R City Official Base

Inside the Underground Room

The future Earth Dragon was struggling desperately. Its mouth was bound with tape, preventing it from biting anyone, while its four small legs moved frantically as it tried to run outside.

Smack!

Huo Lingling pressed down on the small alligator and dragged it back. "Quite energetic, aren't you?"

"After all, it's the future Earth Dragon." Yun Xiuzhi examined the small alligator with curiosity.

The future dominant creature had actually been captured by them like this—it truly felt unreal.

Information was too important. With knowledge of the future, they could accomplish many things and easily rewrite what was to come.

"Prepare some food. Before the great changes occur, we need to restore its health and store enough nutrients. That way, when it mutates and evolves, it will be more complete, and the awakened abilities will be stronger," Li Xuan said.

Huo Lingling pulled out several cans of beef from her travel bag and effortlessly tore off the lids. "I'll hold it down, you feed it."

Li Xuan took the beef cans, and then Huo Lingling ripped off the tape restraining the small alligator's mouth, forcefully prying open its upper jaw.

Most alligators have incredibly powerful bite force. Before the apocalypse, many people online claimed that Chinese alligators couldn't defeat geese and couldn't crush snow crackers in three bites. In reality, the Chinese alligator's bite force isn't that weak. Their hunting habit is to take a gentle bite first to test if something is edible. When truly provoked, a Chinese alligator can definitely kill small animals like rabbits.

If it bites a human, it would leave at least several bloody holes.

Medical standards in the apocalypse are extremely poor. Once bitten, if the wound gets infected, it would be game over.

Of course, that applies to ordinary people. Huo Lingling is no ordinary person. Her skin possesses extremely high flexibility—even pistol bullets can't penetrate it. Her violent strength could tear human bodies apart, so the Chinese alligator couldn't possibly harm Huo Lingling.

After several cans of beef went down, Huo Lingling held the small alligator's jaws, making it chew a couple of times simply. The small alligator, tasting delicious food after so long, swallowed on its own.

After eating, the small alligator's body stopped moving, as if saying it still wanted more.

"Hehe, this little guy can really eat," Huo Lingling said.

Li Xuan took out several vacuum-packed marinated chickens and tossed them all into the small alligator's mouth at once.

Huo Lingling released the small alligator, thinking it would obediently eat the marinated chicken. Instead, the small alligator immediately bolted, seemingly having regained some strength from eating the beef cans, running even faster than before.

Smack!

Huo Lingling was even faster, easily catching up to the small alligator and suppressing it with one slap, then dragging it back to the spot.

"Eat! If you don't eat, I'll hit you!"

The small alligator retreated. One moment it seemed afraid of Huo Lingling, but the next it opened its wide mouth and bit Huo Lingling's ankle.

Still couldn't break through her defense.

Huo Lingling was annoyed. With a sharp slap, she nearly knocked out the small alligator's teeth. "You little thing, trying to play dirty with me, huh!"

The small alligator, frightened by the beating, obediently ate the marinated chicken, taking bite after bite, its small eyes occasionally glancing at Huo Lingling.

Ten minutes later, the small alligator abandoned half of the uneaten marinated chicken and quietly tried to escape again.

Huo Lingling had been watching the small alligator all along and once again caught it and brought it back.

"Its desire to escape is too high. Let's find a cage," Huo Lingling suggested.

"We'll be leaving in a few days, no need for a cage. I'll go outside and find a dog chain to tie it up," Li Xuan said.

The next day, many survivors who were paying attention to Li Xuan knew that the small alligator wasn't dead and was even more energetic than when it was captured.

"How much food does Li Xuan actually have! He didn't eat the small alligator and is even raising it, feeding it meat every day! I haven't eaten meat in months!" one survivor said resentfully. When he saw Huo Lingling feeding the small alligator roast chicken, he desperately wanted to push the alligator aside and become Li Xuan's pet himself.

"What? An alligator gets to eat meat?! It deserves to die! Does it even appreciate what it's eating? I should be the one eating! I'm willing to be Huo Lingling's dog!" another survivor voiced his true thoughts.

A survivor nearby scornfully said, "With your looks, you want to be Huo Lingling's dog? Why don't you find a mirror and see if you're even worthy?"

"Exactly, Huo Lingling is so beautiful and incredibly strong—she can punch through sandbags with one hit. She's practically the goddess of the apocalypse! Even being Huo Lingling's dog requires good looks!"

In a small room not far from Li Xuan's residence, Huo Shuangshuang observed Huo Lingling walking the alligator through binoculars.

That was indeed her sister—the same figure, the same face, absolutely no mistake about it.

But...

Her sister could never have the strength to punch through sandbags with one hit.

The veins on Huo Shuangshuang's hands bulged. She took a deep breath. "What did the higher-ups say?"

"According to analysis, Li Xuan is highly likely to be the Prehistoric Colossus shapeshifter. The girl beside him is named Huo Lingling, identical in appearance to your sister. Additionally, the Prehistoric Colossus attacked the squad escorting Huo Lingling and took her away. It can be confirmed that the Huo Lingling beside Li Xuan is the sister you once found," a young man wearing glasses said solemnly.

"She's the sister I found, but I'm not sure she's my real sister." Huo Shuangshuang laughed weakly twice, already understanding what this meant.

The sister she had found back then wasn't her real sister at all. Huo Lingling hadn't lost her memory due to excessive fear—this Huo Lingling simply had no memories!

She was someone else or an animal that had transformed into Huo Lingling!

When she found Huo Lingling, the authorities didn't yet know that animals could transform into humans, so she had misunderstood.

Her desperate year-long search for Huo Lingling had been a complete joke.

The real Huo Lingling had died long ago. The one living was just an imposter.

She had been desperately worried about her, unaware that the imposter was living comfortably by Li Xuan's side, not rejecting him at all.

"Is her true form human or animal?"

The bespectacled man whispered, "Ninety percent chance it's an animal, ten percent chance it's human. We found out that your sister owned a pet snake shop. She should be a snake."

A snake...

Huo Shuangshuang raised her head, trying hard not to let tears fall. "My sister loved snakes the most. She died, and a snake became her. I guess that's karma."

The bespectacled man sighed. He understood Huo Shuangshuang's sorrow. Huo Lingling was Huo Shuangshuang's only relative. Their parents had died in a car accident early on, and the two sisters grew up relying on their parents' compensation money, depending on each other, incredibly close. They had even made a vow to always stay together even after marriage.

Anyone would be devastated by such a situation. The fact that Huo Shuangshuang hadn't had a mental breakdown already showed remarkable strength.

"She is completely identical to the real Huo Lingling. If you did a paternity test, you would come out as biological sisters."

"But she's not the real Huo Lingling. What I want is the sister who walked with me for over a decade, not an imposter with my sister's genes but no memories." Having said this, Huo Shuangshuang could no longer hold back and burst into tears, teardrops falling and creating small splashes on the ground.

"The dead cannot return to life. Look at what the zombies outside have become. Even if the real Huo Lingling turned into a zombie and stood before you, could you recognize her?" the bespectacled man said cruelly.

Huo Shuangshuang turned sharply, glaring fiercely at the bespectacled man. "I could recognize her! I would definitely recognize my sister!"