ignored the warning in its eyes and continued speaking to the camera.
"This panda also helped your brother today."
Ron immediately protested from behind the phone.
"It helped me!"
Cain continued as if he had heard nothing.
"We fought together against a bad gorilla and a bad hippo. Those two were chasing Uncle Ron because he had been a naughty boy."
Ron’s face darkened behind the phone.
"So remember, Anya." Cain raised one finger and shook it from side to side as he continued, "Don’t become a naughty little girl."
"Otherwise, a bad gorilla might chase you too."
Cain ignored Ron’s weird expression as he continued again.
"And if you become really naughty, the hippo might come along."
Then he pinched the panda’s cheek one more time.
"Anyway, your brother has officially accomplished your dream first."
A faint smile remained on his face as he looked directly into the camera.
"I’ll make sure you get to pinch a panda’s cheeks too someday."
His voice became softer.
"So stay safe until then, alright? We’ll do it together."
For a brief moment, the playful expression on Cain’s face faded.
Cain looked away from the camera.
"Alright. Stop."
Ron ended the recording immediately.
"Finally."
Cain took the phone back and placed it safely inside his pocket.
His attention returned to the panda.
Another thought entered his mind and he crouched beside it again.
"Do you want to come with me?"
The panda did not react.
Cain reached forward and pinched both cheeks at once.
"You’d get free food."
The panda’s eyes opened.
Slap!
One paw struck Cain’s forearm away.
Cain looked at his hand.
The panda closed its eyes again.
"... So rude."
Ron laughed from behind him.
Cain clicked his tongue.
"Fine. Your loss."
He stood and dusted off his pants.
Before leaving, Cain looked at the panda one last time.
"I hope you survive."
The panda’s ear twitched slightly.
Whether that was a response or coincidence, Cain had no idea.
He continued anyway.
"And don’t kill humans for no reason."
Cain pointed toward it.
"If someone attacks you first, do whatever you want. But don’t start hunting random people just because the world ended."
The panda gave no response.
Cain had briefly considered killing it.
The Core of a creature powerful enough to fight two 1st Echelon beasts would undoubtedly be valuable.
However, the panda had shown no hostility toward humans.
It had ignored Cain and Ron when they first entered its territory.
Only after the gorilla and hippo destroyed the surrounding trees had it become violent.
More importantly, its intervention had allowed Ron to complete his Advancement Mission.
So, killing those who had helped him in some sense just didn’t sit right with him.
Cain turned away.
"Let’s go."
The two wandered around the eastern district for several more minutes, searching for anything worth hunting.
Unfortunately, their earlier luck disappeared completely.
Cain continuously spread his Sense across the surrounding area, but he found nothing comparable to the evolved animals they had encountered before.
There were still plenty of zombies.
Most were scattered between houses or wandering along the quieter streets.
However, none were strong enough to interest them.
Eventually, Cain stopped in the middle of another intersection.
"This is taking too long."
He looked farther east.
The zoo was not much farther now.
If evolved animals were already appearing throughout the recreational area surrounding it, then the zoo itself should contain far more.
That interested Cain.
However, what he had learned from the bear and gorilla also made him cautious about sending Ron into the same area alone.
Evolved animals were clearly stronger than zombies at comparable Levels.
Their natural bodies gave them advantages zombies did not possess.
Cain pointed southeast.
"You search that side."
Ron followed his finger.
"What about you?"
"I’m going farther toward the zoo."
Ron frowned.
"You’re splitting us again?"
"We’ll cover more ground this way."
Cain looked at him.
"Focus on zombies. Don’t intentionally hunt evolved animals by yourself yet."
Ron nodded in understanding.
He looked toward the southeastern streets.
"If you find a strong zombie, kill it. If you find something you can’t handle, run and look for me."
Ron adjusted the spear in his hand.
"What about regrouping?"
"We’ll head back toward the university later. Be careful and always ready to react at any time."
Ron nodded.
The two separated soon afterward.
Ron headed southeast.
Cain continued deeper east toward the zoo.
The farther he traveled, the quieter the streets became.
The occasional corpse still lay on the pavement, but the large zombie groups common around the university were absent.
Cain passed several residential buildings.
A few doors had been barricaded from the inside, while the others stood completely open.
He wondered how many people were still hiding within their homes, waiting for a military rescue that might never come.
Cain continued another few hundred meters.
Then movement at a distance caught his attention as someone was waving from a second-floor window.
Cain slowed down and saw a woman standing behind the glass.
She appeared to be in her late twenties.
Long silver-white hair had been gathered partly into a loose bun, leaving the rest to fall over her shoulders.
Even from a distance, her appearance stood out.
Her facial features were refined enough that Cain immediately placed her among the most beautiful women he had encountered.
The fitted clothing she wore emphasized a mature, voluptuous figure that contrasted sharply with the frightened expression on her face.
The woman noticed Cain looking upward.
Her eyes moved toward the information above him.
A trace of surprise crossed her face when she saw his Level.
Then she waved again.
"Hey!"
Her voice was loud enough to reach him without attracting everything in the neighborhood.
"Come inside!"
Cain raised an eyebrow as he looked at the house.
Nothing obviously dangerous appeared within his senses.
However, the invitation itself felt strange.
The woman continued waving.
Cain eventually smiled.
’Let’s see what this is about.’