1327 Surprise Attack (1/2)

While Zhang Zian treated the stray cats' wounds, Vladimir went ahead and shared how he'd found Big Orange. After all, he was unable to help with the treatment.

He'd gotten the other cats to help bring Big Orange from the beach to the pet store and continued to look for other stray cat commanders along the way.

The journey to the pet store was not a short one. Although cats could jump onto walls and make detours, unlike humans, Big Orange had been unable to do so. Even when he was healthy, this was not possible, much less now, when he is severely injured. Thus, they could only faithfully walk by roads. Occasionally, when they came across a tricycle, they would hop on for a free ride. Most of the time, the owner didn't notice. Sometimes the owner did discover the presence of several cats on his vehicle. However, he did not chase them off as he found it rather amusing. A good Samaritan even tried to ask where they were going. Big Orange replied by pointing in the direction of the pet shop.

Vladimir had been concerned about whether Big Orange could reach the pet shop safely. However, he was also concerned about the safety of his other stray cat commanders. They were all capable cats and occupied similar positions in his heart.

They had not traveled far before a strange stray cat had suddenly appeared on the dark corner of the roadside. It looked at them a few times, then raised a front paw. ”Meow meow meow!”

Vladimir raised a front paw and replied, ”The demon kitten of Pagoda Town!”

He was excited and, at the same time, grateful. His tense self could momentarily give in to the wave of relief he was experiencing. This was because this cat was able to communicate to him via secret code. This meant that his army had not been completely lost. There was, at least, still a handful of them who had survived as an underground resistance organization.

The stray cat was very young—less than one year old. This was probably the first time it had had to perform the task of standing guard. It seemed very nervous. However, after Vladimir's reply with secret code, it immediately relaxed.

”Which division are you from?” Vladimir asked.

Big Orange was in charge of the eastern theater. Softy, the gray, soft-eared cat, was in charge of the southern theater. Little White, the short-haired white cat, was in charge of the western theater. Finally, A Que and Scald Head, the black-haired cats, were in charge of the northern theater. Vladimir was eager to know Softy's situation. This was because Big Orange had told him that the stray dogs had come from the southeastern parts of Binhai City. Thus, the first areas to experience conflict were the eastern and southern theaters.

Originally, in order to prevent the stray dogs' counterattack, Vladimir had assigned the largest number of troops in the eastern and southern theaters. He hadn't expected that they'd be unable to defend against the attacks of the stray dogs. This further cemented the idea that the attack was an extraordinary show of force by the stray dogs.

As for the northern and western theaters, based on the current situation, the fledgling stray dogs would not dare to attack the downtown area where humans resided. That would be purely suicidal. Thus, the north and west theaters should be temporarily safe. However, the risk could not be completely eliminated, as the dogs could travel long distances from the outer suburbs.

The stray cat hesitated for a long time. it was not sure how to express what it wanted to say. Finally, it lifted a paw and covered one of its ears.

”Lost one ear... Is it A Que the black-haired cat?” Vladimir guessed.

The stray cat nodded vigorously.

”Take me to find it.”

Vladimir heaved a sigh of relief. Although it was not Softy, whose safety he was most concerned about, meeting A Que was better than nothing. This would be better than searching for a needle in a haystack if A Que knew where Softy was.

It followed the stray cat and moved east and west, passing through several lanes and winding around a dilapidated building.

If Zhang Zian were here, he would definitely recognize that this was the unfinished building that he'd used to visit with Famous, Old Time Tea, and Galaxy to trace the Holy Cat statue.

There were a lot of stray cats around the unfinished building. Every cat's mood was somewhat dampened. Some of them were also injured. However, many of them knew Vladimir. Upon seeing him, they immediately came forward and surrounded him. They were excited to see him. This was much like an army finally meeting their commander.