Chapter 11: A Narrow Escape

About ten minutes later, outside the sports equipment warehouse.

At this point, the zombies had started gradually giving up on attacking and were leaving.

This was expected; after all, the door had remained unbreached.

Even though these zombies had lost their intelligence and operated purely on instinct, after repeatedly failing to break through, their instincts dictated that they stop wasting time here.

However, just as they began to retreat, a sudden noise emerged from inside the warehouse.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The sound of something striking metal echoed loudly, drawing the zombies' attention once again.

The zombies, once again drawn by the noise, regrouped outside the warehouse.

Inside the warehouse, Li Huan's appearance had drastically changed.

He wore a football helmet on his head, knee pads wrapped around his arms and legs, and held two metal bats in his hands, furiously striking nearby metal objects.

The clanging of metal against metal created a loud racket, loud enough for the zombies outside to hear clearly.

Why was Li Huan doing this? What was the purpose of attracting the zombies in this way?

There was indeed a purpose. Li Huan was trying to divert the zombies' attention so that Tom could carry out the real task.

Behind Li Huan, a large pile of sports equipment, wooden boxes, and cabinets were stacked up, forming a tall platform. Tom stood atop this makeshift structure, facing the warehouse window.

It was only natural that a warehouse like this would have windows for ventilation and lighting; otherwise, it would be unbearably stuffy inside.

From the size of the window, it was clear that someone of Li Huan's build could easily climb through. For a cat like Tom, it would be even easier.

Tom opened the window and poked his head out to look around.

There were no zombies behind the warehouse—perfect execution of the diversion strategy.

He then checked the door he had previously reinforced. The door was still holding.

He pulled his head back in and gave Li Huan an "OK" signal, indicating that he should keep making noise.

Li Huan signaled for him as he continued making noise

Tom nodded, closed the window, and then grabbed the edges of the window frame, attempting to pull it out with all his might.

Tom gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as he tried to forcibly remove the window.

This was another of Li Huan's orders: dismantle the window.

While it might seem like an impossible task, there were no tools available to do it, so Li Huan had no choice but to tell Tom to figure out a way to remove the window himself.

For most people, removing a window like this would be nearly impossible, but Li Huan was confident that Tom could manage it.

Tom clenched his teeth and gripped the window frame tightly, his claws digging into the box below as he exerted all his strength.

But despite his efforts, the window didn't budge.

Frustrated, Tom temporarily released his grip, spat on his paws for better grip, and grabbed the window frame again, pulling even harder this time.

He didn't even stand on the platform this time; instead, both of his feet were braced against the window frame, and he was now upright against the wall, pulling the window.

From a third-person perspective, Tom appeared to be standing with his legs spread wide on the wall outside the window, a highly improbable sight.

But this time, his efforts paid off.

*Crack, crack, crack...*

The entire window frame began to crack, and with a final snap, Tom forcibly yanked the window, frame and all, out of the wall.

"!" Tom grinned but quickly realized a problem.

He had lost his footing.

Tom, still clutching the dislodged window, fell head first onto the platform behind him.

*Duang~*

Tom's head collided with the platform, and his entire body trembled.

"Ow!!!!!!"

Tom let out a cry of pain, but it wasn't over yet. With a strange momentum, Tom continued to tumble down the platform.

Every time he hit a step, it was headfirst, accompanied by a yelp, until finally, Tom, still holding the window, crashed into Li Huan from behind.

Completely unaware of Tom hurtling toward him, Li Huan continued his banging.

Then, Tom collided with him.

"Ugh——————!!!!!!"

Li Huan was knocked to the ground, sprawled out face down, nearly coughing up blood from the impact.

Tom, meanwhile, groggily climbed off Li Huan, confusedly rubbing his head.

What happened? Why didn't it hurt to hit the ground?

He felt something soft under him.

"Tom~~~~"

Hearing Li Huan's voice from beneath him, Tom's ears perked up. He looked down at his bottom.

He met Li Huan's gaze, filled with a "what the hell are you doing" kind of anger.

Tom immediately flashed a big grin, showing his teeth, as he quickly got up from Li Huan and hid the window behind his back.

"Why are you staring? Get back to work."

Grimacing in pain, Li Huan stood up, clutching his waist.

If Tom has not landed on him, he might have actually spat blood by now.

Seeing that Li Huan wasn't going to hold it against him, Tom quickly nodded and threw the window aside, running off, while Li Huan, after taking a moment to recover, picked up the baseball bat and resumed making noise.

Tom, on the other hand, grabbed a sports mat and climbed back up the platform, tossing the mat down.

After throwing down the mat, Tom made several trips, bringing out other pieces of sports equipment and tossing them out of the window.

The equipment landed softly on the mat, making no noise.

At this point, Li Huan's plan became clear.

First, he made noise to draw the zombies to the main entrance, ensuring that they wouldn't hear Tom dismantling the window.

The reason for removing the window was to toss the sports mat outside—while they could simply jump out the window, the mat would be almost impossible to throw out without removing the window.

After the mat was in place, they threw down some sports equipment that could be used as weapons, avoiding any loud noises.

The mat would also serve another purpose: cushioning Li Huan's landing when he jumped out.

The window wasn't low to the ground, so jumping out without the mat might result in a twisted ankle, making escape difficult.

It was a perfect plan, one that made Li Huan feel proud and almost brought tears to his eyes.

By the way, the platform was also Tom's handiwork. Since Li Huan knew he couldn't build it himself, he had Tom handle it, saving himself some effort.

Even though Tom's fall had given him a good thumping, it was no big deal.

Having completed his task, Tom waved to Li Huan and then jumped out of the window.

Seeing that Tom was already gone, Li Huan tossed aside one of the baseball bats and headed towards the platform.

Once outside the window, Li Huan looked down. Tom had already retrieved the equipment and arranged the mat properly on the ground. He looked up at Li Huan and gave him an "OK" signal, assuring him it was safe to jump.

Li Huan nodded, grabbed the edge of the window frame, and gracefully flipped out of the window.

At that moment, Tom noticed something was off.

It seemed like his master was about to miss the mat.

He quickly adjusted the position of the mat and confidently struck a pose, thinking everything was fine.

But then came a splat sound. Li Huan missed the mat entirely and landed face-first on the ground.

Tom watched in shock, covering his mouth with his paw, his expression saying, "Uh, oops."

Li Huan lay on the ground for a moment, then slowly rolled over, facing the sky. He felt something warm trickling from his nose.

He had really hit the ground hard.

[Task complete, rewards are being distributed.]

At that moment, the system's voice chimed in, completely out of place.

Listening to the system and looking at Tom, Li Huan couldn't help but feel an inexplicable sense of exhaustion.

Oh well, at least the task was done.

He just wanted to lie there for a minute and do nothing.

After lying on the ground for a minute, Li Huan gritted his teeth, got up, grabbed the sports equipment, and ran off with Tom.

After all, they were escaping for their lives, so no matter how badly he was hurt, he had to keep running.

Luckily, the fall hadn't caused any serious injuries—just a bloody nose.

Of course, Li Huan suspected that it wasn't that simple. He thought that maybe because Tom had moved the mat, his landing had turned into a funny but painful one that still left him relatively unscathed.

But it really hurt!

Ignoring the dull ache in his body, Li Huan kept running towards the door.

"Tom, open the door and check if there are any zombies outside."

As he spoke, Li Huan instinctively hid behind Tom.

Just now, he realized that as an ordinary person, fighting these zombies head-on was futile. It was better to rely on Tom.

Although this action hurt his pride a bit, Li Huan, who now had a realistic understanding of his abilities, no longer cared.

'I'm just useless,' he thought.

Despite his fear, Tom loyally obeyed and cautiously opened the door, creating a small gap.

Tom poked his head through the crack and looked outside carefully, slipping through the gap with ease.

Cats are liquid, and Tom is the most liquid of them all.

He cautiously surveyed the area outside the door.

Good, no one was there.

He quickly pulled his head back in and gave Li Huan a thumbs-up.

One person and one cat quickly slipped out of the door and locked it

They were really lucky; there wasn't a single zombie in sight.

*Sigh~*

Everyone, including the cat, exhaled in relief.

Li Huan took this opportunity to count the sports equipment they had brought out:

Two iron baseball bats, two javelins, two wooden knives, and helmets and knee pads.

Among them, the bats and wooden knives were used as melee weapons, while the javelins served as long-handled and throwing weapons. These were the items he selected from the sports warehouse after careful consideration, as they were powerful enough and not too difficult to carry.

The helmet and knee pads were for Tom. Even though Tom didn't need them, it made no sense not to bring them along.

In fact, there were many more items available in the sports warehouse, but due to carrying issues and the difficulty of using some equipment, Li Huan had to make compromises.

For example, the warehouse had professional rugby gear, but even attempting to carry it would have been challenging, so he decided against it.

The next question was how to carry these items. Since time was a priority, he hadn't brought any bags, making it quite difficult to carry everything now.

While baseball bats and wooden knives could be held directly in hand, the javelins, being long and large, were particularly troublesome to transport.

[You managed to escape. I told you it wasn't difficult at all.]

Just as he was struggling, the system's voice suddenly appeared. Li Huan was not startled: "It's true, thanks to Tom."

[But you were also quite miserable. You were thrown twice in a row and had a nosebleed. I almost died laughing.]

"I'd rather not mention it..."

The system stopped laughing and said seriously: [In short, new functions have been released. Please take a look.]

"Okay..."

As he spoke, Li Huan opened the system column.

There were many more columns now.

For example, the task bar had changed: "Escape from the Sports Warehouse" had disappeared, replaced by a new task, [Main Mission: Escape from Thousand Feathers Academy.]

The task bar now had two sections: main tasks and side tasks. It seemed the tasks were becoming more varied.

A new option had appeared in the column: the mall option.

Seeing this, Li Huan's interest was piqued. This was the beginning of the system's official "cheating," offering various props, skills, and characters from comedy works. With these, he could gradually become invincible.

Though curious about the mall's offerings, what truly caught his attention was the personal section.

At this moment, a ripple-like echo appeared in the personal column, seemingly guiding Li Huan to click on it. It looked like new features had been added, so he definitely wanted to check it out.

With this in mind, Li Huan followed the guidance and clicked into the personal column.

A new section had been added.

It was very useful for Li Huan's next actions. But as soon as he saw it, his eyes widened in frustration.

[Inventory]

Why didn't you bring this to me sooner!

Unable to shout loudly, Li Huan could only roar inwardly.

He needed this item urgently. He didn't have many options for survival, and yet he had to be so calculated.

[There's no choice. It's a mission requirement, after all. I won't give you these things if you can't escape.]

The system replied casually: [Besides, isn't it just a matter of urgency to give it to you now?]

Li Huan replied expressionlessly: "You're right, but that doesn't ease the frustration I feel."

[Then you should learn to accept this process, just like the characters in comedy works.]

Li Huan curled his lips: "Thanks for the advice."

Unable to hit the system, he could only endure.

A breath of frustration still lingered in his chest, and Li Huan felt quite depressed.

Although he was angry, the system was right; it did solve his urgent need.

Li Huan clicked on the inventory. The capacity of the inventory was about thirty spaces.

[If you want to store something, just think about storage and push that item toward any part of your body.]

Hearing this, Li Huan followed the instructions.

'Storage, storage, storage.'

While thinking this, he thrust the tip of the javelin into the palm of his hand.

When the tip touched his palm, a gap filled with garbled characters opened up, and the javelin was quickly absorbed.

The moment the javelin disappeared, its item picture appeared in the first slot of the inventory.

[Item: Sports Javelin x1]

[Quality: Average]

[Description: A sports javelin used for throwing.]

"It's interesting. Can you explain?"

Li Huan looked at the description, then realized something was wrong.

"Wait, don't tell me your mall sells this kind of stuff, right?"

[Yes, what's the matter?]

"It feels like I don't need to carry it at all..."

[It's better to get it for free than to pay for it.]

"True."

Li Huan laughed as he put everything into the inventory, including Tom's luggage.

"Okay, let's go!"

He kept two baseball bats and had Tom put on a helmet and knee pads. Armed and ready, the two—one person and one cat—headed toward the high school teaching building with determination.