Chapter 4: Plans for the Future

"Come on, it's time to eat." Raymond shook some cat food into a bowl, saying, "Finish it all, don't waste any! Wasting food is shameful!"

"Meow~"

The Scottish Fold cat, which had been lying sprawled out on the sofa, lazily opened its eyes at the sound. After a few meows, it licked its little paws, rolled over, and tried to jump down from the sofa... only to bump into the coffee table instead.

Raymond facepalmed.

What a dumb cat! Weren't Scottish Folds supposed to be smart?

After hitting its head, the cat quickly scrambled to its feet, shook its head a bit dazedly, and then dashed over to the bowl of cat food.

After humanity's extinction, the number of animals like cats and dogs in the city hadn't increased. The reason was simple: most pets couldn't escape their homes and eventually starved after eating all the available food (Raymond had even seen dogs eating their owner's corpses when he was burying people).

Nowadays, there were fewer cats and dogs on the streets, not more, since no one was around to walk their pets.

It's worth mentioning that two months after the apocalypse, Raymond had visited a zoo. There, he had seen countless animal corpses—some had starved, while others had killed each other.

Of course, he observed that a small number of animals had managed to escape. Where those animals went, he didn't know. Maybe they couldn't adapt to the outside environment and died.

As for wild animals living in the wilderness, half a year wasn't enough time for them to migrate and populate the city. Maybe in a few decades, this place would become their domain.

But for now, the city was desolate. Humans were gone, and animals had become scarce. Only the plants were thriving wildly, with the decorative greenery around the community now growing like weeds.

"I've had you for half a month now. I should give you a name." Raymond squatted down and said.

"Meow?" The Scottish Fold glanced at Raymond, turned its head, and continued eating, looking quite silly.

"Hmm... let me think." After pondering for a while, Raymond said, "Since you're so clumsy, I'll call you Clumsy Cat."

The cat seemed quite satisfied, squinting its eyes and rubbing against Raymond's pant leg.

"Oh?! You seem happy! You like the name? Alright then, Clumsy Cat it is!" Raymond laughed and settled on the name, "Take your time eating. I'm going to practice calligraphy. And remember, finish your food! If you don't, I'll kick you out!"

An hour later, Raymond returned from his calligraphy practice and saw that half the cat food was still in the bowl.

"You really don't understand human language, do you? Alright, you really don't..."

Sighing in frustration, he looked over at Clumsy Cat sitting in the corner. The Scottish Fold's sitting posture was unique, resembling a human and looking both cute and lazy, much like the iconic slouch of actor Ge You.

"One day, I'm going to kick you out!" Raymond grumbled. "Get up, we're going out to get some supplies."

"Meow~"

Clumsy Cat licked its paw and continued staring at Raymond.

"Meow?"

It was as if two little crows had flown over his head.

Raymond sighed.

Forget it, he couldn't expect too much from its intelligence. He walked over, gave it a gentle kick, then picked it up and tucked it under his arm as he headed out.

Once downstairs, he put the cat down, and Clumsy Cat finally showed some feline agility, landing smoothly and running to his feet after two quick meows.

"Follow me," Raymond said.

This time, besides the usual trip to get some food—okay, to grab some food and cat supplies—he planned to visit a bookstore to find a cookbook and some books on agriculture.

The food in supermarkets and malls might last half a year or a year, but not five or ten years.

It wasn't a matter of quantity. Even if Raymond ate for ten years, he couldn't finish all the food left in the city. The issue was the expiration dates.

Another half-year had passed, and soon more food would expire. While many expired foods were still safe to eat and wouldn't cause illness, what about those that had been expired for three or five years and had gone bad?

They'd be inedible, right?

The critical issue wasn't whether the food would kill him. It was that it could cause stomach problems.

Therefore, he needed to grow his own food, focusing on staples like rice and common vegetables.

As for raising animals like chickens, ducks, cattle, sheep, and pigs, Raymond had no intention of doing so.

First, it wasn't necessary. He could hunt animals if he needed to. He could grab a gun from the police station and go hunting.

Because humanity's extinction also meant that the animals once domesticated by humans were no longer restrained. While many would die locked in pens, some would escape and return to nature.

He couldn't possibly eat all the animals.

And animals could reproduce.

Secondly, and more importantly, he was bored. Hunting could become a new pastime in his long life.

Aside from food, another issue Raymond was concerned about was water and electricity—especially electricity.

Although he had a solar generator at home, how long would it last? A few years? A few decades?

For most people, that might be a long time, but for Raymond's endless life, it was just a drop in the ocean.

Was there a more long-term solution?

Raymond thought about it and couldn't help but laugh.

Farming, hunting, generating electricity...

He suddenly felt that in a few decades, he might become a very knowledgeable person.