Chapter 139: Stuck at the Gate
On the other hand, larger prey was naturally much more difficult for cats to catch successfully.
Because of that, Hwi had never been a picky eater.
It almost never behaved the way it was now, carefully seeking out the parts richest in energy while ignoring everything else.
Birds were different.
Birds were tiny enough that it could simply swallow them whole in a single bite.
There was no need to care which part of their bodies contained the most energy because there was essentially no difference at all.
Everything about them was just a tiny scrap of meat.
After all, who would seriously compare which part of a bird’s body contained the largest scrap of meat?
Unlike birds, the mutated catfish was different.
It was simply too large.
If Hwi tried to eat it normally, it would be stuffed long before Hwi absorbed enough energy.
In the end, Hwi itself might very well eat until it burst and still remain hungry.
That was why it had to search for the parts of the mutated catfish that contained the richest concentration of energy.
Zombie flesh tasted terrible and contained very little energy.
Unless absolutely necessary, no animal would willingly eat zombie meat.
Well... small zombie animals were an exception.
After all, when it came to prey small enough to swallow in a single bite, no one cared about flavor or bothered picking out the fattest or most nutritious parts first.
Once Hwi finished eating, Byeol instinctively moved a little farther away from Hwi in disgust.
As a cat who loved cleanliness, Byeol always ate slowly and carefully.
It never accepted unknown food from strangers outside and it would never make the kind of mess
Hwi had made of itself.
A perfectly handsome and well-fed giant tabby had now transformed into something more like a cat demon from a horror story.
Its half wet fur hung from ita body in messy clumps, and blood dripped from its white chest fur, staining it crimson.
Hwi stretched lazily and shook its body, scattering blood droplets everywhere. Then it happily walked toward Byeol, clearly intending to rub against it.
"Meow!!!"
Byeol immediately jumped into the air, flattening its ears and hissing at it.
"Meow?"
Hwi let out a pitiful cry and could only sit where it was.
Even its round eyes drooped sadly as it failed to understand why Byeol wouldn’t let it get closer.
Byeol ignored Hwi completely.
It certainly had no intention of grooming the filthy Hwi either.
As Byeol flicking its fluffy tail, it bit down on one of the mutated crab’s claws and tried to drag it away.
However, although Byeol had already become a transcendent creature, it was obviously not the same kind of monster as Hwi, whose strength had undergone a qualitative transformation.
Even after using all its strength, it only managed to move the crab a few centimeters.
"Meow!"
Hwi immediately came trotting over happily.
Grabbing the mutated crab’s claw in its mouth, it pulled with a single tug and effortlessly dragged the mutated crab along the ground.
Byeol flattened its ears and stared bitterly at the mutated crab for several seconds before finally walking to the front to lead the way.
Because the market charged stall fees and had dedicated staff collecting them, the gates at both exits of the market were locked every night.
A gate that stood more than two meters high had never been an obstacle for cats.
They could jump over it without much effort.
Even if they did not want to jump, with a bit of effort they could squeeze through the gap beneath the iron gate.
But this time, Byeol found itself in trouble.
Hwi was a simple minded cat.
Normally, whatever route Byeol took, it would follow exactly the same path.
That was why Byeol had not chosen to crawl through the gap under the gate on the way in.
With Hwi’s size, it would definitely get stuck if it tried to squeeze through.
Some cats were liquid, while some cats were solid.
At best, Hwi could only flatten itself into something resembling an iron pancake.
After thinking seriously for a while, Byeol finally jumped onto the wall.
Hwi immediately jumped after it.
Bang!
The enormous sound echoed through the silent night.
Looking at the crab that had somehow fallen back onto the ground, Hwi widened its eyes in shock and hurriedly jumped down to bite onto the mutated crab again.
However, the result did not change and it even ended up pulling off one of the mutated crab’s legs.
Worse still, the loud noise attracted nearby zombies.
They crowded around the gate, roaring wildly.
Byeol irritably flicked its tail.
"Meow?"
Hwi looked at Byeol with pleading eyes.
Byeol fell into deep thought.
As a clever cat who was smart but not bald, the first idea that came to mind was having Hwi grow larger again and carry the crab up.
But Hwi definitely would not be able to maintain that state all the way home.
No animal hunted in a way that exhausted all of its stamina and left it unable to attack again afterward.
This gate would not be the only obstacle on the journey home.
They could not solve every problem this way.
Even if Byeol wanted to, Hwi simply could not do it.
So what were they supposed to do?
Byeol used its limited little brain as hard as he could to think of a solution.
They had caught prey, but what if they could not bring it home?
Should they go back and get the human servant after all?
Byeol irritably swished his fluffy tail, unable to think of any solution at all.
Meanwhile, the zombies outside the gate remained energetic, smashing against the iron gate over and over again until it rattled loudly.
The noise was so irritating that Byeol felt as though he was about to suffer a nervous breakdown.
Especially because its paw pads, which acted as one of its most important sensory organs, were being overwhelmed by the vibrations, making it impossible for it to pick up any useful information from the surrounding environment.
Because of that, even the way Byeol looked at the zombies had begun to fill with killing intent.