“Analyzing target...” Ego replied. A moment ter, he tinued, “Analysis plete. This creature is a domesticated pet, a e tabby cat, part of felidae family. It has mutated due to unknown causes, drastically increased in size, and is highly aggressive.”

  Zack's jaw nearly dropped. “A... house cat? An e tabby cat?!”

  Ego’s words rocked his sense of reality. The two-meter-lo in front of him, bulging with muscle and deadly i, was on e tabby—a cat so ht it could barely move!

  “Sir, caution advised. This creature is extremely dangerous,” Ego warned again. Zack’s heart pounded as he processed Ego’s expnation. Unlike regur zombies, animals ied by the Zeta virus seemed to retain a disturbing level of intelligence.

  The zombie cat, tiger-sized and terrifying, didn’t jumped right away but waited at the door, staring directly at Zack with bloodthirsty eyes. The reason was clear—it sehe threat of the shotgun in his hands. It was wary, pag bad forth as if sizing him up.

  Zack gripped the shotgun tightly, his own instincts telling him not to fire hastily. He knew how fast a cat’s reflexes were, even more so with a creature this size. If he missed, he might not have the ce to shoot again.

  “The optimal battle pn is now being simuted,” Ego’s voice broke through his tration. In Zack’s view, virtual figures appeared—a digital map of the venieore and a proje of the zombie cat’s potential moves. In one simution after ahe human figure was mauled by the beast, only a few sarios ending in Zack’s survival. But those pns all involved risky moves that left him seriously injured, which Ego promptly discarded.

  Finally, Ego’s voice cut through again. “Sir, I’ve calcuted the best course of a for a safe oute.”

  The entire process took less than five seds, yet eae like ay.

  Instantly, all the virtual figures vanished except one—a single proje in front of Zack, outlining the precise steps to evade and ter the zombie cat. It was like having a perfect game walkthrough id ht before him.

  Every move was clear and annotated: where to step, when to dodge. Even as Zack mentally prepared, the zombie cat decided it was time to attack. The caution in its eyes gave way to a primal hunger, and with a guttural snarl, it charged toward him, faster than a ghostly blur.

  Zack braced himself, already a step ahead thanks to the virtual proje. He pulled out the st Molotov cocktail from his backpaot even sparing a sed to light it. Following the simution’s guidance, he dodged left, tossing the bottle where he had just been standing. The bottle shattered on impact, spreading fmmable liquid across the floor.

  The zombie cat’s arrowly missed him, slig through the air with a force that sent a breeze past his cheek. Under Ego’s calcutions, this dangerously close enter turned into an unbridgeable gap for the creature, which slipped on the spilled alcohol and shards of gss, crashing clumsily to the floor.

  As it struggled to rise, bits of broken gss embedded in its flesh and fur soaked with alcohol.

  “Die, you brute!” Zaarled. He snatched a handful of cheap lighters from the ter, tossing them toward the dazed cat, and then aimed his shotgun.

  Bang!

  The powerful reade his hands tingle as the bst sprayed steel balls into the creature, sparking the lighters in mid-air. Fmes erupted instantly, igniting the alcohol vapors around the cat. The zombie cat was engulfed in a furious bze, thrashing aing out an eerie, guttural hiss. Its resilience was terrifying; though undead creatures felt no pain, this oained enough seo fear fire.

  As the fmes roared around the beast, Zack seized the moment, unloading two more rounds into it. Each bst tore into the cat’s body, spilling dark, foul-smelling blood. The creature staggered, nearly colpsing, but it wasn’t do.

  Suddenly, Ego’s simutioed Zaove. The virtual image dodged to the side, and Zack followed instinctively, leaping away from the ter.

  The zombie cat, charged forward in a st desperate attempt to attack, smming into the ter he had just left, redug it to splinters. The fmes spread to papers and other items around, intensifying the inferno.

  “Almost had me there,” Zack muttered, cursing under his breath.

  The zombie cat’s twisted body rose again, a charred, rage-fueled specter g its from the wreckage, its red eyes bzing with hate. Realizing he had one final opportunity, Zack reached into the nearby fire drabbing a heavy, industrial-sized fire extinguisher.

  He took it up, feeling the strain in his arms, and brought it down with a crushing blow to the cat’s head.

  The beast reeled, stunned, its body slowing for precious seds. Not wasting another moment, Zack sprinted outside. Once he reached a safe distance, he turned, aiming his shotgun—not at the cat, but directly at the fire extinguisher still lying at the creature’s feet.

  Zack's cold smile grew as he watched the zombie cat stagger back to its feet. He mimicked an explosion sound under his breath,”boom!” then pulled the trigger.

  Bang!

  The bst from his shotgun was quickly overshadowed by an even louder explosion. The shot had hit a fire extinguisher, causing the high-pressure gas io rupture violently. The ister shattered, sending sharp pieetal flying in every dire. The zombie cat, caught at cle, was instantly hit by the shrapnel. Jagged metal fragments tore into its charred body, leaving several gaping holes. One piece drht through its skull, ending any ce of it standing up again.

  Zack stayed low, lying ft on the ground until the smoke cleared. When he finally stood up, the venieore was filled with a thick, blinding fog of dry powder, c everything in a haze. The fire extinguisher’s bst had not only destroyed the zombie cat but also put out the small fires that had been sm iore.

  “Ego, is it dead?” Zack asked, gun in hand.

  “Analyzing… No signs of life detected.”

  Hearing Ego's firmation, Zack exhaled in relief. "Alright, time to refuel a out of here."

  He moved quickly, aware that the explosion would likely attract more zombies. Reag the road, he climbed into the armored vehicle parked nearby and drove to the gas station. At the self-service pump, he filled the vehicle’s tank and then grabbed several nearby barrels, filling them with over a hundred liters of extra fuel for emergencies.

  By the time he fihe white smoke in the venieore had begun to dissipate. “Ego, keep an eye on our surroundings. Let me know if anything moves out there,” Zastructed.

  Sing the area and seeing no zombies, he ged his magazine, knowing he’d used up most of his shots while fighting the zombie cat. With a fresh clip loaded, he approached the venieore, brag himself for any lingering danger.

  As he got closer, a strong, acrid smell hit him. The st of burned pstid singed fur hung heavily in the air. The cat’s corpse y in the middle of the store, bed in dry powder, less gruesome than he’d expected. Zack tore a strip from his shirt to cover his mouth and nose as he stepped over the cat's body, heading toward the back.

  "Wait… someone’s still alive?"