The Cat Who Farms in the Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland – CH35

Chapter 35 – Rainy Night

This was Xia Lu Nong’s first time experiencing an earthquake up close.

Only now did he understand that during an earthquake, things don’t just move up and down, they can also shake side to side.

The truck shook violently, and the rice and metal parts in the back rattled around, crashing into each other with loud thuds.

Xia Lu Nong’s face was full of terror. He felt like a dried leaf clinging to a branch in a storm, ready to fall at any moment.

His brother held onto him tightly, carefully controlling his strength so as not to crush him.

The two brothers huddled together, riding out what felt like an endless wave of tremors.

Xia Lu Nong dug his claws into his brother’s clothes, his green eyes wide open in fear.

His fur was standing on end, his tail almost stiff, and his face frozen in terror.

The others weren’t faring much better.

Across from him, Luo Cong Xin bit his lip, his face showing he was on the verge of tears.

As the violent shaking continued, time seemed to lose meaning for everyone.

They waited, resigned, with expressions of terror and anguish.

An invisible pressure hung in the air, and Xia Lu Nong tasted blood in his mouth. There was also a metallic scent coming from his brother’s body.

In the distance, the sound of explosions echoed, like thunder or a mountain collapsing and crashing to the ground.

Xia Lu Nong, with his keen hearing, could pick up the sounds of various animals fleeing in panic.

Wild boars, wild cows, wild goats, wild horses, wild dogs—mutated beasts seemed to form a torrent, rumbling past in the distance, mixed with their piercing howls.

Eventually, all the noise started to fade away.

The truck stopped shaking, and the rumbling outside ceased, leaving only an eerie silence.

The usual background noises of nature, like the chirping of insects and birds, had disappeared entirely, replaced by an unsettling stillness.

Luo Cong Xin struggled to get up, limping to the side of the truck to peer outside.

From the driver’s seat, Ba Niu’s weak voice called out, “Is everyone alright?”

Yan Xi Nian scanned his team, his voice hoarse as he responded, “No serious injuries. How about you?”

Ba Niu sounded a bit more at ease. “I’m fine too.”

The rice in the truck bed had cushioned the impact, so no one was seriously hurt, and the equipment seemed mostly intact after a quick inspection in the dim light.

Everyone peered out of the truck bed.

The ominous yellowish glow in the sky had almost entirely faded, leaving only a grayish hue.

Under the gray-yellow night sky, the mountains loomed silently, dark and foreboding.

Ba Niu, covered in dust, staggered out of the driver’s seat and leaned on the side of the truck bed, panting heavily. “It’s too dangerous. Should we stop here and wait until daylight to continue?”

“Meow—” Xia Lu Nong’s raspy meow interrupted him, filled with urgency.

Xia Huo Qu could smell the blood on him and quickly ran his hand over the cat from head to tail. “Are you hurt?”

Xia Lu Nong shook his head and patted his brother’s hand with his paw. Before anyone else could reply, he meowed again, “Meow!”

The meaning was clear: they needed to keep moving.

Yan Xi Nian immediately asked, “Xiao Nong, do you think this place isn’t safe?”

“Meow!” The cat nodded, his eyes full of anxiety as he kept pawing at his brother.

Ba Niu wiped his face roughly, saying, “This place may be dangerous, but so are other places. There are so many mountains, trees, and possible fault lines on the ground. We could hit one of them anywhere and still be in trouble.”

“It’s risky here too,” Xia Huo Qu said gravely. “I trust Xiao Nong’s instincts. Let’s turn on the lights, drive slowly, and take another detour. It’s better than staying here.”

Yan Xi Nian looked at the others.

Cong Lian remained expressionless, Liao Quan Nan was waiting for Yan Xi Nian’s decision, and Luo Cong Xin seemed dazed, like he was still in shock.

Yan Xi Nian withdrew his gaze and patted Ba Niu’s shoulder. “I agree with Huo Qu. In times like these, intuition is more important than logic. Let’s drive slowly and stay alert. We’ll be fine.”

The three others, including Cong Lian, didn’t oppose leaving.

Ba Niu glanced around at the group, then reluctantly agreed, “Alright, whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”

As Ba Niu prepared to drive, Yan Xi Nian stopped him. “I’ll drive the rest of the way myself.”

Xia Huo Qu added, “I’ll guide you from the side.”

Yan Xi Nian and Xia Huo Qu were the most skilled, so it made sense to let them handle the situation in such dangerous conditions.

Ba Niu handed him the keys and climbed slowly into the back, his energy seemingly drained.

Everyone was exhausted, staring blankly outside.

Xia Lu Nong was placed in the passenger seat by his brother. He collapsed weakly onto Xia Huo Qu’s lap, looking dazedly out at the strange-colored night.

His head throbbed, and his body ached all over, leaving him too weak to speak.

The truck slowly pulled away, and no one felt like talking.

Xia Lu Nong, with his sharp ears, heard a faint sound of sobbing from the truck bed.

It seemed to be Luo Cong Xin.

Xia Huo Qu sighed softly, “I wonder how things are back at the base?”

Yan Xi Nian kept his eyes on the road, carefully steering around obstacles. “They’ve been through many earthquakes before. They’ll know what to do, and Dr. Ou is there. They’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.”

“Plop—”

As they spoke, a raindrop splattered on the windshield, spreading a large wet stain.

Yan Xi Nian’s expression shifted slightly, but before he could warn the others, rain began to fall rapidly, the drops hammering against the glass with a loud *pitter-patter*. In no time, a torrential downpour engulfed the area.

Luckily, the truck bed had a rain cover, so everyone in the back stayed dry.

The smell of rain filled the truck as cool air blew inside, bringing some relief to Xia Lu Nong, who lay limply on his brother’s lap, his green eyes dull as he stared out into the rain.

Outside, everything was a blurry white, and even with the headlights on, they couldn’t see more than three meters ahead.

Amidst the downpour, the world seemed to quiet down.

They hadn’t yet left the mountain area, and although the surrounding hills were low and far from the road, there was still a risk of landslides, especially after the earthquake had left the terrain unstable.

Yan Xi Nian gripped the steering wheel tightly, driving steadily and slowly, not daring to stop.

With the windows sealed shut, Xia Lu Nong seemed to fall into a deep sleep, showing no signs of distress.

Yan Xi Nian felt a small sense of relief. If Xia Lu Nong hadn’t warned them earlier, they might have been trapped in the valley.

After an earthquake and now with the heavy rain, the likelihood of a landslide or the formation of a barrier lake in the valley was very high. If they had stayed, they could have faced mudslides or collapsing mountainsides at any moment.

The truck crawled forward at a snail’s pace.

Yan Xi Nian no longer cared about saving fuel. The high beams stayed on, providing as much visibility as possible.

Suddenly, Xia Lu Nong, who had been lying limp on Xia Huo Qu’s lap, twitched his ears and sat up, his eyes focused intently on something outside.

Yan Xi Nian felt a jolt of fear. “Did Xiao Nong sense something again?”

Without their animal forms, their eyesight was far inferior to Xia Lu Nong’s. Even in their beast forms, they couldn’t match his instinctual sharpness.

Yan Xi Nian had a gut feeling that something was wrong up ahead.

Xia Lu Nong’s feline face showed confusion and even a hint of fear.

Unable to speak, he motioned for his two brothers to look in the direction he was staring, but they couldn’t see anything.

Xia Huo Qu quickly pulled out a pen and paper, placing them under Xia Lu Nong’s paw. “What’s wrong?”

Xia Lu Nong glanced at his brother, then awkwardly scribbled two words and a question mark: “Someone?”

The truck’s headlights cast some light into the cabin, allowing Xia Huo Qu to read the words aloud: “Some…one…?”

At that moment, Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian exchanged a quick glance, both seeing the alarm in each other’s eyes.

For Xia Lu Nong to write “someone” in such a situation felt like a scene straight out of a horror story.

Even though both men were brave, this gave them chills.

Xia Lu Nong’s eyes were still full of confusion. He thought for a moment and then added a character beneath “someone”: the word for “bird.”

“Bird…person?” Xia Huo Qu read the new words aloud, then quickly realized what his brother meant. “Xiao Nong, are you saying there are bird beast-men in the sky?”

Xia Lu Nong nodded, pen still in his mouth.

He had seen Luo Cong Xin transform into a wild goose, and his instinct told him that what he saw in the sky were bird beast-men rather than mutant birds.

But these bird beast-men seemed unusually large.

Yan Xi Nian hadn’t expected it to be bird beast-men.

If they were migrating through the storm, it meant they had encountered some sort of danger.

In the pitch-black night, with so much uncertainty, it was crucial to figure out if something else was happening besides the earthquake.

Yan Xi Nian’s thoughts raced, and without hesitation, he pressed the truck’s horn, hoping to get the attention of the bird beast-men.

The truck’s horn blared loudly, echoing through the torrential rain.

Xia Lu Nong perked his ears, listening carefully for any response.

But the bird beast-men in the sky seemed to continue without slowing down.

Yan Xi Nian noticed Xia Lu Nong’s reaction and pressed the horn again.

This time, he didn’t just hold it down—he honked in a pattern, sending out three long and two short blasts, signaling for help in case of danger.

Xia Lu Nong stood up, his back legs on his brother’s lap, front paws pressed against the dashboard, staring intently into the darkness.

“They’re coming!”

Yan Xi Nian stopped the truck but kept the high beams on and honked another set of three long and two short blasts.

Ba Niu and the others in the truck bed shouted, “Captain Yan, what’s going on?”

Amidst the heavy rain, Yan Xi Nian raised his voice, “It looks like there are bird beast-men in the sky.”

“No way, there are still bird beast-men flying in this storm?!”

Before Ba Niu could finish speaking, Xia Lu Nong spotted a huge shadow swooping down toward them through the windshield.

The shadow was massive and fast, with wings spanning at least three meters on each side, making it look like a giant monster.

Especially its eyes—Xia Lu Nong could only see one side, but he could clearly make out the cold indifference in that eye.

Despite mentally preparing himself, Xia Lu Nong was still petrified by the sight, his furry cat face frozen in fear.

His paws pressed against the dashboard, as if he were being hunted by a predator, cold sweat running down his back.

It was an eagle!

He had never seen an eagle this big!

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