I groped in the dark and grabbed Black Cat's tail. It immediately understood and jumped onto the windowsill, its green eyes like two small lamps in the darkness.
Using this faint light, I took out the power bank and the car inverter.
Older brother had taught me three years ago, "Researchers must always have a Plan B."
My finger felt a sharp sting when it touched the inverter, and a memory flashed back to an afternoon in the lab.
Lín Yán was holding her phone, taking a selfie. In the background, Older brother was writing formulas on a whiteboard. The hastily written "Mirage Project" was half-covered by her bunny ear filter.
"Xinxin, your brother is so handsome!"
She leaned over to show me the photo:
"Can you take me to the lab to play next time?"
Black Cat pawed at my sleeve, jolting me awake. The silver threads of the anti-cut sweater gleamed in the moonlight.
This was the "Kevlar fiber anti-cut model" specially marked on the list. I had teased back then that I wouldn't even need such professional gear if I were writing a novel.
"Meow!"
It was patting the window restlessly.
Rain began to fall outside, turning into a downpour within two minutes. The stainless steel basin on the windowsill was already half-full of rainwater.
Every time Xiāo Jìn entered my dreams, he would teach me many things regardless of my understanding. Back then, I didn't grasp the significance, but now...
Following the method Xiāo Jìn taught me in my dream, I folded the pet pee pad into a funnel. The murky rainwater became remarkably clear after filtration.
"At least I won't die of thirst."
I forced a smile and lit the alcohol stove, hearing Black Cat purring in its throat. This wasn't comfort; I sensed a threat.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the hallway, stopping at the door of the next apartment.
"Building 7, Unit 302, confirm target's interpersonal relationships."
I would never forget that voice – it was the man who had been talking to Lín Yán on the rooftop that day.
The man's footsteps stopped in front of the next door. The jingle of keys sounded like a death knell.
Upon hearing this sound, Black Cat's tail puffed up like a feather duster, and it darted into the washing machine drum.
"I thought you were so impressive!" I scoffed.
Grabbing the pepper spray from the entryway, I suddenly remembered item 22 on the list:
[Trade preference: back alley of the wet market, Wednesday/Friday afternoons at 2 PM].
Today was Wednesday.
"Don't make a sound."
I gently closed the washing machine door. Black Cat extended a paw from the drainpipe and made an "OK" gesture. This silly cat must have been watching my short videos lately.
If the apocalypse had truly arrived, seeing these "strange occurrences" now wouldn't be surprising at all.
The putrid smell from the back alley of the wet market assaulted my senses.
I tiptoed over and saw an old man in fisherman pants squatting by a trash can. In front of him was a cardboard box containing neatly stacked antibiotic boxes. The topmost box bore the words "For veterinary use."
"Can it treat people?" I asked in a low voice.
The old man chuckled and pointed at me. The blue stains under his fingernails looked like moldy cheese. "Depends on what you exchange."
I came prepared, taking off the gold necklace from my neck. At that moment, I noticed a gun tucked into his waistband.
However, it was just a plastic toy gun, with electrical tape wrapped around the grip, showing obvious modifications.
"Meow!"
Black Cat had somehow followed me and was now yowling at the pharmacy at the alley entrance.
Behind the glass door, the plump proprietress quickly slipped a box of fever reducers into the bottom of a stroller, where her daughter sat, gnawing on her fingers, her little face flushed.
I instantly understood the woman's actions: when it came to profit, or even life, people's first priority was themselves and their closest loved ones.
But... why was she hiding the medicine? Unless she knew supplies were about to become scarce.
A memory suddenly flashed back to a dinner party during my junior year. Lín Yán had smashed a beer bottle over a drunk man who was harassing me. The broken glass cut her palm, and drops of blood bloomed like plum blossoms on my skirt.
"Don't be scared, Xinxin!"
She had trembled as she wiped my tears.
"Sisters are meant to have each other's backs."
And now, she had stabbed me in the back.
Something pressed down on my shoulder. I turned to see Black Cat leap up, hooking my collar with its claws and pulling me back.
The old man in front of me stealthily reached under the cardboard box. I tossed the necklace aside, grabbed the medicine, and ran. The "click" of the plastic gun sounded behind me – luckily, it was just a toy.
Back home, I divided the amoxicillin into three express delivery boxes, labeling them "To Wang Meili, Chaoyang District" and "To Zhang Jianguo, Fengtai District."
Black Cat squatted in the last empty box, refusing to come out, its tail tip wagging triumphantly.
Under its paws lay a screenshot of "Yan Yan Little Sun's" Weibo post that I had printed out.
Just then, a strange noise came from inside the washing machine, and the drum door popped open on its own.
The commotion was so loud it sounded like someone was kicking the door from the inside.
Being alone at home, it was natural to feel scared. I was more afraid of a burglar than ghosts. Actually, I had been planning to learn some martial arts recently; it would surely be useful in the apocalypse.
I picked up the mop handle and slowly approached. Black Cat, however, jumped up first and tapped the start button with its paw, all in one smooth motion. I didn't even have time to scold it.
The drum immediately fell silent, and half a blue rubber glove was spat out from the drainpipe, its fingertip already dissolved.
"Are you a cat or have you become a spirit?"
I pinched the glove remnant. The sticky sensation made my scalp tingle.
Black Cat meowed in response and then bit my sleeve, dragging me towards the bathroom. The wound on its hind leg was seeping blue blood, leaving a winding trail on the floor.
The first-aid kit was in the bathroom drawer. It seemed this cat knew my apartment like the back of its paw.
I opened the lid of the first-aid kit. There was very little alcohol cotton left. "I need to stock up more," I thought.
Using tweezers, I picked out the glass shards from Black Cat's leg wound. It didn't cry out or struggle. A piece of a faded collar fragment fell out. On it, the code "TS-7" gleamed coldly under the light.
"This is... Older brother's lab's marking?"
As my fingertips touched the collar, my vision distorted –
A memory surfaced: Lín Yán, wearing a white lab coat, pouring cat food into a cage.
"Good kitty, Little Seven~"
She laughed, scratching Black Cat's chin. Older brother rushed in and pulled her away:
"Don't let them near Area A!"
His lab coat was stained with blue viscous fluid. The instrument screen behind him flickered with "Mirage System - Test Version"...
"Meow!"
Black Cat pawed me awake. I looked up to see the bathroom mirror completely fogged over, and a line of text gradually appeared on it: [Need help?]
My blood ran cold.
"Xiao Jiang?"
Aunt Zhang's voice came from downstairs, filtering through the door.
"Can I borrow some salt? I've run out of soy sauce."
"Coming right up!"
I deliberately kicked over a chair to create a pretense of chaos, quickly stuffed the antibiotics into the washing machine, and then grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it into an empty bowl.
As I opened the door, I saw Black Cat pushing the "Extreme Cold Supplies List" into a gap in the sofa.
Aunt Zhang's eyes scanned the kitchen like searchlights before settling on the open refrigerator.
"Oh my, your refrigerator is so empty!"
I blinked, then shook my phone. "I'm on a diet recently, eating takeout mostly."
"Takeout doesn't help you lose weight; it makes you gain," she grumbled, taking the salt but not leaving. Her nose twitched. "Why does it smell like alcohol? Are you injured?"
My brow furrowed.