### Chapter 29: Special
Risk and reward always coexist.
The dense fog where one can't see their hand in front of their face, the evolved beings that could appear from anywhere, the predicament of lacking modern weaponry support, and—although they had waited for the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions to subside—the looming threat that they might still occur.
If it were just about finding some food, it wouldn't be a big deal. But if they wanted to explore thoroughly or even plan to contact the chosen ones, the danger would escalate rapidly. One stroke of bad luck could cost them their lives.
The risk was extremely high, but so was the temptation of the rewards.
Because Ben Mao could extract that mysterious black liquid.
During this period, Raymond had witnessed many battles between evolved beings, but he had never seen any being able to extract the mysterious liquid from their opponent's heart like Ben Mao could.
Although Ben Mao wasn't sure what that liquid was, it wasn't hard to deduce from its lack of interest in other parts that it was likely something essential, like an essence or a source.
Other evolved beings did not have this ability.
Because of this ability, the current devastation outside seemed like ripe fruit hanging from the branches, ready to be picked, to Ben Mao.
"Though it's very dangerous, it would be foolish to miss such an opportunity..." Raymond sighed after weighing his options.
Honestly, he didn't like taking risks.
After all, he only wanted to survive with Ben Mao. He had no interest in being the best in the world or invincible. Putting Ben Mao in danger seemed a bit counterproductive. However, in the current world, becoming stronger was necessary, and the potential rewards this time were too tempting to ignore.
Taking some risks for this was worth it.
Missing this opportunity now might mean taking on even greater risks in the future for similar gains.
"Moreover, from another perspective, with the fog as cover, we might be able to go further. If things go wrong when encountering a chosen one, our chances of escaping would be higher," Raymond thought.
After making his decision, he grabbed Ben Mao, who was watching *Tom and Jerry*, and started playing with him. "Silly cat, is extracting that black liquid your ability?"
"Meow?" Ben Mao scratched his head, indicating that he didn't know.
Raymond understood; after all, what could you expect to learn from a fool?
He continued, "But you are quite special. You are neither an evolved being nor a chosen one."
Just by briefly reviewing the timeline, it was clear that Ben Mao's evolution was completely different from other beings.
On the night of the meteor shower, Ben Mao didn't get a fragment, yet he gradually gained intelligence and eventually evolved (though the evolution was incomplete due to an interrupted process). He transformed from an ordinary Scottish Fold into his current form, with a snow-white body and a tail resembling a cartoonish fox tail. Meanwhile, chosen ones who obtained fragments gradually gained intelligence but did not complete their evolution. As for the evolved beings, they hadn't even begun their transformation at that time.
Half a year later, when the mysterious rain fell and evolution began, all creatures started to evolve, except for Ben Mao, who showed no changes.
This simple timeline makes it clear that Ben Mao's evolution is distinct from both the evolved beings and the chosen ones.
And then there was his attitude towards Raymond.
In today's world, except for mutated creatures that hadn't gained intelligence, both evolved beings and chosen ones held a deep-seated hostility towards him for some unknown reason.
But not Ben Mao.
Despite having intelligence, he didn't show any hostility towards Raymond. It wasn't because of their good relationship suppressing any enmity; Ben Mao genuinely didn't feel such animosity.
Lastly, for some unknown reason, Ben Mao couldn't speak human language.
Even weaker evolved beings could speak broken phrases, but Ben Mao couldn't, which was quite odd.
Raymond knew his cat was special and different from other creatures, but to him, Ben Mao was just his silly cat.
"Sigh, everyone else is dead, yet I'm still alive. Not only am I alive, but I also have dozens of lives. I happened to pick up a special cat, and the rabbit living next door seems special too..." Raymond muttered to himself, playing with a cat teaser and Ben Mao. After rambling, he suddenly sighed and said, "Actually, compared to becoming stronger, I sometimes hope you could speak sooner. It's really lonely by myself..."
"Meow..." Ben Mao stretched out a paw, wanting to comfort Raymond, but his legs were too short.
"How about I start teaching you sign language tomorrow?" Raymond asked.
"Meow?"
"Never mind, with those paws, you definitely can't learn it. So, silly cat, hurry up and learn to speak!"
This outing was undoubtedly the most dangerous yet, and also the lightest in terms of gear.
Anti-material sniper rifle? RPG?
In such thick fog, these things were useless and would only hinder movement.
In the end, Raymond only brought a handgun, a small submachine gun, and three grenades.
As for other preparations, the main thing was instructing Ben Mao to run away as soon as they encountered a chosen one. Testing the waters was Raymond's job since he could be revived if killed, but Ben Mao couldn't.
It took Raymond two hours of talking to get this point across, leaving his throat dry before Ben Mao finally agreed. Just before leaving, Raymond reminded him again, "If you encounter a chosen one, run! A chosen one, got it? Like Miss Rabbit next door. If you meet one, run! Got it? If you don't run, don't blame me for cutting ties with you!"
"Meow?" Ben Mao turned to look at Raymond, showing a surprised expression.
After living together for so long, Raymond could roughly understand Ben Mao's expressions. His anger flared up, and he smacked Ben Mao on the head. "You're not planning to run?! After all I said, you ignored me?!"
This silly cat was really infuriating!
After another round of soft and hard tactics, threats and inducements, and explaining the risks and necessities, Raymond finally got Ben Mao to reluctantly agree. Raymond even threatened, "If you don't run, I'll kill myself," to get the point across.
This time, it seemed Ben Mao genuinely agreed.
Feeling reassured, Raymond realized that dealing with a single-minded fool was truly challenging.
Stepping out of the hotel felt like stepping into another world.
All around was a vast expanse of white fog, the air thick with humidity, damp and sultry. Despite the typhoon still lingering, there wasn't a trace of coolness. As Raymond entered, he borrowed Ben Mao's power, yet his vision was still limited to about ten meters. Ten meters—distance that even a human could cover in under two seconds, and wild animals known for their speed, like cheetahs, could cover in less than a second. Not to mention the evolved beings of today.
The moment you see your opponent, they might already be in front of you.
Thus, this was far from a reassuring distance.
Fortunately, the dense fog didn't hinder hearing and smell. After borrowing Ben Mao's power, Raymond's other senses, except for vision, were greatly enhanced. This was far more reliable than vision in the current situation.
"That way," Raymond pointed towards the west of the city, directing Ben Mao at his feet.
Compared to the earthquake and the building collapses it caused, the volcanic eruption was undoubtedly more catastrophic. The largest eruption happened in the west of the city—the first one—and subsequent disasters mostly occurred there. If the number of evolved beings was initially evenly distributed across the city, then the death toll there should be the highest.
"Meow!" Ben Mao responded.
After giving directions, Raymond sighed, "Even though we've set a target, the chances of moving steadily towards it are slim..."
They had just stepped out of the hotel and could still distinguish directions. But once deeper in, with the loss of sense of direction and inevitable sudden events, the likelihood of continuously heading west was nearly zero.
Even if they didn't reach the west, they'd surely gain something along the way. But since they had decided to venture out, they might as well aim for that destination. As long as the city wasn't too destroyed, there'd be ways to navigate using road signs and landmarks.
However, Raymond and Ben Mao likely wouldn't be returning to the hotel anytime soon. After some thought, Raymond instructed Ben Mao, "Avoid conflicts as much as possible. Instead of fighting, it's better to collect more heads."
He wiped the rain off his face with some helplessness. The typhoon hadn't passed, and the storm continued. But to avoid making noise and affecting their movement, using an umbrella or raincoat was out of the question. Thus, in a short time, he was drenched.
"I feel like I might catch a cold..." he muttered, as he and Ben Mao quickly and quietly moved into the rainy fog.
At that moment, in the room next to Raymond's on the top floor of the hotel, a pair of eerie blood-red eyes watched them silently through the thick fog. After Raymond and Ben Mao disappeared into the fog, the owner of those eyes shifted their gaze to the distance, contemplating something. After more than half an hour, she made a decision.
Taking so long to consider something was extremely rare, almost unprecedented, for her. Then, she opened the window and leapt from the hotel's top floor. Surprisingly, as she fell, her fur rapidly receded, and her body underwent swift changes.
By the time she landed, apart from the blood-red pupils and the rabbit ears on her head, she looked just like a human girl. As soon as she touched the ground, she moved decisively in a certain direction with incredible speed. "Too bad I can't eat carrots anymore," she thought.
Even just on their way, in barely an hour, Raymond and Ben Mao had collected enough to match several days' worth of gains, and the chances of encountering evolved beings were much lower than before.
Clearly, the frequent disasters not only caused many deaths but also made the surviving evolved beings much more cautious.
Given the extremely low visibility, it was the same for them too. With everyone being more cautious, encounters naturally decreased.
Following their strategy of "collecting heads and avoiding conflicts," they had only experienced one unavoidable deadly battle so far. This was much better compared to the last time they went out with Miss Rabbit.
However, fewer encounters didn't mean it was safe in the fog.
On the contrary, it was very dangerous.
Battles had become several times harder. The opponent in the unavoidable fight wasn't very strong; usually, Ben Mao would have quickly dealt with it. But this time, the fight dragged on significantly due to the fog's interference. The harsh environment made battles unpredictable and filled with variables, making ambushes easy and hard to guard against.
What worried Raymond the most was that although they were lucky this time, a prolonged battle might attract other evolved beings next time, potentially leading to a vicious cycle and encirclement.
In that case, they'd have to resort to their last resort—Raymond acting as bait.
Moreover, there were the chosen ones who could appear at any moment.
High rewards came with high risks.
Seeing the devastation firsthand, Raymond realized that this disaster was likely reshuffling the evolved beings in the city.
After devouring those unfortunate enough to perish, the surviving evolved beings would become stronger.
More importantly, disaster brought people together.
Perhaps large factions of evolved beings would emerge.
So, this wasn't just a missed opportunity; it was also a missed dangerous chance.
Despite its inherent dangers, Raymond and Ben Mao couldn't miss this.
Besides, there was no turning back now because—they were lost.
In a city of ruins with only ten meters of visibility, hunting for prey while avoiding other evolved beings, having just fought a deadly battle, not getting lost was too much to ask.
Perhaps from the moment they stepped into the fog, all they could do was take one step at a time.
"If we advanced in a straight line after leaving the hotel, we should be far from it now. If we kept circling, we might still be near the hotel..." Raymond thought as he kept watch while Ben Mao extracted the mysterious liquid.
The area around their hotel probably didn't have any chosen ones, otherwise, they would have encountered one by now. But if they had moved far from the hotel, one could appear at any moment.
Looking around, all he saw within his visibility range were ruins, but there might be a road sign buried somewhere.
Raymond decided to spend some effort to find one and figure out his current location. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, and his consciousness briefly went dark.
When he regained awareness, his perspective had changed.
A massive, ethereal tombstone floated behind him, mysterious and solemn, grand and ancient.
"Huh? Am I dead?"